Continuando com a divulgação de suas grades para a temporada 2008/2009, ontem foi a vez da ABC e poucas novidades foram anunciadas, sendo a maioria das séries que estreiaram esse ano continuando na grade.

Séries Renovadas:

According To Jim(8ª temporada) - Boston Legal(5ª temporada) - Brothers & Sisters(3ª temporada) - Desperate Housewives(5ª temporada) - Dirty Sexy Money(2ª temporada) - Eli Stone(2ª temporada) - Grey's Anatomy(5ª temporada) - Lost(5ª temporada) - Private Practice(2ª temporada) - Pushing Daisies(2ª temporada) - Samantha Who?(2ª temporada) - Ugly Betty(3ª temporada)

Séries Canceladas:

Big Shots(1ª temporada) - Carpoolers(1ª temporada) - Cashmere Mafia(1ª temporada) - Cavemen(1ª temporada) - Men In Trees(2ª temporada) - Miss/Guided(1ª temporada) - Notes From The Underbelly(2ª temporada) - October Road(2ª temporada) - Women's Murder Club(1ª temporada)

Novidades:

Talvez uma das novidades mais aguardadas da TV norte-americana seja o remake da série inglesa Life On Mars que estreiará na ABC.

 
"Life on Mars", ABC, Temporada 2008-2009

A emissora americana ABC, que exibe "Lost" e "Grey's Anatomy", terá apenas duas novas séries na temporada 2008-2009, que estréia em setembro nos EUA. Os executivos admitem que a greve dos roteiristas, de quase cem dias, foi um dos responsáveis pela escassez de novos programas. No ano passado, a emissora estreou oito novas séries.
Uma das novas séries para a próxima temporada é o drama "Life on Mars", versão americana de uma premiada (e ótima) série britânica, da BBC, sobre um policial do século 21 que sofre um acidente e, sem maiores explicações, vai parar em 1973.




A serie está sendo produzida por David E. Kelly, criador de "Boston Legal" (que ganhou uma quinta temporada) e "Ally McBeal", e a versão original foi exibida no Brasil pela HBO. "Life On Mars" será exibido às quintas na emissora, logo após "Grey's Anatomy", horário hoje ocupado por "Lost", cuja quinta temporada estreará em fevereiro de 2009.
O outro novo programa da ABC se chama "Opportunity Knocks" e será um jogo em que os produtores aparecem na casa das pessoas com um caminhão cheio de prêmios e fazem perguntas sobre os membros da família - as respostas certas valem os prêmios. Tem uma cara de anos 80, não? Quem está por trás da produção é o ex-"That 70's Show" Ashton Kutcher.
A ABC também começará a exibir a comédia "Scrubs" no midseason (entressafra das séries). A série médica era da NBC e corria o risco de ser cancelada.
A opção por estrear só dois novos programas foi para dar uma nova chance a séries prejudicadas por causa da greve dos roteiristas, como as novatas "Eli Stone", "Pushing Daisies" e "Dirty Sexy Money". "Notes From the Underbelly", "October Road" e "Women's Murder Club" foram canceladas.

Fonte: SériesETC

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Bom, eu como sou novo nesse ramo, não conhecia a série, mas pelo enredo parece que vai ser legal...já se tornou umas das minhas apostas para a nova Temporada!

Em breve mais notícias...

CBS ima predstavljanje sheme u srijedu, a FOX u cetvrtak. NBC je predstavio program jos proslog mjeseca. Iako se otprilike sve manje-vise zna u naprijed, ipak ima ponekih iznenadenja. Okej, necemo previse pisati, da vidimo sto je prezivjelo, a sto nije.

ABC

Prezivjele serije:
Boston Legal se vraca u (ovaj puta stvarno) posljednoj, petoj sezoni. Najesen, u ponedjeljak.
Brothers & Sisters ce se vratiti sa trecom sezonom. Najesen, u nedjelju.
Desperate Housewives, ocekivano. Najesen, nedjelja.
Grey's Anatomy, opet sasvim ocekivano, peta sezona krece najesen, cetvrtkom u 21:00.
LOST se, naravno, isto vraca, opet krajem sijecnja 2009. Ah, opet nas ceka 7 mjeseci izmedu sezona LOST-a.
Pushing Daisies, najotkacenija i najzabavnija dramedija prosle sezone se takoder vraca najesen. Srijedom u 20:00.
Od ostalih, pomalo neocekivano, vraca se Eli Stone i Svijet prema Jimu (koji nikako da zavrsi), ocekivano Private Practice, Ugly Betty i Samantha Who?. Reality i sport predvode America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor (na zimu), Dancing With The Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny, Wife Swap, Saturday Night College Football, Primetime: What Would You Do?

Nisu prezivjele:
October Road, Notes from the Underbelly, Men in Trees, Big Shots, Carpoolers, Cashmere Mafia, Cavemen, Miss/Guided, Women's Murder Club, Oprah's Big Give.

Nove serije:
ABC ima samo jedan novi jesenski pilot, remake popularne BBC-jeve serije, Life on Mars. Life on Mars je serija o modernom policajcu koji se nakon teske prometne nesrece budi u 1973. godini u kojoj i dalje radi kao detektiv. Ne volim remakove, ali BBC-ev original nisam ni gledao.
The Goode Family, Scrubs (kojeg su oteli NBC-u) i novi Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks Project dolaze pocetkom 2009.

