Mavs/Nuggs

Biggest game of the season tonight. Despite the two games we've got coming up against Golden State, Dallas seems more vulnerable and I can't see us doing any better than a split against GS.

Nene is coming back tonight to play a few minutes, which is great news. I've been claiming all year that with a healthy Nene we'd be at least 5 games better and if he can get in shape before the end of the season, it'll help our playoff run significantly.

The game's on TNT so I expect each and every one of you to be rooting your asses off.

Keywords: Please win

The Town of 'Jericho' is No More

Though it was a mere formality, CBS announced yesterday that Jericho is no longer.

The series, which was rescued from its first cancellation after an outpouring of support from some nutty fans, couldn't manage to capitalize on its reprieve, averaging over 25% less viewers than season one. This time 'round, however, fans will get a proper send off as the producers shot an alternate ending against the possibility Jericho would not return for a third season.

Personally, so long as the series finale provides closure, I'm okay with putting Jericho out to pasture. Despite the limitless potential, this season has been terribly executed.

Rather than subtly examining a government and town trying to rebuild from the ashes, the series disintegrated into a soap opera lacking any semblance of reality. Geotz and Ravenwood were so over the top and exaggerated they rendered the concept of corporate influence within a provisional government laughable.

However many tough choices Beck could have been faced with, dealing with Ravenwood was not one of them. And with that absence of moral ambiguity, Beck's struggle was nothing more than a heavy-handed approach to showing the struggles of war.

But perhaps most crippling was the absence of Gerald McRaney. Though I had always suspected as much, Jake's performance as leading man proved that the town of Jericho really couldn't survive without Johnston Green.

Skeet Ulrich never exactly hit it out of the park as Jake, but by sharing so many scenes with Lennie James (Hawkins) and McRaney, the damage was minimal. Well, with Hawkins off dealing with the bomb and Mayor Green six feet under, season two saw Jake forced into a spotlight he was ill-equipped to handle. The results were crippling to say the least.

Truthfully, I always enjoyed Jericho and while I could never stand the romantic subplots and knew it could be doing more, McRaney and James ensured it was never in any danger of getting knocked off the TiVo. But with McRaney gone and James' role less than it should be, I can't help but feel it's about time to say goodbye to Jericho.

Keywords: Jericho, Cancel, Canceled, Cancelled, Cancellation, Season 2, Season Two, Renew, Renewal, Renewed, Episodes, CBS, Nuts, Campaign, Save

'The Tudors' Season 2 Premiere Online

Though it doesn't debut until March 30th, Showtime is streaming the season two premiere of The Tudors online.

Watch The Tudors - Season 2 Episode 1

The first two episodes are also available On Demand throughout the country.

Keywords: The Tudors, Showtime, Watch, Online, Video, Streaming, Stream, Free, Season 2, Season Two, Episode 1, Episode One, Premier, Premiere

Return of the Prodigal Son

He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaack (which means I'm gone). Support tanking, root for the Nuggs!

Full Story

Here he comes, 15 months after he was kicked out of Philadelphia over irreconcilable differences, A.I., The Answer, the MVP, the hip-hop hoops icon -- call him what you want -- is back in the city he once owned like few others ever have in its deep, rich sports history.

The ones who know the fans best believe Iverson will get an ovation tonight that will rattle the roof of the Wachovia Center when the 6-foot guard out of Georgetown is introduced as a Denver Nugget.

Few athletes ever electrified, and polarized, the city like Iverson. He was an MVP with a rap sheet. A wanna-be rapper with a stat sheet stamped for the Hall of Fame. He whined about practice, clashed with his coaches, crossed over Michael Jordan and stepped over Tyronn Lue.

Iverson always proclaimed his love of Philly, the fans and the Sixers and swore he wanted to end his career with the franchise that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft.

Any problems he ever had in a dysfunctional relationship with the Sixers were somehow always worked out until the one month they didn't and Iverson was gone faster than a drive down the lane.

