TVSquad

Early last month I posted a casting call sheet for the upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel show, Caprica. In that list was a call for Amanda Graystone, a "surgeon with a volatile streak to her" who is "something of a double agent." Well, you can scratch that one off the list of openings, as Paula Malcomson (Trixie of Deadwood and Jerri of John From Cincinnati) has been cast in the role.

My interest in Caprica hinges on how Battlestar Galactica concludes; will I really want to know more about how it all began? I could see them putting us in a place that has us craving for more, though it's likely Caprica is meant to stand on its own and without having to follow too many rules set by the BSG events. Hopefully I'm wrong.

First it was Deadwood, then it was John From Cincinnati. Now, it seems, David Milch has decided to get back to his cop roots with Last of the Ninth.

Last of the Ninth is a cop drama that focuses on the rampant corruption of the NYPD in the 1970's

(S01E10) We got three great things in what I suspect was the last episode of John from Cincinnati ever:

1. Dylan
2. The Zip is back.
3. Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Seriously though, to the three of us left watching this show, WTF?

Welcome to Subtle Subtitles. For those of you who are uninitiated to the purpose of this feature, we're asking you to come up with your funniest quote or description for what's going on in the screen grab we choose for the week. Winners are announced in the following Friday's contest.

1st place to DJ:

2nd place to Nik: "kYLe, wE haVe youR beLLYbuTton. LeAVe $55,000 bY thE rEcycLE bIN iF yoU wAnt t0 sEe it aGaiN. reGaRds, mR. yx. pS iT mISSes yoU."
3rd place to Bus: "Having a plumber as a father means you never get the race car bed you've always wanted."

This week, a scene from the latest episode of John from Cincinnati ...

(S01E09) Damn it. With Zippy out of the picture, I've got no one to talk to about this week's episode. Teddy? Bad Ass Teddy? Do either of you have any insight you want to share, or are you too busy getting ready for the annual Teddy Bear Picnic? If you're looking for a caterer, look no further than your own backyard. Ramon can grill up a slaughterhouse's worth of fatback in under an hour.

(S01E08) Zippy, Zippy, Zippy, can we talk? I'm hoping you can telepathically help me out here. You're the great "cruise director" after all. We've got two episodes left, and we're heading towards something big. Shaun is going to be "gone," Barry (and his buddy Teddy) are building a theater while David Milch yells mean things at them over "The Tennessee Waltz," Bill and Freddie have teamed up and John has gone all cosmic internet stalker with the help of a trance-like Cass. Help a sister out, Zip. What the hell is going on here?

(S01E06) Wow. Wow. Wow. That's it. That's the review. Wow. I think my brain blew a fuse. Last week's interminable bridge episode was totally worth it for this. The pay-off. Love it, or hate it. This is the show to be watching right now.

(S01E05) What was going on in this episode? I don't know Butchie instead. Is Zippy your personal Lord and Savior? I don't know Butchie instead. Would you keep watching this show if you weren't reviewing it? I don't know Butchie instead.

(S01E04) "Want to leave a message... on my face?" Classic. I'm officially forming the Steady Freddy fan club. I could use a lot less mega-whiny Mitch Yost and a lot more Freddy.

(S01E03) Let that be a lesson to you, young padawans. If you're going to get pierced downtown or any other place the sun don't shine outside of Saint-Tropez, it could come back to haunt you given any major religious experiences... or bonings.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7.
• At 7:30, FOX has a new episode of The Loop (another new episode airs at 8:30 and the series finale airs at 9:30).
• At 9, Disney has a new Hannah Montana.
• Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire perform together on a new Crossroads, on CMT at 9.
• HBO has a new John From Cincinnati at 9, then new episodes of Entourage and Flight of the Conchords.
• USA has a new episode of The 4400 at 9, followed by a new Dead Zone.
• At 10 there's a new Next Food Network Star on...well, you know.
• Lifetime has a new Army Wives at 10.
• Showtime has a new Meadowlands at 10.
• Also at 10: WE has a new Bridezillas.
• At 10:30, TCM has Martin and Lewis in At War With The Army.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has new eps of Saul of the Mole Men and Moral Orel.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E02) It's going to get harder and harder for Mitch and Bill to explain away the miraculous occurrences going on around them by way of their own neuroses now. Last week, Bill could chalk up Zippy the Wonder Bird's resurrection to his senility, and Mitch could decide that his levitating abilities came courtesy of a plumcot-sized brain tumor.

As I'm going over the other TV Squad blogger lists for their summer viewing, I realize there's a whole lot of nothing on TV during the summer, as if I needed anything to tell me that. Sure, there are some gems in there, but not much that gets me excited. Thank the lord for TV on DVD.

- Ghost Hunters -- Always a guilty pleasure of mine, and since last season things have improved. They've cut back on a lot of the drama that most of us just don't care about and seem to find some pretty interesting evidence most of the time, and the fact that these guys roam around my backyard most times (New England) makes it even the more interesting to me.

Julia will have her review of the new HBO series John From Cincinnati when it premieres after the Sopranos finale on June 10, but San Francisco Chronicle critic Tim Goodman has seen the first three episodes, and he's not impressed. In fact, he's depressed.

Goodman says that the heads of fans of David Milch's other show, Deadwood, will "explode" when they see this, that they would get rid of Deadwood just to air this show. He won't have his full review 'til Sunday, but on his blog, Goodman says that HBO made "a total blunder" and that the show is just "a total mess." Wow, I guess we'll have to wait for his full review to find out what he really thinks.

As I said yesterday, I'm going to give it a shot. I mean, the previews are just so bizarre that you have to check it out.

When all that controversy was going on with Deadwood, one of the reasons that David Milch gave for the show not returning (other than the problems he was having with HBO) was that he was preparing a drama titled John From Cincinnati. Now that show is coming together quickly. Rebecca De Mornay has just been added to the cast, which includes Bruce Greenwood (she'll play his wife), Austin Nichols (he's John and he's from Cincinnati), and Brian Van Holt (from Threshold).

The HBO show is about the surfing world in southern California. Nichols is a rich guy who comes to the area to take surfing lessons, and Matt Winston plays another guy who is coming back to the area to get even with someone for something that was done wrong to him long ago.