Well, the first of the network upfronts is out, covering NBC's fall schedule.  Here are my thoughts and what I anticipate I will be covering in one degree or another next season.  The following is the schedule released by the network on 14 May 2007:

NBC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2007-08

*New programs in CAPS (with the exception of "ER")

MONDAY
8-9 pm Deal or No Deal
9-10 pm Heroes/HEROES: ORIGINS
10-11 pm JOURNEYMAN

TUESDAY
8-9 pm The Biggest Loser
9-10 pm CHUCK
10-11 pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

WEDNESDAY
8-9 pm Deal or No Deal
9-10 pm BIONIC WOMAN
10-11 pm LIFE

THURSDAY
8-8:30 pm My Name Is Earl
8:30-9 pm 30 Rock
9-9:30 pm The Office
9:30-10 pm Scrubs
10-11 pm ER

FRIDAY
8-9 pm 1 vs 100/THE SINGING BEE
9-10 pm Las Vegas
10-11 pm Friday Night Lights

SATURDAY
8-9 pm Dateline NBC
9-11 pm Drama Series Encores

SUNDAY (Fall 2007)
7-8 pm Football Night in America
8-11 pm NBC Sunday Night Football

SUNDAY (January 2008)
7-8 pm Dateline NBC
8-9 pm Law & Order
9-10 pm Medium
10-11 pm LIPSTICK JUNGLE


Monday

Of course, Monday will continue to be a logjam, because it wasn't enough fun last season!  Here we have an effective swap-out.  "Heroes" (and its mid-season, hiatus-busting spinoff "Origins") will dominate the night and get top priority moving forward.  (Is it me, or does the spinoff sound like a metafictional version of "Who Wants to Be a Superhero"?).  "Journeyman" has a great pedigree, coming from people attached to "West Wing", and I loved Kevin McKidd on "Rome".  This swaps out with "Studio 60"; hopefully it will fare better.

Tuesday

As usual, Tuesday still appears to be the relief night coming out of Monday, giving me time to catch up.  "Chuck" is interesting with a great cast, but I'm not sure that I'll bother reviewing it.  Something tells me that it's a short-timer.  I might pull a "Veronica Mars" and watch it sporadically.

Wednesday

This is a tough one.  "Bionic Woman" has the pedigree, but I just don't know if it will take with the masses.  I'll probably add it to the review schedule.  So that's an additional show above and beyond what was on the schedule this past season.  "Life" is non-genre, so it won't be reviewed, but I may be tempted to check it out, if only for the ever-gorgeous Sarah Shahi (who has been a favorite since her days on "Alias".)

Thursday

Not a blessed thing has changed, and nothing will be reviewed.  I'll be watching "The Office" and "My Name is Earl", but really, who needs to review those shows?  They speak for themselves.

Friday

Also, nothing on this network will be reviewed.  Fans of "Friday Night Lights" will no doubt be disappointed, but my schedule is full, and I plan on catching this down the road on DVD anyway.  Considering what usually happens to shows on Friday night, I wager that'll be how everyone watches the second season.

Sunday

I've long since dropped "Medium", so that deadly move is of little consequence to me.  And the less said about "Lipstick Jungle", the better.  Really, doesn't it sound like a vain attempt to lure the "Desperate Housewives" crowd?  Sorry…they're busy waiting for that show to return to some semblance of its former glory.


In terms of any lingering thoughts about this schedule, I note with disgust that the promised abandonment of the 8PM to reality TV has indeed come to pass.  That leads to a dearth of new dramatic programming, though the absence of "The Apprentice" is something to be thankful for!

In terms of the reviews, here's the current tally.  3 shows will be reviewed out of the current list: "Heroes", "Journeyman", and "Bionic Woman".  Compared to the previous season, that's a net gain of +1.  With a lot of shows waiting until the spring to run without interruption, I'm not overly concerned about the addition.  Frankly, I expect one of the two new shows to struggle and falter before things heat up in January.

I didn't even turn on the TV or start the computer until just now.

I can't believe this happened at my school. Seriously. I had courses in that room. Even now, more than 10 years later, I remember walking those halls. Every camera angle matches one in my memory. All I can do is give my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the dead and wounded. The administration and law enforcement will have a lot of very specific questions to answer, and the answers are going to have to be a hell of a lot better than what we've heard so far.

As tragic as this is, the thing I can't get out of my head is that my alma mater will no longer be remembered for its excellent engineering school, Corps of Cadets, champion football team, or the thousands of things that I remember from my five years there. It is now overshadowed my death and fear. The stigma of this day will be a burden on us all.

I've been sitting on this news for a couple of weeks now, as all the details were ironed out and the systems were put into place.  But everything seems to be running smoothly now, so I can start spreading the news!  Starting this month (October 2006), a number of my reviews will be featured in Media Blvd Magazine.  This is a publication with online and printed components, covering celebrity interviews, reviews, and opinion pieces on various genre and non-genre television shows.  So far, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive!

