I'm really enjoying this season's Alias storylines from Rachel's story paralleling Sydney's to Sloane's betrayal to save his daughter and Syd's quest to avenge Vaughn's death. So far, it has been a season filled with good old-fashioned spy capers and undercover work. Last night's episode, "Solo," continued the trend as new agent Rachel completed her first solo mission, and it was nail biter! Rachel has been very reluctant from the beginning, and then watching her freeze and run during the intel collection in India caused me to have serious doubts about her. She makes me nervous because she is so unsure of herself. Obviously, she has the guts and the abilities to complete these missions, but she seemed to be lacking the confidence. I think that her ease of collecting the data combined with her fight scenes with former friend and Gordon Dean accomplice Kelly might have done the trick. She completed the mission with just a few missteps ("RayMichelle") and got herself out of a sticky spot without compromising the data. I liked the parallel between Syd helping Rachel by "being in her ear" for her first mission and Syd's own experience with Vaughn in her ear during her early missions. The ending scene with Sydney holding the tape player with a tape of the communication between her and Vaughn during the earlier missions to her pregnant tummy was really poignant. It was nice to see Nadia, even if she was unconscious in a hospital bed. I admire Sloane's tenacity toward saving his daughter, but turning over information to someone as dangerous as Dean just doesn't balance out the scale correctly. I did like the stand he took after Dean sent Kelly to the oil rig and almost messed up the entire mission. Too bad Dean refused to play along. I can't wait to see what happens when APO discovers Sloane's betrayal.
Man, were the bullets flying last night on CSI, or what? I felt bad for Greg when he found out he had to mark bullets and casings for 20 blocks. Talk about an overwhelming task! I'm not a fan of Nick's new 'stache. It ages him, but I did like Warrick's "mustache boy" comment. The detective from internal affairs was really smug, and he didn't seem to care that Sofia was having a hard time dealing with everything that happened. For crying out loud, the girl just made detective. She was a CSI previously! Cut her a small break, huh internal affairs! I had never seen Captain Brass shaken up before, let alone with tears in his eyes. The whole incident seemed to happen so fast. When the detective was asking those involved what happened, I couldn't remember, and I was simply watching and not participating, so I can imagine that these cops must have been struggling to remember every minute detail. The real shame in the whole matter was the shooting of the innocent kid on his bike. It looks like he was shot by one of the suspects and not one of the cops, though. The ending scene when they captured the last suspect had me a little leery. It seemed like something was about to go down, but I wasn't sure until someone fired and hit the suspect. Then we got the dreaded words, "To Be Continued..." I thought this episode worked really well. It never dragged, and I found myself very wrapped up the story. I'm looking forward to the conclusion next week.
So, I get that Hannah was upset about not getting to say goodbye to her father before he died on last night's Everwood, and I even get that she feels that her mom needs her, but what I don't get is how she could seem so indifferent to leaving Amy, her life in Everwood, and especially Bright. Her comment about having no reason to stay was cold, even if she tried to backpedal and say it didn't come out right. During this scene at the Abbott's, I kept thinking, "Why can't her mom move to Everwood and then everyone gets what they want?" I suppose, just as in real life, it's not that simple. Speaking of the evening at the Abbott's, I LOVED Harold's slideshow of his and Rose's African safari. It was just so him! It was nice to have him in the final scene because I definitely missed him this week. Ephram has really gotten himself into a whole with Amy. He got angry at Reid, who could not have been more fair or nicer about the whole thing, came to an agreement that Reid would no longer see Amy and Ephram would tell her how he feels, and then chickened out on the whole telling her how he feels part when he learned that Amy had met Reid over the summer. This was probably the last opportunity he's going to get for a while to turn things around with Amy, and he let it pass him by! The writers, they tease! It was nice to see Andy and Nina hanging out and talking like friends again without the Jake and Andy thing hanging between them. Another strong episode for a show that's having an amazing season!
About Last Night... Another Thursday night, another sweep for CBS. The eye network started out on top with Survivor, followed by NBC's comedy hour of Joey and Will & Grace and Alias on ABC. At 9, CSI easily snagged the hour for CBS, followed by The Apprentice on NBC and Nightstalker on ABC. Everwood landed in fifth for WB, ahead of UPN's comedies. The final hour of the night went to CBS's Without A Trace, followed by NBC's ER and ABC's Primetime. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - An opossum decides to make its home at the Mac house and Bernie becomes the butt of jokes after his reaction to the critter on Fox's The Bernie Mac Show.
@9 p.m. - CBS's Close to Home tries out a new night and time in hopes of generating more viewers. Tonight's episode finds Annabeth contending with a defense lawyer who wants to shift the blame from his client to the victim's parents. Over on NBC, the Three Wishes teams travels to New Philadelphia-Dover, Ohio to grant the wish of a Girl Scout who's collecting books in order to open a library in her town.
@10 p.m. - Don and his team investigate a string of upscale home invasions, the latest of which resulted in a father's murder on CBS's Numb3rs.
SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - Lilly reopens a 1999 case after a diary is discovered on a recycled computer that belongs to a woman involved in the dot.com world who died of a stress-induced heart attack on CBS's Cold Case (may start late due to football).
@9 p.m. - Linda Dano guest stars as George's mother, Gabby takes a trip down memory lane when some old friends visit, Lynette and Tom learn more about the Applewhites, Bree answers a big question and Betty loses something important on ABC's Desperate Housewives. NBC airs a two-hour special that visits Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost and Found.
@10 p.m. - Derek and Addison's disagreements become professional when their close friends have a medical crisis on ABC's Grey's Anatomy.
QUICK CUTS
*SHOW COMINGS/GOINGS: Things aren't looking so good for Fox's Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential. The network pulled both shows for the remainder of sweeps, replacing them with reruns of Prison Break. Fox also cut both shows' episode order to only 13 for the season. The two shows have struggled to find an audience this season and reruns of Prison Break returned better numbers for Fox than new episodes of either series. Fox plans to bring back both comedies starting December 5th, but their futures remain up in the air. There's also not-so-good news for fans of the WB family drama 7th Heaven. The network confirmed that this will be the show's last season. It is mainly due to a cost issue for the network, and creator Brenda Hampton concurs that she'd rather take the series out on a creative high note. This is 7th Heaven's 10th season. There's good news for freshman comedy Freddie. ABC wants a full season of the Freddie Prinze Jr starrer. The show has garnered a modest audience on Wednesday nights for the alphabet network.
*Ray Romano will reprise his Ray Barone role on an upcoming episode of CBS's King of Queens. In the episode, Ray and Doug go out on the town while Doug's wife is out of town. Romano has appeared on Queens, which stars his good friend Kevin James, in the past with his most recent appearance five years ago. Look for the episode to air on CBS on November 28th.
*And finally, the People's Choice Awards nominations are out, and it seems that the people really love Chris and crime. In the television categories, comedies Everybody Loves Raymond, That 70s Show and The Simpsons all landed in the Favorite Comedy category. Dramas CSI, Law & Order: SVU and Desperate Housewives (yes, in the drama category) garnered nods. Favorite Female TV Star nominations went to Jennifer Garner, Teri Hatcher and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Favorite Male TV Star nominations went to Ray Romano, Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland. Everybody Hates Chris, How I Met Your Mother and My Name is Earl all garnered Favorite New Comedy nods and Commander In Chief, Criminal Minds and Prison Break landed Favorite New Drama nominations. The 32nd Annual People's Choice Awards air January 10th on CBS. For a full list of all the nominations, click on over to The Futon Critic.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for Cold Case (will the balance remain restored and can this episode possible live up to last week's?), Desperate Housewives (will George continue to creep us all out?) and Without A Trace (will my rediscovered love for this show continue?). Plus all the latest television news!
Friday, November 11, 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Keith Smells a Rat in Neptune and 'Lost' Loses Another Character!
Oh, this is very exciting! This is my first day-after Veronica Mars post! So exciting in fact, that I'm going to lead with it today, even though Lost had the not-so-shocking-because-it-was-leaked-all-over-the-internet death last night. Speaking of Lost, I'd skip that part of this edition if you haven't seen it and don't want to be spoiled about who died. Anyway, on to Veronica Mars. This show is so consistently good that it blows my mind. Last night was no exception as Veronica tried to track down Abel Koontz's daughter, Amelia, and Keith learned that he won't be taking over the sheriff's office anytime soon. Veronica really missed Wallace and his help last night, but she pulled off the rental car scheme pretty well. I loved her scene at the cheap motel in the middle of nowhere. The clerk wouldn't even let her look in the room where Amelia stayed or the surrounding rooms without paying $30 a room! How funny was her "art gallery?" I just knew that Keith was going to demand some sort of proof that she was where she said she was, and her hotel paintings solution was hysterical! I still can't believe that Amelia was murdered. I kept thinking that it wasn't going to turn out to be her body in the ice machine (and it still might, I suppose), but Veronica's decision to tell Abel that his daughter was happy and trying to make her way back to see him was touching.
Logan provided plenty of comic relief last night, which really balanced out the heavier Amelia/Abel storyline. Loved his scenes with Sheriff Lamb, especially the one where Lamb was driving him home after his lawyer posted bail. Logan's comment about the best thing about spending two days in jail ("Two days of Ellen on the TiVo") as they approach his burning house, and Sheriff Lamb's response after seeing the fire ("Looks like you're TiVo's messed up") was really hysterical. Aaron Echols was back, and I liked the poetic sarcasm of having Logan and Aaron share a cell, especially after Logan's exchange with Lamb right after he put him in his cell (Logan: "When do I get my conjugal visits?" Lamb: "That's up to your cellmate"). I see Aaron is claiming that he's innocent, and Duncan is the real killer. I liked Keith's confrontation with Aaron about Veronica's name ending up on Curly Moran's dead hand. Keith's discovery on the bus left me puzzled. It was a dead rat taped underneath one of the bus seats. The plot thickens, and I'm reminded to never try to figure things out on a show that bucks the trend and manages to continue to throw surprises my way.
Throwing surprises my way used to be Lost's job, but last night's over-hyped death was anything but a surprise. I managed to stay away form sites that listed the character's name, but I definitely wasn't shocked when it turned out to be Shannon. I figured it was her leading up to last night's episode (it was Shannon-centric, she's more of an expendable character than some of the others, etc), but even if I hadn't, I would have figured it out in the first few minutes anyway. The writers were foreshadowing her death so much that I started to believe I was wrong because it was way too obvious. When Sayid finally believed her about seeing Walt, and Walt appeared to warn them to be quiet, I knew what was about to happen. When I heard the gunshot, my first thought was Ana Lucia, and sadly I was right. Bummer that she shot Shannon, but the tailies journey through the jungle seemed to be leading to that point. I enjoyed learning more about Shannon's past, and I was surprised to discover that she wasn't as spoiled or rich as I had imagined because of her father's death. We already knew that her father died in Jack's ER after Jack's future wife hit him in a terrible car accident, but it was interesting to see it from Shannon's perspective. I felt bad for her after hearing her step-mother refuse to give her any money. It was nice to see Boone again, if only in flashbacks. He always cared for Shannon, even if he didn't always believe in her. I have to be honest, I'm not so happy about the death of another character. I understand that it sets up a new storyline, but I'm just not a fan of the killing off characters storylines.
About Last Night... NBC started the night off on top with E-Ring, followed by CBS comedies Still Standing and Yes Dear and the ABC comedies George Lopez and Freddie. At 9, Lost won the hour for ABC, but CBS's Criminal Minds had a strong showing beating third place Trading Spouses on Fox. UPN's Veronica Mars landed in fifth. The final hour of the night went to CBS with the conclusion of its CSI crossover on CSI: NY, followed by Law & Order on NBC and Invasion on ABC. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - New agent Rachel attempts her first solo mission with Syd as her guide, and Sloane is forced to make a decision that will betray his new status at A.P.O. on ABC's Alias. Over on UPN, Chris spends his Saturday with Drew and Tonya at the local Laundromat on Everybody Hates Chris. On Fox's The O.C., Taylor occupies Seth's night and keeps Summer at a distance during a Harbor School event. And finally, Ellen Degeneres guest stars as herself on NBC's Joey.
@9 p.m. - Hannah receives some tragic news, Ephram is forced to watch things turn more serious between Amy and Reid and Andy advises a kidney transplant patient on Everwood tonight on WB. Over on CBS, a Las Vegas police officer is killed after a shootout, and Grissom suspects it might have been a case of friendly fire on this two-part episode of CSI. Fox takes us back to 1990 as the murder victim is revealed on Reunion.
@10 p.m. - The team searches for a man who goes missing after dealing with his daughter's death, and uncovers some pornographic pictures featuring a missing girl on CBS's Without A Trace. Over on NBC, John Stamos begins a multi-episode stint on ER.
QUICK CUTS
*Regis Philbin is returning to the primetime circuit with an update of the classic reality show This is Your Life. ABC is bringing the show back for a series of specials featuring Philbin in the role originated by Ralph Edwards in 1952. The show chronicles the lives of surprised guests through family and friends. Philbin last stint in primetime was also with ABC and the popular game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
*And finally, Nashawn Kearse is joining the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives. He'll replace the recently dismissed Page Kennedy as Caleb, the man being held in the Applewhite's basement. The studio dismissed Kennedy last Friday after a "thorough investigation" according to the show's publicist. Kearse has had small roles on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Entourage.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Alias (how well will Rachel fill Syd's stilettos and mini skirts?), Everwood (how will Hannah react to the bad news, and will Bright be able to give her the support she's going to need?) and CSI (how will this show fill two episodes with the same case?). Plus all the latest television news!
