Two Tivos To Paradise 01.23.09: New Administration, Same Great TV News

Posted by Al Norton on 01.23.2009

Clooney returns to ER, the Veronica Mars and Jericho movies are moving forward, an update on the future of Pushing Daisies & Dirty Sexy Money, a review of TNT's new Trust Me, raves for Make 'Em Laugh, tons of news and notes, the TV Pick of the Week, and more, all in this week's edition of Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise!

Hello Friends. Another week, another several snow storms here in Boston. The exercise is good for my heart, the shoveling not so great on my back. My mother-in-law came up for the weekend, which allowed Mrs. Tivo and me to sneak out to a fancy dinner at the Capital Grill. When we told them it was out first night out since the twins were born they sprinkled rose petals on our table and comped us a dessert at the end. Good times.

I forgot to mention last week that I went 7 for 8 in my Golden Globe predictions, which is not too shabby!

A quick reminder that I am doing a running diary for each and every episode of American Idol this season and it's available at 411mania.com a few hours after that night's outing finishes up. You can find links to them at the bottom of this column. Speaking of other things to read here at 411, Cory Johnson's excellent Battlestar Galactica recaps are back and in mid-season form. See what I did there? I am not so great at linking but they are posted over the weekend in the "columns" section of the movie page and are more than worth your time.

I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the news brigade.

When Will I See You Again? When Will We Share Precious Moments?
ABC Entertainment President Steven McPherson did not sound particularly hopeful at last week's TCA Tour when discussing the chances of Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, and Pushing Daisies getting their final episodes on the air. Those in attendance reported that his "we'd like to air the end of those shows" was lackluster at best and he spent more time talking about why it's more difficult than simply then putting them out there than talking about when he might possibly do it. After the panel he told reporters that the episodes would likely end up available at www.abc.com at some point this spring.

Well that sucks. There have been stories that the network is contractually obligated to air the last three Pushing Daisies but I wonder if the contract is worded vaguely enough so that putting them on the network's website would count. The only outstanding "mystery" from any of the shows is DSM's "Who Killed Dutch" story, and that seemed to be heading to an obvious, "he's not really dead" conclusion (and yes, I thought that before the anonymous donation in the last new episode). To me ABC sealed the fate of both Daisies and DSM by not running reruns over the summer to re-energize the fan base as well as pull in new viewers. Being off the airwaves for over 8 months was too high a hurdle to overcome considering the shows had not ended the way the writer's intended but instead signed off abruptly with the writer's strike. In hindsight maybe the network should have brought the shows back for at least a coupe of episodes after the strike settled. Private Practice is the only show that managed to survive the extended break for the network and that's because the audience has had multiple season invested in the show's lead character.

I know networks have a financial bottom line but this may be an argument for following the BBC model that has worked well for cable networks like FX, which do shorter seasons (12-14 episodes) that are cheaper to produce and make the return of new episodes seem more like an event.

They Are Not Nice, They're Mostly Noise, They Swear Like Men, They Screw Like Boys
Talk of TV shows heading to the big screen is usually just that – talk – but this past week two such projects seemed to take steps that move them ever so much closer to being a reality. Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas told if Magazine that the next thing on his to-do list is to write the screenplay for the teenage private eye's jump from TV to movies. He said he is roughly 70% done with the story itself but did not give any plot points away in the interview. Series star Kristen Bell is already on board and series producer Joel Silver has not done anything to discourage the idea.

iF Magazine has been busy because they also talked with Jericho producer Jon Turteltaub, who told them, "we're developing a feature for Jericho. It would not require you to have seen the TV show but it gets into the life after an event like this on a national scale. It would be a full on, American version of what's going on beyond the town in Jericho." He also said cast members from the series would return and that the budget would be significantly higher than what they had to make the series.

While both of these are clearly a long ways away from opening at your local Cineplex, this is much further along than most of these projects, which usually exist only in fansite chat rooms, ever get. The fact that Thomas actually plans on writing a script is huge as the guy is a majorly in-demand talent in Hollywood right now and one would think he would not waste his time on something he didn't think would potentially come together. I have said before that Veronica could easily cross over to the big screen and I see no reason why this couldn't be a potential franchise for a studio; a hot young ass kicking female would sell tickets!

