Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free

What the hell is going on here? Have we entered the bizarro world? Is up now down? Has black become white? Was The Simpsons canceled after the first three episodes while The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer went on to become the longest running and most award winning series in the history of television?

Variety reports that while the big four networks are cutting back on their sitcoms and dramas for more reality fare, cable networks have been ramping up their dramas, comedies and dramadies and are now in a position to compete for some real ratings.

And it’s not just in quantity where cable has tipped the scales.

Continue reading Has cable become credible?

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Filed under: Industry, Grey’s Anatomy, Casting, Reality-Free

Apparently ABC is weirded out by Izzie having sex with a ghost too. At the very least, they certainly are curious.

According to EW, the alphabet network has started testing audiences with a potential Grey’s Anatomy love story between Izzie and the very, very, very not alive Denny Duquette.

Now I know focus groups aren’t cheap and since it’s Thanksgiving Day, I’m in a very giving mood. So if anyone from ABC is reading this - let me save you some money:

This story BLOWS.

Continue reading ABC to focus group: you cool with Izzie and Denny falling in love?

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Filed under: Industry, NCIS, Reality-Free

Considering the fact that CSI has been the basis for two very, very successful CBS spin-offs — CSI: Miami and CSI: New York (in case you’ve been out of the loop for the past six years) — it hardly comes as a shock that another CBS ratings powerhouse, NCIS, is planning a spin-off. Maybe the only shock is that they’ve waited till now to really put thought into action.

EW’s Michael Ausiello landed the exclusive and reports that the NCIS spin-off will be like the other CSI’s in that they’ll not take a character from the show and make him/her the centerpiece of that new series. That means you don’t have to worry about Ziva, Tony, Abs, McGee and Gibbs breaking up.

And after the fans’ reaction at the end of last season, when the team was split up as the new director took over only to be reunited early this season, that’s a major relief.

Continue reading NCIS planning a spin-off

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Filed under: Industry, Programming, Heroes, Chuck, Reality-Free

Some fans of certain NBC shows are going to be irritated, and some fans of certain other NBC shows are going to be very happy. Which is pretty much par for the course with NBC anyway.

The Peacock Network has announced that for the month of January, Chuck, Life, and Heroes won’t be seen. They’ll be back in February. So you’re wondering, what’s going to replace these shows for the month? Some exciting new action show? A searing drama? A laugh-out-loud comedy?

Well…no.

Continue reading NBC dumps Chuck, Life, and Heroes (for January, for January!)

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Bank of Monticello — Home Page
Offering a wide range of banking services to the citizens of Lewis County, Missouri.

Welcome to Missouri Bank
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Online Banking | Bank of Clovis | Clovis, New Mexico
We are proud to announce the long awaited launch of our newest branch–Internet Banking.

Bank - Easy English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bank of Commerce - Charlotte North Carolina (NC)
The Bank of Commerce is located at 100 Queens Road Charlotte, (Mecklenburg County) North Carolina lead by Wes Sturges President and CEO and offers a wide range of deposit and loan

Chelsea Groton Bank - Home
this is my page 2005 Chelsea Groton Bank. All Rights Reserved.

Bank CEO Network
The Bank CEO Network has been helping Community Bank CEOs improve their banks’ performance for 17 years. The information and ideas gained from industry experts and other CEOs can

Principal.com - Principal Bank Home Page
Online banking from Principal Bank, offering free on the internet checking with free billpay, great CD and money market rates, home equity loan products, health savings accounts, and safe

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Wells Fargo Bank
Begin here to bank and pay bills on the web. Wells Fargo provides personal banking, investing services, small business, and commercial banking.

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Filed under: Industry, Programming, Web, TiVo, Reality-Free

Yup, it looks like Americans are watching more Television than ever. Which must really tick off the makers of My Own Worst Enemy, The Ex-List, and Dirty Sexy Money.

How much is more than ever? The average American - Joe Television, if you will - watches 142 hours a television a month, according to a new study from Nielsen Media. That’s four or five hours a day for each of us (and if that number is accurate, then I watch about 320 hours of Television a month). As for watching shows at another time, whether via DVRs or online, that’s up 50% from last year. We Americans love our TV, though as The L.A. Times says maybe more people were watching this year because of the election and The Olympics.

Continue reading You are watching more TV than ever

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Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Programming, Celebrities, Ratings, Reality-Free

Usually when a show is canceled, you don’t hear about it from the stars. Once in a while you do (like Kelsey Grammer when Back To You was canned), but it’s usually the producers and/or critics who make the most fuss about a show being canceled. My Own Worst Enemy star Madchen Amick is speaking out about the cancellation of the NBC show (one of several she’s currently on).

She states that the show actually was a hit, especially if you include DVR/Tivo/online viewers. She thinks that the show’s high budget is what made NBC cancel it. If it didn’t have a huge budget and still got fair ratings, it could have survived a tiny longer. She’s frustrated by the experience.

Continue reading Madchen mad about My Own Worst Enemy cancellation

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Filed under: Industry, Programming, Reality-Free

In an example of a changing economy and changing world, Fox will be putting infomercials in its Saturday morning time slot. They’re even giving the slot a name: Weekend Marketplace.

It kind of makes sense. Unlike my own youth, kids don’t look to Saturday morning as the sole source of kid’s fare. They only need to turn on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon or one of the plethora of Disney channels. Those channels are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For those interested in a historical look at the old Saturday morning cartoons, I recommend fellow Squadder Rich’s articles on the subject.

There are already 24 hour infomercial channels (Home Shopping Network to name one), so Fox already has competition in that regard. However, Fox is a network and not just a cable station. It’s an interesting experiment on the part of Fox and I’m curious if it will work out. Without the interest of kids, what will run on the networks on Saturday mornings?

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Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Reality-Free

The sixth and final season of Showtime’s The L Word is about to kick off (January 18th at 9:00 p.m. EST), so that means the new promos are on their way. Check out this piece of work right here and please excuse me as I reveal my art snobbery.

When I first saw this poster, I thought it was some fan art from a Photoshop beginner. What happened to the days of solid design, when stuff like this absolutely wouldn’t fly outside of Graphic Design I? If basic cable shows like Mad Men can make their ads sleek and sexy, what excuse does Showtime have? I was so distracted by the weird masking and forced shadows and weak composition and awkward font choice and various other super-sad arty elements, that I completely missed the eight chicks getting it on in the background.

Now, if that’s not ineffective design, I don’t know what is. See a bigger version of the poster after the jump and analyze for yourself.

Continue reading New L Word poster: Oh, I see what you did there

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Filed under: Industry, WGA Strike, Reality-Free

How’s this for happy holiday cheer? The Screen Actors Guild is gearing up to ask members to authorize a strike. Yes, that’s right. The actors’ union leadership — headed up by Alan Rosenberg — is speaking tough and threatening another strike. It’s been nearly a year since the Writer’s Guild strike and the ramifications are still being felt throughout the TV business. An actors strike would be crippling.

Currently, SAG is working under a contract that expired on June 30. The WGA strike began on November 5, 2007 and was finally settled on February 12, 2008. Rosenberg and SAG knew how damaging the strike had been, and in the months before June 30, they tried for a settlement. They didn’t get it done then, and they’ve been treading water ever since.

Continue reading SAG members are talking about a strike

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