Archive for the ‘Dunzo!’ Category

Oprah Winfrey Announces The End Of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’

Will next launch a cable network of her OWN in 2011
Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Oprah Winfrey has announced that she will end her long-running, hugely popular daytime talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011 so that she can launch her very own cable network … sending pretty much everyone into a crazy tizzy:


The media mogul Oprah Winfrey will end her daytime talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” in 2011 as she prepares to start a cable channel of her own. A spokeswoman for Ms. Winfrey’s production company, Harpo, confirmed Thursday evening that Ms. Winfrey would make an announcement on her show on Friday. The plans were first reported by WABC, the ABC station in New York City. “The sun will set on the Oprah show as its 25th season draws to a close on Sept. 9, 2011,” Tim Bennett, the president of Harpo, said in a message to affiliates. After her broadcast talk show winds down, Ms. Winfrey will concentrate on her coming cable channel, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. OWN will have its premiere in January 2011, according to a person with knowledge of Ms. Winfrey’s decision who insisted on anonymity. Ms. Winfrey, 55, informed her talk show staff of her decision on Thursday afternoon. The television world had expected that she would make a decision about the fate of her program by the end of the year. Ms. Winfrey told her staffers that she will not transfer the show to cable. She is expected to produce new programs for OWN, and may appear on some of them. In a statement, CBS Television Distribution said, “We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors. We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well.” OWN is a joint venture between her production company and Discovery Communications. Getting the channel off the ground has proved challenging amid management turnover and an uncertain advertising climate. The timeline for OWN will theoretically give Ms. Winfrey about nine months to promote her cable channel on her existing show. Sometimes called the Queen of Talk, Forbes estimates Ms. Winfrey’s net worth to be $2.7 billion. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” is the most successful talk show in syndication, reaching about seven million viewers a day. It has been vital to the success of ABC, whose local station group has been the primary home of the show since it started in syndication in 1986.

Wow!! Rumors of this move have been swirling for a couple of weeks now so this announcement isn’t really a surprise. What is a surprise is that Oprah will not move her wildly popular talk show to her new OWN network … but, to be honest, Oprah has really conquered the world of daytime talk shows and will go out just as popular as she’s ever been. This is but another step forward in Oprah’s quest for world domination … methinks she will do just fine with this new venture. But still … wow … no more Oprah Winfrey Show. Whatever will Oprah fans do with themselves once the show goes off the air?

[Source]

Joss Whedon Talks To ‘TV Guide’ About The End Of ‘Dollhouse’

Foreshadowing
Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Yesterday we learned the heartbreaking and infuriating news that Fox has decided to cancel Dollhouse in the wake of sagging ratings and today we learn from TV Guide magazine that Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon saw the axing coming. In a new interview with Whedon that was conducted after Fox put Dollhouse on hiatus for the month of November but before the network decided to kill the series, Joss talks about the “end” of Dollhouse … which came much too soon for so many Dollhouse fans:


On Monday, I said TV Guide Magazine would run Joss Whedon’s recent reveals on the remaining Dollhouse episodes next week, but since the not entirely unexpected news broke of the show’s cancellation yesterday, I wanted to publish the interview from November 4 as soon as possible. Fox will complete Dollhouse’s 13 episode season with three weeks of back to back episodes on December 4, 11 and 18, then single episodes on January 8 and 15 before the series finale airs January 22. Here, Whedon shares scoop about this season’s upcoming episodes before he received the news about the show’s cancellation.

Are you writing episode 13 to be a finale, just in case? Hedging your bets?
You know what, we hedged the last time and we got renewed, so we’re definitely hedging them again. People forget but I did this every year with Buffy. That’s just insurance. I didn’t do it with Firefly and look what happened. I went mad as a March hare and made a movie. So we’re doing that this time. Hopefully we’ll have nine more to do it after. We always wrap everything up and then unravel it again, if we’re told to.

Do you really have hope that you could come back with nine more?
Do I have hope? I do think the December double airings are kind of interesting. I’m not planning a trip to Vegas, but I live in hope. I know how the show would go on. That’s the most important thing. I will pitch that to Fox, if they find that the economics are working out for them, they may say keep it going. If they don’t, which is likely, they’ll say the other thing. But the point is to be ready for both, though there is a sense of resolve at the end of 13.

