The TV Addict 

Is anyone else getting tired of all the negative publicity surrounding KID NATION? Because this TV Addict certainly is.

With Mandy Patinkin leaving the building and everything quiet on the GREY’S ANATOMY front, KID NATION has simply become the punching bag du jour for the media to take shots at. Allegations of child abuse! Calls for the show’s cancellation! Internal investigations! The media scrutiny’s become so loud you’d think Janet Jackson had another wardrobe malfunction.

Here’s an idea for everyone who’s horrified that CBS would take ‘advantage’ of these poor kids — how about you actually watch the show before you call for its cancellation (yes, I’m talking to you Deadline Hollywood).

Have I seen the show? No. But if I were to judge the show based on the extended preview CBS sent me, I’d say that KID NATION looks to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for a lucky group of kids. One that’s unfortunately about to be ruined thanks to this endless barrage of negative media.

With the new fall TV season creeping closer and closer [does anyone else think that ‘with the new fall TV season…’ should to be my de-facto opening sentence for every post from now until September?] this TV Addict thought he’d take the opportunity to talk about the level of online buzz surrounding each network’s new fall lineup.

Now I know what you’re thinking — why measure buzz? Well quite frankly, the better job networks do at generating buzz online with regards to their new slate of shows, the better chance they have of staying on the air. Remember last season’s short-lived Ray Liotta series SMITH? Didn’t think so.

This year, the networks seem to putting their online marketing muscle behind one or two shows, leaving the rest of their lineup to chance. NBC’s betting big on BIONIC, CBS is hoping KID NATION is the next SURVIVOR, ABC is all about DAISIES, the CW can only GOSSIP about one thing and FOX, well, outside of K-Ville, I think it’s safe to say that they’d like to fast forward to January and let IDOL speak for itself.

NBC
The Good: Let’s face it, to have not heard about NBC’s re-imagined take on THE BIONIC WOMAN, you’d pretty much have to have been in a coma. From their jam-packed panel at the recent San Diego Comic Con to the seemingly endless online ads and tie-ins (see bat-test.com) — THE BIONIC WOMAN is going to really have to stink to fail.
The Bad: HEROES. Memo to NBC — we get it, HEROES is your pride and joy, the saviour of the Peacock network, your beloved first born. One problem — the rest of your fall line-up is starting to develop middle child syndrome. When are you going to start promoting CHUCK (a hilarious new action/comedy hyrbrid from Josh Schwartz), JOURNEYMAN and LIFE? Do you not realize the new fall TV season is creeping closer and closer (okay, I’ll stop!)

CBS
The Good: If you subscribe to the theory that there’s no such thing as bad buzz, then CBS has had a remarkable summer. From abuse claims surrounding the new reality show KID NATION, to the whole CRIMINAL MINDS/Mandy Patinkin fiasco, CBS hasn’t had to work too hard to generate headlines.
The Bad: None of these headlines have anything to do with CBS’ new fall lineup. Is anyone talking about THE BIG BANG THEORY or VIVA LAUGHLIN? Sorry, let me rephrase — Is anyone saying anything positive about THE BIG BANG THEORY or VIVA LAUGHLIN?

ABC
The Good: While PUSHING DAISIES may have started off the summer as the little-show-that-could, it’s quickly evolved into the fall’s must see show. Thanks to tireless marketing and one timely internet leak, PUSHING DAISIES is officially the most buzzed about show of the summer. One that’s well positioned to — in this TV Addict’s opinion — become the biggest hit of the fall.
The Bad: SAMANTHA WHO doesn’t simply describe ABC’s new Christina Applegate vehicle. It summarizes ABC’s entire comedy lineup. Quick — name me another ABC comedy premiering this fall?

FOX
The Good: Kelsey Grammer is returning to television with BACK TO YOU. We’re also incredibly excited for THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, THE RETURN OF JEZEBEL JAMES and NEW AMSTERDAM. Which brings us to… the bad.
The Bad: Most of FOX’s hot new shows don’t premiere until January 2008! Premiering this fall, a slew of reality television shows this TV Addict couldn’t care less about. KITCHEN NIGHTMARES, ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER, DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS, THE NEXT GREAT AMERICAN BAND, NASHVILLE, COPS, more COPS and AMERICA’S MOST WANTED. Call me when it’s 2008.

THE CW
The Good: Thanks to GOSSIP GIRL, we’re confident that regardless of what happens with CHUCK, Josh Schwartz won’t be looking for employment anytime soon
The Bad: The rest of the CW’s lineup. Where’s the much deserved hype for REAPER and ALIENS IN AMERICA? Is anyone else sensing two more JACK & BOBBY’S in the new future? (ie. brilliant but cancelled).

