tv

next week 11/30

No Comments

New and notable in the week ahead… procrastinator picks are underlined.

Monday

  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas/Shrek the Halls (ABC, 8/8:30pm) – Green things.
  • Intervention/Hoarders (A&E, 9/10pm) Season Premieres – The latest of the real folks with real issues.
  • Pawn Stars (Hist, 10pm) Season Premiere – What will folks pawn this season?

Tuesday

  • Presidential Address (Various, 8pm) – Getting out of Afghanistan?
  • Charlie Brown Christmas/Disney Prep & Landing (ABC, 8/8:30pm) – More holiday fun.
  • Best Thing I Ever Ate (Food, 9pm) Season Premiere – Let’s start with the best holiday dishes.
  • Scrubs (ABC, 9/9:30pm) Season Premiere – Though last season felt like the series finale they’re coming back for more, though this season they’re switching to med school and focusing on a new crew, rumor has it there’s still some funny.
  • Britain’s Missing Top Model (BBCA, 9pm) Series Premiere – I’m not sure this title is conveying what they want but it’s women with disabilities competing.
  • I’m Pregnant and… (Health, 9:30pm) Series Premiere – They start with a couple of pregnant ‘recovering’ heroin addicts.
  • Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (CBS, 10pm) – The Black Eyed Peas, Heidi Klum, and lingerie.
  • The Bad Girl’s Club (Oxy, 10pm) Season Premiere – Living together and…?

Wednesday

  • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (CBS, 8pm) – Will Rudolph save the day?
  • Christmas in Rockefeller Center (NBC, 8pm) – Jane Krakowski and Zachary Levi host.
  • The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! (CBS, 9pm) – LL Cool J hosts more Black Eyed Peas and others.
  • Dog the Bounty Hunter/Steven Seagal Lawman (A&E, 9/10/10:30pm) Season/Series Premiere – First bounty then the martial artist takes us along on his job as Louisiana deputy sheriff.
  • Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura (Tru, 10pm) Series Premiere – I want Jesse to be the one to disprove mind control.
  • Launch My Line (Bravo, 11pm) Series Premiere – This might be kind of like Project Runway.

Thursday

  • Ace of Cakes (Food, 10pm) Season Premiere – More cakes!
  • BBQ Pit Masters (TLC, 10pm) Series Premiere – Teams compete for $40k in the Smokin’ in Mesquite BBQ Championship in Nevada.
  • Jersey Shore (MTV, 10pm) Series Premiere – More ‘real’ folks in a house.

Friday

  • Dreams Come True (ABC, 8pm) – A celebration of Disney animation.
  • Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (NBC, 8pm) – The muppets better take care of those letters to Santa.
  • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (CW, 9pm) – You’d think Grandma would learn.
  • Monk (USA, 9pm) Series Finale – Something tells me he’ll wrap up his wife’s death.

Saturday

  • 1000 Ways to Die/Manswers (Spike, midnight/12:30am sun) – More important dude fun.

Sunday

  • I Survived… (Bio, 9pm) Season Premiere – I’m glad they survived but I really don’t want to hear the gruesome.
  • Alice (Syfy, 9pm & Mon 9pm) Miniseries – Gotta look forward to any revisionist of Alice in Wonderland.
  • Shatner’s Raw Nerve (Bio, 10/10:30pm) Season Premiere – First Rush Limbaugh then Regis Philbin.
Continue Reading

tv

next week 2/23

1 Comment

New and notable in the week ahead…

Monday

  • The Bachelor (ABC, 8pm) – The women tell all…

Tuesday

  • Presidential Address (Various, 6pm) – Obama talks to a joint session of congress to outline challenges and proposed actions.
  • Dark Days in Monkey City (AnPl, 10pm) Series Premiere – Live action and animation for a couple species of monkeys.

Wednesday

  • American Idol (Fox, 8pm) – It’s on Wed and Thursday this week for the next round of twelve, so set the tivos, the results shows are definitely supposed to be fast forwarded through.

Thursday

  • Secrets of the Furious 5 (NBC, 8pm) – Apparently the guys from Kung Fu Panda are bringing another tale.
  • The Chris Isaak Hour (Bio, 7pm) Series Premiere – Trisha Yearwood joins Chris to kick off his show.

