Two Tivos To Paradise 09.26.08: There's No Debating That This Is The Place For TV News

Posted by Al Norton on 09.26.2008

Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise is back with a full rundown of the winners and losers at the Emmy Awards. Also, the CW renews 90210, William Fichtner finally gets a TV lead, is Fox cancelling The Sarah Connor Chronicles?, another big week of premieres, tons of news and notes, raves for Supernatural, the TV Pick of the Week, and more!

Hello Friends. We are in the middle of the craziest few weeks of the TV season, with shows premiering left and right, plus the start of the Major League Baseball post-season next week. Hey, you've got Presidential debates in the mix, too – truly something for everyone.

The twins have their one month birthdays (anniversaries?) today and continue to find sheer bliss in eating and sleeping. Of course that sleeping doesn't hardly ever takes place on our schedules, and I am learning how to function on less than four hours sleep. I don't think I have ever enjoyed naps quite as much. Mrs. Tivo continues to be the unanimous MVP of the family.

Wanted to send get well wishes to DJ AM, who is recovering from serious burns after being involved in last Saturday's much publicized plane crash. Adam was kind enough to take part in the special 100th edition of Two Tivos To Paradise and we hope he is back in good health soon.

Regular readers know that Will Dailey is the official singer/songwriter of TTTP and now I've started doing weekly interviews with him on his website; The Weekly Dailey finds us talking about music, politics, pop culture, where to eat when you're on the road, and anything else that comes up. Check it out at www.willdailey.com. New editions get posted every Monday.

Mama said news you out.

Nobody Does It Half As Good As You, Baby You're The Best
The 60th Annual Prime Time Emmy took place last Sunday night, with across the board bad reviews given to the hosting team of the five nominees for Best Reality Show Host Emmy, with their opening segment being a low point in Emmy history. Highlights of the ceremony included Jeremy Piven's acceptance speech, Ricky Gervais and Steve Martin bringing their own particular forms of genius to the stage, the great Don Rickles mocking the evening's production, and Josh Groban doing a medley of famous TV themes. Below is a list of the big category winners.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA

My Prediction: Michael Emerson, Lost

Actual Winner: Zelkjo Ivanek, Damages

The night's biggest injustice was Emerson not being recognized for his Lost greatness. The esteem Ivanek's peers hold him in was clear by the size of his ovation, and there is no doubt he is a talented actor, but this may have been more about voters not being able to follow Lost's heavily serialized (and science fictiony) storylines. Actually, I can't come up with a good excuse for this crime against TV humanity.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY

My Prediction: Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother

Actual Winner: Jeremy Piven, Entourage

While one can hardly quibble with the quality of Piven's performance – his Ari Gold is clearly a very memorable TV character – Neil Patrick Harris deserves to have his name called one of these years. Piven is turning into the John Larroquette of the 2000's.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA

My Prediction: Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

Actual Winner: Diane Wiest, In Treatment

Wiest is a fine actress who was good in her role on In Treatment but this was another example of TV bending over backwards to reward big screen talent crossing over.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY

My Prediction: Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live

Actual Winner: Jean Smart, Samantha Who?

Can't take anything away from Smart, who's chemistry with on-screen daughter Christina Applegate is undeniable. This was a strong group of nominees where all could legitimately stake a claim to the trophy.

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA

My Prediction: Hugh Laurie, House

Actual Winner: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

I would have sat through hours and hours of the show's terrible opening segment if I knew that Cranston was going to be recognized for his brilliant work on Breaking Bad. I have been singing his (and the show's) praises since its debut and I felt joy when they called his name. From his days on Loving to Seinfeld to Malcolm In the Middle, Cranston has always been a memorable actor but nothing prepared me for the way his performance would connect on an emotional level; his Walter is never anything less than 100% believable as he faces death as well as the responsibilities he has to leave his family taken care of.

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY

My Prediction: Alex Baldwin, 30 Rock

Actual Winner: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

What a difference a year makes. Last year his performance as a Father overshadowed everything and cost him the award. This year all was forgiven.

