Hey folks,
Okay…so today we look at FOX’s lineup. This one is easily the most interesting as here’s a “young” network who seems to have realized that people do watch TV all year round and not just from September until May (when the other networks seem to have locked themselves into the old formula). They also probably realized that PVRs such as Tivo and Replay are becoming more prevalent. Add to this the constant competition from cable and the whole idea of a “season” lasting from September to May seems silly at best. So when FOX announced their new “fall” schedule, they actually announced three different schedules. Of course, with things this far in advance, some stuff could change (time slots, premiere dates, show titles and casts), but it all seems new, exciting and somewhat reinvigorating. Check them out below. But first…
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Skin – 4 Episodes Produced/1 Episode Unaired
I wanted to catch this, but I didn’t because of the wedding. Apparently so did everyone else (I didn’t realize we had that many guests). You’d think a show about Porn Stars and Politicians would play well on FOX (pre Nipplegate of course).
A Minute with Stan Hooper – 11 Episodes Produced/6 Episodes Aired
A minute was apparently all the time we really had for this funny and quirky Norm MacDonald comedy. FOX has a habit of not giving good comedies enough time (or the right slot) to find their audience. Stan Hooper will now reside in the sitcom graveyard next to other shows unduly cancelled before they should have been (“The Tick”, “Andy Richter Controls The Universe”, “Undeclared”, “Greg the Bunny” and “The Pitts”).
Cedric the Entertainer Presents – 18 Episodes/???
There may be an extra six unaired episodes but I’m not sure. The show was supposed to be a mid-season replacement during this past season, but FOX never brought it back. It was mildly entertaining at best. Cedric’s funnier than this show.
Wanda at Large – 2 Seasons/19 Episodes/5 Unaired
This show should have a place in the sitcom graveyard with the shows mentioned above in my comments on “Stan Hooper”, but for some reason the second season just wasn’t as funny as the first. Two characters disappeared and two new producers were brought on to oversee things. They oversaw the show right into a much deserved cancellation. Wanda Sykes deserves better than the second season of this show (maybe something more like the first season).
Luis – 10 Episodes Produced/4 Episodes Aired
Ugh. Luis Guzman is a talented man. Unfortunately, he’s not talented enough to know when he’s been roped into a pile of crap. I barely remember even watching the pilot at this point.
Boston Public – 4 Seasons/81 Episodes/2 Unaired
It started as a cool and edgy new show from producer David E. Kelley and eventually followed all the stages one would go through in high school. Freshman year was new and exciting. The second season brought a Sophomore Slump as a number of characters were removed and others were brought in. Junior year seemed to revive things a bit (maybe they were looking to improve things to get into a good college…syndication?). This past season was like being on a permanent Senior Skip Day. The show was spinning its wheels at best. And it violated a big rule of TV, if you’re going to dangle an actor with a recurring role in front of us (Mandy Patinkin…who was going to potentially be a teacher at some point in the show’s future); you damn well better bring him back (they never did).
Wonderfalls – 13 Episodes/4 Aired
Somewhere there’s a plot in the graveyard of failed TV series for shows like this. This is another great show that died a quick and painful death. As you can see from previous entries, FOX is very good at doing this. Maybe a DVD release will bring us the unaired episodes. It’s the best we can hope for.
Cracking Up – 12 Episodes/6 Aired
This mildly funny show was standing too far in the shadows of both “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Arrested Development”. I also don’t understand the popularity of Molly Shannon. I find her obnoxious, crass and untalented (she’s a female David Spade if that helps). The show’s funny moments came from the talents of Christopher MacDonald and Jason Schwartzman.
Playing it Straight – 3 Episodes
Yet another empty-headed entry in the Reality Series World. The premise: A woman dates 14 men with the intention of picking one to be her life mate (yeah…I know…we’ve all picked our life mates in this “realistic” manner). The twist: Some of them are gay. It would have been more interesting if some of them were dead.
