On Gear Live: Samsung S95C: The OLED TV You Can’t Afford (to Ignore!)

NBC logo In a press release from NBC today, they announced that NBC.com will stream episodes of their new fall shows for free—Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Kidnapped, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights and Heroes—following the original airing of the episodes. NBC.com is also going to offer blogs written by a variety of shows’ creators, producers or cast members. The blogs will be online for every show on the air, with an additional live blog immediately after the premiere episode.

Jeff Gaspin, President, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, Digital Content and Cross-Network Strategy said of the news, “When you launch a new season, it’s important that you get the shows in front of as many eyeballs as possible. We’ve created a variety of new, engaging digital offerings to generate excitement and drive viewership to the network.”

Upcoming premiere blogs include:

  • Deal or No Deal (9/18), The Banker’s Blog
  • Studio 60 (9/18), Aaron Sorkin, Creator and Executive Producer and Thomas Schlamme, Executive Producer and Director
  • Kidnapped (9/20), Jason Smilovic, Creator and Executive Producer
  • My Name Is Earl (9/21), Greg Garcia, Creator and Executive Producer
  • The Office (9/21), Greg Daniels, Executive Producer
  • 30 Rock (11/11), Tina Fey, Creator and Executive Producer

A number of other blogs will accompany the shows’ premieres, including Law & Order, ER, Heroes, Friday Night Lights and Twenty Good Years, among others.

Read More | Lost Remote

Gallery: NBC Plans to Stream New Fall Shows, Offer Blogs


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TV Week Here’s a look at the highlights for the upcoming week.  In addition to more Fox premieres, we have several new personalities to prepare for:

TUESDAY
CBS Evening News:  The long awaited debut of Katie (or Katherine?) Couric.  Will she be able to turn the perkiness off at night?
The View (ABC syndication):  The premiere of of Rosie O’Donnell.  My Tivo is ready…let the catfights begin!
House (8pm on Fox):  Will House’s limp return?  And will Hugh Laurie’s British accent come back with it?
Standoff (9pm on Fox):  Romance between hostage negotiators?  Now that we already know the plot, do we have to watch?
Nip/Tuck (10pm on FX):  The Carver is gone but Kimber’s vanity was still attacked.  I’m guessing she still won’t be fat anytime soon.

THURSDAY
‘til Death (8pm on Fox):  Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher play an old married couple who have to contend with annoying newlyweds…and My Name is Earl, and Survivor and Ugly Betty...
Happy Hour (8:30pm on Fox):  It’s has something to do with a newly single dude, his new roommate and the neighbors he meets.  Kind of sounds like Joey and in a similar time slot.  We can guess what will happen from here.

FRIDAY
Nanny 911 (8pm on Fox):  Do parents home on a Friday night really want to be reminded about why they aren’t going out?

Gallery: The Week Ahead in TV


Emmys  As some of you might remember, TV Envy brought you live remarks during the 2006 Oscars.  I had so much fun last time - I thought I would do it again for the 58th Annual Emmy Awards.  Unfortunately, since I live on the West Coast, live blogging is not possible.  I could cheat and write this while reading the online reports—but I won’t.  I will keep my eyes focused on the TV screen before me and make catty remarks as I think of them in Pacific Standard Time.

Although I’m still a bit bitter that neither Lost or Desperate Housewives were nominated this year (apparently due to the recent changes in the nomination process), my annual viewing must go on.  If someone can manage to eke out a win for either Entourage, The Office or Scrubs, I may be able to forgive and forget.

Okay—let the time-delayed festivities begin!

Click to continue reading The 2006 Emmy Awards

Gallery: The 2006 Emmy Awards


Best and WorstIn a recent edition of Broadcasting & Cable, the trade magazine presented a list of the Best Shows on TV for the 2005-06 season.  The 2nd annual poll, based on the views of 111 critics, didn’t reveal many shocking choices overall…but does give much love to some underappreciated gems.  Let’s see how your choices compare:


BEST SHOW

and

BEST DRAMA:
Gold:  Lost (ABC)—Really not much of a surprise on any of these choices.  It’s only shocking to remember that Lost is the only one of these three to be shut out of the Best Drama category for the upcoming Emmys.
Silver:  24 (FOX)
Bronze:  The Sopranos (HBO)

BEST COMEDY:
Gold:  The Office (NBC)
Silver:  My Name is Earl (NBC)
Bronze:  Scrubs (NBC)—Woo hoo!  Even if NBC doesn’t respect the comedic gem enough to give it a regular time slot (and a fall start), it’s reassuring to know that the show is still being noticed.

BEST REALITY:
Gold:  American Idol (FOX)
Silver:  The Amazing Race (CBS)Race may not be able to compete against Idol in the ratings department, but it still wins in my heart.  No popularity contests here.  The prize goes to those who simply stick it out.
Bronze:  Project Runway (Bravo)—Heidi Klum has it all.  Good looks, two cute kids, a sexy husband—and now a highly respected show.  I hate her.  I may enjoy watching her show..but I still hate her.

BEST NEW SHOW:
Gold:  My Name is Earl (NBC)
Silver:  Prison Break (FOX)
Bronze:  Big Love (HBO)—Although I’m personally obsessed with polygamy-based stories, I feared the subject might be too taboo for the average audience.  Regardless of the subject matter, this show has been a hoot to watch..and it doesn’t hurt that Bill Paxton is still quite easy on the eyes.  No wonder three women want to bear his children.

