Two Tivos To Paradise 04.03.09: Throwing Out The Ceremonial First Pitch of TV News

Posted by Al Norton on 04.03.2009

Rescue Me returns, Friday Night Lights gets renewed for TWO seasons, Fox's summer line up, Breaking Bad & Lost win Peabody Awards, a review of Southland, raves for Better Off Ted, American Idol thoughts, tons of news & notes and more, all in the latest edition of Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise.

Hello Friends. Anyone still alive in their NCAA pools? The next four days are big ones for me as Sunday is my annual fantasy league draft (I've been in the same league for 19 years now) and then Monday is opening day at Fenway, with my beloved Red Sox taking on the Rays.

I was very saddened to learn about the passing of Andy Hallett this week. I loved his performance as Lorne on Angel and because he was the cousin of a former co-worker, I ended up having a 15 minute phone conversation with shortly after the series finale. I wasn't writing at that point, just a guy who was a fan, and he was so nice, so funny, and so interested in my thoughts on the show that I came away with a serious glow. The News and Notes section of TTTP, currently with the "All The Young Dudes Carry The News" line was originally headlined by a great Lorne quote from the final season of Angel and I've gone back to it today. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Half a mile from the county fair and the news came pouring down.

Cause I'm Lonely And I'm Blue, I Need You And Your Love, Too
After an almost two year absence caused by the Writer's strike Rescue Me returns to FX on Tuesday night for the first of 22 weeks of new episodes. The critically acclaimed series looks at the lives of New York City fireman in the post-9/11 world, and has been nominated for Emmys in acting, writing, and directing categories. Joining the cast this season for multi-episode stints are Michael J Fox and Maura Tierney.

Easily one of my favorite shows on TV, it has been way too long since Rescue Me graced my TV screen. While some may not like Denis Leary the comedian it's hard to argue with the work he's done on the series, showing depth and emotion that rank him among the best actors on TV. I'd be hard pressed to name another show that did as good a job at portraying life as a recovering alcoholic, or one that found comedy in as many dark places as Rescue does; Jesus (in full robes) playing shortstop in a slow pitch softball game is but one of the classic images ingrained in my head.

Leary and co-star Daniel Sunjata have done interviews saying the events of 9/11 play a larger role in this season than in any since the first, including a look at those who think the event of that day were a government conspiracy. I can't wait to see how they take on the "truth seekers."

One of the best shows on television is back for its long season to date…What else do you need to know?

I Got A Letter Just The Other Day Telling Me She Was On Her Way
Direct TV and NBC made official a deal you read about on this page several weeks ago, renewing their production partnership for two more seasons of Friday Night Lights. Each season will be 13 episodes long and will run on Direct TV in the fall before jumping to NBC in the winter. Executive producer Jason Katims told TVGuideMagazine.com that he would remain with the show even if NBC picks up Parenthood (the pilot he is also exec producing). He confirmed that he entire Taylor family would return, as would Landry, and he seemed to imply that both Matt and Riggins would stay as regular characters as well. It's also expected that Minka Kelly would come back to give Lyla a wrap up similar to the ones Jason and Smash got this year.

In a world where way too many quality TV shows meet an untimely end, Friday Night Lights getting TWO more seasons has to be seen as miraculous. Easily among the best half dozen shows on television right now, the writers have the luxury of knowing they have 26 episodes to work, which means we should get some high quality long term storytelling.

Summer's Here And The Time Is Right For Goin' Racin' In The Streets
Fox unveiled their summer line up this week, with returning reality hits as well as some new viewing options.

-May 21st, So You Think You Can Dance premiere (part one), 8 pm – 10 pm
-May 22nd, Don't Forget The Lyrics premiere (8 pm)
-May 22nd, Mental series premiere (9 pm)
-May 27th, So You Think You Can Dance premiere (part two), 8 pm -10 pm
-July 3rd, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader premiere, 8 pm
-July 21st, Hell's Kitchen premiere, 8-10 pm

After the four hour audition episodes SYTYCD will air Wednesdays at 8 pm and Thursdays at 9 pm. Mental is a new drama about an unorthodox psychiatrist working at a practice in LA, starring Chris Vance (Prison Break) and Annabella Sciora (Law and Order: Criminal Intent).

