Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

Doctor Zhivago (TCM, letterboxed and uncut, 7pm)
Gloria Reuben returns to ER (NBC, 9:01pm)
All sorts of decent reruns (see below)
Bill Maher, Ellen Page, the cast of the Broadway show Young Frankenstein on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm)
Dominic Monaghan, Jason Randal on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm)

News & Notes

Welcome to all the new readers of this site! I’m assuming there are at least a few of you given the recent mentions in Entertainment Weekly and Mpls St. Paul magazine. I’d link to those two “best of web” articles, but oddly enough (so far) they aren’t actually on the web. Weird, eh?

I’ve been posting stuff on the web since 1994 and to the internet since, um, well before that. I’ve been posting TV picks almost daily since early 1999. It’s a lot of work and I’m not paid by anyone to do it, save by nice folks like you who occasionally send in donations or gifts or shop via affiliate links here, etc. Thanks, once again, to everyone who does support this site.

By default I list times for the Central timezone as I’m based in Minneapolis, there’s a gizmo in the sidebar on the website you can use to adjust the timezone to your liking.

If you have access to HBO On Demand, you could be watching the first episode of the fifth and final season of The Wire. I’ve seen it and it’s great, but then The Wire is one of the best TV shows to ever air so this isn’t a surprise. I’m thrilled to see Clark Johnson (of Homicide) acting again. I’ll have more to say about this episode and show on Sunday, which is the day it debuts on HBO.

So, did you check out any of the late night talk shows last night? I thought The Late Show with David Letterman was the strongest hour of the lot and Late Night with Conan O’Brien was the next best. Dave’s show was full of awesome stuff and not shy about being both informative and funny about the strike situation. You could tell that Conan really does support the strike and was doing his darndest to play by the rules under these very tough circumstances. I enjoyed parts of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson but a little of those comedy sketches go a long way and I’d rather have seen some guests. As for The Tonight Show? Wow, that was pretty bad. And it also seemed so much like a “normal” show that it seemed like Leno & company were breaking some of the WGA rules regarding the strike; it appears I’m not the only one who noticed that. Dave and Conan were both sporting “strike beards” which must be seen to be believed. I missed Kimmel’s show; if you missed any of these and are curious what was said regarding the strike situation, Nikki Finke has posted a summary.

Some of the nifty deals I’ve mentioned in recent weeks are still going on:
he show on DVD yet and who got some $ and/or an amazon gift certificate for Xmas, I present The X-Files: The Ultimate Collection for $165
Angel - Complete Series Collector’s Set for $70
Buy One, Get One Free TV DVD sale

The next two deals aren’t TV-related, but are two items I own and like a lot which are on sale at great prices so I figured I’d mention them:
Bodum Columbia 8-Cup Stainless-Steel Thermal Press Pot for $30
Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless-Steel Lined Lunch Jar, Silver for $37

If I link to a product, it’s usually something I like and always at an online store I frequent. And yeah, I’m usually an affiliate for the store, which means a percentage of what you spend when shopping via my links comes back to this site.

Daytime

The first five episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street (Sleuth, Noon - 5pm) which are some of the finest hours of television you’ll ever see. These episodes plus another one also air from midnight ’til 6am on Sleuth. Homicide is one of my favorite shows of all time and I think the first three seasons in particular are brilliant.

Primetime Grid

Primetime

Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, and Alec Guiness star in Doctor Zhivago (TCM, letterboxed & uncut, 7pm). A true classic. It runs 210 minutes.

Mark Valley (of Boston Legal) and Sienna Miller star in the very first episode of the very fun (but shortlived) series Keen Eddie (Sleuth, 7pm and 10pm; also on Sat at 5pm and midnight and Sun at 1pm). The second episode will air next Thursday (and Sat and Sun) during the same timeslot. Eddie’s a New York City police detective who ends up heading overseas to work with Scotland Yard after a run of bad luck back home. ‘Twas a fun show which featured great music, it’s a pity it didn’t last longer. It is available on DVD though they replaced much of the original music for the DVD set, I wonder if the original music will be intact when it airs on Sleuth.

NBA hoops on TNT.

Betty gets in trouble in her writing class and Alexis returns to work in this rerun of Ugly Betty (ABC, 7pm) from earlier this season.

Marc: (To Wilhelmina after hearing her plan) “Oh my God, it’s happened, the botox has finally seeped into your brain.”
  from Ugly Betty

Rerun of the second episode of the current season of Without A Trace (CBS, 7pm). A man who cleans up crime scenes for a living disappears along with his daughter. Guest stars include Nina Siemaszko (who was “Ellie” on The West Wing and “Mona” on Tales of the City) and James Marsters (who was “Spike” on both Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer). It’s a good episode.

Dean Cain guest stars in this rerun of Smallville (CW, 7pm); more fun stunt casting since (as you probably know) Cain played Clark/Superman on Lois and Clark.

The “Million Dollar Mission” continues on another new Deal or No Deal on a special night (NBC, 7pm). Howie Mandel hosts. I still prefer the way Seth and Summer referred to the show on The O.C.– they called it “Suitcase or No Suitcase”. I honestly don’t understand the appeal of this show, but that’s okay as I’ve got more than enough other things I can watch (if not live, on my TiVo and on DVD).

The Kansas Jayhawks face the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Orange Bowl (FOX, 7:30pm; pregame at 7pm). Announcers are: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Barry Alvarez.

