EW Says What We're All Thinking

Dear Glee,
Thank you for keeping pop culture interesting. You’re, like, the new Charlie Sheen — totally unhinged but always compelling, both on screen and off. We’ve been huge fans of the show from the very beginning, and we have the angry letters complaining about our constant barrage of Glee covers to prove it. During your summer break, you’ve given us not only a reality competition show, a concert tour, and a 3-D movie (Glee stars apparently have an amazing ability to go three straight months without sleep) but also weekly waves of captivating craziness —thanks to a series of 
contradictory, loose-lipped statements from Glee producers about the future of the cast and direction of the show.

To recap: First, co-creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy gave an impromptu interview saying that the characters played by Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Chris Colfer would graduate at the end of the upcoming third season and would not be around for season 4. Such huge, surprising news! It was 
apparently even a surprise to Colfer, who said he found out about 
his exit via Twitter. But not so fast. At Comic-Con, Glee’s other co-creator and exec producer Brad Falchuk tried to clarify, saying that Rachel, Finn, and Kurt would not be leaving the show. In fact, added Murphy a few days later, they were originally going to get their own spin-off! But not anymore. Have we got all that?

We are fairly certain that all this nonsense is incredibly annoying to your colleagues at the Fox network and studio (you’re lucky Rupert Murdoch doesn’t send Wendi over there to swat you down like a pie-throwing malcontent). We, however, really enjoyed the backstage drama for a while… but now, frankly, we’d like to see it end. You see, we really adore Chris Colfer (congrats on the Emmy nomination, Chris!), and when we tune in to the show’s new season this fall, we don’t want to be thinking about how Chris is walking on eggshells around his boss, constantly worrying about what bombshell Murphy might drop next in the press. We’re also rooting for the show to win an Emmy, and we don’t think all this back-and-forth is helping your case.Awards voters are partial to
 humility and gratitude — two qualities that seem to be in very short supply in the ranks of Glee’s management.(Good news: We asked one Emmy insider about it and were told that it probably wouldn’t hurt the show’s chances — 
after all, if Melissa Leo can win an 
Oscar after those weird, cleavage-y for-your-consideration ads, there’s definitely hope for Glee.)

Listen, folks, we love your show, and we just want you to regroup, keep your sausage-making to yourselves for a bit,concentrate on making Glee a little less uneven and more consistently great week after week, and think very seriously about this spin-off idea. It’s a good one — and since Lea, Chris, and Cory all have four more years left on their contracts, there’s no reason for it to be dead in the water.In short, we’d like everybody over there to stop behaving like teenagers.And say hi to Gwyneth.

Sincerely,
Entertainment Weekly

Other than the Emmy talk, I'm right there with ya EW! But real talk, Glee lost it's chance at the Emmy's after the first half of season one, no use in thinking it'll make a comeback now. It's a money-making machine, can't turn back!

So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is nearly coming to a close! My predictions for the finale

First, a quick recap from the Top 6 performance episode:

• Ricky is still lacking the maturity in his dance that Marko has perfected. Tadd has grown leaps and bounds but, similar to Ricky, isn’t quite on the same level as Marko, both with technique and maturity in his dance.
• Caitlin came into her own FINALLY although after that beastly Melanie/Sasha/Sonya jazz routine last week, I fear it may be a bit too late for Caitlin in this competition as Melanie and Sasha both have such strong fan bases (Simon’s fickle-hearted comments are an example of that).
• Breaking news! Melanie Moore is not 100% perfect. Though she’s pretty damn close. I loved that Lil’ C was basically saying without saying that Melanie has had a white girl life, hence making her incapable to really get into the nitty gritty of the hip hop. And although the routine wasn't my favorite, it was still a great attempt on Melanie’s behalf.
• God, Sasha and that contemporary. She has been the happiest surprise in this competition. Although Melanie was donned “queen bee” from pretty much the very beginning of the season, I wouldn’t be too shocked if Sasha took the competition in the end. If she gets as lucky as her choreographers/routines as Melanie has been this whole season, she could take it home.
• The wacking routine was laaaame but I guess it's nice that sytycd can cross off another genre from the list of obscure genres that only a few people in the world know how to do (Any one remember the Russian routine?)

