Yes, it was officially confirmed today by ABC. George O'Malley is dead, according to THR.com. The following is a quote from T.R Knight on his departure ;
"Leaving 'Grey's Anatomy' was not an easy decision for me to make," Knight said in a statement. "I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much. I continue to wish them the very best, and wholeheartedly thank all of the fans who have supported me and the show with such passion and enthusiasm."
As I blogged yesterday, it's no surprise that it was officially confirmed. And, it makes me even more certain of my former- 'Lost' -cast- member -coming- to- the- show theory. Oh.. I can't wait for the new season!
The O'Malley character will be missed. He is the adorable guy. The sweet sensitive counter to Alex's insensitive jerk. How fitting that George exits as a hero. For the record, if George O'Malley had smiled at me at the bus stop I would have smiled back and not looked around for a hotter guy. If you watch the show, you know what I mean.
R.I.P George O'Malley and the best of luck to T.R Knight. I'll be looking to see what show /shows you pop up in next!
In true fan fashion, if you have a favorite memory of the George O'Malley character, post it here in the comments and share. I don't have one particular favorite, I just generally liked the character.
As I mentioned in a previous blog a few weeks ago, ABC is going to burn off the remaining episodes of the canceled Eli Stone starting this Saturday at 10PM. They have been running the remaining episodes of Pushing Dasies in that time slot. There are only 4 episodes remaining, as it is set to end on 7/11. The remaining episodes of the canceled 'Dirty, Sexy, Money' will be taking it's place through August.
If you haven't noticed 'Samantha Who' has been popping up in your DVR if you haven't canceled it's season pass. I also thought I saw 'The Chopping Block' on my Guide set to record this past week, although I haven't looked to see if it actually recorded. That show was terrible, by the way. Hell's Kitchen is so much better.
Speaking of Hell's Kitchen, it's set to premier at July 21 at 8pm. I do feel like we just finished the last seasons and it's back so fast. I hope they have a better crop of chef's this time. Last season they all seemed terrible, at least at first. I kept waiting for someone to stand out to me as the probable winner and not one did until the very end.
I guess Ramsey's 'Kitchen Nightmares' wasn't making ratings as that show disappeared. Disappointing. I liked that one too.
Ever since I received my first DVR as a surprise gift from my husband, the way I view TV has never been the same. Thanks to the freedom the DVR offers I was able to watch more than one program in a competing time slot. Yeah, if I was really desperate and there were two good shows on at the same time I may have been inclined to record one of the programs on my VCR. But those things were so cumbersome and the quality was, well, not good.
VCR's. Wow. That feels like such a long long time ago. Yet the DVR only came into my life about 5 years ago. Now you can't give away a VCR at a garage sale. I remember my mom taping all her soap operas on the VHS tapes and using the same tape over and over and the snowy lousy value of the picture. It's so comedic when you think about it. And it's absolutely amazing how far we have come.
The DVR allows us to watch more but also watch less as we can skip the commercials, something I am truly grateful for. It is interesting, however, that while we are fast forwarding we must pay close attention so that we can hit the play button dead on so as not to move too far forward or not far enough. I'm proud to say I'm quite skilled at that and 9 times out of 10 I hit the play button square on. Go me! If I could turn my skills at the remote into money, I'd be rich. As it turns out I'm actually speed watching commercials as I can pretty much tell what products are being advertised. Even last night, while watching the Listener on NBC, I caught a glimpse of Conan in some weird outfit doing something strange. I actually stopped the fast forward and rewound to see what that was all about. It was a Bud Light commercial and a funny one to boot. (Kudos to the advertisers who actually captured my attention in my fast forward frenzy enough to make me do exactly what I did).
The DVR has probably challenged the advertising industry like they've never been challenged before. They used to have 30 seconds to capture our attention, now they have maybe 3 to 5 seconds, depending on how many times we hit that fast forward button (I usually hit it the max of 4x's to get the max speed). There are times, however, when I'm multi tasking and half watching a program I recorded that I do not actually fast forward and allow the commercials to play.
So, I always wondered what affect DVR has had on TV and it's advertisers. If you think about it there are some positives. Prior to the DVR we would most likely use the commercial time for bathroom breaks or to run to the kitchen for a snack, or even discuss the business of the day with our spouses or family. Now, we actually watch (speed watch) commercials as we fast forward through them. So in one sense the audience they may never have captured, they now have the attention of. I went in search of some articles on exactly that topic.
