Laurel’s TV Picks

New Wonderfalls (FOX, 8pm)
Series premiere of The D.A. (ABC, 9pm)
New Crossing Jordan (NBC, 9pm)
Ethan Hawke, Omid Djalili, Neil Young on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm)

My trip to Minneapolis put me behind on replies to emails and on updates to the TV on DVD page. Will try to get caught up this weekend.

Contest update: Still not very many entries, so anyone who enters between now and the deadline (March 30th) really will have an excellent shot at a prize. There are four “big” prizes (Homicide & Futurama DVD sets), but I’ve also got some other rare cool tv stuff that will be available from other shows. Contest details. Thanks so much to everyone who has entered so far and to everyone who has supported this site in the past. Y’all rock. I’ll be emailing everyone who enters the contest, I’m just a bit behind right now. Stay tuned!

NBC posted this note re Crossing Jordan on their website: “We have received a number of inquiries regarding Crossing Jordan’s last season cliffhanger. As the show has been off the air for nearly a year, we thought it best to show the outcome of that episode later in the season so as to not confuse new viewers. We will post the airdate of that episode here on the NBC.com site in the coming weeks. We greatly appreciate your interest.”

FOX schedule changes: Bernie Mac Show moves to Mondays, Forever Eden moves to Thursdays, Oliver Beene put on hiatus.

ABC schedule changes: It’s All Relative to air later, Less Than Perfect on hiatus until May.

As always, I recommend the TV coverage at TVTattle.com, TVBarn.com, and Teevee.org. TV Tattle has a lot of TV news that I haven’t had a chance to mention here in the last week or so.

NCAA men’s basketball tournament games dominate the schedule on CBS, which means that The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As The World Turns, and Guiding Light don’t air today. Some syndicated talk shows and other things may also get bumped, check your local listings.

Sci-Fi mini-marathon du jour: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? (Sci-Fi, 10am – 3pm).

Christina Aguilera, Molly Shannon (of Cracking Up) on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Suzanne Somers, Will Arnett (of Arrested Development), Camille Winbush (of The Bernie Mac Show) on The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings; WGN, midnight).

Anthony Anderson, Keith Carradine, Khleo Thomas on The Wayne Brady Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

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

“What Should You Do?” on a rerun of Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings). What to do in a crisis.

Lisa lands a temp job at MTV on NewsRadio (Biography, Noon and 6pm).

Selma’s old boyfriend visits Night Court (Biography, 12:30pm and 6:30pm).

MLB Preseason Baseball: Seattle Mariners at San Francisco Giants (ESPN2, 1pm).

Bill Murray and his brothers play golf in The Sweet Spot (Comedy Central, 1pm, 1:30pm).

Vincent D’Onofrio (of Law & Order: Criminal Intent) and Marisa Tomei in Happy Accidents (IFC, 1:30pm). A man claims he’s a time traveler from the future and falls in love; question is: is he really from the future or is he mentally ill?

“Becoming” parts 1 & 2 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 3pm, 4pm). Season 2 finale. Max Perlich (of Homicide) guest stars.

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

Joe Jackson 25th Anniversary Special (Trio, 5pm).

Rerun of the pilot movie for Touching Evil (USA, 5pm – 7pm).

Tori Amos: Scarlet Sessions (Trio, 6pm).

Tom Hanks on Inside The Actors Studio (Bravo, 6pm).

The Making of Walt Disney’s Miracle (ESPN Classic, 6:30pm).

Just more March madness (NCAA men’s basketball tournament games) on CBS tonight. Will probably push the news and late night talk shows back from their usual times (but the late night talk shows on CBS are reruns tonight anyway). Means no Joan of Arcadia or JAG or usual CBS shows tonight.

NBA basketball on ESPN.

Howard Dean, Russell Simmons, Gore Vidal, David Frum, and Eddie Izzard on Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO, 7pm and 10:30pm).

Another airing of the original ABC Family romantic comedy movie Celeste in the City (ABC Family, 7pm). Majandra Delfino (of Roswell) stars with Nicholas Brendon (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Ethan Embry (of Freakylinks et al). Did anyone catch this the first time or two it aired? How is it? I’ve mostly liked these cute romantic comedies on ABC Family and not just for the stunt casting of cult TV stars. It’s fun fluff.

A blind high school student, looking for a way to fit in, joins the wrestling team in the new Disney Channel movie Going to the Mat (Disney, 7pm, 8:45pm). Will air again a bunch of times. Andrew Lawrence, Khleo Thomas, Billy Aaron Brown star. With Brenda Strong (of Everwood, Sports Night, The Help), Wayne Brady, D.B. Sweeney, Brett Yoder, and Brian Wimmer (of China Beach).

Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Dudley Moore in Foul Play (TCM, 7pm). “An innocent woman stumbles on to a plot to murder the pope.”

Rerun of this week’s new Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Bravo, 7pm and 10:30pm).

