Posted Sep 6th 2008 6:23PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Big Brother (US)
It may be raining on the East Coast, but everything is always sunny and hunky-dory in the
Big Brother 10 house. They're such a kind and loving group of hamsters, right? Well, if I made the comparison with the group we endured last season during the final four, I prefer Jerry, Dan, Keesha, and Memphis. Maybe not so much Jerry. At least he doesn't cry all the time like Sheila did. He sits and stares a lot. That's just odd and a little bit sad, too.
For the latest news from the 24/7 live feeds in the house, read beyond the jump. Show spoilers ahead!
Continue reading Big Brother 10: Live feeds report - September 6
Posted Sep 6th 2008 5:01PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, The Daily Show, Reality-Free
Although fake news hosts and correspondents are super wonderful and the folks running the equipment do marvelous jobs, there's a great amount of talent that often goes tragically unnoticed. Well, now is the time to adjust the limelight a little bit and focus on one of those groups. The newest issue of PRINT Magazine has an interesting look at the
graphics departments of
The Daily Show and
The Colbert Report, who consistently provide visually stunning and hilarious material that bring half the shows' funny.
Continue reading Some love for the fake news graphics departments
Posted Sep 6th 2008 4:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 7:30, ABC has the Sprint Cup Chevy Rock & Roll 400 race.- At 8, FOX has the season premiere of Cops at 8, followed by another new episodes and a new America's Most Wanted.
- Food Network has the special Kitchen Gadgets of the Future at 8, followed by Kitchens of the Future and Top American Restaurants: Bon Appetit Picks The Best.
- At 9, CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show.
- BBC America has a new Primeval at 9.
- Lifetime has the movie Grave Misconduct at 9.
- Great American Country has a new Grand Ole Opry at 9.
- Also at 9: Cartoon Network has two new episodes of Naruto.
- At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new Shin Chan, then new episodes of Bleach, Code Geass, and Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit.
Note: The
U.S. Open Women's Final has been postponed until tomorrow night.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
Posted Sep 6th 2008 3:01PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, 24, Reality-Free
Fox's
24 is taking a break from filming so producers can rethink the storylines for the upcoming season. The two-hour special for November is still in the can and shouldn't be affected by this.
This could be an example of analysis paralysis. Due to the writers' strike, the show was not broadcast at all last season. They had a year's break to think it through. They're having second thoughts about the storyline this late in the game? Considering the wait that fans have already had to go through (though no fault of the producers), this better be a kick-ass season.
Of course, the show isn't being broadcast until January and they already have plenty of material ready that wasn't broadcast due to the aforementioned strike. There is ample time to make whatever changes they need and have it ready for broadcast.
I do wonder what sort of enemy Jack Bauer will be fighting in the next season. I'm hoping for
Cobra Commander from the upcoming G.I. Joe movie.
Posted Sep 6th 2008 12:39PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Monk, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S07E07) Too often when a show reaches an anniversary, like say 100 episodes, the producers feel the need to mark the occasion with an extraordinary entry. That was what happened with
Monk.
To commemorate the 100th episode, they created Mr. Monk's 100th Case, and using a show within a show format, celebrated Adrian Monk, a modern day Sherlock Holmes. San Francisco's defective detective
Thank goodness it all worked! I was afraid we were going to get a clip-laden, down-memory-lane type of show with nothing remotely intriguing. No, writer Tom Scharpling and company were more clever than that.
Continue reading Monk: Mr. Monk's 100th Case
Posted Sep 6th 2008 12:23PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Video, The Daily Show, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
Before we jump right into things, let's take a moment to think about just how amazing these past two weeks of
Daily Show have been. The program has always been pretty solid, but both the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention have provided beautiful fodder for both Jon and the correspondents, who seem to have finally hit their stride. This particular group of correspondents works best when they're all teamed up, and it really showed during convention coverage. From Jason Jones and Samantha Bee sucking face in front of hapless interviewees to Rob Riggle and Wyatt Cenac grillin' up some arugula in an elitist parking lot.
TDS is taking another break next week and, boy, do they deserve it.
Continue reading The Daily Show: September 5, 2008 - VIDEOS
Posted Sep 6th 2008 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E13) The summer's officially over on
Swingtown, marked by Tom's Labor Day clambake at the shore, which turned out to also be a key party.
Now that the first season of the show has come to an end, it's clear that while they explored hot topics like open marriage, wife-swapping and group sex, the essence of the show was not titillation or a guide page by page through
The Joys of Sex. Swingtown was about the characters, three families and the changing times in 1976.
Questions, questions. Will Tom and Trina keep the baby? The Deckers are the open marriage couple and they've enjoyed the freedom to swing. But how amazing is it that they are the marriage that's in synch! They actually talk things out and share what they're thinking. You can't say that about the Thompsons and Millers.
Continue reading Swingtown: Take it to the Limit (season finale)
Posted Sep 6th 2008 10:04AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Psych, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S03E07) As we sometimes do with our reviews of Psych, let's start at the end rather than the beginning. No, not at the reveal, because that would be utterly daft of me. The end I speak of is the next to last scene of the episode. I don't know about you, but as soon as I saw Shawn wearing skates, waiting for Jules in the empty roller derby rink, my first thought was 'couples skate'. Lo and behold, a couples skate was announced, the spotlight was turned on, and 80s music began to blare from the speakers.
