The new fall season is in full swing! There’s so much on the TV landscape so let’s get to it.
THE AMAZING RACE: Already loving this season of the RACE with the new collection of well-cast teams. I knew the hippies were on thin ice as soon as the race started. They just moved too slow. As usual, there’s a calculated mix of personalities that are sure to ignite sooner rather than later. I always admire the family teams like the mother and son and the brother and sister – those teams usually have very good communication skills that help them get tasks done faster. I’ll never understand why separated couples apply to be on the show because if you don’t get along in your everyday life, there’s no way the super-stress of the RACE is going to make it any easier for your to get along. That said, I did enjoy when the wife, Tina, decided to tell the entire viewing audience that her husband Ken had been unfaithful and that was the reason they separated. Dirty laundry anyone?
DEXTER: Michael C. Hall continues to make my jaw drop with his concise, superb performance. As this season began, Dexter is in his moving forward phase, growing closer to Rita and her kids while trying to maintain Harry’s code of conduct. But it goes horribly wrong when he kills a random guy while in pursuit of a drug dealer who got away with two murders. Worse yet, the guy Dexter kills turns out to be the baby brother of new ADA Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits) and thus is the main story of this season set in motion. I have to praise the writers because I love Dexter’s dry, smart voiceovers and I don’t usually admire voiceover as a storytelling device but this show does it so well, I don’t mind it. DEXTER is completely addictive TV for me. Are you watching? Sidenote: I think Michael C. Hall is still dating Jennifer Carpenter, the actress who plays his sister Deb Morgan.
CALIFORNICATION: Do we all think Hank and Karen will screw up their reunited relationship? Is Hank hopeless? I suspect he is but Duchovny makes it fun to watch the slippery slide down the slope.
ENTOURAGE: I like how the story about the Smokejumpers script is getting more complicated and the turn of having Vince ask for a role that wasn’t the lead so he can be in a good studio picture was really interesting. That made Vince a whole lot smarter in my eyes. They’ve also made E smarter and savvier about negotiating but I still liked when Ari made him say, “Thank you Ari” and then hugged it out with him. Also loved seeing Tom Rothman, studio chief extraordinaire, do a scene as himself. Nice touch.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: Huge shoutout to Eva Longoria for being game enough to not be glamorous as Gaby. With the rest of the cast looking pulled SO tight you’re afraid they’re going to snap like rubberbands, Longoria has messy hair, less makeup and a new wardrobe of sweatsuits. I love Gale Harold (even with that bad haircut) so I’m happy he’s around as Susan’s love interest (even though I can barely watch Teri Hatcher anymore) and Neil McDonough always brings a smile because he’s such a cagey actor. It’s almost the easy play to make him a rageaholic but if anyone can make it more interesting, it’s McDonough.
MAD MEN: This week’s episode was titled “Six Months Leave” and grew out of Freddy Rumson being asked to leave Sterling Cooper after he got drunk and wet himself while prepping for a client pitch. Pete, Sal and Peggy were in Freddy’s office when it happened and of course, the story got out quickly and became an office joke. The incident also had a power shift effect as Don gave Peggy all Freddy’s clients, which basically means she’s been promoted but at the cost of Freddy’s job, which dismayed Peggy. Just when we thought she was growing up.
Interesting that this episode was set against the death of Marilyn Monroe, an icon of femininity and sex. The ripple effect had the girls at the office crying and upset and the men ostensibly wondering why they were upset but for a few men, like Roger, there was a stronger message: live your life fully while you have it, which led to a surprising moment involving Roger and one of the office girls. It didn’t shock me when I thought about it but at the moment of the reveal, they got me.
Who else laughed when Don gave his name as “Tilden Katz” (Rachel’s new husband) at the gambling club? I also loved the moment when Don saw Jimmy Barrett and wordlessly slugged him. Sometimes a knuckle sandwich is the best comeback.