Friday

  • American Loggers (Disc, 10pm) Series Premiere – Timberrrrrrrr!

Saturday

  • America/Anacondas (Life/SciFi, 9pm) – Desperation may make you turn to an original telefilm…

Sunday

  • Saturday Night Live Just Shorts (NBC, 7pm) – Andy Samburg has brought some funny and hosts this compilation of the mostly not live portion of the show.
  • Running in Heels (Style, 8pm) Series Premiere – A look at fashion mag Marie Claire through various employees.
  • The Apprentice (NBC, 9pm) Season Premiere – Dennis Rodman, Joan Rivers, and a bevy of d listers take on Trumps tasks. 
  • Jesse Stone (CBS, 9pm) – ‘Thin Ice’ has Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone in the latest telefilm based on the Parker novels.
Continue Reading

sports, tv

next week 2/9

No Comments

New and notable in the week ahead… procrastinator picks are underlined.

Monday

  • Presidential News Conference (various, 5pm*) – Obama talks the talk.
  • Top Gear (BBCA, 8pm) Season Premiere – Looks like there is some truck and porsche driving.
  • Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (USA & others mon & tues, check your local listings) – Doggies!
  • BET Honors (BET, 6pm) – Gabrielle Union hosts the latest honors.
  • The Girls of Hedsor Hall (MTV, 9pm) Series Premiere – Another chance for crass girls to turn sophisticated, but this time they ship them to England.

Tuesday

  • TI’s Road to Redemption (MTV, 9pm) Series Premiere – Awaiting his own sentencing on weapons charges TI is clearly the model citizen to try to help some at-risk teens.
  • From G’s to Gents (MTV, 10pm) Season Premiere – I think they keep these bad boys away from the Girls of Hedsor Hall as they try to make them more gentlemanly.

Wednesday

  • Important Things with Demetri Martin (Com, 10:30pm) Series Premiere – Sketch comedy and more.

Thursday

  • NAACP Image Awards (Fox, 8pm) – Halle Berry and Tyler Perry host this one.
  • Survivor (CBS, 8pm) Season Premiere – The eliminations start early when they hit the Brazilian highlands.
  • Millionaire Matchmaker (Brav, 10pm) Season Premiere – I only caught one ep of this last season but it looked like an annoying owner of an ill equipped dating service helping socially inept men meat their trophy wives.

Friday

  • Dollhouse (Fox, 9pm) Series Premiere – I do love Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dr Horrible) and I’m willing to give any new series of his more than a few eps of devotion, this latest brings us Buffy’s Faith/Eliza Dushku as one of a set of operatives who get new identities implanted and then wiped clean for weekly missions.

Saturday

  • Tour of California (Vs, 2pm, various times through next week) – They start out in Sacramento…
  • My Valentine Charlie Brown/A Charlie Brown Valentine (ABC, 8pm, also on previous Tues) – Romantic problems start in your youth…

Sunday

  • The Amazing Race (CBS, 8pm) Season Premiere – This year we’re going to see among others… the show’s first hearing-impaired contestant, along with some oldsters, some youngsters…
  • Eastbound & Down (HBO, 10:30pm) Series Premiere – Washed up big league baseball guy returns to his hometown to do the PE thing.

* Times noted are PST, check your local listings.

Continue Reading

sports, tv

next week 1/19

2 Comments

New and notable in the week ahead… procrastinator picks are underlined.

Monday

  • Australian Open (ESPN2, 12:30am, through next week*) – The open continues!
  • Electric Company (PBS, 3:30pm*) – A new generation of whatever it was this show did.
  • House (Fox, 8pm) – If you’re not a season pass sort of person you should note the new time and rumor has it we will eventually see more of the original casties Cameron and Chase.
  • Will Work for Food (Food, 8:30pm) Series Premiere – Next Food Network star competitor Adam Gertler checks out food related jobs.
  • Momma’s Boys (NBC, 10pm) Season Finale – Will the mommas and the boys agree on their romantic choices?

Tuesday

  • Inauguration (Check Your Local Listings*) – This looks like it goes on all day and night but as I understand it the actual oath taking and inaugural address happen around noon DC time.
  • Tour Down Under (Vs, 1pm*) – Lance is back and you can check him out in this tour that runs through Sunday.

