Nice Boy of the Week: Kerr Smith

Please join us in congratulating our new Nice Boy of the Week, Kerr Smith! Kerr is part of the cast of the mid-season, CW series, Life UneXpected, premiering in January.

Kerr began his career in acting on the popular soap, As the World Turns from 1996 – 97. Most know him from his role as ‘Jack McPhee’ in the second season of Dawson’s Creek. His youthful looks allowed him to play a 16 year-old at the age of twenty-six. I wonder how many knew that!

Kerr went on to appear in such television shows as Eli Stone, CSI-NY, Charmed, Justice and The Forgotten. His movie credits include My Bloody Valentine, Final Destination, Cruel Intentions 3 and The Forsaken, to list a few.

Life UneXpected is being compared to Gilmore Girls in the sense that it provides witty humor and heart-warming drama. The show centers on a teen named Lux (Britt Robertson) that tracks down her biological parents: Cate (Shiri Appleby), a talk radio personality, and Baze (Kristoffer Polaha), a bar owner.
They haven’t seen each other since high school and, in many ways, Lux is more mature than the adults that brought her into the world. Kerr plays Cate’s fiance, Ryan Thomas.

Nice Girls will be watching Kerr in Life UneXpected, and we thought that making him a Nice Boy of the Week would be a great way to get the ball rolling.

Watch Life UneXpected beginning January 18, taking over for Gossip Girl on the CW.

Help a Struggling Series

Every TV season, new shows premiere on the major networks; some are watched in droves by the viewing audience while others languish and disappear all too quickly. I think all of us – whether you are an avid TV viewer like us here at NiceGirlsTV or the occasional viewer – have had certain shows over the years that touched a special place in your heart.

For me those shows include Prey, Firefly, Pushing Daisies and Moonlight (just to name a few). These and MANY other shows aired for a very short amount of time; many not even getting a full season order from their respective networks.

This year is no different. There are a number of struggling newcomers out there that are either getting overlooked by the TV audience because they are simply being forgotten (i.e. the ABC series The Forgotten); the competition is too steep in their timeslot (i.e. the CBS medical drama Three Rivers) or, unfortunately, the show just hasn’t garnered the desired response from the viewing public (i.e. the NBC medical drama Trauma).

There is one other new series that is having a hard time keeping eyeballs glued to the screen – for whatever reasons – and that series is: ABC’s Eastwick. This series had been languishing at the network for years with several failed attempts to bring the John Updike novel and box office hit Witches of Eastwick to the small screen. This year finally seemed to be the right time for the show to emerge from the pack of newcomers, but the ratings just have not been there.

Debuting on September 23, Eastwick garnered a fairly respectable 8.5 million viewers; however, one week later it dropped down to 6.6 million and the following week the series got only 5.28 million viewers. Its fourth and fifth episodes received a dismal 5.09 and 4.93 million viewers, respectively. This progressive decline is not good for any new show and admittedly the network will probably quietly cancel this show simply because the viewership is too low.

Therefore, I would like to make an open plea to all the women out there: Please watch Eastwick tomorrow night on ABC at 10 PM. Tell your friends, family members and co-workers about this show that has been called a cross between Desperate Housewives and Charmed. It really is a delightfully funny and wickedly smart series with plenty of eye candy for both men and women. As everyone knows from the advertising, Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price and Jaime Ray Newman star as the witches of Eastwick.  These lovely ladies are surrounded by Paul Gross (Due South), Matt Dallas (Kyle XY), Johann Urb (Dirt) and Jack Huston (TV’s Spartacus).  The storylines are witty and never cookie cutter.  There is much more to the show than just witches romping around in the town’s fountain.  Give it a try and you just might like it.

Double TV Jeopardy

Every TV season new shows come and go – sometimes too quickly – while some returning shows fail to meet up to expectations of both the viewing audience and the powers that be at the networks. The reasons for these – shall we say – failures are varied, ranging from little to no publicity by their home network, extremely stiff timeslot competition, poor writing or production value, etc.