According to an article published in July of 2008 marketwatch.com the following quote touches upon what I mentioned above;
"If I look at what segment of the commercial audience was lost to time shifting, they ranged from 13% to 35%," Notarianni said of research he conducted on behalf of several clients. "But the interesting part is that, based on the same clients ... we found that the effectiveness of TV in that period climbed. That is, TV actually yielded more [sales] response."
Basically, it says exactly what I had observed about my own TV watching habits. They are actually gaining an audience for their commercials, as those most likely to fast forward are those that would have left the room or simply not payed any attention to them anyway. So, so far, DVR has not affected advertisers so much.
Nielsen does keep track of DVR viewing in three different ways; Live, Live +Same Day and Live + 7 Day. According to TVByTheNumbers.com most of the shows recorded that are watched the same day are Reality TV shows. Shows that air between 10pm - 11pm are most likely watched the next day.
But watching your favorite shows via DVR may not exactly save the show. The reason is that advertising is sold based on same day +3 numbers (SD and +3 are usually very similar results). Anything beyond the 3 days is deemed to have little to no advertising value. In some cases, however, DVR viewing may actually help a show stay on the air. Dollhouse, which was surprisingly renewed by FOX, actually received a high DVR showing with over 40% of it's audience in the 18 -49 demo watching the show via DVR and 32% viewership overall. It had the greatest percent of DVR viewing and the greatest increase in viewers via the DVR for all broadcast shows. That is most likely what prompted Fox to renew the series. (Personally I'm not a fan, but my husband does watch it when he has a chance on the DVR).
So, it will be interesting to watch how TV evolves as more and more homes get the DVR ( I believe currently only approx 25% of homes have them). For now it seems to be having a pretty even affect, helping some shows and hurting others.
Just thought if you were ever curious like me, you'd enjoy the little blog about it.
According to information on THR.com, sources have said that Katherine Heigl's contract with the show has been picked up, meaning she will be returning to the series. Of course ABC has not officially confirmed or denied that information. I'm sure they are trying really really hard to keep all that under wraps considering they pulled off one of the biggest cliffhangers in quite some time.
I honestly thought for sure Izzy was a goner given her characters medical diagnosis. I was more shocked, however, by the story of George and his dimise. I did hear , throughout the year, that T.R Knight was leaving the show or at least wanted to. Honestly, his character had so faded and had no real story line going for it. I'm just surprised at how his character is exiting (although with a bang! Good for him). While I was watching the season finale I had completely fogotten that Knight was most rumored to be leaving because I had been so focused on Izzy's character and the possible Katherine Heighl exit, that when George announced on the finale episode that he joined the Army I wondered how the heck was George going to get out of it.
If Izzy's character does pull through (and I think that the rumor of her signing on is most likely true, as she has stated throughout the year that she did want to remain on the show) it will be a TV miracle that she would survive such a diagnosis. It's a shame if the character George is really exiting because there would be a lot of story to expore with his recovery considering how damaged his face (and his body) was by the bus.As I blogged a few weeks back, since I believe that a former 'Lost' cast member will be joining the 'Grey's' cast (that was my theory on that entire mystery) I really do believe that T.R Knight is leaving the show.
But here's another theory, maybe ABC and 'Greys' have duped us all with a publicity stunt and rumors of comings and going yet both characters are remaining. I highly doubt it, but THAT would be a doozy and the ultimate TV casting rumor coo!
With all the hub bub about the Twilight Movies and the success of 'True Blood' on HBO, it's no wonder that there will be a TV series coming this Fall to a major network that has to do with Vampires. And CW is the perfect home for such a show. The same station that is home to Melrose, 90210, One Tree Hill and other heavy teen demo'd shows. From the early preview posted above, Vampires should do well and make a perfect fit.
If you are unfamiliar with 'The Vampire Diaries' as I was until now, the show is based on a series of young adult fiction books by L.J Smith. The first three books in the series were released in 1991. Below is the networks description of the show
Four months after the tragic car accident that killed their parents, 17-year-old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev, "DeGrassi: The Next Generation") and her 15-year-old brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen, "Everwood") are still trying to cope with their grief and move on with their lives. Elena has always been the star student; beautiful, popular and involved with school and friends, but now she finds herself struggling to hide her sadness from the world. As the school year begins, Elena and her friends are fascinated by a handsome and mysterious new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley, "Army Wives"). Stefan and Elena are immediately drawn to one another, and Elena has no way of knowing that Stefan is a centuries-old vampire, struggling to live peacefully among humans, while his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder, "Lost") is the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality. Now these two vampire brothers - one good, one evil - are at war for Elena's soul and for the souls of her friends, family and all the residents of the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Based on the series of books by L. J. Smith, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is from Alloy Entertainment and Bonanza Productions Inc in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios with executive producers Kevin Williamson ("Dawson's Creek," "I Know What You Did Last Summer"), Julie Plec ("Kyle XY," "Wasteland"), Leslie Morgenstein ("Gossip Girl," "Privileged") and Bob Levy ("Gossip Girl," "Privileged"). Marcos Siega ("Dexter") directed the pilot.
