Upfronts 2008
Verfasst: 21.05.2008, 17:32
Wie schon letztes Jahr hat ein Bekannter von mir auch dieses Jahr die Möglichkeit bei Screenings die Piloten der großen Studios zu sehen.
(Hervorhebungen von mir)
=============================================
Because of the writers strike, things are a little funky this year, but never fear, there's some pretty kick ass stuff going on. So far, I've gone to ABC and Warner Bros. Here's the rundown:
MONDAY - ABC (buena vista/disney)
I must say, this was a REALLY poor showing by ABC. Steve MacPherson even spoke saying that they realize that a lot of returning shows have problems they need to fix, specifically Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives.
But he was THRILLED with LOST, he turned into a complete fanboy about the show and can't wait for the future of the show, especially now that they have an end date. As for the new shows, most of the "good" stuff is still in production and they didn't want to show clips until they are ready. So what we got was the stuff that ABC studios made mostly for cable. Here are the shows I watched:
Raising the Bar
A courtroom drama made for TNT starring Zach Morris. It was good. Nothing great.
Mark Paul Gosselar's character plays a troubled lawyer who lets emotion get in the way of business. It will work well if paired with The Closer, and will appeal to women. I was entertained, but we'll see where it goes. Has definite potential.
Project Gary
A multi-cam sitcom for CBS starring Jay Mohr.
Funny, really funny actually. Single dad trying to start a new life. Not really my cup of tea, but it was definitely filled with laughs.
Samurai Girl - made for ABC Family
Dumb. Don't waste your time. It's an Asian girl who's family is murdered on her wedding day and she doesn't know why. She soon learns of a conspiracy and learns the way of the samurai. I didn't like it.
The Middle Man - Made for ABC (i think, i don't have my notes)
It was ok. It's a cross between Chuck and Men in Black. Some very funny moments, crappy FX, and odd characters. There's potential here, but I'm not expecting much.
They showed something else, but I left because I was so bored.
TUESDAY - Warner Bros.
AWESOME day. There are some SERIOUSLY great shows here.
Fringe
Created by JJ Abrams for Fox. If you like LOST, you'll like Fringe. Imagine a show that mixes LOST, CSI, House, and 24. That's Fringe.
I'm not going to spoil it, but the Pilot was 82 minutes (2 hour broadcast). The title relates to "fringe science". All the crazy types of science that borders fact and fiction. This thing was glorious. There's crazy science, government consipiracy, Lance Reddick aka Lieutenant Daniels aka Abadon is playing a major role for you The Wire and LOST fans. It looks like he's the leader of the group within the government that disagrees with what the Defense Contractors are doing (who have higher security clearance than most of the FBI. He's subtle, but perfect.
Great acting (starring Joshua Jackson and many others). Not to be missed. I PROMISE you, this thing will be a LOST fans' wet dream once LOST is over.
Eleventh Hour
Another pseudo science type show. Basically, a guy has crazy scientific skills and needs a body guard because he's so valuable. The duo goes around the country solving crimes that can't be solve without his help.
I was entertained, but am curious how it will play amongst other "similar" shows.
Surviving the Filthy Rich - made for the CW.
This is 100% a companion piece to Gossip Girl. Entertaining, but I'm not in the demo, and neither are most of you. If you like Gossip Girl, you'll like this.
The Mentalist
Can't remember where this is going to air, but it was AWESOME. Stars the guy that was the lead in The Guardian. If you've seen the show Psych, this is basically a dramatized version of that. This guy can read anyone, look at any crime scene, and figure out how crimes happened. he knows the questions to ask to get people to confess without them realizing that they just confessed. Again, not going to spoil the plot, but this show will do very very well.
That was it from the WB today. Fox tomorrow.
I was talking to the head of programming for Turner today at lunch and he went to Fox yesterday and said that WB was MUCH better than Fox, but I'll be the judge of that tomorrow.
=============================================
Gruß
(Hervorhebungen von mir)
=============================================
Because of the writers strike, things are a little funky this year, but never fear, there's some pretty kick ass stuff going on. So far, I've gone to ABC and Warner Bros. Here's the rundown:
MONDAY - ABC (buena vista/disney)
I must say, this was a REALLY poor showing by ABC. Steve MacPherson even spoke saying that they realize that a lot of returning shows have problems they need to fix, specifically Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives.
But he was THRILLED with LOST, he turned into a complete fanboy about the show and can't wait for the future of the show, especially now that they have an end date. As for the new shows, most of the "good" stuff is still in production and they didn't want to show clips until they are ready. So what we got was the stuff that ABC studios made mostly for cable. Here are the shows I watched:
Raising the Bar
A courtroom drama made for TNT starring Zach Morris. It was good. Nothing great.
Mark Paul Gosselar's character plays a troubled lawyer who lets emotion get in the way of business. It will work well if paired with The Closer, and will appeal to women. I was entertained, but we'll see where it goes. Has definite potential.
Project Gary
A multi-cam sitcom for CBS starring Jay Mohr.
Funny, really funny actually. Single dad trying to start a new life. Not really my cup of tea, but it was definitely filled with laughs.
Samurai Girl - made for ABC Family
Dumb. Don't waste your time. It's an Asian girl who's family is murdered on her wedding day and she doesn't know why. She soon learns of a conspiracy and learns the way of the samurai. I didn't like it.
The Middle Man - Made for ABC (i think, i don't have my notes)
It was ok. It's a cross between Chuck and Men in Black. Some very funny moments, crappy FX, and odd characters. There's potential here, but I'm not expecting much.
They showed something else, but I left because I was so bored.
TUESDAY - Warner Bros.
AWESOME day. There are some SERIOUSLY great shows here.
Fringe
Created by JJ Abrams for Fox. If you like LOST, you'll like Fringe. Imagine a show that mixes LOST, CSI, House, and 24. That's Fringe.
I'm not going to spoil it, but the Pilot was 82 minutes (2 hour broadcast). The title relates to "fringe science". All the crazy types of science that borders fact and fiction. This thing was glorious. There's crazy science, government consipiracy, Lance Reddick aka Lieutenant Daniels aka Abadon is playing a major role for you The Wire and LOST fans. It looks like he's the leader of the group within the government that disagrees with what the Defense Contractors are doing (who have higher security clearance than most of the FBI. He's subtle, but perfect.
Great acting (starring Joshua Jackson and many others). Not to be missed. I PROMISE you, this thing will be a LOST fans' wet dream once LOST is over.
Eleventh Hour
Another pseudo science type show. Basically, a guy has crazy scientific skills and needs a body guard because he's so valuable. The duo goes around the country solving crimes that can't be solve without his help.
I was entertained, but am curious how it will play amongst other "similar" shows.
Surviving the Filthy Rich - made for the CW.
This is 100% a companion piece to Gossip Girl. Entertaining, but I'm not in the demo, and neither are most of you. If you like Gossip Girl, you'll like this.
The Mentalist
Can't remember where this is going to air, but it was AWESOME. Stars the guy that was the lead in The Guardian. If you've seen the show Psych, this is basically a dramatized version of that. This guy can read anyone, look at any crime scene, and figure out how crimes happened. he knows the questions to ask to get people to confess without them realizing that they just confessed. Again, not going to spoil the plot, but this show will do very very well.
That was it from the WB today. Fox tomorrow.
I was talking to the head of programming for Turner today at lunch and he went to Fox yesterday and said that WB was MUCH better than Fox, but I'll be the judge of that tomorrow.
=============================================
Gruß