Two Tivos To Paradise 01.08.10: The First Full TV News Report of 2010!

Posted by Al Norton on 01.08.2010

Chuck, Big Love, and American Idol return! Also, Danielle Fishel stops by to chat about The Dish, The Simpsons celebrate 20 years, NBC plans for the fall, raves for NCIS, tons of news & notes, the TV Pick of the Week and more, all in the latest edition of Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise!

Hello Friends. Welcome to the first TV news column of 2010! Hope all of you have a happy and safe New Year's celebration and have made it through the holiday season in one piece. We are kicking off the year by setting a new record for Largest. Column. Ever.

Thanks so much for all your comments on our two year-in-review pieces. I can't stress enough how much I like reading what you have to say about both the column and the shows you love/hate, even when the criticism falls ever so slightly below the constructive bar. Keep it up – it makes my job that much more fun and the product that much better.

I was deeply saddend by the news of Artie Lange's suicide attempt this week. Artie ranked on my list of 2009 TV Entertainers of the Year for his fantastic late night talk show appearances and at times is one of the funniest people in the world. He is without peer when it comes to storytelling with an incredible memory for comedic detail and I always thought he should do a one man show about his life growing up in New Jersey and his first couple of years in the entertainment world. There is a history of both drug addiction and mental illness in my family and I am all too familiar with the helplessness and dispair he must have been feeling to try to take his own life. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and I hope that he can find way to be at peace with his demons.

On the always busy interview front, use the links below to check out conversations with Alison Sweeney (Tuesday) and Shark Tank's Daymond John and Kevin O'Leary today. Also up today is a quick one-one-one I had with Chuck himself, Zachary Levi. Next Monday the site will run my chat with Southland's Regina King.

How I Met Your Mother celebrates their 100th episode this Monday - more on that a bit further down in the column – and here is a cute little video where the cast talks about their favorite episodes along the way.



Speaking of videos, here is a very cool breakdown of the first five seasons of Lost condensed to just over 8 minutes…



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

THIS JUST IN
All sorts of rumors regarding Jay Leno were flying on Thursday. First came a story that NBC had canceled The Jay Leno Show, and the network responded with a statement that the show was still on their schedule and they were working with Jay to make it better. TMZ started a new flurry of reports with their sources telling them that there was much discussion about Jay returning to his old 11:35 timeslot after the Winter Olympics hiatus. More detailed reports came later saying that Jay would only be on for 30 minutes, pushing The Tonight Show and Late Night back a half hour each.

The main reason I have a hard time with those stories is that NBC doesn't have five hours a week of primetime programming ready to fill the gap that would be created by removing The Jay Leno Show from their line up. Parenthood takes up one hour, and I suppose they could bring Friday Night Lights back early but that still leaves three hours. With two of their current series putting up all-time lows this week (details below) they can hardly risk things getting worse.

My feelings are the same - the best thing they can do is ride Jay out for the spring and bring him back in the fall one night a week. If they had him on Fridays at 9 during football season and then moved him to Sundays at 7 pm come January they could keep things fresh and have a much easier time booking guests. Jay does have an audience - his Tonight Show ratings were quite good - so there can be a place for him on the schedule. The trick will be for NBC to resist going for the quick fix and instead think long term.

We Could Always Opt For The Temporal Gratification Of Sheer Physical Attraction
The next seven days feature the season premieres of some of the biggest/best shows on TV. Here is a quick guide…

*Shark Tank (Tonight, 9 pm, ABC)
My favorite new reality show of 2009 is back for season two with a new batch of people pitching their life's work in the hopes of hitting it big. ST was included in last week's TV Entertainers of the Year list and I will paraphrase myself a bit and say that what's so refreshing about the show is how little manipulation is required to hold your attention; it's people standing up and presenting ideas in front of some people who decide if they want to invest. Simplicity works, folks.

*Big Love (Sunday, 9 pm, HBO)
I have seen the first two episodes of the season and am here to testify to their greatness; Big Love is easily one of the best dramas on TV right now and these two hours go a long way towards reinforcing that. By the time the second episode ends next Sunday the storyline for the season will be fully laid out, and those last moments will be as emotional as anything the series has done before, including one character whose doubts make her a stronger person.

