Just when I thought I couldn’t be happier after hearing that Friday Night Lights garnered a two season pick up, along comes the season finale. A nice tranquil beginning to the docile sounds of Jakob Dylan with a rundown of all the coupling and the funny juxtaposition of a near empty baseball stadium considering during the football season the whole town shuts down and shows up. Of course this turned out to be a little foreshadowing.
When you thought the Riggins/Collette marriage couldn’t get any funnier than Mindy’s Finding Nemo wedding vows, we get the whole white wedding complete with a mariachi band singing Peter Frampton. But my favorite part was the Taylors wonder why they got an invite because we all have gone to weddings were we didn’t really know the bride and groom but went because 1) you didn’t want to be rude, 2) open bar. With that said, how did Buddy Garrity get an invite?
The big new going into the fourth season was Joe McCoy’s power trip to oust Coach Taylor to institute his own patsy to guarantee playing time for his boy. As eloquent as his speech to the school board was, he really shouldn’t had said anything, just stepped to the mic and flashed his jewelry and say, “That’s all I have” and walked out. It should be interesting to see who follows Coach to East Dillon, Tami? Julie? Buddy? Lance? And even if the boosters redrew the district line, does Texas have open enrollment which may lead any Panthers to change his stripes to a Lion?
This season we saw emotional and heartfelt sendoffs of Small Williams and Jason Street, but the third season really belonged to one Tyra Collette. At the beginning of the series, she was basically the throwaway character bouncing from boy to boy without a discernable plotline to participate in for the first half of that season. The writers more than made up for that with Tyra’s determination to get into college this year. Sure there was a hiccup along the way named Cash, but the student body president got her biggest win with her getting admitted into UT thanks to an admissions essay that should hang on the wall of every teen girl’s wall to remind themselves of the potential they have.
Really, it would be silly to even debate any other show is the best one currently on television; Billy Riggins of all people gave a monologue when Tim pulled him aside after the reception was better than any other character on any other show. Seriously, Billy Riggins. But the third season puts Friday Night Lights in the discussion of the greatest of this decade if not all time. I can’t wait to root for the Lions, I may even get DirecTV just to be able to do that sooner than later.
Coalition Links of the Week: Buzz got to wondering about the TV shows that are sort of the opposite of guilty pleasures, the ones you don't even like very much but can't seem to quit watching. (BuzzSugar)
In case you didn't know, Vance goes to the theatre a lot, and then blogs about it. He also likes to stalk celebrities like James McAvoy after the show. (Tapeworthy)
After thinking about a particularly shocking character death this week, Jace talked to former BSG and Buffy writer and current Caprica showrunner Jane Espenson and some other television industry insiders about the role of death on television today. (Televisionary)
Sara was all aflutter over the BBC reality show Any Dream Will Do, which is possibly the campiest thing she's ever seen. Hear that Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber? (TiFaux)
Kate was oh-so-pleasantly surprised by Southland. (TV Filter)
Matt didn't love the premiere of Parks and Recreation. But he won't give up on it yet! (TV Fanatic)
This week, the TV Addict wondered if casting Leonard Nimoy in Fringe is well, highly illogical. (The TV Addict)
Free Download of the Week: Geraldine – Glasvegas (Rcrd Lbl): If you like the song that closed out Chuck this week, it was by the band Glasvegas, a group that shows up what The Clash may have sounded like if Joe Strummer were Irish. Now the song on Chuck isn’t free, but another song, Geraldine is just as good.
Video of the Week: I haven’t watched Battlestar Galactica basically because I would rather watch the story in chronological order with Caprica first then BSG. Think how much Episodes I-III had you not seen IV-XI of Star Wars yet. Granted you would get spoiled on how Darth Vader was Luke’s father. But anyways. Caprica launches as a DVD April 21 (and will also be available by digital download that day) and here is its trailer. For more on the show, head over to Discover Caprica.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Friday Night Lights, Anytime on Hulu: This is for those of you in Northeast Ohio, like myself, who were unable to watch the season finale because the local affiliate would rather show a four-hour Indians rain delay than the best show currently on television. What’s worse is I sat through the last couple minutes of Howie Do It just for them to go back to the rainy field and not even mention FNL and when, or if, they planned on showing it. Major League Baseball is at much fault as my NBC channel with their absurd “if we start a game we will finish it even if it is after midnight” philosophy. Long story short, I will be watching Friday Night Lights on Hulu sometime today.