Iverson was arguably one of the four greatest Sixers, compiling a sparkling resume over 10-plus seasons that put him in the mix with Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving and Charles Barkley. His No. 3 jersey was a best seller around the globe, the headband wrapped snugly around his cornrows, and the tattoos were as much a part of his image as the way he ricochets around the court. Play every game like it was his last was more than a catchphrase, it was a lifestyle.

"I'd like to say I played as hard as he did but I couldn't," said former Sixers center Todd MacCulloch. "I couldn't put my effort up against him. I don't know how many people in the league could. He's a special talent, a special player."

Iverson fearlessly crashed the lane against players nearly a foot taller than him, played through countless injuries and added the pizzaz that was missing in what was a staid franchise.

Iverson transformed the 76ers from lottery losers to contenders, though he couldn't bring home an NBA title to this championship-starved city. He came close in 2001, when the 76ers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals.

It's easy to believe the ultimate undersized underdog has one more fantastic show left for the fans he used to call his own.

Keywords: Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Allen Iverson, Billy King, Ed Snider, Mo Cheeks

Daily Bullets

• TV by the Numbers Overnight Nielsen Ratings: "Dancing With the Stars returned and ABC easily won St. Patrick’s Day night in overall viewers and the 18-49 demographic. It wasn’t an American Idol style beatdown, but it wasn’t all that close either with ABC averaging more than 4 million viewers more than second place CBS."

• Televisionary reports the Judd Apatow & Friends Paley Festival panel was loaded with love for Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared.

• Who knew that aliens could be Heroes too.

• Nothing particularly new, but still a nice recap about In Treatment's Israeli roots.

• Studies show that most viewers will return to TV. Here's hoping the ones that don't are the idiots who champion lousy procedurals and migraine-inducing multi-camera comedies.

• Vince Vaughn fired his manager and left his agency.
  

• CBS has ordered Exit 19, a drama starring Oscar-winning Geena Davis.

• Anthony Minghella has passed away. His death comes less than a week before his latest project TV Film/Series No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency was set for its BBC debut (HBO has no premiere date set). RIP.

• I always associated TV Land with quality, so when the news hit that they were going to make the foray into original programming I had high hopes. Based on first four projects to get the go ahead, it's safe to say my excitement has waned.

• I loathe politicians. After reading his take on the Obama/Wright issue, I think I hate Jonah Goldberg as much, if not more. How does someone muster up the balls to claim they "have no interest in being united with Wright or anyone who insists that America is...racist." Yeah, God forbid anyone entertain that notion.

Keywords: Heroes, Stranded, TV Land, Anthony Minghella, No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Exit 19, Nielsen Ratings, In Treatment, Vince Vaughn, Geena Davis, Judd Apatow, Undeclared, Freaks and Geeks, Paley Festival

'The Inn' Open for Business

Back in October, Fox announced that it was developing a pilot with Niecy Nash and Abraham Higginbotham (who doubled as 'the office poof' on Arrested Development):

Arrested Development writer Abraham Higginbotham will be teaming up with Niecy Nash of Reno 911! to develop a multi-camera comedy pilot focusing on "the less-than-glamorous staffers at a glamorous New York hotel."

Although it'll be a shame to see Higginbotham go from such a brilliant single-camera like Arrested to a multi-camera that'll likely be limited by Fox's new mandate for formulaic sitcoms, given the comedic charm of Niecy Nash and Higginbotham's talent with a pen, the project shouldn't be written off just yet.

The pilot, titled The Inn has been given the go-ahead by Fox.

Keywords: The Inn, Arrested Development, Reno 911!, Niecy Nash, Abraham Higginbotham, Poof Magazine

Off with the Nuggs

Obviously there haven't been any updates this week. The NBA season is winding down and I'm off with the Denver Nuggets. I'll be in and out of Philly for the rest of the season and playoffs (God willing), but I'll try and update when I can.

Last Night's 'Lost' Recaps

I actually haven't had a chance to watch last night's episode of Lost yet (long night) so I can't comment, but the reactions are interestingly mixed, with the slight edge going to those that dug it. Here's the relevant commentary.

As always, beware of spoilers.

