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Fall TV
November 9, 2009
This week's TV picks
Trust me, ABC’s “V” is a lot more exciting than this photo makes it appear to be.
Monday:
‘How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin’ 9 p.m., PBS: Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out — back in the USSR, Russian super fans are interviewed in an exploration of the Fab Four’s influence behind the Iron Curtain.
‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ 9:30 p.m., Food: Guy Fieri chows down at Texas barbecue joints in this tasty rerun.
Tuesday:
‘V’ 7 p.m., ABC: Okay, the set-up was good. Let’s hope Elizabeth Mitchell and company can continue to deliver.
‘Ghost Lab’ 9 p.m., Discovery: Does John Wilkes Booth haunt the Opera House in Granbury, Texas? Well, you can’t spell Booth without ‘boo.’
Wednesday:
‘43rd Annual CMA Awards’ 7 p.m., ABC: Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood perform and host. I hope this means that CMT gets to air ‘Cougar Town’.
‘15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks’ 7 p.m., E!: Famous folk drop pounds and get into shape. You know, it’s about time somebody started paying attention to celebrities’ physical attributes.
Thursday:
‘Real Housewives of Orange County’ 9 p.m., Bravo: New housewife alert! New housewife alert! Alexis Bellino joins the cast.
‘Gone Too Far’ 10 p.m., MTV: A 20-year-old San Antonio heroin and cocaine addict gets a second chance.
Friday:
‘Bang for Your Buck’ 9:30 p.m., HGTV: Austin outdoor living rooms worth $95,000 are toured. It’s Thanksgiving month, right? I’m thankful that the bathrooms remain indoors.
‘Bose Sound Innovations’ 11 p.m., QVC: I usually don’t like to highlight the shopping channels, but tonight is exactly one-month ‘til my birthday and y’all haven’t been getting the hint.
Saturday:
‘Austin City Limits’ 7 p.m., PBS: Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel perform songs from 2009’s ‘Willie and the Wheel’.
‘Celebrity Ghost Stories’ 9 p.m., BIO: C. Thomas Howell has a spooky encounter in an abandoned hotel. I know, I know … you want to know what C. Thomas Howell is doing in an abandoned hotel. Hey — he’s C. Thomas Howell; he doesn’t have to answer to you.
Sunday:
‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ 7 p.m., ABC: Can David Duchovny help a leukemia survivor and her family rebuild their uninhabitable farmhouse? I want to believe.
‘Nature’ 7 p.m., PBS: The first year in the life of a humpback whale is chronicled. It’s so cute the first time they sit up by themselves, but burping them is really tough, mostly because of the hump.
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November 3, 2009
Contest: Win a copy of the "Glee" soundtrack
Does it seem a little more “Glee”-ful out there today? Is your podmates’ humming more annoying than usual? Do you hear that insidiously catchy, over-produced song in the air? That’s just the “Glee” soundtrack.
“Glee: The Music, Season One, Volume 1” hit store shelves and music download sites today, but I’ve got a free CD for one lucky “Glee” fan (hey — do you think the disc’s name is a subtle clue that there will be more of them on the way?)
From the pilot’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” Journey cover to “Dancing with Myself,” the Billy Idol tune “Glee”-ized in the upcoming, “very special” Nov. 11 episode, 17 tracks are featured (thankfully, the “Thong Song” doesn’t appear to be among them).
Here’s how you you can win my still-shrinkwrapped copy: Cheerios’ coach Sue Sylvester has a secret that’s revealed at the end of the next new episode. Take your best or funniest guess at what it is; I’ll choose a random entry and get the CD into the winner’s “Glee”-ful little hands.
Enter by commenting below. One entry per person, please. I’ll post the winning entry on Friday.
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'V' arrives tonight: Will you be 'V'iewing?
Bob D’Amico/ABC
Will this be the “V” remake that gets it right?
The much-anticipated series arrives tonight at 7 p.m. on ABC. It’s a great pilot episode, much more agile than the good — but plodding and maddeningly repetitive — “Flash Forward,” ABC’s earlier fall science fiction offering. A “re-imagining” of the original 1983 NBC miniseries (attempted as a regular series by that network in 1984), “V” centers upon the arrival of an extra-terrestrial race — the titular V, or Visitors — who appear in 29 giant spaceships hovering over Earth’s major cities.
The attractive and soft-spoken aliens arrive with a message of peace. They quickly win over the populace by sharing technology, notably in the medical arena, opening centers where they cure all manner of human ills. They offer tours and rides on their spacecraft and recruit young humans into an ambassador program. But does their benevolence mask a more sinister agenda? Of course it does.
The hour moves briskly, reaching much further into the plot line than I would have anticipated and the first 5 minutes, nearly wordless by broadcast television standards, offer some of the best camera angles and most cinematic visuals of the new season. “V’s” special effects are top-notch and the cast, especially Elizabeth Mitchell (“Lost’s” Juliet) as a counter-terrorism agent and Morris Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnut) as a resistance fighter, bring their A-game. “Party of Five’s” Scott Wolf plays a conflicted television anchor, tempted by Anna, the leader of the Visitors, to stage a softball interview in exchange for the success the exclusive will bring him.
Just four episodes will air initially, with further installments returning after the 2010 Winter Olympics. The show is expensive to produce; future episodes will have to maintain the pilot’s quality and garner big ratings if the Visitors’ visit is going to last more than one season. I think it has a shot. Like “V’s” Earthlings looking to the skies, I am hopeful, but possibly deluded.
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November 1, 2009
Most networks up this fall, but ABC drops
Reuters reports that viewership is up at three of the four major broadcast television networks this season. Only third-place ABC — with 11 new dramas and comedies — has seen a decline in ratings.
Major points from the story:
“Glee” and “House” are doing well for FOX, the only network up in all demographics and categories.
First-place CBS has 13 of the Top 20 programs.
NBC ratings are up but network, whose move of Jay Leno to the 9 p.m. prime-time hour from late night has drawn only about 5 million viewers weekly, is still in last place.
Read the complete story by clicking here.
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October 28, 2009
'Friday Night Lights' back tonight on DirecTV
“Friday Night Lights” returns tonight with a ticker tape parade. Okay, the flying paper is from former Panthers’ star fullback Tim Riggins’ (Taylor Kitsch) un-cracked college notebooks, but still …
The Austin-filmed critical hit, which has managed to elude ratings and mainstream awards success like a running back zipping down the field, returns tonight, but only if you’re one of those hoity-toity, West Dillon-esque DirecTV subscribers. Us East Dillon-ish scrubs will have to wait until summer 2010, when the series returns to NBC.
Regardless of when you start to watch, you’ll find yourself in a “Twilight Zone-y,” skewed version of the Dillon you know and love. For starters, some of your favorites will be gone. And redistricting (this is Texas, y’all are familiar with that concept, right?) has left Dillon a town divided. Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler), having guided the Panthers to a loss at State, is relegated to the rust-covered bleachers and neglected turf of East Dillon High. He practically has to break into his own locker room and, once he gets inside, he’s greeted by some furry critter (a badger?), which has taken up residence in one of the lockers (maybe they should have named the East Dillon team the Badgers instead of the Lions).
It’s quite a fall from his old school, where smarmy, new coach Wade Aikman (Drew Waters) and his cronies summon Taylor’s wife, principal Tami (Connie Britton), and inform her that she’ll be calling the coin toss to open the Panthers’ football season. They also tell her which side of the coin to call, but then break out into jerky, frat-boy spasms of laughter. Just kidding, Tami! Sheesh. These guys can’t fail fast enough, but it’s not gonna’ happen any time soon.
