FRED Entertainment

Tag: TV

  • TV Or Not TV: 1/10 – 1/16

    tvornottv-header.png

    Welcome to another week of TV Or Not TV where I really wanted to like THE CAPE and SNL.

    After finally having the opportunity to watch THE CAPE I can see where the creators of the show wanted to go with it, but I think they may have fallen victim to executive involvement. The first hour of the two-hour premiere would be what most would refer to as the origin story. We get to see how the character of VINCE FARADAY evolves into THE CAPE. We get to see where he gets his training and his titular cape. We get to see how he gets teamed up with the blogger ORWELL and we see where his motivation to become a super hero comes from. The problem is this was just too much to cram into the forty-four minutes that the show had. The pilot came off as rushed and in some regards forced, which unfortunately gives it somewhat of an amateurish feel.

    There used to be a time when a show that would require the scope that THE CAPE needed in its premiere would be given a full two hours (1.5 hours actual) to flesh out its concept in almost a TV movie fashion. In some cases the pilot for a show would actually be done as a TV movie to see if the audience actually wanted such a show. This is the type of treatment that THE CAPE should have been given because there were too many leaps and bounds around the story that they told for it to feel cohesive and logical. One amazing example of this is the moment that ORWELL and FARADAY team up. THE CAPE has known ORWELL for all of what feels like 5 minutes and she’s giving him an earpiece to be his backup.

    Another example is when MAX MALINI is captured by the villain CHESS because of his stealing from the ARK banks. CHESS knows who he is but moving from the first to the second episode MAX is just relaxing at his carnival and apparently CHESS no longer has an interest in his lost money. If CHESS doesn’t pick this thread up again during the third episode he is the dumbest evil genius in TV show history because THE CAPE uses the exact same vanishing trick that MAX did in order to escape CHESS in the pilot episode.

    If you were able to stomach the first hour of THE CAPE you were rewarded with a not-quite-as-bad second episode that demonstrates the real promise that the show holds. FARADAY is shown to be cunning, dedicated and most importantly he is flawed because he is new to this whole super-hero thing. We as the audience are also introduced to another sub-set of hired killers whose organization is known as TAROT which opens up the scope of the show for guest villains to be logically dropped in.

    The one glaringly obvious weak plot point that continues on from the first to the second episode is SUMMER GLAU’s character ORWELL. We aren’t told at all why ORWELL seems to have all of the expensive toys are high-tech knowledge which is fine, but the character is extremely under-utilized. I’m still convinced that GLAU was added at the last minute to try to give the show more appeal to the male geek demographic the show is trying to pull in, but from what we’ve seen in these first two episodes it just isn’t enough.

    HARI CARREY

    This past Saturday’s SNL proved to be one of the most painful viewing experiences that I’ve had with the show in some time. I don’t know exactly what happened but I’d be suspicious of the fact that JIM CARREY planted himself in the writer’s room and they were all mesmerized by his BS and he was able to convince them all that he still knew what funny is. If this scenario did occur than I hope that each of the writers and cast members at least had that gut feeling that what they were hearing wasn’t actually funny at all but they were too scared to go up against the former titan that was JIM CARREY.

    I knew there was something that wasn’t quite right when the show didn’t come back from the post-monologue faux commercial to a skit. I should have known from this tiny sign that I should just fast-forward to Weekend Update and from there call it a night. Sadly I did not.

    The BLACK SWAN skit was bush-league at best since there was nothing done to make CARREY even appear feminine. Every other CARREY skit after that continued to fall flat for me with the exception of the WORST OF SOUL TRAIN sketch. This was the one and only time that CARREY delivered well timed goods and just enough exposure to be funny. I’m convinced that he had absolutely nothing to do with the creation of this skit as well.

    I also realize, in writing this, humor is subjective and open to interpretation of the viewer. I’ve seen JIM CARREY be funnier so for me he just wasn’t up to snuff on this episode. If you thought differently feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts because I would love to hear them.

    Now let’s move on to the meat and potatoes of this week’s television dining experience, shall we?

    MONDAY

    NBC – 9:00 PM: If you missed THE CAPE last night and want still want to build your own opinion than you can catch the first two hours again tonight. The NBC site calls it an encore, I call it a re-air.

    A&E – 10:00 PM: Tonight’s HOARDERS has to be the most disgusting ever as the show focuses on a man that hoards rats. Yes, I said rats. 2,500 of them. I may not even be able to stomach this one.

    TBS – 10:00 PM: MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE comes up with the suckiest road trip ever in the winter season finale as its destination: colonoscopies.

    ABC – 10:00 PM: A magic store owner is found dead in Houdini’s Water Torture Tank on tonight’s CASTLE. Too bad for the guy Houdini didn’t have the Ultra-Fluffy Bed of Final Rest trick instead.

    TUESDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Why is it every time an Uncle comes to visit they always have an angle? Tonight on NO ORDINARY FAMILY we get JIM’s brother dropping in for a visit and he figures out a way to use JJ’s genius to win at gambling.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: It is doctor feel good night as the contestants on THE BIGGEST LOSER get lectured by the show’s doctor about just how unhealthy they are.

    COMEDY CENTRAL – 10:30 PM: If you’re a fan of funny and sports you’ll be sure to enjoy the premiere tonight of the ONION SPORTSDOME.

    WEDNESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: The only bad thing about two hours of HUMAN TARGET is that they are blowing through new episodes way too fast.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: MITCHELL bumps into a former girlfriend on tonight’s MODERN FAMILY. No, you read that write and no, I didn’t get it wrong.

    TLC – 9:00 PM: MY STRANGE ADDICTION brings us a teen that eats detergent. This makes me glad I’ve never had to wash my kid’s mouth out with soap.

    ABC – 10:00 PM: The creator of GREY’S ANNATOMY and PRIVATE PRACTICE stretches into unknown territory with a medical drama (big shock) but set in the jungle! This is going to make those laundry room hook-ups a lot more complicated.

    THURSDAY

    USA – 6:00 AM: Home sick from work (or not working)? How about a ROYAL PAINS six hour marathon?

    ABC – 8:00 PM: WIPEOUT contestants have to work their way past the Yule Log and I only wish this was on during the holidays for me to truly enjoy its winter theme.

    DISCOVERY – 8:00 PM: If you missed the GREEN HORNET special edition of MYTHBUSTERS than tonight you can enjoy it.

    FRIDAY

    CBS – 8:00 PM: It’s the penultimate episode of MEDIUM and ALLISON finally gets to meet a psychic stalker (the guy is stalking a psychic, not a stalker who sees the future or anything).

    THE CW – 8:00 PM: Tonight’s repeat of SMALLVILLE gives CLARK a glimpse of his red and blue future thanks to BRANIAC 5.

    HBO – 9:00 PM: The animated version of a podcast returns for a second season tonight with THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW. Just consider it a warm up for the GOLDEN GLOBES on Sunday.

    VH1 – 9:00 PM: It’s the CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS and I’m happy to say that even nearing 40 I still don’t completely agree with the critics.

    SATURDAY

    ABC – 9:00 PM: It’s the MISS AMERICA PAGEANT and we can only hope for another viral-worthy Q&A with the contestants.

    SYFY – 9:00 PM: I’m not sure if the name of the SYFY original movie BEHEMOTH is for the title character or how big a piece of crap this will be.

    NBC – 11:30 PM: Last week’s SNL may have sucked hard but at least when it comes to scheduling they’ve still got it with the combo of GWYNETH PALTROW and musical guest CEE LO GREEN. I can’t wait for the bleeps during their inevitable duet.

    SUNDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: RICKY GERVAIS returns to host THE 68th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBES tonight and if I watch it is just to see him.

    HBO – 9:00 PM: I hope you are all caught up on BIG LOVE because the final season premieres tonight. .

