I'd hire him

The World's Most Epic Handshake

Robot Dinosaur Scares Kid

Window Surprise

Premieres and Notables: July 2-8, 2012

Monday, 7/2

Web Therapy; Showtime. 10 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.


Tuesday, 7/3

The Catalina (The CW; 7 pm CST). Season Finale.


Wednesday, 7/4

Most networks are having marathons or specials at various times all day.  Too many for me to note. 

America's Lost Treasures; Nat Geo. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Hosts Curt Doucette and Kinga Phillips appraise family heirlooms that may have ties to our history.

Front Row Center (PBS; 8:30 pm CST-- check local listings). Season Finale.
Featuring a Beach Boys show during their 50th Anniversary tour.


Thursday, 7/5

Breaking Pointe (The CW; 7 pm CST). Season Finale.

Kathy (Bravo; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.


Saturday, 7/7

NBC launches a 3 hour block of preschool programming featuring shows from sister network Sprout from 9 am to noon.

At 10:30 am, AMC is going to begin airing the entire 19 episodes from Seasons One and Two of The Walking Dead and will continue through Sunday night. Between episodes, Talking Dead (the live "fan recap" of WD) host Chris Hardwick will reveal tidbits about the upcoming Third Season.  There isn't a much better way to catch up with what you've missed if you haven't watched yet because the second season hasn't been released on disc yet.  This is a perfect catching up weekend.

The Dog Whisperer; Nat Geo Wild.  7 pm CST. Final Season Premiere.

Twenty Twelve (BBC America; 11 pm CST). Miniseries Finale.


Sunday, 7/8

Masterpiece Mystery: Inspector Lewis; PBS. 8 pm CST (check local listings). Season Premiere.

Talking Dead; AMC. 8 pm CST. Special.
AMC's Walking Dead encore weekend culminates in this special that gives us a peek into the next season-- and will include a scene from it featuring a new character.
If you hadn't gotten enough WD by then yet, the pilot, shown in black and white (just like the comics), will reair after this special (9 pm).  Should be a cool way to watch one of the best pilots in recent memory.

Han Solo, P.I.

Now for a side-by-side comparison: Man, isn't it odd where we get a five second show intro (if any) now, and Magnum's is 62 seconds? Has our attention span gotten that bad in 30 years?

Lioness Tries to Eat Toddler

Probably shouldn't have worn the zebra-insipred hoodie to the zoo...

Say No to Crack; Yes to Rollerskating

Ninety seconds of pure genius.

"I say no to underage pregnancy." Awesome.

Dude Manrod's Tips For Your Balls

What an unfortunate misspelling...

Premieres and Notables: June 25-July 1, 2012

Monday, 6/25

Extreme Couponing (TLC; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.


Tuesday, 6/26

Craft Wars; 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Tori Spelling hosts this crafting competition.

Retired at 35; TV Land. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Wednesday, 6/27

Final Witness; ABC. 9 pm CST.  Series Premiere.


Thursday, 6/28

Twenty Twelve; BBC America. 8 pm CST. Mini-series Premiere.
A mockumentary that follows the London Olympic organizers as they prepare for the event.

Anger Management; FX. 8 pm CST.  Series Premiere.
Apparently based on the film from a few years back-- but seems to bear a more-than-passing resemblance to lead actor Charlie Sheen's life and his anger issues with his old bosses.

Wilfred; FX. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiered last week.
There must have been some scheduling changes as none of my usual means of knowing what's debuting didn't catch this one.  So try to catch the repeat of the premiere from last week OnDemand or online.
This was one of my favorite shows from last season because of it's unpredictability and Jason Gann's total commitment to acting as much like a dog as possible (see his scene chasing a laser pointer light across a garage door). I don't care much if Ryan is imagining it all or not; I just think it's hilarious to watch what he gets into.

Louie; FX. 9:30 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.
I don't think it's as genius as many others do, but I fully appreciate  the effort Louis C.K. puts into it by writing, directing, editing, and lead acting (plus other tasks) in each episode.  This is probably one of the most singularly-visioned series out there, and that alone makes it it an amazing success.  Don't expect much in the way of continuity (actors are reused, family/friends come and go and maybe don't even exist from one episode to the next), but the focus is on the story, and Louis usually finds the best way to tell the story.

