Sneak Peek: TNT's New Medical Drama 'Heartland'

Tomorrow night, after the season premiere of The Closer, will be the debut of Heartland.

What's that, you ask?

Heartland is the latest entry into original drama series for TNT, the network who knows drama. I've watched the first two episodes and, although I'm not a huge medical drama buff, I found them intriguing.

First off, the star of the show is Treat Williams. I've always liked him and he's been scarce for a number of years. So, I can forget that they even sent me a pair of nifty Heartland scub pants and just declare it a Treat of my own, eh?

Although a heart-rate increasing medical drama about organ transplants, the show is just as much about its lead characters -- Treat Williams as Dr. Nathaniel Grant (an organ transplant surgeon who's willing to take risks to give his patients a "second chance"), Kari Matchett as his ex-wife who has to work with him in her capacity of an organ donor coordinator. their teenaged daughter, his latest dating experiences (or are they experiments?), and the doctors, staff, and hierarchy of the hospital itself.

The organ donor angle is a story which needs to be told. And medical dramas often snag the interest of audiences. I think that folks who like a good medical drama, well-written, good characters, and not of the ilk where if you miss one show you're lost... Heartland may be just the show for you. The main storyline each episode wraps up (for good or bad) at the end of each hour and it's easy to get involved with watching.

Oh... did I mention it has Treat Williams?

Check it out tomorrow night - Monday, July 18 at 10 PM ET/PT on TNT.

'Big Brother 8' - Still in Anticipation

There isn't much new news to share about the upcoming season. Someone put in a Wikipedia entry that Rob Mariano (Boston Rob) was going to be on the show, but that's what happens when anyone can update an entry on Wikipedia. I strongly doubt that he'll be on the show.

Over at the Hamster Watch site run by my favorite That Dingo, it's mentioned that something is actually coming across on the live feeds link. So, I checked it out as my SuperPass is active. Yep... a sign of things to come! "I'm sorry. The Big Brother 8 live stream you're trying to access isn't available at this time. Please try later." Ohhh... white words on a black background! But, hey... it's a step in the right direction!

Puffin' Pants - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - June 18-22, 2007

Oh, no! It's another week of repeats for Pants Man Dave!

What am I going to do? Well, I'll probably rewatch them but I'll warn you now... I'll be reading books with the show playing in the background. So there, Dave.

• Monday, June 18: Mike Myers (Shrek The Third) and America Ferrara (Ugly Betty).
• Tuesday, June 19: Jack Hanna (YAY), Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy), and Patti Griffin whose latest CD is Children Running Through.
• Wednesday, June 20: Matt Damon (Ocean's Thirteen), Indy 500 Winner Dario Franchitti, musical guest Bright Eyes (CD is Cassadaga)
• Thursday, June 21: Johnny Depp and the Spinners. (No, Johnny Depp isn't the lead Spinner although that would be interesting.)
• Friday, June 22: Charles Barkley, Seth Rogan (Knocked Up), Michael Martin Murphey (best remembered for "Wildfire" but his latest CD is Heartland Cowboy: Cowboy Songs, Vol. 5)

Ah, we just have to wait until next Monday (June 25) on The Late Show with David Letterman. What's happening then? It's a new show! Bruce Willis is on! Diving dogs (always amusing) are on out on 53rd Street! But... most important to the Big Brother fans... it's the annual pre-season Julie Chen appearance on Letterman! Woohoo! We're getting near!

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, June 16, 2007

Wasn't last night one of the more lackluster evenings in television history? Yes, there was the Daytime Emmy Award Show, or you could "attend" National Bingo Night. But neither of those rocked my socks. I ended up watching some odd show about the hippie era on the History Channel while reading a book.

Well, there was also the Subway Series game between the Yankees and the Mets. I had to share my train ride home from work with raucous fans. But the Mets won and broke the Yankees winning streak! Eek! I'm glad I didn't watch that!

Here's what I found out there on the web for this edition of TV Newsy Bits:

• Although I'm posting this a bit after the fact, the prison escapee who had plotted to kidnap David Letterman's son Harry is once again back behind bars. Good.
• Marcellas Reynolds from Big Brother has announced that he won't be co-hosting the Internet show Housecalls this year. In his forum, he cites his ever-busy career as one of the reasons. Um. Okay. He also mentions budget cuts and a format change. I previously posted on the blog that I saw Gretchen Massey's name, but no Marcellas. There is no Marcellas. It's a bit of a shame because he asked the questions fans wanted to ask and really understands the whole thing better than Gretchen.
• A commenter asked in a previous about the ad mentioning that The Black Donnellys were returning. From my understanding, it will be the rest of the season that had already been filmed. NBC yanked the show after showing a handful of episodes. It's some HD channel which is airing it. I don't get the channel, so I've lost my Donnellys.
• American Idol season one winner Kelly Clarkson has canceled her scheduled concert tour. She recently fired her manager and poor ticket sales were listed amongst other reasons for the decision.
• Director Wes Craven will be the guest judge on On the Lot next week (June 19). Ohhh... I wonder if they'll have to make scary movies!
• MSNBC has an intriguing article about reality television mogul Mark Burnett's hits and misses. In the article Burnett mentions that the 10 PM Sunday night time slot played a role in the demise of The Apprentice. I beg to differ. I think the change to L.A., the rich/poor gimmick, and the change away from George and Caroline to the TrumpKids had more to do with it. The time slot change was perhaps the final nail in the coffin to put the show out of its misery.
• The Fans of Reality TV forum has an interview with ousted from Hell's Kitchen little dude Eddie Langley. Eddie says that if he hadn't gone home he would have won. Okaaay...

That's it for now. When does Big Brother 8 start again? Where are we on our countdown? I need my live feeds for the down times of summer television!

'So You Think You Can Dance' - 6/14/07 Results Show - East Coast Updates

Tonight the three couples voted in the bottom, er... well, three... will have to "dance for their lives" solo. One male and one female will go home.

This entry will be updated with important results as the show airs here, so check back for the couple voted off! Remember, it's not a couple, per se. If one member of a couple dances well enough in the solo, he or she will go on.

Dominic and Sabra are bottom three. Ashlee and Ricky are also bottom three. The final three is rounded out with Faina and Cedric.

Going home are: Ashlee and... Ricky.