Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

Burn Notice marathon (USA, 8:30am - 6pm)
New Burn Notice (USA, 9pm and midnight)
New Mad Men (AMC, 9pm, 10pm, 2:30am)
Season premiere of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 9pm and 10pm, 9:30pm and 10:30pm)
Ed Begley Jr. on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am)
Martha Stewart, Fred Willard, Billy Bob Thornton on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm)

News & Notes

If you can’t wait to see some new shows, Blockbuster Video has some of the NBC pilots (both in their stores and via their online rental thingie). They’re worth a look.

If you’ve stumbled on some of the pilots that leaked to the internet, keep in mind that quite a few pilots changed this year from the initial versions– with changes to characters, new actors, all sorts of stuff. That’s one reason I haven’t done a full preview or full reviews yet– I was waiting on getting the revised version of the pilots.

Series and season premieres have started to roll in here at Wit’s End (that’s what my husband and I call our home). Oddly enough, I already received the Law & Order: SVU premiere a couple of weeks ago– I wish more stuff had shown up earlier. Let me just tease all you Homicide and Belzer fans: we get to see a new side of Munch in this one. Sweet, eh? Don’t worry, he’s still not Montel Williams.

Daytime

There a Burn Notice marathon! Yay! If you’ve missed any episodes, you should check it out (USA, 8:30am - 6pm).

Patricia Heaton (of Everybody Loves Raymond, new series Back To You), Daughtry on Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Martha Stewart, Kenny Chesney on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

The O.J. Simpson book controversy– the Goldman family speaks out on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Neil Patrick Harris (of How I Met Your Mother), Rihanna, the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

A recipe for whoopie pies, the inspiration behind Martha’s new line at Macy’s, how to make a perfect bed on Martha (syndicated, check your local listings).

It’s a “Surprise Show” on The Rachael Ray Show (syndicated, check your local listings). Danny DeVito, a surprise wedding, and Jarod Miller comes by for a game of “What Am I Touching?” Eek!

Kim Kardashian, Joel and Benji Madden (of Good Charlotte) on The Tyra Banks Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Primetime Grid

Primetime

A new edition of Private Screenings is always a good thing for film buffs: Private Screenings: Norman Jewison (TCM, 7pm and 10pm). Robert Osbourne interviews Jewison. The interview is followed by one of Jewison’s fine films: Moonstruck (TCM, 8pm).

The Suarez family travels to Mexico in this rerun of Ugly Betty (ABC, 7pm). Rita Moreno and Rebecca Gayheart guest star.

Earl decides to get a “real job” on My Name Is Earl (NBC, 7pm). Charles S. Dutton, MacKenzie Astin, and Sean Astin guest star.

Earl: I don’t know if I mentioned this, but the microwave you bought has a tray that spins around so your food doesn’t get tired of the view!
  from My Name Is Earl

Reruns of the season finales of Smallville (CW, 7pm) and Supernatural (CW, 8pm) in case you want to remind yourself of where they left off.

Jack’s mother pays him a visit in this rerun of the first season finale of 30 Rock (NBC, 7:30pm). Elaine Stritch, Sean Hayes, and Emily Mortimer guest star.

Liz: Is that how far apart my eyes are? I look like Admiral Ackbar.
  from 30 Rock

WNBA Finals, Game 4: Detroit Shock at Phoenix Mercury (ESPN2, 8pm).

Whoa. There’s a show called Blog Cabin (DIY, 8pm and midnight; 8:30pm and 12:30am). My mind, it does reel. But then I remember when there were just 30 or so weblogs in the world (and mine was one of them). And I remember the first time anyone abbreviated “weblog” as “blog” and I thought it was a dumb abbreviation and tried (though not very hard) to convince everyone else it was a bad idea . . . clearly, I lost that battle!

I never thought I’d call an episode of CSI (CBS, 8pm) “cute,” but this one kinda is. The lab techs take matters into their own hands and try to solve the miniature killer case while the regulars are busy elsewhere. Hodges is in charge, which is definitely interesting. It’s cool to see Liz Vassey, Wallace Langham, Archie Kao, and Sheeri Rappaport get more to do.

Hodges: You in or out?
Henry: I don’t really know anything about these cases . . .
Hodges: We’ll review.
Henry: Yeah, I don’t know, I have a lot of work to do.
Hodges: And by work you mean IMing your Icelandic penpal who thinks that you look like Warrick Brown because that’s the picture you posted?
Henry: How . . . ?
Hodges: I just know.
  from C.S.I.