Brand X With Russel Brand; FX. 10 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Friday, 6/29

XIII; Reelz. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A secret agent (Stuart Townsend) has his memories erased, and he breaks into the White House to get some answers. Don't know if he finds any before he's busted by a Secret Service agent played by Aisha Tyler (sweet!).


Saturday, 6/30

My Cat From Hell; Animal Planet. 7 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Sunday, 7/1

Weeds; Showtime. 9 pm CST. 8th Season Premiere.
The final season begins here, and it's about time. I hope it can continue on the upswing it had last season after some pretty terrible ones before it. 

Episodes; Showtime. 9:30 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
This one started a little slow last season, but it became one of my favorites by the end. 
And as a fan of many BBC shows that U.S. networks thought they could replicate, this show (about a British show a U.S. network revamps and launches in the States) hits really close to home.  If you want to see how these revamps get fucked up, just watch this show.
And Matt LeBlanc (playing "Matt LeBlanc") is a riot.
Highly recommended.

And the followup:

One of the best episodes of the year

I can relate

Americans Enjoying 3 Months Of Vegging Out Before Responsibilities Of Fall Programming Resume

Can't remember if I've posted this one before...

Premieres and Notables: June 18-24, 2012

Monday, 6/18

Masterchef; Fox. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Miss Advised; Bravo. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.

The Glass House; ABC. 9:02 pm CST. Series Premiere.
From what I can tell, it's ABC's version of Big Brother (and CBS, who filed an injunction, but lost, thought so too)-- with the added "bonus" of having viewers help run the house by deciding who stays and who goes, what they wear, what games they play, and whatever.


Tuesday, 6/19

Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp; Lifetime. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.


Wednesday, 6/20

Baby Daddy; ABC Family. 7:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Futurama; Comedy Central. 9:00 & 9:30 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Diamond Divers; Spike. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Sailors search for diamonds off the South African coast.

The Soul Man; TV Land. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Cedric the Entertainer stars as Reverend Boyce in this Hot in Cleveland spin-off.

The Exes; TV Land. 9:30 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Sunday, 6/24

The Newsroom; HBO. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Aaron Sorkin brings us this show about a TV newsman who decides to stop being safe.
Jeff Daniels plays the newsman who is never controversial-- and then has enough and decides to tell it like he sees it.
Sam Waterston plays his boss, Jane Fonda plays the CEO of his network, and Emily Mortimer, Dev Patel, Allison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, John Gallagher Jr. and Olivia Munn all have roles.
It won't be for everyone (Sorkin shows do tend to fall on the liberal side of life), but you will know it'll be passionate and articulate.
I have to give it a high recommendation.

The Great Escape; TNT. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Three teams of two try to escape from Alactraz in this reality competition from the people who brought us The Amazing Race.

Premieres and Notables: June 11-17, 2012

Monday, 6/11

The Secret Life of an American Teenager; ABC Family. 7 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Bunheads; ABC Family.  8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino brings us this series about a woman who marries a stranger and ends up running a ballet school with his mom.

Hollywood Heights; Nickelodeon. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Nick gets into the telenovela biz with this 80-part series told every weeknight of the summer.


Tuesday, 6/12

Barter Kings; A&E. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.


Wednesday, 6/13

Dallas; TNT. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
The Ewings are back-- and they brought their kids...

White Heat (BBC America; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.


Thursday, 6/14

Burn Notice; USA. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Don't Be Tardy For the Wedding (Bravo. 8:30 pm CST). Season Finale.

Suits; USA. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Friday, 6/15

Fairly Legal (USA; 8 pm CST). Season Premiere.


Saturday, 6/16

Standup in Stilettos; TV Guide Network. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
The Office's Kate Flannery hosts this female standup show.


Sunday, 6/17

The Killing (AMC; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.
The killer of Rosie Larsen is revealed.
They promised this time...