Logan provided plenty of comic relief last night, which really balanced out the heavier Amelia/Abel storyline. Loved his scenes with Sheriff Lamb, especially the one where Lamb was driving him home after his lawyer posted bail. Logan's comment about the best thing about spending two days in jail ("Two days of Ellen on the TiVo") as they approach his burning house, and Sheriff Lamb's response after seeing the fire ("Looks like you're TiVo's messed up") was really hysterical. Aaron Echols was back, and I liked the poetic sarcasm of having Logan and Aaron share a cell, especially after Logan's exchange with Lamb right after he put him in his cell (Logan: "When do I get my conjugal visits?" Lamb: "That's up to your cellmate"). I see Aaron is claiming that he's innocent, and Duncan is the real killer. I liked Keith's confrontation with Aaron about Veronica's name ending up on Curly Moran's dead hand. Keith's discovery on the bus left me puzzled. It was a dead rat taped underneath one of the bus seats. The plot thickens, and I'm reminded to never try to figure things out on a show that bucks the trend and manages to continue to throw surprises my way.
Throwing surprises my way used to be Lost's job, but last night's over-hyped death was anything but a surprise. I managed to stay away form sites that listed the character's name, but I definitely wasn't shocked when it turned out to be Shannon. I figured it was her leading up to last night's episode (it was Shannon-centric, she's more of an expendable character than some of the others, etc), but even if I hadn't, I would have figured it out in the first few minutes anyway. The writers were foreshadowing her death so much that I started to believe I was wrong because it was way too obvious. When Sayid finally believed her about seeing Walt, and Walt appeared to warn them to be quiet, I knew what was about to happen. When I heard the gunshot, my first thought was Ana Lucia, and sadly I was right. Bummer that she shot Shannon, but the tailies journey through the jungle seemed to be leading to that point. I enjoyed learning more about Shannon's past, and I was surprised to discover that she wasn't as spoiled or rich as I had imagined because of her father's death. We already knew that her father died in Jack's ER after Jack's future wife hit him in a terrible car accident, but it was interesting to see it from Shannon's perspective. I felt bad for her after hearing her step-mother refuse to give her any money. It was nice to see Boone again, if only in flashbacks. He always cared for Shannon, even if he didn't always believe in her. I have to be honest, I'm not so happy about the death of another character. I understand that it sets up a new storyline, but I'm just not a fan of the killing off characters storylines.
About Last Night... NBC started the night off on top with E-Ring, followed by CBS comedies Still Standing and Yes Dear and the ABC comedies George Lopez and Freddie. At 9, Lost won the hour for ABC, but CBS's Criminal Minds had a strong showing beating third place Trading Spouses on Fox. UPN's Veronica Mars landed in fifth. The final hour of the night went to CBS with the conclusion of its CSI crossover on CSI: NY, followed by Law & Order on NBC and Invasion on ABC. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - New agent Rachel attempts her first solo mission with Syd as her guide, and Sloane is forced to make a decision that will betray his new status at A.P.O. on ABC's Alias. Over on UPN, Chris spends his Saturday with Drew and Tonya at the local Laundromat on Everybody Hates Chris. On Fox's The O.C., Taylor occupies Seth's night and keeps Summer at a distance during a Harbor School event. And finally, Ellen Degeneres guest stars as herself on NBC's Joey.
@9 p.m. - Hannah receives some tragic news, Ephram is forced to watch things turn more serious between Amy and Reid and Andy advises a kidney transplant patient on Everwood tonight on WB. Over on CBS, a Las Vegas police officer is killed after a shootout, and Grissom suspects it might have been a case of friendly fire on this two-part episode of CSI. Fox takes us back to 1990 as the murder victim is revealed on Reunion.
@10 p.m. - The team searches for a man who goes missing after dealing with his daughter's death, and uncovers some pornographic pictures featuring a missing girl on CBS's Without A Trace. Over on NBC, John Stamos begins a multi-episode stint on ER.
QUICK CUTS
*Regis Philbin is returning to the primetime circuit with an update of the classic reality show This is Your Life. ABC is bringing the show back for a series of specials featuring Philbin in the role originated by Ralph Edwards in 1952. The show chronicles the lives of surprised guests through family and friends. Philbin last stint in primetime was also with ABC and the popular game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
*And finally, Nashawn Kearse is joining the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives. He'll replace the recently dismissed Page Kennedy as Caleb, the man being held in the Applewhite's basement. The studio dismissed Kennedy last Friday after a "thorough investigation" according to the show's publicist. Kearse has had small roles on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Entourage.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Alias (how well will Rachel fill Syd's stilettos and mini skirts?), Everwood (how will Hannah react to the bad news, and will Bright be able to give her the support she's going to need?) and CSI (how will this show fill two episodes with the same case?). Plus all the latest television news!
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
'Racing' Back to the USA! Plus Find Out Where Your Favorite Shows Landed Last Week in Nielsen Wednesday!
So, the special two-hour episode of The Amazing Race was nothing more than two episodes thrown together in an effort to get more viewers in the timeslot normally occupied by the not-exactly-lighting-up-the-charts Close to Home. I knew the first hour would be non-elimination, but I wasn't sure if we were going to see "Phil on the mat" like we did last season. They really caught the racers and the viewers off guard when we found out that the teams had to continue racing another leg without the benefit of a Pit Stop. This, however, was not the case last night as the teams found themselves at a non-elimination and then an elimination. First up, one member of each team had to swim to a buoy and retrieve the next clue. The Paolos were first out the gate, but they quickly fell behind when patriarch Tony struggled to swim the distance. Minor drama ensued when he called out for help and rescue swimmers came to his aid. Son DJ seemed more concerned about the lead that had slipped away than whether or not his father lived through the ordeal (I know that's an exaggeration, but seriously, this kid is heartless!). The teams finished this task and raced on to a church where they found the Detour: Brush or Barrel. In Brush, teams had to finish painting a design all the way around a cartwheel in the exact same pattern as the one already started. In Barrel, teams had to load one ton of sugar cane into a wagon and take it to a rum factory and find their next clue hidden in a barrel. The Godlewskis, Bransens and Weavers all chose the former and the Paolos and Linzes chose the latter. At Barrel, both teams quickly completed the task without any glitches, save the usual Paolo bickering, and began searching the barrels for the next clue. After finding it, they learned that they would be heading to Phoenix, Arizona (I knew this "overseas" thing wouldn't last!). Over at Brush, the teams struggled a bit to work together and complete the design. The Godlewskis decided before they even reached the location that they weren't going to think when they got there, they were just going to do it. Yeah, that's a smart plan when you're trying to MATCH AN EXACT DESIGN!! The Bransens and Weavers quickly completed the task, beating the Godlewskis, who had arrived a half an hour earlier than the Weavers. The wacky sisters from the Midwest got caught up in the details, so on second thought, maybe not thinking would have worked for them. Too bad they didn't follow through on this plan. They eventually completed the task and everyone headed to the airport.
The race was on for the earliest flight. The Linzes arrived at the airport first, but assume that Delta's flight to Phoenix via Atlanta was the fastest and booked it. The Paolos got rude and annoying, not that it was anything new for them, when the Delta agents wouldn't let them purchase the same tickets because it was too close to the departure time. The other teams all landed on a flight to Phoenix via New York that got in about 20 minutes earlier than the Linzes' flight. Panic ensued when the Godlewskis got to New York and found that they did not have reservations for the flight from New York's JFK to Phoenix. They quickly boarded a taxi and headed to Newark airport to catch another flight that arrived at the same time. This proved to be advantageous, since this flight got into Phoenix 45 minutes ahead of schedule and the next earliest flight. In a rare Amazing Race moment, there was no "catch up tactic" as the Godlewskis proceeded to the Roadblock and finished way ahead of the other teams. At the Roadblock, one member had to race a Superkart for 50 laps in the hot sun. All teams completed the task with very little trouble. We had one of those "Amazing Race slow-mos" leading into a commercial that led you to believe that Mama Weaver and brother Linz may have possibly collided. After a few words from the sponsors, we learned that the collision was avoided and the Weaver children (who have twice now had the misfortune of ending up at race tracks) didn't have to see another race track tragedy. The teams then raced to the Pit Stop, with the Godlewskis coming out on top. The Paolos, who finished the Roadblock last, assumed they would be the last team to arrive and would either be eliminated or stripped of all their possessions. When they drove up to the Pit Stop, they failed to realize that there were only three cars there, not four. The Bransens had gotten lost, even though that's usually the Paolos' role (never fear, they resumed the role in the second leg). The Paolos hopped out of their car and began putting on everything they could fit. The Bransens drove up, saw what was going on, and made a break for the mat, but the Paolos did the same and they landed in fourth place. Phil decided to grace us with more of his humor as he told the Paolos that they looked ridiculous and that he didn't know that Tony (who was wearing his tighty-whiteys over his shorts) had so much support (and honestly Phil, did we need to know?). The Bransens came in last, but the Paolos told them to put more clothes on before they stepped on the mat just in case it was non-elimination. The plan worked and the Bransens were stripped of their money and backpacks (thanks to the Godlewskis, every time I see this word I hear them saying it in my head in that "baypayck" way).
The second leg included the coolest Roadblock ever seen on The Amazing Race. One team member had to ride in a fighter plane with a pilot and on his command, complete a 360 in the air. It doesn't even sound half as cool as it was, believe me. On the way to the Roadblock, the Linzes got pulled over for stopping in the middle of the road to "talk to your friends" as the cop put it. In reality they had stopped to ask another car for directions. As if stopping to talk to your friends wasn't bad enough, the Linz driver told the cop that they were "racing other cars." Clearly the television camera tipped him off, because he let them go without even acknowledging their obvious incriminating statement. All the teams completed the Coolest! Roadblock! Ever! and proceeded to the Grand Canyon. On the way, those wacky Weavers were up to their old tricks. This time, they threw garbage out of the window at the Godlewskis (um, I'm pretty sure that littering makes the baby Jesus cry thou holy Weavers), and they told a parking attendant that the car behind them (the Linzes) wanted to know the complete history of the Canyon.
See Weavers, even this church agrees!
(Disclaimer: Sign generated by me courtesy of The Church Sign Generator)
Luckily for the Linzes, this parking attendant didn't buy it, and he told them that the other team was "talking smack" about them. After the teams cheated death along a non-barricaded ledge of the world's "largest pot hole" (as DJ Paolo called it) to receive their clue, they headed to Glen Canyon Dam and found a tour guide to take them to their next clue. The Paolos took a slower route and fell into fifth place, and quite a distance behind the four other teams.
The next clue was a Detour: Bearing or Bailing (the writers were really into the b's last night). In Bearing, teams had to travel by motorized rafts to a clue box, take one of the navigation cards, point a compass in that direction and find the next box until they found the one that said "End." In Bailing, teams had to travel by motorized rafts and find partially submerged boats, bail the water out and drag it up onto the sand. The Weavers chose the former and seemed to easily complete the task. The others chose the latter, and the Linzes and Godlewskis raced to bail the water out of their boats, with the Linzes coming out on top. The Godlewskis finished soon after, but the Weavers were finishing their task as well. It was a three way race to the Pit Stop that required a small journey to reach. Teams had to find a boat and navigate it to a somewhat hidden houseboat where they would find Phil. The Linzes had the lead, but the Godlewskis were moving much faster in the water, and they reached the houseboat and Phil first. The Linzes were close behind, followed by the Weavers. The Bransens quickly bailed out their boat and passed the Paolos who were just arriving to begin bailing theirs. In true Paolo style, the family bickered throughout the entire task. DJ kept blaming his mother for their last place status and he complained that she wasn't helping enough with the Detour. In the end, the family was the last to arrive and they were eliminated from the race. I think I'm going to miss the Paolos. Their constant fighting and rudeness got on my nerves, but it was also pretty entertaining. The race just won't be the same without Marion.
About Last Night... CBS started out on top with NCIS, followed by NBC's The Biggest Loser and ABC's comedy hour of According to Jim and Rodney. At 9, ABC took over the lead with Commander In Chief, followed by House on Fox and the first hour of The Amazing Race on CBS. The final hour of the night went to NBC's Law & Order: SVU, followed by Boston Legal on ABC and the second hour of CBS's The Amazing Race. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - JT must finish a job he started a long time ago in order to save his girlfriend in the conclusion of this two-part episode of NBC's E-Ring.
@9 p.m. - It's Wednesday, so there's another showdown between two of the best shows on television as both return tonight with new episodes and plenty of twists and turns. Go ahead and prepare your VCRs and TiVos now because you're not going to want to miss a minute of either show. Buffy creator Joss Whedon makes a guest appearance along with Harry Hamlin as Veronica helps once accused Lilly Kane murderer Abel Koontz find his daughter, meanwhile there's a surprising twist involving Logan on UPN's Veronica Mars. Over on ABC, Lost continues with Ian Somerhalder (Boone) guest starring and Walt making an appearance as Locke's injury becomes life threatening. And according to the previews, one of the castaways will be lost forever.
@10 p.m. - It's the CSI crossover conclusion on CBS. This time Miami's David Caruso travels to New York to capture the serial killer who escaped in Miami on CSI: NY. Over on ABC, Larkin is injured in a car accident and the fate of her unborn child is up in the air on Invasion.
QUICK CUTS
*Mischa Barton look-alike Willa Holland is joining the cast of Fox's The O.C. She'll play, appropriately enough, Marissa's (Barton) younger sister Kaitlin, who returns from her stint in boarding school. The role was originally played by Shailene Woodley, who can be seen later this month in the WB's movie Felicity: An American Girl Adventure. Kaitlin's return will introduce a darker element to the sun soaked town as she wreaks havoc according to Fox. Holland will make her first appearance of a multi-episode arc on The O.C. early next year. In other casting news, CBS's NCIS is promoting cast member Lauren Holly to a series regular.
*WB is adding more episodes to its order of two freshman series. Both Related and Twins are getting the green light from the network. Expect to see at least 6 additional episodes of Related and 5 more of Twins. Neither show has been a huge hit in the ratings, but both have improved since the network moved their timeslots. WB has a full roster of shows set for midseason, so a final decision on the fates of these two might be decided then. Related airs Monday nights and Twins can be seen on Fridays.
