Monday news...
Viva No More. After just 2 episodes and disastrous ratings last night (see above), CBS has cancelled "Viva Laughlin". Last night's episode managed only a 4.5 rating, and a 1.2 in the go for broke 18-49 demo. And based on Thursday's premiere ratings, the show never had a chance. Thus it becomes the 3rd cancelled show of the new season, and the first scripted one to get Das Boot, and all in the last 5 days. They're really trying to keep up with baseball. It's not known how many episodes were produced and are left unaired. The listings I've checked indicate that at least 1 episode is left unaired and maybe as many as 4 total. No word yet on fate of said episodes (namely if they'll be streamed online). As for resulting schedule changes, a "CSI" repeat fills the Sunday 8 PM timeslot this week, then on November 4, "The Amazing Race" kicks off its 12th season in the timeslot.

But at least we still have our 8-bit goodness. The cable network G4 has renewed its new animated comedy series "Code Monkeys" for a second season. The show, which is done in a unique (and very funny) way to make it look like it's an early-mid 80s videogame, has performed above expectations in the 18-34 age demo, earning it another go-around. The 13 new episodes should debut in April '08. Props from me.

Monday ratings notes:
Memo to other networks: Don't compete with fainting celebrities on live TV. That actually happened...ABC easily won Monday's overnights thanks to Marie Osmond fainting live on "Dancing With The Stars". No worries, she's fine. ABC led the way with a 10.6 rating, with Dancing combining for a 13.7. As for Week 2 of "Samantha Who?", the ratings indicate she clearly hasn't been forgotten. It did a 9.6 rating last, which compared to the overnights for its premiere has it off by only about 6% this week (the premiere did a 10.2). Dancing Or No Dancing, still a good sign. Not a good night for NBC, "Chuck" was 4th at 8 ("Prison Break" edged it out) and, becuse I have to be the bearer of bad news, at 9 "Heroes" did a below-normal 6.3. We'll see how the final numbers come out, but that has it flirting with below 10 million. Yeah, I'd be very worried. "Journeyman" isn't faring much better either, it did a 4. Monitor these numbers closely because the important November Sweeps are around the corner, and a word of warning-expect just-as-low numbers next Monday possibly because of baseball. They will go head to head with the World Series if it goes to a Game 5.

This message was edited by SummonerSupreme on Oct 23 2007.

The first VIP (Very Important Period in TV lingo) of the season is about upon us: The November Sweeps. This is one of 3 months during the season (the others are February for late in the season and May for the start of next season) where the networks set their advertising rates for key upcoming TV periods based on ratings (in this case, midseason). It's important for everyone, but especially Fox because they have the big world party called the Super Bowl coming up, and that other unstoppable midseason juggernaut everyone seems to watch. In the last few minutes the networks have begun detailing their plans for this all-important ratings period, starting with NBC & The CW (and yeah, there are some spoilers below, so you might want to stop here):
NBC plans to kick off the Sweeps by going green. Literally. NBC Universal is demonstrating it's commitment to "environmentally conscious" programming with a special week of eco-friendly programming the week of November 4-10. The network will adopt a variety of eco-friendly messages in different degrees across all dayparts, including the entire Thursday-night lineup with "My Name Is Earl," Emmy Award winners "30 Rock," "The Office," "Scrubs," and "ER," as well as the drama series "Life" and "Las Vegas," and the reality shows "Deal or No Deal," "The Biggest Loser" and "The Singing Bee." The announcement, part of NBC Universal's ongoing "Green is Universal" initiative, was made today by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. And where there's green, there's a certain talking frog: Yes, Kermit The Frog will appear on Deal. And...how inconvenient for some...watch for Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore on 30 Rock. Gore will also sit down with Jay Leno on November 8's Tonight Show. NBC's late-night talk shows will also be taking part in "Green Week" with comedic green-themed podbusters throughout the three shows. Leno will feature five humorous eco-friendly reminders hosted by Ed Begley Jr., while "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will air "Greening Up the Show" and "Last Call with Carson Daly" will offer green tips in its three original podbusters. Leno, who is known to drive a different car to work everyday, will be arriving at the Burbank studio in a variety of environmentally sound vehicles for the week.
The only hour such programming/messages won't be featured in primetime that week is Wednesday at 8. NBC Universal's efforts will also expand to include the cable networks Bravo, Sci Fi, USA, and Universal HD as well as NBC's daytime programming. Also watch for special programs/features on NBC's various websites and mobile services.

As for The CW, if you want their highlights and don't mind major spoilers, Click Here. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Late edit: More Tuesday news....
Late schedule change for tonight on ABC: "Boston Legal" will be pre-empted for a "20/20" special edition with continuing coverage of the Southern California wildfires. It will air live at 10:02 PM ET and again at 10:02 PT for those on the West Coast and with updated reports. More live coverage will be provided on "Nightline" at 11:35 ET/PT.

Also at The Alphabet, they apparently got the critical success they were hoping for with "Pushing Daisies"-it's gotten a full season pickup thanks to an order of 9 more episodes, a move that was expected because of the show's strong performance in the 18-49 demo. ABC has also ordered 3 more scripts for "Carpoolers".
CBS has also ordered 4 more scripts for "Moonlight" despite it being The Eye's lowest Friday show (and it's now getting killed, literally, by "Women's Murder Club" on ABC...keep in mind that more scripts does not guarantee more episodes).

