THE TKTV NEWSLETTER
Season 3, Episode 19 aired May 15, 2000

CONTENTS
1. Intro
2. Letters from the viewing audience
3. Kim's Commercial Comments
4. Don't miss
5. TV Trivia
6. Favorite quotes of the week
7. A totally unrelated link

1. Intro

Well, this is the week that all of the networks will be announcing their fall line-ups, and although as of now only NBC is official, there are enough well based rumors flying around for me to express some opinions.

First of all, I guess I can stop waiting for the axe to fall on "Sports Night." I've been holding my breath for both seasons that it's been on the air, praying that it wouldn't get cancelled. In some ways it's almost a relief now that I don't have to worry about it, although that doesn't alleviate my disappointment that it's gone. The last episode on ABC will be airing this Tuesday, and the producers are already talking about trying to move the show to either HBO or NBC. Personally, I'm hoping for NBC. HBO, however, looks more likely, but they're talking about perhaps "revamping" it for the cable network notorious for dirty language and risque plot lines. I don't really think the show needs any revamping, but hey, I'm just a lowly fan.

The WB seems to be making almost arbitrary decisions. It looks like "Felicity" and "Popular" will be leaving us, while renewed shows that were on the edge include "Dawson's Creek," "Jack & Jill," and "Roswell." It seems to me that both "Felicity" and "Dawson's Creek" were a mess this season, while "Jack & Jill" and "Popular" were both a breath of fresh air in two tired genres. I, for one, would not miss "Dawson's Creek" if it weren't around next season, and regret the loss of "Popular." "Felicity" is still enjoyable, if not quality television, and "Jack & Jill" was cute for a season, but wouldn't leave a gap in my life if it weren't around in the fall.

The WB is also picking up some interesting shows that were discarded by other networks. Earlier this season it was announced that "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" will be moving to the WB in the fall, and just recently the WB also said that they are relieving Fox of the Eddie Murphy animated comedy "The PJs." I've never watched "Sabrina," but I'm glad to see "The PJs" is getting another chance. It had its moments, but was treated terribly by Fox and was never really allowed to gain an audience.

NBC has cancelled a LOT of shows, including "Jesse," "Suddenly Susan," "Stark Raving Mad," "Freaks and Geeks," "Twenty-One," "Profiler," "The Pretender," and "The Others." There are also the shows that were cancelled earlier this season: "God, the Devil and Bob," "Battery Park" and "The Mike O'Malley Show." Christina Applegate was fabulous in "Jesse," but the show itself was fairly stupid, and the supporting cast was weak. I hope she'll move on to bigger and better things. Good riddance to "Suddenly Susan" and the nod to the primetime game show craze "Twenty-One." I'm surprised that NBC is canceling their entire Saturday night "Thrillogy," but since the ratings have been so low I think their plan to install a Saturday night movie isn't necessarily a bad one. I really wish they would make some of these decisions earlier, however. "The Pretender" season finale cliffhanger is going to drive me nuts with no resolution. "Freaks and Geeks" is in the "Sports Night" category. I'm very very sad that it's gone, still hoping it will get picked up by another network, but almost relieved that I don't have to worry about NBC canceling it since they just finished doing that. "Stark Raving Mad" wasn't terrible, but it wasn't particularly special either. I won't miss it much.

Kudos to NBC for giving its Thursday night line-up the breath of fresh air that it needs. "Frasier" is on its way back to Tuesdays, while "Will & Grace" will be taking its anchor spot at 9pm ET on Thursdays. "Daddio," which showed just a few episodes this spring, will actually be coming back to NBC Mondays. It was cute, but not original, and I hope it will get a little re-tooling before returning to the airwaves. Also, now that I've seen ABC's movie on the Three Stooges, I can only see "Daddio" star Michael Chiklis as Curly.

That's it for now. I'll have more on other network choices next week, plus in upcoming weeks we'll talk a little bit about some of the new shows you'll be seeing in the fall. Feel free to let me know how you feel about the schedule shake-ups this week.

