Two Tivos To Paradise 01.15.10: We're Not Moving Our Time Slot, Either!

Posted by Al Norton on 01.15.2010

The latest on the Jay-Conan-NBC debacle, 24 returns, Simon leaves Americal Idol for the X-Factor, a preview of Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, TCA round-up, details on the Ghost Hunters season premiere, Howie Mandell replaces The Hoff on America's Got Talent, tons of news and notes, the TV Pick of the week and more, all in the latest edition of Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise!

Hello Friends. We are a solid two weeks into 2010 at this point and I hope the New Year is treating you well. Things in the world of television are certainly hopping, much more so than I would have expected. Hey, I am not complaining; the columns write themselves these days.

Our best wishes go out to Dexter star Michael C Hall, who announced this week he was being treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

I need to apologize for leaving David Simon's upcoming HBO series Treme off of my Things To Look Forward to in 2010 list from a couple of weeks ago as it may be the scripted drama I am most excited about. Here is a teaser that just got released for the show, which premieres in April…



For all of you who enjoyed the Lost video last week, here is another, brought to you by the folks who made the highly entertaining Lost Untangled shorts last season



And to wrap up our trio of videos, here is a great clip to hype Showtime's upcoming series Episodes.



Lots going on on the interview front; my chat with Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (best known for The 4400 and the star of the Lifetime Movie Network's The Wronged Man is up today, and my one-on-one with Charisma Carpenter will run tomorrow. Next Tuesday you can read my conversation with the Millionaire Matchmaker herself, Bravo's Patti Stanger.

Tik tok on the clock but the news don't stop, no.

You've Got The Best Of Both Worlds, You're The Kind Of Girl Who Can Take Down A Man And Lift Him Back Up Again
Here is a timeline for one of the strangest seven days in recent television history…

*Thursday
Reports break that NBC has cancelled The Jay Leno Show. NBC responds by saying that is not the case and they are committed to making the show better. Later in the day TMZ reports that NBC is moving Jay back to 11:35 and bumping Conan. That evening NYTimes.com says Jay will be on for a half hour and The Tonight Show will follow at 12:05, with Late Night shifted back to 1:05. Jay jokes about being cancelled in his monologue that night.

*Friday
Rumors abound of Conan leaving and going to Fox. No word of any kind from NBC. Conan and Jay both make jokes in their monologue about shifting timeslots and finding new jobs.

*Sunday
NBC confirms that The Jay Leno Show has been removed from their primetime line up, with February 12th being the last night. They tell the TCA audience that they've asked Conan to move The Tonight Show to 12:05 and are waiting for an answer. They also confirm that The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon will air at 1:05 but have no answer about plans for Carson Daly. They said that Dateline as well as reruns of their current series were going to be used to fill the primetime hours, and suggested Friday Night Lights might be run ahead of schedule as well.

*Monday
The monologues of all the late night talk shows on all the networks are littered with jokes at NBC and Jay Leno's expense. It's clear that the hosts are taking Conan's side. Conan's jokes don't mention Jay specifically but there are a couple of Leno-esque affectations thrown in the punch lines. Jay's jokes are about NBC and the uncertainty of his future but make no reference to Conan and the 11:35 timeslot.

*Tuesday
Conan O'Brien issued a statement refusing to move The Tonight Show to the 12:05 timeslot, calling the show the best franchise in television history and saying moving it would forever damage its legacy. He also chided NBC for giving him only 7 months to establish himself in the new timeslot, especially considering his less-than-phenomenal ratings were at least somewhat caused by the network's poor prime time performance. He also said he has no offers from other networks and is focused on staying at NBC in the 11:35 timeslot.

*Wednesday
Multiple outlets reported sources telling them that NBC was not going to change course from their plan to put Jay back on at 11:35 and that if Conan left, they would give Leno back The Tonight Show and then simply follow him with Fallon and Daly in their current time slots. TVGuide.com released poll results that showed that 83% of responders wanted Conan and The Tonight Show to remain in the 11:35 pm slot. Jay shot back at Conan with the line, "7 months?!?! We only got 4!" Harmelin Media released the results of a research study that showed that the late night news audience for NBC affiliates had dropped an average of 25% in the 25-54 demos from last November to this November, with New York (down 48%), LA (down 47%) and Philly (down 43%) being hit the hardest. Based on a formula that calculates the price of advertising on those news casts the study said the stations would have lost a collective total of $22 million over the next three months The Jay Leno Show was on the air.