I've Come To Discover That Music's A Lover, It's Heat Keeps Me Warm When I'm Cold
The line up for the 14th annual Today Show Summer Concert Series was released this week with the usual mix of chart toppers from all genres. Things kick off on Friday May 1st with No Doubt, followed each Friday by (in order) New Kids on the Block, Jennifer Hudson, Fall Out Boy, Taylor Swift, Dave Matthews Band, Black Eyed Peas, Jonas Brothers, The Frey, Rob Thomas, Rascal Flatts, All-American Rejects, Kate Perry, Kings of Leon, Jason Marz, Flo Rida, and Natasha Bedingfield. The August 28th performer – the last of the season – has yet to be announced.

Not a lot to offer other than it's a pretty impressive and successful batch of bands they've got lined up. Good Morning America has their own series that usually has a couple of big names and then a lot of mid-level acts, and CBS This Morning may or may not still be on the air, but, as with the ratings, The Today Show is leading the pack.

I Got That Old Lonesome Feelin' That's Sometimes Called The Blues
Southland, a new police drama from ER executive producer John Wells, debuts this Thursday at 10 pm. Focusing on the lives of uniformed officers and detectives alike, the show features a cast of familiar faces if not exactly household names, including Regina King, Tom Everett Scott, Kevin Alejandro, Michael Cudlitz, Benjamin McKenzie, and Shawn Hatosy.

Regular readers know I am all about giving points to a show for trying to say something, for attempting to rise above its given genre, but rarely have I seen a show try so hard to be important; it's almost as if each segment screams, "this isn't just another TV show, this is real life on the streets of LA." What it is more than anything else is "ER with cops", not just because both shows share Wells as their creative force or because they are both fast moving, never boring shows with very talented actors but rather because even in its first episode it follows the ER boilerplate of having its characters beaten down by a life with barely a glimmer of hope.

Something else regular readers know is I loves me some programming that examines the emotional darkness in people's souls, but never for the sake of sheer depression. Six Feet Under and Rescue Me are two examples of series that followed the path of having their characters reach rock bottom, climb up and taste happiness, and then start the fall all over again. One of the reasons I stopped watching ER is I never got to see people get to taste the happy, and it looks like Southland is just as bleak.

I am in no way saying the show is poorly written, directed, or acted - Cudlitz stands the best chance of becoming a break out star with what seems to be the meatiest roll - and I will watch at least one more episode before making a final decision, but I need a little bit of sweet to make the dark and the grit palatable, and so far Southland has none to offer.

Like A Coin In Your Mint, I'm Dented And I'm Spent With High Treason
It's pilot season in TV Land and as such we've broken the updates about new shows out of the "All The Young Dudes" section below and given it it's own feature. All of the shows mentioned below are having pilots filmed, putting them one step closer to getting a spot in their network's line ups this fall…Things were quiet on the pilot front this week so I condensed it all into one section...Paul Wesley (Fallen) and Ian Somerhalder (Lost) are the latest to grow some teeth for The CW's Vampire Diaries…Friday Night Light's alum Scott Porter is one of the leads in Fox's Masterwork, a drama set in the world of art thievery…Nora Zehetner (Heroes) and Nick Kroll (Caveman) are taking up residency in Fox's Cop House …Justin Bartha, best known for his role in National Treasure, is the lead in the Ben Stiller produced Fox comedy The Station, which also added Rob Huebel to the cast…Chris Elliot has signed on for the CBS comedy The Fish Tank…

And With Your Hair Swung Right And Your Pants Too Tight, It's Gonna Be All Right
Welcome back to the American Idol Revue, where we run down the latest week of American Idol, season 8. We've got 9 left, with one more person going home this week. That is, if the judges don't take advantage of their only-can-use-it-once save. Let's get right to it…

Tuesday, March 31st
-The way the camera follows Ryan down the stairs reminds me of that scene from The Ruggles when the reporter is chasing the bus down the street.

