Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Law & Order: SVU News Roundup


Lot's of news coming out of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit camp the last few days. First off, what most already know, the show's stars, Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay, will be returning for the 11th season. Apparently negotions were long, tough, and drawn out.

Word was out near a month ago that Stephanie March will returning as ADA Cabot but we've now learned she'll fill the spot only for 10 episodes. Preceeding her run will be a four episode arc by TV-vet Christine Lahti. No word yet on who will fill the remaining nine episodes but TV Guide seems to think they plan on casting a male for the part - a complete departure from the show's usual young hot female ADA's.

For awhile now, Law & Order: Special Victim Unit has been well known for it's guest stars. In the past Cynthia Nixon, Martha Plimpton and Leslie Caron have all won awards for their guest roles while Robin Williams and Marcia Gay Hardon were also nominated. Last season, SVU's tenth, saw guest stars ranging from Ellen Burstyn and Cicely Tyson to Hillary Duff, Luke Perry and Sarah Gilbert...Among many many others.

Word came today that Prison Break's Wentworth Miller will be the first guest star of the year, playing a cop that saves a rape victim. Buddy TV is guessing, and they're probably right, that the character won't be a one-sided good guy cop.

For lot's of guest star teasing, check out L&O:SVU executive producer Neal Baer's Twitter feed. He's promising an Emmy winner for episode two and an Oscar winner for episode three.

The 11th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit kicks off with Miller on Wednesday September 23rd at 9pm.




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FX Fall Premiere Dates



FX has announced the premiere dates for two of it's returning series this fall and tentative plans for another. To kick off their new season, Shakespeare in leather drama Sons of Anarchy will be returning for it's sophomore season of gang warfare, drugs, biker babes and massive amounts of alcohol. And Henry Rollins.

The biker drama did pretty well in it's first season last year, and deservedly so. Nothing really in the way of awards but ratings where good in the hoped for demographics and critics really dug the show. This season will feature Henry Rollins for at least six of the seasons thirteen episodes. Not sure what the part is, other than he's some sort of threat to the gang. I call pretty good casting here!

In other casting news for the show, Ally Walker will be back as Agent Stahl, a real thorn in the side of Sam Crow and Mitch Pelliggi will be returning as the head of Charming's local white supremecist gang, The Nordics. He'll also be joined by a new supremicist, Adam Arkin. Once again, DVR Life would like to call good casting!

Not returning this season is Drea de Mateo who played Wendy, Jax's former junkie lover and baby mama. DVR Life hasn't had a chance to post this yet, but de Mateo will be making her way to ABC's Desperate Housewives in the 2009 season. So there ya go, we reported it.

Somewhat too-quirky for DVR Life comedy It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia will also be returning and will reportedly have a new partner - another half hour comedy - sharing the 10pm hour.

Finally, Nip/Tuck, the oft-mind blowing, usually disturbing, plastic surgery dramedy will be premiering it's sixth and final season in October. No firm date has been set, though just the return is pretty big news as we weren't expecting it until 2010. Word is the final season will be cut in two and we'll be treated to ten episodes in the 2009/2010 season and then the final nine in 2011. Way to drag it out, FX.

Sons of Anarchy returns Thursday September 8th at 10pm, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia premieres September 17th.

Update: EW has just announced that FX's Damages will be returning in 2010. No other info yet. If I recall correctly, the previous two seasons premiered in January, so I'll assume things won't be much different for season three. Here's hoping they realize season two was just a bit too vague and confusing, even for people like who tend to like vague and confusing in a good mystery/drama.







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Monday, June 29, 2009

Being Erica Returning Stateside



Hollywood Insider got a pretty good tip this afternoon: SOAPNet will be picking up season two of Canadian dramedy Being Erica. The show is a hit in it's home country and apparently did well enough for SOAPNet to return for a second round.

Read the article here, which gives some very slight spoilers, and read my post about Being Erica season one here.