*Thursday
TMZ, which has been out in front on this whole story, reports that NBC and Jay have a deal in place for him to return as host of The Tonight Show in the 11:35 slot. EW.com says there is no deal but its on the way, as is a settlement between Conan and NBC that pays him much of what his owed on his contract but also keeps him from putting a new show on the air with another network right away. They say his deal with NBC only guarantees he is host of The Tonight Show and makes no mention of a specific time slot, meaning the much discussed lump sum payment would not be in play. Ratings for both shows are up dramatically this week.

Wow. What is incredible in all of this is the lack of real comment from Jay Leno, who with this move may have cemented his legacy, and not in a good way. Sure, he can fall back on the "Hey, I'm under contract and have to do what they tell me" but you don't take someone else's job, and this is the second time he has done it. In both this and the earlier instance (when he took over a Tonight Show hosting gig that most thought had been promised to David Letterman) there is enough grey area for Jay to rationalize a good night's sleep but I still fall back on the "you don't take someone else's job" concept, especially when Jay would be the first to say he considered Conan and Jay to be friends.

He doesn't need the money and there are better options for him and NBC. I have been writing for months that he should take Sundays from 7 – 9 and become the new Ed Sullivan (doing Friday nights during football season). Jay does have a lot of fans and bringing him back in small doses keeps it fresh and makes it feel more like an event.

I applaud Conan for holding his ground and insisting that the network honor the deal. While Fox is thought to be his likely destination I wouldn't be surprised if the same syndication group that went after Jay before he signed his new NBC deal makes a run at him.

Another reason this is a lousy move for NBC is the timing; they simply don't have the programming for five hours a week of primetime. They have six or seven unaired episodes of Trauma, a show that performed so poorly that they yanked it from their lineup the first time around, Friday Night Lights, which even a diehard fan like me knows it's not a big ratings performer, Dateline, and lots and lots of Law and Order reruns. Why not cut Jay back to two or three nights a week for the spring and summer and then come back in the fall with an all new line up? You'll read in the TCA roundup below that their plans include two new reality shows, SVU reruns and another hour of Dateline; the C in NBC certainly stands for cheap.

The possibility exists that they could borrow programming from one of the other networks under the Universal umbrella (USA, Bravo, Syfy, and Oxygen) but they would still be showing reruns of one form or another.

Dollars and cents say NBC had to do something but I don't think they were at all prepared for Conan to say no and this storm to erupt. I know that they say that all publicity is good publicity but I don't think that's the case here. Yes, Jay's ratings will spike if/when he returns to 11:30 but the damage to their, and his reputations will be permanent.

It Could All Be So Simple But You'd Rather Make It Hard, Loving You Is A Battle And We Both End Up With Scars
Simon Cowell confirmed rumors that this season of American Idol would be his last while announcing that his hit British series The X – Factor would premiere a US version on Fox in 2011. Cowell will executive produce the singing competition show as well as serve as a judge. The format of the show is expected to follow the original version, where competitors are broken up into groups and mentored by one of the judges. Cowell did nothing to dispel rumors that former Idol judge Paula Abdul would be a part of this new show when he told press, "I Adore Paula and whatever happens, I will be working with her in some capacity because I miss her."

It's been a tough few months for AI; first they can't come to terms with Paula Abdul, then their replacement pick of Ellen DeGeneres is roundly booed by folks who wonder what her musical background is, and now they lose the person most closely associated with the show, the # 1 series on TV eight seasons running.

Essentially, Idol is screwed; how they find someone with Simon's resume as well as strong personality is beyond me. Even if they go to the world of pop culture like they did with Ellen, someone who comes in and makes strong comments will be accused of trying to copy Simon. Howard Stern had previously expressed interest in being a judge and while I don't think that would ever really work, that's pretty much the type of person they need; someone with a strong, established personality who won't make people think of the guy who used to be sitting in the chair.

While you won't hear much about Fox's search for a replacement until the season ends (they kept the Ellen story quiet until the announcement), I'd nominate Lionel Ritchie as a possibility in that he's got a winning personality, a VERY strong resume, and has the free time.

