Monday, 1/15
Malcolm in the Middle dad, Bryan Cranston returns as Ted's (former) boss on How I Met Your Mother (7 pm CST, CBS). His previous work on the show was great, so I expect nothing less this time around.
Futureweapons, Discovery. 8 pm CST. Season premiere.
Season 2.
And tonight has hours 3 & 4 of 24's latest season on FOX.
And the big "event" of the night, The Golden Globes, airs on NBC at 7 pm (with E! and TV GUIDE Channel doing pre-and post-show specials). I'm kinda torn on the Globes, which doesn't get much respect. Like all awards shows, someone is missed-- and someone will win who doesn't deserve it (over another). But this year, the major nominations don't appear to be too out-there. Maybe I'll do a post on the noms before the show, maybe not.
I'll record the show on the DVR and blast through all the slow bits. It should take all of an hour to get through...
Tuesday, 1/16.
If you haven't seen what Homer Simpson's voice "looks" like, actor Dan Castelleneta appears in front of the camera on Campus Ladies (Oxygen, 10 pm).
Bigg Snoop Dogg's Youth Authority: California; Spike. 10 pm. Special.
This doc looks at gang violence through Snoop's story.
The Real Housewives of Orange County; Bravo. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.
Bravo gets closer to getting on my "never to be mentioned again" list...
And a little show called American Idol has its season premiere tonight at 7pm on FOX (2 hrs tonight; 2 hrs tomorrow night).
Wednesday, 1/17:
22nd Century; PBS. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
New series about scientific advances expected this century. The pilot explores a device that would link minds like the Inetrnet links computers.
The Naked Trucker and T-Bones; Comedy Central. 9:30 pm. Series Premiere.
I couldn't do justice to the premise (a duo relate stories in the studio and then filmed flashbacks are shown) here. Just check out the show for yourself.
Thursday, 1/18:
John Waters plays a funeral director on My Name is Earl.
Jim, Pam, and Karen plan a gag on someone new (now that Dwight is gone), Oscar returns from vacation, and Andy continues to get into Michael's good graces on The Office.
The long-awaited (and highly reviewed) musical episode of Scrubs finally airs tonight.
And Kenneth the Page and Jack trade jobs for a day on 30 Rock.
Ace of Cakes; Food Network. 9:30 CST. Season premiere.
Really? The synopsis of this ep is "Duff and his team are back for a second season of enormous challenges. Tonight, they must bake a birthday cake that's a replica of Wrigley Field."
Wow... exciting. (honestly, I'm almost intriuged.)
And American Chopper heads to a new night (Thursday) and a new network (TLC).
I, honestly, didn't even realize the show was still on.
Friday, 1/19:
A repeat of the moving Newsradio episode that acknowledged Phil Hartman's death by having his character, Bill McNeal, die airs on TBS at noon.
Lots of cable premieres (since the networks have abandoned the night):
Video Justice; Court TV. 7 & 7:30. Season premieres.
Ms. Adventure; Animal Planet. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
Comic-actress Rachel Reenstra compares human behavior with those in the wild kingdom.
Hyperspace; BBC America. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
Nick Frost as a spaceship commander charged with exploring the universe. Could be good, could be bad. I'll be checking it out.
Feel the Force; BBC America. 8:40. Series Premiere.
A duo of female cops try to keep Edinburgh safe.
Monk; USA. 8 pm. Return.
A liked the show when I watched it, but it all seemed so "I've seen this before" too much.
Psych; USA. 9 pm. Return.
I've been diligently taping this show, which has gotten good reviews. I'll watch it someday, I hope.
Sunday, 1/21:
David Bowie guest stars on Extras. I saw a clip from this ep on the internet, and it was a riot. Bowie writes a song for Andy that is titled "Pathetic Little Fat Man".
The THIRTY-SEVENTH (!!!) season of Masterpiece Theatre begins on PBS tonight (8 pm, but check your local listings).
The Dresden Files; Sci Fi. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
A Chicago private eye (who is also a wizard) does his thing. I've heard good things.
Battlestar Galactica; Sci Fi. 9 pm. Season premiere.
The best show I'm not watching (but have taped every single ep) moves to Sunday night. I have not heard a bad thing about this show (and you know how fickle/vocal sci fi fans are). This is a must see.
