Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

New Men in Trees (ABC, 7pm)
New Friday Night Lights (NBC, 8pm)
New Women’s Murder Club (ABC, 8pm)
New holiday episode of Monk (USA, 8pm and 11pm)
New holiday episode of Psych (USA, 9pm and midnight)

News & Notes

My apologies if my coverage of yesterday’s CSI ended up a bit spoilery– I hate it when that happens. When I haven’t seen an episode and only have a press release to go on, it’s hard sometimes to know what to say. What I read made it sound like something would be clear from early on in the episode, when in fact that event didn’t happen until the very end of the show. Argh! I’m being intentionally vague so as to avoid spoilers, of course. Of course I didn’t give away as much as the commercials did, but I still feel a little bad. I also thought it was a horrible episode, which was disappointing.

I decided to do the Laptop for Laurel campaign because my laptop was showing signs of age and I figured it might take awhile to raise the funds and I wanted to be prepared. And now this week I’ve had all manner of maddening computer problems with my laptop so I’m hoping to raise enough funds sooner rather than later lest I be driven insane. I’m just saying, is all. It’s been a rough week. I’m behind on all things internet right now as a result.

Thanks to Mark for making a donation yesterday (and sending a long a very nice email).
Total donations received so far during December: $95
Every little bit helps, if everyone who reads the site donated just $5 each year, that would make a really big difference in my life and for this site.

To all Twins fans who get Fox Sportsnet North (FSN): you might want to keep an eye out for Twins Classics which are airings of notable games (usually condensed to two hours). I’ve set my TiVo to record them whenever they turn up. I imagine other teams may have similar things on other Fox Sports stations.

Primetime Grid

Primetime

NBA hoops on ESPN: Bulls at Pistons, Jazz at Spurs.

Marin is upset that Jack hasn’t been in touch– what she doesn’t realize is that his ship ran into quite a lot of difficulty on Men in Trees (ABC, 7pm). There’s lots of other stuff going on as well what with an amnesiac, newlyweds, a pastor who gave up his church, and so on. I still kinda love this show. Kelli Williams guest stars again (you may remember her from Medical Investigation and The Practice). Nicholas Lea is also still around and is suprisingly likeable given how nasty he could be as “Krycek” on The X-Files– oh yeah, that’s why they call it acting. Suleka Mathew, who plays Sara on the show, is in a relationship with Lea so it’s no wonder the characters have chemistry.

Note for people in Minneapolis & surrounding area: KSTP (our local ABC affiliate) is airing a Billy Graham special at 7pm; Men in Trees is scheduled to air at 3:05am so you’ll want to set your DVR or VCR (or stay up really late). Remember that this would be 3:05am Saturday December 8th, though I still think of it as “tonight”.

Linday’s boss/ex-husband (awkward!) gets married on a new Women’s Murder Club (ABC, 8pm) or at least that’s the plan. The club investigates the mysterious murder of a drag queen. And once again two of my favorite actors appear in recurring roles on the show: Kyle Secor (of Homicide, Commander-in-Chief) and Ever Carradine (of Commander-in-Chief, Once and Again). Last new episode ’til sometime in 2008.

Special new Christmas episode of Monk (USA, 8pm, 11pm; also on Sunday at 9pm). Monk gets into an altercation with Santa and this makes him the least popular man in San Francisco. I’ve seen the episode and thought it decent, though not great, but then I think I’m beginning to tire of this show.

Tonight’s new Friday Night Lights (NBC, 8pm) is the last new episode for 2007. Sounds like there’ll be a christening, some online dating, and quite possibly a murder confession. Maybe.

Movies Rock! (CBS, 8pm – 10pm) is a new special that celebrates “the powerful relationship between music and film” or so the press release tells me. Rock stars will perform songs from movies. Presenters at this event include: Billy Bob Thornton, Charlize Theron, Cuba Gooding Jr, Danny Devito, Emily Deschanel, Harrison Ford, Jenna Fischer, Jennifer Lopez, John C. Reilly, Josh Duhamel, Kate Hudson, Matthew Broderick, Quentin Tarantino, Rita Moreno, and Shirley MacLaine. Performers are: Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, Sir Elton John, Fergie, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, John Williams, Marc Anthony, Mary J. Blige, Tony Bennett, Queen Latifah, Usher, Nicole Scherzinger, and will.i.am. Some modern artists perform classic songs from movies: Carrie Underwood sings “The Sound of Music,” Beyonce performs “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and so on. Could be fun.

New episodes of What Not To Wear (TLC, 8pm and 10pm; also Sat at 1pm) and Fashionably Late with Stacy London (TLC, 9pm and midnight; also Sat at 2pm). It’s a special What Not To Wear with a look back at five years fan mail, plus some of Stacy and Clinton’s favorite scenes. Mariel Hemingway is the guest on Fashionably Late.

A special new Christmas episode of Psych (USA, 9pm and midnight) debuts tonight. I know this show isn’t art, but still find it terribly enjoyable and this episode is no exception. It even has special Christmas-y credits and theme music! And you know, the theme song is one of the best things about the show. Ever wonder what Gus’ parents are like? We get to see them in this episode: Ernie Hudson and Phylicia Rashad guest star. Don’t you have it when you’re out Christmas caroling and stumble upon a dead body? And then your parents are accused of murder? Yeah, that would be a bummer . . . unless it’s on this wacky show.

A mysterious drone crashes into the city on Stargate: Atlantis (Sci-Fi, 9pm, 11pm).

Joss Stone and LeAnn Rimes share the stage on a new Crossroads (CMT, 9pm).

Sam’s a “Scrooge,” there’s a “Hot Santa” contest, Mike doubts his place in Vegas, Cooper pressures Danny to fill a retail space at the casino on Las Vegas (NBC, 9pm). Last new episode for 2007.

Being “Mean in America” on the internet on 20/20 (ABC, 9pm). Stories involve: accident photos posted to the internet, bad behavior posted to YouTube, fugitives on MySpace, cyber-bullying on MySpace (did it drive a girl to suicide?). Plus a look at whether cell phones can really bring down an airplane if you use them while in flight.

Late Night

List of late night talk show guests from Sue Trowbridge.

Saturday

Saturday Best Bet

If you haven’t been watching Chuck, you’re missing one of the best new shows of this season. NBC will air the first episode on Saturday night (NBC, 7pm Saturday) and it looks like they intend to rerun the rest of the episodes from this season in order on Saturday nights. Definitely take a look at this fun, geeky little show. It’s got action and adventure, goofy spy stuff, Best Buy Buy More and Geek Squad Nerd Herd action, romance, and much more. Plus the always awesome Adam Baldwin. Trust me on this one.