My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé – 6 Episodes
The best practical joke on TV. This “reality” show was really like watching a car wreck as we were all in on the joke that this guy was an actor…but it must say a lot about the greed some people can have if they’re willing to essentially put their family through torture for half a million dollars.
The Littlest Groom – 4 Episodes
Missed it. Make up your own short jokes.
Joe Millionaire – 2 Seasons/17 Episodes
How the hell did they wrangle a second season out of this sham?
Forever Eden – 25 Episodes/7 Aired
Obviously, the definition of forever has changed since this show got the axe rather quickly. Anyone know what this one was about?
Paradise Hotel – 30 Episodes
Okay…now we know the definition of forever.
American Juniors – 16 Episodes
Sorry folks…my opinion on pushing anyone under 16 into the media spotlight is tantamount to child abuse. This show also practiced audience abuse.
RETURNING SHOWS
Oliver Beene – I’ll be the first to admit that I hated this show when it first aired. But for some reason, the second season started to grow on me. Maybe it was just the feeling that it was part of the Sunday night comedy block that made me stick around and enjoy it? I don’t know. There are definitely worse shows on TV…but of course there are better ones. I don’t expect this to last much beyond the summer with FOX’s new schedule.
King of the Hill – Entering its ninth season, this show remains funny and touching. I know some people just find it weird, but it does have a very charming nature to it and unlike most of the other animated shows, this one seems more grounded in reality…even when things are just played for laughs.
The Simpsons – Okay…when you’ve been on the air this long (the show starts its 16th season this fall), you’re gonna have ups and downs. This past season was a mixed bag of both. It started off with some strong stories but by the end of the season it was a whole lot of “what the???” Resetting the entire relationship between Skinner and Krabappel back to the beginning and a bizarre episode of political ranting seem to be pointing in the direction that this stalwart might be starting to run out of steam. Even if that’s the case, I’ll be with it until the bitter end because it’s still funny…even when it’s weird or bad.
Bernie Mac – Going into a fourth season this show remains funny in a hit or miss kind of way. Bernie’s got a good screen presence but sometimes the kids and their antics are too much to take.
Malcolm in the Middle – Oddly enough this show has yet to enter syndication (and the DVD releases are stalled due to some music issues), but it’s coming up on a sixth season next fall. The show still packs a comedy wallop…even when they technically should have “jumped the shark” with the birth of Jamie, they haven’t. And the new baby is used more for comedy than anything else. His addition has even shifted some much deserved attention over to Dewey (the episode where Dewey created the pipe organ out of household items was a classic). This show is gonna get bounced around Sunday nights over the next year, but stick with it. It’s still one of the funniest things currently on TV.
Arrested Development – Wow! I was expecting this show to go the way of so many other FOX comedies that were never given a real chance to flourish. Maybe it’s got to do with Ron Howard being on board? This is a great and funny companion piece to FOX’s Sunday night and I highly recommend the reruns if you haven’t seen it yet. Any show that can bring on Liza Minelli and make her Emmy worthy is a must see.
American Idol – Ick. Any show that can spawn a record album for talentless people (and I’m talking about the winners, not William Huang or whatever his name is), is just useless in my book. Doesn’t current music have enough problems without shit like this being foisted on our ears?
24 – Okay. So this past season fixed the problem of having Kim Bauer being chased by pumas. Unfortunately, they gave her a job at CTU…which makes about as much sense as my becoming an astronaut. At least she wasn’t just silly filler. That stuff was given to President Palmer and his wife…the sub plot of Sherry Palmer’s scheming (while interesting in and of itself) got in the way of the real story…the possible chemical terrorist threat on U.S. soil. Watching week after week definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat…but a marathon viewing of episodes will unravel all that as you realize that there are logic gaps galore (Tony gets shot in the neck, but is up and walking about two hours later…Jack spends half the day fighting a drug addiction in Mexico and the other half of the day like he’s been out of rehab and in L.A. for months). It’ll be interesting to see what a fourth season brings as most of the “loose” ends from previous seasons have been tied up.
