Two Tivos To Paradise 09.19.08: Emmys, Pilots, and Returning Favorites, Oh My!

Posted by Al Norton on 09.19.2008

Two Tivos To Paradise is back with a guide to the biggest TV week of the year - The Emmys are Sunday night plus over 20 shows air their series/season premieres. Also, Katee Sackhoff lands the lead in an NBC pilot, Amy Poehler is leaving SNL, HBO renews True Blood, The Soup gets a spinoff, raves for One Tree Hill, tons of news & notes, and more!

Hello Friends. We're now in week three of parenthood in the Tivo household, week one sans Mother In-law around to help. I thought that my television viewing experience was about as good as it was going to get but add in a three week old baby sleeping on your chest as you watch and you hit heights you never thought possible.

This is one of the biggest weeks of the television year, and easily the most important in the two+ years TTTP has been in existence. The 60th Annual Emmy Awards are on Sunday night – reason alone for this to be a major week – followed by more than 2 dozen shows airing their season/series premieres. It's a good thing I have twins to keep me up late at night or there is no way I could get through all the viewing.

She's so fine, there's no telling where the news went.

Knock Me Down, It's All In Vain, I'll Get Back Up On My Feet Again
With so much going on this week I thought it smart to provide the top stories in "quick hit" format. Here we go…

*Katee Sackhoff has backed out of her scheduled Nip/Tuck stint because she has been cast as the lead in the NBC pilot Lost and Found. The Battlestar Galactica star will play a detective who, after butting heads with her superior's one too many times, finds herself banished to the missing persons office in the basement. L & F is produced by Dick Wolf, best known for giving us the Law and Order franchise. Sackhoff has been replaced on Nip/Tuck by Rose McGowan.

*HBO renewed True Blood for a second season after just two episodes airing. Sighting critical raves and solid ratings, the network wasted no time in letting people who had yet to tune in that their time would not be wasted. TNT had their renewal pants on, picking up new seasons of Saving Grace and Raising The Bar (really?!?!?!).

*Amy Poehler confirmed that when she leaves Saturday Night Live in November it will be a more permanent parting than just the planned maternity leave. When she returns to work this spring it will be focusing only on her new, untitled NBC sitcom.

*ESPN and The CW had record breaking viewing audiences on Monday night. The Cowboys-Eagles Monday Night Football game was watched by 18.6 million, giving it the top numbers for a cable TV broadcast ever. Ever. Over at The CW, strong showings by Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill added up to the biggest Monday night in network history. GG was up 11% from the average of the first two weeks and set series highs in every demo, while OTH was up for the third week in a row.

*MTV announced that it was pulling TRL from its line up after a 10 year run. A two hour special will air on a Saturday this November that looks back on the show's history, which included appearance by just about every artist who topped the pop charts during the show's decade long run. The network has said the removal is not permanent but rather a chance to give the show a break.

*Versus is launching Sports Soup, a sports-centric edition of the popular pop culture round up that airs weekly on E!. Comedian Matt Iseman will host the new show, which will air twice a week (Tuesday and Thursdays at 10 starting in October) and use everything from actual highlights of games to post game press conferences to clips of sportscasters as its material. This is the second Soup spinoff of the year, following Style network's The Dish, which debuted last month. All three share the same production team.

*CBS was caught by surprise when Diane Ruggiero, executive producer of the new series The Ex List, resigned from the show last Friday. While no specific reasons were given, rumors have the network wanting to stick closely to the source material (the series, about a woman who revisits her old boyfriends after a psychic tells her her only chance to get married comes in the next 12 months, and it will be to someone she already knows, is an adaptation of a popular Israeli show) while Ruggiero wanted to put move of her own spin on things. Production of the series should not be delayed. The Ex List debuts on Friday, October 3rd.

*The Creative Arts Emmys were given out last weekend, with HBO's John Adams winning 8 technical awards, including casting, editing, cinematography, costumes, and visual effects. Sarah Silverman won the "Best Original Song" Emmy for I'm F@cking Matt Damon, which aired on The Jimmy Kimmel Show while Kathy Griffin took home the Best Reality Series Emmy for the second year in a row. The Best Guest Acting awards went to Tim Conway (30 Rock, comedy), Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives, comedy), Cynthia Nixon (Law and Order: SVU, drama), and Glynn Turman (In Treatment, drama). L & O: SVU has 12 nominations and 3 wins in the Guest Acting category in its 8 year history.

