Knight Rider Order Cut from 21 to 17 Episodes + Ratings Analysis December 4, 2008 2:52 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, Knight Rider, NBC, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.2 comments
This could be the end of the road for Knight Rider. On Wednesday, NBC informed the cast and crew that the 17th episode will be the show’s last of the season. The cutback in episodes suggests that despite a planned overhaul–with changes to be reflected in upcoming episodes–this is likely the beginning of the end for the series. Back in October, NBC awarded the show with a surprising full-season order despite only average numbers.
Knight Rider premiered September 24th with a 4.5/7 household rating/share, 7.35 million viewers and a 2.5/7 rating/share among adults 18-49. The show improved upon its premiere numbers two times: in week two (4.7/8 household rating/share and 7.77 million viewers) and in week four (4.7/8 household rating/share and 7.47 million viewers). It’s premiere performance among adults 18-49 has never been duplicated.
When the show was picked up for a full-season, four episodes had already aired. Those four episodes averaged a 4.5 household rating/share, 7.36 million viewers and a 2.4/7 rating/share among adults 18-49. After the pickup, another four episodes aired and the results have not at all been good: 3.6 household rating/share, 5.72 million viewers and a 1.7/5 rating/share among adults 18-49. That’s a decline of 20% among households, 22% (-1.64M) among viewers and 29% among adults 18-49.
The most recent airing tied a series low among adults 18-49 (1.5 rating) and was at series low levels among households (3.3 rating–series low is a 3.2) and viewers (5.20 million–series low is 5.12 million). Overall, Knight Rider has averaged a 4.1/7 household rating/share, 6.54 million viewers and a 2.0/6 rating/share among adults 18-49 through eight episodes.
Note: I originally incorrectly stated that the show had been reduced from 22 episodes to 17. It’s actually 21 to 17 (it was originally given a 21-episode commitment, not 22). The mistake has been corrected.
Details on Post-Super Bowl ‘Office’ Episode December 4, 2008 2:20 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in NBC, News, Television, The Office.add a comment
Don’t read further if you don’t want to be spoiled. With that warning out of the way, according to TV Week, NBC’s post-Super Bowl hour-long episode of The Office will feature employees of Dunder Mifflin roasting the show’s lead character, Michael Scott (Steve Carell).
The roast of Mr. Scott will not be celebrity-driven, but producers are exploring the idea of incorporating some stunt casting into the project. However, the guest stars would be woven into the plotline in such a way as to not interfere with the carefully constructed world of the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a person familiar with the plotline said.
The roast, desired by Michael, of course, isn’t expected until the second half of the episode. The first half will involve a “disaster” linked to Dwight’s training as fire marshal.
J. Michael Straczynski Talks World War Z December 4, 2008 2:11 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, World War Z.add a comment
J. Michael Straczynski, who wrote the screenplay to Marc Forster’s adaptation of Max Brooks’ World War Z, recently spoke with MTV about the zombie film, calling the scale of what they’re doing “phenomenal”.
“We talk about it as a thriller, the closest comparison being ‘The Bourne Identity,’” explained Straczynski, who’s also penning a “Forbidden Planet” revisiting. “Most zombie movies to this point have been small, focusing on a few people in a house. And this has got real scare. You’re in India with hundreds of boats trying to get out of there with a tidal wave of zombies. The scale of what we’re doing here is phenomenal.”
Straczynski, who completed the first draft of the screenplay in the Spring, says that he plans to preserve the original storyline as much as possible
“The fictional concept of the book is that its written by someone with the UN, so let’s tell that story,” he explained. “Let’s show the book being written. We follow this guy all over the world as he goes on these interviews, and he has his own personal story as well. You’re cutting between the past and the present, how he got to this point.”
Read more here.
Californication Renewed for Third Season December 3, 2008 9:56 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Californication, News, Renewals, Showtime, Television.add a comment
Showtime has renewed the Golden Globe Award-winning comedy series Californication for a third season of 12 episodes.
