August 19, 2008
Despite the show dying an unnaturally early death (helped along by the WGA strike), we here at io9 still have a deep and abiding love for NBC’s Journeyman. Was it the San Francisco setting that made us love it so? Star Kevin McKidd’s mixture of dreamy eyes and jaw that could kill a man? The time-travel mechanics that updated Quantum Leap’s mission for a morally-conflicted 21st century? We may never know. But, thanks to an interview with show creator Kevin Falls, we do now know what would have happened had the show continued.
Aint It Cool interviewed Falls last December about the direction the show was going to take, post-WGA strike, but didn’t publish the piece for fear of spoiling any potential return for the series. Now that we all know that there isn’t going to be any more Journeyman in our future, they felt free to run the interview and reveal who was behind everything, and how Heroes ruined everything. Here’re some of the best bits:
Falls on who was behind Dan’s time traveling:
Let’s just say it was too specific and grand to be science or government… We would have led you to the water’s edge and let you figure it out.
On whether Dan’s time travels were for the greater good:
I think the end game was for the good. We wanted to explore some darker themes early on, but our ratings dictated otherwise. I wanted Dan to have to shepherd a hit man through his life to kill someone. It would really fuck Dan up, but there’d be a bigger reason for it. Sort of like life (not the TV show) we would have done it [late in the first season].
On Why Livia Faked Her Own Death:
We kept going ’round and ’round about that. We felt that Livia was keeping some secret from Dan that was huge and tragic.
On what was originally going to end the first season:
Well, it was going to be a plague, but then “Heroes” did that. When we were told “Heroes” was doing it, they suggested we change ours. No way we were going to win that one. We would have come up with something, but remember, I could read the tea leaves in mid-October. I decided then, let’s think in terms of 13 [episodes]… [In the never-shot final nine episodes of the season,] Katie and Dan were going to split up for a while. [Dan's brother] Jack and Dan were going to live together and then Dan and Katie would get back together. Livia was going to die in episode 20. Dan was going to save her in 21. And in 22, Dan would come back to his house in the present like he did in the pilot and someone else would be living there. Katie and Zack would be gone and this time Dan would have no idea how to get his family back.
Aint It Cool also includes a brand new interview with Falls at the end of the story, talking about his upcoming projects.
Download Journeyman Episodes
August 13, 2008
August 5th, 2008 by Robert Seidman
Talk about comparisons you do not want to hear about your new show before it even airs! Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune writes in her “The Watcher” column a piece titled: The New Life on Mars - is this Journeyman, take 2? Ouch!
Ms. Ryan is definitely not bullish on the US version of Life on Mars, writing:
“A fascinating, unique love triangle evolves between Sam’s ‘real’ in-the-moment friendship with Annie, his longing to get back to Maya and the fantasy of what could be,” the ABC release states.
I’ve already seen that show — it was called “Journeyman.”
I’d even started to like “Journeyman,” before it was yanked because too few viewers got on board with Kevin McKidd, who played a time-traveling reporter. “Mars” is also reminiscent of “Day Break,” another semi-serialized drama about a man traveling between different time periods.
Doesn’t ABC know that its main accomplishment with “Day Break” was to tick off fans who never got to see the show’s final episodes in a timely way after the Taye Diggs vehicle was canceled?
I’d even started to like Journeyman too, after it got over its stupid relationship nonsense and shed most of its viewers besides me, Bill and apparently Ms. Ryan. Read the rest of her fairly scathing (loved it!) piece on the prospects for Life on Mars via the Chicago Tribune site here.
I was a big Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine fan, so I hate that the prospects for Colm Meaney’s new show aren’t looking good before it even gets out of the gate.
Update: reader/commenter Holly notes that I don’t need to feel as bad because Colm Meaney has already been replaced and won’t be on the show. Holly Notes that the entire cast from the pilot (which is being reshot) has been replaced other than Jason O’Mara.
