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
Posted Nov 26th 2009 1:48AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, So You Think You Can Dance
(
S06E18) I'm surprised how well
So You Think You Can Dance can cover up the fact that the first 30 minutes can be wasted in just finding out who the bottom three were. It felt like the two-couples-at-a-time technique worked better than having three couples up at one time. One thing I'm happy to see in the recaps are the slo-mo camera angles. Other angles only show up on
Dancing with the Stars when someone trips or falls.
Sure, the show could be completed in 30 minutes, but at least they filled the time with a strong group performance, ballet, and Shakira.
Continue reading Review: So You Think You Can Dance - 2 of 12 Voted Off
Posted Nov 26th 2009 1:34AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Glee
(S01E11) Distractions abounded in this latest episode of
Glee. Most of the characters were causing distraction or being distracted from the situation at hand, and we were back to most of the soapy aspects of the show. Teri and Quinn were both thinking about the baby, and Will and Finn remained as in the dark as ever. More on that and other complications after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Glee - Hairography
Posted Nov 25th 2009 8:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Sports, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Ratings, Reality-Free
One of the perks NBC has over the other networks when it comes to its football coverage is what's called the flex schedule. Unlike CBS and Fox and ESPN which get the games that are scheduled months in advance without regard for ideal match ups, NBC has the option of plucking a better game for the
Sunday Football Night in America broadcast. Hence the term, flex, as in flexible.
Thus far this season, NBC has had three chances to flip the switch and passed. However, on December 6,
NBC has chosen a Vikings/Cardinals game over a Pats/Dolphins match.
Continue reading NBC chooses Brett Favre over Tom Brady
Posted Nov 25th 2009 6:06PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Yes, it's that time of year once again. It's Thanksgiving -- yay, food! With the times such as they are, I'll admit to being more thankful on a regular basis during this year than many years gone by. I have a job (a few jobs actually), a roof over my head, money for food and bills, good friends, family, a bionic knee so I can be a bit like
The Six Million Dollar Man, and so much more.
But, since this is about television, I'm going to focus on what I'm thankful for in television and TV-related kind of things. We might share some items on the list, we might not. While the times might not be great for financial dealings, it's a wondrous time for television geeks like you and me. Or, maybe it's just me. So, exactly what am I thankful for? Read on.
Continue reading What Jackie is thankful for
Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:04PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Community, Cougar Town, Modern Family
You know, it's funny. When I started here I was a lowly IT guy with no girlfriend and lots of time on his hands to watch TV, even on Thanksgiving. Now I'm engaged, the editor of this site, and have to run around to so many family and friend-related events this weekend my head's already spinning just thinking about it. So I have a lot to be thankful for (and I just realized how friggin' long I've been here... wow).
But TV has always been a part of that equation, and it had no less of a role for me this year. So, in the TV world, here is what will make me thankful as I dive into the turkey tomorrow:
ABC's Wednesday comedy line-up: Against all trends, ABC rolled the dice and started a whole new night of comedy on Wednesdays. And while
Hank flamed out,
The Middle, Modern Family, and
Cougar Town look like they have staying power, both from a quality and a ratings standpoint.
Continue reading What Joel is thankful for
Posted Nov 25th 2009 2:29PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd
A couple of weeks ago, I alerted you folks to
the premiere of MTV's Jersey Shore, an eye-rolling show that promotes itself as a collection of the shore's "hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos." It's enough to make a Jersey guy like me nauseous.
In a shocking development, it seems like a national Italian-American group has a bit of an issue with this show.
UNICO has asked MTV to pull Jersey Shore even before it airs, calling it "trash television" that unfairly depicts Italian-Americans.
Ya think? Wonder if it was the fist-pumping that set them off? Or the drunkenness? Or the fourth-grade-level sentence structure the participants use? Or, maybe -- just maybe -- it was MTV's use of the term "Guido"
in the friggin' promo that got them upset. Not sure if I can put my finger on it.
Continue reading Surprise! Italian-American group offended by MTV's Jersey Shore
Posted Nov 25th 2009 2:04PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free
I figured I may as well make this list before I food-punish myself into a turkey-flavored coma this Thursday. It's true, television has gone through its ups and downs in the past year. A bit of residual anger still bubbles within me when I think of Jay Leno shuffling not-so-subtly around Conan O'Brien or the fact that I'll never be as daring or funny as the writers behind
Peep Show, but Thanksgiving is not meant for dwelling on silly things like that (it's what the rest of the year's for). Let's review my list of a few (TV-related) things that I'm thankful for, and then I promise I'll let everyone leave and stuff their faces.
Community: I've liked this show since the pilot and I'm thrilled to see it taking off. In the beginning, I enjoyed its snappy dialogue and overall attitude, but feared that it wouldn't find a direction until NBC got impatient and chopped it from the schedule.
Continue reading What Annie is thankful for
Posted Nov 25th 2009 1:04PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: News, OpEd, Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free
If I had a dollar for all the times I've written about
Oprah Winfrey in the past few weeks, I'd be able to retire. Well, the O is one busy lady. She's just booked another TV program. On Sunday, December 13, ABC will broadcast Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special. Set the DVR for 10 p.m. because that's when President Barack Obama will welcome Oprah into America's grandest national house.
