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“The Guardian’s” timeslot will now be occupied by another hour drama on Tuesday nights at 8:00-9:00 p.m., CST, called “Clubhouse.” As much as I will miss “The Guardian” and Simon Baker, “Clubhouse” could have real potential to be a success. The series is a coming of age story of a Yankees batboy played by Jeremy Sumpter and co-starring Mare Winningham, Dean Cain and Christopher Lloyd.
I haven’t seen a preview of this series yet but I am impressed with the executive producers: Emmy Award-winners Aaron Spelling and E. Duke Vincent, Academy Award-winner Mel Gibson (“Braveheart) and Bruce Davey (“The Passion of Christ), Daniel Cerone (“Charmed”), and Ken Topolsky (“Party of Five”). Viewers Voice has supported many of Spelling’s shows and Ken Topolsky I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many times when we ran a campaign for “Party of Five.” Spelling and Topolsky alone have great records of producing excellent television entertainment but then you add Gibson, Davey and Cerone and you just know something good is in the process of being produced.
Sixteen year-old Jeremy Sumpter plays Pete Young who becomes a man in a world of overgrown boys when he takes a job as a batboy for a professional baseball team. Jeremy attended a Viewers Voice luncheon for young actors in 2001 and was a very interesting typical young boy. He started his career as a model in his home state of Kentucky. He would later win the “Preteen Male Model of the Year” in the International Model & Talent Association competition held in Los Angeles. Jeremy has done three feature films and has appeared in numerous television programs and commercials. You might remember him from The WB’s “Raising Dad.”
Without seeing “Clubhouse I’m betting it will be a winner. It doesn’t hurt that it will be sandwiched in between two hit CBS dramas “NCIS” (7:00-8:00 p.m., CST) and “Judging Amy” (9:00-10:00 p.m., CST) on Tuesday nights.
Besides “Clubhouse” CBS will be introducing two more new dramas and two new comedies to their 2004-2005 primetime schedule. “CSI: NY” (Wednesdays, 9:00-10:00 p.m., CST) has already been promoted as a hit and stars Gary Sinise {“Forest Gump,” “Truman”) and Melina Kanakaredes (“Providence”). This series is a crime drama, spun-off from “CSI: Miami,” about forensic investigators who use high-tech science to follow the evidence and solve crimes in The Big Apple. I think they might be overdoing it with another forensics series but I’ll give it a try because of Kanakaredes who I loved in “Providence.”
“dr.vegas” (Fridays, 9:00-10:00 p.m., CST), the third drama CBS is offering stars Rob Lowe (“The West Wing”) and Joe Pantoliano (“The Sopranos”). This series is about an unconventional physician who takes a gamble when he leaves behind the world of emergency medicine to become the in-house doctor at a high-end casino in Las Vegas. To me this sounds like an interesting concept in a medical drama and could work. Rob Lowe has always been a favorite of the viewers but his series last year was a big flop, so here’s hoping he has a little more success with “dr. vegas.” The show follows “Joan of Acadia” (7:00-8:00 p.m., CST) and “Jag” (8:00-9:00 p.m., CST) on Friday nights so with that lead in if it has any potential it could be another success for CBS.
The two new comedies that CBS will premiere are “Listen Up” (Mondays, 7:30-8:00 p.m., CST) and “Center of the Universe” (Wednesdays, 8:30-9:00 p.m., CST). I’m not a big fan of sitcoms but if I had two pick one out of the two to watch I’d go with “Center of the Universe.”
“Listen Up” stars Jason Alexander in a comedy about a well-regarded sports talk show host and columnist who struggles to get the respect and admiration from his family that he gets from his fans. The series is based on the writings of real-life sports commentator and columnist Tony Kornheiser. Since “Seinfeld” Alexander hasn’t had much success in a sitcom of his own but maybe this one will be the lucky charm. It has an audience that will be coming over from “Still Standing” (7:00-7:30 p.m., CST) and will be followed by “Everybody Loves Raymond” (8:00-8:30 p.m., CST) and “Two and a Half Men” (8:30-9:00 p.m., CST); if viewers are too lazy to switch channels it could be a hit.
“Center of the Universe” stars John Goodman as John Barnett and is about a family man who by default is the go-to-guy for his eccentric extended clan. John and his wife Kate (Jean Smart) are still very much in love after 20 years of marriage and are looking forward to the next 20. Only one thing stands in their way: John’s family. His sex-obsessed father, Art (Ed Asner) and his loopy mother, Marge (Olympia Dukakis), have a penchant for coming over unannounced, ready to stir the pot. Other members of John’s family, his brother and sister add to making life an uphill battle. This comedy series has the makings of a hit especially with the impressive cast but that doesn’t mean anything if the viewers don’t buy it.
I was happy that CBS didn’t eliminate “Cold Case” (7:00 p.m., CST) from their new lineup, the show will continue on Sunday nights after “60 Minutes” and will be followed by the CBS Sunday Night Movie.
I’m predicting that CBS with their new impressive lineup will come out the number one network for the 2004-2005 television season.
Just a quick note: a new summer show on The WB that Viewers Voice has been strongly supporting, “Summerland” (Tuesdays, 8:00-9:00 p.m., CST) seems to also be a hit with the viewers. It achieved the highest ratings for a summer drama debut in The WB’s history. If the show continues its success it could be back for a mid-season replacement.
Until my next column let your voice be heard.
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I
don’t know when I’ve been so disappointed in a network for canceling a
television show but CBS has won the award this year. They decided not to bring
back “The Guardian” starring Simon Baker and this in my opinion was one of the
better shows on TV. The series wasn’t doing too badly in the rating but
apparently that doesn’t matter if the network executives don’t believe in the
show and support it.