TVSquad

(S07E01) It seems like only yesterday when Monk, the ultimate obsessive compulsive Sherlock Holmes, began on USA Network, and now here it is the start of its seventh season. In all that time, for a man who doesn't like change at all, Adrian Monk has had to endure quite a bit of upheaval. The untimely death last April of actor Stanley Kamel, who played Monk's security blanket/therapist Dr. Kroger, was written into this premiere episode, in -- what I believe -- was a very subtle, graceful way.

Monk's sudden displeasure with his home is rooted in his discomfort in his life now that Dr. Kroger is gone. The ultimate egotist, in that Monk cares most for himself, Adrian is desperate to throw himself into work to avoid the irritating piano-playing coming from the little girl across the street and disturbing the sanctuary of his home. Kudos to the new therapist, Dr. Bell, for connecting the dots and quickly sizing up why Monk finds the music so displeasing.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet - Best of Ricky and Dave
• The Batman - Season 5
• Batman: The Animated Series - Gotham Knight and Gotham Knight Special Edition
• Cannon - Season 1, Vol. 1
• The Dog Whisperer - Season 3, Canine Makeovers, and Stories of Hope and Inspiration
• Fastlane - Complete Series
• I Dream of Jeannie - Season 5
• Jake and the Fatman - Season 1, Vol. 1
• Monk - Season 6
• Psych - Season 2\
• Shaggy and Scooby-Doo: Get A Clue - Vol. 2
• Soul Food - Season 4
• Spider-Man - The Hobgoblin
• Stargate: Atlantis - Season 4
• Teen Titans - Season 5
• The X-Files - Revelations

All things considered, the summer television season is off to a pretty good start. I've been enjoying My Boys, The Middleman, Fear Itself, and So You Think You Can Dance, to name a few. The schedules might be a little heavy with the reality programming at the moment, but that's changing soon enough. Over the next few weeks we have the likes of Eureka, Psych, Burn Notice, Stargate: Atlantis, Monk, The Closer, and Saving Grace all making their returns.

With those last two in mind, I thought I would point everyone to some handy recaps the fine folks over at TNT put together to get us back up to speed before the shows return on July 14th. Each of the videos manages to crunch the last season down to about four and a half minutes, and I've embedded them after the jump.

Variety has an interesting article up about the age demographics of certain TV shows. It seems that the average age of the television viewer has risen to the age of 50, outside of the key demographic of 18 to 49.

The oldest-skewing shows are NBC's Monk and ABC's Women's Murder Club. Interestingly, the ages on ABC, Fox, and NBC have been rising while CBS, which promotes to an older demographic to begin with, remains steady.

The study was released by Magna Global's Steve Sternberg. "The median ages of the broadcast networks keep rising, as traditional television is no longer necessarily the first screen for the younger set," Sternberg wrote.

(S01E05) It was the best of In Plain Sight, it was the less than best of In Plain Sight. For starters, the only carry-over from the previous episode was Marshall's arm in a sling. Hey, what about his nearly dying and Mary's emotional breakdown in the waiting room? The lack of follow-through was stunning.

Granted, this show isn't a serial, but I did expect at least a moment between Mary and Marshall that would connect back beyond her quip in the art gallery. It was too glib. Would it have killed them to have a moment? I can imagine a fight in the writer's room over this point and keeping it light and unemotional won.

(S01E02) "I'm as serious as a hefty bag full of Rottweilers." - The Middleman

One thing I noticed about last week's episode carried over into the opening scene of this week. When Wendy is "off the clock" she seems to always dress in very relaxed clothes; skimpy shorts, halters, etc. Her hot roommate not only enjoys the freedom that shorts and tanks offer but apparently has no problem with public nudity as well, especially if it's in the name of freedom. I'm not sure what these fashion choices mean but it's something I couldn't help notice.

I have a feeling Ida is going to be my favorite character on this show. Not because Mary Pat Gleason is a talented veteran actress but because she seems to have an endless array of functions. Not only can she produce a cup of coffee from her midsection but it comes in a to go cup with the logo of an imaginary coffee shop already printed on it. Very cool.

Either an Emmy isn't worth very much these days, or Hollywood actresses are finding that the publicity from spurning a nomination is worth more than the nomination itself. First Grey's Anatomy star -- and last year's Emmy winner -- Katherine Heigl removed her name from consideration for an Emmy in 2008, and now another has followed suit.

Lindsay Lohan is not submitting her Ugly Betty performance for Emmy consideration. What? You don't remember Lindsay's performance, those few minutes of a flashback when Betty recalls being used as a dodge ball target in high school? Yeah, Lindsay really put in Emmy-worthy work there!

This is so ridiculous when it comes to Lindsay. There was no chance she'd be nominated, so removing her name is a stunt. On the other hand, Heigl's move is a real slap in the face to the writers of Grey's Anatomy.

(S01E01) You know that commercial that says, "The real question is, when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?" Well, over at USA Network, the question isn't whether "Characters Welcome" is their slogan, it's "Do I want to welcome these characters into my world?" In the case of their newest drama, In Plain Sight, the answer is...I don't think so.

