TV with MeeVee

CW Releases '08-09 Schedule

• Mondays: "Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill"
• Tuesdays: The new "90210" with "guest star" Jennie Garth followed by "Surviving The Filthy Rich"
• Wednesdays: "America's Next Top Model" and "Stylista"
  
• Thursdays: "Smallville" and "Supernatural," same as now
• Fridays: "Everybody Hates Chris," "The Game" and an "ANTM" replay.

No word yet on what Media Rights Capital will produce for the three hours it's bought on Sunday night.

"Reaper" returns at midseason. Yayyyy!

Deets on the new shows after the jump...

(Right, "Gossip Girl's" Blake Lively and Leighton Meester at The CW Upfront presentation that was held at Lincoln Center today.)

Afternoon Links As We Await The Most Awesome Night Of TV This Season

Let's see, a kickass "Survivor" - unless you prefer "Ugly Betty" or "My Name Is Earl" and "Scrubs" - followed by the first "The Office" since Jim showed us the engagement ring, followed by "30 Rock" - unless you prefer "Grey's Anatomy" or "CSI" - followed by the return of "Lost." All new for the launch of May sweeps! And that's not even mentioning "Without a Trace" or "Smallville" and the return of "Supernatural." Scripted television is back, baybee! On a night like this, that strike seems a distant memory. But we have a few hours to kill first. So here are a couple things to read...

• Roger Friedman says Jimmy Fallon will take over for Conan when Conan takes over for Jay. (Fox News)
• TV Squad says he's talking through his hat. (TV Squad)
• Friedman, by the way, also has some "Weeds" dish that fans won't want to hear, way down in the same column. (Fox News)
• Kathy says she picked the wrong Dunder-Mifflin week to go on vacation. (GMMR)
• An NBC source says, uh, don't worry about seeing O.J. on "The Apprentice." (TMZ.com)
• Another look at the sag in ratings post-strike. (Hollywood Reporter)
• We forgot to link to this yesterday when it was still sorta news, but Showtime has signed "The Tudors" (right) for season three. (AP)

CW Serves Up Spring Sked

More news from the busy bees at CW. After all the other recent fun, the network has announced a new spring schedule that puts fresh episodes of "Gossip Girl" (right) and "One Tree Hill" back to back on Mondays, beginning April 21, and shifts some other shows, but not the Thursday duo of "Smallville" and "Supernatural." The whole press release follows, including all the premiere dates...

THE CW NETWORK LOCKS IN MIDSEASON SCHEDULE
WITH NEW EPISODES AND NEW TIME PERIODS

New Episodes of Freshman Hit GOSSIP GIRL Return on Monday, April 21, Paired with Originals of ONE TREE HILL, Creating New Night of Drama for The CW

March 4, 2008 (Burbank, CA) ─ The CW Network has set its new midseason schedule, featuring brand new episodes of its scripted series and several strategic moves to bolster new nights and new time periods.

New episodes of freshman sensation GOSSIP GIRL return to The CW schedule beginning Monday, April 21 (8:00-9:00p.m. ET). On April 7, ONE TREE HILL moves to its new night and time on Mondays (9:00-10:00p.m. ET), following GOSSIP GIRL and creating a powerful night of drama for The CW.

With ONE TREE HILL moving to Mondays in April, the climactic final original episodes of PUSSYCAT DOLLS PRESENTS: GIRLICIOUS will air on Wednesdays starting April 9 (9:00-10:00p.m. ET), following AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL.

CW Wants More "Model," "Gossip"

CW today announced early pickups for "America's Next Top Model" (cycles 11 and 12) plus "Everybody Loves Chris," "Gossip Girl," "One Tree Hill," "Smallville" and "Supernatural." Perhaps no coincidence that we found out this morning "Nick at Night" had picked up cable rerun rights to "Chris." "ANTM," "Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill" are tops with women 18-34, a much-sought demographic.

Morning Reads: Saturn Awards Find "Lost"

• "Lost" leads the TV nominations for the Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy And Horror Films. Best Network Series nominees are: "Heroes," "Journeyman," "Lost," "Pushing Daisies," "Supernatural" and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles." "Journeyman"? Really? (TV Addict)
• Lorne Michaels knows that "Saturday Night Live" is in a tough place as it returns to the air this week. (NY Times)
• Fox now has the highest average network rating for the season. Yikes. (AP)
• I guess "K-Ville" really isn't coming back. Anthony Anderson is going to replacing Jesse L. Martin on "Law & Order." (Hollywood Reporter)
• "Jericho" and "Big Brother" both had really bad weeks for CBS. (tvbythenumbers.com)

Morning Non-Strike Links

Everything about the WGA strike is over here.