Obviously this show isn't geared toward my age group. That's okay. I think I will still watch it. I do watch 90210 and I will be tuning into Melrose Place. Perhaps these shows appeal to me because it seems to take what happens in any one's adult life but applies them to H.S. What appeals to me in the preview is the entire back story of where Stefan came from, how he became a vamp and why does Elena look so much like a girl from Stefan's past. I think those are elements that we can all find interest in, regardless of the age of the characters. By the way, guys were NOT that hot in High School. Ah.. only on TV.
Early reviews of the pilot are mixed. The Futon Critic (thefutoncritic.com) feels that he would not watch it but that it will find it's audience. One review I read said that it was like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Dawson's Creek, if I am remembering what I read correctly. I believe that this is a cleaner version of a vampire show perfect for the teen demographic they are going for. If you've seen 'True Blood' you know that that is not a show for kids, so this allows them to have their version of the adult hit and an extension of what they love in the 'Twilight' movies.
Last night I watched Tuesday's episode of 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'. The show is getting absolutely more ridiculous and now I feel is insulting our intelligence.
The campers were given a camcorder to do with what they want. Well, of course, having Lou Diamond Phillips and Stephen Baldwin and, well celebrities, they decided to make a little mini movie. Okay great. Cheesy slasher film was their choice. Also great. Supposedly it was Stephen Baldwin's idea. They just "came up" with the idea right? Well I found it kind of curious that when they made that spontaneous decision the crew IN THE JUNGLE just so happened to have a scary mask, a prop knife with blood in it and a costume knife that goes on the head to look as if it's going in one side and out the other.
Yeah, okay. We are to believe that they just so happened to spontaneously come up with this idea and then just happened to have props in the jungle. Either that or there is nearby cheesy costume store set in the middle of the jungle.
Do I (or the rest of you for that matter) look that stupid to the producers? It was either planned ahead of time OR they are not really in the Costa Rican rainforest but on some back lot or studio in Hollywood. Had they been more honest with us and said that they had given them the camera and then told them to make a slaher film and provided them with the materials to do so, I would have had much more respect. But quite honestly it was just BAD TV period! I just had to point that out. The idea of this show was a good one, but not when you cheese it up and cheapen it.
Normally this DVR blog would not take a political turn, however, it has come to my attention that on June 24th ABC will be airing a special with President Obama entitled 'Questions for the President: Prescription for America' in which the President will take questions from audience members who have differing opinions on health care and health care reform. It will be moderated by Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer.
The news telecast will start at the White House with 'Good Morning America' and Charles Gibson anchoring "World News" from the Blue Room. It will end on that day with the televised Q&A with the audience members as mentioned above.
I, for one, am a BIG supporter of getting some sort of Universal Health Care in this country whether it be a single payer system like Canada or a mix of private and government system like the NHS in the UK. My third choice for a model for America would be the Swiss system, which is all private with a mandate on health insurance and subsidies from the government for premiums over a percentage of the household income. The Swiss system is the closest to ours and while it has the second highest GDP spending on health care (second to the U.S which has the highest at 17%) ,theirs is 11% with over 98% of their population (citizens and non citizens) insured with the rest owing fines to the government for non compliance.
I will definitely be DVR'g this ,if not watching it live, because it is an issue close to my heart. I think it is important that all of us watch this special and become educated on health care in this country, it's problems, and possible solutions. Don't just believe the rhetoric and fear mongering lies floating around out there about not only the Presidents proposed plan but, the types of Universal systems that already exist in Europe and in our neighboring Canada.
Okay.. that's as political as this blog will ever get. After all, this is supposed to be fun, so no more for the serious talk. Enjoy.
I have been watching 'I'm a Celebrity' although not with any regularity. It's more like when I have nothing else to watch I'll watch it. I am interested in how it all ends, so that is what is keeping me slightly interested. The viewing public is not really having a love affair with the show either, as it is only pulling in 4.7M viewers on average (as of last showing). Not so great.