Download Journeyman Episodes
July 12, 2008
ABC is not officially confirming the news yet, but reliable sources tell me that Rome-ing Journeyman Kevin McKidd has just signed on the dotted line to join ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy for its upcoming season.
Playing a surgeon who arrives at Seattle Grace fresh from a tour of duty in Iraq, McKidd will first be (barely) glimpsed during the two-hour season premiere. McKidd’s character, by some accounts, ultimately will play doctor with Cristina, who has been nursing a broken heart and a seriously bruised ego ever since you-know-who didn’t stop talking skedaddled out of Seattle a season ago.
Word of McKidd’s possible casting first appeared at EW.com. – Matt Mitovich
July 12, 2008
Princess Lea
Lea Salonga, the singer behind Disney classics like Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” and Mulan’s “Reflection,” knows firsthand that it’s not easy being a princess.
“My work schedule has become, if you can believe it, more busy than it’s ever been,” she told the Los Angeles Daily News. “I’ve allowed for things to get more busy now that my daughter is a bit bigger and more hardy.”
Nicole Beverly, 2, probably will be around tonight when Salonga performs at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. Then Salonga, who also played Kim in “Miss Saigon” will start rehearsals for a nine-month tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”
Today’s elimination…
Larry Strawther, one of the executive producers of “MXC,” isn’t pleased with ABC’s “Wipeout,” which looks a whole lot like “MXC.”
Strawther says that a video he created showing side-by-side moments from the two shows was pulled from YouTube after five days. In its place is a message saying the “Wipeout” producers filed a copyright violation. Strawther says he’s filing a counter protest; ABC is denying comment.
“Wipeout,” with 10.6 million viewers, topped the finale of “Hell’s Kitchen” Tuesday (8.8 million) on Fox where the student, Christina Machamer, 25, of St. Louis, beat out Louis Petrozza, 47, a caterer from Charlotte, N.C.
And we’re back…
Harry Shearer, who is promoting his digital comedy album “Lies of the Bushmen,” was also the bassist in Spinal Tap. He told Fox Sports that Spinal Tap is considering a comeback.
“It’s the 25th anniversary next year so we might do something big,” he said, as in a big reunion tour. It’s not certain yet but “I’m growing my beard,” he said.
And the Smashing Pumpkins’ 20th anniversary tour will begin Aug. 9 in Hammond, Ind.
“Expect a very loud and raucous show from us,” leader Billy Corgan writes on the band’s Web site. “The 20th Anniversary shows will be magical … we are already working on lots of surprises.”
Shorts
•Jay Karnes, the former KU acting student who plays Dutch on “The Shield,” will do at least six episodes of another FX series, “Sons of Anarchy.” That show about a motorcycle club trying to fend off real estate developers and drug dealers is being run by a “Shield” writer, Kurt Sutter.
•Kevin McKidd (”Rome,” “Journeyman”) is expected to do some episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy,” and Michael J. Fox, whom some tabloids had on death’s door, is talking about doing a story arc on “Rescue Me.”
•Jamie-Lynn Sigler will play herself in at least three episodes of “Entourage,” and Jeffrey Tambor of “Arrested Development” is also reportedly in talks to join that show.
•Fandango.com estimates 38 percent of its recent ticket buyers for “Batman Begins” will take time off to see the film the first day. Furthermore, some theaters are adding 6 a.m. screenings July 18 for jokers who can’t make the 12:01 a.m. or 3 a.m. screenings that morning.
Mathesar rules!
Enrico Colantoni told the Fresno Bee he was surprised he got the chance to play the head of a SRU (Special Response Unit) group of cops on “Flashpoint.”
“With this kind of show, it is usually the good-looking, chiseled guy who gets to play the cop,” the hair-challenged and not-so-tall Colantoni said recently.
“Flashpoint,” which premieres at 9 tonight on CBS, is a Canadian drama that has already aired 13 episodes there. It was one of the programs CBS bought during the strike so it would have some original programming available.
