Lost

TV News: Premiere Date Announced For ABC’s ‘Lost’

BrianTT — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:54:55 -0700

CHICAGO – The sixth and final season of the J.J. Abrams hit television series “Lost” will premiere with a special all-night event on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2009. The recap special will start at 7pm CST followed by the highly anticipated sixth season two-hour premiere at 8pm CST on ABC.

Lost.
Photo credit: ABC

The series will then regularly air in its new Tuesday night timeslot starting February 9 at 8pm CST.

“Lost” stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Ken Leung as Miles, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Terry O’Quinn as Locke and Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana.

By ANGIE RENTMEESTER
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

TV Review: ‘Fringe’ Deserves Attention on Crowded Thursday Nights

BrianTT — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:52:34 -0700

CHICAGO – “Fringe” is one of the best shows that people aren’t watching. The writing is strong, dare I say better than “Lost,” and the cast is even stronger. Like every show, “Fringe” has had some really great and not so great episodes, but overall the series is great, as proven by tonight’s strong installment entitled “August”.

Television Rating: 4.0/5.0

After producing solid ratings since its commercial-free premiere last year on Fox, the network made the choice, not a smart one, to move the series to Thursday night. Everyone knows that Thursday is the toughest night in television. All of the biggest shows are on that night: “CSI”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “The Mentalist” and “FlashForward”. Ever since the series moved to its new night, it’s been hard to establish an audience, which isn’t too surprising. I can barely make up my mind since all my favorite shows are on Thursday night.

The Fringe team (L-R: Joshua Jackson, Jasika Nicole, John Noble and Anna Torv) uncovers details about the mysterious man known as The Observer in the FRINGE episode “August” airing Thursday, Nov. 19 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Photo credit: Michael Courtney/FOX

On tonight’s “Fringe,” titled “August,” the Fringe crew learns that the mysterious observer (guest star Michael Cerveris) is back in Boston and has taken an innocent woman named Christine (Jennifer Missoni) hostage. Peter and Olivia are quick to jump to the conclusion that he’s out to hurt her, but in the end, it’s the exact opposite. In fact, this particular observer in question saved the girl from dying in a plane crash. So why did he save her? Well, you’ll have to tune in to find out.

The Fringe team uncovers details about the mysterious man known as The Observer (guest star Michael Cerveris) in the FRINGE episode “August” airing Thursday, Nov. 19 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Photo credit: Michael Courtney/FOX

During tonight’s episode, viewers will get a more inside look at who the observers are and what they’re doing here. Notice how they like to eat Tabasco sauce in their food? This was also used in the WB series “Roswell” when Michael, Isabel and Max wanted to eat, they’d add Tabasco sauce to their food. Does this mean that the observers are aliens? Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Olivia (Anna Torv) learn that there’s more than one observer out there and they’re not here to hurt people.

An overall strength of the season has been the father-and-son banter between Peter and his somewhat crazy-yet-brilliant father Walter and the chemistry between Olivia and Peter is strong. While the events taking place in each episode are rather serious, you can always count on Walter (John Noble) to say or do something crazy to make the mood much lighter. Even though Walter and Peter have their issues from what happened with Peter was a child, they have a strong bond and it’s great seeing them reconnect as father and son.

The observer seeks the help of Walter when he stops an important event that was meant to take place. She was meant to die and the observer knows Walter can help. Bad news for the observer, Walter can’t help and he must not suffer the consequences of his actions; he has to die.

If dealing with the Observer isn’t enough, Walter has a weird craving for milkshakes and the Fringe lab must deal with his need to make so many different flavors of the shakes.

Will “Fringe” live to see another season? Man, I hope so. The writing is at it’s best and I really can’t wait to see where the series is going. Note to Fox, please take the series off the hardest night on television and put it back to Tuesday night. There’s no competition on Tuesday and I don’t have to choose between yet another favorite show of mine to watch.

‘Fringe’ airs on FOX on Thursday nights at 8pm CST. It stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, and Kirk Acevedo. The show was created by J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, & Alex Kurtzman.

By ANGIE RENTMEESTER
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

‘30 Rock,’ ‘Mad Men’ Lead 2009 Emmy Award Winners as Best Comedy, Drama

BrianTT — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:04:35 -0600

CHICAGO – Neil Patrick Harris hosted a joyful edition of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night, September 20th, 2009, at which AMC’s “Mad Men” and NBC’s “30 Rock” were the big winners with Alec Baldwin, Jon Cryer, Kristin Chenoweth, Toni Collette, Cherry Jones, Michael Emerson, Glenn Close, and Bryan Cranston walking away with the major acting awards.

Harris opened with a musical number that could have been called “Put Down the Remote”. It kicked off a show that was surprisingly buoyant and well-paced. After hosting the Tonys and now the Emmys, the Oscars may want to consider giving the best host that awards shows have seen in a long time a call. After the number, Harris spoke of his love for TV, something that served as a theme for the entire night.

For the first time (and hopefully not the last), the show was split up by genre, handing out all the awards for comedy programming first. (Although it was kind of a cheat with the big award, Best Comedy, being saved for the end of the night. Just the acting, writing, and directing awards were presented early.)

The night started on a fantastic note as the wonderful and highly underrated Kristin Chenoweth won Best Supporting Actress for “Pushing Daisies”. It’s too bad the show is off the air. Nice job, ABC. Chenoweth joked, “I’m unemployed now, so I’d like to be on Mad Men.”

Harris and Kevin Dillon were robbed for the next acting award, Best Supporting Actor, which went to Jon Cryer for “Two and a Half Men,” after several consecutive nominations and straight losses to Jeremy Piven for “Entourage,” who was surprisingly not even nominated this year. With Chenoweth and Cryer both being unpredictable winners, the stage was set for an upset in several categories.

