What's on: Friday

New tonight: Standoff on Fox; the premiere of the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted game show Set for Life on ABC; Smackdown on CW; Monk and Psych on USA; Best Week Ever on VH1; Dr. Who and Painkiller Jane on Sci-fi; The Soup on E.

Jericho catchup starts at 9 p.m. on CBS. Watch it. It's cool.

Looks like Jerry gained a little weight...

Rescue Me SPOILERS BELOW... yeah... not like much really went on this week. It's more of what you'd call a transitional episode, I think. Lots of new thoughts, brief touches on most of the old stuff. Nothing especially special.

The biggest point of discussion is the continuing deterioration of Tommy's psyche. As if his personal relationship with Janet isn't bad enough, he's having trouble trusting her with the baby... with good reason, apparently, since she ends up leaving the kid with the 12-year-old while she goes out to get a refill. And with the surface emasculation issues he's got, his biggest problem is his inability to step up and be the one in control of his life that's really his major issue. His prospective girlfriend (the firefighter) pointed it out directly to him, but he was too busy being humiliated by the blow-off to notice she was right.

Don't get me wrong, getting benched at the hockey game, participating in ANOTHER size discussion (this time with the aging new chief) and trampled on by a sweetie who you've just blown it with AGAIN can really put a damper on any man-time you may have going on in your own head. But, jeez, of course it's not going to work out if you're just pointing out, "oh, now I'm ready because my wife and I are broken up again." And then you're still wishy-washy. It's this inability to take, or hold onto, control -- which is because he's overworried about a ton of unimportant stuff -- that's going to screw things up even more. Jan's going to kill herself or something. Then Sheila can move in and get the baby like she wants (nice to see her back on the insanity pills she's been ignoring recently).

The show gave a little more insight into Tommy's problems this week, too, with the shadowy figure (who'll turn out to be himself) appearing in response to Tommy's statement, "I'm back." Tommy's in love with himself more than anything.

In brief:
-- I give this show credit for tackling stuff that tends to be more controversial or taboo for a lot of other shows (comedically a lot of the time, but also in a very real view) -- be it alcoholism, depression or petty free speech issues like the pictures/religious paraphernalia in the lockers.
-- Teddy's REALLY become a useless character. What could have been a hilarious two-episode arc of him in rehab turned out to be two scenes. The whole thing was a waste of time.
-- Quote me. Maggie's going to change her mind about Shawn (who put out a really good performance this week).
--This show is always fun to watch -- it's always show beautifully gritty and cut quite intelligently. I have to stop taking notes for this column and pay more attention...

Like I said, there wasn't much going on overall. Franco's engaged; Lou, still hilarious, calls for a timeout with his post-convent girlfriend... OH! Yeah, that urn in the firehouse isn't going to continue to be a problem or anything... nah. And it's not going to weigh on Tommy at all seeing him all the time as things seem to get tougher and more bleak.

What's on: Thursday

BIG BROTHER 8 (CBS/8 p.m.) will toss its second house guest tonight -- Joe or Dick.

Also new: 5th Grader and Don't Forget the Lyrics on Fox; First 48 and Detroit Swat on A&E; Burn Notice on USA; World Series of Pop Culture on VH1; TNA Impact on Spike; Hey Paula on Bravo.

I'll go over last night's Rescue Me after work tonight...

Gya, gya, gya...

It's Emmy time! Interesting point I'd like to make first... why is it that the television awards are the least interesting awards show on television? As you ponder that, I'll drop you the list of the big nominations (and some of my patented, militant opinion).

Lead Actor In A Comedy Series: Ricky Gervais as Andy Millman, Extras, HBO; Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, Monk, USA; Steve Carell as Michael Scott, The Office, NBC; Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock, NBC; Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, Two And A Half Men, CBS.

Lead Actor In A Drama Series: James Spader as Alan Shore, Boston Legal, ABC; Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House, House, Fox; Denis Leary as Tommy Gavin, Rescue Me, FX; James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, The Sopranos, HBO; Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, 24, Fox.

(Two tough categories, but no one's carried a show like Baldwin or been as real and human as Leary.)

Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie: Robert Duvall as Prentice "Print" Ritter, Broken Trail, AMC; Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone, Jesse Stone: Sea Change, CBS; Jim Broadbent as Lord Longford, Longford, HBO; William H. Macy as Clyde Umney & Sam Landry, Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From The Stories Of Stephen King, Umney's Last Case, TNT; Matthew Perry as Ron Clark, The Ron Clark Story, TNT.

Lead Actress In A Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Desperate Housewives, ABC; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, CBS; Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, 30 Rock, NBC; America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, Ugly Betty, ABC; Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, Weeds, Showtime.

Lead Actress In A Drama Series: Sally Field as Nora Walker, Brothers & Sisters, ABC; Kyra Sedgwick as Dep. Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, The Closer, Slippin', TNT; Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson, Law & Order: SVU, NBC; Patricia Arquette as Allison Dubois, Medium, NBC; Minnie Driver as Dahlia Malloy, The Riches, FX; Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano, The Sopranos, HBO.

(I like Minnie Driver here, but she's among some popular competition.)

Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie: Queen Latifah as Ana, Life Support, HBO; Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, Prime Suspect: The Final Act (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; Mary-Louise Parker as Zenia Arden, The Robber Bride, Oxygen; Debra Messing as Molly Kagan, The Starter Wife, USA; Gena Rowlands as Melissa Eisenbloom, What If God Were The Sun, Lifetime.

Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama, Entourage, HBO; Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold, Entourage, HBO; Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother, CBS; Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, The Office, NBC; Jon Cryer as Alan Harper, Two And A Half Men, CBS.

(Harris is pretty freakin' good. So's Wilson. Won't help, though. Piven's got the best character on TV.)

Supporting Actor In A Drama Series: William Shatner as Denny Crane, Boston Legal, ABC; T.R. Knight as George, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura, Heroes, NBC; Michael Emerson as Ben, Lost, ABC; Terry O'Quinn as John Locke, Lost, ABC; Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti, The Sopranos, HBO.

(Emerson's Ben is ridiculously creepy good.)

Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series: Jaime Pressly as Joy Turner, My Name Is Earl, NBC; Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, The Office, NBC; Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper, Two And A Half Men, CBS; Conchata Ferrell as Berta, Two And A Half Men, CBS; Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater, Ugly Betty, ABC; Elizabeth Perkins as Celia Hodes, Weeds, Showtime.

Supporting Actress In A Drama Series: Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Brothers & Sisters, ABC; Katherine Heigl as Isobel "Izzie" Stevens, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Chandra Wilson as Dr. Bailey, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano, The Sopranos, HBO; Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Jennifer Melfi, The Sopranos, HBO.

Comedy Series: Entourage, HBO; The Office, NBC; 30 Rock, NBC; Two And A Half Men, CBS; Ugly Betty, ABC.

(More like Two and a Half YECHs. Can Scrubs get ANY love? How about Always Sunny?)

Drama Series: Boston Legal, ABC; Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Heroes, NBC; House, Fox; The Sopranos, HBO.

(No Lost? Rescue Me? C'mon people.)

Miniseries: Broken Trail, AMC; Prime Suspect: The Final Act (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; The Starter Wife, USA.

Made For Television Movie: Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, HBO; Inside The Twin Towers, Discovery Channel; Longford, HBO; The Ron Clark Story, TNT; Why I Wore Lipstick To My Mastectomy, Lifetime.

Variety, Music Or Comedy Series: The Colbert Report, Comedy Central; The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central; Late Night With Conan O'Brien, NBC; Late Show With David Letterman, CBS; Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO.

Reality Program: Antiques Roadshow, PBS; Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan, National Geographic; Extreme Makeover Home Edition, ABC; Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List, Bravo; Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, Showtime.

Reality-Competition Program: The Amazing Race, CBS; American Idol, Fox; Dancing With The Stars, ABC; Project Runway, Bravo; Top Chef, Bravo.

(That any of the shows in these last two categories should get an award for anything makes me nauseous).

More on the categories not mentioned here and some deeper looks at the big'uns later this weekend.

What's on: Wednesday

The semifinals begin on LAST COMIC STANDING (NBC/9 p.m.). The show's been pretty good so far this year, but now we see what kind of talent we'll be following into the next couple months.