But never mind that. Colantani, who also spent a few seasons as the father on “Veronica Mars,” was also the alien leader Mathesar in “GalaxyQuest.” He delights in the positive reaction he still gets about it from little kids to 90-year-old women.
“I never get tired of talking about ‘Galaxy Quest,’ ” he said. “I am so proud of that movie. Our only fear was that we were having so much fun making the movie we got concerned it might not be as good as we thought it was going to be.”
June 19, 2008
While it’s easy to lose track of such things, given the carnage that happens in the TV industry in the month of May, it appears that 28 scripted shows have been pronounced dead for next season. Some of those clearly deserved their fate. Many should never have been written, produced or aired in the first place. But some of them clearly deserved better from their networks - a change in tone, tighter writing, a tweak to the premise.
Before these dramas and comedies are forgotten (”Are you sure it was called ‘Carpoolers’? It doesn’t ring any bells”), here’s a smattering of canceled shows and what could have been done to help them.
“Bionic Woman” (NBC): This was supposed to be the can’t-fail series of the fall. It was certainly the most hyped. Reimagined by David Eick (who has done a tremendous job with similarly reimagined “Battlestar Galactica”) and Jason Smilovic (who wrote “Lucky Number Slevin” and was an executive producer on the acclaimed but short-lived series “Karen Sisco” and “Kidnapped”), how could it not work? Easy: casting. British actress Michelle Ryan never breathed any life into this role, and her bad fit was magnified when Katee Sackhoff (”Battlestar Galactica”) was hired to play the first bionic woman gone bad. Infinitely more interesting, Sackhoff stole every scene she was in. This whole series imploded because they picked the wrong bionic woman.
“Journeyman” (NBC): Had NBC promoted this series over “Bionic Woman,” it might still be on the air. Unlike “Bionic Woman,” “Journeyman” earned a late groundswell of fans, which highlighted the series’ main problem - it was too confusing at the start. People couldn’t quite figure out the rules in this time-traveler series.
“Cavemen” (ABC): Although this vilified series was funnier than it got credit for, it wasn’t nearly funny enough to overcome the fact that making a sitcom out of an insurance commercial just rubbed everyone the wrong way. The original pilot tried to make connections to race, which was a misstep in a comedy but also had the unintentional outcome of seeming racist itself. A dumb, no-win idea from the initial pitch.
“Viva Laughlin” (CBS): Even the British version of this musical-murder mystery wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but at least it was daring and inventive (which, presumably, was why CBS tried to remake it). And yet - a musical on CBS? Is there even a need to dissect this further? OK, how about this: You need to sing it like you mean it. Either do a musical or don’t. Anything in between is lame (and canceled).
“Back to You” (Fox): Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton in a multi-camera, laugh-track-heavy old-school sitcom? Sounds great for CBS. The writing was mediocre, but it probably would have survived, and thrived, on CBS. It was a fully formed traditional comedy that could have easily been salvaged.
“Aliens in America” (CW): America’s fifth network had a good development season, but only “Gossip Girl” managed to thrill it; “Reaper” barely got renewed, and “Aliens in America” wasn’t given much of a chance. Too bad, because the comedy about a Pakistani Muslim exchange student coming to Wisconsin had loads of potential and a number of very funny episodes. Could the writing have been sharper? Sure. But the CW didn’t promote or nurture this series. Oddly enough, it would have worked swell on Fox.
“Cashmere Mafia” (ABC): In the battle to give women what they want, apparently “Lipstick Jungle” on NBC is the winner. That’s not much to celebrate - neither of these two “Sex and the City” wannabes were very good, and other than changing the title and firing the writers, there was little ABC could do with “Mafia.” But ABC prides itself on going after female viewers, which brings up a related show: “Men in Trees.” This series certainly deserved a better fate - it was a quirky, touching romantic comedy that ABC bungled starting the season before. Yanking it on and off the schedule and changing time slots all but doomed it. ABC had extra episodes of “Men in Trees” to work with during the strike but mishandled the opportunity, which foreshadowed its fate. Too bad, really, because the net couldn’t do any better - certainly not with dreck like “Women’s Murder Club.”