And it continued. Justin Timberlake, who had won the Outstanding Guest Appearance in a Comedy for his work on “Saturday night Live” presented the next award, Best Actress, to another surprising winner, Toni Collette for Showtime’s “United States of Tara”. Three acting awards and no winners for multi-nominated “30 Rock” was a surprise at this point in the evening, as most critics and TV writers expected Tina Fey to win here.

Best Actor in a Comedy looked like it might be where “30 Rock” picked up its first acting Emmy for its most-nominated year, but would previous winner Tony Shalhoub or beloved newcomer Jim Parsons steal the trophy? Of course not. No one can stop Alec Baldwin, who said “I’d trade this to look like him” in reference to his award’s presenter, Rob Lowe, and then honestly thanked Lorne Michaels for believing in him.

The reality awards began with Jon Cryer and Hayden Panetierre giving the Emmy for Best Reality Host to Jeff Probst for “Survivor”. Best Reality Competition Program went to “The Amazing Race,” a consistent winner in the category.

The Mini-Series and TV Movie categories were next and Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick kicked off the section of the evening by presented Best Supporting Actress to Shoreh Aghdashloo for “House of Saddam” and Best Supporting Actor to HBO’s great “Grey Gardens”. He jokingly said “I’ll make my speech as brief as possible in the hope that it won’t be interrupted by a Congressman or a rapper.”

Other Mini-Series and Movie winners included Brendan Gleeson for “Into the Storm” and Jessica Lange for “Grey Gardens” in the acting categories. The winner for Made For Television Movie was HBO’s “Grey Gardens” and “Little Dorritt” took home the prize for Outstanding Miniseries.

The dramatic awards started with a surprising and well-deserved win by Michael Emerson as Best Supporting Actor for “Lost”. The winner for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series went to another shocking choice, Cherry Jones for “24”. That’s where the surprises stopped, as the final hour of the evening went relatively predictably.

Ellen Burstyn and Michael J. Fox had previously won awards for Best Guest Appearance in a Drama and presented Best Directing to Rod Holcumb for “ER”. The winner for writing went to, of course, “Mad Men” and its scribes Kater Gordon and creator Matthew Weiner.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series went to the fantastic Glenn Close for “Damages,” predictably repeating her win from last season. Lead Actor in a Drama Series was also a repeat from last year with Bryan Cranston taking home the Emmy again for his work on AMC’s “Breaking Bad”.

Finally, the two big awards of the night went, rather predictably, to “30 Rock” and “Mad Men”. A night that started with a few shockers finished with four winners repeating from last year. Congratulations to all the winners and good luck to everyone thinking of toppling Close, Cranston, “30 Rock,” and “Mad Men” next year.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

The 10 Biggest Emmy Snubs of 2009

BrianTT — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:00:57 -0600

CHICAGO – The 61st Annual Emmy Award Nominations were an interesting melting pot of smart, brave, new choices and old-fashioned, predictable, stale selections.

It was fantastic to see a few first-time nominees from our own “Dream Emmys” piece including Jim Parsons for “The Big Bang Theory,” Jack McBrayer for “30 Rock,” Kristen Wiig for “Saturday Night Live,” Aaron Paul for “Breaking Bad,” Hope Davis for “In Treatment,” Toni Collette in “United States of Tara,” and Cherry Jones for “24”. Those are great choices that hint at an organization willing to think outside of the box when it comes to handing out awards.

Now, that doesn’t mean some people weren’t totally screwed. For every great choice this year, there was one that could politely be called a head-scratcher. In my humble, TV-critic opinion, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences failed to nominate what should have WON the top three dramatic categories - “The Shield” for Best Drama, Michael Chiklis for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series, and January Jones for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series. So, it’s not as if they missed a minor nominee here and there. They missed some biggies. And it’s time to name names.

Note: The overall snubs of “Friday Night Lights” and “Battlestar Galactica” is ridiculous but who knows where to start with those shows, a pair of beloved series that have NEVER gotten the Academy recognition that they deserved. We’re trying to stick with specific acting snubs and both “FNL” and “BSG” are snubs in multiple categories. We could do a top ten of just those two shows. To keep the list from getting too specific, consider them overall snubs, not specific ones on the list.

The Ten Biggest 2009 Emmy Snubs

Photo credit: FX

10. Denis Leary for “Rescue Me”

This is a questionable one but it indicates something deeply flawed about the Emmy system - its link to the standard, broadcast calendar year. The 2009 Emmys were for shows that aired from the first of June in 2008 to the last day of May in 2009. What happens if a show straddles (gasp) both May and June?!? How daring! The fifth season of “Rescue Me” started in April and runs until September. I’d like to think that Emmy voters will remember what Denis Leary is doing this season at NEXT year’s Emmys, when the bulk of the season is eligible, but I want to plant the seed now - what Leary is doing this season far outweighs anything he has delivered before. He has really grown comfortable in the role of Tommy Gavin and he’s doing more subtle work than he has in any of the previous seasons. I guess with only a few eligible episodes this snub isn’t that egregious but don’t let it happen again next year.

Photo credit: ABC

9. Anna Friel for “Pushing Daisies”

The Academy missed out on a chance to nominate the final season of ABC’s brilliant-but-canceled “Pushing Daisies” in multiple categories but no exclusion was more shocking than leaving the charming and delightful Anna Friel out of a category that, let’s be blunt, is hard to fill with six nominees. When you get past the deserving Christina Applegate, who displayed perfect comic timing in the very imperfect “Samantha Who?,” the obvious choice of Tina Fey, and the one-two punch of Showtime heroines in Toni Collette in “United States of Tara” and Mary-Louise Parker in “Weeds,” the pool gets awfully shallow (at least until Edie Falco walks home with this award next year for “Nurse Jackie”). That’s why relatively stale choices like Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and Sarah Silverman for her Comedy Central program get in. I love both actresses and think they’re very talented but they’re getting nominated more for their overall ability than the actual program. The overall quality of “Pushing Daisies” and how Friel contributes to it should have prevailed over better-known actresses on inferior shows.

