real life?

So as the strike takes off we might need to get a little more comfortable with reality shows. Now before you groan, some of them are pretty entertaining, you just have to be a little discerning about it and you have to know what you like. And you have to be forewarned that even the bad ones can suck you in. Here are some of my rules of thumb on how I pick ‘em.

There are basically two main criteria of reality show. Straight up competitions where we might get to know the folks onstage but they don’t have to suffer through living together, or if they do we don’t see it. Think American Idol and Dancing With the Stars. And there are the ones where we get to see the behind the scenes action, either competition prep and/or interaction with the other contestants. America’s Next Top Model and Survivor both have this angle.

Now unless you are interested in the category of competition, the first style of show doesn’t quite do it. A recently launched Phenomenon where contestants compete with their magic couldn’t make this clearer. That’s not to say that behind the scenes is enough to keep it interesting, Big Brother somehow shows people in a house voting against each other for two to three nights a week, really?

So other than category what makes it interesting? I like a mix of an challenge or skill and personal dynamics. I like it when there is the possibility for an upset, we want someone to win but when it’s not a sure thing it’s much more rewarding. Good perm cast doesn’t hurt, Dave Navarro surprisingly entertains on Rock Star and though I can’t stand the Simon, Paula, Randy & Ryan group they’ve got enough going on to make their own interest. Call me un-American but I like it when someone other than America is voting, or they do a combo. And I have to admit I like the crazies, it always amazes me how real people can act more bizarre than anyone would ever believe in a fictional character.

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next week 11/5

And don’t forget to triple check for daylight savings time change on any recording gizmos, officially taking place 2am Sun, Nov 4.

Monday

  • Prison Break (Fox, 8pm) – Two hours of a show I hate more now because I once loved it… I think Michael digs into this whole Sara was beheaded thing.
  • Rules of Engagement (CBS, 9:30) – Heather Locklear hangs with ex-flame David Spade, wonder if her new beaux Jack Wagner will be on next week.

Tuesday

  • Carpoolers (ABC, 8:30pm) – Rebecca Romijn tries to up the lackluster ratings of her man Jerry O’Connell.
  • The Unit (CBS, 9pm) – In a death defying secret military group someone eventually has to die, right?

Wednesday

  • CMA Awards (ABC, 8pm) – Some country people will sing, some country singers will get awards.
  • Eureka (Sci Fi, 8am) Marathon – Starts with the pilot of this wacky bunch of genius scientists and their sheriff and hits the highlights of the eps from season one and two.

Thursday

  • CSI/Without a Trace (CBS, 9 & 10pm) – In these crossover episodes Jack investigates the crime scene and Gil is dropping by to find a trace, or something.
  • Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader (Fox, 8pm) – Celebrity edition with Tony Hawk, who I like, I’m not sure how much school Tony had before rocketing to skateboard fame but he seems relatively bright.

Friday

  • Deal or No Deal (NBC, 8pm) – Kermit the Frog is kickin’ it, did I mention NBC was doing a whole green week, can’t beat the environment and Kermie.
  • Bear’s Everest Mission (Disc, 10pm) – Former British special forces Bear Grylls, from Man vs. Wild, goes paragliding on or over Everest, I don’t care if he’s not roughing it as much as they make it seem…

Saturday

  • Cops (Fox, 8pm) 700th episode – They show clips of some of the highlights… I don’t think I’ve ever watched an episode of this, unless you count the My Name is Earl spoofs, but we all know what it’s about.

Sunday

  • Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, 10pm) – The season finale of season six, apparently he gets cringe-worthy at a bat mitzvah.
  • King of the Hill (Fox, 8:30) – Does Hank’s crazy shinless father Cotton die? It could happen when he gets into it with a chef.

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the strike

So it hasn’t happened yet, but the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers failed to reach an agreement before the contract expired at midnight last night. Now I will have to say that my even discussing this feels like reporting on actual news, which I have no interest in doing, but as it could impact on my television viewing I figured it was worth a note. 

So what’s the big point of contention? New media of course. From what I’ve gleaned the writers feel like they settled for too little share of dvd and video releases and ended up getting screwed out of a big pot of cash. So they want to fix that and now that there’s potentially a new pot they want to make sure they’re a part of the mix. The studios are concerned that if they cut the writers in too much then they are limiting their ability to try out new ventures since at this point most of them aren’t really profitable.  

Of course the landscape of television is changing and old methods of distribution are waning as the new ones grow. I may be missing something but sharing a percentage of profits with those who create work seems common sensical, and if an area is profitable for no one then what’s the harm in sharing a percentage of that, and if it’s profitable for everyone… win win right? 

So since both sides seem to be digging in, what does it all mean to me, and to you? That depends. From what I’ve read it seems like late night shows will be the first to be impacted since those are the most real time. What you mean Jay Leno doesn’t improv the whole show? They’ll cut back their sketches and/or go to reruns. Regular shows have a bit of a stockpile so we should see some episodes for now until maybe the holidays when it goes into reruns anyhow.  

What ever will they do to fill the space? Lots of reruns of course. If they’re smart they’ll figure out a way to run cable series on sister networks because that should up the audience substantially. Oh and more reality tv, since apparently those ‘writers’ aren’t included in the union. As for me I’m updating my netflix queue.

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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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