*Chuck (Sunday, 9 pm, NBC)
Chuck fans going through withdrawal will get their fix soon with three episodes over two nights. I have seen the first five episodes of the season and enjoyed them greatly although I am not convinced these will be what finally turn the show into a bona fide hit. Yes there are changes in the series but in a lot of ways things are still the same. When Brandon Routh shows up in episode four things do get a little more interesting and Chuck the spy really starts to find his way. The one area I wish there was more growth is in the Chuck-Sarah relationship but my guess is the writers worry about where things would go once they were officially together. Again, to be clear, fans of Chuck will love what I have seen of the new season!

*American Idol (Tuesday, 8 pm, Fox)
The most popular show in the country 8 years running probably isn't winning over any new fans but with 20+ million tuning in each episode that isn't that much of a problem. AI fans have a love/hate relationship with the audition rounds; I know some who think this is the best part and others who don't watch until they get to the Hollywood rounds. A host of celebrity guest judges should make things interesting until Ellen shows up next month.

*Project Runway (Thursday, 10 pm, Lifetime)
As a preview of the upcoming season we got a couple of minutes with Jesse LeNoir, one of the competitors.

TTTP: Can you give me the readers digest version of your life up until the point you decided to apply for Project Runway?

JL: I was born in Ohio and moved away when I was 2 years old. I moved every 3 years or so till I got to college. I lived in Washington state in Kelso, and Olympia. North Carolina in Oak Island, Raleigh, and Wilmington. I moved to Florida in '98 to Ocala, and then Jacksonville where I graduated from The Bolles School, and Orlando for college where I've been ever since. Growing up I was the 3rd of 6 kids, which meant a lot of sharing and competition. I played baseball for about 14 years growing up; I think sports are where I got my competitive nature. Also there were 4 boys in my family all being born before the last two girls, so we would have baseball games in the yard constantly playing against each other. We were also homeschooled which meant I learned things in a different way than most kids which I think helped me teach myself fashion. That also left me much more time to be creative since my studies didn't take as long as if there were structured class times. I attended college at the University of Central Florida pursuing a degree in Theatre Acting. There I learned to use a sewing machine in the costume shop doing mandatory hours towards my degree. I took that knowledge and went out to thrift stores to find clothes that fit me so I could take them apart and use the pieces for patterns. I would study the construction methods when I was taking them apart making sure I would be able to figure out how to put it all back together when the time came. I also started reading everything I could about construction, and would experiment with patterning trial and error. I eventually got into women's fashion after I watched a marathon of PR season 1. I found it much more satisfying as far as a creative outlet and much more viable as far as a career since women's wear tends to sell more and change more often. I've been working now for 6 years on fashion while still acting at the same time. I've made my living as an actor in local theatrical productions as well as multiple shows in the Orlando area theme parks. I've also been working on my own company House of Kilroy for the last 5 years, specializing in hand-screen printed t-shirts, and my one of a kind pieces.

TTTP: Obviously you were familiar with the show from TV but what were some of the biggest adjustments you had to make to life on camera?

JL: Sleep!!! I got none, and I need a good 8 hours to feel rested. I found even when I could get sleep I wouldn't be able too cause my mind was on overdrive. That and always having a microphone on which was really uncomfortable.

TTTP: Who did you decide were your biggest competition when you first met everyone?

JL: I found when I got there that I thought everybody was really my competition. Coming from being self-taught and not really in direct competition with other designers before it was much more overwhelming than I thought it would be to be around these talented people.

TTTP: Do you think your lack of formal design training is perhaps a plus in that you haven't some of the same philosophy and constraints drilled into your head?

JL: I definitely think that I have a different way of going about design than other designers. I look at things from a different angle and the process for my design comes from a different place. I also have had to figure out how to do everything that I know on my own so when a problem comes up I can troubleshoot things much easier than other's who've been spoon-fed.

TTTP: Give me a preview of what we are going to see the first few weeks.

JL: Major talent; some of the best work that I think I've seen from this show for a long time. Everyone is extremely diverse in their aesthetic and great at it, making each piece created amazing to look at, no matter what design background you may come from.

