wednesday week off
Thursday, August 5th – Thursday, August 12th, 2004
Laurel is on vacation from Thursday, August 5th through Thursday, August 12th. The “normal” TV picks return on Friday, August 13th. (That’s me, Laurel, I apologize for speaking in third person).
[Yes, this is a change. Originally I'd hoped to return on Wednesday, but family stuff came up causing me to extend my vacation to a full week.]
Some pages you might find useful in my absence: Tom Heald’s Remote Patrol, Zap2It’s Best Bets, and Sue Trowbridge’s Late Night Lineups. As always I recommend TV Tattle, TV Barn, and Teevee.
August is crazy for me, I hope y’all will understand if I need to take some time off. It will help ensure that I can do a great job when the new season launches in September. This month I will be moving, helping settle my grandparents’ estate, and did I mention I’m moving? Or how about the fact that there are about a dozen sheds full of stuff to sort through on my grandparents’ property? I’m also painting and helping decorate my new place. Yeah. I’m a little bit busy.
In the 5+ years I’ve done these picks, I’ve only taken maybe a total of a month off, so I figure I’m due for some vacation time. And right now I really need it. Thanks for understanding. Please do come back! You can sign up for the mailing list or watch the RSS Feed or Livejournal (see sidebar for info on these things) if you want to know when I update.
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
New Rescue Me (FX, 9pm, 10pm)
New Good Eats (Food Network, 9pm and 1am)
New Reno 911! (Comedy Central, 9:30pm and 11:30pm)
That ’70s Show (FOX, 7pm)
Bakersfield, P.D. (Trio, 7pm, 7:30pm)
Monk (USA, 9pm)
I recommend that you check out news & links at TV Tattle and TV Barn.
TCM Star of the Day is Debbie Reynolds: The Catered Affair (TCM, 5am); Susan Slept Here (TCM, 7am); Bundle of Joy (TCM, 8:45am); Hit The Deck (TCM, 10:30am); Athena (TCM, 12:30pm); It Started With A Kiss (TCM, 2:15pm); Private Screenings: Debbie Reynolds (TCM, 4pm); The Tender Trap (TCM, 5pm); The Unsinkable Molly Brown (TCM, 7pm); The Mating Game (TCM, 9:15pm); Singin’ In The Rain (TCM, 11pm); The Singing Nun (TCM, 1am); and The Gazebo (TCM, 3am).
Sci-Fi mini-marathon du jour: Timecop (Sci-Fi, 7am – 3pm).
SpyGirl Alert! Jennifer Garner (of Alias), Jamie Kennedy on a rerun of The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).
George Lopez, Anna Nicole Smith, Rosa Blasi, L.A. DJ Stryker on a rerun of The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings).
“Relationship Rescue Retreat” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).
Rerun of “The Worst Mistake of My Life” episode of Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).
“Becoming, Part 1″ episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 1pm).
“Birthday” episode of Angel (TNT, 4pm).
“20 Hours in America, Part 2″ episode of The West Wing (Bravo, 6pm and 10pm).
“The Case For Butter” episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 6pm).
Baseball: Oakland A’s at New York Yankees (ESPN, 6pm).
Coffee Unwrapped (Food Network, 6:30pm).
TCM Star of the Day is Debbie Reynolds: The Unsinkable Molly Brown (TCM, 7pm); The Mating Game (TCM, 9:15pm); Singin’ In The Rain (TCM, 11pm); The Singing Nun (TCM, 1am); and The Gazebo (TCM, 3am).
The male and female winners of Next Action Star (NBC, 7pm – 9pm) star in this TV movie called Bet Your Life (which may just be listed on your Tivo and in other channel guides as a two-hour episode of Next Action Star). Joel Silver executive produced the film. The male winner plays “a former pro quarterback and current Vegas limo driver with a gambling jones” who “is framed for murder by a psychopathic, harmonica-playing high-stakes gambler.” That gambler who frames him is played by Billy Zane (!). The female winner plays a bounty hunter who is tracking the other winner. A couple of the runner-ups from the series have cameo appearances in this film, which promises lots of action. Could be campy fun. Certainly of interest if you followed the show.