And the Discovery Channel is airing Steve Irwin ("The Crocodile Hunter") specials all night. Ocean's Deadliest (the doc Irwin was working on when he died) airs at 7 pm. and Crikey, What an Adventure! (a retrospective on his life, featuring an interview with his widow) airs at 8:30. I have a feeling this is must see viewing as well.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
The second season begins tomorrow
For decades now, there have been two television seasons every year: the main one that runs from September to May and the summer season where repeats prevailed and shows the netowrks didn't have faith in were "burned off", so the networks didn't completely lose their investments.
But all that changed with American Idol. The 800 pound gorilla has actually split the traditional Sept-May season and created another (typically referred to as the "second season"). FOX goes into hibernation during the Fall (especially this past fall, which had no new breakout hits)-- exacerbated by the Baseball playoffs in October-- and then explodes in January with Idol (as well as the hit 24, which premieres tomorrow). About all the other networks can do is do their best to stay out of the way.
I watched the second season of Idol fairly regularly, but the lead-up to the final 12 in subsequent seasons was so excruciating for me (and, let's face it, the show is very time-consuming with over 40 hours in just a few months) that I stopped watching altogether.
But ratings have, miraculously (in Neilsen standards), kept getting better throughout the years, so FOX is not about to change the schedule and air fewer tedious try-out episodes. I just saw the schedule in the paper, so I thought I'd post it here.
This week, Idol has two-hour episodes on Tuesday, 1/16 & Wednesday, 1/17, which will showcase the auditions in Minneapolis and Seattle.
1/23 & 1/24: Memphis & New York (1 hr eps)
1/30 & 1/31: Birmingham & San Antonio (1 hr eps)
2/6: L.A. (1 hr ep)
2/7: "Rest of the Best"
2/13 & 2/14: The Hollywood round, which ends with the Top 24 announcement. (2 hr)
2/20 & 2/21: 2-hour episodes with the top 12 men and then women performing and the viewers finally get to vote.
2/22 (Thursday): Hour-long results episode.
2/27 & 2/28: The Top Ten men & then women perform in 90-minute episodes. Viewers vote.
3/1 (Thurs): Hour-long results show.
3/6 & 3/7: Top 8 men and then women perform. Voting.
3/8 (Thurs): The final 12 is announced.
3/13: First of the Top 12. Voting.
3/14: First show where one contestant gets booted.
So, basically, FOX is airing its Sunday shows, Prison Break, 24, House, Bones, 'Til Death, The O.C. (until the end of Feb) and American Idol the next 2 months.
And you know what? It'll work this year, just like it did last year and the year before. FOX hammers the competition so hard from January to May that it actually catches up to the ratings of the other networks that put their best efforts into the entire Sept-May season.
It's amazing. But Idol-fever will cool sometime-- and FOX will be in big trouble when it can't adequately fill its schedule without it (remember how NBC was the past two years? This will actually be worse).
But all that changed with American Idol. The 800 pound gorilla has actually split the traditional Sept-May season and created another (typically referred to as the "second season"). FOX goes into hibernation during the Fall (especially this past fall, which had no new breakout hits)-- exacerbated by the Baseball playoffs in October-- and then explodes in January with Idol (as well as the hit 24, which premieres tomorrow). About all the other networks can do is do their best to stay out of the way.
I watched the second season of Idol fairly regularly, but the lead-up to the final 12 in subsequent seasons was so excruciating for me (and, let's face it, the show is very time-consuming with over 40 hours in just a few months) that I stopped watching altogether.
But ratings have, miraculously (in Neilsen standards), kept getting better throughout the years, so FOX is not about to change the schedule and air fewer tedious try-out episodes. I just saw the schedule in the paper, so I thought I'd post it here.
This week, Idol has two-hour episodes on Tuesday, 1/16 & Wednesday, 1/17, which will showcase the auditions in Minneapolis and Seattle.
1/23 & 1/24: Memphis & New York (1 hr eps)
1/30 & 1/31: Birmingham & San Antonio (1 hr eps)
2/6: L.A. (1 hr ep)
2/7: "Rest of the Best"
2/13 & 2/14: The Hollywood round, which ends with the Top 24 announcement. (2 hr)
2/20 & 2/21: 2-hour episodes with the top 12 men and then women performing and the viewers finally get to vote.
2/22 (Thursday): Hour-long results episode.
2/27 & 2/28: The Top Ten men & then women perform in 90-minute episodes. Viewers vote.
3/1 (Thurs): Hour-long results show.
3/6 & 3/7: Top 8 men and then women perform. Voting.
3/8 (Thurs): The final 12 is announced.