While I was watching 'Celebrity' last night I kept going back to my first week impression of how the camp looked like it was on a sound stage a lot of the time. I couldn't help but note some very distinct differences between 'Survivor' and 'Celebrity' particularly when they showed the "ninjas", as Patty called them, coming into camp in the middle of the night (3am actually) to wrangle a snake that had wandered into the campsite. Captions for the crew read "On-site security". I wondered to myself, do the 'Survivor' camp members have on site security to wrangle wild and potentially poisonous animals off in the middle the night? Because they never do show such a thing. And why show such a thing? Are you trying to convince us that you are really in the jungle or that our "celebrities" are facing dangers and conditions well beyond what they would ever experience in their celebrity life? Kind of a little over dramatization. Trying too hard perhaps? It just seemed very "campy", no pun intended. There is just something about this entire show that really lacks in how genuine it is. 'Survivor' feels genuine. This show just doesn't. Even if they are in the jungle, I wonder how much they are really roughing it. Even with the food challenges, the losers still get rice and beans. The contestants on 'Survivor' get nilch if they can't fend for themselves. Not that this needs to be like 'Survivor' exactly, but when you have a show like 'Survivor' and you put a bunch of celebrities into camp with far more luxuries than the 'Survivor' contestants could ever dream of, it's just lackluster. It's like the cheapened version of an excellent show. I think that is one of the reasons the American public is just not buying it. It's lame in comparison.
Last night I DVR'd and then watched Hawthorne on TNT. I liked it. There is a lot there and it held my interest about exactly who Hawthorne is, what happened to her husband (why did her daughter say she let her dad die?). It opened well with solid ratings of 3.83M viewers. Looking good for Hawthorne. It was followed by the third season of Saving Grace, which I also watched and is one of my faves. Holly Hunter is a genious in that role. It retained 97% of the audience out of Hawthorne and it's average viewers last night was higher than it's second season overall average. Looks good for Saving Grace.
While I was watching 'Hawthorne' I couldn't help note the differences (and some of the similarities) between 'Hawthorn'e and 'Nurse Jackie'. Obvious differences are it's tone. 'Nurse Jackie' is a darker feel, more gritty (language and overall bluntness) than most medical series on TV. 'Hawthorne' is , of course lighter. But, then Showtime can take more liberties in their story telling than TNT can. One similarity is the student nurse that is obvious and present. In the fall we will be getting a third medical show that follows nurses with 'Mercy' from NBC (which I blogged about back in May when reviewing the up coming medical shows from the networks this fall). Just a little note, 'Nurse Jackie' ratings were up 8% this week.
'True Blood' from HBO premiered it's second season. I blogged awhile back about how I wanted to add HBO to my cable package. Funny thing is, I got a call the other day offering me HBO and Cinemax for 6 months for $6.95! They must have read my mind. Unfortunately I didn't catch all of season 1 of 'True Blood' in time before they yanked the season 1 from the On Demand list. So, I haven't watched the episodes from Season 2 yet. Good news is that I can catch season 1 on DVD and I will because the episodes I did see of season 1 were excellent. It averaged 3.7M viewers and was the most watched series on the network since the 'Sopranos'. I have to catch up because I'm missing some good TV by not being in the loop!
In other news, '24' has gained actor Clayne Crawford in the role of a bad boy from Dana Walsh's (Katee Sackhoff) past. She is the character I blogged about a few weeks back who will be the expert CTU analyst involved with Freddie Prinze Jr.'s character. Rick Worthy (Battlestar Galatica) is in negotiations to join the 'Heroes' cast.
And the last bit of news for the day; the CW will launch it's fall season starting on September 8th. Premiere dates are ;
Wednesday, Sept. 16 8:00-9:00 p.m. "America's Next Top Model" 9:00-10:00 p.m. "The Beautiful Life: TBL" (Series Premiere)
Friday, Sept. 25 8:00-9:00 p.m. "Smallville" (Season Premiere) 9:00-10:00 p.m. "America's Next Top Model" (Encore Episodes)
Don't forget 'Wipeout' tonight followed by ' I Survived A Japanese Game Show' and ' So You Think You Can Dance'. BTW.. my predictions of who would go home last week were right on.