Jeff Jensen - Entertainment Weekly: "The best thing I can say about 'The Other Woman' is that it tried hard to deliver the goods I wanted — maybe too hard. The whole thing felt forced to me — the sudden transformation of Charlotte and Faraday into Mission: Impossible secret agents; the overheated melodrama of Juliet's flashback; the groaningly contrived kiss between Jack and Juliet (Juliack?); the cliché ticking-clock climax in which catastrophe is averted with a proverbial second to spare."

James Poniewozik -Time: "Having gotten rid of the deadweight flashbacks, the sixth episode of season 4 manages to give us one that actually fills us in on a story we want to know more about: what happened to Juliet with the Others."

Alan Sepinwall - NJ Star-Ledger: "Almost anything was bound to be a letdown after last week's time-bending love epic, and while The Other Woman' wasn't the weakest episode of '08 (that remains Kate's episode), a number of season three-era problems crept in for the first time this season."

Cynthia Littleton - Variety: "This episode was packed with plot development -- fabulously concrete, tangible, easily understood plot development, which is the rarest kind on Lost."

Kristin - E! Online: "God bless the writers' forthcoming time-travel entanglements, for they will finally explain how it's supposed to be 2004 on the island but Walt has peach fuzz, Claire has skinny jeans, and Juliet and Goodwin sipped tonight from wine glasses from the 2007 Crate and Barrel collection. (Yes, super ridic that I know this, but ask any 2007 bride.)"

Keywords: Lost, Recap, Spoilers, Episode Six, Episode 6, Sixth Episode, 6th Episode, The Other Woman

Rob McElhenny on Season 4 of 'Sunny'

With Arrested Development long canceled, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has taken the throne as the best comedy on television. Equipped with biting wit, social relevancy and the subtle humor rarely found in today's world of sitcoms, it's garnered a cult audience over the course of its three seasons.

Even still, despite the show's critical acclaim, I'm often chastised for my claim that Sunny is the best comedy on TV and among the best ever. Luckily hot on the heels of the news FX has reupped with Sunny for 13 more episodes, creator Rob McElhenny sat down with Entertainment Weekly for an insightful Q&A in which he does a great job of describing some of the qualities that make Sunny supremely superior to almost everything else on TV (think South Park):

We never try to push the envelope for the sake of pushing the envelope, which we think is just lame. And you can see it coming a mile away. Anybody can be outrageous. There's a certain subtlety we hope comes across. And our number one goal is to make people laugh.

A lot of people think we're just doing d--k jokes.... What we are doing is presenting both sides of the argument and poking fun and poking holes in all of them. Take on the abortion issue or the gun control issue — we hope it's a comedic take, ultimately, but that it has some kind of social relevance.

McElhenny also dishes the dirt on some upcoming storylines:

We're going to do something with the tax rebates that everyone's going to be getting this summer. We're going to jump on it by giving out Paddy's coupons, which are essentially $100 rebates that we mail to everybody and they can come in and use their Paddy's dollars, but then we don't redeem them at all. We force them to use American dollars.

[Another] thing we're thinking about here is Dee [Kaitlin Olson] finds out she's pregnant and wants to give the baby up a la Juno. So it's all about trying to find the right couple, and then moving in with the couple and having the couple just basically pay all her bills and give her a car and a place to live and just taking advantage of the couple's generosity.

I want to do an episode about how Dee winds up having what she thinks is a heart attack, and she ends up taking Lipitor, or some kind of heart attack medicine, and we all recognize that what we need to do is get medicated as quickly as possible for anything that ails us.

We really want Frank degenerating even further. We see our characters not really changing over the course of the entire series, but he drops one rung lower on the ladder each week. By the end of it he's just going to be a puddle of goo.

As they've only just begun breaking stories, it's going to be a long wait. Here's hoping a fresh batch of Lipitor can help alleviate the wait.

Keywords: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 4, Season Four, 4th Season, Fourth Season, Interview, Rob McElhenny, Storylines, Spoilers, Mac

Daily Bullets

• TV by the Numbers Overnight Nielsen Ratings: "An hour of Idol isn’t as good as 90 minutes or two hours, but it still didn’t suck for FOX which averaged over 20 million viewers and did better in the demo than NBC, CBS, ABC and the CW…combined."

