SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

The roll-out of NBC’s 52-week lineup begins this fall:

NBC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2008-09

*New programs in UPPER CASE (with the exception of “ER”)

MONDAY
8-9 p.m. “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. “Heroes”
10-11 p.m. “MY OWN WORST ENEMY”

TUESDAY
8- 9:30 p.m. “The Biggest Loser: Families”
9:30-10 p.m. “KATH & KIM”
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “KNIGHT RIDER”
9-10 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
10-11 p.m. “Lipstick Jungle”

THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m. “My Name Is Earl”
8:30-9 p.m. “30 Rock”
9- 9:30 p.m. “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. “The Office”/ “SNL THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE”
10-11 p.m. “ER”

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “CRUSOE”
9-10 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
10-11 p.m. “Life”

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. “KNIGHT RIDER” (Encores)
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (Encores)

SUNDAY
7- 8:20 p.m. “Football Night in America”
8:20-11 p.m. “NBC Sunday Night Football”

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“The Office” is getting a spin-off series. Probably. Most likely. Well, if the pilot comes in and NBC honcho Ben Silverman likes it.

But if it does, and he does, then it’s going to air after the Super Bowl. Sweet.

Silverman cannot confirm nor deny that there could possibly be characters from the large current ensemble cast of “The Office” jumping ship. All he would say is that he was ready to move forward with the spin-off as long as “it did not harm the mothership.”

Gotcha.
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Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.

As previous reports had predicted, NBC has found a way to keep the lights on.

(For David Bianculli’s podcast with Kyle Chandler, go here.)

NBC Entertainment honcho Ben Silverman told writers on a conference call today that if he had to sit next to somebody on the plane telling him this was their favorite show and not to cancel it, he couldn’t take it.

See? You don’t have to ship tons of peanuts to an executive. Just book the same flights he or she is on and make them want to scratch their eyes out.

What wife hasn’t looked at her husband just like this when he’s been making a horse’s hind-end out of himself. The fabulous team of Connie Britton as Tami Taylor and Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor make “Friday Night Lights” one show that shouldn’t be missed. NBC Photo: Bill Records

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Jonathan Whitesell, one of the “Jericho” faithful, sends this message board thread from the fan site JerichoNet2 about the next assault wave.

(I accidently went to Jericho Net instead of JerichoNet2. It creeped me out a bit when the home page comes up with my IP address, my operating system and informs me that “I can see you and you can’t hide” or “you can’t hide from my watchful eye…” Thanks for correcting me on that one, MikesMom.)

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Shawn Ryan, “The Unit”

“The Unit” executive producer Shawn Ryan has been slammed locking the final edit of “The Shield,” but took time to shot me an e-mail about “The Unit” coming back this fall.

As for “The Shield,” Shawn shares that it was “very satisfying to end it the way I wanted to, but a little sad that I’ll never be in the editing room again on ‘The Shield.’ ”

But for fans of “The Unit,” Shawn says “I’m glad that you have a number of fans clamoring for the show. Here’s the scoop: When the strike ended, we were hoping to get additional episodes for the spring, like most shows.”

Unfortunately, Shawn says, CBS didn’t need the episodes for April and May because the network had filled the schedule with new episodes of reality shows like “Big Brother” and “Survivor.” Shawn assures us that CBS loves the show and that ratings-wise it is a “solid base hit although not a home run against brutal competions in ‘House” and ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ ”

Shawn says he thinks the chances are good the “The Unit” will be picked up for the fall – but doesn’t expect CBS to give them a solid answer until closer to the May upfronts.

“We’ve always had to wait until the May upfronts to find out our fate (even after our first season when we were the top rated new show of the year!). I imagine it will be the same again this year,” Shawn says, adding that they don’t feel safe by any means.

David Mamet, Shawn and the other writers have broken out the big plot points for next season, he says, and “I think it’s pretty great and it shakes up the show in a really wonderful way. We’ll go in and pitch it to them soon. I’m very confident they’ll be excited about it creatively. Maybe they’ll be inspired and give us an early pickup after hearing it. More likely, we’ll be waiting until May to learn our fate.”

And that’s the scoop, straight from Shawn. He’s also one of the nicest guys around, and deserves to be treated better by CBS. But, what are you gonna do?

