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Mid-Season
2003/2004
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This
year, we have also added a review of currently
announced mid-season programs. However, predicting
the success (or failure) of these shows is even
more difficult than with the regular new shows
considering the time-slots are not yet known.
Of course, it is also possible that many of these
show will never even air
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ABC
--- Hour Drama --- Mid-Season
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Premise
This mid-season drama explores the war between
the FBI Richmond field office and the Malloy
Crime Syndicate
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The
recent NBC show Kingpin moves to the
Northeast
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Familiar
Faces
Leslie Hope (24), Leslie Bibb (Popular),
David Paymer (The Commish)
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Our
Take
This was a highly promoted series with ABC
having actually released the pilot prior to
the Upfront. Accordingly, it was somewhat
surprising when it was not on the fall schedule
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Expect
to Hear
"I
care about all of you and I’ll stand up for
all of you because when you’re with us, you’re
with us."
-
Mob Boss Jonah Malloy
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CBS
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Originally announced as part of the Fall
Line-up, this sitcom about adult children
dealing with their parents’ pending divorce
was replaced at the last minute by Becker
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The
movie House Arrest also featured
children trying to stop their parents from
divorcing
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Familiar
Faces
Robert Klein (Two Weeks Notice),
Judith Light (Who’s the Boss),
Lindsay
Sloane (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
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Our
Take
It is never a good sign when a show is yanked
off of the schedule after the Upfront announcements.
Considering it was pulled for the luke-warm
Becker raises even more doubts
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Expect
to Hear
"I
want you to do it, but I want you to do
it the way I want you to do it."
-
Barbara Stone
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FOX
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Ben, an idealistic psychology student, gets
more than he bargained for when he moves
into the guest house of a wealthy Beverly
Hills family in order to help Tanner, the
“troubled” child. Ben soon discovers that
Tanner may actually be the only sane family
member
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Take
the psychologist angle of The Bob Newhart
Show and mix it with the dysfunctional
family aspect of Malcolm in the Middle
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Familiar
Faces
Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live),
Chris McDonald (Happy Gilmore)
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Our
Take
This is a somewhat odd sitcom that probably
would have been more compatible with Malcolm
in the Middle than Arrested Development
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Expect
to Hear
"Why
is he depressed? I mean, we live in America
and we’re rich and stuff."
-
Chloe
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FOX
--- Hour Drama --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Told from the perspective of deceased son
Jake, Still Life follows the lives
of the Morgan family and the impact his
loss has had on their lives. Now a year
later, memories of Jake’s death are brought
back into focus when younger brother Max
returns home after having been gone since
the day of Jake’s funeral
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Take
the multiple older sibling aspect of Eight
is Enough and mix it with the narration
style of The Wonder Years and throw
in a little Ghost (albeit one unable
to interact with the living)
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Familiar
Faces
David Keith (U-571),
Susanna Thompson
(Once and Again),
Morena Baccarin
(Firefly)
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Our
Take
This is a highly emotional pilot that tugs
at the heart strings. Finding it a time
slot where it can flourish will be a challenge
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Expect
to Hear
"I
can see things differently now. I see with
music. I see in strokes of color. I see
at different speeds. I see life like it’s
a work of art. But most of all, I see things
I never saw before."
-
Jake Morgan
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NBC
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Saturday Night Live veteran Tracy
Morgan stars in this sitcom about a
streetwise father raising two kids with
his loving wife. Reportedly, this series
is partially autobiographical
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Other
current family sitcoms include: According
to Jim, My Wife and Kids,
and 8 Simple Rules
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Familiar
Faces
Tracy Morgan (Saturday Night Live)
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Our
Take
This edgy sitcom probably would fit
in more with FOX than with one of the
NBC shows
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Expect
to Hear
"You’d
better be real careful with the way
you handle these boys because one day
you’re going to be old and in a nursing
home and they’re going to come visit
you and they’re going to flip you out
of the bed."
-
Alicia Mitchell
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NBC
--- Hour Reality --- Mid-Season
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Premise
This latest reality entry from Mark
(Survivor) Burnett features
contestants competing for a job
as Donald Trump’s apprentice
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Survivor
meets Wall Street
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Familiar
Faces
Donald Trump
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Our
Take
Another reality show
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Expect
to Hear
<<Not
Available for Preview>>
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WB
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Following in her mother’s footsteps,
Maria takes on the job of maid for
the wealthy (yet dysfunctional)
Ridgeway family. Now, Maria is not
only dealing with a class struggle
between the help and the Ridgeways,
but also tension among her fellow
workers
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The
Ally Sheedy movie Maid to Order
without the magic
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Familiar
Faces
Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life)
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Our
Take
The Help needs help. It is
also unclear who will actually be
in the show as there were actors
in the pilot (such as Tori Spelling
and David Faustino) not listed in
the show’s permanent cast
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Expect
to Hear
"I
used to change Douglas’ diapers
for fun. Now, I change Grandpa Eddie’s
for 10 bucks an hour."
-
Maria
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WB
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
After the long-term mayor fails
to fix a local public water fountain,
eighteen-year-old Jake Winterhalter
starts a successful campaign that
gets him elected
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Doogie
Howser, MD meets Spin City
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Familiar
Faces
Harry Groener (Dear John),
Christine Ebersol (Saturday Night
Live), Lizzy Caplan (The
Pitts)
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Our
Take
This one-joke sitcom will need work
in producing a funny second episode
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Expect
to Hear
"I’m
going to give the people of this
town what they deserve – a mayor
with the intelligence of a 12th
grader."
-
Mayor Jake Winterhalter
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WB
--- Hour Drama --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Originally announced as a Fall program only
to be replaced by One Tree Hill, Fearless
(the third new 2003/2004 series from Jerry
Bruckheimer) tells the story of Gaia Moore,
a young FBI agent lacking the gene for fear
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Based
on Francine Pascal’s series of Fearless
Young Adult novels
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Familiar
Faces
Rachel Leigh Cook (She’s All That)
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Our
Take
Fearless is another show pulled from
the line-up post Upfront. The real issue with
this pilot is the emoting of Rachel Leigh
Cook as she is not just fearless, but also
emotionless. For the show to be successful,
her character needs to be more likeable
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Expect
to Hear
"Being
fearless, I do things an otherwise normal
person would think twice about."
-
Gaia Moore
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