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Posts tagged as “Psych”

TV Fall '09: The Complete Review – What is coming back

Following last year’s lead, it is now time for “the inevitable fall preview post that is on every TV blog!”
As always, it will be split into three parts (returning show, new shows, network talk)
No hazardous predictions this year seeing as I’m can’t seem to see very far.
Now, let us begin.

Back in all their glory; That, they are (not).


– Suvivor – Season 19 (premieres Sept. 17): A new season with a “treasure island” theme. Let’s pray that we’ll get a more interesting game than what we’ve been having for the past couple of years. I hope you love the Samoas because the 2010 edition was filmed back-to-back on the same location.
– How I Met Your Mother – Season 5 (premieres Sept. 21): Suit up! It’s time to go back in the game. Neil Patrick Harris is hosting this year’s Emmys so perhaps the show will garner more viewers. We should get finally this season some definite info on how Ted met his soon-to-be-wife…
– Two and a Half Men – Season 7 (premieres Sept. 21): Oh God, not this again.
– The Big Bang Theory – Season 3 (premieres Sept. 21): I was very reticent at the idea of watching this stereotypical show. But then I saw the first two seasons and liked it, a lot. It was much better than I expected it to be! The show was also renewed for two more seasons. Hopefully this year won’t be a crapfest.
– CSI: Miami – Season 8 (premieres Sept. 21): Put on your sunglasses. Utter a lame one-liner. You’re now ready to enjoy some terrible acting on your TV.
– NCIS – Season 7 (premieres Sept. 22): Not on my watch(list).
– The New Adventures of Old Christine – Season 5 (premieres Sept. 23): Nothing clever to say here.
– Gary unmarried – Season 2 (premieres Sept. 23): What the hell?! This was renewed?
– Criminal Minds – Season 5 (premieres Sept. 23):
– CSI: NY – Season 6 (premieres Sept. 23): I’ll probably check out the season premiere just to see the conclusion of last year’s cliffhanger (Hey, I had to prepare for that interview).
– CSI: – Season 10 (premieres Sept. 24): The show that wouldn’t die. I’m however dying of boredom when I’m watching this.
– The Mentalist – Season 2 (premieres Sept. 24): I’ll save you some time here: Go watch Psych instead.
– Ghost Whisperer – Season 5 (premieres Sept. 25): I don’t have to whisper to tell everyone how mediocre this series is.
– Medium – Season 6 (premieres Sept. 25): How well will Medium fare with the network switch? Tune it to find out.
– Numb3rs – Season 6 (premieres Sept.25): This endless equation continues for CBS thanks to great numbers. In the ratings.
– Cold Case – Season 7 (premieres Sept. 27): Obviously CBS doesn’t consider Cold Case “cold” enough to be classified. Ha. Ha. Ha. Get it?


– Heroes – Season 4 (premieres Sept. 21): Will my eyes heal once I gauge them out?
– Law & Order: SVU – Season 11 (premieres Sept. 25): Sorry peeps, I’m not interested.
– Parks and Recreation – Season 2 (premieres Sept. 17): Given that the first season got funnier by the episode, I’m looking forward to this one.
– The Office – Season 6 (premieres Sept. 17): Last season was pretty weak to say the least. I’ve heard good things about the upcoming episodes however, so cross your fingers.
– 30 Rock – Season 4 (premieres Oct. 15): Although a great show, I still feel that it’s The Sopranos of comedy (regarding its hype).
– Southland – Season 2 (premieres Oct. 23): The pilot didn’t really impress me (and I’m not that big on cop shows). There’s also this little Friday slot problem and the show being pushed back a month. Doesn’t show confidence…
– Friday Night Lights – Season 4 (premieres Oct. 28 – On Direct TV): The third season was much better than its second. It also opened the show to a whole range of new possibilities. Perhaps we’ll see the beginning of a two-season arc (the show having been renewed for two more years).


– Castle – Season 2 (premieres Sept. 21): Despite Nathan Fillion being on it, the show never really clicked with me.
– Grey’s Anatomy – Season 6 (premieres Sept. 24): Perhaps this year the onscreen drama will be more interesting than the backstage one.
– Desperate Housewives – Season 6 (premieres Sept. 27): The show can’t keep its 5-year leap momentum for long. I wonder how they’ll try to reinvent themselves this time around.
– Brothers & Sisters – Season 4 (premieres Sept. 27): I stopped watching the show two seasons ago. And, speaking of…
– Private Practice – Season 3 (premieres Oct. 1): …I gave up on this one last year.
– Ugly Betty – Season 4 (premieres Oct. 9): I’m assuming this is most likely the last season given its great schedule placement.


