TVSquad

Have you seen the new ads for the new TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age? It stars Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher as husbands and dads dealing with middle age. It has been announced that Robert Loggia will play Romano's dad on the show. He's one of those actors that's great in everything he does and it's cool to have him in this show and in that recent Apple ad.

But instead of that ad I'll post this classic from the early 90s. If you say so Mr. Loggia!

We used to be big House watchers in this house a few years ago. We loved seeing Dr. House be snarky and cynical, and while an addiction to Vicodin is tragic, it was part of who he was. Really, maybe that's part of what addiction is -- it becomes familiar and part of your psyche, and you don't want to give it up. I'm no therapist, though (clearly).

We lapsed with the show as it became more and more predictable, and even the addition of the new team and the Survivor-like way House picked them wasn't enough to make it must-see TV. We watched only an episode or two last season. House's spiral was sad, and we didn't want to watch it anymore. I know long-running shows have to evolve, but we had lost the old House.

I missed House. Plain and simple, no other show on television makes keeps me guessing what will happen next, and gives a more satisfying payoff, whether I've guessed the twist or not. That was the first thing I thought watching last night's season six premiere episode, "Broken." I'll even forgive the suddenness of a couple of plot twists (Dr. Nolan's father, and how House suddenly had keys to every room in the hospital when he needed a quiet place for a booty call). I know how those things fit into the plot, and I'll let the contrivance slide a bit.

The other thing I thought watching "Broken" was that I also missed Andre Braugher. His character, Dr. Darryl Nolan, was the toughest, smartest I've seen him play since Homicide. (Note - I haven't seen everything he's done since, so if you have any suggestions on something to seek out, I'll take a look). It's not easy to hold your own onscreen with Hugh Laurie's House. It has been said lot, but it's worth repeating, Laurie is great in the role, and the role itself is one of the best on television (good enough that they named the show after him).

(S06E01/S06E02) "Oh, I'm sorry, is suicide taboo? Gosh, if I've broken a rule on my first day, I will kill myself." - House

This is not the House we know and love - both the show and character. While the lack of any resemblance to the typical medical procedural we're used to might have been a turn off to some, I feel pretty confident in saying that tonight's premiere will likely go down as one of the best episodes of House ever - regardless for how long it runs.

After seeing House check himself into a psychiatric hospital after last year's hallucinations and subsequent break-down, there's been one big question bugging us all and I pointed it out earlier today in my preview - is he or isn't he crazy? While we got our answer, it really doesn't matter because there was a whole lot more at stake than House's mental prowess in "Broken."

Dr. Gregory House has problems. This is not news. We know this. His colleagues know this. He knows this. The issue at the core of tonight's two-hour season premiere of House ("Broken" airs at 8PM ET on Fox), is waiting patiently for our favorite curmudgeon to admit what he knows.

Ever since last season's finale, we've all wanted to know one thing - is House really crazy or has the Vicodin finally done enough damage that he's hallucinating dead people and having imaginary sex with Cuddy? The answer is finally revealed, and despite Fox's viral marketing campaign that presented the possibility of someone having done something to House to cause his problems, it turns out that Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital is precisely where he belongs. Or is it?

I don't know about you, but I'm suffering from serious 24 withdrawal. Like, to the point where I'm ready to start watching the entire series from the beginning again.

But maybe there's a little glimmer of light there. I'm not talking about the 24 movie this fall to tie us into next year -- although that certainly qualifies. I'm talking about the new series, Night and Day, from 24 co-creator Joel Surnow and Todd Robinson.

TNT has just given the green light to the series, a fast-paced, gritty drama about the life of an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Hmmm, sounds strangely familiar...

Scott Bakula is Ray Romano's new best friend. Bakula is the latest addition to the cast of Men of a Certain Age, a pilot for TNT. The drama focuses on three men in their forties that have been friends since college; Bakula is one of the leads. His character, Terry, is an "intelligent, but struggling, actor." Terry's best friends have struggles of their own. Joe, Romano's character, is a divorced father who runs a party supply store. Owen, played by the supremely gifted Andre Braugher, is a family man who works at his father's car dealership.

This recent bit of casting news just made the TNT pilot a must-see for me. Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher seem like an unlikely group of buddies, but I suppose it depends on the chemistry between the three actors.