-Open song choice tonight. This should be interesting…

-Anoop hits leadoff, which Matt proved last week is a tough spot since it's the easiest performance to forget. Anoop's is also easy to forget but to be fair, it has nothing to do with where in the show he is singing…Aside from the vocals, can someone get him with a fashion consultant…from this decade?!?!...Simon's analysis is on target.

-Megan Joy is up next and brings some Bob Marley to the stage…Sorry, I find her constant blank stare and weird gestures to be really annoying…Her voice gets less and less interesting by the week…Wow, her spell on the judges is broken.

-Danny's Rascal Flatts cover is not perfect but it gives me chills at the right spots…I love the balls it takes to simply stand there and sing; no dancing, no frills, just putting your voice on the line and hoping that America digs you.

-Alison's Don't Speak is barely passable, and the less said about her outfit the better.

-Scott is covering the single wimpiest tune in the Billy Joel catalog. Really, Just the Way You Are?!?! Justin Timberlake couldn't make that song current. If he wanted to sit at the piano and do a Billy Joel song, why not She's Got A Way or She's Always A Woman To Me?...We should not speak of his Johnny Slash haircut…He simply does not belong in this contest anymore.

-Matt, who in no way deserved to be in the bottom 3 last week, seems to have decided that if America wants him out than he might as well earn it as his cover of The Frey is in no way original, interesting, or memorable…He should have done Levon, or maybe I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues…

-Lil Rounds shows off her 5th look in as many weeks and I know have no idea what kind of a singer she is, other than one who does not seem to want to win. Celine Dion? Obscure Celine Dion?!?

-Adam may have made a ridiculous song choice with Play That Funky Music but he commands the stage like a pro.

-Kris gets immediate points from me for doing a Bill Withers song, one of my old school R & B favorites…Fantastic arrangement and the best performance of the night.

-Bottom three? Megan Joy, Scott, and Lil Rounds.

Wednesday, April 1st
-I don't want to get off on a rant here but it's embarrassing that Idol's producers and Fox as a network allow for any lip synching on the show. I know they claim that the contestants sing over their recorded vocal tracks during the "group sing" segments but it's just wrong.

-The bottom three are Allison, Anoop, and Megan Joy…with Megan Joy going home. My single favorite non-singing moment of the season happens when Simon tells her that, unlike previous weeks, her final performance can not save her as the judges have already made up their minds. "Since you don't care, neither do we" is the line of season eight.

Next week the Tuesday show drops to just one hour, with the contestants choosing songs from their year they were born.

But You Were Up To Your Old Tricks In Chapters Four Five And Six
All you need to know about the Nielsen's for the past week (or so)…American Idol's results show last Thursday was watched by 22.35 million…Talk about consistency – CBS' coverage of the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA basketball tournament finished second in all three prime time hours on Thursday…In The Motherhood topped My Name Is Earl (the good news for ABC) but it and Samantha Who? combined for a drop of 13% in the audience that usually watches Ugly Betty in that time slot (the bad news)…Grey's Anatomy was up 10% for an impressive 15.8 million, which led to lead out Private Practice winning the 10:00 hour with 10.48 million…Smallville recovered from last week's drop (up 14%) while Supernatural held steady…CBS' NCAA coverage won every hour on Friday night, averaging a little over 10 million from 8 – 11…Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was up a smidge, the third week in a row of improvements…Dollhouse fell a tad from last week's series high…SuperNanny had a 21% spike… Friday Night Lights was up a tiny bit, too…Gossip Girl jumped 12% from last week's disappointing numbers…Dancing with the Stars topped Monday for total audience (20.23 million, same as last week) while House was head of the class with demos… Medium was up 11% from last week's series low, a nice bounce back…For what seems like the umpteenth time this season, Heroes set a new series low…CSI: Miami pulled a solid 13+ million viewers, a bigger overall audience than anything other than DWTS, and that includes House…23.46 million tuned in to watch Tuesday's American Idol, with 9.33 million sticking around for Osbournes: Reloaded…Dancing with the Stars elimination show was watched by 13 million, down 17%...Cupid debuted to 7.56 million, ok numbers but that average included a large drop off in the second 30 minutes…90210 returned to 15% less viewers than who watched the last new episode…The April Fool's Day special I Get That A Lot won the Wednesday at 8 timeslot for CBS with an impressive 10.34 million…Lie To Me dropped 10% to 8.98 million…NBC clearly made a good choice because the Law and Order: Criminal Intent rerun that aired in place of The Chopping Block almost doubled that show's previous audience….ANTM jumped a crazy 38%....Lost picked up a little, with the 9% increase good for a 9.35 million total…Life was up 29%, making NBC's looming decision that much more difficult…