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

My Prediction: Glenn Close, Damages

Actual Winner: Glenn Close, Damages

As wildly overrated as I found her to be, there was no doubt that Close was going to be on stage accepting this award.

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY

My Prediction: Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?

Actual Winner: Tina Fey, 30 Rock

This is another case of Fey being more than deserving of the award but I would have gone with Applegate, who carries her show unlike almost anyone else in sitcomland these days.

BEST COMEDY

My Prediction: 30 Rock

Actual Winner: 30 Rock

No real argument even though I though The Office had a stronger season. Good shows winning awards isn't the issue, it's the continued recognition of mid-level stuff like Two and a Half Men that is head scratch worthy.

BEST DRAMA

My Prediction: Mad Men

Actual Winner: Mad Men

Considering the show's second season has been even better than the one that got them this statue, we may be looking at back-to-back wins here for the AMC drama.

Overall I thought the show was as bad as I could remember an Emmy telecast being. The opening bit bombing was why you need a comedian as the host, both to prevent that kind of failure but also to have someone who can think on there feet and use that lack of success as material for the rest of the evening.

Using sets from famous shows sounded good on paper but the application was the definition of epic fail. Either the sets didn't look much like they did on TV, or they simply were there as background and not incorporated into the presentation, or both. Even the famous TV quotes wasn't done anywhere near as well as it could have been; they should have had it running the whole evening, as intros and outros to the telecast. The choices they made were not so great, either – how about "Let's be careful out there", "Elizabeth, I'm coming to join you", "Book ‘em, Dano", "we were on a break", "would you believe…?", "seriously", "make it so", "frak", "let's hug it out, bitch", "I'm listening", "NORM", "suit up", "sit on it", "signed, Epstein's Mother", "don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry", "are you having a laugh?", and "Denny Crane"…And that's just off the top of my head. They could have done one whole segment on game shows ("is that your final answer", "big bucks, no whammies", "joker…joker…joker", "come on down", "I'd like to buy a vowel", "where is the strangest place you've ever made whoopee?") and another on Seinfeld ("close talker", "high talker", "man hands", "she's into it", "master of your domain", "George is getting angry", "the jerk store called and they're all out of you", "Cartwright", "yadda, yadda, yadda".

The epic fail of the telecast was made clear on Monday when ratings revealed it to have the smallest demo audience in the awards' history. The only silver lining is that they have nowhere to go but up and the expectations for next year will be so low that the broadcast is almost guaranteed to be considered a success.

Four Years You Thing For Sure That's All You've Got To Endure
The CW wasted very little time when it renewed 90210 for the full season after just three episodes had aired. Along with picking up an additional 9 episodes (bringing the total to 22) they named Rebecca Kirschner as showrunner, a move that gives the show's writing room some major experience; Kirschner has writing credits from Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Freaks and Geeks on her resume.

The second part of this news is much more interesting to me than the first as the opening night ratings pretty much guaranteed a full season of 90210. Kirschner's addition goes a long way towards getting my interest back in the show since I felt the opening two hours were caught in the abyss that is mediocrity. A show like this either has to be very good or so-bad-it's-good, and considering Kirschner's track record for capturing teen angst at its finest, I may have to give the show a second chance. It's not that I think she will write every episode but with her in charge, her sensibilities should have a trickle down effect.

Like The Beat Beat Beat Of The Tom-Tom When The Jungle Shadows Fall
Night and Day, the new series that 24 co-creator Joel Surnow is working on with TNT about an agent with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms who runs a threat intervention task force got a lead this week when William Fichtner signed on for the pilot. Fichtner, currently seen as Agent Mahon on Prison Break, is joined by Sherry Stringfield (ER), who will play his wife.

I know this isn't the biggest news of the week but I have been a HUGE Fichtner mark since I saw him in the highly underrated The Underneath, which he followed with memorable turns in Contact, Go, Drowning Mona, and a great spot on The West Wing as a Supreme Court justice nominee. While working as a character actor he paid his bills in big budget fare like Armageddon, The Perfect Storm, and Pearl Harbor. Fichtner starred in ABC's short lived Invasion and has spent the last two seasons slumming on Prison Break.

