May 24, 2007

CBS Clip Show: The Big Bang Theory, Viva Laughlin, Cane, Moonlight

Now that the network upfronts are out, and we have gotten the show descriptions, they are starting to get some clips of those shows out there. All trying to get you excited about their new offerings and drum up ad support. The first clips I have gotten to look at are for new CBS series The Big Bang Theory, Viva Laughlin, Cane, and Moonlight.

Jump right to the clips? Big Bang Theory, Cane, Moonlight, Viva Laughlin 1 2 3

First up is The Big Bang Theory, which I have seen someone describe as a retread of Stacked, the defunct Pam Anderson sitcom that ran for a brief time on Fox. That description seems apt. It features a hot, but not terribly bright, blonde (at least at first glance) surrounded by a few guys with definite leanings towards the nerd side of life. This will be filling the hole left by the cancelled Jason Ritter series, The Class, in between hits How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men. Frankly, I don't see this one going anywhere, and as goofy as The Class was, I think I am going to miss it. The new series features Johnny Galecki (Roseanne, Suicide Kings) as one of the nerds and Kaley Cuoco (Eight Simple Rules, Charmed) as the sexy neighbor. The clip has the guys talking in the living room, interrupted by a towel clad Kaley with a shower problem. I don't know, the humor strikes me as forced and not terribly funny. Take a look at the clip and judge for yourself.

Viva Lauglin is a musical/drama that will be on Thursday night and has the starpower of Hugh Jackman as executive producer. In addition to his screen credit, he will also have a recurring role. The series follows a businessman who has a strong desire to get a casino going in Laughlin, NV. I am intrigued by the musical aspects, but am unsure how well it will work for a television series. CBS has offered three clips of the show, two of them featuring musical numbers, and they have served to interest me even more, even without much of the surrounding context, they offer something different to the primtime landscape. The first clip is of Hugh Jackman, arriving via helicopter and singing the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" as he makes his entrance from the roof down into the casino. Second clip features Owen Lloyd, as Ripley Holden, singing Elvis Presley's "Viva, Las Vegas." The last clip is a non-singing meeting between the two where Lloyd is trying to get Jackman to buy in as an investor. The series, a remake of the UK series Blackpool, looks good, I am eager to see how it plays out.

Jimmy Smits co-stars with Nestor Carbonell and Hector Elizondo, at least in this clip, of the new drama Cane. The show centers on a family who has made a fortune in the rum and sugar business, the family is at a crossroads and the son(Carbonell) and the brother-in-law(Smits) of the Duque family have differing views on the future of the business. This clip has the two butting heads with Elizondo in between as they talk about pursuing sugar, as opposed to rum, as the primary export. I cannot say that it excites me, but the three featured in the clip I like.

The final show in this group of clips is the vampiric series Moonlight. Taking cues from Forever Knight and Angel, features a vampire working as a detective. I like the idea, and still have attachments to Angel, so I am interested in how this one plays out, but this clip has left me less than excited. In the bit, we see Alex O'Loughlin, as Nick St. John, in his first moments as a member of the undead, being turned by his lover. This really left me flat, what with the voiceover and all, it just seemed like I had seen it many times before. Still, I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. We shall see.

We shall see, indeed.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are out of your mind with the Big Bang Theory. First of all, you can't judge a whole show based on a 48 second clip. At least look at the full preview here :

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/fall_preview_2007/?source=reprise+Yahoo+Upfront_Big-Bang-Theory+Big$Bang$Theory

This show is very funny. Are you aware that this show is from Chuck Lorre of Two and Half Men and many other sitcom hits. I think I trust Chuck Lorre over your stupid opinion. If you miss this show you are going to miss the next hit. Mediaweek already did a story how advertisers already see this show as a winner and are buying up lots of advertising on it.

And to call How I Met Your Mother a hit is also ridiculous. With HIMYM's ratings it barely missed the CBS cut.

You don't have a clue if you think that the Big Bang Theory will not make it.

Chris said...

Thank you for your opinion. Still don't think much of it. Mother's ratings are good enough to come back for is it a third season now? Maybe not a bona fide hit, but one that is good enough.

As for Chuck Lorre, well if he is behind Two and A Half Men, well, stock has dropped a bit as I don't particularly care that show either, and I have given it a shot, it is as oddly popular as Will & Grace was....

Anonymous said...

Here read this. I believe the media buyers word on The Big Bang Theory a lot more than your stupid word. See here :

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003587789

Anonymous said...

Did you read that mediaweek article ? Somehow I think media buyers know a little more about what will be successful show than you do. I just think watching 47 seconds of a show and condemning it is plain stupid.