Off the field, it looks like Riggins’ college dreams — oh, let’s face it … they’re really his brother’s college dreams for him — are on hold again as he bails from San Antonio State in favor of Dillon and a one-night stand with a bar maid (is this “Friday Night Lights” or “Cougar Town?”) He wakes up to find the woman’s daughter, Becky (newcomer Madison Burge, from Hutto) looking for a ride to school. Becky is sassy, smart, pretty and kinda’ trashy. I like her, but that might be because she asks lover boy how it feels to be “the guy who used to be Tim Riggins.” Hee.
Over at East, Coach Taylor is trying to build a team out of a rag-tag group of misfits and screw-ups, including Vince (Michael B. Jordan), a misfit and screw-up who is delivered to Taylor via squad car. There’s gonna’ be some drama there. But first there’s some locker room drama as the East Dillon Lions squabble on and off the field. Taylor challenges his players to commit or leave, and most of them leave. Oops.
Principal Tami’s got the opposite problem: several of her students have been redistricted to East Dillon High, but refuse to go. Her daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden) becomes upset as her friends are pulled out of classes and removed from the school. So upset that she just gets up and walks out into the hallway to watch them as they’re escorted away. Can you just get up and walk out of a high school class? I guess being the Principal’s daughter has its privileges.
Julie spends her out-of-school time with boyfriend Matt (Zach Gilford), the former Panther’s quarterback who postponed his education at the Art Institute of Chicago to stay in Dillon, take car of his grandmother and deliver pizzas with Julie riding shotgun. Looks like Coach Taylor’s not the only former golden boy who’s been knocked down a few pegs.
Speaking of Coach Taylor, game night finally arrives and we get to see just how stark the East-West contrast really is: full bleachers, cheers, smoke, flags and pageantry at Aikman’s stadium give way to the stark, empty East Dillon stands. This part of the premiere doesn’t exactly ring true. In the show’s world, Taylor is a football god. Wouldn’t more people show up just to see what would happen? Even just to watch him fail? Besides, it’s football and it’s Texas: I’ve seen bigger crowds show up for that finger field goal kicking game you play at your kitchen table with a buddy and a piece of notebook paper folded into a triangle. Tailgaters, too. Oh, well. Over at West, look for Principal Tami to put Aikman in his place, leaving no doubt as to where her allegiance lies.
I won’t tell you how the Lions’ first game ends, but it’s not pretty. It’s a great set up, though, for what should be a fun year. Thanks to DirecTV, “Friday Night Lights” already has a commitment for another season; Coach Taylor’s position is more tenuous. But he’s never been better than when he’s had something to prove.
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October 22, 2009
'Brothers,' 'Til Death' and 'Dollhouse' go on hiatus for sweeps
The Fox Network’s Friday night prime time shows “Brothers,” “‘Til Death” and “Dollhouse” are going on hiatus after their October 23 airings, according to The Futon Critic. The programs will be replaced with reruns of “House” and “Bones.”
There’s good news and bad news here: the numbers for “Dollhouse” have been ticking slightly upward, but it’s never a good sign when you’re pulled from sweeps periods — when important ratings are measured — especially for reruns of other programs. “Dollhouse” will return in December with back-to-back airings. In January, the show will be back in its regular single-run Friday night slot.
“Brothers” will shift permanently to a 6 p.m. CT Sunday slot, the site reports, noting that no return date for “Til Death” was given.
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October 19, 2009
This week's TV picks
Monday:
‘Heroes’ 7 p.m., NBC: Who ya’ gonna’ call? Ernie Hudson, apparently. The once and future ‘Ghostbuster’ guest stars.
‘The Big Bang Theory’ 8:30 p.m., CBS: Hmm, it must be sci-fi guest star week. ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’s’ Wil Wheaton cameos in a showdown with Sheldon.
Tuesday:
‘Melrose Place’ 8 p.m., The CW: Okay, this is just getting creepy. Daphne Zuniga (‘Spaceballs’) returns as Jo Reynolds. Secrets, sex, blah blah blah.
‘The Good Wife’ 9 p.m., CBS: Martha Plimpton (‘Surface’, of course) guest stars as Alicia races against the clock to save three widows’ pensions. ‘Surface’ was a science fiction show, too.
Wednesday:
‘Extreme Competitions’ 7 p.m., TRAVEL: A mustache-growing competition is highlighted. No kidding. Mustache growing. I hope it’s ‘extreme’ mustache-growing. Is this a mini-series? Because I’m not sure how much ‘stache growing can happen in one night.
‘Glee’ 8 p.m., FOX: Sue displays her softer side? Which side is that, exactly? I thought even her deepest interior was gruff exterior.
Thursday:
’30 Rock’ 8:30 p.m., NBC: Will Arnett hanging with the Obama girls? I’m so in.
‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ 9 p.m., BRAVO: Season 2 finale. Aw, already?
Friday:
‘Brothers’ 7 p.m., FOX: Here we go again. E Street Band member Clarence Clemons (‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’) appears as Coach sacks Chill and enlists Mike’s help with his football squad.
‘Lobstermen’ 9 p.m., DISCOVERY: Lobstermen! Half-men, half-lobster! Now there’s a scary — what? On a boat? With nets? Nevermind.
Saturday:
‘Austin City Limits’ 7 p.m., PBS: Singer-songwriter showcase! Andrew Bird and St. Vincent perform.
‘Surprise Inspection’ 9 p.m., TruTV: There’s no description for this show but, just in case, I’m gonna’ make sure everything here is in tip-top shape.
Sunday:
‘Werewolves: The Dark Survivors’ 8 p.m., ANIMAL: A faux documentary explores the lives and behaviors of werewolves. I don’t know about you, but I kinda’ prefer my faux documentaries to explore the practical joke Jim and Pam just played on Dwight.
‘Mad Men’ 9 p.m., AMC: Joan and Greg make plans for the future. Yay! More Joan! Boo! Joan and Greg have a future.
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October 15, 2009
Caption this: New 'Friday Night Lights' Season 4 photos
Here are a few still photos from the Oct. 28 season premiere of “Friday Night Lights” on DirecTV. No captions were included, so make up your own and post ‘em below!
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'Friday Night Lights' news keeps on coming
With the Season 4 premiere of “Friday Night Lights” less than two weeks away, lots of Dillon dish is crossing my desk.
First up is news that Executive Producer Peter Berg will direct the premiere — almost a series premiere of sorts because of the huge cast turnover. Berg has not helmed an episode since he directed the show’s 2006 pilot.
EW’s Michael Ausiello reports that former “Practice” star Steve Harris is slated to appear in about seven episodes of the upcoming season, portraying Vernon Merriweather, an ex-football star and the father of East Dillon newbie Jess. At the end of Season 3, Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) took the head coach job at East Dillon while his wife Tami (Connie Britton) remained Principal of West Dillon High.
“Friday Night Lights” premieres October 28 at 8 p.m. CT on DIRECTV’s The 101 Network and will show up on NBC in 2010.
Here’s a look at how that moody Season 4 trailer was filmed, with a few hints from the actors about what we can expect this year:
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October 12, 2009
This week's TV picks
Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin star on “30 Rock.”
Monday:
‘Dancing with the Stars’ 7 p.m., ABC: Tune in to see who’ll take over the reality competition’s dramatic narrative now that Tom DeLay is gone.