This message was edited by SummonerSupreme on Oct 23 2007.

Weekly Nielsen Ratings Report for Week Ending 10/21/07:
What a combination it was last week, as Fox and Sox really Sox it to everyone else. Since I know most of you don't get it, The Fox and The Sox, or as some like to say, the SAWX, combined for a rate 4th quarter win thanks to Boston's improbable extending of the ALCS to 7 games, courtesy of their in-game reality series called Manny Being Manny. A total of 5 games last week gave The Fox a rare early-season win overall and in the 18-49 demo that stays up late for these games. All the games averaged 12 million, about 10% better than last year, when Fox aired the NLCS. Sunday's Game 7 led all broadcasts with 19 million from 8-11 PM (the game ran longer so after-11 numbers aren't available). But the SAWX weren't the only winners last week, as ABC has perhaps found a suitable series that "Dancing With The Stars" can be a good lead-in for: "Samantha Who?" The premiere, in the nice, cozy post-Dancing Monday 9:30 timeslot, held on to 14 million of the 19.4 million Dancing gave it, the best retention rate ever of a Dancing lead-in crowd and making it the most-watched comedy telecast on any network since an episode of "'Til Death" 7 months ago-that episode had quite the lead-in crowd itself. And its other big new series, "Pushing Daisies", got itself a full season pickup with the back 9 order despite dropping to 9.8 million this week. It's winning the slot in 18-49, that's why it gets more episodes. "Private Practice" also got the back 9 from The Alphabet, it's still the #1 new drama this season with an average of over 13 million (it did 11.7 million last week). And despite having small audiences opposite Dancing, CBS gave "The Big Bang Theory" the back 9 too, it improves on its "How I Met Your Mother" lead-in crowds (and I like it too). Now for the rest that nobody cared about, starting, of course, with "Viva Laughlin". 8.4 million for the Thursday premiere (losing about 13 million "CSI" viewers) and 6.4 million Sunday (losing half it's "60 Minutes" lead-in 18-49 crowd) and this new Vegas-style drama has busted out. So the 60 Minutes Of Viva Cold Shark block is out after 1 week, and The Eye will start the 60 Minutes Of Amazing Cold Shark block, aka 2/3 or Race Case Trace, in 2 weeks. And the Friday Night Death Slot still is doing its job at Fox, as "The Next Great American Band" wasn't that great. Just 3.6 million tuned in Friday night, making it the lowest-ranked original broadcast on the Big 4 (91st). Idol might work for Fox, Idol wannabes don't. Over on NBC, The Peacock continues to struggle as a whole, as evident by their unintentional attempt at comedy backfiring Tuesday-a special sitdown with Senator Larry Craig, the embattled politiciain behind Bathroomgate, only attracted 5.7 million Tuesday night. Perhaps something to do with Matt Lauer demonstrating said technique that got Craig arrested? No, I will not demonstrate. In fact, only one NBC show won it's timeslot last week-"Deal Or No Deal". OK, "Law & Order SVU" won a lahf-hour, but that doesn't count here. And since I have to mention it as a premonition of what's to come, "Heroes" was lucky to finish 3rd last Monday with 11.4 million viewers. And if Monday's fast overnights were any indication, it's getting dangerously close to falling under 10 million. Maybe those cable deals were a way to exploit a loophole in NNPO 2.0? And over at The CW, maybe axing "Online Nation" saved "CW Now". The former Online Naiton lead-in saw its viewership Sunday skyrocket all the way to about 900,000. It usually does maybe 2/3 that. Oh, can't forget the numebres for "Cavemen" last week-6.9 million. The show following it, "Carpoolers", just got more scripts. Nothing on Cavemen yet. Probably a question of when ABC will send it back to the Stone Age-it probably only finished 3rd in the slot last week because of Bathroomgate.

The Week's Top 10 Most Watched Shows, in order: Fox's Sunday NFL coverage/overrun (7-7:30), "CSI", Monday's "Dancing With The Stars", Fox's ALCS Game 7 coverage, "Desperate Housewives", "Grey's Anatomy", "NCIS", Tuesday's Dancing, "CSI: Miami", "Criminal Minds".

With the World Series starting tonight on Fox, here's a reminder of the nights to expect schedule changes and pre-emptions:
Game 1-Tonight
Game 2-Thursday
Game 3-Saturday
Game 4-Sunday
Game 5-Monday (if necessary)
Game 6-Wednesday (if necessary)
Game 7-Thursday, November 1 (if necessary-if it goes this far, new episodes of "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" will not air that night)
The usual Fox Thursday lineup will resume no later than November 8 unless weather forces postponement of games.
There also may be other schedule changes for Sunday night or Monday coming up later this week as the Southern California wildfires may reschedule the Houston-San Diego NFL game, currently set for Sunday afternoon. Currently there is no Sunday night game on NBC because of baseball, but the game may be moved to Sunday night or Monday.