Chris said...

No, not yet. I just wasn't impressed by the concept, and the clip seemed forced. Nowhere did I condemn it, although there are not many sitcoms that have impressed me, and I am still a little bitter over the cancellation of Arrested Development.

While I seem to have struck a nerve, thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

Well read the article and watch the full 4 minute preview and you may change your mind. Arrested Development has nothing to do with this show. It is funny. It comes from Chuck Lorre with famed Director James Burrows also, and media buyers are buying into the show. That is good enough for me over any opinion you can offer.

Chris said...

I'll take a look. I may make snap opinions at times, but I am willing to try just about anything. Hell, I liked Stacked, and that was not a good show. I know AD has nothing to do with this, I just hate good shows cut down before there time.

And for comparison, my top sitcoms that are on right now are The Office, Scrubs, and Everybody Hates Chris (a name that seems to apply to me at times).

Anonymous said...

Look, I am not here to pick a fight with you, but I just think it is very irresponsible to be a 47 second clip and judging a whole show by it. The full clip is much more in depth, and I think the media buyers view is a real barometer of what people are thinking about the potential success of a show. Personally, I think it is very funny.

Chris said...

The whole thing is, I was not judging the show, I was stating an opinion on the materials that I had at hand. Will I give it a shot? Quite possibly. As far as media buyers, I could frankly care less, and that is no offense intended towards you. All I want is a quality show in any form. I don't feel media buyers are a good judge, they judge popularity, not quality, which are two very different things.

Again, I wasn't judging the show, I will save that until I can see an episode or two.

Anonymous said...

http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/ENTERTAINMENT/705170321

Sunday
7: "60 Minutes"
8: "Viva Laughlin"
9: "Cold Case"
10: "Shark"
*****************************
http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/upfronts/cbs-puts-vampires-swingers-exciting-social-experiments-involving-schoolchildren-on-the-fall-schedule-260930.php

Sundays
7 p.m. - "60 Minutes"
8 p.m. - "Viva Laughlin" (new)
9 p.m. - "Cold Case"
10 p.m. - "Shark"

Anonymous said...

CanWest picks up 'Cane,' 'Cashmere'
Simulcasting makes Canuck nets pick early
By TAMSEN TILLSON



'Cane' star Jimmy Smits, right, and CBS Par Int'l TV's Armando Nunez pressed the flesh with international TV buyers at the L.A. Screenings.


Lucy Liu starrer 'Cashmere Mafia" from Sony, slated Stateside by ABC, has been picked up by CanWest.

TORONTO -- In one of the first big deals to be confirmed out of this year's L.A. Screenings, Canada's CanWest MediaWorks has filled its shopping cart with new series pickups including the Jimmy Smits-led Latino family drama "Cane," the Kelsey Grammer-Patricia Heaton sitcom "Back to You," the return of "Bionic Woman" and the femme ensembler "Cashmere Mafia."
Unlike buyers elsewhere, who can wait until the fall to make their purchases, the Canadian nets have to make their picks early because of U.S. simulcasting. The CanWest pickups will be skedded in about two weeks on its Global and newly rebranded E! (formerly CH) networks.

CanWest execs headed to L.A. knowing that the market has soured on serialized drama after offerings last year such as "Kidnapped" and "Vanished" failed to replicate the success of "Lost." So episodic programming with simpler storylines was expected to step up to the plate.

Instead, according to CanWest senior VP programming and production Barb Williams, the studios have come up with a new hybrid of the two, "a blend of a strong episodic that a viewer could get in and out of cleanly with an added story arc that keeps bringing them back week after week."

Fitting that mold are pickups like CBS Paramount Intl. TV's "Cane," about a Cuban-American family in the rum and sugar business in Miami that has generated strong buzz in numerous territories; NBC Universal Intl. TV's "Life," in which an offbeat detective returns to the force after serving time for a crime he didn't commit, directed by "Studio 60's" David Semel; and 20th Century Fox TV's romantic time-travel mystery "Journeyman."

CanWest has also picked up "Bionic Woman," starring Michelle Ryan, from NBC U; and Sony Pictures Intl. TV's Hugh Jackman, Lloyd Owen and Melanie Griffith starrer "Viva Laughlin," a Vegas-inspired musical drama about the frenetic life of a casino owner, based on Blighty's "Viva Blackpool."

Sony's legal drama "Canterbury's Law," starring Julianna Margulies, is a midseason pickup, and "Cashmere Mafia," billed as "the female mind revealed," arrives after "Dancing With the Stars" wraps in November.