Jericho might be a tougher project, or at least one that would not resemble the original series as much since you'd have to spend so much time catching people up on what's happened so far if you actually set the movie in Jericho. On the other hand, if you simply set the movie in the USA two years after a nuclear attack, you could simply populate the movie with people from the show interacting with new characters as the country attempts to rebuild itself.

Who knows if we will ever see either of these but when combined with the news that an Arrested Development movie is getting closer and closer to being a sure thing, it's an interesting trend that shows that Hollywood recognizes these dedicated fan bases may be worth tapping into.

Tell You Straight, No Intervention, To Your Face, No Deception
Trust Me, TNT's newest original series, premieres Monday at 10 pm following the return of The Closer. Created by Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny (alumni from the The Closer's writing and executive producing team), the series stars Thomas Cavanagh (Ed, Eli Stone) and Eric McCormack (Will and Grace) as a successful advertising team whose friendship is threatened when McCormack's character is promoted to head of the department. The supporting cast includes Monica Potter (Boston Legal, Saw), Sarah Clarke (24), and Griffin Dunne.

Let's get this out of the way at the start – Trust Me is not a Mad Men ripoff; the two are both set in the world of advertising but that is where any similarity begins and ends. Ok, now that that's out of the way I'll let you know that Trust Me is the best pilot TNT has ever produced, a well acted, well edited episode that does a fantastic job of introducing you to the characters that will populate the series as well as let you know where the on-going drama/tension will come from but not in a way that makes you feel they tried to shoehorn 90 minutes worth of backstory into the hour.

Cavanagh gets the real chance to shine here as the more creative part of the duo and he does not disappoint, making his character's flakiness seem real and organic and not something dreamed up in a writer's room. McCormack is also excellent in the more thankless roll of the two; some may think he is playing Will again but the truth is both characters are the straight man (no pun intended) of the duo and his performance is a big reason why Cavanagh (and Debra Messing before him) is so good. One of the things I like about McCormack as an actor is he is unafraid to come across as annoying some times as it is in the moments when a character's less attractive personality traits are revealed that they become real people and not just a writer's creation.

While Mad Men is set in the world of advertising, the show uses it more as an allegory than anything else while Trust Me is more in line with Nothing In Common (a HIGHLY underrated movie) when it comes to showing the creative process that goes into the job. The more the show keeps that a part of the focus, the better it will be.

Two Tivos favorite Jason O'Mara steals the pilot as a fellow ad executive and continues to prove he is one of the most interesting actors television has seen in some time.

Based on the first two episodes, Trust Me is TNT's second winner in a row, joining Leverage as a welcomed addition to the group of high quality shows cable has been producing the last several years. I also want to add that the episode of The Closer that serves as Trust Me's lead-in is top notch, a great example of why it's one of the best shows on TV.

You Can Turn The Clock To Zero, Honey, I'll Sell The Stock, We'll Spend All The Money
Fox plans on having 10 pilots to choose from for the 2009-2010 season and this week seven of those got the order to start production on their introductory episodes. Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly told those gathered at the TCA's last week that five of those pilots would be comedies that struck a quirky, off center tone, like previous hits The Bernie Mac Show and Malcolm in the Middle.

The comedy pilots chosen were:

*The Station, a single camera series from executive producer Ben Stiller's Red Hour Films about a group of CIA operatives who are trying to overthrow the government of a South American country.

*Warlosky, a dark comedy about an ex-cop who works as a mall security guard and, after being paired with an less-than-stellar partner, has to take his job more seriously. This project was obviously well along the development lines before Paul Blart: Mall Cop took the top sot at the box office last weekend.

*Two Dollar Beer centers on a blue collar Detroit couple and their circle of friends and family. Mike Bender (Reign Over Me, The Upside of Anger, The Mind of the Married Man) wrote the pilot and will executive produce.