*And finally, it's Nielsen Wednesday. CBS walked away victoriously for the first week of sweeps, winning both in total viewers and the 18-49 year old demo. The eye network was led by CSI (#1), Without A Trace (#3), Survivor (#4), NCIS (tie #5), Cold Case (#8) and Criminal Minds (#10). ABC landed in second with hits Desperate Housewives (#2), Grey's Anatomy (tie #5), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (#7) and Monday Night Football (#9). To see the entire top 20, visit USA Today.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Veronica Mars (what will Aaron Echols have to say for himself?) and Lost (who's gonna bite the dust?). Plus all the latest television news!
The race was on for the earliest flight. The Linzes arrived at the airport first, but assume that Delta's flight to Phoenix via Atlanta was the fastest and booked it. The Paolos got rude and annoying, not that it was anything new for them, when the Delta agents wouldn't let them purchase the same tickets because it was too close to the departure time. The other teams all landed on a flight to Phoenix via New York that got in about 20 minutes earlier than the Linzes' flight. Panic ensued when the Godlewskis got to New York and found that they did not have reservations for the flight from New York's JFK to Phoenix. They quickly boarded a taxi and headed to Newark airport to catch another flight that arrived at the same time. This proved to be advantageous, since this flight got into Phoenix 45 minutes ahead of schedule and the next earliest flight. In a rare Amazing Race moment, there was no "catch up tactic" as the Godlewskis proceeded to the Roadblock and finished way ahead of the other teams. At the Roadblock, one member had to race a Superkart for 50 laps in the hot sun. All teams completed the task with very little trouble. We had one of those "Amazing Race slow-mos" leading into a commercial that led you to believe that Mama Weaver and brother Linz may have possibly collided. After a few words from the sponsors, we learned that the collision was avoided and the Weaver children (who have twice now had the misfortune of ending up at race tracks) didn't have to see another race track tragedy. The teams then raced to the Pit Stop, with the Godlewskis coming out on top. The Paolos, who finished the Roadblock last, assumed they would be the last team to arrive and would either be eliminated or stripped of all their possessions. When they drove up to the Pit Stop, they failed to realize that there were only three cars there, not four. The Bransens had gotten lost, even though that's usually the Paolos' role (never fear, they resumed the role in the second leg). The Paolos hopped out of their car and began putting on everything they could fit. The Bransens drove up, saw what was going on, and made a break for the mat, but the Paolos did the same and they landed in fourth place. Phil decided to grace us with more of his humor as he told the Paolos that they looked ridiculous and that he didn't know that Tony (who was wearing his tighty-whiteys over his shorts) had so much support (and honestly Phil, did we need to know?). The Bransens came in last, but the Paolos told them to put more clothes on before they stepped on the mat just in case it was non-elimination. The plan worked and the Bransens were stripped of their money and backpacks (thanks to the Godlewskis, every time I see this word I hear them saying it in my head in that "baypayck" way).
The second leg included the coolest Roadblock ever seen on The Amazing Race. One team member had to ride in a fighter plane with a pilot and on his command, complete a 360 in the air. It doesn't even sound half as cool as it was, believe me. On the way to the Roadblock, the Linzes got pulled over for stopping in the middle of the road to "talk to your friends" as the cop put it. In reality they had stopped to ask another car for directions. As if stopping to talk to your friends wasn't bad enough, the Linz driver told the cop that they were "racing other cars." Clearly the television camera tipped him off, because he let them go without even acknowledging their obvious incriminating statement. All the teams completed the Coolest! Roadblock! Ever! and proceeded to the Grand Canyon. On the way, those wacky Weavers were up to their old tricks. This time, they threw garbage out of the window at the Godlewskis (um, I'm pretty sure that littering makes the baby Jesus cry thou holy Weavers), and they told a parking attendant that the car behind them (the Linzes) wanted to know the complete history of the Canyon.
See Weavers, even this church agrees!(Disclaimer: Sign generated by me courtesy of The Church Sign Generator)
Luckily for the Linzes, this parking attendant didn't buy it, and he told them that the other team was "talking smack" about them. After the teams cheated death along a non-barricaded ledge of the world's "largest pot hole" (as DJ Paolo called it) to receive their clue, they headed to Glen Canyon Dam and found a tour guide to take them to their next clue. The Paolos took a slower route and fell into fifth place, and quite a distance behind the four other teams.
The next clue was a Detour: Bearing or Bailing (the writers were really into the b's last night). In Bearing, teams had to travel by motorized rafts to a clue box, take one of the navigation cards, point a compass in that direction and find the next box until they found the one that said "End." In Bailing, teams had to travel by motorized rafts and find partially submerged boats, bail the water out and drag it up onto the sand. The Weavers chose the former and seemed to easily complete the task. The others chose the latter, and the Linzes and Godlewskis raced to bail the water out of their boats, with the Linzes coming out on top. The Godlewskis finished soon after, but the Weavers were finishing their task as well. It was a three way race to the Pit Stop that required a small journey to reach. Teams had to find a boat and navigate it to a somewhat hidden houseboat where they would find Phil. The Linzes had the lead, but the Godlewskis were moving much faster in the water, and they reached the houseboat and Phil first. The Linzes were close behind, followed by the Weavers. The Bransens quickly bailed out their boat and passed the Paolos who were just arriving to begin bailing theirs. In true Paolo style, the family bickered throughout the entire task. DJ kept blaming his mother for their last place status and he complained that she wasn't helping enough with the Detour. In the end, the family was the last to arrive and they were eliminated from the race. I think I'm going to miss the Paolos. Their constant fighting and rudeness got on my nerves, but it was also pretty entertaining. The race just won't be the same without Marion.
About Last Night... CBS started out on top with NCIS, followed by NBC's The Biggest Loser and ABC's comedy hour of According to Jim and Rodney. At 9, ABC took over the lead with Commander In Chief, followed by House on Fox and the first hour of The Amazing Race on CBS. The final hour of the night went to NBC's Law & Order: SVU, followed by Boston Legal on ABC and the second hour of CBS's The Amazing Race. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - JT must finish a job he started a long time ago in order to save his girlfriend in the conclusion of this two-part episode of NBC's E-Ring.
@9 p.m. - It's Wednesday, so there's another showdown between two of the best shows on television as both return tonight with new episodes and plenty of twists and turns. Go ahead and prepare your VCRs and TiVos now because you're not going to want to miss a minute of either show. Buffy creator Joss Whedon makes a guest appearance along with Harry Hamlin as Veronica helps once accused Lilly Kane murderer Abel Koontz find his daughter, meanwhile there's a surprising twist involving Logan on UPN's Veronica Mars. Over on ABC, Lost continues with Ian Somerhalder (Boone) guest starring and Walt making an appearance as Locke's injury becomes life threatening. And according to the previews, one of the castaways will be lost forever.
@10 p.m. - It's the CSI crossover conclusion on CBS. This time Miami's David Caruso travels to New York to capture the serial killer who escaped in Miami on CSI: NY. Over on ABC, Larkin is injured in a car accident and the fate of her unborn child is up in the air on Invasion.
QUICK CUTS
*Mischa Barton look-alike Willa Holland is joining the cast of Fox's The O.C. She'll play, appropriately enough, Marissa's (Barton) younger sister Kaitlin, who returns from her stint in boarding school. The role was originally played by Shailene Woodley, who can be seen later this month in the WB's movie Felicity: An American Girl Adventure. Kaitlin's return will introduce a darker element to the sun soaked town as she wreaks havoc according to Fox. Holland will make her first appearance of a multi-episode arc on The O.C. early next year. In other casting news, CBS's NCIS is promoting cast member Lauren Holly to a series regular.
*WB is adding more episodes to its order of two freshman series. Both Related and Twins are getting the green light from the network. Expect to see at least 6 additional episodes of Related and 5 more of Twins. Neither show has been a huge hit in the ratings, but both have improved since the network moved their timeslots. WB has a full roster of shows set for midseason, so a final decision on the fates of these two might be decided then. Related airs Monday nights and Twins can be seen on Fridays.
*And finally, it's Nielsen Wednesday. CBS walked away victoriously for the first week of sweeps, winning both in total viewers and the 18-49 year old demo. The eye network was led by CSI (#1), Without A Trace (#3), Survivor (#4), NCIS (tie #5), Cold Case (#8) and Criminal Minds (#10). ABC landed in second with hits Desperate Housewives (#2), Grey's Anatomy (tie #5), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (#7) and Monday Night Football (#9). To see the entire top 20, visit USA Today.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Veronica Mars (what will Aaron Echols have to say for himself?) and Lost (who's gonna bite the dust?). Plus all the latest television news!
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Hunting for the Real Killer on 'Medium!' Plus, Find out What to Watch in Primetime Pass!
Am I the only one who doesn't figure out what's going on with Allison's visions on Medium until they reveal it, and then sits there shocked at how well this show makes sense out of everything that seems to make no sense at all? The deer really threw me off last night, and the answer made perfect sense. The man hunted his wife like a hunter hunts a deer. Not only in the literal sense, but also in the figurative sense as he set his sight on her long before they even met. He sees her, finds out that she's loaded with money and devises a plan to get past the whole "daddy's little girl" roadblock because he definitely fell into the "bad boy" category. He decides to start working at her father's company doing anything he can until he figures out how to run finances and gets promoted. A company formal arises and he doesn't have a date, so her father arranges for his daughter to accompany his new star employee. They hit it off, get married and twelve years later she's dead and he's sitting on a $42 million trust fund. His story was that the two had gone out on their boat for a romantic dinner and evening, she drank too much wine, he left her on deck around midnight while he went down to sleep and she must have fallen over board over night. The police searched the lake, but never found a body. He gets acquitted, but Allison discovers the truth through a helpful deer she keeps seeing everywhere. The deer leads her to the case file, which leads her to a map of a nature preserve and the location of the body. Turns out that her husband hunted her in the preserve and killed her, making sure to cut up her body parts and bury them in a garbage bag.
It was looking like DA Davalos was going to have a hard time seeking any vengeance for the murdered woman whose husband was now the proud owner of her $42 million fortune. When her father found out the truth, he decided to enact a little of his own justice for his daughter. He took his son-in-law out to the same preserve, gave him a three second lead and then hunted him just as he had done to his daughter. Poetic, I know. One of the lighter angles to the episode was Joe's jury duty. He was sure that the defense would not want him on the jury because of his wife's job in the DA's office. Just to be sure, he attempted to dress in a non-jury-like way, complete with Hawaiian shirt. His plan didn't work and neither did his close connection to the DA's office, as the defense decided he was a valuable asset to their case. One of the things that this show does best is to portray a very realistic picture of family life. This episode was no exception as it detailed the difficulty Joe and Allison had not discussing the case. Adding to the stress was her constant dreams about the man on trial and the murder of his wife. Joe knew something was amiss, but what, he didn't know. With no evidence to prove that the defendant had anything to do with his wife's death, Joe had to go along with the rest of the jury and vote not guilty and thus the man was acquitted. The previews at the end of this episode reminded us that the special 3-D episode is only two weeks away, and that made me very excited. I know it's nothing more than a sweeps stunt and as gimmicky as they come, but at least it's an original gimmick. Can't wait!
About Last Night... ABC won the first hour with Wife Swap (football on the West Coast), followed by CBS's comedy hour of King of Queens and How I Met Your Mother and NBC's Surface. At 9, ABC's Monday Night Football won the hour, followed by CBS comedies Two and a Half Men and Out of Practice and NBC's Las Vegas. The final hour of the night went to the second hour of football coverage on ABC, followed by CBS's CSI: Miami and NBC's Medium. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Jess returns with a surprise for Rory regarding a development in his life on WB's Gilmore Girls. Brennan and Booth investigate the death of a child who may have been sexually assaulted on Fox's Bones.
@9 p.m. - One racer has to be rescued by safety divers and another loses control of a car on a challenge on a special two-hour episode of The Amazing Race on CBS. Over on Fox, lies between a father and son interfere with House and his team's efforts to save a life on House. Earl attempts to atone for cheating at golf just to get free beer on NBC's My Name is Earl.
@10 p.m. - Alan Shore is haunted in court by a childhood fear of clowns and Denny Crane works to get off of a pro-bono case on ABC's Boston Legal. Over on NBC, the SVU detectives delve into the cold cases of five missing boys after one of their remains surfaces on Law & Order: SVU.
QUICK CUTS
*CBS's Survivor isn't ending any time soon. The eye network picked up the show for two more editions. The two latest installments will air during the 2006-2007 season. The reality hit is only the sixth show in broadcast history to consistently rank in the Top 10 for all of its seasons so far. The two new editions will be the 13th and 14th, look for the 12th to air next year.
*Yesterday I told you about NBC's deal with DirecTV, and now comes word that CBS has struck a similar deal with cable provider Comcast to offer some of its shows via the Video On Demand service. In the beginning, the eye network will make available hit shows CSI, NCIS, Survivor and The Amazing Race for viewers to watch at their convenience. The episodes will be available on Comcast's Video On Demand service as early as midnight following their network broadcast. Each episode will set you back 99 cents. Look for the service to debut in January in the top 7 markets in the country and other markets where the CBS affiliate is corporate owned.
*And finally, ABC is offering weekly Lost podcasts during November sweeps. The downloads will feature interviews with cast members and producers. The first one hit ABC's web site today, and features producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse plus cast members Josh Holloway (Sawyer) and Daniel Dae Kim (Jin). Staring November 15th, they also will be available through iTunes for free downloading. Podcasts are streaming audio files.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for The Amazing Race (two hours of family fun!)! Plus all the latest television news and a Veronica and Lost filled Primetime Pass preview!