Wednesday

  • Lost (ABC, 8/9pm, repeats Saturday) Season Premiere – Recapping the previous seasons at 8 then the two hour premiere at 9, I’m kind of curious as to when we’ll be and whether we’ll be doing flash backs or forwards.
  • Lie to Me (Fox, 9pm) Series Premiere – If you’re down with The Mentalist, Monk, and/or Psych, this latest guy with great observational skills put Tim Roth in the lie detector seat.

Thursday

  • Winter X Games (ESPN, 6pm, ESPN2, ABC*) – The stars of snow compete in Aspen through Sunday.
  • Bones (Fox, 8/9pm) – New time slot for our crime solving duo and the squints.
  • Burn Notice (USA, 10pm) Season Premiere – Our ousted spy is still trying to get answers while helping people in this mostly cheesy but fun caper show.

Friday

  • Wolverine and the X-Men (Nicktoons, 8/8:30pm) Series Premiere – Nothing much going on a friday night so I have stooped to noting cartoons.

Saturday

  • Gone Country (CMT, 8pm) Season Premiere – Non country folks like Justin Guarini and Micky Dolenz try out their country chops.
  • Miss America Live (TLC, 8pm) – Being on The Learning Channel I might think Miss America would teach me something.
  • US Figure Skating Championship (NBC, 9pm) – If you’re down with the tiny girls spinning around…

Sunday

  • SAG Awards (TNT, 8pm) – Film and TV actors honor each other.
  • The Last Templar (NBC, 9pm) – The miniseries continues on Monday as Mira Sorvino and Scott Foley do the sort of find the secret museumy, archaeological kind of thing.

* Check your local times.

Continue Reading

sports, tv

next week 8/25

No Comments

New and notable in the week ahead…

Monday

  • Deal or No Deal (NBC, 8pm) Season Premiere – Don’t ask me how they can make people randomly picking briefcases filled with money last an hour.
  • America’s Toughest Jobs (NBC, 9pm) Series Premiere – From the creator of Deadliest Catch and Iceroad Truckers real folks get a dose of overly tough reality in this multi job competition.
  • Saving Grace (TNT, 10pm) Summer Finale – What will we do until Grace comes back?
  • Exiled (MTV, 10:30) Series Premiere – So apparently the over indulged previously shown celebraters from My Sweet 16 are now being sent to see how the other half lives.

Tuesday

  • Gavin & Stacey (BBCA, 8:40pm) Series Premiere – A comedy following a couple from England and Wales who try to mix their lives.
  • Greek (ABC Fam, 9pm) Season Premiere -I’m excited for this fluffy college show to return, though Casey should get over Evan and Kappie.
  • Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency (Oxy, 10pm) Season Premiere – This season models new and old, the oldest being Janice, move in together.

Wednesday

  • Shear Genius (Bravo, 10pm) Season Finale – The final cuts are in.

Thursday

  • Democratic National Convention – Starting Monday through Thursday the convention can be seen on many a channel at many a time… check your local listings.

Friday

  • Grizzly Man Diaries (Anim Pl, 6pm) Series Premiere – An eight part series documenting the life of Timothy Treadwell (from the creepy Grizzly Man movie) in the decade before his death.

Saturday

  • Starter Wife (USA, 9am) – A little marathon of the start of Debra Messing’s freshly single series.

Sunday

  • US Open Tennis (USA starting Mon, CBS Sa/Su) – So what are the chances the final will be Nadal (1) vs Federer (2) and Ivanovic (1) vs Jankovic (2)… let’s see how this goes.
Continue Reading

sports, tv

next week 2/4

2 Comments

Monday

  • Welcome to the Captain (CBS, 8:30) Series Premiere – Flailing filmmaker moves into an apartment building that is eclectic to say the least, starring Jeffrey Tambor among others.
  • The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS, 9:30pm) Season Premiere – Christine deals with her ex, his new girlfriend Christine, her brother/manny, her kind of geeky son, the mean moms at the private school she can barely afford, and of course the funny Wanda Sykes as gal pal and now curves-like business co-owner.
  • The Game (CW, 9:30) – The last episode due to the strike as I’m sure some drama and comedy will ensue with the gals of football.

Tuesday

  • House (Fox, 9pm) – Enjoy the last ep due to strike, as House deals with the always good, religious zealot with unknown ailment.
  • Super Tuesday Coverage (check your local listings) – Coverage on the elections, it’ll be super!

