TV chat
Boston Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert took your questions
Matthew_Gilbert: Greetings, friends.
IM4Quality__Guest_: Hey Matt,
Matthew_Gilbert: Hey.
dee_s_nutz__Guest_: Hi Matt i can't wait for LOST tonight.. great show
Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah, I'm with you on that. Lost has mastered the art of giving us information but still keeping the mystery tense.
Matches_Malone__Guest_: Hello Matthew. Can you tell me what ever happened to the show "Wanted"?
Matthew_Gilbert: Wow. I forgot about that show. The one with Gary Cole, the guy who played Mr. Brady in the Brady Bunch movies?
Matthew_Gilbert: Nope. It's gone for good. TNT has axed it.
jacob__Guest_: who do you think I am?
Matthew_Gilbert: Maybe the original Jacob from the Bible. Seriously.
Matches_Malone__Guest_: Thank you!
Matthew_Gilbert: No, Thank YOU Matches, for all the good you bring to the universe.
danielle__Guest_: Hi Matt! I've seen the previews for that new show Swingers or something like that, set in the 70s... have you heard anything good about it?
Matthew_Gilbert: It's called Swingtown, and I just got the advance disc in the mail. I'll definitely be writing about it, once I've seen it. It looks stoopid, but I hope to be surprised.
Matthew_Gilbert: The Ice Storm is one of my favorite movies. Swinging in the 1907s. Good times.
The_Grinch__Guest_: Any chance the Dead Zone will be brought back?
Matthew_Gilbert: Is that a rumor? Far as I know, "Zone" is dead for good.
danielle__Guest_: Yeah the Ice Storm was great, but you can't go wrong with Sigourney.
Matthew_Gilbert: Point taken. Although I'm sure IMDB is keeping a few of Signourney's ugly secrets.
c__Guest_: Is there anything that Lost *isn't* doing? I've long been a fan of the show, refuse to believe that it will ever jump the shark -- can this show do no wrong?
Matthew_Gilbert: Well, the second season was a bit uneven, I thought. The narrative lost its way, so to speak. So I'd say that Lost isn't the PERFECT TV show. But right now, and ever since the producers announced the end date, Lost is on, baby (as Randy Jackson would no doubt put it).
bob__Guest_: RIP, MIT. Your thoughts?
Matthew_Gilbert: Men in Trees, gone for good. I lost interest in the show quickly -- too Northern Exposurey.
Matches_Malone__Guest_: Lost is up there doing its thing...its HOT baby!
Matthew_Gilbert: Check it out.
Albsure__Guest_: Will the Kardashians be back after this season? I assume there's lots of Emmy buzz around this season as well?
Matthew_Gilbert: Oh Albsure. Poor, dear Albsure. Godspeed, my friend.
brokenbil__Guest_: What happened to AMC's original series "Breaking Bad" and will it be returning for another season?
Matthew_Gilbert: The first season was a short one. But AMC has renewed it, and it will be a full-length cable season -- 12 or so episodes.
danielle__Guest_: Question about 30 Rock. Is there any reason why the character Jenna seems missing from a lot of the recent episodes? I was adamant on not liking her since the beginning because of her replacing Dratch, and have grown to love her and her wacko comments. I didnt know if there was a reason for this or something related to the writers strike. That being said, 30 Rock is the best comedy on tv today. It's officially ahead of The Office in my book.
Matthew_Gilbert: I've wondered the same thing, D. I suspect the 30 Rock writers are just going where the buzz takes them, which is to characters like Jack and Kenneth.
Matthew_Gilbert: I think they all thought Tina Fey would need a best girlfriend on the show, and now they realize that she really doesn.t.
Matthew_Gilbert: Liz Lemon is fine on her own.
Matches_Malone__Guest_: Any interest in this year's Hell's Kitchen?
Matthew_Gilbert: Ramsay makes me feel blessed. Imagine waking up everyday as him?
c__Guest_: I just started watching Big Love season 1. No idea if I'm going to like it but a friend suggested it. Thoughts?
