Author Archive
 

 

THE SKED: ABC Midseason Schedule

  Today ABC announced its midseason schedule.  Mostly, the network did the necessary work of filling in the gaps where shows have been canceled (or run out of episodes, like Super Fun Night and Once Upon A Time in Wonder...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Sunday Cable Scorecard – 11/17/13

  AMC:  THE WALKING DEAD, of course, chomped on everything but Sunday Night Football, with a 6.0 in 18-49s rating that was down 0.2 from last week.  (The 11PM re-airing added another 1.0.)  TALKING DEAD remained steady ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Pilot + 1 Review: “Almost Human”

  ALMOST HUMAN:  Monday 8PM on FOX Previously… on ALMOST HUMAN:  2 years ago in 2046, Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban) was ambushed with his partner by “the Syndicate,” a mysterious organization that ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

NIELSENWAR: What Is CW Doing Right?

  NOTE:  Season-To-Date and Weekly Network Ratings Charts Are Below Something remarkable happened last Thursday night:  with a 1.3 rating, CW’s THE VAMPIRE DIARIES outrated the entire NBC line-up.  The reason that...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED NETWORK SCORECARD – 11/17/13

  Football gave Almost Human a strong start last night. FOX:  The network carefully set its preview of ALMOST HUMAN for a Sunday night where FOX had the late NFL game, and the result was a solid 3.1 for the pilot.  Of course...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Series Finale Review: “Eastbound & Down”

  Television is a little less berserk and interesting tonight with the departure (although not the death) of Kenny Powers (Danny McBride), the unstoppable id of EASTBOUND & DOWN.  The series finale, written by series ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “Hello Ladies”

  The formulaic TV sitcom plot can be summed up like this:  the protagonist has some understandable goal, but says or does the worst possible thing to achieve it, causing chaos–yet things work out OK in the end, and...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED PILOT REVIEW: FOX’s “Almost Human”

  ALMOST HUMAN:  Monday 8PM on FOX (after a Sunday Nov 17 preview) – Worth A Look The ALMOST HUMAN pilot has a whole lot of concept.  The show was created by J. H. Wyman, a senior writer/producer on Fringe (the pil...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

AFI FEST Film Review: “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

  THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY:  Buy A Ticket – Ben Stiller’s Imaginative, Flawed Reboot Of The Classic Tale The movies Ben Stiller directs for himself (Reality Bites, Zoolander, Tropic Thunder) are nearly ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

BEHIND THE WEEKEND BOX OFFICE – 11/17/13

  OPENINGS:  THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY (Universal) had a strong Saturday bump for a movie aimed at the African-American audience, up 16% from Friday (in comparison, Think Like A Man increased 9% and Tyler Perry’s last 2 ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED REVIEW: SNL with Lady Gaga

  When the musical guest on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE is also the host (and isn’t Justin Timberlake), it’s usually a smart strategic idea to minimize the host’s comedy duties for the week.  But Lady Gaga, in h...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Film Review: “Nebraska”

  NEBRASKA:  Buy A Ticket – A Lovely, Tart Slice of Americana An unusually strong season for American movies continues with the arrival of the simple and profound NEBRASKA, directed by Alexander Payne from a marvelo...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BEHIND THE FRIDAY BOX OFFICE – 11/15/13

  OPENINGS:  THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY (Universal) took advantage of being the only new movie in the market and nosed ahead of Thor on Friday, $10.7M to $10.5M.  That lead won’t hold for the rest of the weekend, but it&...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED NETWORK SCORECARD – 11/15/13

  FOX:  The debut of FOX’s regular Friday night line-up didn’t go very well.  The costs of a Friday move were high for BONES, which plunged 0.8 from this past Monday to a new low 1.2, also down 0.3 from last ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Season Premiere Review: “Raising Hope”

  RAISING HOPE:  Friday 9PM on FOX With series creator Greg Garcia spending his time these days (God help him) at his new The Millers, there’s been a change of regime at RAISING HOPE, which had its belated Season 4 ...
by Mitch Salem