Two Tivos To Paradise 09.09.11: Eddie Murphy, Sons of Anarchy, Rescue Me, Ringer, America's Most Wanted

Posted by Al Norton on 09.09.2011

News and thoughts on Sons of Anarchy premiering to a ratings high, Eddie Murphy to host the Oscars, Sarah Michelle Gellar returning to primetime next week, raves for the Rescue Me series finale and more!



Hello friends. I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend, celebrating the unofficial end of summer safely, and with gusto. I have the twins at home with me on Fridays so it was an extra long weekend; after four days I was ready to go back to work! Combine all the work of a regular week crammed into less days, a full day spent at the continuing Ed classes needed to renew my real estate license, and my internet at home being down, and it makes for a smaller, more video heavy column than usual.

The good news? ANOTHER giveaway. Cougar Town on DVD. Wait, you say we've done that before? Yes, it's true, but this time we've got season one AND season two to give away as a set!! Follow THIS LINK , take the quiz, and post the results on our Facebook wall (clicking "Like" if you haven't already, of course). Regardless of how you did you will be entered to win. Here's some more info on exactly what you will be winning, too…

Julie Cobb's learning that the idea of family isn't always so traditional on her not so quiet Florida cul-de-sac. Together with her teenage son, friends, neighbors and even ex-husband, the dysfunctional, yet supportive extended family manages the next stages of their lives together. This hilarious DVD release invites audiences to collect and relive every laugh-out-loud moment, plus exciting never-before-seen bonus features!

DVD Bonus Features Include:
• "(still called) Cougar Town Season 2" – A hilarious and heartwarming look at the show's evolution, iconic inside jokes and growing cast through the eyes of the cast, crew and writers
• "Andy's Dreams"- ABC.com's six webisode series with new introduction by Ian "One Take" Gomez
• Deleted scenes and outtakes from the season

Season one of Cougar Town is available now and season two hits stores on Tuesday.

Locke and Key may not have been picked up by Fox but there were reports this week that MTV might be interested…





Here's a full trailer for Starz upcoming Boss, Kelsey Grammer's first drama series…





Wise men say only news rush in.

Short People Have Long Faces And Long People Have Short Faces, Big People Have Little Humor and Little People Have No Humor At All
Rumors built over the weekend and Tuesday it was made official; Eddie Murphy will host the 84th Annual Academy Awards this February on ABC. Murphy, a first time host, was championed by new Oscar producer Bret Ratner, who directed Murphy in the upcoming Tower Heist.

The bottom line is this; people are talking about the Oscar host 5+ months before the show even airs, so for that alone they get a big, "mission accomplished." Murphy is a great choice; he may or may not succeed in the role but he is a well known cinephile who is one of the best standup comedians in history, and that's a combination that means he is quite well suited for the job. People who don't normally watch the show will tune in for his monologue (and then perhaps keep watching if they like what they see), and it's been a while since the show had a host that could make that claim.

Yes, he has not exactly been box office gold as of late but if Billy Crystal could still kill at the Kodak with My Giant on his resume, I am pretty sure that Murphy can overcome Pluto Nash to put on a good show. I'm actually hoping/expecting him to acknowledge some of those bad movies, perhaps in a montage.

Anyone Tries To Take It Away Will Have To Answer ‘Cause This Is My Right
Sunday marks the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States on 9/11, and just about every TV network is marking the occasion in some way. What follows are a few of the more noteworthy viewing options.

*9/11: Timeline of Terror (Fox News), Tonight, 9pm. News special that takes an in-depth look at the event of the day in real time.

*The Love We Make (Showtime), Saturday, 9pm. Documentary following Paul McCartney in New York City as the Madison Square Garden benefit concert is planned.

*Terror in the Dust (CNN), Saturday, 9pm. Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at health issues that have plagued rescue workers at Ground Zero over the last 10 years.

*Voices From Inside The Towers (History), Saturday, 9pm. The events of the day are told via phone calls and voice mails made by people inside the building during the attack.

*9/11: 10 Years Later (CBS), Sunday, 8pm. Robert DeNiro narrates this documentary that chronicles both the attacks and the plans to rebuild that followed.