3/13: First of the Top 12. Voting.
3/14: First show where one contestant gets booted.
So, basically, FOX is airing its Sunday shows, Prison Break, 24, House, Bones, 'Til Death, The O.C. (until the end of Feb) and American Idol the next 2 months.
And you know what? It'll work this year, just like it did last year and the year before. FOX hammers the competition so hard from January to May that it actually catches up to the ratings of the other networks that put their best efforts into the entire Sept-May season.
It's amazing. But Idol-fever will cool sometime-- and FOX will be in big trouble when it can't adequately fill its schedule without it (remember how NBC was the past two years? This will actually be worse).
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Odds & Ends
I remembered six more shows I watched last year, bringing my total to 97 shows, which irritates me for not hitting 100 (although I caught 4 previous shows on DVDs, so maybe I'll count them. The missing six were added to my last post. Nothing special except 30 Days, which I'm very embarrassed to have forgotten (I'm still whittling down my list, and the show is still one of the "keepers").
Fan of The O.C. should watch every new episode they can because the show just got cancelled. FOX was cool about it, though, and gave producers plenty of time to wrap up storylines and the series. The finale will air at the end of February.
Best Buy has been having great sales on DVDs the past few weeks. Three highly recommended series that are on sale right now are: The Office: The Complete Series (the original British version that is amazing; for $35), The Shield (the groundbreaking basic cable show's first four seasons are $20 each), Buffy The Vampire Slayer (all seven seasons are $20 each), and Angel (all five seasons are $20 each).
Each series is fantastic, and if and when I do a Top Ten shows I've ever watched, Angel and The Office will for sure be on it.
Well, gotta run.
Fan of The O.C. should watch every new episode they can because the show just got cancelled. FOX was cool about it, though, and gave producers plenty of time to wrap up storylines and the series. The finale will air at the end of February.
Best Buy has been having great sales on DVDs the past few weeks. Three highly recommended series that are on sale right now are: The Office: The Complete Series (the original British version that is amazing; for $35), The Shield (the groundbreaking basic cable show's first four seasons are $20 each), Buffy The Vampire Slayer (all seven seasons are $20 each), and Angel (all five seasons are $20 each).
Each series is fantastic, and if and when I do a Top Ten shows I've ever watched, Angel and The Office will for sure be on it.
Well, gotta run.
Monday, January 08, 2007
The Best of Prelims
Before I get to the long-promised Best of 2006, I thought I had better kind of lay out the main ground rule: What I actually watched. I watch an insane amount of television (and I do take a shortcut-- I NEVER watch commericals, which gains me about 30% time), and below is a list of what I watched that had episodes that were new in 2006.
Titles in italics are ones that I didn't watch every single episode of. I either dropped the show, came in "late", or in the case of Boston Legal, I watched last season but haven't gotten to this one yet.
All others, I watched every ep that aired (including situations like Runaway's three episodes before cancellation).
Hopefully, this can kind of give you an idea of what I watch and why I'll (eventually) choose a Top 10 from them and not include shows I'd love such as Deadwood or Battlestar Galactica but haven't watched as of yet.
And I hope I can point you in a direction of what I find good enough to watch when I list many, many more shows in my weekly premieres posts.
The Amazing Race (CBS)
American Dad (FOX)
Aqua Teen Hunger Force (adult swim)
Big Brother (CBS)
Big Day (ABC)
Big Love (HBO)
Black Books (BBC America; to be referred to as "BBC" from now on)
Book of Daniel (NBC)
Boston Legal (ABC)
Bromwell High (BBC)
Brothers and Sisters (ABC)
The Class (CBS)
Comedians of Comedy (Comedy Central)
Conviction (BBC)
Conviction (NBC)
Costas Now (HBO)
Courting Alex (CBS)
Crumbs (ABC)
Curious George (PBS)
Dane Cook's Tourgasm (HBO)
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
ECW (SciFi)
Ed vs. Spencer (BBC)
Emily's Reasons Why Not (ABC- the one ep that aired--owch!)
