Friday, September 29, 2006

'Race' Will Return for Another Cycle


OK, so I lied. I wasn't planning on writing another edition today due to the lack of Internet problem, but I just got this press release from CBS:

CBS PICKS UP "THE AMAZING RACE" FOR ITS 11TH SPRINT

AROUND THE WORLD

The Current 10th Edition of The Four-Time Emmy-Winning Reality Show Averaging More Than 10 Million Viewers in Its New Sunday Time Period

CBS has picked up the four-time Emmy-winning reality series THE AMAZING RACE for its 11th edition to be broadcast this spring.

THE AMAZING RACE 10, hosted by Phil Keoghan, premiered on Sunday, Sept. 17 delivering 10.13 million viewers, 4.6/10 in adults 25-54, 3.9/09 in adults 18-49 and 3.1/09 in adults 18-34. This was the best delivery for any AMAZING RACE broadcast in viewers since Feb. 28, 2006, in adults 25-54 since March 21, 2006, in adults 18-49 since March 28, 2006 and in adults 18-34 since March 14, 2006.

THE AMAZING RACE 10, part of CBS's new Sunday lineup which includes COLD CASE and WITHOUT A TRACE, has helped boost the night in viewers and key demographics.

THE AMAZING RACE 10 features 12 Teams of two on a trek around the world for approximately 30 days. At every destination, each Team competes in a series of challenges -- some mental and some physical -- and only when the tasks have been completed will they learn their next destination. Teams who are farthest behind will gradually be eliminated as the contest progresses, with the first Team to arrive at the final destination winning $1 million.

Jerry Bruckheimer, Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman and Hayma Screech Washington are the executive producers for Bruckheimer Television and Earthview Inc., in association with Touchstone Television and Amazing Race Productions. THE AMAZING RACE was created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri.

Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

'Earl' Jumps for Joy! Plus 'CSI' Gets Confusing


NOTE: MY INTERNET IS DOWN, SO THIS WILL BE THE ONLY POST FROM PTR TODAY. BE SURE TO COME BACK MONDAY FOR THOUGHTS ON THIS WEEKEND'S EPISODES OF COLD CASE, THE AMAZING RACE AND DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES.

Catalina jumps, but definitely not for Joy. Not even if Joy were facing tremendous jail time and the only way to bail her out would be for Catalina to jump at Chubby’s strip club. But, she will jump for Earl, especially if he’s completely stressed out from trying to figure out how to help Joy. Something was missing from last night’s episode of My Name is Earl that I couldn’t quite put my finger on and then it hit me -- Earl didn’t cross anything off of his list. He was so busy helping Joy that he didn’t have a chance to work on that list. I missed it, but there were plenty of Joy moments to keep me laughing. I LOVED her fake almost apology to Catalina that turned into a contest over who has a better body. I also loved her hysterical “3 strikes” with the counterfeit money, assaulting an officer and then last week’s Bargain Mart truck heist. You can always count on Joy and Randy to bring the funny, and Randy didn’t disappoint either. We all know that he has a thing for Catalina and he called dibbs on her first, but it seems like Catalina may have a thing for Earl. There could be trouble ahead for the Hickey brothers.

What the flip happened last night on CSI??? Everything was going along really well and I was completely interested in this episode (unlike last week’s premiere), and then it just ends with Grissom examining the back of one of the replica pictures! It looked like a doll’s eye to me, but what the flip does it have to do with who killed the rock star? And since I’m totally confused, who did kill the rock star? I’m still mad at this show for ending like that last night. In fact, we’re not speaking and I’m not sure how long it will be until we are back on good terms. Catherine’s storyline was much better because it came to a logical end. We found out that she wasn’t raped, her daughter was kidnapped, but fine and both incidents were related to Sam. Someone was trying to get back at him by hurting the people he loves. That someone, and wait for it because it’s the one thing that puts the “2” in this 2-parter, was last week’s suicide guy’s partner. Apparently, the two lost $20 million in one of Sam’s land deals. But the really bad news came at the end when the partner gunned down Sam in front of Catherine. Man, this has not been her week!



Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Thursday's News & Notes

Here's a look at today's biggest TV news, tonight's hottest programs and last night's biggest ratings winners.

QUICK CUTS
*Actress Justine Bateman is joining the cast of ABC's Men in Trees. In the recurring role, she'll play Jack's (James Tupper) ex-girlfriend who moves back to Elmo with "startling news" according to TVGuide.com. The character is a down-to-earth wildlife photographer, so basically, the anti-Marin Frist (Anne Heche). The drama stars Heche as a relationship expert who moves to Elmo, Alaska after discovering that her fiance is cheating on her. Men in Trees airs Friday nights on ABC.

*And finally, ABC Family will not bring Three Moons Over Milford back for a second season. The dramedy, about a town of eccentric residents facing a possible earth-ending disaster, opened to a measly 1.6 million viewers last month. The show has continued to drop off since.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.

About Last Night...
BIGGEST RATINGS WINNERS: Dancing with the Stars, Jericho (click HERE to watch it now for free), Criminal Minds, CSI: NY

For a complete breakdown of last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
(a look at what PTR's watching tonight and talking about tomorrow)

My Name is Earl (NBC 8 p.m.) - Burt Reynolds guest stars as a local entrepreneur who owns, among other things, the local strip club. Earl needs to raise money for a friend in need, so he turns to Reynolds' character for help. Things get complicated when he agrees to lend the money if Earl gets one of his most popular dancers back.

CSI (CBS 9 p.m.) - Danny Bonaduce and Sean Young guest star in part two of this 2-part season premiere. Grissom works to solve the murder of a famous rock star after he finds an exact replica of the murder at the scene. Meanwhile, Catherine finds herself in more danger and this time, it involves someone she loves.


Premiering Tonight!!!
@ 8 p.m. - Smallville (The CW), Ugly Betty (ABC)
@9 p.m. - Supernatural (The CW)

One show that PTR isn't watching or talking about tomorrow is Grey's Anatomy, but you can change that! If you're a fan of Grey's and would like to see PTR cover it, then why not write about it for PTR? That's right, PTR is still looking for a Grey's staff writer. If you're interested in joining the team and giving Grey's a voice, send me an email at tvfan08@yahoo.com.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on tonight's Earl and CSI. Plus, Friday Fun and all the latest television news!


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

'Bones' Makes its Bed & Then Has to Lye in it

Did you guys hear that Booth is back with his ex? The only question is, which ex? There sure was a lot of bed-hopping and gossiping about it last night on Bones! Seeing Booth in bed with Rebecca wasn't a surprise, and I was feeling a little betrayed by the promo. And then that ending scene happened! Booth and Cam??? Sure, the show had been building up to it, but I figured it was one of those "never gonna happen" type of things. Boy, this is going to complicate things at work. And did I detect a ping of jealousy from Bones when she found out about Rebecca? If so, then I don't want to be around when she finds out about Cam. Those two already have a rivalry going over their respective positions, repressed relationships with Booth and extensive knowledge. I just don't think that Cam hooking up with Booth is going to go over very well with Bones.