Back in April, Allison reported that Ray Romano was working on a pilot for TNT. Romano is playing the lead, and now Andre Braugher has been added to the cast of Men of a Certain Age. The series, a dramedy along the lines of Sideways, focuses on lives of three middle-aged friends. Braugher will play Owen, a car salesman and family man. Ray Romano and Mike Royce (Everybody Loves Raymond) are writing and producing the show together.

I've been an Andre Braugher fan since Homicide: Life on the Street, and I'm excited to see him get a promising role like this. Braugher is more of a dramatic actor, but he's definitely capable of getting some laughs. No word yet on who's playing the third friend. The character has been described as an aspiring actor.

Paul Attanasio, House executive producer, has conjured up a legal drama for Fox. The network greenlighted a one-hour pilot, Court K, which is set in Milwaukee and involves a judge, a prosecutor and a public defender. Just because it's set in Milwaukee, don't expect to see Laverne and Shirley.

Like House is not your typical medical drama, Court K will not be a typical lawyer show, not that Boston Legal is typical, but you know what I mean. Court K is reportedly a lot grittier, with sardonic, dark comic elements. We'll have to see if any of the principals are hooked on Vicodan. I wonder if it'll remind me of the movie ...And Justice For All, which was also a dark comic look at a Baltimore courthouse. But then, wasn't that Night Court, too?

Say what you will about ER, but it's still able to attract a pretty good roster of actors to guest star on the show, either in a one-shot deal or in a multi-episode arc. This year, in its 13th season, one of the guest starts will be Forest Whitaker, who has been cast as a carpenter who comes in with an innocuous cough, but ends up being paralyzed by a stroke. His stint will be five episodes. The role was originally going to be played by Andre Braugher, but he had to pull out due to the age-old "scheduling conflict."

Remember that Whitaker played a big role in The Shield last season, and the show left the door open for his character to return. So this year might be a big TV year for Forest.

(S01E06) Two words: very satisfying. This episode gave you everything you would want from a season finale. There was enough left to keep you hanging, but plenty was tied up in case Thief doesn't return for a full-order second season. I haven't seen any ratings, but I don't think we'll be seeing a return as I got the impression that this show grabbed a small audience. Regardless, this was a fantastic filler to tide F/X fans over as they transitioned from The Shield to Rescue Me (which returns on Tuesday, May 30).

All hell has broken loose. No one in Nick's crew can agree on anything and that fact that the Feds (led by an over-zealous agent named Patterson) are hot on their trail isn't helping either. But as I assumed last week, Nick had to make a choice between the score and Tammi. The reason he had to make such a choice was the real surprise.

(S01E05) Oh snap! The heist is on and stuff is not going the way it was planned. However, with all the set-backs, Nick handled things surprisingly well. He even let Jack pray for the team before they took off for the airport. That seemed like a pretty big deal, because after what happened to Wanda, Nick does not seem like the religious type.

Random side note. I didn't realize Jack's nick-name was Bump. This episode, more than others, Nick kept calling him Bump and for a while I had no idea who he was talking about. I had to check out the Thief website in the middle of the show to figure that one out. Guess I need to start paying attention more and it's a good thing I did, because this episode was jam-packed.

(S01E04) The first three episodes of this show were spectacular. This episode was even better - it brought the show to a whole new level. Talk about a tense hour. I fell asleep early last night and woke up around five this morning to watch this before I headed off to work. I didn't need to make a pot of coffee. This jolted my eyes open just fine. Everything is coming together for the big heist but at the same time, all the things that are going to get in the way have now been made perfectly clear. The real tension for Nick doesn't seem to be the heist (at least not yet) - it's dealing with Wanda's house, his business, and the step-daughter who doesn't trust him. The dichotomies this show presents are great. Nick is ruthless, but he's a nice guy. He's a professional thief, but he's just like you and me. He's good and evil. Even skin color creates a gap between Nick and Tammi in the incredible last scene of the episode.

(S01E03) Nick Atwater sees dead people. Not exactly the thing you want in your head when you're planning to rob the US Government of $40 million. Keeping up the pace of the last two episodes, the heist is still a go. Nick seems less confident about it though. After all, the crew has only been planning for a week and it all goes down in only eleven more days.

This episode was essentially an obstacle course for Nick and his boys. Everything that's going to get in their way presented itself (or themselves). Let's just say, for this heist to go off smoothly and without a hitch, a lot of things need to fall into place.