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Monday, October 31, 2011

Morning News: October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween to all the ghosts and ghouls out there!

***UPDATE! UPDATE! How I Met Your Mother finally debuts the Slutty Pumpkin tonight with Katie Holmes filling the legen-wait for it-dary role!


1.  TV Tonight! Once you've finished trick or treating around the neighborhood, check in for tonight's lineup.  With baseball (finally) over, Terra Nova returns to Fox's lineup. NBC has a Halloween-ified Sing Off.  Freddy Krueger guest stars on CBS's Hawaii Five-O; NBC debuts Brian Williams' new news magazine show, Rock Center and FX is doing an American Horror Story marathon.  If you are very hardcore about the holiday, AMC is broadcasting the original, Halloween.

2.  Ratings news. Friday night's NBC premieres had a mixed bag as they went up against Fox's Game 7 of the World Series.  While Chuck debuted to an all time low (which is saying something for that show's ratings), Grimm debuted to a decent 6.5 million viewers and a 2.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic (that's fairly comparable to Fringe's numbers so TV Watcher is looking forward to see how they do squared off against each other).

3.  Homey don't play that! According to Deadline.com, the Wayans' brothers are reportedly bringing back In Living Color as a special for Fox's upcoming 25th anniversary celebrations. If the ratings pan out, they are talking about returning it to the airwaves on a regular basis.  TV Watcher was a HUGE fan of In Living Color and would gladly welcome its return to TV!

4.  Deadline.com is also reporting that CBS has bought the rights to adapt a beloved Israeli sitcom about the lighter side of divorce, Life Isn't Everything. CBS pretty much prints money at this point so I am giving them the benefit of the doubt on their purchase.

Once Upon a Time: For the Love of God, Don't Drink the Apple Cider

Once Upon a Time
Episode 101
"Pilot"

This may come as a surprise to those that find my disposition sunny, but I was not reared on fairytales with happy endings.  I grew up largely unexposed and illiterate of what many would consider standard, classic "every one knows them" fairytale stories and kids movies.  For instance, I have never read the story of Snow White or seen Pinocchio (or Bambi for god's sakes).  I am fairly well read and have a large supply of useless trivia knowledge which allows me to converse on these topics but, if push were ever to come to shove, I would surely be exposed as a fraud when we got into the details.  Indeed, its only as part of my on the job training with my little boy, Lil' TV Watcher, that I am learning these stories known to many as simply part of the basic Western civilization experience. This is all a long way of saying that I am psyched for Once Upon a Time's interpretation of these classics and find myself completely without bias or preconceived notions on how they should play out and influence our show's mythology.  With that out of the way, let's begin as the show's premiere episode did ...

"There was an Enchanted Forest filled with all the classic characters we know. Or think we know.  One day they found themselves trapped in a place where all their happy endings were stolen. Our World.

This is how it happened."

Friday, October 28, 2011

Standing Blogger's Weekly Sound-off

October 28, 2011

1.        Grey’s Anatomyokay, a few things have been seriously bugging me.  One, why oh why does “Created by Shona Rimes” now follow that title card and why is there random noise in the background.  We’re in the eighth season of this show.  We all know she created it.  So what gives?  Second, here at OMD, we’re all about continuity (that’s why we love that Barney continues to wear the ducky tie), so I don’t understand why last week Derek could still barely speak to Meredith, but this week, they’re all kissy-kissy in the hospital like its season 7?  C’mon people (I mean, Shonda), give us some indication that things have been good in the last however long it’s been since the previous episode.  And , finally speaking of continuity, because I watched the new episode last night, have we ever heard of Seattle Presbyterian before?  I mean, we know there have to be other hospitals in the Seattle area, but this week, Seattle Pres was all over the place.  First, as the other softball team and then where Zola was almost transferred.  Color me confused.

2.       Pan Am – People, please watch this show!!  It’s well-written, well-acted and everything about it is just gorgeous.  Sadly, no one else seems to be watching, other than me, TV Watcher and one of my friends!  So, I beg you to please watch on Sunday night at 10pm!  But, I also have something to say to the writers: Please give Kate a longer assignment.  I am finding her “undercover” assignments to be a bit formulaic.  Kate is approached by her handler who gives her an assignment.  Kate considers the assignment on the plane.  Once at her destination, Kate tries to complete the assignment, but something screws it up (Laura, an East German spy, etc.).  Eventually, she completes the mission and receives some sort of scolding from one of her handlers.  I think she could really use some kind of arc.  But what do I know?


3.       Desperate Housewives – has gotten, well, desperate.  Last week’s entire episode made me uncomfortable.  The scenes of Susan in her art class were painful and unwatchable.  Gabby and the PTA women made me cringe.  While Lynette and Tom’s therapy was also a little awkward, the scenes at the bar were fantastic.  It was the only part of the show that I actually enjoyed.  Too many people have brought up the fact that the Wisteria Lane ladies are hiding something and now it’s clear that Gabby’s dead stepfather is about to be unearthed.  I’ll keep watching because it’s nearing the end, but I’ll be keeping my finger very close to the fast-forward button.

Morning News: October 28, 2011

Happy Halloween Weekend!

1. Tonight's TV:   In scheduling news, the never-ending World Series bumps Fringe to next week.  TV Watcher will have to wait another week for Peter Bishop's return.  Elsewhere on the dial, Grimm has it's series premiere on NBC.  Given the terrific viewership that Once Upon a Time has already achieved, is there room for another fairy-tale based show?  Somehow, I think this might be another NBC mis-step.  See #3 below, although I think TV Watcher will disagree with me.

2.  Project Runway crowned a winner last night Wait, is crowned the right terminology for this show?  I've never seen it, please correct me in the comments!

3.  At NBC, they must try so hard to come up with terrible programming.  And even when they find something good, they kill it (Sing-Off  as a two-hour show, c'mon people).  So, how horrible will Fashion Star be?  With Jessica Simpson and Nicole Ritchie, you couldn't get me to go near that thing for anything.  Unless it's cash (yes, I can be bought...).

4.  Must be the tiger blood!  FX has picked up Charlie Sheen's Anger Management.  A lot of people will check out the premiere and no one will watch the rest of the season.  Who's with me?

5.  Ratings!  Other than Fox (which likely took the top spot thanks to the World Series), CBS rocked with total viewers and in the demos (although ABC came pretty close there).  Despite the strong showing, most of the CBS shows were down across the board.  In positive news for NBC, the Peacock network came in ahead of Univision this week.  Yay.

6.  On a self-promotional note, OMD is introducing a new weekly column, check out my weekly Sound Off column. 

Have a wonderful weekend.  You can bet we will be spending it catching on on last week's TV!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Morning News: October 27, 2011

Its a slow news day today ...

