Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

NFL Football (NBC, 7:30pm)
Series premiere of ‘Til Death (FOX, 7pm; airs again on Sunday)
Series premiere of Happy Hour (FOX, 7:30pm)
Celebrity Duets (FOX, 8pm)
The Producers (TCM, 8pm, letterboxed)

Recommended Reruns

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 7pm, 8pm)
“Baby It’s You” Law & Order and Homicide crossover episodes (TNT, 9pm, 10pm)

News & Notes

The 15,000th television episode of Guiding Light airs today on CBS. Awesome. The show is the longest running series ever, if I recall correctly (even leaving aside the radio version). I watched the show for 20+ years as a third generation fan, but stopped in recent years for a number of reasons (departure of favorite cast/characters played a large role). I still record it on my Tivo and my Mom will tell me if there’s been an especially good episode that I should check out. I’ve enjoyed their special Wednesday episodes which focus on a single character and tend to be somewhat standalone– it’s an interesting and fun way to tell stories (and to draw in new or old viewers).

Just a reminder: you may no longer get the WB or UPN as in many markets one of your local stations which carried one of those networks is now probably carrying myNetworkTV. Just in case you tried looking for a UPN or WB show and couldn’t find it. The CW launches on September 18th (that’s the network that will carry shows from both the WB and UPN after the WB and UPN leave the airwaves).

I’ll be on the radio today not too long after 11:40am Central time, as I am most Thursdays on the Kevyn and Colleen Show; you can listen online or on 107.1 FM in the Twin Cities.

Times listed are for the Central timezone, if you’re in another zone, please adjust accordingly. (Coming Soon: a way for you to adjust the timezone on this page. We had a way of doing that for years; haven’t had it all year, expect a return later this month. Finally. Yay!).

Primetime Grid

Primetime

Another airing of Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (HBO, 6pm - 10:15pm).

The Dick Cavett Show With Mel Brooks (TCM, 7pm and 10pm).

Brad Garrett (of Everybody Loves Raymond) and Joely Fisher (of Wild Card and Ellen) star in the series premiere of ‘Til Death (FOX, 7pm; airs again on Sunday). They play an “old married couple” who end up befriending (sortof) a couple of newlyweds who move in next door. They, of course, try to give the newlyweds advice, but along the way they learn a little from them too I guess. This first episode isn’t bad (as so many sitcom pilots are), but it isn’t especially good either. The laugh track doesn’t do the show any favors, but then I hate laugh tracks (I know some of you do too, that’s why I mention it). Honestly, I’m very tired of shows like this which play on stereotypes– in this case stereotypical views of couples who’ve been married for a long time and newlyweds. Check out fellow Vidiot Jason Snell’s review of the first episode. If you want something new to watch and are curious, by all means check it out; I do suspect you won’t make a point of seeing future episodes because it’s the sort of show you might watch if nothing else is on (but in these days of cable, the internet, DVRs, VCRs. and DVD players– who really needs to do that? There’s always something good you can watch somehow).

If I fall behind in my TV viewing this fall, you can blame the Minnesota Twins and the wildly improbable and strange season they’re having. My husband Kevin and I watch almost every game on TV or at the Metrodome. Detroit leads the AL Central division by four games over the Twins and tonight marks the start of a series between the two teams which should be very interesting. Baseball: Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins (ESPN2 and/or Fox Sports North, 7pm). We’ll be at the game on Saturday.

Sometimes I’d swear that the networks are just trying to mess with any viewers who try to catch up with a series during summer reruns. Tonight’s reruns of Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 7pm, 8pm) are “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” (the first episode of season two) and “Blues for Sister Someone” (the 24th episode of season two). (Seriously, if you want to see all of this fun show, you’re better off buying, borrowing, or renting the DVD sets; Lifetime has purchased the rights to reruns and will begin running season one episodes once a week in January, they’ll air older episodes daily starting in 2009). The second episode to air tonight is one of my favorites from this past season as we finally get to learn a bit more about Dr. Burke as he operates on one of his heroes. The always wonderful Albert Hall guest stars (I loved him best when he was a judge on Ally McBeal); Jayne Brook also guest stars in this episode (she was in Chicago Hope, John Doe, and has been on many shows).

Meredith: “I’m knitting these days. Plus I’m thinking about accepting a date with a veterinarian.”
Bailey: “Grey, do you actually believe that I care?”
Meredith: “No.”
Bailey: “Good. Maybe you’re not so stupid after all.”
  from Grey’s Anatomy

Clark saves a guy who can turn invisible and that guy decides to do Clark an interesting (and illegal) favor in the “Fade” episode of Smallville (WB, 7pm).

