Two Tivos To Paradise 03.06.09: No Watchmen Here, Just TV News

Posted by Al Norton on 03.06.2009

Breaking Bad returns on Sunday, Heroes will be back for another season but Life on Mars will not, the future of The Sarah Silverman Show, American Idol thoughts, raves for Ken Olin and Brothers & Sisters, TONS of news and notes, the TV Pick of the Week, your chance to win season 12 of South Park on DVD, and more! It's all in the latest edition of Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise.

Hello Friends. Remember that cold I mentioned last week? Well it turned into a sinus AND an ear infection, which led to me getting on some antibiotics as well as coughing up a lung (or three). Please excuse my "What I've Been Watching" section being so small but there are only so many hours in the day, especially when you can't hear or breathe. Did I mention I also got in a bit of a car accident on Thursday morning? Let's just say I won't be in mourning when this week is finally over.

Congratulations to Gary Warren, who won Breaking Bad's complete first season on DVD from our friends over at Sony Pictures Television. And it appears we've started a trend as we've got a new DVD giveaway this week from the great folks over at Comedy Central Home Entertainment – South Park Season 12, which hits stores next Tuesday. I don't think South Park fans need me to sing the show's praises but even a casual watched like me knows how brilliant the show can be. The set contains all 14 uncensored episodes plus a great deal of extras. Email your name, age, and address to [e-mail] with the subject heading South Park DVD and I will choose a winner at random on Sunday night. Season 13 of the show premieres next Wednesday but more on that later.

I bet you're wondering how I knew about your plan to make me news.

THIS JUST IN
Right as TTTP was going to press Entertainment Weekly reported that all four main cast members of Seinfeld - Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus - would reunite to play themselves on multiple episodes of the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Curb, which stars Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, is entering its 7th season on HBO. There is no word yet on if the episodes will address Richards racist on-stage tirade at a comedy club in 2006 that led to his essentially dropping out of the entertainment industry but knowing David's ability to turn anything into material, one would have to assume it will come up.

I Need The Noise Of Destruction, Especially When There's Nothing New
Season two of AMC's Breaking Bad premieres this Sunday at 10 pm, with a season one marathon beginning tonight at 8 pm in case you missed anything. The Emmy winning series follows the life of Walt, a high school chemistry teacher, husband, and Father (with another baby on the way) who finds out he has incurable lung cancer. Wanting to make sure his family is left with some resources to take care of themselves, Walt teams up with a former student to make crystal meth. Brilliant concept, no?

My love for Breaking Bad is well known to regular readers; I had it as the # 3 drama of 2008 and Bryan Cranston won a Norty last year for his work on the show, which I called the best TV performance since Andre Braugher left Homicide: Life on the Street. The show's cast is uniformly excellent and despite the dour subject matter, it's actually quite funny. They use the somewhat outrageous situation to examine issues that hit much closer to home for most of us; our own mortality, wanting to make sure our families will be taken care of when we're gone, where your moral boundaries lie when it's real life and not the abstract, and the worry that we don't end up sleepwalking through out lives and missing out on great opportunities.

I have been contending for some time that we are in a golden age for television dramas and Breaking Bad is about as good as an example of that as I can find. Its network brother Mad Men may get more mainstream press but there is no doubt which show will get your heart. Please, please, please – do yourself a favor and watch Breaking Bad.

Now She Walks Through Her Broken Dream To The Seats With The Clearest View
ABC announced on Monday that they were not going to renew Life on Mars for a second season, choosing to do so early enough that the producers could wrap up the show's central mystery by the finale. A remake of a critically acclaimed BBC drama, Mars stars Jason O'Mara as a cop in the year 2008 who is hit by a car and wakes up in 1973, where he goes to work for the NYPD while trying to find a way home. The show's cast includes heavyweights like Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli as well as Gretchen Mol, all of whom signed on after the original pilot was scrapped. Ratings for the show have been ok at best, and ABC took it off the air for two months when the switched it from Thursdays to Wednesday.

