FRED Entertainment

Tag: tv listings

  • TV Or Not TV: 5/18 – 5/24

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    Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I’m getting all caught up.

    Two weeks ago was the season finale of Dollhouse. This freshman show on FOX had a rocky start, but the potential was there. The finale, titled Omega, paid off that potential in spades.

    As the series has progressed we had a lot of questions about the active gone psycho named Alpha who seemed to go on a killing spree in the Dollhouse but for some reason sparing Echo. We wondered what made him snap, why did he spare Echo and who the heck was he? All of these questions are answered as the story unfolds.

    The one stand out from both this episode and the one prior is the amazing performance by Alan Tudyk. Tudyk played the character of Wash in the other Whedon FOX project Firefly with such amazing charm and wit to such a great extreme that he was probably my favorite character from that show. His eco-environmentalist personality reflected some of this, but his real range popped when he changed before our eyes to Alpha. It turns out that Alpha had several cards stacked against him before the series started, one of these being the accidental implantation of all of his prior imprints, making him one body with several people melded together inside his head. This was played out wonderfully with both the acting and editing as we see Alpha deal with and argue with his many personalities.

    The other issues this tricky show dealt with was with the question of what really makes a person a person? FBI Agent Ballard brings up the notion of “What about his soul?” when it is revealed that Alpha had destroyed the carts with his original persona. This is, of course, a question that the show has sort of been making us ask all along. Are people made up of just the memories and experiences that we have or is there something in the very fiber of our being that helps to move that along. The season finale addresses this and even gives us a very solid take on it when we discover that Alpha is doing what it was that he seemed to be moving towards prior to his becoming a doll. Even though the person was stripped out of the mind he still seemed to follow the path he was made for, where his soul lead him.

    I think they wrapped up this first season very well and I’m excited to learn that FOX has in fact given Dollhouse a second chance with the pick-up for a new season. I hope that the network will also trust Joss Whedon to do what it is that he does well so that we can see where the vision behind this show can actually take us.

    Now that I’m all caught up let’s take a look at what the rest of the week holds for us. Not a wealth of choices this week as most of the remaining shows are having their finales.

    MONDAY

    FOX ““ 8:00 PM: The clock finally runs out on another day of 24. Will Kim Bauer survive being used as a tool to manipulate Jack? Will Tony Almeda get away? Will Jack finally get treated with that experimental cure? Based on the renewal for next season we at least know the answer to one of those questions!

    CBS ““ 8:30 PM: How I Met Your Mother‘s season finale promises to have the goat alluded to last season during Ted’s 31st surprise party. Tune in with me and watch all the awkward ways they block Robin and Lily‘s stomachs with stuff.

    ABC ““ 9:00 PM: Once again the alphabet network turns failure into feature as Jillian Harris tries to find her perfect man (again) on The Bachelorette.

    TUESDAY

    ABC ““ 9:00 PM: I never watch it but by the ratings a whole ton of people will be tuning in for the finale of Dancing with the Stars. I still don’t get it.

    CBS ““ 9:00 PM: It’s the season finale of The Mentalist so you just know it has to be an episode with a Red John story line (still sounds more like a drinking game than a serial killer).

    FOX ““ 9:00 PM: You may think that Glee is nothing but a High School Musical rip-off. Let me tell you, the language and story lines would never play on Disney Channel.

    WEDNESDAY

    FOX ““ 8:00 PM: Prepare for two hours hosted by the automaton Ryan Seacrest only to find out in the last two minutes who walks away as this year’s American Idol.

    CBS ““ 8:00 PM: It’s season finale night on CBS with The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, and Criminal Minds.

    STYLE- 10:00 PM: Get ready to feel good about where you live when you watch Clean House: Search for the Messiest Home in the Country.

    THURSDAY

    ABC ““ 8:00 PM: Ugly Betty follows suit with the rest of the shows on the network by having her two hours season finale.

    NBC ““ 10:00 PM: Freshman show Southland has it’s season finale as well. Didn’t this show just start?

    FOX ““ 8:00 PM: Another season of So You Think You Can Dance? kicks off, once again guaranteeing I won’t watch FOX for at least one time slot during the summer.

    FRIDAY

    TLC ““ 5:00 PM: You can tell that TLC is gearing up for the final cha”¦ ahem”¦ new season of Jon & Kate Plus 8 with an entire weekend marathon that kicks off with the original specials about this couple and their kids that lead to the series.

    FOX ““ 8:00 PM: Prison Break and Dollhouse are gone, so what do you do FOX? You roll out new episodes of Don’t Forget the Lyrics. Tonight have meatloaf while watching Meat Loaf.

    STARZ ““ 10:00 PM: Dr. Goode sits down with Jerry Seinfeld for the season finale of Head Case. If you haven’t watched it and have Starz OnDemand I’d recommend you take it all in.

    SATURDAY

    AMC ““ 10:30 AM: A Fistful of Dollars immediately followed by A Few Dollars More? Wow, I may not be leaving the house until the afternoon.

    DISCOVERY ““ 1:00 PM: Oh man, a marathon of Deadliest Catch? It’s like they don’t want me to leave the house today at all!

    ABC Family ““ 8:00 PM: Enjoy the Lohan about two years pre-implosion in Mean Girls. Yes, I like this movie. Don’t judge me!

    SUNDAY

    G4 ““ 7:00 PM: For some reason I’m always fascinated by Hollywood film making drama. The Onion Movie is one of those films, but only if you know the back story. I’m not saying you should watch it, just sharing some info.

    NBC ““ 9:00 PM: Did you miss The Last Templar the first time it aired? You get a second chance to catch it if you want.

    ABC ““ 9:00 PM: ABC may not be known for their mini-series any more, but Diamonds takes a look at the diamond trade from beginning to end as it weaves the stories of people affected. Think of it as the diamond version of Traffic or New Jack City.

    – Will Wilkins may have had some portions cut that did not affect the outcome of the game.

  • TV Or Not TV: The Morning After for LOST – FINALE

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    Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I am, in fact, thoroughly LOST.

    I sit here writing this column just 38 minutes after having watched the season finale of LOST. I’m still in my pre-column Internet blackout to ensure that I give you my clean perspective on what I thought happened or what I think is going on without reading what others are having to say. Usually I don’t write the column this soon, giving myself the night to ruminate on what I had seen. Tonight there is no need. Please remember, as always, I will be discussing things that did transpire in the show so if you haven’t seen it yet you might want to drop back in later.

    Being such a rabid fan I have been taking in all of the interviews prior to the airing of the season finale. I also subscribe to the Official LOST Podcast from ABC.com. Given everything that was said I had a pretty clear idea of what would be the very end of tonight’s episode. Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff kept referring in interviews and the podcast as this season having quite a few parallels to the first season where it all ended with the hatch being opened, but we saw nothing inside. This set me up, I knew we were going to see The Incident (especially since this was the two-hour finale’s name) and I also knew that when it happened it would be the final frame of the episode tonight, giving us no clear answer on what has happened to those wonderful cast members who were stuck in 1977. This came as no shock to me at all. I even had a pretty good idea that if someone was going to die during tonight’s finale it would be in getting the bomb to go off, and again I was right.

    So now that we have dispensed with the things that I did have a pretty good hunch on what was coming to pass, let’s move on to the things that just plain baffle me. First and foremost I have to address the issue of Jacob. Tonight we finally were able to see Jacob, even though we have very little insight into anything about him. In the opening sequence of this season finale we see Jacob making string and putting together a tapestry (a nice little touch since it comes to pass that Jacob seems to also be weaving a tapestry of destiny for the show’s characters), we see him catch and prepare a fish, and we see him eating this fish leisurely on the beach. While he is on the beach another man joins him, they have a discussion about the boat that is out on the horizon (more than likely the Black Rock perhaps having one Richard Alpert aboard?), and the man joining Jacob mentions how much he would like to kill Jacob. One day he will find a loop hole and Jacob tells him he will be waiting. This entire conversation happens next to the complete statue, seemingly an Anubis (or Sobek) holding an ankh in each hand.

    From that sequence I took a few things, whether they prove true or not only 2010 will tell. I found it very interesting that Jacob was wearing a white/light shirt, where as this other fellow was wearing dark/black colors. A classic representation of the struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, light and dark (and it was John Locke himself who told us in the first season how backgammon was a similar representation). Further evidence comes from the dark fellow when he says, “Still trying to prove me wrong” after it is revealed that these two draw people to the Island, seemingly to play out a game to prove that the nature of man is either good or bad. Once this exchange happened, once we could see that these men were in a time long ago in what we would call the past, I began to guess that perhaps this dark stranger is the Smoke Monster (especially after you know what is in the box and you ponder the rammifications and signsoif manipulation it has for Ben and the events in the episode Dead is Dead), and maybe ol’ Smokey Joe has been in a power struggle this whole time with Jacob. If this is the case and Jacob really is the “good” side then I know a few people that will be vindicated when this line of thinking will justify their position that in the long run Benjamin Linus will be shown to actually have been the good guy who had to do bad things.

    After this initial scene unfolded I started to realize what was in the box that the people who have asked “What lies in the shadow of the statue” had and I began to realize the loophole was being played out. Having this realization in the first 15 minutes of the show was no great thrill, especially since it had the gears in my mind turning as it made no sense. Finding out in the last 15 minutes of the show that these same people were actually on the side of Jacob made a big ol’ red flag go off in my head as things continued to not make sense to me. When we finally see what actually is in the box and my suspicions were confirmed I remembered that in Dead is Dead these people know that John Locke is walking around and they seem to try to do nothing to stop him from going anywhere and doing anything regardless of what they have in the box. What kind of sense does that make? Clearly there is something very suspect about John Locke, so much so that these people carry the box with the intent to show Jacob what is in it so he knows who he is up against. Somewhere down the line we better be shown that Jacob has a strict “non-interference” policy that he handed down saying not to engage John Locke because that’s about the only way their actions will make sense to me. He certainly seemed to have a “everyone has free will” approach with everyone, so maybe that is the case.

    Seeing what was inside the box also made me feel even more sorry for John Locke since it pretty much made him a tragic character who never was actually able to attain or gain anything. He came to this Island, we granted the use of his legs again, seemed to worship the Island and his only real reward was being choked to death by Ben. Will the character of John Locke continue next season after what we saw in the finale?

    One wonderful payoff that we did get was the return of Rose, Bernard, and Vincent. They’ve all settled in a hut near the ocean and in Rose’s own words, “We’ve retired.” They will be having no part of any of this gallivanting around to try to battle strange people, change fates, or avert nuclear disaster. After their last encounter following Sawyer ended in fleeing the beach under a hail of flaming arrows can you really blame them?

    With this season finale I have to give credit where credit is due. The writers, director, and producers of the show put out two hours of television that I was glued to my seat watching. I was captivated from beginning to end, hanging on every word, completely immersed in the viewing experience. Reflecting upon it, however, what I really find is that not a whole lot happened during that time (especially since we were being told three stories at once) and sadly we were once again handed more questions to balance out all of answers we were given.

    Here are some of the dangling questions that still need answering (that I can actually think of):

    • Who are Jacob and the dark fellow (having just re-read The Stand I want to also call him the dark man, the Walkin’ Dude, a real hard case)?
    • Where did Richard Alpert come from?
    • Why did Jacob have to touch each of the Losties and does the fact that he touched Hurly AFTER Flight 815 hold any importance?
    • Is Jacob‘s fate as we saw final?
    • When and who will be shooting at Sawyer and crew when they are paddling around as seen in the episode The Little Prince?
    • What happens after The Incident?
    • Why was Sun left in the present?
    • Where is Claire and if the Christian Shepard we’ve seen on the Island is part of the same “thing” as the revived John Locke on the Island is she safe?

    I’m sure there are a ton more but these are the ones that just hang out in my brain. ‘Till 2010 when we’ll do it all again!

    -Will

  • TV Or Not TV: 5/4 – 5/10

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    Welcome to TV or Not TV where I am humbled by mother nature.

    This week I was able to get caught up on the new History Channel original series Life After People. This series, crafted after last year’s startling special, takes a unique look at what would happen if we people of the planet Earth just suddenly vanished. What would become of our cars, our buildings, our legacy? The results are very humbling.

    In the discussion of “saving our planet” I have long been a student of the philosophy that we are not needing to save our planet but instead we need to save ourselves. Yes, we need to treat mother Earth a lot better so that her environment will still be suitable for us. We, however, do not need to save the planet because as this show outlines pretty harshly the planet will in face go on without us.

    It is one thing, when watching this show, to see the computer generated scenarios of a Statue of Liberty crumbling, or the Houston Astrodome becoming a richly vegetated rain forest climate, but it is another thing to see the real evidence in today’s society where we see how the planet will reclaim that which we leave behind. A coal mining island in Japan, after only 35 years, is already falling apart and appears on the precipice of complete collapse. Mother Nature will quickly reclaim that which we turn our backs on proving that her creations are the only ones that can stand the test of time.

    If you haven’t seen this show I  strongly suggest you tune in to Life After People every Tuesday night at 10 PM to see this eye opening look at what the future may hold for that which we leave behind.

    Now let’s see what television transmissions we can choose from this week that will just be static two light years from now.

    MONDAY

    LIFETIME – 5:00 PM: It’s not every week that I make a recommendation for Lifetime, but a show called Cook Yourself Thin can’t go without mentioning in this day and age of the obese American.

    FX – 9:00 PM: Now that 24 is in the 21st of it’s 24 hours Jack has got to be getting a miracle cure any minute now, right?

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Allison is bailing on the DA’s office to work for a big corporate job on Medium. Do I sense a new Ms. Cleo?

    TUESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: With only four contestants left standing on The Biggest Loser: Couples you’d think by now they’ve been through enough. Nope. They have to run a full marathon.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Olivia starts having visions, Walter confesses his connection to the Z.F.T. manifesto and we finally get to learn what Peter’s secret side project is this week on Fringe? Whoah! It must be sweeps!

    HISTORY – 10:00 PM: As mentioned above, a new episode of Life After People premieres as it takes a look at what happens to Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles over the test of time.

    WEDNESDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: JD says farewell to Sacred Heart as the shows tries to wrap up what was envisioned as Scrubs final season. Will that actually be the case?

