Robin Sparkles Returns

On the April 21st episode of How I Met Your Mother, we get to experience the B-side to Robin's smash hit (in Canada) "Let's Go to the Mall" in a little ditty called "Sandcastles in the Sand".

If you can't wait until then, here are links to the song and for a one-minute preview of the video of Robin (with James Van Der Beek, Alan Thicke, and Tiffany for spice).

As TV Guide's Mickey O' Connor said, the "song is made of crack cocaine". Be careful-- because it'll be in your head for days.

Premieres and Notables, April 14-20, 2008

Monday, 4/14

Returns:
Bones (FOX); 7 pm CST
Rules of Engagement (CBS); 8:30 pm

Season Finale:
New Amsterdam (FOX); 8 pm


Tuesday, 4/15

I read that Secret Talents of the Stars (CBS) got canned after one ep, so you'll have to watch something else in place of it. I know you really wanted to see Jo Dee Messina do urban dance, but those are the breaks...

Deadliest Catch; Discovery. 8 pm. 4th season premiere

NOFX: Backstage Passport; Fues. 9 pm. Series premiere.
A reality show following punk-band NOFX on tour.

Deion & Pilar Sander: Prime Time Love; Oxygen. 9:30 pm. Series Premiere.
Good old Neon Deion still marches to the beat of his own drum as we see in this premiere ep, which has him refusing to make the bed. You see, Primetime don't make no beds.

Work Out; Bravo. 10 pm. Season premiere

Deadliest Catch; Discovery. 8 pm. 4th season premiere

Return:
Law & Order: SVU (NBC); 9 pm

Season Finales:
The Biggest Loser: Couples (NBC); 7 pm
The Real Housewives of New York City (Bravo); 9 pm


Wednesday, 4/16

Under One Roof; MyNetworkTV. 7 pm. Series Premiere
A sitcom about a recently released convict who moves in with his well-to-do brother and his family. Sounds like a classic. Oh, did I mention that it stars Flavor Flav? Yeah-- now you'll be tuning in...

The Big 4-0; TV Land. 9 pm. Series premiere
A look at people's last 40 days before their 40th birthday.


Thursday, 4/17

Returns:
Smallville (CW); 7 pm. Lex goes closer to the dark side as he kills someone. (I've heard it's a pretty major character.)

Season Finale:
Eli Stone (ABC); 9 pm


Friday, 4/18

Doctor Who; Sci Fi. 7:30 pm. Season premiere.

Season Finales:
Canterbury's Law (FOX); 8 pm
Your Mama Don't Dance (Lifetime); 8 pm


Saturday, 4/19

Season Finale:
Torchwood (BBC America); 8 pm.


Sunday, 4/20

Kimora Lee Simmons: Life in the Fab Lane; Style. 7 pm. 2nd season premiere

Return:
Brothers & Sisters (ABC); 9:02. The most depressing family on TV is back!

Finales:
Oprah's Big Give (ABC); 7 pm. Season finale
John Adam's (HBO); 8 pm. Mini-series finale

Why This Is the Best Show on TV

On last week's How I Met Your Mother, there was a reference to one of Barney's former conquests making a website called tedmosbyisajerk.com. Why is one of Barney's one-night-stands hating on Ted? Barney used Ted's name and occupation (architect) with her instead of his own.

Well, as HIMYM and Scrubs have been doing, they actually made a website using that name.

Check it out: http://tedmosbyisajerk.com/

In it, you get a little background on why this woman thinks "Ted" is a jerk. Then click the link to "the letter"-- classic.

What makes this site even more fun is this particular conquest was actually part of a past episode. Barney did use Ted's name, did have a one night stand, and did bail on her as she took a shower-- and left a note claiming he was a ghost.

For an even more obscure reference, the link to Ted as a porn star is from another episode where Ted found out there is a porn star with his same name. I don't remember all the details, but the "Lance Hardwood: Sex Architect" sounds very familiar from the episode.

I love this stuff. I love that the creators/writers of this show are weaving a web of past, present, and future events within the "mythology" of the series. What's even better is you don't need to know any of these to enjoy the episodes. All the episodes are self-contained.

But if you've been watching from the beginning, there's that extra little rush when something like this happens.

Shedding a Little Light on the NBC Sked

I wrote a quick post with a link to the upcoming NBC schedule here.

But now I have a little scoop on the new shows, courtesy of this week's Entertainment Weekly.