This was the saddest news of the week for me as I felt the show had really come into its own the last few weeks, with the writers figuring out Keitel's rhythms while O'Mara continued to prove himself to be one of the top non-household name talents on television. And there was/is certainly no better show to listen to, with the music choices always scoring big – last week's use of the Moody Blues classic Isn't Life Strange stayed with me for days.

The big question here is will ABC live up to their end of the bargain, that being agreeing to air all the final episodes. It's happened in the not-so-distant past where a network tells a show to wrap it up and then decides to not give fans the chance to see that resolution (Kidnapped jumps to mind).

I know Life on Mars wasn't for everyone but no one can deny that there is nothing else on TV like it, and as always, I mean that in a good way. I hope that Detective Sam Tyler finds peace, and that I get to watch him do so.

Baby Hair With A Woman's Eyes, I Can Feel You're Watching In The Night
Although things got a little hairy over the weekend, a deal was reached to bring the Emmy nominated Sarah Silverman Show back to Comedy Central for a third season. It had been two months since the season two finale aired and there has been no official word yet but behind the scenes rumors have the comedy's three executive producers (Silverman, Dan Sterling, and Rob Schrab) threatening to quit after being told by the network that their budget was being cut by 20%. Last season the show's budget was roughly 1.1 million per episode, with a typical network single camera sitcom being in the 1.5 – 2 million range. Silverman told the network last week that they would not be moving ahead with season three since they could not continue the quality level at the new price, sending executives scrambling for a compromise. While other networks have cut budgets this season – ABC had showrunners drop their costs by 2% last season – the percentage cut asked for by MTV Networks (Comedy Central's parent company) was unheard of. Eventually MTV Networks solved their own problem by bringing in the Logo Network (also under their umbrella) to share in some of the costs.

While the issues that ended up taking Chappelle's Show off the air have nothing to do with this dispute, Comedy Central couldn't afford to lose another successful comedy series for reason other than them not wanting it anymore. Logo will get to air episodes of the series, which means it should open up their programming to a wider audience, so everybody wins.

Well Ever Since You Were A Little Girl You Set The Rules In Your Little World
It takes longer – by definition – to compile the live+7 DVR data that combines the live audience with those that recorded shows and watched them later, but the stats from the week Dollhouse premiered showed a substantial gain for the Joss Whedon action-drama as well as its Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles lead in. T:TSCC was up an incredible 36% in the adult demos, and Dollhouse was close behind with a 30% gain. For that week both 90210 and Scrubs finished with gains in between those two, with Privileged and Life following closely behind.

Will these types of numbers be enough to save either of Fox's Friday night lineup mates? Probably not but they do show that there is an audience for these shows. I know I sound like a broken record when I ask how Fox could not do everything possible to make sure it has a Terminator series on the air to capitalize on what will surely be one of the biggest movies of the year this spring. I am also growing doubtful that Life will be back on NBC, not because of anything I have read and more just a sad gut feeling. Since this is Scrubs last season, that leaves us with Privileged (90210 has already been renewed) and I think The CW is smart enough to recognize they've got a really cute show with serious growth potential and may be just looking for some sort of evidence – like this - they can use to justify bringing it back.

Like A Coin In Your Mint, I'm Dented And I'm Spent With High Treason
It's pilot season in TV Land and as such we've broken the updates about new shows out of the "All The Young Dudes" section below and given it it's own feature. All of the shows mentioned below are having pilots filmed, putting them one step closer to getting a spot in their network's line ups this fall…

ABC: Alyssa Milano has been cast opposite Eric Christian Olsen (Brothers & Sisters) in the untitled sitcom from Family Guy writer and producer Ricky Blitt. Olsen plays a guy torn between the women of his dreams (Milano) and his very needy slacker best friend…Kim Raver, fresh off of Lipstick Jungle, landed one of the female leads on Shonda Rhimes journalism drama Inside the Box, as did Rome's Indira Varma…Scott Wolf and Morris Chestnut landed big parts in the upcoming remake of V…Julie Bowen joined the growing – and talented – cast of the mocumentary series My American Family…Now that Life on Mars has been canceled it looks like Gretchen Mol will be taking up residence as one of the Witches of Eastwick…

