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.

NBC 'Philanthropist' Takes 1st Place in Time Slot , NBC & CBS Announce Their Premiere Dates. RIP McMahon, Farrah and Michael Jackson

I'm off to a late blog today, as I have been so very busy. I'm even behind on my DVR watching but I'm catching up.

Last night I DVR'd and then watched the Philanthropist with my hubby. I liked it.

Listen, let's face it. While the networks are putting out new shows during the summer months, they are not exactly coming out with their best material. That is being reflected in the numbers we are seeing for the shows. The exception, of course, are the already established summer hits like 'So You Think You Can Dance' and 'Wipeout'.

The 'Listener' has not been fairing very well in the ratings. 'Merlin' also did not open strong. Honestly, 'Merlin' didn't appeal to me and I had it on while I was doing other things today and wasn't really paying attention. It could have nothing to do with the show itself, I'm just not much into that whole Harry Potter type thing (I have not seen all the movies). While I like ' The Listener', if I'm really being honest about it, compared to what is on during the Fall/Winter TV season, it is comparatively weak.

That being said, 'The Philanthropist' is probably one of the stronger of the summer network scripted shows coming on this summer. It premiered at a modest 7.4M and was the #1 show in it's time slot. Bear in mind that that number , 7.4M, during the regular TV season would not be a good opening, but for this summer season it's okay. I look forward to more of it and while it is fiction (although it is billed as being based on a real person) it is nice watching someone of that type of wealth actually doing something positive, as opposed to what we have been witnessing of CEO's in real life lately (large excessive bonuses while taking tax payer bailouts, for one.. woops.. I got a little political again..sorry).

Now, on to other business. Over the past two days both NBC and CBS have come out with their fall premiere dates. In a future blog I'll be sure to put this all together in a more cohesive manner and I'll even lay out my DVR strategy (my very first blog made reference to how I have to plan which shows get recorded on which DVR in my house as to avoid overlap and possibly losing out on recording of one show over another.. eek!!). Believe me, it takes a while to figure out what's on what night and what time and then programming your DVR to record. What adds to the difficulty is that my current DVR (provided by my cable company) doesn't really allow you to search from the title of the show and then selecting a "season pass". Instead you have to find it on the guide then set to record series and only new episodes. The Guide, of course, can only go up to the previous day of the next week. While my DVR is sufficient and I love it, I will say that nothing compares and comes even close to how conveniently cool TIVO is.

Moving on... CBS & NBC Premier dates are listed below. All the shows I will definately be DVR'g are in dark red color.

NBC Premier Dates

Sunday, September 13
7-8:15 pm. – "Football Night in America"
8:15-11 pm – "NBC Sunday Night Football"

Monday, September 14
10-11 pm – "THE JAY LENO SHOW" (Series Premiere)

Tuesday, September 15
8-10 pm – "The Biggest Loser"
10-11 pm – "THE JAY LENO SHOW"

Thursday, September 17
8-8:30 pm - "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday"
8:30-9 pm - "Parks and Recreation"
9-9:30 pm – "The Office"
9:30-10 pm – "COMMUNITY" (series premiere – moves to Thursdays 8-8:30 pm on October 8; "30 Rock" returns October 15, 9:30-10 pm)
10-11 pm – "THE JAY LENO SHOW"

Monday, September 21
8-10 pm – "Heroes" (two hour premiere, then TRAUMA premieres 9-10 pm Monday, September 28)
10-11 pm – "THE JAY LENO SHOW"

Wednesday, September 23
8-9 pm – "PARENTHOOD" (Series Premiere)
9-10 pm – "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
10-11 pm – "THE JAY LENO SHOW"

Friday, September 25
8-9 pm – "Law & Order"
9-10 pm – "Southland"
10-11 pm – "THE JAY LENO SHOW"

Saturday, September 26
8-9 pm – "Dateline NBC"
9-10 pm – "TRAUMA" (encore broadcast)
10-11 pm – "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (encore broadcast)
11:30 pm - 1:00 a.m. - "Saturday Night Live"