Photo credit: NBC

8. Jenna Fischer and Ed Helms for “The Office”

“The Office” had an inspired, creative season that easily ranks with their best to date but it’s getting a little tiring of seeing the same-old nominees every year. Yes, Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson are talented people but can’t we spread the wealth? Both Ed Helms and Jenna Fischer had arguably better seasons. (Fischer was nominated once before in 2007, but she was even better this year.) Helms’ plotline involving the dissolution of his engagement to Angela was priceless and Fischer’s involving Pam breaking off and joining the Michael Scott Paper Company allowed the actress to display her best comic timing to date. Helms should have snuck in over Wilson (or maybe even Tracy Morgan or Jon Cryer…both are good, neither are Emmy-worthy) and Fischer deserved the spot over Vanessa Williams for the tired “Ugly Betty”. A lot of people deserved the spot over Vanessa Williams.

Photo credit: ABC

7. Elizabeth Mitchell for “Lost”

It took a few years, but I think it is now widely recognized that “Lost” is a truly ensemble-driven show and, consequently, perhaps it doesn’t deserve that many acting nominations. I said “that many”. It still deserves a few and, thankfully, the Academy did pick out one - the great, show-stealing Michael Emerson for Best Supporting Actor. And I can’t even say for sure that Elizabeth Mitchell had that amazing a season. It’s more of the fact that this excellent actress has never been nominated. At least Locke, Said and Ben got their shot at glory. (Terry O’Quinn won in 2007, Naveen Andrews was nominated in 2005). But no woman has ever been nominated for “Lost”. And I doubt that the final season of the show is going to be very character-specific, once again leaving voters at a loss as who to single out of the ensemble. This was possibly their last chance. Elizabeth Mitchell should have been the first.

Photo credit: NBC

6. Regina King for “Southland”

Regina King is the main reason that “Southland” is on NBC’s fall schedule. She is easily the best thing about this intriguing-but-flawed show and it would have really displayed a willingness to look outside of the usual candidates if her name had been called on nomination morning. As Detective Lydia Adams, King displays a perfect combination of human vulnerability and the veins of steel required to be an L.A. cop. King has stolen scenes in major films for years and now she’s doing it on NBC. I think her exclusion is due to a slightly understandable lack of exposure to the show. After all, only seven episodes have aired and I bet most Emmy voters don’t even know that the on-the-bubble show was renewed. However, if “Southland” makes it through another season, I would bet money that King gets nominated next year. Sally Field, Mariska Hargitay, and Holly Hunter might want to prepare for some disappointment.

Photo credit: HBO

5. Anna Paquin for “True Blood”

Speaking of “Best Actress in a Dramatic Series” mistakes (and this won’t even be the last time). The general exclusion of “True Blood” this year was tragically disappointing. Based on years of snubs for the amazing “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and now the exclusion of “True Blood” from Best Drama and Best Actress, it’s crystal clear that the Academy has something against vampire fiction. (The team behind The CW’s upcoming “Vampire Diaries” probably don’t need to clear mantle space for Emmys.) Paquin is perfect on “True Blood,” bringing a harder-than-it-looks blend of southern innocence, primal sexuality, excellent comic timing, and true emotional core to the role of Sookie Stackhouse. She’s so good on “True Blood” that most people don’t even notice how good she is. It is a FAR less flashy role than Holly Hunter on “Saving Grace” or Sally Field on “Brothers and Sisters” and no one can ever explain to me how (outside of her status as Hollywood royalty) Mariska Hargitay keeps getting nominated. The show’s good popcorn entertainment, but really?

Photo credit: HBO

4. Danny McBride for “Eastbound and Down”

How amazing and subversive of the generally-safe Emmy Awards would it have been to see a clip of Kenny Powers on the broadcast? The racist, sexist, drug-using, and basically insane Kenny Powers might have sent some of the older Academy members running for the exit doors. And, to be honest, that’s probably why the excellent Mr. McBride didn’t get nominated. It’s a shame because “Eastbound and Down” has a growing, thriving fan base, one that gets bigger with every viewing of the season one DVD. What McBride does on “Eastbound and Down” is comic brilliance, the best thing that the star of “Pineapple Express” and “Tropic Thunder” had done to date. With guest appearances on the show from Will Ferrell and Craig Robinson and a growing fan base, a major nod for “Eastbound and Down” might have brought in a whole new audience for the Emmy Awards. I’m sure that Jemaine Clement for “Flight of the Conchords” will do some of that, but McBride is just a bit better.

Photo credit: The CW

3. Ray Wise for “Reaper”

Like “Pushing Daisies” (and my next choice), this was a case of the Academy having only one more chance to correct an omission from last year and they blew it again. Yes, you could fit the number of people who watched “Reaper” into a Dodge Caravan but that shouldn’t matter when it comes to awards. It’s the responsibility of voters to catch up on every eligible performance. And I don’t believe they did. Because if you see Ray Wise as the Devil on “Reaper,” you would vote for Ray Wise. I think there may have been some category confusion with “Reaper”. Is it a comedy? A drama? The fact is that most modern shows that have straddled the line between the standard definition of the categories - “Buffy” is a great example - have struggled to get major nominations. “Reaper” was eligible in comedy and Ray Wise was better than at least half of the supporting actor nominees.

Photo credit: FX

2. Michael Chiklis and Walton Goggins for “The Shield”

How are critics and Academy voters SO far apart? “The Shield” was the most nominated show by the Television Critics Association for their final, brilliant season. It was nominated for Best Drama, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Don’t you think ONE of those nominees might have been mirrored by the Emmy Awards? ONE?!? The final season of “The Shield” was the Best Drama of 2008 and Chiklis and Goggins were the main reason why. Watching Vic Mackey and Shane Vendrell reach the apex of the dance they’ve been doing with destiny since the series premiere was riveting television and the final scenes of both characters merited nomination on their own. The fate of both characters was beautifully, perfectly written by one of the best writing staffs of the ’00s and Chiklis and Goggins knocked it out of the park. They both should have won. Neither were nominated. Shameful.

