TV Chat with Matthew Gilbert

Bostondotcom: Hey everyone -- Matthew will be in in a few minutes, so feel free to start submitting your questions now.

Matthew_Gilbert: Greetings.

sterling: hey Matthew -- what do you think of the direction 'the office' took this year?

Matthew_Gilbert: I have loved the office this year. I think the Stamford branch stuff has been great. In fact, I'm writing my top 10 list right now, and playing with the idea of putting the show at No. 1. The Christmas episode (reairing tonight, btw) was a-freaking-mazing. I detect you're not liking it, Sterling???

minor_man: Do you know anything about the future of studio 360?

Matthew_Gilbert: No, but there is a show called Studio 60 (yeah, I'm obnoxious), and NBC is claiming it will keep it around all season long. Finger crossed, minorman; I like the show a lot and think it gels more every week.

Boston007: What's the rumor on Sopranos? This the last season? Will it be good?

Matthew_Gilbert: The last season -- really, it's the second half of the final season -- is due next April. It will be 9 episodes long. And yes, it will be good. I am a fortune teller, in addition to my many other skills.

jkstraw: Looking forward to anything for next year?

Matthew_Gilbert: I'm very excited about the return of Rome on HBO. No one watched the first season, but it was great. I'm also looking forward to Lost, because I'm so desperately wanting it to improve. What else...The Sopranos finale, of course.

Chris: Your opinion: Most unwatchable show that has yet to be cancelled?

Matthew_Gilbert: I can only pick one? While I'm tempted to say Brothers & Sisters, and Standoff, and The Class, I will opt for Ghost Whisperer. It's just plain old ookie.

henry: Do you know when the new wire is coming out?

Matthew_Gilbert: Dude, the old wire just ended. My guess would be sometime late next year, or maybe even early in 2008. Yes, I said 2008.

Ms_Fit: I think Alec Baldwin is great on Tina Fey's show. Dating Condi Rice - what could be funnier than that? Did you see the article on The Office in the NYer; I'm not quite finished but I think they make some interesting points about the comparison with Ricky Gervais' original. I was one of those people who refused to watch the first seaston because I didn't think it could compare in anyway but a negative one. So glad I checked it out finally.

Matthew_Gilbert: I agree with you on Baldwin, and I'm loving 30 Rock. NBC has done an amazing thing with its thursday night lineup: FOUR GOOD SITCOMS IN A ROW. How novel.

Matthew_Gilbert: I did see the New Yorker piece on the Office, Ms. Fit. It's really smart. The magazine did a good thing by making Tad Fried the TV critic. Nancy Franklin just wasn't distinguishing herself.

lw1013: How is How I met your mother doing ratings wise? I love Swarley!!

Matthew_Gilbert: It's doing OK, tw. It will be around for a while, I'm sure. But I think it has the potential to be a top10 show, and I'm not sure why it hasn't broken through yet. It's great. I love Neil Patrick Harris, too.

Matthew_Gilbert: DId you notice how the How I Met Your Mother writers focused on Lily and Marshall this season. It was a great counterintuitive move, since we all expected them to do the Ross and Rachel thing with Ted and Shabatsky. I love that show.

henry: yeah... but I want my wire fix! This season was absolutely INCREDIBLE!

Matthew_Gilbert: HBO demands patience, my friend. It takes time to make shows great. That's one big reason the networks face such a struggle for quality. They don't have the luxury of many months -- and sometimes a full year -- to write and produce shows.

Ms_Fit: Any predictions for the Golden Globes? Who was nominated that shouldn't have been? Who was robbed?

Matthew_Gilbert: I was very unhappy not to see Neil Patrick Harris, Rescue Me," "Friday Night Lights," Matthew Perry in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the supporting cast of "Scrubs," and Rainn Wilson on "The Office."

Matthew_Gilbert: They were all among the year's best and deserved nominations.

JackMcCoy: Hate to keep directing things back to Law and Order every week, but let's talk shop, MG. Why o why does Dick Wolf insist on making everysinglefreakingepisodeonhisseries related to "real life" events? After all, dramas are used for escape; fictional accounts, to me, seem the way to go.

Matthew_Gilbert: Hey, you're obsessed Jack. Nothing to be ashamed of. Wolf probably likes to riff on real life crimes because they attract and hold viewers already familiar with the stories. It always surprises me how much audiences would rather see something they know rather than something new and different. Also, think about how many crimes Wolf & Co. have to come up with every year!! Ripping from the headlines is an easy way to come up with new material...

toeknee: Hi Matt. Have you heard the rumor that Lost may be returning mid-January, since nothing else is getting good ratings for ABC on Wednesdays? Any truth to it? If that happens then either the season will end early, or there will have to be another break, which I thought noone involved wanted to happen.

Matthew_Gilbert: I haven't heard that rumon, Toenee, but will look into it. Far as I know, ABC is still planning to bring back Lost on Feb 7, as it said during the "fall-season finale." And ABC is moving the show to 10 p.m., which to me is a huge mistake. I hate to say it, but I think the ratings are going to suffer enormously from the change.

lw1013: What are your feelings on the Rosie-Donald feud?

Matthew_Gilbert: My feeling is, we should put them in a ring together. Fox will air the fight. It will be bloody, and ugly. It will be great.

XtineCambridge: Hey Matthew, what was the best TV movie of the year? Do they even MAKE tv movies anymore?

Matthew_Gilbert: Oh, yeah, X. Hallmark still makes mediocre movies for CBS, and then there are a million of them on cable, from HBO to TNT to Lifetime. But my favorites this year was the two part "Elizabeth I" on HBO. Helen Mirren was mindblowing.

m: Wasn't the new british girl on Studio 60 also on the british football soap "Dream Team"? That show rocks, by the way.

Matthew_Gilbert: I'm not sure, m. But she was on the British version of The Office. She played the Pam character, named Dawn.

rox_in_cambridge: Hi Matthew. Wondering if I can ask a broad question: how does one go about becoming a television critic?

Matthew_Gilbert: One has one's brain surgically removed.

henry: matt, did you hear the new OC soundtrack?

Matthew_Gilbert: No. Forgive me, but don't all OC soundtracks sound the same?!

m: I've gotta say, I'm really digging the NBC Thursday line up. It's a testament to the quality of the shows when Scrubs is the weakest of the 4. 30 Rock is hilarious, and Tina Fey / Alec Baldwin have an amazing chemistry.

Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah, I agree. And it's true, Scrubs may be the weakest element in the lineup. Unfortunately, the show is past its peak in quality, after 6 years, and yet it's at its peak in terms of visibility. I always tell people to check out the Scrubs reruns on Comedy Central.

Chris: When is Big Love returning to HBO?

Matthew_Gilbert: I believe the second season will begin in the Spring sometime. But HBO is famous for playing around with its schedule....

ddddddd: When will SNL finally get cancelled?

Matthew_Gilbert: Good question, dddddd (sp?). It's at an all-time low right now, not least of all because of cost cuts that led to firing a bunch of cast members. I think NBC will keep trying to make it work, even as the ratings suffer. It's an institution at this point.

m: Are you an Adult Swim guy matt?

Matthew_Gilbert: Alas, no time for it. But I have a friend who swears by it.

Bostondotcom: Hey everyone -- looks like Matthew's computer had a bit of a crash. Since we're nearing the end of the chat, we're going to pull the plug. Thanks for chatting, and see you in a couple weeks!