“It wouldn’t be SHOWTIME without a yearly dose of CALIFORNICATION,” said Showtime President of Entertainment, Robert Greenblatt. “This unapologetic show, about a group of characters led by the inimitable David Duchovny, has quickly established itself as one of our signature comedy series. Beneath its veneer of debauchery, however, is a complex take on love and adult relationships that surprisingly turns poetic and romantic just when you least expect it. “
The full press release follows after the jump.
NBC Announces Midseason Schedule, The Office Gets Post-Super Bowl Spot December 3, 2008 9:53 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, Celebrity Apprentice, Chuck, E.R., Heroes, Kings, Life, NBC, News, Television, The Office, XIII.add a comment
NBC has announced their programming lineup for Super Bowl night, as well as what the network has in store later in the season. Super Bowl XLIII on February 1st will be followed by an hour-long original episode of The Office. The following evening, February 2nd, will see the returns of both Chuck (via a special 3-D episode) and Heroes (with the new volume titled “Fugitives”), as well as the 5th season premiere of Medium. Other returns include Life (February 4th) and Celebrity Apprentice (March 1). The network also announced that the original movie event XIII will air on February 8th and 15th, new drama Kings will premiere with a two-hour event on March 19th and the two-hour ER series finale will air on March 12th.
The full press release, which includes a look at the new schedule, follows after the jump.
The CW Announces Midseason Schedule December 3, 2008 9:42 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 13 Fear Is Real, 2008/2009 Television, News, Reaper, Television, The CW.1 comment so far
The CW has unveiled its midseason schedule. The lineup features the series premiere of the new reality series 13 Fear Is Real (January 7) and the return of Reaper (March 17).
Check out the new schedule, and full press release follows after the jump.
Tarzan, Pirates Style December 3, 2008 9:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Tarzan.add a comment
Entertainment Weekly is reporting that director Steven Sommers and writer Stuart Beattie will be ditching the boy-raised-by-apes origin story for a 1930’s-set action film in the style of Pirates of the Caribbean:
The action-adventure icon will trash his loincloth and throw on a pair of khakis for the next big screen take on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic character, who first appeared way back in the Stone Age — er, 1912. Director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) and screenwriter Stuart Beattie (Australia) are ditching the boy-raised-by-apes origin story for a 1930’s-set romp with a hefty helping of romance: Think Pirates of the Caribbean with buffed-and-tanned actors flying through the jungle and sprinting up trees, parkour-style.
Watchmen Runtime Shortened December 3, 2008 9:21 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Watchmen.1 comment so far
Zack and Deborah Snyder, the husband and wife directing/producing team behind the film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen, told SCI FI Wire that the film’s final length hasn’t been approved yet, but it is getting shorter:
“We’re getting really close,” producer Deborah Snyder said in a telephone interview on Nov. 18. “We’re at two hours and 35 minutes.” Zack Snyder added: “The movie’s pretty long … compared to 300, which was an hour and 58 minutes. The director’s cut [of Watchmen] is about three hours and 10 minutes long. It has even more than the theatrical version, as far as the detail that gets even closer to the graphic novel.”
Snyder still plans to edit the Black Freighter material directly into Watchmen for a DVD (and likely Blu-ray) release:
“The Black Freighter version of the movie that we’re working on–which has the ins and outs of the Black Freighter comic book woven through it, with an animated version of the Black Freighter–will be about three hours and 40 minutes,” Zack said. “So there’s a huge epic version of Watchmen, which will probably come out after the movie’s theatrical release, for hardcore [fans].”
Click here to read more.
Watchmen hits theaters on March 6, 2009.