You have some choice guest stars upcoming. What can you tell us about Summer Glau’s character, Bennett, who shows up on December 4?
She works for the Washington D.C. Dollhouse, along with Ray Wise’s Howard. She’s someone from Caroline’s (Echo’s pre-House name) past. She’s got information about Caroline that will really surprise people, especially Echo (Eliza Dushku). And she has a dead arm, so what’s not to like. One of her arms doesn’t work and it’s in a sling.

Why?
It just felt right for the character, just like it felt right that she should probably dress like a schoolgirl and be very nice and a little odd. I would call her the Topher of the D.C. House.

But she’s actually ethical, unlike the amoral Topher?
Yes, she has morals.

Is Wise basically D.C’s Adelle, the head of the House?
Yes, he would be Adelle’s counterpart. He’s not so big with the morals. It’s a departure for Ray Wise (laughs). Another person in power, Harding, played by Keith Carradine, will be back. What a wonderful actor.

Why do Echo, Adelle (Olivia Williams) and Topher (Fran Kranz) visit the D.C. House?
That involves the D.C. House starting to take action against the Senator, played by Alexis Denisof, who’s targeting them. The corporation [Rossum] sees that there’s a problem there. Why LA gets involved, I can’t tell you.

Mothereffing-Effer!!! Gah … this interview just KILLS me! Hearing from Joss himself how awesome the show will get only to know that it won’t live beyond this half season is … INFURIATING!!! Joss’s chat with TV Guide goes on from here … and it contains a few spoilers about the upcoming new eps that we have yet to see. For those of you who wish to remain spoiled, I put the rest of the spoilery info behind the cut — but you might want to read on to find out what Joss has planned for Alan Tudyk’s Alpha character and Amy Acker’s Dr. Saunders/Whiskey character …

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‘Dollhouse’ Is Dunzo! UPDATE: Joss Whedon Speaks

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Damn … got some really bad news for fans of Dollhouse. It has just been reported that Fox has decided to cancel the series … which really sucks so damn bad, I can’t even fully express myself:


“Dollhouse” is closing its doors at Fox. The network has canceled Joss Whedon’s cult fave, which in May beat the odds with a second-season pickup despite low ratings. The sci-fi series, which is filming episode 11, is expected to finish its 13-episode order. After some dismal performance this fall, despite the ratings bumps “Dollhouse” got from DVR viewing, Fox benched the show for the November sweep after four episodes. It is not clear if Fox will air the remaining episodes starting Dec. 4 as planned.

This is a bunch of bullshizz! And now Entertainment Weekly is confirming this reportDollhouse is dunzo for sure :( First Fox decides to put the show on hiatus, pulling all planned eps of Dollhouse from the airwaves for the entire month of November AND THEN they decide to cancel the show before it is even brought back on the air. To be honest … I’m not at all surprised. Exiling the show to Friday night has kept the show down in the ratings since it debuted last year … I don’t know how they ever thought the show would be able to flourish by keeping it on Friday night. The mothereffers at Fox better allow the already filmed eps to air … it may lessen my hatred of them a little bit … just a little. I sincerely hope that Joss Whedon doesn’t waste his time again with the Fox network. What shitty news ;(

UPDATE: Joss Whedon has posted a statement on the Dollhouse cancellation on Whedonesque.com. After the jump, read his statement in full …

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‘Eastwick’ Is Dunzo!

Peace the Spork Out
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Sad news for fans of the ABC series Eastwick, it was announced late yesterday that the new series (which is based on the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick) has been canceled! Apparently the show hasn’t be doing very well in the ratings so ABC decided to cut its losses and burn the show at the stake, if you will. I, for one, am very bummed about this … I’ve been a fan of the show since it debuted this season and have been happily watching the eps on a weekly basis :( But, alas, I guess it was all for naught … cuz I now have to give a hearty, but sad, Peace the Spork Out to Eastwick:


ABC has opted not to order additional episodes of “Eastwick,” its rookie supernatural comedy-drama starring Rebecca Romijn. “Eastwick,” a fresh take on the hit 1987 movie “The Witches of Eastwick,” will finish production on 13 episodes; ABC plans to run them all. ABC is also yanking its reality show “Let’s Dance,” which was supposed to premiere on November 23 with Kathy Griffin hosting. Sources said ABC had difficulty casting the series, which is a common problem for networks when developing celebrity-driven reality fare, though usually such projects don’t get so far in the process as to have a premiere date. In its place, ABC intends to air “Find My Family,” in which people get to meet long-lost families or loved ones. The network has six episodes planned. It has also picked up five more episodes of its Tuesday crime drama “The Forgotten,” starring Christian Slater.

