Rueben’s Ramblings

In three weeks’ time, the major networks will make their upfront presentations in New York City to the advertisers. This is a crucial time for viewers, who are waiting in anticipation for the final announcements of what shows will be returning this fall and which shows have been canceled (beyond the shows that have already received early renewals or have …

Since the early days of television, there has always been the faithful sidekick. Lucy had Ethel on I Love Lucy, Batman had Robin on the classic TV series Batman, the Skipper had Gilligan on Gilligan’s Island and Buffy had Xander and Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The faithful sidekick, over the decades, has also been seen in different ways …

Every TV season there is always one show that strikes a chord with the fans; one show that moves fans, not only by its compelling or captivating storylines and/or interesting characters but also by its compelling nature, holding the rapt attention of its viewers week after week. Next month, the “suits” will be making that all-important decision about which shows …

We are only a few days into April and there is plenty of new programming – both new shows and movies – coming up in both April and May The following list highlights the new programming options for April and May: On April 3, the DirecTV drama Rogue will debut at 9 PM. The series stars Thandie Newton as a …

This coming Friday, I will venture to Anaheim (California) for WonderCon 2013, which lasts until Sunday, March 31 (yes, Easter Sunday!). As I’m sure most of you know, by now, WonderCon 2013 is the precursor to the annual Comic Con that has been held in San Diego for well over four decades now. Some of the big events that will …

Much like horror movies have been around since pretty much the invention of the silent film, the same can be said about horror-laced TV shows that date back as early as many of the stories shown on The Twilight Zone in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Horror shows – or what they are more commonly termed as thrillers now-a-days …

It’s that time of year again – the major networks are quickly getting their new pilot orders made, making casting announcements left and right and creating as much buzz about their new projects as they can. But each year there are so few pilots that are actually picked up to series by the major networks that a lot of good …

We are only a few days into March and while there tends to be a lot of repeats during the doldrums of this month, there are still a few new dramas to look out for and a handful of mini-series to check out. The list that follows highlights those new programming options for March: This past Sunday saw the debut …

PaleyFest is coming, PaleyFest is coming. This weekend will start the annual fete known as PaleyFest 2013 that is coordinated by the Paley Center for Media, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. If you aren’t familiar with the Paley Center for Media by now, you should know that the center was founded by pioneer radio-turned-TV man William S. Paley in …

What a difference a few months make, right? Just when NBC had finally made a positive move, reaching the top of the pyramid where the major networks are concerned in terms of ratings anyway, the situation took a turn for the worse around the holidays with their top new drama Revolution going on hiatus at the end of November and …