MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE: I have to tell you again how much I’m loving this show. It started a little slow but fell into a groove in the second or third episode. I’ve raved about Ray Romano’s performance as Joe and I also have to give props to the always strong Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula as well. Braugher plays Owen, a man who lives in his father’s shadow and we quickly learned his father doesn’t like him very much. What’s so good about Braugher’s performance is that he plays Owen as a guy who knows his father doesn’t like him but he carries on anyway and makes the best of it for the sake of his family. His victories with his father are little ones but they’re victories nonetheless. Scott Bakula’s character Terry is an actor who has refused to grow up, so far. He’s finding that harder and harder to put off as he’s getting a little too old to get away with it – plus Joe and Owen constantly give him s**t for it. This week’s episode had Terry applying to be a Big Brother and getting turned down which really threw him for a loop. The resolve to the story involved Owen’s two sons and it showed heart without being maudlin. A big round of applause to the show’s writers: Mike Royce, Ray Romano and Warren Hutcherson. MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE airs Monday nights at 10pm on TNT.
GREEK: The ZBZs are trying to cope with the fact that they did indeed burn down the Gamma Psi house. I’m still laughing at that. Cappie and Casey are together and while I love them as a couple, I just don’t think it will last. I love how the show tells the story of Calvin and Heath; it’s a gay love story done so naturally and with great ease. I’m also liking the Rusty/Dale story as it’s been revealed that Rusty won the contest Dale thought he had locked up. I love that their friendship is also an intellectual rivalry; you don’t see a lot of that in college shows. GREEK airs Monday nights at 10pm on ABC Family.
TAKING THE STAGE: Though I didn’t watch Season 1 of this show, I watched the casting special last week and I had to admire the great job the casting directors did: the kids are telegenic and the show is edited well. The show’s team of producers includes Marc Platt, Nick Lachey, and Colton Gramm (former agent turned reality TV producer). I’m intrigued enough to watch more and that surprised me because the show is basically FAME but it’s set in Cincinnati instead of New York. The season premiere airs tonight at 11pm on MTV.
LA LA LAND: This is Showtime’s new sketch comedy starring Marc Wootton. I watched the premiere episode and won’t be tuning in again as none of Wootton’s characters made me laugh or even crack a smile. Can’t recommend this one.
LENO ON OPRAH: Did you watch? What did you think about it in terms of image damage control?
TONIGHT’S MUSICAL NOTE: Musical heartthrob and recent ROLLING STONE coverboy John Mayer is on tonight’s VH1 Storytellers at 8pm.
I KNOW I’M COUNTING: 5 DAYS TIL LOST SEASON PREMIERE!
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: “A Message to You Rudy” by The Specials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LDvwPXpThM
Tonight’s rundown:
ABC: The Deep End, Grey’s Anatomy (repeat), Private Practice (repeat)
CBS: Live for the Moment (special), CSI (repeat), The Mentalist (repeat)
LIVE FOR THE MOMENT is Jeff Probst’s show that’s basically a “Bucket List” type show. Reviews have been disparaging, noting the show’s highly manipulative emotional structure. I’m not a fan of that so I’m not sure if I’ll tune in.
NBC: Community (repeat), Parks and Recreation (repeat), The Office (repeat), 30 Rock (repeat), The Jay Leno Show
FOX: Bones, Fringe
Here’s wishing everyone at BONES a lotta mazel: they hit the magic 100th episode this week!
CW: Vampire Diaries, Supernatural
It’s an all-new VAMPIRE DIARIES episode tonight as the kids go to a sock hop!
PBS: KCET LOS ANGELES: 830pm: Great Performances: Passing Strange
Spike Lee documents a performance of the Tony-winning musical “Passing Strange,” which centers on a young black man who flees his strict religious upbringing by traveling to Europe in the mid-1970s.
A&E: The First 48, ManHunters
Bravo: Real Housewives of Orange County, Watch What Happens
This just in: I just got word that one of my friends is going to work on REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS. I have no other info yet but I’m very excited about this.
FOOD: Ace of Cakes
FX: 10pm: Archer (2 episodes)
History: Food Tech
Lifetime: 10pm: Project Runway, 11pm: Models of the Runway
There’s a dreaded team challenge on RUNWAY tonight. Let the catfights begin!
MTV: 10PM: America’s Best Dance Crew (season premiere), 11PM: Taking the Stage (season premiere)
From MTV PR: “Taking the Stage is back for another season to capture all the drama, competition and relationships in the lives of the talented students at Cincinnati’s famed, School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Last year’s junior dance star, Tyler, returns for his senior year and is challenged by a whole new crop of talented hip hop rivals. Also new to the school is an aspiring rapper, a pop country singer and a brand new singer songwriter who steps into the shoes of the now graduated, Mia. We’ll follow all of these kids as they balance the pressures of high school life while pursuing their dreams of becoming stars.”
Planet Green: Renovation Nation
Science: Factory Made
Spike: TNA Wrestling Impact!
TLC: American Chopper, BBQ Pit Masters
TOON: Johnny Test, Chowder
truTV: Smoking Gun Presents: World’s Dumbest Criminals 19, It Only Hurts When I Laugh
USA: 10pm: Burn Notice
VH1: 8pm: VH1 Storytellers: John Mayer (special), Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
That’s a wrap for now.
