Prolific producer Alex Kurtzman is developing a new take on the beloved sci-fi classic for TV. The new Star Trek has been picked up straight to series at CBS, with the premiere slated for the network in January 2017. Subsequent episodes will air on its digital and VOD platform, CBS All Access. The premiere and all subsequent episodes will then be available in the U.S. on CBS All Access, the network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service. Star Trek marks the first original series developed specifically for CBS All Access. “We’ve experienced terrific growth for CBS All Access, expanding the service across affiliates and devices in a very short time. We now have an incredible opportunity to accelerate this growth with the iconic Star Trek, and its devoted and passionate fan base, as our first original series.” The new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.
It'll be nice to finally have a new version of Star Trek available on TV again (although I'm not thrilled with having to pay to watch it).
A week after David Letterman announced his retirement, CBS has named his successor. Stephen Colbert has inked a five-year deal to take over Late Show, a move that is effective as soon as Letterman officially steps aside from the late-night show he has headlined since its launch on CBS in 1993. Colbert is host of Comedy Central’s faux-news show The Colbert Report, which airs at the same time as Late Show, 11:30 PM. Colbert had been on the radar of top CBS brass for awhile and was said to be a top choice of CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves.
I think that Stephen Colbert is probably the best choice they could have made. He's got a similar sense of humor and snark.
CBS All Access has announced today that Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for a second season. The original series broke a new record for subscriber sign-ups in a single day, week and month for the digital service. “In just six episodes, Star Trek: Discovery has driven subscriber growth, critical acclaim and huge global fan interest for the first premium version of this great franchise,” said Marc DeBevoise, President and Chief Operating Officer, CBS Interactive. “This series has a remarkable creative team and cast who have demonstrated their ability to carry on the Star Trek legacy. We are extremely proud of what they’ve accomplished and are thrilled to be bringing fans a second season of this tremendous series.”
Although I've only seen the first episode (I'm not paying for CBS All Access), I'm happy to hear it's been renewed for another season. I'm hoping to either catch it when it gets released on DVD or if/when they release the first season on Netflix (hopefully sometime later next year).
Regardless, it's good news and I hope the series lives long and CBS prospers.
CBS will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Carol Burnett Show with a two-hour special set for December 3. The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special will film on Stage 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, the show’s original soundstage. In it, Burnett will reminisce about her favorite sketches, Q&As with the studio audience, guest stars, her memorable wardrobe and bloopers, as well as the effect the show continues to have on television today as a true pioneer of sketch comedy. The special will also feature original cast members Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, costume designer Bob Mackie, as well as other comedians, comic actors and friends, including Jim Carrey, Kristin Chenoweth, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick Jr., Bill Hader, Jay Leno, Jane Lynch, Bernadette Peters, Maya Rudolph and Martin Short, among others. The Carol Burnett Show premiered on Sept. 11, 1967 and starred Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner and Tim Conway. Over its 11-season run, the show earned 25 Primetime Emmys, including three for Outstanding Variety-Music/Comedy Series. In addition, the show earned eight Golden Globe Awards, including one for Best Television Show – Comedy or Musical, and Burnett received four for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical.
Although this should be a LOT of fun, I hope that the exclusion of Tim Conway in the announcement is just an oversight. He was responsible for a large percentage of the unintentional cast laughter during sketches (especially Harvey Korman).
Can't wait to see this when it airs on CBS on December 3rd.
CBS finally revealed the first photos from their upcoming Star Trek: Discovery series today AND the first full trailer...
I like it and am cautiously optimistic for now.
The series features Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead) as First Officer Michael Turnham (right) and Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) as Captain Philippa Georgia (left) and takes place before the original Kirk-Spock Star Trek.
After all of the delays (it was supposed to be ready in March) and lack of promotion, I was getting very concerned that it might get cancelled before it ever aired.
However, I think the effects, uniforms, and cinematography look pretty cool and, if they keep that up, we just might have a fun new Star Trek series to enjoy after all of these years.
The first season (15 episodes) is set to premiere sometime this Fall on CBS/CBS All Access.
EW reports that CBS has officially confirmed a third season of the show is in the works, planned to air in the U.S. on CBS All Access, Space in Canada, and on Netflix internationally in 2020.
I'm glad that it's continuing to grow and, hopefully, it'll end up on Netflix one of these days, because I still refuse to pay to watch it.
Until then, I look forward to the DVDs coming out.
Supergirl, Greg Berlanti and Ali Adler’s drama based on the DC female superhero, has landed at CBS with a series commitment. The size of commitment eclipses the series commitment DC Batman drama "Gotham" got at Fox last fall. The Supergirl character was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. Of the several women who have assumed the caped girl persona in the comics, the Berlanti-Adler series will feature the most popular one: Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, who shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. Unlike WBTV’s long-running Superman series Smallville, which focused on the superhero’s journey up to acquiring the powers and becoming Superman, Supergirl starts with Kara beginning to use her abilities. Born on the planet Krypton, Kara Zor-El escaped amid its destruction years ago. Since arriving on Earth, she’s been hiding the powers she shares with her famous cousin. But now at age 24, she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be.
