'Saving Grace' will Wrap Up Next Summer, 'St. Elmo's Fire' Coming to TV, Cowell Will Remain on 'Idol' and

To all 'Saving Grace' fans; the show, starring Holly Hunter , will air it's final episodes next summer. It normally runs a 15 episode split season, with 9 to run this winter and 6 the following summer. TNT has added three episodes to the season and will air 9 in the winter and the final 9 in the summer, when TNT gets its best series ratings. The reason for the cancellation does not have anything to do with poor ratings, as it has been averaging 3.5M viewers this summer and more to do with the cost associated with the series. It was offered for a fourth season pick up , but for financial reasons a fourth season offer was not accepted . TNT has promised to wrap up the story lines with a conclusion, which is why three episodes were added to the third and now final season. I'm going to miss it. Holly Hunter is amazing and the show really goes where network tv wouldn't dare go.

Continuing on the trend of 80's movies becoming TV Series, ABC has landed the hour long dramedy series inspired by 'St Elmo's Fire'. It will take off from the movie and introduce six new friends, 3 boys and 3 girls. It will take place in Georgetown and St. Elmo's Bar & Restaurant will become St. Elmo's Bar & Grill. Schumaker, one of the original films co-writers and director, is said to be on board. I'm curious as to who they will cast in these rolse. I'm also curious how well received 80's movie revival 'Parenthood' and 'Witches of Eastwick' will be received this coming season. It will be a good predictor to determine how well the TV revival of classic 'St Elmo's Fire' may be received.

Simon Cowell is wrapping up his deal with 'American Idol' to remain as a judge for 3 more seasons. Honestly, if you lost Cowell it just wouldn't be 'American Idol' and I feel it would have taken a slip down the other side of the ratings mountain, if you know what I mean. I'm curious to see how the exit of Paula Abdul will play out with audiences this coming year. We shall see.

Preview for ABC's 'The Forgotten' , My Name is Earl Moving to TBS, New 24 Cast Member & More

In continuing with my review of upcoming shows this fall today I looked at 'The Forgotten' that is slated for ABC Tuesdays at 10pm. The series stars Reiko Aylesworth (24), Rochelle Aytes, Michelle Borth, Anthony Carrigan, Rupert Perry-Jones, Grace Olivo and Bob Stephenson . Although, I hear from another review site that the two leads played by Reiko Aylesworth and Rupert-Perry Jones will be recast.

The premise of the story is not unfamiliar. Person found dead and unknown. You need to find out who she is, why she's dead and who killed her. The only difference between this and other cop shows is that the actual people doing the investigation are not cops but are regular average crime fighting citizens. The group calls themselves the Identity Network.

I've read two early reviews of the shows and according the them the show needs retooling. As one critic eluded to, it's predictable and if you watch enough shows like this it will be easy for you to figure out who did it.

I have to say I do not much like predictable. I like when a show kind of surprises me. Last nights episode of 'The Closer', one of my favorites, BTW, was disappointing last night. I immediately picked up on a few things and pretty much figured it out way early. The only excitement I got was watching how "right" I was about where the story was going. The Closer is usually NOT that predictable. If 'The Forgotten' is predictable without any twists to keep you guessing it won't be much fun to watch at least for me.

The show also looks a little grim and depressing. It's up against the new entry "The Good Wife" on CBS. If I had to chose (which fortunately I do not thanks to the DVR) Good Wife would be more appealing to me than yet another crime show.

As another little note, it is quite hard to review upcoming shows without actually seeing the full preview. Their job at the networks is to make the shows look good, and so far they are doing a good job.

In other little tidbits for today, I have some DVR catching up to do. For one, I'm still behind on 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'. Honestly, it's not holding my interest enough. It's like the show that sits on my DVR and I'll watch it when I have nothing else to watch. I've been a little busy . Heidi and Spencer annoy me anyway and it's cheesy, really. In the ratings, it's holding at an average of 5.18M viewers.

I also haven't watched Nurse Jackie yet and tonight after I put my little boy to bed I'll cozy up on the couch and watch it. With all the hype, I hope it's good. I have to watch the Tony Awards that I recorded the other night too, because theater is a lot of fun and so I expect it will be fun to watch.

Raising the Bar was good last night. Mark Paul Gosselar is yummy. Speaking of, I caught a clip of him on the Jimmy Fallon show at EW.com. If you have a moment go and watch it. He appeared and interviewed with Fallon as his character Zack from 'Saved By The Bell'. Yes, I did watch that show and I'll admit it... LOL. I'm sure a lot of you did too ! You know you did! Anyway, the interview was hysterical and what a good sport he is. He's excellent on 'Raising the Bar' on TNT which is in its second season.


My Name Is Earl, cancelled from NBC's line up, is in talks to move to TBS. If sucessful it will be the second TV network show that was picked up by a cable network after a major network cancellation (Law & Order Criminal Intent was picked up by USA last year). The talks are in its early stages and so nothing is definate, but if you are an Earl fan ( I never got into that show) keep your fingers crossed.

And, my last bit of news today is that Kate Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) is joining the cast of 24 as an expert CTU analyst with a secret past that is romantically involved with Freddie Prinze Jr's character.

Tonight looks like a good night to catch up on that DVR build up. Not much in the way of new programming on. I you are looking for something interesting, however, and you get BBC you might tune into the Apprentice UK. Jimmy Kimmel Live is on at 8pm on CBS and I may tune into the Real Housewives of NJ on Bravo, since I'd never seen the show but heard good things about it.

