Laurel’s TV Picks

Picks for Thursday are in the works, should be up not long after my radio gig.

Best Bets

New Rodney (ABC, 7:30pm)
New Pepper Dennis (WB, 8pm)
New Less Than Perfect (ABC, 8:30pm)
Season premiere of Rescue Me (FX, 9pm, 10:04pm)

Recommended Reruns

(especially if they’re “new to you”)
Gilmore Girls (WB, 7pm)
Veronica Mars (UPN, 8pm)
The Unit (CBS, 8pm)

Featured Pick

Rescue Me returns for a third season– the season premiere airs tonight (FX, 9pm – 10:04pm, 10:04pm – 11:08pm).

I watched a review copy of the season premiere this morning and it’s another impressive episode of this impressive series. Denis Leary stars as Tommy Gavin, a NYC firefighter who has his share of problems (boy do I understate things). Leary and Peter Tolan have created a show with a unique voice, that’s for sure. I think my favorite parts are the bits around the table at the firehouse where the guys give each other all sort of grief. Hilarious stuff, reminiscent of the best scenes between detectives on Homicide: Life on the Street, but Leary and Tolan can get away with more in 2006 on cable.

If you haven’t watched seasons one and two, you may not want to jump right into season three, though it is entirely possible to do so and not be (too) lost. This episode opens with a “previously” that does (naturally) contain major spoilers for season two of the series. Seasons 1 & 2 are both available on DVD and highly recommended.

I feel obligated to note that this show is not for everyone. It’s on FX– need I say more? These characters are self-destructive and dark, the language is coarse, there’s sex and violence and I sure wouldn’t recommend the show to my parents or any other older relatives (nor any kids, of course). Season one in particular deals with a lot of post-9/11 stuff which probably wouldn’t be suitable for anyone dealing with post traumatic stress disorder relating to the events of that day.

But those things aren’t problems for you and you enjoy series with a heaping helping of shades of grey about very messed up characters dealing with unpleasant situations, this show fits that bill. Plus it’s well-written, well-acted, just generally a well put together show. Just as I once had a tough time explaining to people that a show called Homicide could be hilarious, I sometimes have a hard time explaining the humor of this show. But then if you’re familiar with Denis Leary’s comedy, you shouldn’t be surprised that this is darkly funny.

I could tell you more about the first episode of the third season, but I hate to spoil things for anyone. I can tell you that months have passed since the events of the second season finale and this episode catches you up with Uncle Ted, Tommy’s Dad, Janet, and (of course) the guys at the firehouse. Of course Tommy has more problems coming his way. The guys try to quit smoking and you can imagine how well that will go for them all.

Season premiere of Rescue Me (FX, 9pm – 10:04pm, 10:04pm – 11:08pm; Friday at 10pm). DVR/VCR Alert: Runs 4 minutes over for a total of 64 minutes.

News & Notes

I’ve updated the Subscribe page in hopes of making the instructions for signing up for the TV Picks email list a little better. If you aren’t receiving all posts here via email and want to be (or thought you had signed up), please get in touch with me and I’ll help you out. The Subscribe page is also the place to go to sign up to see the picks in a bunch of other ways.

There were some major changes to the Fall 2006 Schedule Grid last week so it’s worth a look if you haven’t checked it out lately.

Times listed are for the Central time zone– for Eastern/Pacific, add an hour to these times.

Primetime Grid

Primetime

Baseball: Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians (ESPN, 6pm).

WNBA hoops on ESPN2.

First two episodes of Big Love (HBO, 7pm, 8pm). I still haven’t seen any of this– how about any of you? Tell me what you think.

The severed head of a marine is found in the trunk of a stolen car on a rerun of NCIS (CBS, 7pm). I like this series way more than I probably should and that’s a tribute to the fine cast chemistry. Plus I really like David McCallum and Pauley Perrette (and the rest too, come to think of it). If you enjoy this show (as I do), you might want to check out Inside the Real NCIS (National Geographic Channel, 9pm and midnight).

Rory and Logan and Lorelai and Luke spend Valentine’s Day weekend at Logan’s family’s place on Martha’s Vineyard on a rerun of Gilmore Girls (WB, 7pm). Written and directed by Daniel Palladino, Gregg Henry guest stars.

Anthony Clark hosts the two-hour season premiere of Last Comic Standing (NBC, 7pm – 9pm). The big question is: will NBC actually air the entire season of the show or will fans have to tune in to cable or the internet at a later date to find out who the winner is? Not that there are fans of the show who were perturbed last summer or anything. I can’t bring myself to care about this show.

