TVSquad

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

Glad I held off on getting the season one set of Banacek, as the complete series gets released on DVD tomorrow. I'm also interested in The Starlost, since I think it's something I haven't seen before but I've heard many things about (not all good).

Of course, you Sports Night fans are going to want the new 10th Anniversary complete series set, even if you have the old set.

• Adam-12 - Season 2
• B.L. Stryker - Complete Series
• Banacek - Complete Series
• Beauty and the Beast - Complete Series
• Click & Clack's As The Wrench Turns
• Edward the King - Miniseries
• Laredo - Best of Season 2, Part 1
• Mr. Bean - Best of Mr. Bean, Vol. 2
• My Name is Earl - Season 3
• My Three Sons - Season 1, Vol. 1
• The New Fantastic Four - The Impossible Man
• Numb3rs - Season 4
• Lewis Black's Root of All Evil
• Sports Night - Complete Series
• The Starlost - Complete Series
• When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions

Flashpoint premieres Friday, July 11, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, and yes, it's another cop show, but it sounds gritty enough to offer something interesting. The new summer drama stars Enrico Colantoni as Sergeant Greg Parker, Hugh Dillon as Ed Lane, David Paetkau as Sam Braddock, and Amy Jo Johnson as Jules Callahan.

The series follows the lives of a Toronto-based Strategic Response Unit (SRU), unique cops who go beyond the call of ordinary cops to rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs, handle state-of-the-art weaponry and, of course, risk their lives to save others.

I participated in a conference call this week with Colantoni, Dillon, Johnson, and executive producers Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Traverse. Some highlights of the call:

If you look at the Nielsen ratings each week, where you see shows like Survivor, NCIS, all of the CSIs, Two and a Half Men, 60 Minutes, Without A Trace, and Criminal Minds consistently in the top 20, this probably won't come as a surprise: CBS has won this year's May sweeps period.

This is the sixth year in a row that the network has won the period. It also helped that CBS had some big specials this year, including the Academy of Country Music Awards. And here's an interesting little factoid: CBS has the number one scripted show on five different nights: CSI: Miami on Mondays, NCIS on Tuesdays, Criminal Minds on Wednesdays, CSI on Thursdays, and Numb3rs on Fridays. The number one scripted show on Sundays is Desperate Housewives. As for Saturday, who the hell knows what's going on that night.

(S04E18) "I connected you to a dangerous terrorist in three links." - Charlie

I've got to say - four seasons into Numb3rs and I can't believe we got a story like this now. Brother vs. brother. As Alan said, it had to happen sooner or later. It's just such an obvious plot that I figured it would have been sooner. Better late than never I guess. That being said, I suppose we could have done without it. Blame the WGA strike, but this episode felt like a lot of stuff just randomly thrown together to make it sort of season finale-ish. Anti-climactic at best.

• ESPN has NBA Playoffs all night.
• At 8, CBS has the season finale of Ghost Whisperer, then a new Moonlight and the season finale of Numb3rs.
• ABC has the two hour season finale of America's Funniest Home Videos at 8, followed by a new 20/20.
• The CW has anew Smackdown! at 8.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• Sci-Fi Channel has two new episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, then new episodes of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S04E17) "I think if these were Travis Tritt fans, I might have better luck." - Colby

Sometimes I just don't know what they're thinking when they come up with stories for this show. Call me crazy, but the notion of a small rap label feud just doesn't strike me as something that the FBI is going to handle. And I do mean small. Besides the fact that the only real purpose that the case served was to play up the humorous stereotypes and clichés it created (like the scene with Larry and Charlie in the recording studio), I don't think it felt realistic. The music industry is far larger than the microcosm depicted in this episode and writers just hand-picked elements for this small, almost indie, rap label. I mean, c'mon - "2x4?" Really?