• Recap of last week's Lost with a little help from Damon Lindelof.

• Is Katherine Heigl leaving Grey's Anatomy? If so it's a solid career move. You can only soap it up for so long.
  

• CBS announced its summer schedule which'll be headlined by Swingtown, Fear Itself and Flashpoint.
  

• The NY Daily News pounds the Parents Television Council with a fresh dose of common sense regarding Dexter.

• If the cost of great ratings for the NBA is a Western Conference in which the 36-24 Denver Nuggets are ranked 9th, I say get rid of the viewers (Can you tell I'm a Nugs fan?)

• Dirt's Alexandra Breckenridge on what's more dangerous, a mountain lion or a bitter-ex: "A mountain lion...unless you dated O.J. Simpson."

Keywords: Lost, Damon Lindelof, Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy, Swingtown, Fear Itself, Flashpoint, CBS, Summer Schedule, Dexter, Parents Television Council, NBA, Denver Nuggets, Dirt, O.J. Simpson, Alexandra Breckenridge, Nielsen, Ratings, Overnight

'24' Prequel Coming this Fall

In news that will certainly alleviate the concerns of those that fear for our country's future, Fox has announced fans will no longer have to wait until next January to get their Jack Bauer fix. 24 will be returning next fall with a two-hour prequel that will cover the two-year span in between seasons six and seven.

Filming on the remaining episodes of season seven is set to resume in April.

Keywords: Jack Bauer, 24, Season 6, Season 6, 6th Season, Sixth Season, Season 7, Season Seven, 7th Season, Seventh Season, Prequel, Movie, Film, Return Date, Premiere

Lights on for 'Friday Night Lights'

According to Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood, the critically acclaimed, ratings-challenged Friday Night Lights will be returning for a third season thanks to a partnership between NBC and DirecTV.

An unnamed insider told Finke that NBC and DirecTV "will share costs and exhibition windows." Apparently, DirecTV plans to use exclusive content, more so than price, to lure subscribers away from cable. DirecTV currently pays the NFL $700 million a year (through 2010) for exclusive rights to broadcast regionally televised games. The 'Sunday Ticket' has worked wonders for the satellite service, luring both regionally displaced and hardcore NFL fans away from cable.

Still this news could be much, much bigger than Friday Night Lights, DirecTV or NBC. Quite often, ratings-starved cult hits enjoy a rabid fanbase more than willing to pony up to save their show. Unfortunately, until now, they've been limited to DVD's (which they'd probably buy anyway) or gimmicky campaigns such as buying nuts (Jericho) or in the case of FNL, mini-footballs.

If DirecTV were to double their service as a 'premium cable net' so to speak, there's a half decent chance we could see a monumental shift in the way TV gets made. I've always said that measuring quantity was a poor fiscal model for television. If I'm willing to actually pay to survive a series like Arrested Development, aren't I more valuable to a network than 5 people who aren't?

When series like Arrested Development, Deadwood, Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life, Firefly, Futurama, Sports Night, Dead Like Me, Carnivale, Jericho and Twin Peaks, etc. have such dedicated fanbases doesn't it stand to reason that DirecTV could lure a solid percentage of each fanbase by airing the shows exclusively on their network?

Truth is, we probably won't know for a time and it's too late to save the many brilliant-but-canceled series of our time. But if this new model were to play out, the chance that it could spare the future of quality television from asinine network notes and Nielsen watching -- well let's just say it'd be bigger than a Texas State Championship.

Keywords: Friday Night Lights, Renewed, Renew, Renewal, NBC, DirecTV, Cancel, Canceled, Cancellation, Season 3, Season Three, 3rd Season, Third Season, Arrested Development, Deadwood, Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life, Firefly, Futurama, Sports Night, Dead Like Me, Carnivale, Jericho, Twin Peaks

Daily Bullets

• TV by the Numbers Overnight Nielsen Ratings: "The premiere of FOX’s New Amsterdam was the second most watched thing on television last night even though it lost more than half the lead-in from Idol and then lost even more in the second half hour."

• Alicia Silverstone is joining the cast of How I Met Your Mother and Ausiello thinks she's the mother. I love Alicia Silverstone (Just thought I'd throw that in).

