tv

new and noteworthy tv: 4/5-4/11

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Procrastinator picks are underlined… intrigued by the new HBO series at least, though can’t bring myself to pay for HBO.

Monday

  • NCAA Men’s Championship (CBS, 6pm) – The title game in Indianapolis.
  • Runaway Squad (A&E, 10pm) Series Premiere – A search for runaways to reunite them with their families.
  • Tori & Dean (Oxy, 10pm) Season Premiere – Do we really want to see them take an RV road trip?

Tuesday

  • Chopped (Food, 10pm) Season Premiere – Rattlesnake meat?

Wednesday

  • Criminal Minds (CBS, 9pm) – I only occasionally tune in to this show but am intrigued by the promise of a spin-off with tonight’s look at another BAU unit led by Forest Whitaker.
  • Peep Show/That Mitchell & Webb Look (BBCA, 9pm) Season Premiere – Roomie shenanigans and sketch comedy.
  • The Real World/Road Rules Challenge (MTV, 10pm) Season Premiere – They’re at it again.
  • Top Chef Masters (Brav, 11pm) Season Premiere – New competing chefs and a new judge at the table.

Thursday

  • Bones (Fox, 8pm) – The 100th episode brings Booth and Bone’s first case together.

Friday

  • Gator 911/Danger Coast (CMT, 9/9:30pm) Series Premieres – Gators and water rescues.
  • Private Chefs of Beverly Hills (Food, 10pm) Series Premiere – We’re following yet another profession, caterers to the over the top.

Saturday

  • 24/7 (HBO, 10pm) Season Premiere – Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley.

Sunday

  • Brandy & Ray J/Basketball Wives/What Chilli Wants (VH1, 9/10/10:30pm) Series Premieres – More reality fare.
  • The Tudors (Show, 9pm) Season Premiere – Henry takes a fifth wife.
  • Army Wives (Life, 10pm) Season Premiere – More drama.
  • Treme (HBO, 10pm) Series Premiere – A new drama, from the creators of The Wire, set in New Orleans following Katrina.
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tv

new and noteworthy tv: 3/29-4/4

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Monday

  • 10 Things I Hate About You (ABCFam, 8pm) Season Premiere – Maybe they cover a thing a season.
  • Pawn Star$ (Hist, 10pm) Season Premiere – What’s for sale?
  • Saving Grace (TNT, 10pm) Season Premiere – We edge into the final season as Grace continues her drama and her chat with her angel.

Tuesday

  • My First Home/Little Chocolatiers (TLC, 8/10pm) Season Premieres – Homes and chocolate, who could ask for more?
  • Law & Order: Criminal Intent (USA, 10pm) Season Premiere – Goran, Eames, and their lieutenant are counting down to their departures.
  • V (ABC, 10pm) Season Premiere – The aliens are back.

Wednesday

  • In Plain Sight (USA, 10pm) Season Premiere – Mary and Marshall together again.
  • The Ultimate Fighter (Spike, 10pm) Season Premiere – Let the competition begin.

Thursday

  • Bones/Fringe (Fox, 8/9pm) – They’ve taken a break but now they’re back.
  • Mentalist (CBS, 9pm) – Will his powers of perception and persuasion work at an earlier timeslot?
  • Fugitive Chronicles (A&E, 10pm) Series Premiere – Real life infamous manhunts brought to life, I love a good reenactment.

Friday

  • Wife Swap (ABC, 8pm) Season Premiere – Tv sanctioned family torture is back.
  • Stargate Universe/Merlin (Syfy, 9/10pm) Season Premieres – Alien and magical worlds return.
  • Miami Medical (CBS, 10pm) Series Premiere – Another take on the medical drama, the trauma unit finds expert surgeons and an adrenaline rush.

Saturday

  • Maybe I should review my Netflix queue.

Sunday

  • Sunday Best (BET, 5pm) Season Premiere – The gospel competition kicks off in Nigeria.
  • Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom (AnPl, 7pm) – Bears like food!
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tv

new and noteworthy tv: 3/22-3/28

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Idol is down to two nights a week so maybe I’ll finally start to catch up on Lost…

Monday

  • Dancing with the Stars (ABC, 8pm) Season Premiere – Countdown to the first injury…
  • Top Gear (BBCA, 8pm) Season Premiere – More gear.
  • Nurse Jackie/United States of Tara (Show, 10/10:30pm) Season Premiere – The ladies return to Showtime.