Nobody Does It Half As Good As You, Baby You're The Best
The 60th Annual Prime Time Emmy nominations are this Sunday night at 8 pm. Regardless of how right the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gets it, there is no question that it's the biggest celebration of TV that 2008 will have to offer. The telecast will include tributes to famous lines of dialog as well as a salute to favorite theme songs. Here is a rundown of the major categories along with my picks:

(These are my picks for who should/will win based on the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nominations - To read who I would have nominated, use the feature at the bottom of the column to pull up the July 11th edition)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
*Jon Cryer, Two And A Half Men
*Kevin Dillon,Entourage
*Neil Patrick Harris , How I Met Your Mother
*Jeremy Piven , Entourage
*Rainn Wilson ,The Office

Should Win: Neil Patrick Harris is up for the third time in this category and while he should have three, he should certainly get this one.

Will Win: Neil Patrick Harris. The Academy hopefully kicks off a trend of giving the statues to the right people.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
*Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
*Jean Smart, Samantha Who
*Amy Poehler , Saturday Night Live
*Holland Taylor, Two And A Half Men
*Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

Should Win: Kristin Chenoweth, whose show would have the most dramatic drop off without her.

Will Win: Amy Poehler. It's really an unfair advantage because her submission episode shows her playing a variety of characters as well as hosting Weekend Update.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
*Ted Danson , Damages
*Michael Emerson, Lost
*Zeljko Ivanek,Damages
*William Shatner, Boston Legal
*John Slattery, Mad Men

Should Win: Michael Emerson, for giving us one of the best characters of the decade.

Will Win: Michael Emerson. If there is one person who is fully expected by all to walk away a winner on Sunday night, it's Emerson. The reason? He deserves it.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
*Candace Bergen, Boston Legal
*Rachel Griffiths, Brothers And Sisters
*Sandra Oh , Grey's Anatomy
*Diane Wiest, In Treatment
*Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

Should Win: Sandra Oh was saddled with having to carry the entire Burke and Christine break up storyline on her own since Isaiah Washington wasn't around to help out, and did so admirably.

Will Win: The question, "how does Chandra Wilson not have one of these already?" becomes moot tonight.

BEST LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY
*Alex Baldwin, 30 Rock
*Steve Carell, The Office
*Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
*Tony Shalhoub, Monk
*Charlie Sheen, Two And A Half Men

Should Win: Alec Baldwin was note perfect during the entire season.

Will Win: Alec Baldwin. Now that "lipstick on a…" has surpassed "insolent little…" in the pig pop culture lexicon, it's ok to honor Baldwin's work.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY
*Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
*America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
*Tina Fey, 30 Rock
*Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, The New Adventures Of Old Christine
*Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Should Win: Christina Applegate; some on this list are funnier, and others may have more range, but none presents the same total package she does as TV's funniest amnesiac since Mason Capwell thought he was Sonny Sprocket.

Will Win: Christine Applegate, who will undoubtedly receive the night's biggest ovation while giving us the telecast's emotional highpoint.

BEST LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA
*Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
*Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
*Michael C Hall, Dexter
*John Hamm, Mad Men
*Hugh Laurie, House
*James Spader, Boston Legal

Should Win: Bryan Cranston, whose performance on Breaking Bad is why the word brilliant was invented.

Will Win: Part of me thinks they might go with Byrne here but I think the evening's trend of rewarding people who have not won yet in their careers continues and we finally get to enjoy a Hugh Laurie acceptance speech.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA
*Glenn Close, Damages
*Sally Field, Brothers And Sisters
*Mariska Hargitay, Law And Order: SVU
*Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
*Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Should Win: Kyra Sedgwick was her typical excellent self this past season and I think she is far and away the best of this bunch. If anyone from Big Love was nominated this might be a harder choice for me.

Will Win: Despite my opinion that she is giving one of the most overrated performances in recent TV history, Glenn Close is a sure thing.

BEST SERIES, COMEDY
*30 Rock
*Curb Your Enthusiasm
*Entourage
*The Office
*Two And A Half Men

Should Win: The Dinner Party was far and away the best sitcom episode of the year, and overall The Office was it's usual hysterical self.

Will Win: It's back-to-back for 30 Rock.

BEST SERIES, DRAMA
*Boston Legal
*Damages
*Dexter
*House
*Lost
*Mad Men

Should Win: This was Lost's best season since its first, which coincidently was when it won its only Best Drama Emmy.

Will Win: House has to be the dark horse here since the two part season finale was so amazing, and Lost certainly deserves the honors, I think Mad Men is celebrated as the best drama on TV.