As far as The X-Factor goes, I don't see how it isn't a hit from the get go, and would give Fox three successful competition shows (Idol, X-Factor, and So You Think You Can Dance?) guaranteeing one was in their line-up at all times.

The Room Is Hot And That's Good, Some Of My Friends Came By For The Neighborhood
The following is a round-up of news that came out of this week's TCA Press Tour….Let's pause for a moment so I can get over the TCA rejecting my membership three times…Ok, I am ready to start…

ABC
*Cougar Town, Modern Family, and The Middle were picked up for second seasons. Sister network ABC Family ordered new seasons of The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Make It or Break It.

*Bachelor Pad is a new reality series featuring 20 former Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants living in a house together and competing in a series of elimination challenges. It will premiere sometime this summer.

*The Matthew Perry comedy Mr. Sunshine has been given a pilot order. Perry, who had the initial idea for the show and co-wrote the pilot, plays the manager of a sports/events arena who tries to add some substance to his life after turning 40.

*The new cycle of Dancing with the Stars kicks up its heels on March 22nd, and new series Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution premieres March 26th.

BRAVO
*The following series were picked up for new seasons: Flipping Out (4th), Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (6th), The Rachel Zoe Project (3rd), Real Housewives of Atlanta (3rd).

*The new season of Real Housewives of New York begins on March 4th and the second season of Top Chef: Masters premieres on April 7th.

*New series launching this spring include Bethenney's Getting Married? (a Real Housewives of New York spinoff), Thintervention with Jackie Warner, 9 By Design (follows a husband and wife design team with 7 kids), Double Exposure (documenting the world of celebrity photographers), Kell on Earth (focusing on fashion PR expert Kelly Cutrone), Work of Art: The Next Great Artist (artists compete, executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker), and Top Chef: Just Desserts (the newest edition of the TC franchise, with competing pastry chefs. Gail Simmons hosts)

FOX
*Glee was renewed for a second season.

*Code 58 - the cop dramedy from Burn Notice creator Matt Nix and starring Bradley Whitford & Colin Hanks - will have previews on May 12th & 19th before the official premiere on June 7th.

*The 100th episode of Bones will air on April 8th and the 150th outing of The Family Guy beams on May 12th. The big milestone is America's Most Wanted's 1000th episode, March 6th.

NBC
*The network's post-Olympic, post-Jay Leno Show line up features many changes, including Law and Order shifting to Mondays at 10 pm, Parenthood airing Tuesdays at 10 pm, L&O: SVU going to 10 pm on Wednesday with reruns of SVU as its 9 pm lead-in, the Jerry Seinfeld produced reality series The Marriage Ref on Thursdays at 10 pm, and the celebrity geneology reality series Who Do You Think You Are from Lisa Kudrow on Fridays at 8 followed by two hours of Dateline. All of these changes will go into effect during the month of March. Friday Night Lights will air Fridays at 8 starting on April 30th.

OXYGEN
*Former Spice Girl Mel B will take over hosting duties for the second season of Dance Your Ass Off.

*When Charlie Met Sarah is a new reality series featuring former Bachelor couple Charlie and Sarah as they try to give their relationship a second chance.

*Bad Girls Need Love, Too, premieres in March and finds three BG alums in a dating competition show, all choosing from a pool of 13 possible suitors.

Always Believe In Your Soul, You've Got The Power To Know, You're Indestructible
The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards air live on NBC this Sunday at 8 pm, hosted by Ricky Gervais. What follows is a rundown of the main television categories along with my predictions about who will win (not to be confused with who I would have voted for). I went 6 for 8 last year in my forecast but I don't think I will come anywhere that this year.

Best Supporting Actor (Comedy, Drama, Mini-Series, or Movie)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
William Hurt, Damages
John Lithgow, Dexter
Michael Emerson, Lost

Winner: John Lithgow, Dexter.

