tv

next week 9/30

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Well it’s tough to keep up but my schedule is finally starting to settle into place, one more wave of shows (and then perhaps a smattering) to consider…

Sunday

  • Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC, Sun 9/30, 7pm) – I’ve never watched a full episode of this, but spastic/cute Ty Pennington leads a crew to totally build/rebuild the house of someone with an undoubtedly touching story.
  • Desperate Housewives (ABC, Sun 9/30, 9pm) – I watched, and enjoyed, this show for the first season but the freshness of the amusing nighttime soapy ladies on Wisteria Lane wore off for me.
  • American Dad (Fox, Sun 9/30, 9:30pm) – One of the animated shows that I never got into.
  • Brothers & Sisters (ABC, Sun 9/30, 10pm) – So the Walkers are a mess and I think new additions from last season illegitimate daughter/homewrecker and presidential candidate/fiancé are sticking around to stir the pot.

Monday

  • Everybody Hates Chris (CW, Mon 10/1, 8pm) – A fictionalized and theoretically more amusing look at Chris Rock’s childhood wasn’t ever quite funny enough to me to keep tuning in.
  • Aliens in America (CW, Mon 10/1, 8:30pm) Pilot – A kid not fitting into high school could be funny but maybe adding a Pakistani muslim kid can make it funnier.
  • Girlfriends (CW, Mon 10/1, 9pm) – I actually kind of like this gal pal, plus a guy pal, show with their various messed up relationships and jobs and you know, lives.
  • The Game (CW, Mon 10/1, 9:30pm) – So the girlfriend of a football star hangs out with the wives of football stars, and I’m not sure what else ‘cuz it didn’t quite grab me.

Tuesday

  • Cavemen (ABC, Tues 10/2, 8pm) Pilot – Ok, whatever.
  • Carpoolers (ABC, Tues 10/2, 8pm) Pilot – Jerry O’Connell, and three other guys, talk about their varied lives on their way into their varied jobs.

Wednesday

  • Pushing Daisies (ABC, Wed 10/3, 8pm) Pilot – This whimsical, comedic, fantastical, romantic murder mystery, where a guy brings the dead back to life to help solve their murders is supposed to be a gem.

Thurday

  • 30 Rock (NBC, Thurs 10/4, 8:30pm) – Tina Fey and her crazies in her show behind the show started to get a good groove last season.
  • Supernatural (CW, Thurs 10/4, 9pm) – Hunky yet one dimensional brothers hunt the supernatural, and the couple times I watched argued a lot.

Friday

  • Friday Night Lights (NBC, Fri 10/5, 9pm) – This show is reportedly great, but even with great writing and characters and whatnot they are still so focused on football that I couldn’t quite deal.
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tv

the bitches are back

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Tonight on ANTM the ladies move into the house. Of course it’s a new crew of them but it’s never much of a difference. This week Ebony turned the bitchy torch over to Bianca, lost all her spark, and almost became the first week’s cut. The first week there’s not a lot to judge the girls on so if that first photo isn’t good you’d better be bringing it in person.

Mila, our first victim, was super annoying as she thought everything was great and positive and funny, including her ‘serious side effects of cigarette smoking’ photo shoot. So when the shots were awkward she got the ax. The smoking thing is part of Tyra’s bid to change the world, she’s not only trying to get the show to go green, but she’s forcing all the gals to quit smoking so as not to be bad role models.

The only thing worse than a tired bitchy wannabe model is a tired bitchy wannabe model who has suddenly been cut off from her cigarettes. Let’s hope she drops of some nicotine gum. (I of course endorse both going green and quitting smoking but there is just something annoying about the way Tyra does it) And of course there was the weekly challenge where they were advised on and told to pick modely clothes, every year they’re told to keep it simple and they really just never learn.

We’ve yet to get a real sense for all the girls, and there aren’t any real standouts for me, but in addition to the bitchy gals we’re getting a dose of bookishly awkward Yaley Victoria and the medically awkward Asberger syndrome sufferer Heather. And of course the gal that Biana picked on this week Lisa the former ‘bikini dancer,’ who is actually not bad. Sadly I can’t wait for next week’s episode.

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tv

judging a pilot

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Now one of the things I love about television is that I can be as judgmental as I want, but often when my critical eye comes out I need to remind myself of all that a pilot is trying to do, introduce all the characters, the one or multiple situations, plus tell a story. Sometimes you find a true gem and sometimes you find the opposite (I stand behind my decision to not watch another episode of K-Ville) but sometimes it takes at least a second episode to get the feel for where a show is going. Plus who knows how long before the regular season the pilot was shot, could be some time to step back and make some adjustments. So as I watch the first episodes of Gossip Girl and Back to You and wonder if they’re really worth adding to the lineup, I try to remember whether The OC had struck its self deprecating humorous stride on day one, and remind myself that Friends didn’t delight me with its hilarity when Rachel first walked into the coffee shop. I guess each of those shows had a decent set up with some characters that could be interesting and good enough writing that I was willing to see more. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut, plus you just have to know your own tastes. So Gossip Girl may be stupid, but it’s my kind of stupid, so I’m going to give it another shot. Plus television doesn’t always have to be amazing, though thankfully sometimes it is, but sometimes all I want is to tune out and tune in and it’s nice to know there are some shows good for that too.