“Canterbury’s Law” (Fox): This was a great character looking for a better show, smarter plots and an upgraded supporting cast. Julianna Margulies was wonderful in the lead, and the series looked like one of those rough, dark cable dramas that other superb actresses have turned into Emmy-nomination vehicles. But “Canterbury’s Law” had nothing but Margulies and her drinking, philandering lawyer part. Fox should have seen the weak areas and addressed them sooner.
“Miss Guided” (ABC): Not to pick on the alphabet net, but it did cancel more scripted series than anyone else and it has a woeful track record with sitcoms. So what happens when it gets one that’s funny more often than not? It gives up (same thing with “Notes From the Underbelly,” but why pile on?). The demise of this show might have something to do with ABC being unable to develop a culture of comedy - the show could have worked on NBC or Fox. But ABC certainly lacked patience as well. Writing can always be tightened. But sometimes you can’t loosen a wound-up and worried programmer.
June 16, 2008
I was wondering about all the news out and about regarding what’s coming up on television next season with regards to fantasy, sci-fi and action type shows, so I tracked down the announcements from various networks that distribute them to whet our appetites via the “upfronts“. EH? I know. You’re asking, “What’s an upfront“?
Upfronts are when networks publicly announce their new shows to the press and the advertising world. It’s during the upfronts that networks give advertisers the chance to get advertising time at a discount, versus paying premium dollar during the season. It could also be looked at as the time when advertisers hedge their bets with shows that look promising to them. Basically, get in on the action up in front of the new season. Sadly, it’s the driving force behind everything we love and love to hate about TV programming.
The upfronts can also give you some insight into the minds of the network execs and the trends they either think will happen or help actually develop. By trends I mean setting the mark. IE: After ABC’s Lost or Fox’s Prison Break became hot commodities, we saw a rash of similar type programs pop up in the ensuing seasons.
With that being said let’s go through the developments that have come out of the upfronts, where I focus on shows on the tube that you the Screen Rant reader might be interested in knowing about, with no particular order to the networks:
NBC:
New NBC shows:
My Own Worst Enemy, with Christian Slater as a spy who explores the duality of a man who is literally pitted against himself.
The Philanthropist (with David Eick as showrunner) about a rebel billionaire who uses his money, connections and power to help people in need.
Merlin - Yes, it’s based on the Arthurian legend.
Returning NBC shows
Medium,
Chuck,
Heroes,
All the Law and Orders &
Friday Night Lights. (With a disclaimer!)
Gone from NBC: Bionic Woman (Proof the system sometimes works!), Las Vegas & Journeyman. (Proof the system doesn’t always work.)
I got hooked on Friday Night Lights, and it’s been renewed for 13 episodes BUT the episodes will first air on DirecTV in the fall, and then on NBC in the winter. This is a great example of ratings being iffy, but DirecTV put up the money to continue producing the show, and NBC will reap the rewards by ‘rerunning’ them later. Is it me, or does The Philanthropist sound like Bruce Wayne? I’m just saying.
I don’t think too many people were sad to see Bionic Woman go back to the garage, but as we all know, none of us were happy to see Journeyman become a show of the past. Right Vic? But Las Vegas really upset the core fans because they pulled the plug on a cliff hanger. Way to go N-B-C. Of course I leave you with conflicting statements about the Neilsen system, but it is what it is - a fickle, money based, old school system. Of course, Journeyman’s curse was being put up against Heroes, where 3 other shows died trying to compete. Nice insight.
~
The Sci-Fi Channel:
New to the Sci Fi Channel:
Caprica, a prequel of Battlestar Galactica.
Reruns of series including Lost and Jericho.
stunt-reality series Scare Tactics.