• Podcast pitting The Wire vs. Deadwood vs. The Sopranos in the fight for television supremacy. Not really sure why you would need to waste your time listening to it though. It's very simple. It goes The Wire then Deadwood then about ten other shows before you get to The Sopranos.

• Who wants to guess how many interceptions you can fit into 30 hours worth of Brett Favre programming?

• Meanwhile, that fight over the NFL Network isn't getting any better.

• Former West Wing star Allison Janney will lend her voice to the upcoming Fox comedy The Pitts.
  

• Alan Ball's (Six Feet Under) upcoming HBO vampire-series True Blood has added Alexander Skarsgard (Generation Kill) to the cast.
  

• The Office is set to resume production tomorrow. Meanwhile, Give Me My Remote is reporting that next season will consist of 30 episodes.

Keywords: The Office, Generation Kill, Alan Ball, Six Feet Under, True Blood, Alexander Skarsgard, the Pitts, Allison Janney, The West Wing, NFL Network, Brett Favre, The Wire, Deadwood, The Sopranos, Alicia Silverstone, How I Met Your Mother, Spoilers, Nielsen Ratings, Overnight

Final Episode of 'The Wire' Leaked

Well, that didn't take long.'30,' the final episode of The Wire leaked this morning. No one I spoke to torrent community was unable to confirm the source of the leak and no watermark is present.

With this final leak, The Wire has to take the throne as the most leaked/pirated television series of all time. Truthfully, I really don't have an issue with HBO subscribers downloading the episodes early. Unfortunately though, spoilers run rampant and ruin the show for a lot of people.

Keywords: The Wire, Episode 60, 30, Leak, Bootleg, Finale, Series Finale, Leaked, Torrent, Pirate, Pirated, Bootlegged, HBO, Fifth Season, 5th season, season five, season 5

'Always Sunny in Philadelphia' Gets Another Season

In some of the most welcome (if not unexpected) news in the world of comedy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will be coming back for a fourth season after receiving a 13-episode order from FX.

No timetable is set for the return, although the writing staff is in the initial stages of planning out the upcoming season.

Keywords: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 4, Season Four, Renew, Renewed, Coming Back, FX, 4th season, fourth season

The Curious Cast of 'Lost'

In an interesting twist on the whole Q&A thing, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse answered questions from their cast about the upcoming season and beyond. It's moderately informative, especially for those who wonder about things like grooming habits.

Josh Holloway (Sawyer): "Sawyer needs a freakin' haircut! Since I'm living with Hurley, can he cut my hair?"
Lindelof: [Laughs] That episode's a casualty of the strike.
Cuse: But yeah, Josh can have a haircut.
Lindelof: Josh might've forgotten, but this is a recurring request from him. He's like, 'My hair's getting long, can't Kate cut it?' So we did an episode [in Season 2] where Kate cuts his hair. I love how Josh chooses who's going to be his barber at any given time!

Keywords: Lost, Spoilers, Season 4, Season Four, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse

'Dirt' Season 2 Premiere Does Poorly

The season two premiere of Dirt pulled in a paltry 1.7 million viewers, two million less than its season one premiere. Although at times maligned by fans and critics, the Courtney Cox drama dealing in the world of the tabloids is extremely underrated (even more so in comparison to the lavish praise bestowed upon Damages) and it'll be a shame if the strike-shortened season two is the last.

Keywords: Nielsen, Ratings, Dirt, FX, Season 2, Season Two, Premiere, Episode

Daily Bullets

• TV by the Numbers Overnight Nielsen Ratings: "ABC wins another Monday night, and while FOX came in fourth overall, it placed 2^nd in the 18-49 demo on one of its off (no American Idol) nights. CBS problem with the 18-49 demo continues. Only a rerun of Two and a Half Men could broke the 3.0 threshold."

• Only hours after renewing six series, the CW axed its comedy division and laid off around 30 people.

• They also gave rearranged their schedule and gave the go ahead to Filthy Rich Girls.
  

• At the same time, Fox was busy shuffling its own comedy department.

