Thursday, July 17, 2008
Best Bets
New Greatest American Dog (CBS, 7pm – 8:01pm)
New My Boys (TBS, 8:30pm and 12:40am)
New Burn Notice (USA, 9pm and midnight)
New Ace of Cakes (Food Network, 9pm and midnight)
Ricky Gervais, John Mellencamp on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm)
Premieres
Series premiere of The Gong Show with Dave Attell (Comedy Central, 9pm and 11pm)
Series premiere of Reality Bites Back (Comedy Central, 9:30pm and 11:30pm)
Recommended Reruns
Jeremiah (Sci-Fi Channel, 6pm – 10pm)
News & Notes
The nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this morning, you can read the full list at Emmys.tv. I like the list of the big nominees at Amazon 
Amazon is having huge sale on classic movies on DVD
Daytime
Rerun of an episode of Oprah (syndicated, check our local listings) from February 2006: “Exclusive: The Young Boy Lured into Becoming an Internet Porn Star”.
Primetime Grid
| Day | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Ugly BettyRerun | Grey’s Anatomy Rerun | Hopkins | |||
| CBS | Greatest American Dog | CSI Rerun | Swingtown | |||
| NBC | Last Comic Standing | Fear Itself | ||||
| FOX | Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? | So You Think You Can Dance | Local Programming | |||
| CW | Smallville Rerun | Supernatural Rerun | Local Programming | |||
| TBS | Bill Engvall Show also at 12:10am | My Boys also at 12:40am | ||||
| USA | Burn Notice also at midnight | |||||
Primetime
Episodes 5-8 of season one of the science fiction series Jeremiah (Sci-Fi, 6pm – 10pm). From the creator of Babylon 5.
The challenges in the second episode of Greatest American Dog (CBS, 7pm) all involve obedience training skills. I’ve seen this episode and and enjoyed it even more than the first one, though it did make me wonder why they don’t have a vet or at least a vet tech on site at all times– maybe after the events of this episode they decided to do that. I usually avoid posting spoilers at all costs, but I want to reassure you animal lovers out there that the dogs are all fine by the end of the episode. I got a bit stressed out watching the episode given a dog got injured, so wanted to save you stress. DVR Alert: This episode is scheduled to run one minute long.
The team updates a “stale condo” on Designed to Sell (HGTV, 7pm and 11pm). Followed by new episodes of all the shows in the HGTV Thursday night lineup.
Pearl Jam, the Foo Fighters, and the Flaming Lips pay tribute to The Who on VH1 Rock Honors (VH1, VH1 Classic, 8pm – 10pm, 10pm – midnight with additional airings this weekend).
Underwear is the topic du jour on a new Modern Marvels (History Channel, 8pm and midnight).
Bill discovers that Trent can beat him at basketball in this new episode of The Bill Engvall Show (TBS, 8pm and 12:10am; also on Monday at 10pm). Plus Bryan wants to rid the house of hazards.
It’s already time for Bobby’s bachelor party and a bridal shower for Elsa in tonight’s new episode of My Boys (TBS, 8:30pm and 12:40am; also on Saturday at 10pm). This season has been okay so far, but I find myself missing the sports references and metaphors that were so often a feature of the show during the first season. It just seems like the show has shifted gears a little, there’s a lot less emphasis on how P.J. is “one of the guys” than there used to be. DVR Alert: You might want to pad your recording by a minute or two.
A man who is high up in a drug cartel is way too interested in a woman that Sam knows so (of course) he gets Michael to help in this new episode of Burn Notice (USA, 9pm and midnight; also on Saturday at 4pm and Sunday at 9am). Plus Michael finally meets the woman who’s been giving him orders on the phone (she’s played by Tricia Helfer of Battlestar Galactica) and she has a job for him too. I’ve seen this episode and it’s another fun one– I’m so glad this show is back!
A young woman awakes to find the world overrun with zombies on a new Fear Itself (NBC, 9pm). You guessed it– I hate it when that happens. This episode was written by Steve Niles (of 30 Days of Night) and directed by Darren Bousman (of Saw II and other Saw movies). Briana Evigan (of Step Up 2: The Streets) stars with Niall Matter (who plays “Zane” on Eureka and Cory Monteith (“Charlie” on Kyle XY). Evigan is the daughter of Greg Evigan, in case you were wondering (as I was).
Series premiere of The Gong Show with Dave Attell (Comedy Central, 9pm and 11pm; additional airings this weekend and next week). 8-10 unusual acts are judged by a panel of celebrities. Celebrity judges for this episode are Andy Dick, Dave Navarro, and JB Smoove. Comedy Central says of the show: “Stars will be made. Feelings will be hurt.” Triumph The Insult Comic Dog is going to be a judge in at least one episode. You can check out the official website for more info.
Episode four (of six) of Hopkins (ABC, 9pm).
Tonight’s new episode of Penn & Teller: Bulls…! (Showtime, 9pm; also on Friday at 9pm and 9:30pm; lots of additional airings on various Showtime stations) is titled “Sleep, Inc.” and focuses on the many sleep products marketed to help consumers get a good night of sleep; there are lots of bogus products and claims out there, that’s for sure. I do hope they acknowledge the very real sleep disorders that are out there. I’m very excited by the progress made in technology to help those with sleep apnea; there are lots of legit products out there for folks with this serious medical condition, but there are also some quacks out there marketing stupid pointless stuff. (If any of you ever have questions about sleep apnea, CPAP gear, sleep studies, etc. feel free to ask me as I know a lot about the subject.)
The “world’s largest cupcake” is created for a charity bake sale on a new Ace of Cakes (Food Network, 9pm and midnight).
Steel is the topic of a new episode of The Works (History Channel, 9pm and 1am; also on Saturday at 10pm and 2am).
Tom throws a pool party without consulting Trina in this new episode of Swingtown (CBS, 9:04pm).
Birds and dogs are rescued on a new Animal Cops Philadelphia (Animal Planet, 9pm and 4am).
Christian Bale is profiled on a new Biography (Biography Channel, 9pm and 1am).
Sheryl Crow, Hard-Fi, and Diana Krall on Live From Abbey Road (Sundance, 9pm; also on Friday at 8pm and 1am).
New episode of Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew (MTV, 9pm, 10pm, 1am). Runtime of 60 minutes.
New Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (Bravo, 9pm, 10pm, midnight; also on Friday at 5pm and many other times).
Series premiere of Reality Bites Back (Comedy Central, 9:30pm and 11:30pm; with additional airings this weekend and early next week). Ten comedians compete against each other in this competition reality series that mocks and parodies other competition reality series. Michael Ian Black hosts, you can find out more about the show on the official website. Sounds intriguing, eh? But then I approve of mocking reality shows whenever possible. You can check out the first ten minutes of the show on their website if you’d like a sneak preview.
Late Night
Maggie Gyllenhaal on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).
Elizabeth Edwards on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).
Ricky Gervais, John Mellencamp on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
David Spade, Jordana Spiro, Coldplay on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 10:35pm).
Aaron Eckhart, Caroline Rhea, Dr. Dog on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).
Jet Li and Rita Rudner fight on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm). (Okay, I doubt they do, was just seeing if you were paying attention. Does seem like an odd couple though, doesn’t it?)
Justin Timberlake, Kim Kardashian, Cool Kids on Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, check your local listings).
Chelsea Handler, Serj Tankian on a rerun of Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).
