TVSquad

(S01E13) "... there's only one face I see." - Jax

Well that was pretty impressive. Sons of Anarchy went from a show that I really didn't care for (Kurt Sutter admits that the first two episodes were a bit "ambitious") to one of my favorite new dramas of the '08 fall season. I'm echoing just about every critic around the country by saying this, but Sons really did get better each week. As far as season finales go, last night's capper gave us the perfect amount of answers and questions as well as one of the most layered, metaphorical, and nuanced ending sequences I've seen in quite a while.

• TLC has a Little People, Big World marathon all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, followed by a new Private Practice and a new Barbara Walters Special.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, the new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has the special Rosie Live at 8, followed by new episodes of Deal Or No Deal and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8.
• The CW has two new episodes of Stylista (the second is a clip show) at 8.
• PBS has a new installment of Monarchy at 8.
• The 2008 World Magic Awards airs on MyNetwork TV at 8.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Warp at 8.
• TCM has West Side Story at 8.
• At 9, Hallmark has the movie Accidental Friendship at 9.
• At 10, FX has the season finale of Sons of Anarchy.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars starting at 10.
• Also at 10, Showtime has a new Inside The NFL.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, CBS, FOX, NBC, MSNBC, BET, TV One, and Univision have The Barack Obama Show.
• ABC has a new Pushing Daisies at 8, then new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Warp at 8, followed by new episodes of Mythbusters and Prototype This!
• At 8:30, FOX has Game 5 of The World Series.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8:30, followed by new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8:30, then a new Lipstick Jungle.
• At 9, PBS has a new Great Performances.
• John McCain is the guest on a new Larry King Live, on CNN at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.
• Showtime has a new Inside The NFL at 9.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, followed by a new Parking Wars.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park, then a new Chocolate News.
• There's a new Sons of Anarchy at 10 on FX.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Top Design.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

It's a rare occasion that I re-trace my steps and openly admit that I was wrong. Typically, I stick with my gut and I'll fight you until I'm blue in the face. But it takes a big man to recognize the error of his ways and it takes an even bigger one to admit it to others. So here goes...

Initially, I wasn't impressed with Sons of Anarchy. After watching the pilot (twice), I panned it. Nothing special, nothing new. The second episode didn't do much for me either. But I promised I'd stick with it since it was on FX (in today's TV landscape, that counts for something) and after last night's installment (S01E08, "The Pull"), I'm here to say something I didn't agree with eight weeks ago:

FX has done it again.

• At 8, FOX has the first game of The World Series.
• ABC has a new Pushing Daisies at 8, then new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has new episodes of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds (with Wil Wheaton!), and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Knight Rider at 8, followed by new episodes of Deal Or No Deal and Lipstick Jungle.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8, then the series premiere of Stylista.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Wrap at 8, followed by new episodes of Mythbusters and Prototype This!
• At 9, PBS has a new Independent Lens.
• There's a new Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi at 9.
• Fine Living has a new Whatever, Martha at 9.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, then new episodes of Criss Angel and Parking Wars.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park, followed by a new Chocolate News.
• FX has a new Sons of Anarchy at 10.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• TCM has Citizen Kane at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Top Design.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, then new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, followed by new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Knight Rider at 8, then new episodes of Biggest Loser and Lipstick Jungle.
• FOX has new episodes of Bones and 'Til Death (two episodes).
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Mythbusters.
• There's a new Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi at 9, then a new Destination Truth.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9, followed by a new Jurassic Fight Club.
• Also at 9, Showtime has a new Inside The NFL.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter.
• At 10, Comedy Central has the season premiere of South Park, then the season premiere of The Sarah Silverman Program.
• FX has a new Sons of Anarchy at 10.
• TV Land has a new Myths and Legends at 10.
• At 11, Food Network has the series premiere of My Life In Food: The Chef Jeff Project.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

With Rescue Me failing to bring in the ratings FX really needs or wants, and even this final, and for the record brilliant, season of The Shield under-performing, it's pretty awesome that new series Sons of Anarchy seems to have found an audience. I'm a couple episodes behind (so I'm not helping with the ratings I guess), but after a slow start, this story of a biker gang of criminals is really starting to suck me in.

Apparently I'm not the only one. In five short weeks, Sons has managed to not only retain 3.5 million viewers in the adults 18-49 demo, but it's retained 97% of its total audience since the premiere. Which is why FX decided to pick the show up for a second season.