Entourage (HBO)
Everybody Hates Chris (UPN/CW)
Family Guy (FOX)
Fantasy Show (ESPN 2)
Fred Willard's American Festivals (Travel)
Free Ride (FOX)
Frisky Dingo (adult swim)
Happy Hour (FOX)
Hardware (BBC)
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (adult swim)
Help Me Help You (ABC)
The Hill (Sundance)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Iconoclasts (Sundance)
Identity (NBC)
Inside the NFL (HBO)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
Kath & Kim (Sundance)
King of the Hill (FOX)
King of Queens (CBS)
Legion of Super-Heroes (CW)
Less Than Perfect (ABC)
Little Britain (BBC)
The Loop (FOX)
Love Monkey (VH1)
Love Soup (BBC)
Lucky Louie (HBO)
Mad TV (FOX)
Malcolm in the Middle (FOX)
Men in Trees (ABC)
Metalocalypse (adult swim)
Minoriteam (adult swim)
Moral Orel (adult swim)
My Boys (TBS)
My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
My Name is Earl (NBC)
New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
The Office (NBC)
One Punk Under God (Sundance)
Prison Break (FOX)
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Reno 911 (Comedy Central)
Robot Chicken (adult swim)
Rock Star: Supernova (CBS)
Runaway (CW)
Scrubs (NBC)
Showbiz Show with David Spade (Comedy Central)
The Simpsons (FOX)
Slings and Arrows (Sundance)
So NoTORIous (VH1)
Sons and Daughters (ABC)
South Park (Comedy Central)
Square Off (TV Guide)
Spaced (BBC)
Spongebob Squarepants (Nickelodeon)
Standoff (FOX)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC)
Survivor (CBS)
10 Items or Less (TBS)
That '70s Show (FOX)
30 Days (FX)
30 Rock (NBC)
'Til Death (FOX)
Twenty Good Years (NBC)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
Unan1mous (FOX)
The Upside Down Show (Noggin)
Vanished (FOX)
The Venture Brothers (adult swim)
The West Wing (NBC)
What About Brian? (ABC)
Wonder Showzen (MTV 2)
Ninety-one shows. I guess I certainly trimmed down my list from 2005 when I watched over 120 shows (it was knid of a New Year's Resolution for 2006).
And seasons I watched this year, but don't qualify because they weren't new in 2006:
Bodies (BBC, all six eps-- entire season)
Coupling (BBC, all 4 seasons)
Deadwood (HBO-- first and second seasons)
The Sopranos (HBO-- first five seasons)
Hopefully, in the next week or so, I'll give my Top 10 list. Not because it's important but because everyone else is doing it.
Titles in italics are ones that I didn't watch every single episode of. I either dropped the show, came in "late", or in the case of Boston Legal, I watched last season but haven't gotten to this one yet.
All others, I watched every ep that aired (including situations like Runaway's three episodes before cancellation).
Hopefully, this can kind of give you an idea of what I watch and why I'll (eventually) choose a Top 10 from them and not include shows I'd love such as Deadwood or Battlestar Galactica but haven't watched as of yet.
And I hope I can point you in a direction of what I find good enough to watch when I list many, many more shows in my weekly premieres posts.
The Amazing Race (CBS)
American Dad (FOX)
Aqua Teen Hunger Force (adult swim)
Big Brother (CBS)
Big Day (ABC)
Big Love (HBO)
Black Books (BBC America; to be referred to as "BBC" from now on)
Book of Daniel (NBC)
Boston Legal (ABC)
Bromwell High (BBC)
Brothers and Sisters (ABC)
The Class (CBS)
Comedians of Comedy (Comedy Central)
Conviction (BBC)
Conviction (NBC)
Costas Now (HBO)
Courting Alex (CBS)
Crumbs (ABC)
Curious George (PBS)
Dane Cook's Tourgasm (HBO)
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
ECW (SciFi)
Ed vs. Spencer (BBC)
Emily's Reasons Why Not (ABC- the one ep that aired--owch!)
