Playing the Odds for N&D
Dec. 25th, 2008 12:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
absinthe_spoonsAugh. *stresses out*
I'm not going to wish you a Merry Christmas just yet because even though it is technically Christmas, it's not Christmas DAY, it's just late on Christmas Eve night. Because I say so.
So earlier today I was writing up an ~exposé~ (I guess it wasn't really an exposé but it WAS because I say it was) on some of the aspects of the road to becoming a series for "Night and Day"... potential release dates, promotional periods, etc. I know. I've been really obsessed with it lately, you have no idea.
And I came across this article, which is awesome and informative, but includes the following excerpt:
And then there are the pilots, five of them, all featuring big-name talent and all in various stages of production. [...] Michael Wright, senior VP of the content creation group for Time Warner-owned Turner Networks, clearly has a lot to mull over between now and the start of the year. At that point, he says, one, or maybe even two of these new projects will be selected for series greenlight.
What?! Only one or two? That's... that's...
And I proceeded to freak out. 20% to 40% chance of a order to series is not good enough for me. I've been thinking all this time that... look, it's TNT, they're looking to expand enormously on their quotient of original content, it's gold. It's in. Turns out? It's going to be a little trickier than I thought.
So how about we take a peek at the competition?
BUNKER HILL
STARS: Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, Bridget Moynahan, Scott Tony Curran.
ABOUT: A young war hero and DEA officer who returns to his hometown of Boston to protect the streets from crime.
GENRE: drama
THREAT?: Yes. It sounds a bit like The Departed (Boston, crime, a Wahlberg... you can see where I might get this impression). Anyway, it sounds like it would fit right in on TNT. Be gone, obnoxious Wahlberg thing.
MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE
STARS: Ray Romano, Andre Braugher, Brian White, Richard Gant, Scott Bakula.
ABOUT: Three friends, all middle-aged men.
GENRE: drama
THREAT?: Not sure. Personally, I wouldn't touch a Ray Romano project if you paid me, but apparently everyone loves him or something? That's what I hear anyway. Also, it seems to be playing up the bromance side of the story (or just male friendships, if the word squicks you out). I seem to be associating this one with 'Til Death, which may not be fair (it's supposed to lean more heavily on drama than comedy), but for N&D's sake I hope they follow my lead. P.S. 'Til Death sucks.
TIME HEALS
STARS: Jada Pinkett Smith, Christina Moore, David Julian Hirsh, Jeffry Nordling.
ABOUT: A nurse, unsung hero of the hospital, caregiver and single mother, who always puts the pain of others first. She's nice to homeless people and talks suicidal patients out of jumping off buildings.
GENRE: drama
THREAT?: Hell, no. Ratings tell me that the American people like their fictional healthcare professionals to be assholes. This sounds... schmoopy. It's the only word for it. It sounds like it should be on the Lifetime network, not TNT. "We know drama", indeed. Jada Pinkett Smith is fairly popular, but I don't think she can pull an audience on her own.
The fourth pilot, depending on who you ask, is either a vaguely-defined spin-off of "The Closer" (AUGH THREAT) or an Untitled Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay project. I'm hearing that the Bruckheimer thing may be intended for a 2010 debut, so I'm thinking the former. No details are known about the spin-off other than the fact that it would, indeed, be a spin-off. And since TNT has to make series orders by the end of the year (that is, within the next week), I'm thinking we can count that one out. Unless it's under very tight wraps.
So can we discount that fourth competitor? I'm going to say yes, just to make myself feel better. 25%-50%... I like those odds better.
I'm not going to wish you a Merry Christmas just yet because even though it is technically Christmas, it's not Christmas DAY, it's just late on Christmas Eve night. Because I say so.
So earlier today I was writing up an ~exposé~ (I guess it wasn't really an exposé but it WAS because I say it was) on some of the aspects of the road to becoming a series for "Night and Day"... potential release dates, promotional periods, etc. I know. I've been really obsessed with it lately, you have no idea.
And I came across this article, which is awesome and informative, but includes the following excerpt:
And then there are the pilots, five of them, all featuring big-name talent and all in various stages of production. [...] Michael Wright, senior VP of the content creation group for Time Warner-owned Turner Networks, clearly has a lot to mull over between now and the start of the year. At that point, he says, one, or maybe even two of these new projects will be selected for series greenlight.