    FOX – 9:00 PM: I really don’t care who gets booted on American Idol tonight, I’m just interested in seeing Daughtry perform.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: This time next week I’ll be half-way into the season finale of LOST, so I’m eagerly anticipating what happens in this episode as the prelude to that.

    THURSDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Tonight on Bones FBI agent Boothe gets a visit from Stewie from Family Guy. No, really… it happens.

    NBC – 9:30 PM: Jack learns something shocking about his parentage and Alan Alda guest stars on 30 Rock. Coincidence?

    ABC – 10:00 PM: It’s been over a decade since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and tonight we get to see just how far it has taken him in Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.

    FRIDAY

    CW – 8:00 PM: Will this be the season or series finale for Everybody Hates Chris? Chris Rock himself has been quoted as saying it would be a good end point in the storytelling based on his life. It’s looking like the CW might agree.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: The same question as asked above can be asked for Dollhouse as well. Last week we finally learned who Alpha is, we learned why he kept Echo alive and now they’re both on the run. Will this be the show’s swan song or only the ending of this chapter (not counting the un-aired thirteenth episode)?

    SATURDAY

    HISTORY – 8:00 PM: Cashing in on the release of Star Trek the History Channel rolls out Ancient Aliens followed by Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier.

    FOOD – 9:00 PM: Duff and company get to go to Hawaii to create a special cake for the show LOST on Ace of Cakes. This hour special is nestled between two other hours of some of their other great entertainment themed cakes. I’ll be watching (and snacking) for the duration.

    SUNDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Jodie Foster guests as a voice of Maggie (kind of) in tonight’s episode of The Simpsons.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: It’s the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice with Annie Duke vs. Joan Rivers. After the venom that was spewed when Melissa got the boot this should be a good one.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: The Amazing Race has actually had an interesting season and this one comes to a close as the remaining teams are making the small jaunt from Beijing to Maui to cross the finale finish line.

    – Will Wilkins loved the new Star Trek movie, but since it’s not TV I can’t talk about it.

  • TV Or Not TV: The Morning After for LOST (4/30)

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    Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I wish there were more constant to The Variable.

    When I first learned the title of this week’s episode I was excited since it seemed to be one that would be paired directly with last season’s stellar episode The Constant. When it comes to season 4 of LOST I think many would agree that The Constant delivered on so many levels and packed such an emotional wallop that it is by far one of the stand-outs not only from that season but perhaps the entire series. If The Variable from it’s name alone seems to be a sister episode to The Constant so I was just plain giddy.

    This week’s episode of LOST was very similar to the previous episode Some Like It Hoth because it was another bridge episode. The episode exists solely to move the story from point A to point C while having to traverse that awkward point B. They slip in some interesting revelations but really the episode exists just to nudge the characters in the direction our story tellers need them to go. There was no wallop, there wasn’t much emotion, just a brief step taken in certain directions with a shocker once again thrown in to the ending to make us go oooh and aaaah (which I just didn’t do).

    In the way of the underlining thread that ties everything together we finally received confirmation (I hope) from Charles Widmore that he is in the fact the one who purchased a plane, filled it with corpses and sunk it to the bottom of the ocean to be the fake Oceanice Flight 815. This may or may not be an important item for a lot of people, but in my dicussion groups where we are trying to determine if Widmore or Ben are the more evil of these two apparently bad men (with one friend still holding hope for the fact that Ben will be proven in the long run to actually be the good guy) it is nice to see that something that Ben Linus told us seems to actually be true.

    Even though the flashbacks in this episode related to Daniel Faraday we didn’t really learn a whole heck of a lot. There wasn’t really much revealed, and it all really just kind of came across as a part of the story I just didn’t care too much about. Some elements of the flashbacks even kind of confused me when I look at the overall scope of the show and the things that have occured. One of them would be when Charles Widmore comes to a now mentally hindered Daniel Faraday to offer him the job of going to the Island on the freighter. One item used to entice Faraday is the knowledge that the Island might heal his mind. In this season’s episode Jughead we find out that Daniel loves fellow freighter scientist Charlotte. This makes me wonder just how long they were on that frieghter and just how charming is the mentally hindered Faraday that he was able to some how hook up with Charlotte and have time to really fall in love with her? The timing just doesn’t add up in my head.

    Another item of frustration for me with this episode is the former man of science Jack finally decided to take some action since getting the Island, only to take that action in following Faraday with his seemingly crazy plan to undo the Incident that will soon happen at the Swan station that initiates the chain of events that brings our Flight 815 people to the Island to begin with. The fact that the entire plan screams paradox doesn’t seem to concern Jack in the least, even when Kate tries to tell him that the whole thing sounds crazy. Jack is also not taking in to account that when everyone last saw Faraday he had mentally come unglued and to be honest I think his idea that people are the variables that can actually cause change comes from that same mental breakdown, a delusion he is creating to try to justify his actions. Faraday himself could have proven his very own concept of variables by not talking to Charlotte as a child in 1977 as she told him he previously had done in the episode This Place is Death. If he hadn’t done that prior to what we saw happen at the end of the episode we would know that his theory was sound. Instead I would think that his actually still telling her exactly what she said he toldher proves more than anything else that “whatever happened, happened” and there is no chance to make any changes if you are playing around in a time that can be considered your past.

    This episode of LOST also suffered from a convention that the writers of this show often use to a frustrating degree. Many times characters will ensist on taking certain actions or try to talk other characters out of certain actions, however they never give a compelling reason. They will use dialogue to dance around the reason but they’ll never say why. One great example is from the season finale of Season 3 when Ben is trying to tell Jack that if he calls the freighter everyone on the Island will be killed. He never gives more of a detailed reason so Jack has no reason to comply at all. Faraday did this a bit last night and it is like nails dragging on a chalkboard for me whenever it occurs.

    My last gripe with The Variable is in the ham fisted dialogue handed to us from Faraday in reminding Jack that any of them could die here in 1977. The writers were clearly trying to not only telegraph to use the ending of this episode, they were also setting us up for something that is clearly to come in the next three hours of the show. I would lay good money on the fact that one of our original Flight 815-ers is going to be shuffling this mortal coil, and that’s too bad since I like just about every one of them.

    I will admit that even with all of these complaints I still really enjoyed the episode. If anything I’m probably just frustrated by the fact that I still have to wait two weeks to see how the rest of this season plays out and that is coming out in my perception of this episode.

    – Will Wilkins still recited “the numbers” in his head at night.

  • TV Or Not TV: The Morning After for CHUCK 4/27

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    Welcome to another special Morning After edition of TV or Not TV, where I have been bowled over by Chuck and under whelmed by Heroes. As always I will remind you that I talk about anything and everything with the shows being discussed so if you haven’t yet watched them you might want to come back to this a little later.

    CHUCK vs. THE RING

    Many of you may be thrilled at the fact that the season finale of Chuck happened last night as you won’t have to deal with me whining about the
    potential demise of the show. My feelings aren’t lifted any bit after the NBC.com official Chuck page had the following listed for their streaming copy of the show.

    Lets hope it was just a matter of confusion

    The description has since been corrected to remove the Series Finale description, so who knows?

    What I do know is that last nights episode of Chuck was pure entertainment. One of the things that I love about this show is the subtle pop-culture references that are quietly slipped in. One that stands out was when Jeffster took to the altar at Ellie and Awesome’s wedding and Jeff turned to the string orchestra and told them “watch me for the changes“ just as my good friend Marty McFly did in Back to the Future. The Jeffster performance of Mr. Roboto combined with the shoot-out in the reception hall was also well played out both from a soundtrack stand-point as well as a plausible reason that the guests never heard one shot fired.

    Another thing that I enjoyed about last night was the performance of Chevy Chase as Ted Roark. I can’t think of another role where I’ve seen Chevy Chase play the heavy and I think that this may have been a missed calling since he really seemed to hone in on the part. I don’t know what this says about him playing such a believable bad guy, but it’s something I would have enjoyed seeing more of in the future.

    There are still two moments that stood out for me with last night’s show as well. When Sarah gave the confirming nod of no to Bryce that she wasn’t coming with him and was instead staying with Chuck it gave all of us sappy romantics a nice confirmation that there really is a future for these two.

    The other moment, of course, was the “game-changing” ending that the producers of the show have been alluding to for weeks. In many ways it does change the game, taking the potential of the show up to the next level. On a more important note, however, it was a defining moment for the character Chuck as he was actually faced with a choice in the role that he’s been playing in Operation Bartowski for the past two seasons. It wasn’t a decision forced on him as it was before and this is another important element that would benefit the character in his growth within this show.

    Was this really the finale that, if not renewed, Executive Producer Chris Fedak described the fan reaction as one wanting to have them, “burn their living rooms?” In retrospect, not really. There is the frustration that the show ended with the words TO BE CONTINUED”¦ but the story itself could serve as an ending that simply let’s us know the story continues for these characters even though we don’t get to see it.

    Now we wait patiently for the NBC up-fronts to find out what the fate of this very family friendly and entertaining show is. How do I know it is
    family friendly? My five year old daughter had me rewind the DVR three times so she could jump up and do kung fu along side of Chuck as he took down the bad guys. Chuck me indeed.

    HEROES: AN INVISIBLE THREAD

    My love-hate relationship with Heroes truly culminated with the season finale. A whole lot happened and we got somewhere, even though I’m not really sure where. They tied up loose ends but created a big ol’ plot hole for me that I just can’t seem to step around.

    There were two things at play with this episode: the bringing down of the ability hunting group in Building 26 and the stopping of Sylar meeting the President and taking control of the country by becoming him. The former story line was apparently necessary in aiding the release of Noah Bennett and confusing us with the fact that Hiro’s body is now rejecting the very time-stopping ability that used to naturally be his own.

    The bringing down of Sylar was the story that took up the majority of air time, and it was a compelling and interesting one. It is also, however, the most flawed story line due to a major plot hole that the writers I’m sure are really hoping that we overlook. Last night we saw the rather gruesome death of Nathan Patrelli at the hands of Sylar. After Sylar is eventually captured Noah and Angella come up with what they feel is the only plan to neuter Sylar and stop the government sanctioned capture of people with abilities: Use Matt Parkman to erase Sylar’s memory of himself and make him think that he is Nathan Patrelli and as such forcing his shape-shifting to make him Nathan Patrelli. A win-win for the writers but a major plot hole since we all know that Claire’s blood can revive the dead just as it did with her dad and, by proxy of Peter, healed Nathan’s blast wounds from the season 1 finale. This wasn’t in fact the only way to resolve this issue and is probably the most dangerous way to solve it.

    I can’t blame the writers for going this route. A bad guy like Sylar is darn near impossible to stop and there’s no single hero that can bring him
    down. He’s also too good of a bad guy to let go of incase you need to have a fallback. This means that you can’t kill him off but you also don’t want to allow him to still be in play since he’s really too big of a bad. I understand the reason they went the direction that they did, I just don’t agree with it.

    Unlike Chuck the show Heroes already has a pick-up for next season, so they teased us with a glimpse at the next volume titled Redemption. Here’s hoping there is more to the name than just a title because this show really needs some serious redemption in more ways than one.

    – Will Wilkins is recorded from a previous live broadcast.

  • TV Or Not TV: 4/27 – 5/3

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    Welcome to TV or Not TV where I fear the Mantracker.

    When it comes to the reality show Mantracker I’m actually about three years and an entire network too late, but this past Saturday I stumbled upon a marathon and was instantly hooked. Now shown every Wednesday night at 10 PM on the Science Channel (note: not SciFi, just Science) this show features Terry Grant, an old fashioned cowboy of 25 years who is an expert at tracking people through rugged terrain of the open wild, up against two Prey who must try to get to a designated target (typically 40 killometers/25 miles away) before the Mantracker can find them.

    I know the concept doesn’t sound like much but to watch the show you find yourself instantly drawn in to this cat and mouse game of the Prey vs. the Mantracker. The editing is crisp and the soundtrack amplifies the drama or suspense of the moment. It’s also amazing to see how the simple things that we do when we walk or move around leave evidence in it’s wake.

    The contest itself isn’t exactly fair since the Mantracker does his thing on horseback where as the Prey are on foot. This does give some benefit to the Prey as they are, at times, able to out manuever the Mantracker but when push comes to shove in a flat out foot race the horse will win every time.

    Being the overthinker that I am I also have to wonder just how much evidence the camera crew that follow the Prey leave behind on this excursion and does the Mantracker use this to his advantage? Keen watchers of the show will also notice that if the Prey are caught up to sooner than the hour long show needs they will always get away (hey, you have to fill that time, right?).

    Even with all of this I still have to say that the show Mantracker is the perfect type of show to watch when you don’t want your mind to have to do any work and you’re just ready to sit and decompress. Now that OLN has bit the dust I don’t know when the fourth season of Mantracker will see the light of day, but hopefully when it does it will be on the Science Channel as well.

    Now that we’ve talked about Mantracker let’s see what else there is to track down to see this week.

    MONDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: It’s season finale night on NBC for Chuck and Heroes. Please, I’m begging you…. get everyone you know to watch Chuck tonight since this second season was phenomenal and the show really does deserve a third season.

    CBS – 8:30 PM: Another one of my favorites is back tonight with How I Met Your Mother finding Barney and Marshall messing with Ted after he doesn’t adhere to The Three Day Rule.

    NBC – 10:00 PM: Joe tries to use his daughter’s new found ability to save his failing company with her stock picks on Medium. Wasn’t this the plot of that Gary Coleman movie?

    TUESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Nothing says hip and modern like seeing the contestants of American Idol perform hits by the Rat Pack.

    CW – 8:00 PM: What’s the bad side of dating a demon? Dealing with what happens after you break up with her. Ben and Sock find out the hard way on Reaper.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Tonight on Fringe we finally may find out more information on the Z.F.T. bio-terrorists. Nothing like them mythology connections to keep us sucked in.

    ABC – 10:00 PM: OK, can anyone out there tell me how long Cupid has been on the air and did ABC do anything to promote it?

    WEDNESDAY

    HIST – 8:00 PM: Go ape for two hours of MonsterQuest tonight as they re-air the 2005 episode of The Real King Kong and follow it up with a brand new episode titled Mysterious Ape Island.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Our stuck in the 70’s LOSTies may find out how to get back to the future (snicker) with tonight’s return of Daniel Faraday. Turns out the physicist also finally spills the beans on everything he actually knows about the Island. I’m really hoping this one knocks our socks off as it’s titled The Variable and it is supposed to be the sister story to last seasons incredible episode The Constant.