It's followed by DATELINE NBC (10 p.m.), which stakes out a home just two towns away from me in Lavallette, N.J., for its To Catch a Predator series.

Also new: So You Think You Can Dance and Don't Forget the Lyrics on Fox; Next Best Thing, American Inventor and Traveler on ABC; Really Big Things on Discovery; Rescue Me on FX; Top Chef on Bravo; Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth on Sci-Fi; two episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne on TBS.

My alotted time

Ha! See how I did that? It's like it's a new joke again. It's action film week On the Lot. I'm excited, though I'm not sure anyone else in the TV watching world is. And seeing as how only two people have answered my poll on the right (--->), it seems I'm sitting here discussing these movies with myself. That Antwan Fuqua is watching them with me makes me feel a little better at least.

On the bright side, I called this week's oustings of Hillary (FINALLY) and Shalini.

Key Witness (Sam): This is very different content for this show. Witness caught by bounty hunter then found by bad guys. Terrible dialogue and nothing really outwardly special in his style, but just the right amount of quick cuts and goofiness to make it reasonably entertaining.

Sweet (Jason): Forgotten anniversary cliche... but I'm a big fan of cross concept stories. An action film with a goofy romantic-comedy story, though I think the comedy got pushed a little bit too hard and the props/costumes/etc were terrible. He's getting better every week as a filmmaker though.

Zero 2 Sixty (Andrew): Car salesman trapped in car with cop for chase. It's the type of flick that would be made in full-length format starring Jimmy Fallon to the horror of well-heeled film fans everywhere. In short form, it's OK, but I expect much more from this guy. The comedy was weak and I wasn't very much impressed with the acting, but it was really well shot.

The Losers (Kenny): I was really starting to like this guy after last week. Then he put THIS together. Dad competes in skateboarding downhill for son with busted ankle. The dialogue and the acting and the writing and the story were all horrific. Especially the dialogue.

Catch (Mateen): Best story of the night... good Samaritan chasing pickpocket and getting bamboozled. It may be his best yet. Well shot and better characters than any others tonight.

I'm thinking Kenny and Andrew may be the victims this week, though Andrew's better than his presentation showed this time around. Reader... comment?

Full House

Hey, sorry I missed the what's on today... busy day... but here's some news for you. From Hollywood Reporter/Reuters:

LOS ANGELES -- Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn, Peter Jacobson and Anne Dudek have landed recurring roles on Fox's hit medical drama House.

The four are expected to play characters who will be brought in after the resignations of House's (Hugh Laurie) underlings Foreman (Omar Epps) and Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and the firing of Chase (Jesse Spencer).

Full story here.

Either the kids are really leaving the show, or these will be the temporary replacements until House finally makes up with his team. Either way, well played Fox.

Poll added

My sidebar has expanded to include polls, which I'm considering using in a discussion of the upcoming fall shows... please answer this week's poll so I can get an idea of how excited ya'll are about my small corner of the Web.

If you do so, I promise to never use the term "ya'll" again.

Finally, time for some tunes...

Whether or not it was a coincidence (it probably wasn't), both NBC and Fox have brand new sing-that-song-correctly game shows for the summer season.

After about a week or so, I finally found an hour to put in to check out these two shows -- Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics and NBC's The Singing Bee -- and see which is the more useful of the two useless karaoke game shows.

I'll get my thesis out of the way now: Considering NBC announced Bee for the fall, Fox put together Lyrics for the summer and NBC bumped Bee up, Lyrics seems to be the less-lame (though, obviously more derivative) of the two shows.

Fox basically put together a Millionaire ripoff that feeds on the same tension as that savior of game show TV and the current reigning champ, Deal or No Deal. Contestants, led and coached by the always-too-excited and popular-with-the-Millionaire-crowd Wayne Brady (of Whose Line fame). He even sings along when contestants check their answers. The contestants choose from a pool of categories, then from the two songs within, and work their way up a prize-money ladder to the million-dollar tune. They've got three "backups" (life lines), including in-studio assistants. The biggest problem is the contestants get to amend their original performance if they can't get it the first time. A contestant's appearance can drag on over a few shows and the action is pretty slow moving.

