TV critic Matthew Gilbert took your questions
October 30, 2008
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Boston Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert was online Oct. 30 at noon to discuss all things TV related. Curious about Gilbert's thoughts on this fall TV season, including the return of NBC's "30 Rock"? Catch up here.
The transcript follows.
Matthew_Gilbert: Hey.
Kayla__Guest_: Matt, how well is the new 90210 show doing? I heard it got picked up for a full season and since I grew up with the original have been TRYING to get into it but can't! Do you think there's any truth to the rumors the CW now wants to bring back Melrose Place?
Matthew_Gilbert: I do believe those rumors are true. The CW is planning to try to redo Melrose Place. Which seems like a really
Matthew_Gilbert: really
Matthew_Gilbert: really
Matthew_Gilbert: really
Matthew_Gilbert: bad idea.
het__Guest_: two shows I enjoyed from last season are gone...The Riches and Notes from the Underbelly. I must have bad taste as many shows I enjoy are gone after 1 or 2 seasons. Were those shows you would of liked back as well?
Matthew_Gilbert: I was definitely a fan of The Riches, although I think it probably only had two seasons of life in it. Here in America, we see two seasons as a failure, but in England, so many good shows are meant to be short-lived. Like the Offce, or Life on Mars, both of which were only two seasons -- two short seasons -- long in the UK.
Matthew_Gilbert: As far as Underbelly, sorry my friend. You're on your own.
scottybtnr__Guest_: Matt: how long do you think 30 Rock could possibly go on for? It has won a ton of Emmys, but it isn't a highly-rated show, and Tina Fey must be looking at bigger and better projects.
Matthew_Gilbert: It is such a huge prestige show and buzz show for NBC, which needs all the attention it can get right now. So I don't think Ben Silverman is eager to cancel it. And Tina Fey seems really engaged in it, both as an actress and a writer. I see a few more years, for sure.
Matthew_Gilbert: Fey has already done movie work, and I'm sure she'll continue with that. But I don't see her leaving "#0 Rock" for bigger pastures. Also, she just got a massive advance for a book.
MJN__Guest_: My wife and I absolutely love "30 Rock".......But I'm afraid that it will going into the direction of trying to manipulate how I think, politically, rather than just trying to be funny and make us laugh.
Matthew_Gilbert: The show has had political leanings since the beginning. Remember Jack's affair with Condi Rice?! But I don't think Fey is trying to manipulate you so much as entertain you. Don't take her goofs on Dick Cheney (there's one tonight within the first minute) too seriously...
m__Guest_: Matt, do you think the onslaught of guest stars is necessary? It seems a little Will and Grace in its desperate times to me. I think 30 Rock is just great as is.
Matthew_Gilbert: I REALLY REALLY hear you, m. And I do hope 30 Rock doesn't go the Will & Grace route, trying to boost ratings and creative energy by bringing in guest stars. It's like being a speed addict -- quick bursts that'll ultimately leave you empty.
Matthew_Gilbert: A little bit of that makes sense, since the show (unlike Will and Grace) is about the world of entertainment and NBC Universal. But if "30 Rock" gets too caught up in the guest star gimmick, it will lose its center.
scottybtnr__Guest_: Would you say that True Blood is more like Big Love-type success, or John from Cincinnati-type success?
Matthew_Gilbert: Ha! John from Cincinnati and "success" in the same sentence.
Matthew_Gilbert: Ha!
Matthew_Gilbert: I think True Blood is its own animal. It's funny, bizarre, unique, and successful enough for HBO to stand by it.
Matthew_Gilbert: The pay channel has already renewed it for a second season.
jm473__Guest_: hi matt...was recently introduced to the comeback dvd's by a friend...WHAT was hbo thinking cancelling this great show?!! the decision just seems very un-hbo-like, i thought they were big into giving quirky things a chance...
Matthew_Gilbert: (A tear wells in my eyes)
Matthew_Gilbert: Yes, I agree. Totally. A great show.
Matthew_Gilbert: If HBO had known how culty the show would become after it was cancelled, perhaps they would have keep it going. But no one was watching it or talking about it when it was on the air. Alas. Except me, of course.
just_jill__Guest_: Hi Matt. I really enjoyed your piece on snarky recap websites. I've been reading TVgasm for a few years...do you read any recaps yourself (if so what sites/shows) or were just interested in the phenomena itself? I also really like midseasonreplacements.com and bsideblog.com (both were started by Tvgasm alums)
Matthew_Gilbert: Thanks Jill. I love a good recap site. I used to be really into Television Without Pity -- it has lost a lot of its evil-brilliant snap since Bravo took it over. I like TVgasm, too. Will check out midseasonreplacements.com -- never been there.