CBS: Melissa George has been cast as the female lead opposite Jason Clarke in the untitled US Attorney's drama. George, who recently did multiple episode of Grey's Anatomy, will play the ex-wife of Clarke's character who joins his prosecuting team. Got to love those realistic TV plots…The new reality pilot American's Strongest American will film this weekend in Vegas, with regular people taking part in feats of strength geared more towards the average build…The comedy Accidentally On Purpose (Jenna Elfman plays a movie critic who becomes pregnant with a much younger man's baby) took a huge step towards getting an order when Pamela Fryman (executive producer of How I Met Your Mother) came on board as director…Eddie Cibrian and Teri Polo have been cast as the husband and wife leads in Washington Field, a drama from Criminal Minds showrunner Ed Bernero about top government agents. Gina Torres (Angel, Firefly) also signed on…Julianna Margulies is the lead on The Good Wife, a dramatic pilot about the wife of a politician who goes back to her career as a defense attorney when her husband becomes part of a scandal…

The CW: Katie Cassidy, last seen on Supernatural and next seen on Harper's Island, and Steven R McQueen, grandson on the legendary actor Steve McQueen, have both been cast in Kevin Williamson's new drama, Vampire Diaries…

NBC: 24's Carly Pope has landed a big role in the post-apocalyptic drama Day One. ER's David Lyons just was named the male lead on the show as well…

And With Your Hair Swung Right And Your Pants Too Tight, It's Gonna Be All Right
Welcome back to the American Idol Revue, where we run down the latest week of American Idol, season 8. Last week we had another three finalists (Kris, Allison, and Adam joining Danny, Alexis, and Michael), and three more will move forward this week, with a final three being chosen via Wild Card night.

Tuesday, March 3rd
*Ryan looks sharp tonight in his button down and slacks. Maybe someone talked to him about last week's way-too-casual approach to dressing.

*Van is out first contestant on the night, with a ridiculously low bar set by last week's porous outings…He's doing Marvin Gaye, which is always a strong choice…Why do so many of the singers start off low? It never ends well…I will give him credit for being so happy to be here. All the judges seem to like him.

*Taylor, age 17, is our first high school student of the night. Alicia Keys is modern but the choice doesn't pay off at all; she was ok on the chorus but got lost in the verses.

*Up next is that nerdy guy from 3rd period history class…err, I mean Alex. Great choice of song but there was nothing that was going to save him. How did he get this far?!?!

*Arianna is all sorts of cute and apparently she is doing Idol's first Abba cover…Yikes, that was just awful, made more painful by knowing she really can sing.

*Ju'Not is doing a song he already did in Hollywood, usually not a way to impress the judges. Great vocal, though…Hey, Paula made my point – I feel like Albert Brooks in Broadcast News. Actually, I feel that way all the time…

*Full disclosure – something about Kristen annoys me greatly. Is this the first Tracy Chapman cover in Idol history? She' s making it sound awfully bland.

*(My So Called) Nathan is up next with his version of one of my favorite musical guilty pleasures. He sounds and looks like he just wandered off the set of Kids Incorporated.

*Felicia is our 2nd chance girl, getting in when another contestant was booted for rules violations…Another Alicia Keys song tonight? She is making some sweet cash thanks to Fox…Pretty good for a girl who didn't make it this far on her own.

*Scott is next, rocking the Mark Fidrych look. He may be a great story but I don't think he's got the voice to win this thing.

*Kendall had some problems with hitting her notes but none with introducing America to all her sparkle and charm.

*Jorge was one of my favorites from the early rounds and he does not disappoint here with an Elton John classic.

*Lil Rounds…What can I say? Best in class goes last for the third week in a row.