It's Joanie Loves Chachi Meets The Sorrow And The Pity…It's Joanie Loves The Pity
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors… CBS canceled Guiding Light on Wednesday, ending the soaps 72 year run. Originally broadcast on the radio in 1976, it became a 15 minute TV series in 1952, bumped to 30 minutes in 68, and then jumped to its current hour length in 1977. The last episode will air on September 18th…Breaking Bad, Lost, Saturday Night Live, 60 Minutes, Hopkins, John Adams, Entourage, and Avatar were among the winners of the 2008 Peabody Awards, announced this week. SNL won for its political satire and 60 Minutes for a segment on healthcare. HBO programming won 5 of the high prestigious honors, tops for any network. New to the awards this year were websites, with YouTube and The Onion news network among those singled out…Speaking of Breaking Bad, AMC picked up a third season already…NBC Universal settled its lawsuit with the producers of Project Runway, paving the way for the series to make its Lifetime network debut this summer…The US Postal Service will be issuing a Simpsons' stamp later this year that was designed by series creator Matt Groening…Wanda Sykes is the latest to join the late night talk show game, with her weekly one hour show to air Saturdays at 11 pm in the old MadTV timeslot. The show will feature celebrity guests as well as the stand up comedy and on-the-street interviews that have made her a favorite on the talk show circuit the last few years…Mike Fliess, the producer of The Bachelor, and Fox are developing More To Love, a new reality dating show that features "plus sized" participants. The format is similar to The Bachelor, with one guy weeding out a group of women until he makes his final choice, and the network is billing it as the first dating show to have people who look like real Americans… NBC pulled Chopping Block from their line up after three low rated outings, replacing it with Law and Order: Criminal Intent reruns. No word yet on if/when they will burn off the remaining episodes…Discovery Channel is developing Steven Hawking's Universe, a three part special that aims to be to space what Planet Earth was to, well, Earth. This project will have a much higher budget than their weekly Universe series, meaning the visual effects will be incredible. Look for it in 2010…Brooke Shields told E! that Lipstick Jungle has been officially canceled…Mark Burnett is teaming up with ABC to bring a version of the BBC hit Dragon's Den to the states. Shark Tank will follow the same basic format, with entrepreneurs pitching five multi-millionaires on their ideas with the hopes of walking away with funding. Each episode is self contained. Look for the show to appear sometime during the 2009-2010 season…Tiffany "New York" Pollard has yet another VH-1 show; New York Goes To Work finds her doing a different job each week, with her place of employment chosen from text messages viewers send in. Episodes will find her behind the counter at a fast food restaurant as well as spending time as a mortuary beautician, and a sewer worker. If she lasts the day and does a good job she gets $5000. The series premieres in May…Mediocre ratings for the premiere are rumored to behind ABC's decision to cut the order for In The Motherhood from 13 episodes to 7…MTV picked up four more seasons of The Real World…Lucy Lawless is the one "name" among those announced as cast members for Starz upcoming Spartacus: Blood and Sand, their upcoming action series that is expected to feature graphic violence and sex a la 300…George Segal will do multiple episodes of Entourage as E's new mentor…Lifetime is developing a mini-series based on the Ann Rule novel Everything She Ever Wanted, starring Gina Gershon, Victor Garber, and Ryan McPartlin (Chuck)…TVGuide.com is reporting that Mekhi Phifer's first post-ER will do multiple episodes of Lie To Me…IFC is adapting Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter into a TV movie, the first time the network has made it's own feature length program. Since the books are a series, one imagines the movies could be so as well…

