TV with MeeVee

Upfronts Update: "Moonlight" Could Be Un-Dead!

There are reports that the canceled CBS vampire drama "Moonlight" could get picked up by Media Rights Capital, the media conglom that has bought Sunday nights from CW to air its own programming slate. Could cult fave Mick St. John (played by Alex O'Loughlin, right) bring CW its biggest audience to date - with a show canceled by another network, on a night that's been outsourced? That would be embarrassing.

But otherwise, CW's programming presentation yesterday left us with only the titles of four new shows that might air on Media Rights Capital Sundays: “Surviving Suburbia,” “Book of Murphy,” “I.M. Valentine, Investigations” and “Fat City.”

The "Moonlight" dramatics come before CBS even announces its fall schedule today. Word is CBS will renew all of its popular Monday comedies and perhaps use a couple of them to build a second night of comedy. We'll have all the details as soon as they're official, but we already know which shows are renewed and which are canceled. The only outstanding question is whether CBS moves to pick up Kelsey Grammer's "Back To You," which was dropped by Fox.

"Moonlight" Wanes at CBS

The sun came up on the CBS schedule this afternoon, and crime-solving-vampire drama "Moonlight" is history. Lots of backstage problems may have been the killer for the show, which was at best a so-so ratings performer, despite the loyalty of the brooding-TV-vampire audience.

CBS announces its schedule tomorrow and all the ins and outs are leaking now. As we already told you, "How I Met Your Mother" and "New Adventures of Old Christine" are coming back, but so, amazingly, is the dismal "Rules of Engagement." "The Unit" will also return.

It appears James Woods' "Shark" is gonzo, however.

Upfronts Update! "Reaper" To Return!

Yesterday was full of anticlimactic "news" - Jimmy Fallon taking over "Late Night," "Scrubs" moving to ABC to finish out its run. But after the sun went down here in the east, that was lots of good stuff posted on the fall schedules, including widespread reports that "Reaper" has been given a 13-episode midseason order by CW. We won't know for absolute sure until CBS and CW announce their deals on Wednesday, but it looks like a lock. (Ooops, CW announces late today.)  And I don't care if it came about because the writers strike screwed up the development season. I will watch "Reaper" tonight with a full heart.

ABC will announce its plans this morning. In the meantime...

• Michael Rapaport ("War at Home," "My Name Is Earl") will play a fed on "Prison Break" (Hollywood Reporter).
• Several sources say ABC has picked up "Life On Mars," an American remake of the Brit series about a cop who suddenly finds himself transplanted to the - bad hair alert! - 1970s. Surprisingly, it's a drama. Apparently that was contingent on ABC also picking up producer David E. Kelley's "Boston Legal" for another season.
• CBS has picked up Jerry Bruckheimer's "Eleventh Hour," the drama "The Mentalist," the thriller "Harper's Island," and the Jay Mohr comedy "Project Gary."
• Nikki Finke says it was nice of CBS to renew "The Unit" while several of its stars are visiting troops in Iraq. But she also has a lot of inside scoop on why "Moonlight" hasn't yet been renewed and may not be.

Tonight's Picks: Friday, May 9

On "Doctor Who," The Doc and Donna make some awful discoveries on the Ood Sphere. Like for instance that sci fi is the only thing worth watching on Friday nights.

On "Moonlight," Mick has to face up to a few things when the grandson of his World War II buddy goes missing.

The search for earth takes an unexpected turn on "Battlestar Galactica," and Starbuck reaches new levels of crazy.

"Moonlight:" A 'Save Our Show' Effort I Can Get Behind

Normally I think the whole "save our show" thing is pretty silly, but the fans of vampire-detective yarn "Moonlight" have a good one. They're not just fans out to save their show, they're organizing to show their enthusiasm by doing good for the world: They're holding a blood drive.

Yes, vampires, blood, ha ha. But more importantly, they're doing something that's not just about their own entertainment. Good for them.

The other thing that's clever about this effort is that they're starting it when it might do some good: Not just before the show has been canceled, but also before the show returns for its second season. The buzz from this stunt just might convince people that the show's worth watching, and then fans won't need to start mailing bodily fluids to producers so they can save their favorite vampire from the clutches of bloodsucking TV executives.

"Moonlight" returns to CBS on April 25.

