For fall, CBS gets sexy look
Source:TIMES-DISPATCH
Date:Jul 18, 2006
BY DOUGLAS DURDEN
Who says CBS isn't sexy?
Oh, wait, I say it all the time when explaining why I don't watch that many CBS series.
TVChat knows that CBS is very successful. It has the most viewers; it has the most viewers between ages 25 and 54. What's missing from this equation are viewers 18 to 49, deemed the most important demographic out there. (Not my rule.)
And that's where the to-be or not-be sexy comes in.
"Two and a Half Men," not sexy. "The Early Show," not sexy. "Numb3rs," not spelled right and not sexy.
I know there are people out there who are going to argue with me. I'm sure pictures of Dennis Haysbert and Kevin James are taped to somebody's refrigerator.
Not mine. (This is where I should point out, despite the first name, I am female. And also that TVChat is an open forum. Feel free to tell me just how wrong I am.)
But, I have seen the future, as in fall's new shows. And I have to tell you, CBS is getting sexier.
Skeet Ulrich in "Jericho": definitely hot. Has that whole 3o'clock shadow, open shirt, ripped jeans thing going on. Doesn't say much during the interview for his show with its "The-Day-After" scenario. Doesn't have to.
Ray Liotta, Jonny Lee Miller AND a post-"The Devil Wears Prada" Simon Baker: also hot.
They play career criminals in "Smith" - CBS has declared itself on the side of one-word titles this year; it also has "Shark." In addition, the series features blondes Virginia Madsen ("Sideways") and Amy Smart ("Just Friends") plus Franky G, whose last series, "Jonny Zero" (no relation to Jonny Lee Miller) was on Fox, making him the most unlikely member of this cast to be on a CBS show.
Liotta has made a career of playing charming criminals - except for that FBI agent who has the top of his head removed in "Hannibal." Baker, formerly of the network's "The Guardian," has graduated into full-fledged, scarf-wearing cad. And Miller simultaneously starred as Sick Boy in "Trainspotting" while being married to Angelina Jolie in the mid-'90s.
However, this being CBS, all that potential eye candy has been put into two glum series, one about the possible end of the world, the other about robbers who kill instead of banter.
For instance, here's what Jon Turteltaub, "Jericho's" executive producer, said when asked whether his series about a community surviving a nuclear holocaust would include such matters as radiation sickness and contaminated food.
"Anything that you could think of or anyone would worry about should be in the show."
Oh, that should be fun. And, as if you hadn't already guessed, "Jericho" is one of several new serial dramas for fall, which led to our favorite one-word answer so far at the annual fall preview where the networks tell TV critics what they're doing right and TV critics write about what they're doing wrong.
Asked what he thought about his show being compared to "Lost" - also a serial drama about an isolated community trying to survive - Turteltaub answered, "Cool."
Later, he pointed out that the focus of his show is about the reality of coping, while he considered "Lost" more science-fictiony. And that led to my second favorite quote so far, this one from another executive producer about whether "Jericho" would stay reality-based.
"Let's put it this way, We're dealing with a reality base and real-world events until we run out of ideas," joked Stephen Chbosky.
For about a second, while watching the pilot of "Smith" with its attractive, well-dressed robbers, I thought, "This is supposed to be 'Oceans 11' or '12.' It's a crime caper. They rob, they steal. But in the end, it's OK because nobody gets hurt."
Then they kill someone. Then one of their own gets killed. Then Simon Baker's character kills two people just for the heck of it. Well, they did tell him to get off their beach.
So what's the deal, producer John Wells? Are we supposed to bond with these characters or hope there's a cross-over episode with "Criminal Minds"?
"The idea is that we are following people who are dangerous. And my hope is that the audience will be interested in seeing characters who were dangerous and what happens to them and how the risks that they're taking catch up with them," said Wells, who is a serious producer of such serious shows as "ER" and "Third Watch."
"You're making the assumption that there will be no eventual retribution for the acts that they commit, and that would be an incorrect assumption about where the series is headed."
Oh, great. You put Ray Liotta, Simon Baker and Jonny Lee Miller into one series - and I'm not supposed to like them?
What's on your mind - or your DVR? TVChat would like to know.