The series presents Mary McCormack (The West Wing) as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshal for the Witness Protection Program, living and working in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To say that Mary is a bitch is an understatement. She's aggressive and grumpy and hard to take. As the pilot played out, Mary showed glimpses of a softer side, a need to fix the problems of others that led to her career protecting and serving those in the Witness Protection Program. However, unlike USA's other quirky character dramas, In Plain Sight doesn't have the charm of Burn Notice, the wit of PSYCH, nor the whimsy of Monk. It may be that this pilot was just overstuffed with too much of Mary's life, but overall, there's not much in Mary Shannon's life worth watching.

What do you do when you're losing a race, coming in last in a field of four, and have to justify your dismal performance? You change the scoring. What am I talking about? When asked about why his network is doing so poorly in the ratings, president and chief executive officer of NBC Universal, Jeff Zucker told Television Week, "It's not just about the ratings anymore."

What? (Imagine that as said by the Aflac duck). Do you think he really meant it, or is Jeff just hoping that the advertisers won't mind that his primetime lineup is getting its collective butt kicked by CBS, ABC and Fox most every night on the week?

Just to be fair, Zucker explains that the ratings don't matter because the network is fulfilling the expectations of the advertisers. "We're in an era where - we've made a commitment to our advertisers to a schedule. Advertisers have an expectation. It's not just about the ratings anymore. It's about our relationship with our advertisers and what their expectations are."

Sometimes reruns from a cable series can do rather well on network television as a bigger audience pool checks them out. That wasn't the case with Monk and Psych.

The two USA network hits (often in the top 10 in the Nielsen cable ratings) didn't fare too well when NBC ran them on Sunday nights the past couple of months, so the Peacock Network is pulling the shows immediately. Fans of The Office will be happy to hear that NBC will air a two hour marathon of Office repeats in the 9 to 11 time slot. That is, until they decide to put another reality show at that time.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then a new Cold Case and two episodes of Dexter.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then episodes of Monk and Psych.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, followed by a new King of the Hill, the season finale of Family Guy, and a new American Dad.
• There's a new Everybody Hates Chris on The CW at 8, then new episodes of Aliens in America and The Game.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece.
• Also at 8: TCM has the 1965 special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music.
• At 9, Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors, then the season premiere of This American Life.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies, then a new Assy McGee.

Check your local TV listings for more.

One of the most eagerly anticipated new series from USA Network, In Plain Sight, will premiere on June 1st, a week earlier than previously announced. The Mary McCormack-Frederick Weller drama, the latest in USA's "characters welcome" campaign, was originally going to air on Sunday, June 8th, at 10 p.m., but that would have put the show up against two tough cable competitors -- the return of Lifetime's Army Wives for a second season, and History Channel's second year of Ice Road Truckers. This is USA's way of giving In Plain Sight a leg up on the competition -- unless Lifetime moves Army Wives and History moves IRT, respectively, to June 1st. Quick, who's going to blink?

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by a new Big Brother and the new movie Sweet Nothing In My Ear.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then episodes of Monk and Psych.
• At 8, ABC has the finale of Oprah's Big Give, then new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.
• The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris at 8.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece.
• VH-1 has a new Celebrity Fit Club at 8, then a new Rock of Love with Bret Michaels reunion show.
• Also at 8: TCM has The Naked City, followed by Topkapi.
• At 9, The CW has a new episodes of The Game.
• There's a new Iron Chef America on Food Network at 9.
• HBO has the series finale of John Adams at 9.
• Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors, then a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• At 10, Comedy Central has standup special John Oliver: Terrifying Times.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of Big Brother and Cold Case, then an episode of Dexter.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7, followed by new episodes of Oprah's Big Give, Desperate Housewives, and Eli Stone.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then episodes of Monk and Psych.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, followed by a new King of the Hill.
• There's a new Everybody Hates Chris on The CW at 8.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, then a new Masterpiece.
• Comedy Central has the live Night of Too Many Stars charity event at 8.
• Also at 8: ESPN has the Red Sox/Yankees game.
• At 8:30, Nickelodeon has a new Dance on Sunset.
• At 9, The CW has a new episode of The Game.
• HBO has a new John Adams at 9.
• Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors at 9, then a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• National Geographic has the special Human Footprint at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Dirt.
• Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 10.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of Big Brother and Cold Case and an episode of Dexter.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then episodes of Monk and Psych.
• At 8, The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, then a new Masterpiece.
• Nickelodeon has new episodes of Zoey 101 and Dance Sunset.
• Disney has two new episodes of The Wizards of Waverly Place starting at 8.
• Also at 8: VH-1 has a new Celebrity Fit Club, followed by a new Rock of Love with Bret Michaels.
• At 8:30, FOX has a new King of the Hill.
• At 9, ABC has a new Oprah's Big Give, followed by a new Here Come The Newlyweds.
• The CW has a new episode of The Game at 9.
• Food Network has a new Iron Chef America at 9, then a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
• HBO has a new John Adams at 9.
• Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors at 9, then a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• At 10, FX has a new Dirt.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies, then a new Assy McGee.

Check your local TV listings for more.