Two Tivos To Paradise 8.17.07
Posted by Al Norton on 08.17.2007
It's The "Get This News Report Finished Before I Head On Vacation" Edition Of Two Tivos To Paradise. Click Here Now For The Latest News. If You Put Your Ear Close To The Computer You Can Hear The Beach I Am Relaxing On!
Hello Friends. Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out. Big weekend in the Tivo household as we took advantage of Massachusetts annual tax fee weekend and picked up a 40 inch high def television, which will be my first foray in the world of high definition television. Also got the new high def Tivo to go with it. In other news, the Red Sox minor league teams swept the second annual Futures At Fenway doubleheader on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. We had incredible seats – we could rest our arms on the top of the dugout!
It's the time of the season when news runs high.
You Can Never Forget How It Used To Feel, The Illusion Is Deep
The web site for James Marsters, best known for his portrayal of Spike on both Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, has confirmed that he will join the cast of Without A Trace this fall in a recurring role as a new member of the investigation team brought in to help with a human trafficing ring.
Best. News. Ever. Ok, not ever, but anything that gets Marsters back on TV on a regular basis is reason for celebration, even if I still have not gotten used to hearing him speak in his actual voice (i.e. no British accent). Without A Trace, which I have enjoyed in reruns on TNT, immediately jumps to Season Pass status. With Marsters new job, David Boreanaz enjoying major success on Bones, Alyson Hannigan being a riot on How I Met Your Mother, J August Richards on the Steven Bochco's new TNT series, Charisma Carpenter guesting on Greek in what could become a recurring role, and Nathan Fillon joining Desperate Housewives, it's a great time to be a citizen of the Whedonverse. Now we just need to get Andy Hallet some work and all will be right with the world.
Sometimes, I Feel I Gotta Get Away. Bells Chime, I Know I Gotta Get Away
Tonight is the premiere of High School Musical 2, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the pop culture phenomenon that was HSM. Along with big the top rated program in the channel's history, the soundtrack was the best selling album of 2006, and the success of the movie led to a concert tour, a stage version, and even an "HSM On Ice" that will hit arenas this winter. HSM2 airs tonight followed by a reply on Saturday featuring a live chat with the stars and then a "Sing Along" version on Sunday.
Don't even try and tell me that you don't know about High School Musical. The only way I would buy that is if you are either living in a cave or are in a coma, or perhaps the worst combination of all, in a coma in a cave. If that's the case, than think Grease meets Kids Incorporated, with more than a dash of diversity in the mix to bring it into the modern age. And it's catchy – even a 35 year old like me will admit to humming Get Your Head In The Game on occasion. Tune in and no doubt you'll be singing I Don't Dance or What Time Is It? on your way to work on Monday.
Some Say Eat Or Be Eaten, Some Say Live And Let Live
HBO's original programming department was busy this week, canceling John From Cincinnati days after the first season finale aired and also officially picking up True Blood, a Vampire series set in the south that is an adaptation of a popular series of novels as well as Alan Ball's follow up to Six Feet Under.
JFC getting the axe was perhaps the least shocking news of the week as it never managed to get past the "trying hard to be weird" stage, at least for me. Sure, there were a ton of my favorite character actors involved, but nothing really gelled. Maybe now I will stop calling everyone Butchie. Series creator David Milch is working on extending his development deal with HBO and his latest project is a police drama about a Vietnam Veteran who joins the NYPD in the 1970's. Fellow 411mania writer Ben Piper got on board the True Blood bandwagon this week, which is fantastic, especially since regular Two Tivos readers have known about this show since last year. Anna Paquin will make her TV series debut as a small town waitress with telekinesis who hooks up with a vampire, many of whom live out in the open in the books written by Charlene Harris.
I Was Leaving For A Dream, Loving For A Moment
CBS ended weeks of speculation and frustrating negotiations with other actors when they officially announced that Joe Mantegna would be joining the cast of Criminal Minds, filling the void left by the departing Mandy Patinkin. Mantegna, fresh off an Emmy nominated performance in the USA mini-series The Starter Wife, was last seen on series television on CBS' Joan Of Arcadia. It was also confirmed this week that Patinkin would return to the show to shoot one scene in which his character's departure is explained, with rumors saying that he would be doing the entire scene solo.
This is the definition of a safe choice. Sure, Mantegna is a fine actor who can switch back and forth between comedy and drama with ease, but it's not one that really sparks any excitement. On the other hand, nothing about Criminal Minds has every really sparked any excitement for me, so maybe it makes sense. The one interesting thing that comes from this story is I searched Mantegna's IMDB page and found he cut his teeth in the business doing guest spots on Soap, Bosom Buddies, The Greatest American Hero, Simon and Simon, Archie Bunker's Place, and the classic Ann Jillian sitcom, It's A Living. Great, now I've got the It's A Living theme song in my head…Life's not the French Riviera, believe me…Ok, I know I'm not the only person who remembers this show, with the revolving restaurant and Sonny the piano player.