Wednesday

  • ANTM: Exposed (CW, 8pm) – I almost didn’t list this because I hate the clips shows, but apparently they’ve got highlights if you just can’t wait for the new season.
  • CSI: NY (CBS, 10pm) – Last ep due to the strike as ickily a victim is found drowned in a self cleaning toilet.

Thursday

  • Survivor (CBS, 8pm) Season Premiere – So this time they’re hitting Micronesia and it’s fans vs. favorites, I wonder how much money Jeff Probst makes for these.
  • Lipstick Jungle (NBC, 10pm) Series Premiere – This is the other one (if you like or wanted to like Cashmere Mafia) where it’s successful gal pals, only this one has three friends and one of them is Brooke Shields.

Friday

  • Davis Cup (OLN, Fri/Sat/Sun, 9am/pst, check your local listings) – Last year’s USA tennis champs head to Austria to start the new season.
  • Flash Gordon (Scifi, 8pm) Season Finale – I’ve never seen this show but have a nostalgic remembrance of the cheesy old movie version.
  • Friday Night Lights (NBC, 9pm) Last ep due to the strike as the players and those around them do what they do.

Saturday

  • Bernard and Doris (HBO, 8pm) – Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon add some acting chops to the original HBO film’s fictionalized story of Doris Duke’s (who?) final years.

Sunday

  • Grammy Awards (CBS, 8pm) – They come, they model their outfits, they sing, they win… or lose as the case may be.
  • British Academy Film Awards (BBC, 8pm) – Apparently the stars are heading to this one if you want to catch them in case we don’t settle domestically.
  • 100 Most Outrageous Moments of All Time (NBC, 9pm) – Not sure if this is a Britney biography or what.
Continue Reading

sports, tv

next week 1/28

7 Comments

Monday

  • State of the Union (6/9pm est/pst, Check Your Local Listings) – We don’t have to listen to him for much longer.
  • In Treatment (HBO, 9:30pm) Series Premiere – Gabriel Byrne is a therapist with of course a ton of issues of his own in this 5 night a week show, man, 5 nights a week?
  • Gossip Girl (CW, 8pm) – A special presentation of the pilot with additional behind the scenes and interview footage.
  • Making the Band (MTV, 10pm) Season Premiere – Hmm, so I read that this is the 11th season, then I read that this was Making the Band 4, maybe they stopped making new bands? I remember watching the first season on network tv with the making of OTown but haven’t watched since.

Tuesday

  • Baghdad Hospital: Inside the Red Zone (HBO, 8:30pm) – A close look at life in Baghdad by an Iraqi doctor who has since fled the country.
  • House (Fox, 9pm) – It’s new, they try to diagnose someone… should still be two more after this.

Wednesday

  • Lost (ABC, 9pm) – Last season’s finale with extra facts and tidbits to get you caught up.
  • Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (CW, 8pm) Season Finale – I don’t know what they win, but one team will win.
  • American Ballroom Challenge (PBS, 8pm) – And they dance….

Thursday

  • Lost (ABC, 8/9pm) Season Premiere – It’s baaack, and they really want you to know what’s going on so the recap espisode at 8 should tell us all we need to know to get sucked in yet again… they better settle this strike.
  • Eli Stone (ABC, 10pm) Series Premiere – Is this lawyer a prophet, a sick man, or a nut job? No matter what his life is going to change.

Friday

  • 1 vs. 100, Friday Night Lights, Las Vegas (NBC, 8/9/10) – They’re new…
  • Dinner for Five (IFC, 10:30) – Jon Favreau welcomes guests Vince Vaughn, Peter Billingsley, Justin Long and Keir O’Donnell.

Saturday

  • Trading Spaces (TLC, 9pm) – This episode is the first in its regular timeslot, we had the first ep of the season last week, and we were all excited to have Paige back holding the reigns again.

Sunday

  • Suberbowl XLII (Fox, 3pm/pst ) – This might be the only occasion that we use roman numerals.
  • House (Fox, 7:15?) – In the coveted after superbowl spot Mira Sorvino gets some remote diagnosis.
  • Life is Wild (CW, 8pm) Season Finale – I guess you could find out how the wild is treating this family.
Continue Reading