Thursday, December 4, 2008
Best Bets
New My Name Is Earl (NBC, 7pm)
New Ugly Betty (ABC, 7pm)
New Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8pm – 9:01pm)
New CSI (CBS, 8pm – 9:01pm)
New 30 Rock (NBC, 8:30pm)
New Eleventh Hour (CBS, 9:01pm)
News & Notes
DVR/VCR Alert: Eleventh Hour, ER, and the Barbara Walters Special all start at 9:01pm rather than 9pm. And the shows that precede them run ’til 9:01pm.
Life on Mars is preempted tonight for a special; the next new episode is scheduled to air on January 28th; the show is moving to Wednesday nights after Lost this January.
Showtime has picked up Californication for a third season of 12 episodes which will air sometime late in 2009.
Production has been halted on Knight Rider, though more episodes will air yet this season. Whether it gets a second season will depend on how those shows fare.
I’ve seen the first two episodes of season two of Damages and they look promising. William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, and Timothy Olyphant join Glenn Close and Rose Byrne this season. The premiere is set to air on FX on January 6th; if you haven’t yet seen season one, there’s still time to catch up as this is one show where you really need to see every episode in order. I really liked season one of this show from the creatores of The Inside. You can check it out on DVD and Blu-Ray: Damages: The Complete First Season
The Holiday TV DVD Deal of the day is on The Complete Monty Pythons Flying Circus – Collectors Edition Megaset
Amazon is having a Boxed Set Blowout Sale
Primetime Grid
| Day | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Ugly Betty | Grey’s Anatomy | 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008 | |||
| CBS | Survivor: Gabon | CSI | Eleventh Hour | |||
| NBC | My Name Is Earl | Kath & Kim | The Office | 30 Rock | ER | |
| FOX | Kitchen Nightmares | Kitchen Nightmares Rerun | Local Programming | |||
| CW | Smallville Rerun | Supernatural Rerun | Local Programming | |||
Primetime
College football on ESPN, college basketball on ESPN2, and NBA basketball on TNT.
Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell star in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (TCM, 7pm; also on Saturday, December 13th at 1:15pm). This is one of my favorite movies. It’s a really fun musical, which I suppose is most famous for Monroe’s performance of “Diamond’s Are a Girl’s Best Friend”.
Earl and Randy help an old friend who is living in the wild and “keeping company with a raccoon” on My Name Is Earl (NBC, 7pm).
Betty and Amanda team up for an assignment that involves a night on the town on Ugly Betty (ABC, 7pm).
“Timber” is the subject of a new episode of How Stuff Works (Discovery Channel, 7pm and 11pm).
A new season of Cool Tools (DIY, 7pm – 10pm; 11pm – 2am) begins tonight on the DIY Network. Check out the website for more info.
New Factory Floor with Marshall Brain (National Geographic, 7pm and 10pm; also on Saturday at 11am).
Maya Rudolph guest stars as a life coach and spiritual advisor on Kath & Kim (NBC, 7:30pm).
Cristina is awarded the first solo surgery, but then can’t perform it in this new episode of Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8pm – 9:01pm). Melissa George (of In Treatment, Alias, Thieves) and Mary McDonnell (of Battlestar Galactica) continue their guest stints on the show. I’m guessing Jeffrey Dean Morgan will still be around as “Denny” somehow too and like many, I’m not sure how I feel about that storyline. I’m not wild about some recent developments on this show.
A popular young singer is found dead outside a nightclub on CSI (CBS, 8pm). Could the crime be connected to a murder from over 50 years ago? I’m betting yes. Guest stars include Tippi Hedren and Robert Guillaume (of Sports Night and Benson).
There’s a budget surplus that needs to be spent before the end of the year on The Office (NBC, 8pm).
Liz is convinced by Jack to go to her high school reunion and Don Geiss (Rip Torn) wakes up from his coma on 30 Rock (NBC, 8:30pm).
College students in Oklahoma appear to be dying of “the bends” (a condition normally seen in scuba divers) on Eleventh Hour (CBS, 9:01pm). Erik Palladino is among the guest stars.
Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008 (ABC, 9:01pm). Looks like the special will contain interviews with Tina Fey, Rush Limbaugh, Miley Cyrus, Michael Phelps, Will Smith, and Tom Cruise among others.
Neela must testify in court, Alex and Sarah go to a party (against Sam’s will), and Morris and Banfield are snowed in at a conference on ER (NBC, 9:01pm).
Kat faces a tight deadline on a new L.A. Ink (TLC, 9pm and 11pm).
Sarah tries to invent a popular new slang word on a new The Sarah Silverman Program (Comedy Central, 9:30pm and 11:30pm).
Late Night
Two new episodes of Testees (FX, 10pm, 10:30pm). New timeslot for the show.
Ron Howard on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).
Senator Bob Graham, Nicholas Wade on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).
Tina Fey, Frank Caliendo, Tim Montana on a rerun of The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
Brian Williams, Kirk Fox, Common on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 10:35pm).
Brendan Fraser, Steve Schirripa, the Airborne Toxic Event on a rerun of Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).
Muppet Pepe the King Prawn, Saffron Burrows, X on a rerun of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm).
Hugh Jackman, Tom Jones on Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, check your local listings).
Jay Mohr, the Sounds on a rerun of Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).
