So Much for the Philanthropist, 'SYTYCD' to face off with 'DWTS' This Fall, Did I meet an Idol Auditioner Today?

I blogged last week that the 'Philanthropist' looked to be the better of the scripted network shows out this summer. Well, so much for that. In week 1 it opened with a modest 5.7M viewers. This week it lost 1.4M viewers and 21% among adults 18-49 and it managed to retain only 47% out of the 'America's Got Talent' lead in. OUCH. Doesn't look like the 'Philanthropist' is really going to be a winner after all. Oh well.

As we have seen , the networks are giving us new scripted shows in the summer months, but apparently they are doing so half ...well you know. Nothing they seem to be throwing is sticking.

Speaking of sticking, it appears as if 'I Survived A Japanese Game Show' is losing in the ratings too. It was fourth place in it's hour with only 3.83M viewers. Ah.. the show was okay. The BEST one , hands down, is 'Wipeout'. Always leaves me in hysterics and is doing pretty solidly in the ratings. Thank goodness. I definitely want it to return next summer. It's what I look forward to in Summer TV, along with "So You Think You Can Dance' and 'Big Brother'.

'Superstars' on ABC isn't fairing so well in the ratings either. The season winners are 'So You Think You Can Dance' and 'America's Got Talent'.

I find it very interesting that 'So You Think You Can Dance' will be competing this fall with 'Dancing with the Stars'. I wonder what prompted fox to temp such a dual. Now me, I prefer 'So You Think' to 'Dancing' , simply because I like the competition of real dancers breaking through. I never really got into 'Dancing With the Stars'. I'm probably one of the few who haven't. It's okay, but ballroom is not much my thing. I much more prefer the styles put forth in 'So You Think'. I absolutely love the hip hop and contemporary styles the best and certain choreographers in particular like Shane Sparks and Mia Micheals (she is my ULTIMATE favorite choreographer). It's the American Idol of the dancing world. I admire how beautifully they dance, a talent I wish I had (although I wouldn't trade my talent as a singer for dancing. I would love to have them both). But I think I know how someone who hears me sing feels when they say they wish they could sing, because I do wish I could dance. It leaves me in awe. Oddly enough, I noticed at least two contenders from SYTYCD showing up as the professional part of the partnerships on DWTS. I worry though, if SYTYCD will hold up in the ratings against DWTS and it makes me a little worried for the shows future if they do not perform well in the ratings this fall. Sometimes too much of a good thing is not so good and it might be best to keep us waiting in anticipation for the next summer installment. I will be watching SYTYCD this fall, I just hope all the current viewers, and then some, tune in as well.

And speaking of 'American Idol' I could swear that today, while sitting in a Wendy's in Whitehall PA I saw one of the bad audition chicks from the show, Alexis Cohen. I mean she looked just like her. I was laughing to myself, but wouldn't dare ask her if it was her. God forbid it wasn't and I would have insulted a perfect stranger, assuming that she would even know what I was asking. Turns out she is from Philadelphia and it just might have been her. Pretty funny and just thought I would share.

'Hung' on HBO opens Big, 'Castle' Novel Coming Soon, ABC Picks Up New Series Billed as a "Greys Anatomy " only in Space

Hello everyone. I'm back. I have been sick and so haven't really blogged about much of anything. On the good side, being sick gives me the excuse to just lay back and be lazy watching TV. When I could (because I do have my son to look after) I did. Two whole days of bed rest , however, has left my house a mess and my blog neglected. No worries, I'm back on track today.


So, what is going on in the world of TV? In case you missed it , HBO premiered a new series 'Hung' and it opened huge. It was seen by 2.8M viewers and if you include re-broadcasts it actually grew to 3.7M. 'True Blood' in the meantime is HUGE for HBO drawing, with DVR viewing , rebroadcasts etc. , to 10.8M viewers per episode. I have not watched 'Hung' yet and will watch it on my ON Demand. If you don't know what the series is about, it is a comedy about a man with a talent..well the name says it all. I mean just look at the star of the show and that is motivation enough to watch! I really so badly want to watch 'True Blood' but I refuse to watch season 2 without having watched season 1 so I must rent it on DVD. It's on my to do list!