CBS Announces Post-Strike Schedule

CBS today unveiled a no-frills list of premiere dates and episode counts for its shows returning after the strike. The plans are ambitious, especially for the comedies. "How I Met Your Mother," "Big Bang Theory" and "Two And A Half Men" (left) are all set to return on March 17, producing nine more episodes for the season. That's going to call for a lot of extra Skittles in the writers' room, I'd say. Another Monday show, "CSI Miami," is due back March 24 and expected to produce eight more hourlong episodes, which is, come to think of it, almost twice as much television as nine episodes of a sitcom.

Other shows' return dates and episode counts: "Cold Case," March 30, five. "Criminal Minds" and "CSI: NY," April 2 and seven each. "CSI" and "Without A Trace," April 3 and six. "Ghost Whisperer" and "Numb3rs," April 4 and six. "NCIS," April 8 and seven. "Moonlight," April 11 and four. "Rules of Engagement," April 14 and six. "Shark," TBA and four.

CBS notes that "'The Unit,' 'Cane' and 'Shark' are on previously announced hiatus to accommodate the mid-season launches of 'Big Brother,' 'Jericho' and 'Dexter.'" What CBS doesn't explain is why "Shark" is listed as producing more episodes while "The Unit" and "Cane" aren't. Hmmm. Contrary to some reports, CBS also notes that the offbeat drama "Swingtown," which we've heard little about in recent months, will also resume production. Still no premiere date, however.

"Kid Nation" Not The End Of Western Civilization, Says Variety

Cynthia Littleton at Variety says that "Kid Nation" turned out not to be so evil after all. Sure, we all got worked up about it and about the exploitation of kids, and the decline of Western Civilization, and so forth. But in the end, she says, it's no big deal. The season finale airs tonight and then all the kids will fade back into quiet obscurity, some of them with a nice bump in their college fund and a note on their resume that can help them get into tony prep schools. Littleton would have us believe that the show has caused no serious problems for the US or for Western Civilization in general.

I disagree. It's obvious to me that "Kid Nation" has in fact been a key factor in all of the problems the world is currently facing.

After just one season of "Kid Nation," the US Dollar has faded dramatically, especially against the Canadian Dollar, the Pound Sterling, and the Euro. Huge amounts of fraud have been uncovered in the crisis-ridden housing and loan markets. Both the southeastern and southwestern US are facing severe drought. And piracy has increased - both the kind involving boats and the kind involving software. With the writer's strike almost certain to drag on into 2008, we're only going to see more shows like it, and that means more disaster for our nation.

Of course, there are other dangerous shows: The Observer points out that "Gossip Girl" might trick people into thinking New York is a good place to live, and of course "Who Wants To Marry A Citizen?" is almost certainly illegal, and a commenter on TVSquad notes that "Moonlight" might encourage people to ignore the growing vampire menace. Still, I think it's clear that "Kid Nation" is the greatest danger to us all.

Variety is simply unwilling to own up to being part of the media frenzy encouraging this sort of show and its inevitable disastrous result. But viewers must do what is necessary to stop the collapse: Demand quality scripted entertainment! Demand an end to reality!

"Moonlight" In The Shadows

"Moonlight," the vampire detective show bowing tonight on CBS, has been almost completely made over on- and off-camera since a short "presentation" that was shown to us critics this summer. Among other things, the studio hired and then jettisoned an executive producer from "Angel" whose presence gave everyone ideas about the show's, um, inspiration. Star Alex O'Loughlin as the handsome though blood-drinking "hero" is about the only thing that hasn't changed. He's Mick, an L.A. vamp with a conscience who buys his blood from a dealer and takes on a mission reining in his less moral fellow vamps. Unfortunately, this is the only new fall show from the five major networks I haven't received. But to judge by other critics, it's no great loss...

"Yet it would be one thing if "Moonlight" stole from the best and made it its own. What it does instead is steal other shows' lifeblood and water it down -- and as any vamp can tell you, that's no way to improve the flavor." (Ted Cox, Daily Herald)

"This bites...feels in every way a throwback to 1990s syndicated dramas..." (Televisionary)

"Even the show's liveliest element, the newsroom of a TMZ.com-like Web site where intrepid reporter - and blond mortal - Beth Turner (Sophia Myles) works, is packed with people who say things like, 'Don't think - go. Mama needs fresh content.' I know how Mama feels." (Ellen Gray, Phila. Daily News)

"Watching the new CBS vampire show, Moonlight, one gets the sense that the resurgence of science fiction/fantasy shows on broadcast networks may prove short-lived." (The TV and Film Guy)

Tonight's Picks: Friday, September 28

The War
Ken Burns's documentary focuses on the year 1943 tonight. Grandpa fought for years to bring freedom to the world and the least you could do is sit still for two hours and learn about what happened.

