Trying to make up for lackluster ratings from TV's traditional "new season" back in September/October ... the networks are offering lots of new programming this January. I'll try to highlight as much as possible here, but the next two weeks are going to be murder!


McNamara/Troy returns tonight!

Starting tonight, we've got the premiere of Scrubs on a new network. Yes, the medical-based sitcom is jumping ship from NBC to ABC beginning at 9 tonight with 2 back-to-back episodes.

The Biggest Loser: Couples debuts a new season over on NBC with a two-hour premiere beginning at 8 p.m. Just in time to make us all feel guilty about all those holiday treats!

The Mentalist returns with an all new episode at 9 p.m. on CBS. Jane quite the CBI to follow lead on Red John. I'll be tuning in ...

90210 returns to the CW (does anyone care? Even I'm giving up on this one) at 8 p.m., when Annie overhearsa phone call that raises suspicions.

As mentioned in the prior post -- VH1 offers up the debut episodes of Confessions of a Teen Idol at 9, followed by Brett Michael's Rock of Love Bus at 10.

I'll be taping the Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo at 10 p.m. Tonight the wives get catty at the race track!

Because the crux of my evening will be the season premiere on FX of one of my Top 5 TV Shows of 2008 -- Nip/Tuck! Tonight picks up where we left off last season with Dr. Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) getting stabbed in the back, literally, by his stalking, murderous agent played by Sharon Gless! Apparently, the dashing and promiscuous Dr. Christian Troy (Julian McMahon, come to Mama!) will arrive in time to save his life ... thus keeping him around for the next 7 episodes!!


The Dudes from Pineapple Express

But if you can't find anything worth watching, hit your local DVD store and rent a copy of Pineapple Express, out new today! It's the latest from Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad) and stars Seth Rogan and James Franco as a couple of stoners getting into various mishaps. I haven't seen it, but I plan to. It looks funny.

As predicted, comedian Jeffrey Ross was sent packing during Dancing with the Stars second night of celebrity hoofing. The sound you have heard around 9:50 p.m. last night was millions of men turning off their TVs in response. That's because Ross' partner was the gorgeous, scantily-clothed Edyta Slawinska, a male fan favorite!

Alas, that's the down side of America's favorite dance show, even if you don't like the "celebrity," the pros have developed their own strong fan-bases, and there are more men (claiming to be forced to watch by their wives) watching the hot young female dancers than you think!
Tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC, the Dancing marathon continues for another hour and yet another celebrity will trade their dancing shoes for walking shoes.

In other Dancing news: Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, who improved greatly in last night's peformance, has an upcoming serieso n A&E. Rocco Gets Real will premiere Oct. 4.

By the way, Monday's season premiere of DWTS averaged 21.3 million viewers to help ABC deliver its most-watched season-opening Monday since 1999.

Last night Fox offered up another intriguing episode of their new hit Fringe. The pattern and Massive Dynamics involvement have furthered the conspiracy. And I'm happy to pass on to you that last week's season premiere of Fox's proven hit House was just what the doctor ordered ... improving Fringe's (which follows House) ratings by over 4 million. According to TV Guide Fringe's primere garnered 9.1 million viewers and was up last week to 13.3, retaining 90 percent of House's audience. This is good news indeed.

And speaking of Fringe, don't you just love the way Fox let's you know, prior to every commercial break, how many seconds till Fringe returns! That really does come in handy. Kudos to Fox.

Haven't caught up on 90210 from last night yet ... although I can report that according to the NY Post, the CW has given a full-season order for the show. Whether they return for next season is anyone's guess at this point.

I have to tell you, Monday night while I was watching the LOST marathon, the Sci-Fi channel spent a lot of commercial time promoting a new series starting Friday, Oct. 3, at 9 p.m. Described in TV Guide as "A forensice psychiatrist follows the trail of an unusual boy who fled from a crime scene, and encounters a doctor with a unique proposition," Sanctuary looks pretty cool. You might want to save a space in your Friday night viewing ... http://www.scifi.com/sanctuary

And speaking of TV Guide, there's a pretty great article on Desperate Housewives new season in the Sept. 29-Oct. 5 edition, out now. There are lots of spoilers, but what I found most interesting was a sidebar on the show's creator Marc Cherry. In it, Cherry admits the inspiration for this season's 5-year jump forward came from the Season 3 finale of .... ready -- LOST!

