Doctor Who: The latest news with some SPOILERS

Since it was announced that the seventh season of Doctor Who was going to be delayed until the fall, much consternation has gone on about what it means. It’s no secret that that the BBC is cash strapped, but that is only a small part really. As showrunner Steven Moffat noted in a recent interview “There's no chance of the BBC giving up on Doctor Who: it's a huge money spinner, it's doing better than ever abroad, the global number of people watching Doctor Who has just gone up and up and up, it was the most downloaded show on American iTunes last year - not a chance of the BBC giving up on Doctor Who, not at all.”

While Moffat has played well the corporate employee of the BBC by keeping mum on the whole issue (except to say “I've always been open to anything that shakes [the series] up. I think that decision actually came from the BBC. But I've been well up for anything that we can do to shake up the transmission pattern, the way we deliver it to the audience and how long we make the audience wait, simply because that makes Doctor Who an event piece”) it still seems logical that that part of the reason the series was moved was financial, part of it was because the show has fared poorly as the days grew longer in England, and as the 50^th anniversary starts in 2013, it keeps season 8’s (though not yet commissioned, but given its popularity, a forgone conclusion) start on or around the official birthday of the series, November 23. 

Not an accountant, but while the series will film through the end of the year, at least 8 of its episodes will be broadcast in 2013. Whether that factors into the financials, I’m unsure. 

Anyways, another thing that seems in flux is the transmission order. We know that 6 episodes will air in 2012, probably starting around mid-November. There had been reports –or rumors- that it would be an uninterrupted run, meaning episodes 7-14 would start in January. Now other rumors suggest the show will take a transmission break and return in late winter, possibly March. Moffat says “You're not getting shorter and shorter seasons, we're just splitting it over Christmas; we're making the same number of episodes as usual - I can tell by the grey hairs on my head - but we delayed it a few months to start it later in the year, that's all that's happened.”

Which is what is probably another one of those sly attempts to keep the press guessing, as Moffat quips:  “We can't really contain everything, because people will crawl all over us with cameras and sneak views of scripts and call-sheets. Something will get out. But we've been fairly sly, so let's wait and see.”

Meanwhile, what has leaked out is that originally the Christmas episode with new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman (now rumored to be named Clara) was to film first. However, Moffat admits the story is not finished, so work has begun on one of the other Coleman episodes, what is now known to be number 11 (written by Neil Cross, who created the BBC series Luther). Recent set photos show it to be a Victorian based story (?). 

The series has also confirmed that beyond Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Neil Cross writing stories for the back 8, previous Who writers John Fay, Tom MacRae and Steve Thompson have been added. Meanwhile, Harry Potter actor Mark Williams who is guest-starring as Rory’s dad in episode two will also appear in episode 4, which has a working title of Cubed.

Problems around 'G.I, Joe 2's' delay

If anyone believed that five weeks before its release, Paramount was pulling G.I. Joe: Retaliation because they felt the need to do “a conscientious 3D job” due to the fact they’ve “seen how it can better box office internationally” is missing the essential aspect that their own early test tracking was showing that movie was ranging from mediocre to bad. And no matter how you spin it, when a movie generally gets pulled from the release schedule, especially one that has had a huge marketing push since the Super Bowl, just five weeks from its release date, everyone knows that the movie needs the dreaded reshoots. 

G.I. Joe 2 is such a film. 

Clearly, Paramount see’s their reported $125 million budgeted film in trouble. Also, $125 million seems unrealistic –I’m wondering what rival studios are saying the actual cost of this film really is, because while Sony says Men in Black III cost $220 million, others are saying it ballooned to more than $300 million. Factor in the all the print advertising, all the trailers–including the $3.5 million spent for the Super Bowl one- for the last 5 months, and you’ve got to figure with reshoots and the upgrade to 3D, this films budget is probably close to $200 million. If not more (on a side note, could Retaliation be the first film to have two Super Bowl ads?)

And the last minute pull means the ancillary products, all the tie-ins (especially the toys) and what not, will now sit in warehouses (if they’ve not already shipped) for the next 9 months, gathering no profit. That’s got be a sting to them.

Nikki Finke, over at Deadline, explains that Paramount realized too late that the film’s biggest problem was not the script per se, but that Channing Tatum was not in it enough (and who would know he was even in it, considering even the one sheet movie poster makes no indication he makes an appearance in the film). Though it seems they realized sometime during production, and brought Tatum back for an additional week.  