The case was disgusting with that melted flesh bathtub exhibit. And let me see if I can get this correct -- Larry died after his client pushed him and he fell into some equipment (not normally fatal, but Larry suffered from brittle bone disease). The client wanted it to look like suicide, so he set up a gun and shot bird shot into Larry's mouth. Then, his two wives and girlfriend found him, thought he committed suicide and therefore, they wouldn't get the life insurance money, so they made it look like murder by putting him in a lye-filled bathtub. Phew! You guys know that I watch too many crime shows and that tends to make me figure out the cases before the detectives, but I did not solve this one before Bones and Booth. In fact, I'm still piecing it together.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Makeover Madness on 'Top Model'

I completely neglected America's Next Top Model last week because it got lost in my premiere week shuffle, but never fear, because PTR's coverage is back! Two episodes in, and we already have house fights, hated contestants, makeover drama and another eliminated contestant. Megan (left) got lost in that crazy "Hair Wars" shoot and it cost her a chance to become "America's Next Top Model." That shoot was wild, but a lot of the girls took beautiful photographs. Anchal's was absolutely stunning! The CoverGirl challenge was so difficult, and I was completely shocked at how well some of those girls were able to do with so little time and under such tremendous pressure. Monique is this season's Jade. I think she might be worse, though, because she's deliberately trying to make the other girls mad. I started clapping when Anchal walked into the phone room and hung up the phone after Monique had spent 3 hours on it. I don't know what would be more aggravating -- the fact that she occupied the one phone in the house for over 3 hours or that she enjoyed doing it so much. It's a toss up. Let's just hope that Monique doesn't hang on as long as Jade did last season.

This week's Top Model Photo of the Week goes to...

Anchal for her "Hair Wars" shot. For more on Top Model, visit cwtv.com.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

SVU "Clocks" In A Great Episode



Episode Synopsis: At the start of the episode, we are thrown in the middle of an investigation. Two kids have gone missing from a school field trip to the local museum. The “kidnapping” itself turns out to be fake, but the girl who had been “abducted” was actually missing. A few leads and a couple of confusing pieces of evidence later, the detectives discover that the girl (Janey) has planned most of this out, but find her hurt in a hotel. It turns out that she was trying to self-administer a fertility drug, and that no rape took place. SVU need not be involved further. Does that stop the detectives? Not a chance.

Vital info: The name of the missing girl is Janey, and she has Turner’s Syndrome, which will be an extremely important fact and the driving force behind this entire episode. (Turner’s Syndrome, as described in the episode, is a condition in which a female is missing an X chromosome, and so she does not fully develop in the same way as other females. She’s physically smaller, looks like a child, but is extremely intelligent.)

One thing that we haven’t seen for a long while is almost everyone on screen at the beginning of an episode. Elliot, Munch, Fin and Cragen were on immediately, followed by Huang and Warner soon after. (No Casey until 10:34, which was highly disappointing.)

Extra exciting was the Munch and Cragen dynamic at the very beginning of the episode, in the car. I’d like to see them work a case together…perhaps “Uncle” in a couple of weeks?

First UnStabler family sighting of the season! *Twirls noisemaker* Elliot has a run-in with Kathleen (who looks much more different than when we saw her last!) outside the squad room. She complains that Daddy UnStabler is too overprotective and overbearing. We find out (later in more detail) that Elliot has done something to scare off Kathleen’s boyfriend. This really jumpstarts the central theme of the episode: young love. Kathleen claims to love her boyfriend; Daddy UnStabler says that she doesn’t know what love is. But how can he know? This will come back to haunt Elliot later.

Cragen makes the first mention of a new partner in this episode, and Elliot is not buying it at all. He says that he is fine working with Munch and Fin, an idea that the viewers certainly don’t have a problem with! Hey! Thought. Maybe the writers could even have Munch and Fin do an entire episode. Together. As partners. Without Elliot. At all. *Gasp!* ::Faint:: I know. It’s crazy. But just enough to work.

You know that it’s going to be a cut-throat family episode of SVU when the family is blaming each other for all sorts of things, and there is someone stuck in the middle. Especially when the family is still busy playing the blame game while said someone is missing. My bet is that the family problems are going to get in the way later.

Sex drive pills, online sex site searching, who is this girl?! Oh! A teenager. Right, I’m sorry. Totally slipped my mind. It’s an interesting, and somewhat questionable study for a 17 year old to be allowed into, yes. Is it surprising that a teenager that has been deprived of a substantial sex drive wants to try this study in the hopes of being normal? No. The first instance of over reaction by the detectives. This girl, whoever she really is, is not at all who they expected. Her looks are deceiving, and the detectives are stupefied. Not a good state of mind for a detective to be in!

Huang plays the angry parent card! I love when he plays cards… he is almost always right. The quarrel gives Casey (!) just enough insight to Nathan’s lawyer to uncover the real plot. Yeah. 10:34. Boo. They have to give all the credit to Casey on that one though. Without here, there is no boyfriend, no tickets to Canada, no finding of Janey.

I noticed, at this point, that Munch is doing quite a bit of the researching in this episode. I’d rather see him doing this than not at all, but this is still a bit far from what we really want to see: Munch in the field. Not too farfetched. However, Munch doesn’t seem bothered by his lack of field time. Maybe lately his amount of time spent on the police force has caught up with him?

Second UnStabler family sighting of the season! This time is Mummy UnStabler herself… and she’s not very happy. She – as well as the entire viewing population- are wondering why Elliot hasn’t signed the papers yet! He did get them last season, in “Raw” (too bad we didn’t get a time-table from Star last week), but they’ve apparently been collecting dust since then. My theory is (get ready for this): He’s still in love with his wife. (Yes, I know, I’m writing all sorts of crazy theories tonight. Munch would be on me like a wizard on a Firebolt.)

“Call your daughter.” – Kathy Stabler


Elliot hasn’t been maintaining very close family ties lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if he works right through some of his visitation periods.

Notice that the entire squad has had problems with family… but only Elliot and Olivia’s problems seem to manifest into multi-episode crises. Give Munch and Fin something to deal with in their life! Heck, make it a case related issue!

The thing that the writers have been doing well is that the family issues are usually somewhat related to the case. They are, for the most part, not out in SVU space looking for a place in the universe. In this regard, I tip my hats to the writers.

I’m also very impressed that Elliot managed to not lose his temper in the episode. He’s still very UnStabler, but better at controlling the violent tendencies. Which brings me to the parents in Janey’s hospital room. Even I would have delighted in getting a little rough wit them, but Elliot kept his cool and eventually coaxed them out of the room and was able to conduct his interview.