For those of you who don't watch, during the last 5 minutes of the Season 3 finale, the audience found out that all the "flashbacks" we saw for those past 2 hours, were actually "flashforwards" and Jack and Kate were actually off the island!
According to Cherry, "Everyone on my staff was talking about it (LOST). The critics were rapturous. The fans were apparently ecstatic. This left me jealous and intrigued. I wasn't sure exactly what they'd done (I don't watch LOST, mostly because don't have the time, a little bit because I know it's so good, I'd just resent it), but I got the brilliance of it all. And I decided I had to make a bold move with my show."

On TV tonight: Well, I have a bit of a dilemma, there are 3 shows all on at the same tonight that I want to see. All at 10 p.m. What will I do?
I'll, of course, by starting with Project Runway on Bravo at 9 p.m. According to http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/ on tonight's episode, Tim Gunn promises us "the most unique show Project Runway has ever seen" as our five remaining designers battle it out in Rock N' Runway for a chance at the S5 crown. With an expected major model shake-up in the cards, the drama quotient should be high.
And we'll all be keeping an eye on the runway's newest bitch, Kenley, who over the last 2 weeks has gone from fan-favorite to villian! Who will she belittle tonight?

And following Runway at 10 p.m. I have to stay tuned for Top Design. While a tried to watch this show last season (its debut), I couldn't stand respected designer and show host Todd Oldham. Yes, I'm a fan of his designs, but his hosting abilities left something to be desired ...

Anyway, tonight's guest judge is none other than our favorite obsessive-compulsive house flipper, Flipping Out's Jeff Lewis! I absolutely can't wait. The promos for tonight's ep have Jeff saying "I thought the show was called Top Design, not over-the-top-design!"
For more information on Top Design, visit http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Design/season/2/index.php
For information on Flippin Out and Jeff Lewis visit http://www.bravotv.com/Flipping_Out/season/2/index.php

Also at 10 p.m. NBC's premiering Season 2 of Lipstick Jungle. I like this show, primarily because it was created by Candace Bushnell, creator of one of my all time faves, Sex and the City. While I wouldn't go as far as to say it's as good, it's held my interest. Tonight's premiere finds star Brooke Shields' character a high-powered film studio exec, dealing with a visit from her mother, played Mary Tyler Moore (might be worth watching just for that). For more info, click here http://www.nbc.com/Lipstick_Jungle/

And, of course, the show I'll actually watch at 10 p.m. (while taping the other two) will be FX's Sons of Anarchy. I'm liking this one more each week! For info visit
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/#Nav/Homepage

That's all for now, but coming tomorrow -- Survivor Gabon preview!

OK, so I'm guilty! Yes, I spent another LOST Monday with the Sci-Fi channel's 4-episode marathon of my favorite psychological thriller. I won't go into any details, just to say that if you ever wanted to get in on those LOST conspiracy conversations at work, Monday nights provide the perfect chance for you to get caught up for Season 5, debuting in January.

Back on over at ABC last night, Dancin' with the Stars made its season debut. I would say it was a loooong two hours, but I taped it and watched at 11 p.m. And although I said yesterday I could get thru it in about 20 minutes just watching the dancing and critiquing, it actually took about 35 minutes. Which is still way better than 2 hours of mostly filler and commercials!
All the contestants danced last night and one will go home during tonight's broadcast, another 2 hours, from 9-11 p.m. And the fun continues Wednesday night, with a 1-hr. results show at 8 p.m. during which another contestant will be voted off.

Anyway, here's my thoughts ... judge Bruno Tonioli was on fire last night -- where does he come up with those wacky euphemisms? He compared comedian Jeffrey Ross (who I think will be going home tonight) to the horrendous atrocity of Cloverfield in 3D. Cloverfield, for those of you who don't know, featured a gigantic monster lumbering its way thru New York City, knocking down everything in its path. And I think it was a correct comparison. Poor Ross, he seemed to be really trying, but some people just don't have it on the dance floor.
The Cloverfield Monster

I can't say much more for celebrity chef (is this guy still famous?) Rocco DiSpirito. He faired a little better than Ross, but not much.

