Laurel’s TV Picks

Season premiere of Ed (NBC, 7pm)
Season premiere of The West Wing (NBC, 8pm)
Jake 2.0 (UPN, 8pm)
Season premiere of Law & Order (NBC, 9pm)
Series premiere of The Brotherhood of Poland, NH (CBS, 9pm)

Smallville and Angel have their season premieres next Wednesday (they air regularly at 7pm and 8pm Wednesdays).

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

Ben Stiller, Sean William Scott, author Diana Kennedy on Today (NBC, 7am - 10am).

First Lady Laura Bush, a performance by Luciano Pavarotti, Bob Guiney (the new Bachelor) on Good Morning, America (ABC, 7am - 9am).

Kevin James, fall foliage “hot spots” on The Early Show (CBS, 7am - 9am).

All three parts of Ultraviolet (Sci-Fi, 9am - 3pm). British vampire miniseries.

Kevin James, The Bachelor, Emmylou Harris on Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Bill O’Reilly, Ben Stiller, Luciano Pavarotti, and co-host Martha MacCallum on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

Baseball: New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox (ESPN, 1pm). A rather meaningless game as the Yankees have clinched a division win and the Twins have clinched the win in the White Sox’ division. Whee!

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Houston Astros (ESPN, 1pm).

Tisha Campbell-Martin, Steven Cojocaru, Fountains of Wayne on The Wayne Brady Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Allison Janney, Donnie Wahlberg, Precious the orangutang (from Passions) on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings). More info.

Steve Harvey, Holly Robinson Peete, Joseph “Whoa!” Lawrence on The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Ask Dr. Phil” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

It’s all about Spike, more or less: “Fool For Love” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 3pm).

The President offers a job to a Republican on The West Wing (Bravo, 6pm and 10pm).

Baseball on both ESPN and ESPN2 starting at 6pm.

Season premiere of Ed (NBC, 7pm). Ed and Carol plan their first real honest-to-God date. Mike and Nancy get a puppy. Eli’s interested in a woman who bakes (new series regular Marcy Harriell). Phil tries to find Ed a new assistant. Mo Rocca guest stars. And Gregory Harrison returns for a visit. Why give Ed a shot this year? ‘Cuz now that the Carol-Ed issue is settled, the show’s gotta get better. As good as the first season? Perhaps. Plus these days they’re giving Molly and the rest of the cast better and bigger storylines. When this show works, it’s charming and a whole lot of fun.

Archer, Reed, and Hoshi are exposed to an alien virus (oh-oh) on Star Trek Enterprise (UPN, 7pm).

Season premiere of The West Wing (NBC, 8pm). It wasn’t the best drama last year, no matter what the Academy of Arts & Sciences will have you believe. The show’s been sliding downhill pretty steadily for at least a couple of years now. If you agree with me on that, you may be looking forward to having a fresh group of writers take over the show. If you still loved the show as is, you may be nervous now that Aaron Sorkin’s left. It’s hard to think of the series without Sorkin, of course. But you know what? I’m betting this season will be good. Why? Because John Wells can sometimes write and direct drama amazingly well (witness some of his work on China Beach and ER, among other series). And Wells has assembled a great team of writers, that includes folks who’ve done stellar work for China Beach, ER, Once and Again, and other fine shows. If you’re a fan of China Beach, you’ve gotta be excited when you hear that Wells, John Sacret Young, and Carol Flint will all be working on The West Wing this year. Trust me, it’s a good thing. Good writers and producers should be able to do great stuff with this great cast, these great characters and premise. Tonight’s episode picks up where last season left off. Zoey’s been kidnapped, the President has stepped down, the republican speaker of the house (John Goodman) is in charge. Annabeth Gish guest stars as another Bartlet daughter. Other guest stars include Steven Eckholdt, Zeljko Ivanek, Timothy Busfield, John Amos, Anna Deveare Smith. Tonight’s episode is written by John Wells.

