TVSquad

(S04E02) In case you think the Coach Eric Taylor has all the answers, this episode shows that's not always the way it is. In last week's show, the East Dillon Lions were so awful, Coach couldn't take it. He threw in the towel, which is a boxing term, but by forfeiting the game at half-time, that's what he did in football terms.

Things were hardly better for Tami at Dillon, although by comparison, her school looks like paradise. Eric's on the other side of paradise. More about that and the rest of the players, on field and off, after the jump.

On TV, Dr. Drew Pinsky saves people from drugs and sex. But, the Celebrity Rehab host came out of the stands at California high school football game last weekend to save the life of a dying player.

Pinsky was watching his son Doug play football at Pasadena Polytechnic when a Poly player took a shot to the head. I played football for years, and these things happen. There's no indication that malice was involved in the related hit.

The injured player, Jackson Allan, came off the field and headed to the bench to talk to his coaching staff and teammates. But, as is often the case with concussions and other head injuries, the brain can be deceptive. The condition quickly grew more serious, and paramedics were called.

But, Pinsky got there first to find Allan in a coma -- no longer breathing.

Fox will use football this Sunday to help tall, blue aliens take over our televisions.

On November 1, Fox is shooting for the "world's biggest live trailer viewing" when it airs the new preview of James Cameron's Avatar live on TV and in the Dallas Cowboys' home park on the world's largest video display -- the Cowboy Stadium's Diamond Vision Screen before the Lone Star State's heroes take on the Seattle Seahawks.

A Fox press release explains that the Fox Sports NFL Sunday pregame show will present the new trailer live on the network. Meanwhile, those Cowboy fans still sober enough at noon to enjoy the brief glimpse of the sci-fi epic will take it in on a screen larger than some Far Eastern countries.

Putting the TV network's football viewing figures to work is the kind of bold step Fox needs to take to publicize Cameron's $300 million dollar movie. Though obviously ambitious and technically groundbreaking, special previews of the 3D fantasy flick left some viewers less than thrilled. While the film will be 3D in theaters, the trailer will stick to a simpler 2D TV image for the big event.

Entering into its fourth season (and second since the NBC/DirecTV deal), Friday Night Lights is a show in transition on numerous levels. The high school football drama returns tonight to DirecTV's 101 Network at 9 p.m. ET (NBC won't air this season until next summer) and for fans of the show, it's an episode they've long been waiting for.

Ever since the season three finale, as Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife Tami (Connie Britton) stepped on to the East Dillon Lions decrepit football field, Eric's new home, the tension has been at an all time high in Dillon, Texas. How can Coach Taylor, a man whom many consider to be a high school football wunderkind, start from scratch with a team that doesn't even exist yet?

Fantasy football is a tricky thing. You either love it or you hate it and that largely depends on whether you're good or bad at it. For the most part, the same can be said about FX's newest comedy The League. When it's good, it is good, but when it's bad... well, you get the picture.

The show, which premieres tomorrow night, Thursday 10/29, at 10:30 p.m. after It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is FX's first solid attempt to produce a lasting companion piece to Sunny and, given some of its predecessors (like Starved or Testees), it'd be easy to write The League off. But, like a two-minute drill that gradually picks up steam, The League might actually go... all... the... way.

OK -- no more football metaphors.

• Nickelodeon has a marathon of The Nanny all night.
• Travel Channel has a Man vs. Food marathon all night.
• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Three Rivers, and Cold Case.
• NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, followed by the Giants vs. the Cardinals.
• At 7:30, FOX has Baseball Playoffs, the Yankees vs. the Angels.
• At 8, PBS has a new Nature, then a new Masterpiece Contemporary.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 9, followed by new episodes of Next Iron Chef and Iron Chef America.
• Also at 8: TCM has The Blob, then Die, Monster, Die!
• At 9, HBO has a new Curb Your Enthusiasm, followed by a new Bored To Death.
• Showtime has a new Dexter at 9, then a new Californication.
• History Channel has a new, two-hour MonsterQuest at 9.
• Animal Planet has Werewolves: The Dark Survivors at 9.
• Hallmark has the movie Always and Forever at 9.
• Retro TV has two episodes of the original Mike Hammer at 9, followed by The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
• At 10, AMC has a new Mad Men.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Titan Maximum.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new episode of Venture Brothers.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Three Rivers, and Cold Case.
• NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, followed by the Bears vs. the Falcons.
• FOX has a new Brothers at 7.
• At 8, FOX has a new episode of The Simpsons, then a new Cleveland Show.
• TBS has Baseball Playoffs at 8, the Dodgers vs. the Phillies.
• Nickelodeon has a new Nick News Special Edition at 8.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Mystery!
• Food Network has a new Next Iron Chef at 9, then a new Iron Chef America.
• IFC has Monty Python: Almost The Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) at 9.
• HBO has a new Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9, followed by a new Bored To Death.
• Also at 9: Showtime has a new Dexter, then a new Californication.
• At 9:30, FOX has a new American Dad.
• At 10, AMC has a new Mad Men.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Titan Maximum.
• At midnight , Cartoon Network has a new Venture Brothers.

Check your local TV listings for more.