1.  Casting News! Jonathan Groff is returning to Glee in his role as Jesse St. James.  Christina Milian (a "singer" that referenes her name in her songs, I think) is joining NBC's The Voice for its second season. She will be a backstage ... person of sorts. Gilbert Gottferied (the voice of the bird on Cyberchase; former AFLAC duck; the bird in Disney's Aladdin - what is with him and the fowl?) is coming to Law & Order: SVU for a maybe recurring role as an IT guy. ooook. Jennifer Coolidge is joining 2 Broke Girls.  Cougar Town is bring back most of the Scrubs cast for some overlapping reunion scenes.  Each of Zach Braff (JD), Robert Maschio (The Todd!), Sarah Chalke (Elliot), Ken Jenkins (Dr. Kelso) and Sam Lloyd (Ted) will join series regular Christa Miller (who played Jordan on Scrubs) and Scrubs and Cougar Town creator Bill Lawrence (also Miller's husband) at some point during the season.  Richard Schiff (the awesome Toby from the awesome West Wing) will join Once Upon a Time as Snow White's dad. LOVE IT!

2.  TV Tonight!  The World Series makes up last night's rainout with Game 6 tonight.  Beavis and Butthead return to MTV at 10pm.  ABC has It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! Lifetime has Project Runway's finale. NBC has Halloween episodes from Community, Parks and Rec and The Office.  CBS and ABC ramp up the drama with newepisodes of Person of Interest and Grey's Anatomy!

3.  Actor/Comedian Patrice O'Neal suffered a stroke sometime last week.  Mainstream TV viewers will know him as the warehouse worker that Kelly would refer to as "walrus" from time to time.  Patrice was also part of last month's Roast of Charlie Sheen and was a regular on the Opie and Anthony Morning Show (airing on Sirius/XM). We wish him the best for a speedy recovery. Patrice is one funny dude.

4.  PBS is kicking off the iDocumentaries on the life and times of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple who recently passed away. The iDocumentary will air on November 2 and will be called, Steve Jobs — One Last Thing. 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

NCIS: There's Something (Crazy) About Mary!

NCIS
Episode 906
"Thirst"

Man, if I had a dime for every time I was playing the "Who Would You Choose, Jennifer Aniston or Jennifer Lopez" game while driving a big rig and hitting a drunk pedestrian staggering across the road who then dies with clear fluid pouring from his mouth, well, I'll tell you, I'd be rich!   Credits!

Morning News: October 26, 2011

1.  Series PickUps and Renewals. A busy day for full season pick ups and series renewals.  CBS kicked off the action by picking up full seasons of freshmen dramas, Unforgettable and Person of Interest (TV Watcher is very happy). While only 2 episodes into season 2, AMC has renewed The Walking Dead for a season 3.  Yay Zombies!  Comedy Central has picked up its quirky series, Workaholics, for a third season (really didn't realize there had been a season 1 and 2?).  And rounding out the list, Showtime has renewed Homeland for a second season.

2.  Picking up on the DirecTV/Fox feud reported yesterday, Sons of Anarchy creator, Kurt Sutter, taped a message which aired before last night's episode of Sons in which he informed you that are getting f&*ked over by DirecTV. His words ya'll, not mine.

3.  The Associated press is reporting that 92 year old Andy Rooney has been hospitalized following complications stemming from surgery performed last week.  You'll remember that Mr. Rooney only just retired from grouching on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago. Feel better Andy!

4.  X Factor, is a desperate plea for attention and relevance, has announced that it will be the first competitive reality show to allow voting via Twitter.  The voting will be done through use of Twitter's direct message feature and not via rambling incoherent Tweets.

5.  Tonight's TV! ABC has a host of Halloween comedy episodes with The Middle, Suburgatory and Happy Endings offering fresh episodes (and a repeat of last year's Modern Family Halloween episode ... why didn't they shoot a new one?!?). They end the night with the Fourth of July episode of Revenge!!! Fox has game 1000 of the World Series. CBS has Survivor and FX airs an all new American Horror Story!

6.  Just a brief Ratings Update because this kind of news brings us pleasure, ABC's ill fated "Man Hour" featuring Last Man Standing and Man Up! TUMBLED in the ratings last night. By comparison, 9 year old NCIS pulled in just over 19 million viewers ... just another normal week for OMD fav, NCIS!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Afternoon News: October 25, 2011

Ratings! Overall, ABC won the night in total viewers, with just over 15 million, but CBS won in the demos. HIMYM was actually up last night, as were all of the other CBS comedies and H5-0. Reality programming took a hit, Dancing was down 6% and Sing-Off hit a series low. Poor old NBC, the only network behind it last night was CW. Even Univision bested NBC in the demos. Ouch. Seems like NBC is putting a lot of pressure on Brian Williams - will people tune in because they think Rock Center is a take off of 30 Rock? That'd be funny. Fun fact: If you've seen the promos for Rock Center, they were actually filmed in the elevators of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. I know those elevators well (I used to work in the building!).

1. CSI's showrunner has just sold 6 new shows, including 2 book adaptations on CW. I guess she wants to get some viewers who are under 55!

2. Could reality performance shows actually get longer? X Factor says yes. As if it doesn't occupy enough time on some people's DVRs, tonight outing will be two and a half hours long.

3. Casting News! Idol alum Crystal Bowersox (I've always thought she had a cool name) will guest star in a episode of Body of Proof (a show which does not occupy space on our DVRs here at OMD, but gets watched occasionally online or On Demand) playing an inmate convicted for assaulting her drug dealer.

4. Here we go again, DirecTV subscribers may lose their Fox programming. Been there, done that. Let's see if they can come to an agreement faster than Cablevision did.

5. Charles is back in Charge! Scott Baio will star in a Nick at Nite original series called Daddy's Home as teenage hearts begin to flutter back in 1986.

How I Met Your Mother: Noretta

Or, The One With the Best Guests

As the show opens, Ted's VO tells us that Barney's brother James (guest #1!) came to visit and with the addition of Nora and Kevin, there's no room in the booth at MacLaren's. As Nora excuses herself to use the "loo" (because then she can have a seat to herself), Barney asks the crew to ask him where he's going tonight. Of course, no one responds, until newcomer Kevin asks. "Bootytown"! hoots Barney (who, thankfully is still wearing the Ducky Tie), which is then followed by lots of name twists, but ends when Nora returns to tell Barney they are going ice skating (that's not what he thought their special night would involve, so James quickly tells Barney that he'll be going to Hand Central Station (haha!). Until Nora tells him that they are going to shag afterwards.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Pan Am: It Could Be Worse, You Could Have Jujube'd His Wife

Pan Am
Episode 105
One Coin in a Fountain

Tonight’s episode was kind of fun and drama free.  It takes place against the backdrop of the yearly Monaco Grand Prix, which Wikipedia describes as one of the most “important and prestigious” races run in the world. Held since 1929, the Monaco Grand Prix was also called the European Grand Prix in 1963 (due to a rotating title across the European racing circuit at the time). The 1963 Monaco Grand Prix was won by 6 time champion Graham Hill of British Racing Motors. Bruce McLaren (the 1962 winner driving for Cooper-Climax which is Dean’s stated favorite to win) came in third.  The race was held on May 26, 1963 which makes it consistent with last week’s Mercury 9 launch timeline but not with the fact that we are now in early July in the show’s stated chronology. Did nothing happen of note in the summer of 1963, internationally, which the show can shuttle the ladies to? 