82-year-old Cloris Leachman stole the show, not with her dancing, but with her antics at the judges stand. She slung her bare leg up and on the table right in front of a flabbergasted Bruno (the first person ever to leave him speechless), got on her knees and prayed in front of Len Goodman and practically sat in Kari Ann's lap!
I'll also put Susan Lucci in my bottom three. Don't get me wrong, she looked great! But she also looked incredibly uncomfortable performing her segment. I'm only hoping her strong fan base keeps her around for a while ... her partner, Tony Dovolani is delicious!

My faves from last night were the adorable Cody Linley (of Hannah Montana fame). He lucked out by getting 2-time champ Julianne Hough as a partner. She makes everybody look good.
Also, after admitting he was the "worst dancer in N'Sync, Lance Bass proved he can work it on the dance floor. I'm looking forward to his improvement in future episodes. His partner is newcomer Lacey Schwimmer.

Derek Hough
And the top vote getter from the judges was model/TV spokesperson Brooke Burke, who was lucky enough to land Julianne's bro, the super cute Derek Hough, as her dance partner.
My gut tells me that Maurice Greene is also one to watch this season. He was the last dancer of the evening and he has the other 2-time champ, Cheryl Burke, to guide him straight to the top. His dancing style was reminiscent of Season 3 winer and fave Emmett Smith!

My primary reason for watching, though, was the return of my fave pro -- Maksim Chmerkovsky! He's the hottest thing to hit the dance floor since Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever! Unfortunately, his partner is Olympian Misty May-Treanor, and he's really got his work cut out for him. The girl doesn't have any dancing experience, but she's an athlete, and athletes have a dedication that has been unmatched by other contestants so far (remember Apollo Ohno and last season's winner Kristi Yamaguchi?). Maybe he'll be able to turn it around to their advantage! We'll have to wait and see.
Overall, the show's contestants were not as impressive as previous seasons, with some even earning 4's from the judges. "I forgot we had a 4," quipped host Tom Bergeron of the low score. Overall scores ranges from 23-12 (Burke and Ross, respectively).
For more info visit the official website at http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=index

On TV Tonight: Australia's handsome Simon Baker returns to network TV on CBS at 9 p.m. as The Mentalist. He stars as the roguish mentalist, whoonce made his living fooling people into believing he was a psychic.

Though he cannot really read minds, he developed a keen intuition about people, leading him to his current occupation as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation on murder cases. For information and full episodes visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_mentalist/

Over on NBC, the competition continues on The Biggest Loser: Families, with a special guest appearance. Fresh from his debut (and possibly last night) on Dancin' with the Stars, Rocco DiSpirito teaches the contestants to shop for and make healthy and affordable meals.

I'll be reluctantly tuning in to 90210 on the CW at 8 p.m. Only because E! News reported over the weekend that Luke Perry IS in talks to reprise his role as Dylan MacKay!! YAY! As I reported last week, Brenda revealed in a conversation with Kelly that Dylan is indeed the father of Kelly's son Sammy (my only reason to keep watching).

And, Fox is offering up another vexxing episode of it's new JJ Abrahms thriller Fringe! I'm really getting into this show. It's not too late to check it out. Tonight's episode will center on another occurance in "The Pattern" featuring a bus full of frozen commuters. For more information visit http://www.fox.com/fringe/
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FX is rerunning last week's episode of Sons of Anarchy tonight at 11 p.m. It's not too late to get in on this fine show. Think of it as the Sopranos on Harleys.

So, against my better judgment, I actually watched The Hills last night, after completely missing last week's episode. It just happened to be re-airing at 11 p.m. last night, just when my LOST marathon was ending. And for something completely different, Lauren Conrad was MIA for most of the episode ... she was on some trip and only arrived back home at the very end and guess what? The show wasn't really better/worse without her. All these "characters" (I mean we all KNOW its scripted, right?) are so interchangeable that it really doesn't matter who's onscreen.
Unfortunately, next week's ep actually looks interesting with Heidi's mom coming to visit. And guess what? She's going to give Heidi a hard time about her fiance Spencer (does anybody LIKE this guy???)

