TVSquad

Spinoffs are nothing new in TV. Some of the biggest hits of all time were spinoffs -- Frasier, Boston Legal, Private Practice, The Jeffersons, The Andy Griffith Show, Rhoda, Maude, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: CI...the list goes on and on.

The news today that TNT is backing a spinoff from The Closer is no surprise. It makes sense.

The Closer is the top drama on cable in the ratings and has garnered Emmy notice. That kind of success demands replication, and TNT has empowered the brains behind The Closer, creator James Duff to make it happen.

"Oh, goodness. Is this where they do Dancing with the Stars?"
-- Willie Ray Johnson, Brenda's momma

(S04E08) Here was an episode that epitomized what I like about The Closer. This was an excellent mystery. It was complicated and drew you into the chase. Like Brenda, you're wondering how it was done, why and by whom.

Of course, it didn't seem like it was going to be a heavy duty episode, not when the opening was all about Willie Ray and Clay's unexpected visit. That damn RV has brought Brenda's parents cross-country, even with gas at $4 a gallon!

Don't get me wrong, I like Barry Corbin and Frances Sternhagen. They're great actors, but the roles are so broadly drawn. The show uses them for comic relief, even though they can do drama brilliantly. The scenes at the film studio were too jokey to me, especially in light of the heinous crime scene that Brenda was investigating.

The murder reminded me of the O.J. Simpson case. It looked like Ryan -- an actor with anger management issues -- was the murderer. He lied and had a history of beating his wife. The sight of him with the gym bag and then those black gloves were all vaguely reminiscent of O.J. Of course, since he was the prime suspect, I never thought that he was the killer. Too obvious.

• The news channels and CSPAN have coverage of the Republican National Convention all night (the major networks join in at 10).
• Hallmark Channel has a Murder, She Wrote marathon all night.
• At 7, USA has more U.S. Open (switches to CNBC and Tennis Channel at 9).
  
• At 8, FOX has the two hour season premiere of Prison Break.
• ABC has a new High School Musical: Get in the Picture at 8.
• There's a new Deal Or No Deal on NBC at 8, followed by a new America's Toughest Jobs.
• The CW has the season premiere of Gossip Girl at 8, then the season premiere of One Tree Hill.
• At 8:30, Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate?, then a new Unwrapped.
• At 9, TNT has a new episode of The Closer, followed by the series premiere of Raising the Bar.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new episode of The Middleman.
• Discovery has a new Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein at 10.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Labor Day marks the end of summer (yeah, don't tell me summer ends later in September, if it's Labor Day and the kids are back in school, summer is over), and you could spend the weekend at the beach, having a barbecue, or doing something athletic outside. Or, you could stay in all weekend on your couch and watch a TV marathon! Here's a list of some marathons you can see this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Saturday, August 30

• At 6am, TCM starts a marathon of Katharine Hepburn movies.
• At 7, History Channel has a marathon of Ax Men.
• At 9, USA has a Starter Wife marathon.
• Also at 9, Sci-Fi has a marathon of monster movies, including Carnosaur, Reptilian, Beneath Loch Ness, Eye of the Beast, King of the Lost World, and Black Swarm.
• At 10, Bravo has a Shear Genius marathon.
• At 11, History Channel has a bunch of Ice Road Truckers episodes.
• At 11:30, Discovery Kids has a marathon of Flight 29 Down episodes.
• At 2pm, Spike has a CSI marathon.

TNT's original dramas are kind of hit or miss for me. I'm absolutely in love with The Closer, but have zero interest in Saving Grace, despite its good reviews and Holly Hunter's Emmy nomination. It was while I was watching The Closer that I saw the ads for Raising the Bar, TNT's newest series, which premieres on Monday, September 1 at 10 pm. I've got to say, I had the same reaction when I first saw promos for Saving Grace: "meh."

I love a good lawyer show, but there was something about Raising the Bar that just struck me as bland. I really didn't know if I'd even bother checking out the premiere. However, when I got the chance to see the first three episodes, I decided to jump on it. This way I could check it out at my leisure, but more importantly, I could figure out just what the hell is going on with Mark-Paul Gosselaar's hair.

• CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, C-SPAN, and some PBS stations have coverage of the Democratic National Convention all night, and ABC, CBS, and NBC join in at 10.
• At 7, USA has coverage of The U.S. Open.
• At 8, NBC has the season premiere of Deal or No Deal., followed by the premiere of America's Toughest Jobs.
  
• ABC has a new High School Musical: Get in the Picture at 8.
• ESPN has Preseason Football at 8, the Chargers vs. the Seahawks.
• BBC America has a new Top Gear at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has a marathon of Ingrid Bergman films, including Notorious, Spellbound, Intermezzo, and Indiscreet.
• At 8:30, Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate?
• At 9, TNT has a new episode of The Closer, then a new Saving Grace.
• Sci-Fi has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• At 10, Showtime has a new Weeds.
• ABC Family has a new Middleman at 10.
• Discovery has Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein at 10.
  