SPOILER ALERT: Lost Mystery Solved..ABC Promo Video has Monaghan .. What does it mean?

Spoiler alert: 'Lost' mystery solved!

Shared via AddThis

The above article was taken from EW Online. I had not seen this promo video yet that the article speaks about. But , had I seen it I might have thought that indeed a 'Lost' character was returning from the dead.

As it turns out, according to the piece, Monaghan is joining another hour long series on ABC this coming fall as a full time cast member but ABC wants to keep it a secret and make it a BIG surprise. According to the source at EW it WILL be a surprise and although she knows what it is, she agreed not to spill. I posted the cool little promo from ABC on the side of my blog.

So, my theory is that Monaghan is going to be joining the cast of Grey's Anatomy. I LOVE the idea, if that is indeed the case. I mean think about it. Where is ABC going to take Grey's now? I mean Grey and McSteamy are getting married and are together with less drama (at least for now) and , as the season finale leads us to believe, George and Izzy are , well most likely dead (although Heigl's and Knights exit from Grey's was never confirmed and only rumored so we don't know for sure). But if Knight is really leaving, then we need a George like character to take his place. TV shows tend to do that, or so I noticed. They'll always replace a certain type of character with a different character of the same type. Take , for example, the exit of George Clooney (Dr. Doug Ross) from E.R.. That same year we got Goran Visnjic as Dr. Kovac. I kind of felt like they were the same very handsome dark hair, dark eyes and mysterious single guy character.. like Kovac brought similar elements to the show that Dr. Ross had (although Kovac wasn't as much of a womanizer).

Oh boy.. I'm so excited. I just think that is it. We'll have to wait till fall to see if I'm right. I can't see him on Desperate Housewives and I know it must be one of ABC's top shows as that is why they are keeping it so hush hush. Feel free to leave a comment and share your theories below!

My Take on the Four Medical Dramas Coming This Fall and Their Preview

From Movies to TV Series - 2 Shows Slated this Fall

So much to blog about my head is spinning. So, let's break it down into topics shall we.

In looking at the fall line up announced by ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX there are two shows scheduled this year that are based on well loved films from the 80's .

The first, Eastwick, will air on ABC on Wednesday's at 10pm. It's based on the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick starring Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon , Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer. It will star Lindsay Price (Lipstick Jungle), Sara Rue (Less than Perfect) and Rebecca Romijn as the three single woman living in New England who discover they have supernatural powers.



First. the movie was great. Secondly I was a fan of Charmed that aired on the WB. From the trailer above it seems that Eastwick is a Lipstick Jungle (loved that show) meets Charmed. Lipstick Jungle was an excellent show, but obviously not strong enough to last..but at least it outlasted Cashmere Mafia. Charmed ran for 6 years and while I loved it.. it was corny but it worked and in the end it was a feel good show with some moral values taught amidst the fighting.. good verses evil type of feel. It was a family show. Eastwick clearly plays to an older female crowd, but will they buy into the witch magic stuff like the audience of Charmed? Will the female empowerment feel be able to sustain a large enough audience to keep it on the air? Is it just too corny and cliched? That formula did not seem to work well for either Lipstick Jungle or Cashmere Mafia. If Eastwick turns out to be as witty as it seems it may be, it could appeal to the Desperate Housewives audience..and perhaps all of us Charmed fans now a few years older, will find the new take on witchcraft appealing. I will definitely check the series out, but my gut is telling me that it will be another show I start watching that will quickly fade.

The second show Parenthood coming to NBC on Wednesdays this fall at the 8:00 hour is based on the 1989 Ron Howard film of the same name that originally starred Steve Martin and Dianne Wieste. Ron Howard is a producer on this TV show. What I didn't know was that there was a half hour comedy version of this movie out in 1990 that aired briefly on NBC that failed. However, this time, I have to say that I believe this will be a HIT ala Brothers & Sisters. The cast is an absolutely amazing ensemble cast which includes Maura Tierny (ER) , Peter Krause (Six Feet Under and Dirty Sexy Money) and Craig T. Nelson among many other well known, liked and respected actors/ actresses (I'm a fan especially of Tierny and Krauss who I'm happy to see are in what I think is an excellent show after having had their previous gigs come to an end). Now this is a show that will be filled with stuff that will make you laugh and cry and sometimes laugh and cry at the same time. It reminds me very much of the winning formula that made Brothers & Sisters so very good. Just looking at the trailer below I can see that they are strongly developed well written characters that instantly you are going to identify with. The acting chops on this cast makes this a sure fire hit..at least in my book.




Lastly, just for fun, I wanted to recall some hits and misses with regard to Movies that became TV shows. One of the most successful , of course, was MASH. Other's included Friday Night Lights, Mr. Belvedere (based on the movie Sitting Pretty) that ran from 1985 - 1990 (yeah.. I didn't know that either), The Odd Couple and Private Benjamin (1981-83). Some unsuccessful attempts included Ferris Bueller in 1990 (movie was great.. TV show bombed), Big Fat Greek Wedding, Planet of the Apes.. and one that I'll always remember Kiss Me Guido (based on an independent film by the same name that I know personally because I had a song on the movie soundtrack).
So .. tell me what you think about the two series I talked about here that is up an coming. I'll have more up as the summer wears on and we near closer to the new fall season.