Two Tivos To Paradise 07.14.11: Emmy nominations, Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights, CSI, Dexter, and more!

Posted by Al Norton on 07.15.2011

News on Mad Men and Game of Thrones scoring Emmy nominations, Breaking Bad making its return, Friday Night Lights saying goodbye, Ted Danson heading to CSI and more!



Hello friends. Loved all the feedback on last week's Norty Awards – thanks so much for taking the time to send your thoughts along. My guess is there will be an equal amount of feedback about yesterday's Emmy nominations, which we will get to shortly, but first…

Elisabeth Moss and Joel McHale were gracious enough to send us acceptance speeches via email in advance of last week's column – yes, I let them know they were going to win – but I was thrilled to death earlier in the week when another winner reached out and asked if they could send in an acceptance after the fact. The winner for of the 2011 Norty for Best Supporting Actor, Drama for his work on Justified, ladies and gentleman, Walton Goggins…

Hot DAMNNNNNNNNN... oh sorry is there a five second delay on my typing? I tripped walking up to my computer but no one saw it save my neighbor blowing off his lawn. HEY I JUST WON SOMETHING OVER HERE WILL YOU TURN THAT FU**%$NG THING OFFFFFFFFF.

On a more serious note thank you Al. You have been very generous in your support of me and my endeavors over the years and to so many other very talented actors who I greatly admire. I think i speak for us all by saying IF IT MOVES YOU, PREACH ON, BROTHER....Do I get a trophy or anything? NO? This is bullshitttttt.

This is one of the most buzzed about trailer in recent memory…



Well, there's this one, too





I'm dope on the floor and I'm magic on the news.

All The Gold In California Is In A Bank In The Middle Of Beverly Hills In Somebody Else's Name
Nominations for the 63rd Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards were announced yesterday. Here's quick rundown of the major categories…

BEST GUEST ACTOR, COMEDY

Idria Alba, The Big C; Will Arnett, 30 Rock; Matt Damon, 30 Rock; Zach Galifianakis, Saturday Night Live; Nathan Lane, Modern Family; Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

Quick Analysis: Will Arnett's 30 Rock episode was their best of the season.

BEST GUEST ACTRESS, COMEDY

Elizabeth Banks, 30 Rock; Kristin Chenoweth, Glee; Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Dot-Marie Jones, Glee; Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope; Gwyneth Paltrow, Glee;

Quick Analysis: This is a pretty strong collection of talent from the past season. Really happy to see Dot-Marie Jones get some recognition for perhaps Glee's most human performance.

BEST GUEST ACTOR, DRAMA

Beau Bridges, Brothers & Sisters, Jeremy Davies, Justified; Bruce Dern, Big Love; Michael J Fox, The Good Wife; Paul McCrane, Harry's Law; Robert Morse, Mad Men

Quick Analysis: Thrilled to see Beau Bridges relaxed, understated work on Brothers & Sisters get some love. Paul McCrane needs to work on a much more regular basis so this nom will help that along.

BEST GUEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

Cara Buono, Mad Men; Joan Cusack, Shameless; Randee Heller, Mad Men; Mary McDonnell, The Closer; Julia Styles, Dexter; Alfre Woodard, True Blood

Quick Analysis: Randee Heller's Mrs., Blankenship was one of last season's most entertaining supporting characters so her nom is great, as is Mary McDonnell getting a shout out for her turn on The Closer.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY

Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Chris Colfer, Glee; Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Ed O'Neill, Modern Family; Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family;

Quick Analysis: Hard for me to really argue with anyone they nominated, it's just that there were a LOT of deserving performers this year. I'd take Cryer out of there in a heartbeat and replace him with Nick Offerman, Neil Patrick Harris, Brian Van Holt, or anyone from Community.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY

Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Jane Lynch, Glee, Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Betty White, Hot In Cleveland; Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Quick Analysis: Lazy voting on the Academy's part as Krakowski was fine but nowhere near award worthy this hear and Wiig, while incredibly talented, wasn't all that strong, either. Busy Phillips, Casey Wilson, and Alison Brie should be up there. Hey, I am most likely the biggest Betty White fan you know but her nomination here is more about her being Betty White than actually one of the six best women giving supporting performances on a comedy on TV right now.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA

Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age; Josh Charles, The Good Wife; Alan Cumming, The Good Wife; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; Walton Goggins, Justified; John Slatter, Mad Men;

Quick Analysis: No offense to Josh Charles but there is no way he belongs here over Michael Shannon, Michael Pitt, Michael Raymond-James, Delroy Lindo, or Michael B Jordan. Thrilled to see Walton Goggins get his due.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA

Christine Baranski, B> The Killing; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men; Margo Martindale, Justifed; Kelly McDonald, Boardwalk Empire; Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife

Quick Analysis: No Kadee Strickland is really a crime, and I'd love to put Regina King or Ally Walker in for either of The Good Wife ladies, too.