Tuesday

  • Survivors (BBCA, 9pm) Season Premiere – Apparently some of the survivors are still surviving in this post apocalyptic tale.
  • V (ABC, 10pm) – After a break this special recap reminding us that we want to like this show but don’t.

Wednesday

  • Fly Girls (CW, 9pm) Series Premiere – I can’t believe an airline agreed to have their stews filmed off duty.
  • Mythbusters/Is It Possible (Disc, 9/10pm) Season/Series Premiere – Thwarting myths and looking at science.

Thursday

  • NCAA (CBS, check local listings) – If we’re at the semis this means the brackets are almost done, right?

Friday

  • Chandon Pictures (Sund, 9pm) Series Premiere – An Australian sitcom follows documentary filmmakers/wedding videographers, hmm I think I saw this on Melrose Place.

Saturday

  • Kids’ Choice Awards (Nick, 8pm) – Kevin James hosts the latest.

Sunday

  • Bubba’s World (Fuel, 10pm) Series Premiere – Following champion motocross rider James Stewart.
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tv

idol dozen

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The pain isn’t over, it just gets more serious. The semi finals are over and I will just come to accept the fact that the wrong four were kicked off. Todrick, Alex, Katelyn, and Lacey may not have been favorites to win, but they had more talent and potential than Aaron, Tim, Paige, and Katie. But it reminds me that one of the things that keeps Idol interesting is the possible injustice of it all. So I expect those four to go, even if it’s not in the order I would choose.

What else makes Idol interesting? That’s a good question and every year at this time I start to wonder. And I have to remind myself that Kris Allen, who wasn’t even an early favorite, was the one who took the title last year. So this year will favorites Crystal or Big Mike continue to shine or will there be another upset or just a limp to the finish line?

I will say that it’s as fun to see a performer pick the right songs, continue to improve, and show us why we really enjoy watching performances as it is frustrating to see folks not living up to their potential and the wrong people keep coming back. I’ll keep watching for now… though I may have to skip out on the next few weeks until we cull the herd. Well, maybe after this next week.

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tv

new and noteworthy tv: 3/15-3/21

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Procrastinator picks are underlined.

Monday

  • 20/20 (ABC, 8pm) – Special Bachelor edition for the stories behind the rose, and maybe even behind the behind the rose.
  • Home Rules (HGTV, 9pm) Series Premiere – A life coach helps this family get their home together inside and out (well the out has some remodelers help).
  • Price of Beauty/Transform Me (VH1, 10/10:30pm) Series Premieres – Jessica Simpson takes us on a tour of beauty, then three transgender hosts do some makeover wonders.

Tuesday

  • Justified (FX, 10pm) Series Premiere – Timothy Olyphant, based on a character by producer Elmore Leonard, and getting good buzz, you can’t keep me away.
  • Marriage Under Construction (HGTV, 11pm) Series Premiere – The series follows a couple through house purchase and remodel.

Wednesday

  • Addicted (TLC, 10pm) Series Premiere – I’m thinking this is more along the lines of Intervention than Celebrity Rehab.
  • Destination Truth (Syfy, 10pm) Season Premiere – Looking for ghosts and the seasonally appropriate leprechauns.
  • South Park/Ugly Americans (Com, 10/10:30pm) Season/Series Premiere – The kids are back and then animated folks bring another spin to integrating werewolves, vampires, and whatnot into regular culture.

Thursday

  • Flash Forward (ABC, 8pm) – Catch Tuesday’s recap if you’re looking to catch up for the return of the season.
  • My First Sale/Selling New York/Tough as Nails (HGTV, 8:30/9/9:30pm) Series Premieres – Selling, selling, fixin’ to sell.

Friday

  • Thin Ice (ABC, 8pm) – Not sure what Elizabeth Hasselbeck is doing with Kurt Browning as they host this two part professional ice skating competition.

Saturday

  • DVR catch up day.