What?! Only one or two? That's... that's...
And I proceeded to freak out. 20% to 40% chance of a order to series is not good enough for me. I've been thinking all this time that... look, it's TNT, they're looking to expand enormously on their quotient of original content, it's gold. It's in. Turns out? It's going to be a little trickier than I thought.
So how about we take a peek at the competition?
BUNKER HILL
STARS: Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, Bridget Moynahan, Scott Tony Curran.
ABOUT: A young war hero and DEA officer who returns to his hometown of Boston to protect the streets from crime.
GENRE: drama
THREAT?: Yes. It sounds a bit like The Departed (Boston, crime, a Wahlberg... you can see where I might get this impression). Anyway, it sounds like it would fit right in on TNT. Be gone, obnoxious Wahlberg thing.
MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE
STARS: Ray Romano, Andre Braugher, Brian White, Richard Gant, Scott Bakula.
ABOUT: Three friends, all middle-aged men.
GENRE: drama
THREAT?: Not sure. Personally, I wouldn't touch a Ray Romano project if you paid me, but apparently everyone loves him or something? That's what I hear anyway. Also, it seems to be playing up the bromance side of the story (or just male friendships, if the word squicks you out). I seem to be associating this one with 'Til Death, which may not be fair (it's supposed to lean more heavily on drama than comedy), but for N&D's sake I hope they follow my lead. P.S. 'Til Death sucks.
TIME HEALS
STARS: Jada Pinkett Smith, Christina Moore, David Julian Hirsh, Jeffry Nordling.
ABOUT: A nurse, unsung hero of the hospital, caregiver and single mother, who always puts the pain of others first. She's nice to homeless people and talks suicidal patients out of jumping off buildings.
GENRE: drama
THREAT?: Hell, no. Ratings tell me that the American people like their fictional healthcare professionals to be assholes. This sounds... schmoopy. It's the only word for it. It sounds like it should be on the Lifetime network, not TNT. "We know drama", indeed. Jada Pinkett Smith is fairly popular, but I don't think she can pull an audience on her own.
The fourth pilot, depending on who you ask, is either a vaguely-defined spin-off of "The Closer" (AUGH THREAT) or an Untitled Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay project. I'm hearing that the Bruckheimer thing may be intended for a 2010 debut, so I'm thinking the former. No details are known about the spin-off other than the fact that it would, indeed, be a spin-off. And since TNT has to make series orders by the end of the year (that is, within the next week), I'm thinking we can count that one out. Unless it's under very tight wraps.
So can we discount that fourth competitor? I'm going to say yes, just to make myself feel better. 25%-50%... I like those odds better.
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no subject
Date: 2008-12-25 04:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-25 05:59 pm (UTC)Hmm. Out of them all, I'd say the first one seems the most threatening. The other two just sound stupid. If they pick one of those over N&D, I will... Well, I don't know what I'll do. But they won't like it.
I still think N&D sounds the best, from as non-biased a perspective as I can muster.
P.S. Merry Christmas! ;)
no subject
Date: 2008-12-26 03:03 am (UTC)This probably means very little, but "Men of a Certain Age" and "Night and Day" are the only ones of all the projects mentioned with IMDb pages. True story.
Worrying over whether N&D will be picked up is affecting me way more than it should. I've set myself up for some extreme emotion here -- if it gets picked up, I will be over-the-moon ecstatic; if it isn't (*knocks on wood*), I will be crushingly disappointed.
Merry Christmas! And btw, that's really crazy about your uncle. Look at that, you have an awesome six-degrees connection to CB! Two steps! Impressive -- it takes me three steps.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-26 08:48 pm (UTC)Heh, I might go for that, too. If I'm able to watch anything at all, that is.
Yeah. Well, I don't think I'm quite as attached to it as you are, though I would also be crushingly disppointed if it doesn't pull through, so... I dunno. I am trying really hard not to get too attached, but it really isn't working out all that well. O_o
Yeah! Yay! *grins foolishly* I can't believe it never came up before, though.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 01:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 06:20 pm (UTC)Secondly, of course you can add me! I'm adding you back. :D
no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 06:25 pm (UTC)Waiting for news..
Date: 2008-12-29 08:29 pm (UTC)Re: Waiting for news..
Date: 2008-12-29 08:37 pm (UTC)Thanks for your faith, anonymous person of the internet.