Two Tivos To Paradise 11.25.11: Cougar Town, CSI, Dexter, Arrested Development, Howard Stern, More

Posted by Al Norton on 11.25.2011

News and thoughts on Arrested Development's return, Dexter's renewal, Howard Stern's contract negotiations with America's Got Talent, ABC's mid-season line-up, Elisabeth Shue joining CSI and more!



Hello friends. Hope you're all recovered from your turkey-induced coma and enjoying your Friday. Or perhaps you are reading this column on your iPads as you are waiting in a Black Friday line. In any event, here's hoping Thanksgiving met – exceeded – your expectations this year!

Here's a look at season two of HBO's Game of Thrones

Season 2 - In Production

The more I see of Syfy's upcoming Neverland, the more intrigued I am…





Inside you the time moves and she don't fade, the news in you, she don't fade.

But I've Never Caught A Glimpse Of How The Others Must See The Faker, I'm Much Too Fast To Take That Test
ABC announced their mid-season lineup this week, with new shows and returning favorites finding air time in the coming months.

Work It – Tuesday, January 3, 8:30pm
Celebrity Wife Swap – Tuesday, January 3, 9pm

Winter Wipeout – Thursday, January 5, 8pm

Shark Tank – Friday, February 3, 8pm

The River – Tuesday, February 7, 9pm

GCB – Sunday, March 4, 10pm

Missing – Thursday, March 15, 8pm

Dancing with the Stars – Monday, March 19, 8pm


The biggest headline out of the above schedule is the absence of Cougar Town, and that (lack of) news was followed a few hours later with word that the season three order of the comedy had been cut from 22 to 15 episodes. I am not sure why ABC doesn't fully appreciate the show; last season they held it out of the lineup for a while and then when they brought it back they did so by airing an episode on Monday night, when the show's regular night was Tuesdays. Say what you will about how NBC has treated Community but at least they have left it on the same night and the same timeslot so the audience can find it.

GCB is a dramedy starring Kristin Chenoweth that was formerly known as Good Christian Bitches and, it if does well, could take over the preceding timeslot in the fall after Desperate Housewives signs off for good in May. The River is a supernatural themed drama and Missing stars Ashley Judd as a Mom with a secret past trying to find her son. The less said about the cross-dressing comedy Work It, the better.

ABC also picked up an additional episode of Pan Am, bringing the season one total to 14, and 3 more for Body of Evidence, which means when combined with the five unaired episodes from season one, the Dana Delany mystery series will air 21 new hours in the 2011-2012 season. It was also announced that Man Up's 13 episode first season would be its only season.

I Staggered Back To The Underground And The Breeze Blew Back My Hair
Oscar and Golden Globe nominated actress Elisabeth Shue has signed on to be a full time cast member of CSI, with her first episode set to air on February 15th. There was an opening caused by the departure of Marg Helgenberger and Shue's character will be one with a history with Ted Danson's D.B. Russell.

Very sharp move by CBS, which had apparently been after Shue for some time to star in a series. When you have lost as many original cast members as CSI has, you can't replace them with unknowns; in order to make sure the audience doesn't feel like they are watching a new show you need to populate it with familiar faces so they still feel comfortable watching. NBC made a mistake with their SVU casting this fall, using actors the audience sort of knew but didn't really have strong feelings about; you need to either go the total unknown route and try to make people feel like they are watching a new show (in a good way) or give them folks who make them smile.

Ratings are solid for CSI this fall and from what I can tell from talking to fans, they really like the addition of Danson, who at this point is easily a TV Hall of Famer, so adding someone with the skill set of Shue not only makes the show better but it sends the message to fans that the network cares about the show and is as invested as the viewers.

It's Not How Fast You Can Go, The Force Goes Into The Flow, If You Can Pick Up The Beat, You Can Forget About The Heat
For many folks this is a long weekend and the various cable networks are assuming you will have more time for TV viewing than usual, so they have come up with some marathon options for you to sample.