Entourage (HBO)
Everybody Hates Chris (UPN/CW)
Family Guy (FOX)
Fantasy Show (ESPN 2)
Fred Willard's American Festivals (Travel)
Free Ride (FOX)
Frisky Dingo (adult swim)
Happy Hour (FOX)
Hardware (BBC)
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (adult swim)
Help Me Help You (ABC)
The Hill (Sundance)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Iconoclasts (Sundance)
Identity (NBC)
Inside the NFL (HBO)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
Kath & Kim (Sundance)
King of the Hill (FOX)
King of Queens (CBS)
Legion of Super-Heroes (CW)
Less Than Perfect (ABC)
Little Britain (BBC)
The Loop (FOX)
Love Monkey (VH1)
Love Soup (BBC)
Lucky Louie (HBO)
Mad TV (FOX)
Malcolm in the Middle (FOX)
Men in Trees (ABC)
Metalocalypse (adult swim)
Minoriteam (adult swim)
Moral Orel (adult swim)
My Boys (TBS)
My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
My Name is Earl (NBC)
New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
The Office (NBC)
One Punk Under God (Sundance)
Prison Break (FOX)
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Reno 911 (Comedy Central)
Robot Chicken (adult swim)
Rock Star: Supernova (CBS)
Runaway (CW)
Scrubs (NBC)
Showbiz Show with David Spade (Comedy Central)
The Simpsons (FOX)
Slings and Arrows (Sundance)
So NoTORIous (VH1)
Sons and Daughters (ABC)
South Park (Comedy Central)
Square Off (TV Guide)
Spaced (BBC)
Spongebob Squarepants (Nickelodeon)
Standoff (FOX)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC)
Survivor (CBS)
10 Items or Less (TBS)
That '70s Show (FOX)
30 Days (FX)
30 Rock (NBC)
'Til Death (FOX)
Twenty Good Years (NBC)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
Unan1mous (FOX)
The Upside Down Show (Noggin)
Vanished (FOX)
The Venture Brothers (adult swim)
The West Wing (NBC)
What About Brian? (ABC)
Wonder Showzen (MTV 2)
Ninety-one shows. I guess I certainly trimmed down my list from 2005 when I watched over 120 shows (it was knid of a New Year's Resolution for 2006).
And seasons I watched this year, but don't qualify because they weren't new in 2006:
Bodies (BBC, all six eps-- entire season)
Coupling (BBC, all 4 seasons)
Deadwood (HBO-- first and second seasons)
The Sopranos (HBO-- first five seasons)
Hopefully, in the next week or so, I'll give my Top 10 list. Not because it's important but because everyone else is doing it.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Jan 11-14 Prems, Part 3
Thursday, 1/11
Nashville Star; USA. 9 pm. Season premiere.
The fifth season begins.
Friday, 1/12
Comedy Central Presents; Comedy Central. 9 & 9:30. Season Premiere.
Marc Maron and John Heffron are showcased.
Cory in the House; Disney. 8:30. Series Premiere.
My kids aren't old enough for these "tween" shows, but Disney has promoting the Hell out of it for a month now. Must be a big deal.
Giada's Weekend Getaways; Food Network. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
Giada DeLaurentis and a show about great restaurants. I don't get it. The pilot is in Seattle.
Cowboy U: Colorado; CMT. 7 pm. Season Premiere.
Sixth season? Never heard of it.
Saturday, 1/13
Louis C.K.: Shameless; HBO. 9 pm. Special.
I hope this stand-up show is better than his sitcom.
Grendel; Sci Fi. 8 pm. Movie.
The oldest story in human history. Every heroic book, movie, play, show, etc comes from this one.
And SciFi is doing it.
I have a bad feeling about this...
Sunday 1/14
24; FOX. 7pm. Season Premiere.
It may not be as big as Idol, but this show is huge for FOX. The sixth season airs a 2-hr block tonight and Monday before falling into its 8 pm slot-- right after Prison Break. Even though I haven't watched the series yet (I've got the past five seasons on tape), I know this is Must See.
Rome; HBO. 8 pm. Season Premiere.
The second, and final, season begins here. Must See.
Extras; HBO. 9 pm. Season Premiere.
Ricky Gervais starts Round 2 of the show that makes him look even more pathetic than The Office did. I saw a killer clip of of the show with David Bowie singing a song about the Gervais character called "Pathetic Little Fat Man" that made me laugh so hard I nearly cried. Must see.
Living With the Kombai Tribe: The Adventures of Mark and Olly; Travel. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
I have no idea...
Crossing Jordan; NBC. 9 pm. Season premiere.
Star Trek Tech; History. 9 pm. Special.
I'm not sure what it's about, either.
Nashville Star; USA. 9 pm. Season premiere.
The fifth season begins.
Friday, 1/12
Comedy Central Presents; Comedy Central. 9 & 9:30. Season Premiere.
Marc Maron and John Heffron are showcased.
Cory in the House; Disney. 8:30. Series Premiere.
My kids aren't old enough for these "tween" shows, but Disney has promoting the Hell out of it for a month now. Must be a big deal.
Giada's Weekend Getaways; Food Network. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
Giada DeLaurentis and a show about great restaurants. I don't get it. The pilot is in Seattle.
Cowboy U: Colorado; CMT. 7 pm. Season Premiere.
Sixth season? Never heard of it.