Kings: A little less confusing this week. Not that it matters as the show is getting banished to Saturdays which is becoming the new Friday: the day shows go to die. Caruso was first then ABC announced this week they would be killing off the final three episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money in succession. I guess this is better than making us get the DVD to see the remaining episodes like Foc always does. But it looks like I will be catching the remainder of Kings on Hulu. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Kings on iTunes.
Chuck: As predicted here about a month ago, not only was Orian not dead, he turned out to be Chuck’s father. But after watching Scott Backula’s “Oh boy” routine, I actually began doubting my prognostication until he showed up at Chevy Chase’s workplace. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
Trust Me: Much like I said last week, if the beginning of the series was as good as the last for, maybe it would have been worth saving. You can also download Trust Me on iTunes.
Gary Unmarried: Even though it gets ripped off all the time, nothing better than a silly Romeo and Juliet rip off for comedic purposes. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
Lost: I pretty much have a full understanding of everything that happens on Lost, but the two things that go way over my head while I scratch it are all the “constant” talk and the Smoke Monster. And really how does Ben and the Others not have a name for it? Like they have never talked to each other about it especially when their sacred temple just happens to be its home. And how, and why, does draining a pool summon it? You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com.
Survivor: Nothing more boring than a tribal council-less episode. This episode especially considering each tribe was scatterbrained. I would have loved to see how the vote would have turned out. Now that they have three more days to figure things out, it may be less interesting. And I do not know how he did it, but Tyson actyually became more annoying than Coach this episode. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
Tonight sees the premiere of two new shows (well three if you count Southland; but you have had a week to see the whole premiere on NBC.com) and you really can’t get much different from the two shows. First up is Parks and Recreation over on NBC at 8:30 sandwiched between two new episodes of The Office, both show were created by the same people. Here is an extended preview of the show starring Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler.
Over on CBS at 10:00 is their new ambitious series Harper’s Island which they are dubbing and a thirteen-week event. It is a murder mystery where a wedding group is trapped on an island with one guest being killed every week. And we are promised, “By the end of the 13 episodes, all questions will be answered, the killer will be revealed and only a few will survive.” Since it is only thirteen episodes, hopefully CBS doesn’t get an itchy trigger finger and cancel the show before the resolution (Fox’s Reunion comes to mind as a parallel).
To prepare yourself for the show, you can check out The Globe, Harper’s Island newspaper (where you can also check out pre-show minisobes). Also, below is an extended promo for the show. But please note, if you are not a horror fan, you may want to pass on the show and watching the clip, because it can get graphic (but from the clip isn’t any more graphic than Dexter):
On a personal note, I would like to put my money on the bride. Take a look at the other suspects below.
Cupid was a show I remember seeing but not caring that it got canceled. Sure Jeremy Piven was thoroughly entertaining as a guy who may or may not have been the Roman God of Love and Paula Marshall was likeable, but certainly not must see television. Which is unlike the next show Rob Thomas created Veronica Mars. But since very few people compared Veronica Mars to Cupid (1998), it would be unfair to compare Cupid (2009) to Veronica Mars.
Naturally it is fair game to compare the two Cupids. Both shows follow a dude named Trevor who lands himself in a mental institution because he thinks he is a Roman God whose case is taken on by a psychiatrist named Claire. Upon release Trevor takes a job at a bar. This time around the story gets transplanted from Chicago to New York City.
From the promos I feared that Bobby Canivale (Snakes on a Plane) was going to just do a Piven but turns out to more subtle than his predecessor. Unfortunately I was right in thinking that Sarah Paulson (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) is a huge downgrade from Paula Marshall. Paulson is as uptight as her character requires but lacks the likeability that Marshall brought to the role.
Inside the bar we meet owner Rick Gomez (The Adventures of Pete & Pete) taking over the role of Jeffery Sams who gets a sister this time around the comes in the form of Camille Guaty (The Nine) whom I hope starts to take screen time from Paulson. The bar adds some extra depth to the show as it is more of a club with performances and a mariachi karaoke night (which is as cool as it sounds; assuming you think it sounds cool) which is the catalyst of some great music like Donnie Hathaway, Hall & Oates, and Pat Benatar.