    DISCOVERY – 9:00 PM: The MythBusters go after some YouTube myths. Wait, what do they do after the cellphone/popcorn debunking?

    THURSDAY

    CW – 8:00 PM: Things heat up on Smallville tonight when Clark finds out that Davis is still alive. We’re on the home stretch folks.

    ABC – 8:30 PM: Samantha Who? wraps up it’s second season tonight with a guest stint by Angie Harmon.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Now that Pam has returned to Dunder Mifflin on The Office as a salesperson I see the competitive sparks flying between her and fiance Jim. Probably not tonight, but it’s coming.

    FRIDAY

    Nickelodeon – 8:00 PM: How could I be the father of a five year old without mentioning the kick off of the Fairly Odd Parents: Wishology three parter tonight?

    FOX – 9:00 PM: If you’ve been watching Dollhouse from the beginning and you want to know who Alpha is, you might want to tune in tonight.

    CARTOON NETWORK – 9:00 PM: If you didn’t catch Star Wars: The Clone Wars the first time around it starts to repeat its run tonight, now with informative pop ups!

    SATURDAY

    Nickelodeon – 8:00 PM: Part two of the Fairly Odd Parents three parter airs tonight and I’m sure my daughter will be on the edge of her seat.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: The Harry Potter franchise starts to take a considerable turn for the better with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

    FOOD – 8:00 PM: Anyone on a diet should already avoid The Food Network but tonight you should REALLY avoid it as Guy Fieri looks back at his favorite stops in The Best of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This one will have you at your local greasy spoon in 10 seconds flat.

    A&E – 8:00 PM: 15 years ago Arnold was still cool and Jamie Lee could dance and still look good in True Lies.

    DISCOVERY – 8:00 PM: Three hours of Pitchmen might be tough if you are an impulsive buyer, if not it’s just fun to watch.

    SUNDAY

    Nickelodeon – 8:00 PM: Seriously, I’ve watched Nickelodeon’s Fairly Odd Parents three nights in a row now? Wow, I sure hope Timmy can defeat the Darkness.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Now that Susan has been single and loving it Jackson returns tonight on Desperate Housewives to throw a hitch in her plan. Who am I kidding? I’ll probably be reeling from Fairly Odd Parents and won’t be able to concentrate.

    AMC – 8:00 PM: In all seriousness I’m going to have a tough time choosing between watching Happy Gilmore or…

    CMT – 8:00 PM: The Coen Brothers re-imaging of Homer’s The Odyssey is brilliantly done in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

    – Will Wilkins was taped in front of a live studio audience.

  • TV Or Not TV: 4/20 – 4/26

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    Welcome to TV or Not TV where I’m finally ready to weigh in on Parks and Recreation.

    If you haven’t been made aware of it yet, Parks and Recreation is a new show set in a nondescript part of the country that takes a look at the day to day drudgery of the city political arena. If this sounds more like The Office it should be no surprise as the show is made by the same people.

    The importance of Parks and Recreation stems from it is being front run by former SNL cast member Amy Poehler. This is a very major step for her and the entire ensemble cast depends on her performance. They should all be thankful that she is pulling off a pretty decent job as a not-quite-as-clueless Michael Scott and she has even more of an endearing quality than her male Office counterpart. Just like Steve Carell she makes the character believable, even in her ignorance.

    The rest of the show is very similar in the feeling of the first season of NBC’s The Office as well. The pacing and comedy is uneven right now. This isn’t to say that the performances by the supporting cast are bad, nor that the writing is bad either. The show right now is young, it’s finding itself, it’s purpose and it’s chemistry. We have a new ensemble cast to deal with, their idiosyncrisies need to be worked out, and how they all work together still needs come together. The show isn’t yet stellar, but it is still entertaining and I’d be willing to wager that if it is given time it can also become a Thursday night staple.

    With that little bit said let’s take a look at what this week holds for us.

    MONDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Chuck and Sarah are on the run to save Chuck’s dad. With no one watching they really want us to think these two get their naughty on. Tune in to find out.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Oh no they didn’t! Last week’s reveal that Tony may not have been the double operative we thought he was and Jack‘s worsening condition let’s us know (along with the show’s early renewal) that Jack‘s got to bounce back and go after Tony. This week or next week?

    NBC – 10:00 PM: OK, so on Medium it turns out that Allison has a stalker. What’s good with being a psychic if you can’t stop this kind of thing before it starts?

    G4 – 10:00 PM: Comic Doug Benson abstains from smoking marijuana for 30 days, than smokes it for 30 days straight in Super High Me. I can’t imagine a better day to watch it on.

    TUESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Last week on American Idol the judges finally used their “save” on Matt Giraud so will he perform well enough to change the public’s mind? I hope so because tomorrow night two people get cut, not just one.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Wow, a full hour of According to Jim? I don’t think I hate myself that much, thanks though.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Contestants on The Biggest Loser have a competition to shop healthy on a budget. In other words, they have to shop like the rest of us.

    CW – 8:00 PM: Now that Sam has found successfully escaped soul Alan he strikes a deal for the secret to getting out of a contract with the Devil. Wouldn’t it just be easier to hire an entertainment lawyer?

    FOX – 9:00 PM: On Fringe, bad dreams come true. Someone must have dreamed about a full hour of According to Jim.

    WEDNESDAY

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Hoping to get newer viewers caught up, and stretch things out for sweeps, we are given Lost: The Story of the Oceanic 6 in place of our regular show.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: With the fact that two people are getting eliminated tonight I wonder if you won’t have to sit through an entire hour for the three minute true elmination on American Idol. Maybe they’ll cut someone half way through too? Naw, who am I kidding?

    HIST – 10:00 PM: I always enjoy UFO Hunters but if you’ve never watched I’ve got two words that may tweak your interest: Nazi UFOs.

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: What’s harder than trying to make up for that bad thing you did to a minister? Getting him to keep forgiving you time and again and again and again as you keep remembering other things on My Name is Earl.

    CW – 8:00 PM: Lois starts faking being a super-hero named Stiletto on Smallville. Sounds more like a dominatrix to me but I’ll watch.

    A&E – 10:00 PM: It’s the season finale of The Beast tonight.

    FRIDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Another great pairing on Wife Swap as a rodeo loving cattle rancher trades places with a new age vegan.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: It’s the creepiest imprinting yet on Dollhouse when Echo becomes a murdered woman in order to solve her own untimely death.

    COMEDY – 9:30 PM: How can you go wrong with 3-and-a-half hours of Southpark? This show culminates with the classic Cartoon Wars episodes, so I’ll probably be watching.

    SATURDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: If you want to get ready for this summer’s release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince you can get caught up by watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets tonight. It’s better than reading, right?

    FX – 8:00 PM: Witness the movie that proved Internet hype isn’t all it’s cracked up to be with Snakes on a Plane.

    HBO – 8:00 PM: Was it any good at all? I’ll find out tonight when I watch Journey to the Center of the Earth.

    SUNDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM:Homer decides to closely monitor Bart and Lisa to make sure they succeed in life. What’s next, have them study economics with Bernie Madoff?

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Someone should tell Susan on Desperate Housewives that if you are going to reveal your dark secret, you might not want to do it to the local nut job Dave. Too bad for her that he’s probably going to find it ties is with his own past.

    VH1 – 9:00 PM: Another second stringer gets a shot at fame as Daisy De La Hoya from Rock of Love 2 tries to find her one true fame seeking man in Daisy of Love, and my faith in mankind dies a little more.

    – Will Wilkins had his named changed to protect the innocent.

  • TV Or Not TV: The Morning After for LOST 4/15

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    Welcome to another Morning After edition of TV or Not TV where I’ll be reflecting on last night’s episode of LOST titled Some Like it Hoth. As usual, I will be freely be talking about what happened in the episode, so if you don’t want to have anything spoiled I suggest you come back after you’ve seen it.

    One of the things that LOST has done this season is introduced questions that seem self-contained and answered within the same season. An example would be the question of where Kate took Aaron before deciding to come with Jack to the Island in the episode 316. In the episode Whaever Happened, Happened we see Kate delivering Aaron to his maternal grandmother. Question served, question answered. A quick and simple device to allow the writers of the show to compel us to watch.

    Last week we were handed another mini-mystery which also carried over to this week’s episode. Ilana asked pilot Frank Lapidus the question, “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” During this question there was a man standing next to Ilana. This week we see this same fellow again in a flashback for Miles Straum. We learn his name is Bram (at least I did) and he is with a group that abducts Miles to try to convince him to not work for Charles Widmore. During this exchange he asks Miles the same cryptic question, “What lies in the shadow of the statue?”

    Since Bram was trying to convince Miles to not work for Widmore I guess we can stick a pin in my theory that Bram was hired by Widmore and put on the plane. Without that theory I’m left to wonder if Bram is aligned with Ben Linus, or is this in fact the introduction of a new faction that we haven’t been made aware of before? I do not know who these people could be, unless they some how pre-date the Others when it comes to exotic Island living.

    Another bit of history came back to us when Miles was being auditioned for hire by Naomi to join the freighter expedition in another flash back. Miles used his talent for hearing the dead on a body Naomi brought him to that was to deliver photos of empty graves and the purchase order for an old plain to Widmore. This is a reference to the documents that were shown to Michael Dawson back in last season’s episode Meet Kevin Johnson. What Michael was shown was proof that it was Widmore who had bought and sunk a plane identical to Oceanic 815 that was filled with dead bodies. After this revelation one has to wonder why someone would be delivering these documents to Widmore since they could really only be used as evidence. Widmore wouldn’t need evidence of the acts that he had himself had performed, would he? This bit of inquiry, mixed with the knowledge of our “shadow of the statue” people makes me wonder if maybe there is a third party that is playing Ben and Widmore against each other?

    The “daddy issues” theme of LOST also carried over into this week’s episode when we discover that the father of Miles Straum is in fact Dr. Pierre Chang (or Dr. Marvin Candle, Dr. Edgar Halliwax or Dr. Mark Wickmund… take your pick), who wasn’t ever present when his son was growing up. I think a lot of people have been thinking that Chang was Miles’ father since we saw the scientist tending to his new born baby in this season’s premiere. The theory was further emphasized when both Miles and Charlotte seem to be having greater ailment from the time jumps on the Island, something Daniel Faraday mentions could be to amount of time exposed to the Island (suggesting they had been there longer than those around them / been there before).

    The two other big things that occurred this episode aren’t really thought provokers at all, they are the elements that move the story forward. Miles wasn’t able to erase the camera footage of the pylons, so Phil was able to see Sawyer and Kate taking 13 year old Ben. This lead to Phil being cold-cocked by Sawyer after he reveals that he hasn’t yet told anyone about this. Juliet went to get a rope to tie Phil up and we now know that the comfy life in Dharma-ville is officially coming to a close.

    Right before the end title of LOST we also saw a group of scientists arriving on the Island in 1977. One of these scientists was Daniel Faraday, the physicist who has been missing for the past five episodes. I find it very interesting that he is returning to the Island as a scientist in a dark jumpsuit but during the season premiere Because You Left we see him in a gray jumpsuit (with no identifying emblem on the Dharma patch) seemingly trying to infiltrate the Dharma station The Orchid. Was this scene from the season premiere something that has happened before or after Daniel left the Island? I guess we’ll know the answer in the next four hours of the show.

    If you are like me you’re probably dissapointed that we are getting handed a clips show next week and have to wait two weeks for the last four hours of this season. At least you won’t have to be married to your television next Wednesday night, right?

    Join me again in two weeks and we’ll talk LOST again.

    – Will Wilkins loved that Miles shot his dad a dirty look when he heard that his dad liked country music.

  • TV Or Not TV: 4/13 – 4/19

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    Welcome to another TV or Not TV where I’m just confused as all get out.

    If you didn’t see the finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which judging from the ratings you probably didn’t) we were handed a bit of a twist to what we thought of might have been going on and a good ol’ steaming pile of confusion.

    The show itself didn’t have the best balance this season as far as the pace went. Part of this, I believe, is due to the show having to pick up after being interrupted by last year’s writer’s strike. Upon it’s return this season T:TSCC never reached it’s original ratings numbers. People clearly felt abandoned and didn’t come back.

    Those that did were handed a  season started out strong. We saw the negative repurcussions to the angst of a teenage John Connor who is in love with the Cameron, the Summer Glau Terminator. The show also gave itself a chance at a roadmap and new direction with the inclusion of scribblings on the wall from a soldier from the future to try to help guide the Connors on their way to prevent Judgement Day.

    The mid-season confusion over Sarah’s obsession around three dots on the wall is where the show really started to lose me, and lead to the slowest part of the season. This, coincidentally, was around the time where the show actually was picked up for a full season after seeming to be cancelled after 13 episodes.

    The two or three episodes following the return tried to finally get rid of that story line and move on to what turned out to be a decent wrap up to the season. We found out that the mysterious Catherine Weaver, who was a liquid metal T1000, was actually on the side of the Connor‘s and was trying to create the anti-SkyNet with the creation of John Henry. The Turk from season one conveniently became the real source of the three dots we were so bored to death watching Sarah track down, and we got to see Summer Glau do an impersonation of a real Terminator, complete with jailhouse invasion and massive damage showing her metal skeleton underneath.

    The biggest twist, however, is the one that also confuses the heck out of me. For whatever reason Cameron gave her chip to the artificial intelligence John Henry, and Weaver eludes to the fact that he may have escaped to another time. Even more baffling is that John Connor decides to bail on humanity and time travel with Weaver to try to recover the cyborg’s chip. This lead to a very interesting moment where Connor finds himself in a future after Judgement Day where no one has heard of him. Is this because he travelled back in time to and hasn’t lived out the years between then and Judgement Day or is this how John Connor actually gets to where he needs to be to become the savior of humanity?

    These questions, sadly, may not be answered as things are not looking good after this sophmore season. Fans of the show can take comfort in the fact that they were at least given some answers before Terminator: Salvation hits theatres and completely disregards anything the show has set up (just as it has ignored anything after Terminator 2). I’m sure there will be  mail campaign where people send in potato “chips” to represent the one that Connor is after. Will it make a difference? Probably not.