This year there are several new shows as well as a few returning series that are currently in jeopardy mainly because of low ratings. And, while I don’t watch all of the shows mentioned below, they are the series currently in double TV jeopardy.

First, let’s start with the new shows:

1. Three Rivers on CBS – The drama that should have taken over for ER in terms of gripping medical stories, likeable characters (for the most part) and a worthy cause (organ donation) has, unfortunately, flatlined. Much behind the scenes drama has taken place with this new Alex O’Loughlin vehicle – namely recasting, reshoots of the pilot and then a network decision to air episodes out of order. Not to mention tough competition in the 9 PM Sunday night timeslot and an unrelenting machine called Sunday football.

The show opened with 9.1 million viewers, sank to roughly 7.3 million viewers the following week and received around 7 million this past weekend. And, while these numbers aren’t awful, when compared to the oppositions’ ratings – it’s not good – and the networks “need” for the 18-49 year old market just isn’t helping this show along at all.

2. The Forgotten on ABC – Much like the show’s title this new Christian Slater-led series is being forgotten by the viewers simply because of poor advertising by its home network and tough competition in the form of Julianna Margulies and her new series The Good Wife on CBS.

The series opened fairly well with 9.5 million viewers, but has maintained an average of 7.6 million viewers for the last 3 airings. Again, these aren’t terrible numbers – especially in the age of countless viewing options – but it’s not going to be enough to keep the show on the radar for much longer, as if it was even on most viewers’ minds to begin with.

3. Trauma on NBC – This action-packed drama about emergency responders in San Francisco had an extensive publicity machine behind it (thank you, NBC, I think) with countless promotion on TV, the internet, billboards, radio commercials and much more. However, all that publicity has obviously turned viewers away as each week, since its debut, the show has sunk lower and lower in the ratings with its last two airings only garnering 5.5 million viewers. This show, unfortunately, is solely existing on life support now.

4. Eastwick on ABC – This new series based on the John Updike novel and the box office movie The Witches of Eastwick had a strong opening with 8.5 million viewers, but has dropped significantly each week since then. The network has recently stated it is sticking with the show right now, having no plans to cancel it despite the low ratings, but that assurance could easily vanish as quickly as any spell cast by the lovely witches in the series.

The returning shows that are facing serious problems are:

1. Dollhouse on FOX – The network recently announced they plan to air all 13 episodes of the second season of this new Joss Whedon creation; but given the fact not one episode thus far has cracked 3 million viewers (and even performed lower than the new Syfy series Stargate Universe), how can the network stand behind a series that obviously costs them more each week in production value than they are making back in advertising revenue. The ratings numbers simply don’t support a continuation of the series, but the network, for whatever reason, seems to be on the side of this series at least for now.

2. Cold Case on CBS – For a show that had always been a fairly strong performer for the eye network and has been on the air for 7seasons, the ratings slump that this cop drama has found itself in is a bit surprising. Part of the problem could be the weak lead-in from Three Rivers, the overruns of Sunday football, which is either bumping the airing of new episodes entirely, pushing into a later timeslot or the competition from other networks; but it just strikes odd that this show is under-performing.

3. Heroes on NBC – What was once a ratings giant for NBC, Heroes lost a huge portion of viewers during its very weak second and third seasons, driving fans away in droves. With the return of the show for its fourth (and probably final) season this fall, fans have seemingly given up on this band of super-powered humans; which is a shame, as the show has somewhat finally found its rudder and is drifting along in the choppy TV waters at a better pace. This revival of better storylines and focus is largely going unnoticed by the general viewing audience; especially when you consider the show has only averaged about 5.7 million viewers every week since its debut.

4. Smallville on the CW – This Superman-in-the-making series has been on the air for an astounding 9seasons and with its move to Friday nights, it would seem that the viewers (if not the network) has seen this move as the final nail in the coffin of the series’ longevity. Each week the show has averaged a disappointing 2.5 million viewers, making this probably the least watched season of the show’s history. Creatively the show may be moving closer and closer to the Superman legend, but it seems like too little too late, as the viewers have moved on. The Justice League, the Watchtower and even the impenetrable Lois Lane cannot seem to save this series that once was one of the cornerstones of this newly monikered network.