Whatever, let's get on with the show!

Morning News: October 24, 2011

**UPDATE** Since we are watching Once Upon a Time here at On My DVR, we wanted to post an update to the Morning News to let you know that the fairytale show had ABC's best series premiere numbers in the last two years, drawing a 3.9 demo rating in 18-49 category and over 12.7 million viewers.

1.  Tonight's TV! Game 5 of the World Series will occupy Fox, while CBS has its Monday night comedies and Hawaii Five-O and ABC has Dancing with the Stars.  For those that want some cable, A&E premieres a new reality show, Monster-in-Laws, at 10pm.  Watch people deal with unruly -in-laws and feel better about yourself!

2.  Casting News!  Its confirmed, Trouty Mouth is coming back to Glee. As previously reported, Chord Overstreet has been negotiating a deal to return to the ailing show for a multi-episode arc. That deal has now been signed. Aisha Tyler (Friends) is joining CBS's girl, gab fest, The Talk.   Mena Suvari (American Beauty) will play the Black Dahlia in an upcoming episode of American Horror Story.

3.  Shows in Development.  HBO has two shows in development from proven HBO winners; one is from Tom Hanks, called Players and the other is from Alan Ball, called Wichita. Hanks's Playtone company has previously produced hits for HBO such as Big Love and Band of Brothers and Alan Ball has Six Feet Under and True Blood to his credit. Like Jimmy Fallon and his sense of humor? Well NBC sure does; they are currently looking at three new shows from Fallon's production company. More as details surface.

4.  Gooooooaaaaalll! We are not the biggest sports fans here at On My DVR but figured we should tell you that Fox and Telemundo have secured the English and Spanish, respectively, broadcasting rights from FIFA for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup airings in the United States.  The deal has cost Fox $425 million and Telemundo $600 million.

5.  This is just about the coolest thing TV Watcher has ever heard.  Breakfast Club is one of those movies that holds a place in the collective consciousness of a generation.  Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Person of Interest: The One Where Reese and Finch Become Friends

Person of Interest
Episode 105
"Judgment"

Welcome to this week's Person of Interest.  No preamble this week, let's unpack the episode.  We open with some security footage of a guy getting run down in a parking garage and an Eastern European voice calling someone and telling him that they've got a problem.  Lets table that scene for a bit.

Read on after the jump...

Morning News: October 21, 2011

1.  Series Premiere. Kelsey Grammer's new show, Boss, premieres tonight on Starz.  We don't subscribe to Starz and won't begin to just to watch Frasier but this show does look pretty good.  ONCE UPON A TIME STARTS SUNDAY!!! Don't miss this show, its going to blow you away. Check out the first nine minutes here. TV Watcher will be following the fairytale action here at On My DVR! Please note that with the start of Once Upon a Time, ABC's aging reality series, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition moves to its new timeslot tonight!

2.  Casting News.  Looks like Susan Lucci is set to join crazy Kim Delaney on Lifetime's long running series, Army Wives. Long live Erica Kane bitches! One of TV Watcher's favorite, "Hey, Its that Guy" actors, Titus Welliver, is set to guest star on CBS's juggernaut CSI, playing a bad guy. This is shocking giving Welliver previous roles which incude the evil "Man in Black" from LOST and a horseman of the apocalypse on Supernatural.

3.  New and Returning Shows!  As a Game of Thrones fan and nerd in general, TV Watcher is very excited at National Geographic Channel's new show, Knights of Mayhem, which follow a few dedicated modern knights as they try to launch the competitive sport of jousting!  Knights is set to begin airing on November 15.  NBC has announced a second season for the STD-laden summer turd, Love in the Wild.

4.  World Series News.  Cause TV Watcher doesn't much care about the World Series, especially when the Mets aren't playing, we'll fill you in on who is singing the National Anthem for the next three games:   Ronnie Dunn (of Brooks and Dunn fame) for Game 3, Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) for game 4 and Demi Lovato (currently heard on the radio moaning the song "Skyscraper," formerly a Disney darling).

5.  Oh, DiNozzo.  Michael Weatherly (Tony DiNozzo on NCIS), is being sued for $80,000 stemming from a car crash he was involved in last year.  You better get Gibbs to talk to the plaintiff.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Morning News: October 20, 2011

1.  The answer is an easy, "No, its not worth it."  Bring back New Girl; and for those that watch them, stop screwing with Terra Nova and X Factor.  We're trying to enjoy your network Fox, don't make us hate you!

2.  Casting News! If you're into soaps and American Idol nostalgia, you'll love this first bit of news: The Young and the Restless has hired on former American Idol runner-up, Diana DeGarmo, to appear in a multi-episode arc beginning on Halloween.  Marissa Jaret Winokur is joining TV Land's Retired at 35. Fans of Hairspray, The  Musical rejoice! French Stewart (3rd Rock from the Sun; Allen Gregory) is joining Community.  With the Full House/Saved by the Bell casting news yesterday, this news officially makes this the Week of the Retread Star!

3.  Get ready to eat some more bugs and crawl through some more nasty muck for money ... Joe Rogan and his circus side show, Fear Factor, now have a return date of December 12.  Welcome back!

4.  Season Premiere.  You can tell by our low placement of this news that we're very excited by it. CBS (finally) debuts the 6th season of Rules of Engagement tonight (you'll remember that it was pulled from its scheduled Saturday death slot to fill in for the even more dead on arrival How to be a Gentleman).

5.  If you have nothing else to watch tonight, check out Charlie's Angels (what can it hurt now that its been cancelled) to see LOST's John Terry (Christian Shephard) guest star. 

Terra Nova: The Portal Doesn't Go Both Ways

Terra Nova
Episode 105
"The Runaway"

For the second episode in a row, I feel like the show has (i) taken a nice step towards fleshing out the complexity of the more interesting characters (e.g., Taylor is both paternal and fierce, open and guarded like a vault, good and bad; Mira is doing what she's doing to be reunited with her family; Malcolm has got some Occupy Wall Street in him) and (ii) revealed that though we might be 85 million years in the past, that doesn't mean that the creepy hand of 2149 isn't maybe still turning and manipulating things.  In a nutshell, tonight's episode focuses on Mira's manipulative use of a little girl (Mira is holding the girl's brother hostage which is ironic based on what we learn about Mira and her recruitment into her Sixer role) posing as a runaway to access a hidden container in Mira's old house and how Jim and Taylor view the use of children as weapons in the ongoing skirmish war between the Sixers and Terra Nova. Also, Reynolds thinks he is in a television depiction of 1950s era courting rituals. Lets unpack the episode and see what we see, mmm k?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Pan Am: Our Motto is "Go Native!"

