plenty to gossip about

As we gear up for a replay of the pilot on Gossip Girl, or go out drinking for Halloween knowing that television will be there when we return, some might wonder what’s been going on with our new favorite guilty pleasure. Wonder no more.

Well the gal pals remain in unstable waters. Blair had Chuck digging the dirt on Serena and when he spotted her heading into a rehab facility, visiting her brother, Blair decided to out Serena on college weekend. But of course when Serena’s brother Eric confronted her, it is of course he that checked in for his suicide attempt, it appeared that she felt bad. Their truce is always ready to be thwarted by Serena seeming to get it all. And Blair’s mother Eleanor added fuel to the fire screwing lame stiff Blair out of a gig modeling her new clothing line and trying to slap in delightful natural Serena. 

Blair is putting up with Dan (future romance anyone?) after he said some kind words following her modeling fiasco, so she’s fine with he and Serena giving it a go. They are so far surviving her shallow conniving circle of friends and his poor Brooklyn lifestyle, she loves that he’s so not like the rest of the guys in her world. His returning Brooklyn girlfriend almost threw another kink into things but so far, though he loved her a year ago and she wants to give it another go, his heart now belongs to Serena.

Speaking of hearts belonging to Serena… Blair’s boring boyfriend Nate gave us momentary hope that he’d spice things up with a gay encounter when he followed returning bad boy who turned his back on it all. Alas no, just lured into gambling and bailed out by Chuck. (We still don’t like Chuck.) Nate’s dad landed Blair’s mom’s IPO, though it should all fall apart once Blair gets news that Nate’s actually still in love with Serena. He foolishly told this to Serena’s back, which of course turned out to be Jenny. Fortunately Nate’s dad’s going to screw up enough things himself with his apparent coke addiction, and empty bank accounts, though right now he’s blaming his stash on his son. His dad would owe him for that.

Serena’s mother Lily is also popping up, working her relationship with Dan’s Dad Rufus. She returns a painting that she didn’t realize was his wife’s and then she sees him be a standup guy when son Eric is temporarily missing from rehab. They of course find the kid and mom finally decides to let him come home. Lily and Dan also share a kiss at Eleanor’s “Night in Tangiers” party, reigniting old flames? No it was only to make Lily’s old dude, Chuck’s dad Bart, jealous. Or was it?

And our youngest Brooklyn-ite Jenny is making some fantastic strides in social climbing. She is continuing to suck up to Blair, running errands in exchange for potential invitations. She did get herself invited to Blair’s annual overnight where she held her own to truth and to dare and didn’t even get sick on the martinis that Blair insisted she suck down. Now even I can’t be counted on to remain coherent with martinis in the mix. She didn’t get an invite to Blair’s masquerade ball but when she snuck in she even managed to pull one over on Chuck, leaving him in boxers locked on the roof. Unfortunately both Blair and Chuck know that it was Jenny who one upped them so she’ll have to dig herself out of that. Good thing learned that little tidbit about Nate which perhaps she can try to use to her advantage.

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more…

If someone like NBC said, “Stay tuned for more My Name is Earl,” you might think that there was more of the actual show, so if after the commercial break they rolled credits for My Name is Earl in the tiny frame at the bottom while running a promo for another show, no little bit, no scenes from next week… would they be total liars or would they just be total sleazeballs? If NBC made a habit of this would it annoy me so much that I actually wrote them a letter? Well they do and so I guess I will.

I didn’t find the exact mailto I was looking for so chose to use the following:


http://www.nbc.com/Footer/Contact_Us/


“Questions not found on FAQ page about NBC Entertainment programming? Email us using the pulldown menu below:”

selected show “Other.”

Feel free to share your disdain about this or any other darned thing.

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next week 10/29

In addition to just seeing folks dress up in cute Halloween costumes here’s a few things happening this week:

Monday

  • Chuck (Fox, 8pm) – Chuck meets another agent who reminds him of himself, let’s hope he’s as charming.

Tuesday

  • Nip/Tuck (FX, 10pm) Season Premiere – Ok, it’s another FX show that I don’t watch, but it’s in my Netflix queue.
  • It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (ABC, 8pm) – Tis the season, can’t beat the classics.

Wednesday

  • Criminal Minds (CBS, 9pm) – Since Mandy Patinkin left there’s been a void and this week Joe Mantegna picks up the reins of the BAU.
  • Gossip Girl (CW, 9pm) – Repeats already? But at least those of you who missed the pilot get another shot to see Serena rejoin her old friends.

Thursday

  • The Office (NBC, 9pm) – Jim’s ex in real life and on the show Karen comes back, but is it for Jim?
  • My Name is Earl (NBC, 8pm) – They’re doing another round of the gang on the show Cops, the last round was funny, parts 1 & 2 (8-9pm).