• AMC has a Breaking Bad marathon all night.
• At 6:30, TBS has the Cubs vs. the Dodgers, followed by the Red Sox vs. the Angels.
• At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, followed by the season premieres of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Knight Rider, followed by new episodes of America's Got Talent and Lipstick Jungle.
• FOX has new episodes of Bones and 'Til Death (two episodes).
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8.
• At 9, Bravo has a new Project Runway, followed by a new Top Design.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9, then a new Destination Truth.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, then a new Criss Angel Mindfreak.
• At 10, FX has a new Sons Of Anarchy.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Lewis Black's Root Of All Evil.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

(S01E02) "I will not look the other way Jax." - Hale

I'm still on board with Sons of Anarchy, but there are just too many things that are rubbing me the wrong way. Much like my minor complaint on this season of The Shield, Jax's father's manuscript has reached the point of becoming über-important just like Cruz Pezuela's blackmail box (the one Mackey stole) without any solid explanation. One gets the feeling that without that manuscript, the story would just crumble.

If this thing is so important, then why didn't Gemma or Clay have it destroyed years ago? Did they even know it existed? It was just lying out in the open in the family storage unit. While I appreciate the tension that builds as Jax slowly reads one page at a time, I'm still unconvinced that when he gets to, I dunno, "page 86," that we're going to be that shocked when the inevitable bomb is dropped. Why else would Gemma want it so bad if there wasn't some horrible family secret buried in it?

• At 8, FOX has a new Bones, followed by the season premiere of 'Til Death and the series premiere of Do Not Disturb.
• CBS has the season finale of Greatest American Dog at 8.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 8.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8.
• At 9, PBS has a new Great Performances.
• Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9, then a new Man vs. Wild.
• Bravo has a new Project Runway at 9, followed by a new Top Design.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9, then a new Destination Truth.
• GAC has a new Next GAC Star at 9.
• Sundance has a new Architecture School at 9.
• Showtime has a new Inside The NFL at 9.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, followed by two new episodes of Criss Angel Mindfreak.
• At 10, FX has a new Sons of Anarchy.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
  
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Lewis Black's Root Of All Evil.
• Also at 10:30, TCM has Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E01) "Just pretend it's carve-your-own steak night at Sizzler." - Jax

FX is taking a fairly big gamble with Sons of Anarchy. With their trademark drama The Shield ending its seven season run this fall and their other two big hits (Damages and Rescue Me) pushed to 2009 because of the WGA Strike, the network is in dire need of some fresh buzz. The one thing they have going for them? Even FX's previous flops (Dirt, Starved, Over There, Thief) were better than a lot of other things on TV and Sons of Anarchy certainly fits that mold. Once the fall season is in full swing, the only network competition will be CSI: NY, as I don't see Lipstick Jungle or Dirty Sexy Money getting in the way. Sons has the potential to do well. It'll just rest on creator Kurt Sutter and how he plans to make the show appealing beyond this pilot episode.

You're going to hear a lot of things about FX's new motorcycle club drama Sons of Anarchy. It's different, it's edgy, and it covers a fairly taboo topic that, up to now, hasn't really been addressed in a TV drama.

However, strip away the leather jackets and exhaust fumes and you're looking at something we have seen before: Sons of Anarchy is The Sopranos on Harleys. You've got your powerful crime family, illegal gun smuggling, rival gangs, conspiracy, and for good measure? Drea de Matteo (of Sopranos fame) plays a crank addict. Trade the crank for blow and we've seen that before too.

It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.

While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.

The FX panels on Tuesday were pretty uneventful, aside from the news from network president John Landgraf. There was supposed to be a panel for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but that was mysteriously dropped from the schedule. I'm guessing that the boys figured they'd get too hammered at the FOX party the night before to handle questions from the reporters. Indeed, I witnessed Rob McElhenny and Glenn Howerton try to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl at the Santa Monica pier right after they pounded a couple of beers. Maybe canceling the panel was a smart idea.

Anyway, the three shows that paneled were Damages, Sons of Anarchy, and The Shield. More on what transpired after the jump.

I don't know how Mario Van Peebles finds the time for all the work he's been doing lately. Somehow he fits it all in. And now he's circling back.

Mario Van Peebles will return to FX's Damages for six episodes, reprising his role as Agent Harrison. He was briefly seen as the FBI agent who approaches Ellen about going after Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). Indications are that Ellen will work with the Feds in some way, because Patty has definitely crossed the lines of legality -- and morality -- multiple times. Agent Harrison only cares about the former.

At the same time, Van Peebles is also assigned to direct FX's motorcycle drama Sons of Anarchy. That new series, with Ron Perlman, premieres in September.