SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

First it was the Amish, now reality show producers are looking for couples who got together through arranged marriages.

Casting is open to men and women “eager to explore an ancient cultural practice of finding a lifelong mate” in the upcoming “Arranged Marriage,” from the production company Magical Elves (“Top Chef,” “Project Greenlight”, “Step It Up & Dance”) and Lifetime.

Individuals who are ready to commit to marriage with a match selected by their closest loved ones can apply at w here. Cameras will then document the couple’s first year of marriage.

“This has the potential to be one of the most interesting social experiments in years,” said Executive Producer Jane Lipsitz, founder of Magical Elves along with producing partner Dan Cutforth. “The concept of finding a mate for life is universal, and we are excited to bring this journey to television.”

Acording to the press release, and you can go check this out on your own if you care, approximately half of all marriages end in divorce, but arranged marriages have a success rate estimated at 85%. The practice of using a matchmaker has soared in popularity, and an arranged marriage puts the people who know you best in the matchmaking role.

“Most of us choose our partners and relationships based on chemistry, which is actually looking down a path of destruction in a lot of ways,” said Lisa Clampitt, Executive Director of the Matchmaking Institute and someone who has advised the show. “The show will shake things up a bit by making people rethink the way that they’re finding love.”

Arranged marriage worked for David and Elizabeth Weinlick, who will serve as consultants on the show. The couple is celebrating ten years of marriage and three children together after tying the knot the day they met. The Weinlicks appeared on NBC’s Today and discussed their journey, which began with a campaign staged by David’s closest friends to find his bride.

“The traditional dating realm did not seem conducive to finding a long term life partnership that was healthy and successful and happy,” said David Weinlick.

“I just recognized that dating in my experience always resulted in a relationship that just wasn’t very fulfilling. So I thought maybe this will be a different way to have that fulfilling relationship,” said Elizabeth Weinlick.

Loved ones will match selected participants based on shared goals, values, experiences, and commitment to the relationship.

Both “Psych” and “Monk” were taken off the NBC schedule, and no wonder with their rankings down in the 70s.

And “Lost” tying with “60 Minutes” ? What’s up with that?

American Idol still hogs the top two slots even though we all know it is going to come down to the Davids – Archuleta and Cook. I’m putting my money on David Cross, who deserves the win just for his unique style.

Speaking of unique style, Paula Abdul melted down last week, talking about Jason Castro’s second performance, when he had only performed once that night.

Paula Abdul’s gaffe during last week’s “American Idol” on Fox.
Oh, Paula.

Check out where your favorite shows ranks on the Primetime Nielsen ratings for the week of April 28-May 4.

1 AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY 25090 8.8

2 AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY 22800 8.0

3 DANCING WITH THE STARS 18220 6.4

4 CSI 18010 6.3

5 DANCING W/STARS RESULTS 17060 6.0

6 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES 16760 5.9

7 GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM 15310 5.3

8 NCIS 14760 5.2

9 HOUSE-MON 9P 14640 5.1

10 CSI: MIAMI 13880 4.8
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Oh, joy. “Ugly Betty” is back tonight, and everyone’s celebrating.

America Ferrera and Eric Mabius celebrated their birthdays on the set of “Ugly Betty” on April 18 with their fellow cast members and production crew. ©(ABC/CRAIG SJODIN

Last Friday really was America Ferrera’s birthday, with Eric Mabius’ b-day on April 22, so it’s only fitting that tonight’s episode is about Betty’s 24th birthday.

Betty’s plans to spend a romantic evening with Henry are sidelined when his Baby Mama Charlie (Jayma Mays) pops back into their lives. Gio (Freddy Rodriguez) comes to the rescue, and for the first time I thought, Betty, drop Charlie and go with Gio.

For “Project Runway” fans, you should note that one of the blouses designed by “Project Runway” winner Christian Siriano designed a blouse worn in the May 1 episode, which features Siriano. The blouse will be given to Clothes Off Our Backs to auction off for charity.

OK all you wannabe Disney stars, we’ve finally got news on the open casting calls for the new realty show “HSM: Summer Session.”

The West Coast auditions will be taking place on Sunday, April 27 at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, CA. The East Coast casting call will be held on Wednesday, May 7, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The exact location is the Champion Stadium at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.

Both of these open auditions will form part of the early episodes of the series. Anyone between the ages of 16 and 22 is welcome to give it a shot at the open calls (if you are under 18, you must bring your parent or legal guardian) and can download an application and view eligibility requirements here.

The series debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 20 on ABC, and runs Sundays and Mondays for three weeks, then continues Mondays through mid-September. The producers welcome anyone and everyone aged 16-22 who has dreamed of being center stage.

The finalists will ultimately participate in a summer music program to hone their skills, and one talented newcomer will receive the opportunity to become part of the “High School Musical” family.

Picture you here with “High School Musical” stars Corbin Bleu(Chad Danforth), Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay Evans), Monique Coleman (Taylor McKessie), Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez), Lucas Grabeel (Ryan Evans) and Zac Efron (Troy Bolton).

If you are interested in work as an extra on the next “High School Musical,” I found this site which gives information on various Disney auditions.

Let’s face it, without Howie Mandel, “Deal or No Deal” is just a lot of models with suitcases.

“Deal or No Deal” host Howie Mandel with Briefcase Models
and Storm Troopers — NBC Photo: Adam Taylor

What makes the show is Howie’s sense of humor and timing, which should serve him well in his new unscripted comedy series “Howie Do It” (that’s the working title, but we kind of like it.)

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be in business with NBC once again,” said Mandel. “Working with them on ‘Deal or No Deal’ continues to be a phenomenal experience.”

Let’s not forget that Howie first wowed us as a doctor on the Emmy Award-winning “St. Elsewhere.” Howie begin his career on a dare when he came down to Los Angeles from Canada with some friends in 1979.

He was at the Comedy Store on amateur night and was coaxed by his friends to get up and try his luck. A producer who was in the audience hired him to appear on a comedy game show called “Make me Laugh.” Howie then started appearing on talk shows and eventually landed a gig as Diana Ross’ opening act.

That led to his role as Dr. Wayne Fiscus for six seasons on the NBC drama “St. Elsewhere.” If you haven’t seen the show, check it out for free on Hulu.

Howie’s got a great Web site, with video blogs.

NBC’s new schedule family-friendly in the first hour? Are you joking me?

The Parents Television Council issued a press release on Friday commending NBC for announcing its commitment to the “Family Hour,” an hour of television from 8 to 9 p.m.

Obviously, the PTC simply read a press release about NBC’s fall strategy and failed to actually look at what the network was scheduling in that hour. In fact, “My Name is Earl” has been singled out by the PTC for raunchy content.

With a picture like this, need we say more about “My Name is Earl” perhaps not fitting the family-friendly label? (l-r) John Farley as Annie, Jason Lee as Earl — NBC Photo: Justin Lubin
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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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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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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

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.