Sunday

  • Life (Disc, 8pm) Series Premiere – Created by the same team that did planet earth, nature aficionados and appreciators get ready.
  • Gene Simmons Family Jewels/Kirstie Alley’s Big Life (A&E, 9/10pm) Season/Series Premiere – KISS action then Kirstie gets back on the weight loss wagon.
  • Jerseylicious/Kimora (Style, 8/9pm) Season/Series Premiere – Following folks in a NJ hair salon then checking out Kimora’s new kid.
  • Breaking Bad (AMC, 10pm) Season Premiere – What will the new season bring to our meth making cancer man and his cohorts?
  • Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (ABC, 10pm) Series Premiere – Jamie tries to get America to eat right.
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movies

oscar fun

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Well I think it was fun. It wasn’t the best show, and it never will be… I love Neil Patrick Harris and he can do no wrong, but that opening number just didn’t go anywhere good. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin played a nice game of ‘look there is (insert actor name here) (insert joke here)’ but though their pairing didn’t bring anything  greater than an individual host, and maybe not even as good as either of them might have been alone, they popped out often enough and made amusing enough comments.

The awards were relatively predictable, though I somehow lost my Oscar pool. The main highlights were the weird ‘Kanye moment’ when the Best Documentary Short winner’s off screen struggles hit the mic, Salon has some of the reported backstory. And when The Cove winners were cut short, was it because the Academy only allows limited time and a single speaker, or was it because one of the dudes pulled out a message to text Dolphin. And the drama around the memorial inclusions, they can’t include everyone but should they have included Farrah Fawcett instead of Michael Jackson?

But most importantly the fashion… no swans this year but a few hits and what I considered misses. I’m not a huge fan of the asymmetrical dress or the nude tones but Sandra Bullock was working it, love to see the best actress be in a stunner. I also dug the patterns of Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams (who I somehow kept thinking was one of the Kates). And Carey Mulligan not only worked a fun classic silhouette with a twist, but in close up you could see the little scissors and forks that the little bejeweling on her dress were made up of, adorable. As for the misses, I could have done without the overdetailed Zoe Saldana, Vera Farmiga, Jennifer Lopez, and Charlize Theron.

And if you’re so inclined check out the full list of winners at Oscar.com.

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tv

new and noteworthy tv: 3/8-3/14

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Monday

  • The Bachelor (ABC, 8pm) – For those doubters out there, we have a couple getting married.
  • Gossip Girl (CW, 9pm) – I missed a bunch of these and now folks seem to be hooking up with their partners from three years ago.
  • Trauma (NBC, 9pm) – Did you think this show was canceled?

Tuesday

  • 90210/Melrose Place (CW, 8/9pm) – Trash or trashy goodness? I have given up but if you haven’t they’re back.

Wednesday

  • America’s Next Top Model (CW, 8pm) Season Premiere – They’ve dropped the tiny models and are back for another season of bitchiness, I dropped this last season but I’m giving it another go.
  • High Society (CW, 9:30pm) Series Premiere – Just what was missing from the schedule, more reality, this time following some Manhattan socialite and her ‘friends’.
  • First Love, Second Chance (TVL, 10pm) Series Premiere – Couples that didn’t happen, give it another go.
  • Billy the Exterminator (A&E, 10:30pm) Season Premiere – Billy exterminates.

Thursday

  • Sober House (VH1, 10pm) Season Premiere – Some of the gang new and old gives sober living a shot, including Tom Sizemore, Heidi Fleiss, Dennis Rodman, Seth Binzer, Kari Ann Peniche, Kendra Jade Rossi, and Mike Starr, I still can’t look away.

Friday

  • Numb3rs (CBS, 10pm) Finale – This show hasn’t officially been canceled but if you’re a fan you might get ready to say goodbye.

Saturday

  • The Guard (Ion, 9/10pm) Series Premiere – The Canadian Coast Guard comes to the US.

Sunday

  • Minute to Win It (NBC, 7pm) Series Premiere – What will contestants be asked to do in a minute?
  • The Apprentice (NBC, 9pm) Season Premiere – Another round of ‘celebrities’ compete, who will be fired first? will Brett Michaels be seen without his bandanna?
  • The Pacific (HBO, 9pm) – This ten part miniseries kicks off at Pearl Harbor.
  • Ultimate Recipe Showdown (Food, 9pm) Season Premiere – Starting the season with comfort foods.
  • Sons of Tucson (Fox, 9:30pm) Series Premiere – The kind of funny guy from Reaper pretends to be a foster parent to some kids.
  • America’s Worst Driver (Trav, 10pm) Series Premiere – Do we really want to focus on bad driving.
  • The Antonio Treatment (HGTV, 10pm) Series Premiere – Hmm, they are redoing a gym?
  • Hoarding (TLC, 10pm) Series Premiere – If Hoarders wasn’t enough for you, you can chase it with some Hoarding.
  • Kendra/Pretty Wild (E!, 10pm) Season/Series Premiere – Some girl is followed by a few girls.
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tv

