Thursday, September 28, 2006
Best Bets
Series premiere of Ugly Betty (ABC, 7pm)
Season premiere of Smallville (CW, 7pm)
New Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8pm)
New CSI (CBS, 8pm)
New Shark (CBS, 9pm)
News & Notes
So I think I’m pretty fried at this point from working on the site. Hard to keep going. I spend a ridiculous amount of time working on this site and I’m not paid and there are times when it is pointed out that I’m somewhat insane for working 40+ hour weeks for no pay. Today is one of the days where I’m wondering why I do this and think perhaps I should get a “real job” or take long naps and read books and do other things. I’m just saying. If this motivates you to send me an encouraging word or make a donation in support of this site– that’d be swell of you as I sure could use it right now. I’m not giving up yet, just . . . having difficulty keeping at this today. Perhaps tomorrow will be better. It’s been a hard week all around.
If you haven’t entered the Scrubs contest yet, the deadline is Saturday.
Times listed are for the Central timezone, if you’re in another zone, please adjust accordingly.
Primetime Grid
| Thu | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Ugly Betty Series premiere | Grey’s Anatomy | Six Degreees | |||
| CBS | Survivor: Cook Islands | CSI | Shark | |||
| NBC | My Name Is Earl | The Office | Deal or No Deal | ER | ||
| FOX | ‘Til Death | ‘Til Death Rerun of pilot | Celebrity Duets | Local Programming | ||
| CW | Smallville Season premiere | Supernatural Season premiere | Local Programming | |||
| myNet | Desire | Fashion House | Local Programming | |||
Primetime
Series premiere of Ugly Betty (ABC, 7pm). This is a cute show in the same way that some ABC Family movies are cute or that The Devil Wears Prada movie is cute. America Ferrera stars as a young woman who embarks on a career in the fashion biz; she’s awkward and not terribly fashionable, but smart where it counts. I enjoyed the pilot, but wasn’t sure I would want to watch 6 or 10 or 22 hours of this show, if that makes sense. A little may go a long way. Can it stay fun and interesting for a full season? Will people give it a shot? Too soon to tell. I got a kick out of catching glimpses of series executive producer Salma Hayek in the telenovela Betty’s family watches on this show (this series is based on the telenovela Betty La Fea). Henry Dale (of The O.C.), Eric Mabius (of The L Word), and Vanessa Williams are also in the cast. It’s worth a look, especially if you’re in the market for a show that doesn’t feature lawyers, cops, or criminals.
Season premiere of Smallville (CW, 7pm). A plane crash, Jimmy Olsen, Zod in Lex’s body, and Clark in “The Phantom Zone” . . . sounds like a very dramatic season premiere. Okay, Jimmy isn’t very dramatic.
Burt Reynolds guest stars as the owner of a strip joint on My Name Is Earl (NBC, 7pm). I was really disappointed in the season premiere and that has me worried about the second season of this show (I enjoyed most of season one).
Sci-Fi airs The Day After (Sci-Fi, 7pm) in case Jericho has put you in the mood for post-nuke “fun”. From 1983.
Michael organizes a party in his hotel room when he, Dwight, and Jan attend a convention on The Office (NBC, 7:30pm).
Diahann Carroll and Richard Roundtree guest star as Burke’s parents on Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8pm). I enjoyed the season premiere and I’m still utterly and completely hooked on this show.
Danny Bonaduce guest stars as a dead rock star on C.S.I. (CBS, 8pm). Sean Young also guest stars.
The brothers and their father were all left for dead in last season’s finale, but in a non-shocking non-twist we find that they’re alive (though at least one of them isn’t in very good shape) on the season premiere of Supernatural (CW, 8pm).
Henry Simmons (of NYPD Blue) guest stars in a new episode of Shark (CBS, 9pm) titled “LAPD Blue”. Heh. Zeljko Ivanek (”Danvers” on Homicide) is also a guest star and Wolfgang Puck makes an appearance. I hope those people who work for James Woods grow on me, ‘cuz so far they’re the weakest link on this show. More James Woods and Jeri Ryan, less . . . everyone else (but the guest stars). I forgot to mention that Spike Lee directed the pilot for this show (yes, really). Who knew?
Race-car driver Danica Patrick, the 1985 drug scandal involving the Pittsburgh Pirates, the weight gain of high-school football players, and New York homeless men gather to play soccer on REAL Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO, 9pm).
Sally Field returns to ER (NBC, 8:59pm) as Abby’s Mom (she won an Emmy for her work in this role). And John Stamos joins the cast.
I was underwhelmed by the first episode of Six Degrees (ABC, 9pm) and I’m almost dreading having to watch another episode or two (sad, but true). It’s not a bad show, it’s just that I couldn’t bring myself to care about these characters. Maybe they’ll grow on me. My fellow Vidiot Monty Ashley agrees with me. It’s well put together and I like some of the actors, but there’s not wit here and no hook that grabs me.
Late Night
Late night talk show listings are now linked to in the sidebar on the right (on the website, if you’re reading this via feed or email, you’ll need to visit the website).