Janey is also no doubt a very intelligent person. She planned her moves very carefully throughout the episode (even though some of them were dangerous), and she has intelligent based arguments ready to back herself up. Kudos for being the most intelligent young ’un we’ve seen on SVU for a while.

Huang hits the nail on the head yet again! This guy is on a roll tonight. The detectives would do well to listen when he tells them that they have no right to make any decisions for Janey. Her boyfriend may be 30, but 17 is the age of consent in New York. Since there was no illegal activity going on, just a very dysfunctional and hateful family, then SVU has no more business in her affairs. But then again, they are the SVU, so they make some trouble.

Here are Elliot’s personal actions coming back to haunt him. He joined the SVU primarily to protect his family, and as a side affect he cannot help but to treat every girl as if they need to be protected from the world. For some of the girls, this is true, but for Janey, there is no need, nor does Elliot have any right, to butt in.

Janey wins the court case and is allowed to live with her boyfriend. One more tornado blows in, this one named Detective Dani Beck.

At this point in the review, I must take a minute of your time to squee.

*Squee*

Though she didn’t make the best SVU entrance ever, neither did Star Morrison/Dana Lewis, and her character ended up making the episode both times. I’m very optimistic about this character for two reasons.

One, she made her entrance in a very take charge, outgoing way, which seems to be the perk to her character, I’m predicting that her character works overtime for the victims and has no patience for criminals in general, but especially rapists and pedophiles, as seen in her dramatic entry. This also hints that she has some sort of history with the SVU.

Two, Connie Neilsen has a Danish accent. This may seem insignificant to you right now, but trust me, you will love it by the end of her tenure, and you will miss it when Dani Beck moves on!

“Welcome to the world of gray.” – Elliot Stabler


Possibly the most accurate SVU quote ever. While Detective Beck seems to be a very enthusiastic new recruit, I would love to see her reaction to the real SVU world. Perps, victims, and blends of the two. It’s never easy for the newbie, and that’s something we haven’t seen since season five “Serendipity”, with the introduction of Casey.

This episode most likely produced mixed personal reactions from viewers about consent laws, young love, and the like. It proved, however, that the detectives’ ability to remain objective is in serious danger and will most likely affect future cases.

Preview for next week: It’s going to be all about Elliot… again. But, we’re going to get some real Dani Beck quality time in, and we’re finally getting a return to the SVU cases we all know and love! I’m staying tuned, so pass the remote!

Wednesday's News & Notes

Here's a look at today's biggest TV news, tonight's hottest programs and last night's biggest ratings winners.

QUICK CUTS
*It looks like NBC may have one of the first hits of the new season. Monday's premiere of Heroes brought in 14.3 million viewers, which was good enough to edge CBS comedies Two and a Half Men and The New Adventures of Old Christine for first place for the hour. More impressively, the supernatural drama had 30% higher ratings in the coveted 18-49 year old demographic. The show follows ordinary people who discover that they have extraordinary powers. Heroes airs Monday nights on NBC. If you missed the premiere, click on over to NBC.com to watch it now for free. You can also catch a special encore presentation on cable's Sci Fi channel this Friday at 7 p.m.

*Fox is tweaking with its fall line-up as it heads into Major League Baseball coverage next month. The network has decided to pull this week's new episode of Happy Hour and next week's new episode of Justice. Both shows have struggled to find an audience, but Fox insists that neither had been cancelled. In the case of Happy Hour, the net will run a second episode of 'Til Death in its place. Justice, the new legal show from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, will air its final episode before the baseball hiatus tonight and will be replaced with a House rerun next week. Fox insists that the legal drama will return in November. In other Fox news, new hostage drama Stand Off will shut down production for 10 days to allow new consulting producer Tim Minear to catch up. And the anemic Celebrity Duets has been cut down to a single hour for its finale Friday night.

*And finally, it's Nielsen Wednesday! CBS opened the first week of the new season back on top where it spent most of last season, while ABC claimed the 18-49 demo victory. Here's a look at last week's Top 10 programs courtesy of USAToday.
1. Grey's Anatomy (ABC) 25.4 million viewers
2. Desperate Housewives (ABC) 24.1
3. CSI (CBS) 22.6
4. Dancing with the Stars (ABC) 18.2
5. CSI: Miami (CBS) 17.6
5. Without a Trace (CBS) 17.6
7. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) 17.5
8. Survivor (CBS) 17.4
9. Cold Case (CBS) 16.3
10. CSI: NY (CBS) 16.1

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.

About Last Night...
BIGGEST RATINGS WINNERS: Dancing with the Stars, NCIS, House, The Unit, Law & Order: SVU, Boston Legal

For a complete breakdown of last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
(a look at what PTR's watching tonight and talking about tomorrow)

America's Next Top Model (The CW 8 p.m.) - It's makeover time for the remaining contestants, and not all of the girls are very happy about their new looks. Queen Latifah judges a make up challenge, the girls complete a "hair wars" photoshoot, and another contestant is sent packing.


Bones (Fox 8 p.m.) - Brennan and Booth work to discover the truth behind human remains found in a bathtub of chemicals. Jessica Capshaw reprises her role as Booth's former flame Rebecca.


Premiering Tonight!!
@9 p.m. - One Tree Hill (The CW)

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on tonight's episodes of America's Next Top Model and Bones. Plus, all the latest television news!


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

The Girls got it Right Again

Photo courtesy of TheCW.com


Last night’s premiere of the 7th season of Gilmore Girls was excellent! Even with Sherman-Palladino leaving and Rosenthal as the new head writer, Girls didn’t miss a beat! The dialogue was quick-witted and the characters unchanged. I loved every minute of it! The only hiccup I saw was that Rory was shown waking up when, if you remember from the finale, she was already awake and seeing Logan off (but let’s cut Rosenthal some slack and say she went back to bed). Lorelei woke up rather early to go back home, when again, during the finale we saw Christopher see Gigi off to school. But other than that one small inconsistency everything ran smoothly last night.
The only thing that wasn't so great last night were the ratings;
From mediaweek.com:

In season-premiere news, the CW’s Gilmore Girls opened on a below average note with a 4.0/ 6 in the overnights (#4), 4.56 million viewers (#4) and a 2.0/ 6 among adults 18-49 (#5) at 8 p.m. Compared to its year-ago opener on the WB (Overnights: 5.3/ 8; Viewers: 6.22 million; A18-49: 2.8/ 8 on Sept. 13, 2005), that was a decrease of 26 percent in the overnights, 1.66 million viewers and 29 percent among adults 18-49. Worth noting for Gilmore Girls, however, was a third-place finish in the time period among women 18-34 (3.5/10).