Plus, coming off back-to-back hits like The Vow and 21 Jump Street, Tatum’s star has risen (question remain about his male stripper movie Magic Mike that was opening on the same date, as some see this tracking towards a small demographic audience: women and gay men), and Paramount seems now to want to take advantage of it, because it would also seem that their tracking reports indicated that people wanted more Channing Tatum. 

So now G.I. Joe: Retaliation will be retooled. How much the film will be changed story wise to accommodate what was once a small role in the film for Tatum is unknown. What is clear is the movie is going to be a turkey, no matter what. It’s expensive conversion to 3D is designed more for the foreign markets who seemed obsessed with Hollywood films in this format, no matter how dumb the picture actually is (witness Battleship and John Carter, both films that did well overseas, but fizzled domestically).   

Source:Deadline

Pricing for 'TNG' first season on Blu Ray

On July 24, Paramount will release Star Trek: The Next Generation season one on Blu Ray. Something we’ve known for a while. What was not revealed until now, was the cost. The retail price is $129.99, but Amazon is offering it for $78.86.

Despite all the work that had to go into transferring it to this format, the pricing is a bit…pricy. The standard DVD sets all retailed for around the same price many moons ago, and while I know some will still pay the money, it’s pretty ballsy of them to do it again.

At this juncture, this set (at least for me) will remain un-purchased. 

Shocker: Paramount delays 'G.I. Joe 2' six-weeks before its release for 3D conversion

In a surprising move, Paramount has yanked G.I. Joe: Retaliation from its June 29th opening so it can be converted into 3D. The movie will now bow on March 29, 2013. According to Deadline, a Paramount executive told them they’re doing it because “we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally.”

With less than six-weeks to its release, and with a ton of promotional material including trailers, TV spots, character posters, and even a few cast interviews already out there, it seems startling that Paramount and its partners -MGM/Spyglass which has 25%, and Skydance which has another 25%- would delay it so long  just to make a larger profit on it overseas. So, they’re just going to pretend that all the promotional stuff released over the past few months, including one huge lobby standee that took hours to put together, never happened? Plus, since they’re going to have to launch a totally brand new marketing plan early next year, who gets stuck with the additional cost?

I know, who cares? Still, I find it strange that a film due out in six weeks, a film that was planned for the 4th of July holiday weekend, gets pulled for “3D conversion.” I’m guessing (though I shouldn’t) that the film is as big of a turkey as Battleship did here domestically, with Paramount hoping to recoup most of the films budget from the overseas market.

Still, they note that 3D is huge internationally, with a lot of foreign countries building new 3D theaters by the week (and we’ve seen with Battleship, the more big and crappier, the more they make money there). Also the execs say that the blockbuster performance of The Hunger Games shows that March can be a prime time of the year to release movies. But the comparison is moot, considering that series built-in audience is probably bigger than the G.I. Joe fans (even though that franchise is older). And they’re female.

Yes, films can succeed in March, but audiences are also fickle. Guys and a few girls will see G.I. Joe 2 once in 3D, but will not go to again and again like they did for The Hunger Games. 

'Blade Runner' sequel; Nebula Awards Winner; '39 Clues' & 'Starcatchers' to film

The 2011 Nebula Awards were handed out this past weekend, with Jo Walton’s Among Others taking home the top prize for Best Science Fiction Novel released last year. Meanwhile the Neil Gaiman penned Doctor Who episode The Doctor’s Wife won the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, out shining Hollywood films as Hugo and Midnight in Paris. The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman took home the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.

Real Steel and Night in the Museum director Shawn Levy will helm The 39 Clues, an adaptation of the popular Scholastic book series. The series revolves around the Cahills, a powerful family who count Napoleon and Houdini among their relatives. The movie is framed as an epic family adventure about two ordinary kids whose discovery that they are part of the world’s most powerful family sets them off on a globe-trotting treasure hunt. The current 11 book series is an adventure game that includes cards and an online access that gives clues to a mystery with a cash prize for the kid who figures it out.

Walt Disney Studios has hired writer Jesse Wigutow to adapt the Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson 2004 best-seller, Peter and the Starcatchers. The book, which provides a backstory for the iconic Peter Pan character, has become a hot property, with the current Broadway play having just nabbed nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. Peter and the Starcatchers is the first in a series of books by the authors, giving franchise potential to the project.

Due to scheduling conflicts, Jessica Chastain has dropped out of Iron Man 3. The Town actress Rebecca Hall will replace her.

