Criminal Minds

The New York Daily Post is reporting today that CBS will fill up some airtime with Dexter. This show features a sociopathic serial killing blood analysis tech who kills other serial killers. I love it!! He’s a good serial killer. The show is actually really interesting if you like that kind of thing. He’s not completely sociopathic - though I don’t know if there are degrees to that sort of thing. I’m surprised CBS is going to play it…it’s like having The Sopranos on a network.
Dexter is played by Michael C. Hall, and CBS will air the entire first season starting on February 17. One episode per Sunday. CBS hopes this will help retain viewers during the WGA strike. Dexter will have to be edited down for language and time. It usually runs a full hour on Showtime but will be cut to about 48 minutes, which is still five minutes longer than the average network crime drama.

Here’s a YouTube from Dexter, in which he explains his attitude towards his “work.”

Here’s another. I don’t like the tone or music of this video, but it does give a little rundown of Dexter’s jobs. Skip if you want to be surprised by season one.

The writers strike is in its third month - reruns, gameshows, and reality shows are overrunning the airwaves. It all makes for a very blah kind of tv season. There is a bright spot this week though: Criminal Minds will air a NEW episode. “3rd Life” with Gina Mantegna will finally run on January 9. Other than that, I’ve pretty must lost interest in a lot of tv…I definately have been watching less. I’m not of the party that believes not watching tv will help resolve the strike, I’m just bored of it.

The stars who make our favorite shows and movies are joining in support of the writers. This year’s Golden Globes threatens to be the lamest show in years as actors refuse to cross the picket line to present or accept awards. ABC News has a story on this. This could also affect the Academy Awards as the strike continues.
People watch these award shows to see what the celebrities are wearing…ABC refers to a show without celebrities as a zoo without animals. I don’t know if that’s the most flattering analogy for the stars, but it’s definately true.
What are your bright spots in the blah tv year so far? What are you watching? What are you doing? Do you miss tv??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Sun-Sentinal has a good article on the strike’s effects on programming. Negotiations, which were viewed optimistically, broke off on December 7. They won’t resume until after the new year. If there was an immediate end to the strike, we’d still have to wait months for new episodes because of production time. So the first few months of 2008 are going to be reruns, reality shows, game shows, and specials, regardless of whether or not the strike continues.

New shows that are out of episodes include Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Dirty Sexy Money. A lot of others are down to only a few, including Criminal Minds with only “3rd Life” left.

Fox is in pretty good shape, according to the article, because American Idol will be on soon, and that can take as much time as they need to fill. Also, its cartoon lineup on Sunday nights is fine because they need scripts to be written up to a year in advance.

There are some new shows to be seen: Law and Order and Medium will return to NBC with almost an entire season’s worth of new shows. Law and Order: Criminal Intent will return to NBC from USA, but they’ll reair shows that USA already ran. Reality shows will come in strong in the new year, and some new series will premiere.

CBS has Jericho episodes set to air in January. Shows like Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, and Without a Trace will continue to air reruns, which typically do pretty well in the ratings.

To read the entire article click here. It gives a rundown on what each network plans to do to get through the strike.

“Scared to Death” reaired last night on CBS. Because of the WGA strike, there are only three more new episodes of Criminal Minds for season three.
An end to the strike doesn’t appear likely. Tuesday, Les Moonves, CBS chief executive, said that both sides were still far apart. “I am hopeful, I’m not terribly optimistic,” Moonves said, as the strike goes into its fifth week.
He added:

We are certainly not going to go dark…Ratings will probably not be as high without the influence of original programming, but costs will be down.

Schedule space can be filled with sports, reality shows, or specials. I said last week that the strike hadn’t really affected me…then CBS aired the best moments in Grammy history. I was wrong. If I didn’t know there was a writers strike, I’d think that there was a contest among the networks for worst evening programming ever.
But there are new episodes, and shows like Criminal Minds, L&O, Cold Case, Without a Trace, and NCIS, tend to do well in repeats. This is part of the reason why CM has been successful - you don’t have to watch it each time to enjoy it. It’s not a serial, so it’s easy to catch up. It’s also easy to watch an episode from last season. Some cast changes may have been made, but you know what’s going on and the episode is self-contained.