Here's what some of these new shows are about.

Knight Rider: the "you knew it was going to happen" ongoing series based on the sequel movie that aired over the winter.

Robinson Crusoe: a "retelling" of the story according to EW. Don't know if it takes place in the original time, in the present, or in the future...

Kings: the "updated" King David story. Again, no details beyond that-- other than it stars Ian McShane, the f-bombing star of HBO's f-bombing Deadwood, f-bomber. [If you don't get that, buy/rent the awesome series.]

My Own Worst Enemy: Christian Slater stars as a secret suburban spy.

Fear Itself: a horror anthology.

Kath & Kim: a remake of the Aussie series that could be found on Sundance at one time (don't know if it still airs there; I tried it but didn't stick with it); this one stars Molly Shannon and Selma Blair.

Premieres and Notables; April 7-13, 2007

Monday, 4/13

Extreme Fisherman; Bio. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere
A reality show that looks at professional fishermen off the coast of Scotland.

Return:
Samantha Who? ABC @ 8:32 pm

Season finales:
Canterbury's Law; FOX @ 7 pm
Cheerleader U; WE @ 10:30 pm


Tuesday, 4/14

Secret Talents of the Stars; CBS. 9 pm. Series premiere
Clint Black tries being a stand-up comedian, Marla Maples tries gymnastics, Danny Bonaduce rides a unicycle and George Takei takes up country music singing.

American Idol (FOX, 7-9 pm) has its second "Idol Gives Back" episode to raise money for charities. Guests this year include Fergie, Brad Pitt, Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, John Legend, Reese Witherspoon, and Bono. Note: this could also take place on Wednesday; I've got conflicting information from TV Guide. Because f-bombing Blogger won't let me cut-and-paste, I'm leaving it here.

The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo; HBO. 9 pm. Special.
Rape survivor Lisa F. Jackson filmed rape victims in the Congo-- and then turned the camera on the rapists.

Just For Laughs (ABC, 7 & 7:30 pm) has its season finale.


Wednesday, 4/9

High School Reunion (TV Land; 9 pm) has its season finale-- and an appearance by an "awesome" '80s band.


Thursday, 4/10

Returns (all on NBC):
30 Rock; 7:30 pm
The Office; 8:00
Scrubs; 8:31
ER; 9:01


Friday, 4/11

The Sarah Jane Adventures; Sci Fi. 6:30 pm. Series premiere
The 90-minute opener for the second Dr. Who spin-off; this one focuses on former Who companion Sarah Jane, who rolled with the Doc from 1973-1976.


Saturday, 4/12

Groomer Has It; Animal Planet. 8 pm. Series Premiere
Another cleverly titled cable show... yawn. Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez hosts this new reality competition based around dogs. Poor Jai-- he always was the forgotten Queer Eye guy...


Sunday, 4/13

Night of Too Many Stars: An Overlooked Benefit for Autism Education; Comedy Central. 7 pm. Special.
A live fundraiser with guests such as Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, and Stephen Colbert hosted by Jon Stewart.

Return:
Desperate Housewives; ABC, 8 pm.

Season finales:
Rock of Love 2 (VH1, 8 pm)-- My fingers are crossed he finds his true soul mate among the skanks VH1 surely picked out for him...
Dirt; FX, 9 pm. Wow, that was a fast season. I swear I wrote the season premiere notable just a few weeks ago.

NBC Announces Fall/Winter/Summer Sked

Not much time to write my thought, but here's a link to the announced NBC schedule for the next twelve months (take the winter and summer 2009 skeds with a grain of salt):

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Nbc-Fall-Schedule/800036704

Quick takes:

I was hoping The Office spin-off rumor was just a bad dream. Considering the mother show hasn't been super this season so far, I'm hoping it doesn't get diluted.

Last Comic Standing coming back? Interesting.

Not a surprise, but I held out hope that Journeyman could catch a break.

And, finally, major props to NBC for thinking outside the box and finding a way to bring Friday Night Lights back-- even if it is a second-run from Direct TV.

Premieres and Notables, March 31- April 6, 2008

Monday, 3/31

Bingo America; GSN. 6 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Patrick Duffy + quiz show + bingo = something I plan on not watching.

Barney tries to figure out who is sabotaging his love life on How I Met Your Mother by putting the 64 most likely women into March Madness brackets and narrowing it down from there (CBS; 7:30-- watch this show, dammit!).