new and noteworthy tv: 3/1-3/7

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The Olympics are done so it’s time to start tuning back into some nonathletic tv watching, procrastinator picks are underlined.

Monday

  • Today (NBC, 7am) – The cast of Eight is Enough reunite!
  • Bachelor/After the Rose (ABC, 8/10pm) – Will he pick the gal everyone hates? Will it be true love? Who will the new bachelorette be? The two Bachelor fans I know will tell me the answers to those questions.
  • Rules of Engagement (CBS, 8:30pm) Season Premiere – This is one of those shows that isn’t bad, it just isn’t quite good and makes you wonder how Better Off Ted and others don’t get more time.
  • Law & Order (NBC, 9/10pm) – Now that we’re filling up that 10 o’clock hour again we’re just going to fill it with twice as much L&O, but I’m sort of back into this season.

Tuesday

  • Parenthood (NBC, 10pm) Series Premiere – I too am tired of the previews but who can resist a peek at Lorelai Gilmore and Nate from Six Feet Under being in the same family?
  • Southland (TNT, 10pm) Season Premiere – By season premiere what they mean is they’re actually going to air the episodes NBC didn’t bother with.

Wednesday

  • Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 9/10pm) – Back to back drama with Mischa Barton and Kathy Griffin.
  • Ghost Hunters (Syfy, 9pm) Season Premiere – The 100th episode heads to Alcatraz for an ‘interactive event’.
  • The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special (ABC, 10pm) – Stars interview stars and Oprah may be sealing the deal on taking over Barbara Walters spot on Oscar night next year.
  • The Locator (WE, 10pm) Season Premiere – There’s locating, and then there’s reuniting.
  • Nip/Tuck (Fx, 10pm) Series Finale – I haven’t watched an episode but I hear the six year run was an uneven but good one.

Thursday

  • The Office (NBC, 9/9:30pm) – Babies apparently take an hour to deliver.
  • The Real Housewives of New York City (Brav, 11pm) Season Premiere – They live in New York and I think they drink and argue.

Friday

  • Who Do You Think You Are (NBC, 8pm) Series Premiere – Genealogy celebrity style.
  • Independent Spirit Awards (IFC, 11pm) – Eddie Izzard hosts.

Saturday

  • Last chance to go out and catch an Oscar nod before they tell you what was the best.

Sunday

  • Barbara Walters Special (ABC, 8:30pm pst) – Barb is cutting this one off after 29 years, because 30 would be too predictable, so tune in for Sandra Bullock and Mo’Nique, note this is before the Oscars East Coast and whenever they end West Coast.
  • Oscars (ABC, 5/5:30pm pst) – Countdown, then the real deal, here’s to winning my Oscar pool…
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tv

new and noteworthy tv: 2/22-2/28

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So the Olympics have another week in them, and to get your full fix on curling and hockey check out msnbc, CNBC, and USA.

Monday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:35am, 3/8pm) – Speedskating, figure skating, bobsledding; Cross-country skiing; Figure skating, freestyle skiing, ski jumping.
  • The Bachelor (ABC, 8pm) – It’s the special women tell all edition, will we get some new dirt?

Tuesday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:35/2am, 3/8pm) – Figure skating; Figure skating, freestyle skiing, ski jumping; Speedskating , biathlon, freestyle skiing; Figure skating, bobsledding, skiing.
  • American Idol (Fox, 8pm) – We’re finally into the semis where people sing a whole song and we can pick out who we hate like, ladies Tuesday, gents Wednesday, and the painfully dragged out results show Thursday.
  • WWE NXT (Syfy, 10pm) Series Premiere – WWE newbies are shown the robes by the veterans.

