By fred | January 3, 2008
The next one of all shows we’ll go over in our reviews of all the returning late night talks is the one on ABC : Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Until then, I thought that Kimmel was handling the whole situation in a way that couldn’t be criticized at all. I mean, he did took his show off the air to support the writers, he did quietly paid his non-writing staff to help them during those hard times (and holidays season) although he’s not getting paid as much as all the main late night hosts, and while coming back it was only to help the non-writing staff to keep their jobs.
So far, so good.
Read the rest of “Late Night Shows Are Back, Part IV : Kimmel” »
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By fred | January 3, 2008
Moving on to the list now comes the one I was probably awaiting the most, not because he’s got a deal, he has not, not because he’s in a very unique situation, most of late night hosts are in the same spot he is, but simply because I am a big fan of his and his show : Conan O’Brien
And I really wanted him to do the greatest thing possible, I really hoped that if anyone was to do the best thing possible, it would be him.
So how did it go ? Well, again let’s start with a video of his “monologue” :
Read the rest of “Late Night Shows Are Back, Part III : Conan” »
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By fred | January 3, 2008
Continuing our review of all late night shows, of course we have to go next with Jay Leno. Not just because The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was facing Letterman, but because it is a major hit for NBC.
Unlike Letterman, Leno had to cross picket lines to get to his studio, and he had no writers to work on the show. So how did he managed to fill the full hour of his show ? Well, I’ll be completely honest : I have no idea. I’ve heard about what happened, but I have only watched his “monologue”, nothing else. Still, that was probably the most important thing of all, and there’s plenty to say about what Leno did or did not do.
First, if you missed it here it is, Leno’s monologue :
Read the rest of “Late Night Shows Are Back, Part II : Leno” »
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By fred | January 3, 2008
Alright people, so it was the big night with (almost) all late night talk-shows going back on the air, some with the writers, most without. I’ve talked about the whole thing and expressed my feelings regarding every host what what hoped I had in the past, but now that everything actually took place let’s have a look back at what actually happened.
We’ll go over each shows, focusing on the “monologues”, or introductions of all shows, as well as how things went down overall. Some things were great, others were not. I fact, some things I absolutely hated… but we’ll talk about all of that. For all show I’ve also included videos of the opening, so let’s start it off with, of course, the man himself : David Letterman.
Read the rest of “Late Night Shows Are Back, Part I : Letterman” »
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By fred | January 2, 2008
* A couple of shows are back tonight. First off, the one that yes, I will be watching : Gossip Girl has a new episode on The CW at 9.00
* Let’s also mention NBC, and a new season of Law & Order premiering with no less than two episodes back to back, starting at 9.00 as well
* And again, whatever crap is elsewhere, if you support the writers, and want your shows back asap, help them pressuring the networks into going back to negotiate : don’t watch anything else !
* And of course, David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien & Jimmy Kimmel are back, too.
Update: According to Nikki Finke, although he could, Ferguson’s show won’t have guest, but be 100% devoted to writers’ comedy ! What it means is that all the hilarious things you loved watching on the Internet, all those great YouTube videos that popped up during the strike, Ferguson’s show might be nothing but a best-of all such things, only 100% new material, of course !
Well, there’s no actual word that it will be strike-centered, but one might think it’ll be on a lot of writers’ minds…
According to an insider, “Since Dave and Craig are the only late night shows that have writers, Craig is devoting the entire show to WGA-produced comedy. The whole show will consist of all written material, and no guest interviews.” It actually sounds like fun, better check it out!
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Shows: Gossip Girl, Law & Order
By fred | January 2, 2008
Tonight is the night for late night shows : as you know, almost all of them are back. But amongst them all, only Letterman (and Ferguson) have writers, Leno, Conan and Kimmel are crossing picket lines and won’t have any writers. Next Monday, when Stewart and Colbert return to the air as well, they’ll be in the same situation.
Of course, this should be a plus for Letterman, and it will be in the sense that writers are egger to make the best they ever did, and A-list celebrities will agree to come on the show.
But in the mean time, one could wonder whether or not the unknown, uncertainty and possibility of failure at any given time could make the other shows more appealing to the public. Because while Letterman will have its usual shows, although one could hope for a strike-special version of it, none of the other shows will look anything like they usually do, and that could in fact make them more appealing to viewers.
Read the rest of “Would Letterman’s deal make him less interesting ?” »
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By fred | January 2, 2008
Awards shows are usually very good for everyone, because with all celebrities everywhere it attracts lots of advertisers as well as viewers, and as such gets strong ratings most of the time. But with the strike, they can’t get writers, they can’t use clip shows, and with writers picketing most A-list celebrities won’t show up as they are supportive are refuse to cross picket lines.
In short, it’s a mess, a lot of nothing doomed to fail. And the WGA have already denied waivers for the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. But the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is hoping that they may have found a solution, that found allow the ceremony to take place, writers to work on the show, and all celebrities to show up and enjoy the evening.
Read the rest of “The Golden Globes to get a deal from WGA ? Update: Nope!” »
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By fred | January 2, 2008
The winner of last night did not had anything fresh episodes on. Thanks to the Sugar Bowl, Fox came first in both total viewers and on the 18-49 demo. Let me tell you one thing people, this is bad. It’s not too surprising, last year’s edition did even better, averaging a 14.4 million viewers and 5.2 on the 18-49 demo (11.9 million, 4.7 for last night), but that’s not the worst anyway.
Okay, sure, I don’t know about you; But as far as I’m concerned, the TVoholic that I am does not want anything else than the end of the writers’ strike, and does support the writers, as I believe what they’re asking in only fair and very reasonable. And while I may not be the biggest fan of reality TV in the first place, I absolutely do NOT watch any of it, at all, during the strike. And I wish everyone else would not watch any of it as well.
Because I love (good/scripted) television, I support the writers, I want to strike to end soon, and one way to pressure the networks and studios to stop acting like irresponsible retards and go back to negotiate is to have them to loose money. And we are the ones able to do such a thing, all it takes is to not watch ! So when I see than NBC came as a strong second last night, with thanks to The Biggest Loser which grew its audience all along, it hurts.
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Shows: According To Jim, Law & Order: SVU
By fred | January 2, 2008
Ever since the strike started, some of the striking writers have put their creative talent to work, creating those hilarious videos you’ve all seen and enjoyed on YouTube. Now that we’re a couple month in, and with things getting harder day after day, a new initiative is on the work : StrikeTV.
StrikeTV in an Internet fundraiser. It will be an “online channel” featuring nothing but original content created by working professionals. Those self-funded shows, owned by their creators, will be “broadcasted” and promoted through StrikeTV, with the hope to raise money through advertising, money that will go toward the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund, assisting union directors, actors and below the line members who are affected by the strike.
Read the rest of “StrikeTV coming soon” »
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By fred | January 2, 2008
Today is January 2nd, 2008. This date has an importance in the on-going writers’ strike, because it is the day pretty much all late night talk shows are returning on the air after weeks and weeks of going dark.
But while all major shows are coming back, only one is doing so in a “fair” way, a signed deal with WGA on the table and writers back to work. Kimmel, Leno and Conan will have to cross picket lines to get back, so they are indeed giving in to networks’ demands. But they have explained why they did so, to save their non-writing staff jobs, and as I’ve explained before, should they actually follow that line, I will support them.
Easy and simple. Yet, things somehow seems to be more conflicted over at the WGA East…
Read the rest of “Is WGA East President chickening out ?” »
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