AOLR Weekly Wrap-Up #15

It’s definitely been an eventful week with ups and downs! This week’s wrap-up is probably the longest to date… Sorry, there’s just too much going on that I wouldn’t want you to miss!

• First off, The Back-Up Plan‘s release date has been pushed back to March 12th! That means we’ll have to wait two months longer to see how Alex O’Loughlin’s Stan matches up to Jennifer Lopez’s Zoe.  According to ET Online, the reason for the change is because the Harrison Ford/Brendan Fraser drama Extraordinary Measures did so well in the test screening that CBS Films decided to go ahead with that first. Let’s not forget that CBS Films has not yet released a movie, so it’s understandable that they’d like their first one to be a sure thing, and Extraordinary Measures appears to be just that. This does not mean that The Back-Up Plan won’t do well at the box office, nor does it mean that it doesn’t go down well with a test audience (the test screening hasn’t taken place yet, as far as we know); it just means that  Extraordinary Measures went into production before TBUP and it will be released before TBUP. This might not actually be such a bad move… January 22nd is pretty soon after the holidays and Alex did mention that he would be in Australia; maybe he is now able to extend his stay. Additionally, Jennifer’s new album is due for release in January as well, so March may better suit their schedules. If we thought there was a lot of promotion for Whiteout (where Alex only had a small part), I’m sure whatever is in the pipeline for The Back-Up Plan will easily eclipse that… On the bright side: now there’s enough time for everyone to upgrade their Photobucket account !
• Sadly, Australia’s Channel Ten has decided not to air any additional episodes of Three Rivers. The first episode, Ryan’s First Day, only pulled in 449,000 viewers (compared to NCIS:LA’s 1.07M). Too bad they’re giving up so easily!
• Rob Owen at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentions that CBS has Three Rivers scheduled through the November sweeps, so there is time for a turnaround. This year, the sweeps run from October 29th till November 25th. For those unfamiliar with the term, every February, May, July and November the advertising rates are decided based on the ratings for shows. That’s when the networks pull out all the stops to attract viewers: cliff hangers, season finales, special guest stars… you name it, they’ll do it.
• Every fan who knows him is excited about seeing Mandy Patinkin in the The Luckiest Man, currently set to air as episode # 7 of Three Rivers. (Unless CBS makes one of their infamous changes, the airdate is likely to be November 15th.) Despite the show’s rocky start, Mandy told TV Guide Magazine that he is
  

  “quite certain this show will have a very long life. The business of these shows finding their audience initially is just business—that’s all. The heart of this show is everything that I believe television has to offer at its finest.”

• For those of you who are wondering whatever happened to Alex’s interview with Entertainment Tonight: it was rescheduled to air on October 16th, but they went with another topic instead. Again.
• For a great glimpse behind the scenes, read this blog post from a mom who accidentally became an extra on Three Rivers: Paramount Studios: On the Set of Three Rivers.
• Don’t miss this Three Rivers article at TV Guide Magazine online: Alex O’Loughlin Fever!
• Four magazine scans have been added to the gallery! One’s a rather irreverent look at organ donation from TV Guide Magazine with the Three Rivers cast answering the question, “If you had to donate an organ, which would you choose?” (Don’t expect a serious answer from someone with a quirky sense of humor like Alex!) The second one is a short blurb on the show from In Touch. The third is a brief article from SoapOperaWeekly about Three Rivers. Many thanks to Al, my self-proclaimed lifetime-supplier-of-magazines-promoting-Alex — you rock, girl! The last one is from the Australian magazine Who Weekly — a great interview with Alex (the mere mention of his “heavy framed tortoiseshell specs” was enough for me — I am such a goner  )! Thank you to Alee23 for posting the Aussie scans.
• Two articles on product placement; one of them links to both Three Rivers and The Back-Up Plan:
  • Peabody Firm Makes Cameos on Film, TV
  • Steelcase Stocking Set for Medical Drama
• I’m not sure it’s actually aired yet, but Alex’s Donate Life PSA is up on YouTube. There’s no sign of it yet at CBSCares.com.
• TV Guide’s Matt Roush answered a question from a fan about Alex and a possible Criminal Minds spin-off: Ask Matt. Personally, I think that if that had been a possibility (and assuming that it had Alex’s interest), it would have come about, considering that Alex was working closely last year with Simon Mirren, who is the head writer and co-executive producer of Criminal Minds.
• Ed Gross continues his Moonlight guide with Alex’s input at SciFiTVZone with episodes 5-8. Thanks for the heads-up, Ed!
• Check out this video of Alex signing autographs outside the Directors Guild of America on September 30th, when he attended the Outfest 2009 Legacy Awards. Thanks to Bianca for the find!
• Poll time at the CBS Three Rivers Community Forum:
  • What did you think of Ryan’s First Day?
  • Who is your favorite character on Three Rivers?
  • Which character are you most looking forward to on Three Rivers?
• Don’t forget to check out the Latest News section — I posted more items earlier today, including Alex’s latest blog!
• Last but not least, I’d like to thank you all for dropping by regularly! This site logged visitor # 50,000 on Monday, October 12th, which is an awesome milestone. (The stats show visits from an amazing 88 different countries to date.) I’m very grateful too to those of you who have left encouraging comments in the guest book or sent me lovely email messages; your support is deeply appreciated. Alex, you’re absolutely right: you have the best fans, period!