Part 2 (of 2) of The Real Olympics (PBS, check your local listings).
A profile of the Silcock family (a family that has taken in more than 25 disabled children), Steve Kroft talks to award-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood (rerun of an old interview, I think), and the tragic story of Bernard Loiseau (France’s most popular chef) on 60 Minutes (CBS, 7pm).
Back to back reruns of Smallville (WB, 7pm, 8pm). Episodes are “Magnetic” (where Lana is attracted to a fellow student who has a magnetic personality) and “Shattered” (where Lex locates Morgan Edge and then all heck breaks loose and eventually Lionel claims Lex has had a psychotic break).
Rerun of last season’s finale of That ’70s Show (FOX, 7pm). Donna’s Mom returns; Hyde goes in search of his father; Eric returns and has got some serious explaining to do.
More Bakersfield, P.D. (Trio, 7pm, 7:30pm).
One of the Quintuplets (FOX, 7:30pm) directs the school production of Romeo and Juliet and soon the rest of the Quints are “helping” her. Meanwhile, Mom & Dad wrangle an invitation to dinner with the neighbors. Episode is titled “Shakespeare in Lust.”
Paris and Nicole get jobs at the local sheriff?s station and work a cattle drive in the two-part season finale of The Simple Life 2 (FOX, 8pm, 8:30pm).
“Jungle” Jack Hanna on Larry King Live (CNN, 8pm, 11pm, 2am).
If you missed ‘em on Sunday, HBO has reruns of Six Feet Under (HBO, 8pm), Entourage (HBO, 9pm), and Da Ali G Show (HBO, 9:30pm).
I really liked this, the third episode of Rescue Me (FX, 9pm, 10pm). I don’t think there are any fires, nor do we see much of the guys hanging out at the firehouse. We do follow the fallout after the Chief beat up that guy in last week’s episode. We see Denis Leary’s character wrestle further with family issues, bigtime. There’s some stuff involving a hockey game between firemen and cops. And that one fireman finally shares his poetry with someone. It’s not fast paced, but there are compelling bits of personal drama here. Dean Winters (of Oz) and Callie Thorne (of Homicide) both guest star again.
The lieutenant governor’s brother goes missing on Reno 911! (Comedy Central, 9:30pm and 11:30pm), so a profiler is brought in. Oh-oh. I guarantee: hilarity ensues.
Alton Brown teaches us how to cook using won ton skins in a new episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 9pm and 1am) titled “Wanton Ways.” Followed by a rerun of the “Berry From Another Planet” (eggplant) episode (Food Network, 9:30pm and 1:30am).
TV Land put together a convention for fans of classic TV a while back, TV Land Convention (TV Land, 9pm) shows some highlights from the con.
Baseball: Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Padres (ESPN2, 9pm).
Rerun of the “Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf ” episode of Monk (USA, 9pm). Emma Caulfield (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) guest stars in this episode that is very much about Sharona and features great work by Bitty Schram.
A look at questions raised in The Da Vinci Code in Primetime Special Edition: Jesus, Mary and Da Vinci (ABC, 9pm). Rerun of a special that aired back in November.
48 Hours Mystery (CBS, 9pm) looks into the death of Texas tycoon Steven Beard.
Aaron Eckhart on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).
Graham Norton, Louis C.K., Rich Vos, Paul Mecurio, Rob Cantrell on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).
Tom Cruise, Dax Sheppard on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
Quentin Tarantino, golfer Andre Tolme, the Notorious Cherry Bombs on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).
TCM Star of the Day is Debbie Reynolds: Singin’ In The Rain (TCM, 11pm); The Singing Nun (TCM, 1am); and The Gazebo (TCM, 3am).
Jamie Foxx, Louis CK on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).
Andy Dick, Andy Roddick, Bow Wow Wow on a rerun of Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).
Alessandra Ambrosio, Jimmy Pardo on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (CBS, check your local listings).
John McEnroe, Dave Attell, Fat Joe and Terror Squad on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).
I’m still pulling together info for tomorrow. Will have it up later today or late tonight.
