When a show takes a break for awhile it's easy to forget about it, what with our
crazy fast-paced lifestyles, cellphones, outboard motors, uranium-powered waffle makers and what have you. Therefore, I
thought I should take a moment to remind my fellow Monkheads that Monk is coming back with new episodes this
Friday. Our favorite obsessive-compulsive detective took some time off during the Winter Olympics. The new episode,
titled "Mr. Monk and the Astronaut" pits Monk against an astronaut who he claims committed murder, despite
the astronaut insisting he was in space at the time. I've used that alibi several times, and it never works.
winter olympics-related stories
Monk comes back Friday
Previously on TV Squad
In case you've missed it -- perhaps you were busy drooling over the latest TV-related pictorials in Maxim -- here are some highlights from the last week at TV
Squad:
Winter Olympics
Winter Olympics
- Day-to-day coverage can be found under our "Sports" category.
- What is the favorite song amongst the Olympic figure skaters?
- Bob thinks NBC is obsessed with curling.
- Don Knotts dead at 81.
- Darren McGavin dead at 83.
- Curt Gowdy dead at 86.
- William Cowsill dead at 58.
- Huzzah! James van der Beek returns to TV!
- ABC cameraman injured in Iraq released from hospital.
- Mike Wallace donates papers to his alma mater.
- Cheri Oteri gets a Best of SNL DVD.
- Supervising producer leaving Lost.
- The New York Television festival is announced.
- FCC about to slam CBS, FOX, NBC for fines; the word "shit" is made taboo.
- Mark Burnett to create a hip news show.
- Former UPN stations to be part of MyTV "network".
- The Reality TV Convention is announced.
- Peter Jennings Way christened in New York City.
- Tom Cruise may sue Life & Style over TomKat split-up story.
- Lisa Loeb gives me dating advice in Part 2 of my interview with her.
- Here's Part 1 of that interview.
- Listen to TV Squad's APB podcast #3.
- Adam asks readers about the local kids shows they used to watch.
- Is the liberal media bias a myth?
- Should Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich have known about The Daily Show?
- Is Shatner really going to have a "man love" storyline on Boston Legal?
- Which shows are still filmed in front of a live studio audience?
- Who would win in a fight: Adama or Picard?
- Hybrids.
- Where two heads are better than one.
- Reasons why Kim still likes Simon Cowell.
- Reasons to NOT Kill off Ana Lucia's character on Lost.
- Adam's favorite presidential cartoon and puppet appearances.
- Anna thinks polygamy can be funny.
- Adam talks about the show Let's Bowl!
- Anna loves Trick My Truck.
- She's also sick and tired of rich kids on reality shows.
- Annie talks about the voice of Spongebob, Tom Kenny.
- Bob can't stand it when the entertainment shows have "breaking news".
- Adam remembers VH1 Storytellers.
- Lacy examines the Maxim layout of the AI O'Donohue twins.
- She also looks at the layout of Autumn Resser of The O.C.
- I hate it when TV lawyers and doctors are easily allowed to practice out of state.
- Jonathan defends Martha Stewart in her throwdown with The Donald.
Previously on TV Squad
In case you've missed it -- perhaps you were busy hotdogging at the end of your snowboardcross race
-- here are some highlights from the last week at TV Squad:
Winter Olympics
Opinions
Winter Olympics
- Day 10 coverage
- Day 9 coverage
- Day 8 coverage
- Day 7 coverage
- Day 6 coverage
- Day 5 coverage
- Day 4 coverage
- Michelle Kwan drops out, turns down NBC's offer...
- ...but signs on with Disney.
- Anna asks readers why they aren't watching the Olympics.
- Does Scott Hamilton's stint on Skating with Celebrities hurt his Olympic credibility?
- Our nice, gentle introduction to the project...
- ...Screw that; we're doing it because we think we can out-sketch SNL.
- Nick Lachey seeks spousal support.
- Crumbs is put on hiatus.
- NBC tells YouTube to remove Lazy Sunday video.
- Alec Baldwin is in talks to join Tina Fey-produced NBC series.
- Hubba Hubba! Veronica Mars star strips down for Maxim.
- Character actor Andreas Kastulas passes away.
- Kevin Smith wants to appear on Earl with his buddy Jason Lee.
- Jean Byron passes away.
- John Corbett (Nothern Exposure, Lucky) puts out a country album.
- Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey cause a ruckus at a San Diego high school.
- 24 show-runner signed through sixth season.
- Shocker: ratings for Arrested Development finale were miniscule.
- Anne Heche to be in ABC pilot.
- So will Chazz Palminteri.
- Shannen Doherty hurt in a car accident.
- NBC brings Joey back, extends The Office.
- Life & Syle reports that TomKat is no more.
- The Apprentice will have less American-born contestants.
- Listen to our second APB podcast.
- With which sci-fi crew are you be the most compatible?
- What is with the mysterious stain on Martha's carpet?
- Readers discuss what food they'd bring to a Seinfeld dinner party.
- Would you work at Dunder-Mifflin?
- What are college students watching?
- Ryan creates an iMix from the songs on How I Met Your Mother.
Opinions
- Jonathan's day at the Museum of Television and Radio.
- What the hell did Paris Bennett do to her hair?
- Bob is spooked by the Olsen Twins.
- Anna like's the new CD from Idol's Taylor Hicks.
- Bob hates that 2-second satellite
delay on live news remotes.
NBC is obsessed with curling
People are wondering why people aren't that excited about the Olympics. Sure, it
could be the time difference. It could be that we're watching other things. It could even be that the human drama isn't
that thrilling anymore, in this day of reality shows and American Idol.
I don't think NBC is helping matters by showing curling all day today. I mean, curling? It's not exactly the most dramatic of TV sports. It combines the heart-pounding pace of horseshoes with the excitement of...sweeping your kitchen floor. But it's been on all day.
