Laurel’s TV Picks

Info on TV for daytime Monday can be found in the tomorrow section of this page.

Season premiere of Six Feet Under (HBO, 8pm)
Season premiere of Strong Medicine (Lifetime, 8pm)
Season finale of Deadwood (HBO, 9pm)
New episode of Harvey Birdman (Cartoon Network, 10:30pm and 1:30am).
Some very funny reruns on FOX (FOX, 7:30pm – 9pm)

At long last: You can now pre-order season 1 of acclaimed HBO series The Wire on DVD, the set is due out in September. It’s from David Simon (of Homicide fame). I haven’t had a chance to see this series before, so I hope to get my hands on the DVD set (and hope they release the second season before too long passes, too). [More TV on DVD]

Season 1 of Without A Trace is also coming to DVD in September, you can pre-order it now if you’d like. [More TV on DVD]

New easier to remember URLs for those who do me the great favor of shopping at amazon.com via the links here: shop.tvpicks.net and dvd.tvpicks.net. The first is for the main “shopping” page (which I hope to revamp soon), the second is for the TV on DVD page. Learn ‘em, bookmark ‘em, use them. Hope you find them useful.

Sorry that picks are late today, I’ll be skipping most picks for daytime today so I can focus on primetime (and on gearing up for the week to come).

Thanks for sticking with me this past week, it’s been a rough one for me so my updates haven’t been as regular nor as good as I’d like. For those who just started reading this site recently: I’ve had a rough year (to say the least). Three of my beloved grandparents passed away this past year; I also moved away from my boyfriend, friends, and most of my family to live in a small town and help with my Grandmother’s care. I’m still living in that small town now that Grandma’s gone, in my grandparents house (’til we get it settled and sold) and I guess this week the loneliness and grief kindof overwhelmed me. Computer problems and other frustrations just made matters worse. Big thanks to everyone who wrote this week and/or sent donations, those were about the only glimmers of good this week and they made a big difference.

Coming This Week: complete reviews of the Reno 911! & Joe Schmo Show DVD sets (which hit stores on June 22nd). Reviews of the series premieres of North Shore, Method & Red. and The Quintuplets. Reviews of the premiere of The Joe Schmo Show 2 and The Simple Life 2. And a look at how episodes of Sex and the City will look on TBS (as opposed to how they were on HBO). I hope to have all this, plus the usual picks and information.

Baseball: Chicago Cubs at Anaheim Angels (WGN, 3pm).

All four parts (and five hours) of 5 Days to Midnight (Sci-Fi, 5pm – 10pm). Did anyone catch this? Was it any good? I couldn’t find the time. Timothy Hutton and Randy Quaid star.

Spellbound (TCM, 5pm).

“Grill Seekers” and “Q” episodes of Good Eats (Food Network, 5pm, 5:30pm).

Lax security at chemical plants, Skull & Bones society, and a profile of singer Barbara Cook on 60 Minutes (CBS, 6pm).

Oliver decides to start his own band on a new episode of Oliver Beene (FOX, 6pm).

HBO begins rerunning season 2 of The Wire (HBO, 7pm) with the season 2 premiere. Brilliant stuff from David Simon (of Homicide: Life on the Street). You can now pre-order season 1 on DVD.

Premiere of Scream Play (E!, 7pm). New game/reality show where people reenact scary scenes from movies. Or something.

Final Cut: The Making of Heaven’s Gate (Trio, 7pm and 12:30am). Part of “flops month” of course. Followed by Heaven’s Gate (Trio, 8:30pm).

Dateline NBC (NBC, 7pm) marks the 10 year anniversary of the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman with interviews with their family and friends, as well as with some attorneys and other folks.

Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers at Boston Red Sox (ESPN, 7pm).

Dueling BBQ on Emeril Live (Food Network, 7pm and 11pm), Royal BBQ Battle (Food Network, 8pm and midnight), Big Pig Jig (Food Network, 9pm and 1am).

The Simpsons (FOX, 7pm) does Catch Me If You Can, sortof.

They revisit the shooting death of a hitchhiker on Cold Case (CBS, 7pm) when there’s another recent case that is similar. With songs by Nine Inch Nails, Smashmouth, and Blessed Union of Souls.

If you’re catching up with Arrested Development (FOX, 7:30pm), you probably caught the pilot last week. This is “Top Banana,” the second episode of the show. Where George Michael is put in charge of the banana stand and Tobias auditions for a commercial. Patrice O’Neal guest stars. If you haven’t caught every episode of this hilarious show, you should really catch as many as you can. Give the show a shot.

Season premiere of Six Feet Under (HBO, 8pm; will be rerun a bunch of times).

Basketball: Los Angeles Lakers at Detroit Pistons (ABC, 8pm; pregame at 7:30pm). Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Season premiere of Strong Medicine (Lifetime, 8pm). Patricia Richardson and Rosa Blasi star in this medical drama. Grant Show (of Melrose Place) guest stars. Jenifer Lewis and Tamera Mowry also star.

New episode of Coupling (BBC America, 8pm).

Aidan Quinn, Marcia Gay Harden, Will Estes, Jacinda Barrett, and Cheech Marin star in See You In My Dreams (CBS, 8pm) based on autobiographical short stories from books by Sam Shepard.

A&E looks at the Boomer Nation (A&E, 8pm – 10pm; midnight – 2am). Yet another show with clips and soundbites about a decade or generations or whatever.