So, there you have it: A look at some of the shows that are in double jeopardy at the major networks. They certainly aren’t the only ones “on the bubble” or simply waiting for the cancellation axe to fall, and they won’t be the last. It will be up to each shows diehard fans to make a stand for each series, for the networks to take another chance on them or for the fates to play their hand, ending each one as painlessly (hopefully) as possible.

Are there any new or returning shows that you are concerned about? NGTV would love to hear your thoughts.

A Report Card for the 2009-2010 TV Season

With the majority of the new shows having debuted (and most of the returning series making their season premieres), I thought it was appropriate to make a report card (of sorts) on the new shows that have caught my attention, those that I have decided to pass on, and the few that will, unfortunately, (more likely than not) end up hanging by a thread in the very near future.

It is too soon to determine just how long any of the new shows will remain on the air or which ones will become the hits of the new season, so this will stand as my early predictions for what to expect – or to be more precise – what I hope will happen. Please keep in mind I am not covering ALL the new shows (and will not comment on the comedies since I don’t watch those). This coverage will only be on the shows that I have actually seen and for which I have formed an opinion.

The grade I have given to each is not only based solely on the ratings each series has received thus far, nor just on the critics reviews but also on my overall impression of each episode I have seen, each show’s basic premise, the characters and the casting for each series.

ABC:

The Forgotten (Tuesdays at 10 PM) – This series that stars Christian Slater as the leader of a volunteer group of amateur sleuths who investigate cold cases involving unidentified victims of crimes that even the police aren’t able to solve came out of the box during its premiere with an astounding 9.5 million viewers. The pilot was not as weak as I had anticipated, but I fear the show is attempting to be too ambitious and falling short of its intentions. And, while I would like nothing better than to see a Christian Slater-led series work (unlike his maligned former NBC series My Own Worst Enemy), I don’t really see audiences flocking back to this show week after week. I predict the show will reach about 5 episodes and then the network will have a decision to make about pulling the plug. Grade: B-

Eastwick (Wednesdays at 10 PM) – While critics and bloggers alike have been divided on this whimsical series based on the John Updike novel and inspired by the box office smash Witches of Eastwick, this magical show, which stars Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price and Jaime Ray Newman as a trio of awakening witches with unique powers, garnered an impressive 8.5 million in its debut. And when you compare that to its CSI: NY competition on CBS, that number isn’t too bad. I want to believe that women will grab onto this show and not want to let go especially once they get a good look at all the eye candy – Matt Dallas (Kyle XY), Jason George (Eli Stone) – who will be joining the show for a few episodes – Johann Urb (Dirt), Jon Bernthal (Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian), Jack Huston (Outlander) and, of course, Paul Gross (who plays “devilish” Darryl Van Horn). I predict the show will still have a battle on its hands with ABC probably wavering on what to do, but will hopefully stick with it for at least the full order of the series. Grade: B-

FlashForward (Thursdays at 8 PM) – The most-talked about, highly-anticipated series of the fall season is hands-down FlashForward; the one series that has been likened to Lost – in terms of its cast heavy highly-serialized format. In its series debut the show racked up 12.4 million viewers, had the internet buzzing the next morning and the viewing public wanting more. I don’t think the network will have to worry about making a decision on this show, as the audience has already made it very clear they want FlashForward to stick around for quite some time. The premise of the series is a worldwide catastrophe occurs with everyone on the planet blacking out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, seeing glimpses of their lives six months in the future. The ramifications of this universal black out will be profound. Grade: A

CBS:

NCIS: Los Angeles (Tuesdays at 9 PM) – This spin-off of NCIS (which itself was a spin-off of the highly successful CBS series JAG) came out of the gate and wiped the floor with its competition, hitting the ratings mark of 18.3 million viewers in its debut. Set against the backdrop of California and covering the lives of agents working undercover surveillance for the Office of Special Projects, a division of NCIS, who are charged with apprehending dangerous criminals that pose a threat to the nation’s security, really seemed to capture viewers and take them on a roller coaster ride of action and intrigue. Whether you are a fan of the series or averse to procedurals, the truth of the matter is the ratings were phenomenal for this series and CBS would be foolish to do anything with this series except keep the episodes coming. Grade: A+