Late edit: ABC has announced some schedule changes and premiere dates for the November Sweeps and beyond:
Starting November 2, "Men In Trees" and "20/20" will swap Friday timeslots. Men moves to 8 PM, 20/20 to 10 PM.
Season 2 of "October Road" will premiere on November 22 after "Grey's Anatomy", then moves to its new timeslot, Mondays at 10 starting November 26. "Samantha Who?" will move to 9 PM effective 11/26, and "Notes From The Underbelly" will return for its next season at 9:30 that same night.
Starting January 7, "Dance War: Bruno And Carrie Ann", a Dancing With The Stars spin-off featuring 2 of the Dancing judges, takes over the Monday 8 PM timeslot.
The updated lineups:
Fridays starting 11/2:
8 PM-Men In Trees
9 PM-Women's Murder Club
10 PM-20/20

Thursday, 11/22 only:
8 PM-Ugly Betty
9 PM-Grey's Anatomy
10 PM-October Road (season premiere)

Monday, 11/26 only:
8 PM-Dancing With The Stars (part 1 of season finale)
9 PM-Samantha Who? (new timeslot)
9:30 PM-Notes From The Underbelly (season premiere)
10 PM-October Road (timeslot premiere)

Mondays starting 1/7:
8 PM-Dance War
9 PM-Samantha Who?
9:30 PM-Notes From The Underbelly
10 PM-October Road

The Monday 8 PM timeslot will be filled in December by various holiday specials.

For those who missed it when I updated the Cancelled/Renewed Shows list yesterday (and you should be checking everyday), the cable network Sci Fi has renewed ECW, aka Extreme Championship Wrestling, for 1 year, keeping it on unil the end of 2008. Despite lower than ideal overall ratings, the saving grace seemed to be that the WWE-produced show made Sci Fi the #1 cable network in men 18-34 in the Tuesday 10 PM timeslot.

Also, Sci Fi has just renewed its original series "Stargate Atlantis" for a 5th season. The new season, consisting of 20 episodes, is scheduled to go into production in early 2008.

Fox is also in the planning stages of a "Prison Break" spinoff. The Fox has just ordered a script for "Prison Break: Cherry Hill" (working title), with said character possibly being integrated into the main series should Prison Break get a 4th season. Zap2It has all the details here. And no, I don't think the title's that suggestive. Either way, don't expect a pilot (if it gets said order) or appearance by this character before April (when the show is to return from it's annual winter/spring hiatus starting in January).

One early Thursday news item: There are reports that ABC's new sitcom "Samantha Who?" is on the verge of getting a full season pickup. The Alphabet has just ordered 6 more scripts of the new series and the trade papers report a back 9 pickup, which would give it a full 22-episode season, is not far off. It's averaging 14.6 million viewers through 2 airings, helped largely by a Dancing lead-in and a 9:32 PM start time (which helps keep more of the Dancing ratings around through the show), but it's also improved from its premiere in the can't forget 18-49 demo. That hasn't happened too much this so far this season. It's also had the best retention rate of any post-Dancing timeslot show ever.

The early Wednesday overnight ratings indicate that Fox easily won last night with a preliminary 10.5 rating for Game 1 of the World Series, but the numbers are subject to change due it being live sports. It peaked from 9-10 PM with an 11.3.

More Thursday news, 2 items just coming out from Fox...
Fox has just ordered 11 more episodes of "Back To You", giving it a full first season of 24 episodes.
Fox has also just released their November Sweeps plans, if you want to read them click here. Obligatory MAJOR SPOILER warning here.

This message was edited by SummonerSupreme on Oct 25 2007.

Late Thursday/early Friday news:
The cable network Spike yesterday reached an agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that will keep UFC-related programming on the network until at least 2011. This most notably means that the acclaimed reality series "The Ultimate Fighter" gets what amounts to a 4-year extension and 4 more seasons after the current deal, among other stuff. TUF still draws very well in the various male demos Spike targets despits consistently dropping overall ratings. Spike also gets 39 more episodes of UFC's fight clip/broadcast show "UFC Unleashed" (13 per year), at least 12 more live "Ultimate Fight Night" events (a minimum of 4 per year), and at least one new live weekly series.

Late Wednesday ratings notes:
The early official number for World Series Game 1 is about 17 million viewers. That's the best Game 1 number since '04, when 23.2 million watched (but that aired on a Saturday) and up over 30% compared to last year's Game 1, which did about 13 million. And ironically enough, said '04 numbers were when the SAWX last played in the Fall Classic. Surprisingly the other series did perfectly fine against baseball, with several shows actually seeing ratings compared to last week go up. "Private Practice" and "Gossip Girl" both had higher numbers, and "Kid Nation" had it's biggest crowd since the premiere-that's because this is the first week since the premiere the ratings didn't go down. Yes, CBS has massively spun these numbers to death already. And over at NBC, the premiere of "Phenomenon", a new reality series starring mindfreak (and just a plain freak) Criss Angel intrigued fewer than 9 million viewers. That's off a good 25% from the week before when "Deal Or No Deal" aired before going on hiatus, and even worse for The Peacock, it had the network's worst premiere numbers this season in the targeted 18-49 demo. It didn't help "Bionic Woman" either-both it and "Life" on Wednesday scored their lowest numbers yet. Bionic Woman has now lost roughly half of its premiere crowd. Proof that, at least this season, NBC and heroes of all kinds just don't mix. If this keeps up Deal might have a shorter-than-planned hiatus (the Wednesday edition is off the schedule until Phenomenon finishes up its planned 6 episode run, meaning Deal should be back the last week of November).

Midday news:
ABC has ordered 6 additional scripts for "Dirty Sexy Money" while The CW has also made said order of scripts for "Reaper". Remember these don't guarantee more episodes and also keep in mind that, barring a breakthrough, we are now less than one week away from a potential Hollywood writers' strike, which could bring production of new episodes of shows to a halt.

