TCA Recaps: Let the Games Begin

We have a guest columnist this week: Kevin Kelly, former blogger for AOL's TV Squad, Cinematical and Gawker's io9, Kevin offered PTR his thoughts on some of the first days of the Television Critics Association's summer shindig - thanks Kev!


By Kevin Kelly
PTR Guest Columnist
www.generalrubbish.com




As a brief lesson to the uninitiated, the TCAs (Television Critics Association) are when the networks and cable channels have television critics from all over the country (and sometimes, the world) out to Los Angeles for two weeks to talk about what you should be watching on their channels. Translated, that means you sit through a lot of panels, and try to keep your eyes propped open Clockwork Orange style to glean information about the upcoming onslaught of new stuff from the boob tube.

Here’s an info-blast recapulation of the highlights from Day One. Take from it what you will, and be thankful you didn’t have to sit through two hours of The Hallmark Channel. We took a bullet for you on that one.

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Hallmark

The news: Hallmark is working on over 30 original movies, which means you’ll get to see mainstay stars like Ed Asner, John Schneider, Daphne Zuniga, and Donna Mills in constant rotation.

The quotes: There were some choice moments with the Hollywood stars of yesteryear, like Florence “Mrs. Brady” Henderson.

Florence Henderson on the Brady Kids doing reality television, and why she chose to do it: “I did it, and I uh… I don’t have to do it again. Christopher Knight asked me if I would come and counsel him and Adrianne after getting married on his show My Fair Brady, and I said ‘No, but maybe I’ll come and counsel the divorce.’” Looks like Carol Brady doesn’t care for the newest addition to the flock.

Cheech Marin also dropped the news that he and Tommy Chong will be getting together to do… something: “I loved being Cheech of Cheech & Chong. Are you kidding? Who wouldn’t? As a matter of fact, Tommy (Chong) and I are getting together and maybe doing something very quickly because time’s awasting here.” So, look for “something” soon.


HDNet

The news: Mark Cuban’s HDNet sometimes seems like a lifeline for independent films, but other times it seems like a floundering stab in the dark at trying to capture more moviegoing dollars. HDNet now premieres certain movies on Wednesday nights before they come out in the theaters on HDNet for “free,” meaning if you’re a subscriber to that channel, it’s free. Basically it’s a dumb way of saying “you’re paying for it.” You know, like the movies you see on HBO are “free.”

They also have new Ultra Video On Demand program that shows films in hotels and on cable several weeks before they come out. Is it working? Well, they released the movie Flawless with Michael Caine and Demi Moore, which did about one million dollars at the box office, and then about two million more through DVD and on demand. It’s not exactly huge hucks, but hopefully it’ll give independent film a new outlet and format to reach audiences.

The quote: Peter Bogdanovich (who directed the amazing The Last Picture Show in 1971) has made career change over the last several years by playing dour doctors. He was psychiatrist Dr. Elliot Kupferberg in The Sopranos, and now appears as a doctor in Humboldt County, appearing on HDNet. When asked how they were paid on a fairly low-budget project, he responded with, “They paid us in pot.” Talk about product placement.



BBC America

The news: BBC America is launching three new shows on their network, as well as adding Ted Koppel of Nightline fame as a contributor to BBC World News America, which is a fairly refreshing slant on US news through the eyes of people who aren’t US citizens. The new shows are:

Britz: A highly-charged show about a Muslim brother and sister living in the UK. Things take a radical turn when the sister begins training to become a suicide bomber. It looks fairly shocking, and more in-your-face about certain issues that you probably wouldn’t see on television over here.

The quote: This was far too serious for me to make a pithy joke about, so I’ll just repeat how strong and refreshing the subject matter seemed.

Gavin & Stacey: This popular UK sitcom features a guy from Essex who falls in love with a girl from Wales, and hilarity ensues. I hadn’t heard of this show previously, mostly because BBC shows that aren’t Doctor Who are a mystery to me. However, the two main stars James Corden and Ruth Jones were pretty damn funny.

The quote: James wanted everyone to know that, “The BBC made it clear they’d greenlight the show if we promised to deliver me in a thong.” And yes, both he and Ruth appear in said thong.

Primeval: The BBC still has a choke-hold on schlocky science fiction, and by that I don’t mean it’s bad, I just mean they can really churn this stuff out. As an admitted Doctor Who and Torchwood fan, Primeval seems right up the same alley. It’s about to enter it’s third season in the UK, and stars Douglas Henshall as Professor Nick Cutter, who investigates “anomalies” that bring dinosaurs from prehistoric days into the present.

The quote: Douglas Henshall was asked about some of the filming locations, and reminisced about a Victorian sewage plant they shot it, “It looked fantastic, but every time you turned around in the wind you just kind of thought, what is that smell?” Maybe they’re striving for authenticity.



Style Network/ G4 / E!

Comcast had an odd mix of shows for us, presenting a new reality show for the Style Network, and touting two of their long-running shows on G4 and E! Thankfully the latter two came at the end of the day when the energy needle was bouncing on zero, and it helped wake me up and carry me through the evening.

Ruby: The Style Network has a pretty ambitious new reality show called Ruby, about a woman who weighs over 500 pounds and is trying to get down to 145. She’s an incredibly sweet Southern woman, who at one point weighed over 700 pounds, or the equivalent of seven Hollywood wannabe starlets. This is a big (sorry, bad pun) gamble for Style, and it’s not really clear what will happen if Ruby doesn’t lose the weight. Body positive image powers: activate!

The quote: When asked about her age Ruby said, “I’m fibbing, but can we say 30? People are surprised I’ll tell my weight but I won’t tell my age, but I’ve never been married! Southern people would call me an old maid if I told my age.”

Attack of the Show!: G4’s pop-culture show is something that tends to fly like a rocket over the heads of people over the age of 35, which was heavily reflected in the older audience of the TCAs. Most people were clearly thinking “Huh?” when hosts Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn busted out some raunchy humor. Even Pereira’s “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your Scrabulous games” to the sleepy TCA gang went underappreciated.

The quote: Olivia Munn on when she and Kevin would finally consummate their on-screen sexual tension, to which Olivia replied “Well, he already put it in my ass, which is technically not doing it yet.” This garnered a few gasps from some of the older TCA members, who should lighten up a peg or two.

The Soup: Talk Soup has been on the air in one form or another since 1991, and Joel McHale is the fifth host to assume the host duties. If you haven’t seen it (and what rock are you living under?) The Soup crawls through hours of television every week and presents the wackiest bits on Friday nights. McHale proved that it isn’t just the writers on the show that make him funny when he joked his way through the entire panel.

The quote: Joel McHale on the wealth of material provided by his own network, “Ryan Seacrest alone is responsible for 75 percent of our material. I love that little Hobbit.”