Question: It seems like you always respond to really long questions, but mine is just short and simple. What do you think of NBC's new comedy Teachers?
Answer: Hate it. Didn't laugh once. Gets an F. Is that short and simple enough? (It's like NBC going in reverse to its darkest days of trite, formula noncomedy. A waste of time. Can't tell if it's a waste of talent — there's no chance here for anyone to shine. ...
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What lurks in The Office of Steve Carell's boss man?
There is no episode of The Office airing this week. NBC is putting an episode of Teachers in our place tonight. I shared a changing room with three of the actresses from Teachers at a press event earlier this year. They were sweethearts, so I do hope their show does well.
With no Office episode airing tonight, I thought this might be a good week for some more frequently asked questions. These are all from your e-mails. Here we go!
I was wondering: Will you guys ever tape in front of a live studio audience? — Misty, Atlant
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Question: Love your column! My question is, now that NBC has shelved Four Kings (which I actually liked), what do you think about moving Scrubs to the 8:30 pm/ET time slot that Kings occupied? Maybe they could gain the audience they deserve if they were sandwiched between Will & Grace and My Name Is Earl.
Answer: I think it's a great idea — just about everyone except the NBC programmers seem to agree — but I don't see it happening, not this late in the season. NBC just threw another ball of crap at Scrubs last week, pairing it with the miserably unwatchable Teachers, and I would imagine for much of the rest of what's left of the season, NBC will continue to either double-run Earl episodes on Thursdays (way to burn out a hot new show) or replay classic Will & Grace episodes as part of the countdown to the end. Or maybe they'll find a way to sneak even more editions of Deal or No Deal across the lineup. Who knows with this network? If Scrubs survives this season, it will be no thanks t ...
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Question: Hi, Matt. Love this section of TVGuide.com. There's an awful lot of great British stuff out there: MI-5, Hustle and, most recently, Doctor Who. U.S. drama gets pretty well recognized in the U.K. — while the ratings are pretty measly, they get praised nonetheless. A lot of British stuff goes unrecognized in the U.S., like Dancing with the Stars being a deal made by the BBC and ABC following the BBC's hit of Strictly Come Dancing. Now the rumor mill is churning again, saying that David E. Kelley is penning a pilot for ABC based on the BBC's latest big hit Life on Mars. Do we care about any of this? What do you think of the latest U.K. shows to be sprinkled over the U.S.?
Answer: Most of them are fine, but I think they get plenty of respect, when deserved, in the U.S. critical press. (BBC America in particular gets glowing notices for many of its imports, from class acts like Viva Blackpool to guilty pleasures like Footballers' Wives.) AMC's Hustle and A&E's MI-5 (which the
...
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I nearly wept with relief when House returned Tuesday night (March 28) after a several-week absence. I hadn't yet recovered from sitting through one of the most miserable hours of American Idol — sorry, it was the worst hour I can remember. Is this century going to be the death of music as we know it? Horrid songs, rotten arrangements, and even the few singers I've liked were dull-to-dreadful.
Ugh.
Then House roared into gear with a gripping mystery leavened by some Odd Couple humor as House and Wilson (temporarily homeless thanks to his wrecked marriage) became roommates. Very Oscar and Felix, as House lay sleepless while Wilson clipped his toenails (off camera, thankfully) and blow-dried his hair. But
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Teachers I momentarily had to stop trying to save Lisa Tucker's Idol career to watch this new sitcom, which appropriately aired after Scrubs. Why was this an appropriate time slot, you ask? Well it's a Matt Tarses creation — he's a coexecutive producer on the aforementioned comedy. And the very first thing that came to mind before I knew that little nugget of information was that this is just like Scrubs but set in a school and with a laugh track. So for a series premiere, I have to say that it was OK, although there were no major guffaws o
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The fun (and confusion) never stops as the networks continue scrambling their schedules, with a new wave of mid-season changes kicking in the instant the Olympics and February sweeps conclude.
As a helpful guide to get you through the exhausting month of March, here's a night-by-night rundown of what to expect (until the next changes are announced):
March 1: After a 90-minute American Idol, Fox airs a preview of quasi-improvised slacker sitcom Free Ride (it will regularly air on Sundays starting March 12, replacing American Dad for a while). Invasion is preempted for the annual Oscar-themed Barbara Walters Special, which for the first time is not airing on Oscar night.
March 2:
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Steve Carell, The Office
NBC's The Office, which was originally slated to air its season finale on March 30 — as boss man Steve Carell breaks away to film Evan Almighty — instead will extend its sophomore run to May 11, using a combo of repeats and one additional new episode. Elsewhere on the Peacock: Joey returns March 7 at 8 pm/ET, and Scrubs moves up a half-hour to Tuesdays-at-8:30 effective March 28, the same day Teachers, a new comedy, debuts at 9:30.
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Question: I just read that some other show will be taking the time slot of The Office in April because Steve Carell needed to take time off from the show to film a movie. Does that mean that this season won't last a full 22 episodes?
Answer: I'm not 100 percent sure of the show's schedule between now and early April (when the mid-season comedy Teachers gets a tryout), but if The Office doesn't make it quite to 22, it should be close. When The Office goes off the air in early February for the Olympics, 16 new episodes will have aired, leaving room for at least five new episodes to air on Thursdays in March. Whatever the math, the good news for fans is that Office and My Name Is Earl have already been picked up for a full 22 for next season ...
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