Technically, if she is 24, wouldn't she be considered SuperWoman or Woman of Steel or….Steel Magnolia?
A couple of new trailers were released this weekend at New York Comic Con, the first of which was for the upcoming Star Trek: Picard series on CBS All Access...
It's looking really good and, as much as I've fought it, I may have to get CBS All Access when this starts airing on January 23rd.
They also released the first teaser trailer for the upcoming third season of Star Trek: Discovery...
I still haven't seen the second season, but this new season won't start until sometime next year (likely after Picard), so I'll watch both of them after that as well.
No movie (TV or Film), to this day, has ever affected me as deeply as the 1976 TV movie "Sybil", staring Sally Field and Joanne Woodward. Although, "Sophie's Choice" and "Ordinary People" follow closely behind.
But, "Sybil" is THE one.
I remember watching it when I was much younger and being rivited by Sally Field's performance. I had grown up loving her on "The Flying Nun" and was so surprised to see my Sister Bertrille suddenly disappear and dissolve into this sad, tortured woman with multiple personalities. It was a two-part "Television Event" (they did those back then) and, after watching the whole thing...I immediately bought the book and read it.
Sally Field's gut-wrenching performance still brings me to tears all of these years later. She certainly deserved the Best Actress Emmy that year (1977) and, had it been a feature film, she would likely have received an Oscar.
When the movie went into syndication and would replay very late at night, I used to stay up to try and record the full version (almost 4 hours) without commericals on my VCR, but it was often so chopped up, that saving a pristine copy was almost impossible (no matter how expertly I had mastered the "pause-record" maneuver on my remote). There was a video version available, but it had been cut down to two hours, almost half of the film had been edited out....not good.
Then, a couple of years ago, Warner Bros. finally released a 20th Anniversary edition with the full version intact and I bought it the day of its release. The film looked and sounded great, although visually dated when compared to how things are filmed today (with fancy cinematography, editing and smooth scene transitioning), but the performances held up just as they originally did.
When I read that a remake was being filmed with Jessica Lange as Dr. Wilbur and Tammy Blanchard as Sybil, I was very apprehensive. The original was so impactful and well-acted that it just seemed wrong to attempt to remake it. Especially since, historically, remakes often suck (Nora Ephron and Sony Pictures have secured a condo in Hell for their remake of the perfectly cast, yet magic and joy-free, "Bewitched").
This "Sybil" remake was filmed almost two years ago and I've been watching for it to air since. I just found out today that it will be airing on CBS this Saturday night at 8:00.
Saturday night?!!
My fears appear to be coming true. As I dug a little deeper into this non-TV event, I found that CBS.com doesn't have any kind of promotion for it on their site. The move is only two hours long, there are only a couple photos even available online and the few reviews out there, at this point, are not very good.
As much as I'm dreading this remake, I'm going to watch it. I'm sure it'll be another interpretation of the book, which is fine. But, when a major network has a property with this kind of history and then does nothing to promote it...it doesn't bode well.
It's a very bad marketing decision on their part.
No matter how it turned out, they missed an opportunity to use the hype from the original to build an awareness campaign for the remake. A monkey could have created a better marketing plan for the film in exchange for a banana and a juicebox.
It makes no sense.
But, my heart will always be with the original. If you have a chance to watch or buy the 20th Anniversary DVD of the original "Sybil" with Sally Field...do it.
It's still a very haunting performace by a "TV actress" who was, at the time, just known for flying around the convent San Tanco or Gidgeting her way across the beaches of California.
It altered Sally Field's entire career forever and, I'll wager, the movie will stay with you for that long too.
I found this "Sybil" montage and I really like the song choice...
CBS All Access has officially signed Michelle Yeoh to star in her own, so-far-untitled Star Trek series. “I’m so excited to continue telling these rich ‘Star Trek’ stories,” Yeoh said in a statement. “Being a part of this universe and this character specifically has been such a joy for me to play. I can’t wait to see where it all goes – certainly I believe it will go ‘where no WOMAN has ever gone before!’” The show—written by Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt—won’t focus on Yeoh’s Star Trek: Discovery character Phillipa Georgiou, the noble Starfleet Captain we met at the beginning of the series; instead, she’ll get to dive further into the version of Georgiou from the Mirror Universe, former Emperor of the evil Terran Empire, who found herself brought over to Star Trek’s primary timeline in the back half of Discovery’s debut season. That means that aside from exploring this much more villainous interpretation of Georgiou, the series will dive into the character’s time as a recruit of Section 31: the shadowy Federation black-ops group first introduced in Deep Space Nine as a hidden branch of Starfleet tasked with doing the dirty work needed to maintain the Federation’s lofty utopian ideals.
She did a great job on the first season of the show and is set to recur on the second season, which starts airing this Thursday January 17th.
I look forward to watching the DVDs of these series when they become available (because I still refuse to pay for CBS All Access just to watch Star Trek).
The first episode of Star Trek: Discovery will air Sunday September 24th on CBS and then the following episodes will air exclusively on CBS All Access after that.
