TEMPLE GRANDIN: Claire Danes stars in the title role of this HBO Original Film directed by Mick Jackson.  If you haven’t heard of Grandin, she’s a high-functioning autistic woman who became an expert on cattle.  She wasn’t always high-functioning though and Danes portrays Grandin in her younger years when she was first diagnosed as autistic but thanks to a gifted teacher who appreciated her ability to think visually, she wasn’t locked away in an institution.  I attended the TCA session and it was fascinating   to listen to Grandin and Danes because they definitely bonded during the making of the film and Grandin is a very interesting character. Danes was determined to get Grandin’s unique speech, walk and look down to a T but she wanted to embody her, not imitate her.  From the advance reviews, it sounds like Danes hit the mark perfectly.  Mick Jackson raved about Danes’ work and Grandin said it was a little odd to see Danes as her; that it felt like a weird flashback in time.  I’ve been looking forward to this film and I’ll definitely be watching tomorrow night, not only for Danes’ performance but for the outstanding cast including Catherine O’Hara, David Straithairn and Julia Ormond.  TEMPLE GRANDIN premieres Saturday night at 8pm on HBO.

THE SUPER BOWL: The big game has the Saints vs. the Colts playing in Miami. The big game starts at 3:25pm PT/ 6:25pm ET.  For the big halftime show, The Who will perform which means we should expect multiple CSI theme songs.  I’m hoping they’ll solve a murder at the game too.  Wouldn’t that be excellent synergy?

UNDERCOVER BOSS PREMIERES POST SUPER BOWL: The title says it all: a CEO goes undercover/in disguise at his own company to find out what his employees’ day-to-day lives are like and learn valuable lessons in the process.  From its post-Super Bowl debut slot, CBS obviously has high hopes for the show as its next big reality hit.  The extended trailer I saw was good, not great.  I’m not sure I’d watch it every week but I have to agree that the concept is a strong one, especially given the current state of the economy and the us vs. them feeling a lot of us have when we’re at work.  Very few people enjoy working for The Man.

LEVERAGE: Luke Perry was very well cast as a con man posing as a psychic.  I’m slowly warming to Jeri Ryan as the new addition to the Leverage team but I miss Gina Bellman because she adds a nice dash of funny.  The show’s most improved player remains Beth Riesgraf who has become a LOT sharper and funnier this season.

SPARTACUS: If you like blood and guts and softcore porn-ish sex scenes, SPARTACUS: BLOOD & SAND is for you.  It doesn’t hold my attention but I get the fascination with gladiators and there are some handsome men in the cast for gals to gawk at and Lucy Lawless for the men to admire.

FLASH FORWARD: The Hollywood Reporter’s James Hibberd says showrunner David Goyer has left the show and no new showrunner has been announced.  This is not a good sign for a show that was struggling to find its groove.  I was already growing disenchanted with the show because the story plodded along and did not hook me or make me care about anyone in the show.  The show is scheduled to return in March or April and depending on who they bring in, maybe that won’t happen now.

MY WEEKEND DVR CATCHUP: It’s been a hectic week so I have a lot on my TV plate this weekend: the final episodes of DOLLHOUSE, the FRINGE winter finale, this week’s PSYCH, INBETWEENERS and ARCHER.  I didn’t see the premiere of THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM or IMPORTANT THINGS WITH DEMETRI MARTIN either. I saw that ratings for Sarah Silverman were low but the show has been off for the air for a little over a year so that probably has something to do with it.

TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: “New Fang” by Them Crooked Vultures aka the supergroup comprised of Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones - watch them on SNL tomorrow night.

http://www.myspace.com/crookedvultures

Time for your weekend rundown.

Friday, February 5, 2010

**Note: another telethon for Haiti airs at 8pm tonight on MTV, VH1 and BET – here are the details:

“The talent roster for BET’s “SOS Saving Ourselves: Help for Haiti” telethon continues to expand as the Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams will join Diddy and Queen Latifah as co-hosts of the proceedings, while Drake, Chris Brown and Nas have been added to the performance slate.

ABC: Supernanny, Shark Tank (season finale), 20/20
CBS: Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Numb3rs
NBC: Law & Order (repeat), Dateline, The Jay Leno Show
FOX: House (repeat), Kitchen Nightmares
CW: Smallville (2-hrs)
PBS: Washington Week, Now on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal
MyNetworkTV: Friday Night Smackdown!

Animal Planet: I Shouldn’t Be Alive, The Haunted
BBCA: My Big Breasts and Me (special), Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
BET: SOS Saving Ourselves – Help for Haiti (2-hrs, special)
Comedy: John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show
Discovery: Swamp Loggers
E!: 10PM: The Soup
Fine Living Network: Bartender Wars
Food: The Best Thing I Ever Ate
History: Gangland
ID: Main Street Mysteries (series debut)
MTV: SOS Saving Ourselves – Help for Haiti (2-hrs, special)
Planet Green: Operation Wild
Showtime: SOS Saving Ourselves – Help for Haiti (2-hrs, special)
Science: Big, Bigger, Biggest
Starz: Spartacus
Sundance: Shameless (new time period)
SyFy: 9PM: Caprica
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
Travel: Most Haunted
VH1: SOS Saving Ourselves – Help for Haiti (2-hrs, special), Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America (90-minutes, special), Friday Night Alright

Saturday, February 6, 2010
ABC: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (repeat, special)
CBS: Front of the Class (repeat, special) 48 Hours Mystery
NBC: Mercy (repeat), Law & Order (repeat), Law & Order: SVU (repeat)

11:30pm: Saturday Night Live (Ashton Kutcher / Them Crooked Vultures)

FOX: NASCAR (special), The Wanda Sykes Show
PBS: Austin City Limits

Animal: AKC/Eukanuba National Championship (3-hrs, special)
BBCA: Demons (season finale)
CNBC: Suze Orman Show, ‘Til Debt Do Us Part
Food: Food Network Challenge (special), Iron Chef America (special)
Fox Reality: Seducing Cindy, Solitary
HBO: 8pm: Temple Grandin (special)
HGTV: Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie, Curb Appeal
ID: Living with the Dead (special), Living with the Dead (special)
Nickelodeon: iCarly, True Jackson, VP, The Troop
Planet Green: World’s Greenest Homes, What’s On Your Plate (special)
Style: How Do I Look?, What I Hate About Me, The Dish
TLC: Four Weddings (series debut)

Sunday, February 7, 2010
ABC: America’s Funniest Home Videos (repeat), Modern Family (repeat), The Middle (repeat), Modern Family (repeat), Cougar Town (repeat), Modern Family (repeat), Modern Family (repeat)

CBS: Super Bowl XLIV (special), Undercover Boss (series debut)

NBC: Biggest Loser: Couples (2-hrs, repeat), Biggest Loser: Couples (2-hrs, repeat)

FOX: Til Death, Til Death, The Simpsons (repeat), Cleveland Show (repeat), Family Guy (repeat), American Dad (repeat)

PBS: Masterpiece! Part 3 of “Emma”

Animal: Puppy Bowl VI (2-hrs, special)
HBO: 9pm: Big Love
truTV: Las Vegas Jailhouse
VH1: Secrets of Aspen, Secrets of Aspen
WE: Platinum Weddings, Rich Bride, Poor Bride

That’s a wrap for this week.