The CW

Prezivjele serije:
Reaper se pomalo neocekivano vraca sa drugom sezonom. Tek na zimu sa 13 novih epizoda. Bolje ista, nego nista.
Smallville se vraca bez Lexa Luthora, Lane Lang, a vjerojatno i bez Chloe Sullivan. Moze li biti dobar "samo" sa Clark Kentom i Lois Lane? Osma sezona najesen, cetvrtkom.
Supernatural i braca Winchester se vracaju u novoj, cetvrtoj sezoni.
Teenagerske sapunjare Gossip Girl i One Tree Hill se takoder vracaju sa novim sezonama isto kao i America's Next Top Model, Everybody Hates Chris i The Game.

Nisu prezivjeli:
Aliens in America, Life is Wild, Girlfriends

Nove serije:

CW isto, kao i ABC, ima jedan remake. Beverly Hills se vraca na male ekrane sa novom, mladom i zgodnom postavom. Ovaj puta bez prefiksa, samo s brojem, 90210. Evo vam dolje i prva slika nove postave. Najesen, utorkom u 20:00.
Uz Beverly Hills, CW ima jedan novi reality show, Stylista i jednu novu sapunjaru, Surviving the Filthy Rich.

No mesmo dia em que revelaram as suas grelhas para a temporada 2008/2009, as estações norte-americanas ABC e CW revelaram as primeiras imagens das suas novas séries, a versão americana da britânica Life on Mars e o remake de Beverly Hills, 90210.

Primeiro Life on Mars, a única nova série que a ABC apresentou oficialmente para a próxima temporada. A série é baseada na série da BBC com o mesmo nome, criada por Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan e Ashley Pharoah. A história centra-se no personagem Sam Tyler (que será interpretado por Jason O'Mara - Anatomia de Grey, O Amor no Alasca) um moderno detective que, depois de um acidente de carro, se vê transportado de volta ao ano de 1973 continuando a trabalhar como detective. Do elenco fazem parte Jason O'Mara, Rachelle LeFevre, Colm Meaney, Lenny Clarke, Stephanie Jacobsen, Patrick Wenk-Wolff e Richard Benjamim.

Em seguida, as primeiras fotos, divulgadas esta terça-feira. Clique para ampliar

hotvnews

A CW divulgou também, esta terça-feira, a primeira imagem do elenco do spin-off de Beverly Hills, 90210 que o canal produzirá para a próxima temporada. Da esquerda para a direita: Dustin Milligan, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Walter, Shenae Grimes, Tristan Wilds, Lori Loughlin, Ryan Eggold, Jessica Stroup e Michael Steger.

Na foto faltam Jennie Garth e Tori Spelling, que fizeram parte do elenco principal na série original e deverão fazer participações regulares neste spin-off, assim como o interprete de Harrison "Harry" Mills, o filho de Tabitha (Walter), marido de Celia (Loughlin) e pai de Annie (Grimes) e Dylan (Wilds). O papel continua ainda por atribuir.

Imagens: CW e ABC

An article by Robin Parker in Broadcast this week about my The Radio Play's The Thing commission, a project I've been working on for two years now and which is just concluding its production phase.

I conceived it as an experiment in what I called (back in 2006) 'User Commissioned Content', which was sloppy short-hand for 'User-Generated Content where you give the User a few quid to help realise their vision' (for some studio time, a special actor, whatever). As it turned out I was applying a TV/video paradigm to the Radio medium where the gap between writer and producer/director is much wider so I adapted the project on the fly, eventually bringing in professional directors from other disciplines (TV, experimental theatre, etc.) to produce the radio dramas professionally but with the freshness of never having worked in the Radio medium.

4Radio sounds off with dramas ahead of launch

The first fiction commissions for Channel 4's fledgling 4Radio venture are to debut online later this month when the broadcaster unveils four audio dramas.

The plays are all by new writers and will be directed by TV and theatre directors making their radio debuts. Neil Pearson and Hollyoaks actors Gerard McCarthy and Jennifer Biddall are among the cast.

The scripts were chosen from more than 1,000 submitted to an online competition launched last year off the back of C4 theatre talent search The Play's the Thing.

They were originally intended to be shared with OneWord before C4 pulled its funding from the station in December.

C4 now plans to use the web to launch the plays ahead of 4Radio's planned start at the end of this year and will also make them available as podcasts.

The 15-minute plays tackle heavyweight themes. Hospital doctor Andy Prendergast's To the Broad Shore explores euthanasia; DA McIllroy's The Interpreter features a confrontation between a Belfast police officer and a Chinese illegal immigrant; Stephen Todd's Proud Songster looks at the impact of genocide in Rwanda; and Caroline Gilfillan's The Colonel reflects on Chilean torture that took place in the 1970s.

All four are produced by Maud Hand of Maud Hand Productions and John Dryden of Goldhawk Productions. Hand has developed the project since January 2006. Dryden was invited latterly to come on board and is an experienced radio producer who has specialised in recording plays on location, most notably Radio 4's The Cairo Trilogy, starring Omar Sharif.

The 4Radio plays are also made out of the studio in locations around London.

