Author Archive
 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Orphan Black”

  The third season of ORPHAN BLACK was a step up from Season 2, although the show is still the victim of its plotting.  The main narrative for the season was set up in the Season 2 finale, with the discovery that along wi...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “The Strain”

  THE STRAIN:  Sunday 10PM on FX FX’s goofiest drama, THE STRAIN, is back for its third season, long-tongued vampiric monsters and Eastern European mythology intact.  Season 2 may have been less notable for killing...
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
 

 
 

OSCARLAND: Producers Guild Nominations

  The calendar has turned to 2014, and the critics, for the most part, have spoken.  Now Oscar season is moving into the Guild part of its schedule, and today the Producers Guild announced its Best Picture nominees.  The...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Mr. Selfridge”

  Think of MR. SELFRIDGE as the methadone to Downton Abbey‘s pure heroin.  It’s not remotely the real thing, but it serves to feed the craving through these many months until Downton returns in January 2014. ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Westworld”

  “Interactive TV” is a phrase that’s been used many times in many contexts over the years, and HBO’s WESTWORLD provided a new way to look at the concept.  The first season of Westworld was–m...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Series Premiere Review: “The Last Ship”

  THE LAST SHIP:  Sunday 9PM on TNT – If Nothing Else Is On… Post-apocalypses are a dime a dozen on television these days, so a new one had better be something special.  The one in TNT’s new THE LAST ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Fantastic 4″” Super-Flops, “The Gift” and “Ricki & The Flash” OK

  Word of mouth on FANTASTIC FOUR (20th) is going to be deadly (the exit polls are dismal, and since they survey ticketbuyers enthusiastic enough to show up on the first day of release, lesser fans are likely to consider i...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Finale Review: “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”

  Losing both David Letterman and Jon Stewart in a single TV year is more than a viewing public should have to endure, but tonight it was Stewart’s turn to walk through the exit door of THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWAR...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: Cable Premiere Ratings

  It’s been a busy couple of days for premieres and returns on basic cable (pay cable’s big night is this upcoming Sunday, when both HBO and Showtime begin their winter schedules).  The winner:  PRETTY LITTLE...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “Playing For Keeps”

  PLAYING FOR KEEPS:  Not At Any Price – All Penalty, No Kick Has any actor more thoroughly wasted his 15 minutes in the Hollywood spotlight than Gerard Butler?  Since he hit with 300 half a dozen years ago, heR...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL Day 2 Capsule Reviews: “Snowden,” “American Pastoral” & “Carrie Pilby”

  SNOWDEN (Open Road – Sept 16):  Oliver Stone’s return to politically-charged biography is subdued by the standards of his Nixon or W.  It’s a hagiography that follows the character arc of his Born of ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 4.21.2019

  OPENINGS:  The Good Friday/Easter weekend was solid for the most part, but it lacked a major holiday opening because Avengers: Endgame is just a few days away and set to engulf box offices worldwide.  Instead, the stud...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

The Tony Award Nominations

  In a Broadway season with seemingly just one overwhelming favorite (that would be Neil Patrick–wait for it–Harris), the Tony Award nominations were bound to have their share of omissions and oddities.  The f...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Beauty” Still The Beast, “Power Rangers” Solid, “Life” Weak, “Chips” DOA

  Despite a trio of new entries as competition, BEAUTY & THE BEAST (Disney) wasn’t expected to have any trouble staying in control of its 2d weekend, and it didn’t.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline have Fr...
by Mitch Salem