Premieres and Notables March 12-18, 2007

Quite a bit of stuff to get to. Here goes:

Monday, 3/12

The Prisoner airs on BBC America every weekday for the next 17 days at 3 pm CST. I happy I can finally catch this classic mystery-drama from the beginning.

Style Her Famous; Style. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.

And while I heard the movie isn't that great, A&E is airing Kings of South Beach at 8 pm. It's notable because two stars of the much-missed Boomtown (Donnie Wahlberg and Jason Gedrick) star in it.

The Riches; FX. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver star in this show about a family of con-artists who move into the house of a dead couple and take on their identities. Sure, Dirt let us down, but since this is an FX show, it's recommended.

And even though some members of Van Halen are being dicks (*cough* Eddie *cough*) and won't show, Sammy and Mike will still be there, watching Velvet Revolver perform some of their hits on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony airing on VH1 Classic at 7:30 pm CST. Watch it here as it's live. Who knows what will be cut out when the official broadcast airs later in the week?

[Official note: The offical word is Eddie Van Halen is going/has checked himself into rehab, so he can't attend the ceremony. My best wishes to him. Although, it's awfully suspect timing, don't you say?]


Tuesday, 3/13

Bullrun; Spike. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
Described as The Amazing Race meets Cannonball Run, so it's sounds interesting. But it airs on Spike and is hosted by Bill Goldberg, so it'll probably crash and burn.

American Heiress; MyNetwork TV. 7-9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
I smell something. Oh yeah: crap.

The real American Idol begins tonight as they've actually finally gotten to the Final 12 after 2 months.

Wednesday, 3/14

Saint and Sinners; MyNetworkTV. 7-9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
More crap.

Jon Stewart is the guest on this week's Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg (TV Land, 9 pm).

Halfway Home; Comedy Central. 9:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Another improvised comedy show. This one is based in a halfway house for paroles.


Thursday, 3/15

As I noted in a previous post, The Office (NBC, 7 & 7:30) is airing repeats, but ones that have been reworked to include new footage.

Andy Barker, P.I.; NBC. 8:30 CST. Series Premiere.
I've liked Andy Richter's shows in the past, but I've been reading that this newest show isn't as good as 30 Rock, and that's saying something because Rock's pretty uneven.

Raines; NBC. 9:01 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Jeff Goldblum stars as a homicide detective who imagines the victims in his investigations are speaking to him, trying to help him solve the murders.

October Road; ABC. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
A young author returns to his hometown after ten years.

The Showbiz Show with David Spade; Comedy Central. 9:30 CST. Season Premiere.
Spade normally grows old fast, but this show is a hilarious enough send-up of the ridiculous entertainment shows (Entertainment Weekly, Access Hollywood, The Inside) that by the time the half-hour is up, I kinda miss him. Highly recommended.

Addiction; HBO. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
The beginning of a 14-part documentary series (made up of different specials) looking at substance dependency and addictive behaviors.


Friday, 3/16

Identity; NBC. 8 pm. Return.
The Penn Jillette-hosted game show returns for a seven week run.


Saturday, 3/17

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony; Vh1. 8 pm. Special
The "official" broadcast of Monday's ceremony. Should have the extraneous things clipped out, but not the "live" moments (you know someone's gonna drop the F-Bomb).

Hellboy: Blood and Iron; Cartoon Network. 6 pm. Special
The second animated sequel to the motion picture airs before you can buy it on DVD.


Sunday, 3/18

Galapagos; National Geographic. 7-10 pm CST. Special.
A look at the ecosystem that helped Darwin form his theories on evolution.

Christopher Titus: The 5th Annual End of the World Tour; Comedy Central. 9 pm. Special.
Get your fix of Titus that has been missing since his sitcom was canned.

And the top-notch supermarket hostage episode of Desperate Housewives repeats tonight (ABC, 8 pm). If you gave up on the show after last season (I don't blame you), check this one out and see what you've been missing. Laurie Metcalf better get an Emmy nom from this.