Janice Dickenson returns for “The Girl Who Learns How To Dance” episode of America’s Next Top Model (UPN, 7pm). Rerun of the sixth cycle/season premiere.

Rodney (ABC, 7:30pm) is invited to participate in a celebrity golf tournament in this new episode. John Schneider (of Smallville, The Dukes of Hazzard) and John Ratzenburger (of Cheers) guest star as some variation of themselves. ABC appears not to have renewed this series for another season which is a shame as it’s much better than some of the other comedies ABC airs (like According To Jim, for instance). Rodney Carrington stars as a comedian just starting out in his career. Catch the remaining new episodes while you can as ABC “burns them off”.

Basketball: Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns (TNT, 8pm; pregame at 7pm). Western Conference final, game 4. Whenever I watch the Mavs play, I just want someone to cut Steve Nash’s hair. That’s all I’m saying. Man, I sound old.

Liz Phair performs on a new Pepper Dennis (WB, 8pm). If you like this show at all (or are just looking for something new), catch these new episodes while you can (as it did not make the CW fall schedule). Rebecca Romijn stars as an ambitious television reporter and I must say, Romijn is quite good at comedy. Brooke Burns (of North Shore) portrays her sister, Josh Hopkins (of a zillion shows including Cold Case and Ally McBeal) is her news anchor / love interest / rival. Rider Strong (of Dawson’s Creek) is also on the show. Jason Katims (of Roswell, Boston Public) wrote this episode. Pepper dates a quarterback who she realizes, after she sees him interact with her handsome male news anchor, may need to make a big announcement about his, um, lifestyle.

While on a mission to recover a fallen Chinese satellite, the team gets a chance to capture a wanted terrorist on The Unit (CBS, 8pm). This episode was written by David Mamet (yes, that David Mamet). He’s also one of the show’s creators and executive producers. In case you somehow missed it when this series debuted, it’s from David Mamet and Shawn Ryan (of The Shield) and is about a special ops team. Dennis Haysbert (of 24, Now and Again), Scott Foley (of Felicity), Regina Taylor (of I’ll Fly Away), and Robert Patrick (of The X-Files) star. It’s a promising show, I’m glad it will be back for another season and I look forward to catching the episodes I missed over the summer. The focus isn’t just on the team, but on their wives too. Laurel sez check it out if you haven’t yet.

Cassidy “Beaver” Casablancas hires Veronica Mars (UPN, 8pm) to find out if his stepmom (Charisma Carpenter of Buffy and Angel) is cheating on his Dad. Veronica’s Dad and Wallace’s Mom take a trip to Chicago. Wallace starts dating Jackie. And much more in this cool rerun of one of my favorite shows. If you’ve not been watching this show, you’re missing out. Check out season one on DVD; season two is due out August 22nd (and is airing in reruns all summer).

Claude reveals to Ramona that she’s sleeping with Carl on a new Less Than Perfect (ABC, 8:30pm). Dum-dum-DUM. Whatever. I liked this show quite a bit (as traditional sitcoms go), but find it’s weaker this season and I miss Will Butler (Eric Roberts). If you like or have liked the show, catch these remaining episodes while you can as this show did not make the Fall 2006 schedule.

Season premiere of Rescue Me (FX, 9pm – 10:04pm, 10:04pm – 11:08pm; Friday at 10pm). DVR/VCR Alert: Runs 4 minutes over for a total of 64 minutes.

Tom Selleck, Adam Arkin, Jayne Brook, Stacy Galina, and Maury Chaykin are among the guest stars on a rerun of Boston Legal (ABC, 9pm). Written by David E. Kelley and directed by Bill D’Elia. I’m the rare David E. Kelley fan who hasn’t been watching this show, I think I’ll catch some reruns this summer.

A teen (who just happens to be the song of Elliot’s former partner) appears to be experiencing ‘roid rage on a rerun of Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 9pm). Mary Stuart-Masterson and Noah Emmerich guest star. Stabler has some rage issues of his own.

This is the time of year when I watch a lot of Baseball Tonight (ESPN, 9pm).

It might surprise you to learn that I’ve seen Rocky III (TCM, 9pm) many, many times. Then again, it might surprise you that it’s airing on Turner Classic Movies. I watched this movie over and over when I was much younger than I am now; I also did a cheerleading routine to “Eye of the Tiger” when I was in grade school and still remember a fair bit of it all these years later. Don’t make me quote the song or movie at you!

Late Night:

Late night talk shows are all in reruns this week, but you can still check the list of talk show guests for tonight to see which reruns are airing and what guests are on ‘em.