TV Critic Spring, the New Fall The TCA (Television Critic Association) Winter 2007 Press Tour featured a parade of TV shows, some that were hot and others that were not. Each day during the tour a different network presented their new and returning shows for us critics to love or to tear apart.

Richard Koscher

NBC

The Apprentice — One day after receiving his star on the walk of fame, Donald Trump took the stage and fielded questions by critics regarding the poor ratings that The Apprentice received in its sixth season.

Donald explained the low ratings by saying that he hadn’t even watched the last episode, himself, on Sunday since he was at one of the play-off games. In addition, he noted that the show was facing tough competition during the upcoming weeks, but predicted that the ratings would improve as the series progresses. (Yes, he did mention the Rosie O’Donnell uproar, but we should all try to get over that.)

Heroes — Another of NBC’s returning smash hits is Heroes, which is an epic drama chronicling the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world. Masi Oka who plays Hiro Nakamaura — a character who develops a way to stop time through the power of his mind — commented on the subtitles, which he thought effectively connected the series to the comic book. The biggest battle that these heroes must now wage is against Jack Bauer, whose 24 is in the same Monday time slot.

Andy Barker, P.I. — One of the new shows on NBC is a brainchild of Conan O’Brien. He is the creator and executive producer of Andy Barker, P.I. — a comedy in which Andy Richter portrays Andy Barker, an earnest, hard-working CPA who had succeeded in everything, until his new accounting business failed to take off. But when he was mistaken for Lew Staziak, the retired private detective who used to occupy his storefront office, Andy embraces the twist of fate and accepts his new double life as accountant and private investigator.

The first four episodes look promising. Although it seems a little slow at times, Andy Richter is funny and you will see the show improving per episode.

Other Shows — Also new for NBC this season is Raines, starring Jeff Goldblum, and The Black Donnellys created by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco. Far less exciting is Grease – You’re the one that I want. (But for most of us, not really.)

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip will also return to finish its season. I think the fact that the season is hanging on is a favor to Aaron Sorkin. I don’t expect Studio 60 to answer the bell next season. It is beloved by critics, but viewers keep turning it off and ratings continue to plummet.

Scrubs, on the other hand, just got renewed for a seventh season. Season Six finished with a “musical” episode, which was supposed to be the show’s finale. However, the producer told us that the network will keep the show running as long as viewers keep tuning in.

CBS

Jericho — CBS is continuing its new hit show Jericho. I can’t shake the feeling that the town is suffering from a power outage rather than a nuclear catastrophe. The producers promised to provide us some answers when the show returns. We’ll finally learn who the man of mystery, Robert Hawkins, really is — whether a friend or a foe. The show will also reveal what Jake Green’s past really was.

Jericho has been trying to follow the same idea as 24 by having a non-stop season. Jericho was completely off the air while producers created subsequent episodes that have now begun to air. They have thus preserved the continuity of the series by running episodes consecutively from the first to the most current one without breaking the flow of the story by reruns. Viewers who want to see the first season must rent the DVD. And then they should watch the episodes from the first to the last.

This American Life — My favorite TV show by far on the CBS press day was Showtime’s new series This American Life. The show is hosted by Ira Glass, who for the past 15 years was the host for the radio version that ran on the Chicago Public Radio.

Showtime moved the concept from radio to television. Each episode reveals dramatic stories of people who have unusual experiences that change them in some way. This American Life is funny, real, surprising, unscripted, and true. It is what Reality TV ought to be. All by itself it is worth the price of a subscription to Showtime. Viewers can do a free pod cast of the radio show over iTunes.

Rules of Engagement — Rules of Engagement is a much less-compelling new offering by CBS. David Spade stars in a rather boring and not-very-funny version of FOX’s ’Till Death plus adding one other character. You can take a miss on this show.

CW

The CW Network is easily overlooked by all the hype generated by the big networks. They’ve had to go through a re-branding of their name following the merger of UPN and WB. Viewers really had to look for the shows that they came to love. And they did. Shows like The Gilmore Girls, Smallville, and Veronica Mars all found a strong fan base. My partner thinks that Veronica Mars is the best-written show on TV.

CW’s WWE’s testosterone-laced Smackdown is constantly raising its ratings.

Everybody Hates Chris — Everybody This show has been overlooked by the critics, but CW renewed it for a third season. At the press conference Chris Rock, who is the executive producer for the show, as well as the show’s subject, was asked the indelicate question if he would hire Michael Richards after his outburst at a standup comedy club.

“Would I offer a job to Michael Richards? Wow, I don’t know. Probably. I don’t know. I mean, I’d have to make sure all the other non–“n***” screaming people didn’t need jobs first.” That got a laugh.

Hidden Palms — Hidden Palms is another new show on the CW network. Kevin Williamson, who produced such hits as Dawson’s Creek and the three Screams, is the executive producer for this O.C.-like mystery drama.

Pussycat Dolls - The search for the next Doll — And last but not least (well, maybe least), CW is producing their version of American Idol. Producers of Pussycat Dolls – Search for the new Doll, like those behind NBC’s Grease – You’re the one that I want, insist that they are not copying FOX’s American Idol, but it is still difficult to shake the feeling that they did their homework by watching Idol and are now trying to cash in on Idols amazing success.