No word on a return date, but we at DVR Life are looking forward to this so we'll keep you updated.



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Sneek Peak At Tonight's The Closer


A peak at tonight's new episode of The Closer entitled Walking Back The Cat.

Due the HTML on TNT's webpage not working correctly, go ahead and click here for the video.

Can't you just feel the love between cooperating government agencies?



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New Poster For Monk's Final Season


New poster for the final season of USA's Monk. The show returns Friday August 7th for it's eighth run. The show premiered back in the summer of 2002 and has remained one of the most successful original series on cable television with good ratings and plenty of award nominations and wins.

These days original series on cable networks are doing just as well as, if not better, than much of what the broadcast networks are offering and Monk was pretty much at the forefront of that movement. Monk was also the birthing place for the whole Characters Welcome campaign that pretty much defines USA network and all of it's original programming. We here at DVR Life are also really going to miss the Monk holiday special this year.



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Showtime Unceremoniously Cancels Brotherhood


Well, they left us hanging since last December, so I suppose it comes as no big surprise, but Showtime has canceled Brotherhood after only three seasons. The series, in our opinion, was criminally under rated by viewers and critics, rivaling even HBO's The Wire as one of the most under appreciated premium cable shows of all time.

At least The Wire was given a final season by HBO and people started noticing it just in time to finally heap some much deserved praise upon the series before it's death. In canceling Brotherhood, Showtime did little more than offer up a press release six months after the series finale that wasn't even about the show being canceled - it's about the season three DVD release officially being titled Brotherhood: The Final Season.



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Quick News Roundup

Ausiello says: Mark Pellegrino, who plays Jacob on Lost and Rita's ex on Dexter, has been cast as Lucifer for Supernatural's big apocalypse show down next season while Chris Vance, pretty much the only redeeming quality (in our opinion) of Fox's one-run summer show Mental will be joining the cast of USA's Burn Notice for four episodes as an MI5 agent.

Spoiler TV has pics from the first day of shooting Gossip Girl's third season. Considering they just started shooting this morning, Spoiler TV has some pretty quick contacts. Here's the pics.




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Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Fall Is Now Full

Sorry for being so late on this.  Actual paying jobs tend to take precedence over our little hobby here, so DVR Life isn't always the first in line.  CBS revealed the premiere dates for the 2009 Fall season yesterday afternoon and NBC followed suit today (you can read into NBC being last to announce what you want...).  Get your DVR's ready, kids:
 
NBC 2009 Fall Premiere Dates

MON. SEPT. 14th
10:00pm - The Jay Leno Show

THUR. SEPT. 17th
8:00pm - Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday
8:30pm - Parks and Recreation
9:00pm - The Office
9:30pm - Community (series premiere – moves to regular 8pm slot Thursday October 8th)

MON. SEPT. 21st
8:00pm - Heroes (2 hour premiere)

WED. SEPT. 23rd
8:00pm - Parenthood
9:00pm - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

FRI. SEPT. 25th
8:00pm - Law & Order
9:00pm - Southland

SAT. SEPT. 26th
11:30pm - Saturday Night Live
 
MON. SEPT. 28th
9:00pm - Trauma
 
THUR. OCT. 8th
8:00pm - Community (now at regular time slot)
THUR. OCT. 15th
9:30pm - 30 Rock
 
 
CBS 2009 Fall Premiere Dates

MON. SEPT. 21
8:00pm - How I Met Your Mother
8:30pm - Accidentally on Purpose
9:00pm - Two and a Half Men
9:30pm - The Big Bang Theory
10:00pm - CSI: Miami

TUES, SEPT. 22
8:00pm - NCIS
9:00pm - NCIS: Los Angeles
10:00pm - The Good Wife

WED, SEPT. 23
8:00pm - The New Adventures of Old Christine
8:30pm - Gary Unmarried
9:00pm - Criminal Minds
10:00pm - CSI: NY