    BBC AMERICA – 9:00 PM: THE TUDORS starts its cable syndication tonight on BBC AMERICA so if you always wanted to see it and didn’t have SHOWTIME than now’s your chance.

    COMEDY CENTRAL – 10:00 PM: I have no idea if it’s any good but how could I not resist wanting to type DENIS LEARY AND FRIENDS PRESENT DOUCHEBAGS AND DONUTS?

  • TV Or Not TV: 1/3 – 1/9

    tvornottv-header.png

    As a new year is upon us and in looking forward to the oncoming winter season of television I have to say there’s not a lot in the new offerings that I’m looking forward to.

    Last year ABC made the decision to cut the show Flash Forward and instead continue on with the equally ratings challenged V. The programming choice was a shock to some, myself included, but I’m sure the network had some sound reasons for making their decision. It was disappointing for me since Flash Forward had actually upped its game in its final episodes with a new focus that made everything really come together. V never really had enough to hold my attention especially when you factor in the three episode premiere followed by a long break from the fall until the spring.

    Tuesday marks the return of V and fans of the show are being given a mixed blessing. The show is finally back after fans have had to endure a very long wait, however the show will also only be back for 10 out of the original 13 episodes. ABC cut their order for this second season which could mean the network has very little confidence in the returning show. The creators of the show have been hoping fans will be willing to wait after the news that JANE BADLER, who played DIANA in the original 80’s version, would be coming to this new series playing a character also named DIANA. This DIANA, it turns out, is the mother of MORENA BACCARIN’s V leader ANNA. For me this isn’t enough to justify the wait but it is good enough to get me to tune in at least once when the second season premiere’s this Tuesday at 9, immediately after a new episode of NO ORDINARY FAMILY.

    TO CAPE OR NOT TO CAPE?

    I have to admit that during the NBC announcement of their new schedule one of the shows I was most hesitant about was THE CAPE. It seemed hokey, silly, and a show that was too ambitious for a network that is struggling in the ratings the way that NBC is.

    After paying closer attention in my quest for a preview of the show I find that there is more to the show that grabs my curiosity. The main character, VINCE FARADAY (DAVID LYONS) is framed for murder and is presumed dead. In the accident where he is believed to have died he is taken in by the “Carnival of Crime” and after they hear his story they train him so that he can fight on and give him an ancient CAPE that is a weapon. He uses this training and CAPE to assume the persona of THE CAPE, the same comic crime fighter that he and his son read together.

    Without seeing a single frame of the show the things that I can tell you that I like about the concept are:

    • VINCE FARADAY is BRUCE WAYNE without the money, so he’s kind of like a broke-ass BATMAN.
    • He is trained by a group of criminal circus performers lead by MAX MALINI who is played by the brilliant KEITH DAVID.
    • There isn’t one villain to focus against, there’s a cast of them.

    When you factor all of the above elements together you’ve got the potential for a story that is going to be the closest we’ve had so far to the comic version of BATMAN. A masked vigilante with no super powers who only has his well trained skills and gadgets to aid him? Sounds real close.

    The only item that gives me some concern is the fact that they cast SUMMER GLAU as ORWELL, a blogger, who teams up with THE CAPE. The casting just screams them trying to cash in on the geek cred that GLAU brings with her former stints on both FIREFLY and SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. The fact that NO ORDINARY FAMILY has done well on ABC though shows that geek audiences are still hungry for some comic-inspired television so I’m going to give THE CAPE a chance.

    TO EACH THEIR OWN (network)

    The last item to discuss today was my sitting down to preview the New Year’s Day offerings of the Oprah Winfrey Network. I had absolutely no interest in watching this network at all and only did it for the purposes of writing about it. This shows that I’m in no way the network’s intended demographic, and my opinions on what I saw pretty much agree with that assessment.

    All of the programming that I witnessed was of the typical cable network variety. I was mildly entertained by the show KIDNAPPED BY THE KIDS but was shocked that it was chosen as the show immediately following the preview show used to launch the network. Wouldn’t the network have been better served by SEASON 25: OPRAH BEHIND THE SCENES? This is an audience looking for OPRAH, isn’t it?

    Regardless of the programming choice KIDNAPPED BY THE KIDS is a reality show that for the preview installment featured a workaholic parent being taken away from work and technology to spend quality time with the family while they express their frustrations at parental neglect. Basically the show is another WIFE SWAP / SUPER NANNY style show. Being a parent it is a good reminder to do what is important (like not ignoring your child to write this week’s column) but as a show to view in the long term it would quickly fall off my DVR must-list.

    After the initial show I tried to take in OPRAH PRESENTS MASTER CLASS but really it felt like an auto-biographical version of VH1’s BEHIND THE MUSIC. JAY-Z communicated about himself well but I just had no interest in watching.

    ENOUGH ALREADY! WITH PETER WALSH is another reality show that seemed to try to marry the current obsession we are having with those that hoard without being so depressing. Showing people a way to de-clutter and get organized is great but I used to get that from CLEAN SWEEP. Do I really need it re-tread here?

    That was all I was able to watch before throwing in the towel. This channel isn’t for me. I’m not really sure who it is for but hey, OPRAH’s got the money so who is going to argue with her?

    Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way let’s take a look at what the new winter schedule is offering our post-holiday viewing world.

    MONDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: So there’s this guy named BRAD WOMACK who I guess didn’t do so well the first time he was on THE BACHELOR. Now he’s getting a second chance and I will still be blissfully unaware of what happens next.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER is one of the only noteworthy offerings on tonight.

    ABC FAMILY – 9:00 PM: The final season of GREEK starts tonight and it’s been a long time coming. Yes, I like GREEK so sue me.

    IFC – 11:00 PM: One of the best original show’s HBO ever had was THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW. Tonight it starts re-airing on IFC in quite a fitting time slot for the subject matter.

    TUESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Although the two-hour length sometimes feels just as hefty as some of the contestants in the beginning I’m still going to sit through the new season of THE BIGGEST LOSER as it starts tonight. This show is perfect motivation if you set “lose a little weight” as your resolution for the new year.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: I’ve been waiting a while now to find out how the POWELL‘s deal with DAPHNE‘s memory being erased on NO ORDINARY FAMILY. Tonight the show is back and we finally get to find out.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Sorry GLEE-k’s, tonight you’re stuck with another GLEE-pete.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: If you’ve missed PAULA ABDUL‘s confusing comments during judging then you may want to tune in to LIVE TO DANCE as yet another reality show around dancing premieres.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: The Visitors return tonight as we see just how good (or not) this shortened season of V is.

    TNT – 10:00 PM: It’s a new season of SOUTHLAND tonight and I’m betting right about now NBC wishes they hadn’t dropped this show.

    WEDNESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Two hours of HUMAN TARGET is a pretty good way to spend your Wednesday.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: JAMES MARSDEN guests tonight as the good looking neighbor to CAM and MITCHELL on tonight’s MODERN FAMILY. JAMI GERTZ blasts in from the past as well.

    CBS – 9:00 PM: How can it be that these are THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS when no one even asked me? I’m people too damnit!

    THURSDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: It’s a winter installment of WIPEOUT! I can’t wait to see snow covered BIG BALLS!

    NBC – 8:00 PM: If you did not see the original airing of the COOPERATIVE CALLIGRAPHY episode of COMMUNITY than I command you to watch this tonight and as a special treat be sure to look to the lower left of the screen when TROY says he wants to lick a puppy to see the pen get stolen.

    MTV – 10:00 PM: Another reminder of the downfall of civilization occurs as the premiere of the next season of THE JERSEY SHORE hits the airwaves.

    TLC – 10:00 PM: It’s the premiere of the final season of ACE OF CAKES. I hope we don’t find out that in the end that DUFF in the “other” bakery was dead the whole time. (worst LOST joke ever)

    FRIDAY

    CARTOON NETWORK – 8:30 PM: Tonight STAR WARS:THE CLONE WARS kicks off a three episode story that involves the brother of DARTH MAUL. OK, I’m actually interested.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: Tonight’s airing of MEDIUM is the next to next to last ever.

