Update from the Upfronts

Well this week is the TV Upfronts in NYC. Very exciting. Not all of the networks have presented their final schedules, but we def. know what the lineup will be for a few of them. Here is alll the scoop (compiled from Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Watch with Kristin, Ausiello at TV Guide, and The Futon Critic — you can find the links to all of them over there to the right)

(please be patient as it will take me awhile to compile all this information!!)

CBS:

Picked up SIX new series which include:

• Project Gary - A guy in his 30’s gets divorced, re-enters the dating pool and is forced to stay in touch with his ex-wife whom he hates because they have kids.
• Worst Week - A single camera comedy series based on the British limited run
  series about a couple’s nightmarish week before their wedding dealing with family and in-law politics.
• Eleventh Hour – A U.S. version of a British Miniseries. The series follows the adventures of a professor who is an adviser to a government scientific agency that troubleshoots threats stemming from or targeting scientific endeavor. He is joined by a female government operative who acts primarily as his bodyguard, as he has made powerful enemies through his work.
• The Mentalist - A dramatic series about a guy with psychic abilities who works as an independent contractor for the police.
• The Ex-List- A dramatic series based on an Israeli series about a woman who tracks down all of her exes after a psychic tells her that she has already met the man she is going to marry.
• Harper’s Island – Horror story that unfolds during the course of a season as a group of friends meet on an island off the Seattle coast for a destination wedding.

CANCELLED on CBS:

• Moonlight
• Shark
• Cane
• Jerico
• Kid Nation

RENEWED on CBS:

• The Unit
• The New Adventures of Old Christine
• Rules of Engagement
• How I met your Mother
• Cold Case
• Criminal Minds
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
• CSI: Miami
• CSI: New York
• Ghost Whisperer
• NCIS
• Numb3rs
• Without a Trace
• Survivor

NBC

PICKED UP (*W is for Winter):

• MY OWN WORST ENEMY -“The Bourne Identity” meets “Jekyll & Hyde” and centers on a mild-mannered suburban dad (Slater) who learns that his alter ego is a spy.
• KATH & KIM – A comedy series based on the hit Australian sitcom about a divorced woman, KATH, with a married daughter out of the house who dating a great guy and looking terrific. Just as things are about to get really serious with her boyfriend, KATH’s daughter KIM leaves her perfectly nice husband and moves in with her mother, upending her life.
  
• KNIGHT RIDER
• SNL Thursday Night Live – During the Elections
  
• CRUSOE -Adaptation of the classic novel follows a shipwrecked man and his loyal manservant as they struggle to survive on an island fraught with natural and man-made perils.
  
• W* THE PHILANTHROPIST – A dramatic series about an iconoclastic billionaire who looks
  for ways to distribute his wealth and help people by using all of his
  resources, regardless of the risk.
  
• W* THE OFFICE SPIN-OFF- TBD
  
• W* MERLIN – Merlin & his friend Prince Arthur grow up in Camelot where magic has been banned
  
• W* KINGS – A modern-day re-imagining of the historical story of King David, featuring a strong leader who unites two previously divisive factions.

CANCELLED on NBC:

• Las Vegas
• Bionic Women
• Journeyman

RENEWED on NBC:

• Chuck
• Heroes
• The Biggest Loser
• Law & Order:SVU
• Lipstick Jungle
• Deal or No Deal
• MY Name is Earl
• 30 Rock
• The Office
• ER
• LIFE
• W*Celebrity Apprentice
• W*Friday Night Lights (will be on DIRECT TV first)

ABC

PICKED UP:

• Life on Mars – A U.S. adaptation of the BBC series about a 21st century detective who is mysteriously transported back to the 1970′s.

CANCELLED:

• Big Shots
• Cashmere Mafia
• Men in Trees
• October Road
• Women’s Murder Club

RENEWED:

• Boston Legal
• Brothers & Sisters
• Desperate Housewives
• Dirty Sexy Money
• Eli Stone
• Grey’s Anatomy
• Lost
• Private Practice
• Pushing Daisies
• Ugly Betty

FOX:

PICKED UP:

• Dollhouse - A group of agents working for a shadowy organization are programmed with certain talents and personality traits for specific missions. Between assignments, they reside in a compound called the Dollhouse where their memories are wiped clean. When one member of the group becomes self-aware, she starts trying to find answers to who she really is and the company’s mysterious purpose.
• The Fringe - A dramatic series centering on a young female FBI agent who unites with a brilliant, and perhaps crazy institutionalized research scientist. Together, they confront powerful and unexplained phenomena.