Saturday, 1/13
Louis C.K.: Shameless; HBO. 9 pm. Special.
I hope this stand-up show is better than his sitcom.
Grendel; Sci Fi. 8 pm. Movie.
The oldest story in human history. Every heroic book, movie, play, show, etc comes from this one.
And SciFi is doing it.
I have a bad feeling about this...
Sunday 1/14
24; FOX. 7pm. Season Premiere.
It may not be as big as Idol, but this show is huge for FOX. The sixth season airs a 2-hr block tonight and Monday before falling into its 8 pm slot-- right after Prison Break. Even though I haven't watched the series yet (I've got the past five seasons on tape), I know this is Must See.
Rome; HBO. 8 pm. Season Premiere.
The second, and final, season begins here. Must See.
Extras; HBO. 9 pm. Season Premiere.
Ricky Gervais starts Round 2 of the show that makes him look even more pathetic than The Office did. I saw a killer clip of of the show with David Bowie singing a song about the Gervais character called "Pathetic Little Fat Man" that made me laugh so hard I nearly cried. Must see.
Living With the Kombai Tribe: The Adventures of Mark and Olly; Travel. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
I have no idea...
Crossing Jordan; NBC. 9 pm. Season premiere.
Star Trek Tech; History. 9 pm. Special.
I'm not sure what it's about, either.
Jan 8-14 Prems Pt 2
Tuesday, 1/9
The People's Choice Awards air on CBS at 8 pm (CST). Sometimes the people choose wisely, but mostly they don't.
Spike airs the Quentin Tarantino CSI 2-parter from 8-10. I haven't watched the show the last two years, but this episode kept me watching for a while. You can see Tarantino's handprints all over the epsiode (and that's a good thing).
Wednesday, 1/10
The Wire; BET. 8 pm. Syndication Premiere.
BET (a channel I don't get-- and am now mad about that fact) airs the show nearly every critic has said is the best on TV.
The Sopranos; A&E. 8 pm. Syndication Premiere.
A&E goes for some actual quality after airing the garbage it has for years by showing not only one of the best shows ever, but also one of the most groundbreaking. I'll admit, I wasn't blown away by it when I watched it for the first time last summer, but its influence is undeniable. Without it, there would be no Deadwood, Rescue Me, or The Shield. This is highly recommended viewing.
And now for something of much lesser quality:
Armed & Famous; CBS. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
"Celebs" like La Toya Jackson, Jack Osbourne, and Erik Estrada get trained as cops in Muncie, IN.
Seriously.
Tease; Oxygen. 8 pm. Series Premiere
Reality competition among hairstylists. Oh you know this has to be good.
Okay, back to actual "good":
China From the Inside; PBS. 8 & 9 pm (check local listings). Series Premiere.
The history of China-- from the Chinese residents' perspective.
More later...
The People's Choice Awards air on CBS at 8 pm (CST). Sometimes the people choose wisely, but mostly they don't.
Spike airs the Quentin Tarantino CSI 2-parter from 8-10. I haven't watched the show the last two years, but this episode kept me watching for a while. You can see Tarantino's handprints all over the epsiode (and that's a good thing).
Wednesday, 1/10
The Wire; BET. 8 pm. Syndication Premiere.
BET (a channel I don't get-- and am now mad about that fact) airs the show nearly every critic has said is the best on TV.
The Sopranos; A&E. 8 pm. Syndication Premiere.
A&E goes for some actual quality after airing the garbage it has for years by showing not only one of the best shows ever, but also one of the most groundbreaking. I'll admit, I wasn't blown away by it when I watched it for the first time last summer, but its influence is undeniable. Without it, there would be no Deadwood, Rescue Me, or The Shield. This is highly recommended viewing.
And now for something of much lesser quality:
Armed & Famous; CBS. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
"Celebs" like La Toya Jackson, Jack Osbourne, and Erik Estrada get trained as cops in Muncie, IN.
Seriously.
Tease; Oxygen. 8 pm. Series Premiere
Reality competition among hairstylists. Oh you know this has to be good.
Okay, back to actual "good":
China From the Inside; PBS. 8 & 9 pm (check local listings). Series Premiere.
The history of China-- from the Chinese residents' perspective.
More later...
Premieres & Notables for Jan 8-14.
Lots and lots of stuff this week. The wife and kids will be back in 20 mins, so I'll get through as much as I can now and post the rest later.