Tuesday:
‘The Good Wife’ 9 p.m., CBS: Alicia takes on her firm when she suspects jury tampering in a pharmaceutical company trial. Watch quickly before health care reform makes this storyline obsolete.
Wednesday:
‘Hank’ 7 p.m., ABC: Fraisier — I mean, um, Hank, takes a job working alongside his daughter at the mall. Sigh.
‘Modern Family’ 8 p.m., ABC: Shelley Long (“Cheers”) guest stars on the best new comedy of the season.
‘Glee’ 8 p.m., FOX: The club members are pitted against each other again? Didn’t that just happen last week? Is this a “Glee”-peat? Nope, this time Sue (Jane Lynch) is trying to spread dissent.
Thursday:
‘Flash Forward’ 7 p.m., ABC: Yikes! Somebody saw a murder in their vision of the future. Tune in to find out whom.
‘Vampire Diaries’ 7 p.m., The CW: Stefan and Damon continue to duke it out while the sheriff and mayor try to protect the citizens of Mystic Falls. Seriously, people, if you don’t like vampires, stay away from places called “Mystic Falls.”
‘30 Rock’ 8:30 p.m., NBC: Season 4 of NBC’s Tina Fey comedy begins with a show entitled “Season 4.”
Friday:
‘Ugly Betty’ 7 p.m., ABC: Betty, now an associate editor, clashes with her ex-boyfriend boss. Lynn Redgrave and Kristen Johnston guest star on this season 4 premiere.
Saturday:
‘Austin City Limits’ 7 p.m., PBS: Are you a Kenny Chesney fan? He’s crooning his greatest hits tonight.
‘Tailgate Warriors with Guy Fieri’ 8 p.m., FOOD: Y’all like to tailgate, right? The Food Network personality puts tailgaters from across the country through a game-day grub competition.
Sunday:
‘The Simpsons’ 7 p.m., FOX: The 20th edition of Halloween-themed “Treehouse of Horror” finds take-offs on zombies, Hitchcock and “Sweeney Todd.”
‘Sunday Night Football’ 7:15 p.m., NBC: Chicago at Atlanta. Go, Bears!
‘The Cleveland Show’ 7:30 p.m., FOX: Arianna Huffington guest stars.
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October 9, 2009
Trailer: 'Friday Night Lights' via 'Carnivale'
The teaser trailer for season 4 of “Friday Night Lights” has hit YouTube, and it makes the show look more like the spooky HBO series “Carnivale” than the football drama we know and love (a big, magic tree was central to the imagery of that late, lamented series, too).
The L.A. Times pulls a lot of clues out of the 30-second clip. Frankly, I think they might be reaching but there’s not a whole lot to grasp onto here.
“Friday Night Lights” returns to DirecTV on Oct. 28 and NBC in summer, 2010. Here’s the teaser and, just for fun, I’ll slap a “Carnivale” trailer down below it:
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Is 'Southland' cancellation Jay Leno's fault?
“Southland,” the NBC cop drama starring Austinite Benjamin McKenzie, has been canceled before its second season had a chance to roll out of the station and fingers are pointing at Jay Leno, whose awful one-hour comedy show eats up every NBC 9 p.m. weeknight slot. (Those prime slots are traditionally filled with just the kind of drama the fine “Southland” was growing into).
“I’m disappointed that NBC no longer has the time periods available to support the kind of critically-acclaimed series that was for so many years, a hallmark of their success,” EW.com quotes executive producer John Wells as saying. “We remain extremely proud of Southland and are actively looking for another home for the series.”
The decision seems to have been sudden. The network’s official Twitter page for the show sent this tweet out Wednesday: “Remember - this Friday NBC.com will start streaming all of Southland Season 1. Tell your friends and get ‘em hooked now!”
Michael Cudlitz, who played patrol officer John Cooper, also implores viewers to tell their friends … to contact NBC and let them know they’re unhappy about the cancellation. His profanity-laden Twitter page instructs fans “Don’t go quietly” and he writes, “Honestly, not bitter. Kinda pissed. I still believe the show would have done well on Fri.”
Dateline NBC will now air in that Friday slot.
Will you miss “Southland?” What should Ben McKenzie do next?
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October 8, 2009
Live Chat: Fall TV season
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Live chat today on fall TV season
Come back at 11 a.m. CT and participate in a live chat about the Fall TV season. What’s working for you? What shows do you dislike? DId the networks get the nights/time slots right for your favorite shows? What’s missing? We’ll chat about which shows might get picked up (some have already!) and which shows are likely to get the axe.
See you then!
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October 5, 2009
This week's TV picks
Pam and Jim get hitched on NBC’s ‘The Office’.
Monday:
‘Dancing With the Stars’ 7 p.m., ABC: What dance will Tom DeLay do tonight? And what will he wear? Who cares … all y’all want to do on the TV Blog is argue politics.
‘Gossip Girl’ 8 p.m., The CW: Film star Hilary Duff appears as a film star. Way to stretch those acting chops, Hilary.
Tuesday:
‘Dancing With the Stars: Results Show’ 8 p.m. ABC: Did Tom DeLay make it through? Will he be back next week? Does it matter? Isn’t the important question whether he’s God or the Devil?
‘The Forgotten’ 9 p.m., ABC: The name of this show is going to become its epitaph in about 3 weeks. Mark my words.
Wednesday:
‘The Middle’ 7:30 p.m., ABC: Sue tries out for the swim team. Trust me, any time Sue tries out for something, it’s a riot.
‘Modern Family’ 8 p.m., ABC: Okay, this show is a big 2-for-2, so there’s no reason to suspect that tonight’s episode won’t be hilarious.
Thursday:
‘Flash Forward’ 7 p.m., ABC: What? The mass blackout somehow involves Nazis now? This show hurts my brain in a good way.
‘Community’ 7 p.m., NBC: This show moves to its 7 p.m. time slot with an episode involving Mr. Chang. Yay! Plus, since the ‘Saturday Night Live’ on Thursday thing is over, there’s a chance ‘Saturday Night Live’ on Saturdays will actually be funny. Win-win!
‘The Office’ 8 p.m., NBC: Jim and Pam get married (yawn) in this hour-long episode. Hey — at least they get their wedding taped for free.
‘Vampire Diaries’ 7 p.m., The CW: Bite, furtive glance, kiss, bite, bite, angst, fainting, angry outburst, kiss, bite.
Friday:
‘Most Terrifying Places in America 2’ 9 p.m., TRAVEL: Paranormal hot spots across the country are explored. Hmm … I didn’t know ghosts used wireless Internet.
Saturday:
‘Austin City Limits’ 7 p.m., PBS: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 perform.
Sunday:
‘The Simpsons’ 7 p.m., FOX: Bart becomes interested in something potentially dangerous, Marge attempts to get it banned, TV critic finds it more and more difficult to keep defending this show.
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September 30, 2009
Review: 'The Middle'
Who’da thunk that when Fox’s 2007-2008 Kelsey Grammer/Patrica Heaton sitcom “Back to You” was canceled, Heaton would come out on top? After all, Grammer had a great run playing effete Frasier Crane, first in a supporting role on “Cheers” and then, for eleven seasons, on his own show. Heaton spent nine years playing second-fiddle Debra Barone on “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
Yet here’s Grammer basically playing Frasier again in the dreadful ABC sitcom “Hank,” while Heaton shines in the same network’s sweet, funny, delightful offering, “The Middle.” Heaton’s character, wife and mother Frankie Heck, truly is stuck in the middle: middle age, middle income, middle America. The third best salesperson (out of three) at the used car lot where she works, Frankie’s got a problematically frank spouse, Mike (Neil Flynn) and three kids.
