Author Archive
 

 

BEHIND THE FRIDAY BOX OFFICE – 9/20/13

  OPENINGS:  PRISONERS (Warners) came in at $7M on Friday, a bit less than the initial $7.5M estimate.  That could indicate cooling word-of-mouth as the evening went on, or just overenthusiastic estimators.  The number ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Saturday Night Live” with Tina Fey

  After almost 4 decades (!) on the air, it’s a little silly to describe any given SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE episode, or even season, as “critical” or “vital.”  Nevertheless, this is a big transiti...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BEHIND THE WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 9/22/13

  OPENINGS:  At $21.4M, PRISONERS (Warners) is exactly where the studio hoped it would be, at the sweet spot that propelled The Town to a $92M total (and Argo, with its Oscar help, to $136M).  The question now is whethe...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Devious Maids”

  ABC, which passed on DEVIOUS MAIDS and allowed it to be picked up by corporate sibling Lifetime, is probably lucky the cable network only programs the show during the summer off-season.  Maids, which of course is the br...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “Ray Donovan”

  Despite an abundance of first-rate acting, RAY DONOVAN may have been the biggest disappointment of the summer.  Ann Biderman’s dark family drama didn’t succeed at any of the things it seemed to be trying to ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Series Finale Review: “Dexter”

  It wasn’t a great final season for DEXTER, and tonight’s last episode muffed its chance at a fully satisfying conclusion by falling into the trap of one twist too many.  In a way, that was fitting for a seri...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Pilot + 1 Review: “Sleepy Hollow”

  SLEEPY HOLLOW:  Monday 9PM on FOX Previously… on SLEEPY HOLLOW:  Remember Ichabod Crane, from junior high reading lists?  Well, he’s back.  Really back, as in returned from the semi-dead state he’d ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Premiere Review: “How I Met Your Mother”

  Every fan of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER came into tonight’s Season 9 premiere knowing three things.  This will be not just the ninth, but the final season of the series; last season’s finale introduced us, at lon...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED NETWORK SCORECARD – 9/23/13

  Welcome to the 2013-14 broadcast network TV season–where what was supposed to be the first clash of the titans has already turned out to be no contest at all. NBC:  With the much-hyped return of the original judge...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Pilot Review: ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD”

  AGENTS OF SHIELD:  Tuesday 8PM on ABC – Potential DVR Alert Even without any connection to the multi-billion-dollar entertainment monolith that is Marvel (and behind it, Disney), the arrival of a new TV series fro...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Pilot + 1 Review: “Dads”

  DADS: Tuesday 8PM on FOX Previously… on DADS:  Video game company partners Eli and Warner (Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi) are invaded by their respective fathers, David (Peter Riegert) and Crawford (Martin Mull)....
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Pilot + 1 Review: “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

  BROOKLYN NINE-NINE:  Tuesday 8:30PM on FOX Previously… on BROOKLYN NINE-NINE:  Fun and games in a Brooklyn police precinct.  Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) is the ace detective who solves crimes but is happily slov...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED NETWORK RATINGS SCORECARD – 9/24/13

  Marvel took over more of the universe last night. ABC:  AGENTS OF SHIELD was meant to be a blockbuster from the moment its development was announced, and so it was, with a giant 4.6 start that tied The Voice in the 8PM hou...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Person of Interest”

  PERSON OF INTEREST:  Tuesday 10PM on CBS You wouldn’t necessarily know it from last night’s ratings, but PERSON OF INTEREST had a smooth segue to its new Tuesday 10PM home.  Although there are some notable ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Season Premiere Review: “Chicago Fire”

  CHICAGO FIRE:  Tuesday 10PM on NBC At a time when network programmers’ fingers are ever-jumpier on their cancellation buttons, NBC has done an unusually good job nurturing CHICAGO FIRE into a success.  The show, ...
by Mitch Salem