The Syfy Channel officially cancelled Sanctuary after 4 seasons. They need room for more reality shows with the thinnest connection to the genre we all love.

An umpteenth new version of Tarzan is in the works. This will be a performance-capture 3D feature and will re-image Edgar Rice Burroughs classic jungle hero who will now have billionaire adventurer parents who are killed in an airplane crash. Meanwhile, Jane Porter is the daughter of an African guide and committed to conservation of the African jungle. She eventually works with Tarzan to defeat the mercenary army of Greystoke Energies led by the film’s villain – the CEO that took over the company after the death of Tarzan’s parents. Twilight hunk Kellan Lutz and Resident Evil actress Spencer Locke have been cast.

Even though the movie shares nothing with real life Trayvon Martin shooting case, 20^th Century Fox has decided to rename their potty-mouth alien invasion movie Neighborhood Watch to just The Watch. The film will bow out on July 27.

While director Ridley Scott is still not saying Prometheus is an actual prequel to his 1979 Alien –despite trailers that seem to indicate that it is- work is progressing on a sequel to his 1982 film, Blade Runner. Alcon Entertainment is developing a new film, said to be set some years after the events of first film (Scott revealed in an interview that he wants to focus on a female protagonist this go-round. So, whatever happens, this thing will apparently not be built around Harrison Ford’s original, robot-hunting character Rick Deckard). It’s been confirmed that Hampton Fancher, who co-wrote the original Blade Runner (and which is based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?) is on board as well as Ridley Scott. Alcon Entertainment had the rights to the 1982 science fiction classic that starred Harrison Ford, but there was little excitement on the project until Scott himself agreed to come back and revisit the source material as director. According to Alcon, Scott and Fancher at one time intended Blade Runner to be the first in a series, but that obviously never materialized, until now. 

You Know That TED Talk You Weren't Supposed To See? Here It Is.

Nick Hanauer, self-described "super-rich" entrepreneur, gave a pretty compelling TED Talk about how the middle class—not the super-rich—are the real job creators. But TED, which has released over 100 different political videos in the past, thought this one was too partisan and chose not to release it. We didn't notice any flaming partisanship in it. We normally love TED, and were surprised they didn't think this talk was TEDworthy.

Under pressure from the Internets, TED finally relented and released the video. Watch it and decide for yourself if it's really all that controversial to say that the "super-rich are not job creators."

Fall TV Grid

Click to embiggen

CW Schedule moves every show around

Monday:

8pm 90210

9pm Gossip Girl (THE CARRIE DIARIES launches in January)

Tuesday:

8pm Hart of Dixie

9pm EMILY OWENS, MD

Wednesday:

8pm ARROW

9pm Supernatural

Thursday:

8pm The Vampire Diaries

9pm BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Friday: 

8pm America's Next Top Model

9pm Nikita

Cancelled shows include: Ringer, Secret Circle, One Tree Hill, H8R, Remodeled and The L.A. Complex.

New shows:

Emily Owens, M.D.:  At long last, Emily Owens feels like she is an actual grown-up.  She can finally put her high school days as the geeky-girl-with-flop-sweats behind her; she’s graduated from medical school and is now a first-year intern at Denver Memorial Hospital, where she’ll have the chance to work with world-famous cardiologist Dr. Gina Beckett – and where, not-so-coincidentally, her med-school crush Will Rider is also an intern.  So why does everyone keep warning her that the hospital is just like high school?  Emily soon finds out the hard way – her high school nemesis, the gorgeous, popular Cassandra Kopelson, is also just starting out at Denver Memorial, and it seems like they’re rivals all over again – not only as surgical interns, but for Will’s attention.  Fellow intern Tyra Granger warns Emily that the cliques at Denver Memorial are all too familiar: the jocks have become orthopedic surgeons; the mean girls are in plastics; the rebels are in the ER, and Tyra has her own awkward place as the principal’s kid – her father is the chief resident.

Arrow: After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific.  When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island.  While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was.  Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance.  As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory.  By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness.  However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city.  Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine. 

Beauty and the Beast: In this reboot of the 1989-91 CBS series that once starred Linda Hamilton and had Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin as script writer, Kristin Kreuk returns to TV as Catherine Chandler, a smart, no-nonsense homicide detective who survived an attack by gunmen 10 years earlier that killed her mother. Those attackers were killed as she watched by some beast, but no one has believed her that it could have been a man. As she continues to investigate he mothers tragic murder, she discovers leads that take her to a doctor named Vincent Keller, who was reportedly killed by enemy fire while serving in Afghanistan in 2002.  Soon, Catherine learns that Vincent is actually still alive and that it was he who saved her many years before. 

