Author Archive
 

 

BEHIND THE WEEKEND BOXOFFICE – 2/10/13

  OPENINGS:  Melissa McCarthy is now a genuine Hollywood player with the enormous debut of IDENTITY THIEF (Universal), beating all pre-release estimates with $36.6M.  (Take that, Rex Reed!)  Apart from Universal, the ha...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “Identity Thief”

  IDENTITY THIEF:  Watch It At Home – Star Power Makes This Rote Comedy Look Better Than It Is IDENTITY THIEF is basically a string of contrivances, which makes it not all that different from most big-studio comedie...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY WEEKEND BOXOFFICE REPORT – 2/9/13

  Storms be damned:  according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, despite (or because of) the snows on the East Coast, Saturday was a very healthy day at the multiplexes.  Far from taking a Day 2 hit, IDENTITY THIEF (Un...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED REVIEW: Saturday Night Live with Justin Bieber

  Well, the studio audience seemed to be having a great time at SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE tonight.  There were more squeals than laughs to be had, what with Justin Bieber in the house as both host and musical guest.  The show ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BEHIND THE FRIDAY BOXOFFICE – 2/8/13

  Melissa McCarthy is a movie star. OPENINGS:  She co-stars with Jason Bateman (who is also a producer of the movie), but there’s no doubt that IDENTITY THIEF (Universal) is being sold on McCarthy’s back, and ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S FRIDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 2/8/13

A bad night for debuts. FOX:  No one showed up for the return of TOUCH, which started with a weak 1.1 in its first hour and fell to an even worse 0.9 in its second.  Unless things turn around quickly (unlikely, with Grimm on...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Touch”

  TOUCH:  Friday 9PM on FOX Tim Kring’s Heroes is a famous example of a hit series imploding in its second season, but his TOUCH–not nearly as big a success in its first version–is, at least, more intrig...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

EARLY FRIDAY BOXOFFICE REPORT – 2/8/13

  The early Friday numbers this week are likely to be even less reliable than usual, since weather conditions on the East Coast make estimates very dicey.  That being said, the preliminary numbers at Deadline make it clea...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED: “Do No Harm” Dies On the Table, “Up All Night” Begs To Join It and More

  We noted last night that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the second episode of DO NO HARM turned out to also be its last, and after the ratings dropped from last week’s premiere to an even more horrific 0.7, the...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S THURSDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 2/7/13

Compared to the return of Smash, the season premiere of Community looked like–well, a smash. NBC:  Were they just curiosity-seekers, intrigued by the show’s overhaul, or fans who will stick around?  We’ll fi...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED PILOT + 1 REVIEW: “Do No Harm”

  DO NO HARM:  Thursday 10PM on NBC A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and the production of episodes for the regular season: a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh i...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Community”

  COMMUNITY:  Thursday 8PM on NBC In 1984, MGM released the movie 2010, which was a sequel to 1968’s classic 2001:  A Space Odyssey. 2010 had credentials to prove it was no mere rip-off:  it was based, like 2001, ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “Side Effects”

  SIDE EFFECTS:  Watch It On TV – Soderbergh’s Final Big-Screen Film (For Now) Isn’t His Best Steven Soderbergh’s announcement that with SIDE EFFECTS, his career as a director of movies produced to...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 2/6/13

February Sweeps stunts by NBC and CBS both fail. NBC:  The network aggressively promoted last night’s SVU because it featured Mike Tyson as a guest star, but the show dropped 0.2 to 1.5, in 4th place for its hour.  CHIC...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED PILOT + 1 REVIEW: “The Americans”

  THE AMERICANS:  Wednesday 10PM on FX A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and the production of episodes for the regular season: a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weig...
by Mitch Salem