Granted it looks like the second go around for Cupid may actually end up airing fewer episodes than its prematurely canceled predecessor. But maybe if we are luckily, third time will be the charm in 2020 when Ryan Pinkston and Hayden Panettiere take over the lead roles.
Cupid airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on ABC. You can stream episodes over at ABC.com. You can also download Cupid on iTunes.
It has been nineteen months since the time Rescue Me aired a full length episode. To put that in perspective, Pushing Daisies debuted, got renewed and then canceled all in the time since Rescue Me last aired. Naturally a lengthy “Previously on Rescue Me” is warranted for the fifth season premiere. Like who remembered that Tommy’s dad died at a baseball game right when they finally reconnected? Also Tommy is in some hot water when the new chief writes him up for being crazy partly to get back at him for leading on his daughter and partly for wearing his dead cousin’s gear when off duty.
After three very strong seasons, the fourth season went off the rails with absurd storylines that just got weirder and weirder, the extended time off seemed to do the show well as at the start of the season it is back to its strong self with most of the action taking part on the job instead of following the boys outside the firehouse. One storyline that keeps the story inside the firehouse deals with a French journalist, Karina Lombard (The L Word), who is doing a ten anniversary retrospective on 9/11 and in interviewing the crew. Also the boys go on a very explosive call which they end up bring back to the house.
Even the outside the house antics seemed better contained like Mike, White Shawn, and Franco get in business to buy a bar. Certainly that can’t go very well but will at the very entertaining for us the viewers. And Tommy’s girls all have new men in their lives, Colleen has been seeing Black Shawn while Janet has started something up with Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future), and naturally that doesn’t sit well with Tommy but Fox isn’t one to back down so there is going to be plenty of fireworks.
Also show up sometime this season, which will last for twenty two episodes, is Maura Tierney (Finding Amanda) who shows up at the firehouse after being saved by the group. Tawny Cypress (Heroes) will be spending some quality time with Franco. And Milena Govich (Law and Order) returns as the hooker that stole Lou’s money. We will even get to met some members of Sean’s family this season.
Rescue Me airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on FX. You can stream every episode over on Hulu or download them on iTunes or Amazon Video on Demand (see below):
My sources tell me that Chuck is on the bubble and so I and some other TV bloggers have decided to make a consorted effort to bring to the attention of those that are not watching why they should watch and to the big wigs at NBC (and possibly any other networks that it is worth a Friday Night Lights type deal), that Chuck is worth saving.
For my part I decided to run down the hottest Token Hot Chick Pictures. For those that patron my weekly Best of the Week posts (and the occasional 57 Channels and Only This Is On) ever week I pick the hottest screen cap of the week from the CIA’s finest and here is the best of the best. If any red blooded American boy takes a look at these pictures and doesn’t start watching Chuck immediately, you may want to move to Iowa.
10. Chuck Verses the Crown Vic
9. Chuck Verses the Seduction
8. Chuck Verses the Lethal Weapon
7. Chuck Verses the Imported Hard Salami
6. Chuck Verses the Sandworm
5. Chuck Verses the Beefcake
4. Chuck Verses Tom Sawyer
3. Chuck Verses the Third Dimension (note: the picture is in 3-D if you still have the glasses)
2. Chuck Verses the Fat Lady
1. Chuck Verses the Truth
For more Chuck related articles, head over to Give Me My Remote for the aptly dubbed Chuck vs. the Network Pick Up for those which will be added throughout the week. If you would like to paticipate, you can find out over there. Also many thanks to Strahotski.com where I stole borrowed the above pictures from. And of course you can catch up with Chuck on iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand and/or DVD (and of course Chuck airs Mondays at 8:00 on NBC):
Kings: There are very few times I have been watching Lost and just got completely, well, lost, yet I don’t remember how many time during the early going of the show I have found myself scratching my head and wondering just what exactly was going on. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Kings on iTunes.
The Big Bang Theory: I am beginning to think that the producers of the show have my crib wired because you can add computing in the air to the list of things Sheldon and I have in common. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Chuck: So the General was worried that Chuck was falling in love with Sarah so she brings in other absurdly hot chick to replace her. Sadly that sound exactly how are government usually solves problems. Had Sarah actually gone back to Langley like she was supposed to, she probably would have been greeted with a multimillion bonus for being incompetent. Or many that is how she got that car. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Speaking of shows that may be spying on me, I can’t count the number of times I have said “I’m getting too old for this ish” over the past half decade. Granted I was too lazy to put all of them down in list form. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
I Love Money: How dumb do you have to be to be called the dumbest player in the history of VH1 reality show and to have It of all people sing a song about how stupid you are? You can also download I Love Money on iTunes.