Friday

  • Men in Trees and 20/20 (ABC, 8 & 10pm) – They’re switching timeslots on these so MIT will go at 8:00….

Saturday

  • Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 10pm) – See where it all began, with the pilot rerunning.
  • Austin City Limits (PBS, Check your local listings) – If you haven’t caught this good series of live band performances check out this week with Wilco.

Sunday

  • Simpsons (Fox, 8pm) – The annual halloween Treehouse of Horrors, too bad it’s after Halloween.
  • The Amazing Race (CBS, 8pm) Season Premiere – I cut off reality shows before this came out but this one is actually critically acclaimed, showing pairs of folks traveling with challenges round the globe
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dsm stands for….

No not the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, though it could be one and the same as we delve into Dirty Sexy Money. Ready to tune into tonight’s episode? Well here’s where we’re at. Nick George (Peter Krause from 6 Feet Under) finds out his father died and he inherited the post of Darling family attorney, wooed by stacks of money to give away to causes as he saw fit. He soon realized that it was all more trouble than it was worth, he was more than family attorney, he was trouble shooter and secret keeper for all things Darling…

Patrick (William Baldwin) is the Attorney General of New York and after his father convinced him to run for senate he also convinces him to dump his tranny mistress. Alas he really loves her and the break didn’t last long. Our man of the cloth, brother Brian lies to his family about his illegitimate son, somehow making cruel comments amusing as he keeps the faux Swedish exchange student in line. Karen who just so happened to be Nick’s first, is marrying yet another vapid man, though she hasn’t gotten over Nick and won’t let he or his wife forget it. And of course the twins of excess. Celebutante Juliet (Samaire Armstrong of OC and Entourage) wants to make it on her own, though apparently her father bought her latest theater role. She was furious when she found out but not nearly as furious as she was when she found out that her brother Jeremy was dating her ex best friend (apparently the rift was caused by the stealing of bangs). When Jeremy isn’t sleeping with this one, and potentially getting her pregnant, he’s fully embracing the playboy lifestyle winning yachts in poker games and writing lyrics with Justin Timberlake, among other things.

All too much to take for Nick but when he learned that his father’s death wasn’t an accident he planned to stick with the Darlings until he found out who killed him. Now the most likely candidate is patriarch Tripp (Donald Sutherland). Turns out Tripp’s lovely wife Leticia/Tish (Jill Clayburgh) had been having an affair with now dead pops for the past 40 years. Did Tripp know? Nick was getting mixed messages but after getting nowhere by going to the police, or stealing Tripp’s journal, he realized he had to trust, or at least use him, to get to the bottom of this.

Nick’s dad left him one thing, a briefcase with a dossier – not a file but a dossier – pointing to some suspiciousness of another big money New Yorker, Simon Elder (Blair Underwood). When Nick contacts his dad’s contact, an ex CIA op, he found that he had helped pops do investigation on Elder but then stopped helping when he realized pops must be working for someone else, wanting him to investigate Tripp. Who was pops working for, Elder? The mysterious C of some of his appointments? Turns out they could be one and the same as Elder pulls off in his diplomat limo with the license plate C. So is Elder the bad guy, or is Tripp? Elder did buy back the Darling sex tape, just because it was the right thing to do (It was Karen with some caddy, and apparently we learned Juliet reports to being a virgin).

Oh and about Tish’s affair, turns out Tripp confronted her with unread DNA results and she was going to tell him which one of his kids wasn’t his… but of course we’ll need to stay tuned for that sort of reveal.

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next week 10/21

This is the last week we seem to have new stuff so I’m throwing in some other items that may or may not be of interest…

Sunday

  • Viva Laughlin (CBS, 10/21, 8pm) – This is the regular timeslot for anyone who made it through the premiere or doesn’t believe everyone that it’s just plain bad, it is.

Monday

  • Heroes (NBC, 10/22, 9pm) – I’m actually behind on this, but this week Kristin Bell (Veronica Mars herself for those of you who missed my earlier notations) is starting her run and I’m dieing to know what her power will be, I’ve been avoiding all references to the show.

Tuesday

  • Damages (FX, 10/23, 10pm) Season Finale – I did watch the first couple of episodes as they replayed on network and couldn’t get into it but some folks do, it’s been renewed for another season.

Wednesday

  • Phenom (NBC, 10/24, 8pm) Series Premiere – Ok, this is where Uri Geller and Criss Angel, two people that I really don’t get, look for more people that, what? do some sort of magic-like things.