We'll see how this subscription-only series goes over with fans. Many have stated that they won't pay to watch the show.
Beth Howland, the actress best known for her role as a ditzy waitress on the 1970s and ‘80s CBS sitcom “Alice,” has died. She was 74. Her husband, actor Charles Kimbrough, told The Associated Press that Howland died Dec. 31. He said there had been no announcement, funeral or memorial service because that’s how she wanted it.
“That was her choice,” he said.
Howland was born May 28, 1941, in Boston. At 16, she landed a role on Broadway alongside Dick Van Dyke in “Bye Bye Birdie.” CBS later noticed Howland on stage in the 1970 production of “Company” and brought her to Hollywood for a bit part on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Small roles on “The Love Boat” and “Little House on the Prairie” followed and a major break came when she was cast as Vera Louise Gorman on “Alice,” a comedy set in an Arizona greasy spoon diner based on the 1974 Martin Scorsese film, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”
Howland earned four Golden Globe nominations during the comedy’s 1976-85 run for her performance as the naive Vera.
I used to love "Alice" and always enjoyed Vera. I always remember watching (and enjoying) her suddenly destroying the box of straws in the show's opening credits.
It's odd the things you remember...
Although I never saw her on Broadway in the show Company, her rendition of "Not Getting Married" is pretty amazing.
I don't know how anyone can sing and speak that fast without messing up.
If you missed Cher's appearance on David Letterman last night (like I did)...enjoy it here (until CBS removes it), won't you?
UPDATE: Of course, CBS removed that interview, so I found another interview they did from 1998 that is also really entertaining. They are always funny together.
Geez...it really does happen in threes. Another sad passing today...
The Waltons star Ralph Waite, who more recently recurred on Bones and NCIS, has died at the age of 86. Waite portrayed John Walton Sr. for nine seasons on the CBS Depression-era drama and in three NBC telefilms. After the series wrapped, he appeared on Murder One, Carnivà le and the miniseries Roots among others. Bones fans will recognize Waite as Booth’s grandfather and caretaker Hank. He also played dad to Mark Harmon’s character Gibbs on NCIS, and recurred on Days of Our Lives as Father Matt.
The Waltons was one of the few TV shows that our whole family watched. I don't think we ever missed an episode.
Star Trek: Discoveryfinally started filming over the past week. To help build some excitement, the studio has released a sneak-peek at some of the sets, costumes and other behind-the-scenes surprises...
After months of delays and rescheduling...it's nice to see that things are finally in motion.
Let's hope it doesn't suck.
The series is currently set to premiere in May on CBS All Access.
As Supergirl prepares to fly faster than a speeding bullet from CBS to the CW, the network has announced that Everybody Wants Some! star Tyler Hoechlin has been cast as Superman/Clark Kent, the first live-action television incarnation of the Man of Steel since Smallville starring Tom Welling went off the air in 2011. As previously announced, Superman will make his debut on the DC Television universe, which also includes The Flash, Arrow, and Legends Of Tomorrow, at the start of Supergirl‘s second season when he visits Kara in National City.
I haven't seen him act in anything, but his body of work, evidently, speaks for itself.
We'll see how he fares when the second season of Supergirl debut's on the CW in the Fall.
The Fastest Man Alive will meet the Girl of Steel on March 28, when the Flash will make an appearance on CBS’ Supergirl. According to the press release, The Flash’s Grant Gustin will only be guest-starring on Supergirl. There are no other details as of yet, including whether Melissa Benoist will return the favor on The CW’s show at a later date. This TV team-up has been rumored basically since Supergirl was announced, since it and The Flash share the same executive producers, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg.
Georgia Engel, who earned two Emmy noms for playing Ted Baxter’s significant other Georgette Franklin on The Mary Tyler Moore and three consecutive for Everybody Loves Raymond, has died. She was 70. Engel joined The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1972 when it was a top 10 primetime series and would appear in nearly 60 episodes over its final five seasons. Her dim but well-meaning Georgette was the love interest of self-important anchorman Baxter (Ted Knight), who courted and eventually married her during the November 1975 sweep — though he didn’t seem all that prepared for it. They went on to adopt a child and later had one of their own. She joined CBS’ mega-hit Everybody Loves Raymond during Season 7 in 2003 and would score back-to-back-to-back Guest Actress Emmy nominations for playing the mother-in-law of Brad Garrett’s Robert Barone.
Engel continued to work in TV post-Raymond, appearing in episodes of such series as The Office, Two and a Half Men, Passions and Neighbours. She also recurred as Mamie in 20 episodes of Hot in Cleveland, TV Land’s first scripted series, and her final credit was a 2018 appearance in Netflix’s Grace and Frankie. Along with her work on the big and small screens, Engle appeared in four Broadway shows, including a star turn in the musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone (2006-07). Earlier she trod the Main Stem boards in The Boys from Syracuse (2002), My One and Only (1983) and as a late-run replacement in the original production of Hello, Dolly! in 1969.
She was always entertaining on every show and certainly had a very long and successful career. You couldn't help but love her.
She will be missed, but very fondly remembered by many.