The Stranded, the first joint venture by Sci Fi and Virgin Comics.
Deputized, a comedy drama about an intergalactic police force.
Alice. Which is to Alice in Wonderland as Tin Man was to Wizard of Oz.
True Believer about a comicbook nerd who hires a down-at-heels superhero to become crime fighters.
Ghost Hunters International, a spinoff of Ghost Hunters, and
Mind Control With Derren Brown
~
CBS:
Returning CBS Shows:
The Unit, Cold Case, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, The Ghost Whisperer, all the CSI’s, NCIS, Without A Trace
CBS gave the boot to Shark, and eclipsed Moonlight.
New CBS shows:
Eleventh Hour: The latest from Jerry Bruckheimer about a scientific investigator working for the government to probe unsolved anomalies.
The Mentalist is about a man with innate ESP-like powers of deduction.
Harper’s Island is a murder mystery involving a group of friends who meet on an island near Seattle for a wedding.
I like The Unit - It spins special ops, the politics behind them and the stress on the members’ families and how they deal with the dynamics of it all. I was pretty upset when they dropped both Shark and Moonlight. I liked both these shows, and CBS was quoted as saying cutting Moonlight was a tough decision but they had to make room for new shows… I hate rhetoric. Eleventh Hour, being a Bruckheimer production, sounds like they’re playing the X-files fan base with the Bruckheimer afficionado. A cheap rip off of some other efforts? Who’s to say. The one surviving show that surprised me is Numb3rs. I thought sure all that mathematical math-a-ma-jig stuff would confound people, but they use it to accent the police investigations and mix it in nicely.
~
ABC:
Returning ABC shows: Lost & Pushing Daisies
ABC shows Out: Cavemen was buried in the cave it came from. (There is a God!)
New ABC shows: Life on Mars - This is based on a BBC series that revolves around a modern-day detective who finds himself transported back to 1973 after a car crash and is still a detective. My only hope for this show is that it’s executive-produced by David E. Kelley and produced by David E. Kelley Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television.
~
FOX:
Returning Fox Shows: 24, Bones, Cops, Prison Break, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, ‘Til Death
Shows that have been booted by Fox: K-Ville & New Amsterdam is old news.
New Fox Shows: Dollhouse (Midseason); Fringe. (But because of us at Screen Rant, you already knew this!)
New Amsterdam was such a refuse-laden show that it should have been called old-cliche written every other line-damn and deserved to be booted, but K-Ville was a very unique cop show that took place in New Orleans and interlaced character development with the aftermath of Katrina. It had a lot of material potential because of this, but somehow did not get a chance to explore this beyond one season.
~
TNT:
Returning TNT shows: Their wildly popular shows - The Closer with Kyra Sedgwick and Saving Grace, featuring Holly Hunter.
New TNT shows: Delta Blues, executive produced by George Clooney is about a Memphis cop/Elvis impersonator who lives with his mother.
Leverage is about a former insurance investigator who builds a team of thieves, hackers and grifters and they become a modern-day Robin Hood gang.
The Genie Chronicles follows a female newspaper reporter who discovers a magic lamp and we follow both her and the genie as different people discover and use the lamp’s power to make wishes come true.
Technophobia is about an American town where technology is advancing at a frightening pace.
Haven’t we seen Robin Hood type shows in the past? The Genie Chronicles sounds a wee bit hokey to me, but a cool title! And what’s with Technophobia? My first impression is that It sounds like another Eureka, which may be a nice way to pay homage to a show they think is doing well.
~
USA:
The only things of note for returning shows on USA are Burn Notice and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. I’m a conistent, across the board fan of L&O, but Burn Notice, about a CIA operative who’s been blacklisted by his own agency took me by surprise and I’ve enjoyed the show where Bruce Campbell is making a stab at a reasonably solid TV role, versus some of his classic roles of the past.
Sources: Memles, Memles, Writersdigest