Directors lined up include Noreen Kershaw, the Life on Mars actress who has turned to directing Coronation Street and Shameless, and Andrew Foster, the New Zealand theatre director who developed cult comedy Flight of the Conchords for HBO and directed the feature film Eagle vs Shark.

C4 new media commissioner Adam Gee has championed the plays at C4, developing the project in his earlier role as head of 4Talent.

Also involved have been writer Annie Caulfield, Radio Academy director Trevor Dann and Shameless creator Paul Abbott.

"Having created some content for 4Radio, much of it linked to established C4 shows, this is our first experiment in making radio drama sound different," said Gee.

Article reproduced courtesy of Robin Parker and Broadcast

I know, it's not even summer yet, but ABC has rolled out its fall lineup. There are some familiar friends and some new shows, too. Want to know what's ahead? Follow the jump!

Monday: This night starts off the same, with Dancing With The Stars and Samantha Who? Then comes the shakeup - Boston Legal at 9:00!

Tuesday: There's a new gameshow, called Opportunity Knocks. It's followed by Dancing With The Stars results, and Eli Stone.

Wednesday: No new series here. The lineup goes Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money.

Thursday: It looks familiar at first. Ugly Betty, followed by Grey's Anatomy. Then comes the new show: Life on Mars.

Friday: It's nearly a full night of reality TV! Wife Swap, Supernanny, 20/20.

Saturday: College Football.

Sunday: Ahh, old friends. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters.

Midseason Shows: Scrubs, According To Jim, Primetime: What Would You Do?

These shows will not return: Men in Trees, Cashmere Mafia, Women's Murder Club, Miss Guided, Cavemen, October Road, Notes From The Underbelly.

What might show up on ABC: The New Adventures of Old Christine

The spring season is winding down, so you'll have plenty of time to get back to the tube!

Or at least what was working until the writers' strike sent the nets off the rails.

ABC is only adding two new shows to the fall line-up: Life on Mars, a remake of a British series, and Opportunity Knocks, a new reality show from Ashton Kutcher. Compare that to the 12 new shows the net debuted last year.

The much anticipated Life on Mars is a supernatural crime drama about a detective, Sam Tyler, who after being hit by a car wakes up in 1972 Los Angeles. While there, Tyler ends up on the trail of a serial killer. Jason O'Mara (Men in Trees, In Justice) will play Tyler, with Rachelle Lefevre (What About Brian) co-starring as Det. Annie Cartwright.

Opportunity Knocks is a reality game show in which producers show up at contestants' home and quiz families in exchange for cash and prizes.

New series Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, and Pushing Daisies will all be returning, along with veteran shows Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Brothers & Sisters and Desperate Housewives. David E. Kelley drama Boston Legal returns for what will be a fifth and final season.

On the reality scene Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Wife Swap, Dancing with the Stars, and Supernanny all return in the fall with The Bachelor to premiere mid-season.

Few comedies are on the ABC sked. Freshman comedy Samantha Who?, which stars Christina Applegate as an amnesiac trying to rebuild her life, will return. Meanwhile hit NBC comedy Scrubs moves to ABC mid-season, paired with The Goode Family, a new animated series from the creators of King of the Hill.

The mid-season will also see the start of a new reality show from co-producers Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher and the return of Lost.

Cancelled Shows

• Women's Murder Club
• October Road
• Men in Trees

"Stable" is the word being used by many to describe ABC's new-ish schedule. 'Timid' is the word that comes to my mind. The net is apparently not taking a chance on change this fall.

Only one new scripted series has found its way onto ABC's 2008 fall schedule, announced this morning at a press conference in New York: the long-delayed adaptation of Life on Mars. Otherwise, this fall's ABC lineup looks an awful lot like last fall's ABC lineup.

ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson did officially announce the network's acquisition of NBC comedy Scrubs, which is scheduled to premiere midseason. Other midseason premieres include the Mike Judge animated comedy The Goode Family and an as-yet untitled Tyra Banks/Ashton Kutcher reality show.

New Series for Fall 2008 or Midseason 2009

LIFE ON MARS
October Road's Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg have stepped in for David E. Kelley as showrunners for this American version of the mind-bending BBC drama about a 21st century detective (Jason O'Mara, stepping into John Simm's shoes) who, following a car crash, mysteriously finds himself working as a cop in the 1970s. Costarring Colm Meaney, Lenny Clarke and Rachelle Lefevre.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
J.D. Roth has been tapped to host this Ashton Kutcher-produced game show, in which producers show up at a home with a truckload of prizes and quiz family members on what they know about each other.

THE GOODE FAMILY
King of the Hill's Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky re-team for this animated series about a family obsessed with doing the "right" thing, only to have their efforts result in unintended comedic consequences. Judge is expected to voice several characters on the show, including the family's father.