    FX – 8:00 PM: Roll out THE HAPPENING and the thing your network won’t have happening is ratings.

    SYFY – 10:00 PM: It’s the third season premiere of MERLIN tonight and MORGANA is ready to get all kinds of wicked on the good wizard.

    SATURDAY

    COOKING – 4:00 PM E: If you aren’t familiar with the HUNGRY GIRL line of books and other stuff than you probably won’t be interested in her new cooking show.

    DISCOVERY – 7:00 PM: It’s ripe with repeats but who can say no to a MYTHBUSTERS mini-marathon. It’s slim pickings tonight so why not?

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Miss the premieres of WIPEOUT and THE BACHELOR? If you did and didn’t want to have the change the channel than you could sit and watch them both. Like I said before, slim pickings.

    BBC AMERICA – 8:00 PM: If you missed last Saturday’s fourth series premiere of PRIMEVAL you can watch it followed immediately by the next episode at 9.

    NBC – 11:30 PM: It’s just a few months shy of it being 15 years since JIM CARREY was on SNL. It could be interesting to see him yuck it up sketch comedy style like he did all those years ago on IN LIVING COLOR.

    SUNDAY

    SYFY – 11:00 AM: The network that changed it’s name to not be so SciFi is bringing us a STAR TREK movie marathon today.

    A&E – 4:00 PM: Slick back your mullet and hunker down low for a DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER marathon. Drinking game rules are located here.

    FOX – 8:30 PM: A new animated show tries to break into the Animation Domination block on Sunday nights with the premiere of BOB’S BURGERS. The animation looks cheap, it’s not done by anyone named Groening or Macfarlane so I’m sure it’s going to be great.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: It’s the two hour premiere of THE CAPE so we can see if its worth all the commercials NBC has been putting up during the holiday season. If you miss it though it’s on again tomorrow at the exact same time in its regular time slot.

  • Soapbox: A Day Behind

    soapbox-header.png

    A Day Behind

    lucyline.gif

    It’s with no small amount of eagerness and curiosity that I await the finale of Lost which is airing in America on the 23rd of May this year. For the past five and a half years, I’ve followed the events that have been happening on and off the island. And in a little over a month from now, the show will end, but I suspect that speculation about some of the inevitable unsolved mysteries will continue long after the credits roll on the final episode.

    But as much as I’m looking forward to seeing the finale of Lost, what I’m dreading is the in-between time. It’s that span of time that stretches from when Lost airs in America until the evening of the following day when I’ve done a full day’s work, am able to stream the episode on-line and play catch up with America, hoping the whole time not to accidentally see something posted on line by a friend where they give information about what happened. You can be guaranteed that at least one person will post very publicly something to the effect of “Oh Jack, why did you die?”

    This situation isn’t just specific to Lost, though the impending finale has brought that programme to the forefront. It’s a situation that I find myself in with all of my favourite American shows and it happens with comic books too but to a much lesser extent. The day that Ted Mosby announces who The Mother is, I’m going fully internet dark until I can stream the episode.

    To be a nerd in Ireland, or indeed anywhere that’s not America, is to live a day behind.

    Growing up in Ireland as a nerd was a strange thing. BBC showed re runs of Star Trek and SKY1 showed The Next Generation as well as Quantum Leap if you were really lucky. Thinking back, the shows were probably months or maybe even a year behind the original American airdate, though with no frame of reference at the time it was never a cause for concern. But no one else watched these shows or cared in the slightest that they were on. Eventually I became convinced that the shows were scheduled just for me in a weird kind of nerd solipsism. But then, something big and amazing come along in the form of the world’s biggest double edged sword… the internet.

    The internet is an amazing social tool and has allowed the world to connect in ways that were never thought possible before and it showed me very quickly that there were far more people like me out there than I realised. But at times, the best thing about the internet can be the worst thing about the internet because the internet contains all the knowledge in the world.

    Knowledge and wisdom are two very different things.

    The internet gave everyone a voice and as time goes on, the outlets for that voice become more numerous and easier to access. People love to talk about what they like or in some cases about what they hate. And people really love to talk about what they love or hate almost immediately after they’ve seen it or read it.

    But it is the internet that allows us to be only one day behind America and gives us a chance to see our favourite shows before they air on TV on this side of the Atlantic.

    The good news is that not all forms of media are subject to delays that are imposed by the world of television. Traditionally, movies come out in America long before they see the light of day in the rest of the world but that too is changing. In recent memory, movies like Taken, Dr Parnassus, Kick-Ass and the recently released Iron Man 2 have seen release dates in Ireland and the UK ahead of America.

    The comic book world has always treated us with more dignity though, and we only have to wait one solitary day to “properly” catch up on our American cousins without having to cheat by reading online. New Comic Book Day in America is Wednesday and in Ireland it’s Thursday. This is a fact that most comic professionals in America aren’t actually aware of, but when they do find out it pleases them that their work gets to its audience the entire world over that quickly.

    There is still some discrepancy in terms of the prices being charged for the books owing to freight costs and foreign exchange fluctuations. This discrepancy can be overcome though by shopping online, where prices are much more reasonable but the cheaper price comes with an extended timeline. It’s a trade-off that a lot of monthly collectors aren’t willing to make possibly due to the fact that they are afraid of having their enjoyment spoiled by friends in distant lands who have already read the comics, or possibly because it’s not pleasant to have to wait to have a cliff hanger resolved.

    Marketers will classify this situation as “cash rich, time poor”, saying that we have the money to spend and don’t have the time to wait. But most of us will readily admit that it’s just down to plain old obsession. Though every once in a while the matter will be taken out of our hands and we’ll be forced to wait longer than normal due to Bank Holiday or an inconvenient ash cloud.

    Being a day behind isn’t the worst thing in the world, and like anything else it has it’s good points and it’s bad points. There’s no pressure to have to live to a network-imposed timeline and the fact that you’re going to be behind to a certain degree no matter what you do does give you the freedom to live life on your own schedule. The internet sure ain’t going anywhere and though it can be dangerous during the in-between time, the benefits and the connection to the wider world outweigh any potential drawbacks.

    –Simon Fitzgerald

  • TV Or Not TV: 3/1 – 3/7

    tvornottv-header.png

    Once again I welcome you all to another edition of TV or Not TV. I’ve got a lot of thoughts for this week so please bare with me as I bounce around through all of them. Also be forewarned if you still haven’t watched last week’s episode of LOST I’d encourage you to just skip ahead to the listings.

    I wanted to start by talking about last week’s episode of LOST titled THE LIGHTHOUSE. First and foremost I was hoping with a title like THE LIGHTHOUSE they would actually be shedding some light on what, exactly, is going on with this whacky Island. Although they didn’t do this they did give us a bit more insight into part of the story we were told last week during THE SUBSTITUTE. I also wasn’t very sure what I was in for because of another Tweet by executive producer Damon Lindelof.

    If you haven’t noticed by now I’m not sure you will pick up on the fact that the writers and producers of LOST love elements of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. There were plenty of looking glasses and white rabbits in this episode. There was also a very subtle call back to something that happened in the first season episode titled WHITE RABBIT. At the beginning of the episode we find HURLEY given a mission by the recently deceased JACOB to take JACK to THE LIGHTHOUSE because someone is comign to the Island. In order to do this HURLEY tells JACK the phrase “you have what it takes”. This, of course, sets JACK into a tizzy and where he didn’t care at all what JACOB wanted from him two seconds before after those five words he’s rip-roaring ready to go. Why? The easy answer is from that whacky flash sideways story back in the Los Angeles where the plane never crashed. JACK tells his son DAVID (I know, what?!?) the uplifting story about how his dad CHRISTIAN told him he didn’t have what it takes. At this point I can’t remember if it was about piano playing, baseball, or basket weaving. Doesn’t matter. CHRISTIAN seemed to have been a mean dad who was obviously continuing some cycle of abuse.