Pan Am
Episode 104
"Eastern Exposure"

This week's episode of Pan Am reinforced the show's "Kate storyline formula" of a one episode arc mission and continuing exasperation with Laura, but was a nice deviation from the majority of the action taking place on the plane itself.  Also nice, was the shift in focus from what we thought were going to be the 5 main characters (the 4 Stewardesses and Dean) to a nice Ted-centric episode wherein we establish his backstory, his motivations and firm him up as more than just a recurring character. Let's not focus on the space mission continuity error and enjoy the ride.  Let's go native shall we!

Afternoon News: October 19, 2011

Lots to get to today, lets do it!

1.  Hot Mess Alert!!!  If you had to pick a bunch of 1980/90's "stars" to revive their careers in a new, web-based series in the style of Curb Your Enthusiasm's faux-realism, who would you pick?  If you chose Full House's Dave Coulier (Uncle Joey) and Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie Tanner), as well as Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell) and Kato Kaelin (OJ's pesky houseguest), you would be dead-on.  This island of misfit toys will be starring a web-series entitled Can't get Arrested, scheduled to premiere at the end of the month. There will be an initial five episode run and can be viewed at Can’tGetArrestedShow.com.  This might be the greatest potential train wreck we have ever heard about and we are so excited at its news, we're doing a dance about it. 

2.  Show Renewals! A&E has picked up The Glades for third season.  We understand if you need a minute to catch your breath.

3.  As the season wears on, talking about ratings becomes a bit boring but since TV Watcher is attending bedside vigil over Terra Nova's cancellation watch, we feel an obligation to mention that its ratings were up 8% over last week, showing a 2.7 rating in the 18-49 demo and just shy of 8 million total viewers.  ABC and Fox together, chipped away nicely at CBS's normal Monday domination (Two and a Half Man, though still a juggernaut, has shed almost half its total viewers since its season premiere).  As for last night, a two hour X Factor led Fox to a sound win over CBS in the 18-49 demographic in a night that CBS normally has locked up tight. In happier news, Last Man Standing dropped 17% from its overly bloated series premiere numbers last week and no one really was interested in the premiere of Man Up!

4.  Casting News!  The Glee yo-yo continues with news that Chord Overstreet might be returning to McKinley High later this season.  Mandy Moore has signed on to a new ABC comedy slated to premiere next fall. I have enjoyed watching Ms. Moore on her various guest star roles (including a recurring role on Grey's Anatomy last season).  CSI has cast TV veteran Grant Show (last seen on Burn Notice) for a multi-episode arc as Marg Helgenberger' love interest.  Dr. Sloane (Eric Dane) is getting some love on Grey's Anatomy with the addition of Holley Fain (Gossip Girl) for a recurring role during November sweeps.

5.  If you need a break from TV, rejoice in the news that Anne Hathaway has joined the cast of the big screen adaption of the Les Miserables musical (joining Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe). News is that she'll play Fantine.

6.  A former staffer on The Hills is suing MTV, alleging, among other things, sexual harassment and forced drug use (They forced her to inhale? Is Bill Clinton her attorney?!?).  TV Watcher is going to countersue Ms. Eliza Sprout for aiding and abetting the infliction of that show on his mind and soul.

7.  Congratulations to Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU)and her husband, Peter Hermann, on the successful adoption of their second child (their third overall kid). Little Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann was born earlier this year. 

NCIS: "Bend Over DiNozzo"

Episode 5: Safe Harbor

This episode brought an excellent and classic NCIS mix of dramatic procedural and great comedic moments. The return of Special Agent Abigail Borin was a treat especially in her double role as Gibbs clone and now a "matchmaker"? Let's get to it!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Person of Interest: Welcome to My Montauk House o' Death and Lye Emporium

Person of Interest
Episode 104
"Cura Te Ipsum"

The episode opens with a voiceover of a woman, clearly on some kind of recorded device, talking about something bad that happened to her in the past.  We’ll hear from this woman a couple of more times but I won’t mention it again until the end of the recap. Forewarned is forearmed.  Finch is at the ER and he’s looking for a refill on his pain meds. Backstory reveal, Finch had spinal fusion surgery 1 or 2 years ago according to attending doctor, Megan Tillman (played by the very attractive Linda Cardellini who, according to IMDb, played a nurse on ER for 7 years so, good for her for finishing that fake medical school degree and moving up in the world!).  Dr. Tillman is being a stickler about Finch getting a full work up but eventually agrees to write the script for 3 days worth of meds. Finch repays her kindness by swapping beepers though her swapped beeper still works somehow (maybe he didn’t swap them but just synced them like Reese is always doing with people’s phones). As she walks away, Finch turns towards the security camera (which he’s controlling with a remote, right there in the ER … subtle Finch) and we know now that Megan Tillman will be our Social Security Number of the Week. 

Morning News: October 18, 2011

1. On a serious, international note, Israel welcomes Gilad Shalit home, after being held captive by Hamas for the last 5 years.

2. Tonight's TV: All of your Tuesday night faves are new tonight, with the exception of the Fox shows which are still on hiatus till next month, so X Factor will be on in their place.

3. Sons of Anarchy has been renewed. I don't watch the show, but I'm sure that the people that do, are very happy.

4. Justin Long is set to play a love interest for Jess on The New Girl. As long as he doesn't ask to "supress the Jess", I think it should be a good fit.

5. In movie news, Hangover II is once again the subject of a lawsuit (no, not the smoking monkey this time!). A screenwriter is claiming that Warner Bros. stole his story about crazy experiences in Asia. Apparently, his ex-wife gave the story to the studio. Because he's the only person who ever went to Asia and had some wild experiences. If this was a legit claim, he'd probably have hired a lawyer, right?

Monday, October 17, 2011

Morning News: October 17, 2011

1.  Cancellation Watch!! As reported on Friday and spread over the weekend, ABC has finally put the ax to Charlie's Angels.  Also cancelled, Memphis Beat, a cop show on TNT starring Jason Lee (looks like Earl will be looking for another job again ... unless he hits the lottery)

2.  Ratings! Friday's numbers are in and CBS won the night in both the 18-49 demographic and total viewers. A Gifted Man continued to lag behind the channel's subsequent night shows but still doubled the total viewers of its Fox competition, Kitchen Nightmares (though Nightmares did score a tenth higher in the 18-49 category).  Fringe dropped a tenth of a point in the 18-49 category week over week and pulled a total of 3.1 million viewers. By comparison, CSI: NY had 10 million viewers and a repeat of Modern Family pulled 3.6 million.  Oh  Fringe, where are your fans? (They're DVRing the show is where they are).

3.  Casting News.  June Raphael (currently on Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV) will join New Girl as Jess's lesbian friend who is also an Ob/Gyn (oh the jokes write themselves).  TVLine.com is reporting that SNL's Taran Killam will do a one episode gig on Community as a choir director for the Christmas episode.  LOST fans listen up! Alan Dale (f/k/a Charles Widmore on LOST) is coming to another Island (this time, Manhattan) for a one episode appearance on Person of Interest. Start watching this show if you're not already.  Dale will also be appearing on Once Upon a Time (which premieres this coming Sunday). 

4.  George Lopez reports that he is developing a family sitcom wherein he'll play a dad and husband. George, to be honest, this sounds ... familiar to us?

5.  See what happens when you take on bullies Sesame Street ...

Saturday, October 15, 2011

NCIS: Donate a Kidney, Get a Secret Brother!

NCIS
Episode 904
"Enemy on the Hill"


First, an apology for no recap last week. I didn't like last week's, The Penelope Papers. Its rare that I don't love an episode of NCIS, let alone not even like one.  Lily Tomlin did nothing for me and I don't like McGee nearly enough on his own to warrant an entire episode for the two of them. So I am skipping its review.  Lily Tomlin is an aging hippy and McGee's grandma to boot.  She was involved in the development of a secret defense department project which was shut down years ago but never really abandoned. A Navy Lieutenant she was in contact with killed.  Ok. Moving on.

We open on a yappy reporter trying to pump brain-dead citizens for views on an upcoming defense spending appropriation bill.  I'm skipping over the woman who responds, "that's a husband question ..." and skip right to the fact that the yappy reporter chases down a reluctant interviewee (and fairly creepy guy) leading to him being run over by an oncoming car.  If the guy wasn't a contract killer, I'd feel worse but, I'm getting slightly ahead of myself.  Credits.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Terra Nova: Now Tell Me, Whoooo Are You? Who? Who?

Terra Nova
Episode 104
"What Remains"

We open on a clearly crazy guy playing "gonna getcha" with a prehistoric cockroach in what looks like a subterranean science lab, which has been ransacked.  Crazy Pants gets up to follow the cockroach and we follow Crazy Pants outside (past a room of screaming people - did I imagine that?) where he acts like he's never seen fresh air and nature before; he's also bemused by the snarling dinosaur that hollering right next to him. That is, until dino chomps down on him. Crazy Pants for lunch, yummmmm.

Credits!

Morning News: October 14, 2011

1.  Season Premiere! If you're into the zombie crazy, take heart, AMC's Walking Dead premiere's its second season this Sunday.

2.  Series PickUps! Almost as much as watching crappy shows get cancelled is watching good shows get picked up for full seasons. ABC came through last night with full season commitments for Revenge and Suburgatory!  The channel also ordered an additional six episodes of Happy Endings. In other news, remember that long awaited Glee spinoff?  Turns out, its not a spinoff but rather, a comedy and NBC bought the rights yesterday.  Allegedly, the show will follow the travels of a pair of gay dads and a surrogate carrying their child.  Maybe its Rachel's Origin Story?

3.  Special Alert Stunt Casting! Joey McIntyre, the once baby faced crooner that's apart of that tween sensation New Kids on the Block (or NKOTB or NKOTBSB depending on how old you are), is guest starring on tonight's episode of CSI: NY.  Hangin' Tough indeed.

4.  In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Seth MacFarlane (of Family Guy fame) is hoping that fans allow him to end the show sooner rather than later so that he can start making periodic Family Guy movies. I'll watch Family Guy all night on Adult Swim but I can't see going to pay 11 bucks for a movie version.

5.  Fresh on its heels to make preschoolers feel bad about having enough to eat when their pretend muppet friends starve, Sesame Street is now joining the anti-bullying movement.  Its aim is to teach little kids the signs of bullying and that bullying is not cool.  Which is fine and admirable. The Street has chosen Big Bird to be the unfortunate victim of anti-bullying.  Sure, pick the giant yellow bird so kids can more easily identify with the victim's feelings. What if you don't like Big Bird; you might think he deserves it? Snuffaluffagus would have been a better choice; a foreign woolly mammoth with low-self esteem? A no-brainer.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Late Afternoon News: October 13, 2011

Sorry for the late post folks; lots to get to today.

1.  Season Pickups!  The CW must have nothing in development because it has picked up for full season commitments, each of its new dramas. If you're keeping track (you're certainly not watching them), that's RingerHart of Dixie (WHAT?!?!?) and The Secret Circle.  Syfy has renewed Haven for a third season. This follows on previous news that Warehouse 13 and Alphas were also green lighted for additional seasons.  NBC has requested 6 more scriopts of Prime Suspect (same as they did for Harry's Law as reported yesterday) and HBO has picked up Boardwalk Empire for a season 3.

2.  Ratings.  Last Man Standing pulled in a decent premiere of 3.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 13 million viewers.  No one expects it to beat or even really challenge NCIS (and it didn't) but it was a better premiere than I thought.  I guess people miss the Tool Man.  In Wednesday nights early numbers, Modern Family continued to reign supreme with a 5.7 rating in the 18-49 demo. the surprise of the night was Revenge (TV Watcher is a fan!) was up 13% week over week.  X Factor didn't even make it on the screen, having been bumped by overrun, rain delayed baseball.   Poor Simon!

3.  If no one watches the shows in real time or on their DVRs, why would they direct stream them on Netflix? Anyway, If you're into self-flagellation, you can begin watching episodes of CW "hits" Ringer, Hart of Dixie, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90210, Supernatural, Nikita, and One Tree Hill on Netflix. Yay?!?

4.  Casting News. Ted Koppel has officially signed on to Brian Williams' new show for the Peacock network, Rock Center with Brian Williams. 



Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Person of Interest: The One Where We're All Alone and No One Is Coming to Save You

Person of Interest
Episode 103
"Mission Creep"

First, I have to say that IMDb thinks Finch's first name is really Harold and that wasn't some alias last week ... so sure, we'll go with that (though I'm still just going to call him Finch).  Second, I've really come to like the use of the surveillance camera cutaway in lieu of the traditional placard or title card announcing where and when we are.  It puts a little onus on the viewer to pay attention to the locations and times given off by the cameras. I like shows that make me work a bit.

Tonight's episode is called Mission Creep. Mission creep was originally a military term, but one which has been largely adapted into mainstream life; its meaning is to indicate the unintended expansion of mission parameters or goals (e.g., we got to point A, but now we need to track down Point B as a result, and maybe a point C thereafter, etc).  I thin k you'll see tonight's episode fits that bill nicely. More after the jump ...