In Daylights, In Sunsets, In Midnights, In Cups of Coffee
From now through mid-October we will be running a guide to the season/series premieres that occur over the next seven days. This will not replace the TV Pick of the Week and the guide to other notable programming that goes with it, which can still be found below.

*60 Minutes (CBS), Sunday @ 7 pm
The 40th season of the news magazine begins with exclusive one-on-one interviews with Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.

*Dancing with the Stars (ABC), Monday @ 8 pm
Vote for Cloris. Vote for Cloris. Vote for Cloris. Vote for Cloris. Vote for Cloris. Vote for Cloris. Vote for Cloris.

*The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Monday @ 8:00 pm
I've never warmed to Bang the way others have; it's a combination of a truly annoying laugh track and the fact that this show took the place of The Class, a one season sitcom that I truly adored. I do like the three leads, and may end up watching a bit more in season two.

*How I Met Your Mother (CBS), Monday @ 8:30 pm
The season opener is a Neil Patrick Harris tour-de-force, hopefully coming 24 hours after he finally wins an Emmy. Multiple plot lines are moved forward and the writers prove something I have believed for a long time, that lying is a key part of any healthy relationship. The Office and 30 Rock may be funnier but these are my favorite sitcom characters right now.

*Heroes (NBC), Monday @ 9 pm
NBC is looking at Monday night as a way to reclaim some buzz lost in Heroes' second season, and they are pulling out all the stops; an hour long recap airs at 8, followed by back-to-back new episodes. The screener disc I received only had the first hour and I was hooked back in right away.

*Two and a Half Men (CBS), Monday @ 9:00 pm
Charlie Sheen really does have excellent comedic timing, from Hot Shots to Major League to Spin City to the sitcom that has made him a very, very rich man. There, I said something nice.

*Worst Week (CBS), Monday @ 9:30 pm – SERIES PREMIERE
I enjoyed the pilot a great deal, and fans of uncomfortable comedy will be thrilled by the best example of watching someone get humiliated this side of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but I am not sure the pacing of the show can keep up; there is only so much you can watch a character get beat down before it gets old, and I was exhausted after the first 30 minutes.

*Boston Legal (ABC), Monday @ 10 pm
The final season of this much maligned Emmy winning series begins tonight. Seriously, has there ever been a good show that took such a beating from the critics and fans for winning so many awards? Let's hope that David E Kelly uses this last batch of episodes to let Alan Shore find some happiness in a relationship with a woman.

*CSI: Miami (CBS), Monday @ 10 pm
I caught my first ever episode of CSI: Miami recently and came away convinced that the writers inspiration for David Caruso's dialog is a quest to see just how bad a product they can put out and still stay on the air. That being said, the show has a steady and loyal audience so who am I to judge. As far as the new season goes, it looks like every CBS crime drama ended its previous season with a member of the team being felled by violence, and here it was Horatio Cane himself. Something tells me…he'll live.

*NCIS (CBS), Tuesday @ 8 pm
Simply killing off one of the leads was not enough for NCIS, so they added a "they're breaking up the team" element to their finale as well. This is the sixth season of NCIS so let's see if shaking things up leads to improving what are already quite strong ratings.

*Opportunity Knocks (ABC), Tuesday @ 8 pm – SERIES PREMIERE
A new game show where they bring the series to the contestants, setting up shop in their front yards and inviting neighbors and friends over to be in the audience. Your interest in the show may be determined by how you feel about the following four words: produced by Ashton Kutcher.

*The Mentalist (CBS), Tuesday @ 9pm
"PSYCH without the laughs" is one of the ways I described The Mentalist after seeing the pilot, but the reality is it's just another CBS crime drama that features a team of experts solving murders. Yes, Simon Baker gives a strong performance, and the opening segment in the pilot is really quite good, but your interest in this show will probably boil down to your needs for another hour of TV that highlights our country's apparent major proliferation of serial killers.

*Law and Order: SVU (NBC), Tuesday @ 9 pm
How many new ways can the producers come up with to tease the Benson-Stabler shippers? Ice-T fans can relax; while his character may (or may not) be on his way out of SVU, his is in no way leaving the show. As usual, look for a ton of quality guest stars.

*Without A Trace (CBS), Tuesday @ 9 pm
I suggested at one point this year that Patrick Warburton just get moved around from sitcom to sitcom as his talents are so great that they make everyone better for being around him (think of him as the Larry Bird of TV comedy), and Steven Weber may be his dramatic equivalent. Coming off of his Brothers and Sisters stint, Weber is scheduled for multiple WAT episodes this year as someone who ends up butting heads with Anthony Lapaglia; those will be verbal showdowns for the ages as both can snap lines of dialog with the best of them.