Lil’ Kim, one of Pussycat’s judges, showed up at the press conference. She and the producers who were present used buzzwords like “empowering,” and “celebrating women.” By doing so, they really set Lil’ Kim up for a barbed question from one critic:

“Your unspoken tagline is ‘Don’t you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?’ In what way does that ‘celebrate’ other women?” The producers made the obvious responses that there is a lid for every pot and the show is not for everybody. However, Pussycat’s is an acquired taste. It is certainly not in good taste.

FOX

The FOX executives were the people with the brightest smiles at the press tour. Even though they lack favorites like Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, or CSI, they own television’s “Death Star,” which is one of the terms used by other networks when referring to American Idol.

American Idol — It’s tough to compete with a show that draws 82 million viewers and none of the other networks have dared to send in their “storm troopers” to fight against the “Idol beast,” as Variety Magazine has called it.

Simon, Randy, Paula, and Ryan were on the stage together to answer questions from the critics who were a little frustrated by the fact that the four of them had taken their places with absolutely no apology for showing up an hour late.

They were immediately asked if the show had gone overboard in being too rude to contestants.

Simon responded, “I take your point. This is a singing competition so why should I call someone a ‘bush baby.’” He further added;

There are times, trust me, when I watch it afterwards and just think, ‘God, I wish I hadn’t have said that!’ And I sometimes ask, ‘Why did they leave that in the show?’

American Idol is like a force of nature. As long as they can continue to attract 80 million viewers, it would be folly to mess with the format.

24 — Of course FOX has other shows that are doing remarkably well. Thirty-three million viewers watched the season premier of 24.

At the FOX All-Star party I met one of the stars, the very talented Carlo Rota who plays Morris O’Brian. Carlo was best known to American audiences for his five seasons as Mick Schtoppel on the USA Network's smash hit La Femme Nikita. I asked him how it felt to be Chloe’s ex-husband.

“Fantastic!” he said.

I also asked him how many times people try to get details from him about the upcoming episodes.

“Look,” he said “It’s like a magic trick! If I gave it away they wouldn’t tune in to find out for themselves.”

The mystery works for me, because I will keep tuning in for 24 every Monday — right after Prison Break, which is another hit that came out of nowhere and continues to captivate audiences.

Drive — A lot of new shows are premiering on FOX this spring. One of them, Drive, set the record for having the most cast members at one time on the TCA stage.

Drive is an action-fueled drama that follows a diverse group of Americans competing for their lives (or the lives of their loved ones) in an illegal, underground cross-country road race. Some of the entrants were coerced into joining the race, others sought it out for themselves after hearing rumors of a $32-million prize for the winner. Each competitor has his/her own reason to compete, and each for that reason simply must win.

The show harks back to The Amazing Race and also reminds me of the 1998 movie The Game with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn.

Drive launches its first season with a three-hour episode shown in two parts beginning on Sunday, April 15th, and concluding the next day.

The Wedding Bells — Another FOX newcomer, The Wedding Bells, is a romantic dramedy (drama+comedy) about a family-owned wedding planning business dedicated to helping its clients live happily ever after. Or at least until the couple gets to the parking lot.

The partners in the business are called upon to deal with everything from high-maintenance bridezillas and their families, to cases of extreme wedding-day jitters.

Review copies of the pilot are still not available, but the first previews look very funny and promising.

It reminded me of Four Weddings and a Funeral. The show will premier Friday March 9th.

The Winner — FOX’s other new show, The Winner, is a new comedy by Seth MacFarlane, creator of the animated hit Family Guy and American Dad. This is Seth’s first experience with live-action comedy.

The Winner portrays a 32-year-old man who is still living with his parents. The theme is obviously reminiscent of The 40-year-old Virgin. Rob Corddry’s hilarious acting is the only good thing that makes it at least a watchable show. Watch for its premier on March 4th.

The Simpsons — At the very end of FOX’s presentation we got a real treat. Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, producers of The Simpsons previewed their new Simpsons movie, plus they gave us insights into the TV show’s 400th episode.

This will be a double-episode. One of them is a satire of 24 in which Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub do the voices. And the second part of the double feature deals with TV censorship.

Not to give anything away: keep your eye out for Ken Brockman to be fined by the FCC.

Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer, showed us how he transformed the character between the first season and the current one.

“I needed more power behind the voice,” Dan said. “I needed to find a more comfortable area in my throat to create Homer’s guttural voice.”

He also shared that Homer’s famous “d’oh!” was inspired by Jim Finlayson in his Laurel and Hardy role.

It was great watching while the voice of Homer came alive in an instant before our eyes.

The experience was a strange one — like a parlor trick or like watching someone suddenly switch languages and ethnicity.

Going with the “Zeitgeist”

The technology that runs the world of media we are living in is always evolving and improving.

One of the evolutionary and revolutionary things that is currently going on is how easy it is becoming to watch TV shows online. All the networks are making efforts to provide free online versions of their shows. Now we can easily catch up on episodes or even whole seasons of shows that we missed.

I’ve described part of the great variety of the offerings that are planned for the spring season ahead.

I’m already looking forward to July’s Summer Press Tour. Five more months; I’m counting! Stay tuned!