List of canceled shows for the 2007-08 TV season

We met some friends for dinner tonight and they were curious about which of their favorite shows were canceled for next season. (Don’t worry guys, Rules of Engagement is apparently safe.)

During our conversation, it occurred to me that I hadn’t published a complete list of shows for each network that won’t return next season. (I’m a bad TV blogger!)

So, here it is. Read it and weep. Or do the dance of joy, depending on your TV tastes.

And to those of you who’ve e-mailed me, Big Shots, Miss/Guided and October Road are goners. Sorry. Please don’t kill the messenger.




ABC
Big Shots
Carpoolers
Cashmere Mafia
Cavemen
Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann
Here Come the Newlyweds
Just for Laughs
Men in Trees
Miss/Guided
Notes From the Underbelly
October Road
Oprah’s Big Give
Women’s Murder Club

CBS
Cane
Jericho
Kid Nation
Moonlight
Power of 10
Shark
Secret Talent of the Stars
Viva Laughlin
Welcome to the Captain

NBC
1 vs. 100
Amne$ia
Bionic Woman
Clash of the Choirs
Journeyman
Las Vegas
My Dad is Better Than Your Dad
Phenomenon
Quarterlife
Scrubs – (Moving to ABC)
The Singing Bee

CW
Aliens in America
Beauty and the Geek
Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants
CW Now
Girlfriends
Life is Wild
Online Nation
Pussycat Dolls Presents: Girlicious
WWE Smackdown!

FOX
Anchorwoman
Canterbury’s Law
K-Ville
Nashville
New Amsterdam
Next Great American Band
The Return of Jezebel James
Unhitched

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Journeyman is finished, fans rally to save show

The journey is over for NBC’s freshman series, Journeyman, about a time-traveling man, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The network had until Tuesday to offer the show a full-season pick up, but failed to do so, the trade reported.

The show did complete 13 episodes. I’m so sorry to all the Journeyman fans who got hooked on Kevin McKidd and his adventures back in time.

Fans aren’t taking the news sitting down. They’ve launched a campaign that involves sending Rice-A-Roni to NBC, hoping for a Jericho-type victory. For all the details visit SaveJourneyman.net and SaveJourneyman.funurl.com

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Let’s talk TV! The Week in Review

Best line of the week
Barney from How I Met Your Mother wins this week for this gem:
(Robin explained that she hadn’t shaved her legs in days so she wouldn’t go too far on the first date.)
Barney: “FYI baby, guys just want to get on the green. They don’t mind going through the rough.”

Journeyman
Why does the Journeyman only have one sweater? It’s a nice one, sure, very GQ-esque, but still. He needs to change it up a bit.

Pushing Daisies
The facts were these. Kristin Chenowith stole my heart in Pushing Daisies when she portrayed her heartbreak via song. She channeled Olivia Newton John in her rendition of Hopelessly Devoted to You, complete with Digby the dog’s masterful accompaniment. I know we’re supposed to root for Ned and Chuck, but Olive deserves some love, too. This could be primetime’s best love triangle since Sawyer, Kate and Jack. Not often does a television show with a perfect pilot live up to it in the next episode, but Pushing Daisies did. I hope we get to see more of Olive singing, more of Emerson knitting, and more of Ned being, well, Ned.

Las Vegas
I can’t believe it, but it seems we’re getting deeper character development on Las Vegas. Sam didn’t miraculously recover from her kidnapping ordeal in one episode. In fact, she’s been struggling the last three episodes. Yay! My only complaint with Las Vegas in the past is that the fun-filled romp fest is infamous for introducing great storylines and dropping them too quickly. (Danny’s war trauma, Sam and Casey’s love story, Nessa’s relocation.) The show has a different feel this year, and it seems to be leaning toward longer story arcs. It still has the outrageous plots, the humor, the slick set and stellar cast, and now it seems a little more conversation to go along with all that action.

Grey’s Anatomy
I want to hug Lexie Grey. When she begged Bailey to not make her work with Meredith because she hates Lexie for something that isn’t her fault, she won me over. As for this George/Izzie/Callie relationship, not so much. Callie needs to kick that cheater to the curb and regain her mojo. Let deer-resuscitating Izzie have him. Callie can do better. I hear MsSteamy’s single again.