Best Supporting Actress (Comedy, Drama, Mini-Series, or Movie)
Rose Byrne, Damages
Jane Lynch, Glee
Jane Adams, Hung
Chloe Sevigny, Big Love
Janet McTeer, Into The Storm

Winner: Jane Lynch, Glee

Best Actor, Comedy
Alex Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Thomas Jane, Hung

Winner: Thomas Jane, Hung

Best Actress, Comedy
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Toni Colette, United States of Tara
Lea Michelle, Glee
Courtney Cox, Cougar Town

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Best Actor, Drama
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Michael C Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Bill Paxton, Big Love

Winner: Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Best Actress, Drama
Glen Close, Damages
January Jones, Mad Men
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Winner: Anna Paquin, True Blood

Best Series, Comedy
30 Rock
Entourage
Glee
Modern Family
The Office

Winner: Glee

Best Series, Drama
Big Love
Dexter
House
Mad Men
True Blood

Winner: True Blood

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
2.5 million tuned in to the season premiere of Ax Men…Big Love's season premiere was up 49% from last time around…Border Wars became the most watched series premiere in Nat Geo history, with 2.9 million viewers…The two hour season premiere of Chuck gave the show its best numbers since the post-Super Bowl 3-D episode. The numbers were up 21% from last season's average and also showed a 58% jump from its Dateline lead-in…Desperate Housewives was down a bit despite topping the night with 14 million…Brothers & Sisters was down for the second week in a row…The NFL playoff game overrun helped The Simpsons episode and anniversary special that followed to even higher ratings than anticipated…

MONDAY
VH-1 was quite happy with their two series premieres; Fantasia for Real pulled in 2.3 million and Lets Talk About Pep had 1.9 million…Chuck's first Monday of the season drew a solid 7.32 million…Two and Half Men was the most watched show of the night with 17.3 million – Charlie Sheen really is scandal proof – with lead out The Big Bang Theory topping the night in demos…The 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother came pretty darn close to hitting the 10 million mark…The first new House of 2010 pulled in 12.23 million…

TUESDAY
29.8 million were in front of their sets watching the American Idol premiere, the first time since season five that ratings for the first episode didn't drop a bit…Proving its audience is loyal, NCIS still pulled in 20+ million despite the new competition…The Good Wife matched the demos of its NCIS: Los Angeles lead-in for the first time…The Biggest Loser dropped 30% from last week…Better Off Ted and Scrubs couldn't break the 3 million mark, and The Forgotten came in at less than 4.5 million…

WEDNESDAY
Night two of American Idol dropped 19% but its 26.4 million will end up as the week's second most watched series outing…The re-airing of The Simpson's 450th episode that followed drew 8.1 million…Going up against Idol for the first time meant drops in numbers for literally everything that aired between 8 & 9:30…CSI: NY had a strong showing with 14.1 million…Ugly Betty held steady this week, the definition of damning with faint praise since last week's numbers were not particularly impressive