FRIDAY
Storage Wars, A&E, 7am, 32 episodes
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, GSN, 8am, 11 episodes
The Parkers, BET, 8am, 22 episodes
Project Runway, Style, 8am, full season four
Top Gear, BBC America, 8am, 17 episodes
Auction Hunters, Spike, 9am, 24 episodes
Full Throttle Saloon, TruTV, 9am, 9 episodes
I Shouldn't Be Alive, Animal Plant, 9am 8 episodes
Stephen King's The Stand, Chiller, 9am, full mini-series
All on the Line, Sundance, 10am, 9 episodes
Glee Project, Oxygen, 10am, full season one
Awkward, MTV, 11am, 12 episodes (full season one)
Millionaire Matchmaker, Bravo, 11am, 17 episodes
Restaurant Impossible, Food, noon, 11 episodes
House Hunters, HGTV, 1pm, 14 episodes
Swamp Wars, Animal Planet, 5pm, 13 episodes
Malcolm in the Middle, IFC, 8pm, 6 episodes
Frazier, WE, 8pm, 10 episodes
House Hunters International, HGTV, 8pm, 16 episodes

SATURDAY
The A List: New York, Logo, 6am, 8 episodes
Battlestar Galactica, BBC America, 6am, 15 episodes
Sell This House, A&E, 7am, 8 episodes
Everybody Hates Chris, BET, 8am, 20 episodes
Twilight Zone, Chiller, 8 am, 10 episodes
Hot in Cleveland, TVLand, 8am, 20 episodes
The Three Stooges, 9am, 9 episodes
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Bravo, 9:30am, 9 episodes
Ghost Whisperer, WE, 10am, 15 episodes
First 3 Indiana Jones movies, USA, noon
American Hoggers, A&E, 4pm, 6 episodes
Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 7pm, 8 episodes
Family Feud, GSN, 7pm, 10 episodes
Storage Wars, A&E, 8pm, 18 episodes

SUNDAY
Law & Order, TNT, 5am, 7 episodes
Kitchen Nightmares, BBC America, 6am, 24 episodes
Hot in Cleveland, TVLand, 9am, 26 episodes
NCIS, USA, 9am, 19 episodes
The original Star Wars trilogy, Spike, 9am
Bernie Mac Show, BET, 10am, 10 episodes
Real Housewives of Atlanta, Bravo, 10am, 13 episodes
Criminal Minds, A&E, 5pm, 11 episodes

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 sun rises, the sun sets, and The Big Bang Theory dominates Thursdays in demos and totals…Rules of Engagement was up in the demos…Hitting or tying season demos lows were Whitney, Person of Interest, The Mentalist, and Prime Suspect…Community was up 7%...Parks and Recreation was up 11%...Bones posted the best drama series demos of the night…The two hour Private Practice was down double digits from its previous episode…

FRIDAY
Blue Bloods was Friday's big winner, topping the night in totals (+8%) and demos (+18%)…CSI:NY won 9pm in totals and finished tied with Grimm for the hour's demo win…Supernatural dropped double digits in totals and demos…8:00 had a split victory, with A Gifted Man winning in totals (and showing an increase in demos, too) while Kitchen Nightmares won demos…

SUNDAY
Sunday Night Football was down 11% but still easily won the night in totals and demos…Allen Gregory dropped again, establishing new season/series lows in totals and demos…The American Music Awards matched last year's demos and was the most watched non-football programming of the night…The Amazing Race and The Good Wife were both up…

MONDAY
Dancing with the Stars final night of competition was down 27% from the same episode last fall…Castle was up 13% to finish a very close second in the demos at 10pm to Hawaii 5-0 while winning the hour in total viewers…It was a night of declines pretty much across the board, with Terra Nova (-9%), Rock Center (-18%), HIMYM (-7%), 2 Broke Girls (-8%), and Hawaii 5-0 (-15%) all dropping in the demos…The Sing Off was up 8%...Hart of Dixie and Gossip Girl with both up, with Girl enjoying its most watched episode of the season…

TUESDAY
Last Man Standing and Man Up were the only two shows to show a week-to-week demo increase…The Dancing with the Stars finale was down 20% from last fall to be the lowest rated fall finale in series history…NCIS won the night in totals, although down 13% from last week…NCIS: LA finished second in totals and demos at 9pm…Parenthood matched last week's demo and showed a slight increase in total viewers…