I'm still not sure how you keep score.
Previously on TV Squad
In case you've missed it -- perhaps you were busy shoveling out your car (it's snowing like crazy in the
Northeast) -- here are some highlights from the last week at TV Squad:
The Winter Olympics have begun!
Opinions
The Winter Olympics have begun!
- Anna thinks Brian Williams brought too much of the real world to the opening ceremonies.
- Day 3 coverage
- Day 2 coverage
- Local NBC cameraman blogs from Turin (or Torino, depends on your language).
- Viewers get to vote for one Olympic athlete to join The Apprentice.
- The five Olympic sports Anna thinks are worth watching.
- Univision put up for sale.
- Neve Campbell gets engaged.
- Al Franken moves his radio show to Minneapolis; is he running for Senate?
- Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News is pregnant.
- Franklin Cover of The Jeffersons dead at 77.
- Al Michaels traded to NBC for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
- CBS shelves Love Monkey.
- Oprah signs deal with XM Satellite Radio.
- Rob Corddry to star in a pilot for FOX.
- A Warren Buffett cartoon is in the works.
- Kelly Clarkson wins 2 Grammys, doesn't thank American Idol.
- Andrea Anders of Joey to star in new sitcom.
- Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser to join Joe Theismann in MNF booth.
- Worker on Sam Donaldson's ranch convicted of murder.
- Jon Stewart and his wife have a daughter.
- Ricky Gervais to write an episode of the American version of The Office.
- Reuven Frank of NBC News dies at 85.
- Listen to the first TV Squad APB podcast!
- Dave Chappelle to appear on Actor's Studio.... yeah, you heard me.
- Bob and the readers discuss Oprah's extensive power.
- What channels would you pick if cable was available a la carte?
- Some odd stuff happened on The Daily Show this week.
- Are there good actors who are annoying celebrities?
- Was Teri Hatcher's Grammy gown more revealing than the one J.Lo. wore a few years ago?
- Bob wonders if the Grammys still matter.
Opinions
- Kim remembers The Jeffersons.
- I spotlight the work of The Office's Mindy Kaling.
- Ryan likes Stacy Keibler... a lot.
- Kim wonders if it was a good idea for Kelly Clarkson to forget about Idol during the Grammys.
- Adam feels the need to defend Maria Bamford.
- He also thinks that
Idol winners being nominated for Grammys is a bad sign.
- Battlestar Galactica: "Sacrifice"
- The O.C.: "The Heavy Lifting"
- The Office: "Valentine's Day"
- Lost: "The Long Con"
- Veronica Mars: "Ain't No Magic Mountain Hight Enough"
- Scrubs: "My Half-Acre" / "Her Story II"
- American Idol: Boston Auditions
- 24: "1:00 PM - 2:00 PM"
- Surface: Season Finale
- Gray's Anatomy: "It's The End of the World"
The Five: Olympic sports worth watching
The winter Olympics begin
this evening with the opening ceremonies on NBC. That means, for the next two weeks, you'll hear a lot of people
chanting, "USA! USA!"Personally, I love the Olympics. I let myself get caught up in the drama and the action, even though I'm definitely not a sports fan any other time of the year. The most popular sport during the winter Olympics by far is figure skating, specifically women's or pairs skating. Here, I'm listing the other sports that I will definitely be watching:
Continue reading The Five: Olympic sports worth watching
Monk goes away for awhile
Don't worry, they're not cancelling Monk. Remember, we've got at least one more season after this one. However, you
won't be seeing any new episodes until early March, thanks to the Winter Olympics. So instead of watching an obsessive
compulsive genius solve crimes you can watch fun sporting events like full contact figure skating, three-legged
downhill skiing, polar bear mocking, and whatever the hell else they do during the Winter Olympics. If you are jonesing
for a Monk fix, USA's site for the show has some
webisodes and character blogs. Yeah, I know, it's not much, but you have to take what you can get sometimes.Project Runway: The Sasha Cohen Competition
Heidi Klum announced that the designers would be getting a
package instead of telling them what their challenge was going to be. After the designers waited a while in their
rooms, season one's Rob (the one that busted his head open when he was trying to show off his mad hanging-upside-down
skills to the ladies) showed up in an USPS uniform with a bunch of boxes. Everyone seemed excited to see him (except
Emmett, who, embarrassingly enough, didn't recognize him) and eagerly opened their boxes. Inside was a short a message
telling them to put on the enclosed outfits and go to the lobby. The ladies don itty-bitty, form-fitting dresses and
the guys wear tight-fitting pants and puffy shirts (again, except Emmett... he wore an atrociously bright pink top. He
tried to class it up with a fedora, but to no avail). It looks like someone threw up the Ice Capades and a box of
Crayons at the same time.Continue reading Project Runway: The Sasha Cohen Competition
NBC plans 416 hours of Olympics coverage
That's 17.3 days of Olympics coverage, people. And most of it is going to be focused on figure skating. The Olympics
run for 17 days (from February 10-26), but NBC will not be playing the events around-the-clock. Instead, it will spread
its coverage out during daytime, primetime, and late night viewing hours on six stations: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC HD,
and Universal HD. In comparison, NBC had 375.5 hours of coverage during the Salt Lake City winter games four years
ago.Bob Costas will return as primetime host for the winter games, his seventh year with NBC Sports. And, to feed the needs of all those ice skating fans, Dick Buttons will host Olympic Ice, a daily report on the games' most popular sport. NBC is also prominently featuring David Pelletier and Jamie Sale in their coverage. The Canadian couple, who just got married, were a crowd favorite in 2002 when they ended up tying for gold with the Russian pairs skaters.
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