Matthew_Gilbert: Keep going with it. I wouldn't put Big Love in the same category as Six Feet Under, but it's pretty good. Chloe Sevigny is hysterical. And now, with all this FLDS church stuff going on in Texas, Big Love feels like it may be more realistic than I'd thought.
himym__Guest_: Will PaM & Jim get engaged on the Office this season?
Matthew_Gilbert: I don't know, but I wouldn't be disappointed. The only thing that would disappointment me is if the writers break them up, then put them back together.
Matthew_Gilbert: Then break them up.
Matthew_Gilbert: Then put them back together.
Matthew_Gilbert: I'm so happy to know that Meredith and Derek are going to just get together and stay together, if Shonda Rhimes has been telling the truth. SOmetimes, TV's romantic back-and-forths get really really tiresome.
GFO__Guest_: From the dismal ratings so far it appears that NBC's "repurposing" of USA's Monk and Psyc on Sunday evenings is a disaster. Have we reaced a saturation point for repurposing of shows on the network space (except maybe Law & Order)?
Matthew_Gilbert: That may be true, GFO. I kind of hope so. I hate the repurposing of Dexter most of all.
Matthew_Gilbert: I notice NBC is filling in with two hours of the Office this Sunday....
Matches_Malone__Guest_: Is there anyway, any chance, shows like Chance at Love with Tila or the train wrecks with Flava Flav will EVER go away? Who watches that crap!?
Matthew_Gilbert: A lot of people watch them. Yup, it's true.
b_2__Guest_: Have you seen 'Extras'? I loved the BBC 'Office', but I think this might be even better.
Matthew_Gilbert: I loved Extras from start to finish. Not as mean and cringey as The Office, but satirical in its own way. I loved how actors would go on as guests and trash themselves.
Matthew_Gilbert: Plus, Ricky Gervais is smart enough to get in and get out. The show was, like, 13 episodes or so, total. That's leaves us wanting more, something the American TV industry doesn't practice enough.
shack__Guest_: Hi. I was on a game show a few years ago, and the producers said they had a regulatory oversight group called "Standards and Practices" making sure that no one cheats. Do you thing that the time is coming when reality shows need a similar oversight body? I thought there was some contrived stuff on recent reality shows; steering competitions toward certain contestants, or getting contestants to drop out. Or do reality shows already have a group to enforce fairness?
Matthew_Gilbert: I think it's silly to think that reality shows -- ANY of them, even American Idol -- are honest representations. No one really expects them to be like documentaries, do they?
jacob__Guest_: I just read about myslef on Wikipedia based upon your guess (from the bible)...pretty good ...do you think widmore is my twin brother esau then?
Matthew_Gilbert: Hmmm.
brokenbil__Guest_: "Freaks & Geeks" was one of my all-time favorite TV shows. We all know what former F&G producer Judd Apatow is up to, but what's going on with series creator Paul Feig? Any chance he has a new TV pilot in development?
Matthew_Gilbert: That's a great question. Feig has directed a bunch of shows, I know that. He's done "Mad Men" and "Arrested Development" and "The Office." But I don't know if he's involved in creating anything new. Hope so.
SRQFLFAN__Guest_: Do you see an end to reality shows and a return to scripted series
Matthew_Gilbert: Oh, there are still many many scripted series. No need to worry. The presence and popularity of reality TV doesn't much cut into the scripted side of things anymore (unless there's another writer's strike).
GFO__Guest_: Hey I was just thinking - What goes on your headstone? "I Like to Watch,"?
Matthew_Gilbert: I'm not going to die.
GFO__Guest_: Any thoughts on the "Made for TV Movie," a staple for the networks for decades, which seemingly have faded in obscurity?
Matthew_Gilbert: The cable channels have kind of taken over that role, I think. You can find made for TV movies all over Sci Fi and Lifetime and HBO and TNT.
shack__Guest_: I guess I am a little silly then. If the "reality" people want to hold a competition, there should be some industry watchdog preventing the producers from steering the outcome toward a preordained winner, same as with "Jeopardy" or "Wheel of Fortune."