New Video of NBC’s Kings December 3, 2008 8:33 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, Kings, NBC, News, Television.add a comment
NBC has released a new sneak peek video of their upcoming series Kings. Watch it below.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
News on Veronica Mars Movie December 3, 2008 8:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Television, Veronica Mars.add a comment
Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas tells Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello that he “hasn’t gotten far” on the film’s outline:
“I thought I had the idea broken, but I’ve hit a wall in the final act that I haven’t quite figured out. And with Cupid and Party Down occupying 80 hours a week, and a new baby boy occupying the remaining hours, I haven’t nailed it down. I’m hopeful that I can find the time to figure it out over the Christmas holidays.”
While I’m sure Thomas’ update to Cupid will work out (I have no idea what Party Down is about), I’d much rather see him finish up his Veronica Mars story on the big-screen.
Disney Orders More Episodes of Hannah Montana and Second Season of Suite Life December 3, 2008 8:22 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Desperate to Buy, Disney, Hanah Montana, Hannah Montana, HGTV, Income Property, News, Peter Perfect, Style, Television, The Property Shop, The Suite Life on Deck, The Unsellables.4 comments
Disney Channel has ordered additional episodes of its live-action series Hannah Montana and The Suite Life on Deck. Disney ordered six more episodes of the third season of ‘Hannah’, bringing its total order to 30, and green-lit a second 13-episode season of ‘Suite Life’, a spin-off of The Suite Lilfe of Zack & Cody.
Elsewhere on Cable, HGTV announced they are debuting four new series on New Years Day: The Unsellables, Desperate to Buy, Income Property and The Property Shop. All four shows will focus on helping homeowners make the most of the real estate market.
And the Style network ordered eight more episodes of Peter Perfect, which returns January 3rd.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
The CW Sets March Return for Reaper December 3, 2008 1:49 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, News, Reaper, Television, The CW.add a comment
The CW has scheduled the return of the supernatural drama Reaper. The 13-episode second season will air after 90210 on Tuesday nights starting March 17th. Privileged is currently running in that time period, but it will have finished its 18-episode run by the time Reaper returns.
If I may say so, 90210 is a very, very odd choice for a lead-in. Then again, it may end up not mattering one way or the other. We’ll see soon enough I suppose.
Reaper premiered September 25, 2007 with the following ratings: 2.1/3 HH rating/share, 3.28 million viewers and a 1.5/4 rating among adults 18-49, all of which were series highs.
Overall, 18 episodes aired during season one, averaging a 1.7/3 HH rating/share, 2.62 million viewers and a 1.2/3 rating/share among adults 18-49.
Source: THR Feed
Lost Season Five Sneak Peek December 2, 2008 6:36 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Lost, Television, Trailers.add a comment
ABC has released a two-minute sneak peek at the upcoming fifth season of Lost. Watch it below. Lost premieres on Wednesday, January 21st at 9pm.
ABC Sets Premiere Dates for Castle, Cupid and The Unusuals December 2, 2008 6:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, ABC, Television.add a comment
ABC has announced the premiere dates for three new dramas: Castle (March 9th), Cupid (March 24th) and The Unusuals (April 8th). ABC also set a return date for Primetime: What Would You Do? (January 6th).
The full press release follows after the jump.
New Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li Photos December 2, 2008 4:43 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies.1 comment so far
Several brand new photos from 20th Century Fox’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, have been released online. Click any of the photos to see them in higher-res and to view more over at ComingSoon.net.
Synopsis
As the Street Fighter saga celebrates its 20th anniversary, fight fans are invited to follow along with fearsome fighter Chun-Li (Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk) as she faces off against a series of formidable opponents in this feature adaptation of the popular video-game franchise directed by Exit Wounds’ Andrzej Bartkowiak. Previously adapted for the screen in the 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme film, the series continues to thrive as eager gamers across the globe go toe-to-toe to determine who is the most skilled and powerful warrior in the video-game universe. Michael Clarke Duncan, Chris Klein, Rick Yune, and Neal McDonough co-star in the 20th Century Fox production
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li hits theaters on February 27, 2009.