Photo credit: Lionsgate

1. January Jones for “Mad Men”

I honestly didn’t think there would be a more shameful omission than Chiklis and Goggins (who I kind of expected to get screwed considering how much the Academy has ignored “The Shield” over the years), but that’s because I couldn’t fathom the Academy missing the Best Actress performance of 2008. Sure, they missed January Jones last year, but this season of “Mad Men” was all about the female characters in the world of Sterling/Cooper, none more prominently than Jones’ Betty Draper. Jones did something amazing this year, subtly portraying the unraveling of a woman who has worked hard to keep up a perfect front. Jones’ work on “Mad Men” is so just-below-the-surface that I think Emmy voters must have missed it. I love Kyra Sedgwick and Holly Hunter too, but even those actresses would admit that their characters are a bit more scenery-chewing. Jones didn’t have a “big moment” to sell in an Emmy clip and probably lost out because of it. Don’t let it happen again next year.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Flight of the Conchords,’ ‘Family Guy’ Lead Surprising 2009 Emmy Nominees

BrianTT — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:58:53 -0600

CHICAGO – The 61st Annual Emmy Nominations were announced today and there were a few surprises, a few disappointments, and a variety of unusual choices. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences displayed a desire to move forward with some first-time nominees, mostly ignoring some tired staples like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Desperate Housewives,” but also missed some arguably deserving choices.

The Best Drama and Best Comedy categories expanded to seven nominees this year, which allowed for a wide variety of networks to claim a “Best” nominee.

Family Guy
Photo credit: FOX

The nominees for Best Drama are “Big Love,” “Breaking Bad,” “Damages,” “Dexter,” “House,” “Lost,” and “Mad Men”. The refusal to give in to pressure to nominate the last season of “ER” is nice and its hard to argue with too many of their actual choices, but HBO’s great “In Treatment” needed to be in that seven and “True Blood” would have been a more inspired choice than “Damages” or “House”. Even fans of those shows admit the past seasons were down a notch in quality. Finally, the Academy missed the Best Drama of 2008-2009 - the final season of “The Shield” in Best Drama and the acting categories. Shameful.

The nominees for Best Comedy are “30 Rock,” “Entourage,” “Family Guy,” “Flight of the Conchords,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Office,” and “Weeds”. The selections here may not be perfect but they are an undeniably unpredictable bunch and, once again, it’s nice to see the Academy ignore predictable staples like “Two and a Half Men” in favor of more risky choices like “Family Guy” and “Flight of the Conchords”.

The rest of the major nominees:

Best Actor in a Dramatic Series
Simon Baker in “The Mentalist”
Gabriel Byrne in “In Treatment”
Bryan Cranston in “Breaking Bad”
Michael C. Hall in “Dexter”
Jon Hamm in “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie in “House”

Best Actress in a Dramatic Series
Glenn Close in “Damages”
Sally Field in “Brothers and Sisters”
Mariska Hargitay in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
Holly Hunter in “Saving Grace”
Elisabeth Moss in “Mad Men”
Kyra Sedgwick in “The Closer”

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin in “30 Rock”
Steve Carell in “The Office”
Jemaine Clement in “Flight of the Conchords”
Jim Parsons in “The Big Bang Theory”
Tony Shalhoub in “Monk”
Charlie Sheen in “Two and a Half Men”

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate in “Samantha Who?”
Toni Collette in “United States of Tara”
Tina Fey in “30 Rock”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “The New Adventures of Old Christine”
Mary-Louise Parker in “Weeds”
Sarah Silverman in “The Sarah Silverman Program”

Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series
Christian Clemenson in “Boston Legal”
Michael Emerson in “Lost”
William Hurt in “Damages”
Aaron Paul in “Breaking Bad”
William Shatner in “Boston Legal”
John Slattery in “Mad Men”

Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series
Rose Byrne in “Damages”
Hope Davis in “In Treatment”
Cherry Jones in “24”
Sandra Oh in “Grey’s Anatomy”
Dianne Wiest in “In Treatment”
Chandra Wilson in “Grey’s Anatomy”

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Jon Cryer in “Two and a Half Men”
Kevin Dillon in “Entourage”
Neil Patrick Harris in “How I Met Your Mother”
Jack McBrayer in “30 Rock”
Tracy Morgan in “30 Rock”
Rainn Wilson in “The Office”

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristin Chenoweth in “Pushing Daisies”
Jane Krakowski in “30 Rock”
Elizabeth Perkins in “Weeds”
Amy Poehler in “Saturday Night Live”
Kristin Wiig in “Saturday Night Live”
Vanessa Williams in “Ugly Betty”

The Emmys will be broadcast on September 20th, 2009 and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. Stay tuned to HollywoodChicago.com for more Emmy coverage in the next few months.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: First Two Seasons of ‘Lost’ Finally Available in HD

BrianTT — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0600

CHICAGO – A majority of people who watch television in HD would cite ABC’s “Lost” as having the highest quality broadcast on television from a technical level but the first two seasons were only available in standard definition. Until now. J.J. Abrams’ mysterious island and its residents look absolutely amazing in HD and now fans can catch up with the first two seasons of “Lost”.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

There are a few franchises that simply do TV on DVD better than others - “The Simpsons,” “24,” and, of course, “Lost” stand among the best. With fantastic special features and gorgeous transfers, these shows aren’t just documents of a program’s original broadcast, they stand on their own and enhance the show instead of just giving viewers an opportunity to watch it again.

The first four season releases of “Lost” have been among the most acclaimed in the history of standard DVD and seasons three and four proved that Buena Vista Home Video was going to bring the same craftsmanship in designing a single set to Blu-Ray. Instead of making fans wait, before the final season airs early in 2010, viewers can watch all five seasons that came before in HD.

