Author Archive
 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Murder In the First”

  In its second season, Stephen Bochco and Eric Lodal’s MURDER IN THE FIRST altered its format, only to find new ways to fail.  Season 1 had told a single convoluted story, a murder mystery loaded with so many red h...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S MONDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 12/19/11

> Limited competition did TERRA NOVA a limited amount of good. FOX:  The 2-hour season finale of TERRA NOVA, facing no original scripted competition on the night, will end up (depending on final rounding) matching or very ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “Snow White and the Huntsman”

  SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN:  Worth A Ticket –  Not a Disneyland Ride   Just to be clear, the new SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN bears about as much resemblance to this spring’s Mirror Mirror as The Dark ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE BIJOU’S FRIDAY STUDIO SCORECARD – 12/2/11

> The post-Thanksgiving weekend is usually brutal, and this year is no exception. BREAKING DAWN PART 1:  The likely 60% drop from last weekend is as expected for this very front-loaded series.  Right now the film is r...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Series Premiere Review: “The Strain”

  THE STRAIN:  Sunday 10PM on FX – Potential DVR Alert Although capable of finer things (notably his Oscar-winning Pan’s Labyrinth), the expert filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is one of those directors–you ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S PILOT + 1 REVIEW: “Homeland”

> A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and production of episodes for the regular season:  a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may hav...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Midseason Finale Review: “The Walking Dead”

  In the fall of its fifth season, THE WALKING DEAD has remained a ratings phenomenon like nothing else on television, and for much of this run of episodes, the always-uneven show deserved some of its wild success.  Showr...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Pilot + 1 Review: “Allegiance”

  ALLEGIANCE:  Thursday 10PM on NBC Previously… on ALLEGIANCE:  Alex O’Connor (Gavin Stenhouse) has an Unforgettable-level memory–if also a semi-Asperbergian inability to handle social intercourse–...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY FILM REVIEW: “RED 2”

  RED 2:  Watch It At Home – Less Fizz in the Drink This Time The first RED was a disarming surprise, a rom-com action adventure about retired but very lethal spies as bubbly as it was explosive.  It made almost $2...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: “Downton Abbey” Rules the (Air)waves

  DOWNTON ABBEY returned to PBS in spectacular fashion last night, with an enormous 5.1 household rating.  That was almost double the rating for Season 2’s premiere (almost 50% higher than the Season 2 finale, which...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

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

  As people began to find other ways to spend their holiday week, it was a lousy night for network television. NBC:  AMERICA’S GOT TALENT was the highest-rated show of the night with a 2.3 and gave NBC the win, but ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Colony”

  COLONY:  Thursday 10PM on USA (pilot available via on-demand and streaming) – If Nothing Else Is On… USA’s new COLONY falls into the category of alien-invasion science fiction, but its pilot has more i...
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: WHAT TO WATCH THIS FALL ON MONDAYS (1st Draft)

> The networks have proclaimed their Fall schedules, the new series have been (partially) unveiled, so… what now?  What will actually be worth watching when network TV comes back to life in a few months?  SHOWBU...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY FILM REVIEW: “Now You See Me”

  NOW YOU SEE ME:  Watch It At Home – Don’t Look Too Closely A summer action movie, like a magic act, is only as good as its final trick, and the one in the relatively low-budget NOW YOU SEE ME (which this sea...
by Mitch Salem