Fall 2006 TV Review, Part Four (“Shark”) [Update] September 21, 2006 2:17 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Television, TV Reviews.add a comment
Update: Ratings results for Shark and Six Degrees are at the bottom of this post.
Before I continue on with this feature, let’s recap the series premiere ratings from last evening.
Jericho
Averaged a 7.5/12 HH Rating with a 3.2 A18-49 rating (11.40M viewers). This is better than I had expected and a better launch in terms of total viewers than Smith. However, it did have a slightly lower A18-49 rating, but that is offset by the fact that the show increased in viewers in the second half by roughly 8%. Always a great sign. So a solid, if not a great premiere. The key will be to see if the show holds on to its viewers for an extended amount a time, something Invasion over on ABC was not capable of doing.
For those interested in comparing this show with Invasion’s premiere, here are those numbers: 10.5/17 (7.1)–16.43M viewers.
Kidnapped
Averaged a 5.1/8 HH Rating with a 2.8 A18-49 rating (7.53M viewers). The show dipped in A18-49 from it’s first half hour to second (2.9 to 2.7). Considering what the time-slots former occupant received last year (Law & Order–13.03 million viewers and a 4.0 A18-49 rating) this should not come as good news to NBC. Of course it didn’t necessarily have the best of lead-in’s with The Biggest Loser (7.17M viewers, 3.1 A18-49 rating), so I guess they can look at that and find some positives.
Alright, lets move on to tonight’s new premiere (note: I have yet to see Six Degrees, so I won’t have a review for it); Shark (here is part one, part two and part three).
“Entourage” Renewed for a Fourth Season September 20, 2006 4:31 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Renewals, Television.1 comment so far

In a decision which should surprise no one, HBO has renewed Entourage for a fourth season. 12 new episodes were ordered.
So far this season, the series has averaged a healthy 2.5M viewers, ahead of other HBO shows like Deadwood (which has been canceled but will supposedly return in the form of TV movie) and Lucky Louie which was also canceled (story here).
New episodes of Season 3 will start up again in March of 2007, with Season 4 expected to begin soon thereafter.
Source: TV Week
Fall 2006 TV Review, Part Three (“Jericho” and “Kidnapped”) September 20, 2006 4:00 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Television, TV Reviews.add a comment
Before I continue on with this feature, let’s recap the series premiere ratings from last evening.
Smith
Averaged a 7.2/12 HH Rating with a 3.5 A18-49 rating (10.71M viewers). Welcome news to CBS as the show held onto a good majority of its lead-in The Unit, especially in adults 18-49, where retention was at a very excellent 100%. It finished third in the time-slot behind SVU–9.6/16 (5.1)–and Boston Legal–7.8/13 (3.5). As you can see, it tied for second place in A18-49. The Unit’s dip from last season’s premiere–11.6 (5.0)–may have minimized some of Smith’s audience potential.
Alright, now lets continue on to the third part of my Fall 2006 Review feature (here is part one and part two).
“Brotherhood” Renewed for a Second Season September 19, 2006 11:18 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Renewals, Television.add a comment