A “serial killer husband” and “a small town survivor who helped capture a killer” on Dateline NBC (NBC, 7pm – 9pm).

New episode of the new “reality” series Playing It Straight (FOX, 7pm). I’m told that last week’s premiere episode ran long, which caused the Wonderfalls premiere to start late. Here’s hoping that is not a problem tonight.

Tinsley Grimes (of That ’80s Show among other things) guest stars on Married to the Kellys (ABC, 7:30pm).

New episode of Wonderfalls (FOX, 8pm) titled “Karma Chameleon.” A young woman (Sarah Drew) takes up quite the interest in Jaye. And then things start to get weird (even weird for this show). I’ve seen this episode and it’s quite good, reveals much more about Jaye’s relationship with her family and how she views her place in the world. Written by Tim Minear (of Angel and Firefly fame). Later episodes of the show differ from the pilot in that they’re less frenetic, not as many critters talk to Jaye (nor as often), and there’s usually just one major plotline going on (at least, that’s my take having seen four episodes). This episode is unique in that it was one of the last episodes produced, but it was written to be the second episode of the series. Tim Minear posted about that online: “This was the luxury of not being up against air dates. I was able to look at what we had and, with an understanding that only comes with making ten episodes (and actually testing two of them — a story I will relate after we air episode two), I was allowed to create TWO of the later episodes to go earlier.”

Jessica Steen, William Devane, Ronny Cox, and James McDaniel are among the guest stars in part 2 of the 2-part season finale of Stargate SG-1 (Sci-Fi, 8pm and 10pm).

Faith’s old (er, former) maid comes to live with Hope & Faith (ABC, 8pm). I’m guessing hijinks ensue.

Gloria tries a computer dating service and the whole Morning Chicago gang helps her get ready for her date on Life with Bonnie (ABC, 8:30pm). Plus chef Carmine Competelli and his mother return to the show.

The Help (WB, 8:30pm) try to convince the family to invest in a business selling homemade chicken made by Maggie (Mindy Cohn).

Series premiere of The D.A. (ABC, 9pm). Limited run series, set to run for a mere four episodes on Friday nights. Steven Weber stars as an ambitious L.A. district attorney, Bruno Campos plays his idealistic A.D.A. J.K. Simmons (of Oz, Law & Order) plays a Deputy District Attorney and Sarah Paulson (of Jack & Jill, Leap of Faith) plays a Chief Deputy District Attorney. Felicity Huffman (of Sports Night) guest stars in future episodes. ABC’s press release says “The D.A. captures the tension, vigor, and gritty in-fighting, as imperfect people struggle for perfect justice.” I haven’t had a chance to screen any episodes of this, but it sounds like it should be worth a look (and since it’s only gonna run four episodes, it’s not much of a commitment). Executive producers are James Duff (of Enterprise, Doing Time on Maple Drive), Greer Shephard (of Nip/Tuck, Popular), and Michael M. Robin (of Nip/Tuck, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, Popular).

Emmy winner Jennifer Finnigan (of The Bold and the Beautiful) joins the cast of Crossing Jordan (NBC, 9pm) for at least a few episodes. New episode which introduces that new character. Miguel Ferrer continues to have plenty to do (yay!). Jill Hennessy isn’t in this episode ‘cuz she was quite pregnant when it was filmed (they filmed six episodes for this season at the end of last season). This is another “bonus episode,” the series regular timeslot is Sunday nights. Wow, we’ve really had a bunch of new episodes in just a couple of weeks. Episode title is “Is That Plutonium In Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?”

New episode of Touching Evil (USA, 9pm and 11pm; 9am Saturday). I haven’t had a chance to check out the pilot movie yet. Did you see it? Let me know what you thought.

Comfort food on Dweezil & Lisa (Food Network, 9pm and 1am). Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb cutely play music and cook food and check out restaurants.

“Complaint Box” episode of NewsRadio (Biography, 10pm and 2am). Great episode of a great series.

Carnival Foods Unwrapped (Food Network, 10pm and 2am).

Rerun of this week’s new episode of The Shield (FX, 10pm). Directed by Clark Johnson (of Homicide).

A chef is murdered on a rerun of C.S.I. (Spike TV, 10pm).

“Tofu World” episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 10:30pm and 2:30am).

Christina Aguilera, Gary Mule Deer on a rerun of The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, airs late, after the basketball games and your local news).

Heath Ledger, Adam Ferrara, Murphy Lee on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Chris and Yola and the band are stranded on a plane for a long time on The Chris Isaak Show (Showtime, 11pm).

Duck Dodgers (Cartoon Network, 11pm).

Walter Slezak as The Clock King on Batman (TV Land, 11pm, 11:30pm). With Sammy Davis Jr. as himself. Bill Finger (Batman comic writer & co-creator) wrote these episodes.

Ethan Hawke, Omid Djalili, Neil Young on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).