All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors… The March 3rd season premiere of Ghost Hunters - also the series' 100th episode - will be live from Alcatraz and feature Destination Truth's Josh Gates as a guest as well as some interactive components…TNT ordered a 10 episode second season of Men of a Certain Age...Sarah Palin signed a multi-year deal to provide commentary on various Fox News programs as well as the Fox Business News channel, Fox News Radio, and FoxNews.com…Season three of Breaking Bad premieres March 21st…Rumors continue that the season of Hannah Montana that is set to begin production later this month will be the Disney smash series' last. The show launched the career of Miley Cyrus and there is much speculation that she is looking to put the show behind her in order to transition to a more adult phase of her career…David Hasselhoff announced he will not return as a judge for the 5th season of America's Got Talent this summer and will be announcing details on his new TV project shortly. Taking his place alongside Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan will be Howie Mandell. AGT has been the top rated show of the summer each of its first 4 seasons…Spike TV is now running Entourage reruns…TBS is developing Uncle Nigel a procedural dramedy from Monk writer Andy Breckman where the title character, a by the book cop, keeps running into trouble thanks to his less careful nephew, a fellow police officer…Flash Forward's return got pushed back a couple of weeks, with the new date being March 18th and the schedule now calling for new episodes all the way through to the finale on May 27th. These changes now mean that the return and the finale will be two hour outings…Oxygen is working on Jersey Couture, a reality show about a family run formal wear shop…ABC ordered 8 episodes of Scoundrels, a remake of a New Zealand series called Outrageous Fortune, where the Mother of a family of criminals tries to get them to go straight after the Dad goes to jail. Rob Thomas (Party Down, Veronica Mars) developed a pilot based on the same series in 2008 that was not picked up…Lifetime cancelled Rita Rocks after two seasons…USA will start showing reruns of CSI's first 10 seasons in December…TV Land has cast Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Mallick, and Betty White in their new series Hot In Cleveland…Two Tivos favorite Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald are starring in and executive producing Big in the 80's, a new comedy about a 80's rock band who gets back together for a comeback that includes cohabitation. No network is attached yet…Ted Koppel is in talks with ABC to return to the network to host This Week…Day One, a post-apocalypse series that was originally given a 13 episode order by NBC before being reduced to a four hour mini-series has been cut again and now only the two hour pilot will air as a TV movie…Maz Jobrani (Better Off Ted, 24, Knights of Prosperity) will star in the ABC pilot Funny in Farsi…Showtime has picked up a 13 episode first season of The Borgias, executive produced and directed by Oscar winner Neil Jordan and starring Oscar winner Jeremy Irons. The series, set in Italy in 1492, tells the story of a powerful crime family, headed by Iron's Rodrigo Borgia. They also ordered first seasons of the Laura Linney – Oliver Platt cancer dark comedy The C Word and Episodes, starring Matt LeBlanc…TV Land is going with a six debut run of Harry Loves Lisa, a reality show about the lives of Harry Hamlin and wife Lisa Rinna…James Parriott, who helped get Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and Sons of Anarchy off the ground, has been named showrunner for USA's new Covert Affairs…Army Wives returns with a new season on April 11th…Sara Rue and Bruno Campos will guest on Private Practice this spring…Dana Delaney will guest on multiple episodes of Castle…

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…I am taking a break from the usual format and using this space to urge you to donate whatever you can to the various relief funds going towards giving aide to Haiti right now. Here are some websites for organizations accepting donations…

www.actionagainsthunger.com

www.redcross.com

www.beyondborders.com

www.care.org

www.directrelief.com

Here is a site that gives a ton of information on ways you can help

www.clintonfoundation.org/haitiearthquake.

The easiest way to donate is to text HAITI to 90999, which automatically gives $10 to the Red Cross (it comes on your cell phone bill).

Additionally, it was reported as we were going to press that George Clooney would be hosting a telethon to air on all the various MTV networks next Friday night.

It is almost impossible to fully understand the devastation in Haiti right now and I know that some people avoid news about things like this because they find it depressing or because it simply doesn't impact their lives at all but it's times like this that we need to remember we are all living together on the same planet and that comes with some responsibility. Give what ever you can.

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…Anyone who saw the fantastic episode of Better Off Ted that featured company mandated offensive language will enjoy this video, a NSFW set of outtakes…



The Soup's skewering of Inside Edition and Access Hollywood breaking down the non-photo of Tiger Wood's wife was so good that I wonder how anyone could see it and take those shows seriously. Ok, I know no one actually takes those shows seriously, so maybe I should say I don't understand how anyone could actually watch them…The Dish returned with Danielle Fishel bringing the funnyl the more they turn her loose, the better the show is…Did I forget to write about how fantastic the Web Soup year end special was? It may have gotten lost in the holiday shuffle but there is no doubt it elevated the nut shot montage to an art form…Hope I didn't overhype Monday's Men of a Certain Age, which I felt was easily the best of the series so far and featured an award worthy performance by Ray Romano. Men is simply a very, very good show…The Big Love season premiere did a fantastic job of catching everyone up on where the characters were and opened the doors for the new story arcs…American Idol's first three hours of the season were exactly what you thought they'd be; if you like the show than you enjoyed them and if you are one of the haters you feel you got more evidence for your argument…Medium returned with a high quality episode, including a freak Scream-esque opening segment…The final two episodes of Chef Academy made me firm in my hopes of a second season…I urge any Top Chef fans – or fans of any food based reality shows – to give BBC America's Last Restaurant Standing a shot as it continues to be the best show of its kind on television…Sorry to continue with the JD bashing but his reappearance on Scrubs this week just seemed to break the momentum the rest of the cast seemed to have the last several weeks. As much fun as I think this new version of the show could be given the time to grow, the network is never going to give them said time and even if they did, it's doubtful the show could find that strong a fan base; people who loved the original will get mad because it's different and people who didn't watch the original won't watch this because they assume it's the same thing…I am not a regular viewer but I was entertained by The Simpsons anniversary episode as well as the documentary special that followed…I gave Jersey Shore 5 minutes of my time and it's five minutes I will go to my grave wanting back. Watching people make total asses of themselves is not in and of itself a reason to watch a TV show, and neither is feeling better about yourself because you are better off than the folks on your screen, so I can't for the life of me understand the appeal of the show. I mean, at least on a show like Big Brother (which holds the exact same lack of appeal to me) they are trying to win money...What did you all think of the first three hours of Chuck? I liked them quite a bit but as I mentioned last week, my biggest issue is that Chuck and Sarah are still not together, with him wanting to be with her and her fighting her feelings for the greater good. Yes, the got there a little differently this time but the end result and the overall dynamic is the same. On a different note, you go, Morgan!...Barkley the Dog was a tremendous highlight from Modern Family, which continues to have just about as good a first season as a sitcom has had in years...