10/29 edit: Because the World Series will not need additional games beyond 4, there will be relevant schedule changes on Fox as follows this week (local programming starting at 10):
10/29 (Monday): Repeats of "House" & "K-Ville"
10/31 (Wednesday): Repeats of the "Back To You" premiere, the "'Til Death" season premiere, and a "Kitchen Nightmares" repeat
11/1 (Thursday): "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" returns from hiatus with a new 2 hour special episode. "Don't Forget The Lyrics" returns 11/8.
Regular programming airs Tuesday night (new episodes of "Bones" and House). Regular schedules resume next week except Monday, when K-Ville will be pre-empted for a 2 hour "Prison Break". K-Ville returns with new episodes on 11/12.

Late Monday news:
I've managed to find some more updates on the impending Hollywood Writers' Strike, which is set for Wednesday unless a deal is reached. The latest is as follows:

quote wga.org

(10/26/07)
Contract 2007 Negotiations Statement

The WGA Negotiating Committee, on behalf of the Writers of Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), has issued the following statement regarding Contract 2007 negotiations:

“This morning, we responded to the package presented yesterday by the AMPTP. We agreed to several of their proposals and withdrew or modified a number of our own proposals in order to narrow the areas in dispute. We also proposed a smaller working group to address several enforcement proposals made by both sides. The AMPTP caucused for more than four hours and returned with a package that included new rollbacks related to our pension and health funds. They rejected our modified proposals and ignored our working group offer. They then informed us that they are not comfortable meeting at the WGA and insisted that negotiations return to the AMPTP. They declined to meet again until Tuesday. This means only two days remain to resolve the substantive issues of this negotiation before Wednesday night's contract deadline.”

For WGA Lead Negotiator David Young’s opening statement from today’s negotiations, please click the following: subpage_member.aspx?id=2515.

Weekly Nielsen Ratings Report for Week Ending 10/28/07:
See Sox. See Rox. See Sox and Rox on Fox. See Sox box Rox on Fox. Sorry Fox. No more Sox & Rox on Fox to Sox all. For those who clearly don't get it, the World Series, featuring the Sox & Rox on The Fox, aka the Rockies & the SAWX, led Fox to the weekly ratings win last week. The 4 games averaged 17 milion viewers-while that is down 8 million from the last time the SAWX won it all in '04 and is the 2nd-lowest rated WS ever, it was up about 8% from last year. Game 4 was the highest rated, with nearly 21 million. It fell just short of being the #1 show for the week, as "Dancing With The Stars" wound up with about 21.3 million on Monday thanks to no baseball. Dancing & "Samantha Who?", the new recipient of a full season order, helped ABC edge CBS by only 20,000 viewers for second last week. Samantha Who? drew another 14 million viewers last week. Over on NBC, the premiere of new reality series "Phenomenon" really wasn't-only 8.6 million were captivated enough to tune in. That's off about 25% from what "Deal Or No Deal" did the week before (it's on hiatus until Phenomenon finishes). And the slow crash & burn of "Heroes" continues: Last week-a new low with 10.8 million. This past Monday: Another new low-10.5 million. I bet NBC's already starting a "Save The NNPO 2.0" campaign, it might be the only way to Save The Heroes. And "Bionic Woman"? Not so anymore, it's down to 7.8 million. "Journeyman"? Even worse. Call it The Heroes Effect. It's setting itself and similar-themed shows up to fail. No NBC program even ranked in the top 20 overall last week. Then again, no non-baseball program on Fox did either excpt for "House".

On cable, ESPN is claiming the biggest cable audience of the year for this past week's Monday Night Football, with an initial number of over 10.1 million households. ESPN also now is claiming to have 4 of the top 5 and 7 of the top 10 cable programs this year via MNF. On FX, new series "Damages" finished its first and possibly only season with 1.7 million, for a final average of 2 million. FX reports that it's in Fate TBD status.

The Week's Top 10 Most Watched Shows, in order: Monday's "Dancing With The Stars", World Series Game 4, "Desperate Housewives", "Grey's Anatomy", "House", Tuesday's Dancing, "NCIS", World Series Game 2, World Series Game 1, "CSI: Miami".

The latest updates on the pending Hollywood writer's strike, currently set to happen at midnight tonight barring a last-minute deal:
This from the AMPTP: "Both sides worked on modifications to their proposals. The Guild indicated that they were preparing a comprehensive package and would be ready to present it tomorrow. The mediator scheduled the meeting for 10 a.m. We are committed to a fair, reasonable and sensible agreement that is beneficial for everyone. However, opportunities do not come without challenges."
This from the WGA: "Today's negotiations began at 10:00 AM. No significant progress was made. At 4:30 PM, we informed the AMPTP that we would prepare a comprehensive package proposal for their review today. At 6:45 PM, we told them the proposal would be ready in 15 minutes. Management negotiators responded by saying they preferred to leave for the day and hear our proposal tomorrow, the expiration date of our contract."
Should nothing happen and a strike indeed happen, which could be anytime starting at 12:01 AM Thursday, here's what it potentially means for you, the TV viewer:
The show must go on. For now. The networks, for the most part, have enough new episodes already produced and ready to go until about February. So new programming should continue until the Super Bowl, give or take a week or two.
Reality bites. If the strike lasts until the new episodes run out, reality series, which are unscripted and cheap to produce, are going to likely be the bulk of new non-sports and non-news programming to fil the void.
Dateline: Insert date here. Also look for lots of newsmagazines to fill the void. Cheap & relatively unscripted.
Must See TV. Again. Repeats would also become the rule.
The Fall Guy. This is the potential long-term impact: The last time such a strike/work stoppage happened (Fall 1988), it lasted 22 weeks and did wipe out part the next TV season due to production delays. So if it goes that long again, next season may not start on time.
The main sticking point in negotiations? Reportedly it has to do with revenue sharing for sales of TV programs on DVD and other forms of digital media (internet viewing/downloads of TV shows via serives like iTunes or Amazon Unbox, viewing of TV content via cell phones/mobile devices, etc.). The "TV writers'" thus-far-unmet demand to share in expanding "digital revenues" is one of the issues driving a wedge between the writers and the media bosses they write for. With just under 18 hours until a strike (going by Pacific Time here) it remains to be seen if a last-minute deal will be seen or if they'll be striking when we turn on the tube tomorrow morning. And not the good strike.