*Sons of Tucson finds three young rich brothers hiring a conman to pose as their Dad after their real Dad goes to jail.

The three dramas getting the go ahead were:

*Maggie Hill, from Shark creator Ina Biederman, where a top level female surgeon balances her work with her adult-onset schizophrenia.

*Human Target is based on the DC Comic series of the same name, where a man is hired to assume the identity of those whose lives are in danger. McG is executive producing.

*An untitled series about a team of investigators who get hired to find out who people were in their past lives and how that history is affecting them now.

Previously Fox had ordered pilots for the drama Eva Adams and the sci fi comedy Boldly Going Nowhere, which will be re-shooting their episode after some tweaking was done.

However Do You Want Me, However Do You Need Me
This is a new TTTP feature, letting you know when your current favorites return with their first new episodes of 2009. Season/Series premieres will still be covered in the "Eight Days a Week" section below. It's a small one this week…

MONDAY
The Closer (TNT), 9 pm

WEDNESDAY
Life on Mars (ABC), 10 pm

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 week (or so)...Considering how much publicity Patrick Swayze had received over the last few weeks, including a full hour interview on primetime, A&E had to be disappointed with the ratings for the premiere of The Beast, which was down 20% in the demos from the July premiere of The Cleaner…24.3 million tuned in to see CSI say goodbye to Gil Grissom, the show's largest audience since September 2007…For the second week in a row Private Practice performed well following Grey's Anatomy, holding on to the same % of the audience as in week one…Smallville posted it's best numbers since November…All three shows in CBS' Friday night line up (Ghost Whisperer, Flashpoint, Numb3rs) pulled in between 10.4 and 10.8 million viewers. Two strong weeks in a row make it seem like this grouping is a winner for the network, with Flashpoint setting a series high…Friday Night Lights premiere was up over Lipstick Jungle's numbers and tied Supernanny for second place in the timeslot…Battlestar Galactica's return posted numbers that almost exactly matched the season 4 premiere last year, numbers that represented a 23% increase over the first half of season 4's average. Considering how long Sci Fi has kept fans waiting, that result was a solid victory…CBS putting an episode of The Mentalist after Sunday's AFC Championship game led to the freshman series posting it's best numbers yet, with 16.4 million watching…Desperate Housewives excellent 100th episode was watched by 13 million…Showtime was thrilled to learn that The United Stats of Tara premiered to a larger audience than who watched similar episodes of The Tudors, Dexter, Weeds, and Californication. Also making them happy was The L Word's premiere topping last season's debut by 44%. Curbing their enthusiasm a bit was the 40% dip The Secret Diary of a Call Girl took from its previous season premiere…House excelled in it's first Monday at 8 outing, drawing over 14 million viewers and being the night's top show in the demos...That strong lead in allowed 24 to hold steady with last week's good numbers…Monday was a good night all around as The Bachelor hit a season high…Well, good all around except for Gossip Girl and Superstars of Dance, both of which hit season lows…29.2% of the country tuned into Tuesday's Presidential Inauguration, the largest audience for the event since President Regan took office in 1981…Tuesday's American Idol was watched by 22.4 million, a drop of 24% from last Tuesday. Usually the ratings drop about 10% from first Tuesday to second, but one can assume the Inauguration coverage played a large roll in those numbers…Fringe's return benefited from the large lead-in to post it's second highest numbers of the season (and series), with 12.1 million tuning in…The Biggest Loser jumped 18% from last week…For the second week in a row the Wednesday American Idol did better than the Tuesday episode, this week with 26 million tuning in, crushing the competition in both total audience and key demos…Lead-out Lie to Me debuted to a solid 12 million, topping Lost's premiere in total viewers and tying it for demos…Speaking of Lost's return, the two hour premiere averaged 11.4 million and won the demos for the second hour…Criminal Minds and CSI: NY took hits with the new competition, although both won their time slots for total audience…Earlier on in the evening The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried put up their season averages, meaning they seem to be unaffected by having to go up against American Idol…

