Matt's Weekend Picks: April 15-17 - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Matts-Weekend-Picks-1031819.aspx

Roush's Picks  for the Weekend -

Friday Night Lights -  It's never easy to say goodbye to a beloved series — but if you've ever spent time in Dillon, Texas, you'll want to check in for the final season of this marvelous series about big-hearted people in small-town America (previously shown on DirecTV but getting its broadcast premiere this week). Life goes on with poignant realism, which means several characters are graduating and moving on while others — including Coach Taylor and his spitfire wife Tami — continue inspiring hope in the students and football players at underdog East Dillon High.

Fringe -    big night for fans of fantasy TV, as all are back with original episodes. I'm most excited about an Olivia-centric Fringe,  And this may herald the return of Leonard Nimoy as Bell — in a way they're keeping under wraps.

SPN -   The Winchester brothers tangle with Fate — yes, THAT Fate — after Balthazar changes history and prevents the sinking of the Titanic. (Does that mean Leo and Kate lived happily ever after?)

Game of Thrones - Over the years, HBO has redefined the mob drama (The Sopranos), the prison drama (Oz), the Western (Deadwood), the historical drama (Rome) — and now it's time for the adult fantasy epic to get the HBO treatment.  George R.R. Martin's  best-sellers provide a marvelously sprawling canvas for this ravishing tale of families battling for power in an imaginary land. There's magic in the margins, but this is a decidedly flesh-and-blood (emphasis on the latter) story of honor, treachery and adventure

Matt's Weekend Picks: April 15-17 - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Matts-Weekend-Picks-1031819.aspx

Roush's Picks  for the Weekend -

Friday Night Lights -  It's never easy to say goodbye to a beloved series — but if you've ever spent time in Dillon, Texas, you'll want to check in for the final season of this marvelous series about big-hearted people in small-town America (previously shown on DirecTV but getting its broadcast premiere this week). Life goes on with poignant realism, which means several characters are graduating and moving on while others — including Coach Taylor and his spitfire wife Tami — continue inspiring hope in the students and football players at underdog East Dillon High.

Fringe -    big night for fans of fantasy TV, as all are back with original episodes. I'm most excited about an Olivia-centric Fringe,  And this may herald the return of Leonard Nimoy as Bell — in a way they're keeping under wraps.

SPN -   The Winchester brothers tangle with Fate — yes, THAT Fate — after Balthazar changes history and prevents the sinking of the Titanic. (Does that mean Leo and Kate lived happily ever after?)

Game of Thrones - Over the years, HBO has redefined the mob drama (The Sopranos), the prison drama (Oz), the Western (Deadwood), the historical drama (Rome) — and now it's time for the adult fantasy epic to get the HBO treatment.  George R.R. Martin's  best-sellers provide a marvelously sprawling canvas for this ravishing tale of families battling for power in an imaginary land. There's magic in the margins, but this is a decidedly flesh-and-blood (emphasis on the latter) story of honor, treachery and adventure

Matt's Weekend Picks: April 15-17 - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Matts-Weekend-Picks-1031819.aspx

Roush's Picks  for the Weekend -

Friday Night Lights -  It's never easy to say goodbye to a beloved series — but if you've ever spent time in Dillon, Texas, you'll want to check in for the final season of this marvelous series about big-hearted people in small-town America (previously shown on DirecTV but getting its broadcast premiere this week). Life goes on with poignant realism, which means several characters are graduating and moving on while others — including Coach Taylor and his spitfire wife Tami — continue inspiring hope in the students and football players at underdog East Dillon High.

Fringe -    big night for fans of fantasy TV, as all are back with original episodes. I'm most excited about an Olivia-centric Fringe,  And this may herald the return of Leonard Nimoy as Bell — in a way they're keeping under wraps.

SPN -   The Winchester brothers tangle with Fate — yes, THAT Fate — after Balthazar changes history and prevents the sinking of the Titanic. (Does that mean Leo and Kate lived happily ever after?)

Game of Thrones - Over the years, HBO has redefined the mob drama (The Sopranos), the prison drama (Oz), the Western (Deadwood), the historical drama (Rome) — and now it's time for the adult fantasy epic to get the HBO treatment.  George R.R. Martin's  best-sellers provide a marvelously sprawling canvas for this ravishing tale of families battling for power in an imaginary land. There's magic in the margins, but this is a decidedly flesh-and-blood (emphasis on the latter) story of honor, treachery and adventure

HBO confident 'Game of Thrones' will get second season: 'We're not nervous' -- EXCLUSIVE | Inside TV

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/14/game-of-thrones-season-two/

HBO’s lavish fantasy epic Game of Thrones may be the biggest TV gamble in years, but even before the drama premieres Sunday night, odds are favorable that HBO will renew the show. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have been told to start thinking about next season, while HBO series chief Sue Naegle tells EW network executives feel optimistic that the series will get another round.