Continue reading Psych: Talk Derby to Me
Posted Sep 6th 2008 9:23AM by Brett Love
Filed under: Stargate, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E07) This week the Atlantis team sets out to prove that just because you make a sci fi show set in another galaxy, it doesn't mean you can't have an old fashioned zombie story. If that wasn't enough, this was also the much talked about episode with the all female team. That team included Nicole de Boer, and the returning Leela Savasta. How successful it was depends on how you feel about zombie movies to start with. For me, it was rather hit and miss. Some nice show mythology, mixed up with a monster of the week, and some bits that just fell flat. We'll get into it all, after the jump.
Continue reading Stargate Atlantis: Whispers
Posted Sep 5th 2008 6:20PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Big Brother (US)
When last night's
Big Brother 10 live episode ended, we were left with a Sumo wrestler in the living room. Now, you could wait until Sunday night to find out if he's still there. Perhaps they're having him go on a diet of BB slop to slim down. And, what about that luxury competition which could impact the game? You know, the one Julie Chen mentioned at the end of the show last night.
For the latest from the 24/7 live feeds, read on past the jump. Beware, there are spoilers on the other side!
Continue reading Big Brother 10: Live feeds report - September 5
Posted Sep 5th 2008 6:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
When CBS presented their upfront last May, one of the more intriguing dramas was a murder mystery/slasher film/whodunit about a wedding party on a Seattle island. It was called
Harper's Island and projected for mid-season. The preview played like a cross between
Ten Little Indians and
Twin Peaks to me, and I liked what I saw. I certainly plan on giving it a try when it shows up on CBS.
It's still slated for early 2009, only now the actor playing the groom's loud, fun-loving and duplicitous uncle is going to be
Harry Hamlin. He has been added to the Harper's Island cast as Marty.
Continue reading Harry Hamlin heads to Harper's Island
Posted Sep 5th 2008 5:05PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Here's who's on the late night talk shows tonight.
- Charlie Rose: RNC coverage
- The Daily Show: RNC coverage
- The Colbert Report: David Paterson and RNC coverage
- The Late Show with David Letterman: John Malkovich, Hayden Panettiere, and a tribute to Warren Zevon with Steve Earle
- Jay Leno: Eva Mendes, Chris Matthews, and Shinedown
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Taye Diggs, Sarah Jane Morris, and Black Kids
- Tavis Smiley: Elisabeth Bumiller
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Jerry O'Connell and Christian Lander
- The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Eva Longoria and Jamie Lidell
- Last Call with Carson Daly: Maria Menounos, Benjamin Nugent, and Local H (repeat)
Posted Sep 5th 2008 4:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 8, ABC, CBS, and NBC have the Stand Up To Cancer benefit.- FOX has two-hour season premiere of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8.
- The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
- PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
- At 9, NBC has an NFL Kickoff Special.
- USA has a new Monk at 9, then a new Psych.
- Discovery Channel has two new episodes of Discovery Project Earth at 9.
- At 10, CBS has the season (series?) finale of Swingtown.
- ABC has a new 20/20 at 10.
- Sci-Fi Channel has a new Stargate Atlantis at 10.
- History Channel has a new Shockwave at 10.
- Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Most Haunted.
- At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
Posted Sep 5th 2008 2:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Reality-Free
I'm sorry, but while I think that everyone is entitled to their opinion about "best this" and "best that" (not to be confused with "favorite this" and "favorite that"), sometimes such a list has some entries that just make you scratch your head so much that you have to throw the whole list away and start over. Case in point,
this list of the 10 Best TV Pilots from the new issue of
TV Guide.
While I'm not going to sit here and argue about shows on the list like
Lost,
The Sopranos, and
Alias, I am going to take issue with the inclusion of
Desperate Housewives,
The Shield, and
Football Wives. Honestly, are these true representatives of the best first episodes of TV shows? Forget about what the shows became (great shows can often have so-so early episodes), just the first episodes themselves. Was there truly anything special about
Desperate Housewives that would place it ahead of...oh, I don't know, 400 other shows in the history of television?
Continue reading TV Guide picks the best pilots (and gets it wrong)
Posted Sep 5th 2008 1:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: News, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Now that the confetti has been swept away, all the balloons popped, and the St. Paul cops are stowing their riot gear, it's time to recall the surprisingly eventful Republican National Convention in Minnesota. Is it really only one week ago today that Senator John McCain pulled a rabbit out of his hat and introduced little-known Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate? She's not little-known anymore. In fact, the 2008 Republican Convention is forever more to be remembered for her ascent, whatever her future portends.
Here's some other thoughts from the TV coverage of the RNC:
Media matters Having the two political conventions back to back was a plus for the TV pros. All the mistakes from Denver were rectified in St. Paul. The MSNBC set ups avoided train stations and noise interruptions. Splitting up Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews worked better, with Olbermann as the point man throwing the coverage to the other news pros. And there was less bickering and fighting, at least compared to the week before.
Continue reading Thoughts on the Republican National Convention - VIDEOS
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Giveaways reminder: Office, Eli Stone, Supernatural, South Park
Giveaway Thursday: Tickets to the New York Television Festival ... all of it!
I miss the media-friendly John McCain - VIDEOS