*Beyond Bravery – The Women of 9/11 (CNN), Sunday, 9pm. Female police officers, firefighters, and EMT's tell their stories.

*Twin Towers (USA), Sunday, 10:21pm. Oscar winning documentary (short form) about 9/11 through the eyes of two brothers, one a NYC cop and the other a member of the FDNY.

While we all may choose to honor this day differently, remembering those who lost their lives as well as those who lives were given in the line of duty, what cannot be denied is the importance of the events of 9/11 in terms of who we are now as a country, and perhaps a reminder of what bonds us together as citizens, both of the United States and of the world, is just what we need in these heated political times.

In Daylight, In Sunsets, In Midnights, In Cups Of Coffee
The new fall season of TV is here! Starting this week we'll use this feature to let you know which favorites return and which series debut over the next seven days, with a little commentary on the new shows thrown in. Shows with an "*" are making their television premieres.

TUESDAY, 9/13
90210 (The CW), 8 pm
Considering just how bad the first few episodes of this reboot were, it's pretty amazing that the show begins season FOUR.

Ringer* (The CW), 9pm
Great cast, solid plot, heavy handed pilot. I am more than willing to see where it goes but it definitely needs to take a step up in the coming weeks.





Parenthood (NBC), 10pm
One of the best dramas on TV is back for a third season with an hour that reminds you of why this cast is so great, even if it does feel a bit overstuffed on plot.

WEDNESDAY, 9/14
H8R* (The CW), 8pm
Finally, a show where real folks who spew venom about their least favorite celebrities come face-to-face with them, learning that we're all just people. Ok, the word "finally" does not belong in that sentence.





Survivor: South Pacific (CBS), 8pm
Cycle TWENTY THREE of Survivor finds them bringing back the Redemption Island twist from last year, albeit with a tweak or two. Even the show's biggest fans during the pop culture phenomenon that was Survivor's first season never thought it would still be putting up strong numbers with nearly two dozen cycles under its belt.

America's Next Top Model: All Stars (The CW), 9pm
Pretty much every long running reality competition show has done an all-star season and now ANTM joins in the party. As long as Tyra keeps giving The Soup great material, I am ok with it. Hold on to your hats – this is the SEVENTEETH cycle of this show.

Up All Night* (10pm, NBC)
One of my favorite pilots of the fall, although there has been enough reworking of things (change of workplace for Christina Applegate, new cast member Nick Cannon) that I am actually a little worried they are going to be 90% work life, 10% home life, which is not the ratio I am looking for since the material in the pilot that really rang true was the stuff dealing with Applegate and Will Arnett as new parents. We shall see….





Free Agents* (10:30pm, NBC)
I don't want to damn with faint praise nor overrate what is so far only mediocre but the work of Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn really do make Free Agents worth watching. It's not a good show but I did enjoy it and will keep watching.




THURSDAY, 9/15
The Vampire Diaries (The CW), 8pm
The longer a show like The Vampire Diaries runs, the less guilty its fans have to feel for watching it. The show may not be any better than it was when it premiered in 2009 but by entering its third season it starts to get some legitimacy to it.





The Secret Circle* (The CW), 9pm
If you are watching the lead-in, you will most likely be interested in this, another attractive teens in small town who may have supernatural abilities drama, with enough "whose side are they really on?" moments in the pilot to make you realize this show will likely give you whiplash by November sweeps. It's a well made pilot where everything looks nice, and the cast is solid, but you're either going to watch a show about high school students who are witches or you are not and no amount of praise or bashing by me is going to change your mind.





It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Comedy Central), 10 pm
The most successful comedy in basic cable history begins its 7th season.

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
Big Brother won the night in totals and demos…Rookie Blue was the only other new show to air on the big five and it matched last week's numbers…

MONDAY
Hell's Kitchen was down 10% but still the night's top demo performer…Bachelor Pad was also down 10%...Spanish language network Univision had the best primetime demo average of any network on in the US…The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season two premiere was up 42% in total viewers from the season one premiere (which was the most watched series debut in Real Housewives franchise history) and 51% in the demos. It was also down 20% from last season's finale…3.3 million watched the season finale of Keeping up with the Kardashians…