Returning Fall 2008 or Midseason 2009

· 20/20
· ACCORDING TO JIM
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS
· THE BACHELOR
· BOSTON LEGAL
· BROTHERS & SISTERS
· DANCING WITH THE STARS
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
· DIRTY SEXY MONEY
· ELI STONE
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION
· GREY'S ANATOMY
· LOST
· PRIMETIME
· PRIVATE PRACTICE
· PUSHING DAISIES
· SAMANTHA WHO?
· SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL
· SCRUBS
· SUPERNANNY
· UGLY BETTY
· WIFE SWAP

Canceled Series

· BIG SHOTS
· CARPOOLERS
· CASHMERE MAFIA
· CAVEMEN
· MEN IN TREES
· MISS GUIDED
· NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY
· OCTOBER ROAD
· OPRAH'S BIG GIVE
· WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB

True, recent American retreads of British programming have left much to be desired (Coupling, Cracker and Cosby/One Foot in the Grave come galloping to mind), but Life on Mars, the tale of a 21st century cop who finds himself working for a 1973 police force after a traffic accident, is quirky enough to have legs. As always, it's better to check out the original British series first, so if the American one is pants, you at least derived something from the experience. And you can read an interview with Beryl Vertue, the producer who pioneered the sale of British TV  show formats to the U.S. and other countries, in the pages of 30 Years of British Television, due out in August.

ABC 2008-2009 Fall Schedule

Of all of the major networks, one could say that ABC is playing it safest when it comes to this year's upfronts. The only drama pilot to make it onto their fall schedule is one that was technically completed for last season's pilot group, and they are the network who held back the most new shows from last fall to be relaunched with gusto when September rolls around.

The result is a schedule that is eerily similar to the one that we saw this past year, which saw decent success although certainly not to the levels that they experienced in years previous. After a year of success facing off against CSI, Grey's Anatomy has seen post-strike ratings tumble, and shows like Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty are fading if not quite to levels that are dangerous to their health and stability on the network.

So, let's take a look at the schedule, and see which shows are going to make a splash this time around, plus finally getting confirmation of the worst kept secret of the year's upfronts.

The New Fall Shows

Life on Mars - Thursdays at 10pm

A much-buzzed about pilot from David E. Kelley, this transplant of the BBC original series that debuted and continued with much acclaim across the pond has a lot going for it, and now we can add the post-Grey's Anatomy timeslot to the list. Readers might recognize star Jason O'Mara from his recent stint on Grey's as Meredith's first tumour victim (The bear attack guy), and he is generally just a very strong actress. Also joining the cast includes Stephanie Jacobsen, who I really enjoyed as Kendra Shaw in Battlestar Galactica: Razor, and the absolutely perfectly cast (Based on the image) Colm Meaney from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The show follows a time-traveling detective, and while I haven't seen the British original its pedigree will be enough to keep me interested. The show is perhaps the most big-budget and high-concept to follow Grey's, so it should be interesting to see how its showrunners (Who have been in this spot before, albeit with the far inferior in concept October Road) handle the most onerous timeslot on television a second time around.

Opportunity Knocks - Tuesdays at 8pm

Ashton Kutcher returns to making reality shows, which is good for his bottom line since Beauty & the Geek is getting the axe at The CW. This one features a giant prize truck traveling around the country, bringing the game show to the people. Seems a dangerous gamble considering recent gas prices, but it should at least pull enough ratings in the pre-Dancing with the Stars slot that it will perform better than a recap show of what viewers of that show saw the night before.

"New" Midseason Shows

Scrubs, The Goode Family, Untitled Beauty Pageant Reality Series

No, Scrubs isn't a new show, but it's new to ABC and the network is holding its debut until midseason (Which means there is potential for Sarah Chalke to be on two televisions sitcoms at once should she make a potential jump to HIMYM once Scrubs finishes filming). The show doesn't have a timeslot, but there's no space for any sitcoms in Fall outside of Samantha Who, so there will need to be some moving around. The other two shows are, first, a new animated program from Mike Judge (Whose King of the Hill is still running, magically) and second, another Ashton Kutcher reality production.

The Returning Shows We Care About

Pushing Daisies - 8pm on Wednesdays

Private Practice - 9pm on Wednesdays

Dirty Sexy Money - 10pm on Wednesdays

It was a successful pre-strike Wednesday lineup for ABC, but now these three shows are going to be faced with the challenge of recollection when they relaunch in the Fall. And, yes, it really is a relaunch - the three shows might as well be starting over, and while Private Practice has the Grey's connection the other two shows need to reconnect with fans and viewers who probably don't remember the beats on which each ended its shortened first seasons. Dirty Sexy Money has a new showrunner and a newly juggled cast, but Pushing Daisies is going to have to recapture its past magic without considerable change. It should be interesting to see how ABC's decision not to relaunch these shows turns out, but I'm in for the two anchors if not the middle, which I found just far too preachy in the fall.

Boston Legal - 10pm on Mondays

Eli Stone - 10pm on Tuesdays

Boston Legal barely gets renewed for another season, although expect major changes; like The Practice purge that resulted in Legal being created, Kelley has had to make serious concessions to the network to keep the show on the air (And without his control over the Life on Mars project, to which he owns the rights, chances are that it would be gone). It has, however, inherited what is quickly becoming television's death slot, which last season saw the deaths of Journeyman and October Road, and the year before a whole host of NBC shows. Eli Stone, meanwhile, is a nice pickup that will have to inspire me to catch up on the series - I fell behind, but realized there was much potential, so it's nice to see ABC treating the show well with the post-Dancing results spot. Still, the show will have to grow its audience to avoid falling apart in the Fall.