Lots of Wednesday night/Thursday morning news:
Strike updates: The deadline (midnight PT last night) came and went with no deal, so a strike could now happen at anytime. The latest word from both sides, first the WGA:

quote

"Today, just hours before the expiration of our contract, the AMPTP brought negotiations to a halt. The Companies refused to continue to bargain unless we agree that the hated DVD formula be extended to Internet downloads. This morning we presented the AMPTP with a comprehensive package of proposals that included movement on DVDs, new media, and jurisdictional issues. We also took nine proposals off the table. The Companies returned six hours later and said they would not respond to our package until we capitulated to their Internet demand. After three and a half months of bargaining, the AMPTP still has not responded to a single one of our important proposals. Every issue that matters to writers, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction, has been ignored. This is completely unacceptable."

quote

"We’ve been working hard to come up with a package in response to your last proposal. But we keep running up against the DVD issue. The companies believe that movement is possible on other issues, but they cannot make any movement when confronted with your continuing efforts to increase the DVD formula, including the formula for electronic sell-through. The magnitude of that proposal alone is blocking us from making any further progress. We cannot move further as long as that issue remains on the table. In short, the DVD issue is a complete roadblock to any further progress."

Morning strike update: Barring a last-minute breakthrough, the strike is on. Although writers said they'd leave the door open for last-minute talks, the strike could begin as early as Sunday morning, although Monday is more likely. Union leaders said they would delay the action if producers showed movement in contract negotiations—especially on the key issue of paying writers when TV episodes are sold or streamed over the Internet. Yesterday's end-of-day statement from the AMPTP:

quote

"Due to overriding business reasons, no further progress can be made because of the WGA’s continuing efforts to substantially increase the DVD formula. We are ready to meet at any time and remain committed to reaching a fair and reasonable deal that keeps the industry working, but the DVD issue is a roadblock to these negotiations."

quote

"The Negotiating Committee then announced its unanimous recommendation that the WGAW Board and the WGAE Council call a strike... The WGAW Board and the WGAE Council will meet Friday to consider the recommendation of the Negotiating Committee and to decide the next steps."

quote

"The Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Council of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), acting upon the authority granted them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 AM, Monday, November 5."

quote

"The WGA’s call for a strike is precipitous and irresponsible... Instead of working toward solutions that would give the industry the flexibility it needs to meet today's business challenges, the WGA leadership continues to pursue numerous unreasonable proposals that would result in astronomical and unjustified increases in our costs, further restrict our ability to produce, promote and market TV series and films, and prohibit us from experimenting with programming and business models in New Media."

I'm sorry but am I the only one who finds this thread and pretty much it's only poster a bit ridiculous? I appreciate what your doing I really do and I'm interested to see how shows are doing but whenever I visit this thread I just see massive blocks of text. We can all visit websites and see information like this, I was just wondering if you could offer a better service?

All I'm asking is that you make it a bit easier for the reader, for example if I wanted to see how Prison Break was doing or get the latest news on House I don't want to read through massive blocks of information that either means nothing to me or that I don't care about. A simple new paragraph on a new line with a bolded and underlined title for each show would make it much easier to find what I wanted and go on my merry way.

I'm not sure if you just copy and paste the information (which would explain why it's kinda all stuck together) but if your typing this up yourself or copying different bits from different places I don't think it could hurt to spend an extra minute making it look nicer.

I'm sure some people appreciate the job your doing, I just think it could be a bit easier to process.

I don't try to please everybody. Everyone has their own unique style of doing things, this is mine. You don't have to like it or whatever. Take it up with me via PM if you must.

Elsewhere, the strike is officially on. It started about 3 hours ago in NYC and is just getting going in LA. The NYC picket lines are setup outside NBC's Rockefeller Center headquarters. The final pre-strike end-of-day statements from both sides...
WGA:

quote

"Early today, the WGA completely withdrew its DVD proposal, which the Companies said was a stumbling block... The AMPTP made no response to any of the other proposals that the WGA has made since July. The AMPTP proposed that today's meeting be "off the record," meaning no press statements, but they have reneged on that."

quote

"Notwithstanding the fact that negotiations were ongoing, the WGA decided to start their strike in New York. When we asked if they would “stop the clock” for the purpose of delaying the strike to allow negotiations to continue, they refused. We made an attempt at meeting them in a number of their key areas including Internet streaming and jurisdiction in New Media. Ultimately, the guild was unwilling to compromise on most of their major demands. It is unfortunate that they choose to take this irresponsible action."

