Feedbag: 'The Pacific,' 'Chuck,' 'Glee,' 'Dollhouse'...
Q: James, I notice you didn't mention "Chuck" as looking "pale & shaky." At this point do you think it will get renewed? Given all of NBC's woes and how brutal the time period is? -- Paul
A: NBC is going to be pretty reluctant to get rid of "Chuck." They like the show, critics like the show, fans like the show. Its numbers have been weak recently, but to some extent you have to blame the ratings tide being out at NBC. This isn’t a numbers-based answer I'm giving, it’s more just a sense that if NBC can find any way to make “Chuck” work, they will.
Q: Speaking about war series, do you have any info about HBO's "The Pacific" coming out this year (?) -- serialnik
A: Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg's “The Pacific” unfortunately will not be out until next year. When you mention their previous HBO war miniseries, the magnificent “Band of Brothers,” and then mention “The Pacific” to those who work at HBO, you get this pensive and hesitant expression. It’s not that they don’t think “The Pacific” is as good (at least one HBO person described the rough cuts as amazing), it’s just the Pacific Theatre was a very different front, with brutal atrocities being committed on both sides (see James Bradley's excellent and disturbing book “Flyboys,” which makes the author’s better-known “Flags of Our Fathers” seem like a sixth grader’s essay on WWII). “Brothers” also benefits from a wider range of dramatic settings. In other words, HBO senses “The Pacific” may be a tougher sell than the original, regardless of its quality. On the upside, one episode is supposedly a single extensive battle from start to finish, a small-screen attempt at taking on the opening of “Saving Private Ryan.”
Q: RE: 'Northern Lights' is Lifetime's most-watched movie -- I watched "Northern Lights" and something on me certainly went north thanks to super hottie Eddie Cibrian! Yummo! Leeann Rimes is so lucky I just want to scratch her eyes out. Last night I dreamed that I was Leeann Rimes, but attractive and with male genitalia, and me and Eddie made love all night long. It would have been low in fat, but we were covered in marshmallow cream and rice crispies. Talk about going snap, crackle and then POP! Mmmm.... Thank you Leeann Rimes for ruining women for Eddie....now I have a chance!!! -- Scott Swishy
A: Scott, please feel free to leave comments on my blog anytime.
Q: Sadly once again several programs that are called failures on the broadcast networks could or might be called a successful show if on a cable channel. "Terminator" and "Dollhouse" likely would be successful if on FX and "Lipstick Jungle" would do well on one of the channels that women watch. I watch most of these every week (I have five DVRs) by spreading them out to hours that are not so competitive. Wake up executives at these companies and keep some of these weaker shows on one of your cables channels. Ask Bonnie Hammer about "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and the success it has brought to USA Network. Most of us could not care less as to the number of the channel. -- Allen Charles
A: You have five DVRs? Dude ... and yes, many broadcast failures would be hits on cable if they got the same rating, but that’s a massive If. You’re moving a show to a place with a much smaller overall audience, fewer marketing dollars and a smaller programming budget to pay for it all. It’s trying to keep an African serval jungle cat as a pet in your apartment. It seems like the serval is pretty tame and there’s enough room, but then it refuses to ever use the litterbox and starts pouncing on you while you’re trying to sleep and the reality kicks in: This cat is not made for an apartment.
Q: RE: Airing one episode of Ryan Murphy's “Glee” after “American Idol” in May, then airing the rest in the fall. I don't really get this move. Why premiere it and then have it off the air for 3 months to allow people to forget about it? – Tony
A: Fox is typically in first place in the ratings in the spring, yet in third or fourth place in the fall. The idea is to expose “Glee” to a massive audience now, so when they’re rolling out their new shows like "Glee" in September against heavy competition that viewers will be more likely to check out a title they’re familiar with. It’s an odd move, but I can’t say for certain that it’s not going to work.
Q: If "Friday Night Lights" get canceled, I'm pooping on Jeff Zucker's desk.
-- Navin R Johnson
A: Like you’d be the first.
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