Laurel’s TV Picks

Rerun of the series premiere of Like Family (WB, 4:30pm in most markets, check your local listings)
Rerun of the season premiere of Everwood (WB, 5pm in most markets)
The 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (FOX, 7pm)
Now and Again (Sci-Fi, midnight)

DVDs now available for pre-orders (release date in parenthesis): Firefly (12/9); Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (12/9); season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (7/6); Season 2 of The Shield (1/6); Season 5 of M*A*S*H (12/9); a set that contains seasons 1-4 of Buffy (10/14); a set containing seasons 1-4 of M*A*S*H (10/14); Season 2 of Dark Angel (10/21); and Brooklyn South (10/28).

DVDs due out on Tuesday: (still time to pre-order) Season 1 of I Love Lucy, Season 1 of Smallville, and Black Scorpion.

If you buy, order via my links to support this website!

Don’t forget to check out the 2003-04 Fall Schedule Grid (with premiere dates) and the TV on DVD page.

Part 1 of the 2-part series finale of China Beach (History Channel, 5am Sunday).

Tiny Toon Adventures (Nick, 5am, 5:30am).

NRBQ Revisited on Breakfast with the Arts (A&E, 7am).

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (TCM, 7am).

Another airing of rock musical Wuthering Heights (MTV, 7am).

Matt Roush talks about the Emmy awards on Today (NBC, 7am).

“Life on other planets; John Mellencamp; Bob Mackie; tailgate parties” on CBS News Sunday Morning (CBS, 8am).

John Ritter Remembered (VH1, 9am).

Cabaret (TCM, 9am).

Ally McBeal (FX, 9am, 10am).

Wright Brothers: First in Flight (Discovery, 10am).

Ben Stiller on Inside The Actor’s Studio (Bravo, 10am).

Trading Spaces (TLC, 10am, 11am).

Yet another airing of NBC 2003 Fall Preview Show (Bravo, 11am and 10:30pm).

Reno 911! (Comedy Central, 11am, 11:30am).

Reruns of the four episodes of The West Wing (Bravo, 11am, Noon, 1pm, 2pm) that aired Monday-Thursday at 6pm and 10pm on Bravo.

Trading Spaces (TLC, 11am).

And so it begins: Live Countdown to the Red Carpet: Primetime Emmy Awards (E!, 11am).

While You Were Out (TLC, Noon).

Baseball: Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Indians (ESPN2, Noon). Another game at 3pm on ESPN2.

Baseball: Florida Marlins at Atlanta Braves (TBS, Noon).

Baseball: Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates (WGN, 12:30pm).

Used car dealer, cosmetic sales person on Take This Job (A&E, 1pm).

A&E weekend lineup: The Incurable Collector (A&E, 2pm), House Beautiful (A&E, 2:30pm), All Year Round with Katie Brown (A&E, 3pm), The Well-Seasoned Traveler (A&E, 3:30pm), Sell This House! (A&E, 4pm), Makeover Mamas (A&E, 4:30pm).

James Stewart in the classic Frank Capra film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (TCM, 2:30pm).

Living With Tigers (Discovery, 4pm).

Burning Man: Where’s the Fire (Trio, 4pm).

Diane Farr plays a single mother of a teenage guy who moves from the city to New Jersey to live with her best friend (Holly Robinson Peete) and her family in the series premiere of Like Family (WB, 4:30pm in most markets, check your local listings). When this aired earlier in the week, I didn’t say very nice things about it– I was basing my comments on what other critics said. But you know what? I watched the pilot myself. And I liked it. Yes, the toilet humor bits were dumb, but that wasn’t very much of the show. The cool thing? It’s a show about a couple of white people moving in with a black family and it’s matter-of-fact, not a big deal at all (the only place where it is a big deal? In promoting the show, I guess). The thing I liked most about the show? It’s heart, it’s a very warm show about chosen families and friendship and like that. I also like the matter-of-fact handling of things black and white.

