Back in the 90s, your trusting blogger had a girlfriend who, every Wednesday night, forced him to watch the Fox network’s 1-2 punch of “Beverly Hills 90210” & “Melrose Place.” While some episodes were ok at best, it was done more to keep the girlfriend happy.
And I know I wasn’t the only guy who did it. You know who you are. And it’s OK.
So what does The CW do? Recreate this same scenario for a whole new generation of boys who have to deal with. I feel for them, but it’s a learning lesson in dealing with life. I think…
The CW Network has released its schedule for the fall of 2009 with a number of shows that go to their target audience: Women. Gone are the comedies from years past and more drama about young adults & models.
Changes start on Sunday night. In years past, The CW either filled the time themselves (remember “Online Nation” or “Life Is Wild”) or got another company to fill the time. Neither plan was really successful. Now that time is coming back to us locally. We’ll release the full CW Texas fall schedule later this summer.
Monday night stays the same as last year with “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill,” even though some of the stars of OTH are not coming back this year. Will you still watch?
Tuesday night becomes “FOX Wednesday circa-1994.” “90210” is teamed up with the re-launched “Melrose Place.” Sydney (Laura Leighton) and Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro) are both back and former stars of the original are expected to come by for new drama.
(I hate that I’m going to end up watching this. I really do. But I know it’s going to happen.)
Wednesday is model night. Even though it had some of its lowest ratings last year, “America’s Next Top Model” is back. It is followed by the new show “The Beautiful Life.” The executive producer of the show is super-Tweeter (or it Twitterer?) Ashton Kutcher and it revolves around teenage models discovering the cutthroat world of fashion.
Thursday has a new show inspired by the Twilight phenomenon, “The Vampire Diaries.” In this show, two vampire brothers are battling for the same girl. It is followed by the long running “Supernatural,” which could possibly be in its last season. Possibly.
Friday nights are a prime example that Superman never gets a break. “Smallville” is being moved to the lightest viewed weeknight of the week. Why? Football season. You’re not home, I’m not home. No one is home. But the show’s fans are VERY DEDICATED and have followed it every time it has moved. Just set your DVRs in advance. A repeat of “Top Model” follows.
As some shows get a chance, others are taken away. The final two comedies on the network, “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Game,” were both canceled. And fan favorites “Reaper” & “Privileged” have also been sent to that TV in the sky.
Listed below are times and summaries of the new shows on the network. Which shows do you think you’re going to watch? Are you going to follow “Smallville” to Friday nights?
MONDAY
7:00-8:00 PM, GOSSIP GIRL
8:00-9:00 PM, ONE TREE HILL
TUESDAY
7:00-8:00 PM, 90210
8:00-9:00 PM, MELROSE PLACE
WEDNESDAY
7:00-8:00 PM, AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
8:00-9:00 PM, THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE
THURSDAY
7:00-8:00 PM, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
8:00-9:00 PM, SUPERNATURAL
FRIDAY
7:00-8:00 PM, SMALLVILLE
8:00-9:00 PM, AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (Encore Presentation)
MELROSE PLACE
In an elegant Spanish-style apartment building in the trendy Melrose neighborhood of Los Angeles, a diverse group of 20-somethings have formed a close-knit surrogate family. Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton, the original “Melrose Place”) is the landlady, still beautiful at 40, and a central figure in the lives of all her tenants, especially handsome and rebellious David Breck (Shaun Sipos, “Shark”). Sydney started an affair with David despite her turbulent history with his estranged father, Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro, the original “Melrose Place”). Both father and son learned through experience that Sydney was not above using blackmail to control people. Another tenant, high-powered publicist Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy, “Supernatural”), once considered Sydney her mentor, but their friendship was destroyed by betrayal, and Sydney threatened to evict Ella and ruin her career. Sydney also played a pivotal role in the career of Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield, “All My Children”). After they met at an AA meeting, she became Auggie’s sponsor and encouraged his dream to become a chef. Now a successful sous chef at the trendy restaurant Coal, Auggie has been avoiding Sydney since she began drinking again. The other tenants include Lauren Yung (Stephanie Jacobsen, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”), a medical student in desperate need of money to pay her student loans, and Jonah Miller (Michael Rady, “Swingtown”), an aspiring filmmaker who has just proposed to his live-in girlfriend Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas, “Cloverfield”), a first-grade teacher. The newest tenant, 18-year-old Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, “7th Heaven”), has just arrived in LA with her own secret connection to Sydney. When a bloody body is found floating in the courtyard pool, David is the leading suspect. However, as the police are soon to discover, almost everyone living at Melrose Place had a reason to want the deceased out of the way.
THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE
The life of a high-fashion model appears glamorous and sexy, but as every new model quickly learns, behind the beautiful façade is a world of insecurity and cutthroat competition. Two teenage models who are about to discover this world for themselves are Raina Collins (Sara Paxton, “Last House on the Left”), a stunning beauty with a secret past, and Chris Andrews (Benjamin Hollingsworth, “The Line”), a strikingly handsome Iowa farm boy. When Raina makes an unforgettable impression at a show introducing the new line from designer Zac Posen (appearing in a cameo role), she steals the spotlight from her friend Sonja (Mischa Barton, “The O.C.”). Sonja has been out of the country for mysterious reasons and is now desperate to reclaim her standing as the reigning supermodel. While Raina and Sonja live at the top of the fashion food chain, Chris is starting at the bottom, having just been discovered by agent Simon Lockridge (newcomer Dusan Dukic) of the Covet Modeling Agency, which is owned by former supermodel Claudia Foster (Elle Macpherson, “Friends”). At his first photo shoot, Chris’ inexperience almost derails his career until Raina comes to his rescue, showing him how to relax and work the camera. That afternoon, Raina brings Chris to the “models’ residence” where she lives along with other young hopefuls, including Marissa Delfina (Ashley Madekwe, “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”), Egan (Jordan Woolley, “As The World Turns”), Issac (Corbin Bleu, “High School Musical 2”) and the current alpha-male-model known as Kai (Nico Tortorella, “Twelve”). At an exclusive industry party that night, Chris is again impressed by Raina’s generosity when she steps aside to make sure Sonja lands a job that will resurrect her career. However, after an ugly scene with Simon, Chris is left to question whether he can survive in this world of dangerous excess and fleeting fame.
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
Four months after the tragic car accident that killed their parents, 17-year-old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev, “DeGrassi: The Next Generation”) and her 15-year-old brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen, “Everwood”) are still trying to cope with their grief and move on with their lives. Elena has always been the star student; beautiful, popular and involved with school and friends, but now she finds herself struggling to hide her sadness from the world. As the school year begins, Elena and her friends are fascinated by a handsome and mysterious new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley, “Army Wives”). Stefan and Elena are immediately drawn to one another, and Elena has no way of knowing that Stefan is a centuries-old vampire, struggling to live peacefully among humans, while his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder, “Lost”) is the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality. Now these two vampire brothers…one good, one evil…are at war for Elena’s soul and for the souls of her friends, family and all the residents of the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia.