100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80’s: When I first heard VH1 was doing this countdown I though how could they find that many. But not only did I recognize about 90% of the songs and half are actually on my iPod. Granted I can grip about the ranking and how some are not legit one hit wonder (c’mon, Twisted Sister had a second hit, I Wanna Rock anyone?).
Trust Me: With the twofer this week it is hard not to think how much better the season would have been if they were more like these two episodes. I guess beer is more interesting than cell phones. You can also download Trust Me on iTunes.
Lost: I’m glad we got a Back to the Future reference this week because for me, that is the gold standard when it comes to time travel. And Hurley and Miles Who’s on First routine was the best meeting of the minds on the show thus far. While Ben being revived to become “one of us” as Richard Alpert put it, adds credence to my theory as to why he and Locke aren’t flashing now. But that still leaves Sun and Lapidus. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com.
Survivor: Yet another season where the Token Hot Chick doesn’t make it to the jury. Guess it is time to pour out some Cristal and cue up It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
Friday Night Lights: One of the many things that puts the show head and shoulders above the rest is the amount of great monologues on Friday Night Lights from Coach’s halftime and postgame speeches to Tyra’s carried confession to her college essay. Although I am a little scared of what could possibly be coming next week now that the playoffs are over. I have a feeling redistricting won’t be going smoothly. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com.
DogTown: If you are interested in the dogs featured this week, you can check out their profiles on the Best Friends website. Click the link to go to their specific page. Ava (the golden retriever whose paw got caught in a bear trap), Haley and Hana (the Ethiopia refugees), and Hugo (the biting bloodhound).
Quote of the Week: Back to the Future, man. We came back in time to the island and changed stuff. So if Little Ben dies he’ll never grow up to be Big Ben who’s the one that made us come back here in the first place. Which means we can’t be here and therefore dude, we don’t exist. (Hurley – Lost)
Song of the Week: Bottle Pop – The Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg (Chuck)
Big News of the Week: Friday Night Lights gets a Fourth and Fifth Season: There was some nail-biting last week, but word broke Monday that we will be getting at least twenty-six more episodes of the football drama. Like before, DirecTV will get the first run with NBC airing it at a later date. Unfortunately it looks the show will be without the Betty/Veronica debate of the new Millennium with both Tyra and Lyla set to go off to college.
But when Friday Night Lights is airing its fifth season, will Jay Leno still be on? If the NBC affiliates have their way, maybe not as a Boston station (which is ironically Leno’s hometown) has announced they won’t be airing the talk show instead having the news at 10:00. NBC shot back by saying it would be a breach of contract and would pull their affiliate status. Actually, at this rate Jay Leno may be off the air by the time Friday Night Lights airs its fourth season on the Peacock network.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Coalition Links of the Week: As ER said its goodbye, Buzz thought back over her favorite memories of the show and asked you to share your own. (BuzzSugar)
Are you ready to laugh even more on Thursday nights? Check out my review of the new NBC comedy Parks and Recreation starring Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones. (Give Me My Remote)
Vance thinks the producers and judges are trying way too hard to fix the competition on American Idol, especially when it's so obvious that Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta are far better than Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey and Lil Rounds. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace took an early look at next week's episode of Chuck (Chuck Versus the Dream Job), which features guest stars Scott Bakula and Chevy Chase. (Televisionary)
Marisa participated in a chat with SNL's Will Forte and Arrested Development's Mitch Hurwitz on their new animated project Sit Down Shut Up. (TiFaux)
Matt is glad ER has ended. Because he's seen Southland, and it's great. (TV Fanatic)
Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Southland (iTunes): In a story I broke yesterday, you could stream the new cop drama over at NBC.com, but for those that like to watch things on the even smaller screen, you can download the first episode for free before it even airs.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Recue Me, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: I will have a full write up in the next couple days on the new season of Rescue Me, but let me point out that all four season of the show, as well as all of last summer’s minisobes are currently available on Hulu. Above was my favorite one.