All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…After months of negotiations, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and Lionsgate agreed to a new contract to keep him with the Emmy winning series for another two seasons…Multiple outlets reported that George Clooney filmed scenes for an upcoming episode of ER's final season this week. No word if it is simply a cameo or if he will be appearing throughout an episode, and as of now it's unclear who will be appearing on screen with Dr. Ross, although rumors have Julianna Marguiles returning for the same episode…Former Family Guy writer Ricky Blitt is developing a comedy pilot for ABC about a 30something guy being pulled between his girlfriend and his best friend. Blitt previously created Fox's short lived The Winner…Scott Bakula has been cast as Chuck's Dad and will appear in at least three episodes beginning in April…Laura Prepon (That 70's Show, October Road) will do four episodes of How I Met Your Mother as an ex-girlfriend of Ted's who resurfaces in his life…Vanessa Marcil has signed for a multiple episode story arc on Without A Trace…Ashlee Simpson-Wenz and Pete Wenz will play two a couple on a crime spree on a March episode of CSI: NY…David Blue, best known for playing Marc's boyfriend on Ugly Betty, has joined Robert Carlisle in Sci Fi's new Stargate Universe…Apparently Addison goes through men like shoes as ABC has cast yet another actor to play a love interest for her on Private Practice. This time it's Josh Hopkins (Swingtown) who will woo the good Doctor for at least five episodes this spring…Matt Lescher's first post-Eli Stone job will be on Brothers & Sisters where he will play someone who may cause Kitty to consider straying from her husband Robert. One assumes that the marriage will be dealing with the stress of Robert's run for Governor as he is currently keeping his decision to do so a secret from her…In my favorite bit of casting news of the week, Danny Glover will play Crab Man's Dad on an upcoming My Name Is Earl…Judy Greer, Maria Conchita Alonzo, and Gregory Harrison have joined Sarah Chalke in the cast of the upcoming Lifetime mini-series Maneater…Johnny Wright – aka Michelle Obama's hairstylist – has signed with production company 44 Blue (Split Ends, LA Gang Unit) to develop a reality series about him…USA has pushed back the new season of Law and Order: Criminal Intent a second time. Originally scheduled to air in November, now the 16 episode 8th season, which features the debut of Jeff Goldblum as a regular (replacing Chris Noth), will air this summer and do so uninterrupted (16 consecutive weeks)…James Roday wrote and directed the February 13th episode of PSYCH…Broadway legend Patti Lupone will play Judah Friedlander's Mom on 30 Rock…Look for Hilary Duff to guest on Ghost Whisperer during sweeps this spring…The good news for Samantha Who? fans is that Angie Harmon has signed on for a recurring role. The bad news? ABC has decided to go with two hour episodes of The Bachelor each week, meaning Sam and the gang currently do not have a spot in the network's line up. Boy, ABC really knows how to keep it's fans happy, huh?

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…The first four hours of PBS six hour documentary series Make ‘Em Laugh were a fantastic history lesson on comedy. Airing on Wednesdays in back-t0-back hour long installments, each episode focuses on a different type of comedy, from sitcoms to stand up's to types of comedic characters, and never forgets to provide plenty of amusement while shining a light on the roots of much of what makes us laugh today. This series is especially important viewing for those out there who think the TV comedy began when The Simpsons debuted, or think old-school comedy is Jerry's pre-Seinfeld stand up routines. Billy Crystal opens each episode with a funny bit that serves to bring that hour's topic into focus, and his spoof of Ken Burn's Civil War was priceless, right down to the Milton Berle reference.

The last two hours air next week but PBS is running the first four hours quite a few times over the next week so check your local listings to find out when you should be setting your Tivo.

