Question: I finally jumped on the Project Runway train for this current season, and I'm loving it. Great premise, and I hope I can catch up on the first two seasons. My comment is more about Bravo's scheduling. I'm all for cable networks broadcasting episodes several times a week, but do you think they go overboard with Runway? My DVR shows Runway coming on 32 times this week — don't you think that's overkill? Another question: I'm looking forward (of course) to the new season of Battlestar Galactica and even Nip/Tuck, now that enough time has passed since that ludicrous Season 3 finale. Do you think premiering these shows during the start of the broadcast season may hurt them?
Answer: Without a doubt, Bravo goes overboard with the Project Runway replays — but at least you don't have to fret if you miss an episode. (I've become hooked on HGTV's Design Star, and they don't replay that one often enough — its original Sunday time slot is way overcrowded.) I'm not sure it's overkill,
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Question: I spent this past weekend watching the first half of Battlestar Galactica's first season, so I can have the entire run of the series under my belt by the time Season 3 premieres in October. It should be no surprise to you (or to anyone with a modicum of taste) that I'm completely captivated. BSG addresses so many topics, including the very nature of humanity, on levels deeper than any show I can think of, including Lost. I'm sure you've addressed this before, but why is the TV Academy so reluctant to nominate it for anything except technical awards? The story line is no more complicated than the continuing story lines on Lost or Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy. Are the oldsters really that terrified of spaceships?
Answer: Not so much terrified as contemptuous. I've met TV-industry veterans who, even when told this was one of the best shows of the year, refuse to look at it. They simply can't get past the title and its embarrassingly cheesy predecessor. You'd think
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Question: Are you watching The 4400? For some reason, this show has defied the odds for me. By Season 3, usually I'm up in arms, citing inconsistencies and worrying that a good show is going down the drain. With this show, I keep being pleasantly surprised with every episode. It has hung in there and continued to deliver compelling material. Obviously this isn't the bestest show ever (it certainly doesn't compare to, say, Battlestar Galactica or Veronica Mars), but it's truly better than a lot of stuff out there. Maybe it's the summer, maybe it's me. What do you think about this season?
Answer: I've finally caught up with the episodes since falling behind during press tour, and I agree that the most recent episodes have had some nice twists to them. I especially like the conflict between our NTAC heroes and the military-industrial villains at Dennis Ryland's corporation. I'm writing this before seeing the episode following Jordan Collier's "surprise" reappearance, but I'm looking
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Question: A lot of people seem to complain about the sameness of CBS' dramas. I'm wondering if these people are forgetting about Numb3rs. Numb3rs is one of my all-time favorite shows, and although it is just yet another crime drama, I consider it very different from the rest of CBS' schedule. It has much more in-depth character development, an incredibly creative premise and amazing actors (who really should have been nominated for something by now). I don't think CBS has treated it well by shoving it into the Fridays-at-10 slot, where it supposedly dominates but is mostly forgotten. Do you agree?
Answer: I'm not as down on CBS' crime franchises as you appear to be, but I do think Numb3rs is distinctive (if not quite top-tier, must-see TV) and agree that it's being taken for granted because of its relatively invisible time period. I'll admit that most of the shows I record on Fridays go unwatched, despite my best efforts. I catch up with a Numb3rs episode on occasion, and if I hear one
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Question: I must say that I was shocked to read the TCA Awards results. It seems incredibly unjust that critically acclaimed series on UPN and WB such as Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Hates Chris and Everwood get left out while shows like Lost, Grey's Anatomy, My Name Is Earl and The Office get all the prizes. I mean, critics often complain about how the Emmys always go for the same-old-same-old, but didn't they do the same?