Who makes the finals? Lil, Jorge, and Scott are my picks. Felicia may slip in there as well. We'll find out tomorrow, or if you just keep reading…

Wednesday, March 4th

*Ryan's got a tie on tonight, albeit with jeans.

*Group Sing presents challenges for the choreographer with Scott in the group. It goes no worse than usual.

*I love how everyone is campaigning for Wildcard Night during their interviews.

*And moving on to the finals are…Lil Rounds, Scott, and Jorge.

*Competing for the final three spots during tomorrow's Wild Card episode will be Van, Jasmine, Ricky, Megan, Tatiana, Matt, Jesse, and Anoop.

Thursday, March 5th
It's Wildcard night, with the judges picking 3 from this group of 8 to round out the final 12. To me there is no pressure on the singers since they've already been eliminated so this is just gravy. Even if that doesn't make any sense they also have much better odds this time around; in their groups they had a 2 in 12 chance (since one of each gender was guaranteed) in moving forward and here it's a 3 in 8.

*Jesse gets us started doing some Chaka and Rufus. She is very sexual but without trying too hard. I like her muchly.

*Matt of the dueling pianos is up next with a JT hat and an old Jackson 5 nugget…So much fun and I bet he makes it through.

*Maid Megan busts out the KT Tunstall…Good to see she hasn't lost her hip shimmy…Is it a fair criticism to say she smiles too much? It's like an actor breaking character during a scene…The judges have always enjoyed her more than I do.

*Van is trying his hand at an Elton John ballad that is out of his emotional depth. This won't get him back in.

*Nothing to do with the show but how much do I love those Lincoln-Douglas Debates Diet Mountain Dew commercials?!!?

*Jasmine has the look of a pop star for sure and the vocals aren't that far behind. She's got a real shot.

*Ricky is the one guy I don't understand being here – he didn't impress me earlier and I don't get what the judges see in him. His version of Superstition isn't changing my mind.

*Tatiana and her floating accent are back, flailing badly on a Whitney Houston classic. See you on the Surreal Life 2010!

*Anoop is anext…Sorry…Hey, we've got a Bobby Brown song following a Whitney Houston tune; what are the odds? I like him more than he is good and I don't think that moves him forward.

*My choices would be Jasmine, Matt, and Jesse…The judges go with Jasmine, Megan, and Matt…AND Anoop – they swerve us by making it a final 13!!! Is Vince Russo producing the show now?

Next week will have the final 13 in action, with Kanye West and Kelly Clarkson stopping by.

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)...Sunday's two hour episode of Brothers & Sisters was up 27% from the previous week…Celebrity Apprentice debuted to 8.8 million on Sunday night, a number that neither thrilled nor disappointed the network…CBS' latest Jesse Stone movie was Sunday's most watched program with 15.13 million, although it was dwarfed in the demos by Brothers & Sisters…The Bachelor finale was Monday's most watched show, with 15.45 million tuning in to view the wreckage…All four of CBS' Monday comedy block pulled in over 10 million, with Two and a Half Men's 15.42 million being tops…Facing a third hour of The Bachelor instead of True Beauty, Medium dropped 14%...The premiere of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was a ratings success for NBC, beating The Late Late Show by 35% and Jimmy Kimmel by 17%... Reaper returned to dismal demo numbers, down 40% from the show's premiere last season and matching record lows…American Idol was watched by 24.21 million, topping anything in it's path by over 10 million viewers…Life on Mars jumped 24% in demos despite being the announcement of the show's cancellation…The 22.5 million who watched Idol on Wednesday were a 9% increase from last Wednesday…America's Next Top Model cycle premiere was up 11% from the last time around, plus it killed in the female demos…Lost won the 9:00 hour in total viewers and demos, albeit against a Criminal Minds rerun…Lie to Me dropped 9% week-to-week, odd since its Idol lead in was up…