Turns Out Not Where But Who You're With That Really Matters
The top thing I watched since the last column went to press AKA The Best Of What's Around…After three weeks I am prepared to call myself a fan of Better Off Ted, a comedy that grows on you much in the same way one of the products of Veridian Dynamics might. The title still needs to go but that's about all I am finding wrong with the series, especially after this week's very funny episode. The producers do a great job of giving all the supporting characters just the right amount of screen time, with no one wearing out their welcome. Alison Anders is one of my favorite sitcom leading ladies, giving her third winning performance in a row (The Class and Joey being the first two)

Ok, before I go any further I really need to get something off my chest…Joey was not that bad, at least the first season. I actually thought it was kind of funny for a bit, with the quartet of Anders, Drea de Matteo, Jennifer Coolidge, and Paulo Coztanso doing the heavy lifting for Matt Leblanc. The second season was crap but for a while there it was no worse than average and nowhere near as bad as its reputation would have you believe.

I wrote two weeks ago that comparing Better Off Ted to The Office was pure laziness since all they had in common was that they were workplace comedies but I am going to commit that exact sin when, to make my point, I say that Ted is like The Office if it were written by the team behind Samantha Who?; it's charming as all get out and the writers are quite good at not hitting you over the head with the build up, making the payoff that much more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, it's nowhere near as funny or as good as The Office but I think it's got real potential and am pulling for it to do well enough to get a spot in ABC's fall line up.

People Say I'm Crazy Doing What I'm Doing. Well, They Give Me All Kinds Of Warnings To Save Me From Ruin
What's flashed before my eyes the last seven days…A smaller section than usual this week – I will catch up soon…Cupid immediately fell into the "guilty pleasure" category for me. The show wasn't all that good but Bobby Cannavale was so much fun that he pulled me in. I will keep watching…In The Motherhood was decent but I'd rather a show that focused on Megan Mullally and Horatio Sanz characters…Great to have Samantha Who? back, having lost none of its charm during its absence…Another week, another amazing episode of Friday Night Lights. The conversation between Tyra and her Mom had me more than a bit weepy, and Rigging pep talk to Lyla was high quality as well. JD's Dad hitting him may have been an obvious plot point but it was no less brutal or disturbing because of it. Also, Landry Clarke is this generations Lloyd Dobler, the kind of geeky guy who girls wish their boyfriends were more like…I finally finished what I started last year – using the weekly reruns of The Practice on FX to watch every episode. Before that I had only seen Boston Legal and can safely say that The Practice is a vastly superior program, one that has found a place on my all time list…A JD-less Scrubs was still entertaining and I wonder if they really would consider bringing the show back with this new batch of interns…An incredibly funny How I Met Your Mother became an instant classic the minute Teen Wolf appeared on the screen…I find it baffling that as Chopped goes along they seem to have no plans to have a tournament of champions to crown a season one winner…Hope you aren't tired of my singing the praises of Breaking Bad as this week's episode was fantastic. Aaron Paul was brilliant in his portrayal of a truly desperate Jesse, and the scenes with Walt and Skyler were painful in an brutally emotional way. I so wanted Walt to tell her the truth in that last scene. Anyone else wondering what exactly Skyler is doing when she leaves the house? Other than smoking, I mean...The last two weeks of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles have been fantastic, raising the tension as they reveal more aspects of the characters personality. The scene where he confronts Jesse about Riley's death was perhaps the best example in the show's two year history of teenage John becoming the John who may save the human race. Dean Winters turned in another strong performance in last Friday's episode, in particular in the scene where Sarah wordlessly tells him she thinks she has cancer. I am hoping against hope that Fox comes to their sense and yanks TSCC off the bubble and into a third season...

TV Pick Of The Week
This is always one of the best sports weekends of the year, The NCAA basketball final four battle it out Saturday beginning at four, with the winning two teams playing for the championship on Monday at 9, all games on CBS. The Women's NCAA hoops final four happens on Sunday at 7 on ESPN, with the championship game taking place on Tuesday. The Masters is next week so a lot of the best golfers in the world use the Houston Open (NBC, Saturday & Sunday) as a warm up. What am I forgetting…Oh yes, it's finally time for some baseball!!!! ESPN2 has the Braves-Phillies game on Sunday night and then games all day on Monday as well.