Thursday

  • Scrubs (NBC, 10/25, 8pm) Season Premiere – At the end of last season JD was stressing over fatherhood and Elliot was stressing over getting married, so as she and JD got cot cozy, we were left wondering will they or won’t they, again.

Friday

  • Las Vegas (NBC, 10/26, 10pm) – Apparently TC and Rick from Magnum are making a guest appearance now that Tom Selleck has joined the cast, but where is Higgins?

And we’re also getting going on the World Series (Fox, 10/24, 10/25, 10/27, 10/28, 10/29*, 10/31*, 11/1* – check your local listings) I don’t actually watch or follow baseball, though I’m not opposed to drinking a beer at a game, but thought I’d throw this in the mix.

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my schedule

Well almost everything has started and until they cancel more stuff, move stuff around, or we get to midseason changes. Here is where things seem to be settling in for me for watching, or at least tivo backlog. (I do try to narrow things down to no more than two shows per time slot.)

Monday

  • 8pm NBC – Chuck (CBS – How I Met Your Mother)
  • 9pm NBC – Heroes (CBS – Two and a Half Men/Samantha Who?)

Tuesday

  • 8pm Fox – Bones
  • 9pm Fox – House (CW – Reaper)
  • 10pm NBC – L&O SVU

Wednesday

  • 8pm ABC – Pushing Daisies (CW – ANTM or in repeats Sun 9pm)
  • 9pm CW – Gossip Girl (NBC – Bionic Woman)
  • 10pm ABC – Dirty Sexy Money

Thursday

  • 8/8:30pm NBC – My Name is Earl/30 Rock
  • 9/9:30pm NBC – The Office/Scrubs (ABC – Grey’s Anatomy)

Friday

  • 10pm CBS – Numb3rs

Sunday

  • 5pm CW – (encore) Girlfriends
  • 10pm ABC – Brothers and Sisters

And for a full grid of the current listings check out a couple of sites that I find helpful:

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the baldwins are back

I was recently discussing the funny Alec Baldwin as network exec Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock (someone made the comment that they couldn’t get past seeing him as an older version of the actor he once was…). I then made the comment that Adam Baldwin (early on of My Bodyguard and Full Metal Jacket and more recently of favorite Firefly) was back on television as the NSA agent in the so far quite enjoyable Chuck. Is he one of the Baldwin brothers, I was asked. Yes, was what I replied. Mea culpa I now say, he is not. But really, they could use one more Baldwin who is doing some good work. The other Baldwin who has recently joined our television family, who I neglected to mention in my misinformed conversation, was William/Billy who is now being seen in the scandalously humorous Dirty Sexy Money as tranny lover/senatorial candidate Patrick Darling. Rounding out our cast of four is Daniel (most known to me from Homicide) and Stephen (early on of Usual Suspects and more recently apparently on two rounds of Celebrity Mole). Apparently there is also a cousin out there who goes by Joseph Baldwin, too bad he hasn’t made it to Celebrity Mole.

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next week 10/14

We’re almost done…

Sunday

  • Samantha Who? (ABC, Mon 10/5, 9:30pm) – Pilot. Christina Applegate wakes from a coma not knowing who she is, but maybe that’s a good thing as she starts to discover the not so nice gal she was.

Monday

  • The Price is Right (CBS, Mon 10/15, check your local listings) – I’ve never been a real watcher but Drew Carey taking over seemed noteworthy.

Thursday

  • Viva Laughlin (CBS, Thurs 10/18, 10pm – preview, second ep as official premiere on 10/21, 8pm) – Pilot So this is the one where they sing along to popular songs whilst dealing with gambling and at least one murder mystery…

Friday

  • Next Great American Band (Fox, Fri 10/19, 8pm) – Pilot American Idol but for bands, I am mildly interested in this, was initially into Idol and was a big fan of Rock Star, shouldn’t stick with it but maybe worth a glance.
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antm – down to 10

Well last week the ladies kept up the bitchy, mostly Bianca, and tried to keep up the model. We have quickly learned that the model walking is harder than it looks because man, do some of the gals look awkward, apparently adding a good facial expression to coordination in heels and an awkward dress is a challenge. But how appropo since we are in a competition. After a training round in straight jackets, Saleisha shone in an actual show. And then onto the shoot, high fashion on a climbing wall. Jenah, who is pretty personable is still taking great photos while Bianca and Kimberly were in the bottom two… They didn’t think Kimberly’s in person look was translating on film, so she was sent packing.