Samantha Who - 9:30pm on Mondays

I like Samantha Who, a lot, and still have to watch last night's episode - the show has a great deal of charm, and Christina Applegate is an Emmy shoo-in. I think that's what is keeping the show around, a sitcom with a lot of pedigree and, more importantly, some stability. I'd expect to see it paired with Scrubs when that show hits the schedule at midseason, but for the Fall Samantha keeps its plum post-Dancing with the Stars timeslot.

Also Renewed, but Unchanged/Unsurprising

The entire Sunday lineup, the rest of Thursday, Fridays, Dancing with the Stars, Lost (Midseason)

...but Forgotten - Canceled Shows

October Road - No big surprise here, considering that the show's ratings have been atrocious. The creators plan to provide some level of closure for viewers through internet means, but the show just never had any momentum, and it getting a second season was surprising enough.

Men in Trees - A victim of extremely poor scheduling, the drama needed to find either critical accolades or ratings to survive; unfortunately, it never found either of them, although it leaves behind a loyal following.

Miss/Guided - A last-minute axe from the schedule, this little seen comedy debuted with no fanfare on Thursdays during the strike period, so much under the radar that I didn't really even pay any attention to it. I've heard decent things, so I was kind of hoping it would have a chance to grow in the new year.

Carpoolers and Cavemen - Good riddance.

Women's Murder Club - A show that opened with a lot of buzz, but failed to build an audience or any sort of critical appreciation.

Cashmere Mafia - Like Lipstick Jungle, this women-led series misses the cut.

According to Jim - Finally, the comedy...wait, it got renewed? Ooh give me a-

Shows that Deserved to Be Canceled

According to Jim - The show is like beating a dead horse, so their decision to renew the comedy must exist as a commitment to Jim Belushi to put his kids through college or some other nonsense. The show has never been that funny, and yet here it is entering its umpteenth season in favour of something like Miss/Guided that actually has comic potential. This show better be the cheapest sitcom on T.V. or something, or else ABC has a lot of explaining to do.

The Bachelor - it's returning at midseason, but the show has more or less fallen off the wagon in ratings and interest in recent years. It has been awful at even carrying its Samantha Who lead-in, and the show just isn't competitive in a timeslot where it could be. All in all, the show has always been a creative black hole, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised ABC ignores all logic and sticks with their search to find love.

Overall

It's a safe lineup for ABC, one that features only one new drama. This is good news for its returning freshmen series, because they'll get a lot more ad time and a lot more buzz leading into next year. However, ABC is planning to do some pilot pickups for midseason (ala Eli Stone this year), so there is a certain axe waiting to fall on some of the sophomore shows should they prove unable to hold their weight in this new environment. And that doesn't even take into account that Lost is going to be in need of a shiny new timeslot when it returns at an undetermined point in 2009.

There is a strange likeness between what I imagine Aitken's Migration is like and the natural takeover of a Disney World hotel posted on boingboing last month.

Of course the unfinished hotel now flooded with wild grasses was a wing of the Pop Century hotel. Now ghost-like, watching plants slowly consuming this unused representation of popular culture and 90s prosperity is particularly fitting in this moment of history, much like the Stardust in Las Vegas was the decaying moment of 80s glamour.

The Stardust had my favorite neon sign in sin city. The once highly dynamic masterpiece now lies in pieces in the Neon Boneyard, hoping to once again glow as an intrinsically-valued artifact rather than as pure advertisement and Las Vegas excess. And what now stands in the Stardust's place? Supposedly the Echelon will someday, but with the current state of the economy in Nevada, I am not convinced anything substantial will replace the Stardust within the next decade.

Speaking of repurposing spaces, I just noticed Motel Motel Motel's website has updated the status of Motel #3: "The one night only maiden voyage of an illuminated art regatta" will take place in Greenlake in September. Spectacular.

It's upfront week again, that wonderful time of year when networks present their fall schedules to advertisers and reporters in the hopes of generating lots of hype and, in turn, beaucoup de advertising bucks (well, except for NBC, which already did theirs weeks ago). More importantly, it's the time when we finally learn the fate of all those bubble shows, and what exciting new TV we can look forward to in the coming fall/winter season. At least it'd better be exciting, since the networks have managed to hemorrhage six million viewers since last year's May sweeps.

The actual presentations don't start until tomorrow, but the networks have been getting ready for upfront week by doing some housecleaning--ordering pilots to series, renewing and/or canceling old shows, and casting for new ones. Here's a roundup of the weekend's scuttlebutt.

Over at the CW, the highly anticipated (by some, anyway) 90210 spinoff has been picked up, and old school cast member Jennie Garth has signed on to reprise her role as Kelly Taylor, now a guidance counselor at good old West Beverly Hills High School. Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah, who rewrote the pilot script after Rob Thomas exited the project, will stick around as showrunners. In addition, the network is reportedly close to picking up a new comedy based on Zoey Dean's book How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, which should mesh nicely with Gossip Girl.

As for existing shows, I'm sad to say that the critically acclaimed but little-watched Aliens in America is officially cancelled. We told you guys to watch it, but did you listen? No, you did not. But don't worry, I'm sure there'll be plenty more Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious in your future to make up for it. Hey, don't complain to me, ya'll brought this on yourselves.