Midseason: 

The Carrie Diaries: It's 1984, and life isn’t easy for 16-year-old Carrie Bradshaw. Since their mother passed away, Carrie’s younger sister Dorritt is more rebellious than ever, and their father Tom is overwhelmed with the responsibility of suddenly having to care for two teenage girls on his own. Carrie’s friends—sweet, geeky Mouse, sarcastic and self-assured Maggie and sensitive Walt—make life bearable, but a suburban life in Connecticut isn’t doing much to take her mind off her troubles. And even though the arrival of a sexy new transfer student named Sebastian brings some excitement to Carrie’s world, she is struggling to move on from her grief. So when Tom offers Carrie the chance to intern at a law firm in Manhattan, she leaps at the chance. Carrie’s eyes are opened wide at the glamour and grit of New York City—and when she meets Larissa, the style editor for Interview magazine, she’s inspired by the club culture and unique individuals that make up Larissa’s world. Carrie’s friends and family may have a big place in her heart, but she’s fallen in love for the first time with the most important man in her life—Manhattan.

Cult: In what maybe the most ambitious series the mini-network has put out, we meet investigative journalist Jeff Sefton who must discover the connection to his brothers mysterious disappearance and a popular TV show called "Cult"  -which centers on the cat-and-mouse game between charismatic cult leader Billy Grimm and LAPD detective Kelly Collins, and has become an obsession for its viewers. Soon, Jeff  uncovers the dark underworld of the TV show and its rabid fans.  He also encounters a young research assistant for the show who has begun questioning the increasingly dark happenings. As they dig deeper, they discover that the gruesome plot twists on television are much more than fantasy for some very unfortunate people.  The hardcore fans of “Cult” would kill to see what happens next. 

CBS releases new fall schedule; 'Two & Half Men' moves to Thursday; how much of 'Elementary' will not resemble the BBC?

MONDAY
8pm How I Met Your Mother
8:30 pm PARTNERS
9 pm 2 Broke Girls
9:30 pm Mike & Molly
10 pm Hawaii Five-0

TUESDAY
8 pm NCIS
9 pm NCIS: LA
10 pm VEGAS

WEDNESDAY
8 pm Survivor
9 pm Criminal Minds
10 pm CSI

THURSDAY
8 pm The Big Bang Theory
8:30 pm Two and a Half Men
9 pm Person of Interest
10 pm ELEMENTARY 

FRIDAY
8 pm CSI: NY
9 pm MADE IN JERSEY
10 pm Blue Bloods

SATURDAY
8 pm Crimetime Saturday

SUNDAY
7 pm 60 Minutes
8 pm The Amazing Race
9 pm The Good Wife
10 pm The Mentalist

 NOT RETURNING NEXT SEASON: CSI: Miami, A Gifted Man, How to Be a Gentleman, NYC 22, Rob and Unforgettable.

NEW SHOWS: 
 

Partners is a sitcom from David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, the co-creators of Will & Grace. It stars Michael Urie and David Krumholtz as two architects, one straight and one gay, who find their partnership falling apart when the straight one proposes to his girlfriend, played by Sophia Bush.

Vegas: Despite the cancellation of one CSI show, this crime drama set in the 1960s and based on the life of rodeo cowboy turned longtime Sheriff of Las Vegas the Ralph Lamb, certainly sounds like CSI: The Early Years.

Elementary is -maybe- one of the most controversial of the new season. Well, maybe not completely controversial. Despite the fact that we’ve already got a pretty great contemporary update of the Sherlock Holmes story running on BBC and seen via through PBS, CBS has decided we need another one. And according to the producers of the BBC version, the Tiffany Network did approach the producers, at least according to executive producer Sue Vertueey, “CBS approached us a while back about remaking our show. At the time, they made great assurances about their integrity, so we have to assume that their modernized Sherlock Holmes doesn’t resemble ours in any way, as that would be extremely worrying.” Anyways, one of the major changes CBS will do (and prevents them from being sued) is turn Watson into a female, to be played by Lucy Liu. I'm sure BBC will be paying attention to make sure that CBS stays away from their format. Let us hope that the show doesn't have Watson (or Sherlock for that matter) falling in love with him. 