CBS's much-abused comedy (yet one of its best-- just behind HIMYM) The New Adventures of Old Christine signs off for the season (8:30 pm).


Tuesday, 4/1

Big Ideas For a Small Planet; Sundance. 8 pm. 2nd season premiere.

Hell's Kitchen; FOX. 8 pm. 4th season premiere.


Wednesday, 4/2

Jean-Michel Clousteau: Ocean Adventures; PBS. 7 pm (check local listings). 3rd season premiere.

Ultimate Fighter; Spike. 9 pm. 7th season premiere.

Criminal Minds; CBS. 8 pm. Return.

CSI: NY; CBS. 9 pm. Return.

DEA; Spike. 10 pm. Series Premiere.
COPS + the DEA + Al Roker as host = another show I'm not adding to the DVR.


Thursday, 4/3

My Name is Earl; NBC. 7 pm CST. Return.
New eps of Earl! Yay! Guest-starring Paris Hilton! Boo! Well, keep in mind, I can think of only one guest star that didn't do so hot on the show (Roseanne), so maybe it'll work out. Maybe not. C'mon-- New Earl!

Step It Up & Dance; Bravo. 10 pm. Series premiere.
Leave it up to Bravo to finally catch up to a trend that's just about spent...

Miss Guided (ABC, 7 & 7:30 pm) finishes its first season. It was okay; nice distraction from having so little new airing at the time...

Make Me a Supermodel (Bravo; 9 pm) ends its latest season as well. I have no idea about it other than the titles is so rude.

CSI; CBS. 8 pm. Return.


Friday, 4/4

Duel; ABC. 8 pm. 2nd season premiere.
Really? I have heard nothing about this show and whether it really needed to return.

Ghost Whisperer; CBS. 7 pm. Return.

Numb3rs; CBS. 9 pm. Returns with stupid-ass spelling of title as well.

Battlestar Galactica; Sci Fi. 9 pm. 4th season premiere.
The first half of the final season begins here.


Saturday, 4/5

Date My House; TLC. 7:30. Series Premiere.
Hey look! Another selling a house show. There aren't enough of those. This one lets potential buyers do what they want to the house (stay overnight, host parties) to see if it's "The One".

Split Ends; Style. 5 pm. Season premiere.


Sunday, 4/6

Wire in the Blood; BBC America. 7 pm. 5th season premiere.
I've heard good things about this series. I guess this season is a departure as the Brit lead character has to go to Texas for a trial.

America's Port; National Geographic. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
No idea; something to do with an American port...? I'm guessing a reality show...

The Star Wars reimagining via the Family Guy characters repeats Sunday on FOX at 8 pm.



And two I missed last week, but ran into this week. Sunday, March 30 has:

Comedy Central airs the direct to DVD movie Futurama: Bender's Big Score at 6 pm.

And Cartoon Network/[adult swim] airs the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie at 10:30 pm (repeat at 2:00 am, March 31). The [swim] "bump" last week mentioned they might air it backwards. I thought it was funny. And then I remembered it was [adult swim] we're talking about; they just may do it.

HIMYM Dictionary

Here's a link to a couple-minute-long video clip giving definitions for some of How I Met Your Mother's infamous words.

Most (all?) are from the first part of this season, so there are still lots of new words to discover by checking out the DVD sets or repeats.

Here's a taste: http://video.tvguide.com/ID/828627?autoplay=true

A Big PRISON BREAK Change

Okay, I'm not going to be the spoiler, but, seriously, there is no way the show is going to be able to keep this quiet for the next six months. Heck, they'll probably scream this news from the rooftops themselves this summer.

Here's the link if you want to check out the news (I promise not to spoil it below, either): http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Ausiello-Scoop-Prison/800036399


Okay. I'm not exactly sure what to think other than I already had this thought in my head while watching last season.

Implausible? Yeah, probably, but c'mon-- this show stopped being plausible about three episodes into the series. What this is, is HUGE news. It's a way to correct a very terrible wrong (done for the right reasons). It's also a way to get back to the "promise" we were given way back in season one. You know, how something just has to go a certain way. This plotline wasn't why I kept tuning in, but it was a nice counter to all the other stuff going on.

Congrats to all the parties on making this happen.

The Fall can't come soon enough...

Great news and not-so-great news

First the great news: Prison Break is coming back for a fourth season.