In other strike news, Ellen Degeneres and Carson Daly crossed picket lines and resumed production of their shows. While criticised for not supporting the writers, I think this was a good choice. The other people involved in production get to keep working. Some big names have been paying their out-of-work support people. Jay Leno is paying his staff while they’re down. His brothers in late night have done the same. David Letterman, Conon O’brien, Jimmy Kimmel, and Craig Ferguson will continue to pay salaries even as their shows go dark. This essentially comes out of their own pockets.

Talks between the WGA and studios resumed on Monday, but there is no word if anything was accomplished. The talks are taking place under a thick blanket of secrecy. And there’s really no way to know if anything is being resolved, but it seems hopeful that talks are scheduled for three days.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes an industry insider:

The three days was to keep people talking. They didn’t want people to just get pissed off and walk away. They wanted to make sure they would keep talking.

As the talks continue, so will the picketing. There is a planned “solidarity” rally in NY for WGA-East, and attendees will include John Edwards, Tim Robbins, and Joe Pantoliono, among other politicians and actors.

There’s not much news, but hopefully the talks are a good sign for ending the strike. I really haven’t noticed any changes yet, but I don’t watch a lot of tv. I watch CM, and PBS. Honestly, this doesn’t affect me at all, and when reruns start airing, it’ll be very easy for me to entertain myself. I do hope it ends though, because of the thousands of people who depend on the entertainment industry for their income. The people who work in shops or restaurants and the people who maintain the studio buildings and do the landscaping and hair are the ones who are paying the biggest prices. So for them, I really hope they can get back to work soon.
In the meantime, check out House tonight at nine - in the preview it looks like someone leaves Dr. House speechless, which should be worth watching.

I really hate game shows. Jeopardy is ok, but I can’t stand anything else. I hate reality shows too. I refuse to watch Survivor, although yes, I will watch Janice Dickinson and Ultimate Fighting Championship (I don’t know how I come up with these, but there it is).

Anyway, as the WGA strike continues (talks resume next week - so hopefully it’ll be over), you may find yourself with some time on your hands if you don’t like game or reality shows or reruns. What are you going to do with your freed up time?

Here are some of my ideas:

1. I could read/play with my daughter. She’s way more entertaining than a lot of tv shows. (I hope the strike doesn’t affect Curious George, though. That would be devestating.)
2. You can catch up on shows you haven’t seen. If they’re showing reruns it’s a good time to see what’s up with Lost or 24.
3. You can check out Oxygen’s Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. Wait, really, she grows on you. She’s so bold and bitchy - I love her.
4. I will finish making my Christmas presents for my family.
5. I will have time to devote to cleaning my refrigerator and oven. These are jobs no one tells you about when you’re young and can’t wait to be an adult.

6. Reading is always good. I’m reading Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks. It’s about the Bubonic plague. If you’re looking for something less depressing, read Freakonomics. It’s really interesting, and then you’ll be able to tell people why crack dealers make less than McDonald’s workers and how Superman stopped the KKK. Also available is the first book, Jump Cut, in the new Criminal Minds-based series.
7. You can go on the Watching House site and harass Randi with comments about how much better Criminal Minds is.

8. I like to do crafts. If you need some crafty tips, 451Press has great craft and hobby blogs. Did you know that you can make Vanilla Velvet Honey Lip Balm? Summer at Creative Mom Cafe has this and other great projects - including 30 Gifts in 30 Days, perfect for Christmas. Draw, paint, sew, whatever.
9. Watch netflix. I’m getting Season Five of CSI.
10. If I get really really bored, I suppose I can have a quality conversation with my fiance.

What are some things you do for entertainment besides tv?