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tv

who wins at the emmys?

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So here’s a link to last night’s Emmy award winners: http://www.emmys.org/awards/primetimeawards.php

I’m not really going to go into the winners or the nominees because honestly I don’t care. Maybe there is just too much tv. I know not the worst thing in the world, right? In a system designed for the big three networks, we’re now up to five (nbc, abc, cbs, fox, cw – formerly upn and wb) and the ever growing population of great cable tv programming, can the Emmy’s really do it justice? They would never influence what I watch and I’m not even excited or disappointed with actor’s nominations and wins. I can’t even keep up with it all, so with television what does the academy do, tune into one submitted episode? It just isn’t how the medium should be evaluated. So what do I suggest? Honestly I say bag the whole thing, but I know that won’t happen so now on to the show.

Ryan Seacrest was the host this year and didn’t do an abysmal job. All in all he’s cheesy and that works for him on his other stuff but it just doesn’t seem appropriate for this. I admit that I fast forwarded through most of the features (Family Guy musical number?, Roots, ‘In Memoriam’) and anything Sopranos related (since I’m only on season 4 on dvd and they keep talking about the stupid ending). And I’ll try not to nitpick too much, but how stupid was the seating in the round? Oh and I almost forgot the preshow kept mentioning how Britney was going to apologize for sucking. Really? Thank gawd that didn’t happen.

As for the fashion, as always there was some good and some bad, but unfortunately nothing great or ridiculous, that I got a gander of at least. The stupid preshow did a terrible job of showing clothes and when they did, they did a close pan up from shoes to the top of someone’s dress, but they never gave you a whole body shot, so unless someone presented or accepted it was tough to tell. That doesn’t mean I can’t judge, overall I thought the ladies that shone were: Mini Driver, Debra Messing, Rebecca Gayheart, Portia de Rossi and Eva Longoria.

You can check out http://www.eonline.com/ for more coverage.

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tv

next week 9/16

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Ok now we’re cooking with gas (I’ve never used that expression before in my life)…

Monday:

  • Deal or No Deal (NBC, Mon 9/17, 8pm) This is the one with Howie Mandell and the chicks with briefcases, I’ve never cared enough to figure out how it really works.
  • Prison Break (Fox, Mon 9/17, 8pm) Ok I loved, loved, loved this show the first season and I could write an entire post on how bad it was in season 2. I watched the first 17 minutes, or whatever they showed online, and am not, I repeat, not going to watch another season.
  • K-Ville (Fox, Mon 9/17, 9pm) Pilot – I guess it’s just wait and see about whether this is more than an average cop show set in a less than average recovering from Katrina New Orleans setting.

Tuesday:

  • Beauty and the Geek (CW, Tues 9/18, 8pm) I have watched an episode or two of this show and was mildly amused by the fish out of water challenges that make people look dumb.

Wednesday:

  • America’s Next Top Model aka ANTM (CW, Wed 9/19, 8pm) There is a true addictive quality to this and although I can’t for the life of me remember who wins from year to year I dig the journey. The first episode isn’t the best because there are just too many girls to get a real sense of who’s who, so stay tuned.
  • Back to You (Fox, Wed 9/19, 8pm) Pilot – This has decent buzz, and I like a decent sitcom, but it is opposite ANTM and Pushing Daisies so it might just get a week or two to woo me.
  • Kid Nation (CBS, Wed 9/19, 8pm) Pilot – So if kids ran their own town would it break child labor laws? That seems to be the question put to courts. Is the show interesting enough to merit the pain CBS is going through? Time will tell.
  • ‘Til Death (CBS, Wed 9/19, 8:30pm) This show about two couples, one newlyweds and the other not, with Brad Garrett, wasn’t quite funny to me, paired with Back to You it could get a fresh wind.
  • Gossip Girl (CW, Wed 9/19, 9pm) Pilot – I have mentioned that I’m looking forward to this show so hopefully it’ll have enough trash as we meet our previous queen bee, who spent a mysterious year at boarding school, when she returns to of course find her old best friend has taken her place.
  • Kitchen Nightmares (Fox, Wed 9/19, 9pm) Pilot – It looks like mean guy who had reality show where he tormented wannabe chefs might now just torture full restaurants, not interested.
  • Plus they are doing a recap show for Grey’s Anatomy that focuses on Addison before she moves on to Private Practice (ABC, Wed 9/19, 9pm)

Thursday:

  • Survivor: China (CBS, Thurs 9/20, 8pm) I watched this show for the first few seasons and am actually kind of a fan. They have a really good formula of alliance building and challenge winning to keep the outcome up in the air, and since the decision is really up to the other contestants there’s no weird judge or America votes thing.

procrastinator’s picks are underlined.