USAT just noticed the homosexual gentlemen on "Desperate Housewives." They're not quite on-stereotype as the usual TV gays, and they have the same issues as everyone else on Wisteria Lane. That is, they're crazy. I think that's a good thing.

ONTD posted the latest "music" video from "Top Model" Cycle 4 contestant Lisa D'Amato. It's just as bad as the last one.

TV Guide has an interview with Jared Padaleki from "Supernatural."

The South Carolina Democratic Party has rejected Stephen Colbert's petition to get onto the presidential ballot, because he's a joke candidate, and they just won't have it. What has this world come to when I'm getting my political news from Star Magazine?

"The Hills" is the fakest of all the so-called "Reality" shows out there. We know that. But E! says they're having a casting call for guests at the wedding. That's a little much, even for them. Isn't it?

"Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera has some issues related to being abandoned by her father as a child, says Celebrity Wonder. I bet she blamed herself for it. Poor thing.

Fall TV Night-By-Night: Thursday

Only one new show tonight but a considerable amount of new attitude scattered around the schedule, and Sunday night's Emmys could add some more for "Ugly Betty," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Office" and others.

The new show is ABC's "Big Shots," at 10, which delivered a very funny press conference from stars Michael Vartan, Dylan McDermott, Joshua Malina and Christopher Titus, and could be a ratings winner. They're four reasonably powerful and successful guys, but the show follows mainly their romantic and domestic difficulties. It was at least unofficially called "Big Dicks" in the beginning, and seems intended to take a male-centric view of the world. But as it follows the guest-star-laden "Ugly Betty" at 8 and "Grey's Anatomy" at 9, I think ABC is counting on a large number of women sticking with the network to eyeball Vartan and McDermott. Not a bad bet, actually, though I didn't much like the show. All three debut Sept. 27.

CBS stands pat on the night with three dependables: "Survivor" (Sept. 20), "CSI" and "Without a Trace" (both Sept. 27). Not much to report here except A) one has to wonder when the "CSI" juggernaut will cool, and B) "Survivor" is going to China this fall for an inland episode, as seen at left.

Totally Frakked: Supernatural -- Carry On My Wayward Son

Supernatural
Title: "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two"
First Aired: 5/17/07
After a doozy of a set-up last week, Supernatural delivered the knockout blow with style. Plenty of angst, plenty of drama, plenty of Sam's "The World Hurts Me" face, and of course, a big fat comeuppance sandwich for Ol' Yellow Eyes.

The episode starts, unsurprisingly, with Sam as dead as the proverbial doornail, and Dean left to chew the scenery all alone. Jensen Ackles does over-the-edge crazy with gusto, and it's absolutely believable when he runs off to sell his soul just to get his poor dear brother back in the living column. After betting his soul against that fiddle of gold... no, wait, different story, never mind. After making the worst possible deal with a demon -- one year of life and Sam back for his soul -- Dean is tearfully reunited with baby brother. There's a little manly arguing about how Sam needs to rest, but Dean eventually caves and the two head off to get together with Bobby.

Tonight's Picks: Thursday, May 17

The Office -- The Job, Parts 1 and 2
The third season ends with a special one-hour episode. The Dunder-Mifflinites rehash their beach competition antics, and a corporate job opening makes the competition heat up. Michael, Jim, and Karen head to New York to jockey for the new job.

Bob Barker: A Celebration of 50 Years on Television
After 50 years on TV, and 35 years on The Price Is Right, Bob Barker is ready to retire. Celebrate the history of the longest running game show and its iconic host. Bob Barker, come on down!

Scrubs -- My Rabbit; My Point of No Return
In the sixth season finale, J.D. asks Kim to move in with him. Elliot gets some help with her wedding, but nothing feels right. Are they settling down with the wrong people?  Also, fatherhood changes things for Turk.

Supernatural -- All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2
With the fight between Jake and Sam concluded, Dean is forced to deal with the ugly consequences. The Yellow-Eyed Demon plagues the Winchester boys -- he wants a general for his army, and he's not giving in easily.

