Jerry Orbach, my favorite actor ever on Law & Order, has died. He was 69 and had prostate cancer. I didn't even know he was sick. Dammit.
I was completely bummed when he left L&O last year and was really looking forward to his new series, Law & Order: Trial By Jury. He was the star of the show. I wonder if Dick Wolf will even go forward with it now. It was supposed to debut at mid-season and Orbach had already been working on the show.
Part of me wants them to go forward with it, to write him off in some sort of tribute. It would be fitting, seeing how many costars he outlasted on the original series.
No matter what they do, every time some grizzly old cop lays out a cheezy line, I'll think of good ol' Lenny Brisco.
The multi-talented, hilarious Ricky Gervais is writing an episode of The Simpsons!
Gervais is, of course, the co-creator, writer and star of the funniest show to hit television in years, BBC's The Office. The all-to-short run of that show ended with two holiday specials that aired last year in the UK and here on BBC America last fall. The entire series, including the hysterical and satisfyingly sentimental specials, is available on DVD here in the states.
If you haven't seen it, beg to borrow it from a friend. If you don't know anyone who owns it, just go buy it. Once you've seen it, you'll have to own it. Trust tivogirl on this one.
Why isn't there any decent television on during the holidays? Sure, it's not a sweeps period. Yes, lots of people are out doing things. Still, everyone has been asking me this week why nothing is new and there is nothing good to watch.
When you're not running amok, you're sitting at home wrapping presents and hiding from the weather. Why doesn't some network executive take the initiative and collect those captive, laguishing eyeballs?
In the great Bill Murray holiday movie "Scrooged," he plays a television executive obsessed with a live show on Christmas Eve. I used to make fun of that point. Everyone knows there's nothing good on during the holidays -- especially not a live spectacle designed for high ratings. But then I got to thinking... why isn't there?
Summer used to be that way. Everyone used to assume that nobody watched television in summer, so nothing new got put on. Until someone at Fox decided to try it with American Idol. All that time, it wasn't that people weren't watching because it was summer. They weren't watching because nothing good was on. Who knew?
Maybe it's time to test that theory with the holiday season.
While I'm looking forward to tonight's show (much more so than Sunday's Survivor), I'm disappointed with the selection of the final two. Kevin should be in it and he should be hired, but obviously it's too late for that. Unless Trump is really just an idiot (and there's always that chance), there's no way he'll hire Jen, which leaves him with the boring and predictable choice -- yet again.
Last year, Bill was the "safe" one, but I hoped the reason for the show -- and for some of Trump's success -- was to take risks. Obviously not. Yet again he's going to choose the boring, safe guy, Kelly. With all the great minds in the pool, it's come down to this again. If he does pick Jen, it'll be a travesty but at least it'll be interesting. She is a conniving screw-up, but at least she's not boring.
Ratings are already down from last season, so I hope Burnett and the team have chosen some more exciting candidates for installment three. If not, the Apprentice may have its own pink slip to deal with next year.
As expected, the Survivor finale was as boring as the last installment has been. There was little suspense as to who the final two would be and no surprise at all who won. While it's nice a guy could break the women's alliance, it was still a let-down. It was one of those seasons (like the last one) where I just didn't care who won. Pretty sad for a show that used to be at the very top of my must-see list.
I was encouraged that they didn't have a premiere date attached to the tease of the next season. Perhaps they are considering scaling back, as suggested in my last entry? We'll see. I won't be shocked if it still premieres after the Super Bowl.
Slightly more interesting this week is the finale of the Apprentice (Thursday), although even that contest has been watered down by The Donald's dubious choices for his final two. Is he kidding with Jen?! She's not only a bimbo with no real-world skills, but she's blatantly lied and taken credit for others' work in the boardroom. Caroline is on to her, so I have hope. I'm also disappointed in Kelly being picked over Kevin. Another safe choice who, like Bill last year, will probably win and bring nothing whatsoever (ie, not be any threat) to his "job" in the Trump organization.
There's always the Amazing Race to fall back on! I love that there are an untold number of non-elimination rounds -- it'll make it harder to predict when they'll come. I also love the new rule that one team member can only complete half the road block challenges (tasks that only one person can perform -- but you knew that). While I liked that the teams could negotiate between themselves before, it was unfair to those teams without a strong physical member. It certainly helps my current favorite team, the oldest couple. I know they have no real chance to win, but they sure are fun to root for.
After watching every episode of every season of Survivor, I went cold turkey two weeks ago. It wasn't that anything in particular set me off, I just got tired of it. The contestants are boring, the challenges are repetitive and there is simply nobody left to root for.
I will admit that I do follow the outcome each week and I probably will watch the last 10 minutes or so of the finale, but I simply don't care anymore. Coming from someone like me -- an ardent fan for the entire run -- that should concern CBS.
Perhaps it's time to give Survivor a break? Think about it... it's been on for five years and nine seasons. That's practically two full series of shows per year. It's certainly held up longer than anyone thought it would. I'm not saying it should be cancelled, but perhaps scaled back a bit. Why not just have it on once a year? Maybe start it mid-season after the Super Bowl like season two? The contestant pool would be halved, leading to more interesting people. The production time would be doubled, leading to more creative destinations (how about northern Alaska?) and challenges. People might actually have time to miss the show before the next one came on, leading to more anticipation and excitement like surrounded it early on.
CBS, are you listening?