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So now we know what’s coming back (Eli Stone, yay!) and what isn’t (Moonlight, boo!). And after glimpsing clips and snippets of the new stuff on most of the networks—sorry, NBC, I would have preferred to “experience” a taste of your new line-up instead of a carnival of empty hype—we’re even feeling a bit of buzz (welcome back, J.J. Abrams!) about the new season to come.
Looking back at a hectic week of TV, off and on screen, some reflections:
The Big Five networks are introducing a mere 16 new series collectively this fall: down significantly from the 20-something of a year ago and roughly half of what we used to see back when the networks were still serious about comedies. One upside: a lot less chaos and confusion, and the networks can focus their promotion on behalf of a handful of shows that might actually break out. Another upside: Fewer new shows means fewer freshman shows got canceled. Shows like Chuck, Life, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Gossip Girl, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Samantha Who?, Eli Stone—all of which can be relaunched in the fall with as much fanfare as we used to see for brand-new shows.
The downside: With fewer new titles to sell and tease, there may be an overall lack of excitement when September rolls around. (Though not in my corner. I can’t wait for my sophomore faves to return, especially those cut short by the writers’ strike.)
So what stood out? J.J. Abrams’ Fringe on Fox, naturally. Looks slick and scary, and reminiscent of Lost, it begins with an airborne catastrophe (though ending far less happily). My main concern at this point, about this and Joss Whedon’s midseason Dollhouse, is that if the high-concept premise is too complicated to convey easily, it may have trouble breaking out beyond cult status. And with House as a mighty lead-in, Fringe may look like it’s not pulling its weight. But expectations are that it will open big (with a splashy two-hour premiere the week before Labor Day). I can’t wait.

seattlepi.nwsource.com

Stop the parade–not all TV viewers are returning back to original network episodes in droves.
A week after CBS debuted its comedies to surprisingly better-than-average numbers, CBS dramas offered modest results with their new episodes.
For CBS, the best result of the night was its 10 p.m. show “CSI:NY,” which earned a Nielsen 3.6 rating/10 share among 18-49 viewers. While it was up 13% over its last original–which ran back in February–this new episode was pitted against an NBC “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” repeat, which came in at a 1.9/5, and an original “Men in Trees” on ABC, which delivered a 1.5/4.
“Criminal Minds” at 9 p.m. had a better excuse–up against Fox’s “American Idol.” CBS’ “Minds” earned a 3.4/8, a bit better than its last original episode in January.
“Idol” still dominated the night with a 9.4/23–albeit down again versus ratings of a week ago. Fox’s racy 8 p.m. “Moment of Truth” continued to find its own steam–registering a 4.1/12 for its season finale.
NBC’s own game/reality “Deal or No Deal” couldn’t keep pace with “Truth,” earning a 2.0/6. CBS’ “Big Brother” came in at the same level as “Deal,” a 2.3/7.
ABC couldn’t muster much for its home-based reality shows–”Wife Swap” at 8 p.m. took a 2.1/6 and “Supernanny” at 9 p.m. grabbed a 2.3/6.
CW’s “American Next Top Model” continued to offer good news for the network, at a 1.9/6. A repeat of “Pussycat Dolls: Girlicious” covered up at a 0.6/2.
For the night, Fox led all networks with 6.8 rating/18 share. CBS was far behind at 3.1/8. ABC trailed CBS at a 2.0/5; NBC came in fourth, at 1.8/5; Univision was next at a 1.6/4; CW was at 1.3/4; and MyNetworkTV landed at a 0.3/1.

publications.mediapost.com

“The Biggest Loser: Couples” contestant Trent Patterson of Endicott is escorted to a pep rally Thursday outside of the Subway restaurant on Front Street in the Town of Dickinson. Patterson will appear on the NBC show’s season finale that airs Tuesday.
Although Trent Patterson hopes to be the biggest loser, to the enthusiastic crowd that gathered to cheer him Thursday, he was anything but.
Patterson, 39, of Endicott, has become something of a local celebrity as a contestant on the fifth season of NBC’s weight-loss show “The Biggest Loser,” which premiered Jan 1. Today, he’ll fly to Los Angeles for the season finale, where he stands to win $100,000.
More than 100 people showed up for the sendoff pep rally at the Subway Restaurant at 1107 Front St. to show their support and wish him luck.
“We are all pulling for Trent because he is simply a wonderful person and an inspiration to us all,” said Jill Van Vestrout, a friend and owner of the Subway franchise. “Whether he wins or not — and we hope he does win — he’s already a winner by what he has accomplished for himself and his family.”
Patterson entered the competition at 436 pounds and was voted off Feb. 12, 120 pounds lighter. He is still eligible to win the “at home” challenge if the final weigh-in indicates that he lost the highest percentage of weight.
A confidentiality agreement prohibits Patterson from revealing his total weight loss, but he said the numbers have been moving in the right direction, though not as fast.
“It’s never been about the money for me, it was about getting healthy,” Patterson said. “It extended my life. … I have a 9-month-old son and I want to be around for him and my wife.”
About half of the well-wishers at the pep rally were students from the Chenango Valley Middle-High School, where Patterson works as a safety and security coordinator.

pressconnects.com

With the season finale of Rock of Love 2 up and coming, fans just can’t wait to see who Bret Michaels will choose between the thirty-something-year-old Ambre and 25-year-old Daisy, who admittedly still lives with her ex-boyfriend. In the last episode of the VH1 reality dating series, we saw Bret Michaels get some quality time with the final three women and a few of their relatives. Destiney’s father had the time of his life when Bret gave him a little ride on Bret’s Harley. However, when it came to elimination time, it was Destiney who had to pack her bags and walk away.
VH1 recently sat down with Destiney to talk about the relationships she had with the girls in the house and her entire experience with Bret Michaels on Rock of Love 2.
During the competition, Destiney’s honesty caught the attention of viewers, making them think that she was too "real for reality TV." In fact, this became more evident when she got into a conflict with Kristy Joe.
"The response I’ve been getting from a lot of people…came from me giving Kristy Joe so much s***," Destiney said in talking about her straightforward attitude when it came to Kristy Joe. "I got a lot of negative feedback, but you know, I don’t have a problem with her at all. The situation of being on a reality show makes you act in ways you normally wouldn’t."
While other women would easily fall into that certain emotional situation, Destiney thought twice before letting her feelings get the best of her. Despite landing a spot on the final three, she was not as in love with Bret Michaels as the other women were.
"When Daisy and Ambre came to me before my elimination to tell me that they were really in love with him, I saw their passion for him. I didn’t share that with them," she admitted. Moreover, she believed that the time constraint factored in her lack of emotions for Bret.

buddytv.com