I suppose we fans of the series should be somewhat relieved that ABC still plans to finish production of the initial 13 episodes and promises to air them … many shows that get canceled in this manner just disappear immediately and you’re lucky if the unaired eps show up on DVD at some point down the line. Again, I must stress how upset I am that the show is being canceled … folks are saying that Rebecca Romijn is cursed (it is said she is not capable of carrying a successful TV show … do you remember Pepper Dennis? Yeah, didn’t think so), or mebbe it’s Lindsay Price who is cursed (her Lipstick Jungle also got canceled early). Whatever the case may be, I’m gonna miss the show … I don’t know if there is any chance of saving it from cancellation but my gut tells me that there will not be an outpouring of anger over the axing of this series. Boo.

[Source]

Morrissey Abruptly Ends Concert . . .

... after getting pelted in the head with a drink
Sunday, November 8th, 2009

Morrissey is having a devil of a time on tour this month. As you may recall, Moz had to end his concert performance in Swindon, UK last month after he collapsed on stage just two songs into his set. After a brief hospital stay, the Mozzer was back on stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall just a few days later. Last night, Moz ended early his performance in Liverpool after an idiot in the crowd threw a drink at his head! Second song into his set, Morrissey gets hit in the head, he says “Good bye” and the show was over:


A shocked Morrissey brought the UK leg of his current tour to an abrupt halt in Liverpool tonight (November 7) when he walked offstage after a fan threw a drink at his head. The star said simply “good bye” at the Liverpool Echo Arena following the incident, exiting in the middle of his second song. He had started with The Smiths standard ‘This Charming Man’ and was in the middle of ‘Black Cloud’ when the incident happened. There are conflicting eye witness reports over whether it was a plastic cup or a bottle that struck. The show was stopped for around 15 minutes as the crowd chanted his name. A little time later a member of the crew announced that the singer had been hit on the head by a bottle and the concert would not continue. Fans jeered and booed at the news. The audience were told they would receive a full refund. The Manc legend is due to travel to Holland to continue European dates on Monday (November 9) in Nijmegen. There is no indication that the Dutch show will be effected by the Liverpool incident.

Insane! I can’t say that I blame Morrissey at all for walking off the stage. He is used to having flowers thrown at him … hell, on occasion he is used to having fans throw themselves at him … but for some asshole to hurtle an object at his face, that is just unreal to me. After the jump, watch video of this incident to see how it all went down …

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‘Heroes’ Is Planning To Kill Off A Major Character

Who can it be now?
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

It’s beginning to look like the end is nigh for the NBC series Heroes … in an attempt to grab viewers, I am assuming, E! news is reporting that the producers of the series have decided to kill off a major MALE character … and you’ll never guess who it is!


Now, in order to keep the news as quiet as possible for those of you who wish to remain unspoiled, I’ll keep news of the reported death behind the cut. But I will say publicly that I was very surprised to learn that they are planning to axe one the main O.G.s from the first season. After the jump, find out who it is …

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Adam Lambert & Drake LaBry Are Dunzo!

;(
Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Sad news to pass along today (or good news, depending on your perspective) … Adam Lambert is a single man now that he and boyfriend Drake LaBry have broken up! As you may recall, Lambert was spotted out and about with LaBry a few times since he ended his run on American Idol. Altho Adam had yet to publicly and officially come out, he was happy to be seen and photographed with Drake … whether they were holding hands or swapping spit. Apparently the couple got into a huge fight earlier this month and, well, now the pair are dunzo!


Adam Lambert and Drake LaBry have called it quits. RadarOnline.com saw the end coming when we witnessed a tiff between the two October 9 when they were out partying in Hollywood. Still, it appears that the break-up has been as amicable as these things can be in Hollywood. The American Idol runner-up and Drake, an interior designer, are both extremely well-liked and their relationship was always low-key. Adam’s debut album, For Your Entertainment, has a November 23 release date.

HMMM … there’s not a lot of information here. Perhaps young master LaBry was none too pleased to see his boyfriend posing with a nekkid woman in Details magazine (after all, Adam did put his open mouth on her breast in one photo) or mebbe LaBry was just too embarrassed to be dating a guy who’s debut album cover looks like THIS? Whatever the case may be, the Glambert is now a free agent … I suspect he’ll be using his new found fame to find himself some new company … soon. Get it gurl!!

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]