• At 8, ABC has the special TV's All-Time Funniest, then a new 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• A trio of end-of-the-world flicks on TCM starting at 8: Five, The World, The Flesh and the Devil, and On The Beach.
• Also at 8: Sci-Fi has two new episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, followed by new episodes of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica.
• At 9, NBC has a new, two hour Dateline.
• There's a new Man vs. Wild on Discovery at 9.
• VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever at 9.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S04E16) "It's not Heat?" - Colby, amazed that the Pacino/De Niro classic isn't Don's favorite movie

I think it's a given that sooner or later, every cop show is going to have an episode about religious cults. They're just so easy to make into a bad guy, especially with all the crazy stuff you always hear on the evening news. That's part of the problem though; that it is too easy to turn into an hour episode and things can get stale fast. You've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Fortunately, the folks behind Numb3rs must have realized this because this episode was way more than, how did Colby put it? A bunch of religious "nut jobs."

• ESPN has NBA Playoffs all night.
• At 8, CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer, then new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• ABC has the special 20/20: Secrets of the Sistine, followed by new episodes of Duel and 20/20.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• Sci-Fi has two new episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures at 8, then new episodes of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica.
• At 9, NBC has a new, two hour Dateline.
• Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild at 9.
• VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever at 9.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S04E15) "I don't like a guy who thinks a purple heart gives him a free pass." - Colby

Well there's something you don't see too often on Numb3rs - resurrecting an old case from a previous episode. Usually, this show is pretty self-contained. Each week it's a wrap. Despite the fact that the last time we saw Clay Porter was when he escaped, his story still felt finished. But the writers took one small detail about his past and turned it into a pretty solid episode.

• At 8, CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer, then new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• Sci-Fi has two new episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures starting at 8, then new episodes of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica.
• At 9, ABC has a new Duel, followed by a new 20/20.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with Garry Shandling, Phil Donahue, Arianna Huffington, and Matt Taibbi.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S04E14) "Good morning! This is Charles Eppes. I'm in pursuit of a burgundy-ish, sort of merlot colored...um, well, what kind of car would you say that is?" - Charlie

I've got to honest, and I never thought I'd say it, but I've really enjoyed the return of Numb3rs. I can't decide if it's just because we haven't had new episodes in so long or it's because these new episodes are actually better, but I'm loving it. I even gave up reviewing Numb3rs last season because it got so stale and I reached a point where I had nothing new to say each week.

Something has changed though. It's not because the plots are unique and different, that's for sure. This entire episode pretty much mirrored last week's ep of CSI. A gang boss up for trial was sending coded messages to take out key witnesses and enemies and in each show, the ADA in charge of the cases became the next target. On CSI, the boss was using his urine to tint pages of library books with messages. Here, we had a guy using chess lessons to send out his wishes. Other than that, same plot.

(S04E13) "...and dry erase boards. Lots of dry erase boards." - Charlie

Return of the nerds! It's been almost 3 months since we last saw an episode of Numb3rs, and I've been looking forward to it to be honest. Not because it's the best show on TV, but with all the crap that rolled out during the WGA Strike... well, you get the idea.

The episode began with a really well done montage that juxtaposed Don and his FBI team against Charlie, Amita, and Larry handling a lecture at CalSci. CBS must be really worried about maintaining old viewers and picking up new ones because the entire sequence could have easily served as the opening to the pilot episode for this show. It laid everything out - who was in charge, their jobs, attitudes. After the first commercial break, it was back to business though.

• At 8, CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer, followed by a new Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular and a new Numb3rs.
• NBC has a new Amnesia at 8, then a new, two hour Dateline.
• There's a new Smackdown! on The CW at 8.
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, followed by new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 9, ABC has the season premiere of Duel, then a new 20/20.
• FOX has a new Canterbury's Law at 9.
• At 10, Sci-Fi has the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica.
• Comedy Central has two new episodes of Comedy Central Presents at 10.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests Senator Arlen Specter, Robert Reich, Rep. Barbara Lee, Esai Morales, and Amy Holmes.

Check your local TV listings for more.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: 30 Rock, Desperate Housewives, Greek, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother , Numb3rs, Smallville and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)