All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…NBC Entertainment President Angela Bromstad told the Hollywood Reporter that Heroes would be back for a fourth season in the fall, saying they planned on ordering 19-20 episodes. That number is less than the current season…Gilmore Girls' Alexis Bledel will guest on the two hour series finale of ER…A re-united No Doubt will make an appearance on Gossip Girl this May, just as their summer tour kicks off…Look for Anjelica Huston to reprise her role as Cynthia Keener on Medium this season. Fans of the show will remember how amazing Huston was in her stint last year. Also stopping by Medium this season is Jeffrey Tambour…Two Tivos favorite Dean Winters will be a very busy man this spring, reprising roles on Life on Mars, Rescue Me, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and 30 Rock…Lifetime picked up a 20 episode second season of Rita Rocks…Emmy winner Christian Clemenson (Boston Legal) willl do an NCIS appearance this season…Disney plans on debuting High School Musical 4 – featuring an all new cast – next year…Jami Gertz and Autumn Reeser will play recurring parts on the upcoming season of Entourage…Bob Einstein will revive his Super Dave Osborne character for a four episode series on Spike this summer. It will offer a behind-the-scenes look as Super Dave preps for various crazy stunts…Darryl McDaniel – DMC of Run DMC fame – will host a new reality competition show the searches for a undiscovered star who can create hip hop music that doesn't offend, with specific rules about the songs not using swear words, glorifying violence or degrading women…When Burn Notice returns in June it will be paired with the new dramedy Royal Pains, which stars Two Tivos favorite Mark Feuerstein…Neil Patrick Harris will host this April's TV Land Awards on Nickelodeon….Fox has decided to hold their much buzzed about comedy about high school glee clubs – Glee – until the fall, although they will air the pilot following an American Idol episode on May 19th to whet your appetites. They will do the same type of tease with the first episode of Osbournes: Reloaded, the new variety series starring Ozzy and the brood, with the debut airing on March 31st post Idol and then returning later in the spring/summer for its full run…Two more bits of Glee news – and they are BIG ones – are that both Victor Garber and Kristen Chenoweth have joined the cast in recurring roles…TVGuide.com is reporting that Knight Rider will not return for a second season this fall…Larry the Cable Guy will be the roastee on Comedy Central…Holly Madison will replace an injured Jewel when Dancing with the Stars premieres next Monday…

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…I had planned on writing a piece here singing the praises of Brothers & Sisters fantastic two hour episode on Sunday night – hey, they don't write the misleading promos, the network does – praising the sense of tension and emotion the was strong throughout the show, with some twists and turns that were more affecting because they were smaller, and clearly I am still doing that, but only while singling Ken Olin out for specific huzzahs. Olin, who is an executive producer on the show and directed the episode, plays a recurring role as David, Rebecca's Dad and Holly's ex, and is easily the most real person on the show. There is something about the way that he talks that just is always 100% believable, and his ability to come across as world weary without trying goes a long way in the scenes where he and Emily Van Camp's Rebecca try to form a Father-Daughter bond.

Olin may be best remembered for his first big role as Michael on the seminal 80's drama ThirtySomething, and he starred in EZ Streets, which in my mind is the single best one season drama in TV history, but his track record as a producer and director shows his talents are not limited to any one genre; along with B & S he has produced Eli Stone and Alias, and has been behind the camera for episodes of The West Wing (3), Brothers & Sisters (9), Alias (23), Felicity (2), Judging Amy, and Freaks & Geeks.

I know I have raved about Olin in this space before but he his ability to so aptly convey human drama in its many different forms puts him in a league of his own.