This is probably due to House being on at the same time, and we all should know by now that House, even though this addict doesn't care for the show at all, is a VERY popular show. But enough about business and doom and gloom, let's talk about Stars Hollow, shall we!?

Rory headed back to Stars Hollow for the summer, Lorelei finalized her break up with Luke and tried to understand her night with Christopher. Christopher thought that because of that fateful night he and Lorelei had taken their relationship to a new level, but after inviting Lorelei over for dinner and her rejecting him he realized that their relationship might be unchanged. Rory tried to find the meaning of the two foot tall rocket that Logan had left with her (it turned out to be a reference from his favorite ‘Twilight Zone’ episode) and both The Girls tried their hand at racquet ball (which in itself was one of the funnier scenes from last night).
We ended with Luke driving to Lorelei’s house and pouring his soul out to her and asking her to elope with him (he had things all planned and the truck was packed! How sweet!). Lorelei tried to stop him, to no avail, then blurted out “I slept with Christopher last night.” to which Luke replied by turning around and getting into his truck and driving off. It was rough to watch that final scene from last night, but the previews for next week kept me from bawling my eyes out.

All in all it was a great premiere! Rosenthal did a great job with his first script and I’m happy to say that I still love Gilmore Girls and even though it’s sad to see Sherman-Palladino gone, you really can’t tell, at least not from last night’s episode. Next week’s previews showed us a little more of what Rosenthal has on his mind for the residents of Stars Hollow. Luke makes a comment to Lorelei that is nothing short of condescending and almost rude (“You’re the one who asked me to marry you!”), which in my opinion, shows the difference between a woman writer and a male’s perspective on the relationships and characters. I have to say that I don’t believe that line would have been written with Sherman-Palladino on the job, but that is just an assumption on my part. I think Luke has always been written as a timid man with a big heart, and a short fuse with strangers, but a ton of compassion for those he knows and cares about. So, that line sort of took me off guard, but I want to see the whole episode before making any more rash judgments!
And can I just say it was so nice to see Paris back and acting as over-the-top as ever! I’ve missed Paris and hope we get to see more of her! And hopefully we'll get some more of Lane and her new marriage!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The Girls are Returning, are you ready?

Photo courtesy of gilmorenews.com


Tonight is the return of Gilmore Girls, in its 7th season premiering tonight we catch up with Lorelei and Rory Gilmore. Last season we saw Lorelei propose to Luke (he accepted) and Rory and Logan got back together. Luke found out that he has a daughter, a small little tidbit that he hid from Lorelei for three months (!!!). I TiVo’d the season finale last week and watched it again just to refresh myself…….see, Gilmore Girls is my all-time favorite show, EVER! I always greet the credits with a smile, not because the show has ended, but because I’m content…it’s a perfect show and it always leaves me with a smile on my face and reminds me that if even for just one hour a week, I can feel like all is right with the world….ahhhhhh wax poetic over with on to the recap!


If you recall the final episode, Lorelei gave Luke an ultimatum, to which he replied that he couldn’t make that decision and he needed time and Lorelei just gave up and ran to Chris (Rory’s father). Rory gave Logan an awesome going away bash for his upcoming trip to Britain, where he will be working for his father for a year. The final scenes were Lorelei in Chris’ bed, where Gigi (Chris’ daughter) walked in and asked “Who’s that!? Is she sick? I don’t like to wear clothes when I’m sick either.” Chris quickly told her it was Aunt Lorelei and had the nanny take Gigi to school. Rory woke up late as Logan was telling her goodbye. We left with Rory standing in the doorway of the apartment watching the elevator doors close in front of Logan, off to visit the other side of the pond. And Chris climbed back into bed with Lorelei and put his arm around her.



What’s in store for this season? From the previews; we see that Lorelei and Luke finalize their breakup, I’m not sure where Rory is heading…I’m thinking we’re going to be focused on Lorelei for a while. The writers have a great chance here to keep the show alive by switching gears from Lorelei taking care of Rory to Rory taking care of Lorelei in her phase of relationship woes. We’ll have to wait and see where they take these loveable characters, but if you’ve been reading the news you might know that Amy Sherman Palladino and her husband, Daniel both left the show. Amy was the showrunner for Gilmore Girls and has been reported as going over each script to make sure that they were crafted just as she had in her mind. It was even reported that she modeled the character Lorelei after herself….so where does that leave the show when the brainchild of the whole thing is no longer active with it? There is a full report over at Play.Adn if you want to check it out;
http://www.adn.com/play/columns/tv/story/8220848p-8117621c.html

But, have no fear….we’ll have a great 7th season to enjoy, I’m sure! And always keep in mind; all good things must come to an end and with Rory in college and about to graduate, where could The Girls go next? Stars Hollow can’t keep those quick-witted, smart, sassy, pop-culture-lovin’ girls for long. But let’s enjoy the time we’re given before The Girls grow up and move on.

Also, if you just cannot wait for tonight, here is the Ausiello Report on The Girls…he really liked the premiere, as have almost everyone else that I’ve read who have seen it! It’s sure to be a great night of TV tonight!
THE FOLLOWING LINK CONTAINS SPOILERS!! (I almost read some of the spoilers myself, eek!)
http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=800005298

Thomas Talks Season 3 on 'Mars!' Plus, Learn How to Watch the Premiere Now

Veronica Mars creator/executive producer Rob Thomas knows the three mysteries that will divide this season of his noir mystery series, but he isn't sharing. "You will get introduced to the second mystery in episode 9," he told bloggers last night during a teleconference with new series regular Tina Majorino (Mac). "For the first time, you see the build up to it." Thomas says that the inspiration for the second mystery came from director Steven Soderbergh's 2005 independent film Bubble. The first mystery, introduced during last season's "The Rapes of Graff," revolves around the Hearst College rapist. The third one is well, a mystery. Thomas does concede that all three will have a different feel. And what about the mysterious briefcase from last season's finale? Thomas promises that the contents of Kendall's briefcase will be revealed in the first two episodes of this season.

Fans of the cult hit know that Veronica and her fellow Neptune High grads are headed to college this season -- a change that has plagued many popular shows in the past. Thomas feels confident about the shift. "We weren't a 'high school show,' we're a noir mystery show. The nice thing is, it opens up stories we couldn't have done [with Veronica in high school]," he explains. He says that Veronica Mars was never designed as a coming-of-age story like other more high school-focused dramas. "The biggest way that we're getting around the potential pitfalls is that we didn't have them spend four years in high school." Of course, the change means saying goodbye some Neptune High characters. Thomas says that there are no plans to bring back Mac's alterna-prom date Butters. Majorino feels that her character will be pleased. The actress says that Mac and Butters would have never work out. "But it was a lot of good comedy," she says. Thomas explains that he never counts a character or an actor out. "When we find an actor or character we like, we just keep going back to them," he says. One thing you can count on this season is reaction to Cassidy "Beaver" Casablanca's (Kyle Gallner) bus crash and suicide. "You absolutely see Dick reacting to his brother's death. He's a wreck," Thomas explains. He also says to expect reaction from Mac, who was dating Beaver at the time. Majorino calls her character "fun and challenging." "It's quite a challenge because you want to keep the character relatable. You still want her to be the same Mac," she explains.

