Q&A: Dec. 10
10/12/08 14:57
Question: You may have already answered this, but why did Boston Legal get canceled?
Mark Edmiston
Answer: Glad you asked. Declining ratings and escalating actor salaries -- for the likes of William Shatner, James Spader, Candice Bergen and John Larroquette -- are not a good mix for any network, especially in horrendous economic times. So the ax fell on Dec. 8th with a two-hour finale. Ironically, The Practice morphed into Boston Legal only after creator David E. Kelly pared both the cast and the show's operating costs. But then the cycle started anew, and that's show biz.
Question: I know NBC says it's returning in January, but I would like to know what you've heard about the future of Knight Rider.
Don Teague
Answer: NBC recently announced a Feb. 25th "season finale" for KR. But I think that'll also be the end of it.
Question: Does The Tim McCarver Show air in D-FW, and if so, when?
Peter Alexis
Answer: Activate your TIVO, DVR or VCR. McCarver's half-hour show is well-hidden at 3:30 a.m. Sundays on KTVT-TV (Ch. 11).
Question: Is Prison Break gone for good? Or is it just taking a hiatus. I know it is (was) a cheesy show, but darn addicting.
Dan Cantrell
Answer: This almost assuredly will be PB's fourth and final season. But Fox might bring it back for a two-hour wrapup early in 2009. Nothing official yet.
Question: What is with many of the network shows going an extra one, two or five minutes? Do they not understand how frustrating this is to the majority of viewers? D'oh!! Of course they do, they just don't care.
Kent Worley
Answer: That's a pretty good overall answer to your question, Kent. NBC more or less originated this concept with its "supersized" episodes of hit shows such as Friends. Lately, runovers are seen as a way to keep viewers from switching to another network at the top of the hour to catch a rival show in its entirety. Viewers get screwed, of course, but since when has that really mattered?
Question: What is the status of the Deadwood movies? And when will we see a new season of Big Love or Damages?
Andrea Allen
Answer: The Deadwood movies are still officially dead, say HBO executives. But I can help you with Damages and Big Love.
New seasons respectively start Wed., Jan 7th on FX and Sunday, Jan. 18th on HBO.
Mark Edmiston
Answer: Glad you asked. Declining ratings and escalating actor salaries -- for the likes of William Shatner, James Spader, Candice Bergen and John Larroquette -- are not a good mix for any network, especially in horrendous economic times. So the ax fell on Dec. 8th with a two-hour finale. Ironically, The Practice morphed into Boston Legal only after creator David E. Kelly pared both the cast and the show's operating costs. But then the cycle started anew, and that's show biz.
Question: I know NBC says it's returning in January, but I would like to know what you've heard about the future of Knight Rider.
Don Teague
Answer: NBC recently announced a Feb. 25th "season finale" for KR. But I think that'll also be the end of it.
Question: Does The Tim McCarver Show air in D-FW, and if so, when?
Peter Alexis
Answer: Activate your TIVO, DVR or VCR. McCarver's half-hour show is well-hidden at 3:30 a.m. Sundays on KTVT-TV (Ch. 11).
Question: Is Prison Break gone for good? Or is it just taking a hiatus. I know it is (was) a cheesy show, but darn addicting.
Dan Cantrell
Answer: This almost assuredly will be PB's fourth and final season. But Fox might bring it back for a two-hour wrapup early in 2009. Nothing official yet.
Question: What is with many of the network shows going an extra one, two or five minutes? Do they not understand how frustrating this is to the majority of viewers? D'oh!! Of course they do, they just don't care.
Kent Worley
Answer: That's a pretty good overall answer to your question, Kent. NBC more or less originated this concept with its "supersized" episodes of hit shows such as Friends. Lately, runovers are seen as a way to keep viewers from switching to another network at the top of the hour to catch a rival show in its entirety. Viewers get screwed, of course, but since when has that really mattered?
Question: What is the status of the Deadwood movies? And when will we see a new season of Big Love or Damages?
Andrea Allen
Answer: The Deadwood movies are still officially dead, say HBO executives. But I can help you with Damages and Big Love.
New seasons respectively start Wed., Jan 7th on FX and Sunday, Jan. 18th on HBO.