WORST SHOW:
Gold:  Unan1mous (FOX)
Silver:  The War at Home (FOX)
Bronze:  The Apprentice (NBC)—While I will have to admit that my interest in this show has waned over the past year or so, I don’t think it’s one of the worst shows out there.  But if Donald continues to make creepy remarks about the attractive females on his show, I may have to call the FCC myself.

CABLE NETWORK MORE PEOPLE SHOULD WATCH:
Gold:  BBC America
Silver:  FX
Bronze:  The N—- Degrassi, Degrassi, Degrassi.  I’ve said it before and I will say it again.  The N is home to the best drama for teens…ever.

MOST MEMORABLE TV MOMENT:
Gold:  Coverage of Hurricane Katrina
Silver:  Uncle Junior shoots Tony on The Sopranos (HBO)
Bronze:  Michael shoots Ana-Lucia and Libby on Lost (ABC)—I admit, I don’t watch The Sopranos so I may be a bit biased here.  But Michael shot two people.  That should definitely earn him a higher medal than Uncle Junior.  I dare say Michael even deserves the gold, but he can’t compete with Nature.

Read More | Broadcasting & Cable

Gallery: The Best (and Worst) Shows of 2005-06


Grey's Anatomy Bright and early this morning, the Emmy nominations were announced from Hollywood. There’s certainly an interesting mix this time around with the change in nomination procedures – you’ll notice no mention of Lost in the major categories and none of the leading ladies of Desperate Housewives. Here are the major categories:

Best Drama
Grey’s Anatomy
House
The Sopranos
24
The West Wing

Best Comedy
Arrested Development
Scrubs
Two and a Half Men
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Office

Click to continue reading Emmy Nominations Announced

Read More | CNN

Gallery: Emmy Nominations Announced


NBC LogoNBC just gave the go-ahead for a comedy pilot from “Cars” writer Dan Fogelman, called Lipshitz Saves the World. The project will be directed by Chris Koch, who directed other NBC faves My Name Is Earl and Scrubs.

Lipshitz focuses on 17-year-old Adam Lipshitz, who discovers that he might be destined to save the world. Fogelman compares the show as “if Keanu Reeves wasn’t good-looking and ‘The Matrix’ was not a movie but a pilot for NBC.”

Lipshitz is the first pilot NBC has ordered since announcing the fall schedule in May. According to NBC Senior Vice President Comedy Jeff Ingold, “We had been eager to work with Dan, so we jumped fast after reading this spec. It has a big comedic idea driving it, just like his feature work.”

Read More | Reuters

Gallery: Cars Writer to Pen NBC Comedy


Everybody Hates ChrisThis year’s Emmy nominations will be announced July 6 and perhaps new nominating guidelines will make 2006 the “year of the underdog”.

Last year showed some progress, with nominations gained by new hits such as Lost, Desperate Housewives and the recently-cancelled, cult-hit Arrested Development (which won seven awards last year).

Apparently some rules have been instated this year that will give newer shows (and shows from less popular networks, such as UPN, FX, and the WB) an even better chance at getting an award. The new system will allow members of the Academy to choose ten to fifteen finalists (depending on category), later cut to five main nominees by a panel of judges.

A few of this year’s hopefuls include The Office (NBC), My Name is Earl (NBC), Rescue Me (FX), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Gilmore Girls (WB), Battlestar Galactica (SciFi), Everybody Hates Chris (UPN), and Entourage (HBO).

Of course, some regular faces will be sure to make appearance on the list such as members of The West Wing and The Sopranos. (Thank goodness Fraiser is off the air, although Will & Grace may return for one last year of nominations, despite the end of the series a few months ago).

The awards will air on August 27.

Read More | MSNBC

Gallery: New Rules Give Smaller Shows a Chance at an Emmy


NBC PeacockIf the new summer shows have you feeling blue, NBC has a solution.  The network just released what they are calling “NBC First Look.”  It has new video clips of every new show including Heroes, Studio 60, Friday Night Lights, Twenty Good Years, 30 Rock, and Kidnapped. You can also find out what will be happening on your old NBC standbys next season. 


Read More | NBC First Look

Gallery: NBC Giving a Sneak Peak at Lineup


Earl Chicken PoxITEM # 212:  Make sure to play with sick children..

Although My Name is Earl has been picked up for at least another season,  a case of the chicken pox has halted production for about 3 weeks.  Despite all the scrapes and injuries Jason Lee may have endured as a former skateboarder, it appears that a common childhood illness is all it took to take the show’s star down.  Seems someone still needs to do a bit more work on their karma…

Gallery: Earl Shut Down Due To Illness


Universal Studios EarlThe breakout hit My Name Is Earl will move to 9 PM Thursday nights (previously on Tuesdays) beginning January 5th.  In a sure attention-getter, Universal Studios Hollywood will publicize the event by offering free admission into the park for anyone named Earl through the month of January. Earls even get a free T-shirt! That’s great, but to be fair, shouldn’t they offer the same deal to women named Joy?


Read More | Universal Studios

Gallery: Earls Get A Free Ride At Universal Studios


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