Wednesday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:35/2am, 3/8pm) – Men’s hockey; Figure skating, bobsledding, skiing; Men’s hockey; Freestyle skiing, bobsledding, speedskating, alpine skiing.
  • Inbetweeners (BBCA, 9:30pm) Season Premiere – The schoolmates get into some fix or another.

Thursday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:05/1:30am, 3/8pm) – Speedskating; Freestyle skiing, bobsledding, speedskating, Alpine skiing; Cross-country skiing; Figure skating, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined.
  • Police Women of Maricopa (TLC, 9pm) Season Premiere – Looks like we’re moving from Broward County to Maricopa County, Arizona.

Friday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:35/2am, 3/8pm) – Figure skating highlights; Figure skating, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined; Men’s hockey; Speedskating, Alpine skiing, bobsledding.
  • NAACP Image Awards (Fox, 8pm) – Tyler Perry gets the Chairman’s Award and lots o’ others are honored.
  • Live From Abbey Road (Sund, 8pm) Season Premiere – Modern stars perform a tribute to the Beatles Abbey Road Album.
  • Four Weddings (TLC, 10pm) Series Premiere – Not three but four weddings are shown.

Saturday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:05/1:30am, 1/8pm) – Biathlon, snowboarding; Speedskating, Alpine skiing, bobsledding; Speedskating, snowboarding, cross-country skiing; Snowboarding, Alpine skiing, bobsledding, figure skating.

Sunday

  • Olympics (NBC, 1:02am, 12/7/11:35pm) – Snowboarding, Alpine skiing, bobsledding, figure skating; Men’s hockey, cross-country skiing; Closing Ceremony.
  • The Marriage Ref (NBC, 10:30pm) – It’s a ‘preview’ version of the latest from Seinfeld where celebrities judge a couple’s problem.
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tv

new and noteworthy tv: 2/15-2/21

7 Comments

For those of you wondering where to catch curling, among other things, additional Olympic coverage can be found on msnbc, CNBC, and USA. Check your local listings or http://www.nbc.com/schedule/ for more info.

Monday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:05am, 1/8pm) – Figure skating, freestyle skiing, luge, Alpine skiing; Snowboarding, cross-country-skiing; Figure skating, speedskating, snowboarding.

Tuesday

  • Olympics (12:35/2am, 3/8pm) – Luge; Figure skating, speedskating, snowboarding; Biathlon, Figure skating, snowboarding, speedskating, Alpine skiing.
  • Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (USA, 8pm) – Woof.
  • 16 & Pregnant (MTV, 10pm) Season Premiere – And this week we meet a young girl who is pregnant…

Wednesday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:35/2am, ) – Luge, Figure skating, snowboarding, speedskating, Alpine skiing; Cross-country skiing; Snowboarding, speedskating, Alpine skiing.

Thursday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:05/1:30am, 3/8pm) – Speedskating, luge; Snowboarding, speedskating, Alpine skiing; Snowboarding, biathlon; Figure skating, snowboarding, speedskating.
  • LA Ink (TLC, 10pm) Season Premiere – Apparently there’s a long-standing feud.

Friday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:35/2am, 3/8pm) – Skeleton, biathlon; Figure skating, snowboarding, speedskating; Cross-country skiing; Figure skating, skeleton, Alpine skiing, ski jumping.
  • The Ricky Gervais Show/The Life & Times of Tim/Real Time with Bill Maher/Funny or Die Presents (HBO, 9/9:30/10pm) Series/Season Premiere – Let’s hope this lineup gives some funny starting and ending with some new tricks.
  • Comedy Central Presents (Com, 11/11:30pm) Season Premiere – Tony Rock and Doug Williams perform.

Saturday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12:05/1:30am, 1/8pm) – Awards; Figure skating, skeleton, Alpine skiing, ski jumping;  Freestyle skiing, ski jumping, cross-country skiing; Speedskating, bobsledding, Alpine skiing.

Sunday

  • Olympics (NBC, 12/1am, 12/7/11:35pm) – Speedskating; Speedskating, bobsledding, Alpine skiing; Men’s hockey, freestyle skiing, biathlon; Speedskating, figure skating, skiing, bobsledding; Biathlon.
  • BAFTA Awards (BBCA, 8pm) – Will it be Hurt Locker over Avatar?
  • The Family Crews (BET, 9pm) Series Premiere – Terry Crews of Everybody Hates Chris shares his real-life family.
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