All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Netflix has landed the upcoming new season of Arrested Development (expected to run 9 – 10 episodes) that will air in 2013 as a precursor to the big screen edition of the show hitting theaters…Showtime has picked up twelve episode 7th and 8th seasons of Dexter, with the 8th expected to be the show's final…The New York Post is reporting that Howard Stern's contract demands to join the judge panel on America's Got Talent are a $20 million salary and for the show to move from LA to NY. The story says negotiations are in an "advanced" stage and that Simon Cowell, the show's executive producer, is committed to making a deal happen…Ewan McGregor will co-star with Oscar winners Chris Cooper and Diane Wiest in the HBO pilot The Corrections…NBC picked up the back 9 episodes of Grimm, bringing the first season run to a full 2 episodes. When using the Live+7 numbers, Grimm had the most watched drama series premiere of the fall. The network is also going to run a new episode in the Thursday at 10pm timeslot on December 8th as a way to try and give it a bigger showcase… Syfy is working on an adaptation of the DC Comic Booster Gold, about a washed up athlete from the future who travels back in time to our present day to seek fame and fortune. Andrew Kresiberg (Fringe, Warehouse 13, The Vampire Diaries, Eli Stone, Boston Legal) is writing the pilot, and Greg Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money, Everwood) is executive producing…Gayle Ann Hurd, executive producer of The Walking Dead, is part of a team working on turning the non-fiction book Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base into a scripted one hour drama series, with the project set to be shopped to networks next month…The season one finale of American Horror Story - set to air on December 21st- has been cut from two hours to 90 minutes. The issue isn't anything creative or ratings based (the show actually hit a new demo high this past week) but rather one of production; they didn't start work on the show until late July so they won't finish the actual filming of the finale until a week before it airs, leaving very little time for the editing process. The show has done well enough in the ratings where they are looking at a larger season two order…Season three of The Life and times of Tim premieres on December 16th…UFC is set to make their FX debut on January 20th…The 10 episode first season of Inside Comedy premiers on Showtime on January 26th. The show, executive produced by Steve Carell and David Steinberg, finds Steinberg interviewing some of the great comedy minds of our time, including Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Jonathan Winters, and Don Rickles…Jack Black is executive producing a Syfy comedy Ghost Ghirls, a spoof of shows like Medium and Ghost Whisperer…WE has picked up an 8 episode first season of Mary Mary, a reality show starring gospel singing sisters Erica and Tina Campbell, who together form the Grammy winning group Mary Mary…Sally Ann Salsano, whose 495 Productions is responsible for Jersey Shore, is executive producing Mama Drama for VH1, a new reality series where five Moms who refuse to act their age live in a house with their young adult daughters. Look for it in January…Oscar winning writer Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man)has signed a production deal with HBO, the first project being a drama about Doc Holiday that Ron Howard would direct the pilot for. The series would be based on Mary Doria Russell's recent biography Doc…Bravo will run Watch What Happens: Live five nights a week starting in January…NBC ordered an additional 2 episodes of Up All Night, bringing the total to a supersized 24…ABC premieres the first season of The Great American Auction on December 8th, a reality show where Ty Pennington travels the country with a group of antique and collectible experts, visiting flea markets and yard sales to find hidden treasures. The top items they find are then brought to an auction to get maximum dollars…Courtney Ford (True Blood) will do multiple episodes of Parenthood…GSN has acquired reruns of cycles 4 – 13 of Dancing with the Stars and will begin airing them in January…Jeffrey Nordling (Desperate Housewives, 24, Dirt) has been cast as the male lead opposite Melanie Griffith in the Lifetime pilot American Housewife, which Griffith and her husband Antonio Banderas are executive producing…Taxi-22, an adaptation of a French series that James Gandolfini is working on for HBO, has new life now that Brett C Leonard (Hung) has been brought in to take a new crack at the pilot script. This is the third attempt at a script for the pilot, which would star Gandolfini as a New York City cabby trying to keep his life together…Amy Poehler is executive producing Broad City, a popular web comedy series that FX is trying to bring to the small screen…

Turns Out Not Where But Who You're With That Really Matters
(The Best of What's Around aka The Best Thing I've Watched In The Last Seven Days)…
I really enjoy Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, I love classic game shows, and I super-love The Muppets, so this clip had me laughing (and clapping) so loud that I nearly woke the twins up…





The only thing that could have made it better is if Martin Short had busted out a little Jackie Rogers, Jr.