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 return of Battlestar Galactica did not disappoint in any way. While Dee's suicide was a shock, it also made sense; she had this incredible day and then couldn't face going back to the utter hopelessness that currently engulfs the fleet. Ellen being the 5th model was not what I was expecting but I think there is more to come. Sometimes I can get behind the popular theory that the 5th model is everyone, that they all are descendants from cylons but most of the time I am just in awe of the layered storytelling and phenomenal acting. What's going on with Starbuck I have no idea…I have not been able to get Mr. Templeton out of my head since last week's 30 Rock. Selma Hayek is two for two in terms of episodes appeared in and incredible dresses worn…I ranted earlier in the season about how The Office was playing Angela and Dwight's affair but after last week's excellent episode, I am at a loss to how they salvage her character. Dwight and Andy's confrontation – and the build up – was a riot, but both were clearly the injured parties while Angela kept lying and lying and lying…Private Practice's two 2009 episodes have been much better than usual, and despite the show's obsession with sex, some of the actual relationships appear to be deepening/maturing…Episode two of Damages was better than the season premiere, which I also enjoyed, and while the twist at the end certainly caught me off guard, I find myself watching it and trying to predict where said twists will occur as opposed to simply sitting back and enjoying myself. Some of that is obviously my fault but some of it is simply the downside to building a show around plot devices…Man v. Food continues to be wildly entertaining, leaving me feeling hungry for both food and a road trip. Last week's was filmed in Boston, and I have enjoyed burgers from Eagles deli many, many times…Really, Blair is going to war with someone on Gossip Girl? What an original plot line. Also, I find it interesting that Chuck's Uncle's attempted assault on Lily makes him evil and yet Chuck, who is the network's biggest anti-hero, was introduced to the audience by attempting to do the exact same thing to Jenny. Beside, the real reason Chuck's Uncle is evil is that he killed Ben Linus' daughter in cold blood...Also, what teacher at a prim and proper private school would have students call her by her first name? I know the show is not meant to be based in reality but sometimes it's the little things that annoy me more than the more ridiculous stuff…It was great to see Brothers & Sisters address Justin and Rebecca's lack of screen time together this week. I also liked how the opening made you think certain things had happened that in fact did not…An amazing week for guest stars on ABC series; first Tyne Daly steals the show on Thursday's Grey's Anatomy, showing why she has the houseful of award statuettes that she has, and then Beau Bridges uses his best "awe shucks" charm to walk away with Sunday's Desperate Housewives. Grey's was excellent as it finally allowed Kevin McKidd to show his A game – the scene with him in Christina's shower was phenomenal…Getting back to DH for a second, it was great to see some dead characters back in front of the camera thanks to flashbacks. Sure, the episode was a bit manipulative but that didn't make the heartstring pulling any less effective…Big Love returned in excellent form on Sunday night, reminding me that they have one of the best casts on TV; while many of them have appeared before in some pretty well known roles, they are never anything other than the characters they are portraying, a testament to both the actors themselves as well as the show's writing team…The premiere of Will Work For Food was solidly entertaining; while the half hour running time means that they are not going to go too in depth with the jobs, I felt like I really learned something about how honey is extracted from bee hives. Host Adam Gertler is perfect for this kind of job…This week's How I Met Your Mother, with it's wonderful Arizona Tech marching band finale, was a great example of how the show earns it's warm and fuzzies by telling funny, interesting stories that pull the viewers in. FYI, Puzzles is a great name…The hour long Lost recap had me from the start, an amazingly well done piece that reminded you why you love the show so much, and also that despite all the speculation about the island really is, the show is about relationships. Desmond and Penny's is among the best love stories on TV in recent memory, with several other couples on the show following close behind. Hell, I even shed a tear or two for Rose and Bernard over the years...The actual two hours of Lost that followed were well done, giving Hurley a showcase for a fantastic set of facial expressions. Ben admitting he is hard to trust was also a highlight. I greatly appreciated them setting up the rules for their time travel from the outset, so we didn't have to spend time thinking about what might change if they ran into themselves, or people they hadn't met you. John's return at the end was obvious but still cool, especially as he pulled his knife out of that guy...