Jaslene, aka Cha Cha, of course breaks in with her awkward commerical. Ever since they instituted the previous year’s winners doing commercials they haven’t had much success. Again, it doesn’t look that hard… Jaslene had a random moment this week where they awkwardly tried to combine her wanting to do good work with domestic abuse while probably trying to sell cosmetics, and of course she’s not a great speaker…

Plus this week we had makeover week which is a favorite as someone always freaks out. This week we didn’t have any major breakdowns until Bianca’s hair was so fried they decided not to redo it but to cut it all off, and the tears started to silently pour out. They left a super short cut and gave her a fancy Beyonce wig, unfortunately, or fortunately she actually looks great without hair. And after a boring makeup challenge they went to a photo shoot where they all played plants. Jenah was good again and our bottom two was a toss up amongst, bad-attitude-and-bad-photo Yaley Victoria, overbearing had-a-moment-of-modeling Saleisha, and sweet little pretty-but-maybe-not-modely Texan Chantal. Chantal got the first reprieve, and then Saleisha, in tears and her new bob, took her photo to the line. Super good riddance to Victoria who not only wasn’t looking or behaving attractively but they repeatedly cut to her with the whole, ‘this isn’t what I want to be doing’ statements. Goodness knows a model has got to want it, at least in Tyra’s book. Afterall we aren’t looking for any model, we’re looking for America’s Next Top Model.

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favorite new shows

Separating the wheat from the chaff, watching the cream rise to the top, see what’s floating your boat… I can’t stop. Ok so here’s what I’m liking:

  • Pushing Daisies (Wednesdays at 8 on ABC) – So I’ve only seen one episode of this so far, but I love it when a show tries to be innovative in some way and is successful. And this is! The visual style of the entire show is done in such a fanciful way that it completely compliments the fanciful context. Ned found out early in life, by touching his dog, that he could bring things back to life. Unfortunately when he tried it on his mother he found out the two cons, 1) it was a one time deal and if he touched them again they would die and 2) if someone stayed alive for more than a minute someone else would die. Our weekly stories seem to involve his work with a PI in solving murders. Why not just ask them what happened? And our overarching story should entail the untouchable love of his life, childhood sweetheart, and now back from the dead, Charlotte/Chuck. The show and the cast are in fact delightful.
  • Dirty Sexy Money (Wednesdays at 7 on ABC) – They have struck the right cord in this over the top richest of the rich, spoiledest of the spoiled family drama. We’re following ‘normal’ guy Nick George who has inherited the post of family attorney, and solver of all problems, when his father was killed. Was the family somehow involved? Our patriarch Tripp Darling is trying to hold it all together, but did he know about the affair his wife Letitia was having with papa attorney? Their eldest, Attorney General Patrick, has greater political aspirations that may or may not be thwarted by the presence of his tranny mistress. Next up is the daughter Karen who is onto her fourth(?) marriage-to-be with some tennis pro, but is clearly still in love with Nick. Then there’s Brian, the man of the cloth who is hiding his illegitimate son from his family as a foreign exchange student. Rounding out the brood are the twins, wannabe actress Juliet and wannabe everything/playboy Jeremy. Not only is there tons of hilarity with all their foibles but I’m actually interested to see the story unfold and find out what happened to dad.
  • Chuck (Mondays at 8 on NBC) – Alias meets The Office, as dude from the Nerd Herd at Buy More (a la Geek Squad at Best Buy – who are totally lame) gets all the world’s secrets downloaded into his brain, all from receiving an email from his girlfriend-stealing college roommate turned rogue CIA agent. That was his roommate’s last move. So now said roomie’s partner, and paramour, CIA kick ass gal and NSA’s kick ass guy have set themselves up in his pitiful little life to protect, monitor and use him on what will undoubtedly be a new case a week. And of course he isn’t sure who he can trust and he can’t tell any of his friends and family. It’s got good feisty action and a tongue and cheek humor about things, and so far our crew is a hoot in their fish out of water situations.
  • Reaper (Tuesdays at 9 on CW) – Ok I’m still a little on the fence about declaring my deep like for this show but it has some real potential. I really dug the first episode, slacker guy Sam, whose parents dote on him, turns 21 and he finds out that they sold his soul to the devil. First we have some amusing escapades with the well played, both enticing and frightening devil forcing him to be a bounty hunter, returning souls to hell. He learns quickly that this isn’t a job he can blow off. He has some assistance from some random super abilities (they seem to be bounty specific), a vessel for storage (first week was as dustbuster), and the thrown in typical sidekicks and big crush. And then we have some actual touching moments with the family where they truly regret what happened, but of course Dad was sick and although they planned not to have kids after the deal was done, the devil made them do it. Sam and his buddies are likable, there is a great dynamic between Sam and Satan, but we’ll see if our hunt for the bounty of the week can keep us as engaged as we are at the start.
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