Answer: Oh, climb down off your high horse. At least Lauren Graham was nominated, and for a subpar season. (And in the past, Gilmore Girls was honored by the TCA, something the Emmys has never done.) I was personally disappointed that Battlestar Galactica didn't make the drama cut (though I would never have expected it to win), and that Kristen Bell was not among the drama-performer nominees. But these are not the cult-TV awards, much as I love some of those shows (and honestly, Veronica Mars' sophomore year wasn't as solid as its first, though I'm hopeful
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Tobey Maguire and Samuel Jackson
The lines were longer than ever at this year's Comic-Con International, the annual celebration of all things geeky. Just ask the thousands of Battlestar Galactica fans who waited en masse outside of Ballroom 20 to see their favorite Cylons and colonials in the flesh. Meanwhile, the queue for New Line's special Snakes on a Plane presentation snaked (ha ha ha) out the door and down the side of the massive convention center. There are only two possible explanations for the sheer number of people who invaded San Diego for that weekend: 1) Nerds have learned how to clone themselves or 2) Geek culture is now mainstream culture. Either way, Comic-Con '06 was one for the ages. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of the four-day extravaganza.
Best Teaser Trailer (Mo
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Question: I heard that Supernatural received two Emmy nominations, which completely surprised me. I was tickled to hear that. I gave up on the Emmys long ago and rarely pay attention anymore, but when I heard about Supernatural, I was shocked. Shows like that never get noticed. If this is true, can you tell me what categories the nominations are in?
Answer: You may be less tickled to learn that the show's nominations are in the categories of music composition for a series (dramatic underscore) and sound editing. Not that these aren't important elements of any TV show, but the fact is, even the best fantasy-genre programs tend to be recognized only in the technical categories. Take Battlestar Galactica, which should be a contender in all of the major categories, including acting and especially writing. It scored three whole nominations, for costumes, single-camera sound mixing and special visual effects. ...
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Question: I know you are really busy at the press tour (thanks for all the detailed Dispatches), but I was just wondering if you might want to comment on the TV Week Critics Poll. Do you agree or disagree with any specific shows in the top 25? Actually, I was really wondering if you might want to comment on the fact that CBS did not have a single show in the top 25. What does that say about the American public, and CBS for that matter, that America's No. 1 network (a title they often shove down our throats) does not have a single "top tier" show? Oh, and how great is Psych? I know it killed in the ratings, so is renewal just around the corner? My guess is yes.
Answer: I'm very fond of Psych, and I look forward to returning home in a week so I can catch up on the episodes beyond the pilot. Its renewal is a lock, I'm sure. As for the TV Week poll: I'm not in the least surprised that CBS isn't represented on that list. When we make a list like this (I'm just speaking for myself), we tend
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Question: Why should we care about the Emmys? Every year people in the entertainment news media complain of the innumerable shows that were unjustly snubbed, and grumble that the Academy is too conservative, oblivious and ill-advised. I don't disagree with them. To wit: The mom from Malcolm in the Middle was nominated this year. That show is still on? I mean, do actual TV critics vote on the Emmys? It seems the entire body of voters is made up of my grandma. And every year the same news outlets hype up the Emmys like crazy, as if they actually meant something. It's tragic that the Emmys don't take advantage of what they could do — promote and save underwatched shows, expose viewers to innovative programs they wouldn't otherwise watch. I, for one, refuse to watch an awards program that honors the familiar and mediocre (ahem, Two and a Half Men) and consistently ignores truly great TV, like this year's snubs Battlestar Galactica and Veronica Mars.
Answer: I wondered how long it would take
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Question: Have you heard anything about the new show Caprica, set in the Battlestar Galactica universe? (I won't call it a spin-off, since none of the characters will be the same.) I've heard the basic plot, and I know Ron Moore and David Eick are involved once again, but that's about it. Has a pilot been filmed? Are any actors attached? Any time frame for this show to be seen? I can only hope for a day when the end of my week is filled with Battlestars.
Answer: You and me both. When I conducted a BSG panel in early June at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York, the producers said the script for this prequel series was still being finished and hadn't yet been turned in, though it wouldn't be long. Since then I've heard nothing. (But it's been a busy summer.) Once, or if, it gets the actual green light for production, and casting gets underway, I'm sure it won't be kept a secret. But certainly there's no projected airdate yet ...
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