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…I have been so incredibly enjoying the high quality of Battlestar Galactica that I almost forget that we've only got three hours left. Last Friday's outing featured a tour-de-force performance by Grace Park as well as the reappearance of All Along the Watchtower, which I fell I must tell Dave Matthews fans is a song he did not write. This last batch of episodes has been amazing and more than lived up to whatever ridiculously high standards I had created in my head…Another week, another top notch job turned in by the cast of Big Love. Such a great show and one that I think will finally get the respect it deserves come award season…Leverage closed out season one on a high note, establishing itself as TNT's best original drama series since The Closer…I kind of liked the two Jimmy Fallon episodes I watched this week, mostly because he seemed to really enjoy being there. I am so sick of the ironic, detached style some comedians go with so it was rather refreshing to watch someone so happy to have his job. Also, slow jammin' the news was worth staying up for all on its own… Medium continued its strong run in 2009. Super creepy this time around, with some echoes of the part of Sixth Sense that made my skin crawl…The six milk shake challenge – essentially a gallon of malted milk shake – made for a nasty but entertaining Man v. Food…Can't say enough about Lost the last two weeks. It's the little moments that get me, like Jin saying he would carry Paul's body back to the Dharma camp. There was so much back and forth I am almost glad there are two weeks between episodes so I can get my bearings…

TV Pick Of The Week
We've got two VERY different choices this week as I continue to search the TV world for the widest array of quality viewing options for my readers…

-Kingdom of the Blue Whale is a new documentary debuting on National Geographic this Sunday at 8 pm. Narrated by Tom Sellek, the special follows the hard-to-find giants through sea voyages off the coast of California and Costa Rica, with footage you will have to see to believe. Kingdom also looks at why the whales are dying at an alarming rate lately. I LOVE me some whales so this is must-see viewing in my house but this is worth your time simply as an advertisement for high-def TV. Don't miss Kingdom of the Blue Whale this Sunday at 8 pm on NatGeo.

-Sci Fi's new reality competition series WCG Ultimate Gamer finds 12 of the top gamers in the country brought together in a loft in Los Angeles to determine who is the best; the winner not only gets $100K and the best of Samsung electronics but the also will represent WCG at worldwide events including the 2009 Grand Final in China. The twist is that they will be participating in real life video game simulations as well as playing the games themselves, sometimes one-on-one and sometimes as a team. The person who takes the Ultimate Gamer crown will have to demonstrate some serious skills to win and it promises to be a fun and unique eight episode ride. Joel Gourdin and Hannah Simone host. Don't miss the premiere of WCG Ultimate Gamer Tuesday at 10 pm on Sci Fi.

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

*Another beloved member of the original cast says goodbye on tonight's Friday Night Lights (9 pm, NBC). BYOK – bring your own Kleenex.

*Life on Mars may be canceled here in the states but Ashes to Ashes, its sequel, premieres on Saturday on BBC America. This time it's a woman making the time jump, and this time its back to the 80's!

*Gone Country wraps up another season Saturday at 8 pm on CMT.

*The L Word brings its run to a close on Sunday at 9 pm on Showtime.

*VH-1's Tool Academy picks a first season winner on Sunday at 10 pm. Will Josh or Matsuflex walk away with the cash prize - and the girl?

*Dancing with the Stars begins another turn around the floor on Monday at 8 pm on ABC, followed by the Nathan Fillon starring Castle, which looks like it might be cute (at best).

*Laura Prepon starts a multi-episode stint on Monday's How I Met Your Mother (8:30 pm, CBS).

*Two Tivos favorite John Glover plays Syler's Dad on Heroes (Monday, 9 pm, NBC).

*Season five of Ghost Hunters (Wednesday, 9 pm, Sci Fi) is reason for celebration in the Tivo household.

*Chopping Block, NBC's lukewarm version of Last Restaurant Standing, premieres Wednesday at 8 pm. I've seen the first two episodes and they spend way too much time making sure we know the Chef is a star and nowhere near enough giving us reasons to care about anyone involved in the competition.

*South Park is on its 13th season?!!? Wow! Wednesday at 10 pm on Comedy Central is the place to see the warped genius.

*David Boreanaz directed Thursday's episode of Bones (8 pm, Fox).

*Eric La Salle returns this Thursday as part of ER's farewell tour (10 pm, NBC).

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 Girls, Damages, 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, Will Work for Food

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 preview of NBC's new series Kings as well as all the latest in TV goings on. Hopefully I will be much closer to full strength, meaning there should be a huge "What I've Been Watching" section. Have a great 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.