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tv

new fall tv

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It’s time. Let’s see what folks are saying about new fall television. Of the critics picks these are the names that seem to come up.

  • Aliens in America (ew) – CW, Mon 10/1, 8:30pm
  • Back to You (ew, ms, tv) – Fox, Wed 9/19, 8pm
  • Bionic Woman (ew, a, tv) – NBC, Wed 9/26, 9pm
  • Cane (ms, tv) – CBS, Tues 9/25, 10pm
  • Chuck (a, tv) – NBC, Mon 9/24, 8pm
  • Dirty Sexy Money (a, ew, ms, tv) – ABC, Wed 9/26, 10pm
  • Gossip Girl (a, tv) – CW, Wed 9/19, 9pm
  • Journeyman (ms) – NBC, Mon 9/24, 10pm
  • K-Ville (tv) – Fox, Mon 9/17, 0pm
  • Private Practice (tv) – ABC, Wed 9/26, 9pm
  • Pushing Daisies (a, ms, t, tv) – ABC, Wed 10/13, 8pm
  • Reaper (ew, ms, tv) – CW, Tues 9/25, 9pm
  • Samantha Who? (ms) – ABC, Mon 10/15, 9:30pm

(a) AOL – Fall Best New Shows, (ew) Entertainment Weekly Pick, (ms) Newsweek/MSNBC – Fall Preview, (t) Time – What to Watch for Fall Arts Preview, (tv) TV Guide – Shows With Buzz (buzz doesn’t necessarily equal best)

Touted as perhaps the worst shows – Viva Laughlin: preposterous murder mystery with folks singing over pop songs at key plot points. Big Shots: four good actors but this ‘sex and the city for men’ show is reportedly painfully bad. Cavemen: updating the bad ad concept of cavemen in society being discriminated against, really?

So I can’t predict what my new favorites will be (I do try to watch all new comedies and dramas) but here’s what I’m most looking forward to:

  1. Bionic Woman – For nostalgia sake alone I’m looking forward to this. The show is getting a serious update by the creators of Battlestar Gallactica (I haven’t seen but hear nothing but great things). Though not sticking strictly the old plot Jamie Sommers is getting bionic and of course being asked to put her new abilities to use, expect more conflict with the government agency that rebuilt her and more personal struggle.
  2. Pushing Daisies – I’ve actually heard the most positive buzz about this show. What if you could touch someone to bring them back to life but with your next touch they’d die again? Well of course you’d help a PI solve murders. And of course you’d bring a woman you love back to life and never be able to touch her again. It’s got a good cast and supposedly a great look. It’s being touted as things like whimsical and delightful so it probably won’t be for everyone but it’s definitely worth a watch.
  3. Dirty, Sexy, Money – Ok so this title is almost so over the top it’s good but it wasn’t until I started hearing positive things about this satire that I started to believe that they might be doing it right. The return of Peter Krause (of HBO’s 6 Feet Under – though I’m only on about season 4 of on dvd) as a reluctant attorney to a powerful and of course scandalous family headed by Donald Sutherland.
  4. Gossip Girl – So not only is it done by Josh Schwartz (the creator of the OC that at least started with an excellent dose of wit and sudsy drama) but the VO of blogger/narrator is being done by our beloved Veronica Mars’ Kristin Bell. It’s based on a series of books set in uber elite New York private school so hopefully they’ll have enough fodder to keep it lively for at least a couple of seasons.
  5. Chuck and Reaper – Ok these both just feel similar to me. Likable guy gets thrown into unusual situation. Chuck (also by Schwartz) has been described as The Office meets Alias. Can’t beat that, right? A computer nerd (Less Than Perfect’s Zachary Levi) gets all of America’s intelligence downloaded to his brain. And in Reaper the guy (Brett Harrison of Grounded for Life and The Loop) has to be bounty hunter for Satan since his parents sold his soul to the devil, with the first episode being directed by Kevin Smith. Both are being touted as smart and funny so hopefully at least one of them’s a keeper.

Of the others…

Sitcoms – With sitcoms I’ve learned to adopt a wait and see stance but Back to You and Samantha Who clearly have potential with the casting of Frasier and Mrs. Ray Romano as newscasters and the adorable Kellie Bundy as amnesiac. And I guess Aliens in America could be amusing bringing a Pakistani foreign exchange student to small town America to focus on high-school misfits.