That said, it's a bazillion times more entertaining than the Joey Fatone-helmed Singing Bee on NBC. Not that that's saying much. Flanked by a band (which is more prominent, but less talented than the Lyrics crew) and a quartet of dancers, Fatone picks six players out of the audience and then makes them come up with fairly simple lyrics in the first round (which four contestants survive). They whittle them down to two, and then a winner, who competes for $50,000. The songs here are ridiculously simple (someone had to figure out what comes after "I wanna rock and roll all night") and the biggest problem is small embellishments (like soulfully plugging the word "well" before a lyric) can get you a buzzer. It's way over the top and doesn't even follow simple spelling bee rules, which might make it more useful.

Overall, you probably shouldn't be wasting your time with either show. But Lyrics has a bit more to it and presents an actual challenge, whereas Bee is like something you'd see on Telemundo at 4:30 a.m.

Minds blowing

From E! Online:

Mandy Patinkin is not only out of sight on the fall TV season, he's completely out of Minds.

Days after news broke that the Criminal Minds star was MIA from the third-season premiere's table read, Patinkin and producers have announced that the Emmy-winning actor has left the series at his request.

"Due to creative differences, Mandy has asked not to return to Criminal Minds this season," the actor's publicist said in a statement. "Mandy would like to thank the studios and network for releasing him from the series and he wishes the cast and crew continued success in all of their endeavors and looks forward to continuing to work with the Disney and CBS companies in other capacities in the future."

Full story here.

It's too bad that no one will have any need to watch this show anymore... but I'm curious to see where they take it.

What's on: Monday

If you like intelligent entertainment, VICTORIA BECKHAM: COMING TO AMERICA (NBC/8 p.m.) may not be for you. It follows the former pop star as she and soccer star David Beckham settle in to L.A. But if you're normally watching a lot of E! or MTV, go for it.

Also new: Age of Love on NBC; Hell's Kitchen on Fox; Extreme Makeover on ABC; Big Love on HBO; The Closer and Heartland on TNT; Kyle XY and Greek on ABC Family.

Talk about jumping the shark...

From Hollywood Reporter:

CBS' Criminal Minds could return for a third season without Mandy Patinkin. The star didn't show up for the table read of the ABC Studios/CBS Paramount-produced drama's table read this week, which first was reported by E!

Sources said that the episode had been written featuring few scenes with Patinkin, an indication that the show is preparing for a possible future without him.

Full story here.

If you want to see a show come to a crashing halt, watch when Mandy leaves. As good as this procedural is, he's really the crux... This would just be another reason for me to dislike CBS.

One extra Extras

From Zap2it:

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are sticking to their plan of not filming a third season of Extras. But the show isn't quite finished either.

The award-winning duo will close out the story of background actor-turned-sitcom star Andy Millman (Gervais) with a one-hour Extras special, HBO announced Thursday at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour. Gervais and Merchant did something similar with the original version of The Office, finishing off two seasons with a one-shot special (which earned an Emmy nomination for writing in 2005).

Full story here.

Nothing unexpected. I would have been disappointed if they didn't have a special, actually. But I don't think the story needed it especially.

What's on: Sunday

New tonight: Big Brother on CBS; John from Cincinnati, Entourage and Flight of the Conchords on HBO; American Body Shop on Comedy Central; premieres on Side Order of Life and State of Mind along with a new Army Wives on Lifetime; 4400 and Dead Zone on USA; debuts of Rock of Love and Scott Baio is 45 and Single on VH1.

What's on: Friday

I'm excited. Not only do I get a new Rescue Me every week, but back tonight is PSYCH (USA/10 p.m.). I can't say enough good stuff about this well acted, cleverly written show. It follows a brand new MONK (9 p.m.). Both will be around for a couple months for the midsummer haves of their seasons.

MSG network has a live performance from OAR (8 p.m.) as part of its concert series. Rock. Seriously.

Also new: Smackdown on CW; Standoff on Fox; 20/20 on ABC; Best Week Ever on VH1; Dr. Who and Painkiller Jane on Sci-fi; The Soup on E.

Also... it's not new, but your weekly Jericho catchup is on from 8 to 10 p.m.