CBS Announces Midseason Schedule December 2, 2008 3:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, CBS, News, Television.add a comment
CBS has unveiled its midseason schedule. The lineup features the series premieres of Game Show in My Head (January 3) and Harper’s Island (April 9), and the returns of Flashpoint (January 9), Survivor (February 12) and The Amazing Race (February 15).
The full press release follows after the jump.
The Dark Knight Re-Release Plans Dropped [UPDATE: Re-Release Set for January 23rd] December 2, 2008 3:07 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Box Office, Movies, News, The Dark Knight.add a comment
UPDATED ON 12/04/2008: The below report turned out to be false. WB has announced that The Dark Knight will be returning to theaters on January 23, 2009. That all but guarantees that the film will surpass $1 billion. Click here for more.
SuperHeroHype is reporting that Warner Bros. has dropped their plans to re-release The Dark Knight in IMAX theaters. In September Warner Bros. Pictures domestic distribution president Dan Fellman had indicated that talks were taking place with IMAX theaters about returning the film to some IMAX theaters. It was unclear whether the film would also reappear in conventional theaters.
The decision likely means The Dark Knight will fall short of $1 billion worldwide. It’s current cume sits at $996.2 million–$530.3 million domestically and $465.9 million from overseas markets.
The Dark Knight hits DVD/Blu-ray on December 9th. Preorder now on Amazon: $23.99 for the Blu-ray, $20.99 for the two-disc DVD, $14.99 for the single-disc DVD or $47.99 for the Limited Edition with Batpod for Blu-ray.
CBS Orders Five More Episodes of Eleventh Hour December 2, 2008 12:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, Eleventh Hour, News, Television.add a comment
CBS has ordered an addditional five episodes of the freshman drama Eleventh Hour, bringing the season order to 18. Eleventh Hour is based on the British series of the same name, and follows government scientist Dr. Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell) and his FBI partner Rachel Young (Marley Shelton) as they try to stop scientific experiments gone bad.
Through seven aired episodes thus far this season, Eleventh Hour has drawn solid and consistent ratings, averaging a 7.4/13 HH rating/share, 11.36 million viewers and a 3.0/8 A18-49 rating/share. However, the problem is that the show performs poorly as a lead-out to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, with retention levels of just 62% among households, 58% among viewers and 56% among adults 18-49.
Source: TV Week
HBO’s Rome Could Get Film Treatment December 2, 2008 12:47 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cable TV, HBO, Movies, News, Rome, Television.add a comment
HBO’s two-year drama series Rome may be getting a wrap-up courtesy a feature-length film. Creator Bruno Heller, who is also the creator of CBS’s successful series The Mentalist, says that he wants to produce such a feature for the canceled series: “There is talk of doing a movie version,” he said. “It’s moving along. It’s not there until it is there. I would love to round that show off.”
Although the second season of Rome was lower rated than the first, the show did well without a Sopranos lead-in and HBO executives now admit that it was a mistake to cancel the show.
“I discovered halfway through writing the second season the show was going to end,” Heller said. “The second was going to end with death of Brutus. Third and fourth season would be set in Egypt. Fifth was going to be the rise of the messiah in Palestine. But because we got the heads-up that the second season would be it, I telescoped the third and fourth season into the second one, which accounts for the blazing speed we go through history near the end. There’s certainly more than enough history to go around.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Glenn Beck Fox News Premieres January 19th UPDATE: Premiere Numbers December 2, 2008 12:46 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cable TV, Cable TV Ratings, Fox News Channel, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.7 comments
UPDATED on 1/22/2009:
The numbers are in for the first episode of Glenn Beck’s new Fox News show. The first episode, which was helped tremendously by an interview with former Republican Vice Presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin, the show drew a time-period high 2,388,000 total viewers and a second place 467,000 adults 25-54.
In total viewers, Beck’s show was up 92% over the January ’09 average of America’s News HQ and up 124% over the Q1 ’08 average of the same show. In the demo, it was up 70% and 106%, respectively.
Growth was even stronger compared to the last month of Beck’s HLN show. His first show was up a whopping 321% in total viewers and 119% in the demo.