And now, my predictions.

Bottom two girls? It’s a toss up. Caitlin for sure, with her journey most likely coming to an end. But the other spot? Could be Sasha or Melanie. Sasha had one of her better nights with the contemporary routine, and Melanie faltered a little bit in her hip hop. It would be a little refreshing to see Melanie make an apperance, her first of the season, in the bottom two just to remind everyone that she is, in fact, a slightly (albeit barely) flawed human being. But, she has such a strong fan base that she’ll probably be the one who’s safe.

For the boys, it’s obviously going to be Ricky and Tadd. HOPEFULLY Ricky will be the one sent home; I’ve been hoping he’d leave since the first time he was in the bottom (Way harsh, Ty). He’s a great technical dancer, yes, I have just been upset about his lack of growth. He’s still a boy amongst men.

As for what will happen after the final four? I have a feeling it’ll be Tadd, then Sasha, then Marko, with Melanie for the win. But I do also think that if Sasha gets as lucky with her routines in the finale as Melanie has been the whole season, then she could surprise everyone and take it home. But we still have the finale performances, and really anything can happen from now until then.

Last note: Is it just me or has this season been lacking a serious amount of GOOD jazz routines? I was hoping the return of Ellenore with Sonya last night would fulfill what has been missing from this season, but that routine was just creepy and slightly uncomfortable to watch, if anything. The closest one this season to those fun, quirky routines we’ve seen in the past was Sasha and Melanie’s Dubstep Jazz from last week. I guess I’ll just have to chalk it up to the lack of Wade Robson in this season. Sonya can do wonders, as she has this season especially with her contemporary routines, but as far as wacko-jazz routines go, Wade really takes the cake (exhibit A - Janette and Brandon’s jazz: http://youtu.be/Fk5reVYChlo)

Breaking Glee News: The Producers Don't Know What They're Doing

So smug... you probably think this blog is about you, don't you?

I feel there might be a reason that Ryan Murphy may be the token spokesperson from the producer end of the show, and that reason is so he can be the one and only person to keep track of what he tells the media, so as to not backtrack or misrepresent the show. This happened during a Comic Con panel, when Brad Falchuk—the poor man’s Ryan Murphy—insisted that (contrary to what Murphy had said in an interview) Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer were in fact NOT leaving the show. Silly us, for not realizing that graduation (as is typical on most television shows) didn’t in fact mean they were leaving the show. I guess they’ll just be those graduated high schoolers that stick around, visiting old teachers and attending talent shows as a means to “support the school” when really it’s just because they have nothing else going on in their life. That’ll be fun to watch…

This is just one of many examples where the producers, who feel necessary to share innate details of future plot lines, characters, and the like, go out of their way to share a spoilery bit of information, but then completely take it back or change what they had originally intended once met with an internet firestorm of judgment. A simple solution to this vicious cycle would be to stay close-lipped, as most television shows do so as to preserve some sense of mystery in the content, and reveal only vague story lines such as “we’re going to be jumping ahead 3 months”. Time and time again the producers of Glee reveal some life-or-death plotline they are planning for and either A) completely neglect to satisfy that plotline (anyone remember when Murphy revealed Mercedes would be getting a boyfriend?) or B) take back what they said. Now, coming up to their third season it has become obvious that the producers of Glee are like those kids in high school, desperate to be popular and willing to say and do anything to reach the same level of popularity as the rich kids.

This happened with the Chord Overstreet situation. Murphy and company announced that Overstreet would not be returning to the show, which was met by confusion from the critics and rage from the fangirls. A few days later, Murphy felt the need to clarify, insisting that he wasn’t ACTUALLY leaving the show, he just hadn’t been promoted to a series regular and could join season three if the actor wanetd to. But of course! How did I not see that in your original claim where you said he was not returning. Silly me. Now the producers are back on their original claim that Overstreet won’t be returning because he decided to pursue other projects. Curious but… couldn’t this toying-with-our-emotions have been completely avoided had they opted to deal with it all behind closed doors? Had they met with the actor, offered him a returning (albeit not series regular) role, and then have the actor turn it down—it would have been a completely different situation, a pill much easier to swallow.