TTTP: Promise me that you'll talk to me again at the end if you win and give me the real dish!

JL: For sure! Thanks!

I Went To Sleep Last Night Tired From The Fight, I've Been Fighting For Tomorrow All My Life
NBC is moving to put this year's disastrous primetime lineup behind them, with at least 18 pilots picked up for consideration in the fall. Angela Bromstad, chief of entertainment at the network, also confirmed in an interview with BusinessWeek that Law and Order would be back in the fall for its record breaking 21st season. Series already under consideration for the fall include…

*JJ Abrams' married couple spy drama Undercovers, which he will executive producer as well as directing the pilot.

*Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, with David Tennant (Doctor Who), Jeffrey Tambour, and Jerry O'Connell.

*A remake of the 70's classic private eye series The Rockford Files

*A sitcom co-written by and starring Adam Carrola as a contractor trying to recover from a divorce.

You've Got Style, That's What All The Girls Say, Satin Sheets And Luxuries So Fine
The Dish returns to Style this Saturday at 10 pm with its first new episodes of the year. I caught up with host Danielle Fishel via email this week to discuss the show.

TTTP: The Dish is now mid-way through its second season and we have seen some changes to the format during the run but what are some things that we don't see - behind the scenes stuff - that have helped the show get even better?

DF: Well, we have had a few staff changes and with that brings new ideas and new concepts but overall, I think the changes have been the result of every one of us bringing our best ideas to the table every day. It's also a compliment to The Style Network for giving us some more room to try out new things and letting us step outside the box more often. They needed to see us prove ourselves before they were willing to let us get to "crazy" but now they give us a lot of room for play. That makes for a better show every week. .

TTTP: I do love the Clip Closet intros but can you run the "I read" video every once and a while? Please?!?!

DF: Ha! My mother loves that one too. I'll see if I have any pull! :-)

TTTP: Is it just me or is Launch My Line light years more entertaining than Bravo's earlier attempt to replace Project Runway, The Fashion Show?

DF: Well, you're about to learn a dark truth behind The Dish. I hope we don't lose your support but here is the cold, dark truth. I have never seen Launch My Line! I could give you some boring, pat answer agreeing with you for the sake of my Dish reputation but that's just not my style. I'd much rather just be honest and say that I do not get to watch nearly as much TV as someone with my job should be able to mainly because of that darn full-time student thing I have going on. However, I would like to say that almost anything would be more entertaining than The Fashion Show.

TTTP: I have no idea what your relationship status is but what would you say if Style approached you about doing either a dating show (a la The Bachelorette) or a relationship series (like Giulianna & Bill)?

DF: Well, I do have a wonderful boyfriend so a dating show would be out of the question and I try not to use absolutes because they always come back to bite you in the butt. So, I will say, I do not think a reality relationship show will be in my future but I would never say never. With that said, it would be horribly boring, filled with school days, homework, bed times before 10pm and zero parties or "events." It would include 5:30 am alarm clocks, workouts at LA Fitness, and a dog that barks like a lunatic at everything. Plus lots of lovey dovey hugs and kisses and rarely any arguing. Of course, my Dish days would be entertaining enough to get every one of my writers their own show!

TTTP: What will The Dish do for clips when The Tyra Banks Show goes off the air later this year?

DF: Wow! I do not know. I do know that The Soup will be hurting a lot more than The Dish and I need to make a mental note to send Joel a sympathy gift basket filled with Cabernet when that happens. I hope Tyra goes on to do more spectacular work we can follow.

TTTP: Happy New Year, by the way! Did you make any resolutions?

DF: Happy New Year to YOU! I made the dedication to make 2010 the year of my career dreams and to work as hard as possible at achieving my goals one at a time. I am also going to continue to maintain my ideal balance between my educational ambitions, personal joys, and career aspirations.

Don't miss The Dish, Saturdays at 10 pm on Style.

Let's Go Back, Let's Go Back, Let's Go Way On Back When
Here are the headlines that you may have missed over the last three weeks…

*Fox is thisclose to working out a deal to pick up an additional two years of American Idol, extending the series run through 2014. This news comes on the heels of Simon Cowell's brother announcing on his podcast that Simon would leave the show at the end of the upcoming season. Cowell is working to bring his British series The X-Factor to the U.S. and Fox is very interested in airing it, with the network hoping they can sign a package deal that keeps him on Idol. The first contract that needs to be worked out is Cowell's with Sony, which owns X-Factor, and then he can begin/finalize negotiations with Fox.

