If the post title above was framed as a Jeopardy answer, the proper response might be "What are four shows I'd like to see on USA Network?" In that case, three out of four ain't bad, really. But, it's not a Jeopardy thing, just some quick and somewhat random thoughts.
Burn Notice is set to return on June 4. I am trying to see if I can get some Burn Notice schwag and if I can, I'll post some type of "guess the ratings for the season three premiere of Burn Notice and win!" post in the next day or so. I just watched a screener of the season premiere and am excited about its return.
Given the 3-5 episodes USA Network typically airs of NCIS every Monday through Friday coupled with marathons where they air many more episodes, I will be caught up on NCIS in no time at all. It is the adult version of SpongeBob when it comes to weekly cable ratings domination. I understand the appeal of this procedural. Quirky but likable characters. It's typically extremely formulaic, but it works well and it's not the first time the show's creator Donald Bellisario has had success with such a formulaic approach. Long ago, I was also a huge fan of one of his earlier creations, Magnum P.I. I was also a fan of Bellisario's Quantum Leap, but stylistically NCIS smacks more of Magnum)
I watched the screener of the pilot for Royal Pains which bows on June 4 at 10pm after Burn Notice. In general, I liked it and it looks to skew a bit younger than Burn Notice (and certainly NCIS!) which is probably a good move for USA. My only complaint was that having seen like 100 NCIS episodes in the last nine days (see above), even though I always skip commercials during DVR viewing, I've still probably seen the promos for Royal Pains 200 times already. As a result, the first 12 minutes or so of the screener I saw seemed unneccessary and handled well by about 15 seconds worth of the promos.
I'm not sure most of those minutes I found worthless didn't get cut from the version that will air on USA next week though. The pilot was around 65 minutes without commercials, but is only scheduled to last 75 minutes when it airs on USA. So either they are running it with seriously limited commercial interruptions, or a lot was cut out of the version I saw, and I'm guessing for the better if that's the case.
Outside of the first 10 minutes or so, I did enjoy the episode, and it will be interesting to see if they can make the premise work as a weekly procedural. I'll definitely be giving it another look.
Chuck! I hear Chuck begins filming in late July and that most of the budget cuts were the kinds of behind the cameras cuts you'll never notice. So, you'll still likely see all your favorite characters on the show next year. If Emmett Milbarge is one of your favorite characters, you might be disappointed, but that seems more like to involve Tony Hale's starring in FOX's Sons of Tuscon than budget cuts. Will Sarah be working at Subway next season? That seems to still be up in the air. I think that is a function of how much Subway is willing to pay for that kind of product placement. That's not anything I'm all that interested in, but if you are, you'll catch wind of it well before the next new episode of Chuck airs.
I hear ya. I watched a lot of the NCIS marathon they had on Saturday and there was seriously a commercial for “Royal Pains” in every commercial break!
I’m excited Burn Notice is finally back
I’ve been wondering about Royal Pains. USA has had a pretty good track record lately, but the promos made it seem like it could go either way.
OMG!! we almost went 7 days without a chuck post!
not that im complaining or anything.
If filming begins in july, wouldn’t that mean that (theoretically) if one of NBC’s fall shows epic fails, Chuck could slip in early?.
just thinking out loud here…
Hey hey, Burn Notice is finally back. Love that show, love Bruce Campbell. I gotta say, though, much as I enjoy Fiona’s choice of clothing, Gabrielle Anwar needs some more meat on her bones, so to speak.
@djm
Theoretically if an NBC show fails, i guess that could happen, but who knows how they would figure that out and even though, Chuck coming back early would be awesome, I rather have them do some serious promotion for the show during the olympics and have a really good turn out ratings-wise. If they decide to spring it up all of a sudden, I don’t think we would get the Same numbers. Even though this looooong wait is killing me, I rather have the show get more viewers and have a chance to return for more seasons.
yay! for Burn Notice and Royal Pains. When I first heard of Royal Pains and its link to Burn’s Producer/Writer, it was going to be a must see show. I hope it doesn’t disappoint.
Burn Notice, it never disappoints, June 4 cant come soon enough.
PS Robert, you need to learn how to rip the screeners you get so you can share them with fellow TVBN fans
i just started watching Burn notice last season and i like it
its a really fun show
royal pains looks all right
i just can’t wait for Psyche and monk to start back up
I’m trying to find a fun show like Chuck to fill the void during the hiatus. I watched season 1 of Burn Notice and I like it a lot. Question for the Burn Notice fans, will it be confusing to watch season 3 before season 2? Season 2 DVD’s don’t come out until mid – June.
Re Chuck808.
Yes, Season 2 is where they focused more on the long running arc. Season 1 (which I found a little boring) was your typical formulatic procedural.
@Chuck808, it’s just my opinion, but no, I don’t think it will be too confusing. I think the “previously on Burn Notice” at the beginning of the first episode of season 3 will catch you up sufficiently and you will not be confused, nor will it impair your enjoyment of season 2 if you go back and watch them later.
Edit: while I agree with Rich that season two had a much bigger arc than season one, and also agree it improved, it was still very much procedural in both seasons, and far closer to something like NCIS or House than say Lost, Battlestar Galactica or Mad Men.
Even shows like NCIS and House have multi-episode arcs, but both are shows I can watch completely out of order without being confused in the least. The downside of skipping S2 is that when you go back to watch it, there will definitely have been some things already spoiled but I don’t see any risk of being confused. In fact, i think you could watch the season 3 premiere without having ever seen a single episode of Burn Notice and not be confused.
Thanks for the quick response. I think I’ll check out the first episode of season 3 and then decide if I should fill up the DVR or just watch.
When does Psych come back on? Chuck’s got nothing on that show when it comes to obscure 80′s references.
I watch Chuck and Psych. You would enjoy Psych on USA if you like Chuck.
So Emmet is out , I know a lot of the fans hate this character , but it’s a pity to do not have the talent of Tony Hale on board …
But OK maybe he got a more important role in Sonss of Tucson
Oh gosh! Chuck again!
Oh jeeez ! ABCFanatic again and again ….and again
Chuck808 says: “I’m trying to find a fun show like Chuck to fill the void during the hiatus.”
Check out Leverage on TNT, which returns for season 2 on July 15. Not intended to be as funny as Chuck, but plenty of comedy, action, slick plots, good acting, engaging characters. You can’t miss. It’s not terribly serial, so you won’t have any trouble dropping in on any episode. You can watch six full episodes on the official Web site, although not the first episode which is where the team came together. But you can see episode one here:
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=ADMIMWWR
I may check out Burn Notice this summer as well and download the previous episodes. Anwar looks like her character can keep me interested. And it’s spy stuff.
RHS ..we can say that the female roles are for you the main parameter to evaluate a show LOL
My tastes are for shows with strong and kick-ass female characters, and a show that’s funny to boot. I’m watching Weeds. Protagonist is funny and strong in her own way, although I’ve yet to see her kick ass. Anybody else have any other suggestions? Pls. don’t suggest any of the TNT characters.
UH: Well, hot babes aren’t the only thing, otherwise I’d be downloading all the CW shows! LOL!
There’s gotta be some interesting premise first and foremost.