Does anyone else find it ironic that CBS — the least interesting network on screen — seems to be [at least as of late] the most interesting network off?

At this morning’s CBS executive session, MandyGate was in full swing as intrepid reporters tried numerous times to get CBS president Nina Tassler to comment on what really happened between Mandy Patinkin and the bosses at CRIMINAL MINDS. Needless to say, Tassler wasn’t talking and even went as far as to change the subject to another tabloid train-wreck — MINDS co-star Shemar Moore. Who recently found himself the subject of some very revealing photos! (Photos that you definitely should not be checking out at work.)

As the session continued, reporters hammered Tassler on more behind-the-scenes antics, this time focusing on the nasty backstage fighting between NCIS star Mark Harmon and showrunner, make that ex-showrunner Don Bellisario. Once again, Tassler skirted the issue, saying, “it’s the natural evolution of the show.” Translation: don’t mess with the talent.

In news this TV Addict genuinely cares about, Tassler revealed that there will be more clues with regards to the identity of the oft-mentioned ‘mother’ on CBS’ best show, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.

Quickly followed by a plethora of news we couldn’t care less about. The season premiere of COLD CASE will be an all-Nirvana episode. Jake will enter junior high on TWO AND A HALF MEN (no word on when the show will start to be funny) and on GHOST WHISPERER, we’ll learn Jim and Melinda didn’t choose Grandview, Grandview chose Jim and Melinda. I think we speak for everyone when I say, “I have no idea what Grandview is!”

JOHN FROM CINCINNATI
Raise your hand if have absolutely no idea what last night’s premiere of JOHN FROM CINCINNATI was about.

Raise your hand if you’re so confused by Papa Yost’s inexplicable ability to levitate himself off the ground that you may actually give this series another chance.

Raise your hand if you don’t even care what’s going on, but are now really inspired to learn how to surf.

2007 TONY AWARDS
Raise your hand if you’re annoyed that CBS didn’t pony up the money to broadcast last night’s Tony Awards in High Definition.

Raise your hand if you think SPRING AWAKENING is the most over-hyped Broadway musical ever and you don’t understand (because you’re not fourteen) why exactly watching teeangers embrace their sexuality has been hailed as the ’second-coming of the modern musical?

BIG LOVE
Raise your hand if you’re excited for tonight’s long awaited return of BIG LOVE?

Raise your hand if you actually started to raise you hand while reading this post.

Raise your hand if your co-workers are starting to stare.

Okay I’ll stop.

Two dogs sniffing another dog’s behind, talking about the bouquet, the scents, like dried fruit (dried cranberries specifically). What in the world am I watching? Oh yeah, CBS’s new show, CREATURE COMFORTS, starting Monday, June 4th at 8/7c. The American version of the hit British television series and based on the original Academy Award-winning short film of the same name, the animated series takes real-person interviews and sets them as the voices of animated animals, such as birds, dogs, porcupines, insects & more. The best part was the set of lovebirds who portrayed an older married couple listing their ailments. The first joke to truly make me laugh was when the wife said she was constipated and the male lovebird suddenly did what birds seem to do all over my car, then said he didn’t have any chronic ailments. The show tackles a variety of subjects, including doctor’s visits & being sick, and my favorite, animal magnetism. One part has a female monkey doing “He loves me, He loves me not.” with fleas from a male monkey’s back. The animation is cute, from the same team that came out with Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but the show felt disjointed to me. At first, the jokes seemed to fall flat, the voices were kind of boring and bland. It started off slow, even made me consider not watching the rest, but about halfway through, it picked up and I laughed quite a few times. It got funnier as it went along, even bringing my husband to the couch from his desk to watch and listen more closely. It made me miss the very short-lived show from 2004, Father of the Pride! Definitely check this out and hope it lives up to its potential!

Let’s face it: Katie Couric’s tenure has been something of a disaster for CBS. And it doesn’t look as if things are going to turn around anytime soon. But never fear, because we at theTVaddict.com have your back and want nothing more than to see you succeed. With that in mind, we’ve come up with the perfect solution (with a helping hand from the foolhardy folks at NBC). Stone Phillips, who over the past year or so was pretty much reduced to setting up endless perv-on-parade segments on DATELINE: TO CATCH A PREDATOR, has been fired by NBC. You see where we’re going, don’t you, CBS? Cut your losses. Yup, it’ll no doubt cost you a fortune to dump Katie, or at least move her to a different (read: less damaging) spot (maybe weekend anchor?), but it’ll be worth it. You’re between a rock and a hard place, so it might be time to bring in a Stone.