TV on DVD: Well, not exactly, but it was one of HBO's most successful series. Sex and the City: The Movie bows on DVD today. And, yes, being a huge fan of the show, I ran right to the theater to see it last June. Although critics complained that it was like a 2-hr. episode, I loved it! I mean, that's what we the fans wanted wasn't it?

Anyway, if you're a fan of the show, I highly recommend the movie. If you've never seen the show, it doesn't make much sense to watch the movie. Enough said.

OK, sorry, I got my information a little wrong about last night's Project Runway. While designer Cynthia Rowley was the guest judge in a Mother-Daughter challenge, the returning contestants I mentioned yesterday were actually on the show following the Bravo hit -- Top Design, which aired at 10 p.m. My bad.

Regarding Runway, last night we said Auf Wiedersehen to Joe. I will admit I was a little nervouse for Suede, he's growing on me and I didn't want him to go yet. I think the judges feel the same way. I'm picking him, Jerell and Leanne for the finalists. For now we'll have to wait and see ... by the way, what was that feathered thing on challenge-winner Jerell's head last night?

For more photos of last night's challenge or more info on the Runway visit http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/

F/X delivered another great episode of Sons of Anarchy last night, featuring Carnies, castration and those motorcycle mavens with a heart. For X-Files fans, there was another treat -- Mitch Pileggi turned up from a rival gang. Pileggi played Mulder and Scully's boss, Agent Skinner. You can see more here http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/#Nav/TheShow/AboutTheShow

And Pileggi shows up this season on the CW's Supernatural, which has it's premiere at 9 p.m. Yes, demon hunters Sam and Dean Winchester are back for Season 4! When we last saw them back in May, evil demon Lilith trapped the brothers and sent Dean (Jensen Ackles) to Hell, fulfilling Dean's contract to sacrifice his life for Sam (Jared Padalecki).

Tonight's opener apparently has Dean literally digging himself out of his grave! Pileggi will appear in a future episode playing the boys' grandfather. But, if I have to be honest, although I love all things supernatural, the real reason I stick with this show is for the eye-candy -- the Winchester Bros. are hot!


And speaking of eye candy, I caught up on this week's 90210 last night too. I was just about to give up on this show, when Kelly Taylor (Jenny Garth) spoke the only word that would make me keep watching -- Dylan! As in former Beverly Hills alum Dylan McKay (Luke Perry)! (OK, so I would still have kept watching if she had said Brandon.) Yes, it seems that Kelly's young son Sammy is the spawn of my favorite 90210 hottie.

Before the new show started back in August, there was plenty of Internet rumors about Perry returning for a few guest shots, possibly as the father of Kelly's son. Perry's camp is quick to point out that at the moment the actor has no intention of returning. But we all know that can change ...

Also, I must admit I do enjoy seeing Rob Estes on 90210 (he plays West Beverly's principal and father of the main characters Annie and Dickson). I've always liked Estes, ever since he used to star in the upscale detective drama Silk Stalkings. I'll never forgive the USA Network for killing him off at the end of Season 5. And I'm not alone. The show quickly sank into ratings oblivion after that.


On TV Tonight: I'll be watching my favorite British chef in need of anger management -- Gordon Ramsay. His Kitchen Nightmares at 9 p.m. on Fox is one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

Say what you want about his management style, the guy knows what he's talking about. Just check out his bio on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Ramsay and I'm sure you'll be impressed. Anyway, if you're not familiar, Nightmares features a different failing eatery each week, which Ramsay makes over and turns into a profit maker. Check it out. It's very different from his signature cooking contest show Hell's Kitchen.


Also cake-maker extreme Duff Goldman is back with another new episode of his hugely popular Food Network show Ace of Cakes! This show truly is a joy to watch. Not only are the cakes amazing, the employees make up a cast of characters worth watching. So check out the jovial chef along with Mary Alice, Geof, Sherri, Anna, Adam and the rest of the gang at 10 p.m. Just Duff's boisterous laugh alone is enough to keep me watching.
Or if you just can't wait, you can visit Baltimore's Charm City Cakes at http://www.charmcitycakes.com/

Over on ABC at 9 p.m. last season's 2-hr. finale of Grey's Anatomy plays out again. So if you just can't wait until next week's season premiere, you can refresh your memory of the goings'-on of Meredith, McDreamy, McSteamy, and the rest randy doctors at Seattle Grace.