BEST LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY

Alex Baldwin, 30 Rock; Louis C.K., Louie; Steve Carell, The Office; Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory; Matt LeBlanc, Episodes; Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Quick Analysis: Really, two noms for Big Bang?!?! H Jon Benjamin and Joel McHale should take those two spots, and I'd put James Roday in for LeBlanc as well (LeBlanc was good – Episodes is damn funny – but not better than any of the three I just mentioned).

BEST LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Laura Linney, The Big C; Melissa McCarthy, Mike and Molly; Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope; Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation;

Quick Analysis: I'd swap Patricia Heaton or Courtney Cox for Edie Falco, who is always good but didn't particularly overwhelm me with her work this season, but otherwise they got things pretty much dead on here. This is the category where the nominations are most reflective of the actual best work being done on TV.

BEST LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire; Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights; Michael C Hall, Dexter; Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Hugh Laurie, House; Timothy Olyphant, Justified

Quick Analysis: This was hardly House's or Laurie's strongest season so I'd much rather have seen Ray Roman or Donal Logue's names up there.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA

Kathy Bates, Harry's Law; Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights; Mireille Enos, The Killing; Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU; Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men;

Quick Analysis: There is just no universe I am aware of where Kathy Bates and Mariska Hargitay did better work this past year than Katey Segal, Kyra Sedgwick, or Khandi Alexander. Hargitay's repeated nominations baffle me.

BEST REALITY SERIES, COMPETITION

The Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef

Quick Analysis: The Voice, Next Iron Chef, and Chopped are all far better than DWTS

BEST REALITY SERIES

Antiques Roadshow, Deadliest Catch, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List; Hoarders, Mythbusters

Quick Analysis: No Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution = fail.

BEST REALITY HOST

Tom Bergeron, Dancing with the Stars; Cat Deely, So You Think You Can Dance; Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race; Jeff Probst, Survivor; Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

Quick Analysis: After watching Carson Daly sleepwalk through The Voice I have a new found respect for Ryan Seacrest's American Idol work.

BEST VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES

The Colbert Report, Conan, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Real Time with Bill Maher, Saturday Night Live

Quick Analysis: How this category can exist without The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is perhaps the single most unexplained Emmy phenomenon I know of.

BEST ANIMATED SERIES

The Cleveland Show; Futurama, Robot Chicken, The Simpsons, South Park

Quick Analysis: I take that back; Archer not getting nominated is also a pretty astounding feat of ignorance on the part of the Academy.

BEST SERIES, COMEDY

30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Glee, Modern Family, The Office, Parks and Recreation

Quick Analysis: 30 Rock and The Office had wildly uneven seasons and to me, while Big Bang is funny, it's just not an elite series. Community, Raising Hope, Louie, and Archer all belong here more than those three.

BEST SERIES, DRAMA

Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, Mad Men

Quick Analysis: I'd much rather have seen Justified, Terriers, The Walking Dead, or Men of a Certain Age taking slots held by Dexter and The Good Wife. Fantastically thrilled that FNL got this honor in its last season.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony held on September 18th, hosted by Jane Lynch and telecast by Fox. My picks as to who will win will come in the TTTP that runs on 9/16.

Broke Her Heart So Many Times, Had To Have My Party Wine, But One Night She Said Sweetheart, The Party's Over
Friday Night Lights brings its five season run on NBC to a close tonight at 8pm. An adaptation of an award winning book by Buzz Bizzinger and also of the movie version of the book, the show ran on NBC for its first three seasons and then was part of a unique production deal where the 4th and 5th seasons ran on DirecTV first before premiering on the broadcast network. While ratings have never been stellar the show has won numerous awards including a Peabody, and has received a number of Emmy nominations.

