TVSquad

• CBS has U.S. Open coverage from 11am to 6pm. USA takes over at 7 (after a day long Law and Order: SVU marathon).
• At 8, FOX has a new Prison Break, followed by a new Vanished.
• ABC Family has the new movie Relative Chaos at 8 (repeated at 10).
• If you're in the retro-private eye mood, check out the American Life lineup at 8: Harry O, 77 Sunset Strip, and Surfside 6.
• E! has a new E! True Hollywood Story about Michael J. Fox. It's on at 8 too.
• At 9, TNT has a new episode of The Closer, followed by a new Saved.
• Lifetime has the new movie Amber's Story, about how the Amber Alert came to be.
• At 10, Showtime has a new Weeds.
• Also at 10: BBC America has a new Life on Mars.
• More marathons: Sci-Fi Channel has Dark Angel, while Hallmark has M*A*S*H.

• At 8, NBC has something called Star Tomorrow, which sounds like another music talent show. It's folowed by a new Treasure Hunters.
• TBS is showing four early eps of Friends tonight, starting at 8. The first season isn't the best, but it's better than the last.
• Bravo has a new Inside The Actor's Studio, with Hugh Laurie.
• Oxygen has the movie Ordinary People at 8, with Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, and Donald Sutherland.
• Also at 8: American Life is showing the Harry O movie. If you're not familiar with Harry O, it's a well-done private eye series from the 70s starring David Janssen. It's followed by 77 Sunset Strip and Bourbon Street Beat.
• At 9, FOX has a new episode of Hell's Kitchen.
• TNT has a new ep of The Closer at 9, followed by a new Saved.
• USA has a new episode of WWE Monday Night RAW at 9.
• A&E has a new Driving Force at 9.
• At 10, ABC has a new reality show, One Ocean View.
• BBC America has a new Life on Mars at 10.
• Bravo has a new Tabloid Wars at 10.
• AMC has Tom Hanks in Big at 10, one of my favorite movies.
• Also at 10: A&E has a new Biography on Dave Chappelle.

(S01E01) In the beginning, about 2002, television gave us FX's The Shield, a police drama featuring corrupt but effective angst-ridden cops. Two years later the big picture box gave us FX's Rescue Me, a firefighter drama featuring cracked but effected angst-ridden firefighters. Both series have gone on to be critical and popular successes.  And now, the glorious TV has given us a new 'first response' drama on TNT called Saved, which features flawed but effective angst-ridden paramedics.

Television should have taken a rest after the first two shows because it didn't do very well on this one. You see, while both The Shield and Rescue Me have main characters that you can connect with, despite the fact they are so flawed,  you can't do that with Wyatt Cole, the main character on Saved. Why? Because he's so freakin selfish.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me explain after the jump. However, be warned of the spoilers ahead.

TNT will be premiering two new series and the season opener of another this summer without commercial interruptions. The two new shows, Saved and Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King, will eschew commercials for product placement and on-air promotions. Saved is being sponsored by Dodge and Quiznos, but no sponsor has been announced for Nightmares and Dreamscapes. In addition, the second season opening of The Closer, which will make up a drama block along with Saved, will also premiere sans commercials, but sponsored by Audi. AOL (which owns TV Squad) will also be integrated into the storylines of both Saved and The Closer.

The idea of a commercial-free episode is nice and all, but I'm somewhat wary of this if the "product placement" or "brand integration" or whatever you want to call it gets too out of hand and distracts from the story. I guess we'll have to wait and see if they can make it as seamless as it needs to be. If not, I'm willing to accept a few commercial breaks.

Chris also picked this story up earlier over on Ad Jab.