Talk-show tango Nov. 9-13

Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi are on Oprah today! And there’s a tapeworm on Tyra. One will make me naseated because of too cuteness and the other, well, how badly could you need to drop a few pounds (oh yes, it’s a tapeworm DIET). To balance that out, Tyra will also give away 100,000 coats. But still. I think my flu is back. Blech.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS)

Monday: Bill Murray (The Fantastic Mr. Fox), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)

Tuesday: Jack Hanna, Shakira (She Wolf)

Wednesday: Kate Walsh (Private Practice), Andre Agassi (Open), Norah Jones (The Fall)

Thursday: kid scientists, Amanda Peet (2012), The Cribs (Ignore the Ignorant)

Friday: Mariah Carey (Precious and Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel), comic Kumail Nanjiani

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC, Citytv)

Monday: Dane Cook, Diablo Cody

Tuesday: The Biggest Loser castoff

Wednesday: Sandra Bullock

Thursday: Penelope Cruz, Dolly Parton

Friday: Terrence Howard, Terry Bradshow

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Kelsey Grammer (Hank), Maj. Brian Dennis

Tuesday: Jessica Biel, Super Dave Osborne, John Fogerty

Wednesday: Heather Locklear (Melrose Place), comic Rodman

Thursday: Al Gore, Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory), Jason Mraz

Friday: Reese Witherspoon, Danny DeVito, Kris Allen

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Laurence Fishburne (CSI triple crossover), Elmo and rosita

Tuesday: January Jones (Mad Men), Troy Polamalu, Wale

Wednesday: Jason Schwartzman (Bored to Death), Joan Cusack, Carly Simon

Thursday: Kate Walsh (Private Practice), Penn & Teller, Goodie Mob

Friday: Amanda Peet (2012), Steven Ward, Kid Sister

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: tba (repeat)

Tuesday: Chris O’Donnelle (NCIS Los Angeles), Bill Simmons (The Book of Basketball), Dancing with the Stars castoff

Wednesday: Dominic Monaghan (FlashForward), Los Lonely Boys

Thursday: Amir Blumenfeld and Streeter Seidell (Prank Wars), Switchfood

Friday: Jimmy’s Birthday! with Super Dave Osborne, Huey Lewis and the News

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Senator Kid Bond (The Next Front)

Tuesday: Serena Williams (On the Line)

Wednesday: Clarence Clemons (Big Man)

Thursday: Jane Goodall (Hope for Animals and Their World)

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Tom Campbell, Metropolitain Museum of Art

Tuesday: Maria Shriver, Special Olympics

Wednesday: Christopher Caldwell (Reflections on the Revolution in Europe)

Thursday: Woody Harrelson (2012, The Messenger)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Isabella Rossellini, Al Jacobs

Tuesday: Valerie Bertinelli, Misha Glenny

Wednesday: Michael Buble, Patrricia Clarkson, Clive Owen

Thursday: tba

Friday: tba

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Repeats until February

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Teena Marie, Emma Thompson

Tuesday: Laurence Fishburne (CSI triple crossover), former miss California Carrie Prejean, Phil Lempert

Wednesday: Woody Harrelson (The Messenger, 2012), cast of Finian’s Rainbow

Thursday: Rachael Ray, Dancing with the Stars castoff

Friday: Stephen King (Under the Dome), Kool and the Gang

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on NBC, 3 p.m. ET on Citytv)

Monday: Valerie Bertinelli, Chris Colfer (Glee), Oscar the Grouch

Tuesday: Dr. Wayne Dyer

Wednesday: Chevy Chase (Community), Jennifer Morrison

Thursday: Dominic Monaghan (FlashForward), Morena Baccarin

Friday: Fran Drescher, Paula Deen, Michael Groover

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBS)

Monday: George Lopez, Robin Wright

Tuesday: Jenny McCarthy, Sheman Moore

Wednesday: John Travolta, Ella Bleu Travolta

Thursday: See Ellen’s Cover of O

Friday: Harry Connick Jr., Paula Patton (Precious)

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi

Tuesday: Death Row Exclusive — Confronting the Killer

Wednesday: tba

Thursday: Karako Challenge Finals

Friday: Oprah Live

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on Citytv)

Monday: The Tapeworm Diet

Tuesday: Top Model’s Miss J Tells All

Wednesday: Halle Berry (fragrance Halle), America’s Next Top Model judge Nigel Barker

Thursday: Tyra Gives Away 100,000 Coats plus Wishes Come True

Friday: Cast of Glee and cast of Precious

– Denise Duguay

Friday poll: Loving Lithgow and looking for another show to kill

Hello chickens! If this is Friday, then it’s time for another poll.
Last week on Inside the Box, we asked: Who is your favourite new television character this season?

My vote went to Edie Falco’s junkie-nurse-philanderer in the Movie Network dramedy Nurse Jackie. And I was alone. Sigh. Not even Mother would stand with me on this one.
According to you louts, the most favoured new character this season was…
John Lithgow, all creepy and occasionally naked (very naked) as the evil Trinity Killer on Dexter, evil as opposed to the “good” avenging title killer, played by Michael C. Hall. Lithgow took home just over half the votes.
The remaining vote getters were:

• Julianna Margulies as the lawyer/mom in The Good Wife with 19 per cent,
• The evil vampire brother on The Vampire Diaries, played by ex Lostie Ian Somerhalder, with 14 per cent, and
• The wierd kid on The Middle and the vampire queen on True Blood, with five per cent apiece.

There were, however, a couple of glaring oversights in last week’s poll options. The first was pointed out by a Facebook friend Pat S.: “Sue Sylvester, coach of the Cheerios on Glee!” Chapeau to you, Sue, you demented blonde. (And thanks to you, Pat.) The second was pointed out by fellow Gazetteer Jordan Zivitz, who offered: “Robert Knepper’s carnival weirdo on Heroes”. Perhaps if I have a poll on which male characters make the best use of smudged eye liner, I’ll include Knepper. Thanks for the tip JZ.

Now then, this week’s shameless self-indulgence is this question: Which show deserves to be cancelled next?
Acclaimed L.A. cop drama Southland has been saved from certain death now that TNT, a U.S.-only cable outlet, has confirmed it will carry the show that NBC killed before airing any of the second season THAT IT ORDERED LAST SPRING??? (Details yet to be revealed about how or if Canadians will see it since TNT is not available except to computer eggheads).
Otherwise this season, the new show death tally is pretty low so far: The Mischa Barton modelling “drama” The Beautiful Life was exterminated after just two episodes.
Trauma, about the melodramas among emergency responders, has been sacked, although NBC will air all 13 episodes initially ordered.

But surely, you have other shows you’d like to see die. And I’m not limiting it to new shows. I haven’t heard a single good word about Grey’s Anatomy yet this season. There’s a handful of other options in this week’s poll, which you’ve already seen up top.
Vote and vote as many times as you like. And if you don’t see a show you’d like to see die, you can add it youself.
Bon weekend!
– Denise Duguay

Remember to – cough – watch V Tuesday at 8

Tuesday, 8 p.m. on CTV and ABC is the start of the new series V.

I promised a pre-broadcast look at the new series, however, the flu has left with with only enough energy to remind you to watch.

Here’s a preview from CTV’s site, where you can also watch episodes on CTV’s video player after they air.  We’ll talk later.

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Nov. 2-8: nearly naked Chelsea Handler, welcome Wanda Sykes and Radio Strombo

 

I have a bit of news and a bit of, well, not nudity, but… Yes, that Chelsea Handler on the cover of Playboy’s December issue in all her Xmas glory. On her blog, she confesses she ate nothing but turkey and grapefruit for a few weeks before the photo shoot. Talk about a testimonial.

And now to the news: This weekend, Wanda Sykes starts her Saturday-night Fox talker, filling the spot left by Spike Feresten. She’s on Leno on Thursday to talk about it. Also next Monday, Nov. 9, George Lopez starts Lopez Tonight, his weeknight talk show for TBS. And finally, if you like my other boyfriend, he’s starting a new Sunday-night music show on CBC. That would be The Strombo Show, hosted by The Hour’s George Stroumboulopoulos, Sundays from 8 p.m. to midnight on CBC Radio 2.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), Guy Fieri (More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives), Carrie Underwood (Play On)

Tuesday: Al Gore (Our Choice), Brad Paisley (American Saturday Night), Michael Buble

Wednesday: Bill Cosby, Ryan Bingham (Roadhouse Sun)

Thursday: Bill Maher (Real Time with Bill  Maher), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Keith Urban (Defying Gravity)

Friday: Ricky Gervais (New York Comedy Festival), comic Brian Regan, Ralph Stanley (Man of Constant Sorrow)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Valerie Bertinelli, George Eads (CSI), Jack Ingram

Tuesday: Billy Connolly (The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day), Dave Barry

Wednesday: No Nique (Precious), Stephen Fry

Thursday: Denis Leary, Jena Malone

Friday: tba

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Mariah Carey (Precious), Cirque de Soleil (Kooza)

Tuesday: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Wednesday: Jenna Bush Hager, Laura Bush

Thursday: Wanda Sykes, Rachael Ray

Friday: Elizabeth Banks (Scrubs)

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Ewan McGregor (Men Who Stare at Goats), Shaun White

Tuesday: Neil Patrick Harris, Paul Teutul Sr. (Orange County Choppers),  Creed

Wednesday: Amy Poehler (Parks and Rec)

Thursday: Jim Carrey (A Christmas Carol), Olivia Wilde (House), Zac Brown Band

Friday: tba

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Taylor Swift, Scott Wolf (V), Say Anything

Tuesday: Reggie Jackson, Matthew Bomer (White Collar), Reba McEntire

Wednesday: Cameron Diaz (The Box), Shaun White, Monsters of Folk

Thursday: Ian McKellen, Paula Patton, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon

Friday: Rosie O’Donnell, Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire diaries), Josh Topolsky (Engadget)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Jack Black, Chuck Liddell, Cobra Starship (R)

Tuesday: Pamela Anderson, DWTS castoff, Manny Pacquiao, White RAbbits

Wednesday: Joshua Jackson (Fringe), Big Bird, Slayer

Thursday: Jesse Williams, Florence and the Machine

Friday: Ted Danson (Bored to Death), Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom, Chickenfoot

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Heather McDonald, Lavell Crawford, Dan Levy

Tuesday: Gabrielle Union (FlashForward), John Caparulo, Jo Koy, Arden Myrin

Wednesday: Valerie Bertinelli, Josh Wolf, Sarah Colonna, Ross Mathews

Thursday: Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom, T.J. Miller, Chris Franjolo, Natasha Leggero

Friday: repeat

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Senator Bob Menendez

Tuesday: David Plouffe (The Audacity to Win)

Wednesday: Al Gore

Thursday: Susan Rice

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Nicholas Thompson (The Hawk and the Dove)

Tuesday: Andrew Sullivan (The Atlantis)

Wednesday: Harold Evans (My Paper Chase)

Thursday: Iliam Bratton, former L.A. police chief

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Ted Sorenson, Sugar Sammy

Tuesday: Jason Reitman, Taylor Branch

Wednesday: Margaret Atwood, David Jacobson

Thursday: RCMP Commissioner William Elliott

Friday: Michael Moore, Peter Sarsgaard

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: repeats through Feb. 20, 2010.

Wanda Sykes Show (Saturday, 11 p.m. ET, Fox)

Saturday: tba

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Jenny McCarthy, Ted Danson (Bored to Death)

Tuesday: Reba McEntire, Emeril Lagasse

Wednesday: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), Sean Kingston

Thursday: Carrie Underwood, Bernadette Peters

Friday: James Marsden (The Box), Project Runway finalists

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Lisa Niemi, Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives)

Tuesday: Ivanka Trump, Aisha Tyler

Wednesday: Al Gore, Joel Osteen

Thursday: Ian McKellen, Shepherd Smith

Friday: America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Guy Fieri

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Lily Tomlin (Not Playing with a Full Deck), David Zinczenko (Eat This, Not That)

Tuesday: LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles), John Irving (Last Night in Twisted River), Rumer Willis (90210)

Wednesday: Disney stars

Thursday: Jenna Fischer (The Office), Nate Berkus, Paul Scheer (The League)

Friday: tba

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Jim Carrey (A Christmas Carol), Faith Hill

Tuesday: Mo’nique (Precious), Abby Rike, Justin Bieber

Wednesday: Mariah Carey (Precious), Jonathan Safran Foer

Thursday: Amy Poehler (Parks and Rec), Fran Drescher

Friday: Countdown to Ellen on O

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Shoe, Handbag and Accessory Intervention

Tuesday: Oprah career flashback, plus first-job reflections by Kirstie Alley, Suze Orman and Martina McBride

Wednesday: “Step Out of Your Box” Challenge with Ali and Hilary Swank

Thursday: Oprah’s Karaoke Challenge: Round 1

Friday: Life with Mo’nique (Precious), Anderson Cooper (CNN) and Karaoke Challenge results

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on Citytv)

Monday: Teen Pimps and the Teen Girls They Made Prostitutes

Tuesday: Black Market Plastic Surgery

Wednesday: Get Your Shape In Shape with Tyra’s Nutritionist

Thursday: “Take Away the Fake” Intervention

Friday: The Women with Two Vaginas

– Denise Duguay

Series debut: White Collar Friday at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo

White Collar (new) 9 p.m. ET on Bravo

Series name
White Collar

Debuts
Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo (premiered the previous Friday on U.S.-only cable station USA)

Regularly airs
Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo

Premise
Con artist talks his FBI stalker into springing him from prison in exchange for helping catch other con artists. Sorta Catch Me If You Can without the running. Or The Mentalist in rat-pack attire. And ankle-bracelet tracking device. And very rich, charming widow who takes in con artist cum FBI consultant.

Primary cast and crew
Matt Bomer (Traveler, Bryce in Chuck) is Neal Caffrey, art thief, bond forger, prison inmate… oh wait, actually he’s just escaped … aaaaaaaand he’s back. Until he charms …
Tim DeKay (Tell Me You Love Me, Carnivale) is Peter Burke, FBI agent who is as strait-laced and rule-bound as Caffrey is self-indulgent and rule-averse. But they share a love for their work, although that work falls on opposite sides of the line called The Law.
Tiffani Thiessen (What About Brian?, Beverly Hills 90210) is Elizabeth Burke, Peter’s very understanding soul mate and sounding board.
Willie Garson (Sex and the City) is Mozzie, Neal’s old pal.
Diahann Carroll (Grey’s Anatomy, Back to You) is June, the wealthy widow who takes Neal in to her life, but not in a cougar kind of way. You are terrible!
Alexandra Daddario (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, All My Children) is Kate, Neal’s ex and his biggest weakness. Is she how he got into the criminal life? And where is shenow? And is she in trouble? And shouldn’t he just forget her, as Peter advises?
Jeff Eastin (Held Up, Shasta McNasty) is the creator/writer/producer. Shasta McNasty?

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot I declare …
You know how most times the promo for a TV show completely misrepresents a show? Usually by making it look more fun/interesting/engaging than the show really is? Well this is the exception to that rule. The pilot episode reveals a show that hits the ground running, and hits it very, very confidantly and without breaking a sweat. Neal, the con, and Peter, the FBI agent, are the two poles in this opposites-attract scenario. But the playfullness and, yes I’ll say it again, style (both visual and narrative) raise it above the often unimaginatively rendered “buddy” setup. Thiessen and Diahann Carroll don’t get much screen time in the debut episode, but they make very second count and left me hoping and expecting they will be bigger parts of coming episodes. As for quibbles? Well, I watched the pilot after a very jolting espresso and that tends to make me gullible. I did pause for a second in the opening escape scene: A recent beard and a more recent shave render an inmate of four years unrecognizable to his guards? Well, maybe it’s the espresso, but I’ll give them that one. And besides, realism is moot in TV. It’s all about believability, right? I believe that smile of Neal’s. I believe he gets almost anything he wants. Except, according to his deal with Peter, freedom from the ankle tracking bracelet for at least four years, which hopefully translates into four seasons.

Other reviews
On Metacritic, an aggregator of reviews from professional (ahem!) critics and “regular” viewers, puts the show in an A-plus category: the critics gave it an average of 79 out of 100 and the regular types gave it 9.2 out of 10. (Clearly professional (ahem!) critics must have 100 points to play with, as opposed to the lowly 10 alotted to the plebes. Clearly.)

Official website
The USA site (the U.S. broadcaster of the show) has the usual character and actor bios, a quiz in which you can find out if you’re a con artist or an FBI agent (“Denise: You’re an FBI agent to the core!”), and an FBI white-collar crime training program. The Bravo site is notable only because it links you to the video, in case you miss the Friday-night broadcast.

Twitter
Basic promo of the show with links to personal accounts for Tiffani Thiessen and show creator Jeff Eastin. Tiff looks like a real tweeter. That still sounds a bit dirty, doesn’t it.

Facebook
Click on “White Collar” to find their decent fan page (including the Con Dictionary link to the USA page) and … oh wait, a promise of “watch full episodes” that gives no love to Canadian computers. What a con!

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
V! Coming before the Nov. 3 premiere.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Ricky Gervais, don’t you dare sing and dance at the Globes

This could be interesting. Ricky Gervais (The Office, Extras, The Invention of Lying) will host the Golden Globes gala on Jan. 17. It says here that this will make the 2010 event the first time the Globes have had a host since 1995.

“Not only is this the biggest Hollywood celebration of the industry which includes both film and TV, but also an environment where I feel I can get free reign as a host. I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don’t turn down,” Gervais said in the announcement.

Not to be outdone: “We are delighted to have Ricky Gervais as the host on our show,” said Philip Berk, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. “He’ll bring his unique brand of humor and charm to what will continue to be a fast paced award show.”

As I said, it could be interesting. Will be interesting if he’s given free reign to be more host (Oscars: Johnny Carson, Billy Cristal) than circus ringleader (Oscars: Hugh Jackman).

I was initially charmed by last year’s Oscars, with Jackman and all the huge sets and productions numbers and themes and clusters of stars bumping into each other to group-announce the nominees for various categories. But I reconsidered. In the end, I just want a parade of dresses, somebody going off-script at least once an hour, a gorgeous tribute to the year’s deceased and some funny, snarky and emotional speeches. I don’t want song and dance or acting stars out to prove they can do song and dance.

Ricky? Are you my man?

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Nominees for the Golden Globes are announced Dec. 15 at 8 a.m. ET.

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Oct. 26-30: Hugh Dillon, come on down

On the potential-OMG front, Artie Lange, Mackenzie Philips and Kate Gosselin are all making appearances this week. But I’m going to rise above the salacious and pin my biggest hopes on The Hour hosting Hugh Dillon. The former Headstones frontman has an album out (Works Well With Others) and is hotter than Saturday night’s chili on Flashpoint, with a third season of Durham County shooting now.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Charles Barkley, Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm)

Tuesday: Courteney Cox (Cougar Town), Florence and the Machine (Lungs)

Wednesday: Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy), Sting (If on a Winter’s Night)

Thursday: Tom Hanks, Weezer (Raditude)

Friday: Regis Philbin, comic Brian Regan, Weezer (Raditude)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Sherri Shepherd (Sherri), Alex Dryden

Tuesday: Alicia Silverstone, Salman Rushdie

Wednesday: former secretary of state Madeleinie Albright, Rodrigo y Gabriela

Thursday: former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich, Jessalyn Gilsig

Friday: Lauren Graham (Parenthood), Fruit Bats

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Phil McGraw (Dr. Phil)

Tuesday: Ewan McGregor (Men Who Stare at Goats), Tina Fey (30 Rock)

Wednesday: Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately), Brian Williams

Thursday: Michael Moore (Capitalism: A Love Story)

Friday: John Cusack (2012)

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Kathy Griffin, Chesley Sullenberger, Wolfmother

Tuesday: Garry Shandling (It’s Garry Shandling’s Show), Paula Deen, Julian Casablancas

Wednesday: Chris O’Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles), Lindsey Vonn, Uncle Kracker

Thursday: Denis Leary, Rob Mies, The Swell Season

Friday: Susie Essman (What Would Susie Say? Curb Your Enthusiasm), Alice in Chains

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Willem Dafoe (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant), Tiffani Thiessen (White Collar), Har Mar Superstar

Tuesday: Artie Lange, Olivia Munn, chef David Chang

Wednesday: Edward Norton, Hulk Hogan, Weird Al Yankovic

Thursday: Carrie Fisher, Sam Rockwell, Mastodon

Friday: Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine, The Wanda Sykes Show), Josh Charles (The Good Wife), The Amazing Kreskin, Andrew Bird

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Kelsey Grammer (Hank), Stana Katic (Castle), Motorhead)

Tuesday: Mehmet Oz (Dr. Oz Show), latest ex of Dancing with the Stars, Morningwood

Wednesday: Atticus Shaffer (The Middle), Flyleaf

Thursday: Jason Schwartzman (Bored to Death), Rod Stewart

Friday: Jimmy’s Halloween Episodes with Paris Hilton and Slipknot

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Tracy Morgan (30 Rock)

Tuesday: Steven Levitt (SuperFreakaonomics)

Wednesday: Mustafa Barghouti and Anna Baltzer (Witness in Palestine)

Thursday: tba

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Cornel West (Brother West)

Tuesday: Gail Collins (When Everything Changed)

Wednesday: Brian Cox (Why Does e=mc2?)

Thursday: Bill Simmons (The Book of Basketball)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Gen. Rick Hillier, Julliet Lewis

Tuesday: Lewis Lapham, Suzanne Sommers

Wednesday: Ali Velshi, Hugh Dillon (Flashpoint)

Thursday: tba

Friday: tba

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: repeat

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Judge Judy

Tuesday: Courteney Cox (Cougar Town), Creed

Wednesday: Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy), Brody Jenner (The Hills)

Thursday: Daniel Craig (A Steady Rain), Don Rickles

Friday: Donald Trump, Carrie Ann Inaba, Halloween special

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Hot Topics, Paula Anka

Tuesday: Rod Stewart

Wednesday: Edward Norton, Carson Kressley

Thursday: Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine, The Wanda Sykes Show), Sting, latest ex of Dancing with the Stars

Friday: Halloween special

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Anthony Edwards (Motherhood), RZA (Tao of Wu), Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman)

Tuesday: Sherri Shepherd (Sherri), Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Mary Jo Eustace (Divorce Sucks)

Wednesday: Mackenzie Phillips, Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs)

Thursday: La Toya Jackson, Susie Essman (What Would Susie Say? Curb Your Enthusiasm)

Friday: Halloween special with cast of Paranormal Activity, Nick Baker (Weird Creatures)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Hilary Swank (Amelia), Jay Sean

Tuesday: Jimmy Kimmel, Deepak Chopra

Wednesday: Katie Couric, Gabby Sidibe, Kate Gosselin

Thursday: Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw

Friday: Halloween special wiht Alicia Keys, Rick Springfield, Steve Spangler

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Oprah at the Biggest State Fair in America

Tuesday: the Diane Schuler Story: Was She Driving Drunk?

Wednesday: tba

Thursday: The Biggest Stars of Reality TV

Friday: Fridays Live

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on City)

Monday: It’s Your Fault I’m Fat

Tuesday: Your Fertility Factor

Wednesday: Learn the 3 Words that Can Get You a Man (including Montrealer Lydia Patel)

Thursday: Secret Sexy Fantasies Revealed

Friday: Tyra’s Tricks and Treats

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Oct. 19-23: What, no scandals?

conan o’brien, jimmy fallon, david letterman, craig ferguson, jimmy kimmel, jay leno, oprah, ellen degeneres, bonnie hunt

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Vince Vaughn (Couples Retreat), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Rosanne Cash (R)

Tuesday: Kristin Davis (Couples Retreat), Barry Sonnenfeld (R)

Wednesday: Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Willis (R)

Thursday: Barack Obama (R)

Quite a few repeats and no scandals. God!
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Jason Schwartzman (Bored to Death), Angela Kinsey (R)

Tuesday: Ted Danson (Bored to Death), Chris Miller and Phil Lord (R)

Wednesday: James Spader, Caathy Ladman, Laura Izibor (R)

Thursday: Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Cobie Smulders, Lynyrd Skynyrd (R)

Friday: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), The Avett Brothers (R)

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Rod Stewart

Tuesday: Martha Stewart, Ludacris

Wednesday: Rainn Wilson (The Office)

Thursday: Hilary Swank (Amelia), Jerry Jones

Friday: Colin Firth

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Sienna Miller, Steve Schirripa, Deon Cole (R)

Tuesday: Jon Hamm (Mad Men), freestyle motocross athletes, Cobra Starship (R)

Wednesday: Jennifer Aniston, Melanie, Phoenix (R)

Thursday: Charlize Theron, stuntman Steven Ho, Dave Matthews Band (R)

Friday: Robin Williams, Piers Morgan, All Time Low (R)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Tracy Morgan (30 Rock), comic  Neal Brennan (R)

Tuesday: Seth Meyers (SNL), Chris Paul, Landon Pigg  (R)

Wednesday: Elijah Wood, Taraji P. Henson, John Fogerty (R)

Thursday: Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Miranda Lambert (R)

Friday: Kristen Wigg, David Wells, Christopher Cross (R)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Julie Bowen, Rumer Willis, The Used (R)

Tuesday: Ed Norton (By the People), Paul Shaffer (We’ll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives), latest ex of Dancing With the Stars, The Sounds

Wednesday: Salma Hayek (The Vampire’s Assistant), Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family), Dead by Sunrise

Thursday: John C. Reilly (The Vampire’s Assistant), NeNe Leakes & Kim Zolciak (Real Housewives of Atlanta), archer Randy Oitker, the Temper Trap

Friday: Terry Bradshaw (Fox NFL Sunday), Catherine Keener (Where the Wild Things Are), Echo and the Bunnymen

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Carl Reiner (Just Desserts and Tell Me Another Scary Story … but Not TOO Scary, comicsHeather McDonald and Randy Sklar and Inside Dish’s Ross Mathews

Tuesday: Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel (Dancing with the Stars), comics Chris Hardwick, Hasan Minhaf and Arden Myrin

Wednesday: David Alan Grier (Barack Like Me: The Chocolate-Covered Truth), comics Chris Franjola, Sarah Colonna and Matt Braunger

Thursday: Mike Epps (BET Hip-Hop Awards), comics Brad Wollack, Natasha Leggero and Ryan Stout

Friday: Cory Monteith (Glee), comics Josh Wolf, Janet Varney and Ross Matthews

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday-Thursday: repeats

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday-Thursday: repeats

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday-Friday: tba

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: repeats for a couple of months.

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Hilary Swank (Amelia)

Tuesday: Garry Shandling (It’s Garry Shandling’s Show), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)

Wednesday: Ewan McGregor (The Men Who Stare at Goats)

Thursday: Willem Dafoe (Antichrist), Tracy Morgan (30 Rock)

Friday: Jason Alexander (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Eugene Levy (Astro Boy)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Elisabeth returns

Tuesday: Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman (Oleanna), Gina and Patrick Neely (Food Network), Dr. Kristi Funk on breast cancer

Wednesday: Glenn Close co-host, Susie Essman, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)

Thursday: Lily Tomlin, Troy Dunn, latest ex from Dancing with the Stars

Friday: Martha Stewart, Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Serena Williams, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Mark Decascos

Tuesday: Alison Sweeney (Biggest Loser), Victoria Gotti (This Family of Mine), Greg Proops (Head Games)

Wednesday: T. R. Knight (Parade), Freddie Highmore (Astro Boy), Michelle Renee (I Survived…)

Thursday: Kevin McKidd (Grey’s Anatomy)

Friday: Paul Shaffer (We’ll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives), Backstreet Boys (This Is Us), Rachel Guzy (Bonnie’s Kindhearted Kid)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives), Dylan Walsh

Tuesday: Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff

Wednesday: Mario Lopez, chef Roberto Martin

Thursday: David Spade, John C. Reilly (Cirque du Freak: the Vampire’s Assistant)

Friday: tba

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Nate Takes Over for a  Stay-at-home Mom

Tuesday: Sex as a Deadly Weapon: 5 Victims Speak Out

Wednesday: Oprah on Location: The Happiest People on Earth

Thursday: Ultimate Betrayal: How She Discovered Her Dead Husband’s Mistresses

Friday: Oprah live

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Women Who Beat Their Men

Tuesday: Frumpy Families Get Makeovers

Wednesday: New Eating Disorders Explored: Drunkorexia and Pregorexia

Thursday: Tyra Show Singles Mixer

Friday: Rudest, Crudest, Lewdest: On Trail for Their Social Crimes

– Denise Duguay

Southland? TNT? Announce the engagement already!

Since so many of you are so passionate about Southland, you might already know that rumours are still flying hot and heavy than TNT, the U.S. only cable company that produces The Closer, HawthoRNe and Saving Grace, will pick up the gritty cop drama that was cancelled by NBC in early October ahead of its Oct. 23 debut (leaving six episodes in the can, as we say in the biz).
What that means for Canadian TV watchers is unclear. Based on the availability of TNT’s current hits, could go either way: TNT’s acclaimed Kyra Sedgwick cop drama The Closer is still not widely available on Canadian cable (I think early episodes were on late a night somewhere but not even that now), but Saving Grace is currently airing Season 3 on Showcase. TNT itself is not carried by any Canadian cable or satellite company that I can find. Will CTV continue to carry it in Canada? I’m waiting to hear back, but suspect there will be no news unless TNT or some other saviour picks it up.
But when it does return — and it must, mustn’t it? — I will be especially looking forward to a new actor on the team, Clifton Collins Jr. (who’ll play Regina King’s new partner, replacing Prison Break’s Amaury Nolasco, who shot three episodes for Season 2 and then parted ways with the show). You can read an interview with Collins here, which includes his calm assurance (he’s not shaving the moustache he grew for the role) that a show as good and as well-backed (creator/exec is ER’s John Wells) will live on.
You might recognize the face. He’s done terrific work in Capote and Sunshine Cleaning and will be in the upcoming sequel Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.
Fingers crossed.
– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Oct. 12-16: Jimmy Kimmel staff-dating non-scandal exposed!

So, happy thanksgiving and oh yeah: Jimmy Kimmel is dating a member of his staff.

