TVSquad

"Deedee Chappel. Get ready to unzip your pants!" - Lowell

That's one of my favorite lines in TV history, and I'm happy to say it was uttered in a show I had the pleasure of being an extra in many years ago, NBC's Wings. A great friend of mine, Suzanne, worked on the show and, since I was going out to Los Angeles for a vacation, she got me on the set as an extra. The episode was titled "If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother" and guest-starred Debbie Reynolds. It was filmed in October of 1994 and aired on November 22.

Shawn Spencer's family is growing. First, there's his mother, Madeline, coming to Santa Barbara for a visit, in the personage of Cybill Shepherd. And now comes news that another major television star is coming on board for a guest role. Steven Weber will be appearing in an episode of Psych as Shawn's Uncle Jack.

Jack is Henry's brother, although I don't see a big resemblance between Corbin Bernsen and Steven Weber. However, if the character is more like Shawn, that will give Weber a chance to play it wild and wacky. Maybe he'll be like his Brian Hackett incarnation on Wings.

According the TV Guide, this Psych episode sounds sort of like a Raiders of the Lost Ark/National Treasure adventure. Uncle Jack comes to town in search of a treasure. He has a map to a hidden Spanish cache of goodies and enlists Shawn and Gus in his search. Now you just know that James Roday will be pulling out a bullwhip and Fedora.

Weber, by the way, is expected back on Brothers and Sisters next season as Sarah's part-time lover. When the show wrapped, their romance was still humming.

I need a little help this week...

"There was an episode of Wings where it was kind of an homage to Casablanca or Dragnet. This was a very funny episode but I don't know what season or episode. Two lines that may help you out. In the episode they all talk in a monotone voice. Joe (Tim Daly) says at one point "Why the hell am I talking like this". Also, someone says to Antonio, "You Scrapachi?" mispronouncing his last name. If you can help please do. Regards, Ian McCurdy"

(S02E10) "You slept with someone else too?" Nora Walker to Julia Walker

Oh, Brothers and Sisters, how I've missed your hijinx! I was under the impression from some of the news I'd read about the WGA strike that filming had ceased on the show, so I was very happy to have a new episode (albeit, feeling a little guilty, because I support the writers...). Mostly, I was happy to see everyone again.

Gallery: Brothers and Sisters: Feast of the Epiphany

I almost didn't want to review this DVD set. Did I really want to go back into those murky waters again and bring up all those old disagreements? But here we go...

Actually, the DVD set for Studio 60 is much like the TV series itself. It starts out brilliantly and then as it goes on it starts to get worse and worse. But then it ends nicely!

Packaging

Pretty standard packaging, just a regular box containing three plastic holders housing two DVDs each. The artwork on each plastic holder is fairly interesting. Instead of a large pic on the front and the info on the inside, all the episode info is on the front and back of each individual holder, including pics from episodes and promotional pics.

A while back, I showcased some blogs that celebrities were (at the time) keeping. David Duchovny had one for a while, but it was just to promote one of his movies and he stopped it. Zach Braff had one for Garden State, but doesn't update it as much as he used to at his new site (though it's still pretty entertaining). And of course we know that Rosie O'Donnell updates hers, a little too much probably.

But there are other TV celebs who blog too, so it's time for an update. After the jump, a list of some of the better blogs out there.

You knew I'd be the one to tell you this news, right?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip returns to the NBC schedule on May 24, presumably to just run the rest of the episodes they have filmed. Hopefully they knew they were ending early while filming so they can end the show in a good way.

By the way, May 24 is a Thursday. The show will air at 10pm in the slot currently occupied by ER. I wonder what would have happened to the show if it had originally been in this slot, or maybe an hour earlier. Oh well. I guess the best way to think of it now is as a long miniseries, one that will have around 22 episodes and a conclusion.

