Category Archives: Television

April 27, 2007 · 3:17 pm

Breaking News: Studio 60 returns May 24th at 10/9c

Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I was looking to see if perhaps Studio 60 might be replacing the finishing Raines after this week’s episode, and stumbled across something I was certainly not aware of.

According to NBC.com (And spread further by Zap2it), Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip will be taking over for ER on May 24th (That’s a Thursday) at 10pm EST. This is fantastic news for those of us who want to see how this season comes to a close. There’s still at least five episodes of the show remaining to air, and there’s still an off chance that it could be picked up for next season. However, I don’t expect this to happen.

You see, while it’s great that it’s coming back, that timeslot is going to be death. There’s no lead-in whatsoever, and while I’m glad to see it’s not being dead zoned on Fridays it’s still going to be a tough battle against the lead-outs from CSI (Shark) and Grey’s Anatomy (Maybe Men in Trees? Depends, really).

Either way, get ready to complain about pretentious writing and people who just can’t sleep together without bringing religion into it. And, if you’re me, kind of enjoy it all despite those aspects of it.

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April 27, 2007 · 3:09 pm

What Should You Watch Tonight? – Friday April 27th

Let’s face it, the Box Office race isn’t too interesting this weekend (Nicholas Cage’s Next, Stone Cold Steve Austin’s The Condemned and Justin Chatwin’s (Locke’s FBI-investigator grow-up friend on “Lost”) The Invisible), so I figure that a night in with some television might well be in order. As a result, here’s three picks for the evening’s TV lineup.

8pm – Six Degrees (Online at ABC.com)

Sure, it might not be on your television, but it’s something new to watch if you were a fan of the ABC drama during its initial run. Unable to take advantage of its Grey’s Anatomy lead-in, the show was shelved to the side months ago and even after a brief return on Fridays found no traction. As a result, ABC has decided to stick with Grey’s Anatomy repeats (A show which does NOT repeat well) instead. Still, for those craving something, head to ABC.com today to check it out.

9pm – Raines (“Season” Finale)

I use airquotes because, barring some form of circumstance we are unaware of, a second season for Raines is just a psychotic image in the mind of the show’s lead character. The pilot didn’t capture me, and the show’s early cut to only 7 episodes didn’t really help either. It just didn’t connect with viewers, and NBC will be looking for something else to fill this timeslot. For those who enjoyed the show, however, it gives its likely swan song tonight.

10pm – Law & Order

In what could be its last back of new episodes, Law & Order returns from a hiatus with an episode that commercials promise will be classic Law & Order. Something to do with asylum and something crazy that happens. All I know is that my Law & Order piece couldn’t be much more true at this point; Criminal Intent is doing an Astronaut attempted murder/kidnapping story on Tuesday, which is entirely played out in the media. We’ll see if these kind of problems lead to the downfall of the Mothership, in which case this could be our last batch of new episodes.

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April 26, 2007 · 10:38 pm

Thursday Night TV Club Showdown: April 26th, 2007

Three comedies. Three episodes. Two guest stars. One product recall. One season finale. And, in the end, one champion. Will the victor be The Office, recently named the show with the greatest percentage viewer increase through same-week DVR viewings? Or perhaps 30 Rock, the little show that could celebrating its 1st Season finale with a 2nd in the bag, despite some Alec Baldwin-related drama? Or could it be the veteran Scrubs, still facing a possible cancellation and coming off of an overly emotional story arc around a character death? We’ll have to find out.

The Office – “Product Recall”

It opened with perhaps the best cold open in weeks, featuring Jim mimicking Dwight to a tee. It continued with an episode that featured, for perhaps the first time in weeks, a moment for every single character.

We’ve got Dwight preparing the Office for a press conference by placing Karen, Ryan and Pam out front while placing a plant in front of Phyllis. We’ve got Andy and Jim’s bonding on the school visit over some “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (No one can possibly resist a good “Awimbawa”). We’ve got Michael botching a press conference and threatening to call the “Ungrateful Biatch Hotline” in front of a reporter. Then you have Angela making customer service calls, Kelly breaking into some B-A-N-A-N-A-S, Creed being his usual sketchy self in delightful fashion, and…it was just a fantastic ensemble episode of the office. It didn’t get too caught up in recurring storylines, and yet still seemed believable (Unlike Michael’s trip to the roof during safety training). It was grounded, strong in character, and is perhaps one of the best episode’s of the season.