Fichtner is on the short list of actors whose presence in a project will guarantee that I watch, and Stringfield has a pretty solid resume herself, so I have very high hopes for this new show.

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.

*Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC), Sunday @ 7 pm
The best guaranteed cry on TV returns with another season of helping rebuild people's lives.

*Amazing Race (CBS), Sunday @ 8 pm
Six Best Reality Competition series Emmys in a row must count for something, huh?

*The Simpsons (Fox), Sunday @ 8 pm
It blows my mind how long The Simpsons has been on the air with a level of quality that most shows would kill for one season, let alone 20, which ties the record for most seasons of a scripted series currently held by Gunsmoke.

*King of the Hill (Fox), Sunday @ 8:30 pm
The best show that I never remember to watch and perhaps my favorite of the current prime time animated series.

*Cold Case (CBS), Sunday @ 9 pm
Hey, a CBS drama that didn't have a violent cliffhanger?!? That alone may make it worth your time.

*Desperate Housewives (ABC), Sunday @ 9 pm
Following in the footsteps of One Tree Hill, DH takes a five year leap into the future this season, with the hope being that in re-invigorates this still popular but no longer buzz worthy show.

*Dexter (Showtime), Sunday @ 9 pm
One of the best casts on TV gets even better when Jimmy Smits shows up tonight in a role that will last all season.

*Family Guy (Fox), Sunday @ 9 pm
Can you turn on the television between 5 pm and 8 pm and not find Family Guy reruns on somewhere? For a show that's been cancelled once already they have a shocking pop culture awareness factor.

*American Dad (Fox), Sunday @ 9:30 pm
At this point I am not sure American Dad is winning over any new fans; you either watch it regularly or you don't.

*Brothers & Sisters (ABC), Sunday @ 10 pm
No show on TV captures the family dynamic quite the way Brothers and Sisters does. If members of the Walker clan sometimes come across as grating it only serves to make them that much more realistic.

*Californication (Showtime), Sunday @ 10 pm
Am I the only one who is going to be somewhat uncomfortable watching this show now that series star David Duchovny has entered a treatment program for sexual addiction? It's like watching a show about a guy with a drug problem where the star is a drug addict. In general I found the first season of Californication to be over hyped, a decent show that was carried entirely by Duchovny's charm.

*The Unit (CBS), Sunday @ 10 pm
Perhaps the most surprising return on CBS line up, the third season of this war drama kicks off on Sunday night. Any show that gives Dennis Haysburt regular screen time is worth checking out. Speaking of Dennis Haysburt, if you are a fan you should Netflix the 1993 movie Suture, a really cool movie that examines the concept of identity in ways not seen on film previously.

*Chuck (NBC), Monday @ 8 pm
I have seen the first three episodes of the season and am here to say it's better than last year, which is high praise since by the end of season one I was fully on board as a fan (the pilot was fantastic but then it lots itself for a while before righting the ship). Great action, great laughs, characters moving forward in their emotional development, a wonderful guest spot by John Larroquette, and some returning faces from season one are among the highlights. Don't worry if you've never watched since it's easy to catch up.

*Life (NBC), Monday @ 10 pm
I am quite happy to report that Life, one of my new shows from last season and one that made my Top 10 Dramas list, has lost none of its quirky charm in it's second season. What sets it apart from other police procedurals is the mix of interesting cases AND the character's private lives; most shows these days seem to focus heavy on one or the other. I am fascinated by Damian Lewis' performance as a cop getting out of jail after being wrongly convicted of murder and trying to do his old job. While never addressed all that directly, Lewis does an amazing job of showing Charlie's Zen philosophy as well as the memories of atrocities that lie beneath.

*Friday Night Lights (Direct TV), Wednesday @ 8 pm
I don't have Direct TV so I am going to have to avoid spoilers like crazy until the show hits NBC this winter. Odds are this will be the last season of this incredibly underrated drama so make sure and savior these last episodes.