“We’re not nervous about it,” she says. “We’re all hopeful for a second season. We’re all feeling confident creatively.”

The bullishness isn’t just about predicting healthy ratings (though success on that front isn’t entirely unlikely either). Subscription-based HBO, Showtime and Starz focus on delivering exclusive and premium content that you can’t find anywhere else rather than mammoth Nielsens. That’s why procedural cop-doctor-laywer dramas (which draw big numbers for broadcasters) are rare on the pay networks — they’re not considered unique enough.

Thrones is arguably the most ambitious fantasy TV series ever produced and comes with an enthusiastic pre-built fan-base who devoured George R.R. Martin’s bestselling novels. It’s precisely the type of programming HBO believes viewers will pay to see — on the air, and also in the equally important home video and international distribution marketplace.

Plus, with the first 10-episode season of Thrones costing at least $50 million, the show ranks as one of the more expensive first TV seasons ever produced. The network has scheduled 11 airings of the premiere episode across its six channels during the first 26 hours after its debut. The amount of start-up capital spent bringing the mythical land of Westeros to life makes having only a single season a rather worrisome proposition. Says Naegle: “You don’t want to see shows like this that are a big investment do one season and out.”

Another, lesser factor is the relationship between the network and the producers on the show and how difficult the production and script development process has been. “And Thrones has been a dream,” Naegle says.

Still, nothing is set in stone. No matter how much momentum there’s behind the show, or how quality-driven and multi-platform-based the business model, HBO still needs Thrones to deliver a certain number on Sunday nights to continue. And its relatively large budget is a double-edged sword: Thrones ratings need to be stronger than a Treme or an In Treatment or The Wire — HBO shows that received renewals based largely on critical acclaim. But given the success of True Blood and AMC’s The Walking Dead, high-quality, adult-targeted genre shows on cable have recently proven they can indeed deliver enviable numbers, and strong early reviews suggest Thrones might have what it takes.

HBO confident 'Game of Thrones' will get second season: 'We're not nervous' -- EXCLUSIVE | Inside TV

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/14/game-of-thrones-season-two/

HBO’s lavish fantasy epic Game of Thrones may be the biggest TV gamble in years, but even before the drama premieres Sunday night, odds are favorable that HBO will renew the show. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have been told to start thinking about next season, while HBO series chief Sue Naegle tells EW network executives feel optimistic that the series will get another round.

“We’re not nervous about it,” she says. “We’re all hopeful for a second season. We’re all feeling confident creatively.”

The bullishness isn’t just about predicting healthy ratings (though success on that front isn’t entirely unlikely either). Subscription-based HBO, Showtime and Starz focus on delivering exclusive and premium content that you can’t find anywhere else rather than mammoth Nielsens. That’s why procedural cop-doctor-laywer dramas (which draw big numbers for broadcasters) are rare on the pay networks — they’re not considered unique enough.

Thrones is arguably the most ambitious fantasy TV series ever produced and comes with an enthusiastic pre-built fan-base who devoured George R.R. Martin’s bestselling novels. It’s precisely the type of programming HBO believes viewers will pay to see — on the air, and also in the equally important home video and international distribution marketplace.

Plus, with the first 10-episode season of Thrones costing at least $50 million, the show ranks as one of the more expensive first TV seasons ever produced. The network has scheduled 11 airings of the premiere episode across its six channels during the first 26 hours after its debut. The amount of start-up capital spent bringing the mythical land of Westeros to life makes having only a single season a rather worrisome proposition. Says Naegle: “You don’t want to see shows like this that are a big investment do one season and out.”

Another, lesser factor is the relationship between the network and the producers on the show and how difficult the production and script development process has been. “And Thrones has been a dream,” Naegle says.

Still, nothing is set in stone. No matter how much momentum there’s behind the show, or how quality-driven and multi-platform-based the business model, HBO still needs Thrones to deliver a certain number on Sunday nights to continue. And its relatively large budget is a double-edged sword: Thrones ratings need to be stronger than a Treme or an In Treatment or The Wire — HBO shows that received renewals based largely on critical acclaim. But given the success of True Blood and AMC’s The Walking Dead, high-quality, adult-targeted genre shows on cable have recently proven they can indeed deliver enviable numbers, and strong early reviews suggest Thrones might have what it takes.

HBO confident 'Game of Thrones' will get second season: 'We're not nervous' -- EXCLUSIVE | Inside TV

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/14/game-of-thrones-season-two/

HBO’s lavish fantasy epic Game of Thrones may be the biggest TV gamble in years, but even before the drama premieres Sunday night, odds are favorable that HBO will renew the show. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have been told to start thinking about next season, while HBO series chief Sue Naegle tells EW network executives feel optimistic that the series will get another round.