• Chic Eglee will replace the recently departed Daniel Cerone (Dirty Sexy Money) as an exec-producer on Dexter.
  

• And in other Dexter news, the cast of Grand Theft Auto just got very nervous.

• NBC is airing a whole bunch of crappy shows this summer.
  

• CBS is picking up a multi-camera comedy pilot titled Single White Millionaire.
  

• As someone who despises non-sports 'Event' television, I couldn't be happier with its recent struggles.

• Paris Hilton is going to be appearing on My Name is Earl. Says showrunner Greg Garcia, "When we wrote the role of Paris Hilton in the script, we weren't exactly sure who to go with for the role. But after an exhausting search we finally settled on a relatively unknown actress by the name of Paris Hilton."

• Did you ever wonder where "Sheeeeeeeeeeeet" comes from?

Keywords: The Wire, Clay Davis, My Name is Earl, Greg Garcia, Paris Hilton, Single White Millionaire, CBS, Dexter, Videogame, Season 3, Season Three, CW, Lay offs, Laid Off, Comedy, Shut down, Fox, Schedule

'New Amsterdam' Proves Morbidly Mortal

The long and tumultuous story of New Amsterdam will finally bare fruit tonight when it debuts on Fox. Unfortunately, after being delayed, held back and who knows what else, the fruit appears to have gone rotten.

The critical reception is bad across the board -- the only thing close to a positive review comes in a series of backhanded complements from the Washington Post -- and despite the fact it'll probably do well with its quirky premise and American Idol lead-in, don't waste your time.

Immortal or not, John Amsterdam ain't long for this world.

• Mo Ryan - Chicago Tribune: “'American Idol' has raked in untold billions for Fox. As a result, the network has gotten noticeably lax in its development of new shows - and its few dependable veterans are also wearing thin. Sure, 'House' is terrific, but the medical drama (which returns in late April) is the exception. And besides, it debuted four years ago.
  

  "I’d like to be able to tell you that 'New Amsterdam' — and the upcoming Fox programs 'Canterbury’s Law' and 'The Return of Jezebel James' — are the exceptions to the rule that most of the network’s shows are lazily constructed, highly derivative time-wasters."

• Matthew Gilbert - Boston Globe: "The gimmick is that New York homicide detective John Amsterdam has remained 30-something years old since 1642, when he saved a Native American girl from death and she granted him immortality in return. 'You will not grow old, you will not die until you find the one and your souls are wed,' she told John, then a Dutch soldier in the colony that would become New York City. Now, more than 360 years later, weary and reckless, he longs to find his soul mate and proceed toward a natural death. 'If I find her,' he says to a friend who knows his plight, 'it will all have value. Time will have value.'

• Robert Bianco - USA Today: "It's one thing for a fantasy to be unbelievable, another to be illogical. Lapses in logic pull us out of the story: We're less willing to suspend disbelief for the aspects of the story that are beyond our natural experience if we can't accept those parts with which we're familiar. What's worse, they're usually a sign that the producers don't have a firm-enough grasp on their story and are winging it as they go along."

• Diane Wertz - Newsday: "How does 400-year-old original Dutch settler turned present-day sleuth John Amsterdam get such a prime police gig? How'd he get a Social Security number? And wouldn't he need a new one every 30 years or so since he never ages? How often does he have to change jobs/identities so no one notices? And how come no seniors from the 'old' life ever recognize this hot young stud as somebody who looked exactly the same a half-century back?"

• Tim Goodman - SF Chronicle: "Maybe all the plot holes can be covered up with believable explanations. But beyond the questions raised so far, 'New Amsterdam' is pretty hokey, not especially compelling and altogether flat (except for the shots of a very vibrant New York City).

  
  "You can be immortal if you want, but that doesn't make it any less boring."

• Alan Sepinwall - NJ Star-Ledger: "Even attempts to use Amsterdam's long life as a story point -- he knows every obscure corner of the five boroughs and has picked up useful skills over the years, like lip-reading, and an encyclopedia worth of knowledge -- doesn't differentiate the cop stuff enough from what else is out there. Gil Grissom and Robert Goren and Adrian Monk haven't been alive since the 17th century, and yet their knowledge base seems roughly on par with Amsterdam's.
  