Matthew_Gilbert: Maybe you're right, when it comes to the contest reality shows.
himym__Guest_: Will Sarah Chalk be Ted Wife on HIMYM? I love her!!!
Matthew_Gilbert: I don't think so. Maybe her sister or something. I think she'll provide the link between Ted and the Mother....
SRQFLFAN__Guest_: Do you think there is one great show on that is not being watched enough?
Matthew_Gilbert: Right now? There's no glaring example for me. I wish more people watched 30 Rock, but it's doing just fine. Also, How I Met Your Mother. It should be a huge hit.
Matthew_Gilbert: There doesn't seem to be a case like Arrested Development on TV right now....
gecko4018__Guest_: Hey, when's The Shield coming back? that show rules!
Matthew_Gilbert: It will be back in the fall, I believe, gordo. The season has already been filmed, but the writers strike screwed up FX's plans.
lunchtimer__Guest_: Can someone give me the quick overview on HIMYM? I've only seen 2 episodes - the whole thing is a flashback right
Matthew_Gilbert: flashback. who's mother. barney a cad. end.
SRQFLFAN__Guest_: Do you think the writing on the programs are as good as before the writers strike. They seem to have forgotten some story lines.
Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah, I think the writers had to get back to work really quickly, and rush into creativity. Which rarely goes well. And they had to let go of a few of the plots they started, because the season had been cut so short. House, for example, clearly suffered in quality from the long break.
Eulalia__Guest_: Hi Matt: any idea if and when the second (and following) seasons of St. Elsewhere will be released on DVD? It's one of the best shows ever....
Matthew_Gilbert: I don't know, Eu. I'm surprised to hear it's not out yet, given that every season of every cockamamie 1970s and 80s show seems to be out already.
Matthew_Gilbert: Nothing personal, ALF fans.
sonj__Guest_: Hi Matthew, Do you know anything about my favorite guilty pleasure show - Las Vegas?
Matthew_Gilbert: Only that it's cancelled, right?
Matthew_Gilbert: Or did you not know that?
Matthew_Gilbert: In which case, I'm sorry for your loss, etc. etc.
90__Guest_: Are the idol contestants under additonal obligations this season or do they just lack the stamina of previous contestants? All of them seem wiped out and there's still two more weeks?
Matthew_Gilbert: You're right, 90. I agree. The kids seem worn out. Maybe the show is pushing them harder, in terms of doing promotion? Jason and Brooke,in particular, have seemed kind of played.
Matthew_Gilbert: My intuition tells me it's just this particular bunch of contestants. They seem more fragile, less talented, and lifted too high too quickly for their own good. Poor little bobblehead David A looks on the verge of a breakdown, and David C has already paid his visit to the emergency room.
DunderMifflin__Guest_: I heard something about a spinoff for The Office, have you heard anything more about it and who it would be centered on?
Matthew_Gilbert: I have only heard vague rumors about Ed Helms being involved in the spinoff. Who knows. I think it's a mistake, in that The Office itself is in creative trouble and needs some shoring up. Spinoffs can sap the energy and talent from the original show.
Erik__Guest_: Why does American Idol stay with the 90 second time limit this late in the season? How many pop artists chart number one songs that are 90 seconds in length? Instead of making contestants learn 2-3 songs in a week, why not let them sing one or two full-length songs at this stage?
Matthew_Gilbert: I've assumed the producers want to keep the pace moving fast. Two 90 second songs is busier, and keeps viewers paying more attention. Also, it gives the contestants more than one chance per night.
DunderMifflin__Guest_: Who's in the coffin in Lost and will it be revealed this season?
Matthew_Gilbert: I love it that you think I know. And that you think I would tell you if I did know.
Matthew_Gilbert: Which I don't.
Matthew_Gilbert: Thank you all for showing up today. See you in a couple of weeks.
Matthew_Gilbert: MG
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