In other CW news, Girlfriends spinoff The Game will be back with 22 more episodes. There's no official word yet on Reaper, but TV Guide's Michael Ausiello is saying there's a good chance it'll be back. The CW will unveil its full lineup on Tuesday evening.

ABC's negotiations with David E. Kelley over the Life on Mars remake seem to be close to a resolution, and unfortunately for all of us that resolution doesn't involve the complete abandonment of the project. Kelley, who owns the rights to the American version of the acclaimed BBC series, is expected to exit the project in exchange for an agreement to bring Boston Legal back in the fall. October Road exec producers Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg are reportedly in line to take over as showrunners for the new Life on Mars.

ABC has given a 13-episode order to animated comedy The Goode Family, from Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky. Mum's still the word on Scrubs, but it's expected to have a place on the network's fall schedule, which will be officially announced Tuesday afternoon.

Fox was especially busy this weekend, dishing out series orders for J.J. Abrams' new sci-fi drama Fringe, the Jason Bateman-directed comedy The Inn (from Arrested Development scribe Abraham Higginbotham), and (speaking of Arrested Development) Mitchell Hurwitz's animated comedy Class Dismissed (based on the Australian series Sit Down, Shut Up). Fringe is rumored for a fall premiere while Joss Whedon's highly anticipated Dollhouse probably won't be ready until midseason. The network also announced some unsurprising cancellations, including Back to You, New Amsterdam and Canterbury's Law. Fox's upfront presentation will take place Thursday afternoon.

CBS, on the other hand, has been playing its cards close to the vest this weekend. But rumor has it the network is looking to create a new comedy block on Tuesdays or Wednesdays in the fall. Some series pickup announcements are expected to come later today, including the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Eleventh Hour and The Mentalist, from writer Bruno Heller. Other likely contenders are the Diane Ruggiero-penned Mythological Ex and murder mystery Harper's Island. CBS will announce its full schedule on Wednesday afternoon.

Testcard F is the one that I remember the most, and probably everyone else as well given that it was the most broadcast (according to BBC archives, this poor little girl has waited 70,000 hours for the clown to take his turn). But apparently there were a variety of testcards used before this one became standard. They were produced by George Hersee, and the little girl in Testcard F was his daughter Carole, who had a crap childhood as a result of her face being on the TV for hours at a time.

I’d like to make an appeal to Carole Hersee (I saw you on Blue Peter when you were a teenager), if you’re reading this please contact and send me a contribution to the blog. Was it really that bad? Was your whole life ruined because we stared at you? Did you used to have to go out with a sack over your head, or was it just stupid kids at school winding you up?

A testcard is usually accompanied by a loud tone, an A, which is apparently the tone most likely to wake you up if you’ve dropped off in front of the TV. If you, like me, were a childhood telly addict, then you might have, like me, sat in front of the testcard with the sound turned down.

I might sit there waiting for the programs to begin, or I might just be watching it for fun. My family thought that I was clearly mad, but I contest that there is a lot of fun to be had watching the testcard. Those of us with vivid imaginations, not dulled by hours of cartoon channels (yes, there were only 3 channels back then and no, there wasn’t anything that showed children’s programs all day long), had learned to make our own entertainment out of what we saw.

Several different methods of imaginative play could be used in front of the testcard. There was the conversation that Carole was having with the clown (muttered through gritted teeth, ‘Take your piggin turn, mate, my arm’s aching…’); there were all sorts of things going on out of the shot of the camera, a whole queue of Playschool toys waiting to have a go at the blackboard; there was what happened just after the picture was taken and the balloon burst and everyone jumped in shock. And that’s just the photo. Those grey boxes with lines in intrigued me more than the Nazca Plain. Where could they lead? Why were they parallel and perpendicular, and what was the significance of the thick black line at the top? It was a deep pool that you could get lost in.

The testcard has recently played an important role in Life on Mars. The little girl who plays Carole Hersee is reminiscent of Carol Anne, the girl in Poltergeist, which makes the memory somewhat sinister. However light-hearted I’m trying to make this site, the more I dig into my memories of the Seventies, the more sinister it all becomes. Perhaps that’s just the cynicism of age.

Josie Henley-Einion, author, blogger, Legend in my own Living Room

Pick of the Week: Skins Series 2 - Slim-ish pickings this week I'm afraid so Skins gets top billing. It's probably all worth it though for the first episode which features an amazing modern dance routine by Maxxie and Bill Bailey dancing with a dog.

Also Out:
Ashes to Ashes Season 1 - A moderately disappointing follow-up to Life on Mars which is really only worth it to again appreicate the irrepressible brilliance of Philip Glenister as Gene Hunt.
Charlie Wilson's War - Fumbled political satire with great turns from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tom Hanks but an embarrassingly bad one from Julia Roberts.
Shrooms - Irish rural teen horror movie. Looks pretty awful.
Bonnie and Clyde - A 40th Anniversary edition of the utterly-classic birth of New Hollywood.

Region 1:
The Orphanage - Solid and effective ghost story if somewhat overrated in the scare department.
Youth Without Youth - Francis Ford Copolla's indifferently received, ambitious work.

