HOPE FOR HAITI TELETHON: Friday’s two-hour Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon raised more than $57 million from the public with more being tallied from corporations, larger private donors and iTunes sales figures. So far, the single “Hope for Haiti Now” is the top-selling iTunes album in 18 countries, making it the biggest single day album pre-order for iTunes ever. The telethon attracted a total of 16.1 million viewers across six broadcast networks with a 4.3 rating among A18-49. ABC had the largest broadcast audience of 4.6 million viewers. These preliminary TV ratings do not include major cable networks such as MTV, CNN and VH1. Donations can still be taken for Haiti relief by visiting
HopeForHaitiNow.org or by calling 877-99-HAITI. (Cynopsis)
BIG NUMBERS FOR JERSEY SHORE SEASON FINALE: MTV’s first season finale of Jersey Shore last Thursday, delivered a 4.8 rating among P12-34 and more than 4.8 million total viewers. This is more than three times the series premiere. Jersey Shore: The Reunion scored a 4.9 among P12-34 and four million plus total viewers right after the season finale. In today’s JERSEY SHORE news: Have they made a deal with TMZ so the outlet will only do positive stories? Where’s the fun in that? The other story today is that the group is now negotiating together for more money for next season’s episodes. I can only laugh derisively because how easy are these people to replace? Talk about having zero leverage.
CAPRICA: I may be the last person to watch this two-hour premiere on TV because screeners went out awhile ago and then the premiere was online for everyone to see. I watched on TV and my favorite things about this show are Eric Stoltz and Paula Malcolmson as two of the leads. Stoltz is very good as a scientist who lost his daughter in a terrorist-related incident. The actor I can’t take seriously is Esai Morales. Maybe it’s from years of watching his “performances” in movies like “La Bamba” or other cheesy movies and TV shows but when I watched him in CAPRICA, it just seemed off. I like that the science part of the show doesn’t overwhelm the drama and the concept is intriguing because it involves events that happened in BSG: the invention of Cylons by Stoltz’s character Daniel Greystone and Morales’ character is Joseph Adama. I’m pretty sure I’ll tune in to see where they take the story and because Alessandro Torresani, the actress who plays Stoltz’s teenage daughter Zoe, is pretty incredible. CAPRICA airs Friday nights on Syfy.
LEVERAGE: Still a great caper show with an ensemble that fits together like a glove. Most improved on the show: Beth Riesgraf, the resident safecracker/thief who does the best lifts when the team needs someone’s wallet or cell phone.
COMMUNITY: The BEST episode yet in my humble opinion. I loved the scene with Jeff and his new girlfriend when he had to admit he was afraid of commitment and she had the best retorts to all his fears.
Tonight’s rundown: there’s a MAJOR amount of new episodes tonight! And that’s not counting THE BACHELOR.
ABC: The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love, Castle
CBS: How I Met Your Mother [r], Accidentally on Purpose [r], Two and a Half Men [r], Big Bang Theory [r], CSI Miami [r]
NBC: Chuck, Heroes, Jay Leno Show
CHUCK has his first solo mission tonight and encounters Kristin Kreuk (SMALLVILLE) and Stone Cold Steve Austin along the way.
Seriously, are you watching CHUCK this season? Cause if you’re not, you’re missing an amazing show that has really found its groove. I can’t rave enough about Zachary Levi and how he’s managed to portray Chuck’s maturity into a real spy while not losing an iota of Chuck’s lovable nature.
No, I’m still not watching HEROES.
FOX: House, 24
House and the team treat a woman with bouts of pain.
THE CW: One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected
LIFE UNEXPECTED debuts the show’s theme song tonight. Yes, a TV show that actually HAS a theme song; quite an accomplishment in this day and age.
BBC AMERICA: 8pm: Top Gear (season premiere), 9pm: Inbetweeners (premiere)
I have not seen INBETWEENERS but the reviews are raves for the most part. Here’s the info from BBC America PR:
“Written and created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris (Peep Show, Flight of the Conchords) and named the best new sitcom of 2008 at the British Comedy Awards, The Inbetweeners offers a painfully funny take on the squirming humiliations of teenage life.It begins with the new kid in town, Will (Simon Bird), who has unwillingly had to move, change schools and, as a result, make new friends. He soon meets Simon (Joe Thomas), Jay (James Buckley) and Neil (Blake Harrison), who are neither that cool nor that credible. Marooned in middle-class suburbia, The Inbetweeners follows the four friends who get drunk too quickly, ride roller coasters and crush on the girl next door.
Will McKenzie is on a bad run. His parents have just divorced, and he has found himself transplanted to a public school in a suburb in outer London. He was previously at a private school, from which he inherited some snobbish tendencies, but his former school also did a good job of preparing him for the world—he’s smart, confident, well-read, quick-witted and outspoken. Unfortunately, none of these skills help in the suburban high school where he’s landed. In fact, it makes the other kids and teachers deeply suspicious. The harder Will tries to fit in, the more he stands out. Despite the twin handicaps of being the new kid and carrying an actual briefcase, Will quickly makes new friends. Simon’s the first to throw Will a line—reluctantly agreeing to show him around school. He then meets Jay, who’s constantly lying about his sexual conquests and daring feats, and Neil, who’s really just out to lunch and often the butt of cruel jokes. The four of them will together try to make it through the trials of growing up in middle-class suburbia. They don’t always help the situation when they’re together—in fact, they often make situations much worse. Over the course of their first term alone, the boys hall of shame moments include accidentally hitting a disabled girl in the face with a Frisbee, drunkenly puking on a seven-year-old, gate-crashing a funeral cortege, and calling Neil’s dad a “bumder,” which is equal parts “bender” and “bummer.”
ABC FAMILY: 10pm: Greek (season premiere, note new timeslot)
MY FAVORITE COLLEGE SHOW RETURNS TONIGHT! Cappie, Casey, Rusty, Evan and crew are back to kick off a new season. Boy oh boy do I love this show. It almost makes me feel young again.
FX: 10pm: Damages (season premiere)
This season opener is meticulous and smart as it sets up the new season involving a Wall Street scheme similar to the Bernie Madoff mess. Len Cariou plays the Madoff figure, Campbell Scott plays his son, Lily Tomlin plays the family matriarch and Martin Short plays the family’s attorney. Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) is now working in a new setting; I’ll leave it to you to find out where. It’s a great start to the new season and with any luck, this season won’t be as convoluted as Season 2. I’m in because of the cast and because this season opener was absolutely great.
Showtime: 10pm: Secret Diary of a Call Girl: The Real Belle du Jour speaks to Billie Piper, 1030pm: Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union (season premiere); 11pm: La La Land (new sketch comedy show)
Travel: 10pm: No Reservations with Tony Bourdain: Brittany
That’s a wrap for now.
I was a big Battlestar Galalctica fan (well, until the last episode), so I’m giving Caprica a chance. It’s hard to judge just from the one episode I’ve seen already, but it looks like they’re going to be implying bigger themes than just what we see in front of us.