MODERN FAMILY: Minnie Driver guests tonight as an old friend of Claire’s. If the promo is telling the truth, Phil is sporting a Ron-Swanson-esque mustache in tonight’s episode. And Cameron and Jay have a moment in the gym locker room. Hence the episode’s title “Moon Landing.”
PSYCH: The lovely Stacy Keibler guests in tonight’s episode as an extreme sportswoman. Which makes perfect sense when you think about it. Then again, so did her guest role as a hot bartender on HIMYM. She’s got that supermodel, happy personality thing happening. Plus she’s nice AND she’s a fan of THE SURF REPORT which means she’s also got excellent taste. 10pm on USA.
LEVERAGE: Luke Perry guests as a psychic grifter (or is it “grifter psychic”?) in tonight’s episode. Can I tell you how much joy I got just from typing the words “Luke Perry”? 10pm on TNT.
THE INBETWEENERS: There’s a lot of bleeping because the British boys curse a lot and use vulgar phrases but this show is a very funny observation of the tortured teenage boy years. Simon Bird is brilliant as Will, a teenage boy who had to transfer from private to public school and immediately suffers a wide range of indignities at the hands of his new “friends.” Another great show from BBC America – tune in at 9pm tonight.
LOST PREMIERE: I’m running late so I’ll share some thoughts in brief now and we can discuss more tomorrow. As usual, I don’t have it figured out and I don’t mind one bit. IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE PREMIERE, DON’T READ THIS.
–Right now, it’s all about Jacob vs. The Man in Black/Smoke Monster. New Locke is The Man in Black. Not sure who the new Jacob is – after the end of last night’s premiere, it might be Sayid but I’m not at all certain of that.
–A big issue is still free will vs. determinism and the existential dilemmas that accompany that struggle.
–I’m totally digging the parallel realities of the Oceanic 815 flight that DID make it to LA vs. the Losties on the island post-Jughead blast. My jaw dropped when Jack looked out the airplane window and the camera zoomed down down down through the clouds, and then underwater and we saw the island statue and Dharmaville and a Dharma shark. I’m still mulling that over.
–I did notice the differences from the pilot in the scenes on the plane vs. the plane scenes we saw last night. What does Jack’s cut on his neck mean? Anyone got a guess on that?
–I like that Hurley is more than a buffoon and that he had the statue’s ankh in the guitar case.
–More religious imagery in the episodes, especially Sayid being bathed in the presumably holy water at the temple. When he’s lifted out of the water, it was very Christ-like.
–I teared up when Juliet and Sawyer had their final moment.
–I plan to rewatch the two hours this weekend. I always keep in mind that whatever they show us, they show us for a reason. The reason isn’t usually immediately clear but it becomes clear as the story unfolds. This is some seriously brilliant and phenomenally constructed storytelling.
What jumped out at you? What are you still thinking about today? Please share.
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: “Life & Death” from the LOST soundtrack by Michael Giacchino, the composer who adds so much dimension and emotion to the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hre5fkdq-0&feature=related
Tonight’s rundown:
ABC: Modern Family (repeat), The Middle, Modern Family (new), Cougar Town, Ugly Betty
CBS: Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials (special), Criminal Minds, CSI: NY
NBC: Mercy, Law & Order: SVU (repeat), The Jay Leno Show
FOX: Human Target (time period premiere), American Idol (time period premiere)
CW: Life Unexpected (repeat), Gossip Girl (repeat)
A&E: Dog the Bounty Hunter, Steven Segal: Lawman (season finale)
BBCA: 9pm: The Inbetweeners (2 episodes)
BRAVO: Launch My Line (season finale, part 2), Shear Genius (season premiere)
Jonathan Antin is one of the SHEAR GENIUS judges this season. Remember when he had his own Bravo show? Hmmm.
CNBC: American Greed (season premiere)
Comedy Central: Tosh.0
D101: Friday Night Lights, Underbelly (series debut)
Discovery Channel: Man vs. Wild, Solving History with Olly Steeds
Fuse: Hip Hop Shop
FX: 10pm: Nip/Tuck
G4: Human Wrecking Balls, Campus PD
History: MonsterQuest
HGTV: Income Property
MTV: 10pm: The Real World
Planet Green: The Woman Who Stopped Traffic (series debut), Living With Ed (season finale), Conviction Kitchen
Science: Meteorite Men, Mantracker
Showtime: Inside the NFL
Soapnet: Being Erica
Spike: 1000 Ways to Die, MANswers
Style: Clean House
Syfy: Ghost Hunters International
TBS: Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns
TLC: Toddlers & Tiaras
TNT: 10pm: Leverage
Travel: Man v. Food (special, 2-hrs)
TV Land: High School Reunion
USA: 10pm: Psych
That’s a wrap for now.