Firstly, I missed the announcement of one of my (and my kids') favorite shows season premiere: Jack's Big Music Show started airing new eps yesterday. Noggin will trickle them in along with the 10 eps from the first season throughout the next few weeks. If you have preschool-age kids and the Noggin channel, this is mandatory viewing.
I love kids shows that don't talk down to them (or resort to bodily noises to get laughs), and Jack is great. Jack and his friends get together and discover music (right up my kids' alley) and let their imaginations run wild. For a "puppet show", it's pretty darn good.
And since I'm on a roll, check out The Upside Down Show on Noggin. This show rules. It's for kids, but adults will like the humor. And those of us who watch lots and LOTS of TV should be able to see the genius of Shane Dundas and David Collin's performances. Those dudes (along with whoever the genius is behind the camera) do amazing physical "stunts". And as I watched more and more episodes, I noticed many of the scenes are done in one take. It's wild. I'll never get to a "best performances of 2006" list, but Shane and David would definitely be on it if I did.
And something else I missed: HBO is reairing the first season of ROME all week. This is a show best watched in 2-3 hr blocks. I almost gave up on it after the first two eps, but it really clicked as it headed toward the final episodes. Just as many HBO and BBC America shows work, this is one story, beginning to end, that takes over the whole season. It just kept building and building until Titus Pullo exploded in violence when he was to be executed (in one of the most brutal, yet satisfying sequences I've ever seen on TV) and all the way to the finale, where the bodies just kept lining up (including the Julius Caesar-- I knew the dude was gonna die, but I thought they'd hold it off a bit longer). With half the cast dead after the first season, I don't know where season 2 (the final season, beginning next Sunday) will go. I can't wait.
Okay, on to this upcoming week:
Monday, 1/8:
Want to see a great performance by a young actor? Check out the episode on Desperate Housewives that airs on Lifetime at 6 pm (CST). Andrew confesses (to a priest!) how he's going to ruin his mother, Bree. It was a major shock.
The SciFi Channel finally begins its run of Star Trek: Enterprise. It'll air in four-hour (why not six, so I can fill a whole tape?) blocks every Monday from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm CST. It's a very underrated show that did have it's problems, but the third season was one of the most ambitious (and best) seasons of any show I've watched. And the fourth (and final) season took what came before (in the series as well as the other Trek shows) and closed up the show with some phenominal stories. Plus it stars one of the best TV actors out there: Scott Bakula.
Quick hits:
Ellen's Acres; Cartoon. 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Show for preschoolers about a 5-year-old who lives in a hotel.
Lincoln Heights; ABC Family. 6 pm & 9 pm. Series Premiere.
An L.A. cop moves his family into the inner city; into a community who hates police.
Gay, Straight, or Taken?; Lifetime. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
A dating show where women must pick who is gay, straight, or taken. Isn't this one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse?
No, wait, this piece of crap is:
I Love New York; VH1. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
One of the losers (in more ways than one) of Flavor of Love gets her own "finding love" show.
[teameck's note: I'm really sorry I keep including VH1 and MTV shows in this blog. I try to be thorough, so I'm forced to. But I won't be including them anymore. This is the last straw. I'm not even mentioning the other VH1 premiere tonight about white rappers going after a $100G prize. I'm done. If you watch this garbage, go to vh1.com or mtv.com and find out for yourself what's on. I am completely against censorship of any kind, but typing what's on VH1 and MTV makes my head and fingers hurt-- and I'm afraid too many people will bypass actual decent shows to watch these shows which are about the equivalent of watching stool get flushed down the toilet..
If, by any chance, there is actually something that sounds remotely good on either network, I will include it. Otherwise: I'm DONE with this claptrap.]
Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence; PBS. 9 pm (but check your local listings). Special.
This documentary looks at the growing anti-Semitism in the world. I don't get it. This is the Twenty-First Century, for cryin' out loud! We're supposed to be hating gay people now. Don't you listen to Darth Bush and his Christian coalition?
[That was a joke, you idiots... Hate for any religion/color/sexuality should not be tolerated. It's time to wipe bigotry off the face of the earth. Hate the jackass you work with, or the one who broke your heart, or the prick that stole your car. But don't hate someone because they believe in a different God or because their skin is different color than yours, or because they fall in love with people you never would. Until we as a society can abolish bigotry, we'll never be at the pinnacle of civilization.]
Okay, my family's taking longer than I expected, but I've gotten a little heavy (but real), so how 'bout I take a break and finish out the week in a bit?
Later.