The interns take their first year exam, three mountain climbers receive treatment, Adele tries to get medical treatment without the Chief finding out, and well . . . there’s a whole lot of drama ‘cuz this was the second-to-last episode of last season of Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8pm). Loretta Devine and Jeff Perry guest star yet again.

J.D. and Elliott wonder, yet again, if they’re meant to be together on a rerun of the last season’s finale of Scrubs (NBC, 8:30pm).

Keith: Babe, I like this tuxedo more than the one you picked out.
Elliot: Yeah, it looks really great, Keith. You know, if you plan on sawing me in half on the altar and yelling “abracadabra!”
  from Scrubs

I’m so very glad there’s a new episode of Burn Notice (USA, 9pm and midnight). Honestly, none of the new Fall shows are as fun as this show. Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, and Bruce Campbell star in this quirky show about spies and former spies and spy-stuff. With the spying.

I don’t know what will happen tonight on a new episode of Mad Men (AMC, 9pm, 10pm, 2:30am), but I know I’ve got to watch. This is a great show, very different from anything else out there (or on the Fall schedule). It’s about atmosphere and a time and place, more so than any other show I can think of in recent years.

The season premiere of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 9pm and 10pm) is followed by a second new episode (FX, 9:30pm and 10:30pm). Both episodes will air again on Saturday night and Monday and plenty of other times. And if you need still more of the show, there’s a special “pre-season episode” available online (visit the FX website for a link). This is a show that revels in being offensive and messing with (and mocking) sitcom conventions– sometimes it’s pretty darn funny, other times it doesn’t quite work. In the season premiere, the gang finds a baby in a dumpster and, um, things devolve as usual. In the second episode, some of them try out for the Philadelphia Eagles. Danny DeVito is still on the show (he joined the cast in season two) and in the first episode, he spends a lot of time in a dumpster; in the second episode, he drops acid.

A new Ace of Cakes (Food Network, 9pm and midnight). Mmmmmm, cake. Duff creates a cake for a fundraiser to benefit the Baltimore Zoo.

Debut of the second ever episode of Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style (Bravo, 9pm, 10pm, plenty of additional airings this week). After an extreme weight loss, a woman named Jeanne is given tips and tools for shopping.

Main meets Cash, the handyman. And she dithers about whether to attend Lynn’s baby shower. And I’m sure more stuff happens on Men in Trees (ABC, 9pm). It’s a cute show, but whenever I describe episodes, they end up sounding a bit lame. You’ve gotta know the characters! Guest stars include Mario Cantone, Orlando Jones, and Justine Bateman.

A high school student goes missing after she leaves her prom to go rest for a bit in her hotel room on a rerun of Without A Trace (CBS, 9pm). Guest stars include Mark Derwin (of One Life To Live, The Bonnie Hunt Show), Beth Littleford, and Jessy Schram (of Jane Doe).

Late Night

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

Ed Begley Jr. on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

Martha Stewart, Fred Willard, Billy Bob Thornton present a Top 10 list on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Terry Bradshaw, Vanessa Hudgens, Michael Buble on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 10:35pm).

Sen. Christopher Dodd, Kenny Chesney on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).

Jason Alexander, Wendy Kamenoff on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm).

Kanye West, Jeff Garlin on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Kevin Nealon, Teddybears on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

Friday Daytime

Kathie Lee Gifford joins Regis and Kelly for a special 20th anniversary episode of Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Michael Douglas on The View (ABC, check your local listings). In case you somehow hadn’t heard, Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd (of Less Than Perfect) have joined Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Barbara Walters as co-hosts.

Vera Wang plus her new line of clothing in this new “High style on a budget” episode of Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Mariska Hargitay (of Law & Order: SVU), Kanye West on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

It’s “handbag day” where people bring their favorite purse and Blueprint fashion editor Katie Hatch shows some of the hottest bags, and heirloom fruit and vegetable expert Amy Goldman joins Martha in the kitchen to make fried green tomatoes on Martha (syndicated, check your local listings).

The hottest fall fashions for under $20, a 15-minute nose job without surgery, the latest celebrity dish from Lara Spencer, Rachael’s stuffing supper on The Rachael Ray Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

A look inside the counterfeit business (of purses, diamonds, clothing, etc.) on The Tyra Banks Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Deceptive people who “wreak havoc on the lives of others” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).