Ok, so after being a blogging fool last Friday, I thought I deserved yesterday off. Sorry, I just wasn't inspired ... except for 24. Hope y'all remembered to watch another action-packed episode last night. But WTH, if you didn't, thanks to the miracle of the internet, you can watch it here or just take a few minutes to read Fox's awesome episode recap http://www.fox.com/24/


On to Tuesday night: Fox kicks off American Idol Final Auditions Week tonight at 8 pm. Yes, it's another hour devoid of trainwrecks! Have I mentioned how disappointed I am in Fox's decision to show less bad auditions and more good ones? It's totally ruined one of my fave guilty pleasures! And I told them so ...
I'm on an email list for Fox's survey panel and got a survey last week about AI and my viewing habits. So I let them have it, complaining about the lack of lame auditions! Anyway, if you, like Eddie Idol, are in it for the serious contenders, there will be more "final" auditions on Wednesday and Thursday nights, both at 8 pm.
For more on AI visit http://www.americanidol.com/

Following AI is another new episode of Fringe at 9. Yeah, I forgot to watch this last week and I'm not too hopeful for tonight either. But if you are, a serial killer is turning victims' brains into liquid across the country, and the case has a special urgency for Olivia.
For more on Fringe, visit http://www.fox.com/fringe/

Those raunchy Real Housewives of Orange County hit the road on Bravo tonight at 10. Jeana and Vicki are visiting Chicago. That should be interesting, since Jeana and Vicki haven't been getting along all season. For more on the OC Wives visit http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives/season/3/

Nip/Tuck returns on F/X tonight after being MIA last week. I have to say, not excited so far this season ... anyway, Julia is back and Sean's trying to reconcile his feelings for her ... WHERE, OH WHERE, is the CARVER??? Come back, this show desparately needs you! For more on Nip/Tuck visit http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/niptuck/


Ted Allen and The Food Network's newest reality competition Chopped has an all new episode at 10. Sorry, haven't been able to remember to watch this one yet ... even though I blogged about it and was interested. I guess I'm still yawning over Ted's last show Food Detectives. Don't get me wrong, I really like Ted, but I don't think he's capativating enough to anchor his own show ...
For more on Chopped visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/chopped/index.html


My pick for the 10 p.m. time slot tonight is over on TLC. Toddlers & Tiaras debuts tonight and, boy do I love watching over-the-top conceited Moms dress up their toddlers like Miss America hopefuls for these extravagant pageants!
Who are these people, who sometimes forego feeding the rest of the family just to buy that one-of-a-kind child-sized sequin evening gown (to be worn only once, mind you), for that coveted crown?
I don't know which I like better, the screaming kids getting spray-tanned, their overzealous mothers or the ambiguously gay pageant coaches who help them achieve their dreams! All I know is I'll be there watching with a big bowl of popcorn!
For more info visit http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/toddlers-tiaras/about-toddlers-and-tiaras.html

And the really big news, according to Entertainment Weekly, is that Dr. Doug Ross is back!!! Oh yeah, baby, George Clooney's long-rumored return to ER is apparently happening, and he's taping his part this week, and here's the photos to prove it.

ER ends its run during sweeps in May and apparently is lining up many former players for the finale. Along with Clooney, expect to see Noah Wylie, Eric LaSalle and Julianna Marguilies. Now I just might have to tune in for that!

Well, I would certainly be remiss if I didn't mention all the Inauguration coverage on TV tonight! Not that I'll be watching ...

So here goes: ABC presents A Moment in History at 10; NBC's Dateline is all about the festivities, also at 10; Larry King joins in the fun at 9 on CNN; CBS presents Change & Challenge/Inauguration of Barack Obama at 9, and so on. You get the picture. If you, like me, had to work today and couldn't sit home watching, there'll be plenty on TV tonight to satisfy your curiosity!

Me, if I'm not watching either Saw V or Repo: The Genetic Opera, which I'm expecting from Netflix today, I'll be tuning in to more shallow fare ...