Matthew_Gilbert: Recaps have the potential to be better than the shows themselves. A cool online artform, in the right hands.
LostFan789__Guest_: Obligatory "Chuck" promo: Please watch this great show, people!
Matthew_Gilbert: Check.
jkstraw__Guest_: MG - How bad has Brothers and Sisters become? I don't know a group of grown adults who hang around their mother's house this much. And why are they drinking wine at every turn? The show has nothing left to offer.
Matthew_Gilbert: I know. I didn't think the show could get any worse, and then it did. Of course, the ratings are just dandy, so don't expect it to go anywhere.
Liz_Lemon__Guest_: Aside from the very entertaining scene of Dexter & Rita in a prenatal class, I'm not sure how I feel about the whole baby storyline. What about you?
Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah, I know. I'm loving Dexter this season. But I do worry about the series, as the writers continue to normalize their hero. And it has already been renewed for two more seasons, a luxury that never serves the creative energy very well.
just_jill__Guest_: I've seen you make references to not liking the Ross-Rachel will they-won't they aspects of tv shows before...how do you think the Office has been handling the Pam/Jim engagement? I think I liked it better when they were pining for each other... (though I liked Ross-Rachel better together...maybe I have things backwards!)
Matthew_Gilbert: I've not minded the Jim-Pam thing yet. It feels more naturalistic, somehow, than the Ross-Rachel business, which was so clearly deployed to juice ratings during sweeps months. I only hope that -- like Derek and Meredith on "Grey's" -- Jim and Pam stay together and the show moves a little deeper into their connection. In a funny way, of course.
Jon__Guest_: Hi Matt. Wondering what your take is on Fringe. I was initially intrigued, but lately I've been finding the plots predictable and the characters incredibly grating.
Matthew_Gilbert: I have been extremely disappointed with Fringe. You know -- JJ Abrams and all. But I think the three stars are really seriously lacking in charisma or appeal. And the plots are predictable indeed, as well as gimmicky. A lot of blah blah blah for one or two money shots involving gross special effects.
Harvey_Lemmings__Guest_: Thanks for all the coverage about 30Rock! I am a big fan of the show, but I am not worried about the show's ratings- I suspect NBC will keep it around for a long time as long as the ratings are OK, because a> it's cheap to produce, b>it's an all in the family production, and c>they can slot it anywhere, anytime. Basically the same model as Scrubs. What do you think?
Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah, "30 Rock" is kind of a wry informercial for NBC Universal and GE, in some ways. On that level alone, it's valuable for the network.
Matthew_Gilbert: They can promote other NBC properties and stars on "30 Rock." But I don't think NBC will start dropping "30 Rock" all over its schedule, like the network did with "Scrubs."
Matthew_Gilbert: Scrubs will be on ABC when it returns, so the show has survived NBC bumbling treatment. But the sitcom is past its prime, for sure. NBC had Scrubs when it was extraordinary and original and funny, and the network squandered it.
Matthew_Gilbert: Shame NBC, shame.
Matthew_Gilbert: Bad boy.
Matthew_Gilbert: I've seen the first two ABC episodes of Scrubs, by the way, and they're not bad. The first episode is filled with in-jokes about the shift from NBC to ABC, with JD pointing at the ABC bug on the screen at one point and saying "That's new."
Matthew_Gilbert: Scrubs was doing the whole meta-reference thing long before 30 Rock.
scottybtnr__Guest_: Do you see any spinoffs of major shows happening in the near future? I thought I heard a rumor about Dwight Schrute getting his own show...would that be the Michael Richards Show all over again?
Matthew_Gilbert: I believe that whole Office spinoff idea is on hold, or dead. Which is a good thing. Dwight needs to stay where he is.
Matthew_Gilbert: Some of the Office producers and writers are involved in the forthcoming Amy Poehler project, but it won't be an Office spinoff.
lemonlover__Guest_: That season of MadMen went by in a flash, way too quickly. When will it be back? I wish every episode could be twice as long - every character & every storyline is so great & never gets enough time to develop.
Matthew_Gilbert: If I could save time in a bottle...
Matthew_Gilbert: the first thing that I'd like to do...
Matthew_Gilbert: I hear you bigtime, lemonlover. It passed too quickly. But that's a good thing, don't you think?
Matthew_Gilbert: We are left wanting more. If the season were twice as long -- 26 episodes -- you'd be really to see it go. And the writers would be burnt out. And the characters would be played out.
Matthew_Gilbert: I'm VERY pro short seasons. Most of the best shows of the past decade have come in 12-ish-episode seasons.
lemonlover__Guest_: ok, ok, you're right, as always. good thing I still have gossip girl.