That ‘70s Show – I’m tempted to compare this show to “Coach” or “Wings” in that it’s sometimes hard to believe it’s still on the air, but this really is a funny show that still deserves to be on the air. Of course, we have to start questioning what year it really is at this point. The gang first saw “Star Wars” in the first season. So if it was 1977 back then and they’ve graduated from High School at this point…well…I’m pretty sure they need to soon change the name to “That ‘80s Show”…but that would be a horse of a different color. Luckily, this coming season (number 7) will apparently be the last.
Tru Calling – Here’s another show that I’m surprised FOX has stood by and picked up for a second season. I’ve tried watching, but even the eye candy that is Eliza Dushku can’t keep me interested enough.
The O.C. – I tried to get into the sudser, but couldn’t. I generally like Peter Gallagher, but couldn’t get hooked here. Oh well. It’s not like I don’t watch other shows.
Cops – Any jokes or snarky remarks about this show were said long ago. Who knew it was so much fun to watch the misfortune of others? Oh…right…I forgot…we do.
America’s Most Wanted – I have nothing to say about this. It serves a purpose…which is more than I can say for most shows on TV.
The Simple Life – Returning for a second season as Paris & Nicole hit the road and the rest of us wonder why.
The Swan – Waiter! There’s too much “reality” in my TV. This is the most reprehensible show on TV (and that’s saying a lot). It brings us ever so closer to live executions. If you don’t know the premise…a bunch of women are put through a rigorous helping of dieting, plastic surgery and who knows what else to transform from “ugly, no self esteem, ducklings” into “beautiful, artificial, ice sculpture swans”. And then these “pseudo-people” are put into an elimination contest and a beauty pageant. If you thought a regular beauty pageant set the feminist movement back a few decades, this show sends it back before G-d took a rib from Adam to make Eve. Anyone watching this and encouraging its airing should be shot on sight (and then that should be broadcast).
MadTV – returns for a 10th Season this fall. I still miss Will Sasso and Alex Bornstein however.
Family Guy – Okay…it’s not officially scheduled anywhere yet, but this show will be back with fresh episodes on FOX in 2005. That means we’ll have had a three year hiatus (the last new episodes aired on FOX back in February of 2002…but the one episode they didn’t air was broadcast on Cartoon Network just this past November). Why is this happening? We can thank the DVD sales and the very successful reruns on Cartoon Network. This show was way ahead of its time. And now that time has caught up with it. Nothing is sacred to this show and that makes it so much funnier than almost anything else on the air. Now if we could only get more episodes of “Futurama” for the same reasons, I’d be a very happy camper. Look for 35 new episodes next year (the previous 50 are already on DVD).
JUNE 2004 to OCTOBER 2004
Mondays
8pm North Shore
9pm The Casino
Tuesdays
8pm Bernie Mac
8:30 Method & Red (Encores)
9pm The Jury
Wednesdays
8pm That ‘70s Show
8:30 Quintuplets
9pm The Simple Life 2: Road Trip
9:30 Method & Red
Thursdays
8pm North Shore (Encores)
9pm Tru Calling
Fridays
8pm Totally Outrageous Behavior
8:30 World’s Craziest Videos
9pm The Jury (Encores)
Saturdays
8pm Cops
9pm America’s Most Wanted
Sundays
7pm Oliver Beene
7:30 King of the Hill
8pm The Simpsons
8:30 Arrested Development
9pm Malcolm in the Middle
9:30 Quintuplets (Encores)
NOVEMBER 2004 to JANUARY 2005
Mondays
8pm North Shore
9pm The Swan
Tuesdays
8pm The Billionaire
9pm House
Wednesdays
8pm That ‘70s Show
8:30 Quintuplets
9pm Bernie Mac
9:30 Method & Red
Thursdays
8pm The OC
9pm Tru Calling
Fridays
8pm The Next Great Champ
9pm The Jury (Encores)
Saturdays
8pm Cops
9pm America’s Most Wanted
Sundays
7pm King of the Hill
7:30 Malcolm in the Middle
8pm The Simpsons
8:30 Arrested Development
9pm The Partner
JANUARY 2005 to JUNE 2005
Mondays
8pm Athens
9pm 24
Tuesdays
8pm American Idol
9pm House
Wednesdays
8pm That ‘70s Show
8:30 Related by Family
9pm American Idol
9:30 Bernie Mac
Thursdays
8pm The OC
9pm Tru Calling
Fridays
8pm The Inside
9pm Johnny Zero
Saturdays
8pm Cops
9pm America’s Most Wanted
Sundays
7pm The Sketch Show
7:30 King of the Hill
8pm The Simpsons
8:30 Malcolm in the Middle
9pm Arrested Development
9:30 American Dad
The Jury – The creator of “Oz” and “Homicide” bring us a look inside the minds of a jury. Each episode will begin with the jury entering the jury room to deliberate and will end with their verdict and a look back at the actual crime to see if they were right. This could be interesting, but it will have competition as “Law & Order: Trial by Jury” is essentially the same thing. Luckily, that’s a mid-season replacement and this show will have aired its complete run before that show even premieres.