Made in Jersey is a legal drama that smells like the network’s attempt at courting a much younger, sexier audience who finds The Good Wife too complex. Janet Montgomery plays a working-class woman who put herself through law school and now uses her street smarts to win cases and work in a high-powered law firm. 

For Midseason:

Friend Me a comedy starring Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Nicholas Braun that is a show about two friends who move to Los Angeles to work for Groupon, and that is literally the premise. All I can see now is a bunch of Red Stater's turning to each other and saying "What is Groupon?" 

Golden Boy British pretty boy Theo James plays a cop who experiences a meteoric rise through the ranks, to detective, then to commissioner. It screams "standard cop drama" we've seen since Dragnet, but its not like CBS viewers actually pay that much attention to the premise. At some point over the last few years, CBS has become sort of like the Borg. They assimilate viewers to watch the same premise again and again, because resistance is futile.

ABC's Fall sked: 'Revenge' moves to Sunday

MONDAY

8 PM  “Dancing with the Stars”

10 PM  “Castle”

In January

8 PM  “The Bachelor”

10 PM  “Castle”

TUESDAY

8 PM  “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”

9 PM  “Happy Endings”

9:30 PM  “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23”

10 PM “Private Practice”

In January:

8 PM   “How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)”

8:30 PM   “The Family Tools”

WEDNESDAY

8 PM  “The Middle”

8:30 p.m.  “Suburgatory”

9 PM  “Modern Family”

9:30 PM    “The Neighbors”

10 PM   “Nashville”

THURSDAY

8 PM   “Last Resort”

9 PM  “Grey’s Anatomy”

10 PM   “Scandal”

FRIDAY

8 PM   “Shark Tank”

9 PM   “Primetime: What Would You Do?”

10 PM   “20/20”

In November:

8 PM   “Last Man Standing”

8:30 p.m.  “Malibu Country”

9 PM   “Shark Tank”

10 PM  “20/20”

SATURDAY

8 PM  “Saturday Night College Football”

SUNDAY

7 PM  “America’s Funniest Home Videos”

8 PM  ”Once Upon a Time”

9 PM  “Revenge”

10 PM “666 Park Avenue”

NEW SHOWS:

 

How To Live With Your Parents For The Rest Of Your Life is a comedy that really doesn’t want you to be confused about its premise, so it put it right there in the title. Sarah Chalke, Elizabeth Perkins, and Brad Garrett star.

Family Tools is comedy that follows a blue collar guy (Kyle Bornheimer) who puts his dreams on hold in order to take over the family handyman business from his dad (J.K. Simmons).

The Neighbors revolves around a family (which includes Jamie Gertz) who moves to an upscale New Jersey ‘burb and discovers the folks next door are actually extraterrestrials.

Nashville is a drama that brings Connie Britton back to regular series TV, though probably not how you’d most like to see her. Also starring Eric Close, Hayden Panettiere, and Powers Boothe, it’s a family soap set in the world of country music.

Last Resort is a thriller set in the near future when the country is very fractured and revolves around the crew of a U.S. nuclear submarine who become hunted fugitives after ignoring an order to fire nuclear missiles.

Malibu Country is a comedy starring Reba McEntire and Lily Tomlin, in which McEntire plays a country singer who moves to Malibu, California after discovering her husband was cheating on her. The character she plays is also described as "Southern spitfire," so you know it's mainly a re-working of her WB series from a few years ago, except she sings on occasion.

666 Park Avenue is from Fringe co-executive producer David Wilcox and centers on a couple who agree to manage an historic (and supernaturally-charged) New York City apartment complex owned by  couple (Terry O’Quinn and Vanessa Williams).

MIDSEASON BRINGS:

Zero Hour which is a drama starring Anthony Edwards as a skeptic who gets drawn into an elaborate global conspiracy, because shows about elaborate global conspiracies have been doing so well in the last 20 years or so.

Red Window centers on the widow of an assassinated criminal who is forced to adopt her husband’s role in a crime syndicate in order to protect her family.

GCB, Missing, The River and Pan Am were given the ax.

