Sam-related stories
Posted Jul 29th 2009 9:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Burn Notice, The Mentalist
Sometimes when I'm watching USA Network, I'm as tickled with the promotions for the shows as I am the shows themselves. That's saying a lot, because as a rule, networks are not very clever about commercials hawking their shows. However, USA is the exception to the rule. Just yesterday,
Kona wrote about the Psych promo that took a shot at
The Mentalist -- completely justified, too -- and here's another that caught my eye. It's a tribute to Monk.
This is the last season for
Monk, so USA gathered some of the stars -- in character -- from its other programs to give a little tribute to Adrian Monk. What a stroke of genius!
Continue reading USA scores with Monk tribute promo
Posted Jul 24th 2009 10:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E07) Burn Notice usually stays on the fun side of spying. This episode was all about getting back to doing a Robin Hood job, and since it tapped into Michael's psychology so perfectly, it added a good dollop of emotion to the fun.
And there was also that preview from last week that left fans gasping. Was one of the gang of three going down? Fortunately, in the world of spoilers and such, if that were true it would have been all over the net. Fortunately, it was all part of the con. More on that after the jump.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Shot in the Dark
Posted Jun 26th 2009 9:33AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E04) That pesky
Detective Paxson of the Miami PD continued to be a thorn in Michael's side, to the point that Michael decided it was time to extract her from his life. To get Paxson -- one royal pain in the butt who doesn't believe that Michael's one of the good guys -- Michael concocts a plan to help her close her case against Rick Matheson, a real bad guy.
Matheson was a one-note Rock look-alike, without Dwayne Johnson's charm. Mostly Matheson was a scumbag who deserved to be brought down.
Tommy, on the other hand, wasn't really a nasty moke. He was broadly hammed up by former
NYPD Blue star Nick Turturro, and turned out to be Michael's way into Matheson's organization.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Fearless Leader
Posted Jun 19th 2009 9:24AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E03) It seems as though everyone wants to be Michael's boss. Everyone but the CIA or the NSA or some other international spy agency, including whatever organization burned him in the first place. But characters like Carla last season or the rogue Management group at the start of this season, as well as Brennen, tonight's guest handler, they're all for Michael.
Seth Peterson was back as Nate, Michael's brother with a propensity for great-rich-quick schemes and getting into trouble. This time, though, he was a pawn in Brennen's game to get Michael to do his bidding.
Continue reading Burn Notice: End Run
Posted Jun 12th 2009 9:40AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E02) I love Sam Axe, which is another way of saying
Bruce Campbell makes watching
Burn Notice a pleasure. Especially an episode like this one that was all about the chemistry between Sam and Mike when working undercover on a case with a nut job criminal intent on leaving Michael swimming in a pool of his own blood.
It's not just Sam that keeps me coming back for more from this show, or the tense but compelling subtext between Fiona and Michael's "is it love?" relationship. By and large,
Burn Notice is smart TV. It shows me scenes I haven't seen before on other shows or on the big screen. More on the specifics after the jump, so if you don't want to know because you haven't watched yet, be warned.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Question and Answer
Posted Jan 6th 2009 11:02AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: House, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Reaper, Reality-Free, Burn Notice, The Mentalist, TV Squad Ten
Random House defines outrageous as
highly unusual or unconventional; extravagant; remarkable. It's as though they've been watching TV, and wrote their definition to fit some of the crazy characters on television shows today.
Oh, don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining. I love these larger-than-life characters, played to perfection by the talented actors who grace these roles. Some fit in perfectly with their surroundings, others stand out like a sore thumb amongst castmates. One thing they all have in common, though, is that watching them is pure entertainment.
Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker on The Mentalist)Jane doesn't quite have the social graces to blend into society, and that's why I love him. The frumpy suits, the obnoxious antics, and the constant pushing of the envelope make for some good TV. From card counting in the casino to reading Lisbon's mind; hypnotizing suspects to making a sandwich in a victim's home, Jane's done it all. Unconventional, to say the least.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Most outrageous characters on TV
Posted Jul 8th 2008 10:03AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: The Simpsons, Video, Retro Squad, Reality-Free, Cheers
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.
Even when it isn't at its greatest (which, for many fans, hasn't been since season 10) The Simpsons has still provided some great parodies of classic movies and television programs. For instance, in the season four episode "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" they did a great parody of the Star Trek movie franchise with Star Trek XII: So Very Tired. I still crack up everytime I see the scene where the severely obese Scotty is telling an aged Captain Kirk that he can't push the warp engines any further.
Continue reading Cheers: The Animated Series - VIDEO
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 2:22PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Video, TV Squad Lists, Reaper, Reality-Free
Reaper's back and I'm excited. If you are too, don't go looking for your fave show in its old time slot, Thursdays at 8:00 EST. It's got an all-new night and time, Tuesdays (tonight!) at 9:00 EST on The CW.