The following is the 2007-2008 CBS Television Network Primetime schedule” (N=New, NT=New Time, all times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY (N)
9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM THE UNIT
10:00-11:00 PM CANE (N)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM KID NATION (N)
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
10:00-11:00 PM WITHOUT A TRACE (NT)

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM GHOST WHISPERER
9:00-10:00 PM MOONLIGHT (N)
10:00-11:00 PM NUMB3RS

SATURDAY
8:00-9:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS: MYSTERY

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM VIVA LAUGHLIN (N)
9:00-10:00 PM COLD CASE
10:00-11:00 PM SHARK (NT)

*** Slated to return midseason: “THE AMAZING RACE” and “THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE” along with the New Drama “SWINGTOWN”

Word on the street (and by street I of course mean TVGuide’s Michael Ausiello) is that CBS has come to its senses and renewed one of the best comedies on television — HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER for a third season. This comes as fantastic news to fans of the show who were concerned that CBS would make the unforgivable mistake of cancelling the series before we found out who the heck this often talked about ‘mother’ was.

Unfortunately, THE CLASS isn’t so lucky, as rumour has it that the freshman laugher has been officially dismissed by the Tiffany network. Even though, in this TV Addict’s humble opinion, the show was definitely coming into its own near the latter half of the season.

And finally, the bad news continues if you’re a fan of JERICHO. Variety is reporting that CBS has dropped ANOTHER bomb on the freshman drama, cancelling it after only one season. Who else thought CBS should have showed a little patience with the one show on the network that attracted a young, internet savvy audience?

Tune in tomorrow for the official word from the CBS UpFronts. ‘

So, NBC threw out some shockers (at least FNL wasn’t cancelled. Sure, Friday at 10 is almost the kiss of death, but it’s fabulous, so yay!). With ABC set to change up their schedule and send some surprises our way, let’s see what’s coming for CBS, The CW, and FOX in the coming days!

CBS:

What do we not need to worry about?
Big Brother, Survivor – CBS isn’t big on the early renewals.

What shows are looking good for renewal, but haven’t gotten there yet?
48 Hours, 60 Minutes, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Ghost Whisperer, NCIS (especially now that Bellisario stepped down), Numb3rs, Rules of Engagement (who would have thought?), Shark, Two and a Half Men (really?), Without a Trace

What shows are riding that bubble?
The Amazing Race (not so much because ratings are down, but because they might not have a spot for it on the schedule right away), The Class (I would be sad to see it go…it got better at the end), How I Met Your Mother (seriously? I can’t imagine this being gone already), Jericho (I’ll be super upset if this is gone!!!), The New Adventures of Old Christine (I’m thinking it’s between HIMYM and Christine for the comedy spot…hopefully HIMYM stays), The Unit (no bad buzz here, but it’s probably the least “on the radar” procedural.

What should we prepare to say goodbye to, officially?
Armed and Famous, Close to Home (they never should have killed off Christian Kane’s character), Gameshow Marathon, Rock Star (if you hear nothing about it, chances are they aren’t working on it)

What shows did they already can?
3 Lbs (which is a shame, because I like Stanley Tucci), The Kind of Queens, Smith, Waterfront (I gotta be honest, I don’t remember this show even starting….)

What is still to come?
Creature Comforts and Pirate Master look to be interesting shows – we’ll see how they do.

Bottom line?
CBS has too many hits to know what to do with. To even consider getting rid of HIMYM or Jericho, it’s pure insanity. The latest talks point to neither of them getting the boot, but the fact that they aren’t incredibly safe just shows that CBS is doing really well and almost doesn’t know where to go from here.

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If you’re anything like me (and odds are, if you’re reading a website called theTVaddict.com we have at least ONE thing in common), your iPod is partially filled with songs you’ve heard on television. Television is the new radio and nobody knows this better than the networks themselves.

For years, popular television shows such as 90210, DAWSON’S CREEK, SCRUBS, THE OC, GREY’S ANATOMY and VERONICA MARS have been dictating what’s new and popular in the world of music. As a result, CBS has recently re-launched CBS records. Which will leverage the power of their prime time line-up to build awareness for their new artists.

By now of course you’re probably asking yourself, “umm why exactly should I care?” How’s this for an answer? It means FREE Music for you!

You can sample out (and download) songs from PJ Olsson’s brand new EP THE IRONWOOD SESSIONS by clicking on the links below. PJ’s single “She Says To Fly” was featured on last Friday’s episode of GHOST WHISPERER and this TV Addict’s personal favourite song “Rain Song” can be heard on tonight’s episode of THE UNIT.

To check out both songs, just click on the links above. You can also buy the entire EP on iTunes by clicking here.