I’m running a quick Facebook poll to determine which summer show TV Breakroom will be promoting in June! Click on the image below to be taken to the poll. If you don’t have Facebook, leave a comment with your choices here and I’ll add those votes in!
I guess USA Network has learned their lesson about messing with show intros without getting fan input! (Fans were upset when White Collar changed their opening titles without warning to cheesy art gallery-style pictures with completely different music that didn’t match the theme of the show. USA let fans vote on reverting to the old intro with adding cast or keeping the new one; fans chose the old.)
It’s hard for me to imagine Burn Notice without “My name is Michael Westen, I used to be a spy, until . . .” I hope at least one of the options still incorporates part of that, though “regular” credits would be nice, too.
The voting starts May 9, and will be open for two weeks. You can vote on the show’s Facebook page or a special site, as well as through USA’s Character Chatter. The winning intro will debut when Burn Notice returns on June 14. Full press release linked below.
This week on Monday Madness, it’s time to vote for your favorite TV finales! This poll is for season and series finales of both cable and broadcast shows. But this week there’s a twist – for the first seven days, you can nominate your favorite finales and I’ll add them to the poll! I’m doing this because I got so few nominations, and I didn’t want to limit the poll to just my favorites.
This poll will be open for TWO weeks, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite finales. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10! And as shows finish up their runs this year, you can nominate them for a spot on the poll!
Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.
Without further ado, here’s the poll for this AND next week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM May 21th.
Update: this poll has closed. I planned to do a results post like I do with other Monday Madness polls, but I realized any pictures I posted would be full of spoilers (or else very boring). So I decided to skip that part this time.
What's your favorite series or season finale? (Choose up to 10)
Total Voters: 965
Loading ...So many shows are ending for the season in the next month, but many USA Network shows will return this summer! Royal Pains (season 4) and Necessary Roughness (season 2) come back Wednesday, June 6, Burn Notice (season 6) and Suits (season 2) on Thursday, June 10, and White Collar (season 4) and Covert Affairs (season 3) on Tuesday, July 10.
USA Network Sets Return Dates for Covert Affairs, White Collar, Suits and Other Summer Fare – TVLine.
This was supposed to be a top 10 post, but I couldn’t limit this great character list to just 10! These are the top quirky characters as chosen by voters in last week’s poll. (Be sure to vote in this week’s poll here!) As an added bonus for this top 15 list (and as a thank you for all the actor retweets!), I’ve included links to actor twitter accounts!
Number 15: Parker from Leverage (played by Beth Riesgraf)
Continue reading Top 15 Quirky Characters on TV
This round of Monday Madness, it’s time to look at those crazy characters in the shows we love. Often, they’re on the sidelines – not the main character, their romantic interest, or the person in charge. They provide comic relief in otherwise serious shows, or are a main source of laughter in comedies. They can be indispensable, evil, or hopelessly inept. But they refuse to fade into the background, and the shows wouldn’t be the same without them.
This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite quirky characters. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10!
Even though there are 40 options on this list, I know there are many great characters I left out! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment. Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.
Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM April 16th.
Update: voting is over, but you can vote on this week’s poll here! Winners’ post here.
Who's your favorite quirky character? (Choose up to 10)
Total Voters: 6,353
Loading ...I enjoy Glee’s music (though not much else about the show – too much soap opera melodrama and agenda-pushing), but I’m a huge fan of White Collar’s Matt Bomer, so when I heard Bomer would be playing Blaine’s brother on the show, I knew I would have to check it out.
My own brother recently got me addicted to Gotye’s music, so I was excited to hear that Bomer and Criss would be covering “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Here’s a video preview of that cover:
Glee Video: Matt Bomer and Darren Criss Cover Gotye – TVLine.
I promised I’d continue the discussion on TV show pilots in the future, and now, a month later, I’m finally getting to it. But what a difference a month can make! Many of these pilots have now signed major cast, so we can get a far better idea of what the show will be like.
And for every show a network picks up, another must depart, so we’ll be looking at which shows aren’t likely to get another season. Since scripted shows are this site’s focus, I’ll ignore any changes to unscripted shows and assume they’ll have the same amount of hours next year.
To make things a little easier as I get started, I’m beginning with the lowest-rated broadcast network with limited hours, the CW.
For 2011-2012, the CW has nine regular-season scripted shows, all hour-long dramas. Three are freshmen (Ringer, The Secret Circle, Hart of Dixie), and one is in its final season (One Tree Hill). Ringer is heading for cancellation, and Hart of Dixie isn’t far behind. Sophomore Nikita isn’t much better, but being on a Friday may give the show some leeway, and Gossip Girl hasn’t left the danger zone.
That means there will be 3-4 (or even 5 if the network wants to make drastic changes to improve in the demo) slots open for new shows next season. The CW has ordered 8 pilots, and most look like strong contenders.
Arrow
A modern retelling of DC Comic’s Green Arrow, this show has a strong cast and good buzz (especially for a superhero that looks like a caricatured Robin Hood). Stephen Amell stars as Oliver Queen, with Susanna Thompson (Kings) and Willa Holland as his mother and sister, Katie Cassidy and Paul Blackthorne as his love interest and her father, and Colin Donnell (Pan Am) as his best friend. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a dearth of superhero shows, which may give Arrow an extra edge to make it to series. And having a Warehouse 13 vet helping helm the show should only help.
Beauty and the Beast
A pretty odd choice for a remake show, but since it’s only “loosely based” on the 1980s procedural and stars Kristin Kreuk and Austin Basis, the show may do okay. Since Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, I’m going to at least check this out if it makes it to series. Fairy tales are in right now, but I have no clue what direction this show plans to take.