It was looking like DA Davalos was going to have a hard time seeking any vengeance for the murdered woman whose husband was now the proud owner of her $42 million fortune. When her father found out the truth, he decided to enact a little of his own justice for his daughter. He took his son-in-law out to the same preserve, gave him a three second lead and then hunted him just as he had done to his daughter. Poetic, I know. One of the lighter angles to the episode was Joe's jury duty. He was sure that the defense would not want him on the jury because of his wife's job in the DA's office. Just to be sure, he attempted to dress in a non-jury-like way, complete with Hawaiian shirt. His plan didn't work and neither did his close connection to the DA's office, as the defense decided he was a valuable asset to their case. One of the things that this show does best is to portray a very realistic picture of family life. This episode was no exception as it detailed the difficulty Joe and Allison had not discussing the case. Adding to the stress was her constant dreams about the man on trial and the murder of his wife. Joe knew something was amiss, but what, he didn't know. With no evidence to prove that the defendant had anything to do with his wife's death, Joe had to go along with the rest of the jury and vote not guilty and thus the man was acquitted. The previews at the end of this episode reminded us that the special 3-D episode is only two weeks away, and that made me very excited. I know it's nothing more than a sweeps stunt and as gimmicky as they come, but at least it's an original gimmick. Can't wait!
About Last Night... ABC won the first hour with Wife Swap (football on the West Coast), followed by CBS's comedy hour of King of Queens and How I Met Your Mother and NBC's Surface. At 9, ABC's Monday Night Football won the hour, followed by CBS comedies Two and a Half Men and Out of Practice and NBC's Las Vegas. The final hour of the night went to the second hour of football coverage on ABC, followed by CBS's CSI: Miami and NBC's Medium. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Jess returns with a surprise for Rory regarding a development in his life on WB's Gilmore Girls. Brennan and Booth investigate the death of a child who may have been sexually assaulted on Fox's Bones.
@9 p.m. - One racer has to be rescued by safety divers and another loses control of a car on a challenge on a special two-hour episode of The Amazing Race on CBS. Over on Fox, lies between a father and son interfere with House and his team's efforts to save a life on House. Earl attempts to atone for cheating at golf just to get free beer on NBC's My Name is Earl.
@10 p.m. - Alan Shore is haunted in court by a childhood fear of clowns and Denny Crane works to get off of a pro-bono case on ABC's Boston Legal. Over on NBC, the SVU detectives delve into the cold cases of five missing boys after one of their remains surfaces on Law & Order: SVU.
QUICK CUTS
*CBS's Survivor isn't ending any time soon. The eye network picked up the show for two more editions. The two latest installments will air during the 2006-2007 season. The reality hit is only the sixth show in broadcast history to consistently rank in the Top 10 for all of its seasons so far. The two new editions will be the 13th and 14th, look for the 12th to air next year.
*Yesterday I told you about NBC's deal with DirecTV, and now comes word that CBS has struck a similar deal with cable provider Comcast to offer some of its shows via the Video On Demand service. In the beginning, the eye network will make available hit shows CSI, NCIS, Survivor and The Amazing Race for viewers to watch at their convenience. The episodes will be available on Comcast's Video On Demand service as early as midnight following their network broadcast. Each episode will set you back 99 cents. Look for the service to debut in January in the top 7 markets in the country and other markets where the CBS affiliate is corporate owned.
*And finally, ABC is offering weekly Lost podcasts during November sweeps. The downloads will feature interviews with cast members and producers. The first one hit ABC's web site today, and features producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse plus cast members Josh Holloway (Sawyer) and Daniel Dae Kim (Jin). Staring November 15th, they also will be available through iTunes for free downloading. Podcasts are streaming audio files.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for The Amazing Race (two hours of family fun!)! Plus all the latest television news and a Veronica and Lost filled Primetime Pass preview!
Monday, November 07, 2005
Getting Back on the 'Case' and George Gets 'Desperate!' Plus, TV on DVD Monday!
So, remember how I was all warm and fuzzy over Without A Trace's return to glory last week? Well, take that and double it for my reaction to last night's Cold Case episode. I'm sorry I ever doubted you Cold Case! This had to be one of the show's finest hours for me. Everything clicked and the show lived up to its potential in a big way. The case was so emotional and well written. Lilly was a central part of the case, but the show still managed to give the other detectives really great scenes and plenty to do. I don't want to jinx anything, but it's looking like the earlier problems were due to six being too many on this show. How heartbreaking was the story in this episode?? A mother loses four of her five sons over a six year period. No wonder she had let her life slip so much. I liked the way this episode was not about who killed the boys as much as it was about this family and how each death affected them. Cold Case has the advantage of time, so it's nice when they utilize it to such a effective degree. This was the type of story that would not have had the same impact if it had not been a cold case. The juxtaposition of the opening scene with the family sitting around eating Thanksgiving dinner together with the current day images of the same, and sadly smaller, family was very moving. I thought that Lilly took this case especially hard since she had worked the first Bubley murder, and her inner-conflict of walking the line between caring and the hardened attitude of not caring was especially well done. Kathryn Morris really had a tour-de-force episode, and she carried it off beautifully. I LOVED Lilly's scene with Patrick in the file storage area. She may not have been able to eradicate the gang responsible for the four Bubley deaths, but she was able to get through to Patrick about his own life. Usually on this show, a lot of things are wrapped up at the end, but this episode gave you a sense of hope, but also a sense that there are some things that you just aren't going to be able to change. Vera's scenes with gang leader Miguel's pregnant girlfriend were also well done, and Scotty's hospital scene with the wounded gang member was great. This episode marked the return of one of my favorite Cold Case-isms: No Drugs Today. They used this back in season one to flush out a source, and now again to get the required information from a neighborhood drug dealer. It was well done both times, and hysterical both times! Overall, an excellent episode and exactly what this show needed to get it back on track.
Speaking of getting back on track, last night's Desperate Housewives was a step in the right direction for the show, and a few steps back for women. I'm not a huge feminist, but something about Susan standing in front of Mike's truck, begging him not to break up with her really disturbed me. I understand she loves Mike, but begging him and blocking his truck from leaving was too much, even for this show. I know the wedding dress was suppose to make the scene funny, but I found myself embarrassed for Susan and all women everywhere. Gabby's scene with skeezy lawyer David in her bedroom was a nice counter scene to Susan's, but not enough to erase Susan's silliness. Gabby's scene brings up an important question, when is she going to start showing? How far along is her pregnancy anyway? Lynette's buy, wear, return idea was too funny, but you just knew it would backfire. I'm so over, scratch that - I was never into it, the George/Bree storyline. I strongly dislike George, and last night just reinforced it. He was so desperate to sleep with Bree that he drugged her! Luckily he didn't follow through with his plans. I was really icked out, though, when she finally agreed to sleep with him willingly!! It seemed out of character to me. As usual, Edie had the best line. Creepy Paul is back and already stirring up trouble. Overall, an improved episode, but next week looks even better.
About Last Night...ABC started off on top with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, followed by Cold Case on CBS and The West Wing on NBC. At 9, ABC took over with Desperate Housewives, followed by the first hour of CBS's movie Category 7 and the first hour of Law & Order: Criminal Intent on NBC. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy, followed by the second hour of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and the final hour of CBS's movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Charlize Theron guest stars once again on a full hour (back-to-back) episodes of Fox's Arrested Development, which returns to the schedule tonight. Laura, Rich and Jackson team up after her house is ransacked, and Nim heads out on another journey on NBC's Surface.
@9 p.m. - Michael must sacrifice a life and the escape groups gains another member on Fox's Prison Break. It's a flashback to 1962 with the Montecito crew on NBC's Las Vegas. Martin Sheen guest stars on son Charlie's CBS comedy Two and a Half Men.
@10 p.m. - Allison deals with a conflict when the man that she keeps seeing in her dreams is on trial and the jury includes her husband Joe on NBC's Medium. Tonight starts the first half of the crossover between CBS's CSI: Miami and CSI: NY with Miami taking the first part.
QUICK CUTS
*CBS is pulling the old switcheroo with two of its new shows. Close to Home is moving to Friday for November 11th and 18th in Threshold's timeslot. Threshold will move to Close to Home's Tuesday slot for November 22nd and 29th. The goal is to attract a larger audience for both shows, neither of which has been a failure or a huge success for the eye network. If the move proves advantageous for both series, the network says it could be permanent. In other CBS news, the network lowered the season order for comedy Yes Dear from 22 episodes to 15.
*NBC and DirecTV are teaming up to bring you your favorite shows "On Demand." The network and the satellite provider will start allowing viewers to download NBC programs when they want through the new DirecTV Plus interactive DVR within hours after they air. In addition to NBC programs, you'll also have access to Universal's cables channels' programs like USA, Bravo and Sci Fi. The DirecTV Plus DVRs will go on sale this month.
*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for Blue Collar TV's first season to hit store shelves tomorrow. Also out tomorrow, Remington Steele (season 2), The Partridge Family (season 2) and Avonlea (season 1). For more releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Medium and all the latest television news!
Speaking of getting back on track, last night's Desperate Housewives was a step in the right direction for the show, and a few steps back for women. I'm not a huge feminist, but something about Susan standing in front of Mike's truck, begging him not to break up with her really disturbed me. I understand she loves Mike, but begging him and blocking his truck from leaving was too much, even for this show. I know the wedding dress was suppose to make the scene funny, but I found myself embarrassed for Susan and all women everywhere. Gabby's scene with skeezy lawyer David in her bedroom was a nice counter scene to Susan's, but not enough to erase Susan's silliness. Gabby's scene brings up an important question, when is she going to start showing? How far along is her pregnancy anyway? Lynette's buy, wear, return idea was too funny, but you just knew it would backfire. I'm so over, scratch that - I was never into it, the George/Bree storyline. I strongly dislike George, and last night just reinforced it. He was so desperate to sleep with Bree that he drugged her! Luckily he didn't follow through with his plans. I was really icked out, though, when she finally agreed to sleep with him willingly!! It seemed out of character to me. As usual, Edie had the best line. Creepy Paul is back and already stirring up trouble. Overall, an improved episode, but next week looks even better.
About Last Night...ABC started off on top with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, followed by Cold Case on CBS and The West Wing on NBC. At 9, ABC took over with Desperate Housewives, followed by the first hour of CBS's movie Category 7 and the first hour of Law & Order: Criminal Intent on NBC. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy, followed by the second hour of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and the final hour of CBS's movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Charlize Theron guest stars once again on a full hour (back-to-back) episodes of Fox's Arrested Development, which returns to the schedule tonight. Laura, Rich and Jackson team up after her house is ransacked, and Nim heads out on another journey on NBC's Surface.
@9 p.m. - Michael must sacrifice a life and the escape groups gains another member on Fox's Prison Break. It's a flashback to 1962 with the Montecito crew on NBC's Las Vegas. Martin Sheen guest stars on son Charlie's CBS comedy Two and a Half Men.
@10 p.m. - Allison deals with a conflict when the man that she keeps seeing in her dreams is on trial and the jury includes her husband Joe on NBC's Medium. Tonight starts the first half of the crossover between CBS's CSI: Miami and CSI: NY with Miami taking the first part.
QUICK CUTS
*CBS is pulling the old switcheroo with two of its new shows. Close to Home is moving to Friday for November 11th and 18th in Threshold's timeslot. Threshold will move to Close to Home's Tuesday slot for November 22nd and 29th. The goal is to attract a larger audience for both shows, neither of which has been a failure or a huge success for the eye network. If the move proves advantageous for both series, the network says it could be permanent. In other CBS news, the network lowered the season order for comedy Yes Dear from 22 episodes to 15.
*NBC and DirecTV are teaming up to bring you your favorite shows "On Demand." The network and the satellite provider will start allowing viewers to download NBC programs when they want through the new DirecTV Plus interactive DVR within hours after they air. In addition to NBC programs, you'll also have access to Universal's cables channels' programs like USA, Bravo and Sci Fi. The DirecTV Plus DVRs will go on sale this month.
*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for Blue Collar TV's first season to hit store shelves tomorrow. Also out tomorrow, Remington Steele (season 2), The Partridge Family (season 2) and Avonlea (season 1). For more releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Medium and all the latest television news!
Friday, November 04, 2005
‘Chris Learns the Value of $10, Andy Learns the Value of Humility and Jack Finds the Value of Murder and Kidnap!
Thursday nights are so good that even if one of your usual favorites isn't on, you can find other excellent shows to watch in its place. Such was the case last night with Everybody Hates Chris, which substituted nicely for the missing Alias (ABC chose to air Pirates of the Caribbean instead of their usual Thursday schedule). Anyone who thinks that comedies aren't funny anymore, is definitely not watching Chris. This show is hysterical! Last night, Chris's parents decided to take a rare evening out on the town and hire a babysitter to watch the kids. This set up two parallel storylines that were both well done. Before the parents left, Chris's dad gave him ten dollars "in case of an emergency." Chris Rock's narration told us that his father believed that "there wasn't anything ten dollars couldn't fix." When young Chris asks his dad what happens if it costs eleven dollars, his dad replies, "Talk him down to 10!" Yeah, it was really funny. At the restaurant, Chris's father sweats the total price as the cashier rings it up. He then proceeds to pull out a coupon, which made me laugh for a long time because I can seriously relate. The cashier tells him that the coupon is not good for what his wife ordered, so he says it's okay, but he wants his coupon back! Later at the restaurant, two masked men came in and robbed the place. When they got to Chris's parents, one of the men recognized Chris's mom and he told her his name! Yeah, it was awesome! Back at home, the babysitter proved to be less than reliable and spent the entire evening coming and going because of her baby. When Chris's parents returned home, everything seemed in order, until Chris blurted out exactly what happened because he was afraid his parents would leave them with that babysitter again.
