Posted Nov 26th 2009 2:02PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Gone Too Soon
I'm not particularly thankful that I'm going to be having my very own battle of the bulge this upcoming week, but I am looking forward to good eats and seeing the family. The older I get, the faster these years wiz by, so it's important that we slow down and take the time to be appreciative of what we have, even if we might always want a little more.
This year, we made the jump from a 1997 model 27" Philips Magnavox television to a massive 52" HDTV. We also picked up a PS3, partially for the Blu-Ray player. So I'm thankful to finally be caught up with the rest of the world in television technology. Who knew it could all be so pretty?
More specifically, I think we're in a great era of television, even as viewer numbers continue to erode. There are just so many good shows on television, and thanks to DVRs and online streaming of those shows, we even have better opportunities to watch them. But what specifically am I thankful for
this year?
Continue reading What Jason is thankful for
Posted Nov 26th 2009 1:32PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E09) I'm so glad
Hank sucked, because it allowed me to establish a new two-hour block of comedy on Wednesday nights. Just substitute
Christine for
Hank, and then flip over to
The Middle and ABC for the rest of the night. What a satisfying night of laughs.
There was no Thanksgiving trimmings for
Christine this year; instead it was date night. And while the episode did fall victim to some predictable set-ups, it was still a lot of fun to watch. I particularly liked the twists and turns of Barb's date with Dave. She dragged Christine along to make sure Dave didn't propose to her.
Meanwhile, now that New Christine is pregnant, Richard is ready to woo her as well. But he needn't worry about cleaning up or even trying. Just get her into bed: that's where he really shines.
Continue reading Review: The New Adventures of Old Christine - I Love Woo, I Hate Woo
Posted Nov 26th 2009 1:00PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E09) While I'm not ready to declare that
The Middle is a superior sitcom to
Modern Family, if this episode is any indication, I'm ready to say that it's every bit as good. And funny! Man, was this a brilliant holiday episode. I don't know how Thanksgivings go at your house, but ours have gone very much like this one at times. With everyone busy, and family members having to work because they have terrible bosses.
I swear, it's like these writers haven't set this in Indiana, but rather in my own Midwestern backyard. And while things were traditionally set up, as we'd expect, for the traditional "sweet comedy" outcomes,
The Middle turned some of those conventions on their head.
They also showed us a new way to cook a turkey, though I'm not really sure if it would work all that well. And there's nothing wrong with Axl loving the can-shaped cranberry sauce. That's my favorite, too! Just slice it up and you're good to go.
Continue reading Review: The Middle - Thanksgiving
Posted Nov 26th 2009 12:40PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Cougar Town
(S01E09) Two things I'm starting to realize about
Cougar Town:
1) The more the show concentrates on the ensemble and less on Jules, the funnier it is, and
2) We really need to see more interaction between Courteney Cox and Dan Byrd.
This episode had essentially the same formula as the barbecue episode from a few weeks ago: bring everyone together under Jules' roof and let them bounce off one another. And it worked once again. Instead of a barbecue, of course, the occasion was Thanksgiving (in Florida can you have a barbecue three weeks before Thanksgiving). There's only one slight, itty-bitty problem with what went on this week. But it's a problem that I hope leads to some good things.
Continue reading Review: Cougar Town - Here Comes My Girl
Posted Nov 26th 2009 12:21PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
History Channel has a Pawn Stars marathon all night.- Syfy's James Bond marathon continues all night.
- TV Land has a marathon or Roseanne Thanksgiving episodes (starting at 9).
- At 7, Boomerang has The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't.
- At 8, ABC has A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, followed by Beyonce...I Am Yours and Paul McCartney: Good Evening New York City.
- CBS has a new "the season so far" episode of Survivor at 8.
- ABC Family has the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street at 8.
- TCM has To Catch A Thief at 8, then High Society.
- HGTV has 25 Great Holiday Ideas at 8.
- At 9, NBC has NBC's People of the Year.
- CNN has CNN Heroes at 9.
- USA has Elf at 9.