TUESDAY
For the second Tuesday in a row the network with the second best demo average on the night was Univision…America's Got Talent won the night in totals and demos, down just a touch from last week…Take the Money and Run and Combat Hospital were down slightly from last week in their season (and likely series) finales… The season premiere of Sons of Anarchy was the most watched episode in series history, up 20% in totals and 15% in demos from season three's kick off. When you add in the two replays that aired right after, 7.25 million people watched the 90 minute episode…

WEDNESDAY
AGT was up 12% from last Wednesday and tied Big Brother for the night's top demos…Buried Treasure was up 20% to hit a season/series high…

All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Bruce Helford, who co-created The Drew Carey Show and George Lopez, is in final talks to sign on as showruner of Anger Management, Charlie Sheen's vehicle to return to series TV. No network is attached yet but Helford coming on board will only heighten interest, and the plan all along was to get the boss in place before shopping the project, a process that will begin shortly after the ink on his contract is dry…HBO has ordered a first season of Aaron Sorkin's untitled cable news network drama, with a cast that includes Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Olivia Munn, and Sam Waterston…Lifetime has picked up America's Most Wanted, with a new season planned for later this year. The first 24 seasons of the show aired on Fox…Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson, who teamed to executive produce Homicide: Life on the Street, have created Musketeers 3.0 for The CW. The police drama, written by Fontana, focuses on three top level members of the NYPD whose out-of-control lifestyle is challenged when a beautiful and equally as talented young detective joins their ranks…HBO is said to be close to ordering a pilot for The Corrections, an adaptation of Jonathan Franzen's award winning novel, with Franzen, Noah Baumbach, and Scott Rudin on board as executive producers. It's being reported that Sir Anthony Hopkins may star…Modern Love, the Lifetime pilot starring Eric Stoltz, added Ally Sheedy, Cara Buono, and Samantha Futerman to its cast…SNL alum Molly Shannon will be a guest co-host on The Talk for the month of September…TNT cancelled Hawthorne after a three season run…TTTP fave David Cross will do multiple episodes of Modern Family this season…Erin Cummings (Spartacus: Blood and Sand) has signed on for several episodes of Pan Am…Fox will air a primetime UFC special on Saturday, November 12th…Scott Foley, currently seen on Grey's Anatomy and already set to join the cast of True Blood next season, is flexing his writing skills by teaming with Rina Momoun (Privileged, Everwood) for a CBS pilot about a brother and sister whose field of expertise is in helping people vanish from the grid…The New Adventures of Old Christine creator Kari Lizer has Lady Friends at NBC, a comedy pilot about two female friends with very, very different lives...My Best Friend is a Lesbo is a comedy pilot at NBC about two female best friends who become roommates, each advising the other on their social life. Josh Schwartz (Gossip Girl, Chuck) is on board as an executive producer…Syfy renewed Alphas for a second season…Molly Simms will host Project Accessories, a Project Runway spinoff for Lifetime…Jay Mohr will recur on ABC's Suburgatory…TNT ordered a pilot for Scent of the Missing, a procedural about a women who runs a search and rescue team and her best friend/partner, a yellow lab. The show is an adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name and is co-written and executive produced by Carol Mendelsohn, who currently works as showrunner on CSI…ABC is developing The Seven Wonders, an action-adventure series that is based on the book series of the same name…November 18th will be Regis Philbin's last day on Live! With Regis and Kelly…Greg Daniels, who adapted The Office for NBC, has been given a new comedy to Americanize; he's now in charge of the network's version of Friday Night Dinner…TV Guide Network is working on a reality series about Wilson Phillips and how the three women juggle their home lives with an attempt at a comeback…Oxygen has picked up a first season of Best Ink, a reality competition show featuring tattoo artists…

Turns Out Not Where But Who You're With That Really Matters
(The Best Thing I've Watched in the last 14 days aka The Best of What's Around)…
I sang the praises of Rescue Me in last week's column but did want to take a minute to acknowledge just how well done the series finale was. The opening segment certainly turned out to be a fake out but it actually made Lou's passing that much more of a punch to the guy, and the scene where Tommy discovers his body was tough to watch, not just because of the close up look at what fire can do but also because it felt like we were losing a friend.