CANCELLED:

• K-Ville
• New Amsterdam

RENEWED:

• Prison Break
• Terminator

THE CW:

PICKED UP:

• 90210 - A contemporary version of the 1990′s FOX teen-driven soap opera. The main family consists of a grandmother who was a huge star in the 1970′s, her do-gooder son and his athletic wife who are in the their late 30′s and their two teenagers. Their sixteen year old daughter is an aspiring and talented actress and their adopted son is also sixteen, highly intelligent, but with lingering behavioral issues.
• Surviving the Filthy Rich – The story follows a young smart woman who is fired from her job at a tabloid newspaper, only to be hired by a very wealthy man to be the live-in tutor and life coach for his teenage granddaughters.

CANCELLED:

• Life is Wild
• Alien’s in America

RENEWED:

• America’s Next Top Model
• One Tree Hill
• Reaper
• Gossip Girl
• Supernatural
• Smallville

RIP Men in Trees

So this is usually an LB show, and in fact I’ve never seen it . But I saw this last night, and felt like I had to post about it. But according to the Men in Trees series creator, this season will be the last. Sorry to all you fans. Here is the link for more info

TV Guide

Men In Trees – Moving In

This episode centered around the idea of freedom:  being free of mom, living with someone but retaining your freedom and sense of self, etc.

Ok, small details first.  Ben and Teresa are trying to get pregnant.  There may be some concern because of their age.  Teresa tracks Ben down at the rink and walks in, announces she’s ovulating – in front of the hockey team, hehe!  Jane and Sam are in NYC and Jane wants their wedding announcement in the Times.  Sam is having trouble finding a job, so they are holding off on sending in the application until he is employed.  He finds a job . . . with the sanitation department.  Umm.  Jane is all snobby about it at first, but he makes her feel guilty and she turns in the application.  They don’t get in.  She calls up her contact to yell at them because they left them out because her husband works in garbage.  Its not him; its her.  Three literary critics are getting married that week.  Sam knows how disappointed she is, so he sends the announcement to the Elmo paper.  They get a whole page devoted to them, which they tape to their fridge to celebrate their marriage.  Its pretty cute!

The episode really centers around Marin and Jack moving in, and Patrick’s need to be a grown-up. 

Men in Trees, A Sonata in Three Parts

So, i dont care how unpopular it is.  I LOVE Men in Trees.  They just need to put it in a good time slot and all would be well! (Info on saving MIT)  So let’s catch up, shall we?

In the first new episode, Marin finds out that Cash (Cassius Morrisey, hehe) has degenerative kidney failure – hence the reason he has been in the hospital.  She vows to help, and after some embarrassing public charity, just lets him move in her house.  At the end, she finds out that Jack’s ship sank, that they found survivors, and that Jack wasn’t one of them.  ut oh!

Jane and Sam got married in a rush, right before Annie and Patrick’s misfortune of a non-wedding.  They are going to split their time between NYC and Elmo.  I see trouble ahead.

Sara and Pastor Eric have decided to remain celibate (after that one time, oops!) until they decide if they want to get married.  Back to dating, but with no sex.  Pretty funny times, as they are SO attracted to each other.  Eric is also trying to start his new church, as a lot of the congregation of his old one (the ones who didn’t think his relationship with Sara was BAD) want to continue with him as their pastor.

Ben and Teresa are going to start having problems because of his obsession with his new hockey team.  Buzz and Mai are still great comic relief! (Buzz tries to re-teach Patrick to swim, Patrick almost drowns!)  Jerome fell for Annie’s mom, but I think they are going to try it long distance for a while (I have no proof, but I think the strike may have killed off Annie Potts‘s role, which is too bad, I still love the Designing Women girls!)

Patrick still has no memory.  All of his loved ones are trying to be patient, but he has kinda turned into a schmuck.  He and Annie have become “just friends,” though she is still in love with him.  He is kinda rude to his mother (though in his defense, she is a bit overprotective) and still kind of dogging Marin, which stops when they hear about Jack.

On to the new episode - ”A Sonata in Three Parts” 

DWTS – Got Milk? – and others

Im baaaaack!! Chicago was kinda sucky (the trip, not the city itself) and ive finally caught up on most of my TV. I’ll do a little recap for them all as soon as i finish with…..DANCING WITH THE STARS!!!