*Pushing Daisies(ABC), Wednesday @ 8 pm
Pushing Daisies ranked second on my list of comedy series of 2007, mostly because I was not used to seeing a cast gel this quickly. Chi McBride (who won the Norty despite not even being nominated for an Emmy) and the always lovely Kristin Chenoweth shine as brightly as any supporting characters you'll see. The show is beautiful and funny, a winning combination.

*Private Practice (ABC), Wednesday @ 9 pm
This is the make-or-break season for Private Practice, which did ok in its first year but the quality of the scripts was nowhere near the level of the actors delivering the lines. Considering the built-in audience as well as the marketing budget the show has, it would be a shame if they couldn't raise the level of writing a bit and make PP more watchable.

*Dirty Sexy Money (ABC), Wednesday @ 10 pm
I adored the first season of DSM and eagerly await the sophomore outing, with my curiosity piqued by quotes from producers talking about how they are changing the tone of the show somewhat. It's usually not a good sign when a series has had three showrunners in two seasons but I hope they don't go with more outrageousness; the show had its share of fun, over-the-top moments but the real highlights were the ones that revealed the show's emotional core.

*Tim Gunn's Guide to Style (Bravo), Thursday @ 10 pm
A makeover show that has a good balance of fashion and emotion. Tim Gunn is the mann.

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 Thursday's season premiere of Supernatural was up a remarkable 29% from last fall's debut. Interestingly, Smallville, which was Supernatural's lead-in, was down 10%...Flashpoint set a series high with an 18% week-to-week increase to the tune of just under 10 million total viewers…Kitchen Nightmares was last Thursday's top rated show in the demos…The Wall Street craziness led to CNBC pulling it's strongest numbers since 2001. The financial crisis combined with the Presidential campaign led to all the cable news networks posting some serious spikes in ratings…Dancing With the Stars Monday outing was far and away the evening's most watched program, with a shade over 21 million tuning in…The two hour return of Heroes was down almost 30% from last year…How I Met Your Mother was up over10% from last season's premiere, roughly the same gain that Two and a Half Men had…Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles finished fourth at 8 on Monday…CSI: Miami picked up almost 2 million pairs of eyes from the 2006-2007 start, while Boston Legal lost almost a million…The premiere of NCIS was watched by 17.7 million, an amazing jump of 30% from last year and the biggest audience for a season debut in show history. It was topped House in the demos but the grumpy Dr's numbers were down 16% from last week…Dancing with the Stars was Tuesday's most watched program with an average of 18.2 million over it's two hours…The series premiere of The Mentalist drew 15.5 million, strong numbers for CBS newest crime drama. Lead out Without A Trace was down 31% from last year's opening telecast, 40% in the demos…Law and Order: SVU was down 23% from last year's bow…Fringe finished second in the 8 pm demos but overall was down 27% from last week's spike…DWTS continued it's nightly domination by drawing 15.7 million into its Wednesday results show…The New Adventures of Old Christine wilted in the competition, with its 6.7 million representing roughly 60% of last year's debut. Gary Unmarried did better as the lead out with 6.84 million…Criminal Minds returned to 15.1 million, up 19% from last year…CSI:NY jumped a huge 22% from last season to this season, with 15.55 million tuned in. It may have finished in second place overall on Wednesday but it was far and away tops with the demos…Knight Rider was watched by 7.3 million, a drop of almost 40% from the TV movie that aired last winter…