FOX annouces fall schedule; 'Glee' and 'Touch' moved to new days

Monday

8PM: Bones
9PM: THE MOB DOCTOR
 

Tuesday

8PM: Raising Hope
8:30PM: BEN AND KATE
9PM: New Girl
9:30PM: THE MINDY PROJECT

Wednesday

8PM: The X Factor

Thursday

8PM The X Factor (Results)
9PM Glee

Friday

8PM: Touch
9PM: Fringe

Saturday
8PM: FOX Sports Saturday

Sunday

7PM: NFL OT
8PM: The Simpsons
8:30PM: Bob's Burgers
9PM: Family Guy
9:30PM:  American Dad 

On Hold for Midseason:
THE FOLLOWING and  THE GOODWIN GAMES.

Officially Over:

ALCATRAZ, ALLEN GREGORY, BREAKING IN, THE FINDER, I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE and TERRA NOVA.

What's new:

Mob Doctor is exactly what it sounds like. A young female thoracic surgeon with Bridgeport roots is split between two worlds as she juggles her career and her lifelong debt to the South Chicago mob.

Ben and Kate is young ensemble comedy, that follows these odd-couple siblings as they push each other
out of their comfort zones and into real life.

The Mindy Project is created by and stars The Office's Mindy Kaling as a woman who, despite having a successful career, desperately needs to break bad habits in her personal life. After all, how many doctors make inappropriate toasts at their ex-boyfriend’s wedding, nearly drown at the bottom of a stranger’s pool, and get arrested for disorderly conduct just moments before having to deliver a baby?

The Following is a 15 episode serialized series from Kevin Williams (which is the reason its being held for midseason as the network intends to air the series uninterrupted) and stars Kevin Bacon. It's plot is about a notorious serial killer who escapes from death row and embarks on a new killing spree, the FBI calls in former agent to consult on the case.

The Goodwin Games is a comedy that tells the story of three grown siblings who return home after their father’s death, and unexpectedly find themselves poised to inherit a vast fortune—if they adhere to their late father’s wishes.

How NBC's fall schedule shakes out

MONDAY
8/7c The Voice
10 pm REVOLUTION

TUESDAY
8 pm The Voice
9 pm GO ON
9:30 pm THE NEW NORMAL
10 pm Parenthood

WEDNESDAY
8 pm ANIMAL PRACTICE
8:30 pm GUYS WITH KIDS
9 pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10 pm CHICAGO FIRE

THURSDAY
8 pm 30 Rock
8:30 pm Up All Night
9 pm The Office
9:30 pm Parks and Recreation
10 pm Rock Center with Brian Williams

FRIDAY
8 pm Whitney
8:30 pm Community
9 pm Grimm
10-11 pm Dateline NBC

SATURDAY
Encore programming

SUNDAY
7 pm Football Night in America
8:15 pm NBC Sunday Night Football

SUNDAY (Post-football/Winter 2013)
7 pm Dateline NBC
8 pm Fashion Star
9 pm The Celebrity Apprentice
10 pm DO NO HARM

Revolution is described as a high-octane action drama following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist. While the global conspiracy dramas have fared poorly, this program does come from JJ Abrams.   

The New Normal is described as a comedy about a blended family of a gay couple and a cash-strapped waitress and mother of one who becomes a surrogate to help them have a child. 

Go On stars Matthew Perry as an irreverent yet charming sportscaster who tries to move on from loss with the help of the members of his mandatory group therapy sessions.

Animal Practice  centers on a “House”-like veterinarian, who loves animals but usually hates their owners,especially the new woman who runs the clinic.

Guys With Kids revolves around three 30-something guys who enjoy the adventures of parenting despite the fact they haven’t grown up themselves. 

Chicago Fire is from Law & Order king Dick Wolfe is described as a action-driven drama exploring the complex and heroic men and women of the Chicago Fire Department. 

Do No Harm is a high-concept medical drama revolving around a brilliant neurosurgeon who wrestles with a dangerous Jekyll & Hyde-like alter-ego that threatens to wreak havoc on his personal and professional life.

CBS cancellations and their new shows

CBS, the #1 broadcast network, finally made a decision on some of their "bubble" shows, after picking a large chunk of their hit series. After 10 years of horrible acting, writing and paint-by-number stories, CSI: Miami is going down. The less expensive to produce, CSI: New York, however, will be back. Also gone was freshman drama Unforgettable, A Gifted Man, Rob and NYC 22. Rules of Engagement life remains a mystery, as the show does have some fans within the CBS and has been used before to plug spots when other shows get the ax. 

New Shows include: 

Made In Jersey: Centers on a working-class woman who uses her street smarts to compete with her more polished colleagues at a tony Manhattan law firm.