In a preview of sorts for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, NBC broadcasts the first regular NFL game of the new season: NFL Football: Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers (NBC, 7:30pm). Preceded by an NFL Opening Kickoff Special (NBC, 7pm).

A guy moves to Chicago with his girlfriend only to be dumped by her (and as a result he also loses his job and apartment); the series premiere of Happy Hour (FOX, 7:30pm) opens with this man interviewing to be the roommate of a guy who lives in the same apartment building he was living in (’til his girlfriend kicked him out). It’s much simpler than that sentence was– sorry about that. His new roommate is a firm believer in “happy hour” and heads to the bar in his apartment (with swingin’ tunes on the stereo) every day at 4pm. It’s another show about a group of urbanites thrown together who live and work together (or darn close to each other). Frankly, if I want a show like this I’ll watch the far superior How I Met Your Mother or even The Loop when it returns (midseason on FOX). Nothing on this show grabbed me save for the opening credits and that’s never a good sign (seriously, it’s all downhill from the opening credits). It’s not painfully bad like Twenty Good Years (coming soon on NBC), but it’s just not worth going out of your way for it given how many really good shows are going to air this season. Just yet another mediocre sitcom (but with cocktails!).

A new episode of Celebrity Duets (FOX, 8pm). So is anyone watching this? How do you like it? How does it compare to the other “celebrities perform” reality shows?

A reality show of some sort follows the team around in the “I Like To Watch” episode of C.S.I. (CBS, 8pm).

Nick: “Two pieces of duct tape both have been swabbed for DNA and fingerprinted. Grissom wants you to compare adhesives, he’s lookin’ for a match.”
Hodges: “Okay, that’ll take a laser ablation test, it’s good.” (looks around)
Nick: “Why’s that good?”
Hodges: “Well, laser ablation is both visual and dramatic.” (looks over Nick’s shoulder)
Nick: “Are you looking for the video crew right now?”
Hodges (scoffs): “I would think that they would be looking for me.”
Nick: “Relax man, their show is only like an hour long, laser ablation takes like six.”
Hodges: “Yeah, but when they cut it all together it’ll only take 30 seconds.”
  from C.S.I.

The guys team up with their Dad to try and get a weapon they can use to kill that nasty demon which killed their Mom in the “Dead Man’s Blood” episode of Supernatural (WB, 8pm). Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays their Dad (you probably know him best as “Denny” on Grey’s Anatomy).

The new version may be fun, but it can’t top the original The Producers (TCM, 8pm, letterboxed).

Revisiting 9/11 widows whose children were born after the attacks; the use of mood-altering electrodes to ease depression on Primetime (ABC, 9pm).

The “Baby It’s You” episode of Law & Order (TNT, 9pm) is part of one of the series crossovers with Homicide: Life on the Street and appropriately enough it is followed by the “Baby It’s You” episode of Homicide (TNT, 10pm) which concludes that particular crossover. The only new extra in the Homicide: Life on the Street Megaset apart from the nifty packaging is a disc that collects the Law & Order halves of these crossovers (which weren’t available in the single series sets). I’m still talking to A&E Home Video about the possibility of the disc being made available separately for Homicide fans who have already bought all the single season sets (if you want to be kept apprised of developments, sign up for the mailing list on my Homicide Video FAQ page).

A teenage figure skater disappears Without A Trace (CBS, 9pm).

Late Night

“Ham I Am” episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats (Food, 10pm and 1am).

The CBS and Comedy Central late night talk shows are reruns.

I know it’s not cool to like Spaceballs (TCM, 11pm, letterboxed) but I do; perhaps in part because I saw it first as a teen who was obsessed with Star Wars.

Kiefer Sutherland (of 24), Ben Harper on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, late night presumably later than usual). DVR/VCR Alert: Will start late because of football.

Sue Trowbridge’s Late Night Lineups which lists talk show guests for late night and some daytime shows. Covering some stuff I don’t (these days I tend to just list the guests on late night talk shows that I think are notable for some reason or likely to be particularly entertaining).

Friday Daytime

Tommy Lee, David Boreanaz (of Bones, Angel), guest co-host John O’Hurley on Live with Regis and Kelly (check your local listings).

Julianne Moore (who’ll always be “Frannie Hughes” from As The World Turns to me), David Duchovny (of The X-Files) on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

Kim Basinger, Rainn Wilson on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).