Even though the run of original episodes comes to a close tonight the show will live on; ESPN Classic will begin showing reruns (in order from the beginning) on Thursday nights at 9 & 10pm and the new Longhorn Network (launched by ESPN to focus on Texas sports) will run the series in August.

I am both very excited and quite saddened to watch tonight's finale as I am not sure I am ready for a TV world without regular visits to Dillon, TX. My love for the series is best demonstrated by the fact that I've had the entire final season on DVD since before it began on NBC this spring and have not watched because I've wanted to drag out the final season as long as possible.

While FNL won the Norty for Best Drama in 2010 I think it's important to put the show's quality in some context; not only is it one of the best dramas of the last 20 years, I am hard pressed to think of a better show at capturing both the family dynamic as well as the anxiety that teens feel at finding their place in the world. I sometimes marvel at the lack of actual human drama series on TV – those that focus on the human condition and don't use life-or-death situations as a storytelling device (and frequently gimmick/crutch) and yet when I see how good the shows that do go that way are, namely Parenthood and FNL on the broadcast networks – I am shocked more don't try it. Of course those other shows don't have Jason Katims, the executive producer of the aforementioned series.

One of the more impressive aspects of FNL's series long level of quality was that there was a major cast turnover from season 3 to 4 and the show never missed a beat. Many felt one of the storylines in season two was a major misstep (Landry accidentally killer Tyra's attacker) but to me it was taking some dramatic license while doing a story about teens making bad decisions and the repercussions that go along with that. It wasn't the best thing they did but it did give us more Landry, and that was always a good thing.

Based on how emotional I was watching last week's episode my guess is I will need a tissue or two before tonight's final hour is over. If you haven't seen Friday Night Lights I urge you to seek it out, either on DVD or when it begins running next week on ESPN Classic. It's that good.



Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose.


Sunny Day, Sweepin' The Clouds Away, On My Way To Where The Air Is Sweet
The Sesame Street video of the week…





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 7 days…

THURSDAY
The season premiere of Big Brother was the night's top performer in total viewers and demos…Wipeout won 8:00 in demos…Rookie Blue was up 7% in the demos…So You Think You Can Dance was even with last week's demos and up a bit in total viewers…Love Bites tied its season/series low…

FRIDAY
1.5 million watched the premiere of Torchwood: Miracle Day on Friday night, with the combined weekend audience being 2 million…

SUNDAY
Almost 15 million tuned in to watch Jaycee Dugard on Primetime's two hour special, making it the most watched summer episode of any news magazine in seven years. It also was the night's top demo performer…Big Brother was up 4% from Thursday and had the best Sunday premiere totals and demos in series history…The season premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm was the comedy's highest rated episode in 7 years. The 10:00 airing was watched by 1.7 million and the midnight re-airing actually outdrew it with 2.1 million; the combined numbers topped the combined numbers of the previous season premiere by 53%...True Blood rebounded from a weak week two to have 5 million pairs of eyes checking it out…

MONDAY
7.2 million tuned in to the finale season premiere of The Closer, down from last year but even with the season finale. It was the largest audience for an episode of basic cable in 2011…6.4 million watched the season two debut of Rizzoli & Isles…Syfy built strong, with solid numbers from Eureka and Warehouse 13 leading into the series premiere of Alphas, which topped the night for the network in totals and demos. It was the most watched series premiere for the network since 2009…6.7 million watched ESPN's coverage of the MLB Home Run Derby, up in both totals and demos from last year…

TUESDAY
White Collar and Covert Affairs both hit season highs in totals and demos last week…America's Got Talent was up 18% from this week last year and topped the MLB All-Star Game in totals and demos…101 Ways to Leave a Game Show and Combat Hospital both dropped to season/series lows…

WEDNESDAY
Royal Pains was last Wednesday's top performer for all of cable TV, and lead-out Necessary Roughness virtually matched the previous week's series premiere numbers (not easy to do) while holding on to 91% of its lead-in audience…Happily Divorced hit total and demo highs last week and its season averages make it look like another TV Land hit…