Don't miss a smorgasbord of sports this weekend!

Hope You Need My Love, Babe, Just Like I Need You
Here is some other noteworthy programming of the next seven days…

*Jack Black stops by Yo Gabba Gabba (Nickelodeon) this afternoon.

*Reba McIntyre hosts the 44th Annual Country Music Awards Sunday at 8 pm on CBS.

*If you've got a cake fetish – and who doesn't – than the premiere of Food Network Challenge: Last Cake Standing (8 pm) is right up your alley.

*The latest in National Geographic's excellent Explorer series is Inside Guantanamo Bay, the most in depth look you will get at the infamous prison.

*Sunday night is a biggie for Showtime, with the season three premiere of The Tudors at 9 followed by the season finale of The United States of Tara.

*In Treatment (HBO) returns with a new schedule, two episodes on Sunday night and then three on Monday. New patients for Gabriele Byrne include John Mahoney and Hope Lange.

*Bob Saget returns to network TV with Surviving Suburbia, which debuts in the cushy post-Dancing with the Stars timeslot on Monday night.

*The Hills kicks off another season – quite possibly its last – Monday at 10 pm on HBO.

*It's The Easter Beagle Charlie Brown makes its annual return to the lineup Tuesday at 8 pm on ABC.

*The season, and most likely series, finale of Trust Me is actually two episodes airing back-to-back starting Tuesday at 9 pm.

*The Unusuals looks, well, different (you thought I was going to say it, didn't you), and how can you not check out a show with a cast like this one; Amber Tamblyn, Adam Goldberg, Terry Kinney, Harold Perrineau, and Jeremy Renner.

*The season premiere of Dinner Impossible is sure to get your culinary juices flowing Wednesday at 10 pm on the Food Network.

*Coverage of the opening round of The Masters (ESPN) kicks off Thursday at 4 pm.

*NBC is sandwiching two new episodes of The Office (8 & 9) around the premiere of Parks and Recreation, a new comedy starring Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones. Early buzz is not strong but I will judge for myself.

*Harper's Island is probably as close as network TV will come to a standard slasher flick and that might actually be a good thing. Check out the series premiere Thursday at 10 on CBS.

*If you think sci-fi/fantasy is a genre ripe for skewering then Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire is just what you've been looking for. The new Comedy Central series is getting real laughs from critics and premieres Thursday at 10 pm.

Two Tivos To Paradise
30 Days, 30 Rock, The Academy, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Best Day Ever, Best Week Ever, Better Off Ted, Big Love, Bones, Breaking Bad, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, Celebrity Apprentice, Chocolate News, The Chopping Block, Chopped, The Chris Isaak Hour, Chuck, The Closer, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girls, Damages, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Dirty Sexy Money, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Iron Chef America, Jon & Kate + Eight, Last Comic Standing, Last Restaurant Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Life On Mars, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Man v. Food, Medium, The Middleman, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Nip/Tuck, The Office, One Tree Hill, Paranormal State, Party Down, Private Practice, Project Runway, Pushing Daisies, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Reaper, Rescue Me, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Samantha Who?, Sanctuary, The Sarah Jane Chronicles, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Shear Genius, Skins, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Sports Soup, Step It Up and Dance, Supernatural, Table For 12, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Top Chef, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, Trust Me, Ugly Betty, Will Work for Food

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. Check back with the site for my interviews with Amber Tamblyn (Tuesday) and Jeremy Renner (Wednesday), both of whom are starring in the new ABC series The Unusuals. My biggest and bestest interview of next week will run on Friday when I chat with James Marsters about Dragon Ball and of course, Buffy and Angel. Actually, why not just bookmark 411mania.com (as well as the page that pulls up all my writing, which you can find via the options at the bottom) and save yourself some google time?

The countdown to the 150th edition of Two Tivos To Paradise is on – only ten weeks away. I'm planning something fun like the star studded celebration we had for our centennial and will drop some hints along the way.

Have a great week – see you next Friday!

Feedback is encouraged at [e-mail] as well via the comments section below.

Sources for this week's column include Daily Variety, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and Hollywood Reporter (plus the web sites for those publications) as well as Aintit.cool.com.