Latest strike updates:
As of last night, all the late-night talk shows (The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Late Night, the Daily Show, etc.) have gone into reruns and will continue that way for the time being. The next such casualty may be "Real Time With Bill Maher", airing Friday nights on the cable network HBO, although this Friday was to have been the 5th season finale. Then "Saturday Night Live" goes into repeats this weekend, so don't expect to smell what The Rock is cookin' (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was to host). "Jimmy Kimmel Live" may avoid reruns if hose Jimmy Kimmel goes solo, but that's yet to be seen. "Nightline" will continue as usual without repeats. Here is a list of the known status of currently airing and returning shows yet to premiere later this season (from Zap2it):

ABC:
"Lost"-16 planned episodes, expected to have 8 ready. Premieres midseason, no date set.
"Cavemen"-Expected to end at 12 episodes of planned 13. Has not gotten a "back 9" order.
"Men In Trees"-Will have at least 15 and possibly 19 of 27 episodes (4 that did not air last season but will air this season, 10 new episodes, 4 completed scripts).
"Cashmere Mafia"-13 episodes ordered, will have 7 done.
"The View"-A spokesman says the daytime talk show will continue uninterrupted.
"Dirty Sexy Money"-expected to have 11-13 episodes completed. If 13 it will have a full first season, excluding the 3 additional scripts ordered recently.
"Brothers & Sisters"-expected to have 11-12 episodes completed, which would be a half season.
"Eli Stone"-full season of 13 episodes. Midseason debut, date TBA.

CBS:
"CSI: Miami"-expected to have 13 of 24 episodes.
"Moonlight"-expected to end at 11 episodes of 12. No full season order.
"Cane"-expected to have full order of 13 episodes. No full season order.
"Jericho"-full run of 7 episodes.
"The New Adventures Of Old Christine"-production halted.

NBC:
"Medium"-9 of 22 episodes.
"30 Rock"-9 of 22 episodes. 10th episode scheduled to shoot this week.
"Friday Night Lights"-expected to have 15 of 22 episodes.
"Scrubs"-expected to have 12 of 18 episodes. Could be 2-3 episodes short.
"Journeyman"-expected to have full order of 13 episodes. No full season order.
"Heroes"-may be 1 episode short at midseason.

Soap operas: Unknown, could be gone sometime between next week and the end of the year.

The CW:
"Everybody Hates Chris"-expected to have full order of 22 episodes.
"Gossip Girl"-expected to have 13 of 22 episodes.
"Supernatural"-expected to have 10-12 episodes, and as many as 5 scripts ready to shoot.
"America's Next Top Model", "Beauty And The Geek", "Crowned", other reality shows-several already ordered up, so CW is covered for the entire season.

Fox:
"24"-8 or 9 episodes of 24 will be completed. Midseason debut planned.

Cable:
USA:
WWE Raw-not affected. However, a slight chance that if strike is long, some WWE programming may wind up on NBC.
"In Plain Sight"-Almost done. New series.
"Psych", "Monk"-enough scripts done to guarantee both shows finish their seasons. Both return in January.
"Law & Order: CI"-10 episodes complete will cover the first half. Not enough scripts to guarantee 2nd half produciton start as scheduled (12 episodes).
"Burn Notice"-season 2 production to start in January.
"Starter Wife"-production to start in March.

Sci Fi:
"Stargate Atlantis"-should not be affected.
"Battlestar Galactica"-10 episodes ready plus a 2 hour movie. Movie airs later this Fall, new episodes to air sometime in Spring '08.
"Eureka"-will be affected. How is not yet known, but likely delays in new season production.
ECW-not affected.

FX:
"30 Days"-should not be affected.
"Nip/Tuck"-2 cycles planned for season; The first, 14 episodes through February, should not be affected, but the second (8 next year) may be.
"The Shield"-final season written. No airdate set.
"Dirt", "The Riches"-production underway, may be affected.
"Rescue Me"-5th season production would be delayed. Show just renewed last week.
"Damages"-Still Fate TBD.

HBO:
"Entourage", "Big Love"-in writing stages. Summer '08 premieres were planned, may be pushed back.
"The Wire"-final season production completed, will air as planned.
"In Treatment"-new series, will air as planned.

Showtime:
"Dexter," "Weeds," "Californication", "Brotherhood"-seasons completed or will be completed.
"The Tudors"-12 episodes ready to go, will begin airing in March.
Untitled Tracey Ullman series-5 episodes ready to go.

The Academy Awards may also be affected by a strike, but that's not something to worry about until January.