It’s becoming clear that these insecurities, the desperate need to be liked and loved, are insecurities that the producers have projected on to the characters. Some of the worst plotlines have existed in the past when the characters go against their initial intentions—of coming together and forming a bond in an unlikely Glee club—and throw away everything to grasp as a shred of popularity. This happened in the weird, random episode where Rachel convinced herself she wanted a nose job.

What the producers need to do is stop handing out empty promises because they think it’s what we want. What we really want is good television, the quality stuff seen in the first half of the season. They have to stop caring about what we think, and just give us what they’ve created. It’s our job, as consumers, to judge the product they present but they shouldn’t offer the opportunity to include us in the pre-planning stages of that product. They need to seal their lips and prioritize: good story lines, developed characters, and the same sense of heart that this show started with. Stop caring so much about what we think, at least stop caring until 10:01PM when the show is over and we can then hash it out.

Why I Love Summer: Television Edition

Now that I am a college grad, I have come to appreciate what little time I have left to call: Summer Vacation. All those past summers will soon be just memories, forever haunting me as I clock in the nine to five for The Man. Of course, I’ll miss the general benefits of summer: having time off, going to the beach/pool/lake (and the subsequent gingerburn), not having to reserve space in my brain for innate particulars such as integrals and SAT prep words... But what I’m really going to miss is the free-of-judgment time I got to spend marathoning the television shows I never had time to watch in the school year. Yeah, yeah books are great, we love books, books gives u smartz. But if anyone has ever had any conversation with me, they’ve probably come to learn what a freak I am over television. Human sized test tubes are being manufactured for me right this second, so that professionals can diagnose just why I love it so. I can’t reason it, I’m sure a part of my brain is melting as I zone out watching “the tube”. But if I would be a martyr for anything, it would be for time spent watching television. Go on and judge me, I dare ya!

Okay, we’ve got the “I Love TV” disclaimer outta the way. I wanna take a moment, now, to get all Mr. Rogers on you and drop a little knowledge. I have, after all, 21 years of summers under my belt spent of watching the best that television has to offer, so lets dive in, shall we?

Arrested Development

This show is first for a reason:

1. It is on Netflix Instant Watch. I give you permission to stop reading this blog and GET. ON. THAT. NOW.
2. Perhaps it’s because it was ~underrated and ~misunderstood during its time or perhaps it’s because it has an ensemble cast with no weak links. Whatever the reason, this show is one of the best comedy shows in television history. Get outta here Two and a Half Men fans! You got nothin’ on this show!

I’ll try and keep my fangirl to a minimum and make this short and sweet: Arrested Development is a show about a family o’ crazies, from the sane straight man played by Jason Bateman, to the Final-Countdown-As-An-Entrance-Song-Never-Gets-Old brother played by Will Arnett to the batshit crazy mom played by Jessica Walter to the so innocently stupid and loveable Buster played by Tony Hale (I could literally continue describing the phenomenal cast in this way but I’ll contain myself). In the way that many of its legendary comedy show predecessors did, Arrested Development is a character-driven comedy, each episode a ridiculous adventure warped around the different ways in which every character reacts to it. The writing is smart and the acting is better. Fox Execs were poppin’ dem crazy pills when they cancelled it after just three seasons, and now years later—with a cult-following and teases of a movie reboot—Arrested Development has become a classic that has set a comedy standard.

Freaks and Geeks

Breaking News! Before the Judd Apatow Crew was the JAC (when that becomes a thing, remember where you read it first!), they all worked together on a show so minuscule, if you blink you’d miss it. For those of you short on time, this show is perfect as it only lasted a mere season before succumbing to the sad demise of cancellation. Executive Produced by Apatow and Company, the creator was a guy, Paul Feig, who directed a handful of Arrested Development episodes (sensing a pattern here?) and was most recently the directorial genius behind Bridesmaids. Freaks and Geeks—with baby faced Jason Segel and the not-yet-over-achiever James Franco among others—is about a group of teenagers growing up in the 80s and dealing with the crap that plagues most teens: first-time drinking, bullying, teenage love (and the subsequent heartbreak), and yet still finding friendships among it all. All together now: Awwwwwww.