*CBS announced that the upcoming season of Survivor would be titled Heroes vs. Villains and feature popular and notorious cast members from seasons past, broken up into two teams based on their previous actions. The show premieres on February 11th.

*CBS has given the coveted post-Super Bowl timeslot to the new reality series Undercover Boss, where CEO's and big executives anonymously take entry level jobs at their companies in order to get a better idea of the way things really work and the hardships their employees face. White Castle, 7-11, Hooters, Waste Management, and Churchill Downs have already committed to take part. The show's regular timeslot will be Sunday's at 9 pm, after The Amazing Race and before Cold Case.

*Starz renewed its new series Spartacus: Blood & Sand for a second season before the first season premiered, a just about unheard of move in TV programming. The network is clearly happy with the quality of the action drama, which uses much of the same technology and style of the movie 300.

*ABC began doubling up on weekly episodes of Scrubs and Better Off Ted – running two each on Tuesdays – in a move that most likely signals the end of both series.

Usually in a round up section like this I would just give the headlines but I have to add some editorial content here as what the network has done with the high quality Ted is just awful. They didn't give it any publicity whatsoever (It was one of the few shows that ABC has not offered a satellite media tour for, with the others being much more established hits like Grey's and Private Practice) and paired it with Scrubs, a show that at this point is hardly growing its audience. Why not try it on Wednesdays with the rest of their comedies, especially now that there is a hole in that line up? Better Off Ted is a very, very funny, well acted series that deserves much better than ABC has given it.

*USA renewed White Collar for a second season, with no mention of how many episodes that would include. The second half of the show's freshman season begins on January 19th when the show takes over its new Tuesdays at 10 pm timeslot.

*Tyra Banks announced that this season would be the last for her daily talk show that airs on The CW after four years in syndication. She is expected to continue with her America's Next Top Model series for the network.

*ABC ordered a pilot for Awkward Situations for Men, an adaptation of British writer's Danny Wallace's new book. Wallace will star playing a version of himself, and the story tracks his family's move to the states and the culture shock that follows. Speaking of ABC pilots, the network also is moving forward on Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid, about a couple who each have divorces on their relationship resume and are obsessed with not making those same mistakes this time around. This, too, is an adaptation of a book.

*The second episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians set an E! network record for largest audience with 4.2 million, topping the 2002 series premiere of The Anna Nicole Smith Show.

*Despite setting a Comedy Central record for largest series premiere audience with 5.3 million viewers The Jeff Dunham Show was not renewed for a second season. The audience dropped more than 50% for the second episode and by the end was only pulling in around 1.5 million per outing.

*The USA Network was the most watched cable network this year and also claimed the biggest gain in primetime prize as well, with a 15% increase from last year. Other networks posting gains include HBO (up 41%), BET (up 23%), Food Network (up 26%), TLC (up 18%) and FX (up 10%). The percentage gains are larger than USA's but the total viewers added is smaller. Networks that did not do as well in 2009 include CNN (down 30%), Lifetime (down 20%), Hallmark (down 18%), Spike (down 18%), Comedy Central (down 10%) and MTV (down 10%).

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 seven days…

SUNDAY
ABC dominated the night, with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (11 million) and Desperate Housewives (15 million) each gaining about 6% from their last new episode. Surprisingly, Brothers & Sisters (10.9 million) dropped a bit…Thanks to a late running football game, almost all of Fox's animated line up showed big increases from the previous week…Sunday was the highest rated night in Food Network history, with Super Chef Battle drawing a remarkable 7.6 million viewers and Worst Cooks In America premiering in front of 4 million pairs of eyes…