The Good Wife (Tuesdays at 10 PM) – Making a triumphant return to television, playing yet another lawyer (previously appearing in the short-lived FOX series Canterbury’s Law) is Julianna Margulies. The Good Wife is about a wife and mother who must assume full responsibility for her family and re-enter the workforce as a defense attorney after her husband’s (Chris Noth) very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail. The series was watched by 13.7 million viewers on its debut night. Compared to previous series that aired in that time period, this is a fantastic number, which will move the network to keep the series around for the long haul. Grade: B-

Three Rivers (Sundays at 9 PM) – This new medical drama should be a hit with the viewers, as it has the prerequisite good looking doctors and what appears to be intense and gripping stories: organ transplants at one of the preeminent hospitals in the country. What could be a good show may hold up (at least for the short term) or it could possibly turn out to be a dud despite the creative team and cast involved. The pilot was not as weak as I had anticipated, but I will hold my full judgment on the show until I see a couple more episodes. Grade: C

FOX:

Glee – (Wednesday at 9 PM) – This musicomedy created a storm of interest among viewers and critics alike starting earlier this year and hasn’t really disappointed. This unique series about an optimistic high school teacher who volunteers to run the school’s Glee Club with the hope of returning it to its former glory may not be everyone’s idea of a family-friendly drama, as it can be brazen and harsh in its stereotyping, but it can also be enlightening and rip-roaringly hysterical. The dialogue is whip-smart (and smart aleck), the musical numbers are extremely entertaining and the skills of the talented cast are second to none. While the premiere and subsequent episodes have garnered 7 million viewers or less, I doubt the network that has been home to The Simpsons for 20 years, will let this one go without a fight. And, Glee is the first new show to be picked up for a full season. Grade: B+

NBC:

Trauma (Mondays at 9 PM) – This adrenaline-filled, high-octane medical drama is set in the field, focusing on first responder paramedics who work for San Francisco General and reach victims of emergencies by land, sea or air. The pilot episode was watched by 6.9 million viewers and is a different look at what a medical show can be, but I think the show is too big for its own good. I honestly believe it will be hard for the show to live up to its own intentions, as how many disasters will the viewing public want to see on a weekly basis. Therefore, I think the series will perhaps last until mid-season and then the network will have to make the decision to let the show go. Grade: C-

Mercy (Wednesdays at 8 PM) – Watching the pilot of this very uneven, helter-skelter medical drama that focuses on the lives of the people who work at Mercy Hospital as seen through the eyes of those who know it best – its nurses – should have been like watching a grittier version of ER; but it has, thus far, not turned out that way. The characters, unfortunately, are not that likeable and the pilot seemed to have been pieced together by an inexperienced cast and crew. The debut episode garnered 8.2 million viewers, but whether the series can maintain that level is questionable at best. The only good things about the show are James Tupper (Men In Trees), who is simply wasted in a McDreamy-like role that could be SO much better and a crew which includes Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts (from Pushing Daisies) and Elizabeth “Liz” Heldens (from Friday Night Lights) who have stellar resumes and know how to make a much better show that this. The network will, more than likely, pull the plug on this disaster very quickly. Grade: D+ (and that’s only because I respect the creative team behind the show).