    You’ll notice I said that the flash sidways story was the easy answer. I also said soemthing about a connection to the first season episode WHITE RABBIT. If you can stretch your mind back six years with me you’ll remember that in this episode, where JACK seems to be chasing after his dead father CHRISTIAN through the woods when he finally catches up the ghost (or SMOKE MONSTER, hallucination, etc.) of CHRISTIAN tells him to not try to lead these people because he just doesn’t have what it takes. Obviously CHRISTIAN has been doubting and loathing his son for quite some time. What a guy!

    Now that I’ve spent two paragraphs telling you how they were able to link back to dialogue from six years ago let me tell you about one of the two parts of this episode that I found really interesting. When HURLEY gets JACK up to THE LIGHTHOUSE things really smash the glass. It turns out that the Island has a very old lighthouse on it that no one has ever seen, apparently becuase they weren’t looking for it (like when you misplace your car keys I guess). This lighthouse is so hold it uses a fire pit and mirrors to reflect the light out to the ocean. Just like anything else on this Island, however, it turns out to do far more than just reflect light. It seems that when you turn the mirrors to certain degree markings on the LIGHTHOUSE (also now accompanied by names) you get a glimpse of something in the mirror other than a reflection. JACK first sees what looked to me like the church where SAWYER’s parents funeral service was held (I’m probably wrong). This drives him to make HURLEY turn the mirrors to 23 (which is marked SHEPHARD) and he gets a glimpse of his childhood home. Logically JACK gets mad that JACOB appears to have been playing peeping Tom and smashes all the glass when HURLEY can’t telll him why JACOB is a big ol’ peeping perv. I don’t know if either of them happened to notice the name that was marked 108, as this was the degree marking HURLEY was supposed to turn the mirrors towards. I’d put money on that person being DESMOND since “the Island is not done with” him yet.

    Another thing that I think is interesting is that JACK assumes instantly that JACOB is a peepin’ perv based on one still image he sees reflected back at him. How does he know this was the intent and use of THE LIGHTHOUSE. Maybe, instead, these “candidates” that are being drawn to the Island are being revealed even to JACOB himself by using the mirror. He gets a glimpse and has to ascertain who the candidate is. Just a thought. Oh, also whoever this person is must not be all that important becuase it turns out JACOB just did all this to make sure that HURLEY and JACK were as far away from the temple as possible because ol’ SMOKIE JOE is apparently a comin’ to lay a whoopin’ on all the people there. Hopefully MILES gets away.

    The second thing that I loved about this week’s episode is that CLAIRE is 100% pure, grade-A bat $hit crazy. She’s taken on the roll of ROUSSEAU as the crazy lady in the woods that wants to get her child back. She’s also been lied to by the SMOKE MONSTER this whole time being told that the OTHERS have her baby AARON (who, if you remember, was taken off the Island by KATE when they escaped via chopper…. man writing about this show makes ME sound bat $hit crazy, doesn’t it?). I assume it is the SMOKE MONSTER anyway because CLAIRE says her Dad told her (CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD) and then her friend, who is revealed to be the JOHN “THE SMOKE MONSTER” LOCKE. I don’t know if there is going to be a possible path for redemption for CLAIRE with all this bad grigri going on around her.

    One final LOST thought. Last week we learned that this Fake LOCKE is now stuck looking like JOHN LOCKE. I know I said we don’t know why but I have a funny feeling it has something to do with the fact that JACOB is now dead. Prior to JACOB being killed I’m pretty sure fake LOCKE was able to be LOCKE as well as ALEX, etc. in the episode DEAD IS DEAD. The onlyh thing that’s changed between now and then is JACOB dying. I just thought I would share even though we might never actually know the reason why.

    So there’s my thoughts on last week’s episode of LOST here on the eve of the next episode titled SUNDOWN. Considering this episode marks the 1/3 mark for the series (and the fact that they only showed us mere seconds of this week in the previews) I’m sure there’s going to be some heavy stuff going down at the temple. Good luck DOGEN, I’m rooting for you.

    Now that I’ve spent so much time talking about LOST let’s switch over to see just what else there is available to watch.

    MONDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: CHUCK is back and tonight he has to impersonate a dangerous assassin. Is there really any other kind of assassin?

    CBS – 8:00 PM: CARRIE UNDERWOOD guest stars on tonight’s episode of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. Notice I said guest star there Ted? Wouldn’t get your hopes up that this one is your kids mom.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Once again THE BACHELOR chooses (I think) a woman to take his hand in marriage followed by the season finale special “After the Final Rose.” Once again I also successfully navigated my way completely away from seeing a single moment of the show. Me for the win!

    CBS – 8:30 PM: Remember that sitcome RULES OF ENGAGEMENT? Yeah, neither do I. It’s back for a third season tonight though. DAVID SPADE for the win!

    TUESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Now that the Olympics are over we finally see how that torch balancing on the head stand off ends on THE BIGGEST LOSER. Yeah, you read that right.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: The top 10 female finalists try desperately to perform better than their horrid performances last week on AMERICAN IDOL. Based on last week I think SIMON is getting out at just the right time.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Yeah, you may have already heard me say something about that LOST show.

    TNT – 10:00 PM: Fans of SOUTHLAND should be sure to tune in to TNT tonight as the second season premiere episode airs.

    WEDNESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: I can’t really tell if the top 10 male finalists performed any better last week than the ladies on AMERICAN IDOL. I just know that I have absolutely no one to root for.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: BIGGEST LOSER host ALISON SWEENEY guest stars on tonights episode of MERCY. Congratulations MERCY, I may actually tune in and watch for once.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: PHIL tries to overcome a fear of the dark while exploring under the house with LUKE on MODERN FAMILY. Although not much to read I’m sure it’s going to be comedy gold.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Tonight LAW & ORDER: SVU has a special two hour event with KATHY GRIFFIN guess starring as a lesbian-rights activist. I think the second hour doesn’t have anything to do with this but the show is good enough to stick around.

    USA – 10:00 PM: This week on PSYCH it’s LASSITER that actually makes the outrageous claim when he says a shark attack was actually a murder. I can already hear all of the JAWS lines being retread.

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Look, all of the NBC comedy shows are back tonight with the exception of 30 ROCK. Why is 30 ROCK not getting any love? It’s making room for BABY HALPERT who is being delivered during the one hour THE OFFICE event.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: I have no insight at all into tonight’s epsiode of SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS but from the previews I look forward to the groups being disrupted by hidden immunity idol fever.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: Tonight four more contestants are crushed by the fickle choices made by the citizens of the US on AMERICAN IDOL.

    USA – 10:00 PM: The season finale of BURN NOTICE promises to be packed with action in the first five minutes. The only thing really bad about this show is that it feels like the season is over right after it starts.

    FRIDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? follows celebrity journeys to finding out about their family history. I’ve sat through enough family slide shows to know to avoid this one.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Tonight on SUPERNANNY a family with a cafe needs help taming their wild kids from ruining business. One helpful hint: check the stock level on those chocolate covered espresso beans because I bet the kids are dippin’ in to them.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: I know that every show wants to have an explosive 100th epsiode to celebrate the achievement but GHOST WHISPERER has taken it a bit too literal with having a missing bomb as part of the story.

    SATURDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: If you missed the pilot for PARENTHOOD (like me) than you have a second chance to catch it tonight.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: I guess you can tell the OSCARS are tomorrow with the 20/20 BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS special being retread right before THE OPRAH WINFREY OSCAR SPECIAL dreadges through again as well.

    HALLMARK – 9:00 PM: Normally I wouldn’t recommend a HALLMARK channel film (because I don’t watch them) but UNCORKED features JULIE BENZ and since in the past six months she’s been a serial killer’s wife AND an ex-stripper I figure we can extend some sympath viewing her way.