North Shore – This drama is about a Hawaiian Hotel. Maybe they’ll have a crossover with that mid-season replacement on The WB (“Rocky Point”) which also takes place on Hawaii’s North Shore. Now, my question is when we talk about Hawaii’s North Shore are we talking about just the big island of Hawaii or the northern most shores of all the Hawaiian Islands. Something to ponder instead of watching this show I suppose.
Quintuplets – Andy Richter and Rebecca Kreskoff play the parents of five 15 year olds…they were cute when they were all born at the same time, but now they’re teenagers and well….Richter’s a funny guy and his previous show died an early and undeserved death (can we please get all of “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” on DVD?). So this one gets a shot in my book.
Method & Red – Two hip hop artists move into a wealthy neighborhood and hilarity ensues. Well, they hope it ensues.
The Casino – A reality series in which two guys buy the Golden Nugget Casino and try to bring it back to its heyday.
The Partner – You’ve got my “reality” show on my lawyer show. I’m not even gonna bother explaining it. Its law students competing in mock trials or some such crap like that.
The Billionaire – Not to be outdone by Donald Trump, Richard Branson steps up to find his own “apprentice”.
House – It’s a medical drama starring Hugh Laurie, Omar Epps and Robert Sean Leonard. What’s the twist? I have no clue.
The Next Great Champ – Remember my description of “The Contender” on NBC next fall? Well, it’s the same thing…only replace Sylvester Stallone (who played a boxer) with Oscar de la Hoya (who is a boxer) and remove producer Mark Burnett from the equation.
The Sketch Show – It’s produced by Kelsey Grammar. Beyond that if you want to know more re-read the title. It explains the show.
American Dad – This is THE show to look for. Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy” brings us a new animated show. Meet Stan Smith, dad and right-wing CIA Agent always on the lookout for terrorist activity (the fridge has its own terror alert system). In addition to the human family members we also get a goldfish that speaks German and an alien that Stan rescued from Area 51. If it’s half as funny as “Family Guy” that’ll make it twice as funny as just about every other comedy on TV these days.
Athens – From the creators of “The OC”, it’s the same show (I think) set in New England (I know).
Related by Family – This sitcom seems more appropriate on ABC than on FOX. A blended family as seen through the eyes of the teenage kids who were friends but are now siblings.
The Inside – An agent (FBI? CIA? They don’t say) goes undercover as a teenager (In a school? At a camp? They still don’t say).
Johnny Zero – Its “Wiseguy” from the producer of “ER” and “The West Wing”
OTHER SHOWS
The Complex: Malibu – Yet another “reality” series as couples compete to renovate a Condominium in a set amount of time and then hope it gathers the highest bid at public auction.
Well…that’s all for FOX. I’ll be back tomorrow with an update on cable, syndication and DVD shows. Later this week look for a bunch of reviews and some news of upcoming events (yes…The Fensters are going on tour this summer…will they be in your neck of the woods).
Be seeing you
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