So, the Andy-and-Jake-go-to-counseling scene on Everwood was just as awesome as it looked. I was cracking up, and my only wish was that it had been longer. I especially liked it when Jake called Andy "an ass," and Andy responded by asking the therapist if she heard what Jake just called him. Despite the bickering, the two men did work out some issues. It seems that cocky Jake is really just intimidated by everything that Andy represents, and Andy didn't realize how much bigger-than-life he can seem. Meanwhile, Ephram found out about Amy and Reid, and he took it pretty well. I'm sure he's not so happy on the inside as he referenced with piano student Kyle. Amy ended up confused by Reid's hot/cold reaction to her, but it turns out he's just too busy for a serious relationship, which seemed fine to Amy (and me because now I'm thinking that she can still get back together with Ephram). Rose was lost without her mayoral position, and Harold made it worse by jamming job ideas down her throat and telling her that she's at an age and stage in her life that's prone to depression. Seriously, it was enough to drive even the happiest person straight to Prozac! He came to his senses and now the two are taking a trip on an African Safari, which was something Rose had wanted to do if she had found out that she was dying from the cancer. I'm really enjoying Ephram's journey through his teen years. Kyle is exactly how Ephram used to be, so the two are so well-suited for each other at the piano and on spur of the moment field trips. I think Ephram finally broke through with Kyle last night. Another well balanced episode.
Well, I definitely got my Danny-centric episode last night on Without A Trace, so I was really happy. But, I was also really happy about the fact that this show has been light years better lately. I've been getting season one vibes from it, and that makes me feel all tingly inside! See, I told you that this show used to be excellent and it had the potential to return to its excellent self. This gives me new hope for my other favorite procedural Cold Case, which has been struggling a little this season. I thought this episode was going to be all Jack and Danny all the time, which would have been fine with me (the Danny part, of course), but I really liked the way they had the other agents working the American angle of the case. I'm still loving Elena Delgado, and I thought she had a nice catch last night with the dialect pick up. It was good to see Viv and Martin joking around, and Sam and Martin's scenes weren't awkward as they had been in the past. How horrible was that wife, Lucy!!?? She arranged her husband's first wife's murder and arranged his kidnapping to get him back for, what she assumed was him, cheating on her. The man lost his finger in the ordeal! Was he even cheating on her? She thought he was because she saw him somewhat flirting with one of his tennis students. Man, this woman has a very rigid idea of cheating. I LOVED Danny's dirt bike chase through the Mexican desert. Overall, a well done episode.
About Last Night... Seriously, it's a good thing Nielsen fixed this "Processing Error," stat, because I was about to have to call this section "About Not Last Night But The Night Before (and no, 44 men did not come knocking at my door)." And that would have been much too cumbersome! Anyway, here's Wednesday's overnights. NBC won the first hour of the night with E-Ring, followed by the comedy block of Still Standing and Yes Dear on CBS and the hour-long season premiere of Fox's That 70s Show. At 9, CBS took over the lead with Criminal Minds, followed by a rerun of ABC's Lost and Fox's Trading Spouses. WB's Related encore edged UPN's Veronica Mars repeat. The final hour of the night went to CBS's CSI: NY, followed by Law & Order on NBC and a repeat of Invasion on ABC. For more on Wednesday's ratings, visit Zap2it.
Now, onto last night's ratings. CBS easily won the first hour of the night with Survivor, followed by ABC's airing of Pirates of the Caribbean and the comedy block of Joey and Will & Grace on NBC. At 9, CBS had the most watched program of the night with CSI, followed by The Apprentice and the ABC movie. WB's Everwood tied Fox's Reunion for fourth. The final hour of the night went to Without A Trace on CBS, followed by ER on NBC and ABC's movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Wanda learns about the power of the belt and it soon becomes her new best friend until it leads to some not-so-nice results on The Bernie Mac Show on Fox.
@9 p.m. - The Three Wishes team travels to Cedar City, Utah to surprise a retired couple who makes toys for underprivileged children all over the world tonight on NBC. A team member goes missing on CBS's Threshold.
@10 p.m. - Don and his team work to stop a suspect who interfered with counter-terrorism drills on CBS's Numb3rs.
SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - Lilly revisits her past when a recent gang shooting turns out to be related to her first case in homicide on CBS's Cold Case (may be delayed due to football). NBC once again tries out the live thing, this time with The West Wing. Presidential candidates Santos and Vinick debate each other live on both the East and West Coasts (they're doing two shows).
@9 p.m. - Paul Young returns, Bree is mortified by her reaction to George, Lynette indulges a new obsession, Susan and Mike hit a bump in their relationship and Gabby works to free Carlos on ABC's Desperate Housewives.
@10 p.m. - A male patient seems to be pregnant on ABC's Grey's Anatomy.
QUICK CUTS
*CBS is giving a full-season order to freshman comedy Out of Practice. The Monday night sitcom has become the second most watched new comedy of the season behind NBC's My Name is Earl. The show has also continued to improve each week and it holds onto 80% of Two and a Half Men's audience. The show stars Stockard Channing, Henry Winkler and Paula Marshall.
*And finally, Lost is crossing into a new dimension with a storyline that will blur the lines between real and fiction. In the popular show, the survivors will come across a finished, but unpublished, manuscript written by one of the passengers who perished in the crash. The passenger had delivered a copy to his publisher before he set out on his fateful flight. ABC's publishing company, Hyperion, will then publish the manuscript as a novel in real life. The company says the book entitled Bad Twin will be ghost written by a well known author. The manuscript deals with a man's search for his no-good brother. Other real works of fiction featured on the show saw their sales skyrocket after they were used on Lost. Look for Bad Twin to hit shelves sometimes next year and the episode of Lost featuring the manuscript later this season.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for CSI, Desperate Housewives (will this show finally break through and start living up to its first season potential?) and Cold Case (will I enjoy Lilly's journey through her career related past? Oh, you guys know I will! But, will the show improve now that there aren't so many cooks in the kitchen?). Plus, all the latest television news!
So, the Andy-and-Jake-go-to-counseling scene on Everwood was just as awesome as it looked. I was cracking up, and my only wish was that it had been longer. I especially liked it when Jake called Andy "an ass," and Andy responded by asking the therapist if she heard what Jake just called him. Despite the bickering, the two men did work out some issues. It seems that cocky Jake is really just intimidated by everything that Andy represents, and Andy didn't realize how much bigger-than-life he can seem. Meanwhile, Ephram found out about Amy and Reid, and he took it pretty well. I'm sure he's not so happy on the inside as he referenced with piano student Kyle. Amy ended up confused by Reid's hot/cold reaction to her, but it turns out he's just too busy for a serious relationship, which seemed fine to Amy (and me because now I'm thinking that she can still get back together with Ephram). Rose was lost without her mayoral position, and Harold made it worse by jamming job ideas down her throat and telling her that she's at an age and stage in her life that's prone to depression. Seriously, it was enough to drive even the happiest person straight to Prozac! He came to his senses and now the two are taking a trip on an African Safari, which was something Rose had wanted to do if she had found out that she was dying from the cancer. I'm really enjoying Ephram's journey through his teen years. Kyle is exactly how Ephram used to be, so the two are so well-suited for each other at the piano and on spur of the moment field trips. I think Ephram finally broke through with Kyle last night. Another well balanced episode.
Well, I definitely got my Danny-centric episode last night on Without A Trace, so I was really happy. But, I was also really happy about the fact that this show has been light years better lately. I've been getting season one vibes from it, and that makes me feel all tingly inside! See, I told you that this show used to be excellent and it had the potential to return to its excellent self. This gives me new hope for my other favorite procedural Cold Case, which has been struggling a little this season. I thought this episode was going to be all Jack and Danny all the time, which would have been fine with me (the Danny part, of course), but I really liked the way they had the other agents working the American angle of the case. I'm still loving Elena Delgado, and I thought she had a nice catch last night with the dialect pick up. It was good to see Viv and Martin joking around, and Sam and Martin's scenes weren't awkward as they had been in the past. How horrible was that wife, Lucy!!?? She arranged her husband's first wife's murder and arranged his kidnapping to get him back for, what she assumed was him, cheating on her. The man lost his finger in the ordeal! Was he even cheating on her? She thought he was because she saw him somewhat flirting with one of his tennis students. Man, this woman has a very rigid idea of cheating. I LOVED Danny's dirt bike chase through the Mexican desert. Overall, a well done episode.
About Last Night... Seriously, it's a good thing Nielsen fixed this "Processing Error," stat, because I was about to have to call this section "About Not Last Night But The Night Before (and no, 44 men did not come knocking at my door)." And that would have been much too cumbersome! Anyway, here's Wednesday's overnights. NBC won the first hour of the night with E-Ring, followed by the comedy block of Still Standing and Yes Dear on CBS and the hour-long season premiere of Fox's That 70s Show. At 9, CBS took over the lead with Criminal Minds, followed by a rerun of ABC's Lost and Fox's Trading Spouses. WB's Related encore edged UPN's Veronica Mars repeat. The final hour of the night went to CBS's CSI: NY, followed by Law & Order on NBC and a repeat of Invasion on ABC. For more on Wednesday's ratings, visit Zap2it.
Now, onto last night's ratings. CBS easily won the first hour of the night with Survivor, followed by ABC's airing of Pirates of the Caribbean and the comedy block of Joey and Will & Grace on NBC. At 9, CBS had the most watched program of the night with CSI, followed by The Apprentice and the ABC movie. WB's Everwood tied Fox's Reunion for fourth. The final hour of the night went to Without A Trace on CBS, followed by ER on NBC and ABC's movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Wanda learns about the power of the belt and it soon becomes her new best friend until it leads to some not-so-nice results on The Bernie Mac Show on Fox.
@9 p.m. - The Three Wishes team travels to Cedar City, Utah to surprise a retired couple who makes toys for underprivileged children all over the world tonight on NBC. A team member goes missing on CBS's Threshold.
@10 p.m. - Don and his team work to stop a suspect who interfered with counter-terrorism drills on CBS's Numb3rs.
SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - Lilly revisits her past when a recent gang shooting turns out to be related to her first case in homicide on CBS's Cold Case (may be delayed due to football). NBC once again tries out the live thing, this time with The West Wing. Presidential candidates Santos and Vinick debate each other live on both the East and West Coasts (they're doing two shows).
@9 p.m. - Paul Young returns, Bree is mortified by her reaction to George, Lynette indulges a new obsession, Susan and Mike hit a bump in their relationship and Gabby works to free Carlos on ABC's Desperate Housewives.
@10 p.m. - A male patient seems to be pregnant on ABC's Grey's Anatomy.
QUICK CUTS
*CBS is giving a full-season order to freshman comedy Out of Practice. The Monday night sitcom has become the second most watched new comedy of the season behind NBC's My Name is Earl. The show has also continued to improve each week and it holds onto 80% of Two and a Half Men's audience. The show stars Stockard Channing, Henry Winkler and Paula Marshall.
*And finally, Lost is crossing into a new dimension with a storyline that will blur the lines between real and fiction. In the popular show, the survivors will come across a finished, but unpublished, manuscript written by one of the passengers who perished in the crash. The passenger had delivered a copy to his publisher before he set out on his fateful flight. ABC's publishing company, Hyperion, will then publish the manuscript as a novel in real life. The company says the book entitled Bad Twin will be ghost written by a well known author. The manuscript deals with a man's search for his no-good brother. Other real works of fiction featured on the show saw their sales skyrocket after they were used on Lost. Look for Bad Twin to hit shelves sometimes next year and the episode of Lost featuring the manuscript later this season.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for CSI, Desperate Housewives (will this show finally break through and start living up to its first season potential?) and Cold Case (will I enjoy Lilly's journey through her career related past? Oh, you guys know I will! But, will the show improve now that there aren't so many cooks in the kitchen?). Plus, all the latest television news!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
No More Going 'Over There.' Plus, a Sweeps-Filled Edition of Primetime Pass!
As I told you yesterday, FX announced that it is not renewing the Iraqi War fictional drama Over There. With the end of the show, I thought I'd go ahead and give some final thoughts on its 13-episode run this Summer and Fall. Overall, I found the show ambitious and well done, but I didn't see the need to extend the show further. Sure, the writers could have come up with more storylines to fill another season, but they covered so much in the one season that I was satisfied with just having the 13 excellent episodes. There were some character arcs left unfinished, but overall, the show ended on an upbeat note that led you to believe that these characters were going to work through the personal problems that the distance of war had caused.
The show had the groundbreaking distinction of being the first television program to focus on an ongoing war, but Over There wasn't just about gun battles, roadside bombs, terrorists and surprise attacks. The heart of the show was the characters, both over there and back home, and their daily struggles. There was Dim who dealt with his inner conflict over whether he was doing the right thing by fighting in the war and his outer one with his alcoholic wife who cheated on him back home. Sergeant Scream was ready to return home after serving his time in Iraq until he was sent on a mission to evict a French woman and her orphanage because the new Iraqi government needed the building. He fell in love with the kids and the woman running it, so he traded his trip home for more time in Iraq and a promise that the orphanage was off limits to the new government. Back on the home front, soldier Bo Ryder struggled to regain his former self after losing his leg to a roadside bomb. Determined to return to his unit and help his fellow soldiers, Bo became proficient with his prosthesis and in the finale, he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. These were just a few of the well written character stories, but there were also the more tragic and difficult stories. A terrorist organization kidnapped an embedded journalist after one of the soldiers shot and killed a young boy in a village. The boy had pretended to throw an explosive device at the soldiers and they fired back in defense. The terrorist group beheaded the journalist and the show did not shy away from showing the audience exactly what happened. It definitely had its hard-to-watch moments, but they were much farther and few between than I had expected. Overall, a strong character-heavy show with well written, directed and executed episodes. I can understand why FX president John Landgraf said he was proud to have aired the show.