30 Rock – “Hiatus”

30 Rock delivered some good laughs, including a few from guest star Sean Hayes, but the problem is that it was really much more mired up in recurring storylines that never really came to a satisfactory conclusion. Tina Fey is a great comedy writer, she really is, but she isn’t used to “season long storyline arcs” or “season finales.” The result, really, is an episode that kind of felt like the episode of The Girlie Show within the episode itself: it was too short, too uneventful, and some of it just wasn’t funny enough.

I like that it dealt with some things extremely well (Colleen, Jack’s Mother, was bloody delightful, and the Star Wars references were cute), but parts of it just didn’t seem necessary. The Office has built a mythology which has allowed its more plot driven episodes to have meaning, but 30 Rock hasn’t done this yet. It needs to build to that point, and it hasn’t done it yet; Liz’s breakup with Floyd and Jack’s with Phoebe felt like meaningless diversions to build to some form of dramatic conclusion that was neither a) conclusive or b) dramatic. It just kind of all ended…with some funny lines throughout, but it wasn’t what a finale really needs to be. I’d almost rather it forget about the drama altogether and stick to make tight, slick half-hours of television.

Scrubs – “My Turf War”

Perhaps in the exact opposite direction to The Office or 30 Rock, I actually quite prefer Scrubs when it heads into more dramatic character territory. Too often recently the show has gone to quirky comedy as a first resort. For perhaps the first time in a long time, Scrubs came to the table with an episode that reminded me of the season one episodes I’ve been enjoying recently. It was structured in ways that dealt with each character to a certain degree, and ended on a “cliffhanger” that felt actually, well, real.

It attacked on two fronts, instead of trying to cover nearly four of them as in past weeks. It introduced guest star Keri Russell as a college sorority sister for Elliot, who was funny enough and brought some actual tension into a relationship we haven’t seen in weeks: J.D. and Elliot. Their dynamic is a great part of past seasons, and it was nice of them to return to it in a non-sexual way…well, for now, anyways. And then, concurrently, they were able to deal with the battle between Dr. Cox and Turk, long raging, in a real fashion. The Janitor had his own little subplot that was in the background, Carla and Dr. Kelso had a small role, and the episode ended with Keith proposing to Elliot as J.D. realizes that being Elliot’s best friend might not be as easy now. It had dramatic impact, it had real character shifts, and it had a sense of an ensemble that it hasn’t had in awhile.

And the winner is…

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April 26, 2007 · 12:03 pm

Catching up with ’30 Rock’

So, tonight the best new comedy of the season finds itself ending its season outside of the usually comfy spot of May Sweeps. Usually, this would be a sign for concern, but against the odds NBC renewed the show for a second season. Instead, 30 Rock is ending early since it had to return earlier due to Andy Barker’s struggles, and so it can make way for Supersized editions of The Office, My Name is Earl and Scrubs throughout May. But, I figure that tonight’s finale is actually continuing quite a few storylines, so here’s a little bit of catchup for those interested.

Liz Lemon (Tina Fey)

Her Life Thus Far: Started show as showrunner for The Girlie Show, a sketch comedy show on NBC, had to hire an unstable comedy actor due to new management, was forced to change the name of her show, was set up with a woman and considered her sexuality, got back together with her ex-boyfriend who sells pagers, found out that her ex-boyfriend was a pervert when he was on “To Catch a Predator,” almost made out with a relative, got attacked by her boss’ ex-wife for stealing him away from her, struggled to keep her writing staff in check, shot someone at the Source Awards, mistakingly received flowers meant for someone else’s girlfriend, was charmed by said flower-giver, attempted to break up his relationship by getting his girlfriend fired, failed, but she left anyways, and then she started dating Floyd, who was good to her, but he ended up breaking up with her to go to Sunny Cleveland to his perfect life while she remains toiling in New York trying to figure out a way to make Jack see that his fiancé is a manipulative gold-digging whore. [Video: Liz in Retrospect (Plus a Preview of the Finale)]

Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin)