Rerun of the episode of Summerland (WB, 8pm) that already aired twice this past week. C. Thomas Howell guest stars as a recently divorced man who takes an interest in Ava (Lori Loughlin), but things are complicated ‘cuz he’s the father of a boy who is interested in Ava’s niece.

Contact lens salesmen are murdered on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC, 8pm).

Dewey throws an I.Q. test, Malcolm’s Dad becomes obsessed with an arcade game which is a lot like Dance Dance Revolution on Malcolm in the Middle (FOX, 8pm).

World Poker Tour: Hollywood Home Game: Episode 3 (Travel, 8pm – 10pm; 11pm – 1am). Joshua Morrow, Robert Wuhl, Ming-Na, Jennifer Tilly, Daniel Baldwin (of Homicide), and James Woods compete.

Liza Minnelli guest stars in the “Storming the Castle” episode of Arrested Development (FOX, 8:30pm). 9th episode of the show. Lucille is not pleased with Buster’s relationship with Lucille 2, another magician is after Gob’s “legs,” George Sr. finds religion, Maeby and Tobias wear a lot of leather, and Michael can’t bring himself to break up his brother’s relationship with Marta (or can he?).

Season finale of Deadwood (HBO, 9pm; will be rerun a bunch of times).

Part 2 of the 2-part season premiere of The Dead Zone (USA, 9pm and 11pm).

An assistant D.A. is murdered on a new episode of The Division (Lifetime, 9pm). Bonnie Bedelia, Nancy McKeon, Lisa Vidal, Taraji Henson, Jon Hamm, and Amy Jo Johnson (of Felicity star in this series about a police squad.

Armin Shimerman, Alan Dale (of The O.C., 24), Susan Gibney, and Jerry O’Connell guest star on Crossing Jordan (NBC, 9pm). Jordan serves as a juror and discovers some inconsistencies with the medical evidence.

Rerun of the first episode of Megas XLR (Cartoon Network, 9pm). Fun stuff if you enjoy video games and are a fan of big robot cartoons.

A lawyer tries to pass himself off as a professional wrestler on Faking It (TLC, 9pm and 1am).

Rerun of the latest episode of The Shield (FX, 9pm). Intense stuff. Part 1 of the 2-part season finale.

Rerun of the season 2 premiere of the usually hilarious Reno 911! (Comedy Central, 9:30pm).

Reruns of more Lifetime original series 1-800-Missing (Lifetime, 10pm) and Wild Card (Lifetime, 11pm).

New episode of Harvey Birdman (Cartoon Network, 10:30pm and 1:30am). I didn’t really “get” this show when I first checked it out during the first season, now I think it’s one of the funniest shows on the air. Bizarre stuff.

“Rhapsody in Blue” episode of Farscape (Sci-Fi, midnight).

Trading Spaces stars play the Pyramid (syndicated, check your local listings) this week. Today’s match: Paige Davis vs. Amy Wynn Pastor.

“Bring On The Night” and “Showtime” episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 6am, 7am).

The AMC Project: Malkovich’s Mail (AMC, 7am).

George Michael, Guy Pearce on Today (NBC, 7am – 10am).

Rob Lowe, Kelly Rowland, extreme dodgeball on Good Morning, America (ABC, 7am – 9am).

Glenn Close, more “I Always Wanted To . . . ” on The Early Show (CBS, 7am – 9am).

Andy Alert! Andy Richter, Rob Lowe on Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Michael Nesmith on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In (Trio, 9am).

Yet another airing of the 2004 MTV Movie Awards (MTV, 9:30am, preshow at 9am).

The cast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, summer gift ideas, and a fashion show showcasing options for Star Jones’ upcoming wedding on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

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

Surreal Gourmet (Food Network, 11am).

Hilton (Bill Cosby) falls asleep during an I Spy marathon and dreams he and a friend (Robert Culp) are spies on Cosby (TBS, Noon). With Doug E. Doug and the rest of the cast in the dream too.

I probably don’t need to watch Inside the Mall of America (Travel, 1pm) ‘cuz I’ve been to the MoA many many times.

Amy Sedaris in Strangers with Candy (Comedy Central, 1pm, 1:30pm).

Donny Osmond, Meredith Phillips (of The Bachelorette), and Ellen’s cardboard standup visits an auto show on a rerun of The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Nelly, Enrique Murciano (of Without A Trace), Tamala Jones, Floetry on a rerun of The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

SpyDaddy Alert! Mariah Carey, Victor Garber (of Alias), Jarod Miller, Teacher of The Year on The Wayne Brady Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Family Matters: An Intervention” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

“America’s Funniest Family: The Wayanses” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Laurie and Frank do the decorating on Trading Spaces (TLC, 3pm). Last summer I got hooked on this show and watched it most weekdays at 3pm. Certainly is addictive television.

“Potential” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 3pm).

“Judgment” episode of Angel (TNT, 4pm). I love the tv listings sometimes, they say (when describing the events of this episode): “Darla recovers from her resurrection.”

“Surprise Beach Party” and “Big Breakfast” episodes of Barefoot Contessa (Food Network, 4pm, 4:30pm). Host Ina is just so pleasant and the show is so pleasant, I wish she’d come over and cook for me.

Celebrity Weddings 2004 (VH1, 4pm).

A “Weddings” installment of From Martha’s Kitchen (Food Network, 5:30pm).

I’m still working on the rest of the picks for Monday, they should be online sometime late Sunday night.
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