Degrassi

Maybe I’m alone in this pick but I will stand by this choice: Degrassi is a sickly sweet series, like a teenybopper soap opera, perfect for a marathon. I personally lost touch when (spoiler alert!) the producers had the balls to kill off JT but, if high school melodrama, Canadian accents (sorey!) and before-he-was-rapper-Drake Aubrey Graham in a wheelchair sounds like something of a good time to you, then I would urge you to check out this show ASAP. Donchaknoooow, eh?

Lost

WHAT IS IN THE HATCH?? is only the beginning of the mind trip a marathon that Lost ensures. This is one of those shows that from season one episode one to the series finale, you will not want to turn it off. So say goodbye to that social life of yours, because as soon as you turn it on, the drug-induced Lost coma begins.

Breaking Bad

The underdog of this list, really, Breaking Bad is revolutionary television. As the plot progresses the main character does something completely unknown of television tradition: he changes. Most typical shows strive to show character growth—the bachelor dude finds love, the archetypal bitch finds a softer side, etc—but Breaking Bad goes one step further. It tells the story of Middle America’s Man Walter White—a high school chemistry teacher, a father, a husband—who discovers he has inoperable lung cancer and becomes obsessed with the notion of leaving his family some financial footing for once he’s gone. Unlike the typical financial vices (the lottery, gambling, etc), White decides to utilize what he knows, chemistry, and make something with it. Literally. He approaches an old student of his and inquires about establishing a crystal meth drug partnership, and in a triumphant moment of the pilot exclaims: “You know the business, and I know the chemistry.”

Unlike the other shows on this list, Breaking Bad is still going on. With a crapload of Emmy’s under its belt (for Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of Walt, three times over, as well as newcomer to the Emmy scene, Aaron Paul, who plays conflicted yet good minded accomplice to Walt, Jesse Pinkman), the ever-anticipated fourth season begins this Sunday, July 17th on AMC. From its breathtakingly beautiful cinematography to its bone-chillingly perfect performances to its intelligent and intricate plot, Breaking Bad is in the process of making television history.

Consolation Prizes

• Friends (don’t think I’d ever go neglecting this show)
• Modern Family
• How I Met Your Mother
• Cougartown (fans of Scrubs - don’t underestimate it)
• Dexter
• Parks and Recreation (hits it stride halfway through Season 2, stick with it)
• and for da ladies: Sex and the City.

Guess who's back, back, back, back again

World's Worst Blogger Award goes tooooooo..... THIS GIRL!

In my defense though, the last time I blogged was the summer time. And now? Summer! I suspect a pattern arising here....

But real talk guys. I am back. to. business. All writing, all television, all the time. And I don't have a specific reason why I've all of a sudden had a (good) change of heart and and now willing to put the time that this blog deserves. But, what I do know is this: I keep waiting for it to start, for someone to force a gun to my head and tell me: "WRITE! WRITE YOUR LADY BALLS OFF!". I keep waiting for the inspiration, the reason to find me. But I'm done with all that.

This is what I know: I love writing. I love television. I have a very specific writing voice. And, whether I like it or not, I have to put the time in to explore that. I need to clock in the hours to really find out if this is something I could potentially do, potentially pay my bills with. I keep waiting for that clarity moment to find me. But of course! It all makes sense now! But I can't do that anymore. The less time I spend writing, the less I know if I could actually do this for the rest of my life.