His Life Thus Far: Took over Television and Microwave Oven Programming for General Electric, which put him in direct control of The Girlie Show, which he changed the name of, and whose creator he felt needed serious help, who he then forced to write a product integration skit which he ended up acting in despite a hilarious 5-day shoot for an informational video, which he followed with a relationship with Condeleeza Rice, followed by a battle with his ex-wife (Played delightfully by Isabella Rossellini, who should totally be a regular next season), and then portrayed his powers of negotiation and comedy and weird doctors, and then proved his inability to think about all of this when he set off fireworks in the middle of New York City, which was an absolute failure and resulted in GE trying to take away his control over the Microwave Oven division, which put him down in the dumps, which resulted in him buying pretty art pieces from a creepy fake-British woman with hollow bones (like a bird, we get it Phoebe) who Jack proposes to out of desperation, flies to Paris with her, falls asleep during sex, and then is convinced by the fiancé that Liz is just jealous when she attempts to convince him out of his crazy plan. [Video: Jack’s Words of Wisdom (YouTube)]

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April 25, 2007 · 8:52 pm

The Cultural Learnings Magic 8-Ball: Idol’s “Most Shocking Elimination” Prediction

I’ve shaken my magic 8-Ball with the following prediction:

Will American Idol’s most shocking elimination ever in fact be a complete lack of an elimination in a moment of spiritual togetherness and happiness?

“Count on it.”

It is now 8:51 EST. We’ll see if the 8-Ball is correct in believing that no one will be eliminated on tonight’s episode of American Idol.

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April 25, 2007 · 8:36 pm

Lost – “D.O.C.” Recap

Six Questions About “D.O.C.”

1. Okay, what does D.O.C. stand for?

Date of Conception, which is an important distinction to the episode. You see, if you conceive a child off the island (Rousseau, Claire), you’ll be a-ok. If you did so on the island, well, it’s kind of up in the air. This distinction is explained by Juliet, who appears to have secret knowledge relating to the “abandoned” medical hatch.

2. So how’s the sex life on the island?

Well, let’s think back to who exactly has had sex on the island. We’ve got Jin/Sun (Although we never really saw that coupling), clearly, considering the result of the ultrasound, but what about Kate/Sawyer? The end of the episode seems to indicate that Kate might be pregnant as well. And if that’s the case, would Ana Lucia have been pregnant should she have not been, well, shot? And what does this mean for pretty well anyone who has sex? I assume that people are having sex on the island (Come on, it’s been a long time now), so does this mean that there is a whole lot of pregnant women walking around? It raises a lot of interesting questions.

3. Is Juliet’s motivation any clearer?

Yeah, not so much. Although, at the episode’s end, we get a fairly substantial glimpse into her true emotions…while at the same time confirming her greatest motivation is in the hands of Ben and the Others. We still, however, don’t know why she’s working with him even in her apparent distain for every fiber of his being. The episode certainly showed that she is certainly still going along with Ben’s plan, but yet she doesn’t seem to be as much of a true believer as we saw in “One of Us” two weeks ago. It’s still very, very vague.

4. Who is this parachute girl exactly?

We still don’t have an answer to this question, let’s be fair. We know that she speaks a whole bunch of different languages, we know that she seems to know a lot about Oceanic 815, but we’re currently missing a name, an identity, and an answer to our questions about why she knew Desmond’s name, why she had a copy of the photo. We got a few new questions, if anything, as opposed to any sort of answers. It was somewhat overshadowed, though, by the fact that Mikhail came back from the dead to save her life. I am much more interested in his miraculous recovery from apparently having his brain blown out than I am about this woman.

5. Is Jin and Sun’s Back Story any interesting?

I’d argue it is, but I worry that it’s a little bit repetitive. I think, though, that it did a good job of reflecting the episode’s themes (Unsure as to her relationship with Jin, questions of the past coming back to haunt you, etc.) while having its own little narrative. This was a big episode for Sun’s character, and I think that her concern over Jin’s past showed some strong development. The arc of the story flowed well, and showed the level to which she wants their relationship to work; she basically sacrificed their marriage over it. Their story is a fantastic tragedy, and this episode continued this.