CBS's 2009-2010 Premiere Dates:

Thursday, Sept. 17
8:00-9:00 pm "Survivor: Samoa" (19th Installment Premiere)

Monday, Sept. 21
8:00-8:30 pm "How I Met Your Mother" (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/19/05)
8:30-9:00 pm "Accidentally on Purpose" (Series Debut)
9:00-9:30 pm "Two and a Half Men" (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/03)
9:30-10:00 pm "The Big Bang Theory" (3rd Season Premiere, OAD 9/24/07)
10:00-11:00 pm "CSI: Miami" (8th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/02)

Tuesday, Sept. 22
8:00-9:00 pm "NCIS" (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/12/03)
9:00-10:00 pm "NCIS: Los Angeles" (Series Debut)
10:00-11:00 pm "The Good Wife" (Series Debut)

Wednesday, Sept. 23
8:00-8:30 pm "The New Adventures of Old Christine"
(5th Season Premiere, OAD 3/13/06)
8:30-9:00 pm "Gary Unmarried" (2nd Season Premiere, OAD 9/14/08)
9:00-10:00 pm "Criminal Minds" (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/05)
10:00-11:00 pm "CSI: NY" (6th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/04)

Thursday, Sept. 24
9:00-10:00 pm "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (10th Season Premiere, OAD 10/6/00)
10:00-11:00 pm "The Mentalist" (2nd Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/08)

Friday, Sept. 25
8:00-9:00 pm "Ghost Whisperer" (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/05)
9:00-10:00 pm "Medium" (Network Debut, OAD 1/23/05)
10:00-11:00 pm "Numb3rs" (6th Season Premiere, OAD 1/21/05)

Saturday, Sept. 26
8:00-9:00 pm Crimetime Saturday
9:00-10:00 pm Crimetime Saturday
10:00-11:00 pm "48 Hours Mystery" (Season Premiere)

Sunday, Sept. 27
7:00-8:00 pm "60 Minutes" (42nd Season Premiere)
8:00-10:00 pm "The Amazing Race" (15th Edition Premiere)
10:00-11:00 pm "Cold Case" (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/03)

Sunday, Oct. 4
9:00-10:00 pm "Three Rivers" (Series Debut)

I can not let this blog today go by without expressing how sad the passing of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcet and the sudden surprising death of Michael Jackson is. It seems like the death comes in threes (particularly among celebrities) appears to have come true these past few days. I really remember Ed McMahon more from his Star Search Days and the Practical Jokes shows he did more so than Johnny Carson, as I never watched that show (I was too young). I also was really too young to have watched Charlies Angels when it was on TV (I did watch it in syndication as a child). Of course, I grew up listening to Michael Jackson and I'll never forget the first time MTV Broadcast the much anticipated extended 'Thriller' video. God bless those three celebrities as their souls take their new journey back home.

Jon & Kate Plus 8 Divorce is Sad, Royal Pains is #1 Watched Show Knocking Closer to #2

I don't watch Jon & Kate Plus 8. I tend to spend more time on the network shows and less time further down the dial, with exception of TNT and as of late USA and of course the HBO and Showtime series. I can't really comment or blog about them individually or as a couple, as I never observed them on their TV Show. But, apparently , the American public didn't really see a problem until photos of them separately outside of their reality TV show indicated there were issues.

I did capture a clip of the announcement of their separation and it made me sad. It made me sad for them and sad for their children. They started out so full of hope with dreams of this wonderful family. I so wish that while the cameras were capturing the "family bliss" that they captured the TRUE reality that obviously lurked in the background along with everything else. I know that wasn't the premise of the show, but it would have been an honest real look at the American family. Can you really call yourself a "reality" show when you actually HIDE your reality and give us a "faked" image of your family and your marriage? If I had been a watcher of the show and a fan, I would be upset that what you were putting out there was not really real or honest.