All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Ted Danson has signed to replace Laurence Fishburne as team leader on CSI this fall. The fifteen time Emmy and 11 time Golden Globe nominee is best known for his comedic work but his role on Damages has accounted for four of those noms…LOTS of Harry's Law news – Mark Valley (Human Target, Boston Legal) and Karen Olivo (The Good Wife) have joined the cast and Christopher McDonald has been bumped from guest star to full time regular. Also, Alfred Molina and Jean Smart will do three episode guest runs in the fall…One full year from the events of the season finale will have passed when Dexter returns with new episodes…NBC's upcoming reality competition show Fashion Star now has a full judges/mentors panel, with Nicole Ritchie and John Varvatos joining the previously announced Jessica Simpson. Elle MacPherson will host…TNT has picked up a first season for Dallas that will air in the summer of 2012. The show will feature characters from the original played by the original cast plus adult versions of characters who were kids the first time around…Kal Penn will have a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother this fall as Robin's new love interest…Harry Smith has left CBS after 25 years to go to NBC, specifically the news magazine show that Brian Williams is developing for mid-season…James Wolk, so amazing on Lone Star, has signed on for a run on the second season of Showtime's Shameless…Charles Mesure (V) will be a regular on Desperate Housewives this fall, signing on as a love interest for Vanessa William's Rene…Lamorne Morris (Brain Rush, HotWyred) will replace Damon Wayans, Jr on Fox's The New Girl after the pilot episode…Emmy winner Debbi Morgan will join the cast of Young and the Restless this fall after All My Children signs off ABC… Jason Sudeikis will do multiple episodes on Eastbound and Down's upcoming final season…Bravo shifted the final episodes of Platinum Hit to Fridays at 8pm due to low ratings…Rachelle Lefevre (Off the Map) will be a regular on CBS' new drama A Gifted Man this fall…Nick Stahl and Michael Rady (Melrose Place) have joined the cast of Showtime's upcoming dark comedy House of Lies as love interest for Kristen Bell…Mark Moses (Desperate Housewives, Mad Men) will guest on the season premiere of Criminal Minds…Jamie-Lynn Siegler (The Sopranos, Entourage) will guest on the season finale of Drop Dead Diva…Multiple outlets are reporting Shaq will join TNT's coverage of the NBA…Season four of Billy the Exterminator premieres on A&E on August 4th…Both Jason Ritter and Norty nominee Michael B Jordan will return to Parenthood for multiple episodes this fall. Ritter also signed a development deal to star in a new series from Parenthood and Friday Night Lights' executive producer Jason Katims…ABC Family has picked up a second season of Melissa & Joey…The Great Food Truck Race launches its second season on August 14th while Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker is back for season 5 on August 18th…TLC and OWN will share reruns of Undercover Boss starting in the fall of 2012…Lisa Lampanelli and Carol Leifer are among those with reality shows in development at Logo…Days of Our Lives fans should mark September 26th on their calendars as that will be John and Marlena's first appearance…Bravo has moved the season four premiere of The Rachel Zoe Project back to September 4th…Jay Mohr will host the new Fuel series Master Debaters with Jay Mohr (good thing he was available!), a fast paced, male oriented panel discussion show focused on sports, the entertainment industry, and women. It debuts September 7th at 10:30pm….NBC's mid-season drama The Firm continues to add to its' cast, with Callum Keith Rennie (The Killing, Battlestar Galactica) playing Ray, Mitch's (Josh Lucas) ex-con brother and Juliette Lewis will play Mitch's secretary. In the big screen version those roles were played by David Straitharn and Holly Hunter, respectively. Speaking of Straitharn, who can currently be seen on Syfy's Alphas, he will direct the pilot for The Firm…USA has set PSYCH's season premiere for October…ABC has renewed Rookie Blue for a third season…MTV picked up a second season of Teen Wolf…

Turns Out Not Where But Who You're With That Really Matters
(The Best Thing I've Watched in the last 7 days aka The Best of What's Around)
Because I had been watching baseball highlights on Saturday night before falling asleep, the TV was left on ESPN News so when I turned it on in the morning while getting dressed I caught the first few minutes of an Outside the Lines feature on former Minnesota Viking Fred McNeil. I knew I wouldn't be able to watch the whole thing but hit the record button so I could finish later, and I was extremely pleased that I did as otherwise I would have missed this incredibly well done feature on just some of the issues that NFL players face once their careers are over.