Till tomorrow ...

Hello fellow TV enthusiasts and welcome to "On The Set". For those of you who are curious, this blog will be dedicated to all things television. You know what I mean. The type of things you tend to discuss when you get into work in the morning.
Who did what to whom on TV last night, who got voted off the island, who was asked to leave the runway, who's fooling around with who on Wisteria Lane, what really happened to Oceanic 815, what happened to Mad Men, and how the hell is Jack Bauer going to save the world this time? All generally based on what I watch on TV.
Along the way, I'll share any info about upcoming TV moments and events, any new shows/castings I hear about, preview/review new shows and hope to share your opionions as well as mine. So feel free to add your comments to any postings or email me at kim.gardengal.toth@gmail.com
For those of you wondering about that address, I've spent this past spring and summer blogging as Garden Gal for The Mercury and will continue to do so, only as the weather gets colder, there's not as much gardening to write about.
And as the nights get longer, we'll all be spending more time indoors, and I'll be catching up on lots of TV. The new Fall season is just around the corner, but some new shows have already got the jump on them.
You can check out my profile for my preferences, but in general my TV tastes run from Reality to Entourage to Mad Men. I can always find something on TV that I like. My faves are LOST (yes, I'm one of those people), Survivor, Amazing Race, 24, Project Runway, Top Chef, The Soup (in case I missed anything) and just about anything on BBC America (my current fave channel).
So let's get started with what was on last night: I would've liked to start with J.J. Abrams newest, "Fringe," but, having taped it earlier to watch later, I fell asleep halfway thru. Not because the show was bad, actually it was quite interesting, I just started watching it too late. Abrams, for those of you who don't know, is the creator of LOST and Alias, and Fringe is supposed to be in the same vein. I let you know tomorrow.
Oh, and yes, I said "taped." I can't bring myself to pay for DVR yet, when there's nothing wrong with my 5 VCRs. Yes, I need 5 sometimes to get everything I want to see. And since my cable company charges a monthly fee for DVR, I'd rather use that money to pay for more channels!
So, on to what I actually watched: The CW's new 90210. Yes, I have to admit, I liked last week's show. I was a HUGE fan of the original from the '80s and the nostalgic value of the new show was hard to resist.
Anyway, unfortunately the new show jumped the shark (yes, I know that the phrase jumped the shark has effectively jumped the shark itself, but I didn't know how else to put it) about halfway thru when one of the young characters (it's too soon to now all their names) made a reference to The Hills' dastardly villian Spencer Pratt! Yes, I also watch The Hills, but I wouldn't say I'm fanatic about it. Then 90210 went on with the old show's typical formulas, parents wanting to have a "family night out", kids arranging for their friends to "meet" them there, one character discovers her father's having an affair and, of course, the alcoholic mother whose daughter doesn't know how to cope. Boring ... I'll give it another shot next week.
I also wasn't too impressed with the show that came after either. "Privileged" is about a woman who gets hired to tutor two insanely rich and spoiled teenage girls (think Paris and Nicky Hilton about seven years younger) in ritzy Palm Beach, Florida. I'm sure you can imagine all the stereotypes that played out in this show.
But that's what the new Fall season is always about: Trying out new shows and seeing if you want to stay with them.
One show I can definitely recommend is actually on tonight. Presented on the FX channel at 10 p.m. is the second episode of "Sons of Anarchy." Think The Sopranos, only with a gun-running motorcycle gang instead of the mob. Starring British actor Charlie Hunnan as Jax, the son of the former leader of the gang, and probable successor, last week's pilot episode was full of drama, guns, explosions, drug-dealing and, of course, rival killings. Don't get upset, I'm not condoning violence, it's just a TV show.

In TV news, www.nypost.com is reporting that Project Runway judge Nina Garcia is getting her own show. "Running in Heels" will feature Garcia and her staff at Marie Claire, and is set for a March premiere.
Also Project Runway, which is moving after this season from Bravo to Lifetime, will not be premiering in October as previously planned. (Still no word on whether any of the judges or my fave, mentor Tim Gunn, will be part of the new line up.) It's now going to start in early next year. The current season will be taping its finale Friday at New York's Fashion Week in Bryant Park and will feature guest judge Jennifer Lopez.
Stay tuned ...