Other Season Finales:

• Ugly Betty
• Grey's Anatomy
• Smallville
• CSI
• ER

Totally Frakked: This Week's Picks

Show off all your SciFi faves
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Heroes -- Landslide: Nathan tries to decide what to do; Ted and Peter try not to explode.
Lost -- Greatest Hits: Jack and Sayid hatch a plan to deal with the Others, but it means danger for Charlie.
Supernatural -- All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2: After Sam gets stabbed, it's up to Dean to fight the demons and save the day.
Smallville -- Phantom: In the finale, Lana tells Lex it's over. Clark tries to find the last Phantom Zone wraith.
Stargate SG-1 -- Bad Guys: The SG team gets trapped in a museum, and must pose as hostage takers in order to escape.
Stargate Atlantis -- The Ark: The Atlantis team revives a group of people in suspended animation, but their past is restless.

Totally Frakked: Supernatural -- Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back In Town

Supernatural
Title: "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One"
First Aired: 5/10/07
One of the best things about this week's Supernatural is that the most OMGWTFBBQ moment is delivered as nothing more than a single line of dialogue in a flashback scene. Oh yes, there's drama a-plenty, and hell is most certainly breaking loose, but it's one tiny revelation about a character that sets the whole story of the Winchester boys on its ear. 

The previews had us pretty well prepared for what was going down, so it comes as no surprise when Sam is kidnapped out of a diner. Dean -- who was waiting in the car -- runs into the diner after his radio goes haywire. He finds the telltale sulfur -- and the even more telltale diner full of people with their throats cut -- but no Sam. Sam, on the other hand, wakes up lying on the ground in a middle of a ghost town (a literal ghost town, so haunted that its inhabitants were forced to flee, as we'll discover later in some exposition).  He's not alone, though -- Andy (from "Simon Said") and Ava (from "Hunted," who has apparently been here since she disappeared five months ago, but remembers nothing) are here, along with Jake, a soldier with super-strength, and Lily, an angsty lesbian who can stop people's hearts just by touching them. Ouch! I'd be angsty too.

Totally Frakked: Link-O-Rama

Here are some of the latest Sci-fi tidbits from some of our favorite sources:

• In a bit of Very Serious News, Live Granades has the famous Trouble With Tribbles episode of Star Trek done as LOLCats.
• The awesome Heroes fancast, The 10th Wonder Podcast, has an exclusive clip of next week's episode. I'll try not to dance around the office like a gibbering fangeek. Warning! Here there be spoilers!
• Show Me SciFi lets us know that BSG babe Katee Sackhoff is returning to scifi this Saturday with The Sentinel. Is it good? Apparently not. Will we watch it anyway?  Probably, yeah.
• Sci Fi Wire has the answer for those of you who can't get enough of those Winchester boys -- Supernatural Companion books will be coming soon! Check out "a history of Sam's pouty faces" on page 114, and "Dean's butt in a wide variety of jeans" on page 226.
• From Slice of Scifi, NBC is so happy with Medium that they've gone ahead and ordered a fourth season early.
• Anime fans will get the hookup from the Sci Fi Channel, they're unveiling their new Ani-Monday.  This ain't no Pokemon buddy, this is the real deal.
• From Inside The Box has an interview with Lost producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about the future of the show.

Tonight's Picks: Thursday, May 10

Traveler -- Pilot Episode
Three friends take a cross country trip after college. When a prank on a museum goes awry, two of them become suspected terrorists and are forced to go on the lam. Check out MeeVee's exclusive interview with star Aaron Stanford.

Supernatural -- All Hell Breaks Loose
Part 1 of 2: Sam is kidnapped by the Yellow-Eyed Demon and taken to a ghost town where others with special abilities are staying. The Demon has a plan to start a war against the human race, and he wants Sam on his side when the battle lines are drawn.

The Office -- Beach Games
Michael's under consideration for a corporate position. To find his successor, he takes the team to the beach and puts them through a series of grueling games. It's Survivor: Dunder-Mifflin -- outwit, outplay, outlast.

Totally Frakked: Sci-Fi Picks of the Week

Show off all your SciFi faves
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Heroes -- The Hard Part: Nathan is determined to win the election; Hiro and Ando still want to save the world.
Lost -- The Man Behind The Curtain: Ben starts to show Locke the island's secrets. In the meantime, Juliet's secret is out.
Supernatural -- All Hell Breaks Loose: Sam gets kidnapped by the Yellow-Eyed-Demon and taken to his recruitment camp.
Smallville -- Prototype: A corrupt senator threatens to expose Lex's plans, so Lex sends his new super-soldier on a killing mission.
Jericho -- Why We Fight: The residents of Jericho face off against the awesome threat of New Bern.
Stargate SG-1 -- Bounty: Hunters are dispatched to kill the SG team, interfering with Mitchell's high school reunion.
Stargate Atlantis -- The Game: Sheppard and McKay compete in a real-time strategy game they find on Atlantis.

