Laurel’s TV Picks

Last minute addition: NBC just informed me that Joey will run ’til 7:37pm and The Apprentice starts at 7:37pm. You might want to leave an additional extra minute just to be safe.

Series premiere of Joey (NBC, 7pm – 7:37pm)
Series premiere of Medical Investigation (NBC, 9pm)
Chris Rock & Marilyn Manson on The Graham Norton Effect (Comedy Central, 9pm and 11pm)
Reruns of two episodes of Rescue Me (FX, 9pm, 10pm)

CNBC will keep Dennis Miller on the air through 2005.

Series premiere of Joey (NBC, 7pm – 7:37pm). Note: Runs long!

If you enjoyed Joey on Friends, you’ll probably enjoy the series premiere of Joey. I liked the first episode, it’s certainly one of the best (if not the best) of this year’s new sitcoms (sadly, that isn’t necessarily saying much).

We meet up with Joey again as he moves out to Los Angeles to star in a TV show. Matt LeBlanc is as good as ever in the role, of course. Drea de Matteo (of The Sopranos) is great as Joey’s sister Gina (who happens to live in L.A.). And Paulo Costanzo is excellent as Joey’s smart nephew.

In the first episode, all does not go well with Joey’s new TV series. He does land an apartment (thanks to Gina) that’s even bigger than the one he shared with Chandler on Friends. Joey’s 20-year-old nephew wants to move out of his Mom’s house and in with cool Uncle Joey.

Joey is his usual dim, but sweet, self here. The other Friends are mentioned a time or two in very believable ways. Joey gives a speech on “change” that is pretty darn touching.

Whether or not this show works for a whole season truly depends on the writers. Can they come up with enough storylines for these characters? As on Friends, the actors are game (and seem to have good chemistry with each other) and the characters are strong (even though I still feel they’re inconsistent on just how dumb or smart Joey is). I imagine we’ll see Joey audition for all sorts of roles (and possibly land them): this could get old. I suspect the strength of the show will be in his interactions with his family, so let’s hope that Joey (as on Friends) always returns home and that we see him the most there.

The biggest timeslot competition for Joey will probably be The O.C. when it returns in November. Joey is also up against Survivor, Extreme Makeover, Blue Collar TV, and WWE Smackdown.

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Series premiere of Medical Investigation (NBC, 9pm)

NBC must like their new series Medical Investigation as they’re launching it after the much anticipated series premiere of Joey and the season premiere of The Apprentice in ER’s usual slot. Medical Investigation will air regularly on Fridays at 9pm (opposite 20/20 and dr. vegas); it has a timeslot premiere (with another new episode) tomorrow.

Neal McDonough (who was fabulous on Boomtown) stars in this new series as the head of a mobile team from the National Institutes of Health which is dispatched to investigate outbreaks of unusual and/or dangerous diseases. Kelli Williams (of The Practice) is his second in command. NBC’s press release says: “These specialists drop out of the sky anywhere and have government carte blanche to take charge when people start dying, which requires them to medically re-construct grisly events to prevent the next epidemic, plague or contagion.”

Christopher Gorham (who starred in Jake 2.0 last season) is the youngest and newest member of the team, he’s joined by Troy Winbush as a medical inspector and Anna Belknap (of The Handler) as publicity liaison for the team.

In the first episode, we see that McDonough’s character has little time for his family because of his stressful, intense job that can call him away from little league games at a moment’s notice (we actually see a helicopter arrive at the game to fetch him, which was a bit much). Both McDonough and Williams are intense doctors that are used to getting what they want. Gorham is great as the young new guy on the team who isn’t so sure what to do. Winbush is calm and rock steady. And Anna Belknap’s character proves she’ll do whatever she has to in order to keep an outbreak quiet.

The case in the first episode begins when a man collapses on a city street. Before long there are a bunch of people in critical condition who have, quite literally, turned blue. It’s up to the Medical Investigation team to find out what’s wrong with them and what connects these people– how they all ended up this way. The show seems to be a little bit C.S.I. (‘cuz of the scientific aspect of the investigations) and a little bit Without A Trace (‘cuz they have to retrace people’s steps sometimes) with maybe a little Law & Order or something thrown in there.