FYI I am not dating a member of my staff (okay, I have no staff, but full disclosure is required for everyone. Please confess in the comments section below.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Garry Shandling (It’s Garry Shandling’s Show: The Complete Series), Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory), Tim McGraw (Southern Voice)

Tuesday: Sienna Miller (After Miss Julie), Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation), Dead by Sunrise (Out of Ashes)

Wednesday: Tina Fey (30 Rock), Chris “Mad Dog” Russo (Mad Dog Radio), Mika (The Boy Who Knew Too Much)

Thursday: Don Rickles, Built to Spill (There Is No Enemy)

Friday: Uma Thurman (Motherhood), Tim McGraw (Southern Voice)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: David Boreanaz (Bones), Mitch Albom, Dierks Bentley

Tuesday: Tim Robbins, Adam Goldberg

Wednesday: Kristen Bell (Couples Retreat), Robert Carlyle (SGU Stargate Universe)

Thursday: Forest Whitaker (Where the Wild Things Are), Christian Siriano, A Fine Frenzy

Friday: Toby Keith, Michelle Monaghan

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Dana Carvey, Justin Timberlake

Tuesday: John C. Reilly (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant), Ben Roethlisberger

Wednesday: Bill Cosby, Mikey Day

Thursday: Matt Lauer

Friday: John McCain

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Jamie Foxx (Law Abiding Citizen), Jason Alexander (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Grizzly Bear

Tuesday: Ice-T, Eddie Izzard, The Flaming Lips

Wednesday: Serena Williams, Ken Jeong (Community), Rascal Flats

Thursday: John C. Reilly (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant), Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN), Matt Braunger

Friday: Max Records

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Kathie Lee Gifford, Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), Love and Theft

Tuesday: Andy Samberg (SNL), Greg Proops, Baaba Maal and the Brazilian Girls

Wednesday: Monty Python

Thursday: Gerard Butler (Law Abiding Citizen), Ivanka Trump, Hockey

Friday: Eddie Izzard, Gina Gershon, Amy Schumer

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: David Duchovny (Californication), Carmelo Anthony (M6), Kid Cudi

Tuesday: Jack Black (Brutal Legend), latest ex from Dancing with the Stars

Wednesday: Jamie Foxx (Law Abiding Citizen), Kristin Cavallari, Toby Keith

Thursday: Librarians, Harper Simon

Friday: Serena Williams, Drew Pinsky (Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew), Eric Church

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Janet Napolitano (Secretary of Homeland Security)

Tuesday: Chesley Sullenberger (Highest Duty)

Wednesday: Barbara Ehrenreich (Bright-Sided)

Thursday: tba

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN)

Tuesday: Sylvia Earle (The World Is Blue)

Wednesday: The RZA

Thursday: Jerry Mitchell

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Garry Shandling (It’s Garry Shandling’s Show: The Complete Series), Chris Matthews (Hardball), Gov. Martin O’Malley

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Forest Whitaker (Where the Wild Things Are), Alicia Keys

Tuesday: Uma Thurman (Motherhood), Ivanka Trump

Wednesday: Minnie Driver (Motherhood), Colbie Caillat, Dr. Greg Yapalater

Thursday: John Cleese, Michael palin, Eric Idle, Mario Lopez

Friday: Ander Cooper co-hosts, Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV) (and by the way, as of this writing on Monday, 6 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 56, 55, 54… seconds until Elisabeth returns)

Monday: Dr. Steven Lamm, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano

Tuesday: Kaley Cuoco (Big Bang Theory), Alicia Silverstone

Wednesday: Valerie Bertinellil, Alana Stewart, Five for Fighting, Jeff Kinney

Thursday: Kara DioGuardi (American Idol) co-hosts, Gilles Marini (Brothers and Sisters), Gloria Gaynor

Friday: Sela Ward (The Stepfather), Laurie Levin, Greg Proops

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: David Alan Grier, AnnaLynne McCord, Conni Gordon

Tuesday: Christian Slater (The Forgotten)

Wednesday: Rachel Bilson (I Love You, New York)

Thursday: Toby Keith

Friday: Gerarad Butler (Law Abiding Citizen)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Vince Vaughn (Couples Retreat), Pete Yorn, Scarlett Johansson

Tuesday: Jimmy Smits, T.R. Knight, Daughtry

Wednesday: Alison Sweeney, The Script

Thursday: Taye Diggs (Private Practice), Wolfgang Puck

Friday: Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives), Dylan Walsh

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Mike Tyson

Tuesday: Jaycee Dugard

Wednesday: Taylor Swift

Thursday: “Shattering the Secret of Incest: Mackenzie Phillips’ Follow-up”

Friday: Live

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Could There Be a Cheating Gene?

Tuesday: Pregnant and Didn’t Know It and Kids Who Won’t Stop Cursing

Wednesday: The Grossest People in America

Thursday: Unmarried with Children: Dating When You Have Kids

Friday: The Truth About Colon Cleansing

– Denise Duguay

Southland shot dead by NBC

As Reuters and others are reporting, NBC’s cop drama Southland has been cancelled before its Oct. 23 Season 2 premiere on NBC (CTV was also airing it).

Too dark, apparently. The show, which premiered in the spring and was being groomed to replace ER, was being moved to 9 p.m. because the Jay Leno Show’s ownership of the 10 p.m. timeslot. I have to say I agree is was too intense for 9 p.m., but I had grown to like it quite a lot after its waaaaaay over the top premiere.

Let’s hope a home can be found on a cable network, as is being rumoured.

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Oct. 5-9

Had about enough of this David Letterman-having-sex-with-his-staff story? Yeah, I know. But it’s not going to die down (update: here’s Reuters on Letterman’s mea culpa to his Monday-night audience), on the news or on the talk-show circuit. Jay Leno’s already weighed in, having said on Friday that if viewers tuned in for sex with a talk-show hosts they had the wrong studio. Jimmy Fallon goofed on Dave’s sexual know how. And, according to Yahoo’s story on the reaction, even SNL’s Seth Meyers dubbed it a “stupid human trick”. Monday night, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Craig Ferguson will have their chances to weigh in. And will Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel, who gave Dave passes on Friday, take their kicks? Yeah I know I’m being lurid. It’ll be salacious enough without courting nasty funny comments. I’m ashamed. But I’m watching.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Steve Martin (The Crow), Lea Michelle (Glee), Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers

Tuesday: Paul Shaffer (We’ll Be Here for the Rest of our Lives: A Swingin’ Show-biz Saga), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), KISS (Sonic Boom)

Wednesday: Vince Vaughn (Couples Retreat), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Rosanne Cash (The List)

Thursday: Kristin Davis (Couples Retreat), Barry Sonnenfeld

Friday: Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Andy Kindler (Stand Up)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Jamie Fox, Joe Torre

Tuesday: Abigail Breslin, Cindy McCain

Wednesday: Wanda Sykes, Kathleen Sebelius

Thursday: Gerard Butler, Ben Harper and Jim Black

Friday: Arsenio Hall, Terry Bradshaw

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Ellen Page (Whip It), Kevin Nealon (Weeds), Dierks Bentley

Tuesday: Kristen Bell, Anvil

Wednesday: Jason Bateman, Selena Gomez, Toby Keith

Thursday: Jimmie Johnson, Backstreet Boys

Friday: Zack Hample, Landy Antebellum

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Kristen Wiig, David Wells, Christopher Cross

Tuesday: Lewis Black, The Might Be Giants

Wednesday: Chevy Chase (Community), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), Lenny Kravitz

Thursday: Christopher Meloni (Law and Order: SVU), chef Alton Brown

Friday: Martin Short, Jeff Lewis, Cory Chisesl

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday:  David Alan Grier (Barack Like Me: The Chocolate-Covered Truth), Pink (R)

Tuesday: Patricia Heaton (The Middle), Dancing with the Stars castoff, The Gossip

Wednesday: Joel McHale (Community), Richard Belzer (Law and Order: SVU), KISS

Thursday: Kelsey Grammer (Hank), Stana Katic (Castle), Motorhead

Friday: Michael Moore (Capitalism: A Love Story), Malin Ackerman (Couples Retreat), The Backstreet Boys

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Arne Duncan

Tuesday: The Mountain Goats

Wednesday: Alison Gopnik (The Philosophical Baby)

Thursday: Colin Beaven (No Impact Man)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: tba

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Eddie Cibrian (CSI: Miami), Melissa Etheridge

Tuesday: Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), John Stamos (Bye Bye Birdie)

Wednesday: Chevy Chase (Community), Julie Andrews

Thursday: Vince Vaughn (Couples Retreat), Michael Kors (Project Runway)

Friday: Anderson Cooper co-hosts, Daniel Craig (A Steady Rain)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Lisa Ling co-hosts, Brian Ross

Tuesday: Lisa Ling co-hosts, David Alan Grier, Steve Martin

Wednesday: Chris Rock (Good Hair)

Thursday: Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty), Kelly Clarkson, Paul Shaffer (Late Show)

Friday: Khloe Kardashian

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory), Lisa Landry

Tuesday: Kathy Griffin (Official Book Club Selection), Richard Kind (A Serious Man)

Wednesday: Patricia Heaton (The Middle), Jeff Lewis & Jenni Pulos (Flipping Out), Miranda Lambert (Revolution)

Thursday: Paul Teutul Sr. (American Chopper)

Friday: Kristen Bell (Couples Retreat), Danny Pudi (Community), Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas (Dancing with the Stars)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The New Adventures of Old Christine), Jason Schwartzman (Bored to Death)

Tuesday: Rob Lowe, Juliette Lewis, Miranta Lambert

Wednesday: Ellen Page (Whip It), Kevin Nealon (Weeds)

Thursday: Clive Owne (The Boys Are Back), Joely Fisher, Backstreet Boys

Friday: tba

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: YouTube sensations and other inspiring stories

Tuesday: 7 year old schizophrenic

Wednesday: Inside the Home of the Florida Massacre

Thursday: tba

Friday: live from Chicago

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Fat Hateration — The Final Frontier of Discrimination

Tuesday: Boyfriend for Rent

Wednesday: Fame Frenzy — “I’ll Do Anything to Be Famous”

Thursday: A Good Chat about Good Hair wiht Chris Rock

Friday: Makeover Madness with Another TyOver Remix

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Three Rivers (yes, another medical drama)

Series name
Three Rivers

Debuts
Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS

Regularly airs
Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS

Premise
A medical drama set in Pittsburgh with a triple twist: riffing on the “three” of the title, it’s a transplant-centric medical drama, encompassing the perspectives of the team, the donor and the recipient.

Primary cast and crew
Alex O’Loughlin (Moonlight, White Out, August Rush) is Dr. Andy Yablonski, lead surgeon on the transplant team at Three Rivers hospital.
Katherine Moennig (The L Word) is Dr. Miranda Foster, hot-tempered surgeon with father issues.
Daniel Henney (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is Dr. David Lee, who, well let’s just allow CBS’s own show website tell you: Lee is a “womanizing surgical resident who’s broken as many hearts as he’s replaced.” Perfection.
Christopher J. Hanke (theatre: Cry Baby, Rent) is Ryan Abbott, young and “inexperienced” transplant coordinator, CBS says. Because I think you want your coordinator to be learning on the job, no?
Alfre Woodard (My Own Worst Enemy, Desperate Housewives) is Dr. Sophia Jordan, head of surgery. Very demanding. No life.
Justina Machado (ER, Kath and Kim) is Pam Acosta, Andy’s devoted Gal Friday.
Amber Clayton (Rush) is Lisa Reed. All I can tell you is that she’s blonde. I guess she got on the publicist’s bad side.

Buzz buzz
I loved ER as much as anyone, but how many hospital series can even the most patient (get it?) viewer absorb? House, Private Practice, Grey’s Anatomy, Nurse Jackie, Scrubs (Novemberish?), Mercy, Trauma, and now Three Rivers. Get me a scalpel. And some Ringer’s lactate. … Stat?

Also, pilot was reshot to jam Alfre Woodard in where Joaquin de Almeida (Crusoe, 24) had been.

But what do I know anyway? After not having seen the pilot I predict…
I’ll watch a few, but won’t have much patience (okay, that’s the end of that joke theme). But I never got the appeal of Moonlight, so am immune to O’Loughlin’s appeal. Having said that, I used to be immune to the charms of Simon Baker (Smith, The Guardian) until I gave in and tried The Mentalist.

Other reviews
Alan Sepinwall at the New Jersey Star Ledger says the concept of a series focussed on transplants is great, but this doesn’t realize the full potential. Plus O’Loughlin is stiff.

Mike Hale at the New York Times says that the show is weak, but the star power of O’Loughlin from Moonlight and Hale from The L Word might buy it enough time to get its legs under it.

Official website
Lamest network show website ever. Actor bios, but not character bios. One paragraph about the show and it’s choked with purple prose. Extras, under Community, ask how “your” life has been changed by a transplant (they’re focussing on that demographic?) and what character we are most looking forward to meeting (Tell me a little more about the GD characters and I might have something to work with!). Show preview videos are not (sigh) viewable in this Canadian geographic area, but at least a couple of cast interview videos work. Alex O’Loughlin talks about his role and the series and sounds a little bit like he thinks he’s about to change the world. His younger co-star Christopher Hanke does a video diary entry about meeting the Television Critics Association during the fall-season preview in L.A. in August.

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
Battle of the Blades is Monday, but I’m not much of a non-fiction reviewer. You lemme know how it works out. Next new fiction-type series? Looks like the remake of V, Nov. 3.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

David Letterman, the assistant he trysted with and her ex boyfriend

Of course this David Letterman/extortion/sexual affairs with Late Show staff thing is all over everywhere.
Even Jay Leno took a crack at it Friday (Letterman’s show Friday was taped on Thursday): “If you came here tonight for sex with a talk show host, you’ve got the wrong studio.”

What is also everywhere are links to video of Letterman’s brilliant PR move to reveal all the details to his captive and unwitting studio audience Thursday. But most links I’ve found (try following the links here to part of the 10-minute clip, but no promises) have been hijacked by CBS news reports on the issue or are simply no longer available. If you find other, please share in the comments section below.

Now then, in case you’ve been asleep since suppertime on Thursday, the bases of the … shall we call it a scandal? … is Thursday night’s blockbuster that Letterman admitted to his Late Show studio audience that he was the victim of a $2 million extortion attempt and that the sensitive information at the centre of the attempt was “proof” that Letterman did, in the host’s own words, “terrible”, “creepy” things, specifically had sex with female staff on his CBS late-night show.

Since then: 48 Hours Mystery producer Robert (Joe) Halderman appeared in court Friday to plead not guilty to attempted grand larceny.

The Huffington Post is running a report from AP’s David Bauder that says Halderman was deep in debt, that part of the “proof” he was using to try to extort $2 million from Letterman were the diary,  photos etc. of his former live-in girlfriend, former Letterman assistant Stephanie Birkitt.

You might recall her from a number of bits she did on the Late Show, photos of which you can find here, in another Huff Post story, that identifies Birkitt as one of the affairs and quotes a RadarOnline.com report that says she is “reportedly ‘mortified’ ” at the extortion attempt.
People reports another so far unnamed staffer had an affair with Letterman.

In that same report is an assurance from an unnamed Late Show associate that long work days, and not predatory behaviour, are at the root of the issue:
“In politics it’s the same thing,” says the source. “People who live it, eat it, breathe it … [It's] not some sort of predatory, ‘Let’s hire beautiful women so we can feast on them’ kind of thing. That’s just not the way it works.”

You might see reports of Late Show bandleader Paul Shaffer and Letterman sitting down for an interview with CBS Sunday (Sunday at 9 a.m. ET on CBS), but it was taped before this all happened and likely will centre on Shaffer’s coming memoir.

Several of you have already weighed in on your feelings, in response to my previous post on the news, some of you jaded, others certain that Letterman is not a creep, just weak. It’s all just a little sad isn’t it? Tawdry? I liked having a Letterman who could so blisteringly and authoritatively mock the misbehavers in show biz and politics and other spheres of public life. Now he’s one of them.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert: If you reveal yourselves to be less that perfect, I’m gonna be really peeved.

– Denise Duguay

David Letterman reveals he is victim of extortion, admits affairs with female staff

Here’s what you know, if you saw Thursday night’s Late Show with David Letterman or read the news story online last night, both of which I did:
After his usual monologue, Letterman told his audience that a man was arrested Thursday in New York after Letterman, having consulted with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, gave a bogus cheque for $2 million to the man, who had demanded money in return for not producing a screenplay or writing a book revealing what Letterman himself described to his audience as “terrible”, “embarrassing” and “creepy” things the talk-show host has done. You also know that Letterman admitted to testifing to a grand jury about all the “creepy things” he has done, specifically that, “I have had sex with women who work for me on this show.”
You might also know, from reports since then, that the man who has been indicted on charges of attempted grand larceny is (Robert) Joe Halderman, an Emmy-winning producer of another CBS show, 48 hours. In the statement, widely quoted by news agencies and bloggers, CBS also said: “Mr. Letterman addressed the issue during the show’s broadcast this (Thursday) evening, and we believe his comments speak for themselves.”
Bill Carter of the New York Times reported just an hour ago that CBS is expected to have a press conference today.
What’s not yet known is how this has changed the way Letterman is regarded by his audience.
He had sex with female employees? He’s certainly not the first, but Letterman has always worked the decent, midwesterner angle, the publicity-shunning regular guy who just happens to have a talk show. The scandal-magnet public figures? They are the butt of HIS jokes.
Will this affect his position of authority — and his post 9/11 show and his recent interview with President Barack Obama are among the signs that he does indeed have that authority — from which to freely mock those who are now his fellow fallen public figures?
I suspect the bold nature of Letterman’s admission reveals he will bounce back.
Props to Letterman and Co. for an excellent damage-control strategy: Get the story out in front of a studio audience that laughs it all off because they are given no apparent notice or warning of the gravity of the situation. Watching reveals that audience members take Letterman’s (intended? nervous?) cues that the “little story” he wants to tell them is like many other self-mocking tales. There is vigorous laughter, then slightly nervous laughter and only a couple of gasps. It’s not until 8 minutes into the 10 minute segment — which came after a business-as-usual monologue — that Letterman gets sombre.
About further detail on his revelation of having sex with female employees, he says it’s “a decision for them to make, if they want to come public, if I want to go public and talk about these relationships, but what you don’t want is a guy who says, ‘I know you have sex with women so I would like $2 million or I’m going to make trouble for you.’ “
Letterman goes on: “It’s been a very bizarre experience. I feel like I need to protect these people. I need to certainly protect my family. I need to protect myself. I hope to protect my job and the friends, everybody who has been very supportive through this. And I don’t plan to say much more about this, on this particular topic. So thank you for letting me bend your ear.”
Then, he switches back to joke mode, and the audience roars in relief: “Now I know what you’re saying. ‘I’ll be darned. Dave had sex?’ That’s what the grand jury said…”
It was one of the wierdest 10 minutes of TV I have watched.

- Denise Duguay

Series premiere: The Middle

Series name
The Middle

Debuts
Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC

Regularly airs
Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC

Premise
Life in the mediocre lane in middle America (Indiana), with an average family of children who will be neither the football star nor the lead cheerleader, lead by a mom shocked by the uninspired dullness that is her life and a completely zen father.

Primary cast and crew
Patricia Heaton (Back to You, Everybody Loves Raymond) is Frankie, mom and used-car saleswoman, trying to smile while she experiences a crisis of realization that neither she nor her family will ever live up to her former hopes.
Neil Flynn (Scrubs) is Mike, the unflappable dad and husband.
Charlie McDermott (Frozen River, The Village) is Axl, the grumpy teen son, who usually doesn’t remember to put on pants and so must be yelled at. Constantly.
Eden Sher (Sons and Daughters, Weeds) is Sue, an impressively perky, though so-far unskilled joiner whose bubble of “anything’s possible” is years from being burst, if there is a god.
Atticus Shaffer (The Class, My Name Is Earl) is Brick. Remember the youngest on Malcolm in the Middle? Brick is a little odder.
Chris Kattan (Bollywood Hero, SNL) is Bob. He works with Frankie at the car lot.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot I predict…
Blah. Low-rent photocopy of Malcolm in the Middle. I appear to be in the minority, however, keeping in line with my 180-degree-wrong prediction mojo (although I might be over this hump, having completely ignored The Beautiful Life and, voila!, it was cancelled after two episodes). Heaton’s character is one-note. Her family’s quirkiness feels forced. (I did, however, laugh at the family dining images: a truth about television that I haven’t seen on much on TV.)

Other reviews
Glenn Garvin of the Miami Herald thinks the family sitcom has been reinvigorated in The Middle.

ew.com’s Ken Tucker likes it also, geez. “Remember how whiny Patricia Heaton’s Deborah got in (Everybody Loves) Raymond’s final seasons? Well, Heaton finds a way to make that abrasive persona work in this clever show.”

Official website
Very basic.

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
Looks like the next new show is Three Rivers, starting Sunday, Oct. 4. I’ll be on that like my signature on the transplant card in my wallet. Or something like that.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Hank

(Note: This trailer features the original child actors, who have since been replaced.)

Series name
Hank

Debuts
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC

Regularly airs
Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC

Premise
Manhattan family man, downsized from his CEO job, moves into more humble surroundings  — Riverbend, Virginia — and tries to bond with his family without the aid of servants and the distraction of a job that takes up 20 hours a day.

Primary cast and crew
Kelsey Grammer (Back to You, Frasier, Cheers) is Hank Pryor
Melinda McGraw (Mad Men, Journeyman, Desperate Housewives) is Tilly Pryor, the wife.
David Koechner (Reno 911!, Curb Your Enthusiasm) is Grady Funk, Tilly’s brother. He loves seeing Hank brought down to his economic level.
Jordan Hinson (CSI: Miami, Eureka) is Maddie Pryor, annoying teen daughter. (Hinson is the third actress to tackle this role.)
Nathan Gamble (Babel, Marley and Me) is Henry Pryor, mildly eccentric son. (He replaces the original actor.)

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the first pilot, I…
The show is at least a little retooled, with new actors playing the children but that addresses only that weak part of the series (the original Maddie was prickly and unfunny, although the original Henry was quite sweet). The show’s site has many of the original scenes in its promo videos and so the main problem likely remains: The central character has all the stuffiness of Frasier Crane from Cheers and Frasier, but none of the (eventual) self-awareness that gave him warmth. And a starchier Frasier as a dad? Tough sell. The pitch that audiences will laugh off thier own financial stress as they watch this portrait of a well-heeled family brought down by the recession? Good idea on paper, but the characters have to come a long way from their original stiff, (unfunnily) condescending portrayals.

Other reviews
The New York Times says Grammer is still funny, but the concept is tired.

The Hollywood Reporter observes that if you want to hit the real-world note of recession survival, the series needs to have some elements of realism.

Official website
Basic character and actor bios, videos.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Trauma

Series name
Trauma

Debuts
Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC

Regularly airs
Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC

Premise
Staff at San Francisco City Hospital responds to all sorts of … traumas.

Primary cast and crew
Cliff Curtis (Crossing Over, Push, Whale Rider) is Reuben “Rabbit” Palchuk, daredevil flight medic. Nearly killed in a disaster.
Aimee Garcia (George Lopez Show) is Marisa Benez, Iraqi war vet, new pilot. Chip on shoulder? Check!
Anastasia Griffith (Damages) is Nancy Carnahan, an MD who decided to forgo internship in favour of becoming a paramedic. Father does not approve. Lost her partner in disaster that almost killed Rabbit. Existential crisis? Check!
Taylor Kinney (Bones, What About Brian) is Glenn Morris, rookie EMT and eager puppy new partner to Nancy, who is grumpy about it.
Derek Luke (Notorious, Madea Goes to Jail, Antwone Fisher) is Cameron Boone, paramedic who feels torn between family and work.
Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights) is Tyler Briggs, Cameron’s longtime partner.
Jamey Sheridan (Law and Order: Criminal Intent) is Dr. Joe Saviano, who runs the trauma show at San Francisco City Hospital, detached from patients but devoted to his staff.
Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) is exec producer.

Buzz buzz
Best, it is being said, of all the many, many new medical dramas.

But what do I know anyway? After not having seen the pilot I know this…|
Where Peter Berg goes, I will follow. Also, the man cast on this show covers both ends of the spectrum: Jamey Sheridan from the mature end and Derek Luke from I know he’s young enough to be my … neighbour end. So I guess that makes them the George Clooney and Noah Wyle of this show. And speaking of ER, I want medicine, I want tissue moments, I want humour, I want drama and I want it now. ER wasn’t always great, but it was always there. And doesn’t that sound like a backhanded compliment! I liked Mercy, NBC’s Wednesday-night medical drama, more by the end than I did at the beginning, but still not exactly embracing the main characters.  Three Rivers (Oct. 4 on CBS), the transplant team drama, is getting lukewarm buzz at best. So I am coming to Trauma with high hopes. And, having just reread this, once again I am reminded of the need to investigate getting a real life.

Other reviews
Rick Porter at zap2it.com says Trauma has one of the best-looking pilots of the season, owing to two spectacular action sequences, but notes there’s no way financially possible to keep that up on a weekly basis. And what the show boasts in visual dynamism it lacks in character development. But if it hits the ground running with better-defined characters in Week 2, it’s a comer.

Ken Tucker of ew.com writes, similarly, “could flame out fast, or become an adrenaline fave.”

Official website
The usual stuff, plus a behind-the-scenes blog by Aimee Garcia (but only one post, from what i could tell), a Trauma Medical Dictionary in case the show’s lingo leaves you baffled (planning to baffle viewers? isn’t that just bad writing?), links to the real health agencies mentioned in the shows (like the Center for Disease Control), a 911 Trivia game that’s “coming soon”.

Twitter
Promotion only, but responsive to fan tweets.

Facebook
Many very enthuiastic fans, including one EMT who said he hopes they get it right.

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
Sometime before the Wednesday premieres, a look at Hank and The Middle.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Sept. 28-Oct. 2: Conan O’Brien and his concussion star on the Tonight Show

Update Sept. 29: Above is the video of the Friday Tonight Show stunt, in which Conan O’Brien was injured. Ouch. Here are details. But he was back on the job Monday night, playing the video above and promising the audience that if they were good, he’d do it again last night. dd

Oh Conan! Looks like the merry prankster needs to start wearing a helmet. He bonked his head doing a skit Friday for his Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and was taken to a hospital. Concussion, but the NY Daily News and others are carrying a report that it couldn’t dampen his bent sense of humour: “”Last thing I remember I was enjoying the play with Mrs. Lincoln, and the next thing I knew I was in bed being served cookies and juice,” O’Brien is reported to have said. But is there any fallout? Although I’ve included below the guests as announced in a Sept. 24 press release, the show’s website did not, as of this early Monday morning writing have this week’s guest schedule up. So possibly, Conan and his noggin will be taking the day off? I’ll try to check and get back to  you later today (Monday).

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Dr. Oz (The Dr. Oz Show), the Avett Brothers (I and Love and You)

Tuesday: Kelsey Grammer (Hank), Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother), Miranda Lambert (Revolution)

Wednesday: Madonna, Harry Connick Jr.  (Your Song)

Thursday: Woody Harrelson (Zombieland), Kim Kardashian, Tom Russell (Blood and Candle Snake)

Friday: Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Chris O’Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles), Paula Poundstone

Tuesday: James Spader, Cobie Smulders, Laura Isobar

Wednesday: Jenna Elfman (Accidentally on Purpose), Dom Irrera

Thursday: Patricia Arquette (Medium), Dominic Cooper

Friday: Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Cathy Ladman, Lynyrd Skynyrd

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Bill Maher (Real Time), Brad Paisley with Sheryl Crow

Tuesday: Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (The New Adventures of Old Christine), Billy Crystal

Wednesday: Steve Carell (The Office), Vince Gill and Emmylou Harris

Thursday: Chris Rock

Friday: Jenna Fischer (The Office)

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Drew Barrymore, jockey Joe Talamo, Paramore

Tuesday: John Krasinski (The Office), Patton Oswalt, Quinn Dahle

Wednesday: Kate Walsh (Private Practice), Brad Paisley

Thursday: Michael Moore (Capitalism: A Love Story)

Friday: Joshua Bell with Tiempo Libre

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: David Duchovny (Californication), Kimbo Slice, Dirty Projectors

Tuesday: Jude Law (Hamlet), Felicia Day, Sunny Day Real Estate

Wednesday: Dennis Hopper (Crash), Amy Brenneman (Private Practice), Owen Benjamin

Thursday: Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Miranda Lambert

Friday: Drew Barrymore, Tim Schafer

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Courteney Cox (Cougar Town), Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy), Dancing with the Stars castoff

Tuesday: Ricky Gervais (The Invention of Lying), Dancing with the Stars castoff, alice in Chains

Wednesday: Rebecca Romijn (Eastwick), Joseph Fiennes (FlashForward), Alice in Chains part deux

Thursday: Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters), Joss Stone

Friday:  Woody Harrelson (Zombieland), Shinedown

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Bruce Bueno De Mesquita (The Predictioneer’s Game)

Tuesday: Republican former congressman Ron Paul

Wednesday: Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory)

Thursday: Joy Behar (The Joy Behar Show)

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Sheryl WuDunn (Half the Sky)

Tuesday: Matt Latimer (Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor)

Wednesday: Richard Dawkins (The Greatest Show on Earth)

Thursday: Francis Collins

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Michael J. Fox,

Tuesday: tba

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: Thomas Friedman, Lisa Jackson, Janeane Garofalo, Marcy Kaptur, Richard Dawkins

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Eli Manning

Tuesday: Patricia Heaton (The Middle)

Wednesday: Kelsey Grammer (Hank)

Thursday: Woody Harrelson (Zombieland)

Friday: Mark Consuelos co-hosts, Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Melissa Gilbert, Arianna Huffington

Tuesday: Gloria Estefan, Harry Connick Jr. Farnoosh Torabi (Bank of Mom and Dad)

Wednesday: Yoko Ono, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith (Glee), cooking with Cat Cora, Ming Tsai and Marc Samuelsson

Thursday: Heidi Montag co-hosts, Amy Brenneman (Private Practice), Carrie Fisher

Friday: Mariah Carey (Precious, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel), film critics A.O. Scott and Micael Philips

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Jenna Elfman (Accidentally on Purpose), Chris Kattan (The Middle), Estelle Harris (Toy Story, toy Story 2 in 3D)

Tuesday: Betty White, Alex O’Loughlin (Three Rivers), Beau Preston

Wednesday: Dr. Drew Pinsky, Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Roxy Olin (The City)

Thursday: Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Laura Leighton (Melrose Place)

Friday: Michael Strahan (Brothers), Brody Jenner (The Hills), Angelo Cammarata, the world’s longest-serving bartender (age 95)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Rebecca Romijn (Eastwick)

Tuesday: Drew Barrymore, Rescue Ink

Wednesday: Heidi Klum (Project Runway), Brad Paisley

Thursday: Kate Walsh (Private Practice)

Friday: Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Jack Hanna, Roger Daltry

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: the most-famou movie-star couple IN THE WORLD, the most famous man IN THE WORLD, and the Chinese Oprah

Tuesday: Dr. Oz on prescription-pill addiction in America

Wednesday: Chris Rock on his film Good Hair

Thursday: “You’ll Never Give Up On a Dream After Seeing This Woman”

Friday: YouTube sensation and some kind of “nationwide search”, tba

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Teens and Parents Sex Summit

Tuesday: Driving Dangers: Put to the Test

Wednesday: Race in Your Face

Thursday: Tyra: Men’s Edition

Friday: Tyra After Dark

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: The Cleveland Show

Series name
The Cleveland Show

Debuts
Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox

Regularly airs
Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox

Premise
The softspoken Cleveland Brown from Family Guy gets divorced returns to his hometown with Cleveland Jr. and marries his high-school sweetheart and becomes step-dad to her two kids. The neighbour is a bear. Who wears a shirt and tie. So you’ll be glad to know it’s animated and that it’s not a real bear. It’s set in Stoolbend. Ha! Made you say Stoolbend! Just tryin to get in the spirit of this thing.