    Let’s put the time travel stuff to bed now and take a look at the shows that are coming up this next week.

    MONDAY

    CBS – 8:30 PM: Now that Ted has been fired from his job he starts up his own architectural on How I Met Your Mother. Maybe the mother he’s meeting is a bankruptcy attorney?

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Elisha Cuthbert is back tonight on 24. Creepy therapist C. Thomas Howell isn’t.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Tonight on Heroes they reveal the answers to what happened in 1961. What, you didn’t know there was an unanswered question about then either?

    SUNDANCE – 9:00 PM: If you really want to know how much show business sucks when you are on the bottom rung of it’s food chain then check out Confessions of a Super Hero. This documentary looks at the people that dress up as costumed movie characters and super hero’s on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

    TUESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Biggest weight loss, biggest injury and normal make-overs are on tonight’s The Biggest Loser: Couples.

    E! – 8:00 PM: An E! News special takes a look at The Final Hours of Natalee Halloway. You can use this as a primer for the upcoming TV movie. As a dad this story still breaks my heart.

    CW – 9:00 PM: Donna turns up on 90210 while millions won’t even know she did.

    WEDNESDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Will JD figure out how to set things right with Elliot while Janitor and Lady get married in the Bahamas? Tune in to Scrubs to find out.

    BRAVO – 9:00 PM: I’m a sucker for the lashing Kathy Griffin always gives to Hollywood and her latest show She’ll Cut a Bitch delivers in droves.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: It’s back to 1977 tonight on LOST and we might find out tonight what connection with the Island that Miles has.

    TV LAND – 10:00 PM: A group of 20-something men vie for the hand of a 40-something woman on the new reality show The Cougar. Thankfully it is nothing like the horrible SNL skit.

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: My Name is Earl is back tonight and Earl tries to make ammends to someone he used to torture in school. This almost makes me think I’m going to see Jason Lee on my doorstep.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: A death metal band has been using an actual human skeleton as a stage prop tonight on Bones. At least they aren’t posers.

    NBC – 9:30 PM: Liz has to fill time during her suspension after last week’s 30 Rock. I’m sensing lots of Internet surfing and deep fried pastries in her future.

    FRIDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Prison Break is back and takes over the night of programming on FOX. I only hope they can wrap up this once great show in a really good way in these final episodes (I’m also so glad that FOX could mess up the momentum of Dollhouse by giving it a week off).

    NICKELODEON – 8:30 PM: With the great Johnny Depp guest-voicing on tonight’s Spongebob vs. The Big One how could I help but not mention it (besides, with a five year old I’ll also be watching it)?

    ABC – 9:00 PM: The Supernanny comes to the rescue of a couple that admit the live with three house demolishing little devils. Heads up folks, this just means they are kids… and you are whimps that let them walk all over you. Guess that wouldn’t help fill an hour of prime-time though, would it?

    SATURDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: What do you do with your lowest rated night of television? How about put all three of your Law & Order shows from earlier in the week on?

    DISC – 8:00 PM: It appears to be Alaska night on Discovery Channel as MythBusters, Dirty Jobs and Arctic Roughnecks all are located in Palin country. Grab your mucklucks and settle in for viewing.

    SUNDAY

    NBC – 7:00 PM: Miss USA 2009 is here and ready to turn out the next Kelli McCarty. With her recent career change it’s too bad Miss USA didn’t have a talent competition.

    LMN – 8:00 PM: Remember The Natalee Halloway Story movie I mentioned earlier? Here it is.

    FOX – 8:30 PM: Animation Domination won’t be dominating much with the likes of Sit Down, Shut Up. It’s got a great pedigree of creators and voice talent, but the comedy/writing just isn’t up to snuff. Hopefully this academic comedy learns something quick.

    – Will Wilkins wrote this column in front of a live studio audience.

  • TV or Not TV: The Morning After for LOST 4/8

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    Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where my head is once again left spinning from the night before.

    Last night, just like every Wednesday night, I continued my romance with the television show LOST. I am still amazed at just how powerful this season is. I know I shouldn’t be surprised since this is in essence the act that immediately preceeds the final chapter in this story, however last season had some slow points so I keep expecting to hit one this season. It hasn’t happened yet. I’m not sure it is going to.

    I will warn you now that I will be freely discussing what occured in last night’s episode of LOST, so if you haven’t yet watched the show than I would strongly encourage you to return once you have.

    This episode, titled Dead is Dead, was another episode where we saw more into the past of Benjamin Linus. There was a whole lot else that went on in this episode, but it is these flashbacks that have given me the most food for thought because of what they revealed.

    Back in The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham I was left wondering how much of the tale told to John Locke by former Islander Charles Widmore was true. Widmore claimed that he had a camera where John had appeared because it is the exit point, the same place that he himself had appeared years ago when Ben had tricked him into leaving the Island. At that time I had my doubts, mostly because in the episode The Shape of Things to Come there was no camera present when Ben appeared on this same spot. When I first saw the camera it was my suspicion that Widmore had some how back tracked Ben‘s steps to find the spot where Ben had appeared (which shouldn’t be too hard since Ben left two dead bodies there) and set up the camera so he could watch for another person to show up that might help him get back to the Island. After it was revealed last night that Widmore did, in fact, NOT leave the Island via trickery or deception as he had previously indicated I think my original speculation may be closer to the truth than what Locke was told by Widmore.

    Last night it was also revealed to us exactly how Ben became so banged up prior to boarding Ajira flight 316. Many have speculated that this happened in pursuit of completing his promise to Widmore that he would kill Widmore‘s daughter in retaliation for the death of his own daughter Alex, which turned out to be right on the money. In this revelation a few more important facts, for me anyway, were revealed…. ones that got my mind working. While on the phone to gloat about his impending actions Ben tips his hand to Widmore that he would be returning to the Island that day. Widmore points out that the Island will not let him return if it doesn’t want him to, just as he has tried for nearly 20 years. Not a very thrilling conversation, and not something that really seems to reveal a lot, not when you look at the facts alone. If you couple these comments, however, with later actions in the episode I think we can get a bigger picture.

    In The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham we see that Widmore has been keeping tabs on the Oceanic 6. I would think it is also a safe assumption that he may have been trying to keep tabs on Ben. We also know from the episode Jughead that he knows the whereabouts of Eloise Hawking. This may mean that Hawking could be sharing information with Widmore, or that simply by following all of these people and their activities Widmore could know that they booked travel on Ajira flight 316. Where am I going with this? Let me tell you.

    I think there may be a possibility that the bounty hunter, Ilana, and maybe other people on the plane could have been on the Widmore payroll. Near the end of last night’s episode we see pilot Frank Lapidus return to the site of the Ajira 316 crash. There he finds Ilana and another crash survivor continuing the securing of the large metal canister that, earlier, she indicated was something they just “needed to move.” I’m sure a man of Widmore‘s wealth and resources could arrange for weaponry to be packed in the cargo hold of a plane, and what better way to try to find the Island without detection than to send in an undercover group in the hopes they survive getting there? The fact that Ilana seemed to have some type of pass-phrase that she asked to Lapidus (“What lies in the shadow of the statue?”) would really seemed to imply that she’s under orders/control of someone and was looking to verify that Lapidus was as well, making me think that maybe this is a code the Widmore people were given to use to identify each other once they got to where they were going.

    This guess is nothing but a speculative guess. It could be that our good old friend the Smoke Monster took a trip over to the second island and worked the same mojo he did on the French Scientists that we saw back in This Place is Death and they are now all “infected” or doing the Island’s bidding. It could be that Ilana is also just taking charge of a group of people now that someone seemingly with them (Ben) killed someone else with them (Caesar) before fleeing to the main Island. That pass-phrase however makes me think the latter is not that likely.

    Setting aside all of my crazy theories, it was very interesting to see in last night’s episode how the tables have really been turned on Ben. It was made very clear to him, by episodes end, that he is no longer the architect of the Island’s bidding and he darned well better get in line and follow John Locke. It was also interesting to see how the Smoke Monster made Ben reflect on the life of his daughter, and seemingly let him live because he truly had regret for his actions.  This regret, and admission of his own guilt, seems to be the redeeming quality. Back in season 3’s episode The Cost of Living we saw how Mr. Eko was not as fortunate when facing judgment by the Smoke Monster because when told to confess his sins he instead stated he had not choosen the life he was given, he was not sorry for the things he had done, and that he believed he did his best with what was given to him.  No regret, no guilt, no redemption.

    One last observation: Did anyone else feel like Ben‘s statement that, “It let me live” almost seemed to be filled with regret?

    There you have it folks, the meandering thoughts that come to me after watching last night’s episode of LOST. Now that I’ve gotten them out of my head I am going to explore the Internet to see what other people thought as well.

    Tune in next week and we’ll do it all again.

    – Will Wilkins can’t wait for the 100th episode of LOST.

  • TV Or Not TV: 4/6 – 4/12

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    Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I’m finally all moved in.

    I know that you don’t care about my moving woes, and I really don’t blame you.  Clearly they’ve had an impact on me and my ability to get things done and I’ve had to set this column aside not once but twice (not something that I like to do). It’s also distracted me from my ability to watch TV, which also makes writing this column a little tough.

    That being said I hope that you can accept the fact that I actually have very little to talk about at the head of this column, accept for a few ramblings that sprang to mind between my last column and this one while I’ve been shuffling boxes from there to here.

    I’m still blown away by LOST and I have no idea what direction that they are taking with this show, but I’m still thrilled to sit here and enjoy the ride.

    I never actually watched Life on Mars but I understand that a lot of people were dissapointed in the way that the show closed the season (and series).  Sorry you guys got stung.

    I’ve been watching Heroes and I have to say that the past few episodes have almost made me forget all of the bad that the show has been lately and I’ve actually been looking forward to viewing again (even though I admit that Hayden‘s hair in the last episode was a major distraction).

    Battlestar Galactica‘s ending actually had a bit more heart that I was expecting it to have, and ended on far warmer a note that I ever would have imagined the show capable of. Our illustrous Ken Plume hit the nail on the end when he recently tweeted that an influence of Douglas Adams was present.

    I’m both happy and sad to learn that the next season of Monk is going to be it’s last. The show has been a long-running staple in my house and even though there is more to come I’m already starting to miss the Defective Detective.

    I still amazed at how good Smallville has been this season as it’s a show I’d all but written off after last year. If the quality were to keep up like this I’d be more than happy to see it return, and get paired with another season of Reaper. Both of these things are nothing but wishful thinking on my part.

    I have to wonder if ABC really intends to air the final three unaired episodes of Pushing Daisies this summer since they will be on the second season DVD set, which is set to release July 21.

    With these minor ramblings out of the way I present to you my take on the schedule this next week.

    MONDAY

    NBC – 8:oo PM: Tonight Chuck is special guest-tastic with Chevy Chase and Scott Bakula. This show is starting it’s season wrap-up so if you’ve been a fan in the past and you’ve not been watching recently then now would be a good time to get back in to it.

    NGTV – 8:00 PM: The holiday of Easter is upon us and the National Geographic Channel is goin’ In Search of Jesus’ Tomb. Didn’t anyone learn from Geraldo Rivera and Al Capone’s Vaults?

    ABC – 9:30 PM: Bob Saget is returning to the realm of the sitcom with Surviving Suburbia. This is no Full House but I hear really good things.

    TUESDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is another one of those specials that I just don’t remember but I’m sure I watched as a kid.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: The odd cases and creepy bald guy are back with tonight’s return of Fringe.

    FX – 10:00 PM: I’m trying to avoid the fire jokes with the return of the smokin’ hot FX original series Rescue Me, but I can’t help it.

    WEDNESDAY

    DISCOVERY – 9:00 PM: If you were already a fan of Mythbusters than I have three words that are going to make you squeel with glee: Demolition Derby Special.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: So Ben broke the rules and now has to atone for his past discretions. How does one do that? Looks like you may have to go to the temple where the Smoke Monster lives and present yourself for judgement. I love LOST.

    ABC – 10:00 PM: I don’t know what to think about The Unusuals just based on the previews that we’ve been given. Either this is going to be an incredibly quirky and entertaining ensemble cast set in the oddest police precinct in New York or it’s going to be a monumental mess.

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM & 9:00 PM: I was thrown for a loop on The Office when Michael quit. I was mystified when he decided to start his own paper company (was Dunder-Mifflin just a reseller?). I’m glued to watching tonight.

    NBC – 8:30 PM: Can the people that brought us The Office make lightning in a bottle twice with Parks and Recreation? Amy Poehler sure hopes so.

    COMEDY CENTRAL – 10:00 PM: If you were hoping for much from Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire you’re probably in for a let down. This is Comedy Central, not Adult Swim.

    CBS – 10:00 PM: The murder-a-week mystery show Harper’s Island premieres tonight. Each week a wedding guest is offed, bringing us closer to the killer. Eh, it’s only 13 weeks, I’ll watch.

    FRIDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Will tonight’s season finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles be the series finale? I don’t think they’ll be back.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Must be something in the air tonight, it’s also the season finale of Friday Night Lights.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Someone’s been spying on the Dollhouse so Echo and Sierra are imprinted to be spy-hunters. I love how this show has gone from giving us the creepy clients and gone internal with the story lines.

    HIST – 10:00 PM: If you were wondering how to not do a Ponzi scheme than you may want to watch Ripped Off: Madoff and the Scamming of America.

    SATURDAY

    ABC – 7:00 PM: Will this year be the year that I finally watch The Ten Commandments?

    FOOD – 8:00 PM: Get ready for the sugar induced little ones with the tempting Easter Unwrapped. Maybe it isn’t good to know how our favorite treats are made.

    HBO – 10:00 PM: Thrilla in Manilla is a doc that looks back at the final Ali-Frazier fight, featuring Joe Frazier himself. This is from a time when boxing was more than something just on Saturday nights HBO, it was a national obsession and this competition was ugly.

    SUNDAY

    HISTORY – 8:00 PM: Scientests try to figure out if life started here or abroad as well as try to determine alien influence on mankind in Ancient Aliens.

    TLC – 8:00 PM: A woman’s legs and feet grow to 210 pounds on The Woman with Giant Legs. Sometimes the title really does say it all.