I did think it interesting that rather than having the kids move back and forth in and out of the home, that the parents will actually rotate , each spending time in the house when it is their time with the kids. I wonder if that is the first time anything like that has ever been done.

What I think would make an even BETTER reality series is if Jon & Kate really sought therapy for their marriage. Rather than file divorce, they live separate and work on trying to hammer through their issues with a neutral third party. I believe that every marriage is worth trying to salvage before coming to the ultimate decision of ending it. They wanted to be "real" for the camera, and show a REAL American family. Divorce is so much (and unfortunately so) part of the real American family these days that documenting it on TV is perhaps what the public would need to see. Even more so, we'd need to see how a marriage can or can't be saved through working on whatever issues they have with each other. Jon & Kate need to reconnect and find each other again to remember what they fell in love with in each other or at least try to. THAT to me would be interesting to watch along with the family dynamic.

Perhaps that would be to close to the cuff for them and way too personal, but it would be more real. If they still ended up divorced, then they divorce. If not, it could teach us all how to find each other again. I wonder how the show will work now and what the new title should be , should they continue the show as they say they will.

FYI a new episode is not scheduled till August 8th. It is also interesting to note that the show that aired last night had the highest ratings for the series ever at 10.5M viewers. But, prior to this weeks show it had lost 1.3M viewers knocking it off the top 20 List.

In other cable TV News, the Closer shrunk by half a million viewers from it's opening the week before and down to the #2 spot on the Cable's most watched series list. Royal Pains is now #1 having grown by 1M viewers over the last week. USA is having a hot summer I'd say.

I did watch Hawthorne again with my husband. While I initially liked it, I think it's okay. It needs to grow more on me and hopefully it will. It's not GREAT it's okay, as it is not full of as much depth as say shows like Saving Grace is or even the Closer. I will keep watching and hopefully the second episode will improve upon the first.

Blogging about or Visiting Your Favorite Shows Webpage May Just Save It From Cancellation This Coming Season!

The way we communicate, heck the way we do everything has so evolved in the last few years it's amazing. It's no wonder that the internet is changing TV. The industry may finally be catching up.

We first noticed the internet playing a part when the writers went on strike in the 2008-2009 season. One of their bones of contention was getting more rights to the online portion of proceeds from their show. And, they have every right to that. Internet is changing the way we watch TV and networks capitalize.

Many shows are available for download on the net. P2P platforms even have "leaked" pilots that you can download and view before their air date (I've signed up to a few so that I can keep my eyes open for leaked pilots and blog about them). In its opening season, for example, 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' was leaked via P2P platform. Some say it is purposefully leaked by the networks to start the "buzz". However, online popularity does not always translate into a hit on TV. Shows that got a lot of attention via the net have still ended up canceled from major networks.

That may be about to change. As reported by THR.com, the website creation service Webpaint has launched a measurement system that tracks fan interest in popular TV shows via the web.

Why is this so important? Well, it makes sense from a marketing perspective. The ability of a TV show to stay on air always had a large part to do with how many people were watching. The higher the rating, the more valuable the ad space to advertisers. Low ratings doesn't generate enough ad revenue to keep the show alive. But what if that show had a strong fan base that spent time on the networks website and the TV shows actual page on their net? Or their fan pages on social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace or Twitter? That right there is a huge magnet of clicks to a networks sites, thereby increasing the advertising value and revenue to the networks through ad space, DVD sales, etc.

I say finally. I'm tired of good shows with a solid fan base like 'Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles' being cancelled. According to information from the first week of Fandex rankings , 'Terminator' is the six most popular show among Internet users ('True Blood' from HBO topped the list). Perhaps if this tool was actually in place last season we may have seen shows like 'Terminator' saved from cancellation.

So, if you like a show this season please be sure to buzz about it somewhere on the Internet or visit the shows web page. If it's not getting the ratings on air, it's fan base on the Internet may just be able to keep some good shows on TV and out of the TV Wasteland!

To View the top Fandex Shows on the net you can go to www.fandex.com