  "I understand that solving crimes is the highest career aspiration a TV character can have -- second and third place would be practicing medicine and practicing law, which, conveniently, Amsterdam has also done -- and I'm sure "cop show with a supernatural twist" is a lot easier to sell to a network and then an audience than 'immortal guy has loosely-defined adventures over a period of several centuries.' It just seems like a waste. Why take a character with many lifetimes worth of possible stories to tell and strand him in a format that the networks have recently worked to death?"

• Ginia Bellafante - NY Times: "The filmmaker Lasse Hallstrom has directed the pilot with cool, almost metallic tones, as if trying to conceal the show’s distorted bedrock sentimentality. He can’t. The cinematography is a stylish and sophisticated veneer, though, much like Mr. Coster-Waldau himself, a chilly presence with the look and aura of someone who has steeled himself from wanting too much more."

• John Maynard - Washington Post: "'New Amsterdam' is a decent detective drama, executive-produced by Lasse Hallstrom."

  "The first two episodes made available to critics provide enough twists and turns to keep the casual viewer guessing whodunit, but if you subside on a steady diet of 'CSI,' 'Law & Order' and their spawn, you might catch on fast."

Keywords: New Amsterdam, Fox, Pilot, Review, Preview, Media, Reception, Critics

Daily Bullets

• TV by the Numbers Weekly Nielsen Ratings: "FOX’s American Idol continues its dominance with all three weekly airings landing in the top three. CBS placed FOX placed seven shows in the top 20, FOX placed six shows, ABC had five and NBC had a paltry two."

• Back in November, Don Vito of Jackass/CKY/Viva La Bam fame provided one of the most hilarious courtroom scenes ever. Now Steve-O has been booked following a citizens arrest that arose from a dispute with a neighbor over a fence. Couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

• I've got a lot of friends in the restaurant/bar industry so I can safely say chefs are generally crazy people. Even still, the guy from Dinner: Impossible gave it a shot and he's not really any worse off than before.

• TNT is priming to run with the wolves.
  

• The CW renewed Everybody Hates Chris along with Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, America's Next Top Model and Supernatural. That Reaper and Aliens in America weren't included in the list doesn't really bode well for their chances. I never liked Aliens and though Reaper started off strong, it puttered out pretty quickly. Personally, as long as they keep Chris around, the CW has no quarrels with me.

• The box-art for the second season DVD of Friday Night Lights has been revealed. Though the season stunk, that is some pretty packaging.

• In more FNL news, the character of Jason Street was allegedly inspired a guy named David Edwards. I've always disliked Street, finding him to be a bastardized version of Boobie Miles.

• A slew of numbers having to do with TV production, post-strike. I don't care for math, so I'm done with this bullet.

• Fox has dethroned CBS as top-dog.

• The second season of The New Adventures of Old Christine may not see a DVD release.
  

Keywords: New Adventures of Old Christine, DVD, Release, Date, Season 2, Season Two, Second Season, 2nd Season, Fox, CBS, Ratings, Nielsen, Winner, Friday Night Lights, Jason Street, David Edwards, Boobie Miles, Everybody Hates Chris, Supernatural, One Tree Hill, America's Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, CW, Aliens in America, Reaper, CKY, Jackass, Viva La Bam, Steve-O, Don Vito

Snoop: In Memoriam

So Long Snoop
"How my hair look, Mike?"

Shopping with Snoop
"Man said you wanna shoot nails this here the Cadillac, man. He meant Lexus but he ain't know it."

New York Hunting
"Ask what? You from New York?"

Megan's Law
"Damn, you didn't even wait to get the motherfucker in the house."

Target Practice
"Show you how you do this right here."

The Setup
"No need to bring your iron, I got a clean nine for you with shaved numbers."

Poor Diplomacy
"'Bout fuckin' time."

Snoop and Chris - BFF
"Here we lay a couple New York boys who came too far south for their own fucking good."