- Spike has TNA Wrestling at 9.
- Also at 9: Fine Living has Martha Stewart's Christmas Special.
- At 11, Food Network has a turkey leftovers episode of Good Eats.
- At midnight, Lifetime has a Thanksgiving episode of Frasier.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Charlie Brown, Lopez Tonight, Holiday movies & marathons
Posted Nov 26th 2009 11:30AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E09) You've gotta love the use of the dramatic flashback to lead us into the saga of Luke's birthday party. Not only was the affectation utilized well, it again showcased the love and support at the heart of this family saga. Opening us at the hospital the way they did also nicely gave the whole episode that feeling of inevitable dread.
At the same time, they smartly kept the number of people involved in the hospital conversations very small at first so that we would have no choice but to speculate which member of the cast would wind up there, and via what means.
Then, they just sat back and let events unfold as Phil and Claire put together one of the coolest -- and lamest -- parties in the history of television. And still they found a way to let everyone shine for at least a scene or two.
Continue reading Review: Modern Family - Fizbo
Posted Nov 26th 2009 11:02AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, News, Programming, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, Sons of Anarchy
Who doesn't love Thanksgiving? I'll be enjoying mine with all the usual staples: turkey, cranberries, cornbread stuffing, some weird brown thing my father attempted to make and my Mom's mind-numbingly good meliton dressing. I'm literally chomping at the bit to take that first of 227 bites of homemade turkey. I've gone through three remotes in the last hour.
But I have to come up with something to do after all the food has been ravenously devoured by that wolf pack I call my family. And rather than list 100 reasons for regretting life (because 99 of them would be "Why did I eat that?"), here some things I have to be thankful for instead.
Continue reading What Danny is thankful for
Posted Nov 26th 2009 10:05AM by Hemal Jhaveri
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free
Yes, I'm thankful for my family and my friends and my health and my job that is slowly but surely driving me into an early grave..blah, blah, blah. That's all the big stuff that we should be thankful for everyday. Now, let's talk about the little things that don't get mentioned around the table but should.
Fan Girls
I am probably the biggest lurker in the world. I never post on fan forums and I don't have a LiveJournal, but I troll fan sites for the latest dirt on celebs and shows I follow. And you guys never let me down.
Continue reading What Hemal is thankful for
Posted Nov 26th 2009 9:02AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Video, TV Squad Lists, Fringe, True Blood, Glee, Vampire Diaries, Lie to Me, Castle
Happy Thanksgiving! It's that time of year when we reflect on all the good things in our lives, and of course, my thoughts turn to TV. Let's take a look at a few things on the tube that make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Sexy vampires. Oh my, we got lots of them this year.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon's got nothin' on TV vampires. Eric Northman and Bill Compton from
True Blood are definitely at the top of my list. Pictured is that hunk o' steamy vamp himself, Eric, a.k.a. Alexander Skarsgard in real life. But we also got those lovely Salvatore brothers on
The Vampire Diaries. Elena certainly has some high-class problems, doesn't she? Steadfast Stefan or bad-vamp Damon? They both have their particular gifts.
Continue reading What Jane is thankful for
Posted Nov 26th 2009 2:44AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E08) "I am through with tortured relationships and unrequited crushes." - Joanna
Even though
Eastwick has gotten
the big ol' axe, I'll cover it til the bitter end, gosh darnit. I believe it has one more episode, which airs next week.
At this point, it seems kind of silly to invest more emotional energy into the show, but even though it's had some trouble finding its footing,
Eastwick has gotten consistently more interesting. In particular, I was looking forward to seeing where the romance and lust between Darryl and Roxie would go. It got a little more heated this week, and there's plenty of sparks there.
The crush Joanna had on Will seems to have all but vanished, and she seems cool with Kat going out with him. Kat, on the other hand, isn't quite sure what she's doing. When she saw Ray making out with another woman, her furor stirred things up and sent a piano, among other things, flying.
Continue reading Review: Eastwick - Paint and Pleasure
Next Page >
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
