Laurel’s TV Picks

Ed (NBC, 7:59pm)
Monk (USA, 9pm and 11pm)
Dweezil and Lisa (Food Network, 9pm and 1am)

I’ve redesigned the TV on DVD page and added a bunch of new DVD releases to the lists. Do check it out. (And remember, if you buy any TV DVD sets, doing so via the links on this site helps keep this site around).

TVPicks.net fave Freaks and Geeks is being released on DVD and is now available for pre-orders, will be released on April 6th. The set includes every episode (with original music), plus a bunch of nifty extras. And if die-hard fans aren’t content with the many extras in the regular set, there’s a special limited edition set available from the Freaks and Geeks website that has all that and much more. This is deeply cool.

Thanks to Mark M. for sending me a book (Gollum: A Behind the Scenes Guide of the Making of Gollum by Andy Serkis) from my wishlist. I really appreciate it and the book looks cool. Thanks, Mark!

Sci-Fi mini-marathon du jour: Star Trek (Sci-Fi, 10am – 3pm).

Julie Bowen (of Ed), George Eads (of C.S.I.), Fefe Dobson on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).
Terry Bradshaw, Jason Sehorn, Holly Robinson Peete, Lisa Rinna on The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Jeff Probst, Essense Atkins, Marjorie Johnson, Keith Young on The Wayne Brady Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Teen Weight Loss Challenge” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Inside the Human Body” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Wrecked” and “Gone” episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 3pm, 4pm).

“The Ring” episode of Angel (TNT, 4pm).

Rerun of the “Bringeth It On” episode of Joan of Arcadia (CBS, 7pm). Wherein God tells Joan to try out for the cheerleading squad.

More Bakersfield, P.D. (Trio, 7pm and 10pm, 7:30pm and 10:30pm).

“Emeril tailgates with players from the Giants and the Jets” in Emeril’s Manly Man Tailgate (Food Network, 7pm and 10pm).

Two episodes of While You Were Out (TLC, 7pm and 10pm, 8pm and 11pm) that featured football players. The first is a rerun with Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington and the second is a new episode with San Diego Charger Marcellus Wiley.

It all comes down to this: second-to-last episode of Ed (NBC, 7:59pm). Note weird start time. NBC won’t come out and say the show is done, but they are saying “final episodes” in the previews and there’s a wedding in the season finale and it’s all happening early, so it’s probably unlikely the show will be back for another season (I’d say if you want it back, write to NBC right now). Ed’s brother Lloyd (Timothy Busfield) and Carol’s sister Stella (Nicki Lynn Aycox) are in town for the wedding festivities. Mike & Nancy are sick. And “sparks fly” at Stuckeybowl one more time. For all the complaining I’ve done about this show, I do love it. Love the denizens of Stuckeyville and StuckeyBowl. Will be sad to see the show go. This season has been uneven overall, but there have been some great episodes that give me hope for a fine finale.

David DeLuise guest stars on Stargate SG-1 (Sci-Fi, 8pm and 10pm), making him the fourth DeLuise to guest star on the show. Next week’s episode is written and directed by Peter DeLuise.

Production has been halted on Boston Public (FOX, 8pm) so this episode may be the second-to-last or third-to-last episode ever (not sure since they reportedly stopped production in the middle of the 15th episode for this season). Would be nice for a show that’s been on as long as this one to have some sort of closure with a finale, I don’t care how poorly it’s doing for FOX this season. David E. Kelley and Jason Katims and the rest of the producers and writers plus cast & crew deserve better. It’s a show that’s been good and been not-so-good, but usually has been at least somewhat interesting.

Rerun of the first episode of Dennis Miller (CNBC, 8pm and 11pm).

Bonnie’s co-workers try to set up a romantic dinner for her and Mark on Life with Bonnie (ABC, 8:30pm). And Bonnie performs with Seiichi Tanaka.

Keith tries to help his mother find her “soul mate” on Like Family (WB, 8:30pm).

Billy Burke and Sarah Silverman guest star in the new “Mr. Monk and the TV Star” episode of Monk (USA, 9pm and 11pm; also 9am tomorrow). Billy Burke co-starred with Ted Levine (who plays Captain Stottlemeyer) in the very short-lived series Wonderland. TV Geeks like me might also recognize Burke from 24, Gilmore Girls, or Karen Sisco. When I hear the name “Sarah Silverman” I know it’s a name I’ve seen mentioned all over the place, but I honestly don’t associate her with anything other than that. Very . . . odd. Doesn’t matter anyway, ‘cuz I’m all about Tony Shalhoub and the rest of the regular cast of this fine show. In this episode: ” Monk suspects the star of a hit TV crime show of killing his ex-wife.”

Dweezil and Lisa (Food Network, 9pm and 1am) go to Phoenix. Where their friend Chef Mark Tarbel “cooks up a storm for them-both on a local morning show and in his kitchen–everything from Macaroni and Cheese, to handmade pies and more fine cuisine.”

MTV’s Super Bowl Friday Night (MTV, 9pm; rerun at 1am). Live from Houston. No, I don’t have any more details. I’m guessing there are musical performances.

Meredith Vieira and her husband, journalist Richard M. Cohen are guests on 20/20 (ABC, 9pm). Presumably to talk about his battles with MS and cancer.

Rerun of the episode of The Handler (CBS, 9pm) where Joey Pants goes undercover as a porn producer. Your Tivo and other TV listings may mistakenly think this is a new episode, but that episode (re a case involving a horse) has been pushed back to February. This show ain’t long for this world either. Is Friday night a graveyard or what?

Rerun of last night’s episode of The Apprentice (CNBC, 9pm). Ew. I watched this show for the first time last night (had it on while I was doing other things, actually) and all I can say is: “ew” and “who would watch this trash?”

Grissom and company investigate a death at a little person’s convention on a rerun of C.S.I. (Spike TV, 10pm).

Fun and Games Unwrapped (Food Network, 10pm and 2am).

“Sausage: A Beautiful Grind” episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 10:30pm and 2:30am).

Nathan Lane, Ruben Studdard on a rerun of The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Sofia Coppola, Arsenio Hall, Kelly Clarkson on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Superhero Kitsch-en: Batman (TV Land, 11pm, 11:30pm), The Adventures of Superman (TV Land, midnight), and Shazam! (TV Land, 12:30am).

Zach Braff, Billy Connolly, the Brian Setzer Orchestra on a rerun of Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).

Nick Lachey, Warren Sapp, Shelby Lynne, guest co-host Fred Willard on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Jeff Probst, Donna D’Errico, Travis on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (CBS, check your local listings).

Ben Affleck, Bonnie Hunt, Amazing Kreskin, Mitch Hedberg, Juvenile, Fun Lovin’ Criminals on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

Will have picks for Saturday online sometime this evening, depending on how my day goes. Ways to know when this journal is updated are listed on the about page.
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