Archive for April, 2011
Donald Trump: Is He Hurting NBC?
Apr 29th
We generally try and avoid politics here at Remote Patrolled but with all the press coverage Donald Trump’s been attracting recently the worlds of entertainment and politics seem to have come together as one!
By now you of course know the full story. Celebrity Apprentice bigwig Donald Trump is considering a Presidential run in 2012 and has been talking a big game over the last few weeks – attacking President Obama and forcing him into revealing his birth certificate. Of course now that the certificate is out Trump STILL isn’t happy and is questioning Obama’s college grades and taking more potshots at the President.
It’s a juicy story for the press and they’ve certainly obliged The Donald with plenty of coverage. Meanwhile several Hollywood celebrities – notably Whoopi Goldberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby and Cher – have all weighed in and attacked Trump. Meanwhile let’s not forget Donald still hasn’t officially announced he’s running for president – and says he won’t and can’t make any announcement until the current season of Celebrity Apprentice finishes in a few weeks time.
First Look: ‘Geordie Shore’ – The British Jersey Shore
Apr 27th
Check out the just released trailer for Geordie Shore, the Brit version of the famous MTV hit – coming soon to UK TV screens…
It’s a well worn rowdy formula and the casting is pretty much exactly the same as Jersey Shore – juiced up guys and big breasted ‘babes’ who live for drinking, partying and tanning!
Of course British TV isn’t exactly short of tacky behavior in the first place – after all this is a country that’s featured 10 seasons of Big Brother and increasingly insane behavior on the part of its housemates (four words: Kinga Inserts Wine Bottle).
Plus no-one drinks like Brits do in the first place – so I doubt there’ll be quite the controversy that followed the launch of Jersey Shore…
Here’s the trailer… somewhere Jane Austen is rolling over in her grave!
The Voice: First Impressions
Apr 27th
Okay everyone – here we go!
NBC’s The Voice premiered last night on NBC and later today we’ll get the first ratings in. So will the show be a big old bomb as I predicted or will American Idol finally have some competition on its hands?
Personally I think the show will debut to decent numbers – around 8 million viewers and a 3.2 18-49 share – but just like Paula Abdul’s Live To Dance it’ll slip week after week and be dead by the start of summer. I’m afraid I still stick by many of the comments in my original post – and with Fox scheduling a 90 minute Glee as a spoiler I think there’s an additional reason the show may struggle in the ratings. But what about the show itself – was it any good.
So here’s the thing – I watched about 45 minutes of The Voice last night and thought it was okay. It’s certainly not a train wreck and the format itself – with its revolving chairs – played less goofy that I thought it would.
Safety Last: How Some TV Shows Put Their Producers At Risk
Apr 26th
A few weeks ago I had dinner with a good friend of mine who’d recently returned from shooting a new TV show for a major cable network.
My friend told me how hard the show was, how difficult the talent had been and other behind the scenes gossip (this is pretty standard – as TV producers we all love to complain and share stories) But one thing he mentioned really stuck with me. Turns out my friend had been shooting and on the road for 8 weeks straight without a single day off! Yep 56 days of non-stop work with no breaks! Seriously.
I’ll be honest – I was pretty appalled and kept asking my friend how this had been allowed to happen. But to be honest I already knew the answer. It was the usual excuse ‘there was just no budget’. Hmm, where have I heard that one before?
The X Factor USA: Will Cheryl Cole And Paula Abdul Be Part Of The Panel?
Apr 25th
Remember towards the end of last year when we were all speculating as to who would join the American Idol judging panel for the show’s 10th Season? Well we all know how that turned out didn’t we!
I remember at the time wondering how good a choice Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler would be – speculating that while I thought J Lo might bring some decent critiques to the mix (which she has at times), Tyler probably wouldn’t (and sadly he’s even worse than I feared).
Well a few months down the line and here we are discussing who will join the X Factor panel – Simon Cowell’s US version of his massive Brit hit. We already know that Cowell and music producer LA Reid (who always makes me think of the Pink song Don’t Let Me Get Me in which he’s name-checked) are part of the line-up – but which two girls will be joining them?