    SUNDAY

    ABC – 8:30 E/5:30 P: Tonight THE 82ND ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS are tag teamed by ALEC BALDWIN and STEVE MARTIN. Is it the ACADEMY AWARDS or the SNL all-star guest host show?

    – WILL WILKINS has been pre-empted to bring you this very special announcement.

  • TV Or Not TV: Completely and Totally Lost

    tvornottv-header.png

    Welcome to the special LOST edition of TV or Not TV where, well, yeah, the title says it all.

    LOST fans around the world have probably already spoken at length about the season premiere of the final season of LOST. I’m sure they’ve been all a-Twitter about it and I’m sure there is much debate about what they saw. As usual I am going to say this: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE EPISODES DON’T READ THIS!

    The two episodes that made up the season premiere did something I didn’t know the show LOST could do: it gave the fans both of the possible outcomes from the bomb being set off at the time of The Incident. Somehow we are shown a version of Flight 815 that was never brought down by the Swan hatch button not being pressed and the plane lands safely in LAX. How is this possible? It would appear it is because the Island is now resting at the floor of the ocean after the bomb went off. After this amazing revelation what do we see? All of our favorite LOSTies recovering from apparently being thrown back into the present and coming to the realization that the plan DIDN’T work and they are still on the Island. I know, real easy to make sense out of.

    So what is it that we are seeing in these “flash” scenes? Clearly we’re not seeing the reality that the main events of the show are set in or else everyone would have to be wearing scuba gear. The sound that accompanies the flashes is different than seasons past as well, another clue that what we are see isn’t what we’re used to. There are people on Flight 815 that shouldn’t have been, there are some that aren’t on the flight that originally were. What we are seeing is an alternate reality. The real question I have about this is why? This is the last season of the show. Do we still really need a new method to tell what seems, on the surface, like a non-related story? With only 18 total episodes for the rest of the show to play out I’m sure they’ve already got enought story line to go around. Why do this to the audience?

    When it is all said and done the only rational use that I can see of this new method of storytelling is being done to eventually show us that life wasn’t going to be better off of the Island and that undoing everything wouldn’t have improved their lives at all. We are probably going to see these characters play out this alternate timeline in 2004 and each and every one of them is going to live a miserable existence that is unfufilling because these folks were meant to be where they are and doing what they are doing. Why are they doing it? I have no frickin’ clue.

    All of that being said I’m glad to see the show played out in a way that had me completely engrossed. Tonight was the first time in a long time I actually watched TV in real time instead of on a DVR delay so advertisers should be thrilled.

    Some of the bits that made me chuckle:

    – Alternate reality Charlie saying he was meant to die.
    – Alternate reality Hurley saying nothing bad ever happens to him and he’s the luckiest guy in the world.
    – Alternate reality Boone telling Locke that if the plane goes down he’s sticking with him to survive.
    – Having Hurley see Jacob an hour after his death. This kind of gives Hurley’s “gift” of seeing dead people a whole new purpose.
    – Finding out that the fake John Locke we saw back on the Island last season is Jacob’s Nemesis AND the Smoke Monster. With that knowledge in your head go back and watch DEAD IS DEAD from last season. Puts everything into a whole new context.
    – In reference to the item above: Ben saying to “Locke” You’re the monster and his response is “Let’s not resort to name calling.”
    – Finding out that there are still Others at the Temple. This tells me that these Others are possibly a different faction of the group, one not so willing maybe to follow Richard or the new regime. Maybe they are the more devout followers of Jacob? Not sure, but I like the possibilities.

    I’ll bite my tongue about this alternate reality story telling that is occurring and I will give it a chance to see how it plays out. By the second season of LOST the flashbacks were my least favorite part of the show and with everything going on even in these first two episodes the alternate reality stories had almost the same level of disinterest from me. They just feel like mind-confusing filler right now, so I really hope they go somewhere with this.

    Come back again next week where I’ll once again try to get a little less LOST with the rest of you.

  • TV Or Not TV: The Morning After for CHUCK (4/20)

    tvornottv-header.png

    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I’m once again blown away by my good buddy Chuck .

    Last night’s episode of Chuck was by far one of the best of the entire run of the series and a great near-payoff for this season. After last night I find it hard to believe that there is still one more episode left to see with the season finale (Monday, 4/27 @ 8 PM) since there were so many things that were finally handed to the viewers.

    The first payoff happened as this episode started with Chuck and Sarah hiding from the government in trying to rescue Chuck ‘s dad (guest star Scott Bakula) from the clutches of FULCRUM and evil software guru Ted Roark (guest star Chevy Chase). After finding nothing but an abandoned drive-in at the location Chuck flashed on, the pair retire to a motel to collect their thoughts. Yes, a motel room. One bed. Yes folks, that’s right. Sarah and Chuck finally give in to all that sexual tension that has been building up. Too bad Morgan slipped an IOU for a condomn in the place of Chuck ‘s wallet protection (as well as Casey tracking the two down) and put the breaks on the mood.

    The second great payoff comes when someone else finally gets to learn that Chuck is an operative for the CIA. Who is this lucky person? Turns out it’s Captain Awesome himself, giving us one of the best lines ever on the show (“I need you to be awesome. Can you do that for me? Can you be… awesome?”). It was really nice to have someone else finally learn that Chuck has been doing a lot to save his country and understand all of the conflict this surely brings him internally. It’s bad that it was Ellie’s fiance, since really they shouldn’t be keeping any secrets from one another as husband and wife, and I have to wonder if this will lead to conflict in the season finale. However it turns out Awesome was awesome in settling his fiance’s nerves as it seemed that neither her dad nor her brother would be ther for the rehearsel dinner.

    The third payoff comes in the eventual rescue of Chuck ‘s dad. When Casey learns that an air strike team has been assembled to dispatch the FULCRUM drive-in instead of being able to keep his promise to rescue Steve Bartowski, Casey rushes to help his two fugitive team mates. The rescue doesn’t go as planned and all are captured in the same room the newly built Intersect is being run. Chuck ‘s dad tells Chuck too watch the screen since he “made it for him” and POW! Chuck is now Intersect free! The air strike force shows up just in time to give them cover for an escape and everyone gets away.

    The last payoff we were given was the culmination of the Buy More power struggle saga. Emmett is now the manager of the store and he applies pressure to Morgan to become his assistant manager (which he refers to as Ass Man). Morgan originally caves in and does his evil bidding, but girlfriend Anna finally gets him to realize what is important and in a shocking move Morgan gets up his nerve, quits the Buy More and whisks Anna away to fulfill his dream of moving to Hawaii to become a chef at Benihana. Everyone even gives him a slow clap build up sendoff.

    Of course it wasn’t all champagne and roses at the end as we learn that Roark has survived the air strike and is now on his way to crash the wedding.

    NEXT WEEK AND THE FUTURE OF CHUCK

    As mentioned above, the season finale of Chuck is next week. Roark is going to try to crash the party and an Intersect free Chuck has to face off against him. I have no idea what else will happen next week. I’m dying to see what will happen next week, especially since SOMETHING has to happen next week to perpetuate the premise of the show. Chuck was pivotal to the operation because he was the Intersect with all kinds of info trapped in his head. How can the show continue without this? What diabolical plan do they have to move things forward?

    The other real question is will they actually move forward? The Hollywood Reporter set the Internet ablaze on Monday with a Save Chuck fire after they described the show as “on the bubble” which means that even though it’s fate isn’t decided it hasnt’ been saved yet from cancellation. Bloggers, journalists and fan sites are all sending out their appeals this week to make sure that we all do our part in saving the show. There’s good reason to save the show as well since, according to television producer Josh Schwartz in a New York Times Article, “If…. that is the last episode of the show to ever air, it will be one of the least satisfying finales of all time. Chris Fedak, the guy who created the show, said people will set their living rooms on fire.” We can’t have a ton of domestic arson, can we?