*Knight Rider (NBC), Wednesday @ 8 pm – SERIES PREMIERE
The producers have promised that this remake of the 80's classic that made The Hoff a star will have much more of an edge than the two hour TV movie that preceded it but I am not entirely sure that's the right way to go since there is clearly a place on TV for light action/comedy. I lost interest in this shortly after Will Arnett was replaced by Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT.

*New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS), Wednesday @ 8 pm
Ranking very high on the list of funniest shows you're not watching, Christine doesn't re-invent the wheel as much as remind you how a strong ensemble cast can make for an extremely pleasant way to spend 30 minutes. Hamish Linklater is the man. The season premiere is a great example of how comfortable these actors are in their characters skin.

*Gary Unmarried (CBS), Wednesday @ 8:30 pm – SERIES PREMIERE
You'll laugh a few times, wonder what Jay Mohr has been eating lately, and ultimately realize there are much better TV things to do with your time.

*Criminal Minds (CBS), Wednesday @ 9 pm
The twist CM put on the violent CBS finales last spring is that it kept us in the dark about who the victim was; we saw a car blow up but don't know whose it is just yet. Jason Alexander doing a guest spot as a serial killer later on in the year will probably get me to watch my first full episode of the show in the post-Patinkn era.

*CSI: NY (CBS), Wednesday @ 9 pm
Continuing with the trend, Gary Sinise's Mac was kidnapped in last fall's finale, which was ok since it gives the always phenomenal Elias Koteas more prime time face time.

*Lipstick Jungle (NBC), Wednesday @ 9 pm
As is the talents of the three leads (Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, and Lindsay Price) weren't enough, the producers added TV legend Mary Tyler Moore and Oscar nominee Rosie Perez in recurring roles.

*My Name Is Earl (NBC), Thursday @ 8 pm
Continually one of the most underrated shows on television, the new season kicks off with two excellent episodes, the first featuring a wonderful guest spot by Seth Green and the second giving you the most disturbing game of Go Fish you ever will see. It says something about the greatness of this show that the newspaper headline, "Baby Suicides At All Time High" generates HUGE laughs.

*Ugly Betty (ABC), Thursday @ 8 pm
Behind the scenes you've got the show filming on location in New York for the first time, which should only add to contrast between Betty's home and work life. In front of the camera it's Lindsay Lohan and Betty picking choosing between her two men that serve as the big draw.

*Grey's Anatomy (ABC), Thursday @ 9 pm
Putting the disaster that was "Gizzie" behind them, Grey's Anatomy's two hour premiere introduces Kevin McKidd's (Rome, Journeyman) character while setting the (operating) table for the latest round of the Mer-Der saga. On a side note, Mrs. Tivo called me McHubby when she saw me in scrubs during the twins delivery.

*The Office (NBC), Thursday @ 9 pm
Words can not do justice to how brilliantly The Office combines many different styles of humor while still making you care about the characters. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the writing staff won't be spread too thin this year as they continue working on The Office while developing a new sitcom that will be fronted by Amy Poehler.

*ER (NBC), Thursday @ 10 pm
The 15th – and final – season of this TV Hall of Fame drama begins with the usual mix of medical emergencies and new characters; joining the cast are Angela Bassett, Emily Rose (Brothers and Sisters), Shiri Appleby (Roswell, Six Degrees), and Courtney B Vance. Look for Noah Wyllie and Anthony Edwards (in newly filmed flashbacks) to return to during the year, and I would be shocked if more fan favorites from the show didn't pop by for one last goodbye.