All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Rumors are flying that Fox won't give Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles anything beyond it's initial 13 episode order unless there is a major increase in the ratings, which continue to drop each week. As much as all parties would like the show to be on when the new Terminator movie comes out next year, it's too expensive a show to make to only be a mid-level draw…Do Not Disturb became the first casualty of the season as Entertainment Weekly is reporting Fox has cancelled it after just three episodes aired…Bravo renewed Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-list for a 4th season. Two of the first three years produced Best Reality Show Emmys…Bridget Moynahan will do multiple episodes of Eli Stone this season as a love interest for the title character…Look for recent Emmy winner Zeljko Ivanek as a patient who takes the hospital hostage in order to get a diagnosis from House…MTV has given a greenlight to Sex…With Mom and Dad, a new show where Dr. Drew helps families talk through issues surrounding dating and relationships… Daneel Harris, best known for her work as Rachel the crazy slut on One Tree Hill, will play Stella's sister on How I Met Your Mother. This is very interesting as some are suggesting that Stella (played by Sarah Chalke) will not end up being the Mother referenced in the title, with some having previously suggested it would turn out to be Stella's at-that-point-unseen-but-still-discussed sister…Speaking of HIMYM, daytime legend Eric Braeden will appear as Robin's Dad…Grey's Anatomy executive producer Shonda Rimes has said that Katherine Heigl is not leaving the show, despite persistent rumors otherwise…The great Ralph Waite will guest as Jethro's Dad on NCIS…Tom Everett Scott has been cast in John Wells' (ER) pilot, LAPD…Kanye West is teaming up with the producing team behind Krank Yankers for a new TV show that mixes hip hop and muppets...Brendan Fehr, last seen on Samurai Girl, will play Booth's brother on two November sweeps episodes of Bones…Sci FI has given a 13 episode order to The Warehouse, a quirky action dramedy about two agents who protect/retrieve items in a government warehouse not unlike where they kept the arc at the end of Raiders…Lifetime wrapped up basic cable rights to How I Met Your Mother reruns, which will air daily on the network starting in 2010…HBO and Tina Brown are working on turning Tom Wolfe's novel I Am Charlotte Simmons into a series…Liz Tigelaar (Brothers and Sisters) will write and executive produce Light Years for The CW, a new dramedy about a teen age girl that tracks down her birth parents, parents who haven't seen each other since the one night stand 16 years ago when they were both teens…Chris Cooper will narrate Johnny Cash's America, a two hour documentary on Bio that debuts on October 23rd and gives an in-depth look at the life and times of the Man in Black…Oxygen has acquired the rights to all 10 seasons (so far) of America's Next Top Model beginning in 2009…

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…Supernatural is the show I get the most regular email about not watching, especially since I have mentioned that Mrs. Tivo is a big fan and people wonder why I don't just watch over her should sometimes. Well, I did so for last week's season premiere and am here to say that I was blown away.

Actually, I was sold after the "previously on Supernatural" recap, a fantastic array of clips from past episodes set to ACDC's Shook Me All Night Long; the package was barely halfway through before I had decided I was finally going to watch a full episode.

It's a bit hard for me to full describe what was going on since I was losing my Supernatural virginity but there was solid acting, a strong sense of humor, and an exceptional mix of badass demon hunting and some great good vs. evil, God vs. the Devil stuff. Jensen Ackles is clearly the better of the two actors playing the Winchester Boys and I am somewhat surprised he hasn't crossed over to the big screen just yet.

If ratings stay strong we may be able to look forward to Thursday nights being a Supernatural/Reaper double bill in the near future.

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…Mike Britt Is Pissed and Doug Benson's breakdown of True Blood highlighted a very funny Best Week Ever…Most of the James Franco hosted SNL was pretty weak but Weekend Update was a blast; "set your phasers on stunning", "sit-on-your-facebook.com", and Fred Armisen's Dov Charney were among the biggest laugh generators…While The Dish isn't anywhere near the quality level of The Soup, host Danielle Fishell does a great job of coming across like she the comments she is sharing is the same thing she would say to her friends. Also, she is cute as the dickens…My love and respect for Katey Sagal grew this week when I learned that the she was the person singing the bluesy cover of Son of a Preacher Man used on Sons of Anarchy two weeks ago…GREAT to see Michael Balducco on Bones last week. I have been watching The Practice in reruns and his Jimmy Berlutti is fast becoming one of my all-time favorite TV characters. There needs to be a place in the TV landscape for an actor of his talents…Even though I had watched it a month or two ago, I tuned in for the premiere of Worst Week and laughed a lot the second time around, too. Kurtwood Smith plays annoyed with the best of them…The second half of Heroes two hour premiere was as good as anything from the show's second season and has me excited about what comes next…It's hardly a ratings blockbuster but The Cleaner continues to connect with me on an emotional level unlike many other shows on the air right now…Boston Legal was not quite the sum of it's parts this week, an overall just ok episode that still had plenty of highlights, including giving James Spader's Alan Shore someone who can act on his level by casting Ally Walker as his ex. There scenes were as good as he has had with a woman in the last few seasons and seem to establish that the show will end with him finding some level of peace with his relationships with members of the opposite sex. Also really enjoyed the Barry Manilow soundtracked fantasy scene – having it take place in Alan's head made it that much more fun and easier to swallow. Another factor was having William Daniels play it straight as the judge in the big case, a nice antidote to the over-the-top portrayals they usually get. And finally, Spader's closing in the tobacco case was a brilliantly strong an indictment of the industry as a whole – and us as a country for supporting it. My one complaint on the subject was them not making a reference to Lindsay Dole when talking about how no one ever successfully sues tobacco companies…Gossip Girl was ok this week but I am not so happy that they seem to be going back to a Serena vs. Blair storyline again. Are we supposed to like Serena? Feel that Dan not understanding her has pushed her back into being a bitch? I find her to be a rather unsympathetic character. At least Blair knows who she is and is comfortable in her own skin…Really loved the private eye character introduced on this week's House and can totally see why Fox is considering giving Michael Weston his own series…

TV Pick Of The Week
With not one but two Presidential debates in the next seven days (the Presidential candidates on Friday and the VP wannabe's next Thursday), there is no doubt what the real "must see" TV of the week is. With a shockingly large number of "undecided" voters (more on that in a bit), plus another group of people who know who they would vote for but not if they actually plan on heading to the polls in November, these two hours of television are about as important to the direction of our country as any we have seen in some time.

Ok, I mentioned the undecided voters before, which begs the question, who is undecided? How can these people make up more than 1% of the populace? These two candidates are so different in style and in substance on so many issues that, regardless of who you like better, I am truly baffled that some people don't actually know who they support. To me that's kind of like saying you don't know how you feel about issues like the war, the economy, taxes, health care, women's rights to make decisions about their own bodies…If that's the case, maybe you shouldn't be voting. This is not to say you have to feel one way or the other on these subjects, just that you should at least feel something.

Don't miss the US Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates tonight and next Thursday, both at 9 pm, both on all the major networks.

THIS JUST IN – As of press time it's not actually clear if the Presidential debate is going to happen tonight.

I need to make special note of AMC's Breaking Bad marathon next Wednesday. The series' seven first season episodes will air beginning at 8 pm and I can not recommend it strong enough. Bryan Cranston more than deserved his Emmy but there is more to the show than just him, including a great supporting cast, liberal douses of humor, and a series of situations that make you wonder what you would do if it were you. AMC has offered up a wonderful birthday present to me and I plan on spending at least part of the evening re-visiting one of the top shows of 2008.

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)…

*Gone Country wraps up its second season Friday at 8 pm on CMT. People might treat this show a tad bit more seriously (or at least have heard of it) if one of the winners produced a single that at least got played once on the radio.

*Sopanet runs the full first season of Dirty Sexy Money starting Saturday morning at 9 am.

*Crossroads, my favorite music series, debuts a new pairing when Trace Adkins shares the stage with 38 Special. The show airs on CMT all weekend.

*The Prism Awards, which honor the best representation of those dealing with drug and alcohol addictions in music, movies, and TV, airs Saturday at 4 pm on FX.

*With George Carlin gone, does Chris Rock now own the title of funniest practicing stand up comedian? Find out for yourself when his new special Kill The Messenger debuts on HBO this Saturday at 9 pm.

*Regis Philbin plays himself on Monday night's How I Met Your Mother (8:30 pm, CBS).

*The two hour finale of America's Got Talent beings at 9 pm on Wednesday on NBC.

*Major League Baseball's post-season begins on Wednesday, with TBS airing all the first round match up's.

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, Who Are You Wearing?

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. We'll be back next week with all the latest TV news plus whatever other ramblings cross my mind.

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.