    If you want to know how to try to do your part to save the show Chuck than the best strategy is the one outlined on the fan site ChuckTV.net with their watch/buy/share campaign. Watch the show live, get you and everyone you know to watch everthing Chuck related on NBC.com (the show, mashup videos, everything). If you really want to flex your power and have your voice heard in the digital age then traffic and hits are probably the sure fire way to tip the scales folks.

    I can’t wait to see the season finale of Chuck and I’ll hope you’ll be there with me.

    – Will Wilkins is neither an Asset nor the Intersect.

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

    tvornottv-header.png

    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: 1/19 – 1/25

    tvornottv-header.png

    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I am blown away by last week, I am looking forward to change and getting LOST.

    Tuesday January 20th brings the events of the 2008 US Presidential Election to a close with the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States.  This event has reached an epic status, so much so that you can’t open your email without getting spammed by offers for the Obama coin. Amazing Spider-Man #583 had a variant cover featuring the President Elect in the foreground that sold easily on eBay for $100 and up. I’d say the country has Obama fever, but I feel more like we have had enough of the George W. Bush flu and we’re ready for what we hope is the Obama cure to this condition. I don’t envy our new President as he has a lot to deal with in handling the monumental task of getting things back on track. I hope his inauguration is at least one heck of a celebration that can create fond memories for him to remember in the difficult days ahead.

    In speaking of our soon-to-be former Preisdent I think, in looking back at last week, it is kind of interesting that George W. Bush‘s farewell to the nation was overshadowed by something that also gives us hope for the future. The US Airways plane crash into the Hudson River gave us something to hold up as proof that even when things appear to be at their worst great things can happen. An airline pilot made all the right decisions, everyday people banded together to help one another, and 155 lives were saved. I’d gladly take this tale of near tradgedy and heroic deeds over a speach attempting to tell everyone why the past 8 years weren’t so bad.

    Of course I can’t talk about plane crashes without discussing this week’s season premiere of LOST. The plight of Oceanic Flight 815 is back and we begin our journey of discovering why and how the Oceanic 6 get back to the mysterious Island as well as what happened after they left. Don’t worry about an entire season of “How do we get back?” however. According to executive producer Damon Lindelof, “The conventional thinking might be that we’re going to spend the entire season telling the story of how and if these characters are able to make it back to the island. That’s not what we’re doing, not by any stretch of the imagination.”

    I have very high hopes for this season of LOST because we are embarking on the final 34 episodes of the series (17 this season and 17 next season). With a finite set of episodes I’m hoping for lots of relevant content and not a lot of “filler”. Last season, which was whittled down to only 14 episodes due to the writer’s strike, was what I would call a nearly flawless execution of content minus filler. The only weakness of the season, for this writer, was having such a powerhouse episode such as The Constant followed up by the lackluster episode The Other Woman.  The writers have their road map, they know how long it is going to take to get us to where they want us, and all they have to do is now get us their in a way where we aren’t screaming in the back saying, “Are we there yet?!?”

    In my hopes I’m trying to ignore the change in story telling that has to occur now that we have two different stories that have to be told. “The show is taking on a new model, in terms of the way we tell stories, and finding a balance between what’s happening off the island and on the island,” says Lindelof. “We’re really happy with the scripts that we’re writing, but at the same time, there’s this complete sense of fear and second-guessing, in terms of whether or not the audience is going to groove on what we’re doing.” In Season 3 the producers were able to quickly compensate for fan dislike of Nikki and Paulo. I only hope that before the show airs they aren’t so deep in the production that they won’t be able to error correct again if we don’t actually groove on what they’re doing. At least we know that they pay attention to fan feedback and, should we not dig it,  I hear you can work miracles in post-production.

    That all being said, let’s take a look at the shape of things to come this week.

    MONDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: I’d love to recap 24 so far but it’s already getting pretty convoluted and we’re only at episode five. I’m still going to watch though.

    FOOD – 8:30 PM: Food Network comes up with their own version of Dirty Jobs with Will Work for Food. Next Food Network Star alumni Adam Gertle does the not-so-known jobs in the culinary world. This week? Working on a lobster boat and harvesting honey.

    HIST – 9:00 PM: The History Channel brings out their special from last August that shows us what it is like to fly in the highest of classes in Secret Access: Air Force One.

    TUESDAY

    ABC, NBC, CBS Morning: The time for change is here with the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th president.* You can also watch it through CNNLive with all your friends on Facebook.

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Fringe returns tonight. Want to get caught up? Go here.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: The Alphabet Network gets my vote for best night of inauguration programming. The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration has Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Shakira and Stevie Wonder scheduled to perform. Even if my neighborhood had a ball it wouldn’t be anything like this.

    * Check local listings.

    WEDNESDAY

    FOX – 9:00 PM: Tim Roth comes to the little screen as a man so schooled in human behavior and mannerisms that he is a walking polygraph in the new drama Lie to Me.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: I’m having flashbacks of 1982 as Knight Rider brings out the bad version of KITT named KARR. Peter Cullen adds to the deja vu by reprising the vocal role of KARR.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: If you want to finally get in on the LOST experience then tune in at 8 PM for LOST: Destiny Calls where they try to get us all caught up and ready for the two hours of LOST‘s season premiere that follow at 9.

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: I have no idea what NBC has planned since (at press time) this week’s description of My Name is Earl reads as part 2 of the episode that didn’t actually air last week. Maybe we’ll get part 1?

    FX – 8:00 PM: Witness the horror of Van Helsing. I’m talking about the film itself. UGH!

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Watch The Untouchables and you’ll never look at a baseball bat the same way again.

    USA – 10:00 PM: The cool as a cucumber former spy is back with tonight’s return of Burn Notice. Apparently the near-death experience last season may have shaken some of the frost off of Michael’s cool exterior.

    FRIDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: OK, I might have originally mocked the idea a little but I actually did chuckle at Howie Do It and you might to.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: The discovery of a mass-grave leads to a mass-haunting on Ghost Whisperer.

    HIST – 8:00 PM: The 2003 special The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy used computer modeling of the Zapruder film and Dealey Plaza tries to answer the who and where of what happened on November 22, 1963.

    SATURDAY

    TOON – 8:00 PM: The direct to DVD cartoon Superman:Doomsday was an interesting adaption of the Death of Superman saga. There’s no “Reign of the Supermen” portion, but it is still entertaining.

    USA – 8:00 PM: All the flash and glamour within can’t reproduce the cultural experience of the time of the original TV series in this film version of Miami Vice.

    HALMARK- 8:00 PM: Clint Eastwood directed the captivating motion picture Unforgiven. Morgan Freeman came along for the ride, and I promise you this is no Bucket List.

    SUNDAY

    AMC – 6:00 PM: See how one former vet becomes a one man army in First Blood followed immediately by Rambo: First Blood Part II.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Prepare to have the ol’ heart strings tugged at a bit with two hours of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition where the team rebuilds the home of an injured war vet who’se home was damaged by a tornado.

    NBC – 9:00 PM: Another network attempts to tap in to the DaVinci Code and National Treasure vibe with the Mira Sorvino driven adaptation of the book The Last Templar.

    – Will Wilkins fears the frozen donkey wheel.

  • TV Or Not TV: 12/22 – 12/28

    tvornottv-header.png

    Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I admit that I am a reality television addict.

    I am sure that I, like anyone else, has certain reality television show favorites that they take in. Some reality shows I love and refuse to miss, some fall by the way side for me (an example of the latter is the CBS staple Survivor). In my case, however, my tastes usually go against the grain and I prefer the not so popular shows.