– Bones – Season 5 (premieres Sept. 17): Nothing to add here.
– Fringe – Season 2 (premieres Sept. 17): Answers shall be given. In that parallel universe where we’re not currently residing.
– ‘Til Death – Season 4 (premieres Sept. 18): You’re kidding me, right?
– House M.D. – Season 6 (premieres Sept. 21): As stated last year, I dropped out after a season and a half. The one good thing about House however is that his one-liners are funnier than Caruso’s.
– Dollhouse – Season 2 (premieres Sept. 25): The biggest surprise of last season was probably the renewal of Dollhouse. Epitaph One, despite its greatness and “bonus episode” aspect, was pretty much a game-changer that will be hard to play out organically inside the upcoming season. I wouldn’t hold my breath (again) for a third season. FOX putting it behind ‘Til Death and Brothers signals the end.
– The Simpsons – Season 21 (premieres Sept. 27): That other show that wouldn’t die.
– Family Guy – Season 8 (premieres Sept. 27): Their Emmy nom was so underserved. Go check out instead the early seasons of The Simpsons or, better yet, Futurama.
– American Dad – Season 5 (premieres Sept. 27): Still average.
– Lie to Me
– Season 2 (premieres Sept. 28): I won’t lie to you, I don’t care about this show. Even if it has Shawn Ryan as its showrunner.


I shan’t comment since I neither watch nor care about The CW shows.

– 90210 – Season 2 (premieres Sept. 8)
– Supernatural – Season 5 (premieres Sept. 10)
– One Tree Hill – Season 7 (premieres Sept. 14)
– Gossip Girl – Season 3 (premieres Sept. 14)
– Smallville – Season 9 (premieres Sept. 25)


– Dexter – Season 4 (premieres Sept. 27): I’ll sum up this upcoming season in two words: John. Lithgow.
– Californication – Season 3 (premieres Sept. 27): The move to NYC should mix things up a bit. I wonder how all of this will play out.


– Sons of Anarchy – Season 2 (premieres Sept. 8): I’m not really interested in the show, though I’ve heard great things about it.
– It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Season 5 (premieres Sept. 17): Almost a year after the fourth season’s finale are we getting this fresh batch of episodes. About time I say.
– Nip/Tuck – Season 6 (premieres Oct. 14): Funny how the last two seasons were shot at the same time yet we won’t get a series finale until 2011…

Whew, that was a long first part.

There won’t be any script review tomorrow; instead you’ll have another kind of review with part deux of this wonderful list (albeit with new shows this time).

One Year of Crazy Stuff

One Year of Crazy Stuff

Today, we shall deal with the craziest, most pointless and/or shocking stuff from the past year.
And all that illustrated by magnificent videos.

If this was in a Colbert segment, it would probably be in:

Incidentally, Stephen Colbert became the President in the Marvel universe.
I’m pretty sure he won thanks to this campaign video:

Going back to the various vids on here, the first one posted here was from the now-deceased show Middleman:

Let’s not forget another epic video, one of my favorite Psych moment from the episode American Duos:

Regarding movies, we’ve also seen some hilarious parodies, like this “Saturday Morning” cartoon version of Watchmen:

There was as well this “West Side Story meets the WGA strike” parody:


And studio mockery:

We uncovered the truth about the Disney movies (lazy people!):

Some other strange stuff was as well “uncovered”:

On the more serious side of things, there was one the scariest polls ever last November:

Almost 60% of the polled agreed that “the people who run the TV networks and the major movie studios do not share the religious and moral values of most Americans.”
48% think there is an “organized campaign by Hollywood and the national media to weaken the influence of religious values in this country.”
49% agree with the statement that “the U.S. is becoming too tolerant in its acceptance of different ideas and lifestyles.”
38% of the people who answered the poll agreed that books containing “dangerous ideas” should be banned from libraries.
The same number of people disagree that “censoring books is an old-fashioned idea.”

There was also a pretty hilarious quote from NBC’s Ben Silverman in this year’s Upfronts:

We are thrilled to be announcing such an awesome slate of new series that build on our existing quality brand and deliver emotional, human stories.

Classic.

And finally, some musical component to all that, with this sublime John Williams acapella tribute:

Hopefully we’ll get more fun stuff in the coming months.
The playback continues tomorrow with the greatest posts.

Spec Script 2009 – What is hot and what is not

Spec Script 2009 – What is hot and what is not

UPDATE: A new updated 2019 Drama version is available here.
A new updated 2019 Comedy version is available here.

‘Tis the season to write great scripts.
Staffing season is fast approaching and I’ve been perusing the various blogs in search of good spec advices, so I decided to put all those info in common into a clear list of speccable drama shows.
The ideal portfolio would probably be composed of three specs script.
One safe, “mainstream”, another more marginal, “borderline”, and a third which would be an original pilot/feature.
Basically balance the “safe” with the “risky”, the “light” with the “dark”, and procedurals with genre shows.