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Explorer: Inside Guantanamo, Southland, Harper’s Island, The Day the Day Stood Still, and Geiko.
- Coming up this Sunday, National Geographic is taking you inside the Guantanamo Bay prison, a name we have all heard but have never seen. Below is a clip.
- Last night was the final episode of ER ever and next Thursday at 10:00 the show is being replaced by the new show Southland. But why wait until then to watch the series premiere when you could head over to NBC.com right now and watch the entire first episode?
- Also premiere next Thursday at 10:00 but on CBS is Harper’s Island about a murder mystery. No pre-premiere streaming but the show has been airing webisobes since mid-March and is currently up to three. Head over to Harper’s Globe for those and other content updated daily. I may or may not have more on the show later, but until then, the show even has a wedding invite that is happening on the show:
- Coming this Tuesday is the DVD and Blu Ray release of The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves as an alien. Seems right. The movie also stars Kyle Chandler so it may be watchable. Luckily the special editions are loaded including a Digital Copy, the 1951 version of the film, deleted scenes, featurettes, picture-in-picture commentary, a “Build Your Own Gort” feature (Blu Ray only) and more. To celebrate the release of the DVD, they have created thetrailofdestruction.com where you can send videos to your friends of an alien force destroying building, even your friends house.
- I really don’t mind commercials as long as they are entertaining and Geiko is usually a hit with their Geiko gecko (unlike their Caveman campaign which was usually a miss). And now the gecko is hitting the Information Superhighway appearing with some YouTube superstars. The one out right now is with the Numa Numa guy which had me laughing even if they ruined a truly great Rockwell song.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
For a man who has converted to the Jehovah’s Witness and sworn off his dirty side, Prince still likes his phallic symbolisms and phrases that have potential double means. But hey, you can get his three latest CD’s for $11.95 at Target. I wonder what Kristen Wiig would have to say if your brought the triple disk to her counter.
Listening to song you can tell why Taylor Swift saved this song for The Hanna Montana Movie, which I think I may skip to avoid a run in with Chris Hansen, instead of putting it on her latest album as it would have been the weakest track.
N.A.S.A. is like a mash up artist that can actually get the artist to perform together on a song together. Unfortunately for the most part the concept proves better than the execution.
This song reminds he of the Jonas BrothersLovbug; it is bouncy and hides the singer’s limited vocal range, in this case fellow Mouseketeer Demi Lovato. But the breakdown in Don’t Forget is much better if only because the backing band is hilarious especially the when they freeze in place at the end of it. So what if they are all playing guitar and no bassist, it just looks cool
With all the basketball I watched last month got me thinking of the greatest basketball game of all time (and really the only one I’ve ever liked) NBA Jam, this month’s inductee into the Scooter Hall of Fame. I have owned three different copies in my life, for the Super Nintendo, and both Playsyation’s. Hopefully when I finally upgrade to a next generation console, there will be a new version of the game waiting for me (sadly there isn’t one yet).
What makes NBA Jam great, and sets it apart from other basketball titles, is that it is a simple two on two arcade style game that isn’t bound to the five on five rules that just don’t translate well to console games. And since it isn’t bound to any rules there are plenty of fun modes like if one of your player hit three straight shot he is “on fire.” And I mean that quite literally as he is engulfed in flames and his shots burn the nets off the rims and allows that player to score from pretty much anywhere on the court, from half court to the stands to even from behind the basket.
Oddly enough the most unstoppable player in the game was Gheorghe Mureşan of the Washington Bullets and if you went with Big Head Mureşan, your opponent would just quit knowing there was no way to beat them unless they broke out Big Head Shawn Bradley. Even then your chances were not good. In my dorm in college, there was a big screen television in our lobby and we would always talk about the elusive four way Big Head Mureşan on the big screen but sadly we never hooked up the Playstation to it for fear that the TV couldn’t handle all that Mureşan. Maybe when I upgrade to the HDTV, we can hold a reunion and finally hold our four way Big Head Mureşan game.
It’s time to go back to college… in March. Only on ABC Family. Not to mention it is technically half way through the second season of Greek. Of course, milking extra DVD money, it will most likely be labeled as “Chapter Four”. Small details aside, Greek, in its first three “chapters” was more satisfying than not and left with one big cliffhanger as Frannie defected taking many of the pledges last year with Rebecca Logan stuck in the middle.