6. Any big revelations?

YES. Okay, this blew my mind. You know how so many times people have these crazy adventures, and then they don’t actually TELL anyone else about it, so it’s like this big secret. Well, in this episode, they revealed that they DO talk. In fact, they knew a lot of details about it. Honestly, this is kind of mind blowing for me. They should do this more often.

…oh, you mean other than that? Well, there was sort of the fact that Oceanic Flight 815 was already discovered. They found the plane. There was no survivors. Naomi (Parachute Girl)? She’s totally just there for Desmond, not these apparently dead people. That’s kind of intense, really…but I’m more impressed that they actually communicated. That’s a breakthrough right there.

But these questions don’t cover everything in the episode, although it does cover most of it. Much like last week, this episode was really quite centered on Sun/Jin and didn’t deal with a broad range of issues or anything. If you want all the details, however, continue reading for a full recap.

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April 24, 2007 · 11:48 pm

Cultural Catchup: April 25th

Wow, so much is going on right now…

Idol Gives Back, McNutts provide Commentary

So, tonight was the first part of the rather epic Idol Gives Back event on American Idol, and the singing was just…ok. I thought Jordin was pitchy in the beginning, contrary to the judges, but really there wasn’t much to really say about the performances. There is a lot to say, however, on the subject of the cultural ramifications of Idol Gives Back. The elder McNutt has taken an interest in it, and I’ve assisted in analyzing and considering the issue over at McNutt Against the Music. I implore all of you to go over and check it out, it’s quite interesting (I even bring up Baudrillard!).

…in which McNutt and McNutt discuss “Idol Gives Back” – McNutt Against the Music

What’s up with the Boys of Entourage?

Joe asks, and Joe receives; I have, indeed, not talked about Entourage since its recent Season 3.5 premiere. My thoughts? First episode back was good, the second was dull and annoying, while the third got things back on track thanks to some classic Ari and the absolutely stunning Carla Gugino. Ari/Lloyd have been a powerful force thus far, and I think it’s making me more and more frustrated with Vince and Eric. While the latter two are all caught up in the drama of it all, unable to escape their juvenile ways, Ari and Lloyd have this great rapport that just kills me. They’re currently saving Entourage, and I think that they’re perhaps my favourite duo on TV right now.

The Post-Elimination Speech Revenge: Dancing with the Stars and Reality Legitimacy

So, I haven’t been paying too much attention to Dancing with the Stars, but I’ve seen enough to know that the show is suffering the same fate as The Apprentice: its contestants are losing respect for the program. It’s one thing for viewership to fail, but the past two weeks has seen Clyde Drexler and Heather Mills give absolutely biting exit speeches that attack parts of the show’s structure.

Drexler ended last week attacking the judges for expecting non-dancers to be so good. Reasonable? Absolutely not. But it’s still tough to hear for producers. And this week, Heather Mills prepared an entire speech in which she voiced her views on animal rights (unsurprising, but it really pissed off Tom Bergeron who told her to “save her speech for another venue”) and pointed out that she feels bad since her partner (Johnathan) would not be unemployed thanks to her exit. I seriously doubt the show wanted us to think about unemployment when watching ABC’s reality television programming.

The Apprentice had a similar problem, in that after a specific board room the team just laughed as they left, failing to take Trump seriously in the least. Is reality TV becoming so transparent that contestants are no longer willing to isolate themselves? If this is the case, what does this mean for future shows? Is reality TV finally becoming less desirable, less idealistic? I guess that’s a question to ponder.

Today is a pretty crazy day for me, as I’m packing up and heading home. I should be back home in time for some Idol Gives Back and Lost blogging, however, which could mean a long night in front of the HDTV. Mmmm. High-Definition.

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April 23, 2007 · 9:00 pm

Heroes – ‘.07%’

Heroes – ‘.07%’

[Previously on Heroes: Well, there’s a lot to cover, so head over to ‘When we Last Left Our Heroes…’ for some more detail. The result is a Linderman-specific narration of the last episode and the head space of each character. Perfect moments frozen in portraits. Together, they can tell the future]

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April 22, 2007 · 4:10 pm

When We Last Left Our ‘Heroes’…

Monday April 23rd is the date that everyone has been looking forward to, when Heroes returns from its almost two month long hiatus for its last batch of new episodes. However, since it’s been awhile, I figure we should revisit the status of each of our Heroes in order to refresh our memory after the hiatus acted went all ‘Haitian’ on our brains.