Hope You Need My Love Babe, Just Like I Need You
Every week I think about ditching this section, and every week there is more than enough new programming to justify its existence. Ok, this week is a bit slow but there is still more than enough to get your attention; below is a list of new/noteworthy show for your viewing pleasure over the next seven days, with * next to series premieres.
Monday My Super Sweet Sixteen, Finale, MTV Star Jones*, Court TV Yo Gabba Gabba*, Nickelodeon
Tuesday America's Got Talent, Finale, NBC As You Like It, HBO Call 911, Court TV
Wednesday Anchorwoman*, Fox The Death Of JFK, JR, TLC
Yo Gabba Gabba is Nickelodeon's answer to Sesame Street, with the hip factor turned up a bit; much of the music written by cool groups like The Shins and Aquabats. Did I mention that 80's rap icon Biz Markie stops by to help reach the kids to beat box? Elijah Wood guests on the premiere. You should check out the finale of America's Got Talent if for no other reason than it's probably the last time you will see the winner on TV again. Anchorwoman is a new reality series form Fox where former WWE star Lauren Jones joins a local Texas news team in an attempt to boost ratings. Hijinks ensue. As You Like It is Kenneth Branagh's 114th Shakespeare adaptation for HBO, featuring Alfred Molina, Kevin Kline, and Bryce Dallas Howard.
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 last week…The season three premiere of Weeds was up 43% from last year, with it's 824,000 viewers being a series high for total viewers…Californication came in at just over a ½ million…The Hills opened huge; the 3.6 million audience was a high for any show on MTV this year and more than had ever tuned in to an episode previously…The Hells Kitchen finale scored a shade under 10 million pairs of eyes, up over a million than the previous week and (yet another) series high…Despite poor reviews, Flash Gordon gave Sci-Fi it's top rated premiere of 2007, with 2.1 million watching
All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry Notes, Pilot Updates, & Casting News…Production of 24 got pushed back another two weeks in order to give the writers time to finish more scripts. Not a good sign…Nichelle Nichols, best known for playing Uhura on Star Trek, will join fellow Enterprise alum George Taki for multiple episodes of Heroes…Tuc Watkins, best known for his roles on One Life To Live and General Hospital, and Judging Amy's Kevin Rahm will play Wisteria Lane's much talked about gay couple on the upcoming season of Desperate Housewives…It looks like Nip/Tuck will be getting even racier this fall when Joely Richardson's character has a lesbian affair with Portia De Rossi, who will be appearing in at least nine episodes…In other N/T news, John Schneider will be stopping by as the king of a porn empire…The New York Post is reporting that Billy Crystal is shopping for a late night talk show gig, with an eye on the Late Night spot that will open up when Conan moves up to The Tonight Show, which, according to rumors, has been already promised to Jimmy Fallon…Fox has picked up seven episodes of Nothing But The Truth, where contestants are strapped to a lie detector machine and forced to decide between big money prizes or giving honest answers about personal questions. Did I mention they do so surrounded by family and friends?...Hot on the heels of her book, The Starter Wife, being turned into an Emmy nominated mini-series by USA, Gigi Levangie Grazer has signed with Lifetime to turn another of her Hollywood based page turners, Maneater, into a four hour mini-series…Two Tivos favorite and former Homicide: Life On The Street star Kyle Secor has joined the cast of ABC's Women's Murder Club…Fox has cancelled it's attempt at making a Daily Show for the right, The ½ Hour News Hour, after just 15 episodes…Sci-Fi is not on Mrs. Tivo's Christmas list anymore; first they don't renew The Dresden Files and now word is that Painkiller Jane will not see a second season…Kristen Bell officially said she will not be joining the cast of Lost next season. Notice how I buried this deep in the notes section?...Miss America will air on TLC the next five years, with a reality series following all 52 contestants as part of the package…Angelica Houston will do a six episode arc on Medium, playing someone who becomes a partner of sorts for Alison…The fourth hour of The Today Show was made a reality this week, with a planned September kick off. Ann "Good Morning" Curry, Natalie Morales, and Hoda Kotb will co-host… The upcoming syndicated version of Deal Or No Deal will only be a half hour but will feature Howie Mandell as host, at least for the first season…Soapnet will have a Labor Day weekend marathon of episodes of The OC that focus on the Summer and Seth relationship…Rob Lowe has teamed with Alison Cross (Commander In Chief) to develop a law enforcement procedural drama for ABC specifically following the LAPD's anti-stalking unit. Originally thought to be something he would star in, Lowe's role on Brothers And Sisters will keep him behind the scenes…Kathie Lee Gifford will return to her old stomping grounds in September to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Live With Regis And...The festivities will last two weeks, culminating with Gifford's appearance on the 14th…SO much for giving ABC more credit than the other networks; after being praised for returning The Knights Of Prosperity and The Nine to the airwaves to finish out their runs, the network pulled both shows due to low ratings. Again…Two And A Half Men's Marin Hinkle will play Rob Lowe's ex-wife on at least one episode of Brothers And Sisters…Tom Everett Scott has been cast as Lucy Lu's fiancé on Cashmere Mafia…Fox has hired Ryan Seacrest to serve as host of the upcoming Super Bowl pre game and halftime shows…
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…Kevin Bacon did his wife proud - and quite possible earned himself an Emmy nomination - this week as his second directorial outing for The Closer was far and away the best thing I watched this week. The first few minutes made it seem like it might be a lighter episode and then an out-of-nowhere shooting took the tension up more than a few notches. Barry Corbin debuted as Brenda's Dad and the always wonderful Francis Sternhagen reprised her role as her Mom, leading to some great scenes at the Johnson house. The best dialogue exchange of the week came between Corbin and Jon Tenney, who plays Brenda's fiancé Fritz, after the announcement of their engagement; "It's not my cat." "It is now, son." The Closer is really a show you should be watching.