So thank goodness Marie didnt win. That doll outfit and dance was ridic. completely. she lost her freakin marbles. thank goodness shes out.So I was still really hoping that Mel b. would win. She and Maks are the cutest dancers, and he should win because of the sexy sparkly suspenders alone. Plus, im a little sick of Julieanne and Helio. He acts kinda like he was macking on her and shes like 19 ppl!!! EEWWW. Either way, Helio won, which was ok i guess, and the weird part was someone handing him a half gallon of milk and him acting like that was the trophy. Anyone know what he did that?
EDIT, 12/05: found out from US Magazine online that they give Indy 500 winners a jug of milk right after they win, so Helio’s sister gave him that when he won DWTS. Maybe they should think about picking dancers with less obscure “sports.” or at least including that in the TONS of packages they ran on the finale!

Greys Anatomy
so I am actually glad for reruns. I only missed on episode. the short version: Izzie feels left out with Mere and Christina, as usual. she tries to prove she is hard core cardio, but it doesnt really work. George is boring. Derrick is moving in on the neuro nurse. Sloane wont give up on trying to get a date with Hahn. Mere is trying to get herself back to being with Derrick (not doing so well). Christina is being a hardcore bitch. the most interesting story line is with Bailey. Her husband is PISSED cause shes never there, and she misses lunch with him because she is having to operate on a white supremacist (“Dont ever call me the Nazi again!”). Who doesnt trust that she wont kill him. ass. I like the story line, but it annoys me at the spouses of doctors, men or women, who get all pissy because their husband or wife is at the hospital all the time. Um hello?? What did you think was gonna happen? i know it happens in real life, but as the girlfriend of a doctor (almost a doctor) it annoys me when they do that!!! Either way, I hope it all works out for Bailey

The Hills
Agreed with everything Kristin said, the She-Pratt is one of those girls i HATE!!! and i love the part where shes all “I am Heidi’s BEST FRIEND” and the previews for next week have her telling spencer that she doesnt think Heidi is committed. What a biatch.

ANTM
Glad Heather is gone, REALLY glad Lisa is gone

Private Practice
Um Holy Crap Cooper and the fem-nazi from the hospital!! I like the ex marrieds getting back together, and the rest was ok

Men in Trees
eh alright episode, I dont like this Patrick having amnesia thing. Him sleeping with Annie and it being much better than before is funny!! Marin calling Jack’s mom is a little stalkerish, but cute. Hope Jack is ok!

Desperate Housewives: Really good episodes. Last week: Susan finds out about Mike’s addiction, empties his pills. This week: He gets another perscription from Orson, who feels bad about running him down last season, and when susan finds those too and gets rid of them, he goes through major withdrawl, knocks Susan down the stairs, gets into a fight with an orderly, gets handcuffed to a chair and susan threatens to leave him if he doesnt go to rehab. Last Week: Bree tries to get the fam together. This week: Bree basically sacrifices her son to have a happy little family of 3. She also gets up in Adam and Catherine’s business with the crazy girl that looks like Lisa Loeb, who locks herself in Bree’s tornado room. Cause shes nuts. Last week: Lynette is cleared of cancer and runs her mom off cause her daughters hate her (maybe for a little reason, but they are pretty heinously mean), but Lynette goes and gets her back and moves her in with her gay ex husband. This week: Lynette is a seriously selfish bitch to McClusky, moves her husband and kids in to her basement, then whines when McClusky’s friend’s cat makes Tom asthmatic. Ughh its SOOO rude!!! Last week: Gabby knocked Victor overboard his boat and might have killed him. This week: they find Victor, he threatens Carlos in the middle of the tornado, then gets a fence post through him, ouch! Glad hes gone. Oh, did I mention theres a Dorothy Gale like tornado in Fairview? and that it roars down Wisteria Lane? Yeah cause it did. Gabby waits it out with Edie, Bree and Orson wait it out with Catherine and Adam in the china cupboard while the nutso woman is in their safe room. They all learn that Adam actually DID have an affair with the nutso, which kinda brings Catherine and Bree closer. Susan and Mike wait it out in the hospital. McClusky and Lynette end up back at Lynette’s in the tub with a mattress over them. They survive, but go outside to see McClusky’s house is completely totaled – with Lynette’s husband and kids supposedly burried in the rubble. No previews!!! Hope they all live!!

Brothers and Sisters
the VERY short version. Kitty gets married, Robert’s career might be in trouble, Sara needs a man and might find one in Steven Webber, Rebecca might have an incestuous love for Justin, Justin is going out with Lena, Lena slept with Tommy but he broke it off, Tommy’s wife and kid are back, Kevin broke it off with the preacher man and is back with Scotty, and Nora goes out with an old flame who tokes up at Kitty’s wedding. REALLY great episode, but watch it online if you want more than this!I’ll be back doing regular postings this week, and they will be better than this!