“We’re not nervous about it,” she says. “We’re all hopeful for a second season. We’re all feeling confident creatively.”

The bullishness isn’t just about predicting healthy ratings (though success on that front isn’t entirely unlikely either). Subscription-based HBO, Showtime and Starz focus on delivering exclusive and premium content that you can’t find anywhere else rather than mammoth Nielsens. That’s why procedural cop-doctor-laywer dramas (which draw big numbers for broadcasters) are rare on the pay networks — they’re not considered unique enough.

Thrones is arguably the most ambitious fantasy TV series ever produced and comes with an enthusiastic pre-built fan-base who devoured George R.R. Martin’s bestselling novels. It’s precisely the type of programming HBO believes viewers will pay to see — on the air, and also in the equally important home video and international distribution marketplace.

Plus, with the first 10-episode season of Thrones costing at least $50 million, the show ranks as one of the more expensive first TV seasons ever produced. The network has scheduled 11 airings of the premiere episode across its six channels during the first 26 hours after its debut. The amount of start-up capital spent bringing the mythical land of Westeros to life makes having only a single season a rather worrisome proposition. Says Naegle: “You don’t want to see shows like this that are a big investment do one season and out.”

Another, lesser factor is the relationship between the network and the producers on the show and how difficult the production and script development process has been. “And Thrones has been a dream,” Naegle says.

Still, nothing is set in stone. No matter how much momentum there’s behind the show, or how quality-driven and multi-platform-based the business model, HBO still needs Thrones to deliver a certain number on Sunday nights to continue. And its relatively large budget is a double-edged sword: Thrones ratings need to be stronger than a Treme or an In Treatment or The Wire — HBO shows that received renewals based largely on critical acclaim. But given the success of True Blood and AMC’s The Walking Dead, high-quality, adult-targeted genre shows on cable have recently proven they can indeed deliver enviable numbers, and strong early reviews suggest Thrones might have what it takes.

Game of Thrones | 'Game of Thrones' | EW.com

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20470532_20481542,00.html

The daunting task of turning an epic fantasy series into a merely huge fantasy TV show has been met with bravery by the makers of Game of Thrones. And by bravery, I mean that writer-producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have taken George R.R. Martin’s capacious, wordy prose and adapted it with fidelity for his large fan base. Which in turn poses a challenge to an HBO-size mass audience: Will viewers who haven’t read the tomes — A Game of Thrones is the first volume in a series titled A Song of Fire and Ice — be willing to follow multiple story lines, each packed with numerous important characters, set in a vast imaginary realm? Will a big audience care to know Westeros from Winterfell, Cersei from Sansa?

I think they will. The series stars actors as striking and varied as Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent), and Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). Just as impressive, it nearly always maintains a narrative pace that keeps you engaged even during the talky parts, and Game of Thrones is loaded (like the books) with talkiness. After all, it requires a helluva lot of explanation to lay out the geography of the kingdoms of Westeros, as well as the various families and dynasties that are fighting for control of this world. True, there are stretches where Thrones gets mired in visual clichés from other fantasy or medieval-times dramas. I could have done with fewer sword fights and tedious slogs through ancient mud. (The series was filmed largely in Northern Ireland.)

Game of Thrones has had a lot of advance hype for being full of sex and violence, and I don’t want to deny the pleasure those things can bring us in entertainment. But the sex ’n’ violence is also better grounded in plot and motivation than in other recent TV efforts such as The Borgias and Spartacus — that’s where working with quality source material helps a lot.

If I had to single out a few performances among many excellent ones, I’d say that Bean’s Lord Eddard Stark, an almost Hamlet-like, brooding man of action, makes a wonderful pairing with Stark’s old friend, now the king, Robert Baratheon (Still Standing’s Mark Addy). Among the women, young Maisie Williams is a little star in the making as Eddard’s plucky tomboy daughter. And if Dinklage doesn’t get an Emmy for his clever, rude Tyrion Lannister, I’ll be gobsmacked.
You may find yourself beginning Game of Thrones and getting lost in its thicket of who’s related to whom and remembering what grudge one clan holds against another, but I implore you: Stick with it. Free your eyes to take in the spectacle, and your brain will magically start following the intricate storytelling. And there’s a magical realism to Game of Thrones.

---

Me:  I'm now 450 pages in... so roughly close to...um... halfway.

Game of Thrones | 'Game of Thrones' | EW.com

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20470532_20481542,00.html

The daunting task of turning an epic fantasy series into a merely huge fantasy TV show has been met with bravery by the makers of Game of Thrones. And by bravery, I mean that writer-producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have taken George R.R. Martin’s capacious, wordy prose and adapted it with fidelity for his large fan base. Which in turn poses a challenge to an HBO-size mass audience: Will viewers who haven’t read the tomes — A Game of Thrones is the first volume in a series titled A Song of Fire and Ice — be willing to follow multiple story lines, each packed with numerous important characters, set in a vast imaginary realm? Will a big audience care to know Westeros from Winterfell, Cersei from Sansa?