    Two of my regulars are The Biggest Loser and Big Brother. Like most shows of the genre both have contestants voting each other out and in the end the winner gets some type of grand prize. Both feature challenges. Both can be heavily influenced by player interaction. Both can be edited to portray people in whatever light the producers choose.

    As noted in last week’s column, The Biggest Loser had the finale for their sixth season this past week. If you aren’t familiar with the show let me sum it up for you. People unsatisfied with their weight are chosen as contestants in a competition where the goal is to be one of three finalists who loses the greatest percentage of body weight. The contestants spend four months living on “The Ranch” where they are subjected to physical and mental challenges as well as grueling 4 to 8 hour workout days. Every week they are weighed in and those scoring the least percentage of body weight lost are subject to a vote by their peers for elimination. In the end, however, only three compete for a $250,000 cash prize. Those voted off, however, are still motivated to try to lose more weight at home to compete for a $100,000 cash prize.

    The week prior to the finale of The Biggest Loser we were able to see the final four contestants receive the same news that the season five competitors received: a phone in voting campaign would decide the third contestant to be in the final three, with the player receiving the least votes being stuck back in the at home competition category. I bring this item up because it served up some interesting complications for the remaining competitors in the game (that the rest of us, who could one day become reality tv stars, should pay attention to). With the season finale we saw a married couple competing for the third slot, Ed and Heba Brantley. In their final pleas that they recorded at The Ranch we saw Heba stating why she should be chosen and Ed stating why Heba should be chosen. This was immediately after a weigh in where Ed some how had gained two pounds instead of losing, something that team trainer Bob stated had to be game play so Ed could see his wife get into the finals. Where was the real complication I mentioned? America voted for Ed to be in the final three, leaving Heba to compete for (and win) the at home consolation prize. Why is this a complication? If America had voted the other way Heba had enough weight loss to win the grand prize and walk away with the title of this season’s Biggest Loser.

    The reason why I bring all of this up is because I see one thing that seems to happen time and time again in reality television, and it is a cycle that could easily be broken if people were to keep a level head in these crazy experiences that they get themselves in to. It is one thing to play a game and do it in front of the American public, but you have to remember that your every action can be edited to make you appear to be the villain or victim in any given situation. Whether Heba was either isn’t relevant since she, as a player, provided the producers with enough content to give them exactly what any show runner would want: a villian that stirs up the pot and causes drama. Nothing gets ratings (or viewers that come back) like drama. If you go on a reality television show try to keep your behaviour balanced folks.

    Another interesting side note to The Biggest Loser story this season’s other qualifying finalist Vicky. This woman wasn’t cast in a very nice light during the run of the show and it turns out that people have been harassing the woman via phone and mail. I’m sure that Ed and Heba have also received similar treatment given their alliance with Vicky. What baffles me about this type of behaviour is that people can be this motivated by a television show to take action against the peopel playing it. I enjoy television, I’ve seen some really nasty reality television, but I’ve never been so stoked with anger or hatred for someone I’ve seen on TV that I’ve taken the time to research who they are, where they live, how to contact them and then actually write a letter or make a phone call. Hearing this type of thing makes me feel a little ashamed to write a column about television. It’s just TV folks.

    That all being said, let’s see what I think there is to offer on TV this week.

    MONDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: If you missed the showing earlier this month of Shrek The Halls than you are in luck. It’s on again tonight.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Today goes prime time with 2008: Today Looks Back, A Holiday Special. Apparently there are only five items newsworthy enough to look back on. I guess the year really did suck for everyone.

    CBS – 8:30 PM: Any regular reader knows I’m a fan of How I Met Your Mother and this repeat of Slapsgiving was a great payoff to a joke set up earlier in that season.

    COMEDY – 9:00 PM: If you didn’t shell out the money for the DVD of Futurama: Beast With a Billion Backs than you can watch it free (with commercials) tonight.

    TUESDAY

    CBS – 8:00 PM: The 10th Annual A Home for the Holidays Special features musical performances and inspirational stories of adoption.

    ABC – 8:00 PM: There was no greater choice than Boris Karloff for voicing the title green meanie in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

    TLC – 8:00 PM: See if Manual Uribe reached his weight loss goal as World’s Heaviest Man takes a return visit to see his progress.

    WEDNESDAY

    For a lot of people it’s Christmas Eve so here’s what you can watch after that last minute shopping is finally done and you are up to your eyeballs in eggnog.

    NBC – 8:00 PM: The Peacock wasn’t happy enough having me cry just once so It’s a Wonderful Life is on again tonight.

    FOX – 8:00 PM: If you aren’t a fan of the holidays than tonight’s episode of Bones might make you smile with Santa in the Slush.

    TBS – 8:00 PM: Only one thing in the world could’ve dragged you away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window, and that’s 24 hours of A Christmas Story.

    THURSDAY

    FX – 7:00 AM: Ice Age: The Meltdown is on for the next 14 hours, providing you the perfect thing to distract the little ones with when you need that break.

    FOOD – 7:00 PM: Pastry chef’s are put to the Food Network Challenge of making ginger bread houses and I’m put to the challenge of not finding sugary treats to eat while watching.

    TLC – 8:00 AM: An all day marathon of Little People, Big World can help you to not sweat the small stuff.

    COMEDY – 8:00 PM: Still not a fan of the holidays? Enjoy a slightly sanitized version of Bad Santa.

    FRIDAY

    TNT – 8:00 PM: Take in Con-Air… and be sure to put the bunny back in the box.

    BRAVO – 8:00 PM: If Con-Air didn’t have enough testosterone for you than I would recommend Heat.

    ABC Family – 8:00 PM: Didn’t buy Nicolas Cage as a former Army Ranger and Ex-Con? How about Nicolas Cage as an investment banker who gets a glimpse at how his life could have been in The Family Man?

    SATURDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: OK, this is a new one on me. NBC has Bob Costas and Matt Lauer host a special where they look back at The Bejing Olympic Opening Ceremony. I guess I can’t blame them. The original airing garnered 2 billion people world wide. This has to bring them some viewers, right?

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Last night we had two Nicolas Cage choices, so you can see Sandra Bullock get abused by her boss (and find love of course) in Two Weeks Notice.

    OXYGEN – 8:00 PM: Sorry folks, if you target Sandra Bullock flicks in most cases you are going to get sappy romantic films. The Lake House is no exception.

    SUNDAY

    ABC – 7:00 PM: Here is a completely useless fact that will mean nothing to you: In my 37 years on this planet I have never seen The Sound of Music. Will I end that streak tonight? Not sure.

    AMC – 8:00 PM: Sometimes AMC has some really interesting choices. Tonight they have Fargo at 8 followed by Hannibal at 10. I could probably sit and watch this channel the entire night.

    HIST – 8:00 PM: The History Channel premiered Valkyrie: The Plot to Kill Hitler back on November 24, but with the release of the movie Valkyrie this may be an interesting documentary to take in both before or after taking in the film.

    – Will Wilkins is not The Biggest Loser.

  • TV Or Not TV: The Holiday Special (12/8 – 12/14)

    tvornottv-header.png

    Welcome one and all to a Ho-Ho-Holiday special edition of TV or Not TV!

    This week here at TV or Not TV we’re kicking off what I hope becomes an annual tradition. This week we will be looking specifically at all of the Holiday TV offerings that are avaialble to you, the loyal television viewer.

    I’m sure each and every one of you reading this may have a certain TV special or movie that resides in your mind as the one that you identify with the holiday season. Maybe it is something you look forward to when it comes on the tube, maybe it is the movie you put on in order to get into the holiday spirit, maybe it is something you like to put on while you are making your Thanksgiving feast or decorating your tree. Whatever the TV special or movie is I’m sure, if you are like me, it is the one thing that you set time aside for to take your annual viewing in.

    For me these memories currently span close to four decades and each new gem for me has a place on my holiday shelf as I enjoy them all. Some of the movies you may not even think of as holiday films (the original Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are great examples) but during this time of year I love them all. I don’t need ABC Family’s 25 Days of to get me through the season because of how much is out there.

