The Weeksly Late Edition – 10/11/06

ey there Ladies & Gentlemen, and welcome back to “The Weeksly Late Edition”. It’s been a damn busy week on my end, but given that the majority of next week will see me hooked up to my brand spankin’ new copy of “Guitar Hero 2”, I’ve gotta get this out of the way…… quickly:

My Television Is Trying To Kill Me

So, what’s the best news in TV land this week? No, not Kirstie Alley showing what she looks like when she’s 75 pounds less heavy in what looked like some kind of circus tent, the good news would be the fact that NBC have finally given “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” a full season order. God bless ‘em, because it really would have pissed me off if I got to around 9 episodes, and then got the news that it wouldn’t be coming back. I’m still a little curious about putting it up against a juggernaught like the “C.S.I.” franchise – I mean, I understand that there’s a certain amount of class that comes with being an Aaron Sorkin creation at this point, but for what is effectively a start-up type deal, I’m not sure if that’s the way I would have gone had it being me signing on the dotted line. I’ll say it again though, if you’re one of those people who thinks the show is “too inside”, I would say you’re dead wrong – give it a chance, it deserves all the love it can get from the public.

OK, I’m in a bit of a tough spot here with my favourite show……. Those of you who have been reading “The Late Edition” for a while now know that one of my absolute favourite shows of all time is “Dancing With The Stars”…. Well not really, in actual fact, it’s the ever-loving’ masterpiece that is “Survivor”. I’ve watched every season since the very beginning, have to admit that (despite some shitty early episodes) “All Stars” was my favourite set – if only for “Boston” Rob Mariano, and count the days between the seasons. So, that being said, here’s the problem I’ve got: Channel 9, who really hammer great shows into the late hours of the night rather than giving them a shot in primetime, have been delaying the broadcasts by a couple of episodes here in Australia – not a big deal to some people, but when it’s my fave, I want to talk to you all about it, and bitch about the latest evictee. So, moving from 7:30 to 8:30 to 9:30 to 10:30pm now – I’ve reached a decision. From next week, I’m gonna stick to the US schedule unless any of you who haven’t seen it really desperately don’t want to be spoiled on the events – so be warned, if you’re watching delays of it, avoid the “Survivor” sections next week.

OK, to wrap up this section, here’s a (slight) bit of relief for those 27 people out there (including me) who watched and enjoyed the hell out of CBS’ cancelled series – here’s the press release:

CBS WILL STREAM ORIGINAL EPISODES OF WARNER BROS. TELEVISION’S DRAMA SERIES “SMITH” ON CBS’S BROADBAND CHANNEL, INNERTUBE, STARTING TODAY

Additionally, The Series Will Be Available For Download On AOL, Amazon and iTunes

Written Synopsis Of How The Serialized Show Was To Be Resolved Will Be Posted On The “SMITH” Web Site At CBS.com

Starting today, CBS will stream the four remaining original episodes of the prime-time drama SMITH on its broadband channel, innertube (www.cbs.com/innertube). The episodes will be available free of charge, with minimal commercial interruption, for four weeks. The first three episodes, which had already aired, will also return online so internet audiences can see all seven original episodes in their entirety. Also, a written synopsis of how the producers planned to resolve the serialized drama will be provided by the show’s writers and posted on the series’ website at www.CBS.com.

Additionally, Warner Bros. Television is making all seven episodes of SMITH available via digital download in November as well as AOL, Amazon and Apple’s iTunes Store, so that viewers will be able see the four new original episodes or watch all seven. Fans will have the opportunity to see the series unfold and will have the satisfaction of knowing the intended resolution of the on-going plotlines.

SMITH premiered on the CBS Television Network on Tuesday, September 19th and ran for three episodes. The pilot and episodes two and three were streamed on innertube for one week immediately following their initial broadcasts on the Network.