The CW:

The Vampire Diaries (Thursdays at 8 PM) – Based on the books by L. J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries focuses on Elena Gilbert and brother Jeremy, who tragically lost their parents in a car accident. Enter the mysterious new student at school, Stefan Salvatore, who isn’t all he seems – he’s a vampire – as is his brother, Damon – and you’ve got a love story in the making. The series, thus far, has performed well in the ratings – at least according to the CW’s standards – ranging between 3.8 and 4.8 million (which given the competition on Thursday nights at 9 PM is actually pretty good for this 5th-ranked network) and appears to have built up a loyal following already. Since the network needs a hit, and the show’s debut episode was the most watched premiere ever for the relatively newly monikered network, I don’t see it going anywhere. Grade: B+

Other:

Stargate Universe (Fridays at 9 PM) – As the next installment in the long-running Stargate franchise, this new version will feature a team of scientists, soldiers and civilians who flee for their lives through a Stargate portal, ending up stranded on an Ancient ship that is unable to change its programmed mission, causing the new inhabitants to encounter new races, new technologies and new enemies across the vastness of the universe. The reviews by critics and bloggers alike have been solid and if past history is any indication, this new version of the Stargate world will be off to a great start with longevity in its future. I predict Syfy will hold onto this series tightly. And, my impression based solely on the two-hour premiere is that I want to see and learn more about this darker and grittier world. Grade: B+

Coming Up:

V (Tuesdays at 8 PM) – This new ABC series will not debut until November 3 and has been hampered by not only a “temporary” shut-down in production (that lasted six weeks rather than the intended two weeks) but also the recently announced interruption of airings after only 4 episodes are shown because of the upcoming Olympics. However, this remake of the 1980’s mini-series turned short-run TV series is very much like the original only better. Giant spaceships appear over major cities all over the world, but this time an attractive woman appears via video on the outer panels of the ships, sending a message of peace to all below. These Visitors bring hope, cure disease and seem to be exactly what they claim to be: friendly. But also as in the original, these Visitors are more than they appear and that could be Earth’s undoing. The buzz has been strong despite the setbacks and I believe this show will garner interested viewers for at least the first few episodes. It will then be up to the writers to keep the stories solid and the actors to make the characters appealing, scary and interesting enough for the viewers wanting more. Grade: B+

White Collar (Fridays at 10 PM) – The USA Network will be debuting another new series to their already impressive line-up of shows. White Collar will premiere on October 23 and stars Matt Bomer (Chuck) as Neal Caffrey, a master con artist/thief who FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) springs from jail on the condition he help him catch bad guys. The rest of the cast includes Willie Garson (Sex and the City) and Tiffani Thiessen (90210) as Peter Burke’s wife Elizabeth. The trailers for this series make it appear comedic, action-packed and very entertaining (much like what the USA Network has become known for). I want to see the show perform well. Grade: B+

Cancellation:

The first cancellation of the 2009-2010 TV season came in the form of the CW series The Beautiful Life, which aired only two episodes and garnered roughly one million viewers each airing.

The End of Summer Means the Beginning of Fall TV!

It’s Labor Day here in the United States, the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of the fall TV season. It used to be that summer was all about reruns and nothing new debuted until mid-September. Not anymore. Thanks to cable and reality TV, the year ’round TV schedule is here. I’ve enjoyed some really terrific shows this summer – True Blood, Royal Pains, Leverage, The Closer, Warehouse 13, Psych – and am thankful that they were around to fill the creative void. But with most of those shows having already aired their season finales or about to, it’s time to take a look at what I’m planning to watch this fall.

Must-See-Live TV
These are the shows I can’t wait to watch, so will be plopping down to watch them live.

Eastwick
Bones
Glee
The Office
Castle
The Good Wife
The New Adventures of Old Christine
Dollhouse
Three Rivers
White Collar
Robin Hood

Will-DVR TV
These are the shows that I’m OK with watching the next day, or even catching up on the weekend, instead of watching them live.

Ugly Betty
30 Rock
The Mentalist
Fringe
Lie To Me

Will-Try TV
These are shows that look promising, but I’m not quite ready to commit to a season pass on the DVR just yet.

The Vampire Diaries
Community
FlashForward
Cougar Town
The Middle
V

Probably-Not-But-Could-Be-Convinced TV
It feels like I should want to watch these shows, but…I don’t. Convince me otherwise.

Accidentally On Purpose
The Forgotten

Looks like I’ll be spending a lot of time in front of the telly again! Time to haul out ye olde NordicTrack so this couch potato doesn’t get much fluffier. We’ll be covering a lot of these shows here on NiceGirlsTV, so stay tuned!