    It's a Wonderful LIfeOne of the movies that I always enjoy this time of year is the Frank Capra classic It’s a Wonderful Life. If you look at this film, as a whole, it is as much of a holiday film as the aforementioned Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are but because the films climax occurs on the eve of Christmas it has been widely adopted as one of the holiday staples. A copyright misunderstanding during the 1980’s also lead to the movie being played on numerous channels and numerous days during the holiday season, so much so that you could sometimes find it on more than one channel at the exact same time.

    Whether you think of It’s a Wonderful Life as a holiday classic or a great american film doesn’t matter. The film represents a lot of things that we can all appreciate. The movie tells us a story of a simple man, George Bailey. George has big dreams at the beginning of the film, dreams of travel before college to become an architect or engineer and designing big buildings or bridges, all themes that can be connected to a man making his mark on the world. During the course of the film, however, George has to set these dreams aside in order to keep the family business running and ensuring his little brother has a good life. He doesn’t  pursue his dreams, he lives his life and he makes sacrifices for the greater good while constantly facing off against Henry Potter, the stingy town tyrant who is determined to own the entire town.  After his Uncle Billy makes an absent minded mistake that can ruin the family business, George reflects that his life is a failure and is about to give it all up before his guardian angel Clarence intercedes. He gives George a glimpse at what the world would be like without him, giving him true perspective on all that he truly has (a new spin on the A Christmas Carol theme). In the end everyone in George’s life steps up to help him, just as he has helped them his entire life.

    I haven’t watched It’s a Wonderful Life this year, even though I have the DVD. Oddly enough just writing about it has the same effect on me as I hold back choking on emotional tears thinking of Sam Wainwright‘s telegram to George (I wasn’t kidding when I said I have a deep emotional connection to the film).  It never ceases to amaze me how a work of fiction can be soemthing that reminds us that just by being here we have an effect on the world around us, to show us that even just by doing our everyday jobs we still make a difference, and of course the reminder of how important friends and family are. All of these messages are nice to have in the face of the troubled times around us. This, if nothing else, shows why this movie is timeless.

    The good news is that even if It’s a Wonderful Life isn’t your cup of holiday tea I have plenty more for you take in during this week. Unfortunately I didn’t find any instances of Christmas Vacation or Scrooged this week, which are two of my holiday must haves. Those two exceptions aside, here’s what I have found to offer.

    MONDAY

    ABC – 8:00 PM: Once again ABC rolls out another one of the holiday classics with A Charlie Brown Christmas. Be sure to spot the commercial where they try to get you to buy the digitally re-mastered DVD of what you are watching for free.

    DISNEY – 8:00 PM: Tim Allen has to find a wife in The Santa Clause 2. Their clever use of the Mrs. Clause still makes me chuckle, but Tim Allen in the fat makeup without the beard is just plain creepy.

    ABC FAMILY – 8:00 PM: Bad accents, bad acting and our introduction to Jake Lloyd are just a few of the horrors that make up Jingle All the Way. One redeaming quality is the late and great Phil Hartman‘s presence.

    CARTOON NETWORK – 8:00 PM: Just in time to get the song stuck in your head for a week is the cartoon special built around Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer. If that doesn’t make you leary enough, there’s a character named I.M. Slime. Behold the creativity at work here!

    TUESDAY

    FOX – 8:00 PM: House tries to bring the holidays home with this episode titled Joy to the World. The critical case of the week is a girl that collapses during her high school Christmas program.

    FOOD – 8:00 PM: Enjoy two hours of food fun starting with Paula’s Cookie Swap (I thought this was like a key party with cookies, turns out I was wrong) followed by Dear Food Network: Holiday Family Traditions.

    WEDNESDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Just when you thought your life wasn’t complete because you haven’t seen a CGI version of Danny Devito your cries were heard with the new animated special Little Spirit: Christmas in New York. I will say this, the combination of CGI rendered in the style of a traditional painting creates a very interesting aesthetic (even though everyone has a wrapped in plastic kind of sheen on them).

    ABC FAMILY – 8:00 PM: It’s Rankin/Bass night with Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town followed by the confusing Rudolph’s Shiny Year and Jack Frost.

    USA – 9:00 PM: If you didn’t catch the Monk holiday episode Mr. Monk and the Miracle you can watch this before the 10 PM showing of Elf.

    THURSDAY

    NBC – 8:00 – 10:00 PM: That’s right Comedy Done Right-ers, all of your comedies tonight have a holiday motif.

    HALLMARK – 9:00 PM: Even though it’s been on once a week since Thanksgiving, you can still catch a father/daughter trying to save their Christmas theme park from a land developer in Moonlight and Mistletoe.

    ABC Family – 9:00 PM: Some classics don’t need an update and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys is a great example of that. It’s interesting to see the Rankin/Bass characters rendered in CGI, but the novelty wears off quick. Your kids, however, are gonna love it.

    FRIDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: Greatest Holiday Moments is back with their hour long Songs of the Season Countdown.

    CBS – 8:00 PM: Faster than you can say Happy Birthday that lovable talking snowman is back for two hours with Frosty the Snowman and Frosty Returns. Stick around for both of those and you can even take in a Finnish Flying Squirel trying to teach Niko the reindeer how to fly in The Flight Before Christmas.

    AMC – 11:00 PM: Nothing says holiday fun more than hundreds of green menacing Gremlins tearing up your town on Christmas Eve.

    SATURDAY

    NBC – 8:00 PM: If you made it through the entire beginning of this column and it made you want to see It’s a Wonderful Life than you are in luck because it’s on tonight. I’ll be the guy that’s sobbing around 10:54 PM when they read that telegram. Sentimental HOGWASH!

    FOOD – 8:00 PM: It’s another holiday food block tonight with A Neely Family Holiday, Unwrapped: Holiday Treats, and The Secret Life of…: Christmas.

    TLC – 8:00 PM: If you want to be envious of other people’s holiday yard decorations (or feel good that yours are better than these) you can watch Crazy Christmas Lights.

    ABC – 9:00 PM: Ben Affleck tries to get to the root of his issues with commitment and the holidays while battling whits with Tony Soprano in Surviving Christmas.

    SUNDAY

    BRAVO – 9:30 AM: Snuggle up with your morning cup of coffee to watch Mel Gibson try to make a drug bust in a Christmas Tree Lot in Lethal Weapon. My favorite moment is when Gary Busey answers Scrooge on the television in the question of what day it is with, “It’s FU@#ING CHRISTMAS!” before destroying the TV in a hail of machine gun fire. Ahh, the holidays.

    MTV – 8:00 PM: If the CGI Danny Devito wasn’t enough for you than you can take in an animated version of Adam Sandler in Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights.

    HGTV – 8:00 PM: Relive magical moments like when as kids you watched the holiday display at Higbee’s with Holiday Windows 2008.

    FOX – 9:30 PM: It took a holiday edition to finally get me to mention American Dad, so that must say something. Stan, in pursuit of the perfect tree, meets an untimely end in the woods and fights the forces of good and evil in limbo.

    – Will Wilkins is a mean one, Mr. Grinch.

  • Scrubs Blog: My Welcome Back

    scrubsheader.jpg

    VIDEO BLOG #101: “My Welcome Back” ““
    This week, we welcome back the Scrubs Blog with – well, with a welcome back from all the folks both in front of and behind the scenes.

    line3.gif

    [flashvideo filename=”videos/scrubs/101_my_welcome_back_stream.flv” width=”480″ height=”360″ image=videos/scrubs/scrubs-101.jpg /]

    Want to embed it in your blog? Use the code below…

    Download Scrubs Video Blog #101:

    Large (560 x 420 – QuickTime – 43.31 MB)
    Small (320 x 240 – QuickTime – 18.31 MB)

    [display_podcast]