SMITH, which stars Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Simon Baker, Amy Smart, Jonny Lee Miller, Franky G, Chris Bauer and Shohreh Aghdashloo, is a serialized drama that delves into the world of high-stakes robberies, where Bobby Stevens (Liotta) finds himself leading a double life as both the leader of a band of thieves who pull off intricate and ingenious jobs and also as a typical nine-to-five, suburban family man. Emmy Award winner John Wells, Chris Chulack, Brooke Kennedy and R. Scott Gemmill are executive producers for John Wells Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

CBS’s innertube, an advertising-supported broadband channel, offers a wide range of free entertainment programming to Internet users and can be accessed through CBS.com or by going directly to www.cbs.com/innertube. It features a line-up of original series produced expressly for the Internet, as well as new shows that are companions to popular CBS brands. Current original innertube offerings include the web-exclusive series “Hook Me Up,” “Animate This!,” and “InTurn,” as well as the online talk shows “Survivor Live” and “Finish Line.” Viewers can also go to innertube to view free streams of entire episodes of popular CBS series, including “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Miami,” “CSI: NY,” “Jericho,” “NCIS,” “Numb3rs” and “Survivor.”

Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) is one of the entertainment industry’s most respected providers of original content, producing award-winning drama and comedy series, made-for-television movies and miniseries for both network and cable television. With 28 series set to air during the 2006-2007 season, WBTV is the industry’s number one supplier of primetime television programming, with multiple shows on each of the five broadcast networks, as well as numerous cable networks.

The Most Salacious Piece Of Tabloid Gossip This Week

I’m sure this isn’t to fun for the guy himself, but I found this strangely suitable – I can’t really believe that I know who the fuck Kevin Federline is (but not for much longer – say hello to Mischa Barton on the drive back to obscurity), thanks to the guys at the IMDB:

Federline Dumped by Text?
Kevin Federline learned of his marriage break-up on Monday when estranged wife Britney Spears dumped him by text, according to newspaper reports. The aspiring rapper was filming a reality TV show for the MuchMusic channel in Toronto, Canada, when cameras caught his mobile phone beeping. He looked visibly shocked as he read the text, and allegedly requested 30 minutes off-set to compose himself. A show source tells British newspaper the Daily Mirror, “His whole mood suddenly changed when the text messages arrived. He had been very upbeat and was saying how Britney was behind his push to make it big in the hip-hop world.” Federline had been plugging his new album on the show, which on Wednesday entered the US Billboard 200 chart at a lowly 151.

I love the new nickname going around BTW – “Fed-Ex”!

The Official Weeks Seal Of Approval DVD Release Of The Week

Even though it’s been a little over 8 years since it last appeared in fresh episodes, I still believe that “Seinfeld” is one of the greatest sitcoms ever, and this week saw the release of “Seinfeld: Season 7”, featuring one of the greatest episodes of it’s entire run, “The Soup Nazi” – here’s the breakdown of the set:

The show about nothing is finally a DVD about something! Packed with all new special features created in partnership with Jerry Seinfeld, this 4-disc set includes all 22 episodes from the seventh season.

Episodes:
The Engagement; The Postponement; The Maestro; The Wink; The Hot Tub; The Soup Nazi; The Secret Code; The Pool Guy; The Sponge; The Gum; The Rye; The Caddy; The Seven; The Cadillac; The Shower Head; The Doll; The Friars Club; The Wig Master; The Calzone; The Bottle Deposit; The Wait Out & The Invitations.

The special features (as per the norm for these sets to date) are always great, and include the following:

– Queen of the Castle: The Elaine Benes Story – when Seinfeld needed a girl Julia Louis-Dreyfus fit the bill bringing luster and laughter to the show
– Larry David’s Farewell – reflections on Larry David’s final season
– Inside Looks – behind-the-scenes stories from the cast and creators
– Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That – never-before-seen outtakes and bloopers
– In the Vault – season seven never-before-seen deleted scenes saved from the cutting room floor
– Yada, Yada, Yada – cast and crew audio commentaries
– Master of His Domain – see Jerry Seinfeld in exclusive never-before-seen stand-up comedy footage
– Sein-Imation – see classic scenes from “The Engagement” and “The Marine Biologist” re-imagined in Sein-Imation
– Notes About Nothing – behind-the-scenes trivia and production notes
Cheers,
Adam Weeks.