Best Television Shows

Archive for October, 2009

Cry, but do it pretty for the cameras…

This week on the massive shitshow in my life that is THE HILLS, Kristin has a big ‘ol party and invites the usual gang of idiots. Justin says he’s not going to show, then does, and Kristin contemplates dating Brody…and vice versa after enduring Jayde’s gross face for far too long. Blah Dead is boring as shit, and waters her plants. Also, Holly is still a filthy, filthy drunk.

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(S08E11) All the people involved in Monk know that this is the last season. They’ve promoted it as such, and clearly they’ve planned it that way. That could explain why Monk is evolving in these last episodes. I was truly encouraged by last week’s Sharona episode, which was one of the best Monks I’ve seen in a long time.

Could the next episode possibly be that good? Well, not quite, but it was wonderful. I’m giving anything away — it’s in the title — but this was all about Mr. Monk and a dog. Yes, Adrian and a dog. More after the jump.

Continue reading Review: Monk – Mr. Monk and the Dog

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

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• Biography Channel has a Celebrity Ghost Stories marathon all night.
• HBO Family has a Ghost Trackers marathon all night.
• At 7, Syfy has Ghost Hunters Halloween Live Countdown.
• At 7:30, FOX has Game 3 of The World Series.
• NBC has College Football at 7:30, Notre Dame vs. Washington State.
• At 8, ABC has College Football, USC vs. Oregon.
• Food Network has Spooky Cake & Candy Cook-Off at 8, followed by two Halloween episodes of Challenge.
• TCM has 1941’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at 8.
• At 9, CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show.
• BBC America has a new Robin Hood at 9, then a new Graham Norton Show.
• Bravo has 13 Scarier Movie Moments at 9.
• Animal Planet has a new Dogs 101 at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.
• History Channel has The Real Wolfman at 10.
• At 12:30AM, Cartoon Network has two new episodes of Bleach.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour before going to bed!

Filed under: Programming, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free

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Like a stray dog that works his way into your heart, I think I’ve fallen in love with The Middle. I didn’t want to get so attached, because — quite frankly — ABC’s track record for sticking with quality shows isn’t so great. I’m still mourning Pushing Daisies. But The Middle is nothing like Pushing Daisies, nor does it fall into the quirky, clever mode of other shows that ABC has been promulgating for years. Ugly Betty is quirky. Better off Ted is quirky. Dirty Sexy Money was quirky. Quirky’s the word.

Continue reading My Big Bang theory: The Middle’s Brick is another Sheldon

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory

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One of my favorite actresses is joining the cast of America’s most watched drama series. That means about 20 million viewers a week will get to see her in action. The actress is Rena Sofer and she’s been cast on NCIS as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense lawyer. The role could be long term or recurring, they’re not saying yet.

In fact, they’re not giving much away at all. Not even the character’s name or when she starts. Thus far, it’s hard to see where a lawyer would be needed in the current storylines, so it’s likely that there’s an arc on the way that will bring her along as a key element.

Rena has a load of primetime experience, having appeared on Heroes, 24, Couples, Blind Justice, Just Shoot Me… but for me she was never better than when she was on General Hospital as Lois Cerullo.

Continue reading Rena Sofer cast on NCIS

Filed under: OpEd, NCIS, Casting, Reality-Free

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(S01E02) “Please don’t try anything. I have five bars and free long distance. I can be far away and still cause you pain.” - bad guy with phone bomb

First the bad news.

I can buy the FBI spending $5000 on a party featuring 65 supermodels and a rooftop terrace to catch a crook. I can buy a rich woman giving a complete stranger an apartment for $700 a month even though he’s an ex-con. I can buy a fancy dress with some security device inside of it that a master criminal would kill for. There’s a lot of stuff I’ll buy in a show like this.

What I can’t buy is that hat Matthew Bomer insists on wearing. He wants to be Rat Pack-era cool but with the hat and the vest and rolled up sleeves, he looks more like he’s doing a fashion shoot for Details or maybe fronting a boy band.

Continue reading Review: White Collar – Threads

Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

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This is a Recap of The Office Season 6, Episode 7, “Koi Pond”. Spoiler spoiler spoilers. Etc.

