Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

Part 5 (of 5) of Rise of the Video Game (Discovery, 7pm and 11pm)
New Gossip Girl (CW, 8pm)
Season finale of Journeyman (NBC, 9pm)

Recommended Reruns

Frosty the Snowman (CBS, 7pm)
The Year Without Santa Clause (ABC Family, 7pm; also on Friday at 6pm and Monday at 3pm)
Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm)
Mythbusters (Discovery, 8pm and 11pm, 9pm and midnight, 10pm)

News & Notes:

Jimmy Kimmel will also return to work on January 2nd (as will Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien). Worldwide Pants is still trying to negotiate a deal to bring their writers back to work so their shows (Late Show and Late Late Show among them) can return on January 2nd as well . . . but with writers (Kimmel, Leno, and O’Brien would be working without writers). There’s coverage of this stuff (and more) at Deadline Hollywood Daily and elsewhere. TV Tattle continues to be a good place to go for links to some of the best articles about TV out there right now.

I posted some more excellent deals in my Livejournal yesterday including Serenity (Collector’s Edition) for just $8.99. Shiny!

Fans are rallying to try and save Journeyman, if you like the show you might want to check out SaveJourneyman.net, that site also links to a couple of other “save the show” sites. I’m not sure sending stuff to the network or signing petitions will do any good, but I encourage you to write (via email and snail mail) to let NBC know if you like the show. It’s one of my favorite new shows and I’d sure like to see it stick around.

Best. Thing. Ever. (or at least this week): Trailer for Season 5 of The Wire. That’s a link to the video on YouTube, I recommend avoiding looking at any comments there or even related videos to avoid idiotic remarks and possible spoilers. Five shorter teaser trailers that each feature a different character have also been posted there and presumably have been airing on HBO. HBO has posted the shorter teaser trailer to their Wire webpages and they’ve also got three “prequel” videos and other nifty stuff (same prequel videos that are up on Amazon in case you already saw them there).

One new special about The Wire debuts tomorrow on HBO, a second one debuts on Friday; season four is currently available on HBO On Demand and (of course) seasons 1-4 are available on DVD. The premiere episode for the fifth (and final) season debuts on HBO on January 6th; will be available on HBO On Demand on New Year’s Eve.

Primetime Grid

Primetime

I recently screened Holly Jolly Pops Holiday with Barenaked Ladies and it’s pretty fabulous if you enjoy Christmas music (as I do). It’s the Boston Pops orchestra doing a holiday concert, but with lots of help from Barenaked Ladies throughout the show. Do yourself a favor and check your local PBS listings to find out when/if it’s airing in your area (sorry Minneapolitans, I don’t see it on the TPT schedule; if you find out that it is airing, please do let me know). I highly recommend their album Barenaked for the Holidays as one of the best new holiday releases in recent years (you can trust me on this, I have a separate iTunes library just for Christmas music that has at least 3,000 tracks in it).

Christmas With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Featuring Sissel may very well be airing in your area tonight on PBS, check your local listings. In the Twin Cities it’s on at 9pm on TPT channel 2, they’re also airing Christmas at St. Olaf: Where Peace and Love and Hope Abide at 8pm.

ESPN has NBA hoops: Pistons at Celtics (ESPN, 6pm) and Suns at Mavericks (ESPN, 8:30pm). This Timberwolves fan really really misses Kevin Garnett (though I wish him well, I really do).

Part 5 (a.k.a. “Level Five”) of Rise of the Video Game (Discovery, 7pm and 11pm). I’ve really enjoyed this series, but then I like to play video games and enjoy learning about the history of just about anything having to do with computers.

Happy Birthday! It’s that time of year again, time to watch Frosty the Snowman be a jolly happy soul (CBS, 7pm). I don’t usually bother with Frosty Returns (CBS, 7:30pm) because it pales in comparison to the first Frosty.

Another holiday special: The Year Without Santa Clause (ABC Family, 7pm; also on Friday at 6pm and Monday at 3pm). This is the Rankin and Bass special which features Heat Miser and Snow Miser.

Two more hours of Clash of the Choirs (NBC, 7pm - 9pm). They just keep on clashing (or, um, performing).

It’s night three (of six) of the game show Duel (ABC, 7pm - 8:02pm). In case you care.

Daughters must select swimsuits for their mothers and themselves (yikes!) and teams begin to form alliances (of course) on Crowned: the Mother of All Pagenats (CW, 7pm; also on Sun at 8pm).