Guest co-host Kathy Griffin with guests Amber Tamblyn (of Joan of Arcadia), Michael Ealy, J. Chris Newberg on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Tyra Banks, Tony Siragusa, Phantom Planet on a rerun of The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (CBS, airs later than usual ‘cuz of basketball).

Jeff Goldblum, Anthony Anderson, Jourdan Urbach, Wyclef Jean on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

The Adventures of Superman (TV Land, 12am) is so much better than Shazam! (TV Land, 12:30am) it’s crazy.

Ellen (Lifetime, 12:30am) is a clip show.

Nora (Tea Leoni) dons a Wonder Woman costume on The Naked Truth (We, 12:30am).

Kathy Ireland, Mimi Rogers, Buck Henry on Tales from the Crypt (AMC, 1:30am).

Donald O’Connor stars in another episode of Tales from the Crypt (AMC, 2am).

Tiny Toon Adventures (Nick, 5am).

Looney Tunes (Cartoon Network, 6am).

Two episodes of Dilbert (Comedy Central, 6am, 6:30am). The entire series is now available on DVD.

Rocket Power (Nick, 6am, 6:30am).

Ally McBeal (FX, 6am, 7am). Anne Heche continues her guest run on the show, as does Lisa Edelstein. These episodes are from season 4 (a.k.a. the Robert Downey Jr. season). Chubby Checker, Brenda Strong, and James Eckhouse also guest star.

Dan Cruickshank and the Lost Cities of Iraq (Trio, 7am – 8:30am). Dan Cruickshank on the Road to Armageddon (Trio, 8:30am). and Dan Cruickshank Under Fire: The Raiders of the Lost Art (Trio, 10am). If you’re wondering “Dan who?”– he’s an architectural historian. I really really wish I got Trio.

Two episodes of The Critic (Comedy Central, 7am, 7:30am). The entire series is now available on DVD.

Angelina Jolie on Today (NBC, 7am).

Rugrats (Nick, 7am, 7:30am).

“This Spud’s for You” episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 7:30am).

Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon Network, 7:30am).

SpongeBob SquarePants (Nick, 8am, 8:30am).

Parenting questions, spring wardrobes, Debbye Turner, John Ondrasik, menus on a budget on The Saturday Early Show (CBS, 8am).

Rerun of Friday’s new episode of Touching Evil (USA, 9am).

The Fairly Oddparents (Nick, 9am, 9:30am).

Clean Sweep (TLC, 10am), Trading Spaces (TLC, 11am), While You Were Out (TLC, Noon), What Not To Wear (TLC, 1pm).

Rerun of this week’s new Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Bravo, 10am).

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius (Nick, 10am, 10:30am).

K-9 Kaddy; Pig of Action episode(s) of Duck Dodgers (Cartoon Network, 10:30am and 3pm).

Road to the Final Four (CBS, 11pm) followed by more NCAA Men’s basketball tournament games (CBS, Noon). Second round.

Cyborg quits the Teen Titans (Cartoon Network, 11am) after a fight with Robin.

First two episodes of Significant Others (Bravo, 11am, 11:30am).

ABC Family airs all of the episodes of The Bachelorette (ABC Family, 11:30am – 7pm). With bachelorette Meredith Phillips.

Kristi Yamaguchi’s Salute to American Music (ESPN, 12:30pm).

Baseball: Twins vs. Yankees (from 5/17/02) (ESPN Classic, 1pm). Followed by more baseball.

Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon Network, 1:30pm).

Another airing of With Malice (A&E, 2pm).

Parts 1-3 of Sexiest Moments in Film (Bravo, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm).

The Mother Mint, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Duncan Industries Parking Meters on John Ratzenberger’s Made in America (Travel, 2pm).

Gatorade Sports Science Institute, Harley-Davidson factory, Henry Ford’s assembly line on John Ratzenberger’s Made in America (Travel, 2:30pm).

James Stewart and Doris Day in Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (TCM, 3pm). Wherein Day sings “Que Sera Sera.”

Top Ten Las Vegas Pools (Travel, 4pm).

Four of the biggest flea markets in the U.S. on Collectibles: Coast to Coast (HGTV, 4pm).

Leslie Nielsen, Terry Jones, Dave Thomas, Robin Duke, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty on Lucky Breaks (Biography, 4:30pm).

Inside Baghdad (History, 5pm).

Trading Spaces Family (TLC, 5pm).

Figure skater John Z. is “made better” on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Bravo, 5pm).

In primetime on Saturday expect new episodes of The Tracy Morgan Show, Century City, and Nashville Star. More NCAA basketball. Another airing of TV Land Awards 2004. Baseball park tours on Travel Channel. In late night: Saturday Night Live is a rerun of the one hosted by Jessica Simpson and Nich Lachey and JC Chasez guest stars on Mad TV. Full details in my picks for Saturday, which should be online sometime after midnight.
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