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TwitterThe CW: WTF is with 'TBL' and 'UneXpected'?
The CW has amended the titles of a couple of its shows for next season. That in and of itself is not a big deal -- new shows sometimes go through name changes between getting picked up and going on the air.
It's how the titles were changed that is the reason for this post. As first pointed out by Joe Adalian at TV Week, The C-dub has monkeyed with the titles of "The Beautiful Life" and the show formerly known as "Parental Discretion Advised" in grammar- and spell-check-defying ways that, in print at least, look downright silly.
"Parental Discretion Advised," a midseason show about a teenage girl (Britt Robertson) who tracks down her biological parents (Shiri Appleby and Kristoffer Polaha), has changed its name to "Life UneXpected," Adalian reports (though the network web site still has the old title). And no, I didn't accidentally hit the caps lock when I typed the X. The extraneous capital letter does highlight the name of Robertson's character, Lux, but it also looks like a typo. (So, for that matter, does the official spelling of TNT's new show "HawthoRNe," which is about a nurse.)
Then there's "The Beautiful Life" -- or, as The CW has now christened it "The Beautiful Life: TBL." Maybe the network is anticipating fans using the shorthand, but the appendage is otherwise completely unnecessary and, in fact, a little bit confusing. Does that mean the full, unabridged title of the show is "The Beautiful Life: The Beautiful Life"? Is it a life so nice they named it twice? Is it destined to be known in snarky online communities as "Tibble"?
(The CW's own site even seems flummoxed. The show's landing page has the "TBL" after the full title, but if you scroll down in the series description, the show is called "TBL: The Beautiful Life" in one spot.)
The network's other two shows, "Melrose Place" and "The Vampire Diaries," have thus far managed to keep their original and conventional titles. The CW should be extra-careful about the second one -- no one would want to watch a show called "The VD."
Related:
The CW announces fall premiere dates
Corbin Bleu now a series regular on 'The Beautiful Life'
The CW's fall schedule
First impressions: The CW goes to camp
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I guess since it's a show about modeling the creators think people with half a brain would be watching. They don't call "Gossip Girl" "Gossip Girl: GG" and there are still people who simply call it "GG"
I can't believe how petty some people are, scrutinizing everything that comes out of a network. Let it be and let them realize their own error, if it's an error at all! Or let them explain why it's spelled that way. I'm sure they have their own reasons. Why speculate? Have you got nothing better to do?
this is news?? wow, must have beem a slow day in the entertainment world.......im with linda on this. really rick porter, who gives a s**t?
Sorry, Porter, but capitalizing the 'RN' in "HawthoRNe" doesn't look like a typo. Since 'RN' is the well-known abbreviation for 'Registered Nurse', and the show is about nurses, it's only reasonable that they capitalized it to connect the two facts.
I find it ironic that it is inappropriate and incorrect for the CW to name its shows as it likes, but appropriate for ZAP2it to allow cussing in this particular article's title.
Anyone remember a show called CSI: Crime Scene Investigation better known as Crime Scene Investigation: Crime Scene Investigation.
wonder if The Beautiful Life is going to stand up now that Mischa Barton is Ok and back to work.