TV Pick Of The Week
I am always afraid of hyping a new show so much that expectations are impossible to meet so I choose my words carefully by calling Life Unexpected my favorite new show in some time. It's not the best new show on TV but it is the warmest, and its charm is more than enough to make up for any "only on a TV show" moments.

The plot in a nutshell? Teenage girl seeking to become an emancipated minor looks up her barely twice her age birth parents, one of whom never knew she existed. One is finding personal and professional success, the other if coming to terms with the fact that "some of us peek in high school."

The acting is uniformly excellent without ever seeming forced, the writing quick and funny without making the characters feel like creations instead of people, and the best thing about the first three episodes is that no one comes out of it a changed person. They may be on the right track but this is a show that recognizes that there are no quick fixes.

Don't be fooled into grouping this in with Gossip Girl or 90210 because it's on The CW; Life Unexpected is closer in tone – and quality – with two shows from the network's previous incarnation, The WB; Everwood and Gilmore Girls. Regular readers know the esteem in which I hold Everwood and that I would never mention a show in the same breath of it without good reason.

Don't miss Life Unexpected, Monday at 9 pm on The CW.

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

*House of Bones (Saturday, 9 pm) is a Syfy original movie starring Charisma Carpenter and Corin Nemic as the hosts of a Ghost Hunters-esque show who find themselves in over their heads on a shoot.

*Sunday is a HUGE night for Fox; at 8:00 pm they are giving a preview of their new action series Human Target, starring not one but TWO Two Tivos favorites, Mark Valley and Chi McBride, and follow it with the first two hours of the new season of 24. That's right, the Fox network is extending their primetime until 11!!! The next two hours of 24 air on Monday at 8 pm, with the show settling into its regular Mondays at 9 pm slot next week.

*Sunday night marks Jose Garces' first Iron Chef (Food, 9 pm) appearance since winning The Next Iron Chef America last year.

*The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty wraps up its run on A&E Sunday at 10 pm.

*My Life as Liz (MTV, Monday, 10:30 pm) is a new documentary series following a young girl as she navigates high school.

*White Collar is back on a new day/time (Tuesdays, 10 pm), hopefully to give us some explanation of the last scene of the mid-season finale, one that left me wondering how they could get out of telling us what they seemed to just tell us.

*Spectacle: Elvis Costello with… is in my opinion the best music show ever on television. Bruce Springsteen is in my opinion one of the most important songwriters of the last 50 years, not to mention ranking even higher on a list of the best live performers of the same time period. Two great tastes come together Wednesday at 9 when Bruce guests on the two part season finale of < b>Spectacle (part two airs next week).

*Burn Notice returns Thursday at 10 pm for the second half of its season. The first half last summer set series highs in the ratings almost every week with a quality level that matched, so lets hope it's a trend that continues.

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, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chef Academy, Chopped, The Chris Isaak Hour, Chuck, The Closer, Community, Cougar Town, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girls, Damages, The Deadliest Catch, 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, Life Unexpected, 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, 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, The Wanda Sykes Show, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Will Work for Food, Worst Cooks In America,

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 and perhaps a resolution to the mess over at NBC.

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.