Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Best Bets
New Jericho (CBS, 7pm)
New Lost (ABC, 8pm)
New Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm)
New The Nine (ABC, 9pm)
Season finale of Project Runway (Bravo, 9pm, 11:04pm, 3am)
Season premiere of Top Chef (Bravo, 10:01pm - 11:04pm, 12:03am, 1:02am)
Kirsten Dunst, Harry Shearer, Corinne Bailey Rae on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm)
News & Notes:
ABC has given full season orders to both Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters. Other new shows with full season orders: Heroes and Jericho. Kidnapped will only get 13 episodes and those will air on Saturday nights (just not this past Saturday ‘cuz of NASCAR coverage). Smith has been pulled from the schedule and is dead (though it’s possible that the episodes they’ve already filmed will air someday). As for returning series: CBS has given full season orders to The Unit and Close To Home.
I’ve received a couple of emails inquiring about Knights of Prosperity which was set to debut on ABC this month, here’s the deal: ABC has decided to hold the show ’til midseason when they’ll give it a better launch than they could do right now. I think this may actually be a good thing for the show and hope they stick to their word as it’s probably the funniest new half-hour comedy of the season (or at least I really like the pilot).
ER is doing well enough that they aren’t going to pull it at midseason to make room for Paul Haggis’ The Black Donnellys after all. Bummer. I hope NBC finds a good spot for The Black Donnellys as I really like the pilot for it (and I’ve been a fan of the TV work of Paul Haggis for a long time). (Here’s a link to a New York Times article about the status of ER).
As always, I recommend TV Tattle for an excellent roundup of links to notable stories about TV.
Times listed are for the Central timezone, please adjust accordingly (if necessary).
Primetime Grid
| Wed | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Dancing with the Stars | Lost | The Nine | |||
| CBS | Jericho | Criminal Minds | CSI: NY | |||
| NBC | 30 Rock | Twenty Good Years | The Biggest Loser | Dateline NBC | ||
| FOX | Baseball: Cardinals at Mets NLCS, Game 6 | |||||
| CW | America’s Next Top Model | One Tree Hill | Local Programming | |||
| myNet | Desire | Fashion House | Local Programming | |||
Primetime
The townspeople of Jericho (CBS, 7pm) receive a pre-recorded phone call from Homeland Security. I guess this means the phones are back online and it’s quite possible they get power back too. Excellent! But what the heck is going on? I’m still enjoying this show a lot and am happy that it will get a full season (though I do wonder how long a show like this can go, I guess it depends on “what the heck is going on”).
Baseball: Cardinals at Mets (FOX, 7pm). Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.
The cast and crew of “The Girlie Show” adjust to having a new star of the show (Tracy Morgan) in “The Aftermath” episode of 30 Rock (NBC, 7pm). I liked it better than the new version of the pilot, but I’m still not wild about this show. It’s okay, but nothing great, IMHO. It’s not enough for me to tune away from Jericho especially given that it’s paired with the oh-so-awful Twenty Good Years.
Janice Dickinson shows up on America’s Next Top Model (CW, 7pm; airs again at 6pm on Sunday) in an episode titled “The Girl Who Punk’d Ashton”.
Lionel Richie performs on Dancing with the Stars (ABC, 7pm).
Jane Leeves (”Daphne” on Frasier) guest stars on Twenty Good Years (NBC, 7:30pm). Both the leads of this show are interested in the woman played by Leeves, so they’re delighted when she’s willing to date both of them. I’m guessing some not-very-funny hijinks ensue. Ugh. This show is such a waste of talent it makes me sad.
At long last we find out what happened to Locke, Eko, and Desmond on Lost (ABC, 8pm). At least I think we do. We also finally see Hurley return to the camp to tell folks what happened. And someone we haven’t seen in a while appears in this episode.
The case on Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm) involves a serial rapist. And Elle makes some sort of “critical decision” that could impact her career. Oh-oh.
In a non-shocking non-development, at least one of The Nine (ABC, 9pm) is having difficulties getting past the events of the robbery. Ya think? And Felicia is still trying to remember what happened (honestly I thought last week’s episode was kinda confusing, seemed to imply she remembered more than we were given to believe in the first episode). Are you enjoying this show? The second episode was a definite letdown after the pilot, but I’m intrigued enough to stick with this show for a while to see where it’s headed. At least until Medium returns to the schedule in mid-November (it will air on Wednesdays on NBC at 9pm).
Season finale of Project Runway (Bravo, 9pm, 11:04pm, 3am, with a zillion more airings this week). DVR/VCR Alert: Runs 61 minutes.
An 18-year-old who wants to be a “SuicideGirl” is killed as is a “homeless man turned streetballer” on CSI: NY (CBS, 9pm). It looks like some SuicideGirls guest star in this episode. (Don’t know what a “SuicideGirl” is? You could check out the Wikipedia entry. I’m not gonna direct you to their actual site ‘cuz of all the nudity, etc. which might not be suitable for some readers of this site).
Late Night
Season premiere of Top Chef (Bravo, 10:01pm - 11:04pm, 12:03am, 1:02am). Padma Lakshmi is the new host. DVR/VCR Alert: Runs 63 minutes.
John Ashcroft on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).
Kirsten Dunst, Harry Shearer, Corinne Bailey Rae on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).
Anne Heche on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).
You’ll find a link to full late night talk show listings in the sidebar on the website.