Totally Frakked: Supernatural -- When You Wish Upon a Djinn

Supernatural
Title: "What Is And What Should Never Be"
First Aired: 5/3/07
If you're going to trot out the old "be careful what you wish for" cliché, you might want to do it the way Supernatural did -- with a really creepy tattooed Djinn. There may be no new ground broken here, but old ground is covered with a hearty helping of spooky -- not to mention some trademark Dean Angst-O-Palooza.

After a quick set-up that shows that the Winchesters are on the hunt for a Djinn, Dean heads into an abandoned building and gets jumped. The Djinn -- complete with tattoo-covered cranium -- hits Dean with his icky blue light show and BOOM! Dean wakes up... in bed... with a hot chick. Oh, no! The horror! It seems as though Dean's wishes have been granted. His mother is still alive, Sam is in California with his -- no longer dead -- girlfriend Jessica, and Dean has that hot chick -- her name is Carmen -- and a regular job in Lawrence, Kansas. Nothing's perfect of course: Dad is still dead, but this time at least, he went peacefully in his sleep.

Totally Frakked: Supernatural -- Still Cute In Orange Jumpsuits

Supernatural
Title: "Folsom Prison Blues"
First Aired: 4/26/07
The Winchester boys go behind bars; to the pokey, the big house, the slammer, the big pokey slammer house. The not-surprising thing is that there are ghosts in prison. The surprising thing is that no one drops the soap.

Despite the fact that they're wanted in a half-dozen states, Sam and Dean go out of their way to get arrested so that they can be thrown into the county lockup. Their dad's old friend Deacon asked them to investigate a haunting at the jail, and the Winchesters are nothing if not stupidly loyal. The plan backfires a bit when Agent Henricksen shows up, demanding answers. Dean gives the mug shot camera his Blue Steel, and then gives Henricksen a hard time.

Henricksen: "You think you're funny."

Dean: "I think I'm adorable."

Yeah, yeah -- so do we.

Totally Frakked: SciFi Picks of the Week

Show off all your SciFi faves
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This Week's Totally Frakked: SciFi Picks of the Week:
Lost -- D.O.C.: Sun finds out who her baby daddy is; Desmond protects the woman from the helicopter.
Supernatural -- Folsom Prison Blues: The boys bust into prison to hunt a ghost, but how will they get out?
Smallville -- Nemesis: Lex gets kidnapped and it's up to Clark to save him. Ironic.
Jericho -- One If By Land: The boys from New Bern come to town, and it's all bad news from there.
Stargate SG-1 -- The Road Not Taken: Carter gets trapped on an alternate Earth where the Ori are poised to attack.
Stargate Atlantis -- Irresponsible: The team tries to stop Lucius Luvin's latest scheme, but ends up in hot water.

Totally Frakked: Supernatural -- That Business Called Show

Supernatural
Title: "Hollywood Babylon"
First Aired: 4/19/07
This week on Supernatural, the Winchester boys head to Hollywoodland to battle ghosts, Gary Cole, and more self-referential humor than you can shake a stick at. Worse than that, they seem to have wandered into the CW studios, which means they have to spend the whole time dodging Sam's ex-girlfriend.

Sam and Dean go to visit the set of a horror movie where one of the crew was horribly killed. Apparently, infiltrating a movie set and getting a job as a PA is so easy you can do it accidentally, because that's just what the guys do. Dean chats up the lead actress, since she's the one who found the dead tech. She shows him a picture, and Dean recognizes the dead guy as an actor. When the Brothers W look him up, he's very much alive -- the whole thing was just a publicity stunt. Or, as they're calling it these days, "viral marketing". 