Because this was Rescue Me, they did what they always did best, find laughter among the tension and tears; the car ride to Lou's memorial service and the problems with the ashes were hysterical and also still very much in character, so it didn't seem like anyone (writers or cast) were trying too hard. That comedy continued at the service itself, including a great porn joke and perhaps the best use of bagpipers in TV history.

The final moments of the show were fitting, focused, as the show was over its run, on preserving the memory of the members of the FDNY who gave their lives on 9/11 and demonstrate how strong a bond there was among these men.

To me the previous episode Vows may have been more of an emotional high point but this was a fitting series finale, one that got even better the second time I watched it.

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…Mark Pellegrino is clearly having a lot of fun in his new role as Brenda's lawyer on The Closer, showing a comedic touch not seen in his previous (excellent) work. I would love to watch a full version of the Daddy Say Yes video if Gavin were doing a commentary track…I LOVE the new US Attorney character on Sons of Anarchy; he is different than anyone else on the show but it seems very natural and in no way forced. As I discussed last week, the premiere was a great kick off to the season, introducing new faces and giving us an idea as to where the story is headed….I wish Gary Cole had gotten a little more scenery to chew on Suits but it didn't make the episode any less entertaining. Harvey didn't fully lose but my point about how much fun it was to see Harvey knocked off his game a bit was demonstrated…I very much enjoyed Burn Notice last week because we got some great Michael-Fiona moments as well as some huge movement in storyline…Ok, is Mrs. Tivo gone from the room? Holy cow, how good did Charisma Carpenter look by the pool on Burn Notice?!?!?!...And, we're back…Fox's Buried Treasure suffers from too much in-episode hype about how much things might be worth instead of doing what Antique's Roadshow does best, present everything matter-of-factly and then make the viewer guess before the reveal…The mid-season finale of Royal Pains was a great example of what keeps the show from moving out of the "entertaining enough/guilty pleasure" category; there really is no dramatic tension on the show. The cast is good-to-very-good, and the family stuff that is an on-going part of the story is well done, but Hank never loses a patient and everything is usually all too well wrapped up by hour's end. I like the show and will keep watching but there was nothing in that episode that made me think "I wonder how this will play out", let alone, "I wish I could watch the next episode right away"…

TV Pick Of The Week
Fans of comedy of all ages should make sure and watch (or record) Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again (tonight, 9pm, HBO), a sit-down between two men who have legendary resumes. This is a special that could have been twice as long without missing a beat, and anyone who's ever wondered how to tell a good story should be taking copious notes.

Don't miss Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again, tonight at 9pm on HBO.

Hope You Need My Love, Babe, Just Like I Need You
Other viewing options from the next seven days…

*The US Open Women's Finals airs in primetime tomorrow night at 8pm on CBS.

*Entourage ends its 8 season run this Sunday at 10:30pm. Fans should worry too much as all parties involved have confirmed they are planning a big screen version within the next couple of years.

*Anderson, Anderson Cooper's new syndicated daily talk show, premieres on Monday with the first show being exclusive interviews with Amy Winehouse's father, mother, and boyfriend, the first any of the three have done since the singer died in July.

*The Substitute (MTV) is a new game show that airs weekdays at 4;30pm, with students showing up for class to find out their substitute teacher is actually a game show host and they can win up to $5000.

*Bachelor Pad wraps up its current season Monday at 8pm. The winner? Us, for not having this on our every week anymore.

*Who's your pick for the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant (Monday, 9pm, NBC)? I like Miss Uruguay.

*The Gosselins wrap up their long TLC journey Monday at 9pm with the final episode of Kate Plus 8.

*This is The Closer's (TNT) final season but that run is being broken up into three parts, with the first one coming to a close this Monday at 9pm.

*America's Got Talent crowns a new champion you will not remember in six months on Wednesday at 8pm.

*This is a big week for me; two of the show's I loathe the most, the aforementioned Bachelor Pad and Big Brother (Wednesday, 9:30pm, CBS) are done for another year.

*Archer (FX) returns with the first of three new episodes on Thursday at 10:30pm.


Two Tivos To Paradise
24 Hour Restaurant Battle, 30 Rock, After the Catch, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Archer, Auction Hunters, Awkward, 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, Crave, 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, 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, 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 a guide to the single biggest week of the television year, including The Emmys!

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.