Well.. this looks very interesting. CBS is going to be airing a reality TV show tentatively titled "Block Party". Apparently, families on one block will live behind a 20 foot walls for 3 weeks and will compete for cash prizes against each other. They will not be able to have access to anything outside of those 20' walls. It's like Big Brother only it's families in their own houses cut off from the world. Very interesting. Kind of like the real life version of the Simpson's Movie where the town was in an impenetrable bubble.
Ryan Seacrest productions is bringing us a reality series on ABC that stars British chef Jamie Oliver. Oliver will make over entire towns by using local resources to get the citizens eating healthier. Like this concept. As he puts it Americans are fat. We need a change of habits. 'Biggest Loser' has been such a successful series because it shows that we CAN change ourselves as long as we adapt new habits. Now, we have a focus on foods. He'll visit the unhealthiest places in America (I'm sure areas with the highest percentage of overweight people).
Monday, Sept. 21 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT HOUSE (2-Hour Season Premiere)
Sunday, Sept. 27 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT THE SIMPSONS (Season Premiere) 8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Series Premiere) 9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT FAMILY GUY (Season Premiere) 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT AMERICAN DAD (Season Premiere)
Monday, Sept. 28 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT HOUSE (All-New Episode) 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT LIE TO ME (Season Premiere)
Tuesday, Sept. 29 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT HELL’S KITCHEN (All-New Episode) 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (Time Period Premiere)
Tuesday, Oct. 27 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (Time Period Premiere)
Saturday, Nov. 7 11:00 PM-Midnight ET/PT THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (wt) (Series Premiere)
In other TV news the A&E show 'The Beast' has been officially canceled after 1 season. As I'm sure you are aware, it starred Patrick Swayze who has been battling Pancreatic Cancer. It received an average of 1.35M viewers, not enough to be a ratings grabber for the network, and so it was canceled. However, considering that other cable shows have received similar ratings leaves me to wonder if the true reason is Patrick Swayzes health and his ability to actually finish a second season. I wish I would have watched it because I heard it was a good series. I really do hope that Swayze wins his fight with cancer but I think the reality of it is that he is not going to make it. It's very sad.
Remember that show 'I Get That Alot' that aired on CBS a few months back? It was such a hit that they ordered a few more episodes. It was fun! It won't be weekly (which is nice, too much of it would take away it's charm). So we can look forward to a quarterly role out of that show this coming TV season.
'Kings' on NBC magically turned up on my DVR this weekend. It was an unexpected surprise since I haven't seen anything anywhere about it being on not even on the network itself. But then again it was canceled and so they are airing the last of the episodes filmed and will give it a quite exit I guess. It was really a great series that just didn't catch on. Shame. It had only 1.5M viewers this past Saturday. Not surprised, most people didn't even know it was on. Myself included. But that is what is so good about DVRs and the "season pass" feature (or first run only recording feature depending on your service). That is why , even if a show has been canceled sometime during the year , you should keep it on your recording list. You never know when those last episodes will start running on TV during the summer months or regular programming hiatus time.
FYI, it was announced last week that 'Earl' will not be on TBS after all. According to the reports it just couldn't be done within TBS budget without sacrificing the artistic integrity of the show. Sorry 'Earl' fans, it's gone for good.
The 'Listener' on NBC on Thursdays is not fairing well in the ratings with only an average of 4.39M viewers. 'Royal Pains' on USA is actually beating out 'The Listener' in it's time slot. Doesn't look good for the Canadian shows renewal prospects. Shame, I like it. There is something a little weird about it, I noticed (but I like it) Everything on the show is generic. It's location , hospital.. etc. If you noticed their EMT shirts have no city, police have no identifiable city. It is because it is a Canadian show, but it's just a little thing I picked up on. Not a criticism at all. After all, I do really like the show and I hope NBC gives it a shot in a fall/winter time slot.
And some final last good news for the day. If you are a fan of 'Royal Pains' on USA, the shows second episode stayed at a steady average of 5.6M viewers and grew in the demo of 18-49 year olds.
Well.. happy DVR'g this evening. Don't forget to watch or DVR 'The Closer', 'Raising the Bar' on TNT and 'Nurse Jackie' on Showtime tonight.
I am a stay-at-home mom entrepreneur. I love TV and am a self-confessed DVR addict. I watch TV... it doesn't watch me! This is one regular TV viewer’s take on... well, all things TV.
Own It on DVD 9/1/09 - Scooby Doo Where Are You? Volume 3
Synopsis: The whodunit format was a daring new frontier for an animated series, but the members of the Mystery Inc. team have grown to become authentic popular-culture icons.
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