Firstly, I missed the announcement of one of my (and my kids') favorite shows season premiere: Jack's Big Music Show started airing new eps yesterday. Noggin will trickle them in along with the 10 eps from the first season throughout the next few weeks. If you have preschool-age kids and the Noggin channel, this is mandatory viewing.
I love kids shows that don't talk down to them (or resort to bodily noises to get laughs), and Jack is great. Jack and his friends get together and discover music (right up my kids' alley) and let their imaginations run wild. For a "puppet show", it's pretty darn good.
And since I'm on a roll, check out The Upside Down Show on Noggin. This show rules. It's for kids, but adults will like the humor. And those of us who watch lots and LOTS of TV should be able to see the genius of Shane Dundas and David Collin's performances. Those dudes (along with whoever the genius is behind the camera) do amazing physical "stunts". And as I watched more and more episodes, I noticed many of the scenes are done in one take. It's wild. I'll never get to a "best performances of 2006" list, but Shane and David would definitely be on it if I did.
And something else I missed: HBO is reairing the first season of ROME all week. This is a show best watched in 2-3 hr blocks. I almost gave up on it after the first two eps, but it really clicked as it headed toward the final episodes. Just as many HBO and BBC America shows work, this is one story, beginning to end, that takes over the whole season. It just kept building and building until Titus Pullo exploded in violence when he was to be executed (in one of the most brutal, yet satisfying sequences I've ever seen on TV) and all the way to the finale, where the bodies just kept lining up (including the Julius Caesar-- I knew the dude was gonna die, but I thought they'd hold it off a bit longer). With half the cast dead after the first season, I don't know where season 2 (the final season, beginning next Sunday) will go. I can't wait.
Okay, on to this upcoming week:
Monday, 1/8:
Want to see a great performance by a young actor? Check out the episode on Desperate Housewives that airs on Lifetime at 6 pm (CST). Andrew confesses (to a priest!) how he's going to ruin his mother, Bree. It was a major shock.
The SciFi Channel finally begins its run of Star Trek: Enterprise. It'll air in four-hour (why not six, so I can fill a whole tape?) blocks every Monday from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm CST. It's a very underrated show that did have it's problems, but the third season was one of the most ambitious (and best) seasons of any show I've watched. And the fourth (and final) season took what came before (in the series as well as the other Trek shows) and closed up the show with some phenominal stories. Plus it stars one of the best TV actors out there: Scott Bakula.
Quick hits:
Ellen's Acres; Cartoon. 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Show for preschoolers about a 5-year-old who lives in a hotel.
Lincoln Heights; ABC Family. 6 pm & 9 pm. Series Premiere.
An L.A. cop moves his family into the inner city; into a community who hates police.
Gay, Straight, or Taken?; Lifetime. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
A dating show where women must pick who is gay, straight, or taken. Isn't this one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse?
No, wait, this piece of crap is:
I Love New York; VH1. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
One of the losers (in more ways than one) of Flavor of Love gets her own "finding love" show.
[teameck's note: I'm really sorry I keep including VH1 and MTV shows in this blog. I try to be thorough, so I'm forced to. But I won't be including them anymore. This is the last straw. I'm not even mentioning the other VH1 premiere tonight about white rappers going after a $100G prize. I'm done. If you watch this garbage, go to vh1.com or mtv.com and find out for yourself what's on. I am completely against censorship of any kind, but typing what's on VH1 and MTV makes my head and fingers hurt-- and I'm afraid too many people will bypass actual decent shows to watch these shows which are about the equivalent of watching stool get flushed down the toilet..
If, by any chance, there is actually something that sounds remotely good on either network, I will include it. Otherwise: I'm DONE with this claptrap.]
Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence; PBS. 9 pm (but check your local listings). Special.
This documentary looks at the growing anti-Semitism in the world. I don't get it. This is the Twenty-First Century, for cryin' out loud! We're supposed to be hating gay people now. Don't you listen to Darth Bush and his Christian coalition?
[That was a joke, you idiots... Hate for any religion/color/sexuality should not be tolerated. It's time to wipe bigotry off the face of the earth. Hate the jackass you work with, or the one who broke your heart, or the prick that stole your car. But don't hate someone because they believe in a different God or because their skin is different color than yours, or because they fall in love with people you never would. Until we as a society can abolish bigotry, we'll never be at the pinnacle of civilization.]
Okay, my family's taking longer than I expected, but I've gotten a little heavy (but real), so how 'bout I take a break and finish out the week in a bit?
Later.
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