MONDAY
The Bachelor premiered to 9.6 million, including a 6% gain in the demos, and easily won Monday night's non-sports programming face off…The Conveyer Belt of Love debuted 6.5 million strong….The two hour return of Heroes was fourth for the night with the second hour showing a huge drop off as well as hitting a new series low…Hulk Hogan and friends helped TNA's Impact on Spike hit an all-time high with 2.2 million over the three hour telecast…The return of The Secret Life of the American Teenager was the second most watched episode in series history and set some series records among specific target demos…The mid-season premiere of Make It Or Break It doubled the audience of the series premiere a few months earlier

TUESDAY
The Biggest Loser hit a series high for a season premiere audience, and the strong lead-in helped The Jay Leno Show grab it's best numbers in weeks…The first new NCIS of the year brought in the usual 20+ million (21.4 to be exact), with NCIS: Los Angeles posting a strong 18.1 million of its own….The Good Wife had its best outing since September…Fox's bowl game coverage got a shade under 11 million viewers…ABC finished a lagging 4th for the night, with only The Forgotten at 10 pm breaking the 4 million threshold…

WEDNESDAY
10.8 million tuned in to The People's Choice Awards on CBs, up 13% from last January…Back-to-back episodes of The Middle did well in the 8:00 hour, with the second putting up a series high 8.2 million…Modern Family drew a bit over 10 million and it's best overall numbers since the series premiere…Cougar Town was up 18% from its last new episode…Good news/bad news for Ugly Betty – they performed 23% higher than their Friday night average but the actual numbers were pretty close to those that got Eastwick canceled from that time slot earlier in the season…Mercy hit a series low while Law and Order: SVU followed with a outing that topped it's previous episode by 39%...The Jay Leno Show lost more than 50% of its lead-in…

All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Julie Benz first post-Dexter gig will be a three episode (at least) stint on Desperate Housewives as a stripper with a masters degree…ESPN will launch ESPN 3-D this summer in time for FIFA World Cup coverage, and Discovery and Imax are teaming up for their own 3-D network for 2011…Sharon Stone signed on for a four episode stint on Law and Order: SVU as a cop turned prosecutor….Speaking of SVU, Mischa Barton will guest this spring…Deadwood creator David Milch is teaming up with Michael Mann for a new HBO drama set in the world of horse racing. The pilot for Luck was written by Milch and will be directed by Mann, with both serving as executive producers… Regis Philbin returned to Live with Regis and Kelly this past Monday after taking several weeks off to recover from hip replacement surgery…NBC is denying reports that they are canceling The Jay Leno Show, saying in a statement that they were continuing to work improve the performance of the nightly series…VH-1 Storytellers: John Mayer debuts on January 28th…Kevin Alejandro (Southland) will be a regular on the upcoming season of True Blood…Grey's Anatomy has bumped Kim Raver from recurring/guest star status to series regular…Catherine McCormack (28 Weeks Later), Pablo Schreiber (The Wire) and Stacey Keach have been cast in FX's Lights Out, replacing Melora Hardin, Elias Koteas, and Kevin Conway, respectively, from the pilot. To be perfectly honest, Lights Out just got a little less interesting to me…Luke Wilson and Diane Ladd have been cast in the Laura Dern starring HBO pilot Enlightened…James Van Der Beek has signed on for a recurring role on Mercy…ABC's new pilot 187 Detroit is a cop drama done telling the weekly stories through the eyes of a fictional documentary film crew…Martin Lawrence is executive producing the TV One comedy Love That Girl!, starring Tatyana Ali. The series premieres January 19th…NBC confirmed what you read here weeks ago; the new cast of The Celebrity Apprentice is Darryl Strawberry, Cyndi Lauper, Bret Michaels, Sharon Osbourne, Bill Goldberg, Michael Johnson, Holly Robinson Peete, Sinbad, Carol Leifer, Selita Ebanks, Summer Sanders, Curtis Stone, and Rod Blagojevich. The season premieres in March following the Winter Olympics…Shawn Ryan has been quite busy since The Shield signed off; he currently serves as showrunner for Fox's Lie To Me, his Terriers was picked up by FX, and now Fox is putting his new police drama Ride Along on their schedule…Both Carlos Mencia and Cedric The Entertainer are working on comedy pilots for ABC…Fox Reality premieres Seducing Cindy on the 30th of this month, where download queen and single Mom of three Cindy Margolis looks for a life partner among 24 possibilities whose ages range between 18 and 71…Versus has signed a deal with the NBA Development League to air 10 regular season games and 6 playoff games, including the championship…USA gave an 11 episode first season to the secret agent drama Covert Affairs, starring Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Peter Gallagher, and Kari Machett.

