Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

Season premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX, 7pm)
New Gossip Girl (CW, 7pm; also on Sun at 5pm)
New The Closer (TNT, 8pm and 11pm)
New Weeds (Showtime, 9pm and 10pm)
New Raising The Bar (TNT, 9pm and midnight, also airs at 10pm on Tuesday)

News & Notes

In Minnesota, you may see coverage of tonight’s Vikings-Packers game on ABC instead of their scheduled lineup.

Primetime series that have season or series premieres this week:
Series premiere of Fringe (FOX, Tuesday)
Series premiere of Privileged (CW, Tuesday)
Season premiere of ‘Til Death (FOX, Wednesday)
Series premiere of Do Not Disturb (FOX, Wednesday)
Series premiere of Hole in the Wall (FOX, Thursday)
Season premiere of Don’t Forget the Lyrics (FOX, Friday)

For a premiere dates of all the shows, check out my Fall 2008 Schedule Grid. Or have a look at the DVD Page where I’ve posted a list of returning series along with info on releases of DVD sets for the previous season along with premiere dates for the new season (the list is incomplete, but covers most shows; I should have the complete list up by the end of the day).

Daytime

Most daytime talk shows have their season premieres today, including returning talk shows Oprah, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Rachael Ray Show, Tyra Banks Show.

The series premiere of The Bonnie Hunt Show airs today. I’ve been a big fan of Hunt’s for years so I can’t wait to see her new show. I still mourn her shortlived sitcoms just a little bit.

Other new syndicated daytime series that have their series premieres today: Deal or No Deal, The Doctors, and Family Court with Judge Penny.

You’ll need to check your local listings to find out when/where these shows air in your neck of the woods (and some shows won’t air in all areas). Are you guys interested in lists of guests and topics for daytime talk shows? I used to post those sometimes and could return to doing that if there’s interest.

Today is also the day that your local network affiliates may launch new schedules so it’s worth double-checking to see when your favorite talk show airs. Occasionally shows will even move to a different station. Local stations may also start carrying new batches of syndicated reruns this week so if there’s a show you’ve been wanting to see that hasn’t been airing in reruns, you might want to search the schedules to see if it recently started airing or will in the next week or so.

The Martha Stewart Show returns with new episodes on September 15th.

Primetime Grid

Featured Pick

Season premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX, 7pm).

When we last left Sarah and John Connor, a Terminator had just killed a whole lot of people and a car had exploded . . . with someone in it. Sarah and John were running, not just from Terminators, but from some nasty other people because they’d stolen some important technology from them.

This season picks up right where last season left off. Brian Austin Green is a full cast member this season as John’s uncle; Shirley Manson also joins the cast, she plays a CEO of a high-tech company. Dean Winters guest stars in the first episode at least as Sarah’s former fiancee who has recently seen just why she’s on the run. Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker continue to do excellent work as Sarah and John Connor.

I’ve seen the season premiere and it’s pretty darn good. I felt the first season of the show faltered a bit after a promising pilot– I really hated that the Terminator played by Summer Glau went from being able to handle herself well in high school to being confused by humans and unable to imitate them very well. The first season was uneven, but entertaining– especially if you’re a fan of the Terminator movies, of course. I think there’s a danger of it all becoming too repetitive, but I hope they have an interesting storyline planned involving the company they introduce in this episode. I’m also very interested in the federal agent played by Richard T. Jones; I can’t help but wonder what is going on with him and how he survived what he survived. Max Perlich has a small guest spot in the season premiere.

I plan to watch the show this season, even though Sarah Connor Chronicles is in a tough timeslot and I may have to do some tricky maneuvering to manage to record/watch it. Other shows that I like a lot which air during the 7pm hour on Mondays: Chuck (NBC, returns 9/29), Gossip Girl (second episode of the season airs tonight), The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother (CBS, both return on 9/22). At least I can watch/record the Sunday airings of Gossip Girl, which makes things only slightly easier. Also airing on Mondays at 7pm: Monday Night Football (ESPN) and Dancing with the Stars (ABC, returns on 9/22).

The season premiere of The Sarah Connor Chronicles airs tonight at 7pm on FOX.

Primetime

Blair is very excited to be dating royalty in tonight’s new episode of Gossip Girl (CW, 7pm; also on Sunday at 5pm in most markets). And Nate discovers that seeing the person he’s seeing isn’t so easy. Serena and Dan want to keep their reunion a secret. And . . . well, lots more stuff happens. Chuck is, as ever, Chuck. I liked this episode, though the next one is even better.

Cannons possibly from the 1846 shipwreck of the USS Shark, something having to do with Jewish immigrants sheltered at a Connecticut farmhouse, and a painting possibly by poet Kahlil Gibran on a new episode of History Detectives (PBS, check your local listings).

James and Richard spend their night driving people home in their own cars after they’ve had too much to drink on a new episode of Top Gear (BBC America, 7pm, 10pm, midnight) followed by a rerun (BBC America, 8pm, 11pm, 1am).

New episode of Mystery ER (Discovery Health Channel, 7pm and 10pm).

USA airs the very first episode of House (USA, 7pm).

New episodes of these shows on HGTV tonight: Designed to Sell (HGTV, 7pm and 11pm), Curb Appeal (HGTV, 7:30pm and 11:30pm), and Hidden Potential (HGTV, 8:30pm and 12:30am).

An FBI informant is a suspect in the deaths of two police officers on a new episode of The Closer (TNT, 8pm and 11pm; also on Saturday at 9am and next Monday at 7pm). And remember that newspaper article that was discussed last week? The article hits the stands in this episode. Oh-oh. Sounds like a rather stressful episode for everyone.

Prison Break (FOX, 8pm) moves into its regular timeslot (it debuted last week with a special two-hour premiere from 7pm ’til 9pm). In the third hour of this season, I’m guessing they deal with what they learned at the end of the last episode. Funny how that works, eh? I wonder if this season will consist of our not-so-merry band of folks going out and stealing stuff each week. I do love caper movies, but I’m thinking this will be less fun than most of those are.

Part two of the two-part season premiere of One Tree Hill (CW, 8pm). Lucas and his fiance plan their dream wedding.

“Breakfast Buffet” is the title of a new episode of Unwrapped (Food Network, 8pm and 11pm). Looks like it will cover Dunkin’ Donuts, TexaSweet grapefruits, the Mrs. Butterworth syrup factory, and Uncle Willy’s muffins.

New episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 (TLC, 8pm and 11pm).

A 90-minute episode of Baseball Tonight (ESPN2, 8:30pm).

It’s already time for the second-to-last episode of this season of Weeds (Showtime, 9pm, 10pm). My how time flies. I wasn’t as happy with this season as with other seasons, but I’m still very curious to see what happens next and how the season ends. The show will be back for another season after this one.

There’s trouble getting a key eyewitness to court on tonight’s new episode of Raising The Bar (TNT, 9pm and midnight, also airs at 10pm on Tuesday). And a friend may be the one causing the trouble. A new female character is introduced in this episode, who shows promise. Percy Daggs, who played “Wallace” on Veronica Mars is among the guest stars. Did you check this out last week? What did you think? If you were underwhelmed by the first episode, you might want to try this episode which I liked more than the premiere. This new series was created by Steven Bochco; it’s about a group of lawyers who are friends, but also work together or face up against each other in court.

Amy Wynn Pastor helps a couple install built-in kitchen cabinets, a new countertop, and drywall in their new home on a new episode of Make a Move (DIY, 9pm and 1am; also on Wednesday at 2pm and Sunday at 9am).

Josh visits one of the most primitive tribes on Earth to learn the secrets of how to make a mummy. on a new Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein (Discovery, 9pm and 1am).

Season finale of Date My Ex: Jo & Slade (Bravo, 9pm and 10pm).

Season premiere of Dr. 90210 (E!, 9pm).

Late Night

Sen. Evan Bayh on a rerun of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

Susan Eisenhower, Doris Kearns Goodwin on a rerun of The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

Keira Knightley, Thomas Friedman on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Michael Phelps, J.B. Smoove, Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Neil Patrick Harris (of Dr. Horrible, How I Met Your Mother), Sophia Myles on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm).

Howie Mandel, Nastia Liukin, Bon Iver on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).

Don Cheadle, Emma Stone, Lady Antebellum on a rerun of Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Penn & Teller, Katy Perry on a rerun of Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).