Rerun of the season premiere of Everwood (WB, 5pm in most markets). I tried my darndest to get y’all to watch this when it aired earlier in the week. Hope you liked the show. What you should know if you’re new to the series: this isn’t a typical episode, it’s really about wrapping up a cliffhanger and a major storyline from last season. Most episodes are funnier and more self-contained, this episode was about continuing a story and kicking off this season in a somewhat different direction. I still heartily recommend this show and this episode.

Another film essential: Notorioius (TCM, 5pm). Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, and Claude Rains in an Alfred Hitchcock film.

Live From the Red Carpet: Primetime Emmy Awards (E!, 5pm).

“Tofu World” episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 5:30pm).

Iron Chef (Food Network, 6pm).

Trading Spaces Family (TLC, 6pm and 10pm, 7pm and 11pm).

Countdown to the Emmys (FOX, 6pm). The official pre-show.

The 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (FOX, 7pm). No single host this year, but a series of hosts. Could be kinda cool (for a change) if it works. Those sharing the hosting duties (sortof) are: Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Garrett, Darrell Hammond, George Lopez, Conan OBrien, Garry Shandling, Martin Short, Jon Stewart, Wanda Sykes, Bernie Mac, Dennis Miller, and Damon Wayans. Sadly, this will likely be the only interesting thing as the Emmys so rarely reward the people who deserve awards. Well, this award might be of interest: Bill Cosby receives the Bob Hope humanitarian award.

New episode of Duck Dodgers (Cartoon Network, 7pm).

Another airing of the series premiere of Threat Matrix (ABC, 7pm). I watched this and it was nowhere near as bad as I’d thought it’d be (I thought it’d be pretty bad). I still think the tough subject matter and timeslot means the series won’t last long, though.

Drew Barrymore on Inside the Actor’s Studio (Bravo, 7pm and 11pm).

Mini-marathon of Gary The Rat (Spike, 8pm – 10pm).

“Hamburgers” and “French Fries” on Unwrapped (Food Network, 8pm and 11pm, 8:30pm and 11:30pm).

Roseanne (Nick, 8pm – ) joins the lineup at Nick.

Carnivale (HBO, 8:35pm). Second episode. Looks like a very weird new show for HBO. More info.

“Daily Grind” (ground beef) episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 9pm and 11pm).

K Street (HBO, 9:35pm). George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh exec produce this series about lobbyists in D.C. More info.

Live Post Show: Primetime Emmy Awards (E!, 10pm).

Crossing Jordan (A&E, 10pm and 2am).

Farscape (Sci-Fi, 11pm).

Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Cartoon Network, 11pm).

Now and Again (Sci-Fi, midnight). Third episode of this great series. Eric Close, Dennis Haysbert, Margaret Colin star.

Crusade (Sci-Fi, 1am).

Martin Scorsese, Kelsey Grammer, The Rock, Jack Nicklaus on Today (NBC, 7am – 10am).

A report about the Emmy awards, decorating tips on Good Morning, America (ABC, 7am – 9am).

Charlie Sheen on The Early Show (CBS, 7am – 9am).

Kelsey Grammer, Miss America on Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Rosie O’Donnell, Mario Cantone on the Emmy awards, Tammy Faye Messner, and co-host Alex McLeod on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

The cast of NYPD Blue on The Wayne Brady Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Richard Simmons, Rena Sofer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings). More info.

Tracey Ullman, Tommy Lee, Michael Buble, and Sharon surprises a homeless family (with something good, presumably) on The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“The Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge – Show 3″ on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Makeovers” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Rerun of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

Joe Rogan, Jim Norton, Judy Gold, Dave Mordal on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

Dr. Phil, David Bowie, Miss America on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Robert Downey Jr., Tess, Blue Man Group on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Colin Farrell, Michael Palin, Anthony Swofford on a rerun of Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).

Lauren Graham, Fountains of Wayne on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Sean William Scott, Dr. Drew Pinsky, The Bangles on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (CBS, check your local listings).

Colin Quinn, Anderson Cooper, A.R.E. Weapons on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

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