The green movement has never been hotter, and no one's recycling more than television. Witness the dizzying number of "new" television shows that are retreads of earlier successes.
Are the studios going for Generation X nostalgia? Risk-free investments? Or have they officially run out of ideas?
Ratings are not guaranteed, as we learned when the NBC remake of "The Bionic Woman" short-circuited. But the networks are not discouraged. NBC's take on "Parenthood," inspired by the 1989 Ron Howard movie, is still in the works for later in the season. It'll be the second try at an adaptation - a 1990 version starred Leonardo DiCaprio, David Arquette and Thora Birch.
Why did that one fail? Maybe it had something to do with all the recycling that went on that season: Titles included "Working Girl," "Ferris Bueller," "Uncle Buck" and "Baby Talk," which was inspired by "Look Who's Talking."
How will the new crop of retro shows do? Nothing says "déjà vu" like a good old-fashioned cancellation.
If the wig-pulling antics of "The Housewives of Atlanta" have you in despair, take heart: You have officially squandered away the summer, and will now be rewarded with new fall television.
There's one good sign that we're in for some quality programming. The critically gushed-over "Lost" has a habit of killing off characters and ignoring subplots, which gives some excellent actors plenty of extra time. Watch for "Lost" alums in much the same way you might search for clues about Claire's unexplained disappearance. (But don't look for Claire herself; Emilie de Raven bypassed TV altogether to film a romance with Robert Pattinson.)
Sonya Walger (Desmond's true love Penny) loses her accent to star in "FlashForward" as a puzzled surgeon, and she'll be joined by former castmate Dominic Monaghan (tragic Charlie). Things don't look good for Elizabeth Mitchell's character Juliet, who was in "Lost's" last season finale, seeing as she has a large part in the remake of "V." Ian Somerhalder (sweet Boone) goes to the dark side as a vampire - and not the nice kind - on "The Vampire Diaries."
There are some interesting alumni from the lauded "Mad Men," too. If you can't place Kelsey Grammer's raspy-voiced wife on "Hank," picture her in a bouffant flip, tied to the bed by Don Draper. Yep! That's Melinda McGraw. And Pete Campbell's prim wife Trudy (Alison Brie) moonlights as a rehabbed Adderall addict in the comedy "Community."
Which brings us to Joel McHale, the sharp, snarky host of "The Soup." This season, he stretches himself to play the sharp, snarky reprobate of "Community." He is irresistible.
In the months ahead, familiar faces reinvent themselves with a fair amount of success -- and a few flamboyant flops. (I'm looking at you, Jenna Elfman.)
OK, now. TiVo's at the ready?
On "Good Morning America," the cast for next season's "Dancing With the Stars" was announced. The biggest surprise? Former Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who is not known for his cha-cha.
Also hoofing it:
Donny Osmond
Mya
Macy Gray
Aaron Carter
Melissa Joan Hart
Debi Mazar
Ashley Hamilton
Joanna Krupa
Kathy Ireland
Kelly Osbourne
Mark Dacascos
Chuck Liddell
Louie Vito
Natalie Coughlin
Michael Irvin
There must be some mathemtical formula involved in casting the show, although I can't figure out what it is. Maybe Melissa Joan Hart got the spot usually reserved for "90210" alums? I do know that Tori Spelling's husband was hoping to make the cut and didn't. Is there anything more humiliating than being rejected by "Dancing With the Stars"?
The ninth season of the hit ABC show premieres Sept. 21.
Caught up on "Psych" over the weekend and loved it. Does Dule Hill have any Emmys? I rank him up there with Kevin Dillon as a comedic genius.
At any rate, seems like strange timing to have two such good faux-psychic-helping-the-police shows on the air... What's your preference? Does anyone watch both, or is it the kind of situation where you must choose?
I recently caught a cable showing of "Fred Claus" -- go ahead, judge me -- and truly enjoyed the scene where Vince Vaughn, as the brother of Santa, ends up in therapy with other brothers of famous people.
There was Frank Stallone, of course, and Roger Clinton. Stephen Baldwin had a great bit where he got upset at someone, who yelled, "I'm not Alec!"
It reminded me of the 1999 sitcom "Movie Stars," which had a similar premise: brothers of famous guys hang out together, and with Harry Hamlin, for some reason. Frank Stallone, Don Swayze, Joey Travolta... It was canceled, but I swear to you I would have watched it.
