What I'm particularly disappointed in is people's negative reactions to "Rex" on the internet... BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T SEEN IT! All they saw was a short and biased 1:20 clip (the focus on that was on the actress, not David Tennant), and they feel it gives them free range to absolutely hate it. That drives me mental, particularly how everyone loves to bash the accent... which was never a factor until the fans made it one, I might add; any reviewer who didn't know David from other projects never remarked on it. The entire 23-minute episode really wasn't all that bad. There was nothing sparkling or unique like in terms of "Lost," but it was just a pilot and it presented a range of interesting characters that should have had a chance to grow.

It's funny, I was actually kind of afraid to look at your comment. It came so soon after I posted that I thought it could only be one of those people who felt the need to tell me how they hated the Rex clip.

I never understand people having to pick on someone when they show signs of being fallible. I find it adorable when a bit of an accent comes through. In fact, the only one that ever completely fooled me was Hugh Laurie. I didn't know of Hugh before House, and I'm still in awe of how spot on he is. I believe that even if I didn't know who David was I would have watched the pilot just because of the way he casually climbed over the couch in the clip. Then his incredible talent - if it were allowed to shine in the show - would have sealed the deal.

I thought it was rather funny when Hugh pronounced the word "diaper" early on in Season One of "House," because he hadn't quite got a handle on the American pronunciation of it yet, but it didn't quite come out British, either. One of those moments that you could dismiss as a flaw, but in reality makes you appreciate the "bloody hard work" actors have to do.

David didn't really slip up anywhere major, although he did piggy-back his trademark "Doctor Who" word, "Well..." into the new character (albeit with an American accent). I think the line was something like, "It's still just between me and Bruce... well, Bruce and a United States senator."

But I do hope that "Fright Night" hits big, if for no other reason than so NBC Universal can kick itself for choosing Jimmy Smits' failed show over "Rex"!

Someone I've talked with about Hugh Laurie's accent before mentioned there was a moment or two in the first season where it wasn't perfect. I must not have been paying attention and so missed it.

With Rex, I did notice it a bit...not so much an accent, but like he was trying too hard to cover one. It seemed to be a problem mostly in the narration. He was fine in the rest of the clip, though "file" made me smile. A bit more practice and he could have nailed it.

Aww, I loved that "Well..." I was also hoping for a surprised and confused "What?!"

That's what they chose: Outlaw? I like Smits well enough, but I couldn't even watch a full episode. NBC makes so many terrible decisions. (Actually, all the networks do...except, through some sort of miracle, Fox decided to keep Fringe! Yay!) I hope Fright Night hits big so more people can find out what we already know: that David Tennant kicks ass. But would it be asking too much of a vampire movie to allow him to show his range, so they can see why he needs to be headlining big projects? Sad to say, but I'm afraid "no" will never be the answer to that particular question.

Yea, "Outlaw" (originally called "Garza") didn't even air for a month. But that's what that time slot came down to--"Rex" vs "Outlaw." NBC probably thought they were making the "smart" choice by selecting the show with a familiar face to American audiences.

And actually, his narration was pretty good. It's just a shame that particular clip was the one that hit the internet rather than the first minute of the pilot, where it was just him doing voiceover to the action. He was able to focus and pronounce words much better.

But nope, sorry, there was no "What?!?" Ha ha!

I can only assume NBC thought they were being smart, but it really isn't too often that they are. So sad to say (haven't heard that Mighty Mighty Bosstones song in quite a while). Yes, betting on the familar can be a good thing, but not when the writing, characters, acting, and heart aren't there. Some shows are just completely devoid of all of that. With David Tennant at least you get a very sturdy and talented foundation.

I would have loved to see the whole pilot. If there were more spontaneous moments like the couch climb, coupled with Tennant's emotional range, it could have been a delightful dramedy. We need something like that to fill the Boston Legal-shaped hole in the TV landscape. Aww, now I miss Spader and Shatner again. What a wonderful couple they were. :)

True, there is a definite gap of that kind of quirky on the television landscape. Eh, at least NBC has done well in scooping up comedy nominations at this year's Emmy awards.

But having grown up in the '80s when NBC was king with the killer Thursday night lineup of "The Cosby Show," "Family Ties," "Cheers," "Night Court" and "Hill Street Blues," I do miss being able to turn on one TV station and just freakin' leaving it there.

At least some people still know how to do comedy. I have to give NBC that for The Office, Parks & Recreation, and Community. And ABC with Modern Family, The Middle, and Cougar Town; and CBS with Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and Mike & Molly. But there's still so much that is crap. Actually, it's a good thing that not everything is appealing, because then I'd feel like I had to watch it all. I already waste too much time on TV.

Yeah, it would be nice not to have to jump around so much between channels. I miss Night Court. The Cosby Show is still played all the time and I caught it the other day. I had almost forgotten how funny it is. Compare that to anything in the new fall lineup and you'll be left scratching your head wondering where the intelligent writers and interesting ideas went. I read the descriptions for all pilots at the major networks about a month ago and not a single thing sounded funny or interesting. (Suburgatory? Couldn't have a worse name. Grimm? Fairly tales + cop show? Sure, that'll last on anything that isn't Syfy or CW. Smash? Does anyone really need another singing show?) Good. I don't have the time for them anyway. It's quite amazing, though.

Oops, I forgot to include a link to an article about the new fall shows: http://www.adweek.com/news/television/fall-2011-27-new-shows-there-anything-worth-watching-131964

Also, I finally heard it! I was watching an old House, not really paying attention because I was making lunch, but I heard one word that sounded a bit off. So cute. Still incredibly impressed with how great Hugh's accent is.

I keep thinking that I would love to get a room of David Tennant fans together in L.A. for a viewing of the "Rex" pilot. It looks like a good idea on the surface. Then again, I'd be a little hesitant in that a lot of people don't know how to accept actors out of their usual mode ("Tennant? American? No way!"), or how to view a pilot as just a test for a show's premise. Any unnecessary, harsh judgments that might befall this one-shot episode are what I'd fear the most, though... again, because people wouldn't really know or care about what they're watching. Society has such a "pass/fail" view of things these days that it's a bit beyond unfair sometimes.

Ooh, that sounds like fun! I would want to make sure the room was filled with only Tennant fans that love hearing him try out a new voice or will accept him as any character. Negative commenters will be politely asked to shut the hell up. Only constructive criticism please.

If a show obviously has potential, an interesting premise, and people I highly enjoy watching I will certainly give it a shot. Unfortunately, it's all about how quickly you can make money. If you're not an immediate hit you get kicked out the door. And there also seems to be a shortage of good taste. So many interesting shows get canceled while a lot of mediocre, boring, annoying, or plain terrible shoot-myself-in-the-head crap stays on air. I wish I could do something about that.