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…Last week's return of Kitchen Nightmares was Wednesday most watched show in the demos…The Daily Show's coverage of the Democratic and Republican Conventions was up 37% in viewers from those same two weeks in 2004, 42% in the 18-49 demo…USA was happy with the numbers for the Monk (5 million) and PSYCH (4 million) season finales on Friday night…Over 5 million people tuned in to Lifetime to watch Coco Chanel on Saturday night, making it the second most watched original cable movie of the year… The season premiere of Saturday Night Live was the highest rated episode since 2001 and was up 64% from last year's debut…The Steelers-Browns game was more than enough to win Sunday night for NBC…Positive word of mouth paid off for <>True Blood as ratings for episode # 2 were up 24%...Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles tied Deal or No Deal for best demos in the 8 hour but was down 13% overall from its season premiere…Prison Break's numbers at 9 on Monday represented a series low…America's Toughest Jobs is struggling, dropping 23% from last week…Aided by the season premiere of House as a lead-in, Fringe jumped 68% in the demos in it's second week. The aforementioned episode of House was watched by 14.4 million, more than enough to win the night in total viewers and demos but a drop of more than 25% from last season…90210 took advantage of The Secret Life of the American Teenager being done for the season and improved it's women 18-49 numbers…Sadly, it looks like the super cute Privileged is not long for this world, dropping this week after less-than-stellar premiere numbers…The finale of Big Brother was up a million viewers from its last cycle…America's Got Talent was the most watched show of Wednesday night but it was Bones that won the evening's demo crown…America's Next Top Model started the year poorly but its numbers have improved steadily each week…The Fox comedy hour of Till Death and Do Not Disturb dropped 16% and 17% respectively, and those were from debuts that weren't that strong to being with…

All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Jada Pinkett Smith will start and executive produce the TNT pilot Time Heals, playing a woman who tries (unsuccessfully) to balance her work as director of nursing at a large hospital in the south with being a single Mom…Ryan Seacrest and Paris Hilton are teaming up to produce a new scripted TV series. Updates will follow as more of the 7 signs appear…Jeff Foxworthy will front the daily syndicated version of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, which should hit the airwaves in the fall of 2009…Hugh Laurie's new contract will pay him close to $400K per episode and give him a producing credit as well. The extension guarantees he will be with House through the 2011-2012 season…Rumer Willis and Scott Wolf will both appear on episodes of CSI: NY this season…The Wire's Robert Wisdom has signed for a key recurring role on the upcoming season of Supernatural…Two TTTP favorites got jobs this week, with Martin Mull doing a Law and Order: SVU episode and Wallace Shawn getting a multi-episode gig on Gossip Girl…The L Word's Janina Gavankar will do a residency at Seattle Grace this fall…Cold Case will have Tania Raymonde, best known as Ben's daughter on Lost, as a regular this season…David Anders (Heroes) and Kandyce McClure (Battlestar Galactica) will star in the made-for-Sci Fi remake of Children of the Corn…Tim DeKay (Tell Me You Love Me) will do at least three episodes of The New Adventures of Old Christine. This is not the first time DeKay has played a love interest for Julia Louis-Dreyfuss; Seinfeld fans will remember him as Bizarro Jerry…Sarah Carter (Shark) has booked a two episode stint on Dirty Sexy Money

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…To say that One Tree Hill's first three episodes of the season have been thought provoking would be a pretty major understatement. First off, I got suckered in by the opening scene of the premiere, turning to Mrs. Tivo and saying, "I can't believe Lucas picked Brooke" before realizing it was a dream; I haven't been fooled that much since the Everwood season two opener that led you to believe Colin had survived the surgery before showing you it was just Amy's imagination. To be totally honest, I was a bit put off by the end of the first episode, thinking they were doing a disservice to the impact of Brooke being attacked by having Dan's life turn into a Stephen King story, but the last two weeks have shown me that series creator Mark Schwahn deserves so much more credit than he is given.

This season seems in many ways very much about violence and death - what Lucas might call "the things that darken our souls" - and by contrasting the random, tragic violence of Q's shooting, the brutal attack on Brooke, and the more over-the-top, "Fatal Attraction meets Misery" reign of terror by Nanny Carrie, OTH is proving itself to be so much greater than its teeny bopper soap roots.

I am reminded on some level of True Romance, which sought to show that similar acts of violence can provoke very different responses, from outrage to laughter to cheering. On some level the show is purposely challenging the audience to find the unifying emotions in all of these acts, to move beyond the initial response and dig down deeper to see what it is that makes us feel the way we do when we see these things.

Jackson Brundage deserves to be singled out for praise as his performance in this past Monday's episode showed nuance and maturity that would earn kudos for a seasoned pro, making all the more stunning the fact that he is not yet 7 years old. If you told me you had a pair of dry eyes while watching him give the Ravens jersey to Q's little brother, I would call you a liar.

I am not sure how these different stories will payoff but there is no doubt that One Tree Hill is going down roads that no show like it has dared to travel.