(205 words)

At first I was so speechless that I forget to ask Collin where he was taking me. He led me through the city streets towards the center of campus. I was still stunned by the news of the nuclear attacks. Presently we descended through a door into the tunnels that ran beneath the college buildings. These had been set up as a nuclear fallout shelter during the cold war.

“We’re going to have to sleep down here,” said Collin. “The entire school has been evacuated down here just in case of more bombs. These tunnels are pretty large, but I’m afraid it’s still quite cramped with all 1,400 students down there. I brought blankets for you to sit on, and hooded sweatshirt. It’s colder and soggier than heck.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I appreciate everything you’ve done.

As we finished talking, I noticed a lot of people gathered in the furnace room. They seemed to be watching something.

“They’ve got a TV down there,” Collin explained. “That’s kind of like our common gathering area.”

“Shut up,” I said. I was watching the TV. The cameras had just zoomed in on President Gore who was walking up to his podium to deliver a message to the nation.

Click here to read Chapter Thirteen

Antena 3 sigue apostando fuerte por el contenido de sus canales TDT. Si hace unos días os comentábamos que Antena.Neox iba a emitir en exclusiva The Big Ban Theory, ahora sabemos que además estrenará la serie británica Ashes to Ashes, spin-off de Life on Mars, cuya primera temporada ha acabado de emitirse recientemente, y con muy buenos datos de audiencia, en el Reino Unido. Además, la serie ha sido renovada, por lo que habrá también segunda temporada el próximo año.

Si Life on Mars se centraba en la vida de un policía de la actualidad que se despertaba tras un accidente en los años 70, el planteamiento de Ashes to Ashes es muy similar, sólo que esta vez la acción tiene lugar en el Londres de los años 80. La mayoría de personajes de la serie original vuelven a aparecer en esta secuela, encabezados por el ya conocido Gene Hunt y protagonizada en este caso por la inspectora Drake que, tras recibir un disparo, retrocede inexplicablemente en el tiempo.

Al igual que en Life on Mars, cabe destacar en gran trabajo que han realizado los responsables de esta serie a la hora de recrear la Inglaterra de los años 80. Las similitudes de ambas series no acaban ahí, de hecho Ashes to Ashes ha tomado prestado su título de una canción de David Bowie, como también es el caso de Life on Mars.

Aún desconocemos cuándo estrenará Antena.Neox la serie, ya que por el momento tan sólo emite pequeños anuncios calificándola como una de sus “series esclusivas”, pero es muy posible que la cadena espere a terminar de emitir Life on Mars para después emitir esta gran secuela.

So, not only is there life on Mars, but it is seriously into investing.  I know that more and more foreign nations are buying ownership in American companies, but this is getting ridiculous.

Apparently when the New King James Version translators chose to render the prophetic passage in Deuteronomy 28:43 as "The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower," they knew something the rest of us didn't...

            There were many smaller civilizations on Mars in those days, and none of them favored the newcomers. Perhaps the fiercest were the tribes of camel breeders descended from the ancient Hittites.  They lived in the mountains and deserts and were experts at guerilla warfare. In order to defeat them the Romans had to develop what became known as Crater formation.  They adapted their use of the phalanx for semi-geurilla warfare by teaching their  centurions to hold out for days against stiff odds using nothing more than the sides of a large crater for walls, and their large battle shields for a roof.  This strategy was not without it’s flaws, but the Romans used it with great success. Finally, at the battle of little Pompei in 592, the Romans established themselves as the primary rulers of Mars, by securing the ancient Martian citadel for their own. This victory came not a moment too soon, for already the flood of refugees from Earth had diminished to a trickle. The Roman Empire there was little more than a memory.  But on Mars it still flourished.

Click here to read similar posts

 The Return of the Muse is not a news source. This post relates to the imaginary universe of the Space Crusaders, a new web-novel updated daily.

The story has also been written in the format of a complete book-length epic poem called The SkyPath Crusade

These questions inform the 55th Carnegie International, opening May 3 and running through January 11, 2009, at the Carnegie Museum of Art. In his Curator's web introduction, Douglas Fogle writes “Life on Mars is a collective self-portrait of humanity colliding with the economic and political events that define daily existence. Questions of our survival are humorously and poignantly brought to the fore in films, installations, paintings, sculptures, and photographs that search for the sublime in the banality of everyday life.”

Searching for and finding the sublime in everyday life is also the subject of one of my favorite novels, The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker. The Mezzanine will be the first subject of the Life on Mars Book Club, co-hosted by CLP's First Floor - New & Featured Department and CMOA.

The Mezzanine describes a single escalator ride. The plot is simply an office worker returning to his desk after lunch. But Howie, not an ordinary office worker, is fascinated by the minutiae of everyday life.  His analysis of the way shoe laces wear out, or his method of using only one ear plug while he sleeps, take the form of extensive footnotes – essays that elevate often overlooked, commonplace objects and events to poetic heights.

Life on Mars Book Club details are being finalized, but we do have the time, dates, and titles set. We'll meet in the museum exhibition galleries on the following Thursdays, 6:30-7:45 PM. 

We invite you to delve into six fascinating works of fiction that tackle the humor, the peril, and the irony of being human.

