CBS: Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-O RENEWED… The Defenders, $#*! My Dad Says, Canceled… Person Of Interest PICKED UP!

H-50: See ya This Fall!

The New York Times is reporting that CBS has renewed Blue Bloods, Mike & Molly, and Hawaii Five-O.  No surprise about any of these shows and in fact last week, we predicted BB was a sure thing with the news that the show’s creators, Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green, had been ousted.  The logic:  why fire the creators a week before the upfront media events if you’re going to cancel the show?  H-50 is a lot of fun but it’s a hit-and-miss show and not nearly as good as the pilot had led us to believe.  We simply refuse to watch M&M because we know how awful it is without ever having to watch a single episode and we are saddened by the fact that audiences continue to be so stupid when it comes to the sitcoms they’ll accept in their living rooms every week.  But then again, this is the same audience that made that horrible show Two and a Half Men a hit.

As far as cancellation is concerned, some sanity has prevailed at CBS, dumping the worst sitcom ever made, the horrific $#*! My Dad Says (a show that every time we mention it, we feel we should advise our readers to read our review of it if for no other reason than it’s a quality PSA), a comedy we had ZERO interest in Mad Love (that was a comedy, right) and a very underrated show we actually liked a lot, The Defenders, starring Jerry O’Connell and Jim Belushi.

J.J. Abrams (left), Jonathan Nolan (right)

As far as new pilots are concerned, CBS has officially announced that the J.J. Abrams/Jonathan Nolan series Person of Interest (which we had reported on back in February with much enthusiasm) will be added to the Fall 2011 – 2012 schedule, as well as the comedy Two Broke Girls.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson

Stars Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) as a presumed dead former CIA agent who teams with a mysterious billionaire (Michael Emerson, Lost) to prevent violent crimes in New York. Taraji P. Henson (Boston Legal) co-stars in the Warner Bros. TV drama from scribe Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight), who produces alongside J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk (Fringe), Ben Brafman (The 4400), Margot Lulick (Kings) and Greg Plageman (Cold Case). Dave Semel (No Ordinary Family), who directs.

Two Broke Girls 

Revolves around two 22-year-old women (Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs) who tackle life in New York as they try to make their dreams come true. The multicamera comedy from Warner Bros. Television is written by Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City) with stand-up comic Whitney Cummings on board as a producer. James Burrows directed the pilot.

Retro Review: Jim Henson’s The Storyteller

Nine gripping stories based on famous myths and legends (and starring Brenda Blethyn, Sean Bean, Miranda Richardson, Gabrielle Anwar, Michael Gambon, Jane Horrocks and Derek Jacobi) are presented here. John Hurt stars as the Storyteller, who, with help from his cynical dog, narrates these beautifully constructed fables that will entrance your entire family. Special effects come courtesy of the Jim Henson Creature Shop. – Netflix

Matt

9 out of 10

I was only 9 years old when this came out, and my family never had cable, so I missed this HBO series created by the genius Jim Henson, whose characters range from Sesame Street’s Big Bird to the iconic Kermit the Frog.

Henson could also take on some very ambitious projects, like the film “Labyrinth.” This show has loads of great production value with great talent, like the academy award nominated actor John Hurt, who plays the narrating storyteller. The puppetry is amazing, as are the sets, design, directing and even costumes.

But what truly sets this Emmy Award-winning series apart is the phenomenal stories that were chosen for this nine-part season. These are dark fairy tales, as they were meant to be. There is no Disney shine put on these stories. They are mean, gloomy and visceral at times. However, they are also smart, funny, and extremely engaging. Most of the stories chosen to be recreated in the series are obscure to Westerners. I only knew one of the stories.

This series is available for instant streaming on Netflix, and I highly recommend checking it out. Not friendly for very young viewers. I’d say 10 and up should be fine.

Enjoy this sample from Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: