Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Best Bets
New Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm)
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (IFC, 8pm, 11:45pm)
New Law & Order (NBC, 9pm)
Audition: Barbara Walters’ Journey (ABC, 9pm)
New Top Chef (Bravo, 9pm, 10:15pm, 12:30am, 1:45am)
Felicity Huffman, Mike Doughty on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm)
News & Notes:
ABC has cancelled Men in Trees– this is not a surprise, but I’m still disappointed as I enjoy the show and will miss it. ABC really shouldn’t have messed around with it so much, it could’ve done at least as well as Providence did on Friday nights once upon a time, if they’d just left it in one spot and stopped moving it and preempting it. The first of the three final episodes is scheduled to air on Wednesday, May 28th with the others slated to air after that. It does sound like some things are wrapped up in the final episode.
Amazon is having a major Spring TV Event
Here are some of my favorite deals from the sale:
- The Black Donnellys - The Complete Series
for $15
- Everybody Hates Chris - The First Season
for $15
- Everybody Hates Chris - The Second Season
for $15
- Joan of Arcadia - The First Season
for $20
- Joan of Arcadia - The Second Season
for $20
- Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere
for $20
- The Practice - Volume One
for $20
- Sleeper Cell
for $15
- Sleeper Cell - The Complete Second Season
for $15
A couple of sets that were released this week: The 4400 - The Complete Fourth Season
I’ve started putting together a list of TV DVD sets now available for pre-order. I used to post lists like that all the time, but then this site used to be home to one of the most complete lists of TV DVD titles (and all on one page, no less). I’m gonna try to get back to covering TV DVD stuff more soon.
Thanks again to everyone who shops at Amazon via the links here, I get a percentage of the money you spend and use that to keep this site online.
Daytime
“Viewers React: The Week in Review” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings). Discussion of the Miley Cyrus pictures, Oprah’s interviews with Tom Cruise and Barbara Walters, and Mariah Carey’s wedding. Plus Dr. Oz explains how David Blaine broke the world record and Dr. Randy Pausch talks about his “last lecture.”
Primetime Grid
| Wed | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Wife Swap | Supernanny | Audition: Barbara Walters’ Journey | |||
| CBS | Price is Right | Criminal Minds | CSI: NY | |||
| NBC | Deal or No Deal | Law & Order | ||||
| FOX | ‘Til Death | Back To You | American Idol | Local Programming | ||
| CW | America’s Next Top Model | Farmer Wants a Wife | Local Programming | |||
Primetime
Baseball: Cleveland at Yankees (ESPN, 6pm). Followed by Baseball Tonight (ESPN, 9pm or so).
NBA playoffs: Pistons at Magic (TNT, 7pm), Jazz at Lakers (TNT, 9:30pm).
Two episodes of MI-5 (BBC America, 7pm and 10pm and midnight, 8pm and 11pm and 1am).
The final four photograph Paulina Porizkova and pose as movie icons on a new America’s Next Top Model (CW, 7pm).
New episode of Under One Roof (My Network TV, 7pm). Flavor Flav stars.
A perfectionist swaps lives with a bounty hunter on a new Wife Swap (ABC, 7pm).
Nick Bakay guest stars as Karl on a new ‘Til Death (FOX, 7pm). Eddie becomes jealous of his friend Karl’s second marriage and tries to convince Joy that they should have a relaxed marriage like his.
Deal or No Deal (NBC, 7pm - 9pm) is in Estonia.
HGTV airs new episodes of Get It Sold (HGTV, 7:30pm and 11:30pm) and Design on a Dime (HGTV, 8:30pm and 12:30am).
Suzy Nakamura guest stars as WURG’s new station manager on a new episode of Back To You (FOX, 7:30pm). She makes some changes that don’t go over well. Meanwhile, Marsh (Fred Willard) “accidently takes his wife’s estrogen pill” and I’m sure that also doesn’t go well.
Morgan, Prentiss, Reid, and J.J. try to stop a stalker; Hotch and Rossi consult on a murder case that may involve battered-woman syndrome on a new Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm).
I’m always pleased when a movie I want to see shows up on IFC as they usually air movies uncut and letterboxed. In this case, I’m looking forward to seeing Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (IFC, 8pm, 11:45pm, letterboxed).
Rerun of the “Steam Cannon” episode of Mythbusters (Discovery, 8pm and midnight).
No Boston Legal this week (darnit), the next new episode of Boston Legal is scheduled to air next Wednesday at 9pm. The show still hasn’t been renewed, if you want it to survive, I recommend writing to ABC and getting your friends to watch it when it airs, etc.
Charlie Gibson interviews Barbara Walters in this new special titled Audition: Barbara Walters’ Journey (ABC, 9pm) in which Walters discusses her autobiography Audition: A Memoir
A legal aid worker is killed while on strike on a new Law & Order (NBC, 9pm). Because of the strike and a shortage of defense attorneys, ADA Connie Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza) is asked to defend the defendant. Guest stars include Justin Hagan and Brad William Henke.
The team tries to stop the Taxi Cab Killer on a new CSI: NY (CBS, 9pm). Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist of CBS Sports guest star as themselves. Other guest stars in this episode: Jessalyn Gilsig (of Nip/Tuck, Boston Public), Keri Lynn Pratt (of Jack & Bobby, and Kyle Gallner (of Big Love, Veronica Mars).
The chefs split into teams to cater a wedding on a new special 75-minute episode of Top Chef (Bravo, 9pm, 10:15pm, 12:30am, 1:45am). DVR/VCR Alert: Note the special 75-minute runtime.
The team analyzes NASA footage of reported UFOs and alien presences on UFO Hunters (History Channel, 9pm and 1am).
Two new episodes of Cash and Treasures (Travel Channel, 9pm and 1am, 9:30pm and 1:30am). They cover “Brazilian Aquamarine” and “Brazilian Bling”.
Late Night
Sen. John McCain on The Daily Show (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).
Hasan Elahi, George Johnson on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).
Emile Hirsch, Tom Dreesen, Dirk Arthur on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
Former President Jimmy Carter, Jon Favreau, P.O.D. on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 10:35pm).
Liam Neeson, BJ Novak, the Duke Spirit on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).
Felicity Huffman (of Desperate Housewives, Sports Night), Mike Doughty on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm).
Christina Ricci, Mario Batali, Lil Mama on Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, check your local listings).
Miranda Kerr, Rachael Harris, Seether on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).
Gary said,
May 31st, 2008 at 4:21am
Barbara Walter’s life was influenced greatly by her older sister and she’s written a beautiful memoir about her life. I read another memoir of a life influence by a sibling that I recommend highly - I actually liked it even more. The memoir is “”My Stroke of Insight”" by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. Dr Taylor became a Harvard brain scientist to find the cause and cure for schizophrenia because her older brother was a sufferer. Then, crazy as life can be, Dr. Taylor had a stroke at age 37. What was amazing was that her left brain was shut down by the stroke - where language and thinking occur - but her right brain was fully functioning. She experienced bliss and nirvana and the way she writes about it (or talks about it in her now famous TED talk) is incredible.
What I took away from Dr. Taylor’s book above all, and why I recommend it so highly, is that you don’t have to have a stroke or take drugs to find the deep inner peace that she talks about. Her book explains how. “”I want what she’s having”", and thanks to this wonderful book, I can!