Showtime has renewed its critically acclaimed freshman series Brotherhood for another year, ordering 10 episodes.
The series premiered with 454,000 viewers back in July of this year. A total of 1.2M viewers watched the premiere and its repeats in the first week.
Second season episodes are scheduled to premiere in January of 2007.
On the Web:
Son of JRR Tolkien Completes Father’s Unfinished Novel, To Be Released Next Spring September 19, 2006 9:19 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Books, Lord of the Rings.3 comments
As reported to the Associated Press from the books publishers, The Children Of Hurin an unfinished work by the famous Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien is set to be released after more than 30 years of editing by one of his son’s, Christopher. Christopher’s works include the creation of maps for the Lord of the Ring’s Trilogy and the publishing and editing of The Silmarillion.
“It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father’s long version of the legend of The Children Of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers.” Christopher said.
The Children Of Hurin (featuring the elves and dwarves of Middle Earth) will be published by Houghton Mifflin in the US and HarperCollins in the UK. It will be released next spring.
Pitt to become new lead in Mission Impossible franchise? [Update: Paramount source says rumor untrue] September 19, 2006 8:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Mission Impossible, Movies, Rumors.1 comment so far
Rumors have surfaced on the net with regards to the fate of the Mission Impossible franchise now that Tom Cruise is no longer part of any plans. It turns out that one possible semi-replacement (the character of Ethan Hunt will not be replaced) to helm Mission Impossible IV is Brad Pitt (more recently of Mr. & Mrs. Smith fame).
The British tabloid The Daily Mail is reporting that Paramount is mulling over a decision to offer the lead role to Brad Pitt.
“MI:IV will not include Cruise’s character, agent Ethan Hunt,” the Mail‘s source claims. “They’re considering a brief mention, saying Hunt retired to live a safe life with his new wife. … They’re set on Brad taking over as a gutsy new head operative who puts together his own unique team of specialists.”
UPDATE: A paramount source has told TrekMovie that the rumor is “total fiction”.
Fall 2006 TV Review, Part Two (“Smith”) September 19, 2006 2:15 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Television, TV Reviews.17 comments
Before we begin with part two (here is part one for those who missed it) of my look at this Fall’s new series’, lets have a quick rundown on the ratings of last night’s premieres:
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Averaged a 8.7/14 HH Rating with a 5.0 A18-49 rating (13.39M viewers) Overall, thats a strong start and enough for a solid second place in the timeslot (behind the power-house CSI: Miami). It’s not all peachy for the critically acclaimed series though, as audience dipped roughly 2.4M viewers in the second half hour in total viewers (from 14.57M to 12.20M) and in A18-49 (going from a 5.4 to a 4.6). It could be cause for concern, or it could be nothing. Something to watch for no doubt.
(NOTE: I made a mistake and posted the viewers for “Deal or No Deal” instead of those for “Studio 60”. Apologies for the mistake, it’s been edited out. I’ve also added additional data on the 2nd half decline.)
The Class
Averaged a 6.9/11 HH Rating with a 3.7 A18-49 Rating (10.74M viewers). That’s a good start to the show (second place in the time-slot behind “Deal or No Deal”), improving on last year’s time-slot occupant (“The King of Queens”) by almost 9% in A18-49. It’ll be interesting to see where the show goes from here.
Alright, now that we got that out of the way, lets continue on towards tonight’s new premieres, correction, new premiere. That’s right, while there are a few season premieres this evening, there is only one series premiere; “Smith”, the thief focused series led by the very powerful on-screen presence of Ray Liota.
Click the link to continue reading.
Lucky Louie Canceled September 18, 2006 10:57 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cancellations, Television.17 comments

The short running adult comedy series that began this season on HBO was canceled today.
The series ran for 13 episodes and averaged 1.3M viewers, hardly enough to warrant a renewal, especially when many critics didn’t find much to like with its approach towards humor. Its sex and curse word laced episodes differed heavily from most half-hour sitcoms out there.
“Louis is an incredible talent and a wonderful partner,” said Carolyn Strauss, president of HBO Entertainment, in a statement. “We loved trying our first multicamera show with him, and we look forward to other projects with Louis in the future.”
Source: TV Week
Fall 2006 TV Review, Part One (“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and “The Class”) September 18, 2006 1:00 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Reviews, Television, TV Reviews.add a comment
Not for a long time do I remember so many amazing new shows premiering in one season. Whether your favorite genre is drama, comedy or sci-fi, this Falls new shows offer up a little bit of each. I’ve seen most of the pilots, and I’m honestly finding it very hard to narrow down my selection to any sort of top 10 list. Of course, the bigger problem is finding a way to watch all these new shows on top of the current crop that I already watch! I’m sure I’m not the only one in that predicament.
I’m going to do brief reviews of each of the new fall (and winter) series, and we’ll start today with “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and “The Class”.
“Psych” and “The Dead Zone” Renewed September 16, 2006 8:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Renewals, Television.1 comment so far

According to “a person familiar with the matter” (as reported by TV Week), USA Network has renewed both its freshman Dramedy “Psych”and its long running Sci-Fi/Supernatural series “The Dead Zone”.
Nintendo Wii price and launch details announced. September 14, 2006 1:48 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Nintendo, Video Games.1 comment so far

Nintendo this morning in a news conference held in New York, released details on the launch of their new next generation console called Wii (pronounced we).
The system will carry a suggested retail price of $249.99 and launch on November 19th of this year. It will come bundled with the following:
- The Wii console with hardware stand and support plate (purpose unknown)
- One Wii remote (Wiimote) controller with a wriststrap
- One Nunchuck attachment
- A sensor bar, with a stand
- A/V cable, currently unspecified, assumed to be a Component Video connection
- AC adaptor
- 2 double A batteries to power the Wiimote
- 1 free pack-in game, “Wii Sports”
Earlier in the morning in Japan, Nintendo announced that in the Japanese market the system will not come bundled with a free game and will be priced at 25,000 Yen (approximately $213). It will launch in Japan on December 2nd.
For the full press release from Nintendo, please continue reading:
Amazon unveils new video download service September 13, 2006 7:00 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, Television, Video Downloads.1 comment so far
Trying to capitalize on the growing online video downloading market, Amazon has unveiled a new iTunes like service called Unbox.
The service currently is offering a wide range of television shows and movies in high-quality DVD video, including recent movies such as V For Vendetta and Firewall, and even currently airing shows like Prison Break and Bones.