Blair’s Dad pays her a visit for the holidays on Gossip Girl (CW, 8pm; also on Sun), but I guess no one expected that he’d bring his boyfriend along. Serena plans a Christmas surprise for Dan and he plans a surprise for her and I can’t help but hope we’ll have a “Gift of the Magi” moment like the time my husband gave me a new TiVo for Christmas, but I’d sold my TV to get him a . . . oh wait, that didn’t happen, we just joked as if it had. Three more episodes of this show were filmed which we’ll be seeing in the new year.

Your TiVo or other DVR may tell you that tonight’s episode of Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm) is new; I know for a fact that plenty of other websites about TV will also tell you that it’s a new episode, but they’re all wrong. It’s a rerun. A new episode was originally scheduled, but CBS pulled some of the new episodes to air at a later date, I imagine they’re trying to spread things out. I was right about NCIS being a rerun last night no matter what others said. Tonight’s rerun is of the “About Face” episode that debuted on Halloween; it’s set in Dallas, where people disappear after a bunch of “Missing” signs show up with their picture on them. Written by Charles Murray, directed by Skipp Sudduth his own bad self. Andrew Kavovit is among the guest stars; he was the very first “Paul Ryan” on As The World Turns back in the ’80s, he was also J.D. on The Magnificent Seven). This is the first episode with Joe Mantegna as David Rossi.

Garcia: (answering phone) “Speak and be recognized by your empress, mortal.”
Rossi: “Is this the technical analyst girl?”
  from Criminal Minds

Addison and Pete treat a pair of newlyweds who are having trouble consummating their marriage, Cooper treats some girls who have actually turned blue, and Violet encourages a patient to leave his wife in this rerun of Private Practice (ABC, 8:02pm - 9:03pm). Plus it rains a lot and they eat a lot of cake. Episode three; it’s nice that (so far) ABC is airing reruns of this show in order. Written by series creator Shonda Rhimes and series showrunner Marti Noxon, directed by Mark Tinker. Nina Siemaszko is one of the guest stars.

Addison: “Where are the beautiful people running in slow-motion on the beach?”
Naomi: “What?”
Addison: “This is L.A. L.A. Is supposed to be full of swimming pools and movie stars. L.A. Is a place that you lured me to with your champagne wishes and caviar dreams.”
Naomi: “Okay, first of all, you need to start watching more current TV. And second of all, it’s just a little rain. It’ll, it’ll pass.”
Addison: “It’s not about the rain. I, I mean, it is about the rain. But, I’d be fine with the rain if everything else was just a little more . . . ”
Naomi: “What?”
Addison: “I had this whole dream about moving here; that, that it would be better and . . . special. And that I would be . . . I don’t fit here. I’m a surgeon. And I think like a scientist.”
Naomi: “There’s no science to this. Dig, in. Make friends. Learn how to play well with others.”
Addison: “It’s raining.”
Naomi: “Not to get all Pete zen on you, but it’s raining everywhere.”
  from Private Practice

Reruns of three holiday themed episodes of Mythbusters (Discovery, 8pm and 11pm, 9pm and midnight, 10pm). Episodes are “Holiday Special,” “Christmas Special,” and “Christmas Tree Lights” in case that means anything to you or otherwise proves helpful.

More new episodes of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (TBS, 8:30pm, 9pm, 9:30pm)– that’s three different new episodes.

Dan meets someone who claims that they’re also a time traveler in the season finale of Journeyman (NBC, 9pm). Special night for the show. Lots more stuff happens but I’ll spare you more nuggets from the press release– if you’re a fan, you’re already gonna watch and don’t need to be spoiled. As anyone who reads this site knows, I don’t believe in posting spoilers.

ExxonMobil Presents a Holiday Celebration at Ford’s Theatre (ABC, 9:03pm). Performers include Yolanda Adams, Olivia Newton-John, James Pickens, Jr. (of Grey’s Anatomy), Jonathan Roberts and Karina Smirnoff (of Dancing with the Stars), Jon Secada, Christopher Titus (of Big Shots, Titus), and Wynonna. They perform for the President and First Lady; sadly I don’t think Barney or Mizz Beazley will be in attendance.

Debut of hour three of 100 Greatest Songs of the ’90s (VH1, 9pm and 11pm with lots of additional airings). Hours one and two air at 7pm and 8pm in case you have some catching up to do.

Yet again your DVR and websites with TV listings may think tonight’s episode of CSI: NY (CBS, 9pm) is new, but it’s not. It’s a rerun of the second episode of this season.

Flack: Our vic’s this way. Floater, showed up in the middle of the sailboat race between New York and New Jersey.
Danny: I read about that. It’s a reenactment of a race that happened back in the 1600s.
Mac: Yeah. Legend has it the winner got possession of Staten Island.
Flack: Is it too late to give it back?
  from CSI: NY

Late Night

Late Night Lineups from Sue Trowbridge; head on over there for the listings. Nothing but reruns for now except for Last Call.