Bones

Matt, first off, nice seeing ...

• Jun 2, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: Matt, first off, nice seeing you on Charlie Rose. I hope you and he might sit down and have an extended conversation some time. Secondly, as regards the moving of Bones to Friday, I think the reason fans are so alarmist can be summed up in two words: Firefly and Wonderfalls. I know that's how I feel. Answer: Thanks for the Charlie Rose nod. That panel was fun, and once Charlie is fully recovered in his seat, it would be an honor to talk TV with him at length, should the opportunity arise. As for Bones moving to Friday next mid-season (should that even happen, which I'm skeptical about), I understand the trepidation regarding any good Fox show being shipped to that death slot. But keep in mind that Bones is a much more mainstream show than either Firefly or Wonderfalls, which would have been a risk on any night in any time period (except maybe after American Idol, and even then, imagine how bad they would look if they lost too much of the lead-in). Bones could work for Fox the ... read more

The Results Are In
A look at the winners and losers of the 2005-2006 season

• Jun 1, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Stephen Battaglio

Hugh Laurie, House

Put a fork in the recent TV season — it officially ended on May 24, so now it's time to tally the results. For the fourth straight year, CBS was crowned the most-watched network, with an average of 12.6 million viewers per week. While the network didn't score any smash hits, new shows such as Criminal Minds, The Unit and Ghost Whisperer were solid ratings performers. Fox was able to crow as well: for the second year in a row it was No. 1 among viewers aged 18 to 49, the group most coveted by advertisers. But this year the network won the demo race wi read more

At the Fox upfront, it was ...

• May 26, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: At the Fox upfront, it was announced that Bones will be moved to Friday in mid-season. Don't you think this is a bad idea? Friday is a death slot and Bones is an established show that should not be buried because Fox put it on the wrong day. If it starts doing badly in that slot, what do you think is going to happen? Are they going to move it to a different day or let it die? Answer: Everyone's an alarmist. As I suggested in my Dispatch a week ago, it's best not to take very seriously any mid-season announcement Fox makes before next season even begins. (Those with long memories will recall that Fox, for one instance, originally planned to move House to Mondays this mid-season as 24's lead-in. That never happened.) But to answer your question: yes, it's a bad idea. And it probably won't come to that. If it does somehow move to Friday, and if Bones' ratings sink, Fox will take steps to fix it. Fox isn't just going to "let it die." But look at what's working on Fridays: ... read more

OK, so, besides Gilmore Girls ...

• May 17, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Question: OK, so, besides Gilmore Girls and your eating habits, do you have anything new? Like on, say... Bones?

Answer: I'm hearing Fox plans to bring the show back in August to give it a jump on the competition.

Falling Up
The nets reveal their strategies for next season

• May 16, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Stephen Battaglio

Brad Garrett, 'Til Death

After attending the networks' upfront presentations all week, the Biz has this analysis of the coming season. (Click here for next fall's grid and new-show descriptions.) CWYou've got to wonder what went wrong in CW's new-series development process if the network had to bring back 7th Heaven — even though the show lost a reported $16 million for WB this past season. But the decision to have CW's inaugural schedule made up of established shows from WB and UPN may end up being a blessing. Many of the shows have small but rabid followings, and promoting new shows on a new network will be tough. The fans of shows like One Tree Hill and Veronica Mars will track  them down on their own. Viewers in the 18-to-34-year-old demographic that CW targets don't watch networks, they watch shows. (According to recent survey, only one in four 1 read more

I was impressed and gratified ...

• Apr 14, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

John Spencer, The West Wing

Question: I was impressed and gratified by The West Wing's handling of the death of John Spencer/Leo McGarry in last week's episode (April 9), and I wonder if this is the road to the kind of classy ending you hoped for for the show. Clearly it was a story line that couldn't be delayed — no other plausible way to explain the absence of the vice-presidential candidate, especially given the real-life circumstances — but the writers wisely kept the ultimate focus on election results. Grief was expressed by the characters closest to Leo, while others showed the harsh reality of politics. Josh's turnaround was evident but not overplayed. Best of all, throughout the show the presidential candidates displayed the kind of nobility that drew us to this series in the first place. I lost my enthusiasm for The West Wing a while back, but for me this episode is close to full circle. Answer: Isn't that the truth. The West Wing at its best has always been an idealized romance about public service, and ... read more

Well, Matt, it looks like the ...

• Apr 10, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: Well, Matt, it looks like the honchos at CBS have heard your call and are moving Amazing Race to Wednesdays at 7 pm/MT (let the other time zones eat it for once). This puts it mainly up against Bones in my viewing habits, but do you think having it against America's Next Top Model and Deal or No Deal will hurt its ratings? Well, any more than having it at 9 pm/MT on Tuesday? Answer: It's a little early to crunch the numbers definitively, but it looks like moving The Amazing Race to an earlier time period paid off with an uptick in viewership, which at the very least was an improvement on the comedies that previously aired there. But going up against two reality contenders, a brand-new phenom like Deal or No Deal and a demographic hit like Model, did seem to depress Race's numbers more than I'd like to see. I think you'd have to say that CBS' programmers, who are usually among the sharpest in the biz, bungled Race this time around. The show's much better now than the "family" ... read more

I'm a huge fan of Bones. Any ...

• Apr 5, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Question: I'm a huge fan of Bones. Any chance of Booth and Brennan getting together?

Answer: I asked David Boreanaz a crasser version of that exact question on last week's podcast.

Prison Break Arguably it isn't...

• Mar 28, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by TV Guide News

Gregory Smith, Everwood

Prison Break Arguably it isn't that big of a surprise that Lincoln narrowly (though a little too narrowly, if you ask me) escaped execution. I don't think anyone watching this show would expect that they'd actually kill off one of the brothers before they get a chance to bust out of jail. I mean the show is Prison Break, after all, not "Watch as Michael's Spirit Is Broken When We Kill His Brother Whom He Tried in Vain to Save." But while the suspense factor on that end may be somewhat limited, the insane ways that they keep stifling Michael's plans might be the best reason to keep watching this show. My scream-out-loud moment of the episode was watching Michael stand silently while his skin was seared to the stolen guard's uniform. I felt his pain, and read more

DIG THIS

• Mar 24, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by TV Guide News

Fox has ordered a second season of Bones, which has been averaging 8.4 million viewers but as of late has enjoyed a boost in the Nielsens from its Tuesday American Idol lead-in. read more