The TV Weekend

Well, isn't this weekend just ducky for television viewers?

Um, no. It's not. It's a good thing the weather is gorgeous here in the NYC/NJ area. Watching the ducks and geese at the park could be better than the television. I took this photo in nearby Westfield at the park often featured in the show Ed.

Thankfully, I have a screener of the pilot episode of the new TNT series Saving Grace which I'll watch over the weekend. I should be reporting back to you on that sometime tomorrow. I'm also playing FedEx tag with a package which I suspect is from either TBS or TNT, so I'll have to see what that is during the week ahead.

We're at the calm before the storm on the Big Brother 8 front. Things should kick off in the week ahead starting with Julie Chen's appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman this Monday evening. I've noticed new commercials almost daily for the show, all featuring past houseguests (of course). The new hamsters should have been "kidnapped" by now and held in sequester. We should be seeing some new faces on commercials perhaps by the end of the week. It's almost here!

But, then there's this weekend on television. Oh, my... perhaps it's time to check out some movie rentals!

If we're talking new episodes, there isn't much happening. There's a new Cops on tonight at 8 PM ET/PT and then a new America's Most Wanted at 9 PM ET/PT. The Cartoon Network has new programming on starting at 9 PM ET/PT. Oh... Bravo has not-so-new Pulp Fiction! Ah, but I have that on DVD. AMC is airing Braveheart, but I'm not sure my attention span will be up for that tonight. Zoolander is on Comedy Central.

Tomorrow night, Sunday, isn't much better. I see FOX has new episodes of The Loop on at 8:30 and 9:30 PM ET/PT with a repeat The Family Guy sandwiched in the middle. In this area, WNET (PBS) has a new Mystery! starting at 9 PM ET/PT. TBS is airing Men in Black II back to back through the evening. WGN has an American Idol Rewind on at 8 PM ET... I may check that out to see what season they're into on the show these days. The History Channel has a new Ice Road Truckers on at 10 PM ET/PT.

Oh, heck. I may just end up either reading a book or watching old Law and Order: Criminal Intent reruns on Bravo all evening. Or, maybe I'll turn to my DVD collection -- watch a movie or rewatch some Homicide: Life on the Street.

Folks can say what they want about Big Brother. But when the feeds are live, I always have some sort of background entertainment.

What are your plans for the weekend?

'So You Think You Can Dance' - Results Show East Coast Update 6/21/07

I'll be updating this as the show progresses here on the East Coast, so check on back!

Lauren and Neil are safe. Pasha and Jessi are are in the bottom three and will have to dance for their lives. ACK! I thought they were great! Hok and Jaimie are safe.

Lacey and Kameron are safe. Anya and Danny are safe. Sabra and Dominic are safe.

Jesus and Sara are safe. Shauna and Jimmy are bottom three. Faina and Cedric are also in the bottom three.

So... dancing for their lives are Jessi, Pasha, Shauna, Jimmy, Faina, and Cedric. Let the dance battle begin!

Faina is going home. Jimmy is going home after a long talk about Nigel regarding unique vs. talent.

The Best? The Worst? 7000 Channels and Nothing Good On TV?

Oh, I know the photo has nothing to do with television, but I always feel I should have some kind of image there. And, the model was kind enough to sit still for me to take it.

Later on tonight, I'll be posting the East Coast Update for the So You Think You Can Dance results show. It starts in about an hour here (9 PM ET) and I'll have the results posted by 10 PM ET for those who wish to discuss the show or those folks from other time zones who just can't wait to know who got the boot this week. I personally think Cedric, although he's a dear, might be going. But I haven't a clue about the girls.

However, that's not why I brought you here. No, really. Hey, look at the title of the entry! AOL had one of their polls about the best and the worst on television this past season. TV Squad picked up on that with an article. I thought it would be interesting to see what you guys thought as compared to both AOL and TV Squad readers. My own favorites certainly differ from their results.

For Best Drama, the AOL visitors chose House (29%) with Grey's Anatomy on its tail (28%). Heroes and Lost tied at 17% each. The Sopranos got a paltry 9%. Hmmm... I think my favorite drama this year was my workplace. Er... ahem. No, my personal favorite drama this season was Heroes. Lost lost out because the "fall season" was not so good for me.

In the Best Comedy category, AOL visitors chose Ugly Betty (30%), The Office (28%), Two and a Half Men (26%), How I Met Your Mother (9%), 30 Rock (7%). My own personal sitcom watching is a bit at a low ebb the last several years, but I'd have How I Met Your Mother on the top of my list. Neil Patrick Harris as Barney is a hoot! Suit up as we head to the next category!

Ohhh.... Best Reality Show! AOL visitors chose American Idol (39%), Dancing With the Stars (28%), The Amazing Race (15%), America's Next Top Model (10%), Project Runway (8%). What? No Survivor? Oh, no they didn't...! I think this season's Survivor: Fiji was one of the best in years and I have to put my Yau-Man Chan in there. I wasn't so thrilled with The Amazing Race this season as I'm not too keen on "all-stars" versions of reality shows, nor was I overly thrilled with the "all-stars" they chose.