June 12            Nicholson Baker: The Mezzanine
July 10             Haruki Murakami: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Aug. 14            Daniel Quinn: Ishmael
Sept. 11           Antoine de Saint Exupéry: The Little Prince
Oct. 9               Vladimir Nabokov: Pale Fire
Nov. 13            Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot

-Julie

Book Synopsis (from Amazon.co.uk);

'Don't move! You're surrounded by armed bastards!' Viewers of "Life on Mars" could be forgiven for thinking that the police force of the 1970s lived by the maxim 'The rules are: there are no rules', yet it turns out that this was not the case. A fascinating historical document has now emerged which shows that there were indeed rules and in 1973 they were recorded on paper by none other than DCI Gene Hunt himself. Divided into ten sections, "The Rules of Modern Policing - 1973 Edition" covers everything from interrogating suspects and undercover operations to driving and dress code. Several of the rules are illustrated with diagrams, and photographs of DCI Hunt himself illustrating the more physical parts of the job: how to hit suspects so you don't leave a mark; how to signal the importance of your arrival by crashing into inanimate objects (cardboard boxes are a perfect example here - lots of noise; no damage to your motor); how to roll over the bonnet of your cortina without making a dick of yourself. Completing the book is an invaluable glossary of police terms, covering everything from blag to lag, and nonce to ponce. An essential reference work for fans of "Life of Mars", "The Rules of Modern Policing" offers a unique insight to seventies' law enforcement that will make you laugh until you cry like the wet little turd you are.

So if you are a fan of Ashes to Ashes, Life on Mars, the wisdom of Gene Hunt or just 1970's style police work, this is a must read for you! It is available from Amazon, and all good book shops.

So OK, another contemporary art exhibition that can provoke the “my-kid-could-do-that” thoughts, or can leave one wondering why in the world anyone would call this stuff art. On the other hand, think about going to the exhibition with your brain wide open ready to be shocked or startled – or occasionally soothed, believe it or not!

As a run up to the show itself, the exhibition’s website is a plunge right into the pool of increasing online inter-connectedness with the purpose of the website to get people talking before it opens. If this isn’t appealing, check out the history of the International both of its earliest years and, more pictorially, of its first 100 years albeit not online. The catalogs of the most recent exhibitions (1985, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1999/2000 and 2004/2005) all have insightful essays that unravel some of the mysteries one encounters in contemporary art. While the art collection is brimming with books about contemporary art and the search for meaning such as Art on the Edge and Over (Weintraub), there are other recent titles that focus on areas such as Bio Art, Destination Art, formlessness, convergences in art to name but a few. These are all fine if you are really eager to read more about contemporary art! If, however, you are not, and would rather explore the potential for a real life on Mars, check this out!

Kathie

i didn't watch 'life on mars'. it was set in 1973 and well, i wasn't born then and i'd heard, after the first few episodes, that the nostalgia played a big part in the experience. (I've since watched it and LOVE it, and john simm is amazing).

so when i heard about 'ashes to ashes' the 80s sequel, i decided that i would watch this time. now it's set in 1981, and my memories of that year are mostly confined to button moon and hazy royal wedding memories, but it's interesting to see how people actually lived like that in my lifetime.

the scenes in the new romantic hangout, the blitz club were an eyeopener. i thought the 90s club scene was so different that bar studio 54, clubland had previously been about carpeted walls, disco lights and mirrors. no edge, nothing extraordinary,no innovation. i was SO wrong. the music makes more sense now - i used to wonder how people ever danced to new wave but i get it now. 1981 looks bleak, but it was also real, and probably felt like being on a rollercoaster. I think the blitz eventually became the gardening club, in covent garden.

i would have liked to hear these tracks from 1981 in the show. plus the roxy music track which was the outro to episode one - it took me until last week to figure out what it was.

so what for the next series? can't believe we have to wait till 2009...

download here

abc - poison arrow

chaka khan - i know you, i live you

grace jones - pull up to the bumper

haircut 100 - love plus one

hall and oates - rich girl

human league - don't you want me

kraftwerk - the model

level 42 - love games

police - every little thing she does is magic

odyssey - inside out

roxy music - same old scene

scritti politti - sweetest girl

La live chat con William Shatner, lo scorso venerdì, è stata prevalentemente su argomenti tecnologici. L'intero video dura circa 40 minuti. A causa dei repentini cambi di argomento, l'ex capitano Kirk, alla fine, ha risposto solamente ad otto domande nessuna delle quali però aveva attinenza con Star Trek.
La parte più interesante di tutta l'intervista, riguarda la certezza da parte dell'attore che esista ET e ha rivendicato di avere delle informazioni a sostegno della sua teoria.

La settima domanda fattagli è stata "Crede nelle vita extraterrestre?" E Shatner ha risposto affermetivamente dicendo, "naturalmente, è all'interno della certezza che ci sia vita là fuori". Dopodichè l'attore ha aggiunto, completamente serio, che possiede delle informazioni sulla vita su Marte.

"Ti metterò al corrente di un piccolo segreto che mi ero detto di non rivelare, e non ti dirò che me lo ha detto, ma ci saranno nuove informazioni riguardo la presenza di vita su Marte. E non saranno troppo a lungo lontane".

SENZA PAROLE :D

Il video dell'intervista, lo trovate qui http://www.livevideo.com/shatnervision

[Fonte: StarTrekItalia]