Private Practice
I’ve never tried so hard in my life to love a show. (Well, OK, Gossip Girl is an effort, too.) But week after week, Private Practice disappoints me. Yet, I keep hanging on because I know the greatness that is Shonda Rhimes, and my love for Kate Walsh, Tim Daly, Audra McDonald and Taye Diggs knows no bounds. I think I’ve pinpointed my problem. The show setting is silly. (Ducking for cover.) A wellness clinic may work for massage, therapy and alternative medicine, but if your children were turning blue, what parent wouldn’t rush them to an emergency room? If these doctors worked in a hospital, perhaps they’d be more believable and credible. The fact that they sit around all day eating cake, playing pranks and eyeing one another undermines their professionalism. On Grey’s Anatomy, at least they always redeem their childish antics by performing some miraculous medical miracle. Maybe next week will be better.

Chuck
Here’s just one of the reasons I’m enjoying Chuck. The writers are obviously fans of Lost. What else could explain one of Chuck’s government-downloaded secrets including the fact that Oceanic Flight 815 was shot down? (That’s a nod to the plane that crashed on Lost.) Brilliant!

Losing steam
I loved the pilot episodes of Reaper and Moonlight, but I’m quickly losing interest. Moonlight hasn’t grabbed me the way Buffy and Angel did, and Reaper seems to be lacking that Kevin Smith polish that made the pilot shine. Heroes is also waning for me. I’ll just say it. There are too many heroes. Watching this show is like having ADD. We get a two-minute clip of one story, and then it’s on to the next.

Do you agree or disagree with Tube Talk Girl's comments? Leave some of your own and tell us what you thought of this week's TV.

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Gossip Girl gets full season; see how other new shows are doing

The CW’s Gossip Girl is the first show to get a full season pick up. I’ll give you a moment to digest the news. The show is averaging 3 million viewers and is the second highest-rated show among teens on Wednesday nights.

Frankly, I’m stunned that Gossip Girl is doing that well. I’ve been tuning in to Gossip Girl simply for a Kristen Bell fix, but watching the entire hour is becoming more difficult. Even Bell’s lovely narration isn’t holding my interest. I guess I find it unsettling that a teen show of this caliber is doing better in the ratings than Veronica Mars did, the uber-intelligent show in which Bell had the starring role. Then again, I’m not a teenage girl, so perhaps that explains my lack of love for Gossip Girl.


NBC has ordered additional scripts for Chuck, Life, Bionic Woman and Journeyman. That doesn’t mean they’ve been given full season orders, but they’re pulling enough viewers for the network to order more scripts. Of NBC’s new shows, Bionic Woman is performing the best in the ratings.

Just because a network orders more scripts, doesn’t mean a show will get renewed. (ABC ordered more scripts for The Nine last year, and we all know how that turned out.)

CBS has ordered additional scripts for Cane. The show gave CBS its best ratings debut for a new show since Judging Amy in 1999, according to the network. The CW has ordered additional scripts for Aliens in America, but it has not received a full season order yet, either. (Help them, Allah.)

If you’re wondering how Pushing Daisies and Private Practice are doing, well, so far so good. Both shows scored good ratings. They are among the top three highest rated new shows for the fall. (Bionic Woman is the other.)

Cavemen and Carpoolers both dropped 20 percent of their viewers since the debuts. That’s good news. I was starting to worry that TV viewers would watch anything, no matter how awful.

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Tonight’s TV

Photo: Journeyman on NBC

Mondays are the new Thursdays. In other words, too many good shows not enough DVRs. Here’s a rundown of what looks interesting tonight.