Primary voice cast and crew
Mike Henry (Family Guy) is Cleveland Brown, the star and Rallo, Cleveland’s snarky new young step-son. Henry is also a writer.
Sanaa Lathan (The Family That Preys) is Donna Tubbs, the new wife.
Kevin Michael Richardson (Family Guy, American Dad) is Lester/Cleveland Jr.
Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, FlashForward) is Tim the neighbour bear, as well as Family Guy’s Peter, Brian and Stewie. MacFarlane is also writer/producer.

But what do I know anyway? After not having seen the pilot I predict…
I’ll give it a try, but my relationship with the original series, Family Guy, is a tortured one. Or, at least, I’m tortured. The Family Guy jokes, although they can sometimes make me laugh and then hate myself, often appear to be motivated not so much by story and character as by the rule of Because I Can, so vigorously applied by Seth MacFarlane, show exec.

Other reviews
The New Jersey Star-Ledger’s Alan Sepinwall observes that Cleveland, being a comedic straight man, might not be a large enough character to build a series on.

Mary McNamara at the L.A. Times says The Cleveland Show is indeed gentler than Family Guy, but also less funy.

Official website
Basic, but with good video, including enough of the first episode to make me feel more  encouraged to watch.

Twitter
The Cleveland character is guest tweeting on Fox’s Twitter account. Some but not all are search-marked #Cleveland. Sample tweet (in addition to some promo which involves tweets advising that Cleveland’s truck is in various cities with T-shirts to spare): “Cleveland says: Tried to call Donna “Shorty” today, but she didn’t appreciate it and now I’m sleepin’ on the couch.”

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
Trauma, sometime before its Monday-night premiere.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Ken Burns’ The National Parks (six-night miniseries)

Series name
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea

Debuts
Sunday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. ET on PBS

Regularly airs
Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009 through Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, every night at 8-10 p.m. ET (repeating at 10 p.m. ET; also each episode will be available online the day after broadcast through Oct. 9, 2009).

Premise
Ken Burns, who’s brought us massive, and massively good documentaries on the Civil War, baseball and jazz, now looks at the United States’ national parks. In addition to clocking the history of their creation, the 12-hour, six-night The National Parks looks also at the individuals — historical and contemporary — who helped create, and also later to save, the parks.

Primary cast and crew
Ken Burns (The War, Jazz, Baseball, The Civil War) directed and co-produced.
Duncan Dayton (Mark Twain, Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip) wrote and co-produced it.
Peter Coyote is the main narrator, with readings by Tom Hanks, Andy Garcia, Josh Lucas, Eli Wallach, Campbell Scott, Sam Waterston, John Lithgow, George Takei, Philip Bosco, Carolyn McCormick, Adam Arkin and Kevin Conway.

But what do I know anyway? After not having seen only the videos at pbs.org, I predict…
I predict without a shadow of a doubt that — while a ridiculous time committment, at two hours a night for six consecutive nights, Sunday through Friday — this will make my heart feel good. But — and you’ll want to know that more thana couple of critics have called this series a little too stuffy and ponderous — I’m in the mood for some contemplative TV-watching. Sure, there will likely be the “America!” moments that will have me momentarily grinding my teeth, as though natural beauty and its preservation were their very own inventions (the title, by the way, comes from the great writer Wallace Stegner, whose assessment I will not challenge), but I can deal. And to see what videos on the excellent website reveal to be excellent cinematography, on top of the usual outstanding archival finds, well that will be lovely. For a sample, I give you this video snippet on Hawaii, which starts with the words of Mark Twain in 1866, with contemporary footage: amazing to think that his words then still gorgeously, accurately describe peering into the fiery stops in what would become Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Amazing. And if six consecutive nights seems as daunting to you (and if the prospect of filling up the DVR with this series is as implausable to you during this crazy busy TV-watching season), remember that the series will also be online, but only until Oct. 9, and will be out on DVD Oct. 6.  My quibbles? Why six consecutive nights? More to the point, why September? Why not wait for later fall months when there are not dozens of shows premiering and returning for new seasons?

Other reviews
The New York Times’ Mike Hale says many will love this series, but says it’s a bit heady for his tastes, that the cinematography on Discovery channel is far superior than what we’ll find here and points out the almost complete absence of images of people actually using the parks. “It’s a brilliantly assembled and rigidly controlled artifact, voice after voice ringing small variations on a few themes (democratic ideals, American rootlessness, the rapaciousness of the white man). Along with the folksy music, it can have the effect, over 12 hours at a steady, unmodulated pace, of sucking the juice out of history, of embalming it rather than bringing it to life.” Interesting.

Levi Novey at the Huffington Post says if you watch only one episode, make it Wednesday’s, which covers the arrival of car travel and one couple’s pilgrimage via car and train through many parks.

But, from the glowingly positive side of the ledger, is Ken Tucker at Entertainment Weekly, who says you’re going to love it.

Official website
Video, photos, teaching guides… Full deal, nicely done.

Twitter
Mostly promo about the start date, but also putting out invitations to get involved: Got a story to share?

Facebook
Links to recent interviews, including Burns visit to the Colbert Report, reminders to tune in, some other interesting conversations, and excerpts (one ranger saying he hopes for nothing more than to see Snoop Dogg around a campfire).

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Fall 2009 winner of the first cancelled series is … Beautiful Life

The Beautiful Life has come to an end, winning the title of first series to be cancelled in the 2009 fall TV season, according to Reuters. Two episodes was apparently all the world could take of its look at the life of  models in New York. Mischa Barton, who had that trouble this summer that led to a hospital stay, was one of the stars and Ashton Kutcher (Punk’d) was the exec producer.

Anyone laying odds on which will be next to go? Hank, kicking off next week and starring Kelsey Grammer, is getting good “trouble” buzz.

Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Brothers

Series name
Brothers

Debuts
Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, repeating Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on Fox (note: one-hour premiere)

Regularly airs
Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox

Premise
Recently retired NFL star returns home to Houston to find his brother Chill is having a hard time keeping his restaurant afloat. Old sibling rivalry flares up. Parents try to get NFL star to stay for good.

Primary cast and crew
Michael Strahan (former New York Giant) is Mike, recently retired NFL star who has no intentions of moving back home.
Daryl Chill Mitchell (Ed, House Party, The Outside Man) is Chill, who runs (not very successfully) a resto-bar. He’s in a wheelchair after a car accident (much like Mitchell, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a motorcycle crash in 2001).
CCH Pounder (The Shield, Avatar, Law and Order: SVU) is Adele, mother and, soon, bartender.
Carl Weathers (The Shield, In the Heat of the Night, Tour of Duty) is Coach, the couch-lovin’ dad.
Lenny Clarke (Rescue Me) is Lenny. All I know.
Eric Tannenbaum (Sit Down and Shut Up, Two and a Half Men), Kim Tannenbaum (Sit Down and Shut Up, Two and a Half Men), Mitch Hurwitz (Sit Down and Shut Up, Arrested Development) and Don Reo (Everybody Hates Chris, My Wife and Kids) are exec producers and writers.

Buzz buzz
Kim Kardashian will guest star. Whoever she is. And Mike Tyson. I know who he is.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen only the trailer …
The bickering adult siblings gives me pause — not really interested in that — but CCH Pounder in a comedy? I might like that.

Other reviews
Robert Lloyd of the L.A. Times likes it, more or less. “Once you factor out the pilot’s worst tics — the old-folks-getting-busy-while-the-kids-are-out jokes, Weathers’ recurring observations on men shaving their pubic hair, and jokes about the gap in Strahan’s teeth — there is much to like.”

Robert Bianco of USA Today likes it also.

Kelly Woo at AOL.tv loves the cast, but wishes it were in another sitcom.

Official website
Basic: bios, some behind the scenes videos.

Facebook
Looks like straight promo. Not much fan or even “fan” postings in evidence. For what that’s worth.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: FlashForward

Update Friday Sept. 25: After having watched Thursday’s pilot episode, I have three thoughts.
1. Despite what I’d seen in the preview, I had hoped the FBI agents in L.A. weren’t really going to attempt to solve this global crisis without contacting any other law enforcement agency, but that appears to be the silly case. And — this just in — they are going to save the world by creating a website. Lemme know how that works out. A series doesn’t have to be a slave to realism, but it does have to be believable. This save the world aspect was ridiculous.
2. However, I did mostly like it: the Oceanic billboard on a freeway overpass (iIn the dark? It’s a Lost thing. Get googlin’.). And Seth Macfarlane of Family Guy fame playing an FBI agent? Odd, but wth.
3. I was loving how the Boyfriend, called in to action to be a second dispassionate set of eyes, positively hated the entire thing. Some people! You ask them to be critics and it’s criticize this, criticize that. But the price you and I will pay for his assessment is that I have to write and you have to read the quote he has approved for publication: “If FlashForward is the future of TV, I’m getting a gym membership.”

Now then, what did you think of FlashForward? dd

Series name
FlashForward

Debuts
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and A Channel, repeating Friday at 8 p.m. ET on same

Regularly airs
Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and A Channel

Premise
Not so much based on as inspired by the 1998 scifi novel of the same name by Canadian Robert Sawyer, FlashForward is about what happens after everyone on Earth blacks out at the same time, each seeing a vision of the future. Or “a” future. Ah, there’s the rub. The pivotal questions: “What did you see?” and then, “Now, what do you do, or not do?”

The difference between the series and the novel, which has just been re-issued:
Both are set in 2009. The series narrows the book’s time frame: Instead of the novel’s characters seeing 21 years into the future, the characters in the series black out for 2 minutes 17 seconds and see events six months hence, on April 29, 2010. Also, the series focusses on familiar film and TV action figures — law enforcement types and doctors — and appears to be mapping out their personal and professional responses to the event. The novel (thinly written, hilariously politically incorrect, but containing a great central story)  is populated by brilliant but epically tedious, though remarkably sex-obsessed physicists and centres more on questions of fate (Is the seen future unchangeable? Is seeing the future, and acting on that knowledge, part of fate? Is your brain hurting yet?).

Primary cast and crew
Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) is Mark Benford, FBI agent (and recovering alcoholic) who is engaged in a high-speed car chase in downtown L.A. at the moment of the blackout.
John Cho (Star Trek, Harold and Kumar movies) is Demetri Noh, Benford’s partner, also in the car during the blackout.
Jack Davenport (Swingtown) is Lloyd Simcoe
Zachary Knighton (Related, Life on a Stick) is Bryce Varley, doctor with a new perspective.
Peyton List as Nicole Kirby
Dominic Monaghan (Lost) is Simon, who appears in episode 5 or 6.
Brian O’Byrne (Brotherhood, Oz) is Aaron Stark, who comes to dangling from his work harness high on an electrical pole. He is Benford’s sponsor and fellow-recovering alcoholic.
Courtney B. Vance (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, ER) is Stanford Wedeck, FBI boss, who’s is captured in several of the ABC site’s promos urging his L.A. agents to put the world at ease by finding out what happened.
Sonya Walger (Lost, ) is Olivia Benford, Mark’s surgeon wife, who is in the operating room at the moment of blackout.
Brannon Braga (24, Enterprise, Voyager) and David S. Goyer (Threshhold, Blade, Batman Begins, the Dark Knight) are creators/writers/exec producers

Buzz buzz
The next Lost, with less dense storytelling and so less viewer frustration and, fingers crossed, more viewers.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen only the 17 minute “first look” on the ABC site …
Well, I tried to get a copy of the entire first episode. I really did. Several email pleas to A Channel, as a matter of fact. In response, a copy of the book arrived on Tuesday (!), though I am almost done listening to the audio book anyway. Alas, I am as helpless as you poor schlubs in the face of the massive hype and promotion for this series. The promise that this is the next Lost? I’ll buy that. What I’ve seen of the first episode looks very Lost-ish: just as Dr. Jack woke up disoriented in the jungle and soon stumbled upon a plane wreckage on the beach while people and a large engine screamed, FBI Agent Mark Benford wakes up in a car and soon stumbles onto a freeway choked with screaming hysterics, exploding vehicles and destruction as far as the eye can see. Then, flashing back four hours. Dominic Monaghan and Wonya Walger on the cast list … So, definitely some similarities. There have been adamant promises of not allowing the story or storytelling to become as dense and demanding as on Lost. Whatever. I can’t imagine not being rivetted. I will be watching with the very jaded Boyfriend, who is quite resistant to hype machines of most sorts. Then, as with all series, the test will be over the next four episodes or so. Is it more soap or complex, well-told drama? I’m hoping for the latter.

Other reviews
Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times is smitten and has already begun Lost-ish connections from the series to Joan of Arc and … Rodney King?

Jace at televisionaryblog.com has a very sturdy review with links to the original script for the pilot and detailed commentary on the strengths and flaws of the first episode. Shows great promise, says Jace.

And because Denise Duguay is almost as big on pushing books as Oprah Winfrey, here’s a link to excerpts of reviews of Sawyer’s book.

Official website
Good video, including a 17-minute sneak peek of the Sept. 24 premiere, plus basics. But tucked in at the right is a link to the Mosaic Collective, which is the data collection project started in the series (and novel) to collect and cross reference what people saw during the global blackout. I’ve added my flashforward vision. Yes, I know, I know.

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
I’m not looking forward to it, but it’s time to prepare for the sitcom Brothers.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Modern Life

Series name
Modern Family

Debuts
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and City, repeating Friday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and City

Regularly airs
Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and City

Premise
A faux documentary about the days in the lives of three families: a gay male couple who’ve recently adopted, an old grump with a young wife and a 30-something couple with kids and lots of schedules and rules. Sound mundane? Just wait.

Primary cast and crew
Ed O’Neill (Married with Kids) is Jay, grumpy man made happier by his young wife. Slightly happier.
Julie Bowen (Ed, Lost) is Claire, harried mother.
Ty Burrell (Back to You, National Treasure) is Phil, harried father.
Sofía Vergara (Dirty Sexy Money) is Gloria, pop tart younger wife.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (The Class, Do Not Disturb) is Mitchell, gay dad.
Eric Stonestreet (Bones, NCIS) is Cameron, the other gay dad.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen only a couple of trailers, I predict…
Well, I have been reading and this is one of the most highly regarded new shows. So who am I to resist the momentum. A++! Although I suppose I should hold off on the second “+” until I actually see it for myself. Which I will do.

Other reviews
The Hollywood Reporter fairly gushes: “Long on heart, brimming with great characters, smartly cast, expertly written and funny from start to finish, “Family” is the obvious choice for best new fall comedy — and possibly best series.”

Tim Goodman over at the San Francisco Chronicle is also smitten: “Modern Family is politically incorrect and viciously spot-on in its send-ups of parents, kids, friends, family in general and, well, pretty much everyone”

Official website
Looks like some potential fun, but first, I must tame the jaysus computer, which does not like abc.com at the moment.

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
FlashForward, asap. Premieres Thursday.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Cougar Town with Courteney Cox

Series name
Cougar Town

Debuts
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009 at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC and City, repeating Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC and City

Regularly airs
Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC and City

Premise
Wizened hag of 40 something is dared by a friend to start having fun again five months after her divorce. So she hits the hay with younger men. And offers then crackers and peanut butter. And not in a kinky way.

Primary cast and crew
Courteney Cox (Friends, Scrubs, Dirt) is Jules, successful divorcee with horrible, horrible elbow skin. Such a hag.
Busy Philipps a (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, ER) is Laurie, the friend who gets her into the cougaring game.
Christa Miller (Scrubs) is her other best friend.
Josh Hopkins (Swingtown) is Grayson, the divorced guy across the street from Jules. They rub each other the wrong way. On the surface. Which sounds a bit dirty.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen only the trailer …
I like it. Courteney Cox is fun, although her trauma at discovering pinchy elbow skin? Seriously? However, not sure how much suspension of disbelief I am willing to put into buying Courteney Cox as a mother of an older teenager. Definite maybe. But then again, Wednesday is a busy night on my DVR.

Other reviews
Alan Sepinwall of the New Jersey Star Ledger wisely observes that, while he likes the show and its chances, “Cougar Town has to walk a very careful line between making fun of the cougar concept and embracing it.”

Ken Tucker at ew.com says it manages to make its sex-starved storyline funny rather than vulgar and creepy. He gives it a B.

Official website
Still having the computer problems. Sorry. Will update.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Mercy

Series name
Mercy

Debuts
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and City

Regularly airs
Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and City

Premise
Nurse Jackie, the recently-wrapped great cable series starring Edie Falco, gets carbon copied into an ER template, with a little Grey’s Anatomy PTSD a la Dr. Owen Hunt.

Primary cast and crew
Taylor Schilling is Veronica Callahan, nurse just returned to hospital duty from war with a little baggage and a lot of attitude.
Jamie Lee Kirchner (Just Legal, CSI) is Sonia Jimenez, her chippy nurse colleague.
Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl, Six Feet Under) is Chloe Payne, brand new nurse who is puppies and sunshine and who should not at all be confused with Nurse Jackie’s newby nurse character called Zoey. Crazy talk.
James Tupper (Men in Trees) is Dr. Chris Sands, new to the hospital and also just back from war. He’s headed to the linen closet with Veronica.
Delroy Lindo (Kidnapped) is hospital boss Dr. Alfred Parks.
Guillermo Diaz (Weeds) is Angel Lopez, nurse.
Liz Heldens (Friday Night Lights) exec produces.

Buzz buzz
Originally intended as a midseason show, it might not be cooked yet in the middle.

But what do I know anyway? After not having seen the pilot, I’ve got a feeling …
Maybe it’s the unrelenting ads pairing Veronica, nurse saviour, with Law & Order: SVU’s Olivia, police protector but I’m sick of this show before I see it. I suppose my ER jones will drive me to try it out, but seems shockingly unoriginal.

Other reviews
USA Today also sees the similarities to Nurse Jackie, and says, quite cleverly, that “No Mercy should be shown.”

Robert Lloyd, at the L.A. Times, counsels patience. It’s good, he says.

Official website
Videos, photos, nurse trivia game and, coming soon!, an interactive nursing station.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Eastwick with Paul Gross and Rebecca Romijn

Series name
Eastwick

Debuts
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC

Regularly airs
Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC

Premise
Three women in cutest small town make a wish at the cutest town fountain and suddenly experience new confidence and each a special power. Then Paul Gross comes to town talking a lot like Jack Nicholson, but with a more dated hairstyle. Based, of course, on the novel and film The Witches of Eastwick, which is where the Nicholson stuff comes from, I guess.

Primary cast and crew
Jaime Ray Newman (Mental, Eureka) is Kat Gardener, a nurse and mother of five with some weather issues.
Lindsay Price (Lipstick Jungle) is Joanna Frankel, newspaper writer who is suddenly very influential.
Rebecca Romijn (Ugly Betty) is Roxie Tercoletti, mother, artist, dreamer.
Sara Rue (The Big Bang Theory, Less Than Perfect) is Penny, who feels a little threatened that she’s lost her former BFF Joanna to her witchy new friends and the strange new Nicholsonesque character in town.
Paul Gross (Due South) is Darryl Van Horne, aka Nicholsoneque character who has just bought… everything in town.
Veronica Cartwright (The Nine) is Bun Waverly, head of the local historical society. Not a big fan of ants. Or Darryl.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot …
I thought I would like this more, but although Romijn is pretty solid as the central character, and there seems to be some intrigue coming up, it’s … flat. Gross is particularly flat, or is written flat. (And is it just me or is he suppressing his natural charm by doing Nicholson?) Maybe things will loosen up in the next few episodes?

Other reviews
The Hollywood Reporter agrees, saying “the spell is weak but there’s a chance for wicked good times.”

Variety, however, loves it.

Official website
I’m having computer issues, but the video crashed my browser twice so I’m giving it a pass.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: The Good Wife

Series name
The Good Wife

Debuts
Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS and Global, repeating Saturday at 10 p.m. on CBS

Regularly airs
Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS and Global

Premise
State’s attorney resigns after being caught with hooker and later convicted of misusing public funds, although he is seeking an appeal. Wife stands by her man, just as you’ve seen in any number of scandals involving elected officials, and then she moves on, getting a job at a law firm a dozen years after dropping her career to devote her energies to her husband’s political career. So, a legal drama with ongoing estranged spouse-seeking-exoneration storyline. Set in Chicago, home of shamed ex-governor Rod Blagojevich, although this was dreamed up before his public shaming.

Primary cast and crew
Julianna Margulies (ER) is Alicia Florrick, wife of the philandering ex-state’s attorney.
Christine Baranski (Cybill) is Diane Lockhart, senior partner at the law firm now employing Alicia and her self-professed mentor and, soon, competitor.
Josh Charles (In Treatment, Sports Night) is Will Gardner, head of the law firm, longtime friend and former law-school pal to Alicia.
Archie Panjabi (Personal Affairs, A Mighty Heart) is Kalinda, the law firm’s acerbic investigator.
Matt Czuchry (Friday Night Lights, Gilmore Girls) is Cary, the other newby at the law firm competing with Alicia for the lone spot. They have six months to prove themselves.
Michelle and Robert King (In Justice) are exec producers.

Buzz buzz
Major, mostly positive.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot I do declare …
This is the best show I’ve seen so far. Great ripped-from-the-headlines setup, with excellent development following. Julianna Margulies’s character acknowledges the slightly awkward box she inhabits — as a mature woman, she knows things that neither junior lawyers nor workaholic male colleagues can know — but doesn’t hammer home the wisdom of women, as another less confident character (and series) might. Great to see Josh Charles again, so great in Sports Night and In Treatment; and do I sense tension between them? Nice also to see that the husband’s attempt at clearing his name will be threaded through at least a few episodes.

Other reviews

Alessandra Stanley says, in the New York Times, that The Good Wife is gold. “Television dramas rarely do very well with the underbelly of politics … The West Wing idealized the White House, Spin City affectionately spoofed City Hall, but mostly politicians are typecast as cads and criminal suspects on shows like Law & Order. The Good Wife takes its cue from real life, not just the headlines, and is all the better for it.”

Even gamer-boy site IGN calls it a smash, acknowledging that most of the site’s readers would not likely seek out an older-woman-coming-into-her-own series, “But at the very least, you ought to call up your mom and suggest she check it out. This show deserves it.”

Official website
Bios, some behind-the-scenes and promo video (some playable with Canadian IP addresses), clumsy photo gallery, and a blog by Cary, Alicia’s competitor at the firm, which is good, but already dated. It has only one post, supposedly the day Cary found out he’d landed the job. Nothing since. Gotta blog regularly, buster.

Twitter
Nine tweets, no conversation. Wouldn’t this be a good spot for “Cary” to microblog? Or maybe he can get the clerk he shares with Alicia to tweet for him?

Facebook
Some video, some fan gushing.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: NCIS: Los Angeles

Series name
NCIS: Los Angeles

Debuts
Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and Global

Regularly airs
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and Global

Premise
Spinoff to the Mark Harmon-led navy-ish crime procedural NCIS.

Primary cast and crew
Chris O’Donnell (Grey’s Anatomy, Head Cases) is Special Agent “G” Callen, soft-spoken boss.
LL Cool J (In the House) is Special Agent Sam Hanna, action man with many cool gadgets.
Linda Hunt (The Unit, Without a Trace) is Hetty Lange, boss woman.

Buzz buzz
LL Cool J wrote a song for the show. Here’s the vid for NCIS: No Crew Is Superior.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot I declare …
The original NCIS never really did it for me. This feels a little weaker and while I’m sure it will grown in confidence and story vigour, I won’t be there to see it. Cool gadgetry though.

Other reviews
N.Y. Daily News’ David Hinckley says it’s not bad, but not quite there yet.

Barry Garron gets in a good line, saying in the Hollywood Reporter that NCIS Los Angeles “is little more than an updated version of The A-Team of the 1980s”. Snap.

Official website
Basic, with some videos that play for Canadian IP addresses and others — music vid by LL Cool J — that don’t. Lame, hard to advance gallery of set photos.

Twitter
Strictly promotion for the show, but there was a link to a making-of LL’s new video, NCIS: No Crew is Superior which was … back at the show’s site and still blocked. Jaysus.

Facebook
Lots of ooey-gooey fan gushing.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: The Forgotten

Click here to watch a 20-minute preview.

The Forgotten (new), 10 p.m. ET on ABC
Drama about crew that works to put names to unidentified remains. Christian Slater stars.

Series name
The Forgotten

Debuts
Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC

Regularly airs
Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC

Premise
Each member of a group of volunteers has a different motivation for identifying John or Jane Doe cold cases on which the police have thrown up their hands, but they’re fiercely devoted to putting a name or identity to each victim and pursuing the killers.

Primary cast and crew
Christian Slater (My Own Worst Enemy) is Alex Donovan, leader, former detective and father of a missing daughter. So, how does he make a living now?
Michelle Borth (Tell Me You Love Me, Supernatural) is Candace Butler, who is helping the network because … she is a “headstrong” woman bored with her office job. Wha?
Heather Stephens (Desperate Housewives, Lost Highway) is Lindsey Drake, high-school teacher trying to repay a debt to society owed by her criminal husband.
Bob Stephenson (Without a Trace, Jericho) is Walter Bailey, phone company worker and true-crime enthusiast. Klutzy genius. And who’s that in the photo clipped to his car visor? You should have watched the 20-minute preview! Click the link at the top of the page.
Anthony Carrigan (The Undying) is Tyler Davies, medical-school dropout satisfying a court order to perform community service. Oh, and he’s an artist, who will soon use his skills to do facial reconstruction. I smell redemption!
Rochelle Aytes (Madea’s Family Reunion, White Chicks) is Detective Grace Russell, Donovan’s former protege and now main link to the Chicago police department.
Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI x 100, Cold Case) is exec producer.

Buzz buzz
Best line I’ve heard in a TV series so far this fall season: “Rock on, Shaggy.”

But what do I know anyway? After having seen only the 20-minute preview on ABC’s website (link above) I do declare …
Signature Bruckheimer slickness in the look and story. The weight appears to be shouldered fairly evenly, with a slightly heavier load borne by Slater, but not so heavy that he’s ripping the scenery to smithereens as in My Own Worst Enemy. Formulaic, but a contender. Although I could do without the nameless victim’s narration. And why is a facial reconstruction in clay, then recast in rubber, such a rallying point for this group? Wouldn’t a sketch — especially since they hand out flyers — be just as valuable and a fraction as expensive and time-consuming? Oh, wait. It’s BRUCKheimer. Coolness. Ah, right.

Other reviews
Brill Bundy at zap2it calls this, predictably, “utterly forgettable” and straight from the Bruckheimer “blender”.

Over at usatoday.com, Robert Bianco says it has “good actors working for a proven producer in a proven format. That may not guarantee you a great show, but it could bring you a sturdy piece of weekly entertainment.”

Official website
Very basic, but the videos play for Canadian IP addresses. Small wonder, though, that the site doesn’t better promote the 20-minute teaser. It was the second video in the player which I assumed was full of more trailers.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD: the fall-premiere-season edition

So as you might have noticed, the fall TV season is upon us. I am previewing, in my own haphazard and careless way, as many new shows as I can choke out. So my DVD coverage is suffering a bit.

Here’s a list, just a list, of some TV releases new this week on DVD. I hope you can forgive me.

30 Rock: Season 3
CSI: Season 9
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Series
Castle: Season 1
Being Erica: Season 1
The Mentalist: The Complete First Season
Law & Order: SVU: Year 10
Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 2
Hot Fuzz (Blu-ray)
Brotherhood: The Final Season
CSI: Season 9

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Accidentally on Purpose with Jenna Elfman

Trailer? No luck so far. Worrisome? But here’s this interview with star Jenna Elfman.

Series name
Accidentally on Purpose

Debuts
Monday, Sept. 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS and City

Regularly airs
Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS and City

Premise
Thirty-something film critic dumps her boss boyfriend and gets pregnant after a fling with a  much younger one night stand, decides to keep the baby. And the younger man, platonically.

Primary cast and crew
Jenna Elfman (Dharma and Greg) is Billie, the film critic.
Jon Foster (Windfall, Life as We Know It) is Zack, slacker baby daddy who hopes to become a real chef.
Grant Show (Private Practice, Swingtown) is James, newspaper boss with commitment issues.
Claudia Lonow (Cashmere Mafia) and Gene Stein (Less Than Perfect, The Geena Davis Show) are exec producers.

Buzz buzz
Jenna Elfman is pregnant in her show and in real life!

But what do I know anyway? After NOT having seen the pilot I predict…
I found Dharma and Greg kinda cute. Expect the same appeal here, with the added bonus of Grant Show. Since I haven’t seen it, that’s about all I can muster right now, but if YouTube has no trailers or promos, that can’t be a good sign.

Other reviews
ign.com, the media site f or gamers, says this series is not for its demographic of young males. Or for older males. Or any one but older women dreaming of being cougars. Well then!

In his piece about CBS shows Accidentally on Purpose and The Good Wife, written during the L.A. preview of both shows, the Globe and Mail’s John Doyle called AOP “so-so”.

Lots of critics are cranking about Accidentally on Purpose, but zap2it’s Brill Bundy says give it a chance. It, Bundy says,  is suffering from the same critic group think that pegged Big Bang Theory for early death when it premiered in fall 2007. And look at it now: Jim Parsons is widely recognized as a very strong performer and the show has momentum to spare.

Official website
Basic, with lots of videos Canadian IPs can’t view. Phooey.

Twitter (show) and for Elfman
Show twitter account is very thin (eight tweets, feh!). Elfman’s own tweets (note it’s not yet verified by Twitter, but is retweeted on the show site) are mostly promotional, with the occasional “I’m awake (at) 5a with pregnancy insomnia, reading from you on my Twitter that I am not running my own page. Is it settled now?”