Are you a 'Castle' fan? The series , from ABC, is about a mystery author that follows a detective around to gather material for his novels. I'm a fan. Well ABC, in a move to promote their new second season episodes this fall, are going to publish a novel by the character Castle. Starting August 10th the first half of the book will be published at the website a chapter a week for 10 weeks. The full novel will be printed Sept 29th with Disney sister company Hyperion. Well, apparently the network teamed with Hyperion for the 2006 'Lost' tie in "Bad Twin" and "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer" which tied into the ABC miniseries 'Rose Red' and they sold well. I'm at a loss because I never heard of either publication nor the mini series 'Rose Red'. I consider myself a very mainstream consumer, and I didn't hear of either in the mainstream. Am I not as mainstream as I think , or could they have done a better job of informing the public of these publications? If it sold well, imagine how much better it could have done had they gotten to people like myself. Maybe the only way I'd ever hear about the Castle novel publications is because I dig on the net for TV news. Come on networks, you have an AWESOME tie in here and you need to get it out to even more people. I love TV and I love to read. If you're not hitting the people like me you are missing out. And, given the new online way of tracking fans, this is truly a great tool. I'll be interested and will read the chapter a week starting Aug 10th. I'll be sure to post links on my blog.

Speaking of 'Lost', the final season will gain 1 hour. Filming is starting on the final season and there is one more hour added to the time already slotted for the series finale. Ooooh... this should be so good. Wrapping it up, getting some answers. But it will be sad at the same time. Lost will be no more but a memory of good TV that has passed.

ABC is dominating my blog today, but there is one more bit of news for sci-fi fans. A 13 episode series 'Gravity' was picked up by ABC. It has been pitched as a 'Grey's Anatomy' only in space. That has me intrigued already. If it is received well there will be more seasons of the show . Apparently the creators have three seasons blocked out already and an ending to the series. I kind of like this new trend in TV shows where the creators know where they are taking it and so it has a definite conclusion (ala Lost). Hopefully, if we get hooked on it, we'll actually get to see the ending.

Well, that is all for now. I am still scanning P2P's for any leaked pilot episodes of new shows this season. So far, nothing. But as soon as I find one, you'll all be the first to know.

My Frustration with 'Eli Stone' and 'Kings' Cancellation Continues, 'Virtuality' on FOX one of Lowest Rated Premieres this Summer, 'Dexter' Teaser

How frustrating it is today watching Eli Stone that I DVR'd yesterday. If any show wasn't deserving of cancellation it was most definitely Eli Stone. What is particularly frustrating is that there is so much story there that will never be told. If any of you watch the show you'll remember that in the first season Eli had a vision of him and Maggie at a rally together as a couple with their child. Yet when we watch the series today they are not together, although we know that both of them want to be and just can't seem to get the timing right. It leaves you wanting more, wanting to watch their relationship unfold. Something we will never have the opportunity to do because the show is , well canceled. My only hope is that the last episode that airs will tie up some lose endings, but I highly doubt that. Again.. extremely frustrating.

And equally frustrating.. 'Kings'. As I blogged last week. So darned good. A Princess pledged to God but in love with David, a Prince who is gay and in love with a man who killed himself, and a 'King' with a secret second family out in the woods . A double life, as it is. A nephew who was once banished from the kingdom. Why? A Queen being blackmailed by someone with knowledge of both children's indiscretion being forced to chose either the downfall of the Prince or Princess. We don't know. But will we ever? So good, so juicy.. so canceled!

BTW. another good show people haven't been watching much of 'Harpers Island' is drawing to an end in two weeks with its final 2 hour episode. If this show was a series, it would have been canceled, but thank goodness it was meant to have an end and we get a conclusion. It really had you guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat.

'Virtuality' appeared on FOX on Friday, apparently. I didn't even know it was on and I missed it. Apparently not many people did either. It had one of the lowest summer premiere ratings, in the same category as 'The Goode Family'. How do they expect a show to do well when there is virtually (no pun intended) promotion for it. I don't remember seeing a commercial about it.

For Dexter Fans(myself included) , I found this promo teaser poster for the upcoming new season on thr.com . No worries, that is just sauce/ baby food on the little tike. It's definitely a witty teaser poster for sure and obviously hints to the fact that Dexter will be dealing with becoming a father in the new season.

In case you hadn't noticed, 'The Listener' wasn't actually on this week (or 'Chopping Block' also airing it's final recorded episodes). . It was supposed to be but was pre-empted with a tribute to Farah Fawcett. Found that out when I went to watch it on my DVR, only it wasn't 'The Listener'. Watching the tributes and Farah's Story with her battle with cancer is just sad, so I really do not want to watch it, so I didn't.