Category: Opinion

Herbie J Pilato: NBC’s Brand-New Old Universal Names Re-Branded (With All the Wrong Stuff)

Hollywood-remakes-sign

by Herbie J Pilato

With NBC’s recent cancellation of the new Ironside (starring Blair Underwood), and newly-announced development of a revamped edition of Murder, She Wrote (to feature Octavia Spencer), I once more feel compelled to offer a few words of counsel on the remake genre…specifically with regard to NBC and its inability to grasp the redo market, especially at the very expense of choice properties from its esteemed list of Universal-connected titles.

As one of the most prestigious networks in TV history (and I my first cherished employer, as a former NBC Page), NBC has presented a cache of superior programming selections over the decades.  But time and again in the past few years, the network has failed to take the proper steps in rebooting classic Universal television shows, such as The Rockford Files, The Munsters and The Bionic Woman, among others.  In the process, they are damaging core brand names and franchises, and losing millions.

How can any of that be a good thing? read article

Orphan Black and the Paradox of Self-Ownership

Time now for some more overthinking, this time about one of our favorite new series. And, frankly, we think this article “thinks” exactly as much as it should.

Love it when somebody gives a provocative work like ORPHAN BLACK its due!

orphan-black-banner-590x331by John Perich

While BBC America’s Orphan Black struggles with the occasional stock TV plot or cheesy line of dialogue, it deserves your Overthought attention for the originality of its premise and the boldness of its execution. Tatiana Maslany plays (among others) Sarah Manning, a streetwise hustler who starts a new life when she sees a woman who looks just like her jump in front of a train. In taking the decedent’s life, she uncovers a network of women her age who look exactly like her – clones, separated at birth and raised around the world, who are now being stalked by unknown threats. Sarah’s allies are her surviving clone sisters: hyper-anxious soccer mom Allison and science geek Cosima. Her enemies are legion: an order of religious zealots; biological visionary Dr. Aldous Leekie; and the mysterious Dyad Corporation. read article

Hype Doesn’t Really Beat Quality, Not Even in TV

And Nathan Bransford is here to tell you why:

Sharknado and why substance matters more than flash
by Nathan Bransford

sharknadoWe live in an era of flashes in the pan. Something pops up one day, we all go haha wow look at that, and then we wait for the next interesting thing to come along.

In fact, you probably haven’t thought about Sharknado in a while. Remember Sharknado? How innocent we were three months ago. read article

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

wildstyleChapter 33 – The Pep Talk Part 1
by Leesa Dean

So, one evening a few weeks ago, freshly back from ATL, I found myself walking throughBellevue Hospital. If you’ve never been to Bellevue, and this was my first time, here’s the visual: It’s HUGE. There’s a big relatively new glass structure that takes up a full city block in front of the old building and you have to walk for, what feels like, miles through bleak linoleum hallways that have piped in smooth jazz playing to just get where you’re going. Kinda like Vegas. Without the carpeting and fake boobs.

No, I wasn’t admitting myself, though, sometimes the process of putting out/promoting aweb series has made feel like I was going crazy. Johnny, the brother of one of my oldest friends had been riding his bicycle over the Brooklyn Bridge, got in an accident and was/is in a coma in the Neuro ICU. Yes, avid bikers, he was wearing a helmet and riding in the pedestrian lane and yes, I am officially crossing riding a bike off my list of things I’m planning on ever doing.

I was there to visit him, the family and lend some support. Is he gonna make it? I sure hope so! And hope he makes a complete recovery. But it’s too soon to tell.  One thing it’s done is definitely put things in perspective. Which brings me to Rollo. read article

Angelo J. Bell: Guayabera Shirts and Finely Tuned TV Pitches

EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ve gotten some emails asking, “Hey, you guys, what’s up with Angelo J. Bell? How come we haven’t seen him on TVWriter™ for awhile?”

So here’s the latest:

by Angelo J. Bell

Today was a good day.fit-black-man-cropped read article