Falling Skies; TNT. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
Not bad for a summer show. It did a pretty good job of balancing sci-fi and human drama last year while it found its feet.  It's worth watching.

The Borgias (Showtime; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.

The Wire: The Musical-- and the tenth anniversary piece in Maxim

Well, I missed mentioning the 10th anniversary of the premiere of the greatest American television show that ever aired (that should have been mentioned on June 2nd), but there's been a small resurgence of The Wire bits and news the last few weeks to keep the show in our minds.

First off, Michael K. Williams ("Omar") got some of his old friends together to make this funny piece for Funny of Die (which didn't have an embed code for Blogger, 'cause, you know: Blogger is Old School).  It's called "The Wire: The Musical", and it's pretty great.  I should probably note there's a spoiler in here from season five, but there are plenty of things that didn't happen in the series the way they are shown here, so it probably won't hurt you to watch.  (Of course, if you haven't seen the show yet, it will be funny, but not really funny.)

Here's the link:
The Wire: The Musical


Secondly, Maxim Magazine did a wonderful article about The Wire recently for its tenth anniversary that can be found here.  This one has lots of spoilers about the show, so you should probably stay away if you haven't watched it and plan to.

I was a very early subscriber to the mag, but stopped getting it years ago as it became a male Cosmo, but if they are doing pieces like this, I'm going to have to give it another shot.


Finally: if you haven't seen the show before, I'll recommend-- again-- that you do.  It's easier to find than ever.  HBO OnDemand (on Charter at least) has been keeping it in rotation, HBO GO has it from what I hear, the DVD seasons have been on sale more and more ($17 at Best Buy recently), or check them out from your local library (both systems I frequent has them available; yours might too).

It will challenge you-- but it's completely worth it.  Give it a few episodes to burrow in your brain, and you'll find you can't stop watching the rest.

But I've written about it before in this blog, so click on this link if you need more convincing.

Premieres and Notables: June 4-10, 2012

Monday, 6/4

Hell's Kitchen; Fox. 7 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Top Gear (BBC America; 7:30 pm CST). Season Finale.

MasterChef; Fox. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Push Girls; Sundance. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Four women friends who are all in wheelchairs do their things.


Tuesday, 6/5

Pretty Little Liars; ABC Family. 7 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Jane By Design; ABC Family. 8 pm CST. Mid-season Premiere.

Rizzoli & Isles; TNT. 8 pm CST.  3rd Season Premiere.

Franklin & Bash; TNT. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
It's a fun little summer series.  If you've got an hour a week, this one isn't a bad choice.

The Glee Project; Oxygen. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
I don't watch reality competition shows-- and I'll admit to not loving Glee much anymore-- but this isn't a bad show.  It gave a great look at what goes into the mother show-- and there is very little "behind the scenes" drama. It focuses on the tasks and the performances.  And, while I'm sure some thought it was a cop-out, I liked the fact that two people won last time (and two others each got featured songs in two eps).  Sometimes two people just have what they're looking for and they both got a shot-- and maybe even a fairly regular gig.  I love that Ryan Murphy has a huge hand in this show-- and he always has Glee in mind when his makes his choice on who to cut. 


Wednesday, 6/6

Haunted Collector; Syfy.  8 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Royal Pains; USA. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America; Travel Channel. 8 & 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Necessary Roughness; USA. 9 pm CST.  Season Premiere.

Fast and Loud; Discovery. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman; Science. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Hot in Cleveland (TV Land; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.


Thursday, 6/7

Take Me Out; Fox. 7 pm CST. Series Premiere.
George Lopez hosts this dating show.

Saving Hope; NBC. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
I'm not really sure what it's about.  Something about an engaged couple who get into a car accident. She makes it out okay, but he is in a coma-- and he can somehow interact with the other coma patients...

The Choice; Fox. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A celebrity dating show. Yay!

Cajun Justice; A&E. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.


Friday, 6/8

Lives on Fire; OWN. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Four female CA firefighters do their thing.

Comedy Bang! Bang! IFC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Comedian Scott Aukerman brings his podcast to TV.


Sunday, 6/10

True Blood; HBO. 8 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.

Mad Men (AMC; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.