Finally, there’s Betty: on her own, still mad at Don, still unsure what to do with him (as well as what to do without him) or what to tell the kids. For a moment, I thought Betty was going to tell Don she wanted a divorce but that didn’t happen. I wonder how long she can string him along; he’s already impatient with this nonsense. She’s sort-of flirting with the guy from the stables but then hooks him up with her bored housewife friend instead. Betty is a little blonde enigma. I still think she’s the mental age of a teenager which is why she can’t figure out what to do. Thoughts?
SNL AND SARAH PALIN: Tina Fey is the hero of this election season for her spot-on portrayal of red state America’s new sweetheart. If you thought Saturday’s sketch was great, I can’t wait to see what they do this Saturday after this Thursday’s VP debate!
SNL’s primetime political specials start Thursday October 9 at 9:30pm PT.
CONGRATS TO FOX: They were the first network to cancel a new show and that show was the alleged comedy DO NOT DISTURB.
ON THE DVR: There was just too much on last night! BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TIM, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY are on my DVR.
EARLY HEADS UP:
WED. 10/1: PUSHING DAISIES, PRIVATE PRACTICE, and DIRTY SEXY MONEY return
TODAY’S SURF: wishes “L’Shana Tovah” to all my jewish friends.
Tonight’s rundown:
ABC: Dancing With The Stars, Boston Legal
CBS: Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two & a Half Men, Worst Week, CSI: Miami
Regis Philbin guests on HIMYM as the gang tries to find the best burger in the city.
On WORST WEEK, Sam has a little mishap with Dick’s birds.
NBC: Chuck (season premiere), Heroes, Life (season premiere)
I’ve seen both the CHUCK and LIFE season premieres and the good news is that both shows just get better and better! Zachary Levi continues to impress wildly as mild-mannered Chuck Bartowski, a computer geek who reluctantly turned spy when a whole bunch of top secret info downloaded into his brain. His chemistry with Yvonne Strahoski as Sarah, a real spy who likes Chuck much more than she should like a guy she’s assigned to protect. Adam Baldwin is the spy who loves his country above all else, and his relationship with Chuck may change in tonight’s episode. Finally, the hilarious Josh Gomez continues to bring major laughs to the show as Chuck’s best friend Morgan. Tonight Morgan tries to find a new assistant manager for the BuyMore and his vetting methods are, shall we say, less than conventional. Look for Michael Clarke Duncan as one of the bad guys in tonight’s episode.
HEROES: I watched the second hour of the premiere over the weekend and was thoroughly unimpressed because the show repeats a lot of the same types of notes without moving the story forward and I find that really frustrating. While some of the characters are interesting, they’ve had to resort to letting all the baddies out so we get the idea of good vs. evil. Can someone tell Tim Kring that those of us paying attention to the show FROM THE START already knew this?
LIFE: I know I’m a broken record but it’s for your own good. If you haven’t watched Damian Lewis in this show, you’re missing out bigtime. He’s taken the character of Charlie Crews and made it his own as Charlie is still acclimating to contemporary life after 12 years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. This season’s episodes will still have Charlie trying to get to the bottom of who framed him; he already has a pretty good idea and it looks like his partner Reese’s father is part of the conspiracy, but Charlie and Reese will also be doing good old-fashioned PO-lice work. Tonight’s season opener has Crews and Reese searching for a serial killer who’s placing victims in numbered trunks around the city. LIFE airs after HEROES tonight and another new episode will air in the show’s new timeslot this Friday at 10pm. LIFE is one of the best character studies on network television and I still can’t believe it’s on NBC; of course that may change since they’re moving it to Friday night.
FOX: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Prison Break
CW: Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill
A Fashion Week show is featured in tonight’s GG episode. Designer and RUNWAY judge Michael Kors makes a cameo too.
E!: Dr. 90210
MTV: 10pm: The Hills, Exiled
SciFi: Scare Tactics with host Tracy Morgan (season premiere)
That’s a wrap for now.