Pan Am: You Have No Idea What it Takes to Keep a Cold War Cold.

Pan Am
Episode 103
"Ich Bin Ein Berliner"

So, this week Pan Am took its first real foray into incorporating its fictional storyline into the backdrop of a very real and very famous historical moment, President Kennedy's speech at the Berlin Wall in the Summer of 1963.  The real treat in watching period piece television shows is the use of real events to bolster the escapism created by the nostalgic journey back in time. What good is putting a show into 1963 if its only going to cover the corn stalks growing in the bread basket of America?  Since its an important backdrop for the entire episode, lets preface the recap of the episode with an overview of the Kennedy Berlin Wall Speech and its place in history ... after the jump.

Morning News: October 12, 2011

1.  Ratings!   A total of 10 million people viewed at least part of Kim Kardashian's wedding (to NBA star Kris Humpheries) which aired on E! earlier this week. The End Times are nigh my friends. How I Met Your Mother is the lowest viewed show (still high compared to its competitors and high in terms of its demo) by a significant amount, compared to its comedy show colleagues airing after it on Monday night.  We are curious if this is reflective of declining Mother quality or more than surpassing interest in 2 Broke Girls and Mike & Molly (nothing seems to be able to stop Two and a Half Men's dominance). Overruns in playoff baseball collapsed Terra Nova's viewership on Fox, falling .6 in the 18-49 demographic week over week and more than 1 million viewership drop.  Ouch!

2.  Series PickUps. While not an overtly ringing endorsement, NBC has still given a lifeline to fans of its Kathy Bates dramedy, Harry's Law.  NBC has ordered 6 additional episodes on top of the current 13 season order. As a fan of the show The TV Watcher is pleased.  We need more ... Tommy Jefferson on that show!  Jonah Hill, and some guy named Hannibal Buress, have signed a blind commitment deal with Fox for a sitcom (no other details are available). Mr. Hill is already airing his new animated show on Fox, Allen Gregory. 

3.  Casting News. News has leaked that the next edition of Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice will feature former supermodel, Cheryl Tiegs, and race car driver, Marco (son of Michael, grandson of Mario) Andretti. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon have been cast to play Liberace and his younger lover, respectively, in an HBO biopic entitled, Behind the Candelabra.  A truly horrible title to be sure but its got some star power in front of the camera and Steven Soderbergh (directing) and Jerry Weintraub (executive producer) behind the scenes.  T.R. Knight (of Grey's Anatomy fame) return to TV tonight on NBC's Law & Order: SVU.  Meredith Monroe (Dawson's Creek) has been cast as a possibly recurring character on CW's clunker Hart of Dixie. 

4.  In sobering news (it'll be clever in a second), Dr. Drew Pinsky has left VH-1's hit show, Celebrity Rehab (see what I did there with the "sobering" news, *rim shot*).  Word is that VH-1 will not cancel the show but likely rework its spin and take a new doctor on board.

5.  Baby News! Congratulations to Tori (Spelling) and Dean (McDermott) on the birth of their child, a daughter named Hattie Margaret McDermott.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Morning News: October 11, 2011

Welcome to a slooooow news day.

1.  Series Premiere. ABC debuts Tim Allen's triumphant (probably not so much) return to television tonight with the sure to be cancelled gem, Last Man Standing.  I hope there is at least some classic Tim Allen grunting.

2.  Casting News. Game of Thrones has announced the casting of the Wilding (and *Spoiler Alert* Jon Snow's love interest) Ygritte. The Wildling that's been kissed by fire will be played by Downtown Abbey's Rose Leslie.  The cast is enormous for Season 2 of Game of Thrones. Catch up on Season 1 now while you can!  Emma Caulfield (of Buffy the Vampire fame) is set to play the blind witch from the Hansel and Gretel fairytale in a one episode appearance on ABC's Once Upon a Time. TV watcher is soo looking forward to Once Upon a Time!

3.  In a ponderous decision, Fox has benched new episodes of New Girl until November 1. With the early rerun session of Glee starting tonight, it feels like Fox is surrendering its front line and regrouping at a fall back position.

4.  Normally, we'd wait for Monday's ratings to come out but with baseball preempting Fox last night, it'll be awhile before the numbers shake out and we see where Terra Nova landed, though there is no reason to expect any difference in the normal CBS route in total viewers and Dancing With the Stars scoring a large 18-49 win.

HIMYM: The one where Robin dates her therapist and Nora is 37 (yikes)!

Last night was a decent episode made even better by an awesome Friday Night Lights shout-out. When Garrison Cootes told Marshall that he will survive the end of the world because he has a bunker filled with canned goods and all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, Marshall responds "you can skip Season Two", which, as TV Watcher can attest to, I say all the time!! Anyway, as noted in yesterday's news Kal Penn is sticking around for an 8 episode arc and he and Robin kicked off their relationship after spending a whole week sitting side-by-side at a diner counter by deciding to finally go on a real date. Leading to the diner waitresses giving them a round of applause. Kudos to the casting directors for picking awesome diner-esqe waitresses.

The funny thing about this episode was it seemed like everyone had their own plot, so I couldn't decide what constituted the A-plot and what constituted the B-plot. Robin with Kevin, Ted and his field trip, Barney's Ewok/age issue and then Marshall and Lily's environmental/baby ears story. Of course there was overlap. Ted's field trip interrupted Robin and Kevin as they were about to get their swerve on (unsuccessfully). Ted's field trip went to Barney's office where Barney decided that Nora must be (gasp!) 37 (based solely on her dislike of the Ewoks).

So, here are the good and bad points from the episode:

--Lily insisting that their unborn child not hear anything bad - going to get really annoying. - Bad
--Ted's scruff - I'm on the fence. As long as it doesn't become a beard, it's okay. - Good/Bad
--Robin and Kevin - dating her therapist is definitely weird as the gang and Ted's class agree, but if Kal Penn sticks around, I'll be happy - Good.
--FNL reference - Good
--Learning that Marshall and Cootes save the planet - cheesy
--Discussion of Star Wars - Good (my husband is a huge fan, so we enjoy the references)
-- Ted and Barney using Ted's class to solve their debates (why didn't they just look up Edward James Olmos's real name online?) - Good.

What were your goods and bads of the episode?

Monday, October 10, 2011

Afternoon News: October 10, 2011

Happy Columbus Day!!!


1. Cancellation Watch! The Fall TV season claims another victim, How to be a Gentleman has been axed and Rules of Engagement will fill its Thursday night slot (this follows on an announcement over the weekend that the show was swapping places with Rules which was set to premiere this coming weekend on Saturday night).  Another bad show down, another non-surprise.