Take that, Barbara Walters! Not so fast with that ascension to the upper echelon, Robin Roberts. Back off, Diane Sawyer. Oprah Winfrey has an 'in' with the First Family and that's why she's going to be visiting the Obamas for a tour of what the holidays are like at the White House. This is the first time
President Obama and the First Lady are having Christmas there, and it'll be all new to them.
Continue reading Oprah's going to take us to Christmas at the White House
Posted Nov 25th 2009 11:32AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
If you need more proof that the economic collapse is the real thing -- you know, other than your shrinking salary, skyrocketing medical insurance premiums, inability to pay off your credit cards -- here's a major sign.
Oprah Winfrey's decided not to do her annual Favorite Things show for the holiday season. That's right, after seven years of largesse,
The Oprah Winfrey Show has canceled the funfest of goodies.
Huffington Post has learned exclusively that Favorite Things was scrapped. It used to be a Thanksgiving week staple. The reasons are unclear, but it would seem incongruous to celebrate expensive robes, top of the line chocolates, camcorders and the like when so many people are out of work and in financial straits.
Continue reading No Oprah's Favorite Things in 2009
Posted Nov 25th 2009 10:25AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, NCIS, Reality-Free
I have to admit that when I initially heard that
Abby's character would be crossing over from NCIS to NCIS: Los Angeles, my reaction was meh. What could they possibly do that would make the transfer of the ultimate forensics goth geek from the cozy confines of her lab in D.C. to the high-tech, touch screen caravan in L.A. compelling?
Well, I tip my cap to Speed Weed (that has to be an alias!) for writing the episode, "Random On Purpose," which struck me as one of the best examples that
NCIS: Los Angeles is coming together pretty nicely. I could definitely see now how this show is evolving. More on that and the rest of the episode (including spoilers -- be warned -- after the jump).
Continue reading Abby's crossover to NCIS: Los Angeles was excellent
Posted Nov 25th 2009 9:26AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
This morning some good news leaked out sooner than expected, although I don't think it was that big a surprise to learn that
TNT is bringing Leverage back on Wednesday, January 13 at 10 p.m. Surprise news or not, it's still great to know that we have fresh episodes coming in early 2010.
There are six episodes of
Leverage left from season two, then the third season will commence in the summer. This set up is a lot like
The Closer, and you know how well that split schedule has been working. By the way, you do know that
split schedules is one of the things I'm most grateful about this holiday season, don't you?
Continue reading TNT sets return date for Leverage
Posted Nov 25th 2009 8:46AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, V
(S01E04) Well, that's it until March 2010. The most important thing that
V could do this week was to leave us hanging on the edge of our seats as to what's coming next. If the idea was to give us a sense of sheer hopelessness in the face of the power of the Visitors, then that's what we did.
More importantly, we got to see the genesis of the Resistance movement led by Jack, Ryan and Erica. It makes an even more powerful figure when you consider that at this point there are exactly four people -- at least that we're following -- taking on 29 Visitor ships with technology and power almost beyond our imagining.
Everyone loves a scrappy underdog, and you couldn't ask for much more than that. But it was great seeing them take some of their first strikes against the Visitors as a unit. This is the struggle, against near impossible odds, that will keep us glued to our seats.
Continue reading Review: V - It's Only the Beginning
Posted Nov 25th 2009 2:35AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, So You Think You Can Dance
(
S06E17) This week determines the top ten of
So You Think You Can Dance. We welcome the top twelve dancers and judging by the audience, Legacy and Jakob are the most loved. With
Dancing with the Stars ending this week, I'm happy that I can devote more time to this show because the dancing is a higher caliber and it isn't just a celebrity popularity contest.
Tonight we got to see the first Can Can and the return of the Lindy Hop. I am happy that the show continues to break the boundaries of dance and shine a light on new choreographers.
Continue reading Review: So You Think You Can Dance - Top 12 Perform
Posted Nov 25th 2009 2:20AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, The Biggest Loser, Episode Reviews
(S08E11) It was a big week, as the remaining five contestants settled in for their final week on the
Biggest Loser campus. With Amanda as a clear outcast in the group, she was feeling the pressure even more to stay above that yellow line. And big weeks aren't something Amanda is known for, despite a valiant nine-pound loss last week. She's never seen double digits and spent most of the season hovering around six pounds a week.
However, as one of the smallest contestants in the game, those numbers can make a difference when it comes to her percentages. Liz, Allen, Rudy and Danny have all developed a tight bond over the past ten weeks, and you just know their dream was for Amanda to slip below so they could send her home and preserve their foursome into the Semi-Finals.
The week was big in a couple of other ways as well. Rudy with the potential to have the biggest on-campus weight loss in
Biggest Loser history, while Danny was in position to break a record of his own.
Continue reading Review: The Biggest Loser - Week Eleven
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