With the return of Friday Night Lights right around the corner (it premieres on Wednesday, October 28, at 9PM on DirecTV's 101 Network), there's been a lot of talk about who's returning, who isn't, and just what the heck is gonna happen now that Eric (Kyle Chandler) is coaching the East Dillon Lions and not the Dillon Panthers anymore. There's been plenty of news, too, regarding new characters and how the good-bye arcs for favorites like Matt (Zach Gilford), Tyra (Adrianne Palicki), and Lyla (Minka Kelly) are going to play out

Well, DirecTV has finally released a short promo for the new season and guess what? Despite the fact that it features new footage (as opposed to a recycled season three montage), it gives us absolutely nothing.

But it is pretty damn cool to look at. The set up of a tornado-esque storm ripping apart Dillon and culminating in a rift across the football field while everyone just sort of casually watches and walks away is pretty poetic. You know what else would be poetic? Seeing Eric shove his fist down Joe McCoy's throat in the season four premiere. We can only hope.

• TBS has Baseball Playoffs all night.
• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by new episodes of The Amazing Race, Three Rivers, and Cold Case.
• NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, then the Colts vs. the Titans.
• FOX has a new Brothers at 7.
• At 7:30, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos (30 minutes), followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
• At 8, FOX has a new episode of The Simpsons, then new episodes of The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, followed by new episodes of Next Iron Chef and Iron Chef America.
• At 8:30, Disney has a new Jonas.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Mystery!
• HBO has a new Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9, then a new Bored To Death.
• Showtime has a new Dexter at 9, then a new Californication.
• Lifetime has the season finale of Drop Dead Diva at 9, followed by the season finale of Army Wives.
• At 10, AMC has a new Mad Men.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Titan Maximum.

Check your local TV listings for more.

It's bigger than the NFL. It's drawing more than celebrity dancing. It's the little show that could. In its seventh season on the air, NCIS is the number one show according to the Nielsen ratings. Over 21 million viewers for the week of September 28 put the drama series on the top of the heap, and there's no sign that it was a fluke. This is the second week in a row NCIS was the top show.

The question a lot of people are asking, especially those who don't watch or have never even checked out NCIS is this: how did that happen? It's not normal for a show to get stronger after the five year mark. Some, like a Seinfeld for example, start slowly and nearly are canceled, but then find an audience and remain secure for the rest of it's run. Before Seinfeld, The Dick Van Dyke Show had done the same thing.

(S01E04) Lies, lies and damn lies. There are plenty of them on Glee in between the musical numbers, but in a truly fine episode like this one, at least one major truth emerges and that's what you take away from the show. Still, it's that darn song I'm humming and one more reason Glee keeps me coming back.

By the way, before we go on, how great is it that Glee has been renewed for a full season? Way to go, Fox! Yes, maybe it was a given that this show would be given a chance, but there are no sure things, and I think the network deserves a thumbs up when they take a chance. Anyway, more on tonight's show and all the plot developments after the jump.

If Jim Parsons wins the Emmy tonight for The Big Bang Theory, you better believe he'll be in a position to pick and choose the projects he does in the future. But here's one that I think would be fascinating, to quote Dr. Sheldon Cooper's favorite Vulcan scientist: Jim Parsons would like to appear on Friday Night Lights.

In a recent interview, Jim was asked about his favorite current show -- other than his own -- and he said it was Friday Night Lights. That's right, the NBC drama series about high school football deep in the heart of Texas! Somehow it's hard to imagine Sheldon in pads and a helmet. Maybe he could be the water boy? Or the genius offensive coordinator.

FOX's new family Friday night sitcom Brothers seems like a relatively (see what I did there?) low key and uninspiring bit of prime time. And that's coming from someone who hasn't seen it yet. Call it my "suck sense." (I see Cop Rock.)

It is nice, however, to see the multi-camera, live audience sitcom making a comeback to the big three networks (four if you count the CW). They almost feel like a warm hug from the past, reminding me that they haven't forgotten me or the shows I remembering watching instead of getting regular exercise or dating.

The same things can be said for the show's official press kit.

• Food Network has an Iron Chef America marathon.
• At 7, ESPN2 has College Football, South Carolina vs. Georgia.
• At 7:30, ABC has the Sprint Cup: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR race.
• At 8, FOX has the season premiere (two episodes) of Cops, followed by a new America's Most Wanted.
• CBS has the U.S. Open Women's Final at 8.
• Nickelodeon has a new iCarly at 8.
• ESPN has College Football at 8, USC vs. Ohio State.
• HGTV has a new Divine Design at 8.
• At 9, CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show.
• BBC America has the season premiere of Robin Hood at 9.
• HGTV has a new Color Splash at 9.
• Also at 9: Hallmark has the movie Citizen Jane.
• At 9:30, Biography has a new Ghostly Adventures.
• At 10, Style has a new episode of The Dish.
• At 12:30 AM, Cartoon Network has two new episodes of Bleach.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, ESPN2 has The U.S. Open.
• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• NBC has NFL Football at 8, the Titans vs. the Steelers.
• The CW has the series premiere of The Vampire Diaries at 8, followed by the season premiere of Supernatural.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Destroyed in Seconds at 8.
• At 9, MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, followed by new episodes of Bully Beatdown, Nitro Circus, and Pranked.
• TLC has a new Police Women of Broward County at 9, then a new L.A. Ink.
• Spike has TNA Wrestling at 9.
• Also at 9: Cartoon Network has a new Total Drama Action, followed by a new Stoked.
• At 10, Lifetime has a new Project Runway, then a new Models of the Runway.
  
• Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Atlanta at 10.
• There's a new Ace of Cakes on Food Network at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.