Whether you think he deserves money or not, there is no doubt that the way these men make their living is one that lends itself to long term disability and whatever safety precautions are being taken now really need to be examined to see if they are strong enough. Kudos to ESPN for airing the piece even though they are business partners with the NFL.

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…

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Have No Fear, England's Here

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

I was thrilled to have The Daily Show back after a week off but the above opening segment still managed to surpass even my very high expectations…Watched the first two episodes of Necessary Roughness and came away liking it well enough. I was not as immediately enamored with the show as I was with Suits but could not help but love Callie Thorne's work; she takes some of the spunk, feistiness, and ability to get overwhelmed she brings to Sheila on Rescue Me but informs it with a good head on her shoulders and a razor sharp mind to make Danni an incredibly watchable lead character. The major networks have NOTHING on cable when it comes to complex, interesting women…Speaking of Suits, I really am loving the show. Right now I'd have to put it neck and neck with Burn Notice as my favorite show on USA…While the start of the Burn Notice season left me a little cold since Michael and the team didn't actually help anyone, it's gotten much better from that point, especially the scenes with Jeffrey Donovan and Sharon Gless, which burn with truth. Quick, name a more honest and dynamic Mother-Son relationship on TV right now. Ok, sure, there's Jax and Gemma, but there's a big secret between the two of them, and after those two what else have you got?...Continuing to enjoy MasterChef as the emphasis is on the cooking and strong, constructive criticism. When the ads for Hell's Kitchen come on during MC and Gordon Ramsay is screaming at the contestants like he's Nick Nolte and they're a pill bottle that won't open I wonder why anyone watches that show…Can't say enough about how much I love The Glee Project. It's smart, funny, honest (there's that word again – it's something I look for in TV and demand out of any show that is trying to get me to care about what's going on) and because the contestants are kids following their dreams (as opposed to say, the self important mouth breathers that make up the case of Big Brother) I find their personality flaws to be a draw – something that makes them and the show that much more interesting – instead of a drag…Louie has been borderline brilliant to start this season, with the stand-up mixed into the stories much better and also the feeling that Louis C.K. is a little more confident in his abilities to make a high quality TV show that people will watch. That level of confidence is causing him to stretch a little bit more and the show is better for it…The season premiere of The Closer gave us what we thought would be the plotlines for the rest of the season and then turned it on its head with the final scene. My guess is Taylor becomes acting Chief and Pope keeps his job just because that would make for some fun (not for the detectives of major crimes but for the viewers) for the rest of the season. I do love Brenda's inability to see why she might get in trouble for what she did last season; it's one of the things I enjoy so much about Kyra Sedgwick's performance – her headstrongness – and also will clearly lead to her exit at season's end when the show then becomes Major Crimes. Of course, that won't happen until next summer so we've got plenty of time to enjoy more, "thank you's"…Rescue Me's return was somewhat underwhelming; I got that they were trying to show how disjointed Tommy feels in his life now but it wasn't particularly interesting. Next week is much better…Flipping Out reminded me why it's one of my favorite reality series within its first segment back, with some laugh out loud funny moments plus a demonstration of just how in-demand Jeff Lewis is. I've always liked that about the show, that Lewis might be crazy but the reason there is a show is that he is that good at his job. Well, that and Zoila, of course. If the show were just about Lewis' personal life there's no way it would be as good, nor would I be watching…Couldn't possibly come up with enough superlatives for the Men of a Certain Age season finale, in particular the performances of Scott Bakula and Ray Romano. One of the best shows on TV, period. Seriously, if I had told you five years ago that there wouldn't be but a very small handful of actors turning in most consistent dramatic work than Ray Romano you'd have thought me certifiable, yet here we are, with him regularly showing his understanding of the human condition and how the key to a successful life is enjoying the little moments…I knew that not all of the transformations on Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition would be success stories but Monday's episode still packed a very strong emotional punch. One thing I hope this show has done is more clearly demonstrate to the American public that for many overweight people, it's not simply about liking to eat and a lack of willpower. Yes, it is in their hands to do something about it but that doesn't mean they can wage that battle by themselves…

TV Pick Of The Week
I remember being all alone on the Breaking Bad bandwagon, or, should I say, Winnebago; from week one I totally bought in to the brilliant performance of Bryan Cranston and the inherent tension in the story. As those first few weeks went on I got more and more hooked despite that most people gave me a blank look when I told them about the show. Cranston winning an Emmy for his portrayal of Walter – the first of three consecutive he would win – opened the mainstream door a bit, and season two seemed to have TV critics across the country under its spell.