If you already own the first two seasons of “Lost,” should you upgrade? Well, HD really is the way to go for a show like this one but a few more interesting new special features would have been a nice addition for fans tempted to open their wallet for a majority of material they already own (although buyers ARE given a $20 mail-in certificate if they own the complete first or second season already, which is a nice incentive).

The first two seasons of “Lost” are already some of the most influential television of the ’00s. I can still remember the first time I saw the amazing pilot and, like a lot of fans, I’m sure that I will one day work my way through all six seasons of this great show.

The technical details and special features:

Lost: The Complete First Season was released on Blu-Ray on June 16th, 2009.
Photo credit: Buena Vista Home Video

“Lost: The Complete First Season”

The 25 episodes (1,068 minutes) of “Lost: The Complete First Season” are presented in 1080p High Definition with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The video is close to flawless and the audio mix, in English 5.1 Uncompressed (48kHz/16-bit) Audio (with a French 5.1 and Spanish 2.0 track also available), is significantly better than the original broadcast. Sound design has always been a significant part of Lost, and the Blu-Ray audio track places the appropriate emphasis on that element of the show.

Like all “Lost” seasons, the first comes with hours of special features:

“The Lost Flashbacks” - All-New, Unseen Flashbacks Reveal Additional Secrets
“Welcome to Oahu: The Making Of The Pilot’ - Behind-the-Scenes Featurette on Lost’s Premiere Episode
“The Genesis of Lost” - Series’ Creators Tell How the Show Was Conceived
“Designing a Disaster” - Exciting Insights Into the Look of Lost
“Commentaries” - Observations From The Cast and Creators
“Before They Were Lost” - Audition Tapes and Personal Stories From the Cast
“Deleted Scenes and Bloopers”
Exclusive to Blu-Ray - “SeasonPlay, Seamless Menus, And Much More”

Lost: The Complete Second Season was released on Blu-Ray on June 16th, 2009.
Photo credit: Buena Vista Home Video

“Lost: The Complete Second Season”

The 24 episodes (1,056 minutes) of “Lost: The Complete Second Season” are presented in 1080p High Definition with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The audio mix is an English 5.1 Uncompressed (48kHz/16-bit) Audio (with a French 5.1 and Spanish 2.0 track also available) track.

Over eight hours of original bonus material includes:

“Lost Flashbacks” - Secrets Revealed in All-New, Never-Before-Seen Flashbacks
“The Official Lost Connections’ - Shocking Character Connections Are Uncovered in This Exclusive Immersive Experience
“Secrets From the Hatch” - Go Inside To Discover “The Swan”
“Mysteries, Theories And Conspiracies” - The Virgin Mary Statues, Alvar Hanso And Snow Globes - The Truth Revealed
“Lost on Location” - An All-Access Pass To The Set
“Fire + Water” - An Episode From Concept to Completion
“Audio Commentaries”
“Deleted Scenes and Bloopers”
Exclusive to Blu-Ray - “SeasonPlay, Seamless Menus, And Much More”

‘Lost: The Complete First Season’ & ‘Lost: The Complete Second Season’ are released by Buena Vista Home Video and star Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Naveen Andrews, Terry O’Quinn, Dominic Monaghan, Harold Perrineau, and Emilie de Ravin. The show was created by J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, and Damon Lindelof. The first two seasons were released on Blu-Ray on June 16th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

ABC Renews ‘Castle,’ ‘Scrubs’; Cancels ‘The Unusuals,’ ‘Cupid’

BrianTT — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:04:48 -0600

CHICAGO – ABC is still struggling to find the next big hit to stand next to monsters like “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” and they decided to give Nathan Fillion & Stana Katic’s “Castle” a shot at hit status, but cancelled several other new shows, including “The Unusuals” and “Cupid”.

ABC announced their fall schedule today and made a few surprise choices, bringing back the increasingly interesting “Castle” and giving another chance to “Better Off Ted” and “True Beauty”.

Perhaps the most surprising move, especially considering the show’s poignant and excellent series finale, has to be the return of “Scrubs,” which will be back for midseason. They also announced 11 new series for fall and midseason.

Castle
Photo credit: ABC

Previously announced returning shows include “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “The Bachelor,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Dancing With the Stars,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost,” “Private Practice,” “Supernanny,” “Ugly Betty,” “Wife Swap,” and “20/20”.

Not on the fall schedule? “Surviving Suburbia,” “The Unusuals,” “Cupid,” “Pushing Daisies,” or “Samantha Who?”

Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment group said today, “Our focus is always on delivering the best stories with the most memorable characters on TV, whether that’s established audience favorites or innovative new shows. This year we’ve got the best of both. We’re headed into the season with a strong slate of returning series as well as great new shows from one of our best development seasons ever.”

Premiere dates will be announced later but “Dancing With the Stars” and “Castle” will still start the week on Mondays.

The results show for “Dancing With the Stars” will be the meat in the middle of the new show sandwich on Tuesday nights with “Shark Tank” and “The Forgotten”.

Eastwick
Photo credit: ABC

Wednesday nights will feature five new shows, a risky move for the network - “Hank,” “The Middle,” “Modern Family,” “Cougar Town,” and “Eastwick”.

Thursday nights is still anchored by “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” with “Flash Forward” providing the new show lead-in to start the night.

Fridays consist of “Supernanny,” the relocated “Ugly Betty,” and “20/20” with “Saturday Night College Football” the next night.

Sundays remain unchanged with “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “Brothers & Sisters”.

Fall show descriptions courtesy of ABC:

“EASTWICK”
Three very different women find themselves drawn together by a mysterious man who unleashes unique powers in each of them, and this small New England town will never be the same. The series is based on the popular movie “The Witches of Eastwick” and on the novel of the same title by John Updike.