THUR, SEPT. 24
9:00pm - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
10:00pm - The Mentalist

FRI, SEPT. 25
8:00pm - Ghost Whisperer
9:00pm - Medium
10:00pm - Numb3rs

SAT, SEPT. 26
10:00pm - 48 Hours Mystery

SUN, SEPT. 27
7:00pm - 60 Minutes
10:00pm - Cold Case

SUN, OCT. 4
9:00pm - Three Rivers


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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Make It Or Break It

Caught last night's premiere of ABC Family's newest scripted series Make It Or Break It. Last time I watched the premiere of a scripted series on the network I was pretty much horrified by the blatant born again preaching and swore off the network and it's shows (the series was The Secret Life of the American Teenager, if you were wondering). Then I started hearing about Greek and how awesome it is and kind of regretting my decision not to watch it (and don't want to start now without catching up), so I thought I'd at least give the Make It Or Break It pilot a chance before just saying no.

The fact that Slate.com compared it to Friday Night Lights didn't hurt either.

The series revolves around a group of Olympic hopefuls at a well-to-do, well known training center, Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Center. Things at the center pretty much revolve around three young girls, Payson, Kaylie, and Lauren, who are all a lock to make it to the national competition and, hopefully, continuing to the worldwide games.

But then Emily shows. Emily isn't as rich as the other girls and she hasn't been coached all her life. She's a scholarship case, discovered at a park. She's wearing leotards off the rack and shows some fear when approaching the vault. Her little brother is in a wheelchair and her mother is unreliable when it comes to keeping a job or picking her up on time.

Despite the cold front from the mean girls, a small case of sabotage, and a job at local the pizza joint featuring stoned customers and a meth head manager, Emily's got heart and she don't quit, two ingredients all good family dramas have.

The writing is consistently the highlight of the series. There's a few good quips here and there, and even some language I was a bit surprised to hear on ABC Family. The acting is acceptable, nothing to praise nor disapprove of, though Cassie Scerbo, acting as Lauren, manages to inflict the perfect rich girl sneer of disapproval. The spoiled brat squeal when things don't go her way is also pitch perfect. Scerbo also delivered my favorite line of the evening when she describes her teamate Kaylie's floor excercise routine as "flipping your hair and pulling it out of your ass."

As for the production, I'm sorry Slate but you are WAY off base with the FNL reference. Perhaps with the story telling aspect, but the acting is very rehearsed, unlike FNL and it's famous freedom the actors are given. There's also none of the breath taking camera work or awe-inspiring soundtrack we've come to know and expect from this shows' football-tossing brethren.

The production does have the usual modest budget, filmed in Vancouver or Toronto sort of feel to it. Not that Canadian shows have low quality: check out Being Erica or Flashpoint to dispel that myth. It's just that U.S. productions that don't have the highest of budgets tend to move production up north and TV nerds can usually tell. That's nothing to be ashamed of - many great TV shows rely on this to get renewed come budget-cut time at networks.

Oddly, though, the pilot was reportedly filmed in Los Angeles, Ca., so go figure. Beyond the young girls, the series has also made regular cast members of some recognizable faces, including Peri Gilpin of Frasier, Strong Medicine's Rosa Blasi, and, believe it or not, Candace Cameron (now known as Candace Cameron Bure), little sis to 80's teen hearthrob cum born again christian Kirk Cameron and big sis on Full House.

I'm looking forward to more Make It Or Break It, but I don't see myself missing the characters like I do the first three or four weeks after the latest season of Friday Night Lights ends, nor do I see myself ever gasping in anticipation or marvelling at the images before me. What I do see is chuckling with delight everytime Lauren releases her inner Bitch (much like I do when Blair on Gossip Girl let's it fly) or flashing back to crappy food service jobs or cracking a smile when Emily lands that perfect dismount, pissing off the rich kids and wowing the coaches.





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