From TIMES-DISPATCH .
Date:Jul 18, 2006
BY DOUGLAS DURDEN
Who says CBS isn't sexy?
Oh, wait, I say it all the time when explaining why I don't watch that many CBS series.
TVChat knows that CBS is very successful. It has the most viewers; it has the most viewers between ages 25 and 54. What's missing from this equation are viewers 18 to 49, deemed the most important demographic out there. (Not my rule.)
And that's where the to-be or not-be sexy comes in.
"Two and a Half Men," not sexy. "The Early Show," not sexy. "Numb3rs," not spelled right and not sexy.
I know there are people out there who are going to argue with me. I'm sure pictures of Dennis Haysbert and Kevin James are taped to somebody's refrigerator.
Not mine. (This is where I should point out, despite the first name, I am female. And also that TVChat is an open forum. Feel free to tell me just how wrong I am.)
But, I have seen the future, as in fall's new shows. And I have to tell you, CBS is getting sexier.
Skeet Ulrich in "Jericho": definitely hot. Has that whole 3o'clock shadow, open shirt, ripped jeans thing going on. Doesn't say much during the interview for his show with its "The-Day-After" scenario. Doesn't have to.
Ray Liotta, Jonny Lee Miller AND a post-"The Devil Wears Prada" Simon Baker: also hot.
They play career criminals in "Smith" - CBS has declared itself on the side of one-word titles this year; it also has "Shark." In addition, the series features blondes Virginia Madsen ("Sideways") and Amy Smart ("Just Friends") plus Franky G, whose last series, "Jonny Zero" (no relation to Jonny Lee Miller) was on Fox, making him the most unlikely member of this cast to be on a CBS show.
Liotta has made a career of playing charming criminals - except for that FBI agent who has the top of his head removed in "Hannibal." Baker, formerly of the network's "The Guardian," has graduated into full-fledged, scarf-wearing cad. And Miller simultaneously starred as Sick Boy in "Trainspotting" while being married to Angelina Jolie in the mid-'90s.
However, this being CBS, all that potential eye candy has been put into two glum series, one about the possible end of the world, the other about robbers who kill instead of banter.
For instance, here's what Jon Turteltaub, "Jericho's" executive producer, said when asked whether his series about a community surviving a nuclear holocaust would include such matters as radiation sickness and contaminated food.
"Anything that you could think of or anyone would worry about should be in the show."
Oh, that should be fun. And, as if you hadn't already guessed, "Jericho" is one of several new serial dramas for fall, which led to our favorite one-word answer so far at the annual fall preview where the networks tell TV critics what they're doing right and TV critics write about what they're doing wrong.
Asked what he thought about his show being compared to "Lost" - also a serial drama about an isolated community trying to survive - Turteltaub answered, "Cool."
Later, he pointed out that the focus of his show is about the reality of coping, while he considered "Lost" more science-fictiony. And that led to my second favorite quote so far, this one from another executive producer about whether "Jericho" would stay reality-based.
"Let's put it this way, We're dealing with a reality base and real-world events until we run out of ideas," joked Stephen Chbosky.
For about a second, while watching the pilot of "Smith" with its attractive, well-dressed robbers, I thought, "This is supposed to be 'Oceans 11' or '12.' It's a crime caper. They rob, they steal. But in the end, it's OK because nobody gets hurt."
Then they kill someone. Then one of their own gets killed. Then Simon Baker's character kills two people just for the heck of it. Well, they did tell him to get off their beach.
So what's the deal, producer John Wells? Are we supposed to bond with these characters or hope there's a cross-over episode with "Criminal Minds"?
"The idea is that we are following people who are dangerous. And my hope is that the audience will be interested in seeing characters who were dangerous and what happens to them and how the risks that they're taking catch up with them," said Wells, who is a serious producer of such serious shows as "ER" and "Third Watch."
"You're making the assumption that there will be no eventual retribution for the acts that they commit, and that would be an incorrect assumption about where the series is headed."
Oh, great. You put Ray Liotta, Simon Baker and Jonny Lee Miller into one series - and I'm not supposed to like them?
What's on your mind - or your DVR? TVChat would like to know.
From TIMES-DISPATCH .
posted by nikita | 8:15 PM
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