    SHO – 10:00 PM: Tracy Ullman is back on the tele again with Tracy Ulman’s State of the Union. She’ll be using a cast of self-played characters to make us laugh and take a look at the American condition.

  • TV Or Not TV: 3/23 – 3/29

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I’m in the middle of packing for a move.

    Ordinarily I wouldn’t be bothering you, Internet reader, with such a silly detail from my life however it is having an adverse affect on my ability to write. When I try to summon up the inspiration for a story all I encounter in my head is the thought of the closets that still need to be emptied.  When trying to summarize my reaction to the Battlestar Galactica finale all I think about are the boxes that have not yet been filled. All I see when I close my eyes is bubble wrap, wrapping paper, and box tape.

    This panic is, sadly, going to be lasting at least through next week’s column as well. This week is the boxing panic. Next weekend is the moving panic. I know, don’t panic. I try not to, but I can’t stop.

    That said I really liked the way LOST last week got me to watch a show that didn’t really reveal a whole heck of a lot, but clearly helps gets us from point A to point B. I’m always a sucker for the episodes when Christian Shepard shows up. He’s this equal mix of informative and creepy and I’m sure before the series plays out he’ll have had a conversation with just about everyone with the exception of Jack.

    The current season has also been an interesting blend of informative and confusing as they’ve been giving us some answers to what is going on while creating mini-mysteries to be revealed as well. An example of this is very apparent in the last three episodes. We’re given a tidbit of something that has already happened (Sun takes off with the pilot for the main Island, as told to us by Ceaser) with subsequent episodes revealing what transpired (Sun takes off with the pilot for the main Island thanks to Ben showing her where the boats were and then subsequently clocking him with an ore).

    It’s really the first season of LOST where I haven’t been sitting here trying to figure out what is going on and instead just enjoying where the show is taking me. Pretty good stuff.

    I’d try to come up with something more profound but I’m once again thinking I should be breaking down all of the equipment in my office and jamming it into a box. Instead let’s just see what is going to be on this week that I clearly have no time to actually watch.

    MONDAY

    ABC FAMILY – 8:00 PM: There’s finally a baby on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. After this, is there really a secret any more?

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Heroes has been trying to get us sucked in to who this new Rebel character may be, some super tech savvy computer guru. I’m guessing they think we’ve forgotten about the kid from season 1 and 2 that could talk to machines.

    TUESDAY

    CW – 8:00 PM: Sam is forced by the Devil to work with one of his sons on Reaper. Since Sam seems to be the son of the Devil (something that has yet to really be confirmed) he may be aggravated by the fact that this son is much richer and more charming than him.

    TCM – 8:00 PM: Generations were entertained by his work and in Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood we have the man himself tell of his youth and influences.

    WEDNESDAY

    ABC – 9:00 PM: One of the LOSTies goes rogue tonight and we get a glimpse of what life was like for Sayid when he was off the Island and not capping people for Ben.

    THURSDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Tonight on Bones they investigate a half-eaten body just outside of a tiger cage. I bet the butler did it.

    NBC – 9:30 PM: 30 Rock sees the return of Liz‘s ex The Beeper King.

    NBC – 10:00 PM: With all of the old faces returning on ER I’m sure everyone can’t wait to see none other than Tom Arnold tonight. Wait, what?

    FRIDAY

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Disease is running rampant on a campus on Dollhouse, but this is worse than cold sores.

    SATURDAY

    NICK – 9:30 PM: The Penguins of Madagascar premier tonight after the Kids Choice Awards. Since they were always scene stealers in the Madagascar movies they should be pretty good here.

    SUNDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Homer and Marge find out their marriage isn’t actually valid tonight on The Simpsons. Didn’t I already see this on 10 sitcoms througout the 80’s?

    – Will Wilkins hardly wrote this.

  • TV Or Not TV: 3/16 – 3/22

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I’ve spent far too much going crazy and looking for Easter Eggs.

    I’m sure the above statement might be confusing, especially if you are any where near a calendar. The Easter Eggs I’ve been looking for are actually of the DVD persuasion. Still confused? OK, let me explain further.

    As far back as time began, or the first time a programmer spent far too many hours being sleep deprived, people have been slipping secret items within their software to keep themselves amused and to give the end user a special treat. One of the earliest examples I ever encountered in my life was in the Atari 2600 video game Adventure. There was a wall in the game where your square character (literally it was a square people, not a blocky shaped man… the character was just a block with four equal sides) could grab a 1 pixel by 1 pixel dot that would allow you access to another secret room. I was 8 at the time and this secret made me feel like I was part of a secret club of people, even though I was just one of millions who could read a video game magazine. Ever since then the concept of the Easter Egg has held me enthralled.

    If you’ve been reading this column than you know that the Internet Only three act show Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was one of my favorite things to come out of the summer. After receiving my copy of the DVD I realized that something was afoot when it came to Easter Eggs. On the back of the package is a logo that says “Count the Letters UL +RD”. At first I had absolutely no idea what that meant, but I knew that it meant something. It had to be the first clue.

    One of the obvious ways to look for Easter Eggs on a DVD is to start using the arrow keys on your remote around all of the menus. I tried this to now avail. After giving up in frustration I looked at my remote, I looked at the box, I looked at my remote and realize that in my constantly moving Up, Left, Right and Down so many times that I had the answers to the logo in my hand the whole time! Each one indicated a direction, laid out in the logo just like the navigation buttons on the remote. I was excited! I was exhilarated! I still had no idea what it meant!

    In my menu explorations I had made a discovery that made me chuckle in that there was a Wiccan subtitle option. I decided to activate the option and start watching, hoping for a secret incantation or two. Instead what I saw was “Enter @ 0793529867”. My initial reaction to this was ?!?!??!. After regaining my compsure (and using a lot of patience in freezing the DVD just right to get the number) I copied the number down and Googled it. The most obvious thing the number turned up was the ISBN number for Mariah Carey‘s album Music Box. Again, elation and confusion raced through my vains. Two clues down and I knew absolutely nothing.

    Fresh with my knowledge of an extra telling me something (that meant hopefully more than the extra having very bad taste in music) I began to look at other items as well. It turns out that the “The Music” featurette was the true gold mine in that two things occur. Felicia Day at one point mentions that she sometimes sounds like Mariah Carey. My ears perked up, and I rant he featurette back. Just as she once again said Mariah Carey I pressed the enter key and to my excitement I saw a countdown with a case of Wonderflonium on it. Hazzah! What does it mean though?!?!

    Continuing on to the end of the featurette also had several letters in the credits that were yellow. These letters spell out “Enter at Act 2”. Wait, the movie has a tile specifically titled Act II! I quickly switched back and to my excitement and frustration if I hit my Enter button at just that moment hat Act II appears I was treated to another countdown with a picture of the Evil League of Evil member Professor Normal (who I had to look up in the credits to figure out who he was). There it was, something else right in front of my face and I didn’t know what to do with it.

    Further exploration and paying close attention made me realize that there was a false chapter in the chapter selection menu titled “Moist Dries Up”. When I selected the chapter I used the previous clue to hit Enter and I received another countdown with a picture of Dr. Horrible. Awesome, another countdown. But what now?!?

    After a few days of frustration I finally did what I swore I wouldn’t due, I turned to the Internet. What I found didn’t help much as others had discoverd what I had along with some tricks that seemed to work but didn’t quite seem right as there was no direct connection to how to get to them. Dejected I turned to pen and paper and began writing what I knew. I don’t know if it was seeing the clues written out or the fact that I had the case right in front of me when I realized that the countdown required action (as seen from my searches) and every one of the names pictured in the countdowns had the letters in them that we were supposed to be counting (the R, L, D, U’s). Excited with this realization I went to Act II, pressed enter and used my arrows to press Right, Right, Right, and Left. To my excitement I was given a behind the scenes clip! YES!

    With nervous and giddy excitement I went to The Music featurette and and went to the mention of Mariah Carey and hit enter. As the Wonderflonium lay before me I pressed Down, Right, Left and Up.  The interviews that flowed before me were amazing!

    Lastly I triumphed as I went to Moist Dries Up and looked at the picture of Dr. Horrible and pressed Right, Right, Right, and Left. VICTORY!

    In trying to hunt for more Easter Eggs I paid closer attention to the beginning sequence where in the FBI and ELE warnings there is the flash of a picture of Bad Horse with three colored orbs that match the colors of the countdowns. I’m going to take this as a clue that there are actually only three Easter Eggs on the DVD. At press time I’ve sent an email to Jed Whedon to get confirmation. I’ll let you know what he comes back with.

    So there, my friends, is my journey into the depths of a DVD and the payoff. I really hope that’s all that is present in the DVD since this journey was an exhausting one. If you want to see them yourself than you can pick up the DVD at Amazon if you haven’t already.

    Now that I’ve given you the most non-TV related column possible let’s take a look at what is happening this week on television.

    MONDAY

    ABC FAMILY – 8:00 PM: Tonight they set the Wayback Machine on The Secret Life of the American Teenager as we see how Amy met Ricky. Not sure if this gimmick will play out or will just come across awkward and creepy. I’m voting the latter.

    ABC – 8:30 PM: Ted finds out that Lily has been meddling in his past relationships to allow some to live or die on How I Met Your Mother.

    ABC FAMILY – 9:00 PM: Kyle XY‘s series finale airs tonight and I’ll finally watch the entire series on DVD in a few months.

    SCIFI – 10:00 PM: I’m sure you’ll be up to your ears from the computer guys at your work about the finale this week of Battlestar Galactica, so if they’ve finally sucked you in to watching this Friday you may want to get caught up with Battlestar Galactica: The Last Frakkin’ Special. Gotta love the name.

    TUESDAY

    CW – 8:00 PM: Ben wants to introduce the guys to his demon girlfriend on Reaper. If that isn’t awkward enough, same girlfriend was hired to kill Sam originally. Should be a fun evening.

    CBS – 9:00 PM: We’ll see how keen Patrick Jane‘s powers of observation are when he’s temporariliy blinded on The Mentalist.

    WEDNESDAY

    HBO – 8:00 PM: Get ready for the season finale of Big Love with the previous three episodes airing back-to-back tonight. Oh so good.

    ABC – 8:30 PM: The good news: you’re a new show that is the lead in to LOST. The bad news? Better off Ted would be better off dead. Oh well.

    HIST – 9:00 PM: MonsterQuest gets together a bigger boat as they hunt for a 60 foot shark in Mexico. See what happens when you have no FDA restrictions?

    THURSDAY

    BRAVO – 5:00 PM: Here’s seven of the saddest words I’ve ever typed in a row: Five straight hours of The Million Matchmaker.

    CW – 8:00 PM: Tess must have been taking a queue from Superman 2 (either the original or director’s cut) as she orchestrates an accident to try and get Clark to expose his super powers. I’m sure it will work out for her as well as it did for Margot Kidder.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Michael holds a party for his 15th anniversary with Dunder Mifflin on The Office and wouldn’t you know the new strict VP shows up? I’m sure it won’t be awkward at all.

    FRIDAY

    FOX – 9:00 PM: So we’re now at episode six of Dollhouse. This is purportedly the point where the show takes on more of that trademark Joss Whedon feel. You’ve been advised.

    SCIFI – 8:00 PM: Battlestar Galactica ends it’s amazing run tonight and I have NO idea what the heck is going to happen (bet you thought I’d use the word frak didn’t you?).

    SATURDAY

    SCIFI – 9:00 PM: I can’t think of a better recipe for entertainment: last man alive in a city of zombies in I Am Omega. Too bad it’s on SciFi and it will probably suck.

    FOX – 11:00 PM: The end is near for MADtv so tonight they roll out a best-of clips show.

    SUNDAY

    HBO – 9:00 PM: Tonight brings a close to a very powerful season of Big Love. It’s been so good this season I really don’t want it to end.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: The good news: Edie finally confirms she’s been married to a psychopath on Desperate Housewives. The bad news: psychopaths don’t like to be discovered. Sorry Edie.

    HBO – 10:30 PM: East Bound & Down also comes to a close tonight. This gritty and dark comedy has been both entertaining and discomforting at the same time.

    – Will Wilkins wuz here.

  • TV Or Not TV: 3/2 – 3/8

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I don’t fear the Reaper.

    It’s been nearly a year since we last saw Reaper, which is returning March 3rd at 8 PM to the CW, and truth be told we’re lucky we’re even getting a second helping of the show.  Reaper originally showed a lot of promise in its pilot episode, but quickly devolved to a simple “monster-of-the-week” retread that we’d already seen in year’s prior from show’s like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. The only saving grace at that point was the flawless performance of Ray Wise as the Devil.

    About the same time I was thinking to myself that Reaper was going to fall off of my viewing list the Writer’s Strike happened. When it was over Reaper returned and something had changed. Suddenly the reaping was playing second fiddle to story lines like a demon uprising wanting to overthrow the Devil and the nagging question of lead character Sam’s own parentage. In the season finale we were even given a gem in Sam‘s own father seeming to be a demon (or something else that is capable of surviving being buried alive). The increased interest from the fan base seemed to give the CW reason to give Reaper a second season order of 13 episodes.

    The initial question that has to be asked is if this new season learned from the last part of last season and will the show really try to knock it out of the park for what could be it’s final 13? The answer to the question may be revealed in the season opener where Sam encounters a soul of interest who he may pursue over the course of this season’s run. Sam also has challenges to over come as he returns from a road trip with friends Sock and Ben to discover he’s been evicted from his apartment, fired from his job at The Work Bench and girlfriend Andi may not be terribly happy with him either. Of course the Devil also makes things a bit difficult since he isn’t the type of employer that likes granting extended leaves from work.

    The second question also is if the CW really wants to see Reaper do well at all. Originally the show was slated to premiere March 17th and it was going to have the drama ladened 90210 as it’s lead in. Suddenly the premiere has been moved up two weeks and Reaper is now the lead in show, and if you look at the schedule it looks more like the sacrificial lamb the CW is handing over the FOX‘s American Idol, pushing 90210 to the safer 9 PM post-Idol slot originally intended for Reaper. I suppose we can just be thankful that if that is the case as we’ll at least see all 13 episodes of Reaper. The show’s producers have stated they plan to deliver a complete story for us should Reaper be shaking loose this mortal coil at the conclusion of this season. Even if it does, I’m glad we’ve got 13 more episodes of Ray Wise‘s Devil to enjoy.