One aspect of the agreement that works for me (and ultimately for you, the reader) is my continued ownership of the material.  I still hold all the rights to my work; they are effectively reproducing the reviews with my permission.  The net effect is that I fill a gap into their overall coverage, while I get a solid reference and wider readership.  And because this is a legitimate publication, the reviews are now included in the Google News service.  As of 12 Oct 2006, that aspect of the deal went live.  So now, when people search on a TV show or episode, once the magazine runs it online, it comes up on the search!

I've already heard from some people who found me through the service, so this is having an immediate effect.  Of course, I now feel a little more pressured to get the reviews out in a timely fashion, but the editors are willing to follow my schedule as is, which works out well.  Also, they are intrigued by my (tenuous) contacts with the principals of shows like "Ghost Hunters", "Haunting Evidence", and "Dead Famous", and if I can schedule an interview, they might be interested in running that as well.  Needless to say, this is quite an opportunity, especially since there are some items brewing on the paranormal research front that could overlap tremendously with this particular endevour.

So I urge everyone to jump on over to

http://mediablvd.com/magazine/ and show them support.  They have tens of thousands of subscribers and a lot more in the "casual readership" column, so add that to the thousand or so people who visit this site a day, and it's definitely a big step in the right direction.  Also, for what it's worth, I'm using my professional name for the reviews posted on Media Blvd, so there may be some cosmetic changes moving forward.  Rest assured, I won't forget the people who helped me get this far, and the archive site will continue to be the primary archive for everything that I produce.

In a recent message, a fellow contributor asked about plot and character arcs.  Specifically, what is a plot arc?  What is a character arc?  How do these things work?

In TV, there are two primary modes of storytelling: episodic and serial.  "Episodic" is where each episode tells a complete story and the characters and situations rarely change.  Think "Law and Order" or "CSI" or "Star Trek".  Characters are static, and very often, character histories change as the story demands.

"Serial" shows, on the other hand, may have relatively complete stories in each epsiode, but the overall show involves events that have consquences for the characters and their development.  "Babylon 5" is a classic example, as well as "Buffy", "Angel", and "Lost".  These shows tend to delve into characters and their decisions, so the characters tend to change over time as events push them into new territory.

A "plot arc" is a sequence of events, typically spanning a season.  Usually it involves three phases: an introductory phase, where conflicts and situations are established; a complication phase, where the conflicts erupt and events spiral out of control; and a resolution phase, where the conflicts are resolved, usually setting the stage for the next plot arc.

For example: a typical season of "Buffy" would begin with about 6-7 episodes that would begin introducing the next big threat and the character conflicts in play since the previous season.  There would be a major revelation, followed by 6-7 episodes that would seriously complicate everyone's lives and force them to uncover the threat and anything related to it.  That usually would lead into another major revelation, and then 6-7 episodes would be spent on defeating the threat that had emerged, usually with major consequences to the characters.

Most "serial" shows with distinct season arcs are patterned in this way over the course of 22 episodes.  Initial setup, 6-7 episodes of introduction, big event, 6-7 episodes of fallout and complication, big event, 6-7 episodes leading into the big resolution.

It's not always event-driven; sometimes it can be thematic, where a major question is raised in the season premiere and the question is answered by the end of the season.  Usually this happens when the season is dominated by "character arcs".  This is where certain characters change in response to the events in the season arc, usually in some major and undeniable way.

A strong "serial" series will have several plot and character arcs all going at the same time (again, think "Babylon 5" or "Lost").  A weak "serial" series might have a plot arc with weak character arcs (or none at all).

Some shows (like "X-Files", for example) try to meld the "episodic" and "serial" types into something of a hybrid.  This is where most episodes are "episodic" in nature, but there are still big events where they would usually fall in the schedule for a "serial" series.  It just so happens that this is usually coincidental with the traditional "sweeps" period for TV ratings!

Hopefully this clears up what I mean when I talk about "plot arcs" and "character arcs".

Since I mostly write and post reviews, I wanted to mention how I approach the ratings for episodes. Here's the basic breakdown. I look at three key elements for each episode: Writing, Acting, and Direction. I give each element up to two points: Writing: 0 points - terrible plotting 1 point - one strong plot with weak subplot 2 points - competent plotting Acting: 0 points - terrible acting by nearly everyone 1 point - the actors are trying, but not enough 2 points - competent acting Direction (includes editing, etc.): 0 points - bad camera angles, choopy editing, etc. 1 point - mostly all right, but some weak moments 2 points - strong, competent production The rest of the points are what I consider to be "style points", which is the personal side of the review. Up to 4 points can be awarded: 0 points - I strongly disliked the episode 1 point - I felt it was average 2 points - I felt it was strong 3 points - I felt it was one of the best of the series 4 points - I felt it was a personal favorite As such, an average episode with all the mechanics in place will get a rating of 6-8. It takes a really surprising and strong episode, rising above the rest, to get a 9. The rare 10 rating comes in two ways. It's either so strong and powerful that it clearly tops the whole history of the series to date, or it overcomes its flaws. Hopefully that clarifies the ratings!