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12:02

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person -

G'day, y'all.

12:02

[Comment From coach taylor]
do you think that the only way FNL was going to be renewed was that NBC going into partnership with Direct Tv?

12:02

[Comment From tony]
FNL 2 more seasons!!!! How exciting is this?

12:03

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - I AM EXTREMELY PLEASED ABOUT THE TWO-SEASON RENEWAL OF FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

12:03

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - Wooops, sorry about the yelling.

12:04

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - Yeah, I think NBC would have given the series up a year ago, if DirecTV hadn't been there to split costs. And the ratings on NBC dropped this past season, so I expect that NBC was really not going to bring FNL back without DirecTV's partnership.

12:05

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - Usually, I'm happy to have had three great seasons of a show, and willing to let it go. But FNL is still peaking, I think, and the writers will do a great job with two more 13-episode seasons.

12:05

[Comment From Eric]
So you wrote today that you were surprised ER is not closing in May sweeps...but isn't that when Leno begins his experiment?

12:06

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - Nope. Leno's leaving Tonight at the very end of May, and his return in prime time has not been scheduled yet.

12:06

[Comment From JM]
Haven't watched last night's finale (no spoilers, please!), but why do you think Life on Mars never caught on? I thought it was the best new show of the season.

12:06

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - It was an insane ending. But I won't spoil here.

12:07

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - It's such a mystery why some shows catch on and others don't.

12:07

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - I know that sounds like a cliche, or an empty truism, but it really is so true.

12:08

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - It drew a strong audience for its premiere, after "Grey's Anatomy," and then it proceeded to hemorhage viewers week by week.

12:09

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - Time travel is always risky, though. It tends to have more of a cult appeal than a mainstream draw.

12:09

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - Not including Back to the Future.

12:09

[Comment From Eric]
So what did you learn from LOST last night? They sort of used Hurley as a means to try to help the audience explain the time travel concept...not sure it helped much...

12:10

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - I agree. Cleverly, the writers had Hurley as the audience stand-in, trying to figure out how all the time shifting stuff worked. If Ben was shot by Sayid as a kid, why didn't Ben later know that Sayid shot him.

12:11

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person -

And we could identify with Hurley's confusion.

12:11

Matthew Gilbert, TV Person - Bigtime.

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