I still haven't decided if I am in love with the title/format/site of this blog. But, each time I attempt to resurrect my blogging identity, I just feel more depressed when it fails. I've got so many shells of blogs, started with enthusiasm but killed with laziness, I don't think I've got it in me to sign off of another. So I might just stick with this guy and power through. Whatever happens, I can promise you this: I swear to keep you updated on all things television. News, castings, pilots, premieres, I'll do my best to write about it all, and in an entertaining way. I also swear to keep it as updated as possible. Good news for you is that I may be unemployed soon (yay?), but either way I am going to do my darnedest to give this blog the time it deserves.

So hold on tight! It's nearly the end of summer which means an end to our favorite Summer programming (True Blood, SYTYCD, etc), yes but also, Fall Premiere Season! Like hunting season, but less bloody.

Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you'll stay with me on my journey of finding the writer within [/cheesy].

Until next time! Stay Klassy like dem Kardashians!

Summer Television; Goodbye to this blog; Hello to a new one. Really a smorgasbord of things.

WOW so... fail on my front for my last blog entry being from the 14th of May. Even though the television season did end a few weeks ago, I want to take the time to shed some light on the upcoming summer season to my fellow readers (okay... I hesitated adding an 's' to pluralize the word 'readers' because lets be real people... beyond the fanbase that is my parents, this blog is probably getting one or two hits. SCORE!)

Anyways. My heart breaks a little when I think about how I'll be excommunicated from the television world for this summer.

(We interrupt this segment for BREAKING NEWS! In case you haven't been within a two mile earshot of me screaming the countdown until I leave... I am spending my summer in New York to work as a lifeguard at a sleep-away camp for two months (Think: The Parent Trap). Since this experience is going to be many firsts for me--first time on an airplane alone, first time lifeguarding a lake, first time to New York, first time living in a non-California state etc etc--I've decided to do what I do best and write about it.

And here! is the link: http://frantzinnewyork.blogspot.com/

I am not sure just how much I will be able to update, seeing as how I won't have a computer-THE HORROR!-but I am aiming for one post/week. Stay tuned!

So because I will be out of touch with television (hold for the tears) while I'm working at this camp, this current blog will be on a temporary hiatus. Once I am back in the golden state, I'll make like the Terminator be back to rock this blog back to full kick-ass writing force!)

So, back to the real heart of the matter: SUMMER TELEVISION! This season looks promising, so let's just dive in, shall we?


For all you SYTYCD fans (are there more than one of you?! I think we're a dying breed), this season is shaking up things a little bit. In what I'm sure is an attempt to move as far away from the epic fail of ratings that was last season, the producers have opted for a "All Star" Season. So far, the first few weeks of auditions and Vegas callbacks have been extremely entertaining. A few favorites I have so far are: the adorable Billy Bell (if he does not get into the top 10, SHIT. IS. GOING. DOWN.), salsa dancer from Miami (can they really be from anywhere else?) Cristina Santana, contemporary dancer Alexie Agdeppa who almost made it to Season 6 last year, and Kent Boyd (the cutest small town boy I ever saw), among others.



TRUE BLOOD!
Oh boy, this one literally pains me to leave. It's been awhile since we were introduced to Sookeh, Beel and the mancandy that is Eric. I would smuggle something illegal across some border in order to watch what I'm sure is going be a sex and action filled Season 3. But alas, I have chosen instead to spend my summer living with little kids and fighting skin cancer. Winner?



Jersey Shore
At my little sister's graduation, the guest speaker gave the munchkins advice for life after college, one of which was to NOT follow these East Coast peeps in their drunken endeavors. This teacher said it best: "These STD-riddled miscreants are not real Italians! Hrumph." Still, if douchy guys punching slutty girls in the face is your kinda thing, the second season of this show is premiring in Miami on July 29th.

--

If you've been following along with my blog, you've come to learn of my inability to stop writing. So, in an attempt to NOT be the writing enegizer bunny, here's a link to a favorite blog of mine, of an article about the other television to look forward to this summer: http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/05/28/summer-tv-guide/


Okay folks! All good things must come to an end. Come back in Fall for the rebirth of this blog. Expect over-excitement in season premieres, reviews of series premieres, and (because I wouldn't be myself without it) a strange obsession with all things Glee.

THANKS FOR READING!

Can you smell it in the air? It's pilot season!

For those who don't incessantly follow television timelines like me (nerd alert), the lifeline of a pilot television show is actually quite formulaic and interesting. It all begins when some mid-20s hipster college grad (who is from a fancy prestigious film school, no doubt, and therefore believes he is awesome) pens a script that end up being about 3% of what the pilot episode turns into.

Next, a producer hotshot comes across said script [not personally though. production assistants, aka the bottom of the food chain in television, read tons and tons of pitches for television shows. the producer hotshot, on the other hand, spends their valuable time reading one or two] and engages in a conversation with another tv biz hotshot that no doubt goes something like this:

Hotshot 1: Instead of this cop show taking place in Detroit..... it'll take place in MIAMI! Instead of cops.... the main characters are going to be dancers who also spotlight as models! Opening scene? BIKINIS! HOT GUYS! FANCY CARS!
Hotshot 2: I'll get (insert name of overrated yet outrageously popular actor here) on the phone!
Hotshot 1: Make sure to tell him he'll be paired alongside (insert name of over-sexed flavor of the week actress here)!
Hottest 2: It can be called (insert 2-3 worded title that sounds more like a bumper sticker slogan here)!
Hotshot 1: This is sure to be Fall's HOTTEST new drama!
Hotshot 2: Rich guy fist bump!

After this high in testosterone conversation comes to a close, each hotshot gets in their fancy convertible, making sure to stare at their reflection while exiting the parking lot, and begin to spread the word about this pilot to other producer hotshots.

Now, the next step in the birth of a pilot involves the actors. They don't get any more credit than the hotshots; they care about a one line synopsis of the show and the character they'll be playing, followed by the six-digit number they would be earning.

Once the actors have signed the dotted line and the bank accounts are flushed out so said actors have incentive to show up, the next step involves logistics. Television ain't cheap so any cost-effective method of production is used. It's a tricky balancing game because while the producers of the pilot want to create the best possible work so as to ensure a pick up by a network (i.e. Fox or ABC), they have to stay on budget as well as convince the network head honcho (a la Jeff Zucker at NBC) that their show is not a total money pit (lookin' at you, Lost).

These cost-effective methods include hiring the cheapest, yet talented, crew team. From grippers to directors of photography, pilots look for no-names who have yet to really hone the method of bargaining their worth the way actors do. Finally, after all preparations are complete, shooting takes place. Depending on the length of the show, shooting can take any where from 5 days to 14 days, each day racking in at least 15 hours on set.

After about a week and a half of shooting, pilots only get about a week to finish everything else. That includes: editing the pilot for a network honcho's viewing pleasuring, creating trailers and teasers, submitting storyboards or sample scripts for future episodes, including itemized budgets, etc.

The next couple of weeks are completely out of the hands of the creators of the pilot. The potential for a pilot to get picked up has to do with a lot of factors (i.e. actor chemistry, interesting plot, longevity etc) but what the network guys REALLY care about is that damn little thing that makes the world go round: money.

Tons and tons of meetings occur to discuss not only the pilot episodes they are reviewing but also, planning for the future of the network. It is the network dudes' jobs to understand their audience, therefore it is there job to understand what type of television show will be well received. Because if a show has potential to be well received, that means it is in their interest to funnel money and trust into this infant of a show, because it will lead to economic profitability for the network.

Of course this isn't the timeline for all pilots. For example, spin off shows from an already successful television producer (i.e. Norman Lear, Shondra Rimes, Joss Whedon etc) are handled differently. Similarly, reality television shows require less production planning. BUT all in all, when it comes to the life story of a pilot television show, most follow this model. And although very few are the lucky ones to be picked up (each network picks up 10-12 pilots each year), most of the journeys for pilot episodes end when the camera stops rolling. Even of those few that DO get picked up, the odds of renewal for a second season are very, very slim. Essentially, the key to creating a wonderful television show, with longevity and the support from a network, is to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right network. Other than that, most shows survive out of sheer dumb luck, an ideology that explains the hype behind shows such as Friends, The Office, and even a personal favorite, Glee.