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CNN Live Today
Interview With Mark Schwed
Aired May 17, 2002 - 14:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There is another prime time TV season coming to a close this weekend. Networks pumping out season finales all week. But Sunday night there's a clash of titans that should have VCRs humming across the country. Mark Schwed from "TV Guide" is our guest to talk about it. Mark, good afternoon. How are you?
MARK SCHWED, "TV GUIDE": I'm great.
HEMMER: Excellent. Good to have you today. First of all, you call this bloody Sunday, why is that?
SCHWED: Because there are some killer shows and they're going head to head. And the networks did it very deliberately.
HEMMER: That they did.
SCHWED: "Survivor" doesn't ordinarily air on Sunday night, and all of a sudden, there it is on Sunday with the finales. That's a very deliberate move, and they're going for blood.
HEMMER: We're going to get to "Survivor" in a moment. But "X- Files" also appears to be the season finale here, and a finale for good reason. What do you read into it this weekend?
SCHWED: Well, this is the show that supposedly the truth is out there, and finally we're going to get the truth. It's Mulder, David Duchovny, finally returns to the series and hooks back up with Scully. He's put on trial. And during this trial, he is supposed to prove the existence of aliens once and for all, and that there is a conspiracy of them, and they've infiltrated the FBI.
HEMMER: So you think they're going to do it or are they going to let us down?
SCHWED: I think they're going to answer a lot of questions. And they're not going to answer all the questions. Because, you know, when you think about it, we -- I mean, do you have solid evidence that aliens have infiltrated the FBI? I haven't seen it yet.
HEMMER: In the affirmative, I can answer that no, Mark.
"Survivor" on Sunday night, a new time. The strategy might be obvious here. How do you think it does? SCHWED: It's going to kill them. It's going to be the No. 1 show of the night, I believe. It's the finale. It's now on -- just last night, of course, "Friends" beat "Survivor." But people can wait until the last one and traditionally, "Survivor's" final episode gets big numbers.
HEMMER: We talked about CBS and Fox. NBC and the reunion show. The Cosbys getting together -- what's going to happen here?
SCHWED: Well, it's one of the most loved shows of all time. And certainly it's the show that made NBC No. 1 for seven long years. And of course, it made us all remember to watch TV on Thursday nights. So now it's coming back, not on Thursday night, on Sunday night. And everybody but Lisa Bonet has come back.
HEMMER: Pretty interesting strategy shaping up here. Late on Sunday night, "The Practice." What do you anticipate?
SCHWED: I can't wait to see Larry King's cameo.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: And neither can I, Mark, as a matter of fact. They passed me over for that role.
SCHWED: "The Practice" has a great story line as well. It's when Lyndsay, played by Kelli Williams, basically has killed a cannibal. And in a back to back episode, she is basically put on trial for murder.
HEMMER: And you say "Survivor" wins this hands down again, to all this competition.
SCHWED: I'm going to go way out on a limb and say "Survivor."
HEMMER: Way out on a limb, right. Be careful that branch doesn't break.
You mentioned "Friends" last night. What kind of reaction are you picking up from the season finale last night? Rachel has the baby and here we go.
SCHWED: Well, some of the reaction I'm picking up is boy, this is some racy material and language for 8:00.
But again , this is not -- there is no more family hour on television. And anybody who thinks there is is woefully mistaken. If you want stuff suitable for the family, watch some other cable channel or, there are plenty of other things for the family on.
But lots and lots and lots of people watched it. It slaughtered "Survivor." And in the end, of course, we saw once again, another great cliffhanger set up for next fall, where Joey mistakenly proposes to Jennifer Aniston, to Rachel.
HEMMER: As only Joey can make that mistake. SCHWED: Yes. So now we're set up once again, for another one of these kind of, who's going to marry who on this show.
HEMMER: And good writers keep the viewers coming back, don't they, Mark?
SCHWED: They do. And it's amazing, they've done a great job with "Friends" this year.
HEMMER: Thank you, pal. Have a good weekend. Mark Schwed of "TV Guide."
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