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…Ok, I get it now. I have for years semi-mocked the incredibly strong weekly numbers that NCIS put up but after taking part in much of an all Christmas day marathon at my in-laws I am now longer fighting it; NCIS is a good show and I understand its following.

The one episode that really stood out to me was when the team when back to Gibbs home town to investigate a case; any show that gives Ralph Waite screen time gets a big thumbs up in my book, and his casting as Mark Harmon's Dad was dead on. Despite now fully understanding the back story I was still moved by the final scene, a flashback to when Gibbs first met his late wife.

The writers, producers, and directors all know what they are doing as the episodes were well paced, with the twists always coming at the right times and never seeming forced or like twists for twists sake. The group of actors who play the team are all solid without seeming too much like writers creations, and Michael Weatherly (raise your hand if you remember him as Cooper Alden) is the best of the bunch.

I am not saying I will become a regular NCIS viewer but certainly the reruns that USA shows have become much more appealing to me.

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…It wasn't a huge shock to me that the first three Scrubs of the post-JD era were the best of the season and gave a strong showcase to the new casts skills. Dave Franco is really growing on me and I like this show a lot more than what I saw at the start of the season…Worst Cook in America had an entertaining premiere and I liked the twists of how each team was chosen. I also liked how blunt the judges were in their comments, a rarity for this type of program…Desperate Housewives hit a series low with the segment from last Sunday where Gabby imagines a life with her forcing her daughter to be an actress. It was poorly written and acted and just plain pointless. Thankfully the segment that followed, with Lynette dreaming of her unborn son was as good as anything the show has ever done, perfectly written and acted, both heartwarming and ultimately heart breaking. It once again confirmed that I'd be more interested in a spinoff called The Scavos than I am in DH (although obviously I keep watching)…A little too much plot was stuffed into Sunday's Brothers & Sisters; I mean, from finding out you need a bone morrow transplants to having that transplant work (or at least start to) is a bit too far of a journey for 60 minutes. I am not sure how I feel about this new storyline where Kitty apparently slept with the President (or at least an incredibly important elected official) in her past but will see where it goes before passing judgment…Yes Demons was highly derivative of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but considering that Buffy is one of my all time favorite shows I am not sure it's a bad thing. The special effects were fantastic, as was Philip Glenister, and we season passed it already. It's really quite a testament to Glenister's talents that I can see him as anyone other than Gene Hunt…ABC's seeming disinterest in putting any promotional efforts behind Better Off Ted is really quite sad considering just how funny the show is. In particular the word play is fantastic, with Veronica trying to get the dead guy's name right at the memorial service being a highlight…Couldn't agree more with Joe on Men of a Certain Age about the best song in Rocky and while I personally think the best scene is where Mickey comes over and asks Rocky if he can train him, I very much like the "gaps" scene as well. Loved the conversation between Joe and his daughter's ex boyfriend; I mean it as high praise when I say it was Friday Night Lights quality. Can't say enough about Andre Braugher's performance as Owen other than to suggest he get his tux ready for the Emmys…The first Late Late Show of the new year was a prime example of Craig Ferguson's brilliance; his segment with Rosie Perez was thoroughly entertaining without a single mention of anything she was there to push…One of the reasons I enjoy Chef Academy as much as I do is the emphasis on actual cooking. I think the lack of both weekly eliminations and the build to crown a champion may be both what keeps the show from being a bigger hit and also what makes it so much more interesting to me…Cake Boss is not a great show but it works because I think everyone is themselves when on-camera (albeit slightly exaggerated versions) and more importantly because these guys are so very good at their jobs. The wedding cakes this past Monday were (real and) spectacular…Last Restaurant Standing got off to a great start with a couple being eliminated during a challenge (as opposed to at the end during the standard elimination segment). Chef Blanc's lack of patience shows just how seriously he takes the concept of going into business with one of these couples. My feelings that LRS is the best of its genre were not changed one iota…I laughed so much at the first 5-10 minutes of Cougar Town that I have decided to move it out of the "guilty pleasure" category and place in firmly in "shows I like"…This week's Modern Family was the best of the season/series, with a ton of laugh-out-loud moments to go along with some high quality work from Ed O'Neill...