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…When I do my end of the year round up awards – not to be confused with The Nortys – look for Confessions Of A Matchmaker's Patti Novak to get the Best New TV Personality award. She could/should give lessons to all the reality show judges about how to offer direct, constructive criticism that comes from a clearly caring place…If I do an award for most entertaining TV personality, it will go hands down to Flipping Out's Jeff Lewis. I could watch his brand of crazy all day…This week's fight-to-sex scene on Burn Notice was the hottest of its kind since Buffy and Spike knocked a house down the first time they got it on. Oh by the way, the rest of the episode was stellar, too…The opening 20 minutes of last week's Rescue Me were breathtaking, with the ghosts that haunt Tommy leaving him because they think he doesn't care enough, or about the right things. His dead brother quoting On The Waterfront was sheer brilliance. Special kudos to Steven Pasqule, who by making Sean ever so slightly less daft has made him that much more endearing…Richard's return, and his pretty creepy plan of giving Isabelle the childhood she never had, highlighted another quality episode of The 4400…How cheap is Fox? They wouldn't even spring for the three finalists of On The Lot to get to make a new movie, settling for showing their picks for the three best before America chooses a winner next Tuesday. For more, see below…Caught a very strong episode of Army Wives from two weeks ago that dealt with adult, married couple sexuality in a way that was both entertaining as well as honest…I think it's possible that all three wives on Big Love end up with Norty (and Emmy) nominations next year – they, and the show, have been that good…
TV Pick Of The Week
Sure, Fox's On The Lot has been a miserable failure; not enough people watched, budgets were slashed, contestants just disappeared from one week to the next…But a constant throughout was the brilliance of Gary Marshall, and the rotating guest judge worked more often then it didn't. This Tuesday is the finale and it's worth watching to support the idea of finding the next great American filmmaker. Since the prize is a job at DreamWorks, I am assuming Steven Spielberg will make an appearance, although if he had made one at the start, or at least tried to line up more big names, the show might not have been the Nielsen's nightmare that it was. All of that aside, I would vote for Will but think Jason will end up winning the big prize. Don't miss the finale of On The Lot Tuesday on Fox.
Two Tivos To Paradise, Weekly Update 30 Days, The 4400, After The Catch, Antique Roadshow, The Apprentice, Battlestar Galactica, Best Week Ever, Big Love, Bones, Boston Legal, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, The Closer, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Dead Zone, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Entourage, Extras, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Ghost Hunters, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Jericho, King Of Cars, Laguna Beach, Last Comic Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mad Men, Medium, My Name Is Earl, Monk, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, The Office, On The Lot, One Tree Hill, Painkiller Jane, Project Runway, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rescue Me, The Riches, Rules Of Engagement, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shark, Shear Genius, The Soup, Supernatural, Top Chef, Top Design, Ugly Betty, Welcome To The Parker
Additions :None Deletions :None
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. Mrs. Tivo and I will be spending the weekend in Cape Cod, enjoying a much needed vacation as well as taking in a John Hiatt/Shawn Colvin show. Hopefully I will find some time to catch up on the hours that are waiting for me in my "Now Playing" folder. Ben Piper's Tuesday TV news report here at 411mania is good stuff, but don't forget who rocks the body that rocks the party; we'll see you here next Friday. Feedback is encouraged at twotivostoparadise@yahoo.com.
Sources for this week's column include Daily Variety, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and Hollywood Reporter (as well as the web sites for those publications) as well as Aintit.cool.com.