• There's a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on Travel Channel at 10.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• NBC has Olympics coverage all night.
• At 8, ABC has High School Musical: Get in the Picture.
• TCM has The Big Knife at 8.
• Noggin has a new Go, Diego, Go! at 8.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Raging Nature, then the premiere of Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein.
• TNT has a new episode of The Closer, followed by a new Saving Grace.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• HBO has Thank You Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House at 9.
• Toon Disney has a new Chaotic at 9, then a new Digimon.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new Middleman.
• MTV has the season premiere of The Hills at 10.
• There's a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on Food Network at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.
• Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• NBC has more Olympics coverage all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new High School Musical: Get in the Picture.
• Food Network has a new Good Eats at 8, followed by new episodes of How'd That Get On My Plate? and Unwrapped.
• ESPN has more Little League World Series coverage at 8.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• There's a new Monday Night RAW on USA at 9.
• TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, then a new Saving Grace.
• MTV has the new movie The American Mall at 9.
• VH-1 has a new I Want To Work For Diddy at 9.
• At 10, ABC has the season finale of The Mole.
• ABC Family has a new Middleman at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.
• Also at 10: Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S04E04) Nobody would ever doubt that Chief Brenda Johnson is a smart woman, but how smart was it of her to use Fritz the way she did? That's the question I came away with after seeing this episode. Is closing a case so important for the closer that she'd mess up her personal relationship?

Fritz was rightfully incensed by Brenda's tactics, and yet I could see it from her point of view, too. I guess that's why The Closer remains such a good drama -- the conflicts are real and there are no easy answers.

On Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen plays a vulgar playboy, a shallow guy who's more interested in booze, women and having a good time than being responsible and working hard. The role has earned him a couple of Emmy nominations and a lot of money. A lot of money. In fact, in a new poll from TV Guide, Charlie Sheen is the highest paid actor on TV, making $825,000 per episode; in a season of 23 shows, that comes out to nearly $20 million.

That's more than he could make in the movies, and unlike films, Charlie can keep on raking it in on Two and a Half Men for years. The show is a huge hit in syndication, so more episodes will simply mean more money down the road.

Right behind Charlie on the list is fellow CBS leading man, CSI's William Petersen. He's making $600,000 an episode. He's only doing ten episodes this season, but since he's also an executive producer on the series, he's probably making even more.

If you like strong women on TV, the kind you've been seeing on TNT in The Closer and Saving Grace, you'll be happy to hear that the network has more formidible females on tap. TNT has given the greenlight to a new drama called Time Heals. And with the kind of top notch talent behind the scenes, I can't imagine this drama not making it to air.

The guy who is creating the show, John Masius, is an Emmy-winning writer, having grabbed two Emmys when he worked on St. Elsewhere. So, yeah, this is sounding better and better because Masius knows about medical drama and Time Heals is the story of Nancy Hawthorne, a single mother who is the head of nursing at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. She's the type of woman who really cares about her patients and becomes emotionally involved in her job.

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

While I'm really, really happy that Burn Notice grabbed the #6 slot this week, I'm a little bummed out that Mad Men didn't make the top 10. In fact, it didn't even make it in anywhere near the top 10, despite getting two million viewers for its season premiere. Still, that's better than the ratings for last season.

1. The Closer (TNT)
2. NASCAR Sprint Cup (ESPN)
3. Saving Grace (TNT)
4. Monk (USA)
5. Hannah & Miley (Disney)
6. Burn Notice (USA)
7. Monday Night RAW (USA)
8. Law and Order: CI (USA)
9. Yankees vs. Red Sox (ESPN)
10. In Plain Sight (USA)

• The Discovery Channel's Shark Week continues.
• At 8, ABC has a new High School Musical: Get in the Picture, followed by new episodes of Wanna Bet? and The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, then new episodes of Nashville Star and Dateline.
• TCM has a new Under The Influence at 8, featuring Quentin Tarantino.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, then a new Saving Grace.
• There's a new Monday Night RAW on USA at 9.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new Middleman.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.
• Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Is that music coming from The Closer production?


The Closer's Executive Producer James Duff, told TV Guide -- exclusively -- that a wedding may be in the works. Could Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson, a woman who's great at her job but a neurotic mess in her personal life, get it together to actually marry the love of her life, FBI agent Fritz Howard? Could it happen this season?

• At 8, ABC has a new reunion episode of The Bachelor, then two new episodes of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, followed by new episodes of Nashville Star and Dateline.
• TCM has a new Under The Influence with Bill Murray, followed by A Night at the Opera.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• There's a new Monday Night RAW on USA at 9.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• Also at 9: TNT has the season premiere of The Closer, then the season premiere of Saving Grace.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new Middleman.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• MTV has a new Legally Blonde at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.