    If all of this Reaper talk didn’t scare you off than here’s what else is coming up in the next seven.

    MONDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: It’s two hours of 24 tonight with a full on assault on the White House. It’s bad enough when they asked us to believe… well, just about everything from all of the seasons past, but really… the White House? Shame on you 24. Shame…. on…. you!

    NBC – 9:00 PM: I admit that I acutally enjoyed Heroes last week up until the last five minutes of the show. They bought my interest for one more week. Let’s see if they can do it again.

    FOOD – 9:30 PM: Rabidly interested in how cranberries are harvested? Hop into the bog on Will Work for Food.

    TUESDAY

    BRAVO – 1:00 PM: Hunker down for a marathon of The Real Housewives of New York City. Did I just type that?

    FOX – 8:00 PM: American Idol rolls out the poor song choices performed horribly by the next 12 contestants hoping to survive the night.

    CW – 8:00 PM: Yup, like stated above, Reaper is back. Give it a try if you didn’t before.

    WEDNESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Tonight on Knight Rider… hah, just kidding! This show is harder for me to watch than a vasectomy reversal (and yes, I’ve seen one).

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Nine more dreams are crushed as three more are chosen for the final 12 contestants on American Idol. Dragging this out for 60 minutes is almost as unjustifiable as the running time of the Oscars.

    HIST – 9:00 PM: If you’ve ever wanted to see the sewers of New York than tune in to MonsterQuest as they delve into the disgusting depths in search of alligators.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: I’ve noticed a trend that is happening on LOST. They’ve been playing this cat and mouse game of mysterious and answers so much that they are creating mini-mysteries that surface and get paid off in a few episodes. Watch more tonight as we get caught up with where Sawyer and crew have been in LaFleur.

    THURSDAY

    TOON – 2:30 PM: I’ve really been enjoying Batman: The Brave and the Bold and I really wish I had recommended last week this first part of a two parter. It’s got everything geeks love: super heroes and alternate universes where the good are bad and vise versa. The second part airs tomorrow night, so set your DVR for this one to get caught up.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Just when you thought they couldn’t shove more Idol down your throats they bring out a wild card show. The judges favorites shill one more time for a chance on the show.

    NBC – 8:30 PM: Does anyone who reads this column want to email me and tell me what I’m missing not watching Kath & Kim? I only ask because it’s the only show I skip on the Thursday night NBC lineup.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: The first alliance of the season surfaces tonight on Survivor: Tocantins.

    FRIDAY

    TOON – 8:00 PM: Batman teams up with The Joker (what?!?!?) to try to foil Owlman in tonight’s season finale of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: It’s just so hard having a Terminator on your team when they have a damaged chip, which appears to have a BIOS made by Microsoft. Haha! Nerd humor!

    AMC – 8:00 PM: See the entire first season of Breaking Bad tonight and you’ll be jonesing for more.

    SATURDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Didn’t catch the premiere of Celebrity (really?!?) Apprentice? You get a second shot tonight.

    DISNEY – 8:00 PM: I know it is no great work of cinematic art, but I really got a kick out of Sky High.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: This is really shaping up to be second chance Saturday. Miss the two hour Brothers & Sisters episode from last week or your DVR botched up? Queue it up again.

    SUNDAY

    Hope you remembered to set your clock ahead an hour!

    NBC – 7:00 PM: Sometimes a show name says it all: Saturday Night Live: Just Game Show Parodies. As long as it is 90% Celebrity Jeopardy I’m in.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: The home loan crisis hits Springfield as The Simpsons ARM skyrockets. Way to help us escape from our everyday lives guys!

    NBC – 8:00 PM: I don’t think you can take any percentage of anything to make me watch Saturday Night Live: Just Commercials.

    AMC – 10:00 PM: Did you get hooked on Breaking Bad after Friday night? Good news, season 2 premieres tonight.

    – Will Wilkins wrote this column while thinking about his Dad. It’s been a year Pops and I still miss you.

  • TV Or Not TV: 2/22 – 3/1

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I am now very pleased with Dollhouse.

    Even though I have close ties to the show I have to admit that I wasn’t thrilled with the premiere when it aired on 2/13.  The show was good, it told a story, but there was something that was missing from the mix. It is one of those things that is most annoying because it is very hard to put a finger on what was missing, aside from the trade mark blend of drama and humor that is usually injected into a Joss Whedon project. There was also something in the storytelling that just felt forced. Even after re-watching I still couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was that was bothering me.

    After seeing this past week’s episode of Dollhouse I can definitely say that whatever it was that I felt was missing is new present. From what I have read and from what I have heard this past episode, titled The Target, was the original pilot of the show (with some changes I’m sure to accommodate last week’s episode Ghost) and it certainly served the purpose of explaining what the show is and what it is about.  It fleshed out for us why Boyd Langton was brought to be the handler for Echo, it made the tech Topher Brink far less annoying, and FBI Agent Paul Ballard came across as a much stronger character than what we saw in Ghost.

    Another thing we were given was a real bad guy to watch out for in the form of Active gone bad Alpha, who sees something more to Echo than what we see on the surface. Alpha also appears to be a bad guy who is also on a mission since he appears to be manipulating things to enhance the FBI discovery of the Dollhouse as well as setting up the chain of events that made up the entire episode of The Target.

    The pilot for the show was just an appetizer. This past episode for a full meal. It set things up AND sets them in motion. This episode I walked away from very satisfied.

    I suppose what I am trying to say is that if you gave Dollhouse a chance and didn’t come back for more, you might want to reconsider.

    Now that we’ve gotten that bit out of the way let’s see what the week holds for us.

    MONDAY

    AMC – 8:00 PM: It’s Dirty Harry week on AMC and tonight they are running the one that started it all with Harry Callahan going up against the Zodiac inspired Scorpio killer.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Parkman uses his mind powers to make HRG spill the beans on why he is helping with the capture of those with abilities. I’m hoping they treat this like Parkman walking through revealing events in Noah’s mind but I’m sure they’ll just give us more of the flashback style crud.

    TUESDAY

    ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX – 9:00 PM E / 6:00 PM P: Join me as the nation holds its breath while waiting to hear what our President has to say in his first official State of the Union address.

    TNT – 10:00 AM: If you haven’t caught the TNT show Leverage than you can watch an all-day marathon leading up to the 10 PM finale.

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Tonight Harry Callahan is going up against vigilante cops in Magnum Force.

    WEDNESDAY

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Ever since I learned the names of the episodes this season for LOST the one I’ve really been looking forward to is The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham. Tonight we find out what Locke did before taking his lined pine box nap.

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Still haven’t gotten your Dirty Harry fill? The Enforcer had rocket-armed radicals and hostages on Alcatraz long before The Rock existed.

    THURSDAY

    SCIFI – 7:00 PM: I have no idea why SciFi is running four hours of Battlestar Galactica from last year, but four hours BSG is still four hours of BSG.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: If you didn’t pick up the Kung Fu Panda DVD set than tonight is your chance to see Secrets of the Furious Five for the low low price of nothing (if you can handle commercial interruptions).

    HIST – 10:00 PM: Get ready for the second season of Ax Men with the Road to Season 2. Nothing says, “I feel very unmanly” more than this show.

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Faster than you can say, “Go ahead. Make my day.” it’s time for Sudden Impact.

    FRIDAY

    VHI1 – 6:00 PM: Black to the Future is a four part series that takes a look at contributions of the black community to pop culture from the 80’s through today.

    BET – 8:00 PM: Although the social commentaries on race seemed shoe horned in to the movie I still found Inside Man to be very clever movie.

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Dirty Harry is back for one last film as he protects a newswoman and others on a celebrity hit list in The Dead Pool.

    SATURDAY

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Blazing Saddles followed by Caddyshack? It’s like my childhood memories are responsible for programming AMC tonight.

    SUNDAY

    NBC – 7:00 PM: Andy Samburg hosts Saturday Night Live Short Films, a look back at a lot of the shorts, commercial parodies and other pre-taped bits from the shows run. Seriously, the guy who brought us Laser Cats is the best candidate to host this?

    LIFE – 8:00 PM: Rosie O’Donnell plays a psychiatrist who helps a troubled boy in the foster care system in America.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Show producers once again stretch the term celebrity with another edition of The Celebrity Apprentice. I don’t know what is more shocking, Joan Rivers appearance or that they still call  Andrew Dice Clay a celebrity.

    – Will Wilkins wrote this from the beauty of South Lake Tahoe.

  • TV Or Not TV: 2/16 – 2/22

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I really don’t think I need a television any more.

    Let’s face it folks, content delivery is the name of the game for just about any broadcast medium. You have to get it to the people. It used to be in the wonderful world of television you were able to manipulate the masses by forcing them to bend to your will and make them sit somewhere at a certain time of your choosing if they wanted to be entertained. If you wanted to watch it you had to be at the right place at the right time and on the right channel. There was no getting around it.

    The home video tape revolution started to offset this a little so that people could try to record the shows that they couldn’t be for or, in my house, it would record one channel for us while we were watching another. The TV enthusiast would also use the video tape system to capture the things they were actually watching as well so that they could view it again and again, or share it with friends. These were the beginning of good times, but they were often wrought with frustration as a channel change being missed or a tape not replaced would ruin the whole set up. It wasn’t perfect but it worked.

    The DVR was the really the great evolution in home video recording and it is one that has changed many facets of the way that television advertising is done and ratings are determined. Most DVR’s allow you to convenienty skip over the commercials in far less time than a video tape allowed us, and as such more commercials and product placements are placed within the show itself to ensure that we are seeing their products (last season of the SciFi show Eureka‘s synergistic advertising of Degree deoderant is a shining example).

    Best of all the DVR captured the television we were recording in to some type of digital format that a dilligent user might find the way to extract and convert so they could conveniently remove the commercials and start sharing the show with their friends. Heck, even if you didn’t have a stand alone DVR there are so many ways to turn a stand alone computer into a DVR that it is no surprise how many shows were becoming available on the Internet in certain circles. The shows were getting out there and you didn’t have to rely on cousin Tony in Newark sending you his VHS tape to catch up on the show you missed.

    Each of these steps has taken the broadcast networks to the natural evolution: delivery of their shows via the Internet to personal computing and mobile devices. If you think about it, as I’m sure they did, they didn’t really have any choice. If the video industry learned one important thing from the music industry it was that you can’t fight the Internet. If there was any way to curtail the illegal distribution of their product it was to embrace the Internet and start delivering it themselves, on their terms, with some ad revenue helping fund the cost. Change the old school thinking and make sure that you still control how people see what you want them to see.

    So as I sit here reflecting on all of this, and after having caught up on some of my shows either from my laptop via the Internet or my iPhone during my commute I have to ask, “Do I really need a televisoin any more?”

    Thankfully I do have a TV and if you are reading this you must have one too so let’s take a look at the scraps that are out there for us to try to enjoy.

    MONDAY

    SCIFI – 8:00 AM: Before Bryan Fuller created Pushing Daisies (and after Wonderfalls) he created the quirky dark comedy Dead Like Me. Since the Direct-To-DVD movie Dead Like Me: Life After Death is released tomorrow this is a great time to introduce yourself to this very entertaining show.

    TLC – 9:00 AM: Get your Roloff on with a marathon day of Little People, Big World.

    ABC FAMILY – 2:00 PM: If my prodding has made you think about watching The Secret Life of the American Teenager (or if you have nothing better to watch during the national holiday) you can now watch it for 7 straight hours.

    TUESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: The first 12 of the top 36 performers take the stage tonight on American Idol. Will one be the next Kelly Clarkson or Taylor Hicks (how many of you just said “Taylor Who?”)

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Tonight the contestants on The Biggest Loser have to work out without the benefits of a gym. To me that reads as trying to lose weight without dropping pounds.

    TBS – 10:30 PM: This syndicated airing of The Office was directed by Joss Whedon and is one that I highly recommend.

    WEDNESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: The first three of the final 12 are chosen tonight on American Idol. That leaves 9 hopefuls out in the cold. If you want to make it a drinking game take a shot every time someone cries.

    FMC – 9:00 PM: There was a movie that started a slew of Gene Wilder / Richard Pryor movies. It was called Silver Streak. Watch it.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Well I didn’t get my Black Rock fix last week on LOST but my mind was as entertained as it was blown away. This season so far is television greatness. I hope you aren’t missing it.

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Danny Glover guess stars on My Name is Earl as someone claiming to be Crab Man‘s dad. Isn’t he getting too old for this $h!t?

    CW – 8:00 PM: If you didn’t see the Smallville episode Identity the first time it aired than you really missed out.

    FRIDAY

    USA – 8:00 PM: The season is coming to a close for Monk. Didn’t it just get back on?

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Tonight’s episode of Dollhouse has Echo being a counterpart to an outdoors man. Nothing says sexy like chicks with bows and aarows.

    USA – 9:00 PM: Wait, this is the season finale of Psych as well? What, are we watching the BBC and we only get six episodes of a show per season?

    SATURDAY

    ABC FAMILY – 8:00 PM: Witness the cultural greatness of the original Grease followed by the stunningly awkward Grease 2.

    CARTOON NETOWRK – 8:00 PM: If you didn’t pick up Justice League: The New Frontier on DVD than you can enjoy it tonight free of charge.

    OXYGEN – 8:00 PM: Some might say the ultimate stay-in date movie is Sleepless in Seattle. Who am I to argue?

    SUNDAY

    ABC – 8:30 PM E/5:30 PM P: Wolverine is hosting the Oscars and almost all of the networks have thrown in the towel about airing anything worthwhile.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: The Amazing Race 14 doesn’t fear the Oscars.

    ABC FAMILY – 7:00 PM: So this is weird. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is followed by Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. At least they didn’t try to stick Mark Wahlberg before Charlton Heston with Planet of the Apes.

    – Will Wilkins is glad you decided to read this.

  • TV Or Not TV: 2/9 – 2/15

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I can’t wait to el fuego my Friday.

    This week FOX both pleases and baffles the heck out of me as they put one of the shows I like and one of the shows I’ve been looking forward to and puts them back-to-back on one of the hardest nights of television. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles returns and Joss Whedon’s new television project Dollhouse premieres… on Friday… the 13th. I’m not one to be superstitious, but this doesn’t make me very happy.

