Question: I disagree with your recent comment regarding House's move from Tuesdays to Mondays. Fox did a great job in establishing a hit show by putting it after American Idol last season. Now that it can hold its own as a strong performer, a great show like Bones should get that same chance to become a hit. Shouldn't the network take advantage of a powerhouse show like American Idol before it burns out?
Answer: Absolutely. But the question I was answering had to do with the wisdom of moving House off of Tuesdays and into an earlier time period, both of which I think might be mistakes. Bones is doing a lot better now than House was doing a year ago (pre-Idol), so it may not need the boost anyway. To me, Bones (a more appropriate show for the 8 pm/ET time slot) would make just as solid a lead-in to 24 on Mondays come January, if that's what Fox decides. But that Tuesday time period is so incredibly competitive right now, I'm not sure why Fox would want to shift House from where it is,
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Question: What is Fox thinking, moving House to Mondays at 8 pm/ET? I don't know anyone who sits down to watch TV before 9 at the earliest. And with all those "viewer discretion" advisories, do TPTB really think it's a smart move to air the show before the kiddies are tucked in? Are they hoping to boost Bones with the American Idol lead-in?
Answer: You're referring to the mid-season game plan announced by Fox before this season started. The likelihood of Fox sticking to that agenda is extremely slim. There's not even a guarantee that Fox will air Idol in the same Tuesday-Wednesday format of last season, given the way those nights are taking shape. But as things stand now, I'm with you. Moving House to a new night and earlier time looks like a classic example of fixing something that definitely ain't broke. And to Sandi, who wrote in to wonder about Prison Break's future come January, because it isn't shown on Fox's projected mid-season schedule at all, I imagine that's one of the
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Question: Do you know how many episodes of Arrested Development Fox has picked up for this year? According to the network's site, House will be taking over the show's time slot in January, but I don't see AD listed on another night then. Has Fox just not decided where they'll move it to or is it going to be having a shortened season?
Answer: A studio contact tells me Arrested Development was renewed for a full 22-episode order. Of course, that didn't keep Fox from cutting the number short last season. And no, if Fox follows through on its mid-season schedule changes, it hasn't yet figured out where AD would go. To me, it would have made more sense for Fox to order only 13 episodes, which would take the show to the December holiday break. (AD feels more like a cable show anyway; why not produce it like one?) But Fox is also notorious for laying out a long-term schedule (such as House migrating to Mondays in January as the 24 lead-in, once Idol returns) and not following through, so I
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In more related news, due to the hurricane relief efforts being coordinated in Memphis, the Sept. 5 American Idol auditions scheduled for the city have been scrapped. Tryouts will instead continue in Denver (Sept. 11 at Invesco Field) and Chicago (Sept. 16 at Soldier Field). The next season of Idol unspools in January 2006.
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Question: Why do you think that Rock Star: INXS is doing so poorly in the ratings? Besides the awkward title, I think it's a well-produced, realistic talent show whose participants have the vocal chops to put the American Idol Top 12 to shame. I'm interested in your opinion here.
Answer: I was surprised that it never took off, and even CBS is conceding defeat by shipping the Monday segment off to VH1, where it will now air on Sundays. Good luck keeping track of that mess. From the little bit that I have been able to watch, the quality of contestants was very high, but that may have worked against it. People seem to like watching those wretched auditions of untalented singers on Idol, so maybe Rock Star miscalculated by eliminating that part of the search and focusing only on people who actually deserved to be there. (So much for taking the high road in the world of reality TV.) And some analysts are also now suggesting that the show's Rock Star emphasis limits its appeal to those who
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