TV Pick Of The Week
It's not secret that one of the reasons that football is as popular as it is in the U.S. is gambling; from Vegas to your local bookie, office pools to fantasy leagues, money is what drives a good deal of the rooting interest. With the Super Bowl taking place next Sunday, many are going through withdrawal right now, and I've got just the fix for your gambling jones – a March Madness like tournament but all in one night, with a champion crowned in front of your eyes. Yes, I am talking about The Miss America Pageant (Saturday, 8 pm, TLC). What's that, you've never thought of Miss America that way? You can have a quick draft to determine who you are rooting for, or you can put all the names of the states in a hat and do a blind drawing, allowing for trades with your fellow viewers before the action starts. Even better is that thanks to TLC running their four hour Countdown to the Crown series earlier in the day, you can actually do some handicapping before you make your picks.

Don't miss The Miss America Pageant this Saturday at 8 pm on TLC.

Hope You Need My Love, Babe, Just Like I Need You
Here is some other noteworthy programming of the next seven days…

*There have been previews running all week but today is when PBS' re-booted Electric Company settles into its regular 5:30 pm timeslot.

*80's rocker Rick Springfield stops by Don't Forget the Lyrics (Fox) tonight at 9 pm.

*ABC airs The Purina Incredible Dog Challenge National Championship on Saturday afternoon but something tells me that anyone who be interested in such programming already knew that.

*Season three of Gone Country premieres Saturday at 8 pm on CMT, with (former Miss USA) Tara Connor, Mickey Dolenz, George Clinton, Justin Guarini, Taylor Dayne, Sheila E, and the great Richard Grieko competing to have a single released to country radio.

*Oscar winner Sigourney Weaver stars in Lifetime's Prayers for Bobby (Saturday, 9 pm), a powerful movie based on real events. Weaver's performance is fantastic and raises the quality of the piece to surprising levels.

*The best professional hockey has to offer take the ice on Sunday when The NHL All Star Game drops the puck on Versus (6 pm).

*The SAG Awards run on both TBS and TNT Sunday night at 8, which means you can find red carpet pre-shows starting at 6 pm.

*NatGeo's new documentary On Board Air Force One debuts Sunday at 8, giving viewers never before seen access to the President's main mode of air transportation. Also included are clips of Barack Obama's first trip on board.

*I have gone on record as saying that the mini-series is a lost art, and frequently I see movies (made for both the big and small screen) that would be better in that form, with the more time to flesh out characters and explore plot point ramifications being a good thing. I bring this up because NBC has Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino in the two part, four hour mini-series The Last Templar beginning Sunday at 9.

*Superstars of Dance (NBC, 8 pm) crowns its first champion Monday night.

*Elmo stops by Scrubs (ABC, 9 pm) this Tuesday.

*Kurt Warner stops by The Biggest Loser (NBC, 8 pm) on Tuesday to offer words of encouragement.

*The third season of BET's reality series Baldwin Hills premiers Tuesday at 10 pm.

*Top Chef: New York (Bravo, Wednesday, 10 pm) has a Super Bowl cook off, with the remaining contestants going head-to-head with a collection of alumni from previous seasons.

*Alison Mack gets behind the camera to make her directorial debut on Thursday's Smallville (The CW, 8 pm).

*Hell's Kitchen welcomes a new batch of future Gordon Ramsey abuse victims this Thursday (9 pm, Fox).

*The latest reality series from Mark Burnett is Toughest Cowboy (Spike, 11 pm), where a group of bronco busting Marlborough men compete for the title's title as well as for a ranch in Montana.

Two Tivos To Paradise
30 Days, 30 Rock, The Academy, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, The Apprentice, Battlestar Galactica, Best Day Ever, Best Week Ever, Big Love, Bones, Breaking Bad, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, Chocolate News, Chopped, Chuck, The Closer, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girl, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Dirty Sexy Money, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Iron Chef America, Jon & Kate + Eight, Last Comic Standing, Last Restaurant Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Life On Mars, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Man v. Food, Medium, The Middleman, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Nip/Tuck, The Office, One Tree Hill, Paranormal State, Private Practice, Project Runway, Pushing Daisies, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Reaper, Rescue Me, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Samantha Who?, Sanctuary, 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, Sports Soup, Step It Up and Dance, Supernatural, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Top Chef, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, Trust Me, Ugly Betty

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 a full rundown of Super Bowl weekend programming as well as all the headlines. Have a great week – see you in 7!

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.