The National Post of Canada has an article today about the WGA strike. Both sides have indicated that they will resume talks next Monday. The strike started on November 5, and viewers haven’t felt the impact for the most part. The strike has, however, affected the thousands of people who are employed in the entertainment industry. This ranges from costume designers to hair stylists to maintainance people. It overflows into the community as well. Coffee shops, restaurants, and stores lose business when these employees cut spending. The entertainment industry pumps a lot of money into the local economy, and that lack of money is hard felt by the citizens.
In the face of this economic hardship, it behooves both sides to end the strike quickly from a PR standpoint.
The writers have been supported by actors and even politicians. Barack Obama has publically sided with the writers, and CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been calling for a quick end to the strike so the effects his state aren’t as profound.
Economic effects are also being felt in Canada. About twenty US shows, including Criminal Minds and Bionic Woman, are made in Vancouver, Canada, where production has shut down.
The full article is at The National Post.
The Vancouver Sun also has a good article about the effects of the WGA strike on Canada.

AJ Cook spoke with LA’s Daily News about the strike and Mandy Patinkin’s departure from the show.

In the beginning, it was very stressful because nobody really knew what was going on, but it’s been such a great transition. If ever there could be a great transition, this was it. Joe’s fabulous, he really does feel like he’s been there from the very beginning. He fits in so perfectly.

AJ seems like the type of person who is as nice as she appears. Hopefully, the writers and networks will reach a decision soon so we can see more of JJ’s evolution.
Ratings for the new season are just as high as they were for the previous two seasons with Patinkin. Another thing that AJ likes is the way her character, JJ, is changing.

I like that J.J. has seriously evolved. She went from being a couple of lines per episode to really coming into her own. I love it whenever she gets to pull her gun out - that’s exciting for me. Or when I get to put the FBI vest on and storm a building with everyone else. It’s a lot of fun. She’s badass now, I like it.

She’s also an important part of the team - Hotch takes her advice very seriously. There are cases that he agrees to investigate based on JJ’s say-so.

On the WGA strike:

We are entering into the great unknown here and I really feel for our crew. Many of them live paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to have a five- or six-month strike. I support the writers and I understand; I just want it to be over quickly.

IF Magazine listed Criminal Minds as its #4 show to watch for the week of November 12. In the upcoming episode, Jamie Kennedy plays a cannibalistic serial killer. If you’re looking for something else to watch this weekend, check out IF.

The Sydney Morning Herald is sassy again this morning. David Dale writers about the Hollywood Writers Strike. Since a lot of us Americans are egocentric (not me, though), it’s interesting to see what other places think of the strike.
It doesn’t seem Sydney will be affected too much in the short-term. According to Dale, Australia’s favorite US shows, Criminal Minds, House, The Simpsons, Ghost Whisperer, CSI, and My Name is Earl, have plenty of new episodes to last through the end of Australia’s ratings season, which ends in three weeks. Shows more affected by the strike, Heroes, Bionic Woman, and Prison Break, are not getting big audiences anyway.
Dale sees three big advantages to the US writers’ strike. First, better shows:

In the case of Heroes, which has been slow this season, the creator, Tim Kring, phoned Entertainment Weekly magazine from the picket line promising to make good use of his time off: “The message is that we’ve heard the complaints and we’re doing something about it.” According to EW, “The cliffhangers are back. Narrative purpose has been discovered. Old favourites such as Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Horn Rimmed Glasses (Jack Coleman) take centre stage.” A good omen for other strike-affected programs which have been disappointing us lately.

Second, Australia will start shopping around for shows in Canada and England. Dale believes this will “widen our understanding of the world,” while at the same time diverting funds directed to US shows. Hopefully, he says, the Australian networks, Seven, Nine, and Ten, will produce more Australian-made shows. Shows such as Kath & Kim, and City Homicide are home-grown successes.

Third, television writers will have a precedent for demanding more of a share in digital revenue, and “Australia’s best writers will be able to give up their part-time jobs as waiters and cleaners.”