Now the not-so-great news: it's getting a full season.

I loved the first season, was kinda blah about the second, got into the third more, but the thought of a full 22 episode season next year has me wondering when it's going to end. The show has ventured into ridiculous before, but it's getting almost comical how the guys are put into worse and worse situations.

I hope the show wraps itself up next season. I think it was on the road to doing it this season but got side-tracked with the writer's strike and had to settle for a planned mid-season finale versus a real season or series finale.

Here's to hoping the show gets itself back to what it was and is able to tie up the loose ends by the end...

Have a FRISKY Tuesday

Forgot to mention in my notables post that Frisky Dingo Season One goes on DVD on Tuesday.

It's a bare-bones episode-only DVD, so that's a bummer there's no extras. But from what I've read, we're lucky we're getting what we are.

I've mentioned the show before and because it's an [adult swim] series, it's not for everyone.

But I love it.

And because the DVD is a stripped-down season set, it's cheaper. I ordered my copy from deepdiscount.com for $13.59. You can't even buy a new DVD feature movie for that anymore.

Here's the link: http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=30942841

Season Two is almost over, so check it out. Just don't get attached to the characters-- the last few episodes have been especially unkind to them.

Better Late Than Never

I've spent the past ten years of my life in Northeast Wisconsin. That's by Green Bay.

Now, growing up in Northern Minnesota, I learned that a true Minnesotan (which I really, truly believe I still am even after all these years) can't like the Green Bay Packers.

So a few of my Minnesotan friends who may read this will probably give me Hell for this, but I just gotta write it:

Congrats on your retirement Brett Favre.

(That wasn't so hard, really. And just because it's been a few weeks doesn't mean it's not sincere.)

As I always qualify my remarks when I write about sports: I don't follow them. Just not my thing. But you cannot live in this part of the country and not have an appreciation for the history and legacy of this team.

And for the past sixteen years, you could not separate the Green Bay Packers from Brett Favre.

While I watched very little of Favre at work, I am acutely aware of what he meant to the team, to its fans, and to this area in general. Also, since I've started paying attention to the NFL for Fantasy Football, I have become aware of just how important he was to the league.

It is truly astounding that he was traded to a team who had experienced two decades worth of bad seasons, the smallest team in the market, and the only publicly-owned company in the league (three really bad strikes against the team for this young player), and led it to a Super Bowl and kept Championship dreams alive for almost twenty years.

Even more astounding: he started every single game for the Packers since he took over for an injured Don Majowski in the third game of the 1992 season. A quarterback! The player every player on the other side of the ball wants to get a piece of.

You've probably heard the accomplishments besides the remarkable consecutive games started. Many of those accomplishments came this year: most career touchdown passes, most career passing attempts, most career passing yards. He also won a Super Bowl as well as played in another. And he is the only three-time MVP in history.

But the records, although enormous, weren't what he was about. The guy played balls-out every game. Sometimes it got him into trouble-- he also owns the most career interceptions (although INTs come with the territory when putting the ball in the air as much as he has). But sometimes it allowed him to complete truly astounding plays as well. He has been called the last of his breed-- the guy who can go out and pull off a miracle nearly single-handedly (and although he always gave the props to his team, it was his leadership and confidence that allowed things to happen)

And off the field, his accomplishments were probably even greater. His notoriety in this area allowed he and his wife to start two foundations to help people in need. These programs will most assuredly continue even though Favre's career has ended.

For years, Favre led the team, but had usually had some help. But this year, the 37-year old had the entire team on his shoulders; especially in the early part of the season when the run game was truly pathetic and most of the five guys he had to throw to were second-year players or younger. But he led the team to a 14-4 season and was one throw away from another Super Bowl appearance. That's just crazy, but he did it.

But it got to be too much. And how couldn't it? I mean, not only an entire NFL football team carried their dreams on his shoulders, but an entire state also relied on him. That's a huge burden, and although he could still play at a high level next season, he decided he couldn't live up to the expectations that would be on him. And you have to respect that.

He gave everything he had to this team and to its fans and to the league for sixteen years, and we're all grateful. He will go down in history as not only one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, and not only as one of the greatest players ever-- but also one of the greatest people to ever play the game.

Congrats again, Brett. You have earned it.