The Veronica Mars premiere is only one week away, and fans are hoping that all of the changes this season won't change the show and characters that they love. Thomas, who wrote the season opener, says while the episode is loaded with set-up, it's not a complete departure from the series. He also openly admits that he wrote the episode with its new CW lead-in in mind. "I tried to load the episode with friendly banter that would welcome the fans of Gilmore Girls," he concedes. And for all those viewers who have never seen an episode of Mars, Thomas promises that the premiere is very new viewer-friendly and "Veronica Mars for beginners." He calls the second episode, written by Diane Ruggiero, a series stand out. "It's Veronica Mars at its best. It's what we do best," he gushes. And what about the executives at the new CW network who have seen some of the early episodes? "They have been thrilled, " Thomas enthuses. Fans have an opportunity to gauge their own feelings on the premiere beginning today on the net. Click on over to MSN to watch the premiere now for free!! Veronica Mars makes its third season TV debut next Tuesday, October 3rd on The CW.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Plot Development 'Vanished' Last Night

There wasn't too much plot advancement in last night's episode of Vanished. We learned that Max met Quinn when he was in rehab (she was his counselor), but is it relevant or just a red herring? Other than that realization, the show didn't give us much. Sure, Marcy was having an affair with the judicial candidate, but we already knew about it. We didn't know that Sara told the Senator that the candidate was sleeping with "an underage girl," and that's the reason he doesn't want to vote to confirm the man to the Supreme Court. On the Sara/Nicki front, we got confirmation that the body in the grave was not Nicki's, but then again, we already knew that since we saw the candidate arrange the set up. I did enjoy the shout-out to my alma mater, the University of Georgia, and playing my weekly game of "Atlanta/Not Atlanta" (and for that matter "Gloucester/Not Gloucester" as the MA fishing town suddenly grew palm trees!). And then there were the intense few minutes where we thought that Kelton and his crew might actually find something at the signal sight, but only found a box on a cell tower that was carrying the kidnappers' signal. Not that I expected them to find Sara, but I was hoping for someone a bit more interesting. The episode's saving grace came in the last 2 minutes or so when the FBI closed in on a remote cabin on Stone Mountain (for those interested in my little at home game - Not Atlanta because that was not Stone Mountain). Instead of finding Sara or one of the kidnappers, Kelton found a bloodbath in the room where the kidnappers kept her. I don't think Sara's dead, but it seems that someone is not still breathing.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Monday, September 25, 2006

Mondays News & Notes

Here's a look at today's biggest TV news, tonight's hottest programs and last night's biggest ratings winners.

QUICK CUTS
*Scrubs actress Judy Reyes is recovering after surgery to repair a fractured pelvis. The actress, who plays nurse Carla on the NBC comedy, fell at home. She is expected to be released from the hospital today, and will be on crutches for six weeks. But don't expect the actress to sit out on her Scrubs duties. Instead, she'll be filming less strenuous scenes until she makes a full recovery. Her spokesperson says the actress is "going to be fine."

*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for the third season of One Tree Hill to hit store shelves tomorrow along with Brotherhood (season 1), The Book of Daniel (the complete series) and Ellen (season 4). To see a full list of tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.

About Last Night...
BIGGEST WINNERS: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, Cold Case (up over 42% in adults 18-49 years old despite its new tougher timeslot), Without a Trace, Brothers & Sisters

BIGGEST LOSERS: Nothing last night. All of the Sunday shows fared well despite strong competition.

For a complete breakdown of last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
(a look at what PTR's watching tonight and talking about tomorrow)

Vanished (Fox 9 p.m.) - The Senator struggles with his political position as Agent Kelton and Judy Nash team up to form a relationship that's mutually beneficial.

Premiering Tonight!!
@8 p.m. - 7th Heaven (The CW)
@9 p.m. - Heroes (NBC -- click HERE to read PTR's review), Runaway (The CW)

That's all for this edition of PTR's News & Notes. Be sure to tune in to PTR tomorrow for some Veronica Mars scoop straight from series creator Rob Thomas and new series regular Tina Majorino! I'm attending a blogger's press conference tonight, and I'll bring you all the scoop tomorrow. Plus, Vanished, a Gilmore preview and all the latest television news!


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

The 'Race' Gets Frustrating

There were so many opportunities for more disposable teams to face elimination during last night's episode of The Amazing Race, but one of the teams that I like went instead. For the most part, I like all of them so far, but there are a few team members who get on my nerves. Sarah and Peter work my last nerve with their constant "using her disability to their advantage" and his patronizing, condescending tones. Duke and Lauren are still my fave, but I also really like most of the other teams. I was hoping that Sarah and Peter's flip-flopping during the Detour would be enough to land them in last. Too bad so many other teams had problems as well. Here's a breakdown of last night's entertaining moments.

*Did you guys know that horses have minds of their own? I had no idea, so you can imagine how shocked I was when Kimberly declared that she doesn't like horses because "it's like they have a mind of their own." Thanks for the education Kimberly! She also taught us to duck when we're riding said beasts with minds of their own and a branch comes into view. What would we do without Kim's little lessons?


*I greatly applaud the models/former drug addicts for beating something that grabs hold of so many people and doesn't let go, but I'm not sure we need to be reminded of their accomplishment every scene. These two board a train and bring it up, leave the Pit Stop and bring it up and so on. I half expected them to bring it up when they got the flat ("Dude, this sucks. But it's nothing compared to what we went through beating our drug habits"). Of course, they didn't say this, but it wouldn't have surprised me. Again, major kudos to both of them for their accomplishment, but let's move on to the here and now.


*And speaking of car troubles, what was up with all the different teams and their struggles with those old Russian military vehicles? A flat, breakdown, and two dead batteries! Car trouble is a part of the Race and it always adds a lot to it, but last night's antics seemed a little excessive. Of course, the multiple car problems evened the playing field and kept things more interesting (especially in the case of the single moms and cheerleaders), so this isn't really a complaint, but more of an observation.

*How great was it to have a driving challenge?! I love when the teams have to drive themselves somewhere in a foreign country. It leads to so many intense, surprising moments. Last night's Mongolia driving challenge did not disappoint. Lost teams, aforementioned car troubles, teams passing teams, wrong turns, innerteam fighting over directions -- it's great television.


