HOPE FOR HAITI TELETHON: Presented by George Clooney & Wyclef Jean, Hope for Haiti Now is a two-hour telethon airing commercial-free on BET, Bravo, Centric, Comedy Central, CMT, CNN, CNN en Espanol, Current TV, Discovery Health, E! Entertainment, EPIX, Fuse, G4, GMC, HBO, HBO Latino, MLB Network, MTV, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, Palladia, Planet Green, TNT, Showtime, SOAPnet, Style Network, TV One and VH1 as well as the Canadian networks CBC Television, CTV, Global Television and MuchMusic. I don’t have a complete rundown of all the participating celebs and musicians but Clooney has no doubt called in favors and it’ll be a star-studded event.
TONIGHT’S PREMIERES: SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND on Starz and CAPRICA on Syfy. I haven’t seen either pilot yet. I’m far more interested in CAPRICA because the script was smart. It’s not an extension of BSG; CAPRICA is planet-based, not space-based. I’ll talk more about it next week because I want to see the finished pilot before expanding on it.
SPARTACUS: BLOOD & SAND: Think HBO’s ROME but sluttier and more violent. I saw an extended trailer at TCA and that’s what it brought to mind. The best part of SPARTACUS: John Hannah and Lucy Lawless are in the cast. I hope John Hannah gets to say, “NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition!” somewhere along the line.
CONAN’S FINAL TONIGHT SHOW: Word is it’s gonna be a BIG blowout show. Tom Hanks, Will Ferrell and Neil Young are the scheduled guests but I’m sure others will stop by too. PeeWee Herman stopped by – if you missed that – here’s the clip online: http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/
Jimmy Kimmel also did a very funny Ken Burns-esque “Late Night War” clip:
PARKS AND RECREATION: Another great episode as Leslie tried to throw the dinner party to end all dinner parties. Justin Theroux is so wildly talented. I love how his character Justin has instantly become beloved by everyone. And I gotta say it again, Ron F–king Swanson! He’s the stealth comedy bomb. Just incredible.
THE OFFICE: This week’s episode was a clip show. Weak except for the “that’s what she said” montage.
30 ROCK: Not a great episode but let’s just blame it on Dale Snitterman.
BURN NOTICE: The show slipped right back into form with the season opener: lots of action, car chases, stunt driving and stuff blowing up! Added bonus: Sharon Gless and Tyle Daly reunited onscreen and still very good together. I like Gless as Michael Westen’s mom anyway and they gave her a lot of good scenes to play in this week’s episode.
THE SAG AWARDS: Award season continues with the Screen Actors Guild Awards Saturday night on TNT at 8pm ET.
MONDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS: My fave college funny show GREEK returns at 10pm on ABC Family. For less family-friendly fare: SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL: BILLIE AND THE REAL BELLE BARE ALL is an interview with Billie Piper and the woman who recently revealed herself as the real-life Belle du Jour; it airs Monday at 10pm on Showtime.
NEXT WEEK: Jay Leno is booked to do Oprah next Thursday. Everyone says she’s giving him a chance to rehab his image. I speak only for myself when I say that I like seeing Jay’s tougher side. How do you think he’s survived for so many years in this dog eat dog business?? Remember, this is a guy who had to HIDE IN A CLOSET in order to hear if NBC was giving him The Tonight Show over David Letterman. I’m actually looking forward to seeing him on Oprah because I don’t think he’ll try to gloss over everything and make nice. I think he’ll try to set the record straight – if that’s even possible now.
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: Zep’s “Fool In the Rain”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2015S3A-lg
The weekend rundown:
Friday, January 22, 2010
ABC: Hope for Haiti Now (special), 20/20
CBS: Hope for Haiti Now (special), Medium (repeat)
NBC: Hope for Haiti Now (special), Dateline
FOX: Hope for Haiti Now (special)
CW: Hope for Haiti Now (special)
PBS: Washington Week, Now on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal
MyNetworkTV: Hope for Haiti Now (special)
Animal Planet: I Shouldn’t Be Alive, The Haunted
BBCA: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (season premiere)
Comedy: John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show
I think Janeane Garofalo is on this week’s show.
Discovery: Swamp Loggers
E!: 10pm: The Soup
Food: The Best Thing I Ever Ate
History: Gangland
Planet Green: Operation Wild
Starz: 10pm: Spartacus (series debut)
Sundance: Shameless
SyFy: 9pm: Caprica (2 hour series debut)
TeenNick: DeGrassi: The Next Generation
TLC: What Not to Wear
Toon: Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Ben 10: Alien Force, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
VH1: Friday Night Alright: Green Day
Saturday, January 23, 2010
ABC: Grey’s Anatomy (repeat), The Deep End (repeat), Castle (repeat)
CBS: CSI (repeat), Criminal Minds (repeat), 48 Hours Mystery
NBC: Mercy (repeat), Figure Skating Championships (special)
SNL is a repeat of the Blake Lively / Rihanna show. Look for Jon Hamm hosting next Saturday with musical guest Michael Buble.
FOX: Cops, Cops (repeat), America’s Most Wanted, The Wanda Sykes Show
PBS: Austin City Limits
Animal: It’s Me or the Dog, Underdog to Wonderdog, Pit Boss
BBCA: Demons, The Graham Norton Show (season finale)
CNBC: Suze Orman Show, ‘Til Debt Do Us Part
Comedy: Artie Lange: Jack and Coke (special), Arj Barker: LYAO (special)
Hallmark: Ice Dreams (special)
HGTV: Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie, Curb Appeal
Lifetime: Pregnancy Pact (special)
MTV: Taking the Stage (special)
Nickelodeon: iCarly, True Jackson, VP, The Troop
Planet Green: World’s Greenest Homes
Style: How Do I Look?, What I Hate About Me, The Dish
SyFy: House of Bones (special)
TBS/TNT: 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (special, 2-hrs)
Toon: The Secret Saturdays
truTV: Top 20 Most Shocking: Thrills & Spills
VH1: Michael Jackson’s This Is It (special)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
ABC: America’s Funniest Home Videos (repeat), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2-hrs), Desperate Housewives (repeat)
CBS: 60 Minutes, CSI: NY (repeat), Cold Case (repeat), CSI: Miami (repeat)
NBC: Dateline (2-hrs), US Figure Skating Championships (special, 2-hrs)
FOX: NFC Championship (special, 3-hrs), NFL Postgame (special)
PBS: Masterpiece Classic
FOOD: Food Network Challenge, Iron Chef America, Worst Cooks in America
HBO: 9pm: Big Love
History: Ax Men, Madhouse
ION: Durham County
Travel: Chowdown Countdown
VH1: Frank the Entertainer …In a Basement Affair, Tough Love, Secrets of Aspen
That’s a wrap for this week.
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What other tv shows do you enjoy ? I was a big fan of prison break , to bad it’s over now