Last night’s Office episode was Halloween-themed in cold open only, but it was a welcome sequence nonetheless with Darryl half-assedly narrating a warehouse Halloween adventure to disinterested children, followed by Michael’s way-over-the-line hanging (to compliment his over-the-line costume choice):

The plot started out innocuously, with Michael falling into a koi pond on a sales trip then returning to a gauntlet of insults back at the office, but quickly turned darker; Jim convinces Michael to give in to the humor and make fun of himself, which works great at first (and spawned my favorite line in the episode, Dwight saying “Michael, you’re embarrassing yourself!” when it was clearly working), but quickly turns uncomfortable when Michael reveals humorless, personal details about not having enough friends to form a Fave Five.

The officemates then watch the security tape of Michael’s incident, despite Jim’s urging them not to, and discover that Jim stood by and watched Michael fall into the pond, and quickly turn their pack mentality insults onto Jim. The episode concludes with another of this season’s poignant Jim/Michael moments, where Jim is forced to actually sympathize with Michael, again thrown off in his arrogance that he could easily do Michael’s job by yet another office breakdown.

This sixth Office season continues to add depth to Michael’s character; in the British Office, David Brent was a buffoon and an outright selfish human being for the majority of the series, but in the U.S. version, we’re starting to see the challenges presented by being a boss that would turn a Jim Halpert into a Michael Scott (or at least, allow for Jim to sympathize with Michael a bit, he’ll never actually turn into a full-on Michael Scott). It’ll be interesting to see where this dynamic heads, but it’s already been the most interesting aspect of this Office season, and has continued to keep the show fresh plot-wise, no matter how many gimmicks the show inevitably recycles (the conference room bit last night felt a little forced, but, whatever, it’s Season 6 and there’s only so many rooms in the office…)

The episode’s subplot featued Pam and Andy making cold-call visits to random companies, and after realizing how interested everyone was in them as a ‘couple’ and their baby, eventually gave in and just started accepting peoples’ questions as though they were together. Andy, of course, immediately takes this too far (after another one of my favorite parts, ending his sales pitch with “that is our sales pitch and we’re-a stickin’ to it!”), and kisses Pam’s baby bump with an enthusiasm that goes way beyond pretending.

Pam then questions Andy on their drive back to the office, and Andy admits that he’s tired of being single, asking Pam what she thinks of Erin the receptionist. Pam approaches Erin, drops in a subtle good word for Andy, and admits “He’s a real Marlon Brando,” to which she responds, “You mean Marlon Wayans? TOTALLY.” Soooo…Andy and Erin may be a go? I’d love to see them get together in show world, but in real life, probably wouldn’t care about ever hanging out with either one of them. But really, isn’t that kind of the beauty of The Office?

I couldn’t think of a good way to wrap this post up, so just wrote that super general throwaway end line. And then this line explaining it. Until next week!

Episode thoughts, favorite parts, favorite lines, and Andy/Erin predictions – leave ‘em in the comments!

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A Halloween ode to our favorite breed, the Corgi. Feel free to link to your own corgi costume pictures in the comments. And tell us what you’re dressing up as!

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Jim Carrey embarked on a nationwide train tour to promote his new film A Christmas Carol, but from the looks of these photos, he must have been stowed away in a box car the whole time with other hobos living off vermin he killed with his giant golden scissors.

I’m no publicist (the night classes are too expensive :-/) , but it may not be the best idea to show up to a press event for a fun family film while looking like Ted Kaczynski vomiting up rainbow spaghetti. I love me some wacky Jim Carrey, but not when he’s erratically wielding comically large sharp objects. Someone’s going to lose an eye. I’d sooner trust a dizzy, blindfolded second grader brandishing a nail gun.

Jim, I hope your movie is a success and I hope one day you get that Oscar nomination you should have gotten for The Truman Show or Eternal Sunshine, but it’s pictures like these that worry me you’re slowly turning in to sad, late-career Robin Williams. We already have a Robin Williams, and that is sort of too many Robin Williamses as it is.

More insane photos here [via Getty]:

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The past couple of Glee episode have left us wanting more (competition, big dance numbers, overall gayness, Puck) and less (Mr. Schuester rapping).

Well, the joke must be on us, because this preview for the next new episode (which airs on November 11) features tons and tons of singing, dancing, gayness and Puck, and ABSOLUTELY NO WHITE RAPPING FROM WILL SCHUESTER. Our hearts. Glee has them.

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