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…Ringer had more twists and turns in their last episode than some shows do in a year, and while each one is more logic-defying than the last, the show seems to be fully embracing its guilty pleasure status, and I am fully embracing it as such as well…The Office was just ok this past week but I did love Robert California interpreting Kevin's cookie thoughts as well as the way Ryan made the truth about Kevin's insights come out. At this point they need to move past Andy's insecurities about being manager and on to some other workplace storyline…Joel McHale's transformation into Dean Pelton was astonishing and just one of the many highlights Community offered this week. I have always said, "Luis Guzman makes anything better" and last Thursday proved it again. Organic absurdity is incredibly rare yet Community provides it week in, week out…Catching up on Covert Affairs fall run and am pretty impressed with Piper Perabo. Not saying she came close to deserving that Golden Globe nomination but I do buy her in this role, which I would not have said would be possible two years ago. By the way, did I miss something – what happened to the Dr she was dating?...When Kitchen Nightmares is on its game it balances Gordon Ramsay's more over-the-top behavior with his genuine attempts to make the restaurants profiled better, and the mid-season finale featuring the Greek place did just that, making great use of the actual family drama that existed before the cameras showed up instead of creating their own made-for-TV issues…My love/hate relationship with Private Practice continues; the two hour intervention episode had some extremely powerful moments, including a reminder that Benjamin Bratt is among TV's finest dramatic actors. I really think the show's new framing device of Addison's therapy sessions has falled flat, in no small part because they didn't get an actor with any sort of presence to play the Doctor. Why not get a familiar face/voice to handle this, so when he (could have been a she, too) offers criticisms of her life, it adds to the importance? In its current form it just seems gimmicky. Also, I continue to be unable to say enough about the stellar supporting work done by Brian Benben…I think Next Iron Chef is the reason I am not as in to Top Chef so far; the talent and personalities are SO strong on NIC and each elimination such a tough decision that it makes the early rounds of TC seem pedestrian in comparison…If someone had told me two years ago that an episode of Parks and Recreation would end with a big romantic kiss that would find me smiling in a totally honest, non-ironic kind of way, I would have thought it impossible, but the show has really taken the leap from funny to fantastic, and it's the investment in the characters that has made it happen. Because everyone get their share of the spotlight (we touched on this last week), the audience is on board with all of them, so when a couple makes a big decision like last week, we cheer them on from our couches. Also, I'd watch a spinoff where Andy goes to college…

TV Pick Of The Week
Yes, I am picking a show about the Kardashians as the TV Pick of the Week, and here's why: fans of these shows – and don't kid yourselves, there are a LOT of them, and they aren't all simpletons and hicks; many work in the cubicle next to you and are otherwise reasonable people – are going to tune in to the season premiere of Kourtney & Kim Take New York because they always tune in, but the haters have a reason now, too. Think of the fun you can have trying to spot the point in the 72 days of marriage that Kim decides to call it quits, or counting how many times you yell at the screen, "Kris, get the hell out of there!!" Hey, you will want to watch at least the first episode as it's bound to be a big pop-culture buzz topic on Monday morning and you might want to be able to talk about something other than the BCS at the water cooler.

Don't miss the season premiere of Kourtney & Kim Take New York, Sunday at 10pm on E!

Ok, I just can't do it. I tried to make the bosses happy and go with something that all the kids like but it's just not me. You want a real TV Pick of the Week? Starting this weekend AMC is running three episodes of Mad Men every Sunday morning at 6am; they will run in order, so by the time season 5 premieres in March you will be totally caught up.

Don't miss Mad Men from the beginning, starting Sunday at 6am on AMC!!!

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

*NBC's coverage of the Blackhawks-Bruins game (today, 1pm) is the earliest the network has ever televised a regular season game. They are looking to make a Black Friday game an annual tradition.

*My brother Walter will want to plop down on the couch on Friday night and turn on Encore as they are showing all three Lord of the Rings movies in a row starting at 8pm. Even better, these are the Special Editions, so there are scenes not included in the theatrical release.

*The latest installment of Tyler Perry Rules the World is the premiere of his new comedy series; Tyler Perry's For Better Or Worse (Tonight, 10pm, TBS), featuring Marcus (Michael Jai White) and Angela (Tasha Smith) from Why Did I Get Married? This two episode debut gives you the couple's whole world in a hour; if you like what you see you'll want to keep watching, and if you don't, well than feel free to keep moving on. It's worth noting that, regardless of the volume of genuine laughter generated, this show looks great.