TV Pick Of The Week
Even a non-regular watcher like myself can recognize the overall greatness that is The Simpsons, which is why Sunday's episode, the 450th of the series, is such a cause for celebration. Think about that…450 episodes…good lord, that's a lot of funny. Even more interesting to me is what follows, a one hour documentary from Morgan Spurlock that looks at the shows place in history and its effects on the world of pop culture; I would have set my TiVo even if it didn't have the ultra-cool title of The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice.

Don't miss Fox's celebration of The Simpsons, starting Sunday at 8 pm.

Hope You Need My Love, Babe, Just Like I Need You
Here is some other noteworthy programming of the next seven days, including a list of shows returning from their winter hiatus.

*In honor what would have been Elvis Presley's 75th birthday today TCM is running a day long marathon of the King's movies.

*The newest season of TLC's What Not To Wear kicks off tonight at 9 pm.

*ESPN has a matchup of Eastern Conference powers tonight when the Celtics take on the Hawks with an 8 pm tip off.

*The wild card round of the NFL playoffs being tomorrow with Jets–Bengals at 4:30 pm and Eagles–Cowboys at 8 pm, both on NBC. Sunday has Browns-Patriots on CBS at 1:00 pm and Packers-Cardinals at 4:40 pm on Fox.

*Women's Division 1 college basketball gets a rare national showcase on Saturday with a doubleheader featuring some of the best teams in the country; UConn-North Carolina tip off 4 pm, preceded by Ohio State-Michigan State at 2 pm.

*History Channel's Ax Men swings into a third season Sunday at 9 pm.

*Border Wars, a new series that documents those who guard the US borders, premieres Sunday at 9 pm on NatGeo.

*How I Met Your Mother reaches the 100 episode milestone with an outing that gets us – and Ted – as close as we have ever been to the woman in the title. Also, did I mention the big musical number? This one is a classic.

*The best episode to-date of Men of a Certain Age airs Monday at 9 pm, a showcase for Ray Romano's underrated acting skills and a very well written look at the dating world of people in their 40's. Following that is the TNT premiere of Southland, with a pilot episode containing footage not aired on NBC last spring. Not a lot of networks can offer you two such quality hours back-to-back, so check them out!

*Fantasia For Real, a new reality series about the life of the former American Idol finalist debuts Monday at 10 pm on VH-1.

*TNT gets you ready for the season three premiere of Leverage (Wednesday, 10 pm) by running all of season two in marathon form starting Wednesday at noon.

*My favorite musical performer, Lyle Lovett, guests on my favorite music series, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…Wednesday night on Sundance. Ray Lamontagne and John Prine also appear.

*The third season of TVLand's hit series High School Reunion begins Wednesday at 10 pm.

*Grey's Anatomy (Thursday, 9 pm, ABC) and Private Practice (10 pm) return with a new two hour event with a storyline that crosses from one series to the next.

Two Tivos To Paradise
30 Rock, The Academy, Accidentally on Purpose, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Better Off Ted, Big Love, Bones, Bored To Death, Breaking Bad, Brothers & Sisters, Burn Notice, Chef Academy, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chopped, The Chris Isaak Hour, Chuck, The Closer, Community, Cougar Town, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girls, Damages, The Deadliest Catch, Demons, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Flipping Out, Food Network Challenge, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, Glee, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Hung, Iron Chef America, Launch My Line, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Man v. Food, Medium, Men of a Certain Age, The Middle, Models of the Runway, Modern Family, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Next Iron Chef, The Office, One Tree Hill, Paranormal State, Party Down, Private Practice, Project Runway, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rescue Me, Royal Pains, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shark Tank, Shear Genius, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Southland, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…, Sports Soup, Supernatural, Table For 12, Top Chef, Top Chef: Masters, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, Ugly Betty, V, The Vampire Diaries, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Will Work for Food

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. We'll be back next week with a full run down of all the latest TV news. I mean, what else would would we give you?

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.