If it sounds like “Malcolm in the Middle,” it’s not. I’ve watched incredulously and with some degree of frustration as the two shows keep getting compared (maybe it’s the name) but while “The Middle” is quirky, it embodies none of “Malcolm’s” mean-spirited humor or shrill tone. In fact, it reminded me of nothing so much as (the much better) “The Wonder Years.”
Perhaps this is because the pilot episode focuses so heavily on the children: teenage Axl (conceived during the Heck households “Guns n’ Roses” period); Sue, who fails with gusto at everything she tries; and oddball Brick (okay, he does look a little like “Malcolm’s” Dewey).
Eden Sher is an enthusiastic charmer as hapless Sue, whose involvement in show choir doesn’t end nearly as well as the productions on Fox’s “Glee.” Atticus Shaffer shines, too, as youngest child Brick. He has the disconcerting habit of repeating key words from his sentences, at the end of them, in a creepy, loud whisper, and he counts his backpack as his best friend — hey, it worked for Dora the Explorer.
Watching Heaton maneuver her life and job around and amongst these kids (she takes a car buyer on a test drive to Brick’s school when she’s summoned there by his teacher) is a lot of fun.
If the writing keeps up and the focus remains on the sweet family dynamics instead of contrived, goofy shenanigans — I’m looking at you, fellow car salesman Chris Kattan — “The Middle” could rise to the top.
“The Middle”
7:30 p.m., ABC
Grade: B+
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September 29, 2009
'SNL's' Jenny Slate lives to bomb another day
TV Guide reports that Jenny Slate will not be fired for her obscenity slip on the Sept. 26 season premiere of “Saturday Night Live.”
In an awful sketch representative of the entire show, newcomer Slate accidentally dropped the f-bomb as the host of “Biker Chick Chat.”
“No truth to firing conjecture,” TV Guide reports NBC spokeswoman Sharon Pannozzo told the New York Daily News. “She will not be fired.” That paper also sees an FCC fine as unlikely, since the agency focuses most of its monitoring on prime-time programming.
Viewers at home will also be spared any penalties for bemoaning, post-show, “What the (expletive) was Lorne Michaels thinking putting that on television?”
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September 28, 2009
This week's TV picks
Old Faithful erupts in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, as shown in Ken Burns six-part documentary series, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” beginning Sunday, Sept. 27, at 7:00 p.m. EDT on PBS. (AP Photo/Florentine Films and WETA, Craig Mellish)
Tonight:
‘Lie to Me’ 8 p.m., FOX: Season 2 kicks off! A woman with multiple-personality disorder could be a witness or a killer. Hmm … that’s several times the usual number of lies to sift through.
Also premiering: ‘Trauma’ 8 p.m., NBC
‘The National Parks: America’s Best Idea’ 7 p.m., PBS: This episode covers the years 1890-1915 and the beginnings of a conservation movement led by the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society and Theodore Roosevelt. Additional episodes air Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Tuesday:
‘Melrose Place’ 8 p.m., The CW: Jane Mancini’s back! Josie Bissett returns to Melrose Place and immediately blackmails somebody. There’s a surprise.
‘The Good Wife’ 9 p.m., CBS: Julianna Margulies goes around the State’s Attorney to represent a stripper who claims she was raped.
Wednesday:
‘The Middle’ 7:30 p.m., ABC: Patricia Heaton stars in one of the fall’s best new comedies as a woman stuck in the middle: middle age, middle income, Middle America. It’s wacky, but sweet … like a twisted version of ‘The Wonder Years.’
Also premiering: ‘Hank’ 7 p.m., ABC
‘Modern Family’ 8 p.m., ABC: If there’s a less-qualified person than Phil to be giving anybody responsibility lessons, I’d like to meet him. But that’s just what he’s doing with son Luke. Meanwhile, Mitchell and Cameron take their baby to ‘Mommy and Me’ class.
‘Glee’ 8 p.m., FOX: Recent Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth (‘Pushing Daisies’) tries to help Will up the Glee Club’s game.
Thursday:
‘Community’ 8:30 p.m., NBC: John Michael Higgins (‘Kath and Kim’) plays a quirky instructor who jeopardizes Winger’s plan for an easy A.
‘Fringe’ 8 p.m., FOX: A bomb blast in Philadelphia sends Olivia and Peter to Iraq. That must be one powerful bomb.
‘Flash Forward’ 7 p.m., ABC: A suspect in the global blackout is tracked to Utah and Olivia meets the man from her vision.
Friday:
‘Til Death’ 7:30 p.m., FOX: The season 4 premiere finds Ally and Doug returning from Ecuador as man and wife.
Saturday:
‘Austin City Limits’ 7 p.m., PBS: The Dave Matthews Band kicks off season 35 of the popular concert series. Were you at the taping?
Sunday:
‘Three Rivers’ 8 p.m., CBS: The transplants drama underwent its own switcheroo when this episode — originally the second of the series — was swapped to run first.
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September 27, 2009
Live from New York: It's the f-bomb!
This is what you look like just after you use the f-word in front of millions of viewers on live television.
This is probably not how poor Jenny Slate pictured her “Saturday Night Live” debut.
An hour and 13 minutes into the predictably lame season opener (they always leave me thinking, “this is what they came up with after having the entire summer off?”) the new cast member and Upright Citizens Brigade alumnus did the unthinkable — she dropped the f-bomb.
In the middle of a talk show parody called “Biker Chick Chat,” in which every sentence contained the swear-substitute “frickin,” Slate said, “You stood up for yourself, and I (expletive) love you for that.” She immediately realized what she’d done and puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment (Twitterers were calling it her “ashamed chipmunk” face). You gotta love live television.
“You’re in my heart, babe, you’re in my heart,” fellow cast member Kristin Wiig’s character responded without missing a beat. But the audience was clearly stunned, too.
Three performers (not counting musical guests) have dropped the f-bomb on “Saturday Night Live”: In a 1980 incident similar to Slate’s misstep, Paul Shaffer accidentally used the word instead of “flogging” while playing an English Rock Star; one-time Weekend Update anchor Charles Rocket was fired following a 1981 broadcast in which he used the expletive while chatting with host Charlene Tilton at the end of the show, when the cast traditionally gathers on stage around the host; and Norm MacDonald used the word after getting something stuck in his throat during the Weekend Update segment.
MacDonald wasn’t around for very long after the incident, but he was probably let go because NBC’s West Coast division President Don Ohlmeyer didn’t like him and never thought he was funny. Ditto for Rocket, who was swept out with a wholesale cast turnover that only saw Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo survive (Rocket committed suicide in 2005). Back then, a slip of the tongue was a convenient excuse to can a performer. In these post Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction times, it’s almost a foregone conclusion.
So it will be interesting to see if Slate is slated next Saturday or if she’s frickin’ gone.
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September 24, 2009
Review: 'Flash Forward'
FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) surveys the aftermath of the mass blackout on the premiere of “FlashForward.” (ABC/Ron Tom)
Let’s get this straight: “Flash Forward” is not “Lost.”
“Lost” opens with a twisting, white, sans-serif logo drifting across the screen for a few seconds before fading into its black background; “Flash Forward” opens with a non-twisting, white, sans-serif logo drifting back into the screen for a few seconds before fading into its black background.
The pilot episode of “Lost” shows the aftermath of a massive plane’s fiery, horrific crash; the first episode of “Flash Forward” shows the aftermath of a fiery, horrific, massive car crash.
“Lost” starred Dominic Monaghan and Sonya Walger. “Flash Forward” stars Sonya Walger and Dominic Monaghan.
There were polar bears wandering around “Lost’s” island and “Flash Forward” has a kangaroo hopping around downtown Los Angeles.
Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy; Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln.
Oops … wrong conspiracy.
The truth is that “Flash Forward” does owe an awful lot to “Lost” and it should tide over fans of that show until it returns in January. Both series are stylish and dramatic, with compelling characters and fantastic premises. Each hinges upon the idea that consciousness can travel through time. The production quality of both shows is top notch and look ridiculously expensive. And, like “Lost,” it appears that “Flash Forward” contains elements that fans are going to scrutinize — freeze-framing their DVRs and uploading screen shots to online fan forums.
Near the beginning of the first episode, everybody blacks out for exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds. During that time, most have visions and as they regain consciousness they come to realize — doctors, cops, lovers and children waking in wrecked cars, on the floors of operating rooms or in their beds — that their visions were of the same day and time six months in the future.
Why this happened is, of course, the biggest question and it won’t be answered soon … in the lead character’s vision, he — an FBI agent — was still trying to solve it. But there are other compelling issues here: can the events in the visions be avoided or altered? What about those people who didn’t experience visions — will they still be alive in 6 months? And what type of story will the show have left to tell once the 6 month mark’s been reached?
Perhaps “Flash Forward” will be exactly like “Lost” after all, switching gears and becoming an entirely different show than it appeared to be at the outset. If future episodes are as compelling as the pilot, I’ll be along for the ride.
“Flash Forward” (pilot): A-
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September 23, 2009
Review: 'Modern Family'
Cameron cradles his adopted Vietnamese child on ABC’s “Modern Family.”
‘Modern Family’ is like an ‘Arrested Development’ that people might actually watch.
Like the late, lamented story of the Bluth clan, ‘Family’ (premiering at 8 pm tonight on ABC) follows the interconnected machinations of an extended family in shaky, one-camera fashion with, thankfully, no laugh track.
Jay (Ed O’Neill) is the patriarch, married to — and often mistaken for the father of — a much younger woman, Gloria (Sofia Vergara, verging on channeling Charo). Together they’re raising Manny, an amorous child who, like his mother, is interested in an older partner.
An alternative partnership is found in the house of Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), Jay’s son, a gay man living with Cameron (Eric Stonestreet, channeling Nathan Lane). The pair have just adopted a Vietnamese baby and one of the pilot’s best gags takes place on the flight home from that country.
Jay’s daughter, Claire (“Lost’s” Julie Bowen) is a former wild child married to an immature husband and raising three kids of her own. How they deal with a BB gun accident is nothing short of hilarious (check out the video, below).
Characters occasionally address the camera, which is problematic in the absence of any explanation (such as “The Office’s” faux documentary conceit) but maybe that’s been fixed since I watched the screener weeks ago.
But that’s a quibble. “Modern Family” is simply the best new comedy of the season.
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September 22, 2009
Review: 'The Good Wife'
It’s great to see Julianna Margulies back in the courtroom.
Okay, her last legal effort, 2008’s “Canterbury’s Law,” never took off. But “The Good Wife,” premiering on CBS tonight at 9 p.m., should fare better. Not so much for the conventional writing or the Deus Ex Machina case solving, but for Margulies’ nuanced, committed portrayal of her character, Alicia Florrick.
Florrick, a pampered (and probably unfulfilled) politician’s wife, returns to practicing law when her husband Peter (“Sex in the City’s” Mr. Big — Chris Noth) is jailed on ripped-from-the-headlines sex and corruption charges … hey, it’s Chicago.
After 13 years away from the courtroom, Florrick finds herself a junior associate at a big-deal windy city law firm under the curious — and attracted? — eye of former law school chum Will Gardner (Josh Charles, “In Treatment”). Competing for her job against a competitive Harvard graduate, and ultimately for her children’s welfare and family’s reputation, Florrick’s first case is a cut and dried retrial of a murder case. All she has to do is to follow the firm’s outline — it resulted in a deadlocked jury the first time around. But Florrick locks horns with her superiors over their courtroom strategy.
The outcome of the trial is a little too easy, but that’s okay; the best moments of “The Good Wife” take place outside of the courtroom, as Florrick is forced to deal, daily, with the fallout of her husband’s legal indiscretions and the players who put him away. She’s horrified and embarrassed as her teen children are haunted by YouTube videos of their incarcerated dad and taunted by their schoolmates.
It’s compelling stuff watching Margulies juggle the emotional demands of a character herself juggling fear, humiliation, fierce loyalty, pride, shame, certainty, confusion, doubt and anger. Margulies is up to the task; she’s perfectly capable of carrying this show, and its success will depend upon how much the writers trust her and forgo soapy romance and courtroom theatrics to focus on her character’s struggle for personal and professional fulfillment.
“The Good Wife,” 9 p.m., CBS. Grade: B-
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September 21, 2009
HBO: 'Curb' is back, 'Bored to Death' debuts
Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis and Jason Schwartzman prowl the streets of New York in “Bored to Death.”
Now that the first season of “Hung” is over, we can start laughing at HBO again. Okay, maybe I’m a little tough on the disingenuously-marketed Thomas Jane “comedy” that’s exceptionally difficult to write about in a family newspaper. Still, the chuckles were few and far between.
Not so with the pay cable net’s new Sunday night combo of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Bored To Death.”
“Curb,” Larry David’s cringe-worthy comedy, is as crass and funny as ever. The 7th season opens on the flip side of the mirror from where last season ended. Then, an abandoned Larry (his wife, Cheryl, had finally left him earlier in the season) was blissfully in love with Loretta Black. Last night, in a new low of self-absorption, he was trying to break up with her — and quickly, before her impending cancer diagnosis came through (even Larry would find it difficult — but not impossible — to break up with someone who’d just been diagnosed with cancer).
If last night’s premiere — featuring a brilliant guest turn by comedienne Catherine O’Hara as Marty Funkhouser’s mentally-disturbed sister, Bam-Bam — is any indication (and having seen a few more episodes, I am happy to report that it is) “Curb” fans are in for a wonderfully petty, uncomfortable and hilarious ride this season. The machinations and falsehoods kick into high gear in a few weeks when the original cast of “Seinfeld” appears to stage a dreaded reunion episode for David’s purely selfish reasons.
“Bored to Death,” (you’ve got to have guts to give your show that name) HBO’s new “noir-otic comedy,” is a lot drier and loads more low-key. It stars Jason Schwartzman (“Rushmore,” “The Darjeeling Limited”) as Jonathan Ames, a writer’s-blocked novelist who’s just been dumped by his girlfriend; she wanted him to give up the three w’s — weed and white wine — and he couldn’t deliver.
A pulp novel fan, Ames (not to be confused with real-life series creator Jonathan Ames … or is he?) gets the notion he’d like to be a detective and slaps an ad — unlicensed private investigator” — up on Craigslist. With buddy Zach Galifianakis and, increasingly, his editor Ted Danson in tow, Ames’ “cases” find him tangling with the likes of druggies, prostitutes, single mothers, skate punks, Greek thugs and Jim Jarmusch.
Galifianakis is great and Schwartzman is Schwartzman, but Danson steals the show as the vice-riddled, hedonistic editor — an aging, drifting, effete stoner with a tinge of Sam Malone’s cockiness (and cluelessness).
“Bored to Death” had an early premiere at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse because HBO thought Austinites would “get it.” In light of the material, that’s both a compliment and a likelihood.
What do you think of HBO’s Sunday night lineup? Sound off.
“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” 8:00 p.m.
“Bored to Death,” 8:30 p.m.
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September 17, 2009
Review: "Community" (NBC)
(Left to right) Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley, Danny Pudi as Abed, Gillian Jacobs as Britta, Joe McHale as Jeff, Alison Brie as Annie, Chevy Chase as Pierce, Donald Glover as Troy in “Community.” NBC Photo: Paul Drinkwater
Have you spent any time at a community college? Talk about a melting pot … all ages, races and economic backgrounds welcome. If there’s a better setting for a half-hour sitcom, I can’t imagine what it would be.
The creators of “Community,” the newest addition to NBC’s powerhouse Thursday night comedy line-up, have mined that setting for laughs and wrapped them around charismatic Joel McHale, host of E!’s “The Soup.”
Tonight’s episode does a good job of introducing the characters, including McHale’s scheming Jeff Winger, a former lawyer whose license was revoked when his college degree came into question: “I thought you got a degree from Columbia?” his friend and client — and Greendale Community College head — asks. “Yes. And now I have to get one from America,” Winger replies. “And it can’t be just an e-mail attachment.”
The dialogue is snappy and the characters are diverse, including “The Daily Show’s” John Oliver as the ethically bound leader and a surprisingly tolerable Chevy Chase as moist towelette fortune heir Pierce. Characters that sound problematic in theory, such as Danny Pudi’s Abed, who has trouble differentiating between movies and real life (he can’t help but compare Winger’s faux study group to “The Breakfast Club”) really work well within “Community’s” twisted community. Pretty Gillian Jacobs — Abed can’t get past her resemblance to Elisabeth Shue — is a formidable foil for Winger as the street-smart object of his obsessive, slightly creepy affection.
If the name Winger sounds familiar, it might be because McHale’s misdirected character — it’s hard to call him a slacker when he works so hard on his schemes — is a direct descendant of Bill Murray’s John Winger from “Stripes.” “Community” shares (or, I guess, steals) much of that film’s comic sensibility.
You won’t see him tonight, but watch next week for Ken Jeong (King Argotron from “Role Models”) as scene-stealing Senor Chang, an Asian Spanish teacher with a hilarious chip on his shoulder.
“Community” airs at 8:30 p.m. on NBC. Tonight’s episode: B Next week’s episode: B+
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September 15, 2009
Review: The Jay Leno Show
Well that was … uneventful — safe, pleasant enough, not hilarious — yep, Jay is back.
Jay Leno’s new, nightly prime-time comedy show debuted Monday night and it was a lot like Jay Leno’s old, late-night comedy show. Oh, the desk and couch were gone (replaced with two easy chairs) and Leno did his popular “headlines” segment at the end of the show instead of the beginning, but otherwise, you’d hardly know the difference.
The show opened on a particularly low-key note that failed to live up to the hype. Jay was announced, walked out and slapped hands with a few audience members standing at the foot of the stage. They then awkwardly returned to their seats (weird) while the host delivered a standard-issue, topical monologue. A taped “Cheaters” segment with Leno confronting his band leader Kevin Eubanks (cavorting in the park with a Leno look-alike) was one of the funnier pieces of the night, although it had an odd, homophobic undercurrent.
The segment with musical comedians The Dan Band (“The Hangover”) was really long, as they serenaded a young woman while her car was washed. That bit was marginally funny, but it’s going to get old fast (and, frankly, it seemed more “Conan” than Jay, except Conan would have done it himself instead of sending out hired guns).
I like Jerry Seinfeld (he’s hilarious later this season on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) but I have to admit I agreed with his confession to Jay that, when he heard that Jay had chosen him as his first guest, he was a bit disappointed. As the tuxedo-clad Seinfeld put it, “I haven’t been on TV in 11 years.” Jerry had a few good lines: referring to Leno’s return, the comic said, “In the ’90s, when we quit a show, we actually left. But not in the Brett Favre, Lance Armstrong double o’s.” Jay asked Jerry leading questions that allowed the comic to launch into a few well-rehearsed bits, including parts of his stand up routine and a short segment with Oprah Winfrey that was more than a little too obvious.
A faux interview with President Barack Obama that spliced Jay’s questions with answers from an actual Obama appearance (pretty lame but technically well-done) was followed by Kanye West, who caused a stir Monday night by stealing the spotlight from Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards. Leno practically made the contrite musical guest cry by asking him how his mother would have reacted to the VMA incident, then immediately and enthusiastically asked him if he was ready to sing. Nice, Jay. And by nice, I mean nice and awkward. This is the kind of situation that David Letterman deals with really well; Leno just wasn’t up to it.
The most interesting thing that happened all night was that KXAN cut smack into the middle of West’s performance (with Jay-Z and Rihanna) to promote its upcoming newscast’s top stories, then cut back to the end of the song. I’m assuming it was a timing glitch, but after watching the show I wouldn’t blame the station for wanting to grab any remaining viewers before they fell asleep (and besides, there’s something poetically just about West’s moment in the spotlight getting interrupted). NBC affiliates across the country are worried about Leno providing a weak lead-in to their local newscasts and I now think that fear is justified. “The Jay Leno Show” had little competition tonight, going up against reruns and movies. But the fall season is here and it’ll be up against real programming soon.
The show-closing “headlines” segment scared me for a minute: Jay used to do this piece at the top of the show and, for a second, I was afraid that I’d have to sit through another 40 minutes or so.
I’m not a big Leno fan and I’ll admit that I did not go into Monday’s debut with high hopes. That said, Jay didn’t even meet my low expectations. Twitter commentary was brutal: “You couldn’t pay me to watch Leno every night. He’s the least funny thing on TV,” one Austin Twitterer wrote during the show. “It’s just boring. Missed first part of monolog. So far haven’t seen anything funny. If Seinfeld isn’t on soon, it’s good bye Jay,” another local tweet read. But Jay’s not going anywhere. The show is cheap to produce and doesn’t need to win its time slot to be considered successful.
That’s the financial bottom line. The bottom line for viewers is this: if you liked “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (and a lot of people did) you’ll probably like “The Jay Leno Show.” If you weren’t a fan before, there’s nothing new here. Move along.
Did you watch the show? Will you tune in again? Sound off!
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September 14, 2009
Was Kanye's outburst a Leno 'Swift'-boating?
So, Kanye West was Kanye West last night and the Twittersphere exploded.
Call me jaded, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his outburst, in which he grabbed the microphone (and spotlight) from country crooner Taylor Swift — who had just been awarded MTV’s Moon man trophy for Best Female Video — to extol the virtues of a competing video from Beyonce Knowles, was just a big publicity stunt.
After all, West is appearing on Jay Leno’s new prime-time comedy hour (debuting at 9 p.m. tonight on NBC) and the network has been doing a lot of unusual promotion for Leno, including his awkward and terribly unfunny interview with Bob Costas during Sunday night’s dismal Bears/Packers NFL match up. My U-verse feed froze up for almost two minutes during that game; unfortunately it was during a particularly exciting drive and not during the Costas/Leno train wreck.
At the very least, you can bet Leno’s writers are champing at the bit to reference West’s obnoxious grandstanding in some way tonight. Will Jay let Swift interrupt West’s performance? Will you be watching? I will, and I’ll be tweeting throughout the program (and probably commenting on Facebook).
You can friend me on Facebook here and follow me on Twitter here.
Then check back here on the TV Blog Tuesday morning for my thoughts on Jay’s new show, and be sure to leave your own.
Here’s MTV’s video of West’s outburst:
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September 13, 2009
This week's TV picks
FOX gets ‘Glee’ful on Wednesday nights.
Monday:
‘Jay Leno Show’ 9 p.m., NBC: Jay’s new, nightly prime time gig gets an easy launch tonight with first guest Jerry Seinfeld and little competition from the other networks, which are either airing movies or reruns. Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rihanna perform.
Tuesday:
‘Biggest Loser’ 7 p.m., NBC: The peacock network’s fall rollout continues with a firefighter, a military wife and this show’s heaviest contestant ever among season 8’s 16 contestants.
‘Melrose Place’ 8 p.m., The CW: Prostitution! Career clawing! Secrets and intrigue! No, not a repeat!
Wednesday:
‘The Beautiful Life: TBL’ 8 p.m., The CW: From the mind of Ashton Kutcher (hee! I love saying that) comes a saga of backstabbing in the world of modeling. The CW may be trying to brand this show “TBL,” but I’m just calling it “Melrose Face.”
‘Glee’ 8 p.m., FOX: Are y’all still watching this show? I’m already on the fence and Josh Groban’s appearance tonight might not help. The kids go behind Will’s back for a choreography coach while he’s busy with a new all-male a cappella group.
Thursday:
Comedy premieres 7-9 p.m., NBC: The funniest night in network comedy arrives with the season debuts of ‘Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday’ (whew!) at 7 p.m.; ‘Parks and Recreation’ at 7:30 (okay, so not every NBC Thursday show is funny); ‘The Office’ at 8 p.m. and Joel McHale’s ‘Community’ at 8:30 p.m.
‘Survivor: Samoa’ 7 p.m., CBS: Are y’all still watching this show? Season 19 places the contestants in this South Pacific Island nation and, simultaneously, makes me feel really, really old.
‘Fringe’ 8 p.m., FOX: Season 2 pulls a ‘24’ by placing Olivia and the gang under Congressional scrutiny for their weird investigations (and lack of results). The mind-bending season 1 finale is kind of explained, and there’s a ‘don’t sneeze or you’ll miss it’ shout-out to ‘The X-Files’.
Friday:
‘2009 ALMA Awards’ 7 p.m., ABC: A tribute to Ricardo Montalban caps off the 14th annual American Latino Media Arts Awards honoring Hispanic achievement in movies, music, sports and television. Eva Longoria Parker and George Lopez host.
Saturday:
‘College Football: Texas Tech at Texas’ 7:07 p.m., ABC: It’s the Longhorns! And it’s not on pay-per-view! Tech won last year, but the Longhorns look to increase their all-time series-winning total to 44 tonight.
Sunday:
‘61st Primetime Emmy Awards’ 7 p.m., CBS: ’30 Rock’ and ‘Mad Men’ are the leading contenders in a ceremony that might actually be entertaining — ‘How I Met Your Mother’s’ Neil Patrick Harris, who was so good as emcee for The Tony Awards, hosts.
Pay cable series premieres, 8-9 p.m., HBOe: ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ finds Larry unhappily (surprise) living with Loretta in this episode featuring a great guest-star turn by Catherine O’Hara. ‘Bored to Death’ (8:30 p.m.) stars laconic Jason Schwartzman as a frustrated writer who moonlights, via Craigslist, as an ‘unlicensed private detective.’ Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis co-star.
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September 11, 2009
'Vampire Diaries' sinks its teeth into viewers
The CW is justifiably proud of the ratings garnered by its premiere of “The Vampire Diaries” Thursday night. The show took off like a bat out of, well, you know. Setting a record for the most-watched CW premiere ever, the teen-based supernatural drama scored 4.84 million viewers, beating ABC and FOX.
The CW seems to have jumped on the vampire bandwagon at just the right time: anticipation is high for the second “Twilight” movie and ratings for HBO’s “True Blood” have exploded.
It will be interesting to see if the angsty love story can hold onto those viewers — the first episode played like “Twilight” lite (I’ve seen it referred to as “Dawson’s Creek” with fangs).
Did you watch “Vampire Diaries?” Will you tune in for further entries?
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September 10, 2009
In Transylvania, cupcakes eat YOU*
The CW sent over some … interesting swag this morning to promote “The Vampire Diaries,” premiering at 7 p.m. tonight. You can check out my thoughts on the show in my fall TV preview. My friend (and Statesman food critic) Mike Sutter predicts that “The Vampire Diaries” will be better than “The Diary of Anne Frankenstein.”
*Apologies to Yakov Smirnoff.
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September 8, 2009
Here's when your favorite shows return
Sure, the shiny, new shows get all the hype. But what about the old reliables? Our TV buddies who’ve been around for years or our conquering heroes, who beat the odds and made it back for a second or third season? Here’s an alphabetical list of series returning to network, basic cable and pay cable networks:
NETWORKS; BASIC CABLE
‘30 Rock’ (NBC)
Returns: Thursday, Oct. 15
‘90210’ (The CW)
Returns: Tuesday, Sept. 8
‘American Dad’ (FOX)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 27
‘America’s Next Top Model’ (The CW)
Returns: Wednesday, Sept. 9
‘Bones’ (FOX)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 17
‘Brothers & Sisters’ (ABC)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 27
‘Castle’ (ABC)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 21
‘Cold Case’ (CBS)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 27
‘Criminal Minds’ (CBS)
Returns: Wednesday, Sept. 23
‘CSI’ (CBS)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 24
‘CSI: Miami’ (CBS)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 21
‘CSI: NY’ (CBS)
Returns: Wednesday, Sept. 23
‘Dancing With the Stars’ (ABC)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 21
‘Desperate Housewives’ (ABC)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 27
‘Dollhouse’ (FOX)
Returns: Friday, Sept. 25
‘Family Guy’ (FOX)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 27
‘Friday Night Lights’ (DirecTV)
Returns: Wednesday, Oct. 28
‘Fringe’ (FOX)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 17
‘Gary Unmarried’ (CBS)
Returns: Wednesday, Sept. 23
‘Ghost Whisperer’ (CBS)
Returns: Friday, Sept. 25
‘Glee’ (FOX)
Returns: Wednesday, Sept. 9
‘Gossip Girl’ (The CW)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 14
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (ABC)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 24
‘Heroes’ (NBC)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 21
‘House’ (FOX)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 21
‘How I Met Your Mother’ (CBS)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 21
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ (FX)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 17
‘Law & Order’ (NBC)
Returns: Friday, Sept. 25
‘Law & Order: SVU’ (NBC)
Returns: Wednesday, Sept. 23
‘Lie to Me’ (FOX)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 28
‘Lincoln Heights’ (ABC Family)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 14
‘Medium’ (CBS — new network)
Returns: Friday, Sept. 25
‘NCIS’ (CBS)
Returns: Tuesday, Sept. 22
‘New Adventures of Old Christine’ (CBS)
Returns: Wednesday, Sept. 23
‘Nip/Tuck’ (FX)
Returns: Wednesday, Oct. 14
‘Numb3rs’ (CBS)
Returns: Friday, Sept. 25
‘One Tree Hill’ (The CW)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 14
‘Parks and Recreation’ (NBC)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 17
‘Private Practice’ (ABC)
Returns: Thursday, Oct. 1
‘Smallville’ (The CW)
Returns: Friday, Sept. 25
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ (FOX)
Returns: Wednesday, Sept. 9
‘Sons of Anarchy’ (FX)
Returns: Tuesday, Sept. 8
‘Southland’ (NBC)
Returns: Friday, Oct. 23
‘Supernatural’ (The CW)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 10
‘Survivor: Samoa’ (CBS)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 17
‘The Big Bang Theory’ (CBS)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 21
‘The Biggest Loser’ (NBC)
Returns: Tuesday, Sept. 15
‘The Mentalist’ (CBS)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 24
‘The Office’ (NBC)
Returns: Thursday, Sept. 17
‘The Simpsons’ (FOX)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 27
‘Til Death’ (FOX)
Returns: Friday, Oct. 2
‘Two and a Half Men’ (CBS)
Returns: Monday, Sept. 21
‘Ugly Betty’ (ABC)
Returns: Friday, Oct. 9
PAY CABLE
‘Californication’ (Showtime)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 27
‘Crash’ (Starz)
Returns: Friday, Sept. 18
‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ (HBO)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 20
‘Dexter’ (Showtime)
Returns: Sunday, Sept. 27
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September 3, 2009
Austin's Mehcad Brooks joins ABC legal drama
Mehcad Brooks, the former Austinite who appeared as a regular cast member on the just-ending second season of the HBO vampire drama “True Blood,” has signed onto “The Deep End,” an ABC mid-season legal drama.
Brooks, a graduate of Anderson High School, previously appeared on television in “Boston Public,” “Desperate Housewives,” “The Game” and “Dollhouse,” and has been seen in movies including “In the Valley of Elah” and “Glory Road.”
On “The Deep End,” Brooks will play Malcolm Bennet, an associate at the program’s fictional L.A. law firm.
Does this mean the actor’s “True Blood” character, Benedict “Eggs” Talley,” is on his way out? I hope so. The “zombie” arc that has dominated the second half of the season has been fun (and increasing viewership has certainly raised Brooks’ profile) but it’s wearing out its welcome. It will be nice to see the actor in a role where he can stretch out a little.
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September 2, 2009
SNL welcomes two new female cast members
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Bill Hader has confirmed the rumors that the venerable sketch comedy show, entering its 35th season in a couple of weeks, has hired two relatively unknown, female cast members.
Jenny Slate has performed all over New York, from a one-woman show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre to improv shows in the East Village and Williamsburg, according to MTV.com, while Iranian-born Nasim Pedrad staged a one-woman show in Las Vegas and has performed with the Groundlings.
Megan Fox hosts and legendary band U2 provides the music when ‘SNL’ returns on Sept. 26.
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August 26, 2009
Snakes on a cane? 'House' drew that.
Leave it to a doctor to go viral. A curmudgeonly doctor named “House.”
A few weeks ago, I received a t-shirt in the mail with the symbol you see here, now commonly being referred to as “snakes on a cane.” No press release, no explanation … just the shirt. It didn’t take me long to put 2 and 2 together: I immediately thought of Hugh Laurie’s character on the popular FOX show.
But then I kind of dismissed the notion. Why would such a successful franchise, going into its 6th season, need a viral marketing campaign?
“We were really able to hit a wide range of people,” news service Reuters quotes Fox’s executive vice president of marketing and communications, Joe Earley, as saying. ” ‘House’ doesn’t need a teaser campaign, but given how brilliant it is, it’s intrigued people in a new way.”
The venture, which began with the introduction of the cleverly cryptic symbol (originally sketched by Laurie himself!) has included short, strange ads on FOX, chalk-drawn sidewalk renderings of the icon, print ads and, of course, t-shirts. Reuters says the campaign will culminate when a vintage ambulance marked with the symbol broadcasts show information on the streets of Los Angeles.
It’s smart, no doubt, but it seems like a lot of time, effort and money for a solid performer that’s not going anywhere.
Catch the 2-hour season premiere of “House,” which finds our doctor in the wrong side of a psychiatric hospital, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. on FOX. The new season’s Web site is snakesonacane.com.
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August 14, 2009
'Mad Men' premiere party update
I’ll be hosting a premiere party for “Mad Men’s” new season at 7 p.m. Sunday, August 16. The party will be at the ‘Mad Men’-ish Belmont, 305 W 6th St. We’ll have trivia questions and raffle prizes, and the Belmont is creating a signature drink for the event. They’re also featuring happy hour pricing all night! So dress up in your best ’60s inspired outfits and join us as we kick off season 3.
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August 5, 2009
NBC talks 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Chuck'
Gail Pennington reports on the St. Louis Dispatch’s Tube Talk blog that “Friday Night lights” just isn’t that important to NBC.
“It just doesn’t have the ratings that we need it to have to justify it being on our fall schedule,” Pennington quotes NBC Entertainment president Angela Bromstad saying. “Our plan is to use it as a premier summer program.”
We didn’t expect the Austin area-filmed “FNL” would be back ‘til next summer; now we know why.
There was some hope among the creators of the network’s “Chuck,” the blog post reads, that it would be moved up to a fall slot in the wake of new property “Parenthood’s” postponement. Bromstad says no.
Read the whole story — including Bromstad’s take on Austinite Ben Mackenzie’s “Southland,” here.
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July 31, 2009
Fall TV preview: 'The Good Wife'
The screeners for the fall television season — such as it is — have started rolling in. I add the qualifier because a new TV season is not as hard and fast a thing as it once was. Lots of shows start in the summer now — mostly low-rent reality fare and and awful imports (like NBC’s late and unlamented “The Listener”); and many promising shows are held back as potential mid-season replacements for those grand or not-so-grand fall experiments that fail.
Finally, some shows, such as ABC’s “Lost,” don’t even begin a new season until January.
Still, the concept of the fall season retains some cache and TV fans wait, hungrily, for any scraps of what the networks are dishing out. (Hmm … must be close to lunchtime!)
So, while our full-blown fall preview won’t hit for another month or so, I’m going to post some first impressions of what I’m watching. And right now I’m watching Julianna Margulies.
She stars in the CBS legal drama, “The Good Wife,” and she carries the pilot in every way. I’m not really a big fan of legal dramas, so this show was a hard sell. Maybe it’s partly because it takes place in my old stomping grounds, but this tale of a wife of a corrupt Chicago politician (does there seem to be any other kind?) worked for me.
Certainly much of the credit goes to Margulies. As the titular good wife, she must return to the workforce in order to provide for her children. Margulies must not only reacquaint herself with the courtroom after a 15-year absence but, because she’s an attorney, also deal with the major players in her politico husband’s (Chris Noth, “Sex in the City”) very public hooker-and-finances scandal on a daily basis.
She’s played an attorney before (2008’s “Canterbury’s Law” didn’t stick around long) but Margulies is best known for her portrayal of nurse Carol Hathaway over 15 years of E.R.
Based solely on the pilot, I’m hoping this show makes it. Margulies’ wounded and vulnerable, but smart character is much more fun to watch than that other wife-of-a-disgraced-Illinois-politician on television, Patti Blagojevich of “I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here.”
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