(Edited by Mike Vicic)

Each day of the Television Critics Association (TCA) Winter Tour, TV Tango will highlight a few panels and important events with detailed information, insights and observations. Today, we focus on the TNT session and then add a little Ricky Gervais. If you want up-to-the-minute live news about TCA, check out our Twitter feed since we are live-tweeting the event -- well, as often as our internet connection holds out.

TNT brought out the stars to start the second day of TCA with sessions for two new series --  FRANKLIN & BASH and FALLING SKIES -- and one hit sophomore series, MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE. Then Discovery Networks rolled out its new programming, with Ricky Gervais' AN IDIOT ABROAD on Science Channel as its most off-beat offering.

FRANKLIN & BASH

The standard lawyer show is anything but with TNT’s FRANKLIN & BASH. This dramedy stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Breckin Meyer, Malcom McDowell and Garcelle Beauvais. Creator Bill Chais calls it a bromance drama similar to the characters we’ve come to love in many Judd Apatow films.

Breckin says he & Mark-Paul met during a layover at an airport seven years ago, and it's clear by their rapport on stage that they have a great connection which must make for a very fun set. When asked about how different this character is from the last lawyer he played on RAISING THE BAR, Mark-Paul says “I miss the nobility of playing a public defender but I’m having a much better time… it’s nice to be on a show that’s a little lighter.”

Meanwhile the lovely Garcelle Beauvais who plays Breckin’s love interest enjoys embodying a woman who is strong and sexy while Breckin clearly enjoys the love scenes saying “We do it… on the show.”

FRANKLIN & BASH seems to have a funny cast highlighting unique cases that will hopefully make for a fun hour of TV.

Reed Diamond, Dana Davis, Kumail Nanjiani, Garcelle Beauvais Nilon, Breckin Meyer,

Mark Paul Gosselaar and Malcolm McDowell in FRANKLIN & BASH.  Photo Credit: Mark Hill/TNT.

FALLING SKIES

How do you showcase dazzling visual effects and major action sequences on a TV budget? You partner with Dreamworks, that’s how! And that’s exactly what Stephen Spielberg and TNT has done with the new show FALLING SKIES.

Shot in Toronto, Noah Wyle anchors the cast, which also includes Will Patton, Moon Bloodgood and Drew Roy. On all of the action sequences that take place Noah says, “This was the most physically demanding work I’ve ever done in my life. Half the reason I decided to do this show was to look slightly heroic to my eight-year-old son.”

Watching the clip it really does give off the vibe of a television event rather than just a show, which seems to be the feel the creators were going for. And rabid alien fans will be excited to see the attention to detail they’ve put into the aliens they’ve created. Producer Darryl Frank says they will have two or three different variations of aliens throughout the season which are all combinations of CGI (computer generated imagery) and mechanical versions that they’ve intercut to make them appear to be one. Love it!

As for Stephen Spielberg’s actual input, the cast and creators say he was incredibly attentive to detail and yet hands-off from a managerial standpoint, trusting that they were capable of producing his vision.


FALLING SKIES premieres in June so stay tuned for more updates on this exciting show.

Moon Bloodgood, Jessy Schram, Drew Roy and Noah Wyle in FALLING SKIES.
Photo Credit: Ken Woroner/TNT.

MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE

The MOACA panel was delightfully different as actor and comedian Ray Romano led the charge. Here is a brief but funny rundown of some of Ray’s best quotes from TCA Day 2:

• “Every time I do a kissing scene my wife says 'This is bullshit, we have enough money!'”
• “As far as the daughter, yes she is a pain in the ass. I have a 20-year-old daughter; so we’re just taking stuff that we know. Not that that happened to me. I didn’t walk in on my daughter having sex -- yet.”
• “I am obsessed with golf. If you do golf, it doesn’t mean you’re good at it…That’s the hardest acting I’m doing right there, when I swing a golf club.”
• “We found out that Andre Braugher could be funny. That’s the guy from HOMICIDE. That’s not our guy… we didn’t think Andre Braugher. When he came in the room, we saw he put on a little weight, maybe he did it for the role?”
• “It’s not just a guy show. The women are strong characters also. The guys are real. It’s just not a sophomoric bachelor kind of show…It’s for old adults, MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE adults.”
• “There’s one single writer and he would come in and we’d all live vicariously through his stories.”
• Finally, on being compared to SEX & THE CITY: “I don’t see that. There’s no city and there’s very little sex…”

Andre Braugher, Ray Romano and Scott Bakula of MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE.

Photo Credit: Michael Desmond/TNT.

AN IDIOT ABROAD

AN IDIOT ABROAD is described by The Science Channel as “A practical joke turned social experiment,” and it really does seem like a bit of both.  Karl Pilkington, friend of executive producers Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, is a simpleton who travels around the world to experience a day in the life of many different cultures. Described by Gervais as a “real life Homer Simpson,” Karl is thrown into really unique circumstances and his response to each one can be hilariously entertaining and yet somewhat thought-provoking.

When asked what this show has to do with science, the network had this to say “Science is about curiousity. It’s where you go. It’s out there asking killer questions. We feel [the show] fits that thought provocative message.”

If the panel was any indication of what to expect on the show, this is sure to be one of the most original educational programs to air in a long time.

AN IDIOT ABROAD premieres Saturday, January 22nd.

Stephen Merchant, Karl Pilkington, and Ricky Gervais of AN IDIOT ABROAD.