What Not To Wear
I don't care if you're a character actor or a standup comic, you need to dress right for an audition. Stacy London and Clinton Kelly agree with me, and they teach an aspiring comedic actress how to look like the kind of actress who gets cast in stuff.

Moonlight
Debut. This "Angel" knockoff just might be the best new broadcast-network drama on Friday nights. I'm pretty sure it's the only new broadcast-network drama on Friday nights. Anyway, watch it if you have a thing for vampire detectives.

Afternoon tidbits

Sometimes things get past us while we chronicle the torrent of new programming that is premiere week:

• Apparently they've re-shot so much of "Cavemen" we're not going to get an advance pilot before the premiere. And the location has been moved from Atlanta to San Diego for production reasons; in any case, they're filming in L.A. (AP)
• One blogger finds the pilot of "Moonlight" every bit as disappointing as we've heard. (TV Squad)
• You can watch Sunday's season premieres of "Dexter" and "Brotherhood" online right now. (BuzzSugar)

"Moonlight" And Celine Dion: That's All I Need To Hear

Ducky points out that the vampire-detective yarn "Moonlight" is using a slick new Celine Dion single in its latest promos. Apparently, fans of Celine Dion are often interested in other derivative, hackish work, so there's a lot of marketing synergy to be harvested in that promotion. Way to go, CBS, you've successfully warned me away from yet another lame "Buffy" knockoff.

I Still Say "Moonlight" Is An "Angel" Ripoff

Buzzsugar is dubious, but I'm pretty darn negative about "Moonlight."   Studios and commentators alike seem to think that they can replicate the success of Buffy by writing about vampires. People didn't like that show because of the supernatural adventures. People liked that show because it was well-written and well-acted, because it touched on real-life issues in a funny but tender way (High school being like hell on earth? The boyfriend acting different once he gets into the girl's pants? Hello!). You can't expect fans of one show to come to another if you just copy the most superficial elements. It's like building a landing strip out of seashells and hoping that a WWII supply airplane will magically appear with a crate of Spam.

Besides, vampires were the monster of the 1990s, representing dangerous sexual allure. The monsters of the 21st century are zombies, which represent mob rule and thoughtless, pointless destruction pitted against human frailty and selfishness.

I admit that the promo clips are kinda funny, but that doesn't mean the show is going to be any good. I'd rather watch a few clips online at work and then forget about it.

Fall TV Night-By-Night: Friday

Three new shows, all at 9 p.m., and one of them premieres tonight. Yet it's a returning show that's about the only thing I can recommend on Friday night. Still, Fridays are better than "random repeat Saturdays."

Beginning on Oct. 12, ABC will air "20/20" at 8 and put on "Men In Trees" at 10 on Fridays. I'm baffled at the endurance of the latter, a shotgun wedding between "Northern Exposure" and "Sex And The City" - She's a writer of romantic advice! She needs it herself! And there are bears! It's not a formula I get, and star Anne Heche just strikes me as weird. But whatever. The one new show bowing that night on the network is "Women's Murder Club," a rote drama based on novels by the serial-killer-novel hack James Patterson. It stars Angie Harmon as a cop who's assisted in solving murders by her circle of friends in other professions. I will not be watching.

CBS rolls out its Friday schedule on Sept. 28, with the inexplicably popular bit of Jennifer Love Hewitt nonsense "Ghost Whisperer" at 8 and the modest procedural success "Numb3rs" at 10. At 9, the eye will offer "Moonlight," a new series with Alex O'Loughlin (pictured) as a vampire private eye. Yup.

"Moonlight" Casts A Vampire From "Mars"

It’s not a stretch to picture Jason Dohring playing a brooding vampire. His stint as "Veronica Mars'" troubled boyfriend has given him plenty of emo experience. Dohring has just been cast in the new CBS drama "Moonlight." He’ll play Josef, an ancient vampire who is a “mischievous hedge-fund trader,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.  Dohring replaced 60-year-old  Rade Serbedzija, who played the character in the pilot presentation. Tube Talk has more on why "Moonlight" just may be good enough to stand up to old favorite "Angel," especially now that a key "Angel" staff member has signed on as a show-runner for the new vampire-detective show.