The shows are divided into 4 somewhat self-explanatory categories regarding their appeal to readers and how well they are known/read:
– Over-specced (forget it)
– Mainstream (everyone’s doing it)
– Wild Cards (soon, everyone will do it)
– Outsiders (get out of the pack)

There is also a grade regarding the shows’ longevity in relation to specs of said shows using the greatest grading system on Earth: stars.

★★★★★ – Excellent
★★★★★ – Very Good
★★★★★ – Average
★★★★★ – Fair
★★★★★ – Poor

Over-Specced
Re-tool your spec if you have one, but you probably shouldn’t bother beginning a new one for those shows.

C. S. I./Law & Order (CBS/NBC)
Let’s begin with the obvious.
Once the hottest specs in town, now not so much.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – The type of spec that is probably going to get real old real fast. I wouldn’t start a new one, it’s been over-done.

House (FOX)
A now-classic medical procedural yet slowly fading in demand.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Even though FOX is probably going to renew the show for several years to come, speccability is going down fast for House.

Mainstream
The current and new widespread shows in town that are getting read.

Dexter (Sho)
Seems like this once-must-have spec won’t pass another season. Probably the last “hot” year for Dex.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Clearly not as in high demand as it was a couple of years ago but should live for another year or two.

Bones (FOX)
I don’t know the show well enough, but from what I can gather, it’s a solid procedural.
Longevity: ★★★★★ -Steady ratings on the verge of 10M viewers should ensure another couple of seasons.

Mad Men (AMC)
The hotest spec on the market right now. Everyone and their mothers seems to be doing one. Has obviously gone mainstream given the amount of specs produced around it.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – AMC is not going to let this one slide.

Gossip Girl (The CW)
If you’re aiming for this type of show then probably the show to spec.
Longevity : ★★★★★ – Do you really think The CW is going to cancel that show anytime soon?

Wild Cards
Not quite fully widespread but might get there given the chance.

Fringe (FOX)
Clearly the fresh FOX show to spec right now with a lot of potential.
Longevity : ★★★★★ – Unless the show tanks in the ratings and/or FOX finds a new hit show next year, Fringe surely has at least a second and third season pretty much guaranteed with 24 and Prison Break soon gone and no real lighthouse shows for the network.

The Mentalist (CBS)
A classic CBS procedural that, given its ratings, is most likely the new Cold Case/Without a Trace.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Given the fact that C.S.I./Cold Case/Without a Trace still continue, the show probably has a few years ahead of it

Dollhouse (FOX)
One might think a very speccable show as the serialized nature of the show successfully balances out the SF aspect, but the risk may be be too great.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – I wouldn’t hold my breath given the atrocious ratings and the Friday timeslot on FOX. Wait for a definite renewal to start on that spec.

Flashpoint (CBS)
Well…We’ve discussed in depth this already. Its freshness should give you a wide array of stories, and its procedural aspect should give it a wide enough reach.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Flashpoint rules the Fridays, no reason to get canceled yet.

Chuck (NBC)
Fun, light-hearted spy drama with a lot of story elements to choose from.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Unless NBC cancels the show (doubtful given the Super-Bowl and 3-D money behind it), there’s still a couple of years ahead.

90210 (The CW)
Will soon join in the ranks of Gossip Girl.
Longevity : ★★★★★ – Same question Gossip Girl: Why cancel it?

Outsiders
The shows (mostly cable) you may be tempted to take a risk on, getting you over the rest of the pack.
After that, it depends on the willingness of the reader.
Who knows, maybe the showrunner is into less popular shows and will value your risk-taking.

Breaking Bad (AMC)
Not as major as Mad Men but clearly a lot of potential. Might prove hard to spec though.
Longevity : ★★★★★ – Seems like AMC is on a streak so it most likely will renew the show for a couple of years at the very least as it will become more and more speccable.

Leverage (TNT)
Perhaps a new dark horse. The show is fresh enough to give a new spin on the heist and con storyline of your choice.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – A second season order bodes well for this new show.

Burn Notice/Psych (USA)
Good light procedurals and both shows are not majorly specced right now.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – I don’t see any reason why USA would cancel those shows anytime soon as the network doesn’t have much else going for it.

Even though it’s obvious only the major, more or less “speccable”, shows around were put down on this list, it’s interesting to note the rise of the basic cable spec market (AMC, TNT, USA) yet there is no real ABC nor HBO contender this year, mostly because ABC only has either dying or over-specced shows (Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy) and HBO doesn’t have that much shows anymore.

You can still try the
very risky route of speccing The Tudors for instance, but be sure to see check if who you’re sending it to will actually read it.

Also, try to net get too invested in a spec (even an almost-surefire Fringe) unless you know the show has been renewed.

As for the Comedies, well, I don’t know much about that, except what probably everyone else knows: 30 Rock is in and The Office is over-specced.

Good luck!