What made Breaking Bad that much more incredible is that it actually got better as it got more popular, a pretty major rarity in the entertainment industry. It was better than good to begin with but as the writers realized just how much talent they had in the cast, they started to give Aaron Paul (himself now an Emmy winner), Anna Gunn, and Dean Norris the opportunity to shine. Cast additions like Bob Odenkirk and Giancarlo Esposito jumped in and matched the quality level without missing a beat.

Now it's been over a year since we've had a new episode of the show and I and the rest of the fans on the now crowded bus are chomping at the bit for the season four premiere on Sunday night.





Making the hour even better is the news that AMC will debut a season two trailer for The Walking Dead during the episode.

Don't miss the season premiere of Breaking Bad, Sunday at 10pm on AMC.

Hope You Need My Love, Babe, Just Like I Need You
Other highlights of the next seven days of television...

*Bar Rescue (Sunday, 10pm) is a new Spike reality series where consultant Jon Taffer visits salons in dire straits to try to help turn things around.

*Season four of Style's Giuliana & Bill premieres Monday at 8pm. I get them keeping this show but how did Style cancel The Dish but go forward on the rest of their awful programming?

*Hell's Kitchen (8pm, Fox) returns Monday with a new batch of future therapy patients facing the wrath of Ramsay, then moves into it's regular Tuesdays at 8pm timeslot the next night.

*A pretty solid guest list for the late night talk shows tonight, with Bryan Cranston & Chris Hardwick visiting Conan (11pm, TBS), Harrison Ford stopping by The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35pm, CBS), Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks chatting up on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35am, CBS), and the always lovely Mila Kunis sitting down on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35am, NBC).

*Lisa Kudrow's web series Web Therapy has been repackaged and had new material added to it to turn it into Web Therapy, premiering Tuesday at 11pm on Showtime.

*TV legend Ed Asner begins a recurring role as Grandpa Lawson on Royal Pains (Wednesday, 9pm, USA). How does Asner qualify as a TV legend? 17 Emmy nominations (7 wins) including wins in the Comedy and Drama categories for playing the same character!!! He also has nominations in four consecutive decades. He also has 5 Golden Globe wins, a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, and the guy's been working steadily on screen for almost 55 years.

*Matt Lauria, fresh off of high quality performances on Friday Night Lights and The Chicago Code, guests on Burn Notice (Thursday, 9pm, USA).

Two Tivos To Paradise
24 Restaurant Battle, 30 Rock, After the Catch, Alphas, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Archer, Auction Hunters, The Big C, Boardwalk Empire, Being Human, Bones, Bored To Death, Breaking Bad, Burn Notice, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chopped, Chuck, The Closer, Community, Cougar Town, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Entourage, Eureka, Fact or Faked, Falling Skies, Fairly Legal, Flipping Out, Food Feuds, Food Network Challenge, Food Network Star, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, Glee, Gossip Girl, Great Food Truck Race, Grey's Anatomy, Happy Endings, The Hard Times of RJ Berger, Haunted Treasure, Hawaii 5-0, Hollywood Treasure, House, How I Met Your Mother, How To Make It In America, Hung, If You Really Knew Me, Iron Chef America, Justified, Kate Plus 8, The Killing, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Louie, Mad Men, Man v. Food Nation, Men of a Certain Age, The Middle, Mike and Molly, Modern Family, Necessary Roughness, Next Great American Restaurant, Next Iron Chef, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, The Office, One Tree Hill, Parks & Recreation, Private Practice, Project Runway, Psych, Raising Hope, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rescue Me, Restaurant Impossible, Rocco's Dinner Party, Royal Pains, Rules Of Engagement, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, Shear Genius, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Suits, Supernatural, Table For 12, Top Chef, Top Chef Just Desserts, Top Chef: Masters, Top Design, Torchwood, Tosh.0, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, The Voice, The Walking Dead, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Wilfred, Worst Cooks In America,

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another Two Tivos To Paradise.





We'll be back next week with our 250th column celebration, with all sorts of folks involved with your favorite shows stopping by to take part in the party!


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, TVline.com & Deadline.com.