Original article follows below.
Conservative talk radio personality Glenn Beck, who hosted a primetime show on CNN Headline News, will debut his new show on Fox News Channel sooner than originally expected. His 5 p.m. program will now debut on January 19th, a few weeks earlier than the originally expected February debut.
New Scrubs Trailer December 2, 2008 10:30 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Scrubs, Television.add a comment
Scrubs makes the switch from NBC to ABC with the eighth season premiere–back-to-back episodes–January 6th. In the meantime, check out this new trailer featuring actress Courtney Cox.
New Wolverine Photos December 2, 2008 1:40 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, Photos, X-Men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.1 comment so far
Five new photos from Gavin Hood’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine are now online. Click to enlarge.
Synopsis
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is set to star Jackman and will be directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition). The producers are Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter (who produced all three previous “X-Men” films), along with Jackman and his Seed Prods. producing partner, John Palermo. The film will be executive produced by Marvel Films’ Kevin Feige.
Leading up to the events of X-Men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine – written by David Benioff (The Kite Runner, Troy) – tells the story of Wolverine’s epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine hits theaters on May 1, 2009. A new trailer will be attached to The Day the Earth Stood Still on December 12th.
Source: ComingSoon.net
SCI FI Greenlights Caprica; Will Premiere in 2010 December 2, 2008 12:39 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, News, Sci Fi, Television.2 comments
The SCI FI Channel has greenlit the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica. The network has already produced a two-hour backdoor pilot, and plans are to air the show in early 2010, with production set to begin around the middle of next year.
Caprica stars Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson and Polly Walker, and will be set 50 years prior to “Galactica’s” seminal attack on human civilization by those dreaded ‘droids the Cylons. Family-drama-themed series will focus on the Earthlike planet of Caprica as two rival families deal with, among other topical issues, the broader implications of their society’s emerging artificial intelligence technology sector.
” ‘Battlestar Galactica’ was absolutely our flagship show. It put us on the map and helped transform the perception of the network,” said Sci Fi prexy Dave Howe, noting that the cabler hopes to draw a broader audience to a series it sees as more compelling family drama than “space opera.”
“We want people to come to this who have never heard of ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ ” he added. “I think, because (‘Galactica’s’) backdrop was space and spaceships, there was a barrier to entry for some viewers. ‘Caprica’ has none of that. It’s an intense family drama set on an Earthlike planet, in the near future, speaking to a lot of the ethical dilemmas that we as a human race are going to have to face very shortly.”
The decision to wait until 2010 was made to give the producers time to regroup the core of the ‘Galactica‘ writing staff, says SCI FI programming executive Mark Stern:
“One of the other things we have going for is, this is one of the first shows we’ve done in conjunction with our new cable studio,” Stern added. “There will be a lot of coordination between the studio and the network, not just on production, but how the series is launched, as well.”
The final 10 episodes of the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica begin airing on January 16th, culminating with the series finale on March 20th. A two-hour movie adaptation, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, is slated to air in early summer.
Source: Variety
David Gregory To Take Over Meet the Press? December 2, 2008 12:35 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television.add a comment
The Huffington Post is reporting that David Gregory will be taking over as moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press. Gregory has been a leading candidate to take over the spot ever since Tom Brokaw stepped in in an interim role following the death of long-time host Tim Russert in June.
For their part, NBC has denied the story, telling Politico “I don’t know where they are getting this. We have nothing to announce.”
Meet the Press has averaged 4.5 million viewers in November, finishing in first place to ABC’s This Week (3.5 million), CBS’s Face the Nation (3.1 million) and Fox’s Fox News Sunday (1.5 million). Meet the Press also leads among the key new demo, adults 25-54, drawing a 1.3 rating compared to ABC’s 1.0, CBS’s 0.9 and Fox’s 0.5.
Brokaw ends his moderating duties this weekend, where he’ll be interviewing President-elect Barack Obama.
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