*The NFL Network runs its annual Sound FX special on Saturday at 8pm; a one hour look at the 49'ers-Ravens game from Thursday with no commentary but instead using sounds captured via 17 all access cameras.

* The Walking Dead (Sunday, 9pm, AMC) continues to build upon its excellent first season with an ever stronger sophomore run. If you've missed any part of season two so far you can catch up as there is a marathon that begins at 2:30pm leading up to episode 7 at 9pm.

*Hollywood Moms Night (Sunday, 8pm, TV Guide Network) is a reality special that lets the cameras into a dinner parties that best friends Ali Landry and TTTP queen Alison Sweeney have been having for years. This particular guest list includes Denise Richards, Nicey Nash, and La La Anthony. Sweeney email over an exclusive teaser quote to give TTTP readers a better idea of what the show is all about…

I'm so excited for the Hollywood Mom's Night this Sunday. Its an inside peek into the things girls talk about over a glass of wine. We did a potluck, so everyone brought something that reminds them of a family holiday theme.

Ali & I had a great time getting everything at my house ready for the dinner. Ali is so talented & 'crafty' - she set the table so beautifully. And then the guests arrived. Lots of great girl talk! Some funny revealing moments - definitely a couple belly laughs at my expense - and a gift exchange!!! A super fun night!!!

*Bradley Whitford, Laurence Fishburne, and Martin Landau star in Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith, an ABC movie-of-the-week airing Sunday at 9pm.

*Big week for fans of TNT dramas as Leverage (Sunday, 9pm) The Closer (Monday, 9pm), and Rizzoli & Isles (Monday, 10pm) are back with a run of winter episodes.

*The Sing Off (NBC) crowns a new champion this Monday at 8pm.

*Scouted (Monday, 10pm, E!) is a new reality series that finds modeling scouts leaving the coasts and going out amongst the regular people in the hopes of finding the next big thing.

*How do you know it's the holiday season? Because CBS is busting out Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer on Tuesday at 8pm.

*Bravo is getting some of the more memorable clients from the last five seasons of Millionaire Matchmaker together for a two part Millionaire Matchmaker reunion event, part one of which airs Tuesday at 9pm, hosted by Andy Cohen (of course).

*America Supernanny (Tuesday, 9pm, Lifetime) is exactly what its title makes you think – a version of the Supernanny series featuring an American-born lead.

*The pilot for I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Wednesday, 9:30pm, Fox) was among the worst I saw this past summer, and the fact that the show starred the very talented Jamie Pressly and was still terrible was even more depressing.

*The Soup (E!) moves to Wednesdays at 10pm as of this week! TTTP King Joel McHale checked in via email to let everyone know why this is big news…

The Soup is moving to Wednesdays at 10. This is exciting because we're switching days. Can you feel it? The excitement?! So exciting. Day switching! Yeah! Yeah!

*Hot in Cleveland is back with a new season this Wednesday at 10pm, followed by the series premiere of The Exes, a new comedy starring Kristen Johson, Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, and David Alan Basche.

*Kristin Chenoweth visiting The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (Friday, 12:35am) is a Tivo-worthy occasion.

Two Tivos To Paradise
24 Hour Restaurant Battle, 30 Rock, After the Catch, 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, 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, Family Guy, 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, Hell on Wheels, Hollywood Treasure, House, How I Met Your Mother, How To Make It In America, Hung, If You Really Knew Me, Iron Chef America, Justified, 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, New Girl, Next Iron Chef, The Office, One Tree Hill, Outside the Lines, Parks & Recreation, Private Practice, Project Accessory, Project Runway, Psych, Raising Hope, Real Time With Bill Maher, Restaurant Impossible, Revenge, Ringer, Rocco's Dinner Party, Royal Pains, Rules Of Engagement, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, The Secret Circle, Shear Genius, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Suits, Suburgatory, Supernatural, Table For 12, Terra Nova, Top Chef, Top Chef Just Desserts, Top Chef: Masters, Top Design, Torchwood, Tosh.0, True Blood, Up All Night, 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 all the latest news plus a look at the plans for our year end, 2011-in-review columns.

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.