And in true drama fashion we get a bunch of plot twist as they resolve the cliffhanger with Rebecca being inducted into ZBZ only to show up with Frannie’s Iki sorority only to find out that Ashleigh had Rebecca become a mole for ZBZ to spy on their rush. How Alias of them. Stay tuned to see if Rebecca pulls off the elusive double cross as Casey finds out this was all a sinister plan where Frannie wanted ZBZ to think Rebecca was a mole. And if we are lucky there will be a steal chair involved in the swerve.
As for the other Cartwright, it took a little too long for Rusty and Dale to shack up when it became pretty clear early in the episode it would end up like that. But it did led to some funny Canadian jokes by the bigoted Dale and the slumber party in Casey’s boyfriend’s room was the highlight of the episode. And hopefully with her name on the lease where the boys are living at, we get more Casey/Dale interaction this season.
The one disappoint of the episode was the misuse of Ken Marino (Party Down) as Rusty’s summer boss. His reactions to all of Rusty’s miss wording were priceless and left me hoping the whole episode would have been devoted to everyone’s summer. The short segment with Marino made me think what a great spin-off with him at Tiny Pines would make for its own watchable series.
Greek airs Mondays at 8:00 on ABC Family. You can stream recent episodes over at ABCFamily.com. You can also download Greek on iTunes.
It is time for another round of the game sweeping the interwebs, Playing the Percentages. Along for the ride again is Jo. If you want to play the home game, just drop your thoughts in the comments or leave a comment on a question you would like to be answered at a later date. Now let us play the game where I will play the role of Sayid Jarrah with Jo playing the role of a young Ben Linus.
What chances do you give Chuck and Sarah ever hooking up?
Scooter: This is really less a question of Chuck and Sarah ever getting it on, because as we have seen, given the time, everyone on television hooks up given the time. So it is more of a question of will Chuck the show be around long enough for them to hook up, or will it happen this season. Since Ben Silverman is certainly a candidate for a spot on Celebrity Tool Academy, you really can’t gauge him on anything unless it is a reality program or foreign show he can import. And him coming out recently and befuddlingly blaming Barack Obama for the show’s recent lows in the ratings department almost sounded like he is already making excuses to why it won’t be coming back. But still there is a chance they could hook up this season and I put that at 15%.
Jo: I'm torn between what I think will happen and what I want to happen. Scooter and I discussed who’s more at fault for Chuck and Sarah being apart. I think Chuck should man up; he thinks Sarah has shot him down too much. I want Chuck to man up, especially if the General is finally going to properly train him. But the chances of that being this season are so low. If I pick 14%, does that make me like the punk at the end of the row on the Price is Right? I think there's a higher chance of someone in Chuck's non-spy life finding out his secret. I'll put that at 25%.
What are the chances we get a fourth and fifth season of Friday Night Lights?
Scooter: This should be a slam dunk; the show is getting comparable ratings to last year even with a lead-in of Howie Do It repeats most of them time plus DirecTV is footing half the bill. But again, Ben Silverman isn’t sharpest tool in the shed even if he is the biggest. And though the network is becoming all Jay Leno all week long, they should be able to cram in thirteen episodes during the doldrums of winter like they did this season so I will be cautiously optimistic at 75%.
Jo: Again, I'm dying for FNL to return to give me more opportunities to be an extra on the show. Oh that and it's one of the BEST written and acted shows on television. But leave it to NBC to do something stupid--50%.
Scooter: Speaking of Friday Night Lights and Chuck, if it is on the chopping block, why not have Chuck pull a Friday Night Lights and have shop a deal around the other networks (such as USA, because I’m sure characters like Casey, Lester and Jeff would be welcome) then a truncated FNL could replace a shortened season of Chuck or vice versa on Fridays early 2010 giving you 26 weeks of quality programming next year?
Jo: Meanwhile, they SHOULD shop Chuck around. USA would be a great fit, not to mention Sci-Fi since Chuck is very similar to a short lived show called Jake 2.0.
(Scooter Update: The AP is reporting that Friday Night Lights has officially been picked up for two seasons. No word from NBC or DirecTV yet.)
(Scooter Update II: On the NBC.com Friday Night Lights it says congratulations on the renewal so it looks like to be official. Here is the NBC press release.)
It premieres tomorrow, what are the chances that the Cupid remake is a good as the original?