And for those of you who may not have read it, check out the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (only the third quarterback ever to have the honor) article about him from last year at the attached link. It truly captures the essence of who this man is.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/magazine/specials/sportsman/2007/12/03/sportsman.2007/

Premieres and Notables March 24-30, 2008

I'll be using "return" a bit in the upcoming weeks when I know something's coming back from a break or airing new episodes after the strike.

Monday, 3/24

CSI: Miami; CBS. 9 pm CST. Return.

Greek; ABC Family. 7 pm. Return.

And while this may look like cheap stunt casting, Britney Spears plays a potential love interest for Ted on How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 7:30). Sounds bad on paper, but, c'mon, it's HIMYM. You just know it's gonna work...


Tuesday, 3/25

Autism: The Musical; HBO. 7 pm. Special.
HBO's music-based stories about youngsters are remarkably good. This one looks at a group of autistic children who wrote, rehearsed, and performed their own musical.

Evel Dick returns on Big Brother 9 (CBS, 8 pm). I hope he gives Natalie a dollar and tells her to buy some self-respect.

And, the bad news came in last week: tonight's finale of Jerico (CBS, 9:00) is a series finale. The fans tried, but couldn't get the ratings up. At least the producers thought this could happen and filmed endings for both a season-ender as well as a series-ender, so, hopefully, there is some closure for fans when the credits roll.


Wednesday, 3/26

Every mag I read about upcoming TV mentioned this show:
Great Performances; PBS. 7 pm (check local listings). Special.
This episode features the half-hour stop-motion animation adaptation of "Peter and the Wolf" that won this year's Oscar for Best Animated Short. And it's told without narration or dialogue...


Thursday, 3/27

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?; PBS. 9 pm (check local listings). Mini-series.
A four-part look at the causes of socioeconomic and racial inequality in heath care.


Saturday, 3/29

Dance on Sunset; Nickelodeon. 8:30. Series Premiere.
A new show that offers easy steps for the latest dance moves.

Kid's Choice Awards; Nickelodeon. 7 pm. Special
Hosted by Jack Black.


Sunday, 3/30

The Capture of the Green River Killer; LMN. 7 pm. Mini-series.
A two-part mini about the 20-year manhunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. It's supposed to be good. And it stars one of my favorite TV actors: Tom Cavanagh.

The Tudors; Showtime. 8 pm. 2nd season premiere.

Tracey Ullman's State of the Union; Showtime. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
Newly American citizen Ullman takes looks at life in America in her new sketch comedy series.

Premieres and Notables March 19-23, 2008

I missed on from yesterday's post:

Tuesday, 3/18

The Riches; FX. 9 pm CST. 2nd season premiere.


Wednesday, 3/19

Most Daring; TRU TV. 8 pm CST. 2nd season premiere.


Thursday, 3/20

Myles of Style; HGTV. 7:30. Series Premiere.
Apparently this "Myles" person won Design Star or something...


Sunday, 3/23

The Game; CW. 8 pm. Series return.
And before this show, check out Everybody Hates Chris and Aliens in America-- they've been great the past few weeks.

Premieres and Notables; March 17-18, 2008

Sorry-- Not much time, so here are Monday's and Tuesday's listings.

Monday, 3/17

Hannah Montana; Disney. 6 pm CST. Return.
First new episode since January.

Dancing With the Stars; ABC. 7 pm CST. 6th Cycle Premiere

America's Prom Queen; ABC Family. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
Ten girls compete to be the top prom queen in America.

The Bachelor; ABC. 8:32 pm. 12th cycle premiere.

Oh, and some new episodes of CBS comedies return after the strike-induced hiatus. Big Bang Theory (7:00), How I Met Your Mother (which needs ratings help-- even though it's the best network comedy airing-- so watch! 7:30), and 2-1/2 Men (I think; 8:00).

Tuesday, 3/18

The Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals; BIO. 9 m. Series Premiere.
Bleh...

Miss Guided; ABC. 9:32 pm. Series Premiere.
Judy Greer stars as a former high school geek who returns to the school as a guidance counselor. I really like Judy Greer, but I think this one will bomb.

Premieres and Notables, March 10-16, 2008

Monday, 3/10

Canterbury's Law; FOX. 7 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Julianna Margulies stars as a rebel defense attorney (as if there can be any other type on TV) who is haunted by the fact that her son is missing.

High School Confidential; WE. 9 pm CST. Mini-series.
An eight-part series that captures four years in the lives of twelve girls in a Kansas high school.