Is it good? The first episode is okay. Promising. There’s potential here for yet another good investigative show. The actors are all good. As with Law & Order and CSI, you don’t necessarily want to know or need to know too much about the main characters. It’s better if we learn little things over the course of a season, rather than have too much up front. The star of the show should be the plot (and sometimes, the science). What elevates the show is if the characters have chemistry and little personal touches that make you care about them, too. It can be a tricky thing, balancing how much to show about characters and how much to focus on plot. I think the jury is still out on whether this show will have a good appealing balance, but it looks promising.

It’s definitely worth a look tonight (and tomorrow) to see if it’s your cup of tea. I really wish McDonough were still starring in Boomtown and that Christopher Gorham were still starring in Jake 2.0, but it’s good to see them both back on the air and I hope this show works out well for all involved. Given the show’s only real competition on Friday nights is the rather fluffy dr. vegas, I think the show has a good shot of being around for a full season (and possibly seasons to come) if the writing staff can come up with enough compelling cases (and I don’t think that should be a problem).

“Showtime” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 6am).

Sci-Fi mini-marathon du jour: The Outer Limits (Sci-Fi, 7am – 3pm).

Paris Hilton, Alan Jackson, a report on eating disorders on Today (NBC, 7am – 10am).

Terri Clark, Tony Danza, medical report, Charlie Gibson’s summer vacation on Good Morning, America (ABC, 7am – 9am).

Dr. Phil McGraw, Paula Abdul The Early Show (CBS, 7am – 9am).

Donald Trump, Martin Short, Mase on Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Paris Hilton, James Carville on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

Matt LeBlanc, Nelly, Paul Hamm on a new episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Fall fashion & gadget trends on The Jane Pauley Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Faultfinders and Flakes” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

Quirky millionaires on a rerun of Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

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

“Shutdown” episode of The West Wing (Bravo, 6pm and 10pm).

“Toast Modern” episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 6pm).

Sour Power Unwrapped (Food Network, 6:30pm).

Series premiere of Joey (NBC, 7pm – 7:37pm). Late addition: note that this runs long! See my review above.

Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, Elton John, Toby Keith are among the performers on NFL Opening Kickoff 2004 (ABC, 7pm).

Outtakes, behind the scene footage, and some never before scene sketchs are part of a special hour long Blue Collar TV (WB, 7pm) that also contains clips from the series thus far. (A clip show already? Wow!)

Season premiere of The Apprentice (NBC, 7:37pm – 9pm). If you liked the first season, NBC hopes you’ll tune in for another one. Business folk compete to work with Donald Trump.

A rerun of yesterday’s episode of Pilot Season (Trio, 8pm) is followed by a new episode (Trio, 8:30pm). These are episodes 4 & 5 (of 6).

Bill Engvall standup special Here’s Your Sign (WB, 8pm).

Series premiere of Medical Investigation (NBC, 9pm). See review above. Preview. Another new episode airs tomorrow in the series regular timeslot (Fridays at 9pm).

Chris Rock & Marilyn Manson on a new episode of The Graham Norton Effect (Comedy Central, 9pm and 11pm).

Bands Reunited: The English Beat (VH1, 9pm).

Two more excellent reruns of episodes of the great new series Rescue Me (FX, 9pm, 10pm). (Episodes are “Kansas” and “DNA” which are the third and fourth episodes).

Rerun of Senator John Kerry’s appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

Ray Romano, Avril Lavigne on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

James Brown, Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw, Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Greg Giraldo, Keith Robinson, Pat Cooper, Mitch Fatel on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (Comedy Central, 11pm).

Matthew Broderick, Denise Richards, Dave Eggers on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).

Jim Belushi, Jason Mraz on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Ron Livingston, Rhys Ifans, Akon on a rerun of The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (CBS, check your local listings).

Tim Meadows, the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, Lit on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

I’m still working on picks for Friday.

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