*Did that Detour bring out the worst in people or what? I think that's the fastest I've ever seen so many teams get nasty with each other, and yet, they all remained nice to the other teams. Kimberly, this season's Stress Queen, never fully recovered from her terrifying horse experience and carried her emotions over to the Fill It Up Detour where she finally exploded after Rob kept harping on her. In her defense, he was driving me crazy too. And then there was Sarah's implosion over "quitting" the Take it Down Detour, switching to Fill it Up, watching her hynik run off "with fire in its eyes" (TM Peter), and then switching back to Take it Down. When the two reached the Pit Stop in first place, she told the audience that she's taking note of areas where she and Peter don't work well together. I found myself yelling at my TV screen, "How about his ridiculously condescending tone? Maybe you should take note of that!" If only she could hear me.


In the end, the cheerleaders' poor navigation skills did them in. When I saw them trying to get that flaming arrow into the target and the background went from light to dark, I began seeing shades of those poor sisters from several seasons back that couldn't find the clue in the haystack. I was sure that Phil was going to come over and tell them that they had been eliminated from the race, so no need to keep pushing themselves. I guess Kellie's strength ran out first. I'll miss the cheerleaders. They brought a nice dose of fun and camaraderie to the rest of the teams. What did you think about last night's episode? Were you bummed to see the cheerleaders go or cheering for their elimination? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.


All of the pictures in this edition are courtesy of cbs.com.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Desperate Housewives...how desperate is it?

photo courtesy of ABC


Hello Pass The Remote readers! As you may know, this is my first post here at Pass The Remote (I’ll just say PTR from now on). My name is Turtlemama, I’ll be giving recaps on Desperate Housewives, Gilmore Girls and possibly you’ll see my name in some of the Lost posts. I’m a huge TV addict and have an extensive TiVo lineup. You can read more about my watching habits over at my TV blog; http://tvturtle.wordpress.com/ But for now, let’s get on with the reason you’re reading this blog!

It’s that time of year again; Time to begin our walk down Wisteria Lane. We left off last season with Lynette learning that her husband has another child & learning how to cope with a new child in the picture and the girl’s crazy mother. Gabrielle is expecting again and shocker of shockers, the mysterious dentist, Orson, ran down Mike! This premiere was highly anticipated by this addict, was it all for nothing? Or did the premiere deliver?

Housewives lived up to my anticipation. Bree’s engagement was a little out of left field, but seeing Orson’s torrid past made it all so clear. Yet I kept thinking “Sure he killed his previous wife, but she wasn’t as OCD as he was and Bree, well hey, Bree is in a class by herself when it comes to OCD…They’d be great together!” Yeah, yeah…no one should marry a murderer, but then again this is Wisteria Lane….what more would you expect!?
I’m a little sad that Mike is in a coma and I’m hoping that they don’t kill him off, but I could see it happening if the writers decide to just drop the whole Zach/Mike storyline now that Paul’s in jail. Hopefully Susan can get into a decent relationship, but again…on ‘Housewives’ decent isn’t even in their vocabulary!

Lynnette….Sweet, sweet Lynnette, if I could be half the woman Lynnette is, I’d be a happy, happy girl! Poor Lynnette; dealing with the crazy loon that is her husband’s love child’s momma, I’d have hit the woman, but that’s just me. I’m so glad that Lynnette finally made Tom choose between her or the crazy loon & the girl. But honestly, I’m ready to see her back at work and playing corporate superwoman, she’s my hero!
I am curious what they’re going to do with the Gabby/Carlos/Baby thing. If you remember Gabby didn’t want a baby, then got pregnant, miscarried and now has a surrogate in the form of her Chinese housekeeper…who is taking full advantage of the bed rest she’s been ordered to by having Gabby wait on her hand and foot. Which led to a confrontation and then Gabby ‘lost the baby’ as Carlos put it, when the housekeeper went MIA (in the closet of the Young house, which is now for sale).

We ended with Gabby still waiting on the housekeeper, Bree thinking about the information that Orson’s previous neighbor dropped on her at their engagement party, in front of the whole neighborhood nonetheless! Susan was missing Mike & Lynnette was still adjusting to the new woman in Tom’s life.

All in all it was a good premiere, just enough to keep me coming back for more. I’m sure that season three will be just as good as the past ones, although I’ve started noticing a trend among the storylines, each character has the same storyline over and over….that’s going to get old, but I hold out hope that Marc Cherry will deliver and we’ll be saved from Desperate Housewives getting too desperate.
It’s funny, there were so many changes from seasons past that I kind of just want the old housewives back, where they deal with their kids and try to keep their dirty little secrets hidden. I’m almost sad that they’ve become so honest with one another.

Next week’s episode looks pretty interesting, as usual most seasons don’t really get going until around November sweeps, so I’ll keep watching and writing!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

'Case' Opened on Another Season

Well, that was disturbing. And yet in my opinion, the best season premiere in Cold Case's 4-year history. And why does Beaver (Veronica Mars' Kyle Gallner) always have to take out a bunch of people? Poor Beav, he just can't catch a break. Whenever this show deviates from the case-of-the-week and gives us good personal stuff on one of the detectives (usually Lilly), it tends to give the case the cold shoulder. I'll notice that the case drags a bit and I'm not so interested in who killed the victim and why because the personal stuff is more engaging. Amazingly, writer Veena Sud (who just took over the showrunning reins at CC) managed to keep me highly invested in both the case and Lilly's new relationship (more on that later). I'll admit that in the beginning of the episode, I was a little shaky with the case. Of course this might have been due to the fact there was no audio on the dialogue for the entire opening segment of the HD broadcast. At first, I thought it was only my local station, but I flipped to another local CBS and they were having the same problems. Luckily, my TiVo isn't in HD, so I was able to rewind the episode and watch the opening during the commercial break before I switched it back to HD. And this is reason #5,401 why I love my TiVo. Regardless of the audio issues, I still wasn't completely into the case. It just seemed like a bunch of angry teens ganging up on each other. But, things took a deeply emotional tone very quickly. Whether it was Tina's messed up idea that sleeping with the boys she liked would make them like her or her gang rape or pretty much every other flashback in this episode, there was a solemn undertone that crescendo-ed with the deeply disturbing rampage scene at the end. There were people running for their lives as others fell to the ground in a pool of blood, screaming, deafening gun shots, and of course, that feeling deep in the pit of your stomach as you watched the two shooters take their own lives. I'm just not sure that image is going to escape my mind anytime soon. After all, the shooters (as messed up as they may have been) were only kids as well.