“Eastwick” stars Rebecca Romijn as Roxie Torcoletti, Lindsay Price as Joanna Frankel, Jamie Ray Newman as Kat Gardener, Paul Gross as Darryl Van Horne, Sara Rue as Penny, Veronica Cartwright as Bun, Johann Urb as Will, Jon Bernthal as Raymond and Ashley Benson as Mia.

The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Maggie Friedman is executive producer/writer. The pilot was directed by David Nutter.

“FLASH FORWARD”
When a mysterious event causes the entire world to black out, humanity is given a glimpse into its near future, and every man, woman and child is forced to come to grips with whether their destinies can be avoided or fulfilled.

Adapting award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer’s revolutionary novel, executive producers David S. Goyer (visionary co-writer of “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”) and Brannon Braga (“24,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) invite you to embark on a journey to answer the question, “if you knew what your future held, what would you do?”

“Flash Forward” stars Joseph Fiennes as Mark Benford, John Cho as Demetri Noh, Jack Davenport as Lloyd Simcoe, Sonya Walger as Olivia Benford, Courtney B. Vance as Stan Wedeck, Brian O’Byrne as Aaron Stark, Christine Woods as Janis Hawk, Zachary Knighton as Bryce Varley and Peyton List as Nicole.

The series is from ABC Studios. David S. Goyer is executive producer/writer/director. Brannon Braga is executive producer and co-wrote the pilot. Other executive producers are Marc Guggenheim, Jessika Goyer, Vince Gerardis and Ralph Vicinanza. Guggenheim will be the showrunner, along with Goyer.

“THE FORGOTTEN”
From executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer comes a crime show in which a team of dedicated amateurs work on cases involving unidentified victims. After the police have given up, this group must first solve the puzzle of the victim’s identity in order to then help catch the killer. They work to give the deceased back their names, lest they become — The Forgotten.

“The Forgotten” stars Rupert Penry-Jones as Alex, Reiko Aylesworth as Linda, Michelle Borth as Candace, Bob Stephenson as Walter, Anthony Carrigan as Tyler and Rochelle Aytes as Detective Grace Russell.

The series is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television. Mark Friedman is executive producer/writer, Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman are executive producers, KristieAnne Reed is co-executive producer and Danny Cannon is executive producer/director.

“COUGAR TOWN”
Courteney Cox stars as a recently divorced single mother exploring the honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture.

“Cougar Town” stars Courteney Cox as Jules, Christa Miller as Elle, Busy Philipps as Laurie, Dan Byrd as Travis, Brian Van Holt as Bobby, Josh Hopkins as Grayson and Ian Gomez as Andy.

The series is from ABC Studios. Bill Lawrence is executive producer/writer/director, Kevin Biegel is writer/co-executive producer, and Courteney Cox and David Arquette are executive producers.

Hank
Photo credit: ABC

“HANK”
Kelsey Grammer stars in this timely comedy as Hank Pryor, a titan of industry who suddenly finds himself out of work, almost out of money and around a wife and kids for whom he’s never made much time. Despite his recent setbacks, however, Hank is confident he’s on the road back to the top. He knows he is destined to return to greatness. And he is — just not the greatness he imagines.

“Hank” stars Kelsey Grammer as Hank, Melinda McGraw as Tilly, David Koechner as Grady, Macey Cruthird as Maddie and Ryan Wynott as Henry.

The series is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with McMonkey Inc., Grammnet Productions, Werner Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. It is written by Tucker Cawley. Tom Werner, Tucker Cawley, Kelsey Grammer and Mike Clements serve as executive producers. The pilot was directed by James Burrows.

“THE MIDDLE”
The Hecks are a middle class family living in the middle of Indiana, just trying to keep their heads above water. Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton stars as a wife and mother of three in a comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations.

“The Middle” stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Charlie McDermott as Axel.

The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline are executive producers/writers and Werner Walian is producer. The pilot was directed by Julie Anne Robinson.

The Middle
Photo credit: ABC

“MODERN FAMILY”
Today’s American families come in all shapes and sizes. Shot from the perspective of an unseen documentary filmmaker, this comedy takes a modern look at the complications that come with being a family in 2009.

“Modern Family” stars Ed O’Neill as Jay, Sofía Vergara as Gloria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron, Ty Burrell as Phil, Julie Bowen as Claire, Sarah Hyland as Haley, Rico Rodriguez as Manny, Nolan Gould as Luke and Ariel Winter as Alex.

The series is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television. Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd are executive producers. The pilot was directed by Jason Winer.

“SHARK TANK”
From Mark Burnett, executive producer of “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” and Sony Pictures Television comes “Shark Tank,” an exciting new reality show that gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to make their dreams come true and become successful – and possibly wealthy – business people. But the entrepreneurs must first try to convince five tough, multi-millionaire tycoons to part with their own hard-earned cash and give them the funding they need to jumpstart their ideas.

In these trying economic times, it’s difficult for an individual possessing a dream or even a working small business poised for growth to get a loan for a risky venture. Whether it be an imaginative enhancement for an existing product, a family recipe that has all the ingredients to become a profitable culinary treat, or the latest technological gadget that could take the world by storm, most of these dreams die an early death because no one dared take a financial chance on someone with an unproven and oftentimes outrageous proposal. Many of these people now see “Shark Tank” as their last chance at success. Some have been laboring on their ideas for years or even decades, have invested large amounts of money, and are being pressured to throw in the towel by friends and family. Others have simply never had access to the means to live out their dreams, until now.

Enter the Sharks of “Shark Tank” – Barbara Corcoran (Manhattan real estate titan), Kevin Harrington (king of infomercials), Robert Herjavec (technology tycoon), Daymond John (fashion mogul) and Kevin O’Leary (venture capitalist) – five multi-millionaires who lifted themselves up by their bootstraps to make their own entrepreneurial dreams come true and turned their ideas into empires.

