RESCUE ME: The show picks up right after Tommy’s cousin Teddy shot him at the end of last season — he shot Tommy for allowing his wife to drive drunk after she imbibed at Tommy’s bar and then died in a car accident. I wish I could say the show felt like it was making a fresh start but after watching the first two episodes of this new season, that’s not the case. Last season, viewers started to care less about Tommy and his repetitive issues. There’s not much progress here and there’s a scene in tonight’s episode that felt desperate in its outrageousness. Peter Tolan and Denis Leary are better than that. I keep holding out hope the show will get better but the fire is dying.
LOUIE: This is Louis C.K.’s new show and while it’s dark and not happy and peppy, I like it but then, I’ve always liked Louis C.K.’s brand of humor. I admire his honesty about where he is in his life (his early 40s). The show isn’t always funny but I don’t mind that either. If you like darker material, tune in at 11am after RESCUE ME and watch the show.
ENTOURAGE: I still can’t believe the season premiere had an actual plot! Wow! Did you love Nick Cassavetes in all his tattoed manliness? I did. I also loved the look of fear on Adrian Grenier’s face as Vince realized he couldn’t get out of doing a dangerous stunt. Watch next week’s episode for a very interesting Ari Gold twist. Nice to see that the writers have tricks up their sleeve for this season!
HUNG: Conversely, the HUNG writers don’t seem to have a clear vision of where they want to go. I can’t really believe they’ll put Ray back with his ex-wife. And I hope they don’t because Anne Heche continues to grate on my nerves. I also feel terrible for Jane Adams; a hugely talented actress who has had to play the humiliation note over and over since this show began. They need to move her character forward and stop repeating that note already. I may watch more but I’m on the fence. The season premiere didn’t instill much hope for a stronger season.
LEVERAGE: There’s a mini-marathon of this vastly amusing caper show this Sunday (during the holiday weekend). Tune in to TNT for that if you haven’t sampled the show yet. It’s the kind of show you can jump right into and enjoy.
THE BACHELORETTE: Who else can’t wait for the next episode just to see Angsty Frank break Ali’s heart? The promo makes it look like he dumps her after she meets his family. Let’s all give a polite golf clap to the producers for their use of incriminating phone message audio to nail wrestler Justin (musclehead) as a blatant liar who has a girlfriend (or two) stashed away in Canada. I loved watching Justin try to hobble away from Ali after she confronted him with his bald-faced lies and telling him she had just spoken to his girlfriend Jessica. The shame spiral continues and that’s where the real entertainment value of THE BACHELORETTE lies.
THE CITY: Rumors were swirling yesterday that the show was being cancelled and those were stomped out. I certainly hope the show returns for at least another season because of all the scripted reality MTV airs, the people on THE CITY are actually interesting to watch and Whitney Port is a decent role model for young women. I think Erin Kaplan also qualifies as a take-no-crap, ambitious gal and I like that she thinks of ways to get people she doesn’t like to work with (Olivia) out of her way. I think it’s always a good lesson to show young women how to use their smarts in the workplace and that strategy is everything.
GOOD READS:
Forbes list of 100 Most Powerful Celebrities: www.forbes.com
An excellent profile of USA showrunners: www.wga.org/writtenby
If you’ve read any good books lately, please email me and tell me what to read — I’m trying to be more literate this summer and read more than scripts, blogs and magazines. Thanks!
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q8s58mK-Cs
Tonight’s rundown:
ABC: Wipe Out, Downfall, Primetime: Mind Games
CBS: NCIS [r], NCIS: LA [r], The Good Wife [r]
THE CW: One Tree Hill [r], Life Unexpected [r]
FOX: Hell’s Kitchen (2 hrs)
NBC: Losing it with Jillian, America’s Got Talent, Last Comic Standing
PBS: Nova, Frontline/World, P.O.V.
TNT: 9pm: Hawthorne, 10pm: Memphis Beat
FX: 10pm: Rescue Me season premiere, 11pm: Louie series premiere
MTV: 10pm: The Hills, 1030pm: The City
That’s a wrap for now.