Other news: Duane "Dog" Chapman is one step closer, perhaps, to being back on the air. The star of the hit reality series "Dog The Bounty Hunter" will not be extradited to Mexico to face a pending appeal of kidnapping charges against him, a judge ruled Monday. The U.S. government had been trying to send Chapman, his son Leland Chapman and a third man (partner and fellow bounty hunter Tim "Youngblood" Chapman, no actual relation even though he's like a brother to Dog) to the resort town of Puerto Vallarta, where they were charged with kidnapping Andrew Luster, the Max Factor heir who had jumped a $1 million bond on charges that he drugged and raped three women. But because bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico, prosecutors in that country charged the three with kidnapping and asked U.S. authorities to arrest the trio and ship them to Puerto Vallarta. The charges in Mexico were dismissed in July but Mexican prosecutors appealed to channels including the US Attorney's Office in Chapman's native Honolulu, HI. It was dismissed because the judge said the three are no longer charged with any offenses, despite the appeal. Chapman's show is still off the air (it normally airs Tuesday nights on the cable network A&E) after a private phone conversation between the reality star and his son was posted online where the elder Chapman reportedly used the n-word several times. Chapman has apologized and vowed to never utter the word again, but at least two advertisers have pulled out from the show, and civil rights groups have called for its cancellation. (A&E previously said that even though the show was pulled indefinitely from the lineup, it is not cancelled)

More strike fallout: The first primetime shows to fall victim have just done so..."Back To You", "'Til Death", and "Rules Of Engagement". Back To You was to return from a planned hiatus this Wednesday, that now will not happen. 'Til Death and Rules will stop production immediately because of the strike. The shows are typically written the same week they are filmed, with jokes being sharpened by writers even on the day of production. Just an FYI while I'm thinking of it-keep in mind that "production halted" in these cases does not mean cancelled. When they return is largely dependent on the strike.
Edit: Add "The New Adventures Of Old Christine", "Two And A Half Men", and "The Big Bang Theory" to the list. Those shows also will end filming because of the strike. No word yet on how many episodes of each show are finished. Well, there goes virtually all my iTunes downloads so I guess I have to start catching up on everything else I've got...

Later edit: This ER just doesn't want to close...John Wells, executive producer of "ER" since the beginning and director of the show's 300th episode, said he will start talking to NBC soon about a 15th season of the medical drama, currently in its 14th season. It's ratings are way off what it used to do but it still averages just under 10 million viewers a week and a respectable 4.1 18-49 rating. Longevity-wise, only "Law & Order" has been running longer than ER among active dramas. No word on when said talks will surface, Wells will stop working on the show soon because of the strike.

Even later edit: The strike is now getting to a Desperate point, literally. At least for ABC-#7 to fall today is "Desperate Housewives". Production on the top-rated Sunday night series stops tomorrow, and even worse for ABC, the show will be out of scripts then and will have gone through all available episodes by Christmas.

This message was edited by SummonerSupreme on Nov 06 2007.

Weekly Nielsen Ratings Report for Week Ending 11/4/07:
Well, it's safe to say that last week will be the last week for a while that anyone was a winner, we're all losers now because of the strike. But it was business as usual for the first few days of the November Sweeps last week, with mostly the usual leading the way and a few surprises: The first surprise was a Peanuts resurgence of sorts: Last year, ABC aired the Halloween special "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" on Tuesday instead of Friday like last year. Said slot change resulted in a crowd of 11.4 million viewers, almost 4 million better than last year and the week's best numbers among kids. Another late Halloween treat came in Fox's "The Simpsons" doing their annual "Treehouse Of Horror" special Sunday night-11.7 million tuned in, also helping the special to its best younger demo numbers in 4 years. CBS did its part with football-Sunday's latest Game Of The Century, featuring The New Brady Bunch vs. Mr. MasterCard (Tom Brady's unbeaten New England vs. Peyton Manning's then-unbeaten Indianapolis), ran until 7:30 PM and gave The Eye 38.5 million viewers in that half-hour. The game itself did nearly 34 million, the biggest regular season NFL crowd in about 20 years and the biggest network audience period since the Academy Awards in February. Of course it helped the late-starting 60 Minutes Of Amazing Cold Shark block-"60 MInutes" did 19.1 million after football, it's best numbers in about 2 years. The season premiere of "The Amazing Race" about 13.6 million-it's best ever opener. "Cold Case" then held on to about 14 million, with "Shark" doing 11 million at 10:30 (11 PM numbers not available). Not to be left out was ABC, with 21 million for Mondays' "Dancing With The Stars"-the 2nd-biggest non-sports crowd this season (only the "CSI" season premiere did more). Now the tricks: Another week, another episode, another new low for "Heroes". 10.5 million last week marked the second-straight series-low crowd, and it has a chance to go for 3 in a row this week (the fast overnights for Monday show it doing a 6.0 rating, which will be adjusted downward). NBC needs NNPO 2.0, Don't You Know. As noted before, seceral other shows have fallen victim to the strike, the most notable being the first-"Cashmere Mafia". ABC put off the 11/27 debut, costing it the prime post-Dancing finale timeslot. Talk about an early hit. ABC also is putting the brakes on "Carpoolers" after today, it's to finish filming it's final episode then it may be done (strike and it has no more episodes). That makes at least 8 shows falling, more to come for sure.

On cable, Comedy Central's latest episode of "South Park", featuring the final episode of the "Imaginationland Trilogy", drew 3.9 million viewers last Wednesday according to the network, which would make it Comedy Central's most-watched program this year. CC's even spinning that it beat the World Series in the men 18-24 demo. On the other side, FX decided a change of scenery is what "Nip/Tuck" needed for it's latest season. Not so. Only 4.3 million tuned in to the 5th season premiere-2 years ago it did 5.3 million.

The Week's Top 10 Most Watched Shows, in order: CBS's Sunday NFL coverage/overrun (7-7:30), Monday's "Dancing With The Stars", "Grey's Anatomy", "60 Minutes", "CSI", Tuesday's Dancing, "Desperate Housewives", "House", NBC's Sunday Night NFL coverage, "NCIS".