8 p.m. Dancing With the Stars on ABC, How I Met Your Mother on CBS, Everybody Hates Chris on the CW, Chuck on NBC and Prison Break on Fox

8:30 p.m. Aliens in America on the CW

9 p.m. Heroes on NBC, Two and a Half Men on CBS, K-Ville on Fox

10 p.m. Journeyman on NBC

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Reviews: Big Shots, Bionic Woman, Journeyman

Big Shots
Premiere date: September 27, 2007
Airs: Thursdays @ 10 p.m. ET on ABC

I’ve said this before, but whoever is in charge of casting ABC shows deserves a lifetime Emmy award. Seriously. The cast alone in this new dramedy is reason enough to watch. It stars Dylan McDermott, Michael Vartan, Joshua Malina, Nia Long, Peyton List and Jessica Collins. If you’ve read several “serious” TV critics’ take on this show, you’re probably leaning toward skipping this one. I’m telling you, don’t. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Big Shots is a nice mix of comedy and drama, with a delicious dose of eye candy, for both sexes. The characters are strongly developed and easy to forge a connection with. The story follows four men and their crazy relationships with wives, girlfriends and family. There is plenty of male bonding and male bitching. In one scene, McDermott utters this priceless line: “Men: We’re the new women.” Yep, move over Desperate Housewives. If I didn't know better, I'd think the Big Shots lived on Wisteria Lane.

Bionic Woman
Premiere date: September 26, 2007
Airs: Wednesdays @ 9 p.m. ET on NBC

I hate it when a show doesn’t live up to the hype. For me, the pilot episode of Bionic Woman didn’t hit the mark. There were a couple standout moments, one involving the Bionic Woman outrunning a car, but overall I was disappointed. I grew up watching the original Jaime Sommers, so perhaps my judgment is skewed. (Sure, the special effects in the original were cheesy, but the story and actors were strong.) This modern version seemed disjointed to me, perhaps because it was the essential “set up” episode required to establish the story. That said, I’m giving Bionic Woman a few more episodes before I give up on it entirely. I have no doubt that the new Bionic Woman will have a fan following. Those still missing Alias will probably enjoy it. In fact, Bionic Woman reminded me so much of Alias that it was a bit of déjà vu when the heroine emotionally broke down, naked, in a bathtub. Even the casting seems similar to Alias. Michelle Ryan is reminiscent of Jennifer Garner, down to her fresh-faced look and dangling ponytail. If you like action dramas, Alias style, this one will probably appeal to you. But, a more entertaining bet is the loveable Chuck.

Journeyman
Premiere date: September 24, 2007
Airs: Mondays @ 10 p.m. on NBC

A show about time travel isn’t easy to pull off. But, NBC seems to have done it with this romantic mystery drama. Dan Vasser, a San Francisco newspaper reporter, suddenly and inexplicably starts traveling back in time to change people’s lives. He keeps ending up in the 1980s, and lucky for us the ‘80s music is in abundance throughout the show. Journeyman has a different feel than previous time-travel shows. Don’t expect the humor of Quantum Leap or Voyagers. This is a serious drama, heavy on the romance, as Dan is pulled between his present life, with his current wife, and his past life with his former fiancé. (She was killed in a tragic accident.) The story is complicated at times, but if viewers make it through the whole hour, there is a payoff. The overall concept is intriguing. Who wouldn’t want to go back in time at least once? (Frankly, I wouldn’t mind speed warping back to the ‘80s myself. I’d tell ‘80s me to stay away from helmet hair and leggings.) If you like mystery with a healthy dose of romance and drama, than Journeyman may be the show for you.

Coming soon, Tube Talk Girl’s take on Reaper, K-Ville, Aliens in America and Dirty Sexy Money.

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NBC previews its new fall schedule

NBC is doing everything right this summer when it comes to marketing its new fall shows.

I’m not just saying that because NBC was the first network to send me all their fall pilots. (Well, OK, that was a good move NBC.) Seriously, though, the network is launching a primetime preview special, so fans can get an early look at NBC’s newest shows, too.

Heroes star Greg Grunberg is hosting the special preview that is currently available at NBC.com and at You Tube, courtesy of the network.

For those of you who prefer watching television on the television, instead of the computer, the show will air on NBC Saturday, Sept. 8, at 8:30 p.m. EST.

The special also gives viewers an early look at Heroes, Friday Night Lights, The Office and more.

I’m currently making may way through the stack of NBC’s new fall shows Bionic Woman, Chuck, Life and Journeyman, and I’ll be sure to tell you which ones you shouldn’t miss and when they’ll air.

To see a sneak peek, hit play below for part one of the special.

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