Elementary: Which is the networks so close-they-had-change-the-sex-of-Watson-so-they-would-not-be-sued-by-the-BBC-for-stealing-their-own-it modern day version of Sherlock Holmes now living in NYC.

Friend Me: which centers on twenty-something best friends, Evan and Rob, who move from their hometown of Bloomington, Indiana to Los Angeles to begin their exciting new lives working at Groupon.

Golden Boy: which is about the making of a man – tracks one cop’s meteoric rise from officer to detective to Police Commissioner.

Partners: Which is based on life of the creators of Will & Grace. Architects Charlie and Louis’ friendship has lasted longer than either of their romantic relationships and almost seems like a weird marriage. When Charlie decides to propose to his girlfriend, Louis’ neurotic attempts to be supportive nearly result in the breakup of his own relationship.

Vegas: Set in the 1960s and is based on the true story of Ralph Lamb – rodeo cowboy turned longtime Sheriff of Las Vegas.

Is next year really the end of '30 Rock' and 'Commuinty?'

According to NBC's network chairman Bob Greenblatt, despite only 13-episode pick-ups for the Emmy winning 30 Rock and cult and critic favorite Community, it does not certainly mean they'll end this season. “We haven’t definitively said that on anything yet,” he said. It had been reported earlier that season 7 for 30 Rock (though I will, even if given a chance to air more episodes, the series will end) would be its last and it will remain on the Thursday night schedule in the fall, while Community will be moved to Friday, teamed with the surprising return of Whitney (Greenblatt noted that the show "has a future and creatively it found itself in the last third of the season”). Community, he says "has its faithful audience and they will follow it to the ends of the Earth. And I really wanted to do something to invigorate Friday because we love Grimm. So I thought, let’s move a show where the audience will move with it. I actually look at the positive side of it, although no good deed goes unpunished.” Asked whether Community creator Dan Harmon will return as showrunner next season, Greenblatt said, “I expect his voice to be part of it,” adding that it is still unclear if that will be in his current role or as a consultant. Greenblatt dismissed the notion that the discussion about Harmon possibly stepping down from day-to-day oversight of the show stems from his ongoing feud with co-star Chevy Chase, saying that there are larger factors beyond that. 

Meanwhile The Office (along with Parks & Recreation) received full-season, 22-episode orders, despite a spin-off being developed by former writer/actor/showrunner Paul Lieberstein with actor Rainn Wilson, who will bring his popular Dwight character into a new series. With it's best seasons creativity behind them, at which point do you just decide it's time to go? Plus, as always, a spin-off is not a guaranteed to succeed.

UPDATED: More renewals, more cancellations

More news out of networks fall schedule as they get ready for the Upfronts, which starts on Monday. 

Confirmed is ABC picking up Happy Endings for a third season. While the show has struggled to keep its viewers from the Modern Family lead-in, the quirky comedy was still pulling in the all-important 18-49 demo. UPDATE: Don’t Trust the B_ in Apartment 23, which did fairly well as a midseason, was picked up for season two. Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing is close to a second season pick-up as well. Over on the drama side, Body of Proof (which is profitable overseas and will probably be back) was given a 13 episode pick-up, with Private Practice possibly coming back for a 13 episode final season if deals can be struck. Scandal was also picked up for a second season. GCB, Missing, The River and Pan Am were given the ax.

NBC gave renewals to Parks & Recreation, which got a 22 episode pick-up. Then they surprised many pundits by also picking up Whitney for a second season, though there is a suggestion –much like Community- it’s only for 13 episodes. Up all Night has gotten picked up for season two. Officially cancelled at the Peacock was the comedies Are You There, Chelsea, Best Friends Forever and Bent as well as dramas Awake and Harry’s Law.  No word on The Office, though negotiations have been ongoing. The problem is, the aging show is faced with losing cast members like writer Mindy Kaling, who is moving to FOX for her own sitcom created by her, James Spader  and show runner/actor Paul Lieberstein who is stepping down to possibly work on an Office spin-off staring Rainn Wilson’s Dwight. 

The CW also has renewed its strongest bubble series, Gossip Girl, Nikita and Hart of Dixie. It will be the final season for Gossip, as will get 13 episodes to finish itself off.  The second-season pickup of Dixie is for 22 episodes, but episode count for Nikita is unclear.  They join Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and 90210, which were already announced as coming back. Ringer and Secret Circle were cancelled.