Josh Friedman, writer and executive producer of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, naturally isn't very happy about Fox having recently canceled his show. So he did what any aggrieved creative type might do: He blogged about it. And blogged. And blogged. And... well, you know. If you've ever wanted to know what it feels like to have a network cut you off, and you have a spare hour or so, then this is the must-read for you. If not, but you're still curious, an inspired excerpt follows the jump.
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In all this Goodbye Jay, Hello Conan talk, one man who's been lost in the shuffle is Jimmy Kimmel. The drinking man's late night host, Kimmel's egalitarian style translates well to primetime, which might explain why ABC is deploying him again to put on a few specials around the NBA Finals. The Orlando Magic-Los Angeles Lakers series starts tonight, and thus you get your Kimmel a few hours earlier.
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This amazing observation and rendering comes courtesy of Serious Lunch. And not to detract from their discovery, but we couldn't help noticing another uncanny similarity between the two properties. It's after the jump!
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Hey, you know where was probably an awkward place to be Tuesday night? The LAT's Envelope Emmy screening series of Californication, where an audience member screamed at David Duchovny, "We want to talk about your sex addiction!" and then, later, showrunner Tom Kapinos talked about inheriting Dawson's Creek from the departing Kevin Williamson. Kapinos was, uh...let's say "candid" about working with Katie Holmes, James Van Der Beek, Fringey, and the one everybody likes now:
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With two harrowing nights of I'm A Celebrity, Please Don't Make Me Touch Vermin Again in the books, and two more left this week, we're eternally grateful that NBC is giving us something scripted, plotted and acted tonight in the season finale of Law & Order. While it probably lacks the comedic heft of Frangela in a jungle, post-Orbach L&O still brings the solid one-liners.
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Even Edie Falco, at Tuesday's lavish premiere for her new series Nurse Jackie, wasn't quite sure if the world needed another show set in a hospital. Not because of the competition, though. It's a little simpler than that.
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When we interviewed 90210's Matt Lanter for The Verge, he assured us that though he was being brought on to the show at the same time lead actor Dustin Milligan was fired, "By any means, I don't really think that I've taken Dustin's place...We're two completely different characters." Apparently, no one told the CW promo shop, as you'll see by the evidence below.
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The conservative media continues to slam President Obama for taking his lady out for dinner and a show, but the general fascination with the life of our new Chief Executive continues unabated. NBC News takes us inside the daily routine of the Prez tonight and exposes - shockingly - that he's just this normal guy with a family and a steady though demanding gig.
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Here's a question with no great answer: in the NBC reboot of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! (which premiered last night), was Heidi Montag the new a) Susan Boyle or b) Melissa Rivers?
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Conan O'Brien made his debut as the host of The Tonight Show on Monday, becoming only the program's fifth host in 55 years. And even after a 3,000-mile run to calm his nerves, he seemed to bristle slightly under the pressure of legacy, expectations and making the occasional Clippers joke. It was as conspicuously new-era as institutions get, and for better or worse, it felt like it.
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Like that quintessentially American art form the musical comedy, the situation comedy -- the kind performed in three, ten-minute acts on a single set, shot with multiple cameras before a studio audience, and then beamed weekly into millions of living rooms -- was born here, too, on a show called I Love Lucy. Of its many innovators to follow, however, there can no disputing that one stands head and shoulders above the rest: Norman Lear is the sitcom's Gershwin. He's also its Rodgers & Hammerstein, and its Sondheim, all rolled up in one.
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When one desk closes, another desk opens, goes the old saw. We doubt anyone will be making a strangely-cast film about Conan O'Brien's move to 11:35 PM, but there will be tons of behind-the-scenes drama, as network affiliates across America sit on their hands and hope that the Cone Zone holds up local news ratings numbers while still trying to offend a decent amount of Americans. To paraphrase a bit that should reappear on the new incarnation: 'The future, Conan?' No one knows what is going to happen, but it should be funnier than what happened the last 17 years.
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Like the tragic Lennie in Of Mice and Men, the tale of Susan Boyle has reached its sad climax: after petting our defiantly unpretty new pet for weeks, we've crushed the life out of Boyle, leaving her hospitalized for an emotional breakdown. (Yes, we're the Lennie -- what did you think I meant?) So what happens now for the Britain's Got Talent runner-up?
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With Barack Obama having cleared the Democratic field for the 2012 presidential election, we're forced to turn to the Republicans for kooky pre-primary entertainment. Thus, until Mitt Romney bring his Eddie van Halen-signed axe to Meet the Press, or Sarah Palin challenges Carrie Prejean to a baton-twirling duel (for charity!), we'll have to make do with this cognitively dissonant video of your American Idol, Kris Allen, jamming out to the Beatles while accompanied by Mike Huckabee on bass guitar.
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The New York Times called the upcoming Jay Leno primetime residency "the biggest scheduling stunt in recent memory," but as we say goodbye to Leno's Tonight Show, that decision by NBC doesn't seem all that crazy. If we have learned anything from his tenure in the house that Carson built, it is that Jay Leno knows how to make America laugh. Sure, chide him for not challenging viewers more, and there is all that water under the bridge about snaking the gig from David Letterman, but you can't fault him for completing a job well done. The lack of fanfare surrounding Leno's last day may not be surprising, but let's put an Entenmann's cake in the conference room and have a few seconds of reflection.
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