Totally Frakked: SciFi Picks of the Week

Show off all your SciFi faves
Get your own TV with MeeVee widget

This Week's Totally Frakked: SciFi Picks of the Week:
Lost -- Catch-22: Desmond's got visions, Charlie's got suspicions, Kate's got Sawyer.
Supernatural -- Hollywood Babylon: The Winchester boys go all Hollywood when ghosts attack a movie set.
Smallville -- Progeny: Good news: Chloe's mom controls meteor freaks. Bad news: Lex is determined to control Chloe's mom, even if he has to kill Chloe to do it.
Jericho -- Casus Belli: Jake looks for Eric in New Bern, but finds a conspiracy instead!
Stargate SG-1 -- Line In The Sand: The team tries to use Merlin's phasing device to hide a town from the Ori, but nothing goes as planned.
Stargate Atlantis -- Echoes: Are there ghosts haunting the people of Atlantis? Nah, just Ancients with a Public Service Announcement.
Painkiller Jane -- Toy Soldiers: It's zombie fightin' time! Jane and the team go up against a neuro with a very creepy power.

MeeVee Exclusive! On the Set of Supernatural with Stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles

In this fourth installment of our series chronicling MeeVee's visit to the Vancouver set of Supernatural, Jared Padalecki (aka Sam Winchester) joins his costar Jensen Ackles in sharing with us the kinds of episodes they most enjoy working on, the show's amazing -- if geeky -- special effects crew, and Jared's undying terror of clowns.

MeeVee Exclusive! On the Set of Supernatural with Star Jensen Ackles

In the third part of our Supernatural set visit series, we talk with Jensen Ackles, who plays Dean, the older, more seasoned Winchester brother on the show. In this interview, Jensen discusses his acting process, his on screen and off screen relationship with costar (and fellow Texan) Jared Padalecki, and slips us a few hints about Supernatural's second season finale.

Supernatural Set Visit Photo Albums

On the set of Supernatural, we had full access to props, sets, and the cast and crew. Check out the photos!

Fan Central

Harvelle's Tavern

Cast and Crew

Props and Storyboards

Sets and Exteriors

 

MeeVee Interview: On the Set with Supernatural Producer-Director Kim Manners

In Part 2 of our series on MeeVee's visit to the set of Supernatural, we talk with Supernatural Director Kim Manners. Manners is no stranger to cult TV, having produced and directed The X-Files. Growing up in a showbiz family, Manners began his career early as a child actor, eventually making his way into directing and producing shows such as Mission: Impossible, Star Trek: TNG, and Baywatch. (Fun fact: his first gig was directing an episode of Charlie's Angels in 1978.)

Here, Kim talks with us about The X-Files, classic rock, and his hopes for the future of Supernatural.

Were there any shows or movies you saw as a kid that inspired you to get into the business?
Yeah, I was a horror movie freak. I loved Boris Karloff in Frankenstein; Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolf Man. Those two guys were my heroes, big time.

MeeVee Exclusive! Visit to the Set of Supernatural, Part 1

This weekend, I had the pleasure of touring the set of the CW's fraternal scifi thriller Supernatural in Vancouver, British Columbia. There, my fellow reporters and I had the rare opportunity to speak with several crew members from each department, including props, hair and makeup, wardrobe, special FX, and production as well as skulk around the set. The visit was extra-special, since we were there during the show's last few moments of production on the Season Two finale. Of course, we are not allowed to reveal anything right now (or risk punishment by death), but let's just say that fans will not be disappointed.

Totally Frakked: Supernatural -- Heart Attack

Supernatural
Title: “Heart”
First Aired: 3/22/07
The Supernatural studs ride the Impala to San Francisco’s Mission District to do battle with a pack of heart-gobbling werewolves. Brother Sam shows off plenty of skin and six-pack on the way to getting his heart broken, while Jared Padalecki shows major acting chops in an episode that likely left numerous viewers reaching for the nearest tissue box.

Totally Frakked: Supernatural -- Caprica Six Does Route 66

Supernatural
Episode Title: “Roadkill”
First Aired: 3/15/07
The Winchester Brothers cross paths with the vengeful ghost of a dead farmer in a wonderfully atmospheric installment of Supernatural. Unless Dean and Sam can root out the dead man’s bones before sunrise, Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer (Caprica Six) will suffer a fate worse than death at Old MacDonald’s blood-drenched hands.

MeeVee Exclusive! Interview with Supernatural's Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles

The CW's Supernatural certainly has one of the toughest time slots in television. Still, it still manages to hold onto a devoted hardcore following. If you don’t believe us, just check out the more than 20,000 blogs devoted to stars Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) and Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester), and the hundreds of videos available on YouTube. This year the series has delved deeper into its mythology, introducing a whole new world of hunters and exploring the Winchester brothers’ destiny. MeeVee's own Supernatural being Steve Czarnecki sat down with the two busy stars of the show inbetween tapings, during their recent California TCA press tour to capture this exclusive interview.