Scooter: I remember seeing the original Cupid but don’t remember being all that upset that it was canceled so the bar isn’t that high. From the promo’s it just looks as if Bobby Canivale is doing a Jeremy Pivin impression and in the other main roll, Sarah Paulson for Paula Marshall is a downgrade. I want it to be higher, but I really cannot go higher than 31%.
Jo: I never watched the original either. I have much faith in Rob Thomas, but remakes generally (BSG, a major exception) tank. I'll go 25%.
Just when I thought I couldn’t be happier after hearing that Friday Night Lights garnered a two season pick up, along comes the season finale. A nice tranquil beginning to the docile sounds of Jakob Dylan with a rundown of all the coupling and the funny juxtaposition of a near empty baseball stadium considering during the football season the whole town shuts down and shows up. Of course this turned out to be a little foreshadowing.
When you thought the Riggins/Collette marriage couldn’t get any funnier than Mindy’s Finding Nemo
wedding vows, we get the whole white wedding complete with a mariachi band singing Peter Frampton. But my favorite part was the Taylors wonder why they got an invite because we all have gone to weddings were we didn’t really know the bride and groom but went because 1) you didn’t want to be rude, 2) open bar. With that said, how did Buddy Garrity get an invite?
The big new going into the fourth season was Joe McCoy’s power trip to oust Coach Taylor to institute his own patsy to guarantee playing time for his boy. As eloquent as his speech to the school board was, he really shouldn’t had said anything, just stepped to the mic and flashed his jewelry and say, “That’s all I have” and walked out. It should be interesting to see who follows Coach to East Dillon, Tami? Julie? Buddy? Lance? And even if the boosters redrew the district line, does Texas have open enrollment which may lead any Panthers to change his stripes to a Lion?
This season we saw emotional and heartfelt sendoffs of Small Williams and Jason Street, but the third season really belonged to one Tyra Collette. At the beginning of the series, she was basically the throwaway character bouncing from boy to boy without a discernable plotline to participate in for the first half of that season. The writers more than made up for that with Tyra’s determination to get into college this year. Sure there was a hiccup along the way named Cash, but the student body president got her biggest win with her getting admitted into UT thanks to an admissions essay that should hang on the wall of every teen girl’s wall to remind themselves of the potential they have.![Terror Alert Level: Severe [RED]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjcsCV5I3jWQDVTcnVoXbArSx3kHl02FZ8FkOHBBKP2w8mQulcCF614SIw1GjuB2JtKV2YcQOKXtMlnW2ulLSOvYvvXzDwZ3JF4Mlh0Dt2nfEL1oGLh0sk7O-GRHWbCPvJmMMKg/s400/small_severe.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
(Laverne and Shirley, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Facts of Life)
. But since very few people compared Veronica Mars to Cupid (1998), it would be unfair to compare Cupid (2009) to Veronica Mars.
) was going to just do a Piven but turns out to more subtle than his predecessor. Unfortunately I was right in thinking that Sarah Paulson (
) is a huge downgrade from Paula Marshall. Paulson is as uptight as her character requires but lacks the likeability that Marshall brought to the role.
debuted, got renewed and then canceled all in the time since Rescue Me last aired. Naturally a lengthy “Previously on Rescue Me” is warranted for the fifth season premiere. Like who remembered that Tommy’s dad died at a baseball game right when they finally reconnected? Also Tommy is in some hot water when the new chief writes him up for being crazy partly to get back at him for leading on his daughter and partly for wearing his dead cousin’s gear when off duty.
), who is doing a ten anniversary retrospective on 9/11 and in interviewing the crew. Also the boys go on a very explosive call which they end up bring back to the house.
), and naturally that doesn’t sit well with Tommy but Fox isn’t one to back down so there is going to be plenty of fireworks.
) who shows up at the firehouse after being saved by the group. Tawny Cypress (
) will be spending some quality time with Franco. And Milena Govich (
) returns as the hooker that stole Lou’s money. We will even get to met some members of Sean’s family this season.
reference this week because for me, that is the gold standard when it comes to time travel. And Hurley and Miles Who’s on First routine was the best meeting of the minds on the show thus far. While Ben being revived to become “one of us” as Richard Alpert put it, adds credence to my theory as to why he and Locke aren’t flashing now. But that still leaves Sun and Lapidus. You can stream current episodes over at 