Luckily, it wasn't all doom and gloom in this episode thanks to the sweet Lilly and Joseph moments that sort of lent a slight balance to it all. Kathryn Morris brought an adorable edge to our hard-nosed detective. She was more vulnerable, yet still in charge, and her relationship didn't keep her from doing her job. She's still Lilly, but a Lilly that knows how to joke and be silly because she has someone in her life who allows her to open up more than we're used to seeing on this show. She seems to have struck a balance, and I'll be curious to see if it continues. Stillman's "Ice King" act (yes, Lilly is not the only one who is the master of the cold shoulder) was harsh. I know Lil deserves it, and honestly, she's taking it like a champ, but can we all say uncomfortable! The ending scene was nice because it showed that despite her screw-up, he does still care about her like he always did. When she wanted to talk Tina out of shooting herself, he told her that if Tina so much as raised her gun, he was sending SWAT in. By the way, it was nice to see Lil talking someone out of suicide again. She hadn't done that in a while, and it's good to see that she hasn't lost her touch (although, I was sure Tina was going to do it). So, it seems Cold Case is off to its strongest start yet. Let's hope it's a sign of things to come this season.

What did you think about the 4th season premiere? Were you as enthralled and disturbed as I was? Was Kathryn Morris not adorable in this episode? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Friday, September 22, 2006

FRIDAY FUN: Back on the 'Case'

It seems like just yesterday that I was writing a Cold Case Finale Blowout edition of PTR. I remember writing the title "'Case' Closed on Another Season," and feeling a little bummed that the last of my two favorite shows wasn't going to be back for months. Well, fast-forward 4 months and here we are 2 days out from one of this show's most anticipated season premieres ever! But, before we get to what you can expect, we have to go back and look at where we left off. The photo above is courtesy of Kathryn Morris Online.


Previously on Cold Case...
Lilly lost her mind! More specifically, she found herself completely enthralled with a supposed victim after viewing his photograph and hearing about his dedication to recovering teen drug addicts and his 2 cats. Lucky for Lilly (or rather, not so lucky), it turns out that he is still alive and the two hit it off right away. So much so that Lilly agrees to keep his status from her co-workers, and thus puts the murder case in serious jeopardy. Scotty finds out while confronting her at her home, she (surprisingly) admits the feelings that she's feeling for Joseph and he tells her that she has to come clean to the boss. She does so the next day, he flies off the handle because he's so disappointed in her and Lilly's career suddenly hinges on whether loverboy shows up at the precinct. Luckily, he does and the case is saved (Lil's career is another issue -- and as far as we know, it's still up in the air). The ending scenes found Lilly visiting Joseph at his farmhouse that evening. He let her in, the door shut, fade to black.

Now that you're all caught up on the happenings in last season's finale, here's a brief description of the premiere from CBS' press release (WARNING: Clicking the link brings you to the full release which contains spoilers):
"Rampage" -- The 1995 case involving two teenage boys who committed suicide after going on a murderous rampage at the local mall is re-opened when evidence shows there may have been a third shooter.

And just in case you're wondering, Joseph will make an appearance in the season opener. The crime drama has a brand-new showrunner (Veena Sud -- the series best writer in my opinion -- takes the reins this season) and racier timeslot (9 p.m. Sundays instead of 8 p.m.), so expect a few changes this year. Star Kathryn Morris told USC's Daily Trojan that this season will be "edgier." "We're getting a lot more action and cop-like pursuits," she said. "We're (also) going back to some of the classic Lilly Rush moments from the beginning of the series." And from the looks of the preview for Sunday night, the show is also going to heat up the bedroom. Sud told Entertainment Weekly that the premiere is "huge." "It flashes back to 1995 when these kids go into the mall and open fire. It's going to be a real shocker," she explains. Here is the preview in its entirety (promo and screencaps courtesy of irishkale at Look Again).



According to the bit in Entertainment Weekly, expect more one-artist episodes like the Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and John Mellencamp outings of past seasons. We can also look forward to more personal storylines on all of the detectives, including a big one for Scotty Valens. TVGuide.com is reporting that Valen's child molester beat-down last season may have been more personal than we first thought. Sud tells the magazine's online site that the detective has a secret. "It's going to be about his childhood and his older brother [Nestor Carbonell] with whom he was really close," she says. Cold Case premieres this Sunday, September 24th at 9 p.m. (VCR/TiVo Alert: May be delayed due to football) on CBS.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Friday's News & Notes

Here's a look at today's biggest TV news, tonight's hottest programs and last night's biggest ratings winners.

QUICK CUTS
*The big news today is about last night's biggest ratings match-up of the season. Round 1 goes to ABC's Grey's Anatomy as the medical drama beat CBS' CSI 25.15 million viewers to the crime drama's 22 million. And in the all-important 18-49 year old demo, Grey's did even better. The drama grabbed 50% more of the younger audience than CSI. Grey's moved to its new Thursday night timeslot after spending two seasons on Sunday nights following Desperate Housewives. The move seems to be paying off for the alphabet network. According to MediaWeek.com (via TVGuide.com), Grey's win is the first non-finale victory over CSI since April of 2004. Remember, if you would like to be PTR's official Grey's Anatomy blogger, send me an email at tvfan08@yahoo.com.

*And finally, keeping with Grey's Anatomy, Canadians who tuned in to watch the premiere last night were left scratching their heads. That's because the network that the show airs in Canada, CTV, aired the wrong episode. Instead of the premiere, viewers watched the second episode. Fans were upset because last season's finale ended with a cliffhanger, and now they are concerned that Internet talk will spoil the surprise. A network spokesperson apologized for the error, and said that the network received the wrong feed. CTV will air the premiere next Thursday instead. Meanwhile, American fans of the show can catch a special encore of the premiere tonight on ABC.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.

About Last Night...
BIGGEST WINNERS: Grey's Anatomy (obviously), CSI (even though it lost to Grey's, it still had 22 million viewers), Survivor, ER (which reclaimed the timeslot with Without a Trace now on Sunday nights)

BIGGEST LOSERS: 'Til Death, Happy Hour, Six Degrees, Celebrity Duets

For a complete breakdown of last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
(a look at what PTR is watching this weekend and talking about next week)

Cold Case (Sunday 9 p.m. CBS) - TV's best crime drama kicks off its 4th season with a new timeslot and a heart-pounding case. The gang reopens the 1995 shooting rampage at an area mall that left several people dead (including the shooters) when evidence shows that there may have been a third shooter. Look for Lilly's (Kathryn Morris) new love interest Joseph (Kenneth Johnson) to make an appearance as well. Be sure to read PTR's preview in this week's Friday Fun later today. (VCR/TiVo Alert: may be delayed due to football)

The Amazing Race (Sunday 8 p.m. CBS) - Alliances form and teams begin to feel the tremendous pressure of the race. One team has to recover after they fall off a horse, others are forced to change tasks in the middle and others struggle to finish a flaming Roadblock. (VCR/TiVo Alert: may be delayed due to football)

Desperate Housewives (Sunday 9 p.m. ABC) - The 3rd season premiere picks up 6 months after last season's finale (and let's hope, miles apart). Bree gets an unexpected proposal, Gaby and Carlos no longer share a roof, Susan meets a new love interest, Lynette is still trying to embrace her new extended family and Orson's mysterious past begins to unfold.