Cheerleader U; 10 pm. WE. 2nd season premiere.
Following University of Central Florida cheerleaders as they defend their championship.


Tuesday, 3/11

Beauty and the Geek; CW. 7 pm. season premiere.
Beauties and geeks-- but this time, they're not paired off. It's every wo/man for her/himself.

College Hill; BET. 9 & 9:30 pm. 5th season premiere.

Gene Simmons Family Jewels; A&E. 9 pm. 3rd season premiere.


Wednesday, 3/12

South Park; Comedy Central. 9 pm. 12th season premiere.

Lewis Black's Root of All Evil; Comedy Central. 9:30 pm. Series Premiere.
Black plays judge as two comedians play attorneys defending positions. In the premiere, the "trail" is : who is more evil? Oprah or the Catholic Church?

Idol Tonight; TV Guide Channel. 7 pm. 2nd season premiere.
Just in case you don't get enough American Idol from the airings, or from the entertainment news, or YouTube, or blogs, newspapers, magazines, or any other thing, you can watch Rosanna Tavarez, Justin Guarini, and Kimberly Caldwell give their takes on this season.

Top Chef; Bravo. 9 pm. 4th season premiere.


Thursday, 3/13

Lil' Bush; Comedy Central. 9:30. 2nd season premiere.
How did this piece of crap get renewed? I hate Big Bush, but I absolutely loathed Lil' Bush.

Reaper returns with new episodes (CW, 8 pm)-- FINALLY!!!

Who Knew? With Marshall Brain; National Geographic. 8 pm. Series premiere.
Brian explores how things are constructed. The premiere looks at golf balls.

American Idol Extra; FOX Reality. 6 pm. season premiere.
Just in case you still don't get enough Idol-- even after last night's Idol Tonight-- Constantine and Gina give their opinions on the show this season.

Friday, 3/14

The Return of Jezebel James; FOX. 7 & 7:30 pm. Series Premiere.
Parker Posey stars in Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's new show about a children's book editor who decides she needs to have a baby. Had a lot of buzz last spring when the show was announced, but now it's regulated to the burn-off day: Friday. I don't expect a long life.


Saturday, 3/15

Flip This House; A&E. 10 pm. 4th season premiere.


Sunday, 3/16

John Adams; HBO. 7 & 8:10 pm. Mini-series.
This seven-part series is based on the David McCullough Pulitzer Prize winning biography. Stars Paul Giamatti as Adams, Laura Linney as his wife Abigail, David Morse as George Washington, and Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin. Exec-produced by Tom Hanks and airs on HBO. I am so looking forward to this. Highly recommended.

CLONE WARS Trailer

Click the link below to see a sneak preview of the upcoming Star Wars Clone Wars animated feature/series:

http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000478.html

Looks like it could be cool...

You Need to See This Movie ONCE

The film Once is a love story that's not a love story; a musical that is not a musical. What it is to me is an amazing surprise.

Like many obscure DVDs I watch or books I read, I read about the movie in a magazine (I'm going to guess it was Entertainment Weekly), and it got a good review. So I did what I usually do: I put it on hold at the library and waited until it became available. I'm ahead of the curve because I usually only choose obscure movies to watch if they get great reviews, but even then, I can be blindsided by how good some are.

I knew it was a love story that revolved around music, but I had no idea how moved I would be by the time it ended. Even more bizarre to me is the music isn't what I'd normally listen to, but it was the glue that held the entire movie together. The performances weren't particularly awards-worthy, but there was a genuineness to them that transcended mere acting ability.

The story goes as such: a heart-broken guy, who fixes vacuum cleaners by day and sings in the streets for pocket change at night, meets a girl, who has baggage of her own, and tries to play the piano whenever she gets a chance. They both see the unrealized musical potential in the other, and they spend a week writing, rehearsing, and eventually recording a demo tape of their music.

I'm not going to say any more than that because part of the beauty of the experience of watching it, for me, was to just watch the relationship unfold.

As I said before, this isn't a typical Hollywood love story, no matter what the DVD cover picture and back cover description may lead you to believe-- and that is probably the best thing about it.

Director John Carney enlisted former band mate (from The Frames) Glen Hansard to play the guy (no, he is not given a name) and Hansard suggested his sometimes collaborator Marketa Irglova to play the girl (not named either). So while we didn't have actors in the lead roles, we did get very good musicians, and that, of course, cemented a sense of credibility to the music (most of which Hansard wrote himself).