Facebook
Am I right to be suspicious that most of the updates on the Fbook page are by the show itself, although there are also fan updates (of course, they love it and love that Elfman is really pregnant and love that Foster has a new show, etc.)

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
Sept. 22 premieres NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife, The Forgotten. Soon.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Emmy winners and a bad case of Mad Men-itis

So here’s the full list of Emmy winners, but if you missed the Sunday-night gala, I can advise that you didn’t miss much. After I finally found a bit of red carpet coverage on CNN (a three-way split screen in which one screen was apparently linked to either a very drunk camera operator or a dog with a wandering eye for human legs), I ;tuned to the actual show on CTV and CBS was a little startled by the opening musical number in which host Neil Patrick Harris pleaded again and again and again for me to put down the remote. True, the Emmy awards broadcast was under a lot of pressure to increase last year’s record-low audience, but addressing the problem by saying “Please don’t go away”? How about giving me a reason not to stray?

The larger issue is not the awards show itself, but the fact that the Emmys are obsessing in their nominations and awards about shows that very few people are watching (Mad Men and 30 Rock were named best shows, and took home armfuls of Emmys and neither have crazy high ratings). I have to credit a piece in The National Post today for focussing my crankiness.

I suppose I could accept that Mad Men, 30 Rock and even Breaking Bad (it’s an AMC show that is so far not been made available to Montreal AMC-free cable) get all the attention at Emmy time if there was nothing else of quality on the big four networks: Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS. But that is not the case. Take House, which returns tonight, after a Sixth Sense season finale that I’ve watched three times now. Same with Fringe, which is not Proust, but has a story hook and is learning to use it more and more wisely. And what about Lost? Too dense? Okay, but very well-controlled storytelling. And those are just three of my current faves. Acting? How about a little love for Nathan Fillion in Castle? William Petersen, formerly of CSI? Or Jim Parsons of Big Bang Theory? Julia Louis Dreyfuss in The New Adventures of Old Christine? Does it take Mad Men-esque tumblers of whiskey, cigarettes and starchy early 1960s wardrobes for these shows and actors to get some respect? And, by connection, the respect of the viewers who watch these shows not because they’re zombies with no appreciation for the dramatic arts but because the performances are vigorous and the writing is engaging? Not all art is high art. Wake up Emmys.

But what about the rest of the Emmy show? Actually, not too bad, although I admit to wandering away to do a couple of chores and phone calls. Harris ran a tight ship, only four minutes past the 11 p.m. ET deadline. He milked his supporting-actor-in-a-comedy loss to Two and A Half Men’s Jon Cryer, but didn’t overdo it. He also did a fun bit as his Dr. Horrible character, accompanied by Fillion, on the Internet future of television. And then, he mostly stayed out of the way.

In the ad lib department, a big “Nice try” goes out to most of the nominees for the best supporting actress in a comedy for donning funny glasses for their audience shots as the winner was announced, and a big phooey to Vanessa Williams who shook her head no to the glasses. Geez. Best shot of uncontained, outraged surprise by a nominee at having been passed up has to go to The Office’s Rainn Wilson (losing, like Harris, to Cryer). But the best moment goes to Sarah Silverman, who sported a spectacularly sophisticated moustache when caught by the camera as her name was read; she was nominated for her own show for best lead actress in a comedy and lost to the wonderful Toni Collette for the Showtime/Movie Network great The United States of Tara.

But that’s just me. What’d you think of the Emmys?

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Sept. 21-25: Obama and Letterman save America

It’s so great to get past the summer reruns and back to business as usual on the talk-show circuit, where, this week, the spectrum goes from “Former Child Star Mackenzie Phillips’ Stunning Revelations” (Oprah on Wednesday) to U.S. President Barack Obama conscripts David Letterman to calm a health-care hysterical American nation (tonight on the Late Show). Good grief. Makes last week’s Talk-show tango subject — fear of a Jay Leno Show success at 10 p.m. — seem a little tame. I’m not sure how that Jay Leno thing worked out. Did anyone make it through even one episode? Hello? Robert Seidman on tvbythenumbers.com comments that although Leno’s ratings slid predictably last week after his prime-time debut, this week will be more telling, especially with CBS rolling out season premieres of its big shows all week long.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: President Barack Obama

Tuesday: former president Bill Clinton, Lebron James (More Than a Game)

Wednesday: Simon Baker (The Mentalist), Mary J. Blige

Thursday: Craig Ferguson (American on Purpose), Snow Patrol

Friday: Bruce Willis (Surrogates), LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles), Noisettes

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Marg Helgenberger (CSI), Dule Hill, Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears

Tuesday: Reba McEntire, Dave Annable

Wednesday: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ken Tucker, Arctic Monkeys

Thursday: Jason Schwartzman (Bored to Death), Angela Kinsey

Friday: Ted Danson (Bored to Death), Chris Miller and Phil Lord

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Jennifer Garner, Barney Frank

Tuesday: Pee Wee Herman, Amy Poehler

Wednesday: Vince Vaughn, Bob Costas

Thursday: Rush Limbaugh, Smokey Robinson

Friday: Hugh Laurie, Lebron James

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Ricky Gervais, “Chicken” Charlie Boghosian, Lynyrd Skynyrd

Tuesday: Robecca Ronijn, Lisa Lanpanellil, Monsters of Folk

Wednesday: Martin Short, Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Wynonna

Thursday: tba, Joel McHale (Community), India Arie

Friday: Teri Hatcher, Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Clive Owen, Joanna Garcia, Living Colour (R)

Tuesday: Seth Meyers, Chris Paul

Wednesday: Amy Poehler, Dan Fogler, Parkour Atheletes

Thursday: Megan Fox, Anthony Anderson, Phoenix

Friday: Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Kevin Smith

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: repeat

Tuesday: Robin Williams, Bobcat Goldthwait, Matt & Kim

Wednesday: David Duchovny (Californication), Carmelo Anthony, Kid Cudi

Thursday: Coureney Cox (Cougar Town), Jessica Capshaw, Dancing with the Stars castoffs

Friday: Rob Lowe (Brothers & Sisters), Lisa Lampanelli, Tommy Lasorda

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Bill Clinton (R)

Tuesday: Vali Nasr (Forces of Fortune: The Rise of hte New Muslim Middle Class and What It Will Mean for Our World)

Wednesday: Tom Ridge (The Test of Our Times: America Under Seige … And How We Can Be Safe Again)

Thursday: Rod Blagojevich (The Governor), former Illinois governor

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: The Flaming Lips (R)

Tuesday: Shai Agassi, electric car entrepreneur

Wednesday: AJ Jacobs (The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment)

Thursday: Ken Burns (The National  Parks: America’s Best Idea)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Tony Bennett

Tuesday: Malcolm Gladwell

Wednesday: tba

Thursday:

Friday:

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: tba

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), David Gray

Tuesday: Christian Slater (The Forgotten), LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles)

Wednesday: Clive Owen, Melina Kanakaredes (CSI: New York)

Thursday: Laurence Fishburne (CSI), Whitney Port

Friday: Jeff Probst (Survivor)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Alexandra Wentworth co-hosts, Lebron James (More Than a Game)

Tuesday: Mika Brzeninski co-hosts, Paula Deen, Craig Ferguson (American on Purpose)

Wednesday: E.D. Hill co-hosts, Simon Baker (The Mentalist), Julie Bowen (Modern Family)

Thursday: E.D. Hill co-hosts, Chynna Phillips, Joseph Fiennes (Flash Forward), Michael Moore (Capitalism: A Love Story)

Friday: Hugh Jackman (A Steady Rain), Liz Smith, Candace Bergen

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Queen Latifah (Persona), Aaron Carter (Dancing with the Stars)

Tuesday: Chris O’Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles), Wayne Dyer (Excuses Begone), Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds)

Wednesday: Betty White, Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race), Jeff Ross (I Only Roast the Ones I Love)

Thursday: Dana Delany (Desperate Housewives), Naturi Naughton (Fame), Sam Tsui

Friday: David Duchovny (Californication), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer)

Tuesday: Jennifer Garner (The Invention of Lying), Paolo Nutini

Wednesday: Courteney Cox (Cougar Town), Ricky Gervais (The Invention of Lying), Jessie James

Thursday: Christina Applegate (breast-cancer-fundraising campaign Lee National Denim Day), The Noisettes

Friday: Cheryl Burke and Tom Delay, Patricia Arquette (Medium)

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Oprah Goes Back in Time — the ’60s (with Jon Hamm and January Jones from Mad Men)

Tuesday: America’s First Face Transplant and the Only Living Mermaid Girl

Wednesday: Former Child Star Mackenzie Phillips’ Stunning Revelations

Thursday: Icon Jay-Z and Living Legend Barbra Streisand

Friday: Oprah Live (and if you missed last Friday’s next book-club selection, click here)

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Kathy Griffin

Tuesday: Hell to Pay: Gay Teen Exorcism

Wednesday: You Gust Gave Birth — What No One Tells You

Thursday: Serena Williams, Michael Strahan and Nelly Furtado

Friday: Stephanie Pratt’s Battle with Bulimia

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Bored to Death with Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson

N.B. You can also watch the first episode online, although the link will probably be disconnected soon.

Series name
Bored to Death

Debuts
Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009 at 9:30 p.m. ET on HBO Canada

Regularly airs
Sundays at 9:30 p.m. ET on HBO Canada

Premise
Writer unsuccessfully trying to write a second novel is dumped by his girlfriend who says he drinks too much (although in his defence, it IS just white wine) and smokes too much pot. So he, inspired by his hero Philip Marlowe of Raymond Chandler fame, puts an ad on Craigslist offering private detective services. He gets calls and does his best, which is not very good at all. His friends, an equally socially inept graphic novelist and his magazine editor, try to be  helpful but they’re really also self-absorbed.

Primary cast and crew

Jason Schwartzman (The Darjeeling Limited) is Jonathan Ames, writer,white wine addict/pothead paralyzed at the prospect of attempting a second novel, so much so that his girlfriend has dumped him.
Ted Danson (Damages, Curb Your Enthusiasm) is George Christopher, Jonathan’s magazine editor boss, insanely rich, who depends on Jonathan to listen to his faux wisdom, do the occasional magazine article and bring him pot.
Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) is Ray Hueston, Jonathan’s confidant and a comic-book author.
Jonathan Ames is the creator/executive producer.

Buzz buzz
Next. Big. Thing. 

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the first three episodes I do declare…
The Jonathan character, played by Jason Schwartzman, is very irritating in his clueless, self-absorbed awkwardness. And yes, I know he’s supposed to be clueless and that I, as an enlightened, postmodern TV watcher, am supposed to rise above the irritation and see this anti-character as deconstructedly brilliant. I am supposed to be hip. But I am not so hip, it turns out. I don’t need to be spoonfed, but I’m not always in a mood to work at loving a TV show. Zach Galifianakis is, although brilliant, also a little tiresome as Jonathan’s graphic novelist friend. In fairness, there are great moments in Bored to Death. The cluelessness is occasionally funny, although overdone, like, done to death (ha). Ted Danson is great as a filthy rich hedonist with not enough life skills to feed his appetite on his own. The guest stars are off the charts good. Kristen Wiig had me howling with her scary-crazy take on a Chandleresque dame (Episode 2). And Jim Jarmusch has a couple of brief but fun scenes in Episode 3. So, yes, I watched all three preview episodes sent to me by HBO. But will I keep watching? Not sure.

Other reviews
What a lovely, elegant, review in the New Yorker by Nancy Franklin, who likes it quite a bit, without all the gushing in other positive  reviews. Franklin says it’s a lovely snapshot of N.Y. elite and artists.

But not all New Yorkers love the show. The New York Daily News’ David Hinckley says he wanted to smack Jonathan upside the head.

Official website
The link above is for the HBO Canada website, which is basic (bios, episode guide), but the U.S. site has a few more bells and whistles, including postcards and creator Jonathan Ames’s blog: If you, like me, are growing tired of the hype for this show, and you’ve never heard of this Jonathan Ames guy, the real one who wrote the short story and then made it into this TV series starring a character named after himself, read his blog. Pretty good read from a guy I feared would be totaly impressed with himself: “… Now two-and-a-half years later, Jason Schwartzman is playing “Jonathan Ames.” I mean, this is all very strange. I may have created my own version of Being John Malkovich.”

Twitter
My god, this show is getting so much ink people will surely be … Bored to Death of it soon. No?

Facebook
Apparently lots of people have watched and loved the first episode in the online sneak peek (link’s at the top of the page), and at least one guy’s peeved he’ll have to wait another week for fresh Bored to Death. Also, anyone who thinks their unspellable last name is a hurdle to success should check out this Fbook page, because Zach Galifianakis’s fans don’t even try to spell his name correctly, using a variety of slacker profanities to tart it up. Oh you kids!

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
I’ll preview the new Jenna Elfman sitcom Accidentally On Purpose, which premieres Monday, Sept. 21, at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS and City.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Emmy predictions and the lost red carpet

The 61st edition of The Emmys — America’s celebration of the best, or at least “best” of television — kicks off Sunday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV and CBS. (And I should also remind you that Quebec TV’s Gemeaux awards are also being broadcast live on Sunday, starting a bit earlier, at 7:30 p.m. ET, on Radio-Canada. Gazette Show Biz Chez Nous columnist Brendan Kelly will report on those proceedings later in the evening at montrealgazette.com/arts)

Here are my Emmy predictions:

The big winner of the night: The audience, because Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) will be spectacular all on his own, but especially in comparison to last year’s collective of reality-show hosts. It still hurts to remember that pointed unfunnyness.

I have some other mindless predictions about major category winners and a link to a ballot and all that below, but first…

The big loser of the night: Lovers of catty red-carpet sniping, who also love to hate the stupid questions that giddy and stressed TV interviewers pelt at actresses trussed into chiffon and georgette and all other manner of couture torture. Why are we, I mean they, going to be losers Sunday night? Because I cannot — and please correct me if I’m wrong here; it has happened before — find a red carpet show other than Live at the Emmys from 6-8 p.m. ET, which is broadcast on Los Angeles local station KTLA, which I don’t currently subscribe to and will, I’m sure, require that I get a third job to pay for. CBS eases into the awards show with an episode of 60 Minutes, as though this were any old Sunday night, and CTV has Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory. Feh!

WTH? No red carpet for ordinary cable subscribers? Is this a joke? Am I losing perspective on what is important in life? … No, I’ve thought about it and a major awards show preshow, making petty comments about the unfortunate fashion choices and occasional red carpet victory is a staple, like cocktails, ripple chips, sour-cream-and-onion-soup-mix dip and and alternating phone calls to my mother and friend Anna Marie, both of whom can work up a good red-carpet tirade.

What’s a catty Emmy watcher to do, I guess, than wait and judge while they are either presenting or accepting awards. Again, feh! Hopefully, I will find news of a petty little jewel of a red-carpet show and will immediately share. I won’t be covering the awards per se; rather, I will be drunk dialing Mother and Anna Marie about the atrotious decolletage of what’s er name and missing the actually winners’ names altogether. You make your own fun. The winners will be everywhere by late Sunday, but I’ll try to at least post a list.

Here are some shallow, ill-considered predictions.   More importantly, here is a printable ballot of the major categories, for which I thank and direct you to support buzzsugar.com, who are promising substantial-Emmy night coverage. It’s an 8.5-by-11 inch pdf page. Perfect for your home printer.

And now:

Best drama: It will go to Mad Men, although parts of the second (nominated) season were quite drab. I’m rooting for House, which hits the mark almost every week.

Best comedy: It will go to 30 Rock, although that show sometimes leaves me a little cold. But I’d love for the winner to be How I Met Your Mother, which maintains a great comic ensemble and manages to keep reinventing the suspense of who the darn mother is.

Best actress in a drama: Elisabeth Moss probably will and should win for Mad Men. Her secretary turned ad woman is gorgeous in its constraint. The finale between her Peggy and Pete was breathtaking. (And her drug experimentation in this new season was hilarious and touching.)

Best actor in a drama: I’ll go with what will surely be the dramatic juggernaut of Mad Men and choose Jon Hamm. His ad man is perfect, even when he’s repulsive.

Best actress in a comedy: Will 30 Rock sweep in the comedy categories? I’m a bit over 30 Rock but I don’t think the Emmys are, so congrats, Tina Fey. But wouldn’t it be great if Toni Collette won for the cable series United States of Tara, about a woman with dissociative personality disorder (which you might remember for the ’60s and ’70s TV movies as split-personality disorder). Even better would be giving it to Christina Applegate, whose lovely little series Samantha Who! is now no more.

Best actor in a comedy: I have this feeling that Jim Parsons will take this one for Big Bang Theory and it wouldn’t make me yell at the TV. His fidgety nerd character and the series are surprisingly lovable.

And, cutting this short only because I have to get to my real (paying) job, I’ll finish with a mini-tirade:

Best writing for a comedy will go to 30 Rock (duh! it has four of the five nominations, with the other going to Flight of the Conchords. This is really a shameful state of affairs: one series, one nomination per category people! 30 Rock is not the only strongly written, intelligent comedy out there.)

Best writing for a drama will go to … well same situation here. Four of the five nominations are for Mad Men. WTH. How small. So it’ll probably go to Mad Men, which IS well-written, but many others are deserving of the credit, House and Dexter and Breaking Bad being only the front of the pack of strong writing in dramas. But I am pulling for Lost, another leading, well-written series, which is nominated for The Incident. Go Lost. And get lost Emmy nominators!

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Community with Joel McHale and Chevy Chase

Series name
Community

Debuts
Thursday, Sept. 17 at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBC

Regularly airs
Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET (after The Office)

Premise
Lawyer finds one of his degree has been revealed to be less than actual and so must go back to school, Greendale Community College to be exact, whereupon he spies a blonde (always with the blondes). To get close to her, he invites her to his “Spanish study group” (no brunette would ever fall for this, I’m just saying) and is startled to find that a whole  mob of, well, utter nerds, including Chevy Chase, show up. Absence of Spanish knowledge cannot kill this “community”: Yes, the theme is right there in the title!

Primary cast and crew
Joel McHale (E!’s sarcastic celeb news show Talk Soup) as Jeff, ex-lawyer, user of lame come-on lines.
Gillian Jacobs (The Book of Daniel) as Britta, the blonde who just wants to pass her Spanish exam.
Yvette Nicole Brown (The Ugly Truth, Boston Legal) as Shirley, snarky “middle-age divorcee”. I’m betting she is hiding a sensitive soul. Also daggers for Chase’s character.
Danny Pudi (Greek) as Abed, who is comically alleged to have Asperger’s Syndrome, which is not a burger for your… you know. You are SO juvenile. And so is using a syndrome for a one-liner. But I bet you’ll laugh.
Alison Brie (Pete’s wife on Mad Men) as Annie, a so-far ill-defined brunette used to draw out the blonde’s character. Because blondes need the assist. It’s just a theory.
Chevy Chase (Chuck, SNL) as Pierce, the oblivious bore who tries to trade on his infinite yet non-existent life wisdom and street smarts.
Donald Glover (30 Rock) as Troy, high-school sports star casting about for a Plan B.
John Oliver (The Daily Show) as Jeff friend and former client.
Ken Jeong (The Hangover) as Señor Chang, Spanish professor. Of course
Dan Harmon (The Sarah Silverman Program) is creator/exec producer and Joe and Anthony Russo (Arrested Development) are exec producers

Buzz buzz
McHale is popping up everywhere to promote this show. Nice smile, if a bit bright this early in the morning, right now on NBC’s Today show, as I write this.

But what do I know anyway? After having NOT seen the pilot I predict…
Shall I jinx this utterly by saying this looks too good to fail? The 4 minute 20 second trailer is about a quarter of the pilot and it looks very funny, even when you see it coming a mile off (the previously alluded-to Asperger’s joke), I still laughed out loud. But then again, I’ve just had a couple of espressos and this always makes me a little susceptible to sitcoms that create small artificial family groups that are loveable in their eccentricities. I do have a worry though, which means I need another dopio espresso: Chase is working my bad nerve with what, for him, is an all-too-familiar character: the socially oblivious bore. If the show writers and execs give and/or force this character to punch out the sides of its box, they might have something here.

Other reviews
New Jersey Star-Ledger’s Alan Sepinwall loves it: “I’ve seen the pilot episode at least four times already, in whole or in parts, and I laugh just as hard at the jokes now as I did the first time.”

Chuck Barney at the Chicago Tribute calls it a “Grade A” comedy.

Tim Goodman at the San Francisco Chronicle says McHale’s character and the pilot in general are strong, but says: “What may be harder for Community to pull off going forward is the feel-good notion of outcasts coming together.”

Official website
Cast/character bios and photos, videos that Canadians cannot watch (b’stards) and — shame! shame! — promising-looking categories Exclusives, Games and Take It that all come up “Coming soon!”. Hello! The show starts today.

Twitter
Kinda blah.

Facebook
Apparently the music playing in the background of all the promos is by Brooklyn’s Matt and Kim (who are playing Pop Montreal on Sept. 30. It’s called Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare and you can listen here.

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
Bored to Death some time before its Sunday premiere.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD: Get your Rx for medical soap on Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice

Shonda Rhimes has two TV series with season releases new on DVD this week. Private Practice is the newer and the less famous of the two, the first being Grey’s Anatomy. Overall, Season 2 of Private Practice was weaker than the first season, which followed Addison (red-headed Kate Walsh) from Grey’s Seattle Grace Hospital to a private clinic in California run by formerly married friends (Taye Diggs and Audra McDonald). A weak season because although it was adequately sudsy for a medical soap, it was casting about wildly for reasons to keep its characters overly involved in each other’s lives. The financial crisis at the clinic is an example. With as much chemistry as this cast has, there was no need to go so crazy with artificial plot boosters. Of the things they did very well: 1. twisted and turned and twisted again the romantic tension between best friends Violet (Amy Brenneman) and Coop (Paul Adelstein); 2. torqued the medical dilemma of the week (a decision that is discussed with great animation in one of the featurettes on Disc 6); and, best of all, orchestrated a crazy, thrilling finale. I won’t spill the beans in case you want the thrill yourself (no hurry, Season 3 doesn’t start until Oct. 1, on ABC), but will Coop come through? Warning: The last few minutes are quite grisly. I needed a swallow of Pepto.

I’ve already mentioned one of the extras on this six-disc DVD set. Another is thoroughly unexpected and lovely. DVD extras, as you might already know, are often a wasteland of actors blabbing away in scene commentaries revealing that they really do need a script to be entertaining. A bit harsh, but painfully true. Instead, wouldn’t it be fun to learn something interesting about one of the actors? Yes it would and thanks Private Practice DVD makers for thinking of it. Chris Lowell, who plays Dell, the ambitious receptionist and youngest piece of man candy on the show, is also quite the photographer. Life Through the Lens: The Pictures of Chris Lowell is a look at some of this black and white photos, taken on the set and around the world, some in jest and some in great earnestness. Lovely work. Lowell is interviewed, as are his adoring castmates, and they all get a little giddy, but it’s mostly sweet and sometimes downright funny. The capper is when Lowell looks directly in the camera and says, “To the 17 people who got lost someone in the DVD features on this disc, I really appreciate you watching.” But wait! There’s more! This featurette features music by Adelstein “from the Doris album, Between You and Me.” You might also, as I did, enjoy the bloopers. The series might have fallen a little off the track midway through Season 2, but there’s still enough mojo with this cast to keep me coming back for my regular dose of medical soap. Go ahead, judge me.

Hang on though. I say I like, even crave, medical soap operas, but I judge Grey’s Anatomy as too much? Yes, I am a mystery. Try to keep up. But seriously, Season 5 of Grey’s Anatomy is too soapy for soap! George? Buh-bye. T.R. Knight’s character has been drifting aimlessly for two seasons. Meredith’s sister Lexie? Grow a spine for pity sake. Denny? Buuuuuuh-bye. The less said the better when it comes to the ridiculous storyline about Izzie-and-Ghost-Denny-reuniting-but-it’s-really-a-brain-tumour. Izzy? Meh. The end of the season leaves it open whether she recovers from her brain-tumour surgery. Katherine Heigl has since signed on for a sixth season, but last week, People reported that Heigl has been given a leave of absence because she and husband Josh Kelly are adopting a Korean girl (as Heigl’s sister did).  As for Derek and Meredith? I’ve lost track. Do I want them to marry? Or to marry other people? Does it matter? Thank goodness Sara Ramirez’s Torres and Eric Dane’s McSteamy have such a great comic groove. And let’s also hear it for the struggling romance between Sandra Oh’s Yang and Kevin McKidd’s Hunt. I barely care enough to give this show another chance, but I’ll be rooting forr them when I tune in for the Season 6 launch on Sept. 24, from 9-11 p.m. ET on ABC and CTV.

As for the DVD set itself, the extras are kinda flat. The making-of the 100th episode bored me even after I started ignoring it to sort my coasters. The bloopers got a couple of barking laughs out of me, though. But there’s no telling you, is there. If you’ve read this far you’re a Grey’s goner and you’ll buy it/rent it anyway.

And here are a few other new releases of TV on DVD.
The Big Bang Theory: Season 2
Little Mosque on the Prairie: Season 2
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 4
Bonanaza: Official First Season
My Name Is Earl: Season 4
Route 66: Season 3, Vol. 1
Dark Shadows: The Vampire Curse
Fraggle Rock: The Complete Third Season
Miami Ink: Season 1
CSI Miami: The Seventh Season
– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Sept. 14-18: Jay Leno’s back at 10 p.m. ET tonight

(Tired of all this Jay Leno business? The regular listings are below. Just keep scrolling…)

I gotta start by saying I don’t get the appeal of Jay Leno. Yes, as I’ve read in a thousand articles in papers, magazines and online over the past few months, I can well believe that former Tonight Show host Jay Leno is a really nice guy. Conducted himself nicely as a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher a few weeks back. Hell, in the olden days when I was a Professional TV Critic (TM), I even met the guy. Shook my hand. Solid. But as a host? Ain’t my cup of tea. However, his prime-time variety show debut this week, running Monday to Friday at 10  p.m. ET, demands a little attention and some worry.

What’ll it be? The Jay Leno Show will have a monologue, guests, music (but not every night), occasional reports from D.L. Hughley and other correspondents, and then regular features like Jay Walking and small-town newspaper headline boners. Pretty familiar stuff.

So what’s the bigger picture? NBC gave Leno this prime-time slot for two reasons: 1. They didn’t want Leno, who departed the Tonight Show to make room for Conan O’Brien, to jump to another network. And 2., they are happy to be filling the 10 p.m. ET slot with a show that costs a fraction of what it costs for a season of drama.

What happens if Leno is successful? Well, he won’t beat the ratings giants like CSI, CSI: Miami and The Mentalist, but if he gets a few million viewers, that’s probably enough success for NBC to stay the course.

And then what? That’s where I get nervous. Don’t get me wrong. I grew up on TV variety shows, hosted by the likes of Carol Burnett, Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin, Mike Douglas, Dina Shore, Sonny and Cher, Hudson Brothers… I could go all day. I loved these shows, their guests, the music, their skits. If Leno succeeds, and there are  more variety shows, that wouldn’t be the end of the world and might make the TV world a nicer place. But what about TV drama. Can I live without five new dramas on NBC? Definitely. But if other networks follow the Leno example — and as you might have noticed, networks are quite sheeplike — what then? Suddenly no 10 p.m. dramas? Sure, the U.S. cable networks have proven their reliability, even superiority, at producing excellent drama, but that’s a fraction of the TV drama menu, my TV drama menu.

That’s a lot of doom and gloom, I know. And besides, NBC keeps telling us in the dawn-to-dusk promos that it’s all about comedy. So I’ll just go brew some camomile tea. Although, you might do well to read Jamie Ponoewozik’s excellent look at the situation in his Time Magazine cover story: Jay Leno Is the Future of Television. Seriously! As for watching the new Jay Leno Show, I guess I will, out of curiousity, like many others. I know I won’t make it a habit. But it’s the rest of you I’m worried about.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Adam Sandler, Cage the Elephant (R)

Tuesday: Anne Heche (Hung), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Care Bears on Fire (R)

Wednesday: Billy Crystal, John Fogerty (R)

Thursday: Ken Burns (The National Parks), Mike Myers (Inglourious Basterds) (R)

Friday: Renee Zellweger (My One and Only), Gary Mule Deer (R)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Juliette Lewis, Alex O’Loughlin (Three Rivers) (R)

Tuesday: Neil Patrick Harris (Emmys) (R)

Wednesday: Danny DeVito (R)

Thursday: Audrey Tautou, Ron Livingston (R)

Friday: Drew Carey (R)

The Jay Leno Show (10 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Jerry Seinfled, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West

Tuesday: Tom Cruise

Wednesday: Robin Williams, Miley Cyrus

Thursday: Halle Berry, Bruce Hornsby, Eric Clapton

Friday: Drew Barrymore

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Charlize Theron, stuntman Steven Ho, Dave Matthews Band

Tuesday: Jennifer Aniston, Melanie Oudin, Phoenix

Wednesday: Aaron Eckhart, Michael Strahan, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Thursday: Megan Fox, Louis CK, America’s Got Talent winner

Friday: Courteney Cox, Ted Danson, Nelly Furtado

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: John McCain, Miranda Cosgrove, Rufus Wainwright

Tuesday: Anna Faris, Alan Cumming, Ghostface

Wednesday: Charlize Theron, David Boreanaz

Thursday: Dennis Quaid, Elisabeth Moss, Megadeth

Friday: Danny DeVito, James Blake, Keri Hilson

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Gerard Butler (Gamer), Nate Berkus, Maxwell (R)

Tuesday: Eva Longoria Parker (Desperate Hosuewives, ALMA Awards), Kelly Clarkson, Matt Damon and Joel McHale

Wednesday: David Alan Grier (Barack Like Me: The Chocolate-Covered Truth), Pink

Thursday: Jenna Elfman (Accidentally on Purpose), Danny Pudi (Community), Kid Cudi

Friday: Christian Slater (The Forgotten), Ed O’Neill (Modern Family), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: LeBron James

Tuesday: Matt Damon (The Informant)

Wednesday: Ricky Gervais (The Invention of Lying)

Thursday: tba

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Cory Booker, Newark mayor

Tuesday: Christiane Amanpour

Wednesday: The Flaming Lips

Thursday: Frank Bruni

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: tba

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: tba

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Kate Gosselin co-hosts, Victoria Beckham, Dr. Oz

Tuesday: Kate Gosselin co-hosts, Dr. Phil, Taylor Swift

Wednesday: LaToya Jackson co-hosts, Amy Poehler (Parks & Recreation)

Thursday: Charlize Theron, Joel McHale (Community)

Friday: LaToya Jackson co-hosts, Kathy Griffin (My Life on the D-List), Rachel Zoe (Rachel Zoe Project)

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)(, Dave Salmoni (Into the Pride)

Tuesday: Reba McEntire (Keep on Loving You), Househusbands of Hollywood, Wendy Liebman

Wednesday: Bill Hader (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), Smokey Robinson

Thursday: Nia Vardalos (Drop Dead Diva), Jesse Metcalf (Beyond a Reasonable Doubt), Cory Williams (Mean Kitty)

Friday: Dennis Quaid (Pandorum), Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly/Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), Jeff (Big Brother)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Sharon Osbourne, Rumer Willis

Tuesday: Queen Latifah

Wednesday: Jennifer Aniston, Dave Matthews Band

Thursday: Ted Danson, Anna Torv, Maxwell

Friday: Neil Patrick Harris, Anna Faris, Colbie Caillat

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Whitney Houston

Tuesday: Whitney Houston Part Deux

Wednesday: Remembering Michael Jackson

Thursday: Dr. Phil Returns with the daughter of the Happy Face Killer

Friday: Oprah in New York with Mariah Carey, Regis and Kelly and the book club announcement

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Sixteen and Stripping

Tuesday: Biracial People Who Hate One Side of Themselves

Wednesday: Is Your Sex Life Normal

Thursday: Do It Yourself Plastic Surgery

Friday: High School Hazing

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: The Vampire Diaries

And here’s an extended (9 minutes, 29 seconds) clip that you can watch now on ctv.ca

Series name
The Vampire Diaries

Debuts
Thursday at 8  p.m. ET on CTV and on CW (WGN)

Regularly airs
Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET but moves to 7 p.m. ET on CTV starting Sept. 24.