Matthew_Gilbert: Ah yes, GG. Loving it this season. Chuck and Blair are totally upstaging everyone.
lifefan__Guest_: Hi, am curious to know what the ratings are for 'Life'. It's moving to Wednesdays now, and when a show keeps moving, it never bodes well. Any insight?
Matthew_Gilbert: My take is that NBC wants the show to work, and sees potential for it to catch on. That's why they're moving it to Wednesdays, and moving the lame "Lipshtick Bungle" to Fridays.
Matthew_Gilbert: I love the show. Love Damian Lewis. But I'm afraid that it may never catch on, like, say, the Mentalist. Which, by the way, is the hit show of the season. A very similar crime procedural drama with a quirky lead actor who is British but playing America -- go figure.
soxin09__Guest_: and curbs seasons also feel far too short!
Matthew_Gilbert: It's called desire, that feeling you have. And it's a good thing. Much better than overfed.
lemonlover__Guest_: Agreed! I know you've said that DSM is adult soapy - but I think GG is very, very close to adult soapy. There was no one like Chuck running around my high school, he acts like a middle aged cad.
Matthew_Gilbert: Oh I do think GG is adult soapy. These rich kids act like adults in an almost comic way, with all their financial means and alcohol use.
BillyBob__Guest_: Pushing Daisies is my favority show absolutely of all time. Love love love it. Doesn't everyone?
Matthew_Gilbert: Not this guy, I'm afraid. I admire it, etc. etc. It's cool looking and unlike anything else. But I have to admit, I just don't want to sit through it any more. It's too cutesy for me, I guess. And the stylization makes the characters seem superficial to me.
Matthew_Gilbert: Bah, humbug.
jkstraw__Guest_: What's it like to review Reality TV in such greater proportion than in time past?
Matthew_Gilbert: It's bombastic.
Matthew_Gilbert: Er, I mean fantastic.
Liz_Lemon_2__Guest_: When TrueBlood first started, I thought it was really interesting and creative take on oppresion of a sub set of our culture but I am loosing that and feeling like it is more of a vehicle for sex and nudity. Any thoughts on where the is show is headed?
Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah, I hear you. The whole vampire-as-cultural-metaphor thing has given way to the specific characters and their dramas. But I still enjoy it. And I have a very specific theory about all the murders.
MJN__Guest_: Why don't other networks adapt the 12 week "Season" for a time slot, like what FX does for "The Shield" and "Rescue me" ?
Matthew_Gilbert: Why indeed, MJN. It's a money thing, and it's connected to the TV-addiction thing. Suck em in, hold em there for as long as you can. Like that.
Greg__Guest_: When will Heroes get the mercy killing it deserves?
Matthew_Gilbert: It has been very sad to watch all the promise of Heroes go down the tubes. So much potential.
Matthew_Gilbert: Tim Kring and NBC lost sight of the creative side of that show much too quickly.
Matthew_Gilbert: What I loved about the beginning of the first season of Heroes was that it WASN'T epic. The show seemed very human-scaled. But since then, it has become overblown, overpopulated, predictable, and illogical.
LostFan789__Guest_: if you were forced to watch either 24 or heroes, which would you choose? If you say 24, it'd go to show how far heroes has dropped.
Matthew_Gilbert: 24.
jkstraw__Guest_: Why did Studio 60 fail? Could a Sunday night slot have helped?
Matthew_Gilbert: I was a fan too, but jack, it's time to let go...! No, I think Studio 60 didn't work for a number of reasons that had nothing to do with its time slot. I do still think the show should have been a 1970s period piece -- a time when the issues Sorkin addressed were fresh and heightened.
scottybtnr__Guest_: Matt: any idea if the economic crisis will affect our beloved TV shows too????
Matthew_Gilbert: I keep thinking that people will be watching more TV when they can't afford to go out as much. And that would help the TV shows.
Matthew_Gilbert: But nothing will be clear until after the election. No one is interested in anything else right now, kinda.
Matthew_Gilbert: Not only is TV free (ish), so that financially strapped people can find entertainment there -- but TV has a history of serving as a kind of comfort food during hard times. So if the economic crisis has an impact on TV shows, I'm expecting it to be positive.
MJN__Guest_: In response to the "12 week season" I know that if a show is on for only that 12 weeks I'm gonna be watching.
Matthew_Gilbert: Here here.
MJN__Guest_: It is kind of like a football season in relation to a baseball season. 16 games vs. 162 games.
Matthew_Gilbert: Here here too.
Matthew_Gilbert: Thanks for showing up, friends. See you in a couple of weeks.
Matthew_Gilbert: MG