Keywords: Snoop, Video, Clips, The Wire, HBO, Michael, Felicia Pearson, Season 4, Season Four, Season 5, Season 5, Dead, Die, Died, Dying, Death, Shot, Killed

'Late Edition' - The Aftermath

Not nearly as much burn for last night's episode of The Wire. A few of the country's major TV critics are starting to reveal a somewhat shallow understanding of Simon's masterpiece, so we're left with a little less commentary:

• Alan Sepinwall - NJ Star-Ledger: "And then Michael takes Dukie to the barns where the Arabers hang out -- and shoot up -- and as Dukie prepares to, once again, go live with junkies, he tries to hold on to his childhood for one last moment by reminding Mike of the piss balloon story from the very first episode where we saw them.
  

  
  "How could these two sweet boys -- Dukie, who never meant anyone any harm and somehow kept his dignity in spite of being dealt a horrible hand by life; and Michael, who always tried to protect his friends and family, and who sold his own soul to keep them safe -- have come to this moment? How could Michael be a multiple murderer and a hunted man? (Not boy; man.) How can Duke, innocent and brilliant Dukie, be right back where he started, only worse because he doesn't have his friends or school anymore?"

• Cynthia Littleton (Variety): "There's also a moment in the scene that encapsulates why 'The Wire' is so damn good. Snoop,who goes out of her way to bury any trace of femininity or any shred of feeling that could get in the way of her role as a killing machine, has a girlish moment, just before her brains are splattered around the dashboard.

  
  "'How my hair look, Michael?' she asks, patting her braids as she looks out the window, away from the gun. She seems to have a perverse respect for the hardware. She barely flinches when Michael first pulls it on her, but nor does she try any superhero-shit to take it away from him. She has a fatalistic understanding. Live by the gun, die by the gun."

• Karen Valby - Entertainment Weekly: "Dukie, the night's terrible heartbreak, also got to daydreaming. After Michael dropped Bug off at an aunt's house deep in the quiet, mystifying suburbs, telling his little brother not to cry as he tied the boy's shoe, Michael and Dukie idled outside the junkman's den. Dukie, whose pocked and discolored face suggests he's already dipping into drugs, no longer has Bug to care for, and now he's losing Michael, who must shed his friend to protect him from Marlo's wrath. Dukie, loath to leave his last tether to childhood, started reminiscing about a summer afternoon of piss balloons and ice cream off a truck. ''Do you remember that day, Michael?'' The harder boy finally got out a somber 'I don't.' These two do not yet know, or have reason to believe, that life can hold more than loss and more loss. Earlier in the season, when Dukie asked Cutty how one made his way out into the wider world, the boxer couldn't give him an answer. He's trapped here, as if behind a barbed-wire fence, without anyone to help him pull himself out."

Keywords: Snoop, Dead, Death, Dying, Died, The Wire, HBO, Michael, Dukie, Bug, Late Edition, Omar, Marlo, Chris, Shoot, Shooting, You Look Good Girl, How My Hair Look, Mike

Interview with Ed Burns

This week Marc Steiner is breaking out with daily podcasts with some of The Wire's major players. Today Ed Burns joined in him for an absolutely wonderful interview. David Simon is so outspoken, often times Ed Burns gets overlooked for his brilliance and the interview is a fabulous example of just how integral he is.

You can read a transcript of the interview or listen to the podcast itself.

Keywords: Ed Burns, David Simon, The Wire, HBO, The Corner, Season 5, Season Five, Final Episode, 60, 30, Sixty

TV Guide Interviews Tristan Wilds (Michael)

TV Guide has a great interview with Tristan Wilds, who plays Michael on The Wire. Wilds is obviously intelligent, but I was taken aback by just how intimate an understanding he has of the series. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he understands Simon's tale more than a large number of adults.

"I don't want to say it's a cop show. What makes The Wire a beautiful story is how true to life it is. In other shows, you have a good guy and a bad guy. In The Wire, bad guys are trying to be good, good guys are doing bad. You have real life. The people who do bad get bad things done to them."

Keywords: The Wire, Season 5, Season 4, HBO, Four, Five, Michael, Interview, Tristan Wilds, Dukie, Bug, Snoop, Dead, Died, Die, Death, Dying, Killed, Kill