Many aspects of the coming year in TV remain a mystery. We don’t have any idea, for the most part, what shows will be premiering this fall, if and when Saddam Hussein will be tried on international television and whether instant coverage of some unimaginable news event will rock our world – again.
But we do know some things.
If you’re a fan of “Alias” on ABC or “24” on Fox, you know those shows can be counted on to serve up dizzyingly imaginative season finales in May.
You know there will be some good commercials to watch, and maybe even a good game, when CBS televises the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.
And you know, before 2004 is out, that both Jessica Simpson on MTV and Paris Hilton, somewhere, will find new ways of embarrassing themselves beyond belief. Also, seismic shifts will take place in network news divisions, as Tom Brokaw steps down voluntarily and, at “60 Minutes,” producer Don Hewitt is expected to loosen his control over the once-again top-10 show.
But if you want specific dates in 2004 to think about in terms of television, here are some good – or bad, but at least significant – places to start, in chronological order.
• “Mars, Dead or Alive.” This live “Nova” special presents the latest pictures from the surface of the Red Planet – pictures from the robotic land rover that will have landed merely hours before. Out-of-this-world TV airs Jan. 4 on PBS.
• “Sex and the City.” The show’s final episodes begin appearing weekly, ending its run with the four lovely ladies – Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis – tantalizingly available for other work. The final half-season begins Jan. 4 on HBO.
• Michael Jackson’s scheduled arraignment. Thanks to Saddam Hussein, Jackson’s arraignment may not lead to the “trial of the century,” as it prematurely has been called. But you can bet your white Bronco there will be an astounding amount of coverage every step of the way, beginning Jan. 9, with this step televised damn near everywhere.
• “American Idol.” The first two seasons of this series maintained national interest and media attention. If the third installment, with the same judges and new contestants, turns the hat trick, that’ll be something to watch. If it fails, well, that’ll be something to watch, too. The first round is televised Jan. 19-21 on Fox.
• “Survivor All-Stars.” This reality series already has demonstrated its staying power – and with former familiar faces such as Richard Hatch and, I’m betting, Rupert Boneham on board for this “all-star” version, how can you resist? Especially since it launches right after the Super Bowl Feb. 1 on CBS.
• “Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital.” The king of horror wrote this new series expressly for television, borrowing the characters and hospital setting from a creepy Danish miniseries, “The Kingdom,” by “Dancing in the Dark” director Lars von Trier. At least it’s not a reality show. It begins March 3 on ABC.
• “The Sopranos.” The fourth season ended a year ago December. Now, at long last, David Chase’s operatic mob drama begins its fifth season, presumably in March, on HBO.
• “Friends” finale. Without question, this will be the most watched, and most written-about, entertainment program of the year. As Must-See TV, it ranks up there, at least sociologically, with the finales of “Seinfeld,” “Cheers” and, though it’ll never approach those numbers, “M*A*S*H.” The sad thing to consider is, after “Friends,” what’s left? Farewell parties for “Good Morning, Miami”? Expect this adieu to air the last Thursday of the May ratings sweeps on NBC.
• Democratic and Republican National Conventions. The Democrats go first, the week of July 26; the Republicans follow, on Aug. 30. Whether the former will be dramatic depends on what happens the next few months. From the incumbents, expect anything but drama. Broadcast networks will join cable in covering, but how much?
• Summer Olympics. The games run Aug. 13-29, with one eye on the events, and the other, sadly, on security. NBC has coverage, and will spread it throughout its broadcast and cable entities.
• “Joey.” Matt LeBlanc’s “Friends” spinoff series, in which he takes center stage as Joey Tribbiani, involves him moving to the other coast and starting a new life. Sounds uncannily like “Frasier.”
If this series is as successful a spinoff as that one, and as good, it’ll be one of 2004’s biggest and most welcome highlights. Already, it’s something to look forward to.
—
(c) 2003, New York Daily News.
Visit the Daily News online at http://www.nydailynews.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
AP-NY-12-30-03 1057EST
Send questions/comments to the editors.