Jake goes on his first undercover mission on Jake 2.0 (UPN, 8pm). It gets complicated.

Giant cranes Junkyard Mega-Wars (TLC, 8pm and 11pm).

“The Pouch Principle” (pouch cooking) episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 8pm and 11pm).

Briscoe and Green “stumble upon a serial killer” on the season premiere of Law & Order (NBC, 9pm).

“Dottie decides to buy the town?s old movie theater and asks Hank?s nemesis, Scott Haggis, to help fund her. Meanwhile, Waylon tapes his butt together in an effort to look more toned and confident for a job interview and Sharon Ropers puts the heat on Garrett to pay her $100,000 in exchange for keeping their affair a secret” on the series premiere of The Brotherhood of Poland, NH (CBS, 9pm). Yes, that’s the actual description from the CBS website. Intrigued? Maybe. I dunno. What’s the deal with this new show? Created by David E. Kelly (that speaks volumes, doesn’t it?), Randy Quaid stars as a small town police chief (and hockey coach). The show revolves around him, his two brothers (one of whom is the town’s mayor), and their wives. Randy Quaid’s co-stars are Chris Penn, Randy Quaid, John Carroll Lynch, Ann Cusack, Elizabeth McGovern, and Mare Winningham. TV Guide says it’s a “dead-end downer of middle-aged angst, a rare misfire from writer-producer David E. Kelley.” The future sure isn’t bright for the show in this timeslot where it’s up against Law & Order and promising new series Karen Sisco (which premieres next week).

“A wanted fugitive comes under heavy scrutiny from Stone and Finch after she witnesses a murder” on Peacemakers (USA, 9pm). Tom Berenger and Amy Carlson star.

New episode of Street Time (Showtime, 9pm). Rob Morrow and Scott Cohen star.

The department is given money to “get people off the streets” on Reno 911! (Comedy Central, 9:30pm and 11:30pm).

Ben Stiller on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

Steve Harvey on The Orlando Jones Show (FX, 10pm and 12:30am).

Futurama (Cartoon Network, 10:30pm).

Richard Belzer (of Homicide), James Smith, Renee Hicks, Greg Giraldo on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

The Rock, Lynne Cheney on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Rob Lowe, Michelle Branch, an 8-year-old “presidential expert” on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Whoopi Goldberg, Rosario Dawson on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).

Jason Biggs, Greta Van Susteren, Brand New on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Marg Helgenberger (of C.S.I., China Beach), Jason Gedrick, Alexandra McHale on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (CBS, check your local listings).

David Bowie on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

Drew Barrymore on Today (NBC, 7am - 10am).

Diane Lane, Kelly Ripa on Good Morning, America (ABC, 7am - 9am).

Marg Helgenberger, winner of Big Brother 4 on The Early Show (CBS, 7am - 9am).

The Rock, Faith Ford, Wanda Sykes on Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Jane Seymour, “Meredith’s Club” kids discuss the downfalls of being overweight, a surprise guest for Barbara’s birthday on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

Marg Helgenberger, Bobby Cannavale, Jill Jones, Vesta on The Wayne Brady Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Jason Biggs, Amber Valletta, Michelle Branch on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings). More info.

The Bachelor, Leah Remini on The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“A Family Divided, Part 2″ on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Suburban Teens: The New Prostitutes” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

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

The Orlando Jones Show (FX, 10pm and 12:30am).

Kevin Hart, Patrice Oneal, Dante, Flex Alexander on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

Colin Powell, Jennifer Garner on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Alicia Silverstone, “Hollywood’s Most Talented Dogs”, Nickelback on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Diane Lane, Wanda Sykes, Jonny Lang on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).

Ben Stiller, Obie Trice on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Danny DeVito, Jet on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (CBS, check your local listings).

Christina Ricci, Michael Rapaport, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz featuring The Ying Yang Twins on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).
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