    In case you haven’t noticed, television and Friday in general don’t mix. Yes, there are a few shows that have found their place in the last day of the work week (Ghost Whisperer and… um… Ghost Whisperer) but others usually struggle for ratings or are so cheap to produce that the networks aren’t concerned about what they are airing. Neither of the latter elements are the case for either Terminator or Dollhouse.

    Friday has also not proven itself as a great vehicle for shows on FOX.  The Visitor, John Doe, Dark Angel (although it did get two seasons), and Joss Whedon’s Firefly were all shows that lived and subsequently died on Friday night. Part of me thinks that they have been struggling for years to try to gain back the brief success they had on Friday with The X-Files, and part of me thinks that they are just throwing whatever they can on Friday’s and they are just trying to see what sticks.

    The final reason that I don’t feel good about this is that FOX hasn’t really paired Dollhouse with Terminator. They have paired Dollhouse up with two series that are playing out the final episodes of their current (or maybe final) seasons. Currently Terminator has 8 more episodes and it doesn’t look hopefull (in this writer’s opinion) that the show will get renewed for another season.  After those eight hours are up Prison Break will come back to finish up it’s final season. Why does this concern me? Both shows didn’t post strong numbers in thier fall airings and part of the success in the ratings game is the strength of a shows lead in. If FOX really had a strong desire to have Dollhouse do well it might have been better to pair it with their other new (and successful) show Fringe or give it one of the coveted post-American Idol slots.

    Sure there are indicators that FOX does want to see Dollhouse succeed. The show has been heavily promoted both on television and online for what feels like half the time of forever. The show has also been included as one of the two shows chosen for the networks “Remote Free TV” concept, where they cut six minutes of advertising time and give us six more minutes of show time, for which they charge advertisers a premium on the remaining ad time available. This says that they feel something is there and they are betting on the Whedon fans to come through on ratings. I hope this all works as I’ve been a long standing Whedon fan and I want to see the show succeed.

    With all that said let’s see what’s going on with this week’s television options.

    MONDAY

    ABC FAMILY – 8:00 PM: Ben tells Amy he needs space on the next The Single Life of the American Teenager. Who’d have thought teen pregnancy can put stress on a relationship?

    NBC – 9:00 PM: So Heroes comes back and the producers are really hoping that a plan cash can work to make the show good again. They do know that a plane wreck doesn’t work for every show, right?

    CBS – 9:30 PM: No, you didn’t lose your The Big Bang Theory. It’s just keeping the seat warm for Worst Week here at 9:30.

    TUESDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: After the original airing of Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown in 1975 kid’s all over the country sent a sympathy Valentine to ol’ Chuck. In today’s world they’d probably not even be troubled to text him.

    G4 – 8:00 PM: G4 is switching it up 80’s style with an airing of Gremlins followed by Real Genius. Oh so tempting.

    FLN – 9:00 PM: Michael Somerville tries to help the dating hopeless in the new Fine Living Network program Wingman. If I weren’t married I’m sure I’d be his greatest challenge.

    WEDNESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: American Idol narrows it down to the top 36 finalists tonight. I have hard enough remember who is who in the top 12, these next few weeks are going to be tough.

    TLC – 8:00 PM: Tonight on My Shocking Story the 55-year-old “Octoman“, who has four arms and three legs, comes out of seclusion to have his parasitic twin condition examined.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Tonight’s episode of LOST is titled This Place is Death. Based on the title and what happened last week I’m hoping for a return to the Black Rock.

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: If the buildup has been killing you than you can rest easy… Mr. Turtle returns tonight on My Name is Earl.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: The castaways are back with the premiere of Survivor: Tocantins. The game begins a lot sooner when they must vote people out based on first impressions before the first challenge even starts.

    SCIFI – 9:00 PM: Get your Whedon fix a day early with the Firefly movie Serenity.

    FRIDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Sarah fights for her life and gets help from an unlikely source on the return of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

    NBC – 8:30 PM: Tonight they are re-airing the first episode of Howie Do It. If you didn’t catch it the portion for Break In Makeover make the show worth watching.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: After everything I wrote above you think I’d not put Dollhouse in the picks too?

    SCIFI – 10:00 PM: The Fith Cylon is back and Anders injury last week leads to a wealth of memories on Battlestar Galactica.

    SATURDAY

    USA – 6:00 PM: Staying in for V-Day? How about Sweet Home Alabama followed by The Breakup?

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Nothing says lovin’ like The Godfather: Part II.

    OXYGEN – 8:00 PM: Some might say the ultimate stay-in date movie is Sleepless in Seattle. Who am I to argue?

    SUNDAY

    CBS – 8:00 PM: Eleven more teams kick off The Amazing Race 14.

    TBS – 8:00 PM: OK, I admit that even though I’m a guy I did enjoy Failure To Launch. I do have to wonder if it is in the Mathew McConaughey contract that he appear shirtless in just about every film.

    COMEDY – 10:00 PM: Want to know where our site sponsor Omni Consumer Products Corporation‘s amazing energy drink Brawndo comes from? Catch Idiocracy tonight on Comedy Central.

    – Will Wilkins does not really suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia.

  • TV Or Not TV: 2/2 – 2/8

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I didn’t actually watch the Big Game.

    Please, don’t call me un-American. Somehow I never got in to sports. I don’t know how it happened with an entire family of guys that follow sports, but somehow it just never took hold. I’m sure that some of it comes from having no natural athletic ability and too much of a fascination with computers at too young of an age. Whatever the reason I just didn’t tune in.

    Don’t let that make you think that I didn’t have anything to do during the Big Game today. Like any movie loving, television addicted guy I went out of my way today to get a pair of Intel sponsored 3-D glasses just to watch 90 seconds of commercials (wow, that really comes off a little bit sad now that I read it). I’ve also been a sucker for the concept of 3-D entertainment, and thankfully the glasses have never bothered me, so when I learned about these commercials I made sure that I watched the clock while doing the yard work to ensure that I would catch them.

    In case you missed what I’m talking about, the movie Aliens vs. Monsters by Dreamworks had a special 3-D commercial (with co-sponsors SoBe and NBC) because the movie itself will also be in 3-D. After seeing the commercial while wearing the glasses I’m not sure I’m sold on the concept, especially since within the first 5 seconds of the commercial we were handed a horrible example of 3-D. A character is hitting a paddle ball in our direction and this thing just look like a red ball with an evil blue twin floating off to the side. I don’t know how much the movie itself will have cost to make, but I’m sure the SoBe commercial afterward was a fraction of the cost and it pulled of the 3-D effect a lot better. I’m sure somewhere right now the execs at DreamWorks aren’t very happy they were outdone by dancing football players and lizards.

    If you didn’t watch the big game but are a fan of The Office than I’m sure you were aware that they were doing a special hour long episode immediately after. This was something I was dreading since last season’s hour long episodes almost always felt like they were painfully stretched out. I really want, with every fiber of my being, to tell you that I didn’t get the same feeling with this episode. Sadly I did. Please don’t take that as me saying that the episode didn’t entertain me. The painful insertion of the movie staring Jack Black, Chloris Leachman, and Jessica Alba felt more like they tried to shoehorn a webisode in to the episode. Thankfully the memory of Dwight wearing the freshly removed face of a CPR doll got me through those parts.

    Enough about the Big Game and it’s afterlings. There’s a big week ahead of us with the return of a lot of shows on NBC. Chuck, Heroes and Medium return on Monday.  I’m really hoping that Heroes is able to turn things around because if they can’t they are going to become some bad meat stuck between two great slices of bread. Life returns on Wednesday. All good reasons to tune in to the Peacock. Wait, why am I telling you this here? Let’s get on with it!

    MONDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: The 3-D fun from the Big Game continues tonight with a 3-D episode of Chuck. I’m hoping it’s not 3-Dreadful. LOST fans can find Dominic Monaghan playing another rock and roll star tonight, so that should be reason enough to endure those whacky glasses.

    CBS – 8:30 PM: Robin is facing deportation without work so she actually let’s Barney help out with a video resume. Might this mark the return of Robin Sparkles? We can only hope.

    SPIKE – 9:00 PM: Some comedies for me transcend time and just hold up. Stripes is one of those movies. Three words people: Aunt Jemima Treatment.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: After the past few seasons I really didn’t think 24 held much hope for me. Man was I wrong. Sure this year’s plot seems a little lifted from Live Free or Die Hard but it is working for me.

    TUESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Let me get you caught up on The Biggest Loser: Couples. For 30 days they sent 1/2 of all but two of the couples home. This week they are back and they are getting weighed in. Let’s just say some of the numbers these people put up aren’t going to inspire.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Someone must be serving up freshly mixed crazy in the Scrubs writer’s room. In the first ep they have Dr. Cox actually reaching out to Dr. Kelso for (dare I say it) guidance. In the second half hour the devoid of joy Ted goes on a real date with a real girl. What’s next, the Janitor and JD having a bromance?!?

    WEDNESDAY

    NBC – 9:00 PM: LIFE is back tonight and we may or may not get to know who shot Charlie Crews. This show is good so really, give it a chance.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Tonight on LOST we see Kate put her mean momma smack down on and I hear we may finally find out something about Jin.  Do you really need a reason to watch after last week?

    THURSDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Back in the first season of Bones we were introduced to The Gravedigger. This guy kidnaps, buries the abducted with enough air for 24 hours, and will reveal the location if you pay up. Looks like Boothe is getting buried tonight.

    CW – 8:00 PM: If you pay attention to the previews than it looks like Lex is doing his best Jigsaw impersonation on tonight’s Smallville. Don’t go looking for Michael Rosenbaum though as this Lex has a very obstructed face.

    FRIDAY

    HBO – 8:00 PM: This season of Big Love has impressed me more than last season and you can catch the firth three episodes tonight to get all caught up.

    SCIFI – 10:00 PM: So last week I didn’t write about Battlestar Galactica and boy did the $h1t hit the fan! Needless to say tune in tonight to what a friend recently described as “the best soap opera for guys on TV.”

    SATURDAY

    ABC FAMILY – 8:00 PM: Last week I admitted I love Happy Gilmore. This week it plays back to back with the other Adam Sandler film that I really enjoyed: The Wedding Singer.

    COMEDY CENTRAL – 9:00 PM: After falling in love with Broken Lizard’s Super Troopers I’ve really wanted to love their follow-up films, including Beerfest. I mean I really really wanted to love it. Really.

    SUNDAY

    CBS – 8:00 PM: The awards show season continues with The 51st Annual Grammy Awards. See live performances from all of the latest, hardly any of the greatest.

    HISTORY – 9:00 PM: Four hours of Monster Quest takes us through Mutant Canines, Lions in the Backyard, Death of Lochness and Jaws in Illinois.

    FOX REALITY – 8:00 PM: Four hours of the Solitary 3.0. Hopefully you won’t be sitting alone in your room watching people alone in their rooms.

    – Will Wilkins clearly shook off the feelings of being a corporate shill.

  • TV Or Not TV: 1/26 – 2/1

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I tried and tried but didn’t find much to recommend this week.

    I know that as a respectable journalist (I use the term loosely) that I should remain impartial and just write something informative about television that is on the air and then report my picks for the week. This week, however, is a light week and I’ve already talked about Battlestar Galactica and LOST (which, by the way, had what I felt was a very strong season opener). I also don’t care much about who is playing in the SuperBowl and for some odd reason this week I feel that if I talk about what is on the major networks I’m just being a shill for the man.

    With all of this in mind I will let you know that the suggestions for this week are, just as the TV listings grid was when I read it, light. I tried, at all times possible, to avoid anything from the four major networks. In some cases, it was unavoidable (or too good to resist). So when you get to that part of this week’s column I suggest you prepare a grain of salt to take them with.

    In something completely unrelated I feel compelled this week to take a moment to talk about the CW’s Smallville. Last season we heard that two of the major characters of the show were going to be leaving. The executive producers of the show were taking their leave. All of these indicators and the near painful season we had just endured were pointing towards the current season of the show being an abysmal farewell for a show that outstayed its welcome. During the summer we even heard that they were bringing the character Doomsday to the show which is a bad sign since he, in the comics, brought about the (near) death of Superman.  Even I, someone who had watched the show from the beginning, tuned in to the beginning of this season thinking the premiere would be the last show that I watched just so I could have closure on last season’s cliffhanger.

    Boy was I wrong! I have been watching ever dang week! Even with budget cuts and two characters taking their (in one’s case partial) leave of the show this season has been strong and consistently entertaining. Through reinventing itself the show has found a level of charm that has been missing over at least the past three seasons. Of course I could just be nerding out now that the show seems to be getting down to the bit of business of Clark Kent finally learning the life lessons he needs to so he can evolve into the selfless hero Superman (even though even under a new regime we are still told “no flights, no tights” for this Clark Kent).

    What I am really getting at is it is nice to see a show that you loved that had seemed to lose its way finally come around again. Not a lot of shows can boast that they were able to turn it around. Usually they flounder and simply vanish. If this is in fact the last season of Smallville I hope they keep up what they are doing because it is working great and they will go out strong.

    And with that out of the way I present to you the weak week of picks.

    MONDAY

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Tonight why don’t we find out if Caddyshack still holds up?

    TUESDAY

    ABC – 9:00 PM: In the scariest example of corporate synergy ever, Elmo guests on tonight’s episode of Scrubs.

    WEDNESDAY

    DISNEY – 8:00 PM: Can you guess who needed the money more in doing Bob the Butler? Was it Tom Green in the title role or Brooke Shields?

    CMT – 9:00 PM: I don’t know how I missed Beer for My Horses last year but how bad can a movie based on a country song be? Remember The Gambler? Oh wait…

    THURSDAY

    CMT – 9:00 PM: If you thought The Man Whose Arms Exploded was a story of overcoming tragedy or a a tale of spontaneous combustion you will be disappointed to find out it’s about a guy striving to be the man with the world’s biggest arms. 28 inch biceps and I bet he can’t even scratch his own nose.

    FRIDAY

    BRAVO – 9:00 PM: One of my guilty pleasures (and one of the few Adam Sandler movies I think is easy to stomach) is the movie Happy Gilmore. I know it isn’t a landmark piece of cinema, but I can watch it time and time again.