I almost didn't write this, because I'm really just inviting every person who hates me or hates Studio 60 (or the many people who seem to have a part-time job hating me and Studio 60) to just jump into the comments section and tell me why the show was bad and why I'm a terrible, terrible human being for even liking it. But then I decided, what the hell. In fact, let me help you with your comments. Cut and paste as you desire:

1. No one cares about what's going on behind the scenes of a late night comedy show
2. Sarah Paulson isn't funny.
3. The show isn't funny.
4. Sorkin is too preachy!
5. There's no chemistry between Paulson and Perry, and they focus on the Matt/Harriet plot too much.
6. Amanda Peet isn't believable/too young/too pretty to be a network exec.
7. You suck Sassone!

(S01E11) I've never understood how people can celebrate Christmas in California (or Florida or Texas, for that matter). I grew up and live in New England, and I don't understand how you can have Christmas without the cold air and the possibility of snow. I mean, it just doesn't seem right, roaring down the 405 with the top down as the temp hovers around 78 degrees, with no Jack Frost nipping at your nose (job). But that's just me.

But it's also Matt Albie, who wants to bring a little Christmas spirit to Los Angeles and the set of Studio 60...

(S01E08) After seeing this episode (which just confirmed something I thought anyway), I'm not quite sure while people are so annoyed by the show's supposed liberalism and "east and west coast" mentality. This show is doing two things. One, it's sparking debate about a lot of serious issues (religion, gay rights, tolerance, politics), and two, it makes sure it dumps on liberals and Democrats and Hollywood just as much as much as they do flyover country, religious people, and Pahrump, Nevada. There's enough to go around on both sides.

I think a lot of viewers who don't like the show (and I truly don't understand why they're watching it week after week if they can't stand it) don't get the fact that just because the show dares to bring up the above topics, that it dares to even suggest that these topics are a hot-button issues and there might be a way to actually get along, doesn't mean that it's "against" anything.

Ray Richmond over at The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip creator and head writer Aaron Sorkin today and found out that not only have the ratings for the show the past few weeks made the execs at NBC happier than they were, but that a full season order for the show might be coming any hour or day now. Another source at the network said they would be very surprised if the show wasn't picked up this week.

Here's a quote from Sorkin that is interesting, especially since it addresses something that is often talked about here in our comments section:

(S01E07) Why do I get the feeling that half of the audience who watched this episode tonight said, "hey, they finally focused on small town America!" and the other half is cringed and said, "oh no, why did they focus on small town America?"

Tom is arrested in Pahrump, Nevada on Friday afternoon, charged with speeding and possession of marijuana, and the judge doesn't want to hear from anyone else in his office (Danny, Jack, Simon, the NBS lawyer, or the two Chinese) except Tom, so Tom tells the judge exactly what happened to get him in handcuffs, dressed like Jesus Christ.

To paraphrase a famous quote, rumors of Studio 60's death may have been greatly exaggerated.

An NBC spokesman says that not only is the show not canceled, it is actually profitable, and last week's ratings were up from the week before. The network likes the show, and they are going over the ratings numbers, but it looks like the show would be moved to a different time slot instead of just canceled outright.

One thing the article says that I don't agree with is this: if Friday Night Lights got great ratings last night (haven't seen the numbers yet), that could spell trouble for Studio 60. But that's not true. CSI: Miami was a repeat last night, so you would expect whatever NBC had in the time slot to do well, or better. Though if the numbers aren't great...now that would be interesting, and might prove it's a time slot thing and not the show itself.

[via TV Tattle]

Update: Friday Night Lights got its best ratings yet.

I'll get to the review in just a moment, but first, a few facts about Columbus, OH:

• Population: 695,709
• 15th largest city in the U.S.
• One of the fastest growing metro areas
• Named by Money magazine as one of the Best Places To Live in the U.S.
• Economy is ranked 7th strongest in the U.S.

With that information, why did Aaron Sorkin choose it as an example of some hick town?

When Amanda Peet got pregnant in real-life, a lot of people wondered whether or not her Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip character would become pregnant too. Now Kristin over at E! Online breaks news that the Jordan McDeere character on the show will in fact become pregnant as well.

Who's the father? No word on that yet, though co-star Bradley Whitford has a few funny remarks about the whole plotline.

They'll be more about this story on E! News Daily, tonight at 7.