I'm reviewing so many TV shows that my semi-regular TV news updates have fallen by the wayside. So, this is a brief look at the most exciting and intriguing TV-related gossip from shows covered by DMD.
ASHES TO ASHES. Details of season 2 have been released. The new series will be set in 1982 as the Falklands conflict begins. The regular cast will all be back, together with a new character called DS "Supermac" Macintosh (V For Vendetta's Roger Allam), a "force legend" who upsets Gene Hunt's delicate balance at CID.
DOCTOR WHO. Actress Velile Tshabalala is playing the companion of David Morrissey's Doctor in this year's Christmas special "The Next Doctor". Her character is described as "an East Londoner, very Cockney". Well, that makes a change!
TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH. The five-part third season is filming now for an early-'09 broadcast, and four new cast members have just been confirmed. They are: Lucy Cohu (Cape Wrath) as Alice, "a woman keeping many secrets from the past"; Susan Brown (The Riff Raff Element) as Bridget, "a character vitally connected to the government, which plays an important part in this story"; Cush Jumbo as Lois Habiba, "a secretary who hacks into some vital information"; and Rik Makarem as Doctor Rupesh Patanjali, a "junior doctor at St Helen's hospital who gets drawn into Torchwood's investigations".
V. Cult '80s alien invasion drama V is being revamped by ABC, with The 4400's co-creator Scott Peters in charge of the reimagining. The will involve new characters, primarily focusing on a Homeland Security agent called Erica Evans, whose troubled son learns the truth about supposedly benevolent alien visitors to Earth.
US RATINGS
Most of the big TV shows have started (or re-started) in the States, but how are they faring after a prolonged hiatus? "Fringe" started with a disappointing 9.05 million viewers (blamed on people downloading the pilot from the internet over the summer), but picked up with its second episode to attract 13.36 (helped by House as a lead-in). Since then, viewers have slipped to around 10 million. Fortunately, Fox have ordered a full 22-episode season because it's performing very well in the 18-49 demographic.
"The Mentalist" is one of the sleeper surprises of the autumn. The procedural, about a crime-fighting psychic illusionist, premiered with a mighty 15.5 million viewers and the second episode retained 98% of that audience! CBS have ordered 6 more episodes, and a full-season is very likely. Astonishing.
Bad news for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles", sadly. The sci-fi series is struggling in the midst of a very competitive Monday night. The first season benefited from being one of very few new TV shows on-air because of the writers' strike (averaging of 11.4 million per episode), but those audiences are deserting it now. Season 2 premiered with just 6.4 million and now averages 5.5 million. There is rampant speculation Fox are weeks from axing the show, which is a real shame. Please watch it!
The sophomore slump of Sarah Connor has been blamed for the knock-on bad performance of "Prison Break", which directly follows it on Mondays. The fourth season started with 6.48 million, but has dropped to around 5.4 million. It's still performing well in the 18-49 demographic advertisers love, though -- and Fox has always supported the show, so it should avoid the axe.
Over on NBC, "Chuck" got a full-season order from the network before a single episode was aired of season 2. They appear to have jinxed the show, with the spy-comedy's premiere attracting just 6.62 million viewers (Chuck's lowest ever audience) and then dropped to 5.89 the following week! It's unlikely to be axed given NBC's public commitment, but US audiences clearly have very short attention spans. The gap between seasons this year (because of the writers' strike) is being blamed for the downturn of many returning shows.
NBC's other big series, "Heroes", came back for its third season after an infamously terrible sophomore slump. Despite a huge campaign to lure back fans, the premiere got 10.22 (season 1 started with 14.3m, and season 2 lured 14.12m), and has since fallen to around 8 million. Heroes has never dropped below 10 million until now. Fortunately, the show performs well in the 18-49 demographic (50% better than any other NBC series) and it's still a popular show around the world.