The Carrie Diaries
I had no interest in this show whatsoever until I heard it cast AnnaSophia Robb, whose acting I’ve loved since Bridge to Terebithia. I still don’t think I’ll watch. Sex and the City plus the 1980s? Ugh. And even if it does make it to series based off the other show’s (and movies’) popularity, the demographic that would likely watch it aren’t going to be very familiar with a show that aired a decade ago.
Cult
Mysterious disappearances surrounding a cult TV show? Sorry, but I need more than a minor character from Veronica Mars (Alona Tal) showing up to perk my interest.
First Cut
Medical shows don’t really interest me, and I’m not familiar with Justin Hartley (the CW show Smallville’s Green Arrow) or Mamie Gummer. Michael Rady I know as Kostas on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and I don’t even remember Kelly McCreary’s brief appearances on White Collar. Working at a hospital being like high school all over again could work, but I fear the concept would either disappear or be overplayed.
Joey Dakota
Romantic time-travel musical sounds a bit far-fetched, and the name of the show sounds like a cross between the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana. I’m not familiar with Amber Stevens or Leah Renee, the only cast announcements made so far. I’ll check it out for the novelty if it makes it to series, but I think it’s unlikely.
The Selection
“An epic romance set 300 years in the future which centers on a poor young woman who is chosen by lottery to participate in a competition to become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads.” That was intriguing enough. Then I found out it was being headed up by Angel and Dollhouse scribes Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. I’m not familiar with leads Aimee Teegarden or Ethan Peck, and I’ve only seen Sean Patrick Thomas in a few episodes of Ringer. Still, I’m definitely rooting for this one, even though many are claiming it sounds too similar to The Hunger Games.
Shelter
The Help. New England resort. J.J. Abrams. That’s pretty much all that’s known about this show so far.
If I had my choice on which pilots make it to series, I’d pick The Selection, Arrow, and Beauty and the Beast (in that order). Based on buzz and cast, I’m guessing First Cut and The Carrie Diaries are more likely to be picked up than the remaining Cult, Joey Dakota, and Shelter.
What shows do you think the CW should pick up, and which shows should it cancel?
Update: cancellation and pickup verdicts for the CW here!
Scottie Thompson, perhaps best known as Jeanne Benoit on NCIS (back in the good ol’ Tony DiNardo days), and she also starred in the short-lived medical show Trauma. She’ll be playing a DEA agent who shares an undercover house with agents from the FBI and US Customs. The USA Network pilot is from White Collar creator Jeff Eastin.
Scottie Thompson Joins Graceland — USA Network.
All sorts of spoilers and scoop! First off, go vote for who you think should be Jimmy Palmer’s best man (and NCIS, for a wedding present, can’t you make him a series regular?). There’s intel on OUaT’s Stranger, info on whether Sara will be back for season four of White Collar, and details on what’s ahead for Karen and Dev on Smash.
NCIS, Once Upon a Time, Smash, Good Wife, White Collar — Inside Line Spoilers.
Poor Chuck. The show didn’t get one vote against White Collar! And Psych easily beat out newbie Grimm. USA Network triumphed over NBC, but how will two USA shows fare against each other?
White Collar criminal Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) agrees to help the FBI catch other white collar criminals using his expertise as an art and securities thief, counterfeiter and racketeer.
Psych features novice sleuth Shaun Spencer (James Roday), who is hired by the police after he cons them into thinking he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. With this assistance of his reluctant best friend, Gus (Dule Hill), the duo take on a series of complicated cases.
Make your choice, and leave a comment!
Update: Psych won, vote for them here now!
White Collar criminal Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) agrees to help the FBI catch other white collar criminals using his expertise as an art and securities thief, counterfeiter and racketeer.
When twenty-something computer geek Chuck (Zachary Levi) inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, CIA and NSA assign two agents to protect him and exploit such knowledge, turning his life upside down.
One show just ended season 3, the other gave a tearful farewell with season 5 – which one gets your vote? Leave a comment!
TV Breakroom is doing its own version of March Madness! And there’s a prize!
You will vote between two shows by leaving a comment with your choice on a bracket post (not on this post – though feel free to predict the winner here!). Every 6 days this month, I will close the comments, add up the totals, and set things up for the next stage of the bracket. I’ll link to all of the bracket posts here.
Every comment you leave throughout the month, whether to vote in the bracket or normal comments on other posts, will count as one entry toward a $15 Amazon gift card. Only one comment per post will count as an entry, and comments flagged as spam will be ignored. Contest begins on March 1, 2012 at 12:01 EST and ends March 31, 2012 at 11:59 EDT. Winner must provide email address and respond to winning notification within 3 days.
For a show to qualify, it had to air at least 5 new episodes between June 1, 2011 and February 29, 2012. It also has to be a US show (airing originally on a US broadcast or cable network, no matter where it was filmed), and I have to have seen at least 5 episodes of the show.
Here is the final match-up! The order in which shows would face each other was created by Random.org. Click the match-up to go to its bracket post and vote! Voting for this round ends around 1AM on March 31st, so get your votes in now!
Update – go here to see the winner!
Here are the 32 shows:
A cool look at the season finale by show creator Jeff Eastin. Love all the behind the scenes info on how the episode was thought up, and how this will impact Peter and Neal’s relationship. Hard to imagine that this is their most explosive cliffhanger to date!
White Collar Season 3 Finale Creator Jeff Eastin Preview.
So many interesting things are talked about in this article! Sebastian Stan (Jack Benjamin from Kings) will be the Mad Hatter on a future episode of Once Upon a Time (so, yes, the picture we saw of Alice in Wonderland in the book was entirely accurate).
Also, tonight The Finder will have Willa’s Uncle Shad make an appearance, and there’s info about both the White Collar season finale and the House series finale.
House, Fringe, Good Wife, Private Practice and White Collar Spoilers — Matt’s Inside Line.