    TBS – 9:00 PM: I’m still trying to figure out at what point Chris Rock actually thought the movie Head of State was a good idea. Better yet, at what point did he realize it wasn’t?

    SATURDAY

    AMC – 5:30 PM: Oh man… get dinner ready and make sure you are all settled in before the trifecta of Spaghetti Westerns with A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.

    SUNDAY

    NBC – 3:00 PM: You may have heard something about some big football game today. SuperBowl XLIII has the Steelers against the Cardinals, and again I don’t even care.

    ABC – Half-Time: The Alphabet rolls out a special SuperBowl halftime episode of Wipeout.

    – Will Wilkins really hopes you bought that corporate shill thing as the reason why he slacked off this week.

  • TV Or Not TV: 1/12 – 1/18

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I am very glad (and sad) that the FRAK is BACK.

    In June 2008 we were given a view of something I didn’t think we we would see half way through the final season of Battlestar Galactica: the fleet found Earth.  Since this is the dark and dirty world of BSG we didn’t, however, have a happy ending at that point. If you’ve seen the show you know what I mean. If you haven’t you will be in for a nice surprise when you get caught up.

    So here we are, seven months later, and we’ll be starting a 10 episode journey to the end of this amazing series on Friday, January 16th. There are plenty of questions for them to still answer. If that was Earth they found, now what? What’s with the Final Four cylons, and how did they get here? Is Starbuck really the harbinger of destruction? Has all of this happened before? Will all of this happen again?

    The big question I think everyone who watches the show is eager for an answer on is “Who is the Fifth Cyclon?” I have to admit that in light of the last episode we saw this question isn’t so big for me. The Fifth isn’t really that important anymore. In Razor we found out the the Fifth cylon is “still in shadow” and “clawing toward redemption.” This ominous sounding bit of foreshadowing describes about 99.9999% of the characters on BSG so they’ve got a hatfull of names they can just pull out, right? I only hope this question gets answered for us on the season premiere so we can all focus on what else is actually going on in the remainder of the series.

    Battlestar isn’t the only show returning this week. ABC Family will have it’s original series Kyle XY returning on Monday night, which is up against night 2 of the return of 24. Ratings behemoth American Idol returns on FOX Tuesday night. Smallville will be coming back Thursday night to The CW and Bones switches to it’s new night on FOX. The HBO original series Big Love returns for it’s third season Sunday night. Lots and lots of shows out there to enjoy.

    That all being said, let’s just get to what’s coming up.

    MONDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: It’s Jack Bauer against Tony Almeda in the second night of 24.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Is Superstars of Dance the next big thing that I’m missing a second weke in a row? Yup.

    ABC Family – 9:00 PM: As mentioned above, Kyle XY is up against the second hour of 24, but since the two shows don’t share a core audience I’m sure it will do fine with it’s lead in ofThe Secret Life of the American Teenager (if it can hold those viewers).

    TUESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Wow, did The Biggest Loser throw me for a loop last week. Even though season title is Couples they sent 1/2 of 9 of the couples home last week. If their counterpart is still on the Ranch 30 days from then they get to come back. Talk about pressure.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Whether you like it or not American Idol is back. This year they promise more competition in Hollywood and less of the disaster auditions. Do they realize why people watch this show for the first three weeks? Now we’re going to miss out on the next William Hung.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: I know it is petty of me to complain that the lighting just looks wrong on Scrubs and I should judge the show on the actual content. I just can’t get past that with the new network it looks like someone is trying to save money on the electric bill.

    FOOD – 10:00 PM: If you like food competitions and seeing people get cut from the running than you may enjoy Chopped. Four chefs are put to the cooking tasks with the show winner taking home a clean cut $10,000. By the way, don’t watch this after The Biggest Loser, it’s counter-productive.

    WEDNESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Night 2 of American Idol and I will probalby tune in to see if there is a cat fight between Paula Abdul and that other new lady judge.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: OK, check this out… so Michael and KITT have this bomb in the truck that will explode if they go less than 100 miles per hour. Sorry, Sandra Bullock is nowhere to be found in this episode.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: The Alphabet Network is hoping you won’t notice the lack of Pushing Daisies on tonight by re-airing all three hours of LOST‘s season 4 finale to get you caught up before next week’s premiere.

    PBS – 8:00 PM: Billy Crystal hosts the six-part hour long series Make ’em Laugh: The Funny Business in America. Amy Sedaris also joins in to narrate this examinition of over 100 years of comedy in the US of A.

    THURSDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Brennan and Booth go undercover as a husband and wife knife throwing act to infiltrate the circus (really?) on tonight’s return of Bones.

    TheCW – 8:00 PM: The Legion of Super-Heroes travel back in time to try to help Clark lay the smack down on Braniac for the nasty gift he sent to Chloe’s wedding. There’s also this guy called The Persuader who shows up with an ax that can split atoms. OK Persuader, you’ve got my attention.

    CBS – 9:00 PM: As one of the few Americans who doesn’t watch CSI I feel is should still let you know that if you don’t watch tonight you’ll miss seeing Grissom leave the show.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: If you didn’t see Darnell‘s witness protection being blown on My Name is Earl than I hope you are at least watching the show down that occurs when Andy learns that fiance Angela has been getting the Schrute from Dwight on the side.

    FRIDAY

    USA – 9:00 PM: Detective Lassiter may hate Shawn and Gus but tonight he’s in the hot seat and he’ll be calling our favorite psychic detective agency tonight on Psych.

    FX – 8:00 PM: I was shocked to learn that The Devil Wears Prada wasn’t completely a chick flick, and it’s safe for guys to watch.

    SCI-FI – 9:00 PM: Friday nights finally got a little less sucky with the return of Battlestar Galactica.

    SATURDAY

    TVLAND – 3:30 PM: With so few quality choices today how about five and a half hours of 3rd Rock from the Sun ?

    NBC – 8:00 PM: It’s the next to last episode of Crusoe. Yeah, I know… I didn’t watch it either.

    TBS- 9:00 PM: I can give you no logical reason why I enjoy You, Me and Dupree but for some reason I do… and it’s on again tonight… and it doesn’t suck as much as some of the other choices out there… and I needed to fill this spot with something.

    SUNDAY

    NBC – 9:00 PM: No, Sherman didn’t set the Wayback Machine… since we are almost to the inauguration of our President-Elect NBC is retreading this special from pre-election night.

    ABC – 9:00 PM:Beau Bridges‘ eyebrows (and the rest of him) guest star as the neighborhood handyman who passes away on tonight’s 100th episode of Desperate Housewives.

    HBO – 9:00 PM: OK, last season was very unbalanced for me but I’m still going to give Big Love another chance.

    – Will Wilkins doesn’t know what the frak is going on… but can’t wait to find out.

  • TV Or Not TV: 1/5 – 1/11

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    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I am knee deep into a The Secret Life of the American Teenager marathon.

    This week I was originally going to talk about the finer points of the television cliffhanger. The Secret Life of the American Teenager is something that I didn’t catch on its original run, however, and the show is entertaining and very engrossing. In typical fashion I neglected watching the show due to a perception of what the show was about rather than what it was really about.

    When the show originally premiered I thought The Secret Life of the American Teenager was a show produced to tap into the Juno Oscar popularity. I thought this because the concept seemed similar: the story of a 15 year old teenager that gets pregnant. I’m sure based on just those words you might think the same thing. What I discovered was an ensemble show that featured not one life but an entire class of american teenagers, each facing the pressures and frustrations of “coming of age” in the new millennium. Even though each character represents a stereotype that is something that has to be forgiven since the stereotypes are needed to provide the conflict needed to keep the stories moving. Besides, high school is all about stereotypes, isn’t it? Everyone picks a niche to fit into in order to define their own character on their journey to find themselves (at least in this writers opinion).

    Another tricky thing that the show does is makes each character have redeeming qualities, as well as setting people in a realistic light. The womanizing boy that knocks up the main character, Amy, has a history that makes you sympathetic to why he does what he does. Although the nerdy boy that is pursuing Amy did so originally in his pursuit of sexual growth he turns out to be a very sympathetic character who seems to genuinely care about her. All of the other characters also have their own personal dillemas and character flaws to deal with and each gives me that flashback to life as a teenager (although no where near as dramatic or complicated).

    As you will see below The Secret Life of the American Teenager has its season premiere on Monday. I only wish I had recommended last week for you to watch the marathon that I’m currently watching.

    Now, to get back to the concept of the cliffhanger. There is a fine art to the use of the cliffhanger. Anyone attempting to write a good cliffhanger has to do so with great caution since a good cliffhanger makes you want to tune in while a bad cliffhanger frustrates you so much that you have to tune in later. I really prefer to watch things out of desire rather than spite.

    One great cliffhanger was Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s season 2 finale with Buffy leaving town after plunging a sword into her vampire love Angel‘s stomach and sending him into a hell dimension (wow, that reads a lot nerdier than it was to watch). This cliffhanger gave us solid payoff with a sucker punch and the stunned wonder of what was next. Last year’s mid-season finale of Battlestar Galactica accomplished the same goal with humanity finding Earth, the joy and excitement of this accomplishment and the payoff that Earth seems to be an irradiated wasteland of devestation. Was that really Earth? What happens next? Questions that make us eager and not angry (at least not this particular viewer).

    One lousy cliffhanger was the first season of LOST. After all the great episodes that season had we were left stunned by the kidnapping of Walt and not one single glimpse of what was inside the mysterious hatch that had just been blown open.

    This brings me to the final aspect of the cliffhanger: the payoff. If you write a cliffhanger you can’t string the audience along when you get back, and you better have had your payoff planned when you wrote the cliffhanger. LOST was guilty of poor payoff both with the season 2 opener (too confusing) and the season 3 opener (too boring… and confusing). The season 4 opening to Charmed had to recover from a cast shakeup with the exit of Shannon Doherty. The writers had the challenge of wrapping up the previous season’s cliffhanger as well as introducing a new character to keep the show going. Somewhere between the two they made it very unclear how we got from the season finale to the current episode. Great cliffhanger, lousy followup.

    Now that I have given you the followup to last week’s cliffhanger about the discussion on cliffhangers, let’s look at what is available for viewing this week.

    MONDAY

    ABC Family – 8:00 PM: The next season premiere of The Secret Life of the American Teenager picks up tonight where it left off. If you missed the Sunday marathon (or if you watched it and discovered there’s two more episodes they didn’t show) you can catch the last two episodes of last season two hours prior to the premiere.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Get ready to say “Awwww” as the single father rejected on The Bachelorette makes a TV spectacle of himself again with 25 hopeful women on The Bachelor.

    SCIFI – 8:00 PM: Last season of LOST brought us many new characters, 4 of which we really got to know. You can see them again tonight with the syndicated running of the episode Confrmed Dead.

    TBS – 10:00 PM: See how it all began with the pilot of My Name is Earl. To bad you can’t relive all of those magazine inserts with Jason Lee talking over and over again.

    TUESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Another season of The Biggest Loser starts with another run at “Couples“. This time they are boasting the eldest player and the heaviest/youngest player ever. As long as they really are improving lives I’ll reserve judgement.

    TheCW – 8:00 PM: The hyper-real 90210 returns tonight, but after the simple lives in Secret Life it’s going to be hard to take this show seriously.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: I’ve been waiting a long time to see Scrubs come back on it’s new network and tonight with guest star Courtney Cox.

    CBS – 9:00 PM: If you’ve been watching The Mentalist from the beginning than you’ve been waiting for the moment where Patrick Jane finally gets down to finding Red John. I’m sensing a false lead with this one.

    WEDNESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: The three episode arc for retooling Knight Rider starts tonight. Even though I haven’t been watching these next three ep’s will close up more of the “government conspiracy”, show us the evil KITT counterpart KARR, and lead to more stand alone episodes. Is it enough to save the ratings challenged but well sponsored show?

    ABC – 8:00 PM: The Alphabet Network is hoping you won’t notice the lack of Pushing Daisies on tonight by re-airing last nights premiere of Scrubs.

    CBS – 9:00 PM: The 35th Annual People’s Choice Awards are on and I get a chance to see again just how much my choices aren’t like the choices of others.

    MTV – 10:00 PM: Seven strangers are once again picked to live in a house with the premiere of The Real World: Brooklynn.  I’m going to tune in for the nostalgia but will probably just grumble about “kids these days.”

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: My Name is Earl is back tonight with tonight’s episode titled Got the Babysitter Pregnant. I was already going to watch but now I’m REALLY going to watch.

    HIST – 8:00 PM: Cosmic collision, environmental disasters and Armageddon are all the uplifting topics discussed in Nostradamus: 2012.

    NBC – 9:30 AM: 30 Rock also returns tonight and Liz is dating guest star Peter Dinklage. I’m guessing the relationship will be short lived (oh no I didn’t!).

    FRIDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Howie Mandel leverages his Deal or No Deal fame into a Candid Camera knock-off called Howie Do It.

    USA – 8:00 PM: The Magnum P.I. inspired commercial for the new season of Monk has had me waiting eagerly for the shows return. Tonight the wait is over.

    SCIFI – 8:00 PM: Tonight the series finale of Stargate Atlantis kicks of with a re-airing of the Vegas episode before the 9 PM airing of Enemy at the Gate.

    USA – 9:00 PM: Psych is back with Shawn investigating the death of released sea lion. What, you expected a serious investigation?

    SATURDAY

    FX – 8:00 PM: See the love begin to bloom between Brad and Angelina in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Are you strong enough for six hours of Charles Bronson? If so, then try to sit through Death Wish through Death Wish 3.

    CMT – 11:00 PM: Nothing reminds me of childhood more than watching Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed getting the best of Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit.

    SUNDAY

    Tonight is nothing but a flat out face off… everyone else against Jack Bauer.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Nobody likes Jack Bauer’s tactics until they find out who is behind a terrifying terrorist threat with the return of 24. After an entire year without the show I bet everyone at the network is sweating the ratings.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Can The 66th Annual Golden Globes defeat Jack Bauer? Doubtful.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: The alphabet network stands by their regular schedule with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives to try to bring down Jack. I think they stand a better chance than NBC.

    – Will Wilkins is living the Not-So-Secret Life of an American Middle Aged Guy.