Premise
Based on the novels of LJ Smith, this is the story of vampire brothers who return to their former home of Mystic Falls, Va., for the start of the school year. They are quite keen on the lovely brunette with a familiar face who is just so irresistible.

Primary cast and crew
Nina Dobrev (Degrassi: The Next Generation) is Elena, the It girl at Mystic Falls High School who’s been rocked by the deaths of her parents. She’s just broken up with Matt.
Steven R. McQueen (Everwood) is Jeremy, Elena’s brother. He’s cracking under the pressure of the family’s loss.
Paul Wesley (24, Army Wives) is Stefan, the new kid in school, though he’s a lot older than he looks. Except when he looks dead.
Ian Somerhalder (Lost) is Damon. Let’s just leave it at that for now.
Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek, Scream) and Julie Plec (Kyle XY, Cursed, Scream) are writers/executive producers.

Buzz buzz
dkdk

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot I predict…
I like this better than Twilight, the big screen vampire movie that, with HBO’s True Blood has kicked popular culture into the vampire obsession that made this series inevitable. While Twilight has a lovelier vampire in Robert Pattinson’s Edward, Wesley is a better actor. Likewise Dobrev is a better actress than Twilight’s Bella (Kristen Stewart). The Twilight pair had chemistry, I’ll give them that. But wooden! Somerhalder, so weasely in Lost, is gloriously evil. Any more and it’d be over the top, but nice balance so far. Enough about the acting. The story is pretty basic — good vs. evil — but the pilot reveals a heavy hand in the telling. Viewers will see easily through the flimsy attempt to post the question of whether Stefan is evil. The delay in revealing all the players seems a waste of an episode. Good vs. evil. Innocence vs. experience. Yeah, we get it. But what next? Classic romantic triangle, but with blood lust. Could work. Now let’s get down to it. People are only beginning to feed their jones for vampire tales. Any guesses on which (other) elements of classic vampire mythology are to be shaken up? Holy water? Garlic? Sharpened stake?

Other reviews
Tough words from … the author of the novels! LJ Smith writes on her official website: “May I make a plea for everybody to try to be patient (especially with the pilot episode)? The Twilight Zone feeling rapidly diminishes after that.” Oy.

Ken Tucket at Entertainment Weekly gives it B+, saying it’s a return to form for Kevin Williamson.

Official website
The CW site has cast bios, Twitter links, some preview and behind-scenes video, an option to upload your photo and “become a vampire” and a link to read what looks like the entire first book online. Not bad. The CTV site has videos, some bios and a quartet of Webisodes in which a lad supposedly films himself breaking into the vampire mansion to kill Stefan. It’s all pretty predictable and over-the-top and nothing crucial is gleaned.

Twitter
Here’s the Twitter links for all the CW shows, including a handful for Vampire Diaries. Couple actors tweeting as themselves, not their characters, so ho-hum. I kinda like the character tweets. They can be a bit much, but it’s another avenue of discovery for the show’s fans.

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
I need a breather. I’ll be back next week with some mutterings about the Jay Leno Show, which kicks off on Monday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Melrose Place 2.0 Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET

Series name
Melrose Place

Debuts
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009 at 9 p.m. ET on CW (WGN)and Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at 10 p.m. ET on Global

Regularly airs
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CW (WGN) and Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Fox and Global

Premise
Cool Spanish-style apartment complex inhabited by elegantly emaciated 20-somethings who live and love and … get killed?

Primary cast and crew
Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield, 90210 2.0) is Riley, teacher who is having second thoughts about here engagement.
Michael Rady (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2) is Jonah, a filmmaker engaged to Riley, poor dear.
Katie Cassidy (Harper’s Island, daughter of David) is Ella, wily publicist.
Thomas Calabro (the old Melrose Place) is Dr. Michael Mancini
Ashlee Simpson-Wentz () is Violet, a naif with a dark side.
Sean Sipos (Complete Savages, The Grudge 2) is David, Doc Mancini’s estranged son. Brad Pitt-alike.”
Colin Egglesfield (model and guest star on shows including Law and Order: SVU) is Auggie, a “sensitive sous chef”. But aren’t they all?
Josie Bissett (old Melrose) is once again Jane
Daphne Zuniga (old Melrose) is once again Jo

Buzz buzz
Will Heather Locklear join Melrose Place 2.0? Ashlee Simpson-Wentz tells MTV she sure hopes so. Rumours have flopped back and forth. Fingers crossed!

But what do I know anyway? After not having seen the pilot I say …
Ah, who cares. I managed not to watch it back in the 1990s (sorry, Heather Locklear) and won’t this time either. Although I’m sure if you like this sort of thing, it’ll be grand.

Other reviews
Apparently, says the L.A. Times, critics are divided: those who liked the original love the new one and those who didn’t don’t.

Official website
The CW site has photos, episode descriptions and a video player that proudly declares to us Canadian rubes: “Thank you for your interest in The CW. This service is currently available to viewers living in the United States”. The Global site looks like it’ll have video. Let the bells ring out.

Twitter
Character Twitter accounts, including one for chef Auggie (if you like cooking, check out who he’s following). Sample tweet: “A dolphin surfed with me for about ten minutes today. Wonder if I’ll ever see him out there again? Or her?”

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
The Vampire Diaries. Soon my sweets.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Glee debuts at 9 p.m. ET on the nose

Series name
Glee

Debuts
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox and Global

Regularly airs
Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox and Global

Premise
Nerdy teacher attempts to reclaim his mojo by taking charge of McKinley High’s glee club, attracts odd cast of characters. Some singing, dancing and eye-rolling.

Primary cast and crew
Matt Morrison (A Light in the Piazza and other stage productions, guest roles on Law and Order: Criminal Intent, CSI: Miami) is Will Schuester, alumni of the Glee club and now head of the club and convinced his new crew can make it to the nationals.
Lea Michele (Spring Awakening and other stage work, Third Watch) is Rachel Berry. She’s gonna be a stah!
Cory Monteith (Kyle XY, Final Destination 3) is Finn Hudson, star QB with a good voice, an unintimidating IQ and a heart of gold.
Dianna Agron (Veronica Mars, guest on numerous shows including Numb3rs, Close to Home) is Quinn Fabray, cheerleader and — of course — girlfriend to the QB. NOT in the Glee club.
Jane Lynch (Two and a Half Men, 40-Year-Old Virgin, Julie and Julia) as Sue Sylvester, cheerleading coach with acid in her soul. Give this woman more scenes. Now.
Jayma Mays (Ugly Betty, Red Eye, Flags of Our Fathers) is Emma Pillsbury, germphobe teacher who is in love with Will.
Chris Colfer (community and regional theatre ace) is Kurt Hummel, soprano with a strong fashion sense and a personal scent he’d like to market worldwide. Called Hummel, of course.
Kevin McHale (True Blood, The Office) as Artie Abrams, wheelchairist, guitaristand member of glee club.
Mark Salling (guitar player, songwriter) is Puck, bully. Not gleeful.
Amber Riley (numerous stage productions) is Mercedes Jones, she’s the diva of the glee club.
Jessalyn Gilsig (Nip/Tuck, Heroes) is Terri Schuester, Will’s wacko wife, who is addicted to Pottery Barn.

Jenna Ushkowitz (Spring Awakening and other stage work) is Tina, a glee member who desperately wants to lose her stutter.
Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck), Brad Falchuk (Nip/Tuck) and Ian Brennan are creators, writers and exec producers.

Buzz buzz
Is there any buzz left in the world or has this show eaten it all up? Annoying already.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot I predict…
Well, we’ve all seen the spring pilot, haven’t we (and if you haven’t click here to watch online). Tonight is the premiere, in which: “The Glee Club performs in front of the school for the first time and surprises everyone in the audience. When Rachel realizes her feelings for Finn, Quinn goes to great lengths to keep her man. Meanwhile, Mr. Schuester’s wife reveals some surprising news, leaving Will to figure out a new way to make ends meet.”

But not everyone is sold. Bob — he’s a friend of mine and not a Professional TV Critic (TM) — he says this show is lame and it will not rise to any greatness. I say he’s wrong and that it’s a perfect mix of sweet, old-fashioned “Let’s put on a SHOW”-type appeal and dark comedy. We have a bet. If I lose, I have to write an essay on why my critical skills suck, detailing past missteps. If I win — he has promised, and he is an honorable sort, to give it three episodes before passing his verdict — and he finds  himself enjoying it (come on Jane Lynch!), he must give me a half day of clay-sculpture lessons. And please note that this is about quality and not ratings. This show’s buzz will inflate its ratings for a few episodes, even if it fails. Stay tuned.

Other reviews
Metacritic did the homework for us, showing a rating of 77 out of 100 by professional critics and 7.4 out of 10 by civilians. The range covers Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker giving it 100 to David Zurawik at the Baltimore who gave it a 50, saying the music almost makes up for the  “stereotypes and lame humor”.

Official website
Some promo videos (which we can see up here in hick Canada), and full episodes (which we cannot). Some photos. Song page with links to iTunes. Not a lot else. I guess they were too busy stoking the hype machine. The Global site also has Gleeworld, in which other Glee-type school videos are rounded up. Inspiring?

Twitter
There are several character accounts and an official show account, but I recommend Sue Sylvester’s strange tweets, like: “Thinking of getting my hips replaced. My hips are fine, but I’ll be one step closer to becoming a machine.”

Can’t wait for the next new-series preview?
Melrose Place, coming up.

Wondering when the other new series and returning series are kicking off?
Click here for my select list of fall 2009 premieres and other important dates. Who am I to tell you what to do, but you could consider bookmarking it…

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD: Eccentric, essential Fringe with Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson

Many shows have potential, although it is rare in this era of network executive with attention-deficit-disorder that enough time is granted. Fringe, presumably by virtue of the pedigree of creator J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias, Felicity), was given the time and, despite some early season meandering, grew in leaps and bounds.
For those already fearing the void that Lost will leave and even those among us who are still pining for the glory days of X-Files, to which this series owes much, Fringe is the heir apparent (although new series Flash Forward is a comer, or so I’m reading).
Fringe started out with only potential. Many loved the premiere, in which we meet FBI agent Olivia (Anna Torv); former visionary scientist Walter (John Noble), pulled from his cell in a psychiatric hospital; and his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson), who is charged with wrangling Walter out of his institutional stupor to save the world.
Many loved it but, while I loved Walter and Peter’s tentative reunion, I found the elder’s eccentricities (he pees himself, he shoves “crazy” non sequiturs into every pause longer than three seconds) distracting, and I found Torv’s portrayal to be robotic and flat. There was no denying the story and structure had potential, but the alternating freak-of-the-week bizarre science (it starts with the arrival of a plane full of disintegrated corpses) and grand conspiracy (What is the Pattern? Who is behind Massive Dynamic and are they evil?) was ripped right from the scripts of X-Files.
Even so, I took off my X-Files watch and started giving it a chance and by the excellent finale, I was hooked by the drama behind Olivia’s cool exterior (evil stepfather, dependent sister and nephew), by Blair Brown and then Leonard Nimoy as the heads of the is-it-evil-or-is-it-not mega-corporation called Massive Dynamic. Even Walter’s eccentricities grew on me. And there is believable warmth among Peter, his father and Olivia.
Is it over the top? Of course, but, to hark back to the X-Files, I want to believe in this show and so I do believe in a series that now straddles two worlds connected by a portal, the fear of a grim future and the small band of wierdos who are trying to make it all right.
Season 1, available now on DVD and Blu-ray, comes a week before the Season 2 premiere. I consider it essential viewing. I command you: Go out and buy or rent, as I will, to fill in the blanks on what is to come. I am particularly looking forward to the extra called Deciphering the Scene on a number of episodes. If you know your way around the web, watch at least the finale to set up what is to come on Sept. 17 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
Other extras: gag reel, Roberto Orci’s production diary, a featurette on Gene the cow, the other member of the investigative team.
Here is the promo for Season 2.

Here are some other releases of TV on DVD this week.
Worst Week: The Complete Series
The Office: Season 5 (DVD and Blu-ray)
Criminal Minds: Season 4
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Harper’s Island: The DVD Edition
Adventures of Robin Hood: The Complete Fourth Season
Wiseguy: The Complete First Season
Smallville: The Complete Season 1-8
One Foot in the Grave: The 1996 and 1997 Christmas Specials and The Complete Series
Mr. Belvedere: Season 3
Meteor (TV movie)
Dog the Bounty Hunter: The Best of Season 5
Important Things with Demetri Martin: Season 1

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Sept. 7-11: stay tuned

Hello chickens and happy Labour Day to you. I’ll be fresh from a few days off and back at the laptop midafternoon to flesh out what I’m expecting to be an action-packed roster, with most of the daytime shows finally back from summer vacation (nice work if you can get it). But if you can’t wait and if the early details I’ve sketched in below are not enough to hold you, just click on the show title for details on the show’s homepages.

Update: Okay so I’ve filled in most of the blanks (No Jon Stewart? No Colbert?) and the biggest trend I see is Rod Blagojevich. Oy. Some book to promote, it appears. But it’ll be easy to avoid him because there are  many great choices on all days and nights. You look now.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Tracy Morgan (30 Rock), Leslie Mann (Funny People), Diane Birch

Tuesday: Tony Blair, Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)

Wednesday: Jay-Z, Martha Stewart, George Jones

Thursday: Matt Damon (The Informant), animal expert Jack Hanna

Friday: Michael Douglas (Beyond Reasonable Doubt), Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl), Kid Cudi

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Juliette Lewis, Alex O’Loughlin (Three Rivers)

Tuesday: Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother and the Emmys), music by Spencer Day

Wednesday: Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Audrey Tautou

Thursday: Kate Beckinsale, Andre Leon Talley

Friday: Drew Carey, Mindy Kaling

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and musical guest Eric Hutchinson (R)

Tuesday: Kate Beckinsale, Richard Lewis, Dhani Harrison

Wednesday: Features musical guest Reba McEntire

Thursday: Dennis Quaid, Paolo Nutini

Friday: Antonio Banderas, Bill Hader, Chris Cornell

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Adam Sandler, Jimmy Buffett (R)

Tuesday: Elijah Wood, Taraji P. Henson, John Fogerty

Wednesday: Queen Latifah, Ed Westwick

Thursday: Tyler Perry, Amber Tamblyn, Mario Batali

Friday:  Russell Brand, Kaitlin Olson, George Jones

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Shaquille O’Neal, Selena Gomez, Darius Rucker

Tuesday: Jennifer Connelly (9), Jeff Ross (I Only Roast the Ones I Love: Busting Balls without Burning Bridges), Boys Like

Wednesday: Kathy Griffin (A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Brendan Benson

Thursday: Former Governor Rod Blagojevich (The Governor), White Lies

Friday: Rumer Willis (Sorority Row), The Used

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday:  Jesse Metcalfe (Beyond a Reasonable Doubt), Michael Yo and comics Sarah Colonna and Guy Branum

Tuesday: Jane Lynch (Glee), comics Kevin Hart, Renee Gauthier and Josh Wolf

Wednesday: Aaron Carter (Dancing with the Stars), comics John Caparulo, Arden Myrin and Donnell Rawlings

Thursday: Antonio Sabato Jr. (My Antonio), comics Heather McDonald, Jason Kennedy and Jo Koy

Friday: Sam Trammell (True Blood), comics Brad Wollack, Scott Henry and Loni Love

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday-Thursday: (R)

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday-Thursday: (R)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Keith Urban, Chuck Palahniuk, Suzy Welch

Tuesday: Walter Gretzky, Ben Elton, Rubin Hurricane Carter

Wednesday:  Cheech and Chong, Judah Friedlander, Finesse Mitchell

Thursday: Margaret Cho, Billy Connolly, Samantha Bee

Friday: David Cronenberg, Bradley Cooper

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: Anthony Weiner, Kathy Griffin, Paul Rieckhoff, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Richard Clarke

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Jerry Ferrara (Entourage), Rachel Zoe

Tuesday: Queen Latifah, AnnaLynne McCord

Wednesday: Tyler Perry (I Can Do Bad All by Myself), Laura Leighton

Thursday: Jason Bateman (Extract), Amber Tamblyn (Beyond a Reasonable Doubt), Smokey Robinson

Friday: tba

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: George Lopez, Mario Cantone, Lewis Black (R)

Tuesday: Live for the season premiere

Wednesday: Meghan McCain co-hosts, Rod Blagojevich and Patt Blagojevich, Cindy Crawford

Thursday: Meghan McCain co-hosts, Juliette Binoche (Paris), Russell Brand (MTV Video Music Awards)

Friday: Rudy Giuliani co-hosts, Mischa Barton (The Beautiful Life), Avril Lavigne

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Zachary Quinto (Heroes), Lynn Collins, Sam Haskell

Tuesday: Lisa Kudrow (Web Therapy), cast of Legally Blond, the Musical, 11-year-old journalist Damon Weaver

Wednesday: cast of Glee, Dylan McDermott (Dark Blue), 78-year-old columnist Wanda Phillips

Thursday: Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian (Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami), Elisagbeth Moss (Mad Men)

Friday: Real Housewives of Atlanta, Niecy Nash, Rod Blagojevich

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: repeat

Tuesday: David Beckham, Lady Gaga

Wednesday: The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Antonio Banderas

Thursday: Kate Beckinsale (Whiteout), Jillian Harris and Ed Swinderski (The Bachelorette)

Friday: Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy), Nick Cannon (America’s Got Talent)

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: repeat

Tuesday: repeat

Wednesday: Oprah’s Best Viewers’ Surprises

Thursday: Oprah’s Kickoff Party

Friday: Exclusive Summer Headlines: Lisa Ling, “Father Oprah”, ESPN’s Erin Andrews

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Bow Wow’s Twitter Crush on Tyra

Tuesday: Tyra Reveals her Real Hair

Wednesday: Go with the Flow

Thursday: Judgment Day

Friday: Tyra Discusses Her Weight Loss

– Denise Duguay

Get in the Glee club Wednesday at … 8:58 p.m. ET?

Global is billing tonight’s broadcast of the one-hour musical comedy Glee as a series debut. But that’s not quite right. Close watchers of TV got their first viewing of the pilot episode in the spring and it’s been online ever since (check out Global show site to watch: click on “Pilot”). Tonight is just a repeat of that pilot — excellent though it is and worthy of a repeat. In fact, new material has been added so I guess that’s what warrants the bizarre advertised starting time of 8:58 p.m. ET. Recording alert! don’t miss the start.

The story sounded incredibly dorky to me and the springtime descriptions of “American Idol-inspired weekly comedy series” did not pique my interest at all. I was, in fact, shamed into watching it by the suspicion that maybe the buzz was worth investigating.

The framework is this: A teacher with a hole where his zest for life used to be decides that running his high-school’s glee club is what he must do. There’s some big glee competition among the schools and he wants to whip a pathetic band of stragglers into champs.

But what sounds hokey — moreso when the bossy overachiever student tries to take over, when the studly and kind of dim football star is overheard crooning in the shower and other clichees threaten — becomes something with what I think the American Idol zombies would call heart and soul. I’m surprised, but I like it a lot. If you’re keeping up with the lingo, that would make me a Gleek.

You check it out, either tonight — Wednesday at 8:58 p.m. ET — or online at the link above, and we’ll meet back here before the Sept. 9 premiere of new episodes for a more formal look at the show, its cast, creators and website.

Here’s the official trailer:

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD — Heroes: Season 3 and Ando and Rescue Me greed?

I was a bit of a Heroes junkie in Season 1 and 2. I needed my fix of the small band of people discovering their secret powers and frightening destinies: Nathan’s flying and brother Peter’s omni-powers; Claire, the cheerleader self-healer; Isaac the seer-artist; Matt the cop who can really hear, super-strong split-personality Jessica, machine-minded Micah and his moving-through-walls dad D.L., bad guy Sylar with his lid-flipping hunger for new powers and, best-loved of all, time-travelling Hiro and his powerless pal Ando.
But then the series started adding characters. And then more of those characters could manipulate so many elements that there were few deaths that couldn’t be erased or prevented by a trip back to a few minutes before the crime. By the end of Season 2, when Jessica disappeared into a building a second before it exploded, I knew that she or her doppelganger would be back. Pfft goes the suspense. Pfft also went my investment in characters that in Season 3 snapped back and forth between evil and good. And then the shapeshifting? Pfffffffft!
I was speeding through a preview copy of the new DVD set Heroes: Season 3 (well, most of it, anyway) to see if my judgment was too harsh when I realized why I still feel a little fond of this once-promising series about good and evil and hidden potential. It’s Hiro and Ando. They are the comic centre of the show, with slapstick scenes like the rescue of a baby near the end of Season 3 who could activate and disable machines and electronics with its mind, leaving the three of them stranded in the desert until Ando lucks on a particularly ridiculous face to make the Baby happy so it would make the car go. They are also truly devoted to each other, bickering and then coming together again.
I worried when, in Season 3, Ando artificially acquires his own power. I think the strength of the duo was in the inequity: Ando’s frustration with his lack of powers, his glee at exploiting what Hiro’s powers occasionally brought him, the mortal bumbling that would help solve the latest conundrum that Hiro’s powers could not.
But, watching the last few episodes, it seems that Andy and Hiro’s chemistry is so far unchanged. They still bicker, although now it’s about why he is still the sidekick when he has his very own powers.
NBC recently announced that, when Season 4 dawns in a two-hour episode on Sept. 21, that Hiro and Ando would start out the new season back in Japan, with a seriously ill Hiro deciding to try to make amends. And Ando?
I had a quick telephone chat with the actor who plays Ando, James Kyson Lee, and asked him about the coming season.
First thing I wanted to know: Will Ando try to kill Hiro, as per Hiro’s flash of the future?
“I depends if he behaves himself,” Lee answered, laughing.
In truth, Lee said Ando will be as devoted to Hiro as ever. “He has a terminal illness … and my goal is to save his life.”
Along the way, the Crimson Arc, as Ando calls his newly empowered self, will also have some fun, returning to the Andocycle, a gift from Hiro, and to honing his ball-of-energy powers.
He will also team up with someone other than Hiro. Asked who, Lee replied, “I’ll keep it a mystery, but it may happen pretty quickly; viewers won’t have to wait long.”
Cripes. Looks like I’m back. But if one more character goes shape-shifter…

I have already pledged my love for Rescue Me in a recent post. The new release Season 5, Vol. 1 is the first half of the season that is ending this very Sunday (Sept. 6)  starting at 10 p.m.on Showcase. Why split the 23-episode season into two volumes? According to one guy checking in on amazon.com:
“Greed. FIFTY DOLLAR LIST PRICE ($64.95 Canadian) for eleven episodes?? Assuming Volume 2 does the same for the final 11, that’s ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for a season! Now we all know there will be discounts (as I type this Amazon is selling it for $32) but that’s still OVER SIXTY DOLLARS to get the fifth season.”
I believe the man has a point.

Here are some other TV releases on DVD:
Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season
Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Third Season
Desperate Housewives: Teh Complete Fifth Season
Clatterford: The Complete Season 2
Kids in the Hall: Complete SEries Megaset 1989-1994
Ellen: The Complete Season 4

– Denise Duguay

Fall 2009 debut dates: updated with CBC dates

I know the rest of you have lives and all that, but I just love this time of year.

The promise of a new season of TV, new characters to fall in love with and worry about and many more anon characters who will go under some medical examiner’s knife and be the butt of awkwardly telegraphed autopsy jokes on any one of the forensic dramas. Ah, television, you never let me down

So what have we got here? We have dates people! Fill in your calendars. Bookmark this page and check it twice a day. You technophobes with no home computers can print this out at work and tape it to the coffee table at home. You are welcome.

Of course I’ll also be making my lofty pronouncements on the new shows, whether the publicity gods have sent previews or not. And I might even weigh in on returning shows. There were so damn many fine cliffhangers (Violet’s baby on Private Practice? House’s Sixth Sense breakdown? And OMG someone in Heroes who was bad is now good, but wait they’re bad again)? Okay that last part was pure sarcasm. Anyway, here’s the list. I will make the usual promise to update it, but as you know, I’m not always good for that. My heart’s in the right place though. I’ll do what I can. If you’ve got a question about anything here, I’m sitting at home staring at my email inbox, just waiting to help you. Most of the time.

Sept. 2

Paradise Falls: Season 3, 9:30 p.m. ET on Showcase

Sept. 3

Sept. 4

Sept. 5

Sept. 6

Sept. 7

Sept. 8

Sept. 9

So You Think You Can Dance, 8 p.m. ET on Fox and A Channel*
America’s Next Top Model: Season 13, 8-10 p.m. ET on CTV
Glee (new), 9 p.m. ET on Fox and Global
Melrose Place (new), 10 p.m. ET on Global

Sept. 10

The Vampire Diaries (new), 8 p.m. ET on CTV (moving to 7 p.m. ET on Sept. 24)
90210: Season 2, 10 p.m. ET on Global and Fox

Sept. 11

Sept. 12

Star Portraits (new) at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo!
Thirteen celebrities, one a week, have their portrait painted by three Canadian artists. Guests will include actor Enrico Colantoni, musician Ashley MacIsaac, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, comedian Colin Mochrie and Senator Romeo Dallaire.

Sept. 13

King of the Hill series finale, 8 p.m. ET on Fox
Weeds: Season 5, 10 p.m. ET on Showcase
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 4, 1:30 a.m. on Showcase
The Foundation (new), 10:40 p.m. ET on Showcase

Sept. 14

The Dr. Oz Show (new), 5 p.m. ET weekdays on CTV
Oprah’s medical expert finally gets his own show.
Gossip Girl: Season 3, 9 p.m. ET on A Channel* (moves to 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 21)
Junk Raiders (new), 9 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel
Professional handymen and “free”cyclers comb through trash to outfit a new loft space.
Jay Leno Show (new), 10 p.m. ET on NBC
First guests include Jerry Seinfeld, Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West.

Sept. 15

Sept. 16

The Beautiful Life (new), 10 p.m. ET on A Channel* (moves to 9 p.m. ET Sept. 23)
Bones: Season 5, 8 p.m. ET on Global (repeating on Fox Sept. 17.
Supernatural: Season 5, 10 p.m. ET on Space

Sept. 17

Bones: Season 5, 8 p.m. ET on Fox
Fringe: Season 2, 9 p.m. ET on A Channel*
Survivor: Samoa, 8 p.m. ET on CBS
Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday (new), 8 p.m. ET on NBC and at 9:30 p.m. ET on Global
Guest-starring for first two episodes is Amy Poehler.
Parks and Recreation: Season 2, 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC
The Office: Season 6, 9 p.m. ET on NBC
Community (new), 9:30 p.m. ET on NBC
Life in a community college, starring Joel McHale and Chevy Chase.

Sept. 18

Sept. 19

Sept. 20

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 7, 9 p.m. ET on HBO Canada
Bored to Death (new), 9:30 p.m. ET on HBO Canada
Jason Schwartzman plays a part-time sleuth. Zach Galifianakis plays the voice of reason?! Ted Danson is a sage/crazy person/rich guy.

Sept. 21

Heroes: Season 4, 8-10 p.m. ET
House: Season 6, 8-10 p.m. ET on Fox and Global
Dancing with the Stars: Season 9, 8-10 p.m. ET on ABC and CTV
How I Met Your Mother: Season 5, 8 p.m. ET on CBS
Accidentally On Purpose (new), 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS
Two and a Half Men: Season 7, 9 p.m. ET on CBS and A Channel*
Big Bang Theory: Season 3, 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS and A Channel*
Castle: Season 2, 10 p.m. ET on ABC and A Channel*
CSI Miami: Season 8, 10 p.m. ET on CBS and CTV

Sept. 22

NCIS: Season 7, 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Global
NCIS: Los Angeles (new), 9 p.m. ET on CBS and Global
More crime-solving, this one starring LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell.
The Mentalist: Season 2, 9 p.m. ET on CTV (moving to 10 p.m. ET on Oct. 1) * Note this series’ season debuts on Sept. 24 on CBS.
Being Erica: Season 2, 9 p.m. ET on CBC
The Good Wife (new), 10 p.m. ET on CBS and Global
Julianne Margulies is the wife. Chris Noth is the disgraced and  now jailed husband.
Law and Order: SVU: Season 11, 10 p.m. ET on CTV
The Forgotten (new), 10 p.m. ET on ABC
Drama about crew that works to put names to unidentified remains. Christian Slater stars.

Sept. 23

Mercy (new), 8 p.m. ET on NBC
If you’ve seen Nurse Jackie, you know we need more nurse dramas. You got it.
The New Adventures of Old Christine: Season 5, 8 p.m. ET on CBS
Gary Unmarried: Season 2, 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS
Criminal Minds: Season 5, 9 p.m. ET on CBS and CTV
Law and Order: SVU: Season 11, 10 p.m. ET on NBC
Modern Family (new), 9 p.m. ET on ABC
Three families, one codger played by Ed O’Neill.

Cougar Town (new), 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC
Courteney Cox is a cougar. And not the kind that menaced Kim back a few seasons in 24.
CSI: New York: Season 6, 10 p.m. ET on CBS and CTV
Eastwick (new), 10 p.m. ET on ABC and A Channel*
Paul Gross is a devilish guy, who has to deal with three witchy-type women.

Sept. 24

FlashForward (new), 8 p.m. ET on ABC and A Channel*
Everyone everywhere blacks out for a few seconds and sees a snippet of their futures. Too bad some of them were driving or flying planes at the time of the blackout.
CSI: Season 10, 8 p.m. ET on CTV and at 9 p.m. ET on CBS
Grey’s Anatomy: Season 6, 9-11 p.m. ET on ABC and CTV
The Mentalist: Season 2, 10 p.m. ET on CBS

Sept. 25

Brothers (new), 7 p.m. ET on Fox
Two brothers. One’s a former pro athlete. The other one’s a wiseacre in a wheelchair.
Ghost Whisperer: Season 5, 8 p.m. ET on CBS and CTV
Law and Order: Season 20, 8 p.m. ET on NBC and A Channel*
The Ron James Show (new), 8 p.m. ET on CBC
Canadian comedian hosts a show anchored by his standup, comic letters to N.B. and sketches. Filmed in front of  a live audience in Toronto.
Medium: Season 6, 9 p.m. ET on CBS and A Channel*
Dollhouse: Season 2, 9 p.m. ET on Fox and Global
Numb3rs: Season 6, 10 p.m. ET on CBS and Global
Flashpoint: Season 3, 10 p.m. ET on CTV

Sept. 26

Saturday Night Live: Season 35, 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Global

Sept. 27

Desperate Housewives: Season 6, 7 p.m. ET on CTV (moving to 9 p.m. ET on Oct. 4) and at 9 p.m. ET on ABC
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: Season 6, 7-9 p.m. ET on ABC
The Amazing Race: Season 15, 8-10 p.m. ET on CBS and CTV
Smallville: Season 9, 8 p.m. ET on Space
The Simpsons: Season 20, 8 p.m.  ET on Fox and Global
The Cleveland Show (new), 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox
You know, it’s the guy from Family Guy. Yeah. That guy. Getting his own show.

Family Guy: Season 8, 9 p.m. ET on Fox
American Dad: Season 5, 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox
Brothers & Sisters: Season 4, 10 p.m. on ABC and Global
Cold Case: Season 7, 10 p.m. ET on CBS and CTV
Dexter: Season 4, 10 p .m. ET on the Movie Network
National Parks: time tba on PBS
Ken Burns’ latest multipart documentary. Cue the pan across beautiful old photos, set to lovely music.

Sept. 28

Lie to Me: Season 2, 9 p.m. ET on Fox
Little Mosque on the Prairie: Season 4, 8 p.m. ET on CBC
Trauma (new), 9 p.m. ET on NBC
Guest stars have very bad days. Emergency responders are on the job.
Californication: Season 3, 10 p.m. ET on the Movie Network

Sept. 29

Rick Mercer Report: Season 7, 8 p.m. ET on CBC
This Hour Has 22 Minutes: Season 17 (yikes!), 8:30 p.m. ET on CBC

Sept. 30

Hank (new), 8 p.m. ET on ABC
OMG is that Kelsey Grammer in another sitcom about a poncy guy taken down a notch?
Dragon’s Den: Season 4, 8 p.m. ET on CBC
The Middle (new), 8:30 p.m. on ABC
Middle (hmm) class family in middle (wha?) American headed by mid-life (wait a minute!) mom. If this show is middling, that will be way too much. Stars Patricia Heaton.
The Tudors: Season 3, 9 p.m. ET on CBC

Oct. 1

Private Practice: Season 3, 10 p.m. ET on ABC and A Channel*
Saving Grace: Season 3, 11 p.m. ET on Showcase

Oct. 2

Til Death: Season 4, 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox

Oct. 3

Oct. 4

America’s Funniest Home Videos: Season 19, 7 p.m. ET on ABC
Heartland: Season 3, 7 p.m. ET on CBC
Three Rivers (new), 9 p.m. ET on CBS
Transplants R Us.

Oct. 5

Battle of the Blades (new) 8:30 p.m. ET on CBC

Oct. 6

Oct. 7

Oct. 8

The Border: Season 3, 9 p.m. ET on CBC

Oct. 9

Ugly Betty: Season 4, 8-10 p.m. ET on ABC

Oct. 10

Oct. 11

Oct. 12

Oct. 13

Oct. 14

Oct. 15

30 Rock: Season 4, 9:30 p.m. ET

Oct. 16

Oct. 17

Oct. 18

Oct. 19

Oct. 20

Oct. 21

Oct. 22

Oct. 23

Southland: Season 2, 9 p.m. ET on NBC and CTV

Oct. 24

Oct. 25

Oct. 26

Oct. 27

Oct. 28

Oct. 29

Oct. 30

Oct. 31

Oct., date tba

Lock ‘N Load (new)
Non-fiction series about life in a gunshop, on The Movie Network

Nov. 3

V (new), 8 p.m. ET on ABC
Remake of the old series about seemingly friendly aliens arriving and making themselves cozy. Until a few smart humans get suspicious.

Nov. 7

The Wanda Wykes Show (new talk show) 11 p.m. ET on Fox

Nov. 15

Kenny vs. Spenny: Season 6, 11 p.m. ET on Showcase

November, dates tba

Crash & Burn (new), Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Showcase
Insurance adjuster in Hamilton. Madcap crime solving. Paul Gross is exec producer, Clark Johnson (Homicide) stars alongside Luke Kirby (Mambo Italiano)

Convoy, a four-part documentary look at WWII’s Battle of the Atlantic on History Television

Jan. 17, 2010

24: Season 8, 9 p.m. ET on Fox and Global

2010, dates tba

Lost: Season 6, time and date tba
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, on The Movie Network
Based on the short-story collection by Vincent Lam
The Pacific (new miniseries)
The WWII followup to Band of Brother

* A Channel is available to Montreal-area viewers on Bell TV, but not on Videotron.

Talk-show tango Aug. 31-Sept. 4: Jay-Z and Bill Maher worth repeating

Lot’s of stuff going on this week, but let’s start with last week. If you missed Real Time last Friday, with Bill Maher going one-on-0ne with Jay-Z, you should really check it out. Jay-Z is not exactly one of my peeps, you understand, but the back and forth was fantastic. It’s so nice to see to see Maher drop the auto-sarcasm in these extended interviews. And Jay-Z’s few words in answer to most questions were brilliantly chosen. The man is not only a spoken-word and music genius — or so the kids tell me — he’s also a very thoughtful, smart guy with fantastic comic timing. Click this link from Rap-Up.com, where the action is covered in two vids.

And now to this week… All the nighttime players except Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and George Stephanopolous are done with repeats. The films Extract (Jason Bateman) and All About Steve (Mila Kunis, Sandra Bullock) are trying to create some momentum, but consider also: Rex Lee from Entourage and Rutina Wesley from True Blood on Chelsea Lately.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Howie Mandel (Deal or No Deal), Dock Diving Dogs, Rumer Willis (Sorority Row), Dirty Projectors (Bitte Orca)

Tuesday: Jeremy Piven (Entourage), The Black Crowes (Before the Frost … Until the Freeze)

Wednesday: Jason Bateman (Extract), Dr. John P. Holdren (White House office of sience and tech policy)

Thursday: Billy Crystal, John Fogerty (The Blue Ridge Rangers)

Friday: Neil Patrick Harris (Emmys), comic Steve Mazan, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (Up from Below)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Emily Deschanel (Bones), Terry Crews

Tuesday: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Jason Ritter

Wednesday: Mila Kunis (Extract), Alex Dryden

Thursday: Carrie Fisher, Ron Livingston (Defying Gravity)

Friday: Radha Mitchell, DJ Qualls (All About Steve)

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Norm MacDonald, Thomas Haden Church (All About Steve), Pitbull

Tuesday: Elijah Wood, Mila Kunis (All About Steve), Cheap Trick

Wednesday: Senator John McCain

Thursday: Sandra Bullock (All About Steve), Gina Yashere

Friday: Jennifer Connelly

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Rachel Maddow, Tommy Davidson, Jet

Tuesday: Joan Allen, Rob Zombie (Halloween II), Michael Franti

Wednesday: John Leguizamo, Smokey Robinson

Thursday: Jason Bateman (Extract), Ashlee Simpson, Shadows Fall

Friday: Bob Costas, Jamie Lynn Sigler (Entourage), Pet Shop Boys

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Gordon Ramsay (Hell’s Kitchen), Rob Zombie (Halloween II), Friendly Fires (R)

Tuesday: Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Patton Oswalt (Big Fan), Datarock

Wednesday: Emile Hirsch (Taking Woodstock), Amber Valletta (Gamer), St. Vincent

Thursday: Kathie Lee Gifford (Just When I Thought I’d Dropped My Last Egg: Life and Other Calamities), Milo Ventimiglia (Gamer), R. Kelly

Friday: Gerard Butler (Gamer), Nate Berkus (The Nate Berkus Line on HSN), Maxwell

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Rex Lee (Entourage), comics Chris Franjola, Gina Yashere and Josh Wolf

Tuesday: Rutina Wesley (True Blood), comics John Caparulo, Jen Kirkman and Ben Gleib

Wednesday: Antonion Sabato Jr. (My Antonio), comics Heather McDonald and Jo Koy and Jason Kennedy

Thursday: Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind; Ursa Major), comics Bryan Callen, Nathasha Leggero and blogger Perez Hilton

Friday: The Backstreet Boys (This Is Us), Ross Matthews (The Insider), comics Don Levy and Chris Franjola

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday-Thursday: repeats

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday-Thursday: repeats

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday-Friday: repeats

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: repeat this week.

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Relly Awards

Tuesday: Relly Awards

Wednesday: Relly Awards

Thursday: Relly Awards

Friday: Relly Awards

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Meryl Streep, Nora Ephron and Amy Adams (Julie & Julia) (R)

Tuesday: Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages), chef Tyler Florence

Wednesday: Julianne Moore (Save the Children), Whitney Port (The City)

Thursday: Kevin Spacey (Shrink)

Friday: Lil’ Wayne, Jamie Luner (All My Children)

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday-Friday: repeats

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday-Friday: repeats

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday-Friday: repeats

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Trading Popularity: High School Edition

Tuesday: Shocking Teen Trends

Wednesday: He Cheats: Take Him Back or Dump Him?

Thursday: Secret Lives of Teens Revealed

Friday: I Don’t Need a Husband or a Baby

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Aug. 24-28: Anna Wintour on Letterman’s Late Show and Jay-Z on Bill Maher’s Real Time

There’s a bit of a lull before the fall TV season starts up and that includes talk shows, with many still coasting in reruns. New this week are Letterman, O’Brien, Kimmel and Handler. Of those, I’m looking forward to: Anna Wintour on Letterman Monday night, talking about the doc made about the making of Vogue’s biggest annual project, called The September Issue; Bill Maher visiting O’Brien Monday night; and Jay-Z and Bill Moyer in one-on-ones with Bill Maher on Friday night.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Anna Wintour (The September Issue), Mark Teixeira (New York Yankees all-star first baseman)

Tuesday: Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), Eugene Levy (Taking Woodstock), Jet (Shaka Rock)

Wednesday: Anne Heche (Hung), Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory), Care Bears on Fire (Get Over It!)

Thursday: Andy Roddick (US Open), Mutemath (Armistice)

Friday: Artie Lange (The Howard Stern Show), comic Todd Barry

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Mario Cotillard, Michael Musto (R)

Tuesday: comic Eric Idle (R)

Wednesday: Holly Hunter, Camera Obscura (R)

Thursday: Jeff Foxworthy, Gavin De Graw (R)

Friday: Selma Blair, Connie Schultz (R)

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Bill Maher (Real Time), Nick Cannon, Kings of Leon

Tuesday: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Mark Feuerstein, Smokey Robinson

Wednesday: Bradley Cooper, Franz Ferdinand

Thursday: Mike Tyson, Matisyahu

Friday: reptile expert Nigel Marven, Colbie Caillat

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Kevin Connolly, Alexa Chung, Aimee Mann (R)

Tuesday: Lauren Graham, Bill Engvall, Jonas Brothers (R)

Wednesday: Fred Armisen, The Mighty Boosh, Flo Rida (R)

Thursday: Alec Baldwin, Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter (Michael and Michael Have Issues), Jordin Sparks (R)

Friday: Sean Combs, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Tom Colicchio (R)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Sienna Miller (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Dave Salmoni (Into the Pride) (R)

Tuesday: Gordon Ramsay (Hell’s Kitchen), Rob Zombie (Halloween II), Friendly Fires

Wednesday: Robin Williams (World’s Greatest Dad), Bobcat Goldthwait (World’s Greatest Dad), Matt & Kim

Thursday:  Kathie Lee Gifford (Just When I thought I’d Dropped My Last Egg: Life and Other Calamities), Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie), Darius Rucker

Friday: Dylan McDermott (Dark Blue), B.J. Novak (Inglourious Basterds)

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Reba McEntire (Keep on Loving You), comics Guy Branum, Mo Mandel and Sarah Colonna

Tuesday: Backstreet Boys (This Is Us), comics Loni Love, Dan Levy, Chris Franjola

Wednesday: Eli Roth, comics Randy and Jason Sklar and Gary Valentine

Thursday: Kevin Nealon (Weeds), comics Brad Wo9llack, Jeff Wild and The Insider’s Ross Matthews

Friday: Dave Salmoni (Into the Pride), comics T.J. Miller, Nathasha Leggero and George Wallace (R)

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday-Thursday: repeats

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday-Thursday: repeats

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday-Friday: repeats

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: one on one with Jay-Z and Bill Moyers

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday-Friday: repeats

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday-Friday at Disney Studios: repeats

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday-Friday: repeats until Sept. 8

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday-Friday: repeats

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday-Friday: repeats

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Straight Girl, Gay Crush

Tuesday: A Mother’s Revenge

Wednesday: Love Decoded, Mantrums

Thursday: Pressure to Be Promiscuous

Friday: Teen Pregnancy

– Denise Duguay

Rescue Me? Rescue you! Five reasons I love this show

I like Rescue Me because it is all things: comic, dramatic, experimental, music-filled and haunting. Some shows would be diminished for trying to do this much. Rescue Me, the work of star/producer/creator Denis Leary (that’s him, on the Brooklyn Bridge) and Peter Tolan, does it all beautifully and well. If the pieces stand better on their own than all together some weeks, well, joy is in the moment, wouldn’t you agree?

1. It’s the ghosts.
FX, which shows Rescue Me in the U.S., and Showcase, which shows it Sundays in Canada, call Rescue Me a workplace drama about the lives of the firefighters on NYC’s 62 Truck. And it is that. You never know what story is going to walk into the firehouse or out of a burning building. But this show never forgets where it started: Five seasons back, in 2004, the talk was all about it being the uber post-9/11 drama. Tommy Gavin (Leary) was a firefighter traumatized by his involvement with rescue work on both the first and second World Trade Centre towers and, especially, the loss that day of his cousin, a fellow firefighter, who still occasionally appears to him as a ghost.
The first season had Tommy in denial of the ghosts, who grew to include all the others he couldn’t save: children with burned faces, people asking impossible questions. And then his brother, a cop, was killed on the job. And his son was killed by a car. Then his combative father, sitting peacefully (for once) beside him at a Mets game, turned out to be dead of a heart attack.
There are a lot of ghosts now, but Tommy no longer waits for them. Since the arrival early this season of a sexy (of course) French journalist and her revealing video of the Sept. 11, 2001, Tommy tossed aside his hard-won sobriety to summon the ghosts. Was he ready to leave them all behind? And what if you love and miss your ghosts?
This has led to some heartbreakingly beautiful scenes this season. Alone late at night at the unlicensed club he runs with his coworkers, Tommy knocks one back and turns to discover his family ghosts arriving one by one, each taking a turn to accuse him of cowardice and weakness. The very play-like scene climaxes with Tommy exploding in a tirade that nails WWII, Vietnam, 9/11 and the high cost of the American hero complex.
Watch this. It’s Season 5, Episode 8, Iceman. And sorry about the type on the screen; best I could find on YouTube and it’s been bumped off Showcase’s video player.

2. No, it’s the comedy.
If you’ve never seen Rescue Me and you’ve read this far, you might think it’s an intense, harrowing show, but that’s only occasionally, sparingly true. Most of the time, it’s Tommy and the firehouse lads larking about. Take the title scene from last week’s episode, No. 18, called Carrot. Click on Part 4, in which Garrity — still out on sick leave — drops by to get help with a little problem. Like all such scenes, and most weeks have them, it’s crude and involves talk about bodily functions and sex parts. Not your cup of tea? I think you’re in the wrong blog post, pal, and definitely in the wrong TV show. If you can take it, it will make you hit pause and rewind at least a couple of times.
However, I like it for more than the extremeness. Of course it’s welcome relief from the series’ dramatic intensity, but the comedy scenes are like a sketch show within a show. You don’t need to know that Garrity recently lost a kidney to cancer or that Mike has a new band or than Lou lost his heart and thousands of dollars to a hooker who’s trying to reel him in again. It’s just a bunch of guys cracking wise. Anyway, here’s the scene.

3. Okay it’s definitely the music.
It’s now de rigueur for self-respecting TV series to make good use of good music, but Leary all but wrote that book. From the killer theme song — The Von Bondies’ C’mon C’mon — to, say, Ryan Adams’ Blue Manhattan, this show has a playlist to die for. Except no mortal act is required because it also has a music section on the FX website that lists songs played for each episode and also gives info about Apache Stone, the new band fronted by Michael Lombardi in real life and by Mike Silletti on the show. You won’t be surprised, if you saw the band play two episodes back, that they have an album on iTunes.
But to best illustrate music used under and over a scene, watch the fifth and final part of Episode 17, from a couple of weeks back, called Lesbos. This refers partly to the starting storyline, in which Franco’s girlfriend, furious that he (and the guys at the firehouse) accused her of being a lesbian, flooded their fundraiser with hot chicks who had no interest in their horndog selves. It also, more importantly, describes Tommy’s life — ruled by women, his ex, Janet (the blonde) and his cousin’s widow, Sheila, the brunette.
But at about the seven-minute mark, you get what is a common brilliant use of music on Rescue Me. There’s a fire call, and the action slows as they approach and are then engulfed by the fire, gathering lost children and falling through doors, floors and then back to the street. The piece de resistance in this episode-ender is the suitcase. You should watch.

4. Addicted to addiction.
Addiction is a serious thing. It’s also seriously interesting to TV creators. You have your House, a taciturn but brilliant doctor played by Hugh Laurie. More recently, there’s Nurse Jackie, an unravelling hospital nurse played by Edie Falco. Other examples are legion. What distinguishes Rescue Me is that it takes addiction seriously but not too seriously.
Last season, Tommy went from being completely out of control to stone sober. The scene in which he and his surviving family stage their own AA group meeting was high camp. This season, where is Tommy going with his supposedly controlled drinking? Will he crash and burn before the season wraps up over the next three episodes? Or, now that he’s convinced his entire family to start drinking again, will that keep him in line? I like that his drinking is played for comedy and drama. I like the daring of it. I also like that it’s not neatly tied up. Shit happens and it keeps happening. And sometimes it’s funny.

5. Ensemble acting.
I’ll get my one beef out of the way: the broads get screwed. Literally and figuratively. Tommy’s ex, his mistress, his sister… okay his youngest daughter is exempt because of age — all female characters exist only to have sex with these guys. Sure, it’s a guy show, but still. It’s a little narrow for a show that has such long reach in so many other directions.
Now, back to the love fest.
Leary is the spine of this show, no question. But he’s surrounded by excellent performers in roles that suit them very well. In other shows, you can all but here the agents whining in the background demanding their actor clients get their closeups (well, hello Grey’s Anatomy!). Here, nothing feels forced. Franco (Daniel Sunjata) has had his moments early this season as a 9/11 conspiracist, thumped into submission by tiny Sheila (Callie Thorne): What’s a hobby to you, she said, is a dead  husband to me. Snap. Garrity (Steven Pasquale) was hit by cancer, but even in the face of death, he dorked out, hallucinating a musical scene that was both loopy and — even if you don’t like that sort of thing — impressive. Possibly the best moment of stepping into the spotlight was early in this season when Tommy’s ex, Janet (Andrea Roth), gets ripping drunk on their trip to their daughter’s boarding school. If her truth-telling outburst at the dinner table was not hilarious enough, she goaded Tommy into sex that broke the door of the room in the B&B. Now that’s good fun.

If you’re new to Rescue Me, watch the last four episodes on Showcase’s video player. Click here and then click on Rescue Me.
If you’re a fan, you know there are three episodes left, Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase. You also know that FX wrapped up the season not long ago so you can probably cheat and find out what happened. But we’re Canadian. We’re used to getting screwed by broadcast delays. We are strong. And if you’re not strong, keep it to yourself, hm?
– Denise Duguay

Project Runway Season 6 will be unfashionably late in Canada

Even I, averse as I am to reality and competition television, was getting excited about Project Runway’s Season 6 return. It’s been 10 months, I’ve been reading in everything from Entertainment Weekly a couple

Project Runway's Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn

of weeks back to the New York Times, since the end of the last season. In the meantime, the show’s producers, the Weinstein Company, moved it from U.S. cable outlet Bravo (not OUR Bravo) to Lifetime and it’s moved from NYC to L.A. A lawsuit followed, from Bravo big daddy NBC Universal, and finally a deal was reached to allow the move to Lifetime.

But whatever. It’s about the TV, right? The competition show in which bright-eyed designers try to be the next D&G or whathaveyou is finally making its Season 6 debut, with hosts Tim Gunn and model Heidi Klum, on Thursday. Except not in Canada, or Montreal at least.

I don’t see a way to legally watch Lifetime in Montreal. And the Canadian broadcaster, specialty cable channel Slice, will carry the show on a three-week delay, starting Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. ET. And if you don’t subscribe to Slice, you can get it online at slice.ca.

Me? I’m with Laura (scroll down to reader comments), who very reasonably laments back in July that:

“(A) show like Project Runway is impossible to avoid in the media, so we find out who was eliminated weeks before we even watch the episode … I don’t understand why this has to happen – aarrrggghhhh!!!”

Of course, you could always ask your computer-savvy kid or your friend’s kid to show you how to watch the show on the U.S. channel’s website or — if the nuns of your past do not haunt you as  much as they do me — you could download the show illegally. I’m not there. Yet.

Hey Slice! Why the delay? “Fashionably late” is not the way to go here.

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD: A killer of a season for Dexter and the death of Dirty Sexy Money

Season 3 of Dexter, out now on DVD and Blu-ray to whet your bloody appetite for the Sept. 27 premiere of Season 4 on The Movie Network, was full of shockers.

Dexter Season 3 in DVD and Blu-ray

Dexter Morgan, a father? Sure, he’s good with Rita’s kids, but what does the solidly moral murderer feel, and I believe he can feel despite voiceovers to the contrary, at the prospect of his Dark Passenger staring back at him in a baby blue eye?

Then there is the stomach-churning turnabout when Dexter’s planned justice-murder of a drug thug called Freebo becomes a season-long complication. Toss on that pile the carved-up victim’s of The Skinner.

But best of all is Dexter’s unlikely partnership with a surprisingly bloodthirsty Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado. Most shocking of all is that the ADA is played by a Jimmy Smits, who knocks the door down with a stunning season-long performance.

Here is the season’s most memorable moment, in which Smits, who had sunk to a melodramatic low in the 2007 drama Cane, vaults to a career high of dramatic intensity.
Extras on this disc are minimal, including interviews with Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter (the onscreen brother and sister are now husband and wife), Julie Benz, Lauren Velez and David Zayas; episodes from other Showtime series The Tudors (S3) and The United States of Tara (S1), plus book excerpts.

Also out this week is Season 2 of Dirty Sexy Money. I was nearly holding my breath for the arrival of the final four episodes of this ABC drama, which — like Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies –

Dirty Sexy Money Season 2

was axed and the axing was blamed on the writers’ strike, which kneecapped the first season and delayed the start of the second. While the other two were charming and off-centre, I could see where they had failed to grab a huge audience, writers’ strike or not. But Dirty Sexy Money was, in its first season and the start of its second, a great hybrid of Park Avenue soap and suspense — was lawyer Nick’s lawyer father killed? if so, by whom, or worse, by which member of his family, biological or otherwise? Dynasty with real drama. With that cast, how could it miss: Jill Clayburgh as the cunning matriarch, Donald Sutherland as the saint/snake patriarch, Peter Krause as Nick, around whom the money and mystery swirled, all just slightly out of reach. But by the time the last four episodes started rolling out, it was clear that the spark had gone out. Central to the failure was the decision to have Nick dump his wife and stop resisting the moral rot of the Darling clan. Once Nick was lost, who was there to root for? The poor rich Darlings? Terrible, humdrum end to a promising series.

TV-on-DVD titles new on the shelves this week:
Gossip Girl: The Complete Second Season
Simon and Simon: Season 3
Eli Stone: Season 2
Everybody Hates Chris: The Final Season or The Complete Series
Greek: Chapter 3
Sons of Anarchy: Season 1
Man Vs. Wild: Season 3
The Beast: Season 1
Cracker: The Complete Series (U.S. series)
The Judy Garland Show, Vol. 1
And here are last week’s titles. I took a day off and never quite recovered my friends. Apologies for the delay although, truth be told, there was not much to miss in these summer drudge days:
90210: Complete First Season
Adam-12: Season 3
The King of Queens: Season 1-3
The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle: Season 1

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Aug. 17-21: Inglourious countdown

Some lucky basterds got to see it already at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival a  couple of weeks back, but for the rest of us, this Friday will be the first chance to see Quentin Tarantino’s WWII project Inglourious Basterds. Or we could watch David Letterman because with three consecutive night of IB guests, starting with Tarantino tonight, we’re bound to have seen enough clips to put most of it together. Mucho repeato elsewhere, except Chelsea (who has Eli Roth aboard on Thursday), Daily Show and Colbert and Regis and Kelly and Tyra. And if you can’t get enough of Jay Leno, whose promos are clogging up every spare minute on NBC, he’ll be a guest of Bill Maher Friday night. And yes, I’m judging you. As a palate cleanser, here is a trailer for Inglourious Basterds.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), chef Eric Ripert, the Robert Cray Band (This Time)

Tuesday: Diane Kruger(Inglourious Basterds), Billy Currington (Little Bit of Everything)

Wednesday: Mike Myers(Inglourious Basterds), Ken Burns (National Parks)

Thursday: Renee Zellweger (My One and Only), Gary Muledeer

Friday: Patt Oswalt

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Rashida Jones, Jose Andres, Dobie Maxwell (R)

Tuesday: Kevin Bacon, Michael Irvin (R)

Wednesday: Dane Cook, Peter Travers (R)

Thursday: Lisa Kudrow, James Frey, Chairlift (R)

Friday: James Spader (R)

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Adam Sandler (Funny People), Peter Sarsgaard (Orphan), Kate Voegele (R)

Tuesday: Bruno/Sacha Baron Cohen, Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Cirque du Soleil Zumanity (R)

Wednesday: Meryl Street (Julie & Julia), Judd Apatow (Funny People), The Fray (R)

Thursday: Jonah Hill (Funny People), Cheryl Hines (The Ugly Truth), comic Dan Naturman (R)

Friday: Eva Mendes, Christopher MIntz-Plasse, The Dead Weather (R)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Conrad, The Fray (R)

Tuesday: John Krasinski, Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Kudo Tsunoda, Manchester Orchestra (R)

Wednesday: Betty White, Opie anbd Anthony, Martha Wainwright (R)

Thursday: Cameron Diaz, Universal Record Database, Grizzly Bear (R)

Friday: Dylan McDermott, Wendy Williams, chef Sam Talbot (R)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday – Friday: repeats

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Jason Aldean (Wide Open), comics John Caparulo, Loni Love and Jamie Kaler

Tuesday: Guiliana and Bill Rancic (Guiliana and Bill), comics Josh Wolf, Heather McDonald, Michael Costa

Wednesday: Marlee Matlin (I’ll Scream Later), comics Jo Koy, Whitney Cummings and Kevin Hart

Thursday: Eli Roth (Inglourious Basterds), comics T.J. Miller, Natasha Leggero and George Wallace

Friday: Jeff Lewis (Flipping Out), comics Chris Franjola, Whitney Cummings and The Insider’s Ross Matthews

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: David Cross (I Drink for a Reason)

Tuesday: Christopher McDougall (Born to Run)

Wednesday: Tim Gunn (Project Runway)

Thursday: tba

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Bill McKibben (350.org)

Tuesday: Christopher Caldwell (Reflections on the Revolution in Europe)

Wednesday: Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock)

Thursday: Robert Wright (The Evolution of God)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday – Friday: repeats

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: comic/talk-show host Jay Leno, Congressman Jan Schakowsky NBC News’ Chuck Todd, author Sam Harris, “Blackwater” journalist Jeremy Scahill

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Carrie Ann Inaba (Dancing with the Stars), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds), Jordin Sparks

Tuesday: James Spader (Shorts)

Wednesday: Tim Gunn (Project Runway)

Thursday: Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine (Making Over America with Trinny and Susasnnah)

Friday: Renee Zellweger (My One and Only)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: psychic John Edward (R)

Tuesday: Craoline Manzo, Dina Manzo and Jacqueline Laurita (The Real Housewives of New Jersey), Shalene Azam (Oral Sex Is the New Goodnight Kiss) (R)

Wednesday: chef Tyler Florence, Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) (R)

Thursday: Miss Piggy,  Patti Stanger (Millionaire Matchmaker), Helen Fisher (Why Him,Why Her), Sarah Symonds (Having an Affair?) (R)

Friday: Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush (Exit the King), Dr. Gadget, comic Carol Leifer (R)

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday – Friday: repeats

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday – Friday: repeats

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday – Friday: repeats

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Transforming Your Life

Tuesday: My Secret Jealousy

Wednesday: Married Virgins

Thursday: Troubled Mom Tries to Change

Friday: Psychic Twins, Double Vision

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Aug. 10-14

I don’t want to say this is a another repeat-heavy week on the talk-show circuit, but I fell asleep putting it together. There are, however, highlights. Although can one say highlight in regards to interviewing Kate Gosselin who is now famous for having a humonguous family and then cracking it apart. Or having it cracked apart by her estranged husband Jon Gosselin? Your call. I’m staying out of it, waaaay out of it. Who can watch this show now? Anyway, Kate is visiting Life with Regis and Kelly on Thursday.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Paris Hilton, Calvin Borel, Steven Wright (R)