So, listen, do yourself a favor: rent, borrow, or buy a copy of the movie. Sit in front of the TV for the less than 90 minutes it takes to watch, and just let yourself be taken in by it. You won't be sorry.

I can give no higher recommendation to a movie other than to say I plan on buying this to own at some point in the near future. Not because it fits into my collection or is part of a series I already own, but because it is that good.


A little side note: this is the second movie (the first being Joyeux Noel) I've watched that completely blew me away to the point where I had tears in my eyes by the end because of its beauty. Something that struck me as odd-- even though it probably shouldn't have-- is they are both foreign films (Joyeux Noel is from France and Once is from Ireland). When is Hollywood going to get its crap together and make movies that can elicit a reaction like tears just from the sheer beauty of them? Neither movie was particularly sad-- or happy for that matter. They just told a powerful story in a unique way.

TV show return dates

Here's a link to tvguide.com's blog post with the expected return dates of some favorite shows (and how many episodes are expected to air). Should be a help through the next three months.

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Tvguidecoms-Strike-Recovery/2008-Return-Dates/800033845

Premieres and Notables; March 3-9, 2008

I'm not sure if I mentioned that Everybody Hates Chris and Aliens in America returns with new episodes tonight (CW, 7 & 7:30 pm CST), and I know I didn't mention that Frisky Dingo finally returns ([adult swim]; 11:15).

Life is good...


Monday, 3/3

Little People, Big World; TLC. 7 & 7:30 pm. Season Premiere.

The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom; TLC. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
Host Tracey Gold offers stay-at-home moms a chance to work at their dream job.

Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles (FOX, 7 pm) airs its two-hour season finale.

My Name Is Earl begins its syndication run tonight on TBS at 9 and 9:30. This is mandatory viewing-- especially if you missed the beginning.

And How I Met You Mother airs the awesome "Slapsgiving" episode from last November. One of my favorite episodes of one of my favorite shows. Life really is good.


Tuesday, 3/4

New Amsterdam; FOX. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
John Amsterdam saved a Native American girl in the 1600's, and she put a spell on him that made him immortal until he found his true love. Now he's a cop (or PI, I'm kinda hazy on the details), who, nearly 400 years later, may have finally found her.

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?; Style. 9 pm. Season premiere.

Real Housewives of New York City; Bravo. 10 pm. Series Premiere.
Just what the world was missing: a reality show about five real NYC women. One is a former actress working up the social ladder, another was a runner-up on Apprentice: Martha Stewart, and a third descended from French aristocracy. You know, real housewife types...

Deliver Me; Discovery Health. 9 pm. Series premiere.
Reality series that follows three ob-gyns through their lives.


Wednesday, 3/5

Destination Truth; Sci Fi. 9 pm. 2nd season premiere.

High School Reunion; TV Land. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
The class of 1987 from a Dallas school reconvenes for a two-week vacation where relationships and rivalries are renewed. Seriously? It's been 20 YEARS, people. There are reasons why reunions are a weekend long at most. Two weeks...?

Tyler Perry's House of Payne returns with new episodes (TBS, 9 pm)


Thursday, 3/6

Elephant Diaries; Animal Planet. 6 pm. Series premiere.
A reality show based in an elephant nursery in Kenya that shows the struggles of a herd of orphans as they grow to become the world's biggest land animals.

Crime 360; A&E. 9 pm. Series premiere.
Richmond homicide detectives try to solve crimes.


Saturday, 3/8

The Spectacular Spider-Man; CW. 9 & 9:30 am. Series premiere.
Teenager Peter Parker is bitten by a spider and gains super powers. It's a new take on an old franchise (which has already had five animated series). They're going back to the Stan Lee/ Steve Ditko days and contemporizing the stories.

Adventure Camp; Discovery Kids. 8 pm. season premiere.

Flip that Restaurant; TLC. 7 pm. Series premiere.
What is all this "flipping" bullcrap? Can't someone just buy something and live there/ run it?


Sunday, 3/9

Ax Men; History. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
A reality show looking at lumberjacks in Oregon.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians; E! 9 pm. 2nd season premiere.

And, after five very critically acclaimed seasons, HBO's The Wire ends its run with a 93 minute finale beginning at 8:00 pm. I can't wait to dig into the series. Hey, HBO-- how about lowering the ridiculous prices of the DVD sets?