I think they will. The series stars actors as striking and varied as Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent), and Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). Just as impressive, it nearly always maintains a narrative pace that keeps you engaged even during the talky parts, and Game of Thrones is loaded (like the books) with talkiness. After all, it requires a helluva lot of explanation to lay out the geography of the kingdoms of Westeros, as well as the various families and dynasties that are fighting for control of this world. True, there are stretches where Thrones gets mired in visual clichés from other fantasy or medieval-times dramas. I could have done with fewer sword fights and tedious slogs through ancient mud. (The series was filmed largely in Northern Ireland.)

Game of Thrones has had a lot of advance hype for being full of sex and violence, and I don’t want to deny the pleasure those things can bring us in entertainment. But the sex ’n’ violence is also better grounded in plot and motivation than in other recent TV efforts such as The Borgias and Spartacus — that’s where working with quality source material helps a lot.

If I had to single out a few performances among many excellent ones, I’d say that Bean’s Lord Eddard Stark, an almost Hamlet-like, brooding man of action, makes a wonderful pairing with Stark’s old friend, now the king, Robert Baratheon (Still Standing’s Mark Addy). Among the women, young Maisie Williams is a little star in the making as Eddard’s plucky tomboy daughter. And if Dinklage doesn’t get an Emmy for his clever, rude Tyrion Lannister, I’ll be gobsmacked.
You may find yourself beginning Game of Thrones and getting lost in its thicket of who’s related to whom and remembering what grudge one clan holds against another, but I implore you: Stick with it. Free your eyes to take in the spectacle, and your brain will magically start following the intricate storytelling. And there’s a magical realism to Game of Thrones.

---

Me:  I'm now 450 pages in... so roughly close to...um... halfway.

Game of Thrones | 'Game of Thrones' | EW.com

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20470532_20481542,00.html

The daunting task of turning an epic fantasy series into a merely huge fantasy TV show has been met with bravery by the makers of Game of Thrones. And by bravery, I mean that writer-producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have taken George R.R. Martin’s capacious, wordy prose and adapted it with fidelity for his large fan base. Which in turn poses a challenge to an HBO-size mass audience: Will viewers who haven’t read the tomes — A Game of Thrones is the first volume in a series titled A Song of Fire and Ice — be willing to follow multiple story lines, each packed with numerous important characters, set in a vast imaginary realm? Will a big audience care to know Westeros from Winterfell, Cersei from Sansa?

I think they will. The series stars actors as striking and varied as Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent), and Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). Just as impressive, it nearly always maintains a narrative pace that keeps you engaged even during the talky parts, and Game of Thrones is loaded (like the books) with talkiness. After all, it requires a helluva lot of explanation to lay out the geography of the kingdoms of Westeros, as well as the various families and dynasties that are fighting for control of this world. True, there are stretches where Thrones gets mired in visual clichés from other fantasy or medieval-times dramas. I could have done with fewer sword fights and tedious slogs through ancient mud. (The series was filmed largely in Northern Ireland.)

Game of Thrones has had a lot of advance hype for being full of sex and violence, and I don’t want to deny the pleasure those things can bring us in entertainment. But the sex ’n’ violence is also better grounded in plot and motivation than in other recent TV efforts such as The Borgias and Spartacus — that’s where working with quality source material helps a lot.

If I had to single out a few performances among many excellent ones, I’d say that Bean’s Lord Eddard Stark, an almost Hamlet-like, brooding man of action, makes a wonderful pairing with Stark’s old friend, now the king, Robert Baratheon (Still Standing’s Mark Addy). Among the women, young Maisie Williams is a little star in the making as Eddard’s plucky tomboy daughter. And if Dinklage doesn’t get an Emmy for his clever, rude Tyrion Lannister, I’ll be gobsmacked.
You may find yourself beginning Game of Thrones and getting lost in its thicket of who’s related to whom and remembering what grudge one clan holds against another, but I implore you: Stick with it. Free your eyes to take in the spectacle, and your brain will magically start following the intricate storytelling. And there’s a magical realism to Game of Thrones.

---

Me:  I'm now 450 pages in... so roughly close to...um... halfway.

And the Cheese Stands Alone

ABC has just canceled "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" .  That leaves only "General Hospital" on the network. 

And the Cheese Stands Alone

ABC has just canceled "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" .  That leaves only "General Hospital" on the network. 

And the Cheese Stands Alone

ABC has just canceled "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" .  That leaves only "General Hospital" on the network.