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2. Letters from the viewing audience

From Spraguefam:
The one thing that rang false and made me uncomfortable in the "Party of Five" finale was their decision to allow Owen to name the baby a name which they clearly hated. Just giving him that option wasn't much of a smart move, although I know why they did it. For those of you who don't know, Owen was given the choice of Charlie and Kirsten's baby's name and decided to name the baby "Stewie" after an "awesome kid who can flick boogers across the room." Then when C. and K. do decide to accept the name, it ends up being "Stewie Nick"----ugh! There's nothing wrong with Stewart (don't be insulted, anyone)---but how would you like your baby to have a name you dislike? Those of us who are parents know how uncomfortable that would be. Plus the booger memory would forever haunt me. Oh well. They're gone.
From David:
Regarding Charlie selling the house in the finale of _Party_of_Five_, it was not a surprise to me when I learned about it. It's a standard way to terminate a television series about a family: _Growing_Pains_, _Empty_Nest_ (after an earlier episode with the cliche where the offspring talked the parent *out* of selling the house), and _Who's_the_Boss_ all ended with the sale of the house, for other examples. (Here's a trivia question: where did the house from _Growing_Pains_ show up the following fall before it was struck?) It's supposed to symbolize making a clean break, and we PoF fans all remember that in Season 2 Charlie's hesitation to marry Kirsten was that it would seal his life doing Nick's job and rearing Nick's kids in Nick's house, and that in the pilot Mrs. Kelleher had had the same objections to the steps and the hill.
Letters from the viewing audience are always welcome. Please email any opinions, questions, comments, or random thoughts to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of "letters." Letters may be edited for length or content.

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3. Kim's Commercial Comments

What spot has me laughing? Nissan: Cinderella

Most of the time I pick a commercial that I like because it makes me laugh. Thus, the subtitle "What spot has me laughing?". However, from time to time my pick will be something that's not funny at all.

This week I want to tell you about an ad that is just exceptionally cool. You have to go view the ad at adcritic.com if you haven't seen it. It's a fantastic mix of video and sound editing. The plot is the typical Cinderella story with a modern twist. Her prince charming comes to get her in a shiny new Nissan.

There's not a lot of dialogue for me to tell you about and there are way too many shots for a play by play. So all I can really give you is the concept. You'll have to do the rest. But, read the rest of the newsletter first.

What spot has me cringing? Clairol Herbal Essences: The Urge

Okay, so the first spot or two in this series made me laugh. I might have even reviewed one of them in this newsletter. But at this point, it's obvious that the creatives behind these risque commercials are completely out of ideas.

This latest one is like a bad Ally McBeal hallucination. A judge is attempting to get the attention of a female attorney in the court room. The attorney is obviously lost in thought when a chorus of fabulous-looking men storms the court room.

The men and the attorney burst into song... something along the lines of "She's got the urge..." The details are a little foggy in my mind (thank goodness), but the idea is simple. It's a song and dance routine that screams sex and ends with that same old tag line "A totally organic experience."

These spots are just ridiculous at this point. They've gone beyond cute, beyond high school humor, right into the gutter. And frankly, I've had enough.

TKTV is always looking for new guest writers. Do you have an idea for an article? Write to TK with the subject of "guestwriter."

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4. Don't miss

'Tis the season...
For details and lots more fun TV to look forward to, see
http://www.tktv.net/index.html?/upcoming.html

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5. TV Trivia

Last week's question was: what father of an NBC primetime starlet stars on an NBC daytime show?

First prize goes to Marah B. Congratulations!

Honorable mentions (sorry, without prizes, but keep trying) go to Caralyn G. and Alex H.

The correct answer was, as many many people knew, John Aniston, father of Jennifer Aniston. He plays Victor Kiriakis on "Days of Our Lives."

This week's question is also relative related. What two brothers currently star on two different Fox sitcoms?

Don't forget, this trivia quiz is sponsored by myTVshop, where you can get all your favorite TV merchandise.
http://www.mytvshop.com

Send answers to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of tvtrivia. Winners will be chosen at random from all the correct answers.

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6. Favorite quotes of the week

From Becker
Father Joe: "Oh please, I've been a priest thirty years. You think there's a form of 'I don't believe' I haven't heard? You think I'm going to lift my skirts, jump on that desk and scream, 'Eek, an atheist?'"

From Beverly Hills 90210
Donna: "I think David loves me, but maybe more in a sisterly type of way. Like I think he wants to arm-wrestle, not kiss me."

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7. A totally unrelated link

The Utah Baby Namer

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If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.