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 second week of Sons of Anarchy was better than the first, which is saying something as I gave the debut the "Best of What's Around" honors. The scene at the convenience store was breathtaking, from the contrast of Jax, trying to move the Sons away from violence but still being ok beating a man senseless for cutting him off on the freeway, to a gun being pulled and an axe ending up in someone's head. Also, Katey Segal rocks my world; the women is toughness personified…"Betty Draper Grows A Pair" might as well have been the title of this week's Mad Men, which continued the show's incredible sophomore season…I had an I Want To Work For Diddy marathon this past weekend and decided that Kim ("Poprah") deserves a place in the "most annoying people ever" display in the Reality TV Museum. As with most annoying people in life, her lack of self awareness is remarkable and I am watching more to see her finally get escorted out by security than I am to see who wins. Kudos to the casting people at VH-1…Saying something is unlike anything else on TV is high praise in my book, so Skins continues to be an hour of television I look forward to each week. While I don't pretend to think the show is unbelievably realistic, the way the characters can be so ignorant of what's going on in the lives of those around them, and they way they so casually cut each other down with words, strikes me as being pretty on target…If you're wondering what made me cry this week, it would be Army Wives, which followed a brutal-but-realistic marriage counseling scene of a couple deciding to separate with that same couple putting their issues aside to come together as a family when their son received orders to ship out to Iraq. The writers have done a fantastic job of giving all their couples a believable emotional foundation, and it makes the audience root that much more for the relationships to succeed…Saturday Night Live was pretty uneven, although I LOVED Andy Samburg playing "Cathy" on Weekend Update. It goes without saying that the show's opening segment was as good a piece as they have aired in a long time…Happy to see Shawn and Juliet actually making progress in the road to coupledom on the last two episodes of PSYCH. I like that they are taking it slow but they needed to make the jump that they did…House returned with a solid hour, nothing extraordinary but a quality reminder of what this show does well. I still wonder what the plan is for Cameron and Chase; can you think of another example of two characters being so clearly moved to the back burner? Why even bother keeping them around at this point?...I gave Fringe a second chance and was much happier this time around. Aside from a storyline that was a lot creepier, the balance between the plot and character development was much more even. I will watch it again next week before making a "season pass" decision…

TV Pick Of The Week
Hmmm, what could it possible be?!?!? Start your Sunday night with the red carpet pre-shows (E! and the TV Guide Channel start their coverage at 6), and then flip to ABC at 8 pm for The 60th Annual Emmys! Root on your favorites, vent your frustration over BSG not being recognized by throwing toasters at the screen, play a drinking game by doing a shot every time you catch Heidi Klum openly reading cue cards…No matter how you choose to enjoy the show, it's clearly the week's top viewing option.

Don't miss The 60th Annual Emmy Awards this Sunday at 8 pm on ABC.

Other noteworthy programming of the next seven days (There is less than usual since so much of the schedule is taken up by the premieres listed above)…

*Coverage of the Ryder Cup begins this morning on ESPN before switching over to NBC on Saturday and Sunday.

*The Dog Whisperer celebrates 100 episodes by revisiting some of Cesar's toughest cases tonight at 9 pm on National Geographic.

*E! airs the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday at 9 pm, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Chalke.

*President Bill Clinton makes his first ever stop at The View Monday at 10 am.

*House introduces Lucas, a private investigator played by Michael Weston (Scrubs, Six Feet Under). Fox executives are already developing a spinoff off for the character.

Two Tivos To Paradise, Weekly Update
30 Days, 30 Rock, The Academy, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antique Roadshow, The Apprentice, Battlestar Galactica, Best Week Ever, Big Love, Bones, Boston Legal, Breaking Bad, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, Chuck, The Closer, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Dirty Sexy Money, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Ghost Hunters, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, I Want To Work For Diddy, Last Comic Standing, Last Restaurant Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Medium, The Middleman, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Nip/Tuck, The Office, One Tree Hill, Private Practice, Project Runway, Primevil, Pushing Daisies, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, , Reaper, Rescue Me, The Riches, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Samantha Who?, The Sarah Jane Chronicles, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Shear Genius, Skins, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Step It Up and Dance, Supernatural, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Top Chef, Top Design, Torchwood, Ugly Betty

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. Next week will feature a full rundown of The Emmys, a ridiculously big "What I've Been Watching" section, plus all sorts of info about how your favorites did in the ratings. I hope to have had more than four hours sleep in a row by next Friday as well but I'll take some dark circles under my eyes if that's the trade off for having these two incredible babies in my life. Besides, twins are why Dunkin Donuts invented "the Great One."

Feedback is encouraged at [e-mail] as well via the comments section below.

Sources for this week's column include Daily Variety, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and Hollywood Reporter (plus the web sites for those publications) as well as Aintit.cool.com.