What's on Your TiVo? Plus Casting News, NBC Swaps '20' and '30' and Friday Fun

TiVo/the DVR revolution is wonderful, isn't it? How else would I have ever remembered what time USA's Psych started (you guys have no idea how many times I turned the TV on at 9 p.m., watched the first 5 minutes of Monk and then got confused when the opening credits and song came on. Seriously, I had some sort of mental block with this show)? How else would I know when all of my favorite TV stars were making the talk show rounds or when their movies were hitting the tube? Yes, TiVo is wonderful. I have an even bigger appreciation for the little smiley TV after not having him around for a few weeks. When I first moved, the incompetent private contractors for DirecTV couldn't get the satellite to work, so we had to get cable. A DVR is a DVR, right? Wrong!! DVRs without TiVo are not the same, and don't let cable tell you how "Comcastic" theirs is because I promise you, it's not. But, this is morphing into a cable versus satellite edition, and I really don't want to go there because then that would morph into a PC versus Mac argument (Team Mac all the way!), and we really don't want to go there either. Anywho, bottom line, the DVR revolution is any TV fan's biggest dream come true and TiVo makes it even better.


For those who are not well versed in all things TiVo/DVR (and there are a lot you since, according to Nielsen Media Research, only 7 percent of people have one), and are wondering what makes it so much better than a VCR, let me give you a brief explanation. DVRs automatically record shows week after week without having to program them each time you need something recorded. If the power goes out, DVRs don't lose their "To Be Recorded" lists like VCRs (of course, if the power is out during the time of recording, then your scheduled programs won't be recorded). The greatest feature of all is the Season Pass. All of my favorite shows are Season Passed. The funny thing is, I'm very reluctant to add any more, though, because I have so many already. It's like, if I add one more than it means that I'm even more of a TV addict than I thought. So, the rule is, if I add one then one has to go. Right now, I'm debating about adding Bones. I really like Bones, but I don't want to add another Season Pass. However, I'm teetering on dropping Desperate Housewives. Let's face facts, the second season sucked and it's up against my Cold Case this season. Watching it has become a chore, BUT what if it's really good this season and I miss out?? And thus, you have my inner struggle with the Season Pass. The choice is always easy when you record a show and it sits in your Now Playing list for far too long. The episodes begin stacking up, and you really can't bring yourself to watch them. When I get to this point with a show, I know it's time to de-Season Pass it! My other favorite feature is Wish Lists. I Wish List all of my favorite actors, and then I know when I can catch them on everything from Leno and Letterman to TV movies and specials. For some reason, I don't have the same shame in adding more people to my Wish List like I do shows to Season Passes. Weird. Anyway, here are PTR's top current Season Pass-worthy shows:

Cold Case
Veronica Mars
Scrubs (I know it isn't coming back until Jan., but I can't delete it)
The 4400 (same as above except June instead of Jan.)
The Closer
Lost
The Amazing Race

In other words, these are the shows that I absolutely can't miss under any circumstances, so they MUST record. The privileged actors to grace my Wish List currently are:

Kristen Bell
Zach Braff
Kathryn Morris
Jacqueline McKenzie

So how about you? Which shows do you deem Season Pass-worthy? Which actors top your Wish List? Leave me a comment with your TiVo info! All of the TiVo images in today's edition are courtesy TiVo.com.

FRIDAY FUN: SUMMER STYLE
It's time once again for a Friday Fun: Summer Style trivia question! This one has to do with a character on a popular summer series.

Q: How did The Closer's Brenda Leigh Johnson end up with her house and her cat?

If you would like to take a stab at it, leave me a comment. I'll reveal the answer in Monday's edition.


QUICK CUTS

*Casting Roundup: TVGuide.com's Matt Webb Mitovich has a bevy of casting scoop today:

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Marisol Nichols — most recently of ABC's unjustly jettisoned In Justice (say that 10 times fast) — is joining Fox's 24 in the recurring role of Natalie, Chloe's new supervisor at CTU and the right-hand woman to bureau chief Bill. Oh boy, this development is bound to make Ms. O'Brian get all snarky. Well, snarkier.... Tessa Thompson (aka Veronica Mars' frenemy Jackie) has been added to the cast of Hidden Palms, Kevin Williamson's mid-season drama for CW. Poor Wallace.... As scooped by the Ausiello Report, Gilmore gal Lauren Graham will play herself in a two-episode arc on Matthew Perry's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Click here for more.... On Sept. 25, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler gives Two and a Half Men some lip, cameoing as a famous neighbor of Charlie's.... On Oct. 11, Terminator 2's Edward Furlong joins CSI: NY in the recurring role of a young man embroiled in the hunt for a serial killer.

*NBC is swapping new comedies 30 Rock and Twenty Good Years before their premieres next month. 30 Rock, starring Tina Fey as the head writer at a late-night variety show, will now air at 8 p.m. instead of 8:30 on Wednesday nights. Twenty Good Years, starring John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor as mismatched buddies, will now air at 8:30 p.m. instead if 8 p.m. Both shows will now premiere October 11th on NBC.

*And finally, CBS will reveal the winner of its INNERTUBE show InTurn this Monday on The CBS Early Show. The reality competition pit 8 aspiring actors against each other for a chance to win a 13-week contract role on the network's daytime drama As the World Turns. The show airs exclusively on CBS' broadband channel INNERTUBE. You can watch the latest episode HERE, and tune in Monday on The Early Show to find out if your favorite won.

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

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for another Flashback Edition featuring an episode of Veronica Mars that redefined the idea of a trip to the dentist. Plus, the answer to today's trivia question and all the latest television news!


To get more television coverage, including the network's new fall schedules and a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote with a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.