Tuesday: Paula Abdul, Elvis Costello, Neil Patrick Harris with the Top 10 list (R)

Wednesday: Sacha Baron Cohen, Joel McHale (R)

Thursday: Paul McCartney, Bruce Willis with the Top 10 List (R)

Friday: Summer toy demo, Sandra Day O’Connor, MSTRKRFT with John Legend, U.S. Open golf champ Lucas Glover with the Top 10 List (R)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Carrot Top, Alexis Bledel

Tuesday: Mitch Albom, Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal

Wednesday: Eric Bana (Time Traveler’s Wife), Holly Williams

Thursday: Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men, Shorts)

Friday: Liza Minnelli, Dr. Kara Cooney

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Hugh Dancy (Adam), Lyle Lovett

Tuesday: Jon Hamm (Mad Men), freestyle motocross athletes, Cobra Starship with Estelle

Wednesday: Gordon Ramsey (Hell’s Kitchen), BJ Novak (The Office), micro-sculptor Willard Wigan

Thursday: Robin Williams, Piers Morgan, All Time Low

Friday: Shaquille O’Neil, Demetri Martin

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Eric  Bana (Time Traveler’s Wife), Jordana Spiro, Jeanine Mason, Fall Out Boy

Tuesday: Ashton Kutcher (Spread), Triple H, Bat for Lashes

Wednesday: Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Dancy (Adam), Kitty Daisy and Lewis

Thursday: Seth Green (Robot Chicken), Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Avenue Q

Friday: January Jones (Mad Men), comic Neal Brennan

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer), Reverend Al Sharpton, Jewel (R)

Tuesday: Ty Pennington (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), David Sedaris (When You Are Engulfed in Flames), Jonas Brothers (R)

Wednesday: Larry King (My Remarkable Journey), Victoria’s Secret Angel Marisa Miller, Chester French (R)

Thursday: Anne Heche (Spread), Aubrey Plaza (Funny People), Diane Birch (R)

Friday: Jonah Hill (Funny People), Mary McCormack (In Plain Sight), skateboarder Ryan Sheckler (X Games) (R)

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Fabolous (Loso’s Way), comics Jo Koy, Jen Kirkman and Billy Gardell

Tuesday: Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, comics Brad Wollack, Sarah Colonna and Tony Rock

Wednesday: Jeff Lewis (Flipping Out), comics Chris Franjola and Whitney Cummings and Ross Matthews (The Insider)

Thursday: Jonathan Ross (Friday Night with…), comics Matt Braunger, Arden Myrin and Guy Branum

Friday: Milla Jovovich (A Perfect Getaway), comics John Caparulo, Sarah Colonna and Kevin Hart

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Douglas Brinkley (The Wilderness Warrior)

Tuesday: Austan Goolsbee

Wednesday: Jeff Sharlet (The Family)

Thursday: Rachel McAdam (the Time Traveler’s Wife)

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Barbara Boxer

Tuesday: Jonathan Cohn (Sick)

Wednesday: Mark Johnson (Playing for Change)

Thursday: Mark Devlin

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday- Friday: repeats until fall

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: tba

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Ashton Kutcher (Spread) co-hosts, Lisa Kudrow, So You Think You Can Dance

Tuesday: Jesse L. Martin (The Philanthropist), Anne Heche (Spread)

Wednesday: Rachel McAdams (The Time Traveler’s Wife), dancers Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, David Cassidy (Ruby and the Rockits)

Thursday: Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Kate Gosselin (Jon and Kate Plus Eight)

Friday: Stanley Tucci (Julie and Julia)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Bob Saget (Surviving Suburbia), Alexandra Wentworth (Head Case) (R)

Tuesday: Kara DioGuardi (American Idol) (R)

Wednesday: Matthew Perry (17 Again), Tracy Pollan (Natalee Holloway), Dr. Robert Rey (R)

Thursday: chefs Tyler Florence and Susie Cover, Lisa Lillien (HungryGirl.com) (R)

Friday: Toni Collette and Diablo Cody (the United States of Tara), James Earl Jones, Jillian Michael (The Biggest Loser) (R)

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday – Friday: repeats

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday – Friday: repeats

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday – Friday: repeats

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Fat Families

Tuesday: One More Date with My Ex

Wednesday: Gay Is the New Black

Thursday: Sugar Daddies

Friday: Free Stuff

– Denise Duguay

Julia Child lives on at pbs.org

Hello chickens! This Julia Child post was originally published in June 2008, at the summer end of my weekend comfort-food series TV Dinner Time. But since every other blogger in the universe is hitching their wagon to the big-screen biopic Julie & Julia (opening Aug. 7), I thought I’d tart this old goldie up a bit. So here it is, only slightly tarted. See you at the theatre.

Julia Child courtesy of PBS

Even if you know her only by Dan Aykroyd’s most excellent spoof of her high-pitched voice and indelicate cleaver weilding, you know Julia Child, who introduced approachable French cooking to North America with her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking and virtually invented food TV with her PBS show The French Chef (episodes of which you can now watch on pbs.org or by clicking here).

In the 2007 book American Food Writing (editor Molly O’Neill, Library of America), she explains that the cooking show happened almost by accident. Her agent suggested a brief cooking demo on the Boston station WGBH. That appearance, in which the accidental TV star simply beat egg whites in a copper bowl while she talked, brought requests for more. Child, her retired diplomat husband Paul and agent, et al, decided she should tape another fuller cooking demo. And so, Ms. Child recalls:

Julia Child and friend courtesy of PBS

“On July 26, 1962, after we all had eaten a big steak dinner at our house, we pulled the television set out of hiding and turned it on at 8:30. There was this woman tossing French omelettes, splashing eggs about the place, brandishing big knives, panting heavily as she careened around the stove and WGBH-TV lurched into educational television’s first cooking program.”

Rachael Ray, bow down and give thanks to a generous, self-effacing pioneer.

Normally, in the TV Dinner Time food and TV series, this is the part where I try to convince you that the recipe I am about to share can be made during commercial breaks and consumed without mess or fuss, all without ever having to tear your eyes away from your favourite TV series. Of course this assumes enough TV to keep you rivetting to the couch. But it’s summer. So, here’s a recipe from Julia Child’s Lessons with Master Chefs. The chef is Alice Waters and the dish is Beet, Blood Orange, Walnut and Rocket Salad.

Now, remember to eat right this summer. You know how I worry.

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD: Flight of the Conchords gets no liftoff

Flight of the Conchords

Oh Dear. I’ve been caught with my DVDs down once again. It’s a slow week. And the only DVD that critical attention demands I review, well, I didn’t watched a single episode of Flight of the Conchords’ second season. It was clever in the first go ’round, but I found myself drifting toward the end. Sorry lads, your tale of two New Zealand singers trying to make it in NYC just didn’t click with me. Of course, you, with your much more advanced appreciation of this very dry humour will shame me by explaining how good it is and how wrong I am. The lines are open. My operators are standing by. Until the first call, here is the pitiful little list of releases this week.

Flight of the Conchords: Season 2
The Love Boat; Season 2, Vol. 2
Project Runway: The Complete Fifth Season
Robin Hood: Season 2
Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Show
Kate & Allie: Season 6
– Denise Duguay

Emmys be damned: TV critics pick the winners

Members of the Television Critics Association or TCA (the full-time ones, the ones with travel budgets, not that I’m bitter) are gathered in Los Angeles as the networks and cable outlets preview their fall season programming slates.

And, as usual, they take advantage of the gathering and amassed Hollywood talent to hand out their annual awards. Battlestar Galactica, ER, Big Bang Theory and Betty White are among the winners this year.

But before you get to the list of winners, below, here are two bits of colour from the weekend: There was a chocolate fountain at the awards, and CBS Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson sent pizza, as well as this note, (with thanks to Alan Sepinwell of the New Jersey Star Ledger for tweeting this)

And now the winners. Which are guaranteed to be more just than the Emmy’s on Sept. 20, based on the nominations.

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: “Battlestar Galactica” (Syfy)

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM: “True Blood” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: “Mad Men” (AMC)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION: “The Alzheimer’s Project” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING: “Yo Gabba Gabba” (Nickelodeon)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINI-SERIES & SPECIALS: “Grey Gardens” (HBO)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad” (AMC)

HERITAGE AWARD: “ER” (NBC)

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Betty White

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango Aug. 3-7

David Letterman is in repeats, joining Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Bonnie Hunt and George Stroumboulopoulos. But take heart. Highlight of the week is sure to be Meryl Streep on Colbert on Thursday, promoting Julie and Julia, which opens Friday and in which she plays Julia Child. Second will be either Eli Roth (Kimmel on Wednesday) or Quentin Tarantino Kimmel on Friday), both stumping for Inglourious Basterds (opening Aug. 21). Here’s a trailer for Basterds.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Veronika Part/Levon Helm (American Ballet Theatre/Electric Dirt), Top 10 with Bruno (R)

Tuesday: Jonah Hill (Funny People), Gar Ryness (Batting Stance Guy), Kelly Clarkson (All I Ever Wanted) (R)

Wednesday: Johnny Depp (Public Enemies), Megan Fox (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) (R)

Thursday: Ray Romano (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs), St. Vincent (Actor) (R)

Friday: Joaquin Phoenix (Two Lovers), SI swimsuit cover model Bar Rafaeli, Anthony Hamilton (The Point of It All)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Les Stroud (Survivorman), comic Lisa Landry

Tuesday: Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Minka Kelly

Wednesday: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer

Thursday: Sigourney Weaver, Glasvegas

Friday: Don Rickles, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Ashton Kutcher (Spread), Charlyne Yi (Paper Heart), Gomez

Tuesday: Jeremy Pven (Entourage) , The Human Cannonballs, All-American Rejects

Wednesday: Sienna Miller (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Steve Schirripa

Thursday: Ed Helm, The Jonas Brothers

Friday: Eric Bana (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Julie and Julia), Flo Rida

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Marlon Wayans, Judd Apatow (Funny People), Incubus

Tuesday: Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Joan Rivers, Arctic Monkeys

Wednesday: Chris Kattan (Bollywood Hero)

Thursday: Jeremy Piven (Entourage), Charlyne Yi (Paper Heart), Greg Giraldo

Friday: Paul Giamatti (Cold Souls), Ken Jeong, Julia Plenti

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Seth Green (Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II DVD), Jillian Harris (The Bachelorette), Zac Sunderland (R)

Tuesday: Ashton Kutcher (Spread), Nigel Lythgoe (So You think You Can Dance), The Script

Wednesday: Vanessa Hudgens (Bandslam), Eli Roth (Inglourious Basterds), Mike Snow

Thursday: Sienna Miller (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Dave Salmoni (Into the Pride), comic Doug Benson

Friday: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Rachel Nichols (G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra)

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Graham Norton (Most Popular), comics Josh Wolf, Randy and Jason Sklar

Tuesday: Milla Jovovich (A Perfect Getaway), comics John Caparulo, Sarah Colonna and Kevin Hart

Wednesday: comics Chris Hardwick, Renee Gauthier and Jo Koy

Thursday: Jamie Lynn Signer (Entourage), Michael Yo (E!), comics Natasha Leggero and Ben Gleib

Friday: Melissa Gilbert (Prairie Tale), comics Loni Love, Guy Branum and Brad Wollack

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Ronald Kessler (In the President’s Secret Service)

Tuesday: Rep. Henry Waxman

Wednesday: Paul Giamatti (Cold Souls)

Thursday: swimmer Dara Torres

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Tony Zinni (Leading the Charge)

Tuesday: Kurt Andersen (Reset)

Wednesday: Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach

Thursday: Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday-Friday: Repeats until September

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: tba

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Sienna Miller (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Joan Rivers

Tuesday: Vanessa Hudgens (Bandslam)

Wednesday: Steve Zahn (The Perfect Getaway), Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)

Thursday: Jeremy Piven (Entourage)

Friday: David Cook, Susan Lucci

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Michelle Malkin (Culture of Corruption)

Tuesday: Eric Bana (The Time Traveler’s Wife)

Wednesday: James Brolin (The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard), Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake Austin (Wizards of Waverly Place: the Movie)

Thursday: Regis Philbin (Regis & Kelly)

Friday: Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (Julie and Julia)

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday-Friday: (R)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday-Friday: (R)

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday-Friday: (R)

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Myths of Racial Perception

Tuesday: Tyra Makes a Difference

Wednesday: Pregnant Bunny

Thursday: What Is Good Hair?

Friday: What’s Up Everywhere Else?

– Denise Duguay

Series premiere: Defying Gravity

Series name
Defying Gravity

Debuts
Sunday, Aug. 2 at 9-11 p.m. ET on CTV and ABC

Regularly airs
Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on CTV and ABC and Fridays (starting Aug. 7) at 8 p.m. ET on Space

Premise
About 40 years into the future, four men and four women of the International Space Organization leave Earth for a six-year mission aboard the Antares. The first major destination in this farthest-reaching tour of space will be Venus, but half of the action will be flashback, laying out the connections between the characters and revealing a mystery. But don’t go thinking this is a hardcore sci-fi kinda show. It’s from one of the creative people behind hospital soap Grey’s Anatomy. There is ridiculous sex, soap opera plot devices hammered into a drama template, ponderous voiceovers, overwrought use of pop singles and a couple of easily identifiable standins for Grey’s characters, with more to come later.

Here’s the trailer

Primary cast and crew
Ron Livingston (Office Space, Sex and the City, Band of Brothers) is Donner, veteran of an earlier mission to Mars that ended badly. Donner is Derek. Also an engineer.

Laura Harris (24) is Zoe. She is Meredith. Is she ever.

Florentine  Lahme (Impact) is Nadia, the pilot. I haven’t pegged her Grey’s counterpart yet. Soon.

Malik Yoba (New York Undercover) is Ted. He’s married to the space agency boss. Jury is also out on his Grey’s character. He doesn’t say much in the first two hours.

Christina Cox (Blood Ties) is Jen, flight biologist. She’s kind of a Christina. She’s also the Canadian on this international crew.

Paula Garces (The Shield) is Paula, pilot and onboard documentary producer.

Dylan Taylor (House Party) is Wass, the physicist. I suppose he’s a kind of George.

Eyal Podell (24) is Mintz, the medical officer and psychiatrist.

Andrew Airlie (Reaper) is Mike, the grumpy mission control commander. Watch your back here.

Karen LeBlanc (ReGenesis) is Eve, scientist.

Zahf Paroo (Battlestar Galactica) is Ajay, engineer.

Maxim Roy (MVP) is Claire, flight surgeon.

Ty Olsson (Men in Trees) is Rollie, Jen’s husband and mission commander.

James Parriott (Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty) and Michael Edelstein (Desperate Housewives) are exec producers and Ron French (Battlestar Galactica) is producer.

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot I …
I could have sworn that I just watched Grey’s Anatomy in space. But Grey’s has its moments, so I’ll keep tuning in for a while a least. The soapy elements are, however, hard to swallow at some points. There is a sex scene that made me laugh out loud. Not the result they were probably looking for. Hardcore sci-fi geeks will probably be enraged by some of the more airy-fairy plot points, which I won’t spoil here but suffice to say the people in charge of this missing are not ruled only by logic and the need for financial accountability. On a more karmic note, and karma gets trotted out a lot in the voiceovers and elsewhere, it’s too bad that this sci-fi drama got the greenlight over the superior Virtuality, which was dropped as a series but aired earlier this summer as a standalone movie. It too involved onboard shtupping, documentary reports broadcast back to Earth and an overarching mystery. It was also crunchy hard science and so not everyone’s cup of tea, though I’d rather that than Defying Gravity’s waffling between sci-fi and soap. But this is summer and so these are desperate times and expectations have been lowered. Bring on the emo music, the stupid hookups in space and the dreamy voiceovers about fate and destiny.

Other reviews
The L.A. Times’ Robert Lloyd ends its review this way: “I wouldn’t warn you away” and “I do wonder what’s coming.”
Alan Sepinwall at the New Jersey Star Ledger calls it “too slight, or silly, to treat as anything but the cheap, disposable summer programming it is.”

Official website here and here
On the CTV site, there are photos and the usual character and cast bios, but also video of the execs Parriott and Edelstein talking with great born-again zeal about what great potential space holds. Hm. The ABC site has almost nothing but video promos, the loading of which stalled my Firefox a couple of times.

– Denise Duguay

Boy are we not in Kansas anymore: Tin Man takes Wizard of Oz down dark (but good) paths

I have an old copy of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz that I bought to keep for when my neices and nephews are old enough and, hopefully, interested enough to read. Same for the movie, the VHS copy of which has been replaced by a DVD and, probably, a Blu-ray before the time comes.
None of them are old enough for it now, scary as the story can be in the book and movie, with its dead Wicked Witch of the East, bad though she is, and flying monkeys and crying Dorothy.
But the re-imagining of Baum’s classic story into the sci-fi miniseries Tin Man makes the old book and film look charmingly benign.
This new work, which premiered on U.S. cable and Canadian satellite way back in 2007, gets its Canadian television premiere tonight (Saturday) through Monday on Space, airing for two hours nightly at 9 p.m. ET.
It is a dark, dark telling, replacing the sweet fantasy elements of a woodsman turned to tin, a scarecrow who longs for a brain and a cowardly lion.
In Tin Man, the theme that has resonated with generations of readers and filmgoers — there’s no place like home — remains but the home is not a farm in Kansas. Here, DG (Zooey Deschanel) is a young woman bristling under her parents’ attempts to keep her at home. She is impatient with her father’s stories of his ideal childhood. And then a storm comes. But not just any storm. In Tin Man, storms are for travelling from one dimension, DG’s Other Side, to The Outer Zone. Upon arrival, she finds a world ruled by the sorceress Azkadellia who generously deals out psychological and physical torture to those who resist her firm hand and to those whose powers can be useful.
The squeamish will wince at her treatment of a group known as the Viewers, clairvoyants whe see with their hearts. The Tin Man, played by the spooky-eyed Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers, Desperate Housewives), is seeking revenge against Azkadellia and Zero, her stylishly clad henchman (Callum Keith Rennie). Describing the others would ruin the joy of discovery.
And it is “joy”. Though this is dark, maybe too dark for viewers under 13 or 14 even if watched with parents, this is a nicely handled story.
The roles are solid, the twists on the story are well-earned and the pacing is good. If you can’t see yourself setting aside two hours a night for three nights, remember to set your PVR (or VCR, but… really?) or nip out to the video store and rent the DVD of the whole series. It was released last October.
But do watch.
My only quibble? Having watched only the first of three parts, I see that the wizard is not the “great and powerful Oz”, or at least not so far, and that is such a heartbreaker, although Richard Dreyfuss is terrific as this inside-out version of the wizard.
Perhaps it all gets sorted out. And even if not, it’s a forgiveable thing.
Now then, here’s an interview with one of my favourite Canadian actors, Callum Keith Rennie, in which he talks about how much he enjoys his bad guy roles in Tin Man, as the evil Akkadelia’s leather-suited henchman Zero, on Battlestar Galactica (well, partly bad) and, upcoming, in 24, in which he plays a Russian mobster.
– Denise Duguay

Zach Galifianakis, before The Hangover and G Force

Zach Galifianakis has been working his odd corner of the standup stage for a while, but if the name is new to you, you might know it from his two big movies onscreen: The Hangover and G Force.

Galifianakis has arrived, it appears, at least to bigger paycheques. However, to really know the guy behind the awkward, clingy, drug-packing brother-in-law-to-be in The Hangover and the whatever-the-hell-his-character-is in the hamster spy movie G Force, you have to see some of his standup. Which, lucky you, you can do tonight.

Neither Zach Galifianakis Live (10 p.m. ET on Comedy Network) nor The Comedians of Comedy (11 p.m. ET) are new specials. The one-man Live special, with faux behind-the-scenes, is from 2006, recorded at San Francisco’s Purple Onion club and the Comedians, which takes in five standups on the road, was released the year before.

If you were at Just for Laughs in 2007, you have already had the pleasure, although not everyone likes this bearded comic’s rambling, rageful, disjointed routine. I have to admit when I first saw him here in Montreal at the 2007 Alternative Show, after being encouraged by a friend, I laughed about half the time, and was baffled the rest of the time. I had similar reactions to his Between Two Ferns faux talk show on FunnyorDie.com. Sometimes funny, sometimes just puzzling.

Galifianakis is aware of this, obviously: During the Live special, he seizes on an unlikely-looking audience member — safe to say his most ardent fans are young males and this guy, dubbed Dr. Eye, looked grandfatherly — and reveals to the rest of the audience that Dr. Eye had been sitting through the show with a “a look on his face like he’s trying to crack a safe.”
That sounds about right.

Gazette film blogger Al Kratina, in reviewing the Galifianakis movie Visioneers at this year’s Just for Laughs, described his performance in the bleak comedy about a soulless corporation as “deadpan to the point of a barbiturate coma”.

That also sounds about right.

But don’t be afraid. Just let go and experience the absurdity, the silliness. Enjoy a comic who introduces himself, saying, “Hi, I’m Zach Galifianakis. I hope I’m pronouncing that correctly.” And enjoy his characters, like the timid pimp, who pops up in Live: “Hi, Amber? Yeah, I can hold.”

Having just watched the Live special, I must admit this guy is growing on me. In part, it’s a good tonic after having attended a week of Just for Laughs and heard a million versions of the setup-punchline type of humour. (I know, this is a tough life.) Galifianakis cracks that mold, to say the least.

And I am looking forward to The Comedians of Comedy, which was written by Galifianakis and also features Alternative Show performers Andy Kindler and Bob Odenkirk in an on-the-road special with stage performance and reflections on the business.

Here, courtesy of Al Kratina on The Cine Files, is the trailer of Visioneers, which you’re not likely to see in another theatre near you, I suspect.

Visioneers – trailer

Talk-show tango July 27-31: Funny People Sandler, Apatow, Rogen

Funny People everywhere, morning and night, east coast and west. Seems about right for those of us trying to adjust to life post-Just for Laughs, which wrapped here in Montreal July 26. So sit back and take in the promotional vehicle that is Funny People, which opens Friday, and its stars, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann, Adam Sandler and ringleader Judd Apatow. Here’s a clip, as they say, to set the whole thing up.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Eric Bana (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Dave Matthews (Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King)

Tuesday: Sliversun Pickups (Swoon)

Wednesday: Amy Adams (Julie and Julia), Tom Dreesen, Elbow (The Seldom Seen Kid)

Thursday: Adam Sandler (Funny People), Cage the Elephant (Cage the Elephant)

Friday: Regis Philbin, comic ted Alexandro, Dave Matthews Band (Big Whiskey and the the GrooGrux King)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: comic Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately), Richard Wolffe (Newsweek), Gavin De Graw (Free)

Tuesday: reporter Christiane Amanpour, Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory)

Wednesday: Toni Collette (The United States of Tara), Rodney Carrington (El Nino Loco)

Thursday: James Spader, Rose Byrne (Adam)

Friday: Saffron Burrows

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia), Judd Apatow (Funny People), the Fray

Tuesday: Heidi Klum (Project Runway), Steve Zahn, Jimmy Carr

Wednesday: Rainn Wilson (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Rachel Maddow

Thursday: Jack Dagger and Tonya Kay, Paul Giamatti, Regina Spektor (Begin to Hope)

Friday: Adam Richman, Ben Harper and the Relentless7 (White Lies for Dark Times)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Holly Hunter (Saving Grace), Mark Seliger, Spinal Tap

Tuesday: Sean Combs, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Tom Colicchio (Top Chef)

Wednesday: Leslie Mann (Funny People), Passion Pit

Thursday: Ashley Tisdale, Tim Meadows, Jarvis Cocker

Friday: Adam Sandler (Funny People), Jimmy Buffett

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Samuel L. Jackson (the ESPYs), Jamie Lynn Sigler (Entourage), Sean Patrick McGraw (R)

Tuesday: Leslie Mann (Funny People), Eric Winter (The Ugly Truth)

Wednesday: Jonah Hill (Funny People), Ryan Sheckler (X Games), the Sound

Thursday: Seth Rogen (Funny People), Melissa Sagemiller (Raising the Bar), Jack’s Mannequin)

Friday: Anne Heche (Spread), Aubrey Plaza (Funny People), Diane Birch

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Jane Barratt and Noel Fielding (The Mighty Boosh), comics John Caparulo, Whitney Cummings and Billy Gardell

Tuesday: Melissa Gilbert (Prairie Tale), comics Loni Lovey, Guy Granum and Brad Wollack

Wednesday: Chris Kattan (Bollywood Hero), comic Chris Franjola, comic Arden Myrin and host Big Boy

Thursday: Eric Winter (The Ugly Truth), comics Eliot Chang, Gary Valentine and Greg Proops

Friday: Kristin Cavallari (Van Wilder: Freshman Year), comics Josh Wolf and Jen Kirkman and Ross Matthews (The Insider) (R)

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Bill Kristol (The Weekly Standard)

Tuesday: Spinal Tap

Wednesday: former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton

Thursday: Judd Apatow (Funny People)

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Movits (Swedish hip-hop band)

Tuesday: Arianna Huffington (Pigs at the Trough)

Wednesday: tba

Thursday: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday-Friday: (R)

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: tba

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Holly Hunter (Saving Grace)

Tuesday: Jonah Hill (Funny People)

Wednesday: Anderson Cooper (AC 360), Jillian Harris (The Bachelorette)

Thursday: Anderson Cooper cohosts, Amy Adams (Julie and Julia), Leslie Mann (Funny People)

Friday: Bette Midler cohosts, Adam Sandler (Funny People)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Hot Topics, Mary Jo Buttafuoco (Getting It Through My Thick Skull)

Tuesday: Jessica Lange (Grey Gardens), summer gadgets

Wednesday: Ashley Tisdale, Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne (Adam), ABC News’ Timothy Johnson on proposed healthcare plan

Thursday: Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow (Funny People)

Friday: Constantin Maroullis (Rock of Ages), Cook with Tyler Florence

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Robin Williams (Weapons of Self Destruction), Joe Mantegna, Meiko (R)

Tuesday: Kevin Pollak, Shenae Grimes (90210), Ethan Haney (R)

Wednesday: Rosie Perez (R)

Thursday: Kristin Chenoweth (R)

Friday: Bacon Brothers (R)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Chris Rock, Elizabeth Banks (R)

Tuesday: Jennifer Aniston, Stevie Wonder (R)

Wednesday: Simon Baker (The Mentalist), Miranda Cosgrove (R)

Thursday: Brooke Burke and Derek Hough, Kate Walsh, Emily Bear (R)

Friday: John Mayer, Josh Groban, Lady Antebellum (R)

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Why Kirstie Alley Fell Off the Wagon (R)

Tuesday: Dr. Oz Investigates Medical Mysteries (R)

Wednesday: Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Sugarland — Stars of Country Music (R)

Thursday: Celebrity Chefs Move in with Viewer Families (R)

Friday: Released From Prison — A Mom of Three Goes Home (R)

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Advice Squad

Tuesday: Here’s Your Future Face

Wednesday: Tyravilles

Thursday: Deadly Teen Dating

Friday: Toddlers and Tiaras

– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango July 20-24: Gerard Butler, Katherine Heigl and the Ugly Truth

Katherine Heigl is stumping for her new movie The Ugly Truth, which opens on Friday. Here’s the trailer. Daytime is all repeats except for The View and Reeg and Kelly.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Katherine Heigl (The Ugly Truth), comic Jeff Altman, Spinnerette (Spinnerette)

Tuesday: Kevin Spacey (Shrink), Jesse James (Jesse James Is a Dead Man), The Flatlanders (Hills and Valleys)

Wednesday: Tracy Morgan (G-Force), Leslie Mann (Funny People), Diane Birch (Bible Belt)

Thursday: Diddy, Vera Farmiga (Orphan), Ginuwine with Missy Elliott (A Man’s Thoughts)

Friday: Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), comic Nick Griffin, Judy Collins (Born to the Breed)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Margaret Cho, Michael Lewis, Eric Church

Tuesday: Gerard Butler (The Ugly Truth), Jackie Collins

Wednesday: Kelly Rowland, Dobie Maxwell

Thursday: Cheryl Hines, Ben Mezrich

Friday: chef Jose Andres, comic Jim Breuer

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Adam Sandler (Funny People), Peter Sarsgaard (Orphan), Kate Voegele

Tuesday: Jonah Hill (Funny People), Cheryl Hines, Dan Naturman

Wednesday: Mat Kearney (City of Black & White)

Thursday: Zach Galifiannakis (G-Force), Jason Aldean

Friday: Seth Rogan (Funny People), Rose Byrne, De la Soul

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Will Arnett, Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage)

Tuesday: Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter (Michael and Michael Have Issues), Jordin Sparks

Wednesday: Bob Costas, The Mighty Boosh, Flo Rida

Thursday: Kevin Nealon (Weeds), Demi Lovato, Twisted Sister

Friday: Anthony Mackie, comic John Mulaney

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: David Arquette (Propr), Jill Wagner (Wipeout), Linkin Park (R)

Tuesday: Seth Green (Robot Chicken : Star Wars Episode II DVD), Jillian Harris (The Bachelorette), Zac Sunderland

Wednesday: Reverend Al Sharpton, Jewel

Thursday: Katherine Heigl (The Ugly Truth), David and Shaun Cassidy (Ruby and Rockits), Le Roux

Friday: Tom Arnold, Trailer Park Boys Rob Wells, John Paul Tremblay and Mike Smith

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Michael Vartan (HawthoRNe), comics John Caparulo, Sarah Colonna and Ken Baker

Tuesday: Margaret Cho (Drop Dead Diva), comics Jo Koy, Randy and E’s Jason Sklar

Wednesday: Jewel, comic Heather McDonald, Web Soup’s Chris Hardwick and comic T.J. Miller

Thursday: Kristin Cavallari (Van Wilder: Freshman Year DVD), comics Josh Wolf, Jen Kirkman and The Insider’s Ross Matthews

Friday: Marissa Jaret Winokur (Dance Your Ass Off), comics JOhn Caparulo, Heather McDonald and Brody Stevens

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11 p.m. Comedy Network, midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: NBC Nightly News’ Brian Williams

Tuesday: Secretary of the department of energy Steven Chu

Wednesday: Kevin Nealon (Weeds)

Thursday: tba

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Bob Park, University of Maryland

Tuesday: Aaron Carroll, Indiana University School of Medicine

Wednesday: Chris Anderson (Free)

Thursday: Zev Chafets (Cooperstown Confidential)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Tony Robbins (R)

Tuesday: David Foster (R)

Wednesday: tba repeats the rest of the week

Thursday:

Friday:

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: musician Rob Thomas, Homeland Security adviser Janet Napolitano, Susan Eisenhower, journalist John Heilemann

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Alanis Morissette (Weeds), Yankees

Tuesday: Katherine Heigl (The Ugly Truth), Jordin Sparks

Wednesday: Anna Paquin (True Blood)

Thursday: Kevin Nealon (Weeds, Aliens in the Attic), Flo Rida

Friday: Gerard Butler (The Ugly Truth)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Hot Topics and Charles Gibson

Tuesday: David Hasselhoff (America’s Got Talent), Obsessed

Wednesday: the co-hosts cook with Tyler Florence

Thursday: Demi Lovato, bathing suit shopping

Friday: Kevin Spacey (Shrink)

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Cloris Leachman (R)

Tuesday: Lauren Graham (R)

Wednesday: Brendan Fraser (R)

Thursday: James Denton (R)

Friday: Jordana Brewster (R)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Halle  Berry, Flo Rida (R)

Tuesday: Ryan Seacrest, Alison Sweeney (R)

Wednesday: Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), James Morrison (R)

Thursday: Ben Stiller, David Cook (R)

Friday: Clint Eastwood, Jason Mesnick, Eric Saintonge (R)

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Losing Weight with Star Jones, Valerie Bertinelli and Marie Osmond (R)

Tuesday: Dr. Oz Reports — The Science of Beauty (R)

Wednesday: Oprah Goes Inside the Yearning for Zion Polygamist Ranch (R)

Thursday: Oprah’s “What Can You Live Without” Experiment (R)

Friday: Ruby, Little People Just Married — New Stars of Reality TV (R)

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Wedding Divas

Tuesday: Confessions of a Teen Idol

Wednesday: Marry My Man

Thursday: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

Friday: Bromance

– Denise Duguay

Emmys baby, right here: 30 Rock and Mad Men lead

Update Friday, July 17: Here’s the complete list of nominees.