2. Ratings!  Friday night numbers were relatively the same week over week, with CBS winning the overall night in total viewers and share of the 18-49 demographic. On Sunday, NBC's Football Night in America continued to spank all of the competition.  When we get down into the also rans, ABC's Desperate housewives continued to post series lows and Pan Am had a precipitous 27% drop off in week over week viewership in the 18-49 demographic (posting a lowly 1.9%).   CBS's numbers looked good though its hard to decipher what exactly happened at this point due to the half hour football overrun. We'll need to wait for final numbers to come out before reliable ratings are available.



3.   In some casting news TV Watcher somehow didn't realize, Kal Penn is signed on for 8 episodes of How I Met Your Mother as not only Robin's therapist but also, her love interest.  


4.  In news sure to please Standing Blogger, Netflix has abandoned plans to spinoff its DVD delivery business into a new venture called Quickster, instead opting to keep everything under the Netflix umbrella. The announcement had been poorly received by the public and Netflix's stock price had nosedived in the weeks following the announcement.


5.  The Simpsons has been officially renewed for two more seasons, bring it to at least (though probably its last) 25th season.  Eat my shorts, indeed.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Terra Nova: Birds of a Feather, Flock Together ... Then Try to Kill You!

Terra Nova
Episode 103
"Instinct"

We're back with the Shannon family travels in the Terra Nova colony.   Just a side note/rhetorical question, but how long do we think it'll be before the interactive Terra Nova ride is unveiled in Orlando? 

Some people are giving the show flack over its CGI and rubbery looking dino birds but, c'mon, the show is still light years beyond what TV has traditionally put out in this genre. Also, we're not talking about a Summer blockbuster release, we're dealing with an episodic endeavor on broadcast television. A little suspension of disbelief is in order.  Let's discuss the episode after the jump...

Friday, October 7, 2011

Morning News: October 7, 2011

Generally slow news day as we coast into the weekend. here we go:

1.  Cancellation Watch! Breaking news, CW has cancelled H8R! How the CW can tell its low-rated shows from its high, no one is quite sure. Sorry AC Slater, here's hoping they do another Saved by the Bell reunion movie in Hawaii.  In happier news, Fox has renewed So You Think You Can Dance for a 9th season! We love us some Cat Deeley! MasterChef was renewed also (Fox has a major thing for Chef Gordon ... F*^&%$ Donkehs!

2.  The news you have been waiting for ... remember when Sharon Osbourne took a leave of absence from her new talk show, The Talk? Yeah, we didn't either (we work during the day). It turns out it was have to leaky boob fixed.  Well, not so much fixed as have her implants removed. Hard hitting news here at On My DVR!!!  Try to get through your day without thinking of Sharon's old lady boobs now, I dare you!

3.  Ratings! Wednesday nights numbers are in and Fox (really, just X-Factor) won the overall night in the 18-49 demographic while CBS one the overall night in total viewers.  ABC's Modern Family was the single biggest winner pulling a 5.6 share of the 18-49 demo (though Criminal Minds had slightly more total viewers -- man, if old people ever become the lucrative demographic, CBS is UNTOUCHABLE!).  In the 10 pm slot, CSI well outpaced Revenge in total viewers but only had a .4 edge in the 18-49 demo. The TV Watcher thinks that Revenge might be the best new show of the fall that not a lot of people are watching.

4.  Negotiations with the voice actors continues over at The Simpsons. While the show's producers have agreed to the studio's requested paycuts, the actors are still at their proposal of 30% while the studio is stuck at requesting 45%.  I am hearing that people on the inside believe a deal will be reached but the question is, when? 

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Person of Interest: If at First You Don't Succeed to Kill an Entire Family, Try, Try Again

Person of Interest
Episode 102
"Ghosts"

This was a solid episode following the Pilot and helped set the groundwork for the likely rhythm of the show. As you can imagine, we'll be following a Social Security Number of the Week and while working through the circumstances surrounding the person of interest, we'll reveal bits of the past of Caviesus and Finch.  Before I get into this episode, I have to take umbrage with one flaw in the "prevent premeditated crime" premise. The cold open shows Caviesus at the end of a mission, wherein he ends up killing 2 guys that were sent by an angry wife to kill her philandering husband.  That seems to be 1 life saved at the cost of 2 lives and the life saved was for a douchebag cheater. Houston, we have a problem with the logic.  Anyway, on to this week's episode.

Morning News: October 6, 2011

Before we get into the TV news, we here at On My DVR send our condolences to Steve Jobs' family. The world has lost an incredible visionary, he will be missed. While I don't have a Mac, an iPhone or an iPad, I do have an iPod and my very first computer was an Apple IIgs, but I don't believe you have to be an Apple connoisseur to realize what an impact he made on all of our lives.

Turning to your OMD news:

1. We are now fully entrenched in the fall season and there are no new shows on tonight. I will most likely watch Grey's tonight and I'm sure TV Watcher will be watching Person of Interest. How soon will How to be a Gentlemen be pulled? Keep watching here for the updated "Axed List".

2. Pick-up fever is spreading, after Fox ordered a full season of The New Girl and NBC followed with Up All Night, CBS picked up 2 Broke Girls, trying to prove that it has shows that cater to the under 40 crowd too!

3. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts...here comes the movie! Connie Britton has confirmed that the movie is in the works and Jason Katims is writing the script. I, for one, am a little torn about this. The ending was so perfect, will the movie mess it up?

4. In the wake of the demise of Playboy Club, Hef has declared that the show failed because it should have been on cable. Unfortunately, people who want to watch a 1960s era drama on cable watch Mad Men on AMC, which has better writing and better actors.

5. In the wake of their movies, it is rumored that Jason Sudekis and Kristin Wiig will be leaving SNL. Many talented comedians/actors have left the show to pursue bigger careers (i.e. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and many many more). If this proves to be true, they will be missed.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

HIMYM: The Stinson Missile Crisis

Or as TV Watcher called it, "Robin and Kumar Go To Court Mandated Therapy"

This was an interesting episode. For starters, we had a cold open with Robin talking to her court-mandated therapist (Kal Penn - I'm sure he and NPH had a nice Harold and Kumar reunion on set), no kids. Robin had apparently assaulted someone and proceeded to spend the episode talking about Barney and Nora and Lily and Marshall and Ted as a means of getting to the assault. The epi was set up to make us think that Robin beat up Nora because Robin is still in love with Barney, but actually, she attacked a girl who had received one of Barney's Cold Call 5000 messages (more on that in a bit). In the meantime, we learn that Ted has become the third wheel in Lily's pregnancy - from second guessing her doctor to trying to go to a birthing class and of course making up red "Team Baby" t-shirts. A fter a sort-of funny scene involving Marshall and Ted doing the birthing class together ("no moaning and keep your eyes open!"), they realize that Lily really gets the final say and Marshall accepts Dr. Sonya's casual take on things. Which we learn will change when Lily gives birth. Back in Robin's therapy session, Robin helps send Nora to France to cover the G8 summit and intends to steal Barney back by helping get rid of all of his BDSs (Bimbo Delivery Services). From advertising free breast reduction consultations as Dr. Barney Stinson to having to fire Mitch from the Port Authority (who used to let him know when wide-eyed innocents got off the bus) to the Cold Call 5000. A machine that cold calls women between the ages of 22 and 23 who go on body glitter websites. When they finally finish getting rid of all the BDSs, Robin suggests that they go out on the town with her dressed in a hot dress (to prove that she's not a bro) and Barney dressed in a vest to cover the Ducky Tie (continuity, YES!) Anyway, the cold call machine called someone by accident and she went to find Barney. Robin sends her Barney's way and then goes home to talk to Ted and realizes the error of her ways and winds up getting into a fight with the girl so she doesn't interrupt Barney's dinner with Nora and Barney never knows what happened. Awww. All in all, an okay episode.