Isn't it a time for a reality show or talk show starring the estranged mothers of stars? You could have Jennifer Aniston's mom, and Meg Ryan's mom, Drew Barrymore's mom, Candy Spelling of course... I think it could be cathartic, as well as dishy. The moms are definitely available. Maybe Britney Spears could fight with her mom again, so we could have Lynn Spears, too.
The New York Post reports that Cablevision is pioneering a 24/7 wedding channel, inspired by the success of "Bridezillas," "Amazing Wedding Cakes" and "My Fair Wedding."
I would so watch that.
I would watch a show with people's home wedding videos; flower girl hissy fits; bridesmaids gone bad; awkward wedding toasts; and definitely a special on wedding hookups.
There's at least one lesson to be learned from all this: Tread carefully when you're naming a show. Whoever came up with "Jon & Kate Plus 8" is probably wishing by now they'd been a bit less specific.
Television shows are populated by people, who are not always inclined to go along with the script - even when it's a "reality" show.
Stars fight. Get pregnant. Get arrested. And it's up to the production staff to make it work.
"People aren't predictable," says Linda Midgett, who was executive producer of the 2003 Chicago reality series "Starting Over." The idea was to give troubled women a second chance.
"We were constantly adjusting our plans for the show based on what was actually happening on the house," says Midgett.
"One night I got a call at 3 in the morning that one of the women had drunk a bottle of vodka," she remembers. "She was a closet alcoholic, was hiding it in the bathroom under the sink and none of us knew it. We realized, whoa. It sort of explained a lot of her behavior."
Farrah Fawcett was never not going to be a star. Nobody could take their eyes off her. Even in an early Ultra-Brite toothpaste commercial, Farrah radiated youth, athleticism, sunshine, joy, and oustanding dental hygiene.
All-American? Heck, Farrah was hot apple pie.
Her simple, sweet nature shone through her unforgettable turn as Jill Munroe in "Charlie's Angels." But who was Aaron Spelling kidding? There was no way that Angel was going to blend in undercover.
James Hibberd reports that eight homes have been actually WALLED OFF in an Atlanta suburb for three weeks. It's a Mike Fleiss project ("The Bachelorette"; "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"; brother of Heidi), and is tentatively titled "Block Party." How much money would have to be at stake for you to really get to know your neighbors?
I'm beginning to put together a picture of the typical E! viewer. They seem to be interested in, as my editor puts it, "the formerly naked."
From the wires:
E!'s new reality series "Kendra" premiered as the highest-rated series debut on the network since another former Playmate had a solo act on the network -- "The Anna Nicole Show" in 2002. In fact, "Kendra" out-performed all premiere episodes of "Girls Next Door," including last season's debut by 76% in the adult demo.
"Kendra" at 10 p.m. averaged 2.6 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. The docusoap also helped boost the second season premiere of "Denise Richards: It's Complicated," which hit a series high with 1.5 million viewers.
A&E hasn't confirmed it, but Perez Hilton says a Variety source says that the series about a Chicago cop has no future. Here's hoping that Swayze does, though.
She was congratulatory to the winning dance troupe on "Britain's Got Talent," but all the media attention seems to have taken its toll on Susan Boyle. She was taken to a London clinic under police escort to be treated for exhaustion, People reports.
The show's producers say: "Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained. She has been seen by her private GP who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery."
Us magazine reports that Nadya Suleman and her 14 children will be part of a "quasi-reality" documentary series. Nadya signed a deal Thursday night with Eyeworks production company.
At least the series shouldn't create a "Jon and Kate" situation, since Nadya's life is already a circus. And yet I'm disturbed. I'm not sure I want to hear any more about her life views.
And with multiples earning millions, will this show spur copycat wombs, determined to top octuplets?
Apparently "Deal Or No Deal" is not doing the job. AP reports:
NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC set a low-water mark of historic proportions for TV viewership last week.
The network averaged 4.4 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
While it's not the smallest ever recorded by ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, it's the smallest to come in a week outside of the summer doldrums of June, July, August or early September.
Only once before has NBC been lower, during August 2007, Nielsen said. The company's precise records go back to the advent of "people meters" in 1987, but given how dominant broadcast networks were before then, it's likely NBC hasn't had such a small audience since the early days of television.
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