About Last Night... A processing error at Nielsen delayed Tuesday's ratings and it is also delaying Wednesday's ratings. I will bring you last night's ratings in tomorrow's edition. For now, here's Tuesday's overnights. CBS easily won the first hour of the night with NCIS, followed by The Biggest Loser on NBC and ABC's comedy block of According to Jim and Rodney, although Fox's Bones had a slight edge in total viewers for the hour. At 9, ABC's Commander In Chief took the hour, followed by Fox's House and CBS's The Amazing Race. The final hour of the night easily went to NBC's Law & Order: SVU, followed by Boston Legal on ABC and Close to Home on CBS. For more on Tuesday's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~ (Tonight is the first night of sweeps, so it's a jam-packed evening)
@8 p.m. - Chris gets left in charge after a flighty babysitter leaves him with his siblings on UPN's Everybody Hates Chris. Over at Fox, The O.C. is back with a new episode tonight. Ryan makes a life-changing decision, Marissa turns to her public school friends for help and Summer and Seth go on a crusade to uncover Dean Hess's secret. Joey goes on Celebrity Poker after Alex teaches him Texas Hold 'Em on NBC's Joey. Tom Wopat joins his former Dukes of Hazzard co-star John Schneider for a guest spot on WB's Smallville.
@9 p.m. - Nina suggests that Andy and Jake seek counseling, Ephram learns that Amy might be seeing someone new and Harold helps Rose deal with her mayoral race loss on WB's Everwood. The CSIs work to determine whether a young mother's death was suicide or the result of foul play on CSI on CBS. Fox's Reunion returns tonight with the year 1989. A wedding brings out old rivalries as Samantha chooses between Craig and Will.
@10 p.m. - Jack and Danny travel to Mexico to search for a missing American tourist whose wife (guest star Alex Kingston) witnessed the abduction on CBS's Without A Trace. Clemente, Abby and Neela secretly tend to a VIP patient while Dubenko tortures the staff from home with a robotic television camera on NBC's ER.
QUICK CUTS
*Dawson's Creek creator Kevin Williamson is getting back in the TV business after a string of movie projects. UPN has given him a pilot commitment for a new spec script he wrote about a troubled teen who moves to Palm Springs and finds that there are plenty of secrets lurking around. The show will join UPN's critically acclaimed Everybody Hates Chris and Veronica Mars, the latter of which Williamson called his favorite show on the air. He will serve as executive producer on the project.
*CBS is entering the cable sports arena with its purchase of CSTV (College Sports Television). Chairman of CBS and Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Viacom Inc. Leslie Moonves made the announcement about the network's acquisition of the all college athletics cable entity. The acquisition will include a digital cable network featuring 30 men's and women's college sports events, regional college sports networks that will launch in 2006 and online properties featuring 250 official college athletics web sites. The purchase is expected to go through in January of next year.
*And finally, the delayed (on my part, not Nielsen's) weekly ratings are in and it was another win for CBS in total viewers and the 18-49 year old group. The eye network was led by a repeat of CSI (#1), Without A Trace (#2), CSI: Miami (#4), NCIS (#5), Survivor (#6) and Two and a Half Men (#7). Fox's MLB coverage landed two spots in the top 10 (#3, #9). Over at ABC, Grey's Anatomy was the only show to land a top 10 spot (#8). For more on last week's ratings, visit USA Today.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Everwood (how will Ephram take the news about Amy? And how hilarious does that therapy scene with Jake and Andy look?), Everybody Hates Chris (no Alias tonight, so I'll be watching this awesome comedy) and Without A Trace (yeah, I'm choosing to watch this tonight and save CSI for the weekend because this episode sounds Danny-centric and I'm all excited!). Plus, all the latest television news!
The show had the groundbreaking distinction of being the first television program to focus on an ongoing war, but Over There wasn't just about gun battles, roadside bombs, terrorists and surprise attacks. The heart of the show was the characters, both over there and back home, and their daily struggles. There was Dim who dealt with his inner conflict over whether he was doing the right thing by fighting in the war and his outer one with his alcoholic wife who cheated on him back home. Sergeant Scream was ready to return home after serving his time in Iraq until he was sent on a mission to evict a French woman and her orphanage because the new Iraqi government needed the building. He fell in love with the kids and the woman running it, so he traded his trip home for more time in Iraq and a promise that the orphanage was off limits to the new government. Back on the home front, soldier Bo Ryder struggled to regain his former self after losing his leg to a roadside bomb. Determined to return to his unit and help his fellow soldiers, Bo became proficient with his prosthesis and in the finale, he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. These were just a few of the well written character stories, but there were also the more tragic and difficult stories. A terrorist organization kidnapped an embedded journalist after one of the soldiers shot and killed a young boy in a village. The boy had pretended to throw an explosive device at the soldiers and they fired back in defense. The terrorist group beheaded the journalist and the show did not shy away from showing the audience exactly what happened. It definitely had its hard-to-watch moments, but they were much farther and few between than I had expected. Overall, a strong character-heavy show with well written, directed and executed episodes. I can understand why FX president John Landgraf said he was proud to have aired the show.
About Last Night... A processing error at Nielsen delayed Tuesday's ratings and it is also delaying Wednesday's ratings. I will bring you last night's ratings in tomorrow's edition. For now, here's Tuesday's overnights. CBS easily won the first hour of the night with NCIS, followed by The Biggest Loser on NBC and ABC's comedy block of According to Jim and Rodney, although Fox's Bones had a slight edge in total viewers for the hour. At 9, ABC's Commander In Chief took the hour, followed by Fox's House and CBS's The Amazing Race. The final hour of the night easily went to NBC's Law & Order: SVU, followed by Boston Legal on ABC and Close to Home on CBS. For more on Tuesday's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~ (Tonight is the first night of sweeps, so it's a jam-packed evening)
@8 p.m. - Chris gets left in charge after a flighty babysitter leaves him with his siblings on UPN's Everybody Hates Chris. Over at Fox, The O.C. is back with a new episode tonight. Ryan makes a life-changing decision, Marissa turns to her public school friends for help and Summer and Seth go on a crusade to uncover Dean Hess's secret. Joey goes on Celebrity Poker after Alex teaches him Texas Hold 'Em on NBC's Joey. Tom Wopat joins his former Dukes of Hazzard co-star John Schneider for a guest spot on WB's Smallville.
@9 p.m. - Nina suggests that Andy and Jake seek counseling, Ephram learns that Amy might be seeing someone new and Harold helps Rose deal with her mayoral race loss on WB's Everwood. The CSIs work to determine whether a young mother's death was suicide or the result of foul play on CSI on CBS. Fox's Reunion returns tonight with the year 1989. A wedding brings out old rivalries as Samantha chooses between Craig and Will.
@10 p.m. - Jack and Danny travel to Mexico to search for a missing American tourist whose wife (guest star Alex Kingston) witnessed the abduction on CBS's Without A Trace. Clemente, Abby and Neela secretly tend to a VIP patient while Dubenko tortures the staff from home with a robotic television camera on NBC's ER.
QUICK CUTS
*Dawson's Creek creator Kevin Williamson is getting back in the TV business after a string of movie projects. UPN has given him a pilot commitment for a new spec script he wrote about a troubled teen who moves to Palm Springs and finds that there are plenty of secrets lurking around. The show will join UPN's critically acclaimed Everybody Hates Chris and Veronica Mars, the latter of which Williamson called his favorite show on the air. He will serve as executive producer on the project.
*CBS is entering the cable sports arena with its purchase of CSTV (College Sports Television). Chairman of CBS and Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Viacom Inc. Leslie Moonves made the announcement about the network's acquisition of the all college athletics cable entity. The acquisition will include a digital cable network featuring 30 men's and women's college sports events, regional college sports networks that will launch in 2006 and online properties featuring 250 official college athletics web sites. The purchase is expected to go through in January of next year.
*And finally, the delayed (on my part, not Nielsen's) weekly ratings are in and it was another win for CBS in total viewers and the 18-49 year old group. The eye network was led by a repeat of CSI (#1), Without A Trace (#2), CSI: Miami (#4), NCIS (#5), Survivor (#6) and Two and a Half Men (#7). Fox's MLB coverage landed two spots in the top 10 (#3, #9). Over at ABC, Grey's Anatomy was the only show to land a top 10 spot (#8). For more on last week's ratings, visit USA Today.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Everwood (how will Ephram take the news about Amy? And how hilarious does that therapy scene with Jake and Andy look?), Everybody Hates Chris (no Alias tonight, so I'll be watching this awesome comedy) and Without A Trace (yeah, I'm choosing to watch this tonight and save CSI for the weekend because this episode sounds Danny-centric and I'm all excited!). Plus, all the latest television news!
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
When it Rains it Pours on the 'Race!' Plus a Shocking Shootout on 'SVU!'
Another Tuesday evening of primetime, another Wednesday edition filled with The Amazing Race and Law & Order: SVU. Starting with The Amazing Race, the teams hurried out of the gate to find a bus station where they would sign up for one of three departure times to Costa Rica. The Paolos were the first to arrive at the Pit Stop, so they were the first to leave as well. As per usual, it didn't take long for them to burst into their first fight of the leg. And wouldn't you know, it was over the clue - AGAIN! Every week they argue over whether they are missing part of the clue and somehow Marion always gets blamed. The Paolos managed to sign up for the first bus, as did the Linz family. The Gaghans and the Weavers snagged the second bus, even though the Linz family and the Paolo family tried to get the Weavers on the last bus. I'm really not sure why so many of the teams dislike the Weavers. They're mildly annoying, but I'm really not seeing the hate and contempt. I know they told the Linz's boat operator to drive slowly last week, but this is a race. Aren't you supposed to do what you can to get an advantage? Anyway, the Bransens and the Godlewskis (backpackless because of the non-elimination round last week) landed on the third bus. Once in Costa Rica, the teams had to make their way to a Volcano park and drive up to the rim to get the next clue. Of course, the park was closed and all the teams caught up.
The next morning, there was a mad dash for the clue box, with one of the Linz brothers coming out on top. The teams then made their way to Doka Estate where they encountered the first Yield of the race. Not surprisingly, many of the teams planned on yielding the Weavers, but the Paolos got there first , yielded the Weavers and then headed to the Roadblock. One member of each team had to search through 800 pounds of coffee beans until they found the red one. Most of the teams easily completed the task, but Tammy Gaghan struggled and struggled and then struggled some more. Meanwhile, the Weavers made their way to the Yield and found the bad news, but they decided to keep their spirits up and in the most Christian way - by making fun of the pictures of the other teams. One of the Weaver daughters found it hysterical that the Paolos were standing in front of a garbage truck in their photo. After the time ran out on their Yield, the Weavers quickly found the red bean while the Gaghans still struggled. Finally, Tammy found it.
It was onto the Detour where teams chose between loading 15 bundles of bananas onto a pulley system or crossing some extremely high footbridges through the rainforest and finding some Mayan relics. The Godlewskis had another breakdown on the way to the Detour, this time over who should be driving. It was not on the same scale as the "baypayck" crisis of a couple episodes ago, but funny all the same. The Paolos chose the bananas, and DJ, who always gives his mother a hard time for slowing down the team, found himself eating some of his bitter words. As other members of his team were loading the bundles of bananas, DJ called out to Tony, "I can't lift these, Dad." I don't know why I found this so funny, maybe it's because of DJ's constant rudeness and arguing or maybe it's his constant yelling at his mother, but somehow, this was hysterical! So, a bundle of bananas gets the better of DJ Paolo. Meanwhile, the other teams easily completed the Mayan relic Detour. The Weavers were leaving just as the Gaghans were pulling up to begin the Detour. It was beginning to look like the Gaghans were sunk. Not so fast! The Weavers had a breakdown over their stuck vehicle (seems it couldn't get out of the muddy grass), but just when we thought all hope was lost and the Weavers would be forever stuck in Costa Rica, the van suddenly became unstuck. The Gaghans completed the task and decided not to give up because other teams might have gotten lost on the way to the Pit Stop. Cue the perennially lost Paolos, who were of course, lost. No matter, though, because they soon found the Pit Stop and found themselves in a foot race with the Linz and Bransen families. The Paolos finished in first and Phil got his weekly bear hug from Papa Paolo, which I think Phil is starting to enjoy. The Gaghans finished last and were eliminated from the race.
Last night's Law & Order: SVU was quite surprising. First, we learn about the gun shop's seedy basement Nazi meetings, then we learn that the school shooting was related to said Nazi meetings, then there's a shootout in the courthouse where the judge and a few others end up dead (yeah, I wasn't too thrilled with the obvious parallel to the Atlanta courthouse shootings either, but this is Dick "Ripped from the Headlines" Wolf), then we find out that one of the Nazi members is really a Federal Agent undercover and then for the real shocker. The white adopted parents of the little African American boy killed in the school shooting were not as broken up or sad as they seemed because they orchestrated the entire plan so they could collect the $750,000 life insurance policy they took out on him (apparently the reason they chose an African American boy). Yeah, it was really sick. In the chaos of the courthouse shooting, both Stabler and Munch got shot, but both will recover.
About Last Night... Nielsen has delayed the ratings today, so I will bring them to you tomorrow along with tonight's overnights. If you would like to get them sooner, you can keep checking Zap2it, as they will update as soon as they get them. Sorry for the inconvenience.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - JT must decipher the clue in order to find his girlfriend on NBC's E-Ring. The episode is the first of a two-part storyline.
@9 p.m. - If you missed the 2nd season premiere of UPN's Veronica Mars, here's your chance to tune in and see what you're missing. There's no new Lost again this week, so it's a perfect time to acquaint yourself with this season's intriguing mystery on the other best show on television.
@10 p.m. - A wealthy man is shot inside an elevator on CBS's CSI: NY. The Law & Order team works to solve whether an abusive mother was illegally sterilized tonight on NBC. Is it just me, or are these two shows screaming for a crossover? It could air simultaneously on both networks since they share the timeslot. Ok that's what I thought, it's just me.