Edit: Wish to know what happens in ‘.07%’, the new episode? Check out the recap here: “Heroes: ‘.07%'” 

Claire

Status: On the run from Primatech.
Psychological State: She recently discovered that her grandmother has been involved in her life in some capacity, and that she and the Haitian are both trying to keep her safe. Plus, she might never see her parents again. She’s in a bit of a tough shape, and it might even make her dye her hair to cope with it all. Just a hunch.

Nathan

Status: Appearing on “Linderman’s Kitchen,” a cooking show where Linderman blackmails political candidates to doing his bidding while making vegetarian delights.
Psychological State: Considering that Linderman just offered him the Presidency, I’d say that he’s pretty happy on one side, and morbidly concerned on the other. Plus, Linderman both has sharp knives and the ability to have him killed, so I think he’ll probably take the deal. Just a hunch.

Hiro

Status: Transported into the near future, post-bomb, with Ando and experiencing the carnage that ensues…although he now has the sword in his possession. Huzzah!
Psychological State: He’s kind of depressed about, you know, utter desolation, but he’s got his abilities back so it’s looking up for Hiro’s role in future episodes. After slumming in Las Vegas for awhile, he deserves a chance to break free.

Mr. Bennet

Status: Apprehended, along with his wife, by Primatech thanks to the shape-shifting hero recently brought into the show.
Psychological State: He recently had his memory wiped, but was smart enough to inform his wife ahead of time. Of course, he wasn’t smart enough to realize that the shape-shifter would take his wife’s form and fool him into revealing that he had some knowledge of Claire’s whereabouts. Which puts him in a little bit of turmoil.

Peter

Status: Shoved up against a wall by Sylar and currently having a large incision being placed into his skull which is resulting in a rather alarming amount of blood.
Psychological State: Well, Sylar is kind of trying to kill him, so I think he’s probably a tad bit frazzled. He could also be considering whether or not he’s quite mastered Claire’s healing capability, and whether or not anyone is nearby to try to help him. Like Claude, perhaps. Who knows.

Sylar

Status: Shoving Peter up against a wall and cutting his head open.
Psychological State: In my view, Sylar’s a great multi-tasker. He’s planning out tomorrow’s grocery shopping, and wondering if Peter maybe has a power that gets blood out of clothes easier. Because that would be spectacular, those dry cleaner bills are murder.

Mohinder

Status: Attached to the ceiling of his apartment while bleeding out onto the ground.
Psychological State: “LOVE HANGIN’ LOVE HANGIN’ HA HA HA.” [See 1:30 of the link for the reference. Be warned: It’s Muppets.]

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April 22, 2007 · 10:44 am

Saturday Night Live (April 21st, 2007) – Scarlett Johansson & Bjork

Due to an unfortunate circumstance of having a particularly fiendish acquaintance in possession of my property, I was unable to actually watch Saturday Night Live. However, for a short time, every single skit was on YouTube. So, I have “watched” it. And here’s some links that will likely go down, but at least a few of you could enjoy it.

The Digital Short – Roy Rules

This is really, really, really not funny. Is it kind of cute in some of its jokes? Sure, Andy Samberg has good timing and the production is strong. And it does a good job of not peaking too early, and doesn’t outlive itself too easily. I just think it’s a bit too crude, too simple, for me to really embrace it. After last week’s digital short was a biting social satire (violence or no violence), it was somewhat disappointing for this descent into low brow humour.

SNL – Regis & Kelly – Ivanka Trump

Considering that Regis is returning from his Triple Bypass Surgery this week, this is a timely sketch return that benefitted from the rather fantastic cuts to Armisen’s Howie Mandel (He’s no Kattan’s Gillman, but he’ll do). However, Ivanka is actually far more full of life than the sketch gave her credit for. And now here I am revealing my secret fascination with Ivanka Trump. Sigh.

Weekend Update

I have a lunch meeting, so I am unable to completely finish watching this, but it started on a mildly humorous note. And the “Really!” back and forth was, well, really funny regarding Gonzalez. I approve.

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