Best New Show was next. Well, the AOL visitors got one right, methinks. They chose Heroes (38%) and so do I. Ugly Betty (32%), Jericho (12%), Friday Night Lights (11%), and 30 Rock (6%) filled out the poll. Gee, where's National Bingo Night on the list? I mean, that's such a fascinating show! (You should read that with sarcasm, of course.)

The Worst New Show, deemed as such by AOL visitors, was Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll. Also on the list were 'Til Death, The Game, Happy Hour, Twenty Good Years. I don't think I can argue with their choices although the only show on that list I've seen at all is 'Til Death. That top worst one sounds like a doozy. I'm glad I didn't see it.

Best Season-Ending Cliffhanger is an interesting category. There surely were some good ones this year. Lost (32%) tops their list, as well as my own personal list. Then came C.S.I., Heroes, Ugly Betty, Battlestar Galactica. I think the C.S.I. one was better than Heroes, too. I was so psyched for a major showdown between Peter and Sylar on Heroes that I felt a bit letdown.

Best Villain chosen on the AOL poll was Ben (28%) from Lost. The order of the other top-runners was: Sylar from Heroes (26%), Tony from The Sopranos, The Miniature Killer from C.S.I., and Cheng from 24. You know, I don't think I could call it between Ben and Sylar. I think they're the best villains we've had in years on television. Both are quietly creepy. I like that in my villains, don't you?

The AOL poll strayed a bit with "What Heroes power do you wish you had?" Time travel won their poll. Me? I don't know. Maybe I'm getting old. But as a veteran of knee surgeries and odd new aches and pains each year.... Claire's healing power looks awfully good to me!

They have a lot more on the poll itself, but I thought those were the most interesting categories. How would you answer?

'Big Brother 8' RealPlayer Superpass Now Available

Oh, no... no feeds yet, but Real.com has the information for ordering the SuperPass with Big Brother 8 in mind. (You can always get the SuperPass -- I didn't cancel last year because I've been taking advantage of the Music Store free monthly downloads from Rhapsody which are tied to the account, as well as some other content. The music credit alone pretty much equals what I pay for the SuperPass.)

As always, they have some special deals for the Big Brother season -

• The three-month season for only $29.99
• The six month special for $44.99
• Monthly for $12.99 a month

The prices listed are what they're quoting as "Early Bird" specials, are available if you sign up before July 4, and come with a free three-day trial period.

Heh -- I see they have a disclaimer on the bottom of their page which includes "The live and on-demand content (the "Content") may contain elements offensive to some users and inappropriate for users under 21. Certain Content may be delayed, edited and/or blacked out at various times at our sole discretion."

Heck, we're Big Brother fans. We know it can be offensive! We need someone we can love to hate! Unfortunately, we all too well also know about the black-outs when the houseguests sing or talk about someone who hasn't signed a release. I hope they bring back the Fish Cam this season instead of the abrupt loud BB theme music and angry clouds.

I haven't really checked too much into the Big Brother After Dark feeds show which will air nightly on ShoToo, a sister station of the Showtime network. I know it will be on nightly from 12 AM - 3 AM here on the East Coast and will be one live feed. I don't get that station and I'm not about to increase my overly-expensive cable bill just to get it as I will have all four feeds 24/7, not one for three hours a night. If you already have the station, you should check out the feed once it starts. If you don't have it, weigh the costs against getting the SuperPass. Real.com may be cheaper and you have it all... or what they allow us to see.

Since I have my spiffy new computer, I plan on getting the BBReloader this season and posting some videos to YouTube as the season goes on. This will be in addition to the Live Feed Reports, screen caps, live-blogging on show nights in East Coast time, etc.

I can't wait!

TV Newsy Bits - Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Uh-oh. Regular readers may be wondering where my On The Lot report is tonight. Oops. I got watching America's Got Talent in its entirety and recorded On The Lot. I'll have to get back to you on it. But there's something about America's Got Talent that just draws me in. Tonight was the Chicago auditions and I'm looking forward to next week in New York!

In other real TV Newsy Bits:

• There's still no new news on the upcoming Big Brother 8 show. There are some articles out there which may interest you -- Reality TV Calendar has an All About the Competitions article and a pre-season primer, Everything You Want to Know About Big Brother.
• Actor John Cryer of Two and a Half Men got married in Mexico over the weekend.
• The estate of Dr. Seuss wouldn't allow ABC to use the name Sam I Am for a scheduled fall series, so it's been changed to Samantha Be Good. Of course, we all know Sam I Am from Green Eggs and Ham. No, I don't like them either, Sam I Am.
• The third season premiere of The Closer did very well. TNT sent me this same press release, but I found it online at the Futon Critic, too.

Yikes, thunderstorms are rolling in here... gotta go!