Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

New Jericho (CBS, 7pm)
New Bones (FOX, 7pm)
New Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm)
New Kidnapped (NBC, 9pm)
Billy Bob Thornton, Mr. T, The Wreckers on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm)

News & Notes:

Daytime talk show listings for today are at the end of my picks for yesterday.

It’s that time of year when the default assumption for shows tends to be that they are new episodes. So while this summer I’ve made a point of saying “a new episode of” before shows that are new with the assumption that most things are reruns, now my default assumption is going to be that episodes are new and I’ll only point out that things are “reruns”. Of course the grid is color coded and labeled to indicate new and reruns (check the FAQ if you find it confusing).

I meant to mention this a while ago, but I don’t think I have: if you have Tivo or other DVR that is set to regularly record a particular show that used to air on the WB or UPN, you may need to adjust your settings so that the shows are recorded on the CW. I just realized myself that I’ve gotta set up some new season passes for some of my favorite shows (Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls in particular). It’s always good at the start of the season to doublecheck how you have things set up and what is scheduled to record to make sure your favorite shows are covered and that the new shows you’ll want to see are going to get recorded.

Times listed are for the Central timezone, please adjust accordingly (if necessary).

Primetime Grid

Featured Pick

I encouraged you to check out the first episode of Jericho and I hope you did and then weren’t wondering why I told you to check it out. I know the first episode is flawed and there are plenty of bits I didn’t care for: the cornball speech, the fake-outs, the addition of possibly unnecessary problems given what the “big problem” is, and so on. The pacing was slow. I still liked the episode because this show is different and there’s a heap of potential here. I find it interesting.

I’m happy to report that the second episode is better than the first and moves at a much faster pace. We open with a couple of characters looking up at the sky and not liking what they see. Sure enough, a storm is coming and with it . . . fallout. Crap! But of course that was what would be next.

The town has a fallout shelter or two and the mad dash is on to spread the word to everyone in town to take cover in their basements or at the shelter. There are complications, of course. And yes, there is a subplot involving those escaped prisoners (but I actually found that to be compelling drama).

I’m pleased to see Shoshanna Stern show up and get something to do here (you may know her as the son’s deaf girlfriend on Weeds). Heck, I like most everybody on the show, though I think the weakest link may be the supposed lead (Skeet Ulrich) who just hasn’t grabbed me the way he probably should. Maybe he’ll grow on me.

The female characters have more to do in this episode and I am pleased by this interesting array of strong women; I hadn’t really realized still I started writing my “XX Factor” segments in fall previews that this is a rare thing.

If you weren’t sure you wanted to keep watching the show or were ready to not bother after the first episode, give this second episode a try– I think you’ll like it. If you missed the first episode, I think it’s safe to jump in with this episode . . . you’ll get the gist soon enough. You can also still catch the first episode online at cbs.com/innertube though I imagine it will come down when CBS puts tonight’s episode up (late tonight or early tomorrow).

The “Fallout” episode of Jericho airs tonight at 7pm on CBS.

Primetime

Tonight’s new episode of Jericho (CBS, 7pm) is my featured pick (see above).

A man’s remains are found in a bathtub full of chemicals on a new Bones (FOX, 7pm). Ew! I like this show, but often have to look away when the “icky stuff” is onscreen. Enjoy any FOX shows you like while you can because most will be on breaks ’til the end of October or early November as the baseball playoffs begin on FOX next week.

Queen Latifah and Frédéric Fekkai turn up on a new America’s Next Top Model (CW, 7pm).

The Scissor Sisters perform on Dancing with the Stars (ABC, 7pm).

The team races to prevent a child pornographer from auctioning a boy online on a new Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm). Mary Page Keller (of Commander In Chief) guest stars.

Tonight’s “new episode” of Lost (ABC, 8pm) is one of those “special episodes” that recaps what happened “previously on Lost“. This one goes over the events of the first two seasons. The real season premiere airs next week.

A single mother is killed while on a roller coaster and the team of lawyers represent her orphaned daughter on Justice (FOX, 8pm).

Season premiere of One Tree Hill (CW, 8pm). It makes me very sad that this show is back for another season and Everwood is not. No, I’m not a big fan (or any sort of fan) of this show.

I’ve been waiting months to see what happens next on Kidnapped (NBC, 9pm) so I’m looking forward to this new episode (the second episode of the series). If you saw the first episode, it should not surprise you that in this episode it begins to look like the off-at-college sister of the child who was kidnapped may also be in danger.

Barbara Walters talks to Terri Irwin (widow of zoologist Steve Irwin) and to John Stainton (his longtime business partner) on 20/20 (ABC, 9pm).

Alton Brown may or may not have “Okraphobia” on Good Eats (Food Network, 9pm and midnight).

Series premiere of Finders Fixers (DIY, 9pm and 1am). The hosts are certified home inspectors who each week visit a home and locate a problem and then work to find the cause and fix it. Could be an interesting (and educational) show.

Three women dress as Holly Golightly and pull off a jewelry heist on CSI: NY (CBS, 9pm). Sounds like a more interesting heist than the ones on Smith.

If you’ve been to a MLB ballpark in the last couple of months or to any of the official sites for any of the teams, you may have voted for “Hometown Heroes”. Tonight the results are in: Major League Baseball Hometown Heroes (ESPN, 9pm or so, may be late ‘cuz of the game that’s on before it). Harmon Killebrew better be the Twin chosen, but I suspect Kirby Puckett may get the most votes (not a bad choice, but . . . ). I’m not sure that it was wise to let people everywhere vote for the heroes for all the clubs; as a Twins fan I voted for any player who’d been a Twin when they were on other teams (so Rod Carew was my choice for the Angels, Dave Winfield for the Padres, Luis Castillo for the Marlins, and so on). And it’s not like I could truly estimate the worth of some of these players in relation to their teams.

New Project Runway (Bravo, 9pm, 11pm, 1am, 3am, with a zillion more airings this week).

Late Night

“A Bird in the Pan” (broiled chicken) episode of Good Eats (Food, 10pm and 1am).

Rebroadcast of the latest new episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (Bravo, 10pm) which is titled “The Cold Open”. Decent episode, though it appears the weak link on this show will be any actual sketch comedy from the show within the show.

Al Franken on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

Lowell Bergman on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

Amanda Peet (of Studio 60), Nigella Lawson, Bob Seger on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Evangeline Lilly (of Lost), Magic Johnson, Aaron Neville on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 10:35pm).

Rebroadcast of last night’s new episode of Weeds (Showtime, 11pm).

Mr. T Alert Billy Bob Thornton, Mr. T, The Wreckers on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).

Forest Whitaker, Julie Walters, Shang Forbes on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm).

Jon Heder, Don, Mole and Perry, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Krista Allen, Alexi Murdoch on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

Thursday Daytime

John Stamos, Marg Helgenberger, Vanessa Hudgens on Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Jamie Lee Curtis, Salma Hayek, America Ferrera, Bob Seger on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

“What Pedophiles Don’t Want You To Know” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Howie Mandel, Chris Brown, 4-year-old tennis prodigy Jan Silva on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Oscar De La Hoya on Martha (syndicated, check your local listings).

Sela Ward (of Once and Again), Chris Noth (of Law & Order: Criminal Intent) on The Megan Mullaly Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Jeff Probst, Halloween costumes for kids from stuff in your kitchen on The Rachael Ray Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Morbidly Obese Teens” on The Tyra Banks Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Love Scams?” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Honey, Where’d You Put the Sex?” on The Greg Behrendt Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Inside the Lives of a Polygamist Family” on The Dr. Keith Ablow Show (syndicated, check your local listings).