Bad sign for "Rex is Not Your Lawyer" and more TV news

[ghost2]

Most pilots don't get picked up anyway, so this is no big surprise. The sets for "Rex is Not Your Lawyer" (the dreadful-sounding David Tennant pilot) are coming down. Still, NBC has five extra hours to fill now that Jay Leno has moved back to late night, which would have seemed to improve Rex's chances; they must not have liked what they saw in it. Supposedly, this show is on hold but remains under consideration for the fall. Yeah, right. That's code for don't expect this one to ever make it onscreen. "On hold" has a similar meaning to "episode number has been reduced." It's now a longshot.

Speaking of which, the episode order for Numbers was reduced.

Renewed (new shows): The Good Wife, The Middle, Cougar Town, NCIS: Los Angeles, Glee, Modern Family.

Be especially concerned about: Ugly Betty, Cold Case, The Forgotten, Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Accidentally on Purpose, Trauma (which keeps getting picked up for additional episodes despite awful ratings), Mercy, Scrubs, Better Off Ted, Medium, Melrose Place, and of course, Numbers. FlashForward, Castle, and Heroes are also in doubt. Plus, Lie to Me and/or Fringe could be out. OTOH, both might barely survive.

Comments

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Ah man!

On one hand, Rex Is Not Your Lawyer sounds... eh. I think it's an Alec Baldwin role.

I want to see David Tennant in something GOOD.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I thought it sounded like a terrible idea, so I am not disappointed. Plus, now David Tennant has more time to work on his American accent. I hope he works very hard. Or, better, he might find a show that will allow him to use his natural voice.

[livii.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping for FlashForward; it's kinda bad, but kinda awesome, and the only thing I'm watching!

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

FlashForward started out strong in the ratings, but really dropped off by December. Plus, the episode order was cut. (Like I said, bad sign.) The ratings when it returns in March are going to decide this one. I still have to catch up on watching it. I'm about eight episodes behind, though I liked what I had seen so far.

[madelf.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I will be disappointed if Castle, Lie to Me and Fringe don't make it. Cold Case as well, although not quite as upset.

Heroes, on the other hand, should die. I didn't sign up for the Sylar show three seasons ago, and I'm thoroughly sick of it now.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I think Cold Case is very likely finished. It almost didn't survive last year, and it's really struggling this season. I think odds of renewal are maybe 10%.

Castle/Lie to Me/Fringe all stand a better chance than Cold Case does but they all are also in the danger zone for their networks. Something's going to get cancelled, and they're among the weaker performers. OTOH, they're also kind of borderline and could improve their standing before the end of the season.

NBC is a disaster area. Heroes has pretty bad ratings this year, but so do most of their other shows. If I had to guess, I'd say it's renewed and next year gets billed as being the final season.

[madelf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I never seem to be attached to the shows with the big ratings that are guaranteed to be renewed. Admittedly, I probably just contribute to their low ratings, since I dvr everything. Still, I'll have to cross my fingers, since those are my happy shows - the ones I watch that don't piss me off and make me crazy or annoyed.

[nonelvis]

I won't be surprised if Rex never makes it to the screen, and am keeping my fingers crossed that some fangirl at NBC sneaks a copy of the pilot onto the interwebs. As horrible as the premise sounded, I still want to see how Tennant did.

I'll be sad if Castle goes away. It's lightweight, but I'm really enjoying it. As for Heroes: NBC needs to put it out of its misery as soon as possible. Even Robert Knepper can't save it.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Right now, I think Castle is more likely to be renewed than not. Of course, the decision might not be made for months and it might be doing better or worse by that point.

I have not watched Heroes since September 2008. I hear it's gotten worse since then, and that was bad enough.

[lilly-rose.livejournal.com]

Fringe AND Lie To Me? Fox couldn't possibly break my heart twice, could they?

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Maybe both will be cancelled; maybe neither will be. Fox has a bunch of shows that perform better and are clearly safe (Bones, House, etc.) but they do have to fill the time. Those two fall borderline.

[bewarethespork.livejournal.com]

I love both Scrubs and Castle! I would be very sad if either of them were to die. :(

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Scrubs has been remarkably resilient, but it looks like it's about done now. Not for sure, though. There are always surprise renewals.

Castle has a better chance than Scrubs does. It's going to air an episode after Desperate Housewives in March, and if that helps viewership enough it should be safe.

[bewarethespork.livejournal.com]

I was ready for Scrubs to end after S8 because I was sure S9 would suck, but now I kind of love it and would like to see another season or two with the new cast. I'm glad that Castle seems a little safer, though - I can't remember squeeing this much about a cop show since the first couple of seasons of Bones.

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

"Heroes" should have been canned after Season 3. No good comes from it. And though the acting in Fringe is very good, and I like the ideas it plays with, it keeps frustrating me with its failure to be really creative and so should go.

And it figures that every one of the shows my mom really likes is on your "be very afraid" list. :-/

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Heroes recently hit an all-time low for viewership, which obviously is not a good sign. But it's not like NBC has a very strong lineup this season, so they might keep it anyway.

I'm saddest about the very likely demise of Ugly Betty. The show is still good, and it's fun to watch. But viewership has dropped tremendously. I also enjoy Mercy. I think its quality has improved a lot. Just, it airs in a weak timeslot but still has poor ratings. If people won't watch....