CanWest is giving top billing to the 20th Century Fox sitcom "Back to You," about a pair of battling local news anchors who reunite years after one of them moved up to the big time but then fell from grace.

Williams expects five or six of the pickups to go to Global and another six or so to air on E!. She noted that NBC U's "Heroes" and House" are prime lead-ins at 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, "and we'll be able to launch in behind those some brand new ones that will really capitalize on the power of those shows."

Rival CTV is breaking from tradition this year and for the time remaining mum about its purchases until its upfront presentation on June 4.

Anonymous said...

http://www.dingorue.com/2007/05/23/cbs-2007-2008-primetime-schedule/

Executive produced by Tony and Emmy Award winner Hugh Jackman (”The Boy from Oz,” “X-Men”), VIVA LAUGHLIN is a mystery drama with music about eternal optimist and freewheeling businessman Ripley Holden, whose sole ambition is to run a casino in Laughlin, Nev. Occasionally using upbeat contemporary songs to accentuate the drama and humor and advance the story, the series is based on the hit BBC show “Viva Blackpool.” Ripley (Lloyd Owen, “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”) is the ultimate gambler with an infectious personality who is on the brink of making a killing… just as soon as he opens his casino that’s nowhere near completion. When his financing suddenly falls through, the fearless and tenacious Ripley approaches his enemy - dashing, sarcastic, wealthy casino owner Nicky Fontana (Hugh Jackman) for help. Though the odds are stacked against him, Ripley doesn’t miss a beat, even when he becomes embroiled in a murder investigation after the body of his ex-business partner is found at his club. At home, Ripley uses his dry wit to adjust to the demands of his family: his gorgeous wife, Natalie (Madchen Amick, “ER”), wants more attention; his teenage daughter, Cheyenne (Ellen Woglom, “The O.C.”), wants his approval; and his son, Jack (Carter Jenkins, “Surface”), wants to help him at work. All of this adversity would defeat a lesser man, but for the outgoing and passionate Ripley there’s no such thing as bad news, only deals to be struck and wagers to be won in the intoxicating neon glow of Laughlin, where the cards are on the table, romance is in the air and lively music is on the stage. Eric Winter (”Wildfire”) and D.B. Woodside (”24″) also star. Directed by Gabriele Muccino (”The Pursuit of Happyness”). Golden Globe Award nominee Hugh Jackman, John Palermo (”X-Men: The Last Stand”), Bob Lowry (”Huff”), Paul Telegdy and Peter Bowker (”Viva Blackpool”) are executive producers for BBC Worldwide Productions, Seed Productions, CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Sony Pictures Television

Anonymous said...

http://www.dingorue.com/2007/05/23/cbs-2007-2008-primetime-schedule/

Executive produced by Tony and Emmy Award winner Hugh Jackman (”The Boy from Oz,” “X-Men”), VIVA LAUGHLIN is a mystery drama with music about eternal optimist and freewheeling businessman Ripley Holden, whose sole ambition is to run a casino in Laughlin, Nev. Occasionally using upbeat contemporary songs to accentuate the drama and humor and advance the story, the series is based on the hit BBC show “Viva Blackpool.” Ripley (Lloyd Owen, “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”) is the ultimate gambler with an infectious personality who is on the brink of making a killing… just as soon as he opens his casino that’s nowhere near completion. When his financing suddenly falls through, the fearless and tenacious Ripley approaches his enemy - dashing, sarcastic, wealthy casino owner Nicky Fontana (Hugh Jackman) for help. Though the odds are stacked against him, Ripley doesn’t miss a beat, even when he becomes embroiled in a murder investigation after the body of his ex-business partner is found at his club. At home, Ripley uses his dry wit to adjust to the demands of his family: his gorgeous wife, Natalie (Madchen Amick, “ER”), wants more attention; his teenage daughter, Cheyenne (Ellen Woglom, “The O.C.”), wants his approval; and his son, Jack (Carter Jenkins, “Surface”), wants to help him at work. All of this adversity would defeat a lesser man, but for the outgoing and passionate Ripley there’s no such thing as bad news, only deals to be struck and wagers to be won in the intoxicating neon glow of Laughlin, where the cards are on the table, romance is in the air and lively music is on the stage. Eric Winter (”Wildfire”) and D.B. Woodside (”24″) also star. Directed by Gabriele Muccino (”The Pursuit of Happyness”). Golden Globe Award nominee Hugh Jackman, John Palermo (”X-Men: The Last Stand”), Bob Lowry (”Huff”), Paul Telegdy and Peter Bowker (”Viva Blackpool”) are executive producers for BBC Worldwide Productions, Seed Productions, CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Sony Pictures Television

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