Without a Trace (Sunday 10 p.m. CBS) - The fifth season rolls out with a brand new night. The crime drama moves to Sundays after 4 seasons on Thursday nights. In the opener, the gang searches for a missing 5-year old boy after getting help from the kidnapper's 12-year old son. (VCR/TiVo Alert: may be delayed due to football)

ALSO PREMIERING THIS WEEKEND!!
Friday:
@8 p.m. - Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
@9 p.m. - Close to Home (CBS), Dateline (NBC)
@10 p.m. - Numb3rs (CBS), Law & Order (NBC)

Sunday:
@8 p.m. - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2-hour premiere starts at 7 p.m. on ABC)
@10 p.m. - Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

That's all for this edition of News & Notes. Be sure to tune in later today for a special preview of Cold Case's premiere this weekend in Friday Fun. And tune in on Monday for thoughts from the premiere as well as the premieres of Desperate Housewives and Without a Trace. Plus, The Amazing Race and all the latest TV news!


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

'CSI' Saves the Best for Last & 'Earl' Does Very Bad Things

Last night's big CSI premiere was rolling along slowly with two throwaway cases and one awkward Sara/Grissom moment, BUT THEN, things really picked up! The episode was 50 minutes snooze fest (with the exception of the HDTV feast for you eyes with Cirque's vibrant colors) and 10 minutes shock and awe. Why, why did they waste the first 50 minutes? Was it because somebody thought it would be awesome to start off the season with a 2-parter and force people to have to tune in 2 weeks in a row and forgo new timeslot rival Grey's Anatomy? I only ask because the 2 events that made this episode a 2-parter happened in the last 10 minutes, almost like they were an afterthought. Since the first 50 minutes were throwaway, we're going to focus on the last 10. Catherine and Nick go dancing at a John Mayer performance and then things turn sour quickly. Some random guy wants to buy Catherine a drink, she refuses, drinks her own drink, begins to feel funny and finally wakes up naked and alone in a hotel room. Instead of going to the hospital and getting a rape kit done, she does one herself. I don't know whether she didn't want to go through the embarrassment, wanted to take a shower or both, but regardless, there's no way that's going to be immiscible in court. And then there was the strange dollhouse murder. The murder scene was perfectly recreated (down to the smallest detail) in a wax dollhouse. Like Sara asked, which came first? In the case of this episode, it should have been these two developments.


'Earl' Does Very Bad Things
If you have ever seen the 1998 movie Very Bad Things starring Cameron Diaz and Christian Slater, then you know that last night's episode of My Name is Earl with the same name, was a parody of that movie. The basic principle, one small bad act leads to many more, worse ones, was certainly in full swing last night. Joy decided that she needed a hide-the-TV furniture thingy after watching Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. She buys one at the local Bargain Mart, but can't get it through the door at her trailer. She tries to return it, they won't take it back because she put her gum in the receipt, she keeps it and tries to use it in her front yard, it rains, she returns it again and demands her $3000 back, they still refuse, so she steals one of their delivery trucks. She tries to sell the truck, but she can't because the store name is still painted on the side. Earl and Randy help her spray paint over it and discover that a Bargain Mart employee is trapped inside. Things get worse and worse as the gang attempts to release the "hostage" without having him see their faces. As things escalate, the episode gets funnier and funnier. I LOVED: the Britney & Kevin stuff, Joy and Darnell fighting fairly after watching Dr. Phil ("It upsets me that you don't understand what I need." "It upsets me that your needs make no sense!"), the killer mosquitoes in Africa, every moment with Joy, and Darnell's misguided surprise party. Welcome back Earl! You can watch some scenes from last night's episode free at nbc.com.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Thursday's News & Notes

Here's a look at today's biggest TV news, tonight's hottest programs and last night's biggest ratings winners.

QUICK CUTS
*The average home has more television sets than people according to Nielsen Media Research's latest study. TV sets surpassed people during the last two years. According to the study, the average home has 2.55 people and 2.73 televisions. Meanwhile, half of American homes have three or more and only 19% have just one. Compare that to 1975 when only 11% of you had three or more while 57% had only one. And it isn't just the amount of TV sets, but the time spent watching them. In the average home, the television is turned on for more than 1/3 of the day (8 hours, 14 minutes), and the average person watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of programming each day. Even kids' viewing habits are increasing. According to Nielsen, young people 12 to 17 years old watched 3% more television last season than the previous one. The study should have network execs salivating and fitness gurus panicking.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.

About Last Night...
BIGGEST WINNERS: Dancing with the Stars (results show), Jericho, America's Next Top Model, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, Grey's Anatomy (finale rerun), CBS

BIGGEST LOSERS: Ironically, The Biggest Loser, Justice (landed in last for the hour in total viewers), Kidnapped, NBC

For a complete breakdown of last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
(a look at what PTR is watching tonight and talking about tomorrow)

My Name is Earl (8 p.m. NBC) - Earl jumps at an opportunity to cross off #138 "Never took Joy's side" on the second season premiere of this hilarious comedy.

CSI (9 p.m. CBS) - The much talked about showdown between CSI and Grey's Anatomy kicks off tonight with both shows debuting their new seasons. PTR, who has never been a Grey's fan, will be watching the former. Recording artist John Meyer guest stars and performs 2 songs from his new album on CSI. Meanwhile, the gang investigates a murder at Cirque du Soleil in this 2-part premiere.

Premiering Tonight!!
@8 p.m. - Earl (NBC), The Office (8:30 p.m. NBC)

@9 p.m. - Grey's Anatomy (ABC - VCR Alert: Runs until 10:02 p.m.), CSI (CBS)

@10 p.m. - Shark (CBS - click HERE to read PTR's review), ER (NBC), Six Degrees (ABC)


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:I may not be the biggest Grey's Anatomy fan, but it has not escaped my attention that a lot of you are, so ATTENTION ALL GREY'S FANS (if there are any reading this), I'm looking for an official Grey's Anatomy blogger to write about the show. I know there are a lot of you out there, so don't miss your opportunity to write about your favorite show. Send an email to tvfan08@yahoo.com to be the official PTR Grey's Anatomy staff writer. And for everyone else, PTR is still looking for writers for the following shows:

Prison Break
Gilmore Girls
Desperate Housewives
Without a Trace


If you are a fan of any/many of these shows, please send me an email, and you could become the next staff writer for PTR!! Again, my email is tvfan08@yahoo.com. Click HERE for more details.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on tonight's season premieres of My Name is Earl and CSI. Plus, Friday Fun and all the latest news!



Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!