Now, why am I so excited about
Reaper's return?
1.
The DevilHe's suave, slick, sarcastic, and nasty -- I love him! Ray Wise couldn't have been a more perfect casting choice for this modern-day incarnation of Satan himself. From popping up at inopportune times to manipulating Sam's love life, The Devil wreaks havoc in such a subtle, funny way that you can't help but appreciate the underlying evil with the debonair facade.
Continue reading Why I'm excited Reaper is back tonight - VIDEO
Posted Jan 27th 2007 1:04PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, NBC, Cable, Celebrities
Man,
Top Chef has gained some serious momentum these past few weeks. The hazing incident, the
tight-lipped complaints about Padma, the crappy, producer-driven elimination of Sam in favor of an Ilan vs. Marcel match-up. (Got spoilers? Oh, yeah, but don't click
here unless you want to know who gets paprika-ed in the end.) Today's
Top Chef bombshell - Padma's a pothead, and I'm not referring to her affinity for Le Creuset cookware. According to our friends over at
Best Week Ever, Padma enjoys toking up on the set. Allegedly, this was a fairly regular occurrence.
Continue reading Has Top Chef's Padma got the munchies?
Posted Oct 24th 2006 5:50PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, ER, Celebrities
Poor Sam. First she breaks up with Luka, then she's kidnapped by her psycho ex-husband and is forced to kill him in cold blood. But things might be looking up for Linda Cardellini's character.
TV Guide is
reporting that Kip Pardue is being brought on to the show as a love interest for Sam. He'll play a resident nurse.
You might not know the name, but Pardue (real name: Kevin Ian Pardue - that's where the Kip comes from) has been in on several TV shows, including House and 7th Heaven, and in movies such as
Remember The Titans and
The Rules of Attraction. Here's
his IMDB page. The pics are all of the same person? He doesn't look the same in any two of them.
Posted Oct 5th 2006 9:03PM by Adam Finley
Back in the merry month
of May I told you guys that Comedy Central had picked up the pilot for a new series called
American Body Shop. Well, that has now expanded to ten episodes which are set to air in the summer of 2007. The mostly-improvised show is reported to be in the same vein as
Reno 911!, focusing on a repair shop run by Sam, a man whose employees include a receptionist named Denise; Rob, a mechanic; a phony thug named Johnny; and a mysterious Peruvian by the name of Luis. Based on the press release, the show might have more in common with
Reno 911! than just being improvised. The character descriptions and their quirks sound an awful lot like the deputies of
Reno: one says inappropriate things, one is a kind of ringleader who is always ignored, one always makes racist comments, etc. Hopefully it only sounds similar on paper. I like the concept, I just want it to be unique.
Posted May 20th 2006 11:31AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd, ER
(S12E22) I was sort of dreading this season finale. All week I had been seeing the coming attractions, and there was going to be yet another melee in the ER. Shooting, maybe an explosion or something, couldn't tell. This particular emergency room seems to get as much action as the front lines of a war.
But this episode was actually one of the better season finales the show has ever had. A bit crazy, but well done and rather suspenseful, with more than one plot twist I didn't see coming at all.
Continue reading ER: Twenty-One Guns (finale)
Posted Mar 15th 2006 8:03AM by Ryan j Budke
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, FOX, OpEd, Reunion, Web
Remember way back in December of 2005 when Fox aired the
episode of
Reunion for 1994? OK, good. Now, remember how they showed the previews for the next episode of
Reunion? Yea? Excellent. Well, I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but Fox sucks, and they never
showed that one. In fact, they promptly canceled the show after that, leaving many loyal fans wondering just what our
misfit crew of estranged friends' fates were. There were four episodes that had filmed, but Fox decided not to show
them. Will there be an eventual DVD release of the episodes? I wish I knew, but I don't think it would really wrap up
any loose ends, though. Luckily, Kristin over at E! has a
rundown of the lost episodes. Head on over for a
complete rundown of what was
going to happen, and then come back here and vent your frustration with me. I
believe Kristin has said in the past that she was going to give an overview of everyone's final fates as well, so we'll
have to keep our eyes peeled for those.
Posted Dec 21st 2005 1:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd, West Wing
By now you have probably heard about the death of
West Wing star John Spencer. Arguably, Spencer was the heart
and soul (and voice of reason) on the show, so filling the gap he leaves will not be easy.
Castmates and
friends are still mourning his death, so they probably haven't even given any thought as to what they will do with the
Leo McGarry character. But they will have to deal with the situation soon, and I have some thoughts on the subject and
would like to hear yours as well.
Continue reading What will The West Wing do now?
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