Michael Chiklis and Shawn Ryan of “The Shield,” courtesy of ViewImages

After watching the series finale of “Jericho,” I felt a little bit like I’d just watched one of those quick catch-ups like the “Lost in 8:15” or the “Battlestar Galactica” update.

You just knew that the producers crammed at least one season, possibly two, into that fortysomething minute episode. Hawkins finally got the bomb evidence to Texas, the pivot point in future history of this nation. Only Texas could change the balance of power, and get rid of the corrupt Cheyenne government.

Beck finally saw the light, and we could see some sparks flying between Beck and Heather (Sprague Grayden). We can only imagine how that could turn out.

We left on the verge of a massive civil war, but with Texas on the side of might and right.

It left me wanting more, yet satisfied in knowing where the series was headed.

Which I’m hoping is at least a couple of made-for-TV movies on the Sci Fi Channel.

Jake (Skeet Ulrich, left) and Beck (Esai Morales, center) on the Feb. 19 episode of “Jericho” on CBS. Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc.

And here’s a little Skeet for you, back when he was giddy over coming back because of the fan’s support:

CBS is staying oddly silent about the future of “The Unit.”

Max Martini, Dennis Haysbert, and Scott Foley star in “The Unit” on CBS. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2007 Broadcasting Inc.

So of course we expect the worst. There are no more episodes scheduled to air this spring, and no word yet on if this solid series will be picked up next season. So rather than sit on our thumbs, it’s time to take some action.

Well, not us really, but Scott Miles, the person who started this online petition.

If you want to voice your discontent, here’s the contact info for CBS:

CBS Comment line 323-575-4913.
Audience Services: audsvcs@cbs.com
CBS TV City attn: Programming
7800 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036

To register your comments online, go here: http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.shtml

As of Friday, when CBS announced “Jericho” had been canceled, there was still no word on whether “The Unit” would return.

That would make a lot of people very unhappy, based on the more than 50 comments from readers of my previous blog Unscripted. And it would make me angry as well. “The Unit” has performed admirably through its run, and gained many supporters.

Let’s hope sanity prevails and “The Unit” will be back this fall when the networks need a viewers.

As they bring his body home, the team copes with Williams’s death, on “The Unit”. Pictured: Max Martini, Scott Foley, Dennis Haysbert, Robert Patrick. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS. ©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Let’s just hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of “The Unit.”

Fans pelted CBS with nuts, but when it came down to the wire, they just couldn’t convince enough Nielsen families to watch “Jericho.”
Today, CBS officially canceled “Jericho” in this statement:

STATEMENT REGARDING “JERICHO” FROM CBS ENTERTAINMENT PRESIDENT NINA TASSLER

“The March 25th episode of Jericho will be the series finale. Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more. We thank an engaged and spirited fan base for keeping the show alive this long, and an outstanding team of producers, cast and crew that went through creative hoops to deliver a compelling, high quality second season. We have no regrets bringing the show back for a second try. We listened to our viewers, gave the series an opportunity to grow, and the producers put a great story on the screen. We’re proud of everyone’s efforts.”

The March 25th broadcast is the seventh episode, completing the seven-episode order for the 2007/2008 season. It was shot with two different endings, one in case CBS brought it back, and another if this was, indeed, the series finale.

We knew when Bonnie blew away those nasty Ravenswood guys, then went down in a hail of gun fire that the end was near.

From left to right Mary (Clare Carey), Eric (Kenneth Mitchell), Stanley (Bred Beyer), Mimi (Alicia Coppola), Jimmy (Bob Stephenson), Emily (Ashley Scott) and Bill (Richard Speight, Jr.) bury Bonnie at the Richmond farm on CBS’ “Jericho.” Photo: Best Possible Screen Grab/CBS © 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Second tip-off that “Jericho” was headed for cancellation town: The photo wasn’t shot by a CBS photographer. Instead, itwas “best possible screen grab.”

Check out two clips from the series finale posted by TV Week.

CBS announced today it will renew 11 series for the 2008-2009, but “The Unit” and “Shark” don’t seem to appear on this list.

The shows you will see in the fall are: “Cold Case,” “Criminal Minds,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Miami,” “CSI: NY,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “NCIS,” “Numb3rs,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Without a Trace” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Those series join previously announced ‘”Survivor” and “The Amazing Race”.