Title Statistics: A Smaller-Screen Compendium

By Cassaundra Brooks

MOVIES

February
11 (G) Gnomeo and Juliet voices of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Patrick Stewart
(PG-13) Unknown Liam Neeson, January Jones, Diane Kruger, Frank Langella, Aidan Quinn
25 (R) Drive Angry Nicholas Cage, Amber Heard, Billy Burke

March
4 (PG-13) The Adjustment Bureau Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Daniel Dae Kim
11 ( ) Red Riding Hood Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Julie Christie, Virginia Madsen
18 (PG-13) Beastly Vanessa Hudgens, Mary Kate Olsen, Neil Patrick Harris, Alex Pettyfer, Peter Krause
( ) The Lincoln Lawyer Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy

TELEVISION

Mid-season Lineup: What’s New, What’s Moving, What’s Returning, and What’s Dead—a sampling.

New

The Cape (NBC) – Let’s hope this much-hyped series lives up to the buzz. Until The Event resumes in late February, it will take over Monday’s 9 p.m. time slot. This hour-long drama series will follow “an honest cop on a corrupt police force” (David Lyons) as he is framed for murder, presumed dead, forced into hiding, and assumes his son’s favorite comic book superhero identity to battle crime and reunite with his family. Also starring fan favorite Summer Glau (Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles).

On the Move

Fringe (FOX) – New time slot: Fridays at 9/8 CT

Because of powerhouse American Idol’s big move, Fringe was bumped to Fridays upon its post-holiday-hiatus return last month. (And former lead-in Bones moved to its former slot, now behind AI.) Its new time slot is infamous: Firefly, Dollhouse, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and, more recently, The Good Guys (RIP, you entertaining hour of hilarity) all died there. You can help Fringe avoid this fate. How? Watch! Why?

(Warning: heavily biased gushing ahead) I generally don’t watch sci-fi shows, so the fact that this series has me wrapped around its figurative little finger says something. It’s absolutely brilliant. It’s also absolute torture of the slow, agonizing, painful, breathtaking, clever, maddening, unsettling, thrilling, and oh-so-satisfying kind. It’s fun, it’s horrifying, it’s hopeful, it’s mindboggling, it’s mysterious, it’s emotional, and it’s a darn good reason to suspend reality for an hour each week. Not to mention the acting is among the best on television, which statement gives the actors far less praise than they deserve. A piece of advice: Start from the beginning and catch up.

NBC’s Big Shakeup NBC just introduced a three-hour Thursday-night comedy block, which means 30 Rock (now in the 10 p.m. slot) is immediately preceded by Parks and Recreation at 9:30 p.m. Law & Order: SVU moved back to Wednesday nights at 10 p.m., and the newest L&O installment, Law & Order: Los Angeles, moves to Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. beginning February 8. Parenthood returns, but will travel to Mondays at 10 p.m. March 7.

Returning

White Collar (USA) – Tuesdays 10/9 CT

Matt Bomer and company return for the second half of this smooth, witty, and charming series’ sophomore season. Suave conman Neal Caffrey fights his criminal impulses to help his unlikely new partner, FBI Agent (of the White Collar division) Peter Burke (Tim DeKay)—a straight-arrow family man with a down-to-earth wife and a dedication to his work. Not that Caffrey has much choice in the matter. But the “bromance” is among the best on television, and Neal’s delightfully paranoid friend Mozzy and quest for the truth behind the mysterious music box make for an interesting dynamic.

Dead

Life is indeed unexpected, but then so can be death—as in the case of CW’s Life Unexpected. The public jury also returned an unfavorable verdict for The Whole Truth (ABC). But the grimmest tale is told on FX—Terriers was put down after one rather compelling 13-episode season. The raw, clever, well-scripted and well-acted series about two deeply flawed but well-intended private detectives in Ocean Beach could not, for whatever frustrating reason, garner the necessary ratings to get a second-season renewal.

THEATER

What happened to the Dodge Theater? It’s still there. It just goes by the name Comerica now, after its new owner.

As to actual theater, head to the Herberger from February 17 through March 6 for a world-premiere especially commissioned for Arizona Theatre Company. The official short-version synopsis for Ten Chimneys is as follows:

Love, intrigue, romance, and suicide—and that’s just in the play they’re rehearsing. In the late 1930s, husband and wife Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, two of the most revered stars of the Broadway stage, decide to perform Chekhov’s masterpiece The Sea Gull. When a young actress named Uta Hagen arrives, a romantic triangle begins to mirror the events in Chekhov’s play about passion and art. The result is a sweet, sad, funny, and revealing look at the private lives of artists who are always on the stage.

BOOKS

Uta Hagen, mentioned in the Ten Chimneys synopsis above, was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981 and has produced a couple of highly recommended books for actors of all levels: Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor.