Broad spectrum of content to chose from tonight.
ABC's banking on some buzz -- the finals of the 2007 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE (8 p.m.). It should be edited down to two hours, so it won't be totally intolerable.
Premiering tonight is CBS' PIRATE MASTER (8 p.m.). My sad connection to Survivor has me needing to watch this even though it's just another reality competition show.
Also new: 5th Grader and So You Think You Can Dance on Fox; TNA Impact and Ultimate Fighter on Fox.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Ugh.
As promised in today's Press, though a little late, here's some tandem reviewing of three new summer shows. None of them should keep you from sipping a cold iced tea on the porch outdoors for even a moment...
The Next Best Thing (ABC/8 p.m. Wednesdays): This show is merely impersonating other TV shows. It looks and feels a lot like Last Comic Standing (which pretty much ripped off American Idol). It could be good, but not in the hourlong setting it has. Its other promise is that there are some interestingly good, talented people auditioning. But it's nothing special at all.
Ex-Wives Club (ABC/9 p.m. Mondays): Speaking of impersonations... this show is impersonating primetime television. This is the kind of crap they usually stick on at 10 a.m. on a weekday. This may be the worst show I've ever sat through. What I really find objectionable is the (air quotes)empowerment(end air quotes) that this sort of show purports to provide. Even more objectionable is the processed "real-life" drama that they're pretending to show. The basic format is: chat with the "you go girl" hosts (famous divorcees Angie Everhart, Shar Jackson and Marla Maples), go to "rehab," get a makeover (and a present like a computer), have hosts pigeonhole the ex and show them in a bad light with the magic of editing, and then do something empowering (on premiere, woman tossed husband's car from plane -- with a fake explosion on impact). This is pure crap and anyone who believes any of this show is real... oh, nevermind. If you watch THIS, you really should just get off the couch.
Hidden Palms (CW/8 p.m. Wednesday): This is soupy, awful teen drama crap that is beneath even the Dawsons Creek/O.C./One Tree Hill crowd. They're trying to create drama among a bunch of rich kids with problems by using a "mysterious" storyline (straight out of rehab teen -- who saw his father blow his own brains out -- moves to Palm Springs with mom and stepdad; he meets two people. The problem is they don't have any good writers or actors or any production value whatsoever. It may have some pretty people working on the show, but it's pretty much worthless.
If these are any indication of whats to come this summer, this may be the most boring Web page on the planet for the next three months. Tomorrow: Traveler, Pirate Master and Starter Wife.
The Next Best Thing (ABC/8 p.m. Wednesdays): This show is merely impersonating other TV shows. It looks and feels a lot like Last Comic Standing (which pretty much ripped off American Idol). It could be good, but not in the hourlong setting it has. Its other promise is that there are some interestingly good, talented people auditioning. But it's nothing special at all.
Ex-Wives Club (ABC/9 p.m. Mondays): Speaking of impersonations... this show is impersonating primetime television. This is the kind of crap they usually stick on at 10 a.m. on a weekday. This may be the worst show I've ever sat through. What I really find objectionable is the (air quotes)empowerment(end air quotes) that this sort of show purports to provide. Even more objectionable is the processed "real-life" drama that they're pretending to show. The basic format is: chat with the "you go girl" hosts (famous divorcees Angie Everhart, Shar Jackson and Marla Maples), go to "rehab," get a makeover (and a present like a computer), have hosts pigeonhole the ex and show them in a bad light with the magic of editing, and then do something empowering (on premiere, woman tossed husband's car from plane -- with a fake explosion on impact). This is pure crap and anyone who believes any of this show is real... oh, nevermind. If you watch THIS, you really should just get off the couch.
Hidden Palms (CW/8 p.m. Wednesday): This is soupy, awful teen drama crap that is beneath even the Dawsons Creek/O.C./One Tree Hill crowd. They're trying to create drama among a bunch of rich kids with problems by using a "mysterious" storyline (straight out of rehab teen -- who saw his father blow his own brains out -- moves to Palm Springs with mom and stepdad; he meets two people. The problem is they don't have any good writers or actors or any production value whatsoever. It may have some pretty people working on the show, but it's pretty much worthless.
If these are any indication of whats to come this summer, this may be the most boring Web page on the planet for the next three months. Tomorrow: Traveler, Pirate Master and Starter Wife.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
What's on: Wednesday
Tons of new summer content tonight... ABC starts with NEXT BEST THING (8 p.m.) where celebrity impersonators compete. TRAVELER follows that with a rerun of the pilot at 9 p.m. and a new episode at 10 p.m.
There's a new episode of ONE TREE HILL (CW/9 p.m.) after a long hiatus and heading into a longer one. It gets a lead-in from the series premiere of another soapy teen drama: HIDDEN PALMS (8 p.m.).
SHEAR GENIUS (BRAVO/10 p.m.) wraps up for the season.
Also new: So You Think You Can Dance on Fox; Hazard Pay and Mythbusters on Discovery.
There's a new episode of ONE TREE HILL (CW/9 p.m.) after a long hiatus and heading into a longer one. It gets a lead-in from the series premiere of another soapy teen drama: HIDDEN PALMS (8 p.m.).
SHEAR GENIUS (BRAVO/10 p.m.) wraps up for the season.
Also new: So You Think You Can Dance on Fox; Hazard Pay and Mythbusters on Discovery.
Whose House?
For what it's worth, I'd planned on coming in here and trouncing on House, expecting Dr. Foreman to have decided to stay and the status quo to return. Yay, happy time in Princeton-Plainsboro again. Seemingly, though, things will be nothing but different. Foreman's not coming back. House fired Chase. And Cameron sassily passes her resignation along.
I'm gonna say this is a good thing. House's character doesn't have to change. In fact, people wouldn't watch if it did.
His team, however, could change. And the need is there. The three of them have done everything they can do as far as the story goes. I mean, how long can the drag the Chase/Cameron story on? And the Foreman's-leaving plot dragged on forever.
But now they're gone, and that leaves expectations. Granted this could all change next season when they show returns and the team's back together by Christmas. Either way, the thought of House interviewing prospective candidates (again, but more extensively) and breaking in brand new team members (different types, hopefully) seems refreshing.
The show is, at it's core, just as much a procedural as CSI or Law & Order, and House can only interestingly solve cases for so long. What it has going for it isn't just the character, but the fact that that character's story is interesting. You don't get that sort of outside-the-procedure storyline on many shows -- CSI:NY tried it (that's how they they snagged Gary Sinise) and gave up when ratings slowed. But House succeeded with it from the beginning thanks to the stellar work of Hugh Laurie.
As I said, I was afraid for the show's future. Now I'm not. Even if they get the band back together later in the season... well, I'll be a little annoyed... maybe less so if the story that carries us there is strong.
I'm gonna say this is a good thing. House's character doesn't have to change. In fact, people wouldn't watch if it did.
His team, however, could change. And the need is there. The three of them have done everything they can do as far as the story goes. I mean, how long can the drag the Chase/Cameron story on? And the Foreman's-leaving plot dragged on forever.
But now they're gone, and that leaves expectations. Granted this could all change next season when they show returns and the team's back together by Christmas. Either way, the thought of House interviewing prospective candidates (again, but more extensively) and breaking in brand new team members (different types, hopefully) seems refreshing.
The show is, at it's core, just as much a procedural as CSI or Law & Order, and House can only interestingly solve cases for so long. What it has going for it isn't just the character, but the fact that that character's story is interesting. You don't get that sort of outside-the-procedure storyline on many shows -- CSI:NY tried it (that's how they they snagged Gary Sinise) and gave up when ratings slowed. But House succeeded with it from the beginning thanks to the stellar work of Hugh Laurie.
As I said, I was afraid for the show's future. Now I'm not. Even if they get the band back together later in the season... well, I'll be a little annoyed... maybe less so if the story that carries us there is strong.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Best of the year
Best character: This is a tough one. I thought hard about giving it to Ben on Lost and Dr. House, but the big winner this year is Mr. Jack Donaghy. 30 Rock was a bad show at the beginning, which I contend was because Tina Fey was pandering to the network just to get the show picked up before she got really wacky with the show. But even through that, Alec Baldwin has been a comic genius. There's been no better character on television -- from his awful bird-boned fiancee, to his evil ex-wife, to his interestingly deep (for a comedy) relationship with Liz Lemon. He's had more funny lines than anyone on TV and has carried his show more effortlessly than anyone. That there was a chance he'd leave because someone decided to take shots at his career is abhorrent.
Best new show: This one I wanted to give to Jericho. I wanted SO BAD to give this to Jericho. It had impressed me so much. But I can't do so in good conscience simply because of the lame cliffhanger ending and, well, its cancellation. So I defer to Heroes -- exciting and original for a television show, it's kept my interest, and the interest of many, throughout the whole season. It's comic book roots give it a much different feel than any other show on television and puts it on track to stick around for a long time.
Best canceled show: This, obviously, should also go to Jericho. But the idea that Veronica Mars is gone is much more troubling. It was the smartest show on CW and had some of the best writing and storytelling of any show on television. Extremely high quality for the CW... I suppose it was just too high quality.
Best drama/best show: It's too obvious what I'm going to pick, right? It's the popular choice, I think, even though ratings are down. It's the easiest decision out of all of these. Lost consistently tells the best story on television and uses the serial format better than any other show. The decision to end the show at a certain time now gives it a focus that no other show on television has, and allows the team to put together the perfect story arc. The ensemble cast is also stunningly strong and full of a ton of interesting characters.
Best new show: This one I wanted to give to Jericho. I wanted SO BAD to give this to Jericho. It had impressed me so much. But I can't do so in good conscience simply because of the lame cliffhanger ending and, well, its cancellation. So I defer to Heroes -- exciting and original for a television show, it's kept my interest, and the interest of many, throughout the whole season. It's comic book roots give it a much different feel than any other show on television and puts it on track to stick around for a long time.
Best canceled show: This, obviously, should also go to Jericho. But the idea that Veronica Mars is gone is much more troubling. It was the smartest show on CW and had some of the best writing and storytelling of any show on television. Extremely high quality for the CW... I suppose it was just too high quality.
Best drama/best show: It's too obvious what I'm going to pick, right? It's the popular choice, I think, even though ratings are down. It's the easiest decision out of all of these. Lost consistently tells the best story on television and uses the serial format better than any other show. The decision to end the show at a certain time now gives it a focus that no other show on television has, and allows the team to put together the perfect story arc. The ensemble cast is also stunningly strong and full of a ton of interesting characters.
What I missed
All that info in the pre-summer preview and I forgot stuff. A couple big ones, too:
BRAVO
Top Chef 3: Miami (returns 10 p.m. June 6): The show returns with an hourlong special Top Chef: 4-Star All-Stars on 10 p.m. June 6, which will "reunite four of the finalists from season's one and two - team one's inaugural winner Harold Dieterle, Stephen Asprinio, Tiffani Faison, and Dave Martin compete against season two's winner Ilan Hall, Fan Favorite Sam Talbot, Elia Aboumrad, and molecular gastronomist Marcel Vigneron in a $20,000 cook-off for charity," according to the network. They'll serve the contestants for the new season, which officially returns June 13.
TNT
The Closer (returns 9 p.m. June 18): Top-paid actress Kyra Sedgwick returns in the biggest commercial-supported cable show ever, according to the network. The premiere is commercial free.
BRAVO
Top Chef 3: Miami (returns 10 p.m. June 6): The show returns with an hourlong special Top Chef: 4-Star All-Stars on 10 p.m. June 6, which will "reunite four of the finalists from season's one and two - team one's inaugural winner Harold Dieterle, Stephen Asprinio, Tiffani Faison, and Dave Martin compete against season two's winner Ilan Hall, Fan Favorite Sam Talbot, Elia Aboumrad, and molecular gastronomist Marcel Vigneron in a $20,000 cook-off for charity," according to the network. They'll serve the contestants for the new season, which officially returns June 13.
TNT
The Closer (returns 9 p.m. June 18): Top-paid actress Kyra Sedgwick returns in the biggest commercial-supported cable show ever, according to the network. The premiere is commercial free.
What's on: Tuesday
Two great shows have late finales tonight: BOSTON LEGAL (ABC/10 p.m.) and HOUSE (FOX/9 p.m.). Somehow they got left behind in the rush to put the big-ticket, low concept shows out of the way.
House follows the ousting of three directors from ON THE LOT (FOX/8 p.m.).
Discovery Channel debuts AFTER THE CATCH (10 p.m.), billed as a "four-part special (that) invites the many fans of Deadliest Catch into a fishermen’s bar in Seattle, Wash., where they can watch and listen to their favorite captains and deckhands tell the tales from their lives on the Bering Sea."
Also new: Deadliest Catch on Discovery; The Shield on FX; ECW on Sci-Fi.
House follows the ousting of three directors from ON THE LOT (FOX/8 p.m.).
Discovery Channel debuts AFTER THE CATCH (10 p.m.), billed as a "four-part special (that) invites the many fans of Deadliest Catch into a fishermen’s bar in Seattle, Wash., where they can watch and listen to their favorite captains and deckhands tell the tales from their lives on the Bering Sea."
Also new: Deadliest Catch on Discovery; The Shield on FX; ECW on Sci-Fi.
Monday, May 28, 2007
What's on: Monday
ABC has a night of brand new content, including one new show. Wife Swap kicks off at 8 p.m. followed by the new series THE EX-WIVES CLUB (9 p.m.), in which celebrity divorcees help non-celebrity divorcees to move on. That's followed by Supernanny at 10.
After burning off an episode of The Real Wedding Crashers, NBC banks on the MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT (9 p.m.) to carry its first summer weeknight.
FOX hopes you want to see some flicks -- ON THE LOT (8 p.m.) presents the 18 finalists's one-day films.
Also new: Monday Night Raw on USA, Stunt Junkies on Discovery; The Riches on FX.
After burning off an episode of The Real Wedding Crashers, NBC banks on the MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT (9 p.m.) to carry its first summer weeknight.
FOX hopes you want to see some flicks -- ON THE LOT (8 p.m.) presents the 18 finalists's one-day films.
Also new: Monday Night Raw on USA, Stunt Junkies on Discovery; The Riches on FX.
Worst of the year
Ooh! I get to trash stuff arbitrarily in this blog. I'm excited! Pardon my lateness with this post, it's a long weekend. This one will be short as compared to tomorrow's best-of post.
Let's start with -- Show that's been around too long: I hate to say it, but to me there's no way that ER is still a viable television show. IT was so amazingly huge when it first started and had a classic lineup that's now all but gone since Carter left last year. It wasn't entertaining 5 or 6 or 10 years ago when I stopped watching it, so that it's around 13 years later is a testament to NBC's commitment to it (while dumping at least two new shows that were 5 times the show ER is.
Worst comedy: In Case of Emergency wins this one, but I'd like to offer to you as the unofficial co-winners George Lopez and According to Jim. ABC really did little for the world of comedy TV this year (though the addition of Notes from the Underbelly offered a glimmer of hope). They won't have much this coming year either. As for I.C.E., it was incoherent and pretty unfunny overall. Its buddies were archetypal sitcoms that just encouraged other shows to be the same with their success.
Worst character/worst show: A double winner!!! Yes, it's my TV nemesis, Shark. The despise I hold for this show is unending. James Woods, I like you. I always have. But this is the lamest most useless show on television. First, you steal the House gimmick about the crotchety expert bucking the system to prove he's right (and you cloud it with the fact that he may believe in what he's doing). Then they make him this big investigator. He's a prosecutor and it's a courtroom drama. Leave it there. The hawkish personality doesn't make him any more endearing to viewers. Then there's the fact that, at its core, it's just another procedural show. Which is just useless in the grand scheme of things.
That's it for now. Comments, criticisms and other shows for consideration are encouraged. Best of will be posted some time tomorrow (Tuesday).
Let's start with -- Show that's been around too long: I hate to say it, but to me there's no way that ER is still a viable television show. IT was so amazingly huge when it first started and had a classic lineup that's now all but gone since Carter left last year. It wasn't entertaining 5 or 6 or 10 years ago when I stopped watching it, so that it's around 13 years later is a testament to NBC's commitment to it (while dumping at least two new shows that were 5 times the show ER is.
Worst comedy: In Case of Emergency wins this one, but I'd like to offer to you as the unofficial co-winners George Lopez and According to Jim. ABC really did little for the world of comedy TV this year (though the addition of Notes from the Underbelly offered a glimmer of hope). They won't have much this coming year either. As for I.C.E., it was incoherent and pretty unfunny overall. Its buddies were archetypal sitcoms that just encouraged other shows to be the same with their success.
Worst character/worst show: A double winner!!! Yes, it's my TV nemesis, Shark. The despise I hold for this show is unending. James Woods, I like you. I always have. But this is the lamest most useless show on television. First, you steal the House gimmick about the crotchety expert bucking the system to prove he's right (and you cloud it with the fact that he may believe in what he's doing). Then they make him this big investigator. He's a prosecutor and it's a courtroom drama. Leave it there. The hawkish personality doesn't make him any more endearing to viewers. Then there's the fact that, at its core, it's just another procedural show. Which is just useless in the grand scheme of things.
That's it for now. Comments, criticisms and other shows for consideration are encouraged. Best of will be posted some time tomorrow (Tuesday).
Sunday, May 27, 2007
What's on: Sunday
Hm.
Didn't really think about how tough this might be during the summer. Just gonna have to try a bit harder to find some stuff for you for the next few months.
Most important is HBO's frontier film BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE (9 p.m.).
There's the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT (8 p.m./PBS) featuring Natalie Cole, Josh Turner, Cece Winans and the National Symphony Orchestra.
Need a theatrical release? Probably the best movie on TV tonight is KILL BILL VOL. 1 (9 p.m.). But I hope you're bilingual -- cuz it's on Telemundo.
Did you know they made a FOURTH Beethoven film?! I didn't even know they made a third! Well, BEETHOVEN'S 4th (8 p.m.) can be found on Disney this evening.
It's gonna be a long summer.
Didn't really think about how tough this might be during the summer. Just gonna have to try a bit harder to find some stuff for you for the next few months.
Most important is HBO's frontier film BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE (9 p.m.).
There's the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT (8 p.m./PBS) featuring Natalie Cole, Josh Turner, Cece Winans and the National Symphony Orchestra.
Need a theatrical release? Probably the best movie on TV tonight is KILL BILL VOL. 1 (9 p.m.). But I hope you're bilingual -- cuz it's on Telemundo.
Did you know they made a FOURTH Beethoven film?! I didn't even know they made a third! Well, BEETHOVEN'S 4th (8 p.m.) can be found on Disney this evening.
It's gonna be a long summer.
Friday, May 25, 2007
TiVo's dark side
I've read a few different people discuss this before. Just so you don't think I'm stealing it, this is about as personal as you can get for a TV geek like me.
As I sit here writing to you, munching on some Cheerios, I'm watching The Daily Show. Nothing odd -- if you read more than one of my posts you know what kind of sense of humor I have. The unspoken subtext, though, is that it's the May 14 edition of the show. That's nearly two weeks old! And until last night I was stuck at about May 12 in my Daily Show/Colbert Report folders.
TiVo guilt is a painful thing. I love these two shows so much, but they're on four days a week. How do you keep up with that when there's so many other things to watch and a finite amount of time to do so. I've lucked out in that it's the end of the season and now I have time to play catch up.
Not only with Daily Show and Colbert, but with the four episodes of Painkiller Jane, the last Wedding Bells before cancellation, a couple episodes of Ugly Betty, and about half of Raines' run. There was no way I wanted to delete any of these shows, but they were on the bottom of the TV-watching importance scale. So they sat there waiting (some for months) and they've survived.
Not so for some others. I've had to purge Daily Show/Colbert episodes at least twice during the season. And I never got to see most of Discovery's Planet Earth because 12 episodes of beautifully-shot nonfiction doesn't live up to all the other crap I watch apparently. As I punished the delete button, I nearly shed a tear. Then I remembered DVDs.
How do you maintain a balance like that when you're recording, say, four hours of TV on a TiVo on a given night and only have time to watch two hours every day (you do the math, my TiVo's only 80 hours)? Give up on shows that sit around too long? Maybe. Stop recording shows that I only put on in the background while I'm writing or eating? Even better.
Keep recording and feel like crap every once in a while when you have to toss three weeks worth of Jon Stewart because there's no room for that new Pirate Master show? That's probably the most likely, but I'd need something a little more intriguing than Survivor on a pirate ship (or at least I'd like to say I would).
Maybe I shouldn't watch as much TV as I do to put me in such a position. That'd make the content on this blog more boring than it already is, and that's just not an option. That's make me feel even more guilty for abandoning my one or two readers. Eventually, they'll make Tivos that save everything on every channel for months (or the networks will just switch to OnDemand formats, which may just be the best move... especially if you're looking to combat TiVo ad-skipping). Until then I'll just start moving TiVo'd stuff over to my hard drive for safe keeping. I'll watch that episode of Wedding Bells in 2013.
As I sit here writing to you, munching on some Cheerios, I'm watching The Daily Show. Nothing odd -- if you read more than one of my posts you know what kind of sense of humor I have. The unspoken subtext, though, is that it's the May 14 edition of the show. That's nearly two weeks old! And until last night I was stuck at about May 12 in my Daily Show/Colbert Report folders.
TiVo guilt is a painful thing. I love these two shows so much, but they're on four days a week. How do you keep up with that when there's so many other things to watch and a finite amount of time to do so. I've lucked out in that it's the end of the season and now I have time to play catch up.
Not only with Daily Show and Colbert, but with the four episodes of Painkiller Jane, the last Wedding Bells before cancellation, a couple episodes of Ugly Betty, and about half of Raines' run. There was no way I wanted to delete any of these shows, but they were on the bottom of the TV-watching importance scale. So they sat there waiting (some for months) and they've survived.
Not so for some others. I've had to purge Daily Show/Colbert episodes at least twice during the season. And I never got to see most of Discovery's Planet Earth because 12 episodes of beautifully-shot nonfiction doesn't live up to all the other crap I watch apparently. As I punished the delete button, I nearly shed a tear. Then I remembered DVDs.
How do you maintain a balance like that when you're recording, say, four hours of TV on a TiVo on a given night and only have time to watch two hours every day (you do the math, my TiVo's only 80 hours)? Give up on shows that sit around too long? Maybe. Stop recording shows that I only put on in the background while I'm writing or eating? Even better.
Keep recording and feel like crap every once in a while when you have to toss three weeks worth of Jon Stewart because there's no room for that new Pirate Master show? That's probably the most likely, but I'd need something a little more intriguing than Survivor on a pirate ship (or at least I'd like to say I would).
Maybe I shouldn't watch as much TV as I do to put me in such a position. That'd make the content on this blog more boring than it already is, and that's just not an option. That's make me feel even more guilty for abandoning my one or two readers. Eventually, they'll make Tivos that save everything on every channel for months (or the networks will just switch to OnDemand formats, which may just be the best move... especially if you're looking to combat TiVo ad-skipping). Until then I'll just start moving TiVo'd stuff over to my hard drive for safe keeping. I'll watch that episode of Wedding Bells in 2013.
What to watch: Friday
There's so very little on tonight that it's not really even worth wasting an entire blog on it. It's not, but what I can do is add a ton of padding like this before putting the information down.
New tonight: National Bingo Night and 20/20 on ABC; Smackdown on CW; The Soup on E!; UFC Fight Night on Spike.
New tonight: National Bingo Night and 20/20 on ABC; Smackdown on CW; The Soup on E!; UFC Fight Night on Spike.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Coming up...
Tons of new shows and returns coming up this summer on the tube. There's no way to do this and have it flow, so let's just go one by one...
CBS
Pirate Master (premieres 8 p.m. May 31): It's Survivor with pirates. That's basically it. Seriously.
Creature Comforts (premieres 8 p.m. June 4): Another in a long line of successful British shows repackaged for those of us who don't necessarily speak the Queen's English. It'd directed by Nick Park (the Wallace and Grommit guy) and "culls excerpts from real person interviews and places them in the mouths of a wide variety of animated animals," according to the network's description.
CW
Hidden Palms (premieres 8 p.m., May 30): Fresh-out-of-rehab teen gets moved to Palm Springs with his mom and new stepdad. Soapy CW show geared toward teens (mostly girls).
ABC
The Ex-Wives Club (premieres 9 p.m. May 28): I'm not going to comment. I'm just going to give you their hook: "How do you mend a broken heart? By getting angry, getting even and getting over it! Real people who have undergone traumatic divorces learn how to move on with their lives ... The show is hosted by three women who know all about breaking up -- famed "exes" Angie Everhart, Shar Jackson and Marla Maples."
The Next Best Thing: Who is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator (two-hour premiere 8 p.m. May 30): Judges Jeffrey Ross, Lisa Ann Walter and Elon Gold bolster the show with the longest title of the summer.
Traveler (After the one-shot "preview" the show "premieres" 10 p.m. May 30): Two college grads tricked into being framed for a terrorist bombing at a New York art gallery (who were they terrorizing, you ask? It doesn't matter). The two are then forced into fugitiv... ity...
American Inventor (9 p.m, June 6): The return of the American Idol for lab geeks from Simon Cowell and co-creator Peter Jones.
Fast Cars & Superstar (premieres 8 p.m. June 7): Jewel, Tony Hawk, Serena Williams and William Shatner are among the 12 celebs driving in the seven-episode series (think Dancing with the Stars meets Nascar).
Shaq's Big Challenge (premiere 9 p.m. June 26): the Miami Heat star takes on childhood obesity.
NBC
America's Got Talent (returns 9 p.m. June 5, then moves to Tuesdays at 8 p.m.): The newest Gong Show is hosted by Jerry Springer this year and adds Sharon Osbourne to the panel of judges).
Last Comic Standing (returns 9 p.m. June 13): New host is Bill Bellamy and former contestants Alonzo Bodden, Ant and Kathleen Madigan take over as scouts. The series expands internationally this year.
Age of Love (premieres 9 p.m. June 18): Eight episodes of reality dating. That's pretty much all the network said until recently... when they announced it has something to do with choosing between suitors (or suitorettes) from a spectrum of ages.
FOX
So You Think You Can Dance (8 p.m. Thursdays): We know who the best singer is and the best celebrity dancer and NBC has dibs on best comic... how about best amateur dancer?
Hell's Kitchen (returns 9 p.m. June 4): House as chef leads reality show. For third season.
The Loop (8:30 p.m. June 5): Back for second season. Surprised to see a scripted show? Me, too.
SCI-FI
Destination Truth (premieres 10 p.m. June 6): Six one-hour episodes of the weekly adventure series are due. Josh Gates leads viewers on mystery-solving adventures into the likes of the "Chilean Chupacabra, as well as some lesser-known phenomena like the dinosaur-like creatures reported in the skies over Papua, New Guinea, a haunted village in Thailand, and the Wolfman of Argentina."
Sci-Fi's Ani-Monday (11 p.m. to 1 a.m starting June 11): "A collection of movies, series and shorts," including the premiere of Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society and a ton of other Japanese animation.
The Derren Brown Project (10 p.m. July 25): The cable net introduces mentalist Derren Brown, "the British sensation described as 'part James Bond, part Yoda.' "
Flash Gordon (premieres August 10): Updating the sci-fi classic. Stars Eric Johnson.
USA
The Starter Wife (premieres 9 p.m. May 31): A miniseries based on the bestselling novel about a woman on a "quest to redefine herself after years of marriage to a Hollywood studio head." It stars Debra Messing.
The Dead Zone (returns 10 p.m. June 17): Anthony Michael Hall launches season six.
Burn Notice (premieres 10 p.m. June 28): A spy show about one who's been fired and dives into the investigation of why. Stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar and Bruce Campbell.
The 4400 (9 p.m. July 17): The abductees are back with a fourth season and 13 more episodes.
COMEDY CENTRAL
Lil' Bush (premieres 10:30 p.m. June 13): Animation plus silly voices equals White House Muppet Babies. I'm looking forward to this one quite a bit.
HBO
John from Cincinnati (premieres 10 p.m. June 10): Not only do they have some great ads making what I believe is a sci-fi/alien family drama pretty darn cool, they've given it what may be the best time slot in recent history -- directly following the series finale of The Sopranos.
Big Love (returns 9 p.m. June 11): Back for a second season about Mormon life. Moving to Mondays this season though to make room for the two new series on Sunday nights.
Flight of Conchords (premieres 10:30 p.m. June 17): Holy cow is this show funny. You can find the pilot on line (at Myspace and HBO.com). Gets a sorta-strong Entourage lead in.
FX
Rescue Me (10 p.m. June 13): Another of my favorite shows on television. The way last season ended (Johnny's dead, Tommy stuck in the house on fire with Sheila among others), there's no way this is lame.
Damages (premieres 10 p.m. Tuesday): Glenn Close did so well on The Shield, she got her own show. And, if the history of FX originals is any indication, it will also be awesome.
CBS
Pirate Master (premieres 8 p.m. May 31): It's Survivor with pirates. That's basically it. Seriously.
Creature Comforts (premieres 8 p.m. June 4): Another in a long line of successful British shows repackaged for those of us who don't necessarily speak the Queen's English. It'd directed by Nick Park (the Wallace and Grommit guy) and "culls excerpts from real person interviews and places them in the mouths of a wide variety of animated animals," according to the network's description.
CW
Hidden Palms (premieres 8 p.m., May 30): Fresh-out-of-rehab teen gets moved to Palm Springs with his mom and new stepdad. Soapy CW show geared toward teens (mostly girls).
ABC
The Ex-Wives Club (premieres 9 p.m. May 28): I'm not going to comment. I'm just going to give you their hook: "How do you mend a broken heart? By getting angry, getting even and getting over it! Real people who have undergone traumatic divorces learn how to move on with their lives ... The show is hosted by three women who know all about breaking up -- famed "exes" Angie Everhart, Shar Jackson and Marla Maples."
The Next Best Thing: Who is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator (two-hour premiere 8 p.m. May 30): Judges Jeffrey Ross, Lisa Ann Walter and Elon Gold bolster the show with the longest title of the summer.
Traveler (After the one-shot "preview" the show "premieres" 10 p.m. May 30): Two college grads tricked into being framed for a terrorist bombing at a New York art gallery (who were they terrorizing, you ask? It doesn't matter). The two are then forced into fugitiv... ity...
American Inventor (9 p.m, June 6): The return of the American Idol for lab geeks from Simon Cowell and co-creator Peter Jones.
Fast Cars & Superstar (premieres 8 p.m. June 7): Jewel, Tony Hawk, Serena Williams and William Shatner are among the 12 celebs driving in the seven-episode series (think Dancing with the Stars meets Nascar).
Shaq's Big Challenge (premiere 9 p.m. June 26): the Miami Heat star takes on childhood obesity.
NBC
America's Got Talent (returns 9 p.m. June 5, then moves to Tuesdays at 8 p.m.): The newest Gong Show is hosted by Jerry Springer this year and adds Sharon Osbourne to the panel of judges).
Last Comic Standing (returns 9 p.m. June 13): New host is Bill Bellamy and former contestants Alonzo Bodden, Ant and Kathleen Madigan take over as scouts. The series expands internationally this year.
Age of Love (premieres 9 p.m. June 18): Eight episodes of reality dating. That's pretty much all the network said until recently... when they announced it has something to do with choosing between suitors (or suitorettes) from a spectrum of ages.
FOX
So You Think You Can Dance (8 p.m. Thursdays): We know who the best singer is and the best celebrity dancer and NBC has dibs on best comic... how about best amateur dancer?
Hell's Kitchen (returns 9 p.m. June 4): House as chef leads reality show. For third season.
The Loop (8:30 p.m. June 5): Back for second season. Surprised to see a scripted show? Me, too.
SCI-FI
Destination Truth (premieres 10 p.m. June 6): Six one-hour episodes of the weekly adventure series are due. Josh Gates leads viewers on mystery-solving adventures into the likes of the "Chilean Chupacabra, as well as some lesser-known phenomena like the dinosaur-like creatures reported in the skies over Papua, New Guinea, a haunted village in Thailand, and the Wolfman of Argentina."
Sci-Fi's Ani-Monday (11 p.m. to 1 a.m starting June 11): "A collection of movies, series and shorts," including the premiere of Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society and a ton of other Japanese animation.
The Derren Brown Project (10 p.m. July 25): The cable net introduces mentalist Derren Brown, "the British sensation described as 'part James Bond, part Yoda.' "
Flash Gordon (premieres August 10): Updating the sci-fi classic. Stars Eric Johnson.
USA
The Starter Wife (premieres 9 p.m. May 31): A miniseries based on the bestselling novel about a woman on a "quest to redefine herself after years of marriage to a Hollywood studio head." It stars Debra Messing.
The Dead Zone (returns 10 p.m. June 17): Anthony Michael Hall launches season six.
Burn Notice (premieres 10 p.m. June 28): A spy show about one who's been fired and dives into the investigation of why. Stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar and Bruce Campbell.
Monk (returns at 9 p.m. July 13): Back with 13 new episodes.
Psych (returns at 10 p.m. July 13): One of my absolute favorites... back with nine new episodes.The 4400 (9 p.m. July 17): The abductees are back with a fourth season and 13 more episodes.
COMEDY CENTRAL
Lil' Bush (premieres 10:30 p.m. June 13): Animation plus silly voices equals White House Muppet Babies. I'm looking forward to this one quite a bit.
HBO
John from Cincinnati (premieres 10 p.m. June 10): Not only do they have some great ads making what I believe is a sci-fi/alien family drama pretty darn cool, they've given it what may be the best time slot in recent history -- directly following the series finale of The Sopranos.
Big Love (returns 9 p.m. June 11): Back for a second season about Mormon life. Moving to Mondays this season though to make room for the two new series on Sunday nights.
Flight of Conchords (premieres 10:30 p.m. June 17): Holy cow is this show funny. You can find the pilot on line (at Myspace and HBO.com). Gets a sorta-strong Entourage lead in.
FX
Rescue Me (10 p.m. June 13): Another of my favorite shows on television. The way last season ended (Johnny's dead, Tommy stuck in the house on fire with Sheila among others), there's no way this is lame.
Damages (premieres 10 p.m. Tuesday): Glenn Close did so well on The Shield, she got her own show. And, if the history of FX originals is any indication, it will also be awesome.
What's on: Thursday
Okay, in a rush. Nothing much except...
STUDIO 60!!!!!! Though NBC's buried it not at 9 p.m. ... not at 10 p.m. ... but at like 10 after 10 p.m. so absolutely no one sees them burn off one of the best new shows of the year. That's okay, at least I get to see it again.
Fox, now Idol-less, kicks off SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (8 p.m.) before a new edition of ON THE LOT (9:25 p.m.). I'll have an On the Lot review this weekend when I get a second to breathe.
Also new: TNA Impact and Ultimate Fighter on Spike; Penn & Teller on Showtime.
STUDIO 60!!!!!! Though NBC's buried it not at 9 p.m. ... not at 10 p.m. ... but at like 10 after 10 p.m. so absolutely no one sees them burn off one of the best new shows of the year. That's okay, at least I get to see it again.
Fox, now Idol-less, kicks off SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (8 p.m.) before a new edition of ON THE LOT (9:25 p.m.). I'll have an On the Lot review this weekend when I get a second to breathe.
Also new: TNA Impact and Ultimate Fighter on Spike; Penn & Teller on Showtime.
I am a dentist, I am not Rambo.
That 50 million people aren't watching Lost every week will continue to baffle me on a personal level. I find myself dumbfounded by the show on a weekly basis, and when I'm roused from my Lost-watching haze, I look at my notebook (strategically placed on the coffee table so I can better come over to the computer and share my thoughts) and it's empty.
It's like putting your toddler in front of the TV.
Anyway -- STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED YET! You don't want this one ruined for you, I swear.
Aptly, this series has always been about the past -- what else can you really consider when you're a band of plane crash survivors doomed never to leave a desert island? At that point your future is just a dream (or one of Desmond 's premonitions). Doom and gloom comes easy in this fictional world, huh? And what you see leading up to this there are nowhere near the doom and gloom that's to come. We're talking serious tragedy... and stuff.
But first, you have to cater to the "fans" who want to see something significant happen. What better way to do that then to char 7 or 8 obligatory Others beyond recognition? This episode may have had the highest body count yet, if you don't count Ben's little genocide. Sad to see Tom go, though. I kinda liked where his character was headed.
(Side note: I'm annoyed at Hurley for begging for recognition for his big save. I know he irks a lot of viewers, but I've always liked him.)
Anyway, for the first time we see into our characters' future (what was obviously a flash-forward from the very beginning, so don't act surprised), and it's pretty bleak. Though it seems to involve a rescue of at least four people from the island, and it (obviously) means more questions. The real question here is: Is this real, or is it just the manifestation of Jack's worry now that he's made the call that Ben and Locke seem so sure will spell doom (and gloom)?
Oh, yeah, Locke's alive. Surprise. Seriously, how could you kill the guy? What actually did surprise me was the return of Island-ghost Walt... who we last saw draw Shannon to her doom (good work, buddy!), though this time he's hit puberty. Locke and Ben don't seem to be wrong, either. Charlie, in his quest to meet his destiny, finds out that Naomi isn't exactly working for Penny.
It may have been the saddest moment in the show's history, but it was also a brilliant way to go out for Charlie. I really never liked the character, and now I have some respect for him.
Who Naomi and her friends are will have to wait. We'll also have to wait to find out who was in the casket (Locke, probably. Or Ben.), and what "the temple" is. Fewer new questions than I expected, for sure.
In all, it was pretty exciting and didn't leave us with a big gaping question like previous finales have. The story will just continue when next year rolls around. For that, I'm grateful.
It's like putting your toddler in front of the TV.
Anyway -- STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED YET! You don't want this one ruined for you, I swear.
Aptly, this series has always been about the past -- what else can you really consider when you're a band of plane crash survivors doomed never to leave a desert island? At that point your future is just a dream (or one of Desmond 's premonitions). Doom and gloom comes easy in this fictional world, huh? And what you see leading up to this there are nowhere near the doom and gloom that's to come. We're talking serious tragedy... and stuff.
But first, you have to cater to the "fans" who want to see something significant happen. What better way to do that then to char 7 or 8 obligatory Others beyond recognition? This episode may have had the highest body count yet, if you don't count Ben's little genocide. Sad to see Tom go, though. I kinda liked where his character was headed.
(Side note: I'm annoyed at Hurley for begging for recognition for his big save. I know he irks a lot of viewers, but I've always liked him.)
Anyway, for the first time we see into our characters' future (what was obviously a flash-forward from the very beginning, so don't act surprised), and it's pretty bleak. Though it seems to involve a rescue of at least four people from the island, and it (obviously) means more questions. The real question here is: Is this real, or is it just the manifestation of Jack's worry now that he's made the call that Ben and Locke seem so sure will spell doom (and gloom)?
Oh, yeah, Locke's alive. Surprise. Seriously, how could you kill the guy? What actually did surprise me was the return of Island-ghost Walt... who we last saw draw Shannon to her doom (good work, buddy!), though this time he's hit puberty. Locke and Ben don't seem to be wrong, either. Charlie, in his quest to meet his destiny, finds out that Naomi isn't exactly working for Penny.
It may have been the saddest moment in the show's history, but it was also a brilliant way to go out for Charlie. I really never liked the character, and now I have some respect for him.
Who Naomi and her friends are will have to wait. We'll also have to wait to find out who was in the casket (Locke, probably. Or Ben.), and what "the temple" is. Fewer new questions than I expected, for sure.
In all, it was pretty exciting and didn't leave us with a big gaping question like previous finales have. The story will just continue when next year rolls around. For that, I'm grateful.
I refuse to write a lame "Sparks" pun here.
Spoiler-schmoiler. You know. Here's the full story, from AP, just so I can officially say I officially posted it before passing out this evening:
LOS ANGELES -- Jordin Sparks grew up on American Idol, watching the show since she was 12 years old and telling her mother it was what she wanted to do.Keep clicking on the blog throughout the day... I'll cover my entire experience watching the show this season (for the first time) sometime today. I'll also start getting into the upcoming summer TV wasteland and, oh, of course, Lost. Damn that's a good show.
"Now I'm actually doing it," the 17-year-old told reporters backstage after winning the competition in Wednesday's season finale.
The announcement that the Arizona teenager bested Blake Lewis, 25, the beat-boxer from Washington, came at the end of a two-hour extravaganza at the Kodak Theatre.
"I've just been trying to top myself each week," Sparks told The Associated Press. "I would sing my song and after I was done I was like, 'OK, what am I going to do next week that's going to be ... either just as good or better."
Sparks, with a floor-length gown and movie-star hair, gushed like a teenager when her name was called.
"Thank you so much for everything," she told the crowd. "Mom, Dad, I love you. Nana, Papa, P.J., thank you guys."
Then she began "This Is My Now," the tune picked by viewers in a new online American Idol songwriting contest. Both she and Lewis performed the track Tuesday, and judge Simon Cowell reiterated Wednesday the song sold him on Sparks.
"If I'm going to call it, based on the last song, congratulations Jordin," Cowell said, before the winner was announced.
The contest came down to the stronger singer, Sparks, or the better entertainer, Lewis. Sparks delivered her songs simply and powerfully; Lewis' flourishes included beatboxing and sharp dance moves.
Lewis said backstage that he didn't mind coming in second."I picked Jordin Sparks at the top 24 as the American Idol winner," he said proudly. "I was actually going to try to wear a 'Vote for Jordin Sparks' T-shirt last night but they wouldn't let me do it."
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
What to watch: Wednesday
No one else is even trying tonight. Not when you've got the biggest show on television AND the most important show on television wrapping up on the same night. (There IS a difference.)
AMERICAN IDOL (Fox/8 p.m.) takes two hours to show you five minutes of television. But that's every Wednesday. This week, though, they all pat themselves on the back even more and put a crown on their chosen one. Then no one has to think about Idol until next January. I'll have my season-in-review some time tonight.
Most important, though, is the season three wrapup of LOST (ABC/9 p.m.) -- another show that needs two hours to say goodbye until January. Don't expect to get all your answers tonight. In fact, expect more mystery than answers... and that's OK.
Also new: Shear Genius on Bravo and Hazard Pay on Discovery. And, the most interesting and scary show name I've ever seen: Face Eating Tumor on TLC. I'm almost ready to TiVo it out of sheer wonder.
AMERICAN IDOL (Fox/8 p.m.) takes two hours to show you five minutes of television. But that's every Wednesday. This week, though, they all pat themselves on the back even more and put a crown on their chosen one. Then no one has to think about Idol until next January. I'll have my season-in-review some time tonight.
Most important, though, is the season three wrapup of LOST (ABC/9 p.m.) -- another show that needs two hours to say goodbye until January. Don't expect to get all your answers tonight. In fact, expect more mystery than answers... and that's OK.
Also new: Shear Genius on Bravo and Hazard Pay on Discovery. And, the most interesting and scary show name I've ever seen: Face Eating Tumor on TLC. I'm almost ready to TiVo it out of sheer wonder.
Oh, Veronica
What reason does the CW have to tease me with the "season finale" teasers? It's giving me false hope. I don't like false hope. Oh, yeah... SPOILER ALERT.
So... where to begin. Veronica and Piz... the dweeb-fantasy hookup is kind of a signal of the "we don't have anything better to do with this show's story." Perfect reasoning for the time line fast forward to post-graduation Veronica working at the FBI that was the original plan for next season. She grew up into a PI quickly in the past two episodes and it seems like a good fit for the show.
But grown up doesn't work for the CW. Serials don't work for CW either, but that was the genius of this show. The continuing storyline has been reduced to the silly sheriff's election. There was a little too much wrapping up this evening for my taste, making this false hope a little more false -- Back comes the Kane family and their enforcer. Back are Keith's ousted deputies. Back is jealous Logan, angered that someone's embarrassed his love yet again (though he had a lot to do with that in season one). Back are some other old storylines, too.
Seriously, hadn't we moved past the Logan/Veronica thing? That'd be too grown up, I suppose. No, we need brash Logan who beats up on the dweeby radio host who's somehow scored Veronica's attention (man, if beating the stuffing out of radio hosts isn't social commentary...). Yeah, we need to stay immature and teen-hip -- like they did with Dick, who somehow became this teary, emotional mess over his dead brother and jailbound father for five minutes over the last three episodes. More roads to nowhere.
That's not how this show works and its sad how the creative process got stifled.
Plot-wise, we get back into the bread and butter of the show... Veronica (after another successful attempt to save her little project, the gangster with the heart of gold, Weevil) gets to solve another case for herself. With Wallace as prime suspect numero uno. That would never work obviously, but it leads to one more team-up with Wallace. They've always worked extremely well together, and you get a nice healthy dose of them (as well as her other strong relationships with Keith and Weevil) in this last episode.
But, despite my love for the characters, the rehashed stories aren't going to work. I said earlier that the show's creativity was stifled (forced into one-shot stories), and that may be. I could also be blinded by my unconditional love for this show.
In all, I'm happy they left it in a place where it could claim a clean end or come back if so called upon. If it's gone, I'll miss it. If it comes back, I hope the network treats it with the respect it deserves. The show still remains smart. It still remains humorous. And it still remains geniusly adolescent-awkward.
(I don't ask for much... but could someone give me a little bit of credit for never mentioning the massive crush I have on Kristin Bell this entire time? That took some real self control... oh... wait... darn.)
Later on, Veronica.
So... where to begin. Veronica and Piz... the dweeb-fantasy hookup is kind of a signal of the "we don't have anything better to do with this show's story." Perfect reasoning for the time line fast forward to post-graduation Veronica working at the FBI that was the original plan for next season. She grew up into a PI quickly in the past two episodes and it seems like a good fit for the show.
But grown up doesn't work for the CW. Serials don't work for CW either, but that was the genius of this show. The continuing storyline has been reduced to the silly sheriff's election. There was a little too much wrapping up this evening for my taste, making this false hope a little more false -- Back comes the Kane family and their enforcer. Back are Keith's ousted deputies. Back is jealous Logan, angered that someone's embarrassed his love yet again (though he had a lot to do with that in season one). Back are some other old storylines, too.
Seriously, hadn't we moved past the Logan/Veronica thing? That'd be too grown up, I suppose. No, we need brash Logan who beats up on the dweeby radio host who's somehow scored Veronica's attention (man, if beating the stuffing out of radio hosts isn't social commentary...). Yeah, we need to stay immature and teen-hip -- like they did with Dick, who somehow became this teary, emotional mess over his dead brother and jailbound father for five minutes over the last three episodes. More roads to nowhere.
That's not how this show works and its sad how the creative process got stifled.
Plot-wise, we get back into the bread and butter of the show... Veronica (after another successful attempt to save her little project, the gangster with the heart of gold, Weevil) gets to solve another case for herself. With Wallace as prime suspect numero uno. That would never work obviously, but it leads to one more team-up with Wallace. They've always worked extremely well together, and you get a nice healthy dose of them (as well as her other strong relationships with Keith and Weevil) in this last episode.
But, despite my love for the characters, the rehashed stories aren't going to work. I said earlier that the show's creativity was stifled (forced into one-shot stories), and that may be. I could also be blinded by my unconditional love for this show.
In all, I'm happy they left it in a place where it could claim a clean end or come back if so called upon. If it's gone, I'll miss it. If it comes back, I hope the network treats it with the respect it deserves. The show still remains smart. It still remains humorous. And it still remains geniusly adolescent-awkward.
(I don't ask for much... but could someone give me a little bit of credit for never mentioning the massive crush I have on Kristin Bell this entire time? That took some real self control... oh... wait... darn.)
Later on, Veronica.
Dancing fan?
This is the least I can do, seeing as how I can't stand the show's concept... from AP:
LOS ANGELES -- Two-time Olympic gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno earned a new title Tuesday: Dancing with the Stars champion. The speed skater and his partner, Julianne Hough, beat out former 'N Sync star Joey Fatone to win the ABC dance-off's mirror-ball trophy.
"I feel amazing," the ebullient Ohno said. "You put your mind to something, you give 100 percent, sacrifice and dedication, anything is possible."
Ohno, 25, became a technical master during the season, training in the dance studio as he would on the ice. "Apolo's competitiveness is almost on the verge of insanity," his coach, John Schaeffer, said on Tuesday's show.
Fatone, 30, was the season's undisputed showman. He used a light saber for a "Star Wars" themed tango and wore breakaway clothes and a sparkly gold suit for his freestyle dance. "Congratulations to them. Well deserved," he said to Ono and Hough, adding, "I feel like a winner."
Laila Ali, who joined Ohno and Fatone during the final round, was eliminated from the trophy race in the middle of Tuesday's two-hour finale. She and her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, earned the lowest score from the judges, and fans failed to make up the difference.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Last licks
So, when I started watching the show this season, this wasn't what I expected from an American Idol finale. Not only were neither of the two really impressive, but they were both pretty boring. Not to mention that boring songwriting contest tune, which significantly cut into both contestant's chances to be themselves (while basically handing Jordin the title).
I watched it live a few hours ago (the first time in weeks I watched the whole thing), so please pardon my malaise. I think it was rather dull overall, considering it was the final chance for them to shine. I don't think either of them presented anything new to the audience and, if anything, they each took a step back. Without Melinda around I don't think either was at the top of their game.
Here's how I saw it:
Blake 1: 7 out of 10 (Just as lame as the first time he did it).
Jordin 1: 6 out of 10 (Boring and not really up to par).
Blake 2: 7 out of 10 (Yawn. Even more lame.)
Jordin 2: 8 out of 10.
Blake 3: 3 out of 10 (Oh, dear, did this cost him the title.)
Jordin 3: 8 out of 10 (Nothing special, because the song sucks, but she's got an amazing voice. The tears will help with the voters, too.)
Jordin deserves the title. If she doesn't win, it's because she's not a frosty-haired pretty boy. Not that Blake's a bad entertainer, he's just not what this show's about.
I watched it live a few hours ago (the first time in weeks I watched the whole thing), so please pardon my malaise. I think it was rather dull overall, considering it was the final chance for them to shine. I don't think either of them presented anything new to the audience and, if anything, they each took a step back. Without Melinda around I don't think either was at the top of their game.
Here's how I saw it:
Blake 1: 7 out of 10 (Just as lame as the first time he did it).
Jordin 1: 6 out of 10 (Boring and not really up to par).
Blake 2: 7 out of 10 (Yawn. Even more lame.)
Jordin 2: 8 out of 10.
Blake 3: 3 out of 10 (Oh, dear, did this cost him the title.)
Jordin 3: 8 out of 10 (Nothing special, because the song sucks, but she's got an amazing voice. The tears will help with the voters, too.)
Jordin deserves the title. If she doesn't win, it's because she's not a frosty-haired pretty boy. Not that Blake's a bad entertainer, he's just not what this show's about.
What's on: Tuesday
There's more than you'd expect tonight, considering we're in the last few days of the season. Everything usually just peters out, but there's at least two big nights left.
Tonight's biggest draw, probably, is the AMERICAN IDOL (Fox/8 p.m.) finale(ish) as Jordin and Blake sing their last songs. That leads into the premiere of ON THE LOT (9 p.m.), which is a Project Greenlight knockoff from Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett.
Also tonight is what could be the end of VERONICA MARS (CW/8 p.m.). It's a two-hour episode that the network isn't yet calling a series finale. It's not looking good. And that's sad, even though the recent one-shot episodes haven't been the strongest.
Also new tonight: A Bachelor wrapup followed by the Dancing with the Stars finale on ABC; NCIS finale and Tom Selleck in Jesse Stone: Sea Change on CBS; Dateline and finales of Law and Order: CI and SVU on NBC; Deadliest Catch on Discovery; The Shield on FX; ECW on Sci-FI.
Tonight's biggest draw, probably, is the AMERICAN IDOL (Fox/8 p.m.) finale(ish) as Jordin and Blake sing their last songs. That leads into the premiere of ON THE LOT (9 p.m.), which is a Project Greenlight knockoff from Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett.
Also tonight is what could be the end of VERONICA MARS (CW/8 p.m.). It's a two-hour episode that the network isn't yet calling a series finale. It's not looking good. And that's sad, even though the recent one-shot episodes haven't been the strongest.
Also new tonight: A Bachelor wrapup followed by the Dancing with the Stars finale on ABC; NCIS finale and Tom Selleck in Jesse Stone: Sea Change on CBS; Dateline and finales of Law and Order: CI and SVU on NBC; Deadliest Catch on Discovery; The Shield on FX; ECW on Sci-FI.
How to Stop an Exploding Man
THERE ARE HEROES SPOILERS BELOW. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
So it's not the big exciting, explosion-filled ending you were expecting. There was a final battle, but it was rather dull, huh? Not to mention seemingly underserved by the mere hour it was provided.
That hasn't been what Heroes is about, though. Yes, it's very cool and sometimes action packed, but it's more about these people and their destinies and their relationships. You want it to be about the action... heck I want it to be about the action, too. But they're not there yet. It's more about the goosebumpy retrospective at the opening of the finale. It's more about the interactions between Peter and Nathan or Hiro and Ando. This is just the end of Volume One.
It fit the finale pattern: Revelations and changes are brought about, questions are answered, new doors are opened and a few old doors are left open.
Among the revelations: Bennett really IS a good guy. He pleads his case to Mohinder directly and proves the last few episodes weren't flukes. Until this week I still had a hard time trusting him. Bigger revelation? Peter's charge (the old man who died... Simone's father) had something to do with the grand scheme of this story. He'll factor in big to Volume Two, as the backstories become more and more important.
What may have hurt the most was the setup given to this final battle. There's no way it could have been made to expectations... Sylar wasn't strong enough anyway. What ends up happening is what happens in many comic bookish stories: The odds stack up, good guys find their resolve, good guys win, bad guys slips away. Too many characters in one place obviously made them
The thing that irked me the most, though was Nathan. So sure the past few weeks about the importance of the bomb... there's no real reason why, other than a big power grab. But that's pretty hard to swallow. He makes the ultimate sacrifice (or at least we're left to believe so) simply on the chiding of his daughter -- who until now has shown a greater bunch of guts than he has. Yes, he loves Peter and yes he's human, but there seemed to be something much deeper over the course of the season that would point him in the other direction. He's the most undramatic actor ever, by the way.
A few other notes: It was nice to find DL still alive, though barely so and reasonably useless throughout the finale; ballsy Parkman going after Sylar earns no respect from me for that seeing as how obviously outgunned he would have been -- it is a nice change for him though; Hiro's quick standoff with Sylar in Issac's shop was even more exciting than the actual battle -- you gotta love the quick thinking; can't wait to see what new powers Sylar pops up with; also can't wait to see who this guy Molly was afraid of is -- "He can see me"... *shudder.*
Predictable? Yeah, the show was, a little. But that's OK. So are most shows. Bad? No way. This was weak for Heroes, but among the best finales of the season.
There are questions remaining, too. Are Peter and/or Nathan OK? How about Parkman? Who's Molly afraid of? What did Hiro get himself into? Why does another Fantastic Four movie sound even more lame than another Kathy Griffin TV show? Is Nikki whole now... or at least less annoying? Ugh. No telling till September. Will Sylar no longer be on the list of guest stars next season (sheesh, he should be top bill)?
Discussion topic: What question most needs to be answered? (If it's something I didn't mention, please add it to the list.)
So it's not the big exciting, explosion-filled ending you were expecting. There was a final battle, but it was rather dull, huh? Not to mention seemingly underserved by the mere hour it was provided.
That hasn't been what Heroes is about, though. Yes, it's very cool and sometimes action packed, but it's more about these people and their destinies and their relationships. You want it to be about the action... heck I want it to be about the action, too. But they're not there yet. It's more about the goosebumpy retrospective at the opening of the finale. It's more about the interactions between Peter and Nathan or Hiro and Ando. This is just the end of Volume One.
It fit the finale pattern: Revelations and changes are brought about, questions are answered, new doors are opened and a few old doors are left open.
Among the revelations: Bennett really IS a good guy. He pleads his case to Mohinder directly and proves the last few episodes weren't flukes. Until this week I still had a hard time trusting him. Bigger revelation? Peter's charge (the old man who died... Simone's father) had something to do with the grand scheme of this story. He'll factor in big to Volume Two, as the backstories become more and more important.
What may have hurt the most was the setup given to this final battle. There's no way it could have been made to expectations... Sylar wasn't strong enough anyway. What ends up happening is what happens in many comic bookish stories: The odds stack up, good guys find their resolve, good guys win, bad guys slips away. Too many characters in one place obviously made them
The thing that irked me the most, though was Nathan. So sure the past few weeks about the importance of the bomb... there's no real reason why, other than a big power grab. But that's pretty hard to swallow. He makes the ultimate sacrifice (or at least we're left to believe so) simply on the chiding of his daughter -- who until now has shown a greater bunch of guts than he has. Yes, he loves Peter and yes he's human, but there seemed to be something much deeper over the course of the season that would point him in the other direction. He's the most undramatic actor ever, by the way.
A few other notes: It was nice to find DL still alive, though barely so and reasonably useless throughout the finale; ballsy Parkman going after Sylar earns no respect from me for that seeing as how obviously outgunned he would have been -- it is a nice change for him though; Hiro's quick standoff with Sylar in Issac's shop was even more exciting than the actual battle -- you gotta love the quick thinking; can't wait to see what new powers Sylar pops up with; also can't wait to see who this guy Molly was afraid of is -- "He can see me"... *shudder.*
Predictable? Yeah, the show was, a little. But that's OK. So are most shows. Bad? No way. This was weak for Heroes, but among the best finales of the season.
There are questions remaining, too. Are Peter and/or Nathan OK? How about Parkman? Who's Molly afraid of? What did Hiro get himself into? Why does another Fantastic Four movie sound even more lame than another Kathy Griffin TV show? Is Nikki whole now... or at least less annoying? Ugh. No telling till September. Will Sylar no longer be on the list of guest stars next season (sheesh, he should be top bill)?
Discussion topic: What question most needs to be answered? (If it's something I didn't mention, please add it to the list.)
Best of the year
I'm looking for readers' help with this one. I'll have my own, overbearing opinions obviously, but I'm wondering what everyone else is thinking. Leave a comment to weigh in on this year's:
Best comedy
Best drama
Best new show
Best canceled show
Worst show
Show that's been around too long
Best character
Worst character
Seriously, let me know what you think. I'll address it after the finales are all wrapped up.
Heroes review may be a little late... I'm a bit sleepy. You can also give me grief for that by commenting here.
Best comedy
Best drama
Best new show
Best canceled show
Worst show
Show that's been around too long
Best character
Worst character
Seriously, let me know what you think. I'll address it after the finales are all wrapped up.
Heroes review may be a little late... I'm a bit sleepy. You can also give me grief for that by commenting here.
Monday, May 21, 2007
OK, so CBS wins points...
I got this from About.com, an obviously venerable news source, so temper your expectations a little bit... but it made me happy:
This should be standard practice with a canceled show, and, honestly, would be great business for the networks, allowing them to sell DVDs in a complete package and not just "Oh, here's that unfinished show." I'd be buying many more shows on DVD if they did. (Surface and Invasion from last season just to name a few...). Pave the way CBS.
One of the worst things about the cancellation of a beloved series is the lack of closure fans feel in the end. We've been lucky with series such as Charmed, 7th Heaven and Alias because the writers had the opportunity to create an ending long before the finale went into production. Sadly, many series don't get that opportunity and fans feel cheated because they didn't have the chance to find out how their favorite character faired or how situations and conflicts are resolved. Such is the case of Jericho. The series finale ended with two towns at war and gunshots fired as the screen faded to black.The power of the people is catching on when it comes to saving shows (Roswell, Family Guy, etc.). Not that this is actually SAVING Jericho, but it could mean a TV movie or Webisode(s) to wrap up everything a little more tidily than it has been.
There may be a light at the end of the tunnel! Nina Tassler, President of CBS Entertainment announced on the official message board for the series that CBS is trying to work out a way to inform fans how the series would have ended in the minds of the creators.
Tassler offered this for Jericho fans: "Thank you for supporting Jericho with such passion. We truly appreciate the commitment you made to the series and we are humbled by your disappointment. In the coming weeks, we hope to develop a way to provide closure to the compelling drama that was the Jericho story."
This should be standard practice with a canceled show, and, honestly, would be great business for the networks, allowing them to sell DVDs in a complete package and not just "Oh, here's that unfinished show." I'd be buying many more shows on DVD if they did. (Surface and Invasion from last season just to name a few...). Pave the way CBS.
Fox fall
I'll try to keep it short. Fox doesn't seem to have to try very hard to pick up viewers. American Idol is the top ranked show and all it does is broadcast a top-shelf karaoke contest. House is consistently in the top 20. And their new shows have steadily been moving in the direction of viable (far from the fare that the network started with). Doesn't change the fact that they're as enamoured with cheap, unscripted shows as the rest of the business.
Ten new shows are on the network's list for next season: four dramas, three comedies and three unscripted...s. Here's a glance:
K-Ville (9 p.m Mondays), is set in the still-rebuilding New Orleans. It's helmed by Jonathan Lisco (of NYPD Blue fame) and focuses mainly on one cop, played by Anthony Anderson, and his team's dealings with the still-chaotic Big Easy. This is easily the most interesting show on the Fox pickup list.
New Amsterdam (9 p.m. Wednesdays) tells the story of a New York City cop, who "died" in the 1600s only to be saved by the girl he'd sacrificed himself for and made immortal. Of course, he's all lonely because all the people he gets close to eventually die. And he won't until he finds true love. Yech.
Then there's Denis Leary and Jim Serpico, who are responsible for two of my favorite shows ever: Rescue Me and The Job. They've put together Carnterbury's Law, which is reason enough to watch it for me. But it's a courtroom drama about a woman, displaced to Rhode Island with her husband after their son disappears, "who’s willing to bend the law in order to protect the wrongfully accused." The network's description leaves much to be desired. I hope it's different than the 40 bazillion other courtroom shows out there. That's why I like Boston Legal.
The final new drama is The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which... chronicles the story of... Sarah Connor... It's a Terminator spinoff.
In comedy, the big news is Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as 90s TV news anchors in Back to You. The sitcom vets are getting the chatter (but look what happened to Jeffery Tambor and John Lithgow last season), but they seem to have been handed tome sitcom archetypes that they'll have to break out of. Better, maybe, will be The Return of Jezebel James, which teams Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino with Parker Posie and Lauren Ambrose. Sounds like a much better situation to me... which means it has no chance of being successful. The two play estranged sisters brought back together so Ambrose can carry Posie's baby.
The Rules for Starting Over, the last of the new comedies, brings the story of a group of friends... starting over. They're in their 30s and in Boston and hitting the relationship reset button. The show's only redeeming quality on first glance is that it's helmed by the Farrelly Brothers. It also has Craig Bierko (Buzz Lightyear 1 from Boston Legal) and Rashida Jones (The Office).
New unscripted shows: Kitchen Nightmares sends the Hell's Kitchen guy to bad restaurants and has him clean them up; Idol producers will search for The Next Great American Band; and Nashville follows musicians trying to succeed.
All your favorites are back, so nothing to worry about there, though most won't show up until the fall and some will get bounced around pretty heavily. Here's the fall listings:
MONDAY: Prison Break at 8 p.m., K-Ville at 9 p.m.
TUESDAY: New Amsterdam at 8 p.m., House at 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Back to You at 8 p.m., 'Til Death at 8:30 p.m., Bones at 9 p.m.
THURSDAY: Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader at 8 p.m., Kitchen Nightmares at 9 p.m.
FRIDAY: Next Great American Band at 8 p.m., Nashville at 9 p.m.
SATURDAY: Cops at 8 and 8:30 p.m., America's Most Wanted at 9 p.m., MadTV at 11 p.m., Talk Show with Spike Feresten at midnight
SUNDAY: The Simpsons at 8 p.m., King of the Hill at 8:30 p.m., Family Guy at 9 p.m. and American Dad at 9:30 p.m.
One thing Fox isn't concerned about is confusing or annoying viewers with changes in the spring. Everything in the fall (already displaced and put behind the 8 ball because of baseball) has to make way for the network's big shows: 24 and American Idol.
In January, K-Ville will wrap up and make way for Prison Break's second half, while 24 slips back into its 9 p.m. Monday slot. American Idol, of course, picks up at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 p.m. Wednesdays, moving Bones to Fridays. The Return of Jezebel James jumps into the Wednesday night lineup. Canterbury's Law takes over the Kitchen Nightmares slot on Thursdays, and New Amsterdam follows Bones to Fridays. Then The Sarah Connor Chronicles bumps the Sunday cartoons an hour early (moving King of the Hill and American Dad to the 7-8 p.m. hour).
Notable pickups: Prison Break, which is drawing fire from all of angles.
Omissions: The Winner (which vanished months ago) and Standoff (which was probably never considered). As far as I can tell they're not coming back, though Standoff will be allowed to burn off remaining episodes sometime next month (check the sidebar --->).
Ten new shows are on the network's list for next season: four dramas, three comedies and three unscripted...s. Here's a glance:
K-Ville (9 p.m Mondays), is set in the still-rebuilding New Orleans. It's helmed by Jonathan Lisco (of NYPD Blue fame) and focuses mainly on one cop, played by Anthony Anderson, and his team's dealings with the still-chaotic Big Easy. This is easily the most interesting show on the Fox pickup list.
New Amsterdam (9 p.m. Wednesdays) tells the story of a New York City cop, who "died" in the 1600s only to be saved by the girl he'd sacrificed himself for and made immortal. Of course, he's all lonely because all the people he gets close to eventually die. And he won't until he finds true love. Yech.
Then there's Denis Leary and Jim Serpico, who are responsible for two of my favorite shows ever: Rescue Me and The Job. They've put together Carnterbury's Law, which is reason enough to watch it for me. But it's a courtroom drama about a woman, displaced to Rhode Island with her husband after their son disappears, "who’s willing to bend the law in order to protect the wrongfully accused." The network's description leaves much to be desired. I hope it's different than the 40 bazillion other courtroom shows out there. That's why I like Boston Legal.
The final new drama is The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which... chronicles the story of... Sarah Connor... It's a Terminator spinoff.
In comedy, the big news is Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as 90s TV news anchors in Back to You. The sitcom vets are getting the chatter (but look what happened to Jeffery Tambor and John Lithgow last season), but they seem to have been handed tome sitcom archetypes that they'll have to break out of. Better, maybe, will be The Return of Jezebel James, which teams Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino with Parker Posie and Lauren Ambrose. Sounds like a much better situation to me... which means it has no chance of being successful. The two play estranged sisters brought back together so Ambrose can carry Posie's baby.
The Rules for Starting Over, the last of the new comedies, brings the story of a group of friends... starting over. They're in their 30s and in Boston and hitting the relationship reset button. The show's only redeeming quality on first glance is that it's helmed by the Farrelly Brothers. It also has Craig Bierko (Buzz Lightyear 1 from Boston Legal) and Rashida Jones (The Office).
New unscripted shows: Kitchen Nightmares sends the Hell's Kitchen guy to bad restaurants and has him clean them up; Idol producers will search for The Next Great American Band; and Nashville follows musicians trying to succeed.
All your favorites are back, so nothing to worry about there, though most won't show up until the fall and some will get bounced around pretty heavily. Here's the fall listings:
MONDAY: Prison Break at 8 p.m., K-Ville at 9 p.m.
TUESDAY: New Amsterdam at 8 p.m., House at 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Back to You at 8 p.m., 'Til Death at 8:30 p.m., Bones at 9 p.m.
THURSDAY: Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader at 8 p.m., Kitchen Nightmares at 9 p.m.
FRIDAY: Next Great American Band at 8 p.m., Nashville at 9 p.m.
SATURDAY: Cops at 8 and 8:30 p.m., America's Most Wanted at 9 p.m., MadTV at 11 p.m., Talk Show with Spike Feresten at midnight
SUNDAY: The Simpsons at 8 p.m., King of the Hill at 8:30 p.m., Family Guy at 9 p.m. and American Dad at 9:30 p.m.
One thing Fox isn't concerned about is confusing or annoying viewers with changes in the spring. Everything in the fall (already displaced and put behind the 8 ball because of baseball) has to make way for the network's big shows: 24 and American Idol.
In January, K-Ville will wrap up and make way for Prison Break's second half, while 24 slips back into its 9 p.m. Monday slot. American Idol, of course, picks up at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 p.m. Wednesdays, moving Bones to Fridays. The Return of Jezebel James jumps into the Wednesday night lineup. Canterbury's Law takes over the Kitchen Nightmares slot on Thursdays, and New Amsterdam follows Bones to Fridays. Then The Sarah Connor Chronicles bumps the Sunday cartoons an hour early (moving King of the Hill and American Dad to the 7-8 p.m. hour).
Notable pickups: Prison Break, which is drawing fire from all of angles.
Omissions: The Winner (which vanished months ago) and Standoff (which was probably never considered). As far as I can tell they're not coming back, though Standoff will be allowed to burn off remaining episodes sometime next month (check the sidebar --->).
What's on: Monday
After this week, these daily updates will start becoming extremely short, with everything headed to hiatus. Any suggestions on what to cover over the summer would be welcome.
As previously discussed you've got finales of 24 (Fox/8 p.m.) and HEROES (NBC/9 p.m.) both wrap up entertaining seasons -- 24 with a 2-hour finale. Both should provide a measure of closure, but Heroes should have a nice chunk of setup for next season.
THE BACHELOR (ABC/9 p.m.) also sasys goodbye for the season with a two-hour finale.
Also new: Dancing with the Stars on ABC; Stunt Junkies on Discovery; The Riches on FX; Monday Night Raw on USA.
As previously discussed you've got finales of 24 (Fox/8 p.m.) and HEROES (NBC/9 p.m.) both wrap up entertaining seasons -- 24 with a 2-hour finale. Both should provide a measure of closure, but Heroes should have a nice chunk of setup for next season.
THE BACHELOR (ABC/9 p.m.) also sasys goodbye for the season with a two-hour finale.
Also new: Dancing with the Stars on ABC; Stunt Junkies on Discovery; The Riches on FX; Monday Night Raw on USA.
Open forum
As promised in today's TV page teaser in the Press, I offer this post for commenting on a show or shows (or channels, or whatever) you think I'm ignoring. If you haven't been reading long enough, please peruse the archives. Or just blurt one out.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Which hero works for you?
For the following blog, I'll need to you take a leap for me. Imagine a desolate, shattered world. A world where happiness is a distant hope. A world where you have to watch television live and with all the commercials (or at least deal with a VCR if you can't get home from work on time). A world where you only have the resources to watch one television show at a time. A world like 1997. A world without TiVo.
(Quick disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any heart conditions caused or aggravated by this post.)
I know for many, that's not a hard concept. There are few people who care about television as much as I do, but if you care that little, you probably didn't spend all that time clicking through app.com to get to my blog. So I think it's a fair assumption you know what type of feeling I'm trying to convey.
Now, take this imaginary world a step further and imagine you have to choose between the season finales of 24 and Heroes tonight. I'd contend that's not a hard decision, but lets look over it briefly before I give my opinion. I figure this is more fun than simply updating you on what has to happen or what should happen on tonight's finales.
(Disclaimer the second, while 24 is six seasons old, it's new to me, having clashed with other favorite shows of mine in the past. But I'm hooked now, I swear. I'm not swayed by that at all.)
Heroes is arguably the most important and most popular new show on television. A friend pointed out to me last night that he thought it was the only show on NBC that's really worth watching. I can't really agree with that when Office, Earl, Scrubs and 30 Rock are around, but I can see his point. It's a very strong show that embraces the genre that bore it and rides the recent popularity of comic-based movies.
It has a Lost-like following and the same penchant for mystery, but it's more likely to offer up the big reveal much quicker than its serial predecessor. It's delivered on many levels -- from production quality to acting to storytelling.
(Disclaimer III: There are spoilers below, so if you're not caught up on either show, you may want to stop.)
As it drives into the finale, Hiro's chasing Ando, who has decided to go after Sylar himself; Sylar has half-capitated Ted (who I was starting to like since he shaved the Geico caveman beard) and taken his nuclear powers; Peter and Claire lose Ted while the three are trying to leave town, only to find out what Sylar has done and (probably) decide to stop him; Bennett and Parkman go after the "tracking system" that turns out to be the little girl Mohinder has been trying to cure; D.L.'s dead, but so is Linderman (having killed each other), and Micah easily fixed the election in favor of Nathan. They're all in New York... just like in Peter's dream. Nathan knows about the bomb and is doing nothing to stop it... and Sylar's poised to win and seems to have no qualms about what that might mean.
The story has ramped up quite nicely after an annoyingly long hiatus and the show has an energy different than any other on TV.
Then there's 24. Jack's father has been masterminding the whole thing and plans on leaving evil America for China, where they understand him. He wants to take his grandson with him, so he gets the vice president to have CTU get the kid out from under Jack's nose using the chip (which the veep wants the chip secured so the Russians don't try something fishy) as collateral. Pretty much every other plot has fallen by the wayside going into the last two hours of the season. Subplots on Jack and his sister in law's relationship, Morris and Chloe, Nadia (now sans Milo), and the veep's now likely brain-dead chief of staff all remain, but are significantly unimportant.
There's a great chance for a big finish here, with everything focused as it is. You'll find yourself wondering who dies (I'm betting on Ricky Schroeder, who's changed sides more than a soccer team), since we all know it won't be Jack. From what I'm told, this hasn't been a particularly strong season overall. It's still been enough to hook me on the show, which reminds me of the good parts of early Alias.
So, I suppose it's obvious I'd pick Heroes if I was by chance thrust back into a pre-TiVo world. I'd still have my mom tape 24 for me. And, maybe a few years ago 24 would have had the upper hand overall. But, for me, Heroes has a ton of cred right now, and I'm almost more curious about whether and how they all come together to stop the bomb than how exactly Jack gets everything back to normal. There's so much that could go wrong with Heroes. So many characters that could flip and turn heel on the group (Peter is the easy money, with a Nathan flip as well), so many ways it could go.
And you know with all the hype, it has to end big. I mean, it has a two-volume second season to reel you in for. And a ratings dip to make up for.
I now open up the forum. Discuss.
(Quick disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any heart conditions caused or aggravated by this post.)
I know for many, that's not a hard concept. There are few people who care about television as much as I do, but if you care that little, you probably didn't spend all that time clicking through app.com to get to my blog. So I think it's a fair assumption you know what type of feeling I'm trying to convey.
Now, take this imaginary world a step further and imagine you have to choose between the season finales of 24 and Heroes tonight. I'd contend that's not a hard decision, but lets look over it briefly before I give my opinion. I figure this is more fun than simply updating you on what has to happen or what should happen on tonight's finales.
(Disclaimer the second, while 24 is six seasons old, it's new to me, having clashed with other favorite shows of mine in the past. But I'm hooked now, I swear. I'm not swayed by that at all.)
Heroes is arguably the most important and most popular new show on television. A friend pointed out to me last night that he thought it was the only show on NBC that's really worth watching. I can't really agree with that when Office, Earl, Scrubs and 30 Rock are around, but I can see his point. It's a very strong show that embraces the genre that bore it and rides the recent popularity of comic-based movies.
It has a Lost-like following and the same penchant for mystery, but it's more likely to offer up the big reveal much quicker than its serial predecessor. It's delivered on many levels -- from production quality to acting to storytelling.
(Disclaimer III: There are spoilers below, so if you're not caught up on either show, you may want to stop.)
As it drives into the finale, Hiro's chasing Ando, who has decided to go after Sylar himself; Sylar has half-capitated Ted (who I was starting to like since he shaved the Geico caveman beard) and taken his nuclear powers; Peter and Claire lose Ted while the three are trying to leave town, only to find out what Sylar has done and (probably) decide to stop him; Bennett and Parkman go after the "tracking system" that turns out to be the little girl Mohinder has been trying to cure; D.L.'s dead, but so is Linderman (having killed each other), and Micah easily fixed the election in favor of Nathan. They're all in New York... just like in Peter's dream. Nathan knows about the bomb and is doing nothing to stop it... and Sylar's poised to win and seems to have no qualms about what that might mean.
The story has ramped up quite nicely after an annoyingly long hiatus and the show has an energy different than any other on TV.
Then there's 24. Jack's father has been masterminding the whole thing and plans on leaving evil America for China, where they understand him. He wants to take his grandson with him, so he gets the vice president to have CTU get the kid out from under Jack's nose using the chip (which the veep wants the chip secured so the Russians don't try something fishy) as collateral. Pretty much every other plot has fallen by the wayside going into the last two hours of the season. Subplots on Jack and his sister in law's relationship, Morris and Chloe, Nadia (now sans Milo), and the veep's now likely brain-dead chief of staff all remain, but are significantly unimportant.
There's a great chance for a big finish here, with everything focused as it is. You'll find yourself wondering who dies (I'm betting on Ricky Schroeder, who's changed sides more than a soccer team), since we all know it won't be Jack. From what I'm told, this hasn't been a particularly strong season overall. It's still been enough to hook me on the show, which reminds me of the good parts of early Alias.
So, I suppose it's obvious I'd pick Heroes if I was by chance thrust back into a pre-TiVo world. I'd still have my mom tape 24 for me. And, maybe a few years ago 24 would have had the upper hand overall. But, for me, Heroes has a ton of cred right now, and I'm almost more curious about whether and how they all come together to stop the bomb than how exactly Jack gets everything back to normal. There's so much that could go wrong with Heroes. So many characters that could flip and turn heel on the group (Peter is the easy money, with a Nathan flip as well), so many ways it could go.
And you know with all the hype, it has to end big. I mean, it has a two-volume second season to reel you in for. And a ratings dip to make up for.
I now open up the forum. Discuss.
What's on: Sunday
In a bit of a rush, but in good conscience I can only suggest one show tonight anyway: THE SIMPSONS (FOX/8 p.m.). Not only wrapping up it's 18th season... not only knocking out an hourlong finale... not only teaming with Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub for a 24 parody... but presenting its 400th episode, a huge accomplishment. I've never been into the show (wasn't allowed to watch when I was a kid), but I'll be TiVoing tonight.
Also new: Finales of Extreme Makeover: Home, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters on ABC; finales of King of the Hill, Family Guy and American Dad on Fox; Mind of Mencia and Reno 911 on Comedy Central; Sopranos and Entourage on HBO; The Tudors on Showtime.
Also new: Finales of Extreme Makeover: Home, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters on ABC; finales of King of the Hill, Family Guy and American Dad on Fox; Mind of Mencia and Reno 911 on Comedy Central; Sopranos and Entourage on HBO; The Tudors on Showtime.
Book a Flight now!
I'm not sure what the rules are, seeing as how this is sort of a commercial blog, about posting Myspace videos, but after watching the pilot of HBO's new comedy series Flight of the Conchords I've decided that not telling my readers about it would be a gross omission. So how about this... I'll give you the link (here) to the full episode and post this:
Flight of the Conchords - Prettiest Girl
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It's just a sample of the half-hour comedy, fronted by New Zealand comedy team Flight of the Conchords (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie). It's quite funny, I think, and their music is pretty amazing, but it has me worried that it may be just a little too quirky to catch on. HBO's last new comedy, Lucky Louie, was also very funny, but it was a bit more dirty. I don't think the Conchords guys even curse, so that may work to their advantage. I have my fingers crossed.
Flight of the Conchords - Prettiest Girl
Add to My Profile | More Videos
It's just a sample of the half-hour comedy, fronted by New Zealand comedy team Flight of the Conchords (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie). It's quite funny, I think, and their music is pretty amazing, but it has me worried that it may be just a little too quirky to catch on. HBO's last new comedy, Lucky Louie, was also very funny, but it was a bit more dirty. I don't think the Conchords guys even curse, so that may work to their advantage. I have my fingers crossed.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
CW's fall
You may say, "Hey Matt, what's with all the posts on a Saturday." Well I'm bored. No work... poker tournament canceled... and the only baseball game I've watched so far this season is joyfully a blowout here in the 4th.
Anyway, so as not to seem too eager to write, I'll only quickly go over the CW. They deserve only a brief, weekend mention after kicking Veronica Mars off the schedule. Despite the fact it still hasn't been a confirmed kill, I'm still not very confident.
Anyway, the youngest (in many ways) network plans six new shows for the season.
Aliens in America (8:30 p.m. Mondays) follows a teenager and the new exchange student his family signs up to host. The family isn't prepared for the kid to be Musilm, though. The two boys hit it off and face high school together. The show's in a good place after Everybody Hates Chris and may have the most interesting premise of any of the new fall shows I've read about.
Maybe in better shape (but only because geek-god Kevin Smith is attached) is Reaper (9 p.m. Tuesdays). Smith executive produces the show and directs at least the pilot. It's another supernatural story about a kid whose parents sold his soul to the devil. Now he has to play bounty hunter and bring bad souls back to hell.
Gossip Girl (9 p.m. Wednesday) fits best into the network's future plans, covering the story of a Manhattan prep school where an anonymous blogger has the school under her thumb. It gets the cushy Next Top Model lead-in.
The last new drama, Life is Wild (8 p.m. Sunday) takes a reluctant teen to South Africa with her family so her father can work at a game reserve. It will follow two new "reality" shows, as the network calls them: Newsertainment magazine CW Now and Online Nation, which scours the Web for user-created content and airs it.
Midseason shows will include One Tree Hill and Pussycat Dolls, and two new "reality shows:" Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, a mother-daughter competition show leading up to a beauty pageant finale, and Farmer Wants a Wife... think The Bachelor with a farmer and city girls.
Here's the schedule:
MONDAY: Everybody Hates Chris at 8 p.m., Aliens in America at 8:30 p.m., Girlfriends at 9 p.m. and The Game at 9:30 p.m.
TUESDAY: Beauty and the Geek at 8 p.m., Reaper at 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: America's Next Top Model at 8 p.m., Gossip Girl at 9 p.m.
THURSDAY: Smallville at 8 p.m., Supernatural at 9 p.m.
FRIDAY: Friday Night Smackdown at 8 p.m.
SUNDAY: CW Now at 7 p.m., Online Nation at 7:30 p.m., Life is Wild at 8 p.m.
Notable returns: None, really.
Omissions: Veronica Mars, All of Us
Anyway, so as not to seem too eager to write, I'll only quickly go over the CW. They deserve only a brief, weekend mention after kicking Veronica Mars off the schedule. Despite the fact it still hasn't been a confirmed kill, I'm still not very confident.
Anyway, the youngest (in many ways) network plans six new shows for the season.
Aliens in America (8:30 p.m. Mondays) follows a teenager and the new exchange student his family signs up to host. The family isn't prepared for the kid to be Musilm, though. The two boys hit it off and face high school together. The show's in a good place after Everybody Hates Chris and may have the most interesting premise of any of the new fall shows I've read about.
Maybe in better shape (but only because geek-god Kevin Smith is attached) is Reaper (9 p.m. Tuesdays). Smith executive produces the show and directs at least the pilot. It's another supernatural story about a kid whose parents sold his soul to the devil. Now he has to play bounty hunter and bring bad souls back to hell.
Gossip Girl (9 p.m. Wednesday) fits best into the network's future plans, covering the story of a Manhattan prep school where an anonymous blogger has the school under her thumb. It gets the cushy Next Top Model lead-in.
The last new drama, Life is Wild (8 p.m. Sunday) takes a reluctant teen to South Africa with her family so her father can work at a game reserve. It will follow two new "reality" shows, as the network calls them: Newsertainment magazine CW Now and Online Nation, which scours the Web for user-created content and airs it.
Midseason shows will include One Tree Hill and Pussycat Dolls, and two new "reality shows:" Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, a mother-daughter competition show leading up to a beauty pageant finale, and Farmer Wants a Wife... think The Bachelor with a farmer and city girls.
Here's the schedule:
MONDAY: Everybody Hates Chris at 8 p.m., Aliens in America at 8:30 p.m., Girlfriends at 9 p.m. and The Game at 9:30 p.m.
TUESDAY: Beauty and the Geek at 8 p.m., Reaper at 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: America's Next Top Model at 8 p.m., Gossip Girl at 9 p.m.
THURSDAY: Smallville at 8 p.m., Supernatural at 9 p.m.
FRIDAY: Friday Night Smackdown at 8 p.m.
SUNDAY: CW Now at 7 p.m., Online Nation at 7:30 p.m., Life is Wild at 8 p.m.
Notable returns: None, really.
Omissions: Veronica Mars, All of Us
Trump dumps Apprentice
From Reuters, via Yahoo:
What I really dislike about this particular article is that it continues the illusion he "created" the "catchphrase" "you're fired." It makes me nauseous...
LOS ANGELES -- Donald Trump, whose low-rated reality show The Apprentice was left off the new prime-time schedule unveiled this week by NBC, says the network can't fire him -- he quits.Oh, well. Yes it was popular, but in the grand scheme of television it's really unimportant. Trump gets some respect from me for not letting NBC play wait-and-see with its new content only to bring Apprentice back without the treatment it may deserve. Either that or NBC gave him an out and he graciously took it.
The real estate mogul issued a statement on Friday saying he has informed the U.S. television network he is "moving on from The Apprentice to a major new TV venture," though he declined to elaborate.
There was no immediate comment from NBC. But his announcement appeared to end any lingering doubt that The Apprentice, which turned the self-styled tycoon into a television star and popularized the catch phrase, "You're fired," would be banished from NBC's airwaves next season.
The Apprentice debuted as a hit in 2004, averaging nearly 21 million viewers and ranking as the top-rated new U.S. TV show its first season. But the series dropped steadily in the ratings in successive years, losing nearly two-thirds of its original audience by the time it wrapped up its sixth installment last month.
What I really dislike about this particular article is that it continues the illusion he "created" the "catchphrase" "you're fired." It makes me nauseous...
Special What's on: Saturday
I don't normally cover Saurday night television because I don't expect anyone to really be watching television at that time... anyway, there's finales:
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC/11:30 p.m.) wraps up its season with Zach Braff hosting and Maroon 5 guesting.
MAD TV (FOX/11 p.m.) wraps up with Fred Willard guesting.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC/11:30 p.m.) wraps up its season with Zach Braff hosting and Maroon 5 guesting.
MAD TV (FOX/11 p.m.) wraps up with Fred Willard guesting.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Poor Pam...
Ouch. Ouch OUCH! I know this isn't really TV news, but I figure a few people would be interested... from Zap2it:
Jenna Fischer will be out of commission a while, but she'll be back answering phones this summer. The actress, best known as Pam on NBC's workplace comedy The Office, fractured her back Monday in New York, reports Access Hollywood.
Fischer, 33, was in town for the network's upfront party at Buddakan, a bar in Manhattan, when she fell down a flight of stairs, fracturing her back in four places.
*snip*
Fischer's rep says that her client avoided injuring her spine and will be recovered fully by the time the fourth season shoots this summer.
What's on: Friday
So I gotta be in to work early today, so no time for Fox or CW's upfronts. Will be catching up over the weekend, I promise.
A new game show debuts tonight: NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT (ABC/9 p.m.). I'm not sure how bingo translates to television, and I'm not sure I want to know....
CBS has a tribute to Walter Cronkite with THAT'S THE WAY IT IS: A CELEBRATION OF CRONKITE AT 90 (8 p.m.) and a Dr. Phil special (9 p.m.) leading in to the season finale of NUMBERS (10 p.m.).
And, if you're up at that hour, Comedy Central's LIVE AT GOTHAM (midnight) -- hosted by Howard Stern lackey Artie Lange -- premieres its second season.
Also new: America's Funniest Home Videos and 20/20 on ABC; Dateline on NBC; Smackdown on CW; Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Painkiller Jane on Sci-Fi.
A new game show debuts tonight: NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT (ABC/9 p.m.). I'm not sure how bingo translates to television, and I'm not sure I want to know....
CBS has a tribute to Walter Cronkite with THAT'S THE WAY IT IS: A CELEBRATION OF CRONKITE AT 90 (8 p.m.) and a Dr. Phil special (9 p.m.) leading in to the season finale of NUMBERS (10 p.m.).
And, if you're up at that hour, Comedy Central's LIVE AT GOTHAM (midnight) -- hosted by Howard Stern lackey Artie Lange -- premieres its second season.
Also new: America's Funniest Home Videos and 20/20 on ABC; Dateline on NBC; Smackdown on CW; Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Painkiller Jane on Sci-Fi.
www.creedthoughts.gov/creedthoughts.www
Question.
The Jim/Pam thing is a cop out. True or false?
See how I snuck in a topical reference and still refrained from giving away a spoiler before the caps part? SPOILERS BELOW! IF YOU LIKE THE OFFICE AND DON'T WANT ME TO RUIN THE FINALE FOR YOU, COME BACK AND READ MY COMMENTARY LATER.
Anyhow, now that we're alone, I seriously need to know your thoughts. Myself along with all the other Office dweebs were all over the little office romance in seasons one and two and crushed when it seemed they'd both gone their separate ways. Now I feel like they're getting together out of obligation more than they are because the characters belong that way, which they probably do.
They are, truthfully the only characters who can carry on an actual conversation on this show. They're the show's sole source of realism and sincerity. But that doesn't necessarily make this a good thing. I'll come back to this...
Before getting too steeped in that, I think it's important to point out a few things about the show that became really obvious in the hour it was alotted tonight. First, it has, without a doubt, the best ensemble of any comedy on TV right now (even Entourage and Scrubs) -- Angela, Creed and Kevin alone show their worth with scarce appearances and sometimes barely a line, and the rest of the cast is consistently good.
I don't like this version of the Jan character. I can understand the mushiness with Michael, but her act at the corporate office was significantly unlike her -- she's completely different from just two weeks ago when she and Michael broke up. It's kind of sad, because she was much more entertaining when she was businesslike and authoritative. Wussing her up makes her as big a mess as Dwight or pre-anger management Andy. The character's all but ruined. ( I do, however, like Michael running to the girls for relationship advice.) But this relationship seems useless to me, too. I'd like to see crushed-soul Michael next season for a few episodes to put Jan out for good. That may be the only redeeming value she'd bring. Crushed-soul Michael is always entertaining.
But he's always entertaining anyway, and they don't need to latch him onto Jan to keep that going.
Another thing that's irking me a little bit: The show provides a very good example of humble, humanizing moments, such as Michael showing up on the wrong day for the interview and warning Pam that he'd be about three hours late to work. But, I'm disappointed that the show has moved away from the awkwardness it made its bones with. That's the core of the show's genius right there -- when I have to get up and leave the room because it's getting so painful to watch Michael dig himself into a more and more embarrassing hole (Diwali episode). Either that awkwardness is completely gone or I've become numb to it.
Anyway, to wrap up the Jim/Pam thing... There was no real way around it the way this episode was structured. They set it up big with Pam talking like they made a truce on the beach, and the obvious distance between him and Karen (who's gotta be annoyed after being left in New York). I just don't know if it was the way the show needed to go.
Wish I hadn't gotten so depressed at the end there... less enjoyable than the 250th blog post I had first pictured. Don't let any of that take away from the fact that The Office is still a great comedy. Just question authority a little bit for me....
The Jim/Pam thing is a cop out. True or false?
See how I snuck in a topical reference and still refrained from giving away a spoiler before the caps part? SPOILERS BELOW! IF YOU LIKE THE OFFICE AND DON'T WANT ME TO RUIN THE FINALE FOR YOU, COME BACK AND READ MY COMMENTARY LATER.
Anyhow, now that we're alone, I seriously need to know your thoughts. Myself along with all the other Office dweebs were all over the little office romance in seasons one and two and crushed when it seemed they'd both gone their separate ways. Now I feel like they're getting together out of obligation more than they are because the characters belong that way, which they probably do.
They are, truthfully the only characters who can carry on an actual conversation on this show. They're the show's sole source of realism and sincerity. But that doesn't necessarily make this a good thing. I'll come back to this...
Before getting too steeped in that, I think it's important to point out a few things about the show that became really obvious in the hour it was alotted tonight. First, it has, without a doubt, the best ensemble of any comedy on TV right now (even Entourage and Scrubs) -- Angela, Creed and Kevin alone show their worth with scarce appearances and sometimes barely a line, and the rest of the cast is consistently good.
I don't like this version of the Jan character. I can understand the mushiness with Michael, but her act at the corporate office was significantly unlike her -- she's completely different from just two weeks ago when she and Michael broke up. It's kind of sad, because she was much more entertaining when she was businesslike and authoritative. Wussing her up makes her as big a mess as Dwight or pre-anger management Andy. The character's all but ruined. ( I do, however, like Michael running to the girls for relationship advice.) But this relationship seems useless to me, too. I'd like to see crushed-soul Michael next season for a few episodes to put Jan out for good. That may be the only redeeming value she'd bring. Crushed-soul Michael is always entertaining.
But he's always entertaining anyway, and they don't need to latch him onto Jan to keep that going.
Another thing that's irking me a little bit: The show provides a very good example of humble, humanizing moments, such as Michael showing up on the wrong day for the interview and warning Pam that he'd be about three hours late to work. But, I'm disappointed that the show has moved away from the awkwardness it made its bones with. That's the core of the show's genius right there -- when I have to get up and leave the room because it's getting so painful to watch Michael dig himself into a more and more embarrassing hole (Diwali episode). Either that awkwardness is completely gone or I've become numb to it.
Anyway, to wrap up the Jim/Pam thing... There was no real way around it the way this episode was structured. They set it up big with Pam talking like they made a truce on the beach, and the obvious distance between him and Karen (who's gotta be annoyed after being left in New York). I just don't know if it was the way the show needed to go.
Wish I hadn't gotten so depressed at the end there... less enjoyable than the 250th blog post I had first pictured. Don't let any of that take away from the fact that The Office is still a great comedy. Just question authority a little bit for me....
Thursday, May 17, 2007
What could annoy me more than losing Jericho?
Read on... from TV.com:
Maybe if crap like Next Top Model wasn't televised, people would watch the quality shows and not ride their attention deficit disorder into dimwitted oblivion.
It's been an up and down the past few weeks for Veronica Mars fans. The future of the cult show looked grim but was momentarily turned around after network execs reportedly responded positively to new a direction for the next season.CW is lame. I'll go over their full lineup later or tomorrow (these upfronts are hard work and I've still yet to cover Fox), but this is the only really important news. I ask again: Why keep well crafted programming? Who needs it? Shunning intelligent customers seems to be a theme in this business. Keep Next Top Model and One Tree Hill, but toss Veronica Mars.
Then, word spread that the CW had picked up three dramas, making a renewal for the detective show unlikely. Today, the CW released its schedule for the fall season, and -- brace yourselves -- Veronica Mars was not on it.
snip
Kristen Bell fans shouldn't storm the CW's corporate office yet. Though Veronica Mars isn't on the schedule, The Hollywood Reporter says a final decision on the show may not happen until next month.
Maybe if crap like Next Top Model wasn't televised, people would watch the quality shows and not ride their attention deficit disorder into dimwitted oblivion.
ABC; one, two... twelve
ABC came out firing earlier this week with its upfront presentation, announcing seven new dramas, a trio of comedies and one reality show. Twelve new shows to bolster what, I think, is already a pretty strong schedule. More interesting is the fact that they'll add them all without much loss of quality shows (they only really dumped a few comedies; The Nine and Six Degrees were already gone; and What About Brian was always on its way out). Here's the rundown...
In drama, there's Big Shots (10 p.m. Thursdays), about four CEOs "at the top of their game ... until the women in their lives enter the room," according to the network. (Ugh, seriously? Sorry, I'll stop.) The guys are all pals and confide in each other. Then there's Sex and the City knockoff Cashmere Mafia, starring Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, Miranda Otto and Bonnie Somerville as a gaggle of businesswomen. They'll be around in the spring.
Peter Krause and Donald Sutherland star in Dirty Sexy Money (10 p.m. Wednesdays) about a guy who's "leading the perfect life as an idealistic lawyer, until his father's suspicious death. The absurdly wealthy Darlings of New York have asked him to take over his father's job as their personal lawyer, but the money that will allow him the freedom to be an altruistic do-gooder is only part of the picture."
The big one is Private Practice (9 p.m. Wednesdays) , the Grey's Anatomy spinoff, which will take Addison (Kate Walsh) from Seattle to LA to join the quirky private practice we saw in the special Grey's a few weeks ago.
Other dramas: Eli Stone about a lawyer whose life changes when he discovers he has a brain aneurysm; Pushing Daisies (8 p.m. Wednesdays) about a guy who realizes he can raise the dead; Women's Murder Club (9 p.m. Fridays), based on James Patterson's novels, about four professional women from San Francisco who solve mysteries.
And in comedy, there's another team of four friends (really spreading the concepts out here, ABC) in Carpoolers (8:30 p.m.). Guess where their wackiness is based...
Then there's Cavemen, (8 p.m. Tuesdays) which is in theory an abomination to entertainment, taking the Geico cavemen and giving them a sitcom. But, as a coworker pitched it to me, there are hopes it could be an interesting chance to tackle racism in entertainment... though, ABC's parent Disney probably won't be standing for that.
Judy Grier leads Miss/Guided, due in the spring, about a woman who returns to her high school as a guidance counselor. There's also Sam I Am (9:30 Mondays) about a woman who falls into a coma and wakes up with amnesia "Sam must start over. To her dismay she discovers that she wasn't a particularly honest, good-hearted or loving person." Sounds hilarious.
The only new reality series is Oprah's Big Give, where the queen of all media's production company puts together a biggest philanthropist (think Biggest Loser) award. The show "centers on the competition, drama and emotion as millions of dollars are given away to make a difference in people's lives across the country... During the eight episodes filmed in various U.S. cities, the field will be narrowed."
Cashmere Mafia, Notes from the Underbelly and October Road will join the Monday lineup after Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor wrap up their fall seasons. Also on the midseason roster are Lost, Miss/Guided, Wife Swap and Supernanny.
Here's the initial fall plan:
MONDAY: Dancing with the Stars at 8 p.m., Sam I Am at 9:30 p.m. and The Bachelor at 10 p.m.
TUESDAY: Cavemen at 8 p.m., Carpoolers at 8:30 p.m., Dancing with the Stars results at 9 p.m., Boston Legal at 10 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Pushing Dasies at 8 p.m., Private Practice at 9 p.m. and Dirty Sexy Money at 10 p.m.
THURSDAY: Ugly Betty at 8 p.m., Grey's Anatomy at 9 p.m., and Big Shots at 10 p.m. FRIDAY: Men in Trees at 8 p.m., Women's Murder Club at 9 p.m. and 20/20 at 10 p.m.
SATURDAY: Saturday Night College Football at 8 p.m.
SUNDAY: America's Funniest Home Videos at 7 p.m., Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at 8 p.m., Desperate Housewives at 9 p.m. and Brothers & Sisters at 10 p.m.
Notable pickups: None really... though Boston Legal and Men in Trees seem to have been struggling. And any network that can pick up so many reality shows has some notability. Not necessarily positive notability.
Omissions: Knights of Prosperity, According to Jim, George Lopez, What About Brian
In drama, there's Big Shots (10 p.m. Thursdays), about four CEOs "at the top of their game ... until the women in their lives enter the room," according to the network. (Ugh, seriously? Sorry, I'll stop.) The guys are all pals and confide in each other. Then there's Sex and the City knockoff Cashmere Mafia, starring Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, Miranda Otto and Bonnie Somerville as a gaggle of businesswomen. They'll be around in the spring.
Peter Krause and Donald Sutherland star in Dirty Sexy Money (10 p.m. Wednesdays) about a guy who's "leading the perfect life as an idealistic lawyer, until his father's suspicious death. The absurdly wealthy Darlings of New York have asked him to take over his father's job as their personal lawyer, but the money that will allow him the freedom to be an altruistic do-gooder is only part of the picture."
The big one is Private Practice (9 p.m. Wednesdays) , the Grey's Anatomy spinoff, which will take Addison (Kate Walsh) from Seattle to LA to join the quirky private practice we saw in the special Grey's a few weeks ago.
Other dramas: Eli Stone about a lawyer whose life changes when he discovers he has a brain aneurysm; Pushing Daisies (8 p.m. Wednesdays) about a guy who realizes he can raise the dead; Women's Murder Club (9 p.m. Fridays), based on James Patterson's novels, about four professional women from San Francisco who solve mysteries.
And in comedy, there's another team of four friends (really spreading the concepts out here, ABC) in Carpoolers (8:30 p.m.). Guess where their wackiness is based...
Then there's Cavemen, (8 p.m. Tuesdays) which is in theory an abomination to entertainment, taking the Geico cavemen and giving them a sitcom. But, as a coworker pitched it to me, there are hopes it could be an interesting chance to tackle racism in entertainment... though, ABC's parent Disney probably won't be standing for that.
Judy Grier leads Miss/Guided, due in the spring, about a woman who returns to her high school as a guidance counselor. There's also Sam I Am (9:30 Mondays) about a woman who falls into a coma and wakes up with amnesia "Sam must start over. To her dismay she discovers that she wasn't a particularly honest, good-hearted or loving person." Sounds hilarious.
The only new reality series is Oprah's Big Give, where the queen of all media's production company puts together a biggest philanthropist (think Biggest Loser) award. The show "centers on the competition, drama and emotion as millions of dollars are given away to make a difference in people's lives across the country... During the eight episodes filmed in various U.S. cities, the field will be narrowed."
Cashmere Mafia, Notes from the Underbelly and October Road will join the Monday lineup after Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor wrap up their fall seasons. Also on the midseason roster are Lost, Miss/Guided, Wife Swap and Supernanny.
Here's the initial fall plan:
MONDAY: Dancing with the Stars at 8 p.m., Sam I Am at 9:30 p.m. and The Bachelor at 10 p.m.
TUESDAY: Cavemen at 8 p.m., Carpoolers at 8:30 p.m., Dancing with the Stars results at 9 p.m., Boston Legal at 10 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Pushing Dasies at 8 p.m., Private Practice at 9 p.m. and Dirty Sexy Money at 10 p.m.
THURSDAY: Ugly Betty at 8 p.m., Grey's Anatomy at 9 p.m., and Big Shots at 10 p.m. FRIDAY: Men in Trees at 8 p.m., Women's Murder Club at 9 p.m. and 20/20 at 10 p.m.
SATURDAY: Saturday Night College Football at 8 p.m.
SUNDAY: America's Funniest Home Videos at 7 p.m., Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at 8 p.m., Desperate Housewives at 9 p.m. and Brothers & Sisters at 10 p.m.
Notable pickups: None really... though Boston Legal and Men in Trees seem to have been struggling. And any network that can pick up so many reality shows has some notability. Not necessarily positive notability.
Omissions: Knights of Prosperity, According to Jim, George Lopez, What About Brian
What to watch: Thursday
EVERYTHING is wrapping up for the season tonight. Any network show I could mention is a season finale, so I won't pull them all out, but notably UGLY BETTY (ABC/8 p.m.) wraps up a successful first season.
Even more notably, CSI (CBS/9 p.m.) wraps up its seventh season with the big reveal of the miniature killer's identity. And, maybe, a kidnapping.
And CBS also has a tribute to game show host Bob Barker (CBS/8 p.m.), who's leaving in June after 50 years on TV and 35 years on the Price is Right.
Also new: Grey's Anatomy finale and a special Lost: The Answers (a producer-fueled clip show) on ABC; hourlong Office and Scrubs finales and ER on NBC; Smallville and Supernatural finales on CW; TNA Impact and Ultimate Fighter on Spike; Penn and Teller on Showtime.
Even more notably, CSI (CBS/9 p.m.) wraps up its seventh season with the big reveal of the miniature killer's identity. And, maybe, a kidnapping.
And CBS also has a tribute to game show host Bob Barker (CBS/8 p.m.), who's leaving in June after 50 years on TV and 35 years on the Price is Right.
Also new: Grey's Anatomy finale and a special Lost: The Answers (a producer-fueled clip show) on ABC; hourlong Office and Scrubs finales and ER on NBC; Smallville and Supernatural finales on CW; TNA Impact and Ultimate Fighter on Spike; Penn and Teller on Showtime.
You all everybody
Sounds like the name of a Homestar song, doesn't it? If you don't know what I'm talking about, I give you the Web's best answer to TV so far.
Anyway I'd suggest you stop reading now if you've not watched Lost yet. There're some SPOILERS BELOW THIS LINE. I'm NOT KIDDING. (Why do I go through such lengths? Because I know what it's like to read the news and have something ruined.)
I'm way off topic. Sorry. So...
This is Lost's MO: Use the last 10 or so episodes to build up to a big event (The Hatch, The Others), then leave us hanging a few times in there with about 10 unfinished plotlines (if I have to list them, you probably don't care anyway), THEN hand us the answers to about three of those, discount one or two and leave the rest for next season (where maybe half will be answered). It's genius, because they've got me hook, line and big, four-toed statue foot.
With a big two-hour finale next week, there should be no wonder there's a cliffhanger (don't kid yourself into thinking there won't be one next week either). You never want to sit and expect it, but you know it's coming. Especially with the over-pushed "Charlie's gonna die" storyline that they expect you to expect to come to an end this week. I wanted to believe it would, but you know that if the hobbit -- who was considered the fan-favorite character in the show's early going -- is going to die, it'll be in the finale, whether it's the honorable death he planned or not (I picture him surviving only to meet an unbelievably untimely death just moments later).
The important part is they offer you a bunch of proof that Charlie really is that noble chap who would sacrifice everything for Claire and Aaron (and cares enough to drop the f-bomb on Hurley and whack his buddy Dez upside the head). It's all a fitting sendoff for the character, and I don't think he'd be underserved by going out on that note. But he could still live, too. He's not dead yet, and if he can get out from in front of the guns of the two nice ladies he just met, he may even flip the switch and escape. At the least he'll flip the switch.
A few side notes:
-- Whatever happens, that won't be a rescue chopper that Desmond saw in his little flashes.
-- If Locke were actually dead, he wouldn't have been mentioned so faux casually.
-- It's just about too late for Jack to win me back as the leader and a partial badass. He's been in wuss mode for far too long.
-- Is it me or did Charlie's dad have an Irish accent... not one from anywhere near Manchester.
-- BERNARD AND ROSE! I've had a few conversations about where they've been in the past few weeks (two with myself right before and right after Sawyer name-dropped Bernard while handing Kate her "mix tape"). I'd like to think he'll live through this upcoming assault, but I'd be quicker to equate him to a red-shirted Star Trek extra.
-- I love when they expand to a new environment, because it just adds to the show's creepy oddness. The new station, Looking Glass, while appearing only briefly, opens up a whole new world (that may or may not disappear as quickly in the finale...).
Did I miss anything? Feel free to leave a comment or two (traffic should be going up as you'll now see my goofy mug on the TV page of the Press on most days). You can also chat with some of the more obsessed Lost fans at the Press's Lost message board.
Anyway I'd suggest you stop reading now if you've not watched Lost yet. There're some SPOILERS BELOW THIS LINE. I'm NOT KIDDING. (Why do I go through such lengths? Because I know what it's like to read the news and have something ruined.)
I'm way off topic. Sorry. So...
This is Lost's MO: Use the last 10 or so episodes to build up to a big event (The Hatch, The Others), then leave us hanging a few times in there with about 10 unfinished plotlines (if I have to list them, you probably don't care anyway), THEN hand us the answers to about three of those, discount one or two and leave the rest for next season (where maybe half will be answered). It's genius, because they've got me hook, line and big, four-toed statue foot.
With a big two-hour finale next week, there should be no wonder there's a cliffhanger (don't kid yourself into thinking there won't be one next week either). You never want to sit and expect it, but you know it's coming. Especially with the over-pushed "Charlie's gonna die" storyline that they expect you to expect to come to an end this week. I wanted to believe it would, but you know that if the hobbit -- who was considered the fan-favorite character in the show's early going -- is going to die, it'll be in the finale, whether it's the honorable death he planned or not (I picture him surviving only to meet an unbelievably untimely death just moments later).
The important part is they offer you a bunch of proof that Charlie really is that noble chap who would sacrifice everything for Claire and Aaron (and cares enough to drop the f-bomb on Hurley and whack his buddy Dez upside the head). It's all a fitting sendoff for the character, and I don't think he'd be underserved by going out on that note. But he could still live, too. He's not dead yet, and if he can get out from in front of the guns of the two nice ladies he just met, he may even flip the switch and escape. At the least he'll flip the switch.
A few side notes:
-- Whatever happens, that won't be a rescue chopper that Desmond saw in his little flashes.
-- If Locke were actually dead, he wouldn't have been mentioned so faux casually.
-- It's just about too late for Jack to win me back as the leader and a partial badass. He's been in wuss mode for far too long.
-- Is it me or did Charlie's dad have an Irish accent... not one from anywhere near Manchester.
-- BERNARD AND ROSE! I've had a few conversations about where they've been in the past few weeks (two with myself right before and right after Sawyer name-dropped Bernard while handing Kate her "mix tape"). I'd like to think he'll live through this upcoming assault, but I'd be quicker to equate him to a red-shirted Star Trek extra.
-- I love when they expand to a new environment, because it just adds to the show's creepy oddness. The new station, Looking Glass, while appearing only briefly, opens up a whole new world (that may or may not disappear as quickly in the finale...).
Did I miss anything? Feel free to leave a comment or two (traffic should be going up as you'll now see my goofy mug on the TV page of the Press on most days). You can also chat with some of the more obsessed Lost fans at the Press's Lost message board.
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