Dramas – Cane has good casting including Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo in this Cuban-American family/business drama but I’ve seen about a million previews and am not all that excited. Journeyman shows a man going back in time to change something and again just no real pull yet. K-Ville is a cop show set in New Orleans but I haven’t really heard anything else about it. And Private Practice’s Grey’s spin-off backdoor pilot wasn’t astounding, but we’ll see what they do with it.

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this week 9/8

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Well full fall’s still not quite upon us but the shows are trickling out, here’s the premieres you can catch this week:

In case you missed it some new reality returned with Cops (Fox, Sat 9/8, 8pm) and America’s Most Wanted (Fox, Sat 9/8, 9pm). I don’t think I’ve even watched an episode of either of these. And we ramp up the week with the return of The Biggest Loser (NBC, Tues 9/11, 8pm). Since it started after I made the decision to drop reality I can’t vouch for this weight loss challenge, but I know folks who are addicted to the competition that offers a little less backstabbing and a little more hope for folks to change their lives. Then there’s new show Nashville (Fox, Fri 9/14, 9pm) that’s a reality show following wannabe music stars, that I’ve heard are attractive and actually talented. Since it’s by the producers of Laguna Beach think more docu-soap than competition. And this next weekend brings us Mad TV (Fox, Sat 9/15, 11pm) and Talk Show with Spike Feresten (Fox, Sat 9/15, 12am). I’ve never watched these and I’d like to say it’s because I’m always out on a Saturday night, so I will, that’s what I’ll say.

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sports, tv

us open

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So when one friend referred to Federer as ‘some Swiss guy’ and another said ‘isn’t Wimbledon already over?’ I realized that folks aren’t necessarily as up to date on tennis as I am. If you want to join the fun, the US Open is happening in NY, the last and perhaps most stylish of the four grand slams (the others are Australian, French and Wimbledon).

The men’s section is often a little boring with Federer (some Swiss guy) dominating the game, though he is a true champion and a gracious guy, so you can’t even fault him. With spunky Spanish Nadal at 2 (beating Federer on clay at French) and hopefully a few of the other guys being on their game there’s still hope for a little challenge (US’s Roddick and Blake are out but competitive at 5 and 6). This isn’t Nadal’s surface and he’s having some knee issues so he’s already out. We’re down to Federer (1) vs. Davydenko (4) and Djokovic (3) vs. Ferrer (15). I’m predicting a Federer/Djokovic final with Federer on top in the end.  

The women’s section is a little more open with the beatable Henin currently on top, followed by Sharapova who can’t always put it together (she’s out). The unpredictable US’s Williams are back in the mix with Venus and Serena (Serena was ousted by Henin) trying to overcome injuries (or get over issues due to extracurricular activities) to play enough to get their rankings back to what they’re capable of. This one has Henin (1) vs. V. Williams (12) and Kuznetsova (4) vs. Chakvetadze (6) and I’m going with Williams taking it from Kuznetsova in the final.

CBS network coverage

  • Friday, 12:30pm ET – Women’s Semis and Men’s Doubles Finals
  • Saturday, 12 noon ET – Men’s Semis
  • Saturday, 8pm ET – Women’s Finals
  • Sunday, 4pm ET (or following football) – Men’s Finals

For all your stats and updates check out: http://www.usopen.org/  and if you just can’t get enough you can check out on the rest of things (including Davis Cup – US is in the semis!) at: http://www.usta.com/

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tv

whose view?

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So I watched today’s The View to see how Whoopi was going to settle in. I know no one cares about the View (ok, they get ratings) but I started to wonder why? When the show started the premise was that television journalist/personality Barbara Walters was gathering four women of differing backgrounds and differing points of view (ages 20s to 60s and professions journalism, attorney, comedian…) to talk about what’s going on and what people are talking about, guests included. Theoretically interesting (you know for a daytime tv talk show).

After ten years, and a few panel changes (goodbye to Debbie, Lisa and Meredith and good riddance to Star and Rosie) they’ve all gotten a little older and with each new addition the panel seems less like the diverse everywomen that we started with. Barbara’s still Barbara, for better and worse, and I do like Joy who has attitude and humor. Unfortunately with Elizabeth, 30ish wife and new mother, we’ve lost the young single new professional and it’s a pity her uber conservative pov isn’t better articulated with only strict party loyalty buzz words and phrases.

As for Whoopi, I’m theoretically a fan, but though she brings us a touch of ethnic and background diversity that I know is important, she’s another 50ish standup comedian, and to be honest I’m not sure her laid back style is the right energy for the show (though certainly better than Rosie’s overpowering manner). As for the remaining open panelist position, which will reportedly be filled soon and by a previous guest host, how about not hiring another middle aged actress/comedian? Then again I’m really not watching.

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