The season has been decent so far, but I could use a good, full-on LOL episode. Let's hope I'm not waiting too long...

Glee: Asian F

I have to say to all those other bloggers out there, damn you for hyping this episode. I don't get it? I often read other TV blogs and usually agree with the writers, but on this one, I say BOOOO! This was a decent episode, but in line with the first two. Where are the big New Directions numbers? That's what I watch this show for! If you take a look at Wikipedia for the song list from the last 2 seasons, you can see how many songs were performed in each show and by which cast member/s. My two favorite episodes are the Pilot and Original Songs, why? Because there are some many songs in those episodes. "Fix You" was okay, but very boring and ND backing up Mr. Schue was a tiny part of the whole song, but I digress, here's a quick rundown of last night's epi, after the jump...

Morning News: October 5, 2011

1. Series Premiere! America Horror Story (co-starring Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights fame, TEXAS FOREVER!) premieres tonight on FX. From the co-creators of Glee, this show has a lot of buzz but mixed reactions in the media. Let us know what you think.

2. Series Cancel/Picked Up Watch. By now, you've heard that The Playboy Club has been cancelled by NBC. In the same release, NBC announced that it had picked up Up All Night and Whitney for full season commitments.

3. The studio that produces the Simpsons (20th Century Fox) is demanding the show's voice actors take a 45 percent pay cut before discussions of renewing the show beyond its current 23rd season can begin. With Free Agents sure to be cancelled, I hope for Hank Azaria's sake that the people involved resolve this situation quickly and amicably.

4. I'm not sure why anyone listens to the rantings of a woman who is not convinced the world isn't flat. Shut up Sherri Shepherd.

5. Normally, we'd wait for ratings to come out before posting the news but when it comes to Tuesday nights, does anyone think CBS didn't kick everyone's ass with the NCIS juggernaut? We didn't think so.

6. Get well soon, Eddie Cibrian. The now out-of-work star of Playboy Club was injured on set when his foot got caught underneath a 200 pound steel door and was taken to a hospital.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Pan Am: Christina Ricci is NOT Included in the Price of Your Ticket

Pan Am
Episode 102
"We'll Always Have Paris"

The second episode of Pan Am was a solid follow-up to the premiere. By keeping the core cast to a relatively small size, each character is getting a decent amount of time for development.  It also looks like the show is settling into a  little storytelling rhythm, foundations laid in the pre-flight scenes; the playing out of the action on board (aided by some useful flashbacks); and a varying size of wrap-up, based in whatever city we're flying to. So far, the device works.  Lets get into tonight's action. Buckle up, let's go.

NBC Cancels Playboy Club!

As suspected, Playboy Club has proved to be the first new fall show to get the ax. As TV Watcher noted in the morning news, the ratings and demos have pretty much sucked, so this comes as no surprise. What will be next? Free Agents? Keep checking back and as soon as we have info, we'll post it!

Morning News: October 4, 2011

1.  Ratings News! CBS easily won the 18-49 rating demo Monday night with Two and a Half Men pulling down a 6.1 rating and 17.2 million viewers (How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls and Mike & Molly were all in the 4s range on the 18-49 demo; interestingly, 2 Broke Girls had more total viewers than How I Met Your Mother and Mike & Molly had more total viewers than both of them (13.2 million). Terra Nova's second week fall off was slight and retained a 3.0 share in the 18-49 category (tied with Dancing With the Stars, even though Dancing had twice the total viewers in the 8 pm hour). The Playboy Cub had an anemic 1.2 rating and only 3.3 million viewers.  That show has got to be the top of everyone's cancel watch. Sadly, CW's 2 shows (Gossip Girl and Hart of Dixie only pulled 3.3 million viewers total so I guess Playboy Club can be happy about beating them?

2.  Sure, we'd regret saying we expect 20 million viewers too when only 12 million tune in.  Oh Simon.

3.  Casting News! Will Arnett is set to return to 30 Rock this season as Jack Donaghy's homosexual foil, Devon Banks.   Cheryl Ladd has been cast as Sarah's (played by Yvonne Strahovski) mom on Chuck (isn't that show ending its run this year -- they're still adding new characters?). As previously reported by On My DVR, Ladd has also been cast a love interest to Ducky on NCIS. Modern Family has booked Leslie Mann to appear as an attractive woman in a bar, who Cam tries to get the phone number of.  Ooookay.

4.  Perhaps Cookie Monster can share some of his obesity-causing cookies?  I love that Wal-Mart is sponsoring this special.

5.  In a special nerd moment of silence, Leonard Nimoy has attended his final Star Trek Convention. Live Long and Prosper you logical bastard!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Afternoon News: October 3, 2011

The latecomers to the fall season are here and as other shows settle to their timeslots, we'll see which are the true greats and which actually kind of suck. So here we go:

1. Season premieres. I think we are finally done with the series premieres and most of the season premieres too, but for those of you who are still watching, the 8th season of House begins tonight on Fox (8pm). If you still care about House and his cane, enjoy. I used to like the show, now I enjoy watching the cast turn up on other shows (Cuddy and Taub on The Good Wife! Cameron on Once Upon A Time!).

2. Bret Michaels is developing a line of pet products. Really?!?! I hope I am not offending those of you with pets, but really? Being on Celebrity Apprentice wasn't enough? I haven't watch the show in a while, but wasn't it supposed to be about getting a job with Trump, a la Bill Rancic?

3. The cult favorite, Arrested Development will be making a return to television leading up to a movie. I tried to watch the DVDs from Netflix, but couldn't get into it. I'm sure I was missing something...

4. Ratings: Pan Am slipped a bit (it's OMD, but I haven't watched yet), and was down 19%, not great, but it beat CSI:Miami (insert David Caruso sunglasses joke here). Football ruled the ratings and the demos on both NBC (at least they get to win one night) and CBS. Most shows were down from their premieres, but that's to be expected.

5. In other news, congrats to Seth Rogen on his marriage to Lauren Miller. I bet that was an awesome wedding to be at!