Hey chickens. At around 8:40 a.m. ET today (July 16), the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences unveiled this year’s nominees for the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which will be handed out Sept. 20 this year, broadcast live on CBS and CTV.

Still waiting to see the full list of nominees (looks like the emmys.com site has crashed), but Reuters reports that “NBC’s 30 Rock had a leading 22 nominations, including best TV comedy and AMC’s Mad Men had 16 nominations, including best drama,” and AOL Television has the supporting actor/actress nominees, which are now added to the list.

Here are the major category nominations, as announced by Grey’s Anatomy’s Chandra Wilson and Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons, both startled to discover they are nominees.

My puny thoughts on the nominees, such as they are, are at the bottom along with a link to a retro Emmy video that has a great blooper with the lovely Lucille Ball.

Best drama: Big Love, Breaking Bad, Damages, Dexter, Lost, House, Mad Men

Lead actress in a drama: Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Glenn Close (Damages), Mariska Hargita (Law and Order: SVU), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Holly Hunter (Saving Grace).

Lead actor in a drama: Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Hugh Laurie (House), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Simon Baker (The Mentalist)

Supporting actor, drama: William Shatner (Boston Legal), Christian Clemenson (Boston Legal), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), William Hurt (Damages), Michael Emerson (Lost), John Slattery (Mad Men)

Supporting actress, drama: Rose Byrne (Damages), Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy), Chandra Wilson (Grey’s Anatomy), Dianne Wiest (In Treatment), Hope Davis (In Treatment), Cherry Jones (24)

Made for TV movie: Coco Chanel, Grey Gardens, Into the Storm, Prayers for Bobby, Taking Chance

Miniseries: Generation Kill, Little Dorrit

Lead actress miniseries or TV movie: Shirley Maclaine (Coco Chanel), Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange (Grey Gardens), Sigourney Weaver (Prayers for Bobby), Chandra Wilson (Accidental Friendship)

Lead actor in miniseries or movie: Kevin Klein (Cyrano de Bergerac), Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm), Ian McKellan (King Lear), Kevin Bacon (Taking Chance), Kiefer Sutherland (24: Redemption), Kenneth Branagh (Wallander)

Reality competition program: Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, Top Chef

Variety, comedy or music series: Colbert Report, Daily Show, Late Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, SNL

Comedy: Entourage, Family Guy, Flight on the Conchords, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Weeds

Actress in a comedy: Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (New Adventures of Old Christine), Christina Applegate (Samatha Who?), Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Project), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Toni Collette (United States of Tara), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds)

Actor in a comedy: Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), Steve Carell (The Office), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)

Suporting actor, comedy: Kevin Dillon (Entourage), Neil Patrick Harris (who will host the Emmys, for How I Met Your Mother), Rainn Wilson (The Office), Tracy Morgan (30 Rock), Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)

Supporting actress, comedy: Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies), Amy Poehler (SNL), Kristin Wiig (SNL), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock), Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty), Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds)

My thoughts:

• Great to see Jim Parsons nominated for Big Bang Theory, a funny show that is now getting some respect.
• What the hell is with the paucity of Lost nominees in these performance categories? I see Michael Emerson for supporting actor and a nod in the drama category and ….? Hello? What about good Locke/bad Locke: Terry O’Quinn? Brokenhearted Sawyer: Josh Holloway?
• Will someone please bring Breaking Bad to freaking cable in Eastern Canada? Hello? Bryan Cranston was best actor last year and is nominated again this year, as is his co-star and the series. The show is great. Get Season One on DVD. Find Season 2 online and thumb your nose at Canadian broadcasters who will miss your eyeballs when you get more comfy with watching TV on the web. Ahem.
• Bittersweet to see so many nominees for actors/actresses in now-dead shows: Christina Applegate for Samantha Who, Kristin Chenoweth for Pushing Daisies, William Shatner and Christian Clemenson for Boston Legal (but not James Spader?). Speaking of which, no love whatsoever for Dirty Sexy Money?
• And finally, though not thoroughly because my real, paying job beckons, very nice to see In Treatment getting continued attention; the half-hour therapy sessions are too talky for some and beautiful verbal ballets to the rest of us.
• Vulgar, irresistably funny Family Guy has made history by gambling it could make the best comedy list instead of just the animated ghetto. I wish I could think of some vulgar and funny term of congrats.
• And a nod of agreement to ew.com columnist Michael Ausiello’s point that The Sheild and Friday Night Lights were outrageously snubbed.

Lemme know what you think, either in the comments below or by emailing me (click my name). While you are mulling over these nominations (no Survivor in the reality series category? There IS hope for humanity!), check out this video of funny moments at the Emmys. The first two-thirds is kinda obvious minor, scripted humour, but the last one, involving the luminously beautiful elderly Lucille Ball scrambling, is very funny. Enjoy.

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD: Madder and madder on Mad Men Season 2

Here is a verrrrry thorough review of the Mad Men: Season 2 (DVD and Blu-ray), just out on DVD. Eric Goldman of ign.com sums it up this way, in his Bottom Line:

“Mad Men pulled off an amazing feat in the second season, managing to keep up the quality of the series with such high expectations coming off of its first critically acclaimed outing. Like the first season DVD release, the Season Two set is a very strong one. A few more features would have knocked this one out of the park, but as it is, it’s still an easy recommendation for fans.”

I wish I’d had time to get through (or had time to catch up with Season 2; for which I have no excuse because episodes are still online. What am I doing talking to you. I gotta go.)

Here are some other new releases of TV on DVD.

ER: Season 11
Shark Week: The Great Bites Collection
Wire in the Blood: The Complete Sixth Season
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations — Collection 4
The State: The Complete Series
Arab Labor: The Complete First Season
National Geographic: The Great White Odyssey (Blu-ray)
The Best of Make Room for Daddy
Bewitched: The Complete Eighth Season
– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango July 13-17

Edie Falco and Anna Paquin are making the rounds, promoting Nurse Jackie and True Blood, respectively and the lads from Entourage are on both coasts. Daytime? Lots of reruns.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Jonah Hill (Funny People), Gar Ryness (Batting Stance Guy), Kelly Clarkson (All I Ever Wanted)

Tuesday: Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Michael Sowalter (Michael and Michael Have Issues), Wilco with Feist (Wilco (The Album))

Wednesday: Paul McCartney

Thursday: Anderson Cooper (AC360), Anna Paquin (True Blood), Grizzly Bear (Veckatimest)

Friday: Tom Arnold, comic Tommy Johnagin, Metric (Fantasies)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Selma Blair, Connie Schultz

Tuesday: John Larroquette (The Green Lantern: First Flight), Will  Dailey, Charlie Viracola

Wednesday: Rosie Perez, Alan Furst, Will Dailey

Thursday: Izaac Mizrahi, Shohreh Aghdashloo

Friday: MikeMassimino, Ray Lamontagne

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show), the cast of Hair

Tuesday: Michael Phelps, Sugar Ray

Wednesday: Dana Carvey, Kris Allen

Thursday: Gerard Butler (The Ugly Truth), Daughtry

Friday: Seth Green (The Cleveland Show), Steven Ho, Demi Lovato

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Dylan McDermott (Dark Blue), Wendy Williams

Tuesday: Seann William Scott, Keyshawn Johnson, Daniel Merriweather

Wednesday: Kevin Connolly (Entourage), Alexa Chung

Thursday: Anna Paquin (True Blood), Bill Engvall, Jonas Brothers

Friday: tba, The Dead Weather

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: NBA finals MVP Kobe Bryant, Laker Derek Fisher, 3OH!3 (R)

Tuesday: Samuel L. Jackson (host of The ESPYs), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Entourage), Sean Patrick McGraw

Wednesday: Larry King (My Remarkable Journey)

Thursday: Zooey Deschanel ((500) Days of Summer), Terrell Owens (The T.O. Show)

Friday: Josh Lucas (Death in Love), Danica Patrick (The ESPYs), Daughtry

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Florence Henderson, comics Chris Franjola, Loni Love and Dinner and a Movie’s Janet Varney (R)

Tuesday: Brooke Hogan (Brooke Knows Best), comics Josh Wolf, Natasha Leggero and Michael Yo (R)

Wednesday: Lauren Conrage (LA Candy), comics Kevin Hart, Jen Kirkman and Jo Koy (R)

Thursday: Brooke Burke (modernmom.com)comics Chris Hardwick and Gary Valentine and Megyn Price (Rules of Engagement) (R)

Friday: Michael Buble and comics Brad Wollack, Whitney Cummings and Josh Wolf (R)

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: congressman Barney Frank

Tuesday: Peter Mancall (Fatal Journey)

Wednesday: secretary of the department of health and human services Kathleen Sebelius

Thursday: tba

The Colbert Report (12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Paul Rieckhoff, Paul Krugman

Tuesday: Leymah Gbowee

Wednesday: Douglass Rushkiff (Life, Inc.)

Thursday: Edmund Andrews (Busted)

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Russell Peters, Pauly Shore

Tuesday – Friday: tba

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: Daily Kos creator Markos Moulitsas, plus tba

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

Tuesday: Dylan McDermott (Dark Blue)

Wednesday: David Beckham

Thursday: Adrian Grenier (Entourage), Twisted Sister

Friday: Heidi Klum (Project Runway)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Hot topics, Judge Jeanine Pirro

Tuesday: Jimmy Fallon (Late Night), Kevin Connolly (Entourage)

Wednesday: Steve Harvey, Daughtry

Thursday: Thomas Jane and Jane Adams (Hung), Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show), Dr. Donnica Moore

Friday: Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham (Answer Man), chef Tyler Florence

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Richard Gere and Diane Lane (Nights in Rodanthe), Ingrid Hoffman (Simply Delicioso), Matt Grant (The Bachelor) (R)

Tuesday: Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives), Amy Smart (Love n’ Dancing) (R)

Wednesday: John Stamos (ER), Pat Sajak (Wheel of Fortune), John Lasseter (Pixar), Cat Cora (Iron Chef America) (R)

Thursday: Swoosie Kurtz (Pushing Daisies), Justin Kirk (Weeds), Ivette Soler (Ther Germinatrix) (R)

Friday: William Baldwin (Dirty Sexy Money), Gavin Rossdale (Wanderlust)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Ryan Reynolds , Chris Matthews (R)

Tuesday: Miley Cyrus (R)

Wednesday: John Travolta, Robert Pattinson (R)

Thursday: Beyonce (R)

Friday: Matthew McConaughey (R)

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Elizabeth Edwards (R)

Tuesday: Dr. Oz on aging (R)

Wednesday: Suze Orman (R)

Thursday: Released from Prison After Killer Her Father (R)

Friday: Behind Closed Doors: Sex Therapy (R)

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Love the Skin You’re In

Tuesday: Whitney Port/ The Bad Girls Club

Wednesday: Teen Sexting

Thursday: I’m An Outcast Because I’m Overweight

Friday: The Secret Code of Men

– Denise Duguay

Durham County: A return to creepy form

The Canadian crime series Durham County is back for a second season, debuting tonight (Monday, July 13 at 9 p.m. ET on The Movie Network, following a repeat of the Season One finale). And it’s just as dark as the first, nightmare-inducing first season, although from a different perspective.

It’s good, almost as good as the first season, although I offer than praise with the same trepidation as I did when I reviewed the DVD. Season  One, about a wacko named Ray Prager who happens upon two girls in the forest dying from a serial killer’s attacks and proves he is no human, was too horrifying for me to sit through on the first go ’round. It took months of listening to fans of the series and series star Hugh Dillon for me to catch up, when the DVD came out. It was still horrifying, but I plowed through all six episodes. Like swallowing all the good but horrible tasting medicine in one go.

It was a fantastic, stylish, suspenseful piece of work: Cop Mike Sweeney (Dillon) knows his neighbour Prager (Justin Louis) is responsible for the deaths of the two girls and, although it takes him all six episodes, he finally gets his man. The cost? Prager’s final act before being arrested by Sweeney is to kidnap and attempt to assault and/or kill Sweeney’s daughter Sadie (Laurence Leboeuf). Sweeney arrives in time. Or at least before Sadie suffers any physical wounds.

Season One also left me wanting to take a shower or to walk among children and puppies playing in a sunny meadow. Very dark. Very creepy. Does the high quality of the work mitigate the images this dark business leaves in your  head? Very personal call. If you can’t easily shake this kind of stuff from your head, don’t watch. But if you can take it, watch this series. And watch it from the beginning.

Season 2 finds the Sweeney family in tatters. Mike has been promoted but, as his colleagues point out, he’s still clearly suffering from post-traumatic stress due to having witnessed Prager attempt to kill his daughter. Sadie is even more brittle. She wants dad to come home. Family therapy is ongoing.

And Prager (now played by Romano Orzari who replaces Louis)? He has survived a suicide-by-fire attempt (the scars are real, Orzari having survived a car crash) and is ready for trial. Which means Sadie will have to testify as she is the sole witness and other evidence is thin.

Twisting the suspense a little more tightly is the arrival of a new damaged soul in the community of Durham County. Pen Verrity (Michelle Forbes of True Blood, In Treatment, Homicide: Life on the Street) has a dead daughter, a trembly young son, a raging estranged husband and a backyard pool that never gets used anymore. She also has a therapist’s degree, which is what allows her path to intersect with Sweeney’s.

That puts all the pieces on the board. I won’t spill any beans but it wouldn’t matter if I revealed every single plot turn. As with any good story — and this is a good one — it’s all in the telling.

The look of the series is still sinister: the power lines, the half-finished housing development, Sweeney’s shell of a new temporary home, even the name of the baseball league that Sadie plays in — the “Emergency League”. And even when there is light, as in the Verrity’s ritzy home, it’s sterile and cold.

As far as performances go, Dillon is masterful as the detective father. As Sadie, Leboeuf is spectacular. And her scene with Prager’s son, her former boyfriend (played by Greyston Holt of Smallville) was lovely. Forbes is icy and scary, somethings that she’s also working well on True Blood as the devil/demon who hosts bizarre parties and harbours a strange pig.

But the plot in Season 2 is a wee bit more ragged than in the first in a couple of key respects. The relationship between Sweeney and Verrity does not feel earned. And Sweeney’s obsession with one aspect of the encounter between Sadie and Prager, while understandable in a father, is never grounded in the investigation story. However, in the thick nest of wierdness that surrounds these two points, these false notes quickly dissipate.

I could only endure two episodes of preview. I’m fortifying myself for the rest. I zipped through a couple of later episodes and saw some garish, horrifying stuff. You are warned. But this series has proved worth the effort it takes to watch it. If you’re up to it.

Let me know your take on disturbing but well-done television.

– Denise Duguay

Season 6 premiere: Entourage Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET

The boys are back. But are they boys still?

The sixth season of Entourage, which premieres tonight (Sunday, July12) at 10:30 p.m. ET on HBO Canada, has the now-restored Hollywood golden boy Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his three-man crew from Queens at least making the motions toward adulthood and, gulp, independence from each other.

As the action opens, things are tense in Vince’s Hollywood house as the quarter prepare to attend the premiere of Gatsby, the Martin Scorsese  fim that has pulled Vince’s fortunes out of the Medellin mud. Who will be the arm candy in the limo headed for the red carpet? And, more distressingly, what will Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) do once Vince gets his driver’s license and has no more need of a wheel man?

Wait a sec. Vince driving? A car? Maybe it’s just for his next role. Or maybe not.

And Vince’s  manager, E (Kevin Connolly)? Why is he acting so shifty? And why is he getting sucked into the vortex that is Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui)? And why is Eric suddenly so hot with the ladies?

As The Boyfriend would say right about now. Whoa. That’s a lot of questions.

Indeed there are. And because I’m in a fit of pique over having had key plot points absolutely ruined once again while reading careless and uninspired movie reviews (Hello? Globe and Mail? I’d like to report an intellectual property crime.), I am not going to answer any of those questions because that’s not why you’re here anyway.

Is Season 6 a return to form? After watching the first two episodes, I think yes. There is a nice snap to the opening. And I do like the rumblings of independence from E and Turtle and what that has the potential to do for Vince. There’s a nice exchange between E and Vince that takes the slick series to a rare serious place, talking about what really holds these four lads together other than Vince’s career. It’s just a flash before returning to the continuing Hollywood slapstick, but it’s a nice note.

And what about Ari (Jeremy Piven) and the Miller Gold agency? (OK that really IS the last question.) It won’t spoil anything to say someone on Ari’s staff is rising and somebody is falling and Ari, of course, is yelling a lot. At least he will never grow up.

Here’s the Season 6 promo. And just so you know, it spills some of the beans but no real damage is done.

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD: Fashion wasn’t the only crime on Kath & Kim

I was going to write about the DVD release of the first (and only! praise the lord) season of Kath & Kim, the NBC series starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as a dysfunctional mother and daughter with spellbindingly bad taste in fashion and nothing, ever funny to say. But then I found out that if it is no crime to make such a bad, bad sitcom, then it is not a crime to release it on DVD. There was such potential — the opening sequence of them strutting through a mall, the promos that gave a hint that the show was one sharp one-liner and hilariously bad fashion pose after another, what looked to be Blair’s ferocious skewering of her fashion image. However, the episodes revealed a show that was only posing at sharp, smart humour, instead settling for mundane ba-rump-pump sitcom setups.
Ah well.

Here are some other TV releases new to DVD.
Murder, She Wrote: The Complete 10th Season
Third Watch: The Complete Second Season
Matlock: The Third Season
Peanuts: 1960s Celebration
Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Vol. 15
Petticoat Junction: The Official Second Season
Torchwood: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray
Reno 911: The Complete Sixth Season
Callan: Set One
Kath & Kim: Season One
Frontline: Poisoned Waters
Frontline: Bigger Than Enron
Frontline: Ten Trillion and Counting
Frontline: Sick Around America
Frontline: THe Madoff Affair
Criss Angel: Mindfreak — The Complete Season 2
NBC News Presents: Yes We Can! The Barack Obama Story
Coco Chanel
Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes
Ruby: A Journey to Lose the First 100 Lbs.

Talk-show tango July 6-10: Hello Harry Potter

Good lord. These talk-show hosts do love their vacations! Most shows are in repeats for another week, but at least Letterman, Ferguson and O’Brien are back with new guests, including the three stars Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe who are cranking up the Harry Potter promo machine. Here’s a clip from The Half-Blood Prince, which premieres July 6 in Tokyo, July 7 in London July 8 in NYC and opens wide, as they say, on Wednesday, July 15.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Hayden Panettiere (I Love You Beth Cooper), Joel McHale (Community), Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (Outer South)

Tuesday: Sacha Baron Cohen (Bruno), Rob Thomoas (Cradlesong)

Wednesday: Queen Latifah (Persona), Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

Thursday: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Veronika Part (American Ballet Theatre), Levon Helm (Electric Dirt)

Friday: Rainn Wilson (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), comic Larry Miller, Maxwell (Blacksummersnight)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Eric Idle, Dr. Lisa Masterson (The Doctors)

Tuesday: Even Rachel Wood, Christopher Gorham (Harper’s Island)

Wednesday: Julie Chen (Big Brother), Michael Ian Black, Will Dailey

Thursday: Jeff Goldblum (Law & Order: CI), Jackie Collins

Friday: Ray Romano, Michael Buble

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Howie Mandel, Alanis Morissette, Death Cab for Cutie

Tuesday: Samuel L. Jackson (Inglourious Basterds), Kevin Connolly (Entourage), Andrew Bird

Wednesday: Bob Newhart, Al Madrigal, The Hold Steady

Thursday: tba, Playing for Change

Friday: tba, Ray LaMontagne

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Andy Samberg, Jorge Garcia, The Lonely Island (R)

Tuesday: Anne Hathaway, Will Forte, Jon Favreau, Mario Batali (R)

Wednesday: Kelly Ripa, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Amadou and Mariam (R)

Thursday: Steve Martin, Vanessa Williams, Paul Simon (R)

Friday: Will Ferrell, Kyra Sedgwick, Mos Def (R)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Artie Lange (Too Fat to Fish), chef Adam Perry Lang, No Doubt (R)

Tuesday: Kathy Griffin (My Life on the D-List), Ramon Rodriguez (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Ben Harper and the Relentless7 (R)

Wednesday: Dane Cook, child genius Pranav Veera, Franz Ferdinand (R)

Thursday: Denzel Washington (The Taking of Pelham 123), Will Ferrell (Land of the Lost) (R)

Friday: Magic Johnson, Jack Black and Michael Cera (Year One) (R)

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Brooke Burke and comics Chris Hardwick and Gary Valentine and Megyn Price (Rules of Engagement)

Tuesday: Michael Buble and comics Brad Wollack, Whitney Cummings and Josh Wolf

Wednesday: Marissa Jaret Winokur (Dance Your Ass Off) and comics John Caparulo, Heather McDonald and Brody Stevens

Thursday: Florence Henderson and comics Chris Franjola, Loni Love and Janet Varney

Friday: Justin Kirk (Weeds) and comics Greg Proops, Sarah Colonna and Ross Matthews

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (midnight ET, CTV)

Monday – Thursday: repeats until July 13

The Colbert Report (12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday – Thursday: repeats until July 13

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Margaret Atwood and David Frum (R)

Tuesday: Chris Cornell, Ricky Gervais (R)

Wednesday: Eckhart Tolle (R)

Thursday: tba (R)

Friday: tba (R)

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: next new episode is July 17

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Jonas Brothers, Mary McCormack (In Plain Sight), Nigella Lawson

Tuesday: Rainn Wilson (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)

Wednesday: Hayden Panettiere (I Love You, Beth Cooper)

Thursday: Rupert Grint (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Sugar Ray

Friday: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Hot Topics and Larry Miller

Tuesday: Denis Leary (Rescue Me), Rob Thomas

Wednesday: Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives)

Thursday: Margaret Cho

Friday: Minnie Driver, Tyler Florence

The Bonnie Hunt Show (2 p.m. ET on Citytv and NBC)

Monday: Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Annable, Elizabeth Wang (R)

Tuesday: Blair Underwood (R)

Wednesday: Kathy Griffin (R)

Thursday: Mary Tyler Moore (R)

Friday: Michael Clarke Duncan (R)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Patrick Dempsey, Tione Johnson (R)

Tuesday: Drew Barrymore, Taraji P. Henson (R)

Wednesday: Lindsay Lohan, Prince (R)

Thursday: George Clooney, Kiefer Sutherland (R)

Friday: Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine (R)

Oprah 4 p.m. (NBC and CTV)

Monday: Best Life Week — Falling Off the Wagon (R)

Tuesday: The Octuplet Controversy — Dr. Oz Weighs In (R)

Wednesday: Inside American Idol, the Queen’s Palace and Valentino’s Empire (R)

Thursday: The Little Girl Found Living Like an Animal (R)

Friday: Oprah’s Sandwich Showdown (R)

The Tyra Show (10 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: He Said, She Said, You Decide

Tuesday: Psychic Kids

Wednesday: Mom Police

Thursday: I’m Gay for Pay

Friday: Mama’s Boys

– Denise Duguay

TV on DVD: Eastbound and Down and on disc

Eastbound and Down is a half-hour series starring Danny McBride as thoroughly obnoxious galute Kenny Powers, reduced to teaching gym after drugs ruined his career in Major League Baseball. He is crude and foul and disgusting. AND he has a mullet. But despite all that, and my lukewarm review back when it premiered on The Movie Network in February, I found that I laughed more and — go ahead, laugh — brushed away a tear near the end of its six-episode run. And not over Will Ferrell’s car salesman coif, which could bring a tear to the eye but for a completely different reason. I’ll probably even tune in when it returns with a second season to HBO Canada in 2010. Extras on the Season 1 DVD, new on shelves this week, include audio commentaries, deleted scenes and outtakes, and featurettes Kenny Powers: Greatest Hots, Stevie’s Dark Secret and a making-of.
Here are some other and, probably, less foul, TV DVDs, new on shelves this week:

Stargate: Atlantis: Season 5
Entourage: The Complete Fifth Season
Eureka: Season 3.0
The IT Crowd: The Complete Second Season
Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season 2
Blue Murder: Set 4
Parker Lewis Can’t Lose: The Complete First Season
Route 66: Season 3, Vol. 1
Frontline: Inside the Meltdown
American Experience: We Shall Remain
Hilarious House of Frightenstein: The Librarian’s Not So Scary Tales
– Denise Duguay

Talk-show tango June 29-July 3: Daily Show, Colbert islands in stream of repeats

Repeat city on most chat shows this Canada Day and pre-July 4 week, except  for The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Live with Regis and Kelly, Chelsea Lately and Tyra. Later.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Jessica Biel (Easy Virtue), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Steve Earle (Townes) R

Tuesday: Michael J. Fox (Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist), The Fray (The Fray) R

Wednesday: Denzel Washington (The Taking of Pelham 123), The Jonas Brothers (Lines, Vines and Trying Times), Top 10 with Regis Philbin R

Thursday: Sandra Bullock (The Proposal), comic Pete Correale, P.J. Harvey with John Parish (A Woman a Man Walked By) R

Friday: Kid scientists, Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives), Rick Ross with Magazeen (Deeper Than Rap) R

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m. ET on CBS and E!)

Monday: Michael Douglas (Ghosts of Girlfriends Past), Carrie Ann Inaba R

Tuesday: Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives), Martina McBride R

Wednesday: Denis Leary (Rescue Me), Diane Birch, Tod Sawyer R

Thursday: John McEnroe R

Friday: Matthew McConaughey (Ghosts of Girlfriends Past), Cokie Roberts R

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11:35 p.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Tom Hanks, Green Day R

Tuesday: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joel McHale, John Mayer Trio R

Wednesday: Eddie Murphy, Angela Kinsey, Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal R

Thursday: Norm Macdonald, Jim Gaffigan, Neko Case R

Friday: Kobe Bryant, William Shatner, Incubus R

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m. ET on NBC)

Monday: Ice T, Elmo, Morgan Webb, Yeah Yeah Yeahs R

Tuesday: Seth Meyers, Michelle Trachtenberg, BMX biker Mike Spinner R

Wednesday: Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Joan Rivers, Rachael Ray R

Thursday: Maya Rudolph (Away We Go), Damon Wayans Jr., Asher Roth R

Friday: Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Baldwin, Keane R

Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. ET on ABC)

Monday: Paris Hilton (Paris Hilton’s New BFF), Ken Jeong (The Hangover), Blink 182 R

Tuesday: Ty Pennington (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), David Sedaris (When You Are Engulfed in Flames), Jonas Brothers R

Wednesday: Shia LeBeouf (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), June Diana Raphael (Year One), Eric Hutchinson R

Thursday: Megan Fox (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), David Cross (Year One), Phoenix R

Friday: Josh Duhamel (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Tracy Hutson (Feathering the Nest) R

Chelsea Lately (12:35 a.m. ET on E!)

Monday: Brooke Hogan (Broooke Knows Best), comics Josh Wolf, Natasha Leggero and Michael Yo

Tuesday: Lauren Conrad (L.A. Candy), comics Kevin Hart, Jen Kirkman, Jo Koy

Wednesday: Justin Kirk (Weeds), comics Greg Proops, Sarah Colonna and Ross Matthews

Thursday: Marissa Jaret Winokur (Dance Your Ass Off), comics John Caparulo, Heather McDonald and Brody Stevens

Friday: L.A. Laker Derek Fisher, comics Sarah Colonna, Randy and Jason Sklar

Daily Show with Jon Stewart (midnight ET, CTV)

Monday: Dr. Oliver Sacks

Tuesday: Mike Kim (Escaping North Korea)

Wednesday: California Rep. Hanry Waxman

Thursday: tba

The Colbert Report (12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Neil Degrasse Tyson (Nova scienceNOW)

Tuesday: Kevin Mattson (What the Heck Are You Up to, Mr. President?)

Wednesday: Lee Siegel (Against the Machine)

Thursday: mountaineer Ed Viesturs

The Hour (11 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Alice Cooper, Bill Maher R

Tuesday: Ricky Gervais R

Wednesday: tba

Thursday: tba

Friday: tba

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, so please click on the show-name link above for the most recent guest announcement.

Real Time with Bill Maher (11 p.m. ET, Fridays only, on HBO Canada)

Friday: repeat

DAYTIME

Live with Regis and Kelly (9 a.m. ET, NBC and CTV)

Monday: Mark Consuelo co-hosts, Josh Duhamel (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)

Tuesday: Anderson Cooper co-hosts, Seann William Scott

Wednesday: John Leguizamo (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)

Thursday: Jerry O’Connell co-hosts

Friday: Brad Paisley

The View 11 a.m. ET, ABC and CTV)

Monday: Tom Hanks, Ron Howarad and Ayelet Zurer (Angels and Demons) R

Tuesday: Dolly Parton, Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Megan Hilty and Marc Kudisch (9 to 5: The Musical)

Wednesday: Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friends (Cheri), Shirley Jones an Marty Ingels R