Each week ambitious entrepreneurs from across the country will present their breakthrough business concepts, products, properties and services to the panel of ruthless investors. Their goal is to convince these merciless moguls to invest their own dollars in the concept. Convincing real-life millionaires to part with their own money is no easy task, because when the idea is poor, the Sharks will tear into the ill-prepared presenters and pass on the idea with a simple, “I’m out!” — sending them running for the exit.

But these Sharks aren’t just out for blood, they too have a goal: to own a piece of the next big idea. Entrepreneurs will be asked to give up a percentage of their companies’ equity to the Sharks in order to get the investment they need. But when the Sharks hear a really top-notch idea, and more than one of them wants to sink their teeth into it, a war between them will erupt. Then the once-desperate entrepreneur can rejoice when the Sharks reveal their true interest in the product and bid up the price of the investment.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

The Best of What’s Out There: The TV You Should Be Watching in Early 2009

BrianTT — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:08:20 -0700

CHICAGO – We were considering looking back at the best programming of 2008 when something dawned on us - a lot of it isn’t on the air right now and not yet available on DVD. We at HollywoodChicago.com believe in being productive and helpful, so why tell you something is great when you can’t even see the show?

The final season of “The Shield,” the third season of “Dexter,” the fourth season of “Weeds,” the fourth season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” the final season of “The Wire,” the second season of “Mad Men,” the entirety of “Pushing Daisies,” and the two best new shows of 2008 - “True Blood” and “In Treatment” - all rank among the best programming of 2008, but none of them are on the air right now and none are on DVD yet. What’s a TV fan to do?

Tina Fey, Jennifer Aniston, Alec Baldwin on “30 Rock”.
Photo credit: Nicole Rivelli

That’s why we’re here - to help. Instead of giving you another list of shows that you can’t even see on DVD yet, we’ve found some equivalent (or at least similar) shows currently on the air that we think you should give a chance. With dozens of new and returning shows hitting the airwaves every week, it can be hard to know what’s right for you. Let us guide the way.

First, there are a FEW of the best series of 2008 still on the air or returning soon. “Lost” comes back January 21st, 2009. Check out our review of the first two episodes for a sneak peek. The quick version? It’s real good.

The best comedy on television, “30 Rock,” is still kicking butt on Thursday nights even if we do slightly agree with the criticism that the show has gotten a bit too gimmicky for its own good recently. Hey Tina, cut out the revolving door of guest stars and get back to the characters we know and love.

“Battlestar Galactica” comes back on January 16th and, as for the best of reality TV, Jeff Probst and “Survivor” return on February 12th and Phil Keoghan and “The Amazing Race” start running again three days later, February 15th.

Finally, “Reaper” returns to The CW on March 17th. Yes, The CW can actually lay claim to one of the best shows of 2008. If you don’t believe me, catch up with the first season, now on DVD, and come back for more coverage in the coming months of one of the most sharply written and clever shows on television.

Bret Harrison and Ray Wise on “Reaper”.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

The rest of the “Best of 2008”? It’s all off the air, but we found relative equivalents for most of them. Of course, there will not be an equivalent for ABC’s great “Pushing Daisies” for a long time. Just watch season one again. It was brilliantly unique and left us way too soon.

One of the main reasons that HBO’s “True Blood” and Showtime’s “Dexter” were two of the best shows of 2008 was that there’s nothing on the air like them. What could we possibly compare to Alan Ball’s gothic vision of vampires or Michael C. Hall’s riveting performance as a serial killer with a moral code?

There are two shows coming up that seem to have that unique quality that separated “True Blood” and “Dexter” from the pack in 2008.

The first season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” was hit-and-miss but the clarity of Bryan Cranston’s excellent performance on that show reminds us a bit of what Hall does as Dexter Morgan on the excellent Showtime drama. “Bad” returns to AMC in March.

As for “True Blood,” the show that has similar what-the-hell potential has to be Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse”. The long-delayed and controversial series starts on February 13th on Fox. Rumors of reshoots and behind-the-scenes trouble have made us nervous, but Whedon is the kind of risky TV voice that always brings the potential for greatness, kind of like “True Blood“‘s Alan Ball.

Toni Collette on “United States of Tara”.
Photo credit: Nigel Parry/Showtime

If neither “Breaking Bad” nor “Dollhouse” works for and you’re still looking for something left-of-center like “True Blood” or “Dexter,” put April 9th on your calendar. That’s when “Harper’s Island” premieres. We haven’t seen much, but the preview we did see from last Summer looked like “Gossip Girl” if one of the beautiful people from that show happened to be a serial killer offing his socialite friends on a remote island. Yeah, it looks like twisted fun.

But what should fans of the other great shows from 2008 do with their time in early 2009?

One of the best comedies of the last few years, Showtime’s “Weeds,” will be back this summer, but there’s another half-hour comedy that looks at suburbia from a different angle on the same network - “United States of Tara” - that’s currently on the air.

Featuring a stunning performance by Oscar nominee Toni Collette as a mother with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), the Diablo Cody creation fits perfectly in the Showtime milieu of characters who may look normal but live very different lives from you and me. With a dark, black streak of humor, “Weeds” has been consistently entertaining for four seasons now and, based on the promise of the first quartet of episodes, it’s not hard to see “United States of Tara” staying on the air just as long.

‘Lost’ Starts Fifth Season With Fantastic Pair of Episodes

BrianTT — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:56:51 -0700

Television Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – ABC’s “Lost” returns next Wednesday, January 21st, with a pair of episodes that more than live up to the expectations and the high bar set by season four, one of the best of 2008.

Perfectly balancing a healthy mix of answers to questions set up by the end of last season and asking new ones for what promises to be an excellent fifth season, episode 5.1, “Because You Left,” and episode 5.2, “The Lie,” are very likely to satisfy everyone who tunes in.

Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Jorge Garcia, Naveen Andrews, and Josh Holloway are back and one of the best shows on television has returned from its time off without missing a single complicated step.

Before we go anywhere with this review, something needs to be clarified - there will be less plot details in this review than average, so spoiler hunters should look elsewhere. Part of the genius of “Lost” is in the way that its brilliant creators choose what to reveal, when, and how. There’s no way we would ruin the joy of learning the focus of season five of “Lost,” but trust me when I tell you that you will have a much better idea of what that will be by the end of the first two episodes of the penultimate season of this great show.

It’s not much of a spoiler to reveal that the first two episodes of the fifth season of “Lost” focus mostly on two groups, the “Oceanic Six” that left the island and those that were still on it when it “moved.” The flashback structure of the first two seasons may be gone, but the show still bounces seamlessly between different characters in different times, including opening in one that you’ll never expect. In the history of great pre-credit scenes for “Lost” season premieres, this is one of the best.

Speaking of time, the true “meta” genius of season five may be, at least in part, that a show where time was always such a factor has made it one for its characters as well. The questions viewers have constantly been asking, especially during season four - Who is that? What role do they play in the overall picture? Is this taking place on the island or off it? When is this taking place in context of the crash? - aren’t too different from the questions that the characters are forced to ask themselves in the new season.

Another element of the first few seasons of “Lost” was that most episodes revolved around a specific character. That structure has changed over the years but is certainly not completely lost. “Because You Left” could be called a “Daniel Farraday episode” and “The Lie” belongs to a “Lost” fan favorite, Hugo “Hurley” Reyes. Jeremy Davies does the best work he’s done on the show to date in the former and Jorge Garcia does his best in years in the latter.

As for other cast members with prominent roles in the first two episodes, Evangeline Lilly does excellent work with a few Kate scenes, Josh Holloway drives most of the action with the people left on the island as Sawyer, and, of course, Michael Emerson continues to rock as Ben, arguably the true center of everything that has happened on “Lost”. His final scene is a stunner.

Something that’s clear in the first two episodes of season five of “Lost” is that the surreal nature of the show is going to be even more so in 2009. The blend of themes, characters, and plotlines are starting to come together. Let me just say that there are several familiar faces in the new episodes that diehard fans never thought they would see again. The history of the show is folding in on itself like one of Hurley’s crazy visions and it’s mesmerizing even when you have no idea exactly what’s going on.

So, what questions can you expect to be answered or at least developed in the first two episodes of “Lost: Season Five”?

What does it mean to say the island “moved”? Who is trying to go back to the island and why? What happened to the “Six” immediately after they got off the island? There are even a few questions answered or raised again that you may have forgotten you once asked. More than any other season premiere, you might want to refresh yourself on the first four seasons. These episodes have references to them all.

In the end, the two big questions surrounding “Lost” haven’t changed.

One, where is it going?

I feel like I know more than I did before “Because You Left” and “The Lie,” but still have dozens of tantalizing questions. That’s the best compliment to pay these episodes - that they answer enough questions to satisfy but ask the ones to keep you counting the days until the new episode.

Two, will we be satisfied when we get there?

I’m becoming more and more convinced with every episode that we definitely will be.

‘Lost,’ which airs on ABC, stars Naveen Andrews, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O’Quinn, Michael Emerson, Henry Ian Cusick, Elizabeth Mitchell, Jeremy Davies, Ken Leung, Rebecca Mader, Nestor Carbonell, and Jeff Fahey. The premiere of season five airs on January 21st, 2009 at 7PM CST.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

2009 Mid-Season TV Preview: ‘Lost,’ ‘Damages,’ ‘Nip/Tuck,’ ‘24,’ More

BrianTT — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:08:01 -0700

CHICAGO – Be honest, TV fans. Fall 2008 was lackluster at best. The TV season really starts now.

With the strike delaying production on established series and the development of new ones, many more programs are returning or premiering in Jan. 2009 than the average mid-season. It couldn’t have come at a more important time for the medium, too.

To be blunt, the first 31 days of 2009 could be one of the most important months in the history of television. It comes down to this - If established hits like “24,” “Damages,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Monk,” “American Idol,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Lost,” and “The Closer” don’t meet expectations and if a new show like “United States of Tara,” “The Beast,” “Lie To Me,” or “Trust Me” can’t take off and become an established hit, television is likely to change forever.

Sound like an exaggeration? Consider this - NBC gave up on an hour of original, scripted programming every single night. They’re so disappointed in their slate of 10 pm dramas, including failures like “My Own Worst Enemy,” that they’re handing over an hour of TV every night to talk show host Jay Leno. It’s one of the most amazing programming decisions of the last few years and proof that original television on the big networks is changing for good. Does anyone think we’re that far off from all reality and talk on the major networks with original programming relegated to pay cable, basic cable, and the internet? I don’t.

And the Leno story is only one of the biggest headlines of a season that has seen far more failures than successes. Shows that took off the post-strike period, including “Pushing Daisies” and “Dirty Sexy Money,” saw ratings decline every week before their cancellations. It feels like people left during the strike and simply never came back.

New hits? There aren’t any outside of CBS, the only network that has anything to be happy about this year with the massive success of “The Mentalist” and the continued growth of “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother”. More than ever, the buzz in 2008 went from the big networks to the cable box with HBO launching new hits, Showtime developing their own, and even AMC developing a reputation for quality.

We’ll get into what worked and what didn’t in our TV year in review next week at HollywoodChicago.com, but let’s look ahead before we look back. Is it too late for the broadcast networks to save this sinking ship? Are NBC, Fox, and ABC done? Will there be another “Mad Men” in the bunch of shows premiering this month? Can a series actually improve on last year’s ratings for once? Let’s hope so.

Stay tuned to HollywoodChicago.com for reviews and coverage of all the upcoming series and mark your calendar with the highlights of the coming month on the following page, in chronological order.