QUICK CUTS
*FX is closing the book on Over There after evaluating the show's ratings performance. The war drama started out strong, but faded over the remaining weeks of its 13-episode run. FX president John Landgraf issued a statement on the difficult decision saying, "I'm deeply proud of Over There, which was beautifully produced, acted, written and directed. The series was arguably the most critically acclaimed new television show of the year, a fact which made the decision not to renew it all the more difficult." The drama focused on the daily lives of a group of soldiers in Iraq, their families back home and a soldier struggling to deal with his new amputee status.
*NBC Universal is unveiling plans for a new cable network devoted to crime junkies of the fictional variety. The new SLEUTH network will air reruns of shows like Miami Vice and The A-Team and movies such as Casino, Scarface, and Sneakers. The new channel launches January 1st.
*And finally, beginning today, you can catch episodes of the new CBS sci/fi thriller Threshold on CBS.com. The free streaming video episodes are commercial free and will be available for a three-day window only. Currently, the web site is showing the September 23rd episode. This Friday's episode will debut on the site November 9th.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for final thoughts on the now canceled Over There and all the latest television news!
The next morning, there was a mad dash for the clue box, with one of the Linz brothers coming out on top. The teams then made their way to Doka Estate where they encountered the first Yield of the race. Not surprisingly, many of the teams planned on yielding the Weavers, but the Paolos got there first , yielded the Weavers and then headed to the Roadblock. One member of each team had to search through 800 pounds of coffee beans until they found the red one. Most of the teams easily completed the task, but Tammy Gaghan struggled and struggled and then struggled some more. Meanwhile, the Weavers made their way to the Yield and found the bad news, but they decided to keep their spirits up and in the most Christian way - by making fun of the pictures of the other teams. One of the Weaver daughters found it hysterical that the Paolos were standing in front of a garbage truck in their photo. After the time ran out on their Yield, the Weavers quickly found the red bean while the Gaghans still struggled. Finally, Tammy found it.
It was onto the Detour where teams chose between loading 15 bundles of bananas onto a pulley system or crossing some extremely high footbridges through the rainforest and finding some Mayan relics. The Godlewskis had another breakdown on the way to the Detour, this time over who should be driving. It was not on the same scale as the "baypayck" crisis of a couple episodes ago, but funny all the same. The Paolos chose the bananas, and DJ, who always gives his mother a hard time for slowing down the team, found himself eating some of his bitter words. As other members of his team were loading the bundles of bananas, DJ called out to Tony, "I can't lift these, Dad." I don't know why I found this so funny, maybe it's because of DJ's constant rudeness and arguing or maybe it's his constant yelling at his mother, but somehow, this was hysterical! So, a bundle of bananas gets the better of DJ Paolo. Meanwhile, the other teams easily completed the Mayan relic Detour. The Weavers were leaving just as the Gaghans were pulling up to begin the Detour. It was beginning to look like the Gaghans were sunk. Not so fast! The Weavers had a breakdown over their stuck vehicle (seems it couldn't get out of the muddy grass), but just when we thought all hope was lost and the Weavers would be forever stuck in Costa Rica, the van suddenly became unstuck. The Gaghans completed the task and decided not to give up because other teams might have gotten lost on the way to the Pit Stop. Cue the perennially lost Paolos, who were of course, lost. No matter, though, because they soon found the Pit Stop and found themselves in a foot race with the Linz and Bransen families. The Paolos finished in first and Phil got his weekly bear hug from Papa Paolo, which I think Phil is starting to enjoy. The Gaghans finished last and were eliminated from the race.
Last night's Law & Order: SVU was quite surprising. First, we learn about the gun shop's seedy basement Nazi meetings, then we learn that the school shooting was related to said Nazi meetings, then there's a shootout in the courthouse where the judge and a few others end up dead (yeah, I wasn't too thrilled with the obvious parallel to the Atlanta courthouse shootings either, but this is Dick "Ripped from the Headlines" Wolf), then we find out that one of the Nazi members is really a Federal Agent undercover and then for the real shocker. The white adopted parents of the little African American boy killed in the school shooting were not as broken up or sad as they seemed because they orchestrated the entire plan so they could collect the $750,000 life insurance policy they took out on him (apparently the reason they chose an African American boy). Yeah, it was really sick. In the chaos of the courthouse shooting, both Stabler and Munch got shot, but both will recover.
About Last Night... Nielsen has delayed the ratings today, so I will bring them to you tomorrow along with tonight's overnights. If you would like to get them sooner, you can keep checking Zap2it, as they will update as soon as they get them. Sorry for the inconvenience.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - JT must decipher the clue in order to find his girlfriend on NBC's E-Ring. The episode is the first of a two-part storyline.
@9 p.m. - If you missed the 2nd season premiere of UPN's Veronica Mars, here's your chance to tune in and see what you're missing. There's no new Lost again this week, so it's a perfect time to acquaint yourself with this season's intriguing mystery on the other best show on television.
@10 p.m. - A wealthy man is shot inside an elevator on CBS's CSI: NY. The Law & Order team works to solve whether an abusive mother was illegally sterilized tonight on NBC. Is it just me, or are these two shows screaming for a crossover? It could air simultaneously on both networks since they share the timeslot. Ok that's what I thought, it's just me.
QUICK CUTS
*FX is closing the book on Over There after evaluating the show's ratings performance. The war drama started out strong, but faded over the remaining weeks of its 13-episode run. FX president John Landgraf issued a statement on the difficult decision saying, "I'm deeply proud of Over There, which was beautifully produced, acted, written and directed. The series was arguably the most critically acclaimed new television show of the year, a fact which made the decision not to renew it all the more difficult." The drama focused on the daily lives of a group of soldiers in Iraq, their families back home and a soldier struggling to deal with his new amputee status.
*NBC Universal is unveiling plans for a new cable network devoted to crime junkies of the fictional variety. The new SLEUTH network will air reruns of shows like Miami Vice and The A-Team and movies such as Casino, Scarface, and Sneakers. The new channel launches January 1st.
*And finally, beginning today, you can catch episodes of the new CBS sci/fi thriller Threshold on CBS.com. The free streaming video episodes are commercial free and will be available for a three-day window only. Currently, the web site is showing the September 23rd episode. This Friday's episode will debut on the site November 9th.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for final thoughts on the now canceled Over There and all the latest television news!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
These TV Pairings were Meant 2B! Plus, What's New on TV Tonight? Find Out in Primetime Pass!
Sweeps month starts Thursday, and we all know what that means in terms of your favorite shows bringing out the big guns (i.e. guest stars, stunts, crazy plots, etc). But, it can also mean the beginning or end of some beautiful relationships. So, with the spirit of sweeps in mind, here's a list of some of my favorite TV pairings and some that I can only hope will someday come true.
Amy/Ephram (Everwood) - The writers have been toying with us ever since this show began. Now in its fourth season, Everwood continues to play with the idea of bringing these two together once and for all. Sure, they spent most of last season together, but you knew the relationship was doomed from the moment we learned the season before that Madison was pregnant. Amy and Ephram have been through a lot together between Colin's multiple surgeries and eventual death to Madison's pregnancy, and they have always maintained a close friendship. Even now while they are trying to keep their distance, they still end up coming back to each other. Now might not be the right time for a reconciliation, but I still hold out hope that these two will end up together in the end.
Veronica/Logan (Veronica Mars) - These two just seem so much more suited for each other than she and Duncan. Plus, let's face it, Duncan is boring. He and Veronica don't have the fire and chemistry that she has with Logan. But, I don't think they should be swapping spit right now. Logan is in a dark place, and he's not dealing with everything very well. He's no good to himself or Veronica. She needs to wait him out. Besides, if these two got together now, there wouldn't be all the fabulous tension and storylines that the second season is bringing us so far.
Allison/Joe (Medium) - These two have the most realistic relationship on television. Everything with them is a bit of give and take. Joe feels neglected because Allison is so devoted to her work (like she has a choice), but deep down he has a lot if understanding and forgiveness. Allison feels guilty because she isn't there more for her family. She falls behind in household duties, and Joe is right there to step in, not because he wants to, but because he cares about her. Sure, they fight, but they always know that in the end they have each other.
Olivia/Elliot (Law & Order: SVU) - Before everyone freaks out, I'm not suggesting in a romantic way. These two work very well together when the writers actually allow them to share an episode. I love the way Olivia isn't afraid to call Elliot on his temper, but she's also the first one to lend a shoulder and an ear when he needs one. They make great working partners.
Veronica/Keith (Veronica Mars) - By far the coolest father/daughter pair on television! When these two combine their clever talents and quick wit no mystery goes unsolved. They also play off of each other nicely when they're just being a normal father and daughter. I love the way Veronica thinks she can outsmart him, and he always brings her back down to reality, especially in this season's "Green Eyed Monster" when he told her he knew about her spending the night at her boyfriend's hotel room. "You're not that clever, Veronica." Great line, and great relationship!
Harold/Rose (Everwood) - These two are so supportive of each other, and yet, so willing to put the other back in line as soon as he or she steps out. They've raised two children together, dealt with the demise of Harold's practice, gone through Amy's depression and now they are facing Rose's cancer. They both got the best news ever last week when Rose found out that she was cancer free. Harold's range of emotions throughout the entire ordeal was both touching and realistic, and Rose's can-do attitude in the face of such an ugly enemy was courageous and admirable. That's just part of what makes these two so great, they compliment each other so nicely.
Well, there's my list. Who would you include on yours? Who did I leave out? Be sure to leave me a comment with your thoughts.
About Last Night... ABC won the first hour of the night with Wife Swap (football on the West Coast), followed by repeats of The King of Queens and How I Met Your Mother on CBS and a repeat of Medium on NBC. At 9, Monday Night Football led the hour on ABC, followed by repeats of Two and a Half Men and Out of Practice on CBS and a new episode of Fox's Prison Break. The final hour of the night went to football on ABC, followed by a repeat of CSI Miami on CBS and a Medium repeat on NBC. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Brennan and Booth track a cannibal after finding human remains inside a black bear on the return of Fox's Bones. A 6 year old boy reports that his Navy liaison father has been kidnapped on CBS's NCIS.
@9 p.m. - A Yielded team and an exciting foot race to the mat highlight tonight's The Amazing Race on CBS. Fox welcomes back hit medical drama House with a frustrating case of a man willing to die in order to further his social cause.
@10 p.m. - Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden guest stars on NBC's Law & Order: SVU. The detectives investigate a school shooting that turns out to be racially motivated. Shore sues the U.S. government over a soldier who was wrongfully killed in Iraq while the rest of the firm deals with a Halloween pageant at a local school on ABC's Boston Legal.
QUICK CUTS
*NBC plans to bring back reality show Fear Factor next month. The show will take over the Tuesday 8 p.m. slot after The Biggest Loser has its finale at the end of November. The 6th season of Fear Factor will have a few changes including a new team designing stunts, a multi-episode arc involving reality stars and a Home Invasion segment where host Joe Rogan travels to people's homes and challenges them to do stunts with a $5000 prize at stake. The show will return December 6th.
*ABC is giving hit Grey's Anatomy the prime spot after the Super Bowl this season. The alphabet network is airing the football ratings behemoth this season and will air a new episode of the medical drama as soon as the game ends. Past shows that have aired after the Super Bowl have garnered huge audiences for their respective networks. The Super Bowl and its post show episode of Grey's Anatomy air February 5th on ABC.
*And finally, Fox's Arrested Development is on a brief production hiatus while the show's star Jason Bateman undergoes throat surgery. The show will continue to run new episodes during the month of November and Bateman is expected to be fine.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for The Amazing Race and Law & Order: SVU. Plus all the latest television news!
Amy/Ephram (Everwood) - The writers have been toying with us ever since this show began. Now in its fourth season, Everwood continues to play with the idea of bringing these two together once and for all. Sure, they spent most of last season together, but you knew the relationship was doomed from the moment we learned the season before that Madison was pregnant. Amy and Ephram have been through a lot together between Colin's multiple surgeries and eventual death to Madison's pregnancy, and they have always maintained a close friendship. Even now while they are trying to keep their distance, they still end up coming back to each other. Now might not be the right time for a reconciliation, but I still hold out hope that these two will end up together in the end.
Veronica/Logan (Veronica Mars) - These two just seem so much more suited for each other than she and Duncan. Plus, let's face it, Duncan is boring. He and Veronica don't have the fire and chemistry that she has with Logan. But, I don't think they should be swapping spit right now. Logan is in a dark place, and he's not dealing with everything very well. He's no good to himself or Veronica. She needs to wait him out. Besides, if these two got together now, there wouldn't be all the fabulous tension and storylines that the second season is bringing us so far.
Allison/Joe (Medium) - These two have the most realistic relationship on television. Everything with them is a bit of give and take. Joe feels neglected because Allison is so devoted to her work (like she has a choice), but deep down he has a lot if understanding and forgiveness. Allison feels guilty because she isn't there more for her family. She falls behind in household duties, and Joe is right there to step in, not because he wants to, but because he cares about her. Sure, they fight, but they always know that in the end they have each other.
Olivia/Elliot (Law & Order: SVU) - Before everyone freaks out, I'm not suggesting in a romantic way. These two work very well together when the writers actually allow them to share an episode. I love the way Olivia isn't afraid to call Elliot on his temper, but she's also the first one to lend a shoulder and an ear when he needs one. They make great working partners.
Veronica/Keith (Veronica Mars) - By far the coolest father/daughter pair on television! When these two combine their clever talents and quick wit no mystery goes unsolved. They also play off of each other nicely when they're just being a normal father and daughter. I love the way Veronica thinks she can outsmart him, and he always brings her back down to reality, especially in this season's "Green Eyed Monster" when he told her he knew about her spending the night at her boyfriend's hotel room. "You're not that clever, Veronica." Great line, and great relationship!