Latest strike updates: Fox has confirmed a couple of schedule changes for later this month-"Back To You" is on hiatus for at least the rest of the month as reported earlier. Repeats of the show and "'Til Death" will air on 11/21 with 2 new episodes of Death on 11/28. The move isn't a surprise, seems to be because reportedly Back To You has only 9 of 24 episodes completed (4 have not aired). 'Til Death reportedly has at least 12 of 22 done (at least 7 have not aired). No return date set for Back To You, it was to have returned tonight.
As noted above, ABC is to finish filming of "Carpoolers' today with the 13th episode. At NBC, word is that "ER" is maybe next to be halted, although it could get 2 or 3 more episodes done (One is ready to go, a second is almost there, a third is pending review). It has not gotten a back 9 order so it presumably goes into Fate TBD status. More halts on production are likely in the coming days are are announcements from the networks on schedule changes and alternative programming.
More as it becomes available.

Midday update: The status of a few more sitcoms has just been revealed:
4 shows are still shooting new episodes this week: How I Met Your Mother, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, and Carpoolers (Carpoolers is finishing its initial 13 episode order). Work on The Office has been halted as several cast members, including Steve Carell, B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling-all of whom have also written episodes of the show-walked the picket lines. At this time no new talks between the WGA and AMPTP appear to be scheduled.

This message was edited by SummonerSupreme on Nov 07 2007.

Some more Strike updates, this is from FOX. They revised their mid-season schedule. The biggest news being the seventh season of 24 being delayed, because the network wants to ensure it airs without interruptions. Also, Prison Break won't be taking it's scheduled 4-month hiatus, because the show will return January 14 after it's fall finale on November 12, which has been pushed ahead from December.

Here's the other updates:

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles kicks off with a two-night premiere on January 13 at 8PM and January 14 at 9PM (regular time period).

American Idol kicks off its new season with a two-night four-hour premiere January 15 and 16 at 8PM.

Starting January 4, the Friday night line-up features Bones at 8PM, and House encores at 9PM. House returns with new episodes in it's regular timeslot (Tuesdays 9PM) starting January 22.

The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad, Are You Smarter Than 5th Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics!, Cops and America's Most Wanted all will continue with original episodes, while a mix of original and encores is currently planned for House, Bones, 'Til Death and Back to You.

New game show The Moment of Truth premieres Wednesday, January 23 at 9PM.

New drama series New Amsterdam premieres Friday, February 22 at 9PM.

New comedy series Unhitched premieres Sunday, March 2 at 9:30PM.

New reality series When Women Ruled the World premieres Monday, March 3 at 8PM.

New comedy series The Return of Jezebel James premieres Friday, March 7 at 8:30PM.

Hell's Kitchen returns with a fourth season on Tuesday, April 1 at 9PM.

New drama series Canterbury's Law premieres Friday, April 11 at 9PM.

Full Details

I'm pretty pissed about the delay of 24, but I guess it's good that it'll still air without interruptions. I do like that Prison Break won't be going on it's original 4-month hiatus though.

This message was edited by Echo on Nov 08 2007.

So is anything going to happen to The Office?

As of yesterday, production for The Office has stopped. Steve Carell as well as many others from the show have refused to show up for work and support the strike. As for how many episodes they're ahead, only two new scripts were produced before the strike. So it looks like we'll only get two new episodes, and then we'll have to wait for the strike to end. Check out the below video to watch the crew talk about it.



The strike sucks for us TV viewers, but I do support what they're doing.

I can see where they're coming from, especially in the payments for DVD & internet viewing & downloads. I personally download a lot of TV episodes from iTunes (no fewer than 4 shows currently airing on Fox, NBC, or CBS, all will be affected by the strike, the others air on cable) and currently they get zero of the $1.99 or so we pay Apple to download TV episodes. It's a big business too, the more popular episodes of shows can make millions off iTunes in as little as 2-3 weeks between individual and season pass purchases (some of the bigger moneymakers are South Park, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, and Scrubs) so I do think it's fair that writers get a cut of that too. I too hope it ends relatively quickly, I'm not sure how long I can go without new episodes of The Big Bang Theory & My Name Is Earl, among other shows.

The futon critic website has a comprehensive updated listing of how many episodes various programs have available (episodes ordered and how many have been shot), the list is available here:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/guide.aspx?id=strike_scripted

Edit: Latest early morning strike update-the next series to halt production likely will be "K-Ville". The new drama series is currently filming the last episode written before the strike (the series is filmed in Louisiana). It also appears that "Grey's Anatomy" is shutting down soon too, cast members said yesterday they were shooting scenes for their last scripted episode and may already be done. That will bring the total of halted primetime series so far to roughly 10.

A couple of other schedule notes from Fox not mentioned above: "American Dad" will go on hiatus from March 2 through April 13 for Unhitched. Additionally, all Fox shows will be pre-empted on Sunday, February 3, because of Super Bowl 42.

Late edit: Apparently "Lost" will not get lost because of the strike. ABC is, at least for now, sticking with plans to bring Lost back as planned in February. The 4th season is to run 16 episodes, 8 of which have been completed, the last of which ends in a "cliffhanger" according to executive producer Damon Lindelof. No official word on a specific premiere date or timeslot.

This message was edited by SummonerSupreme on Nov 08 2007.