Season premiere of The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC, 8pm - 9:01pm). It’s The Apprentice but with celebrities, get it? The “celebrities” are competing for charity. Celebs are: Trace Adkins, Carol Alt, Stephen Baldwin, Nadia Comaneci, Tiffany Fallon, Jennie Finch, Nely Galan, Marilu Henner, Lennox Lewis, Piers Morgan, Omarosa, Tito Ortiz, Vincent Pastore, and Gene Simmons. In the first episode, the competitors work as hot dog vendors. Donald Trump is the ringleader here (of course), his children Ivanka and Donald Jr. are also on the show. DVR alert: the title of the show is The Celebrity Apprentice so if you have your DVR set to record The Apprentice that wouldn’t pick this up automatically. This episode also runs a minute long.

Ice-T, Costas Mandylor, Frank John Hughes, and Mia Korf starred in the shortlived series Players (Sleuth, 8pm and 11pm; also airs on Sat at 6pm, Sun at 1am and 2pm). Second episode will air next week in this timeslot. On this show, parolees work with the FBI to try to bring down criminals. Writers and producers for the show included Ice-T, Shaun Cassidy, and Dick Wolf. I don’t think I ever saw this show (a rarity). It aired in the 1997-98 season on NBC and didn’t do very well, but I know some people liked it.

Amy Adams, now starring in the movie Enchanted, first received raves for her performance in June Bug (Lifetime, 8pm) alongside Benjamin McKenzie (who was “Ryan” on The O.C.) and Embeth Davidtz and some other folks. I just remember it receiving raves on Ebert & Roeper, it’s been on my list of “movies to see” for a while now.

Rerun of an episode of C.S.I. (CBS, 8pm) from last season wherein twin sisters are both found dead on the same night, but in separate locations by separate teams. Coincidence? Certainly seems unlikely. Frank Grillo is among the guest stars (he was a regular on Blind Justice, had a recurring role in season one of Prison Break, also was one of many to play “Hart” on Guiding Light).

Meredith takes her Mom to work in this rerun of Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8pm); this is a bit odd seeing as how her Mom is dead. Meredith also takes a cute kid trick-or-treating for something much better than candy. Guest stars include Edward Herrmann (of Gilmore Girls), Rocky Carroll (of Chicago Hope), David Clennon (of Saved), The Agency; memorable recurring roles on Once and Again and thirtysomething), and Elizabeth Reaser (of Saved). Another good episode.

(Meredith is putting the ashes of her mother in a Ziploc bag)
Izzie: What is that?
Meredith: My mother.
Alex: Happy freakin’ Halloween.
[Cristina walks up to them]
Cristina: What are we looking at?
Izzie: Meredith put her Mom in a baggie and brought her to work.
Meredith: I had to get her out of my closet, she was haunting me.
Alex: Now she’s haunting us all.
  from Grey’s Anatomy

Former series regular Gloria Reuben returns to the ER (NBC, 9:01pm) in this new episode; it sounds like she brings her son Carlos in for treatment. I haven’t watched this show regularly in years, but given this appearance (and the fact that there’s so little else on), I’ll probably be watching. Besides, I like to check in on all shows at least a few times each season and I’m overdo to give ER a look. Kari Matchett also guest stars (she was a regular on Heartland and Invasion, had memorable roles on Studio 60 and 24).

Rerun of an episode of Without A Trace (CBS, 9pm) from near the end of last season. A high school student goes missing after leaving her prom early to return to her hotel room. All they find of hers is a bloody prom dress in the room. Ew! Guest stars include Jessy Schram (of Jane Doe and many TV guest appearances), Mark Derwin (who co-starred in two of Bonnie Hunt’s shows, also was on Guiding Light, One Life to Live, The Young and the Restless), and Beth Littleford (of Ben 10, The Daily Show). Another good episode.

Jack Malone: “I’d be pissed.”
Elena Delgado: “Pissed enough to want revenge?”
Jack Malone: “Hey, I always wanted to be prom queen.”
  from Without A Trace

Special rerun of the last new episode of Desperate Housewives (ABC, 9pm) to air (it aired in early December) in case you need a reminder of what’s going on before watching the new episode that airs on Sunday. Here’s a clue: a tornado hits Wisteria Lane! Eek!

Mary Alice: “It was supposed to be a beautiful day. But then the winds came, and changed everything. And not just the houses and the lawns, the people had changed too. While the storm had raged, each of them had learned something. About friendship, and forgiveness, and redemption. And some had learned the hardest lesson of all: that life is always fragile, and very often unfair.”
  from Desperate Housewives

Back to back new episodes of Run’s House (MTV, 9pm, 9:30pm).

Late Night

I imagine the guest lineups are a bit more subject to change than usual.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report are pre-empted and will not air. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are scheduled to return with new episodes on January 7th.

Gone with the Wind (TCM, letterboxed & uncut, 10:30pm). Frankly, my dears, I never get tired of this movie.

Bill Maher, Ellen Page, the cast of the Broadway show Young Frankenstein on a new episode ofThe Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm). With writers and the blessing of the WGA.

No word yet on who the guests will be for tonight’s new episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 10:35pm). No writers, is being picketed by WGA.

Dominic Monaghan (of Lost), Jason Randal on a new episode of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm). With writers and full support of WGA. Guests tomorrow include Leonard Nimoy and Lyle Lovett (I’m so there).

New episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm). No writers, is being picketed, I’m not sure who the guests will be.

Rev. Al Sharpton, Rich Eisen, Two Gallants on a new Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings). No writers here either.

Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings) is a rerun with guests Shannyn Sossamon and Alicia Keys.

The first six episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street (Sleuth, midnight - 6am) which are some of the finest hours of television you’ll ever see.