Harold/Rose (Everwood) - These two are so supportive of each other, and yet, so willing to put the other back in line as soon as he or she steps out. They've raised two children together, dealt with the demise of Harold's practice, gone through Amy's depression and now they are facing Rose's cancer. They both got the best news ever last week when Rose found out that she was cancer free. Harold's range of emotions throughout the entire ordeal was both touching and realistic, and Rose's can-do attitude in the face of such an ugly enemy was courageous and admirable. That's just part of what makes these two so great, they compliment each other so nicely.
Well, there's my list. Who would you include on yours? Who did I leave out? Be sure to leave me a comment with your thoughts.
About Last Night... ABC won the first hour of the night with Wife Swap (football on the West Coast), followed by repeats of The King of Queens and How I Met Your Mother on CBS and a repeat of Medium on NBC. At 9, Monday Night Football led the hour on ABC, followed by repeats of Two and a Half Men and Out of Practice on CBS and a new episode of Fox's Prison Break. The final hour of the night went to football on ABC, followed by a repeat of CSI Miami on CBS and a Medium repeat on NBC. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Brennan and Booth track a cannibal after finding human remains inside a black bear on the return of Fox's Bones. A 6 year old boy reports that his Navy liaison father has been kidnapped on CBS's NCIS.
@9 p.m. - A Yielded team and an exciting foot race to the mat highlight tonight's The Amazing Race on CBS. Fox welcomes back hit medical drama House with a frustrating case of a man willing to die in order to further his social cause.
@10 p.m. - Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden guest stars on NBC's Law & Order: SVU. The detectives investigate a school shooting that turns out to be racially motivated. Shore sues the U.S. government over a soldier who was wrongfully killed in Iraq while the rest of the firm deals with a Halloween pageant at a local school on ABC's Boston Legal.
QUICK CUTS
*NBC plans to bring back reality show Fear Factor next month. The show will take over the Tuesday 8 p.m. slot after The Biggest Loser has its finale at the end of November. The 6th season of Fear Factor will have a few changes including a new team designing stunts, a multi-episode arc involving reality stars and a Home Invasion segment where host Joe Rogan travels to people's homes and challenges them to do stunts with a $5000 prize at stake. The show will return December 6th.
*ABC is giving hit Grey's Anatomy the prime spot after the Super Bowl this season. The alphabet network is airing the football ratings behemoth this season and will air a new episode of the medical drama as soon as the game ends. Past shows that have aired after the Super Bowl have garnered huge audiences for their respective networks. The Super Bowl and its post show episode of Grey's Anatomy air February 5th on ABC.
*And finally, Fox's Arrested Development is on a brief production hiatus while the show's star Jason Bateman undergoes throat surgery. The show will continue to run new episodes during the month of November and Bateman is expected to be fine.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for The Amazing Race and Law & Order: SVU. Plus all the latest television news!
Monday, October 31, 2005
Spend Some Time in the Wonderful World of Neptune! Plus, TV on DVD Monday!
The lack of new television last night provides the perfect opportunity for my final impressions and thoughts on the first season of Veronica Mars. I completed the remainder of the episodes in a mini-marathon this past weekend on a football road trip (gotta love laptops!). I would be remiss if I didn't comment on my final thoughts now that I have completed the season, so this will be my final edition dedicated to the first season of Veronica Mars. Just so you know, I'm going to try to keep my review spoiler free so that those of you who still haven't seen it can do so without knowing all the answers. If I do include a spoiler, I'll mark it. NOTE: Photos are all from UPN.com.
There are very few shows whose DVDs I collect. In fact, there are only two, but I will be collecting Veronica Mars. Season one of this show is one of the rare television events that you can literally watch over and over again because it's that good. I don't think I have seen a new show burst onto the scene this strong right out of the gate with an almost flawless freshman year. And from what I have been reading, it's having an even better sophomore season. The most recent issue of PEOPLE magazine gave it four out of four stars, an extremely impressive feat since PEOPLE's critics rarely give three stars, let alone four. So, does Veronica deserve such critical praise? Simply, yes. It easily weaves between a mystery caper show to a high school drama show and every where in between. I found myself as wrapped up in finding out who killed Lilly Kane and who rapped Veronica as I am with who was stealing all the 09er's dogs or whether the school election was rigged. That's the charm of this show - it manages to get you involved in all of its mysteries. I love the way it easily weaves through smart witty scenes like Veronica breaking into her father's safe to find he was one step ahead to more poignant ones like Veronica learning the truth about her rape at Shelly Pomroy's party. More than anything, this show has heart.
As much as I loved the mysteries of the week (some humorous, others more serious), I was completely wrapped up in the season-long intrigues. One of the advantages to watching the show on DVD was that I was able to flow from one episode to the other without long breaks, and I found myself constantly wanting to watch more episodes because of the well written and executed clues for each of the mysteries that carried over from episode to episode. Another intrigue show that I love is Lost, but I know that some complain that the writers don't give us enough answers surrounding the island's biggest mysteries, and there's a feeling of frustration. Unlike Lost, Veronica Mars wraps up the big mysteries at the end of season one, but manages to leave just enough to keep us coming back for season two. We learn everything through Veronica as she learns it, and every episode seems to hold another clue, even if it's just a small one.
The most famous mystery from this show is the Lilly Kane murder. Lilly was Veronica's best friend and the daughter of software billionaire Jake Kane and sister to Duncan Kane, Veronica's ex-boyfriend. She was found bludgeoned on her pool patio. Veronica's father, Keith Mars, was sheriff at the time and strongly believed that it was Lilly's father Jake who killed her. With no evidence to prove his case, Keith is run out of office and opens a private investigator business where Veronica works as a receptionist after school. Eventually, the new sheriff arrested and convicted someone else in the Lilly Kane murder, but Veronica and Keith believe the police have the wrong man, and thus, we are off and running on season one.
There are many more mysteries to Veronica Mars, and like intrigue show Medium, there is no point in trying to solve any of them. The writers will always surprise you with their clever and creative plots. This show has everything: strong writing, clever wit, creative mysteries, excellent acting and a charming, flawed and wonderful protagonist. I watched the first two episodes of season two that I had saved, and things are looking just as strong. **SPOILER ALERT (First 2 eps of Season 2)** I'm not sure how I feel about Veronica not working with her dad or her dad's run for sheriff, but the show is so good that it really isn't bothering me! **END ALERT** If you haven't had the pleasure of spending time in Neptune with Veronica and all the other wonderful characters, then run right out to your nearest video rental place and rent it. Or better yet, just go ahead and save yourself the rental fee, because after you watch it, you'll be running out to buy it!
Stand Out Episodes: All of them! If I have to narrow it down, I'd go with "Meet John Smith," "Silence of the Lamb," "Clash of the Tritons," "A Trip to the Dentist" and "Leave it to Beaver." The pilot will always hold a special place in my heart as well because it is one of the most brilliant pilots I have ever seen. It's rare to find a pilot that is actually a stand out episode for the series. OVERALL SEASON 1 GRADE: A+
STARTING NEXT WEEK... I'll be discussing Veronica along with Lost when they both return with new episodes. Yes, I will finally be caught up with the rest of America and ready to watch the episodes live! That's next week on Pass the Remote.
About Last Night... ABC won the first hour of the night with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, followed by a rerun of Cold Case on CBS and NBC's The West Wing. At 9, a rerun of ABC's Desperate Housewives won the hour, followed by Law & Order: Criminal Intent on NBC and CBS's movie of the week Vampire Bats. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy, followed by Crossing Jordan on NBC and Vampire Bats on CBS. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Simon takes Sandy to the hospital after she thinks she's having labor pains and he learns the truth behind her betrayal on WB's 7th Heaven. NBC hosts a three-episode marathon of Medium (all episodes are repeats).
@9 p.m. - The escape plan gets put in jeopardy when Abruzzi finds himself demoted in the prison hierarchy and the inmates dig themselves into a hole on Fox's Prison Break. Over at the WB, freshman show Related moves to its new timeslot. Tonight, Rose stars in her first play, but she has to be nude.
QUICK CUTS
*It's a Dukes of Hazzard reunion on the WB's Smallville. Series regular John Schneider will be joined by former Dukes co-star Tom Wopat on the November 3rd episode. Wopat will play a senator who comes to town to enlist campaign help from his old friend (Schneider). For more on the appearance as well as the antics the pair pulled on the set together, visit Zap2it.
*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for Sex and the City on store shelves tomorrow. The set includes the entire series' 94 episodes on 20 discs! Also hitting shelves tomorrow, The Brady Bunch (season 4), Fame (season 1) and 21 Jump Street (season 3). For more on tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for all the latest television news, Primetime Pass and find out About Last Night! Happy Halloween everyone!
There are very few shows whose DVDs I collect. In fact, there are only two, but I will be collecting Veronica Mars. Season one of this show is one of the rare television events that you can literally watch over and over again because it's that good. I don't think I have seen a new show burst onto the scene this strong right out of the gate with an almost flawless freshman year. And from what I have been reading, it's having an even better sophomore season. The most recent issue of PEOPLE magazine gave it four out of four stars, an extremely impressive feat since PEOPLE's critics rarely give three stars, let alone four. So, does Veronica deserve such critical praise? Simply, yes. It easily weaves between a mystery caper show to a high school drama show and every where in between. I found myself as wrapped up in finding out who killed Lilly Kane and who rapped Veronica as I am with who was stealing all the 09er's dogs or whether the school election was rigged. That's the charm of this show - it manages to get you involved in all of its mysteries. I love the way it easily weaves through smart witty scenes like Veronica breaking into her father's safe to find he was one step ahead to more poignant ones like Veronica learning the truth about her rape at Shelly Pomroy's party. More than anything, this show has heart.
As much as I loved the mysteries of the week (some humorous, others more serious), I was completely wrapped up in the season-long intrigues. One of the advantages to watching the show on DVD was that I was able to flow from one episode to the other without long breaks, and I found myself constantly wanting to watch more episodes because of the well written and executed clues for each of the mysteries that carried over from episode to episode. Another intrigue show that I love is Lost, but I know that some complain that the writers don't give us enough answers surrounding the island's biggest mysteries, and there's a feeling of frustration. Unlike Lost, Veronica Mars wraps up the big mysteries at the end of season one, but manages to leave just enough to keep us coming back for season two. We learn everything through Veronica as she learns it, and every episode seems to hold another clue, even if it's just a small one.
The most famous mystery from this show is the Lilly Kane murder. Lilly was Veronica's best friend and the daughter of software billionaire Jake Kane and sister to Duncan Kane, Veronica's ex-boyfriend. She was found bludgeoned on her pool patio. Veronica's father, Keith Mars, was sheriff at the time and strongly believed that it was Lilly's father Jake who killed her. With no evidence to prove his case, Keith is run out of office and opens a private investigator business where Veronica works as a receptionist after school. Eventually, the new sheriff arrested and convicted someone else in the Lilly Kane murder, but Veronica and Keith believe the police have the wrong man, and thus, we are off and running on season one.
There are many more mysteries to Veronica Mars, and like intrigue show Medium, there is no point in trying to solve any of them. The writers will always surprise you with their clever and creative plots. This show has everything: strong writing, clever wit, creative mysteries, excellent acting and a charming, flawed and wonderful protagonist. I watched the first two episodes of season two that I had saved, and things are looking just as strong. **SPOILER ALERT (First 2 eps of Season 2)** I'm not sure how I feel about Veronica not working with her dad or her dad's run for sheriff, but the show is so good that it really isn't bothering me! **END ALERT** If you haven't had the pleasure of spending time in Neptune with Veronica and all the other wonderful characters, then run right out to your nearest video rental place and rent it. Or better yet, just go ahead and save yourself the rental fee, because after you watch it, you'll be running out to buy it!
Stand Out Episodes: All of them! If I have to narrow it down, I'd go with "Meet John Smith," "Silence of the Lamb," "Clash of the Tritons," "A Trip to the Dentist" and "Leave it to Beaver." The pilot will always hold a special place in my heart as well because it is one of the most brilliant pilots I have ever seen. It's rare to find a pilot that is actually a stand out episode for the series. OVERALL SEASON 1 GRADE: A+
STARTING NEXT WEEK... I'll be discussing Veronica along with Lost when they both return with new episodes. Yes, I will finally be caught up with the rest of America and ready to watch the episodes live! That's next week on Pass the Remote.
About Last Night... ABC won the first hour of the night with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, followed by a rerun of Cold Case on CBS and NBC's The West Wing. At 9, a rerun of ABC's Desperate Housewives won the hour, followed by Law & Order: Criminal Intent on NBC and CBS's movie of the week Vampire Bats. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy, followed by Crossing Jordan on NBC and Vampire Bats on CBS. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Simon takes Sandy to the hospital after she thinks she's having labor pains and he learns the truth behind her betrayal on WB's 7th Heaven. NBC hosts a three-episode marathon of Medium (all episodes are repeats).
@9 p.m. - The escape plan gets put in jeopardy when Abruzzi finds himself demoted in the prison hierarchy and the inmates dig themselves into a hole on Fox's Prison Break. Over at the WB, freshman show Related moves to its new timeslot. Tonight, Rose stars in her first play, but she has to be nude.
QUICK CUTS
*It's a Dukes of Hazzard reunion on the WB's Smallville. Series regular John Schneider will be joined by former Dukes co-star Tom Wopat on the November 3rd episode. Wopat will play a senator who comes to town to enlist campaign help from his old friend (Schneider). For more on the appearance as well as the antics the pair pulled on the set together, visit Zap2it.
*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for Sex and the City on store shelves tomorrow. The set includes the entire series' 94 episodes on 20 discs! Also hitting shelves tomorrow, The Brady Bunch (season 4), Fame (season 1) and 21 Jump Street (season 3). For more on tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for all the latest television news, Primetime Pass and find out About Last Night! Happy Halloween everyone!
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