In the UK The X Factor originally featured Sharon Osbourne. Then Dannii Minogue (Kylie’s sister) was added. And later Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole joined the mix.
Guest Starring: Robert Pattinson’s Fantasy Film Past…
Apr 22nd
It’s Guest Starring time again here at Remote Patrolled – our look back at some of today’s biggest names BEFORE they became famous…
This weekend he’s starring in Water For Elephants in movie theaters, alongside Reese Witherspoon and Christopher Waltz, but 7 years ago Robert Pattinson was just another jobbing Brit actor trying to make his name and taking on any work that would pay the bills…
Here’s Pattinson in 2004′s Ring of the Nibelungs, a German fantasy mini series that also featured Terminator 3 star Kristinna Loken, Julian Sands and Max Von Sydow. You’ll spot Robert straight away – he’s the one with the rather dodgy mullet!
Richard Recommends: The Killing
Apr 19th
Is it just me or is there a lot of seriously good TV airing at the moment?
A few weeks ago it was a bit of a struggle to find good shows – but now there’s so many options my DVR is getting pretty backed up!
It’s been great to have Nurse Jackie back again (though the show’s a tad off the boil so far this season) and I’ve been working my way through Mildred Pierce on HBO, starring the always terrific Kate Winslet. Meanwhile The Borgias and Game Of Thrones are impatiently awaiting my attention.
Notice the common factor in all of the above? They all air on cable. And what have the broadcast nets given us so far this year – The Chicago Code, Mad Love, Happy Endings, Chaos, Mr Sunshine and The Paul Reiser Show. Kind of pitiful isn’t it.
Keep Or Cancel? CBS
Apr 18th
It’s our final Keep Or Cancel for a while – and this time around it’s CBS, probably the healthiest off all the broadcast networks.
CBS has plenty of solid hits on its schedule but like all networks, if it’s going to premiere new series in the Fall, it’ll need to clear some room. So who stays and who goes – here’s how it’s shaping up at the moment…
Cool Clip: The T-Mobile Royal Wedding
Apr 17th
Okay, I don’t know about you but I’m already TOTALLY over the Royal Wedding.
With non-stop TV specials and endless Today Show segments I feel I already know more than enough about William, Kate and every little intricate detail of the wedding. I’m just glad I don’t live in England anymore, I dread to think how intense the coverage is there…
But this video, doing the viral rounds at the moment, did make me smile.
The T-Mobile team have jumped on board the wedding dance bandwagon (remember that Chris Brown video from a couple of years ago) and imagined what the Royal Wedding might look like set to music. The song is House Of Love by UK 90′s boy-band, East 17 and while the dancing is pretty borderline, the video has some good moments – especially when Charles and Camilla enter…
Check out the clip below – and let me know what you think. Plus tell me – are you as bored by all the Royal Wedding fever as I am?
Ratings Roundup: 17th April 2011
Apr 17th
WINNERS
SHARK TANK: Wow, a tough week all round for network and cable. There were so many losers this week I’m actually struggling to find any good news!
Still here’s a little sliver of hope for ABC who had a mixed week overall – Friday night’s Shark Tank was up 25% to a strong-for-Fridays 5.3 million viewers and a 1.5 18-49 share. That’s better then fellow unscripted shows like What Would You Do and Kitchen Nightmares – and costly scripted series Friday Night Lights, Chaos and Fringe.
Of course it wasn’t all good news for ABC! The 2-hour Brothers And Sisters special on Sunday night performed well below expectations and proved conclusively that the show is on its last legs (6.47 million and a 1.8 18-49 share). Meanwhile new Wednesday night comedy, Happy Endings, premiered with just 7.3 million and a 2.8 18-49 share – a count that will doubtless fall in the weeks to come. But the real problem for ABC lies earlier in the evening – check out struggling newcomer Better With You which this week managed just 4.84 million and a 1.5 youth share. Ouch!