Like American Idol, which tones the auditions down to only an hour tonight on Fox at 8, followed at 9 by the return of Fringe. I lost interest a little in J.J. Abrahms latest thriller last year, but think I might tune in tonight to see what's going on ...
For info on Fringe visit http://www.fox.com/fringe/

At 10 p.m. the Food Network offers up the second episode of Ted Allen's new foodie competition Chopped. Sorry guys, totally forgot about this one last week, but I'm gonna try to check it out tonight.



Of course, also at 10 p.m. Bravo's Real Housewives of Orange County will continue their decedant debauchery with the aftermath of last week's alleged hook-up between a drunken Gretchen and Tamra's son Ryan -- ooooohhh, you know I'll have to get to the bottom of that one!!
For info visit http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives/season/3/

The Biggest Losers continue to, ah, lose over on NBC from 8-10. Might have to take a peek just to see of trainer Bob loses it again this week. Anyone catch his expletive-filled tirade last week? It was one of the higlights of E!'s The Soup last weekend. Sorry Bob, no matter how many f's you let fly, you're still not too intimidating ...
For info visit http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/



TLC offers up a Duggar Family marathon tonight, beginning at 7. If you don't know the Duggars, the best I can tell you is that Mrs. Duggar is about 40 years old and has been pregnant, literally half her life. The Duggars have 18 children ... and counting ... again. Tonight's line-up includes 16 Children and Moving In (about the big new house the family built), Raising 16 Children and 17 Kids and Counting (about the impending birth of baby 18). Mr. Duggar, please give that woman a rest...



And for those of you just looking for shallow entertainment to pass the time, FX is airing 2004's beefcake supreme Troy. Oh yeah baby, or as I like to call it -- Baywatch for Women. Not the greatest retelling of Helen of Troy, but man, oh man, it's hard to top the masculine bravado in this flick (unless you break out your DVD of 300 and you know you have one). Starring Brad Pitt as the warrior Achilles, this film also boasts the talents of Eric Bana, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom (as the whimp Prince Paris), some young Brad Pitt look-alike and, oh yeah, Diane Kruger as the famed most beautiful woman in the world, Helen.

In other News: Everyone keeping up with 24? Last night's episode was, again, action-packed, just they way we like it. I can't wait to see how they're going to get away with killing the Prez' husband. Anyone else have any thoughts?
I won't go into details, because Fox's comprehensive episode guide does a far better job. See it here http://www.fox.com/24/recaps/season7/index.htm

Good News for Mad Men fans: AMC has renewed the show for its third season (hard to believe there was ever any doubt), and has pumped up production so it can be back for summer.

Also, someone asked in the comments about TNT's Raising the Bar. It should be back for a second season sometime this summer. For info or to watch last season visit http://www.tnt.tv/series/raisingthebar/

And back to American Idol for a moment, the final 12 contestants will be living together a la Real World-style with producers hoping to catch some compromising and/or backstabbing moments. They also reveal there will be a big surprise coming when the final 12 are decided that will catch the contestants off guard (whatever that means).

Till tomorrow ...

Charm School Girls

Ok, I'm gonna try to keep it short and sweet today, wish me luck.Last night, I caught up on VH1's latest skankfest Rock of Love Charm School (originally aired Sunday at 9 pm, but will undoubtedly repeat all week). This show is a carbon copy of last year's Flava of Love Charm School, changing out Monique as hostess, for Sharon Osbourne.
And instead of the "ladies" from Flava of Love, this one features the "ladies" of Brett Michael's Rock of Love. Fourteen of the worst of the worst from Rock's two seasons gathered at some mansion in Los Angeles to battle it out charm school-style for a chance at winning $100,000 (yeah, that's about $60,00 after taxes - it's not gonna go as far as they're hoping). Of course, one can't deny that the publicity one gets from this show won't help (hurt) a career ...
In either case, it's up to Sharon to turn these sorry subjects into "ladies." Good Luck!
All the faves are back: Raven, Jessica, Kristy Jo, Destiny, Rodeo, superdrunk Courtney (she passed out the first day on Rock of Love and did it again last night), Brandi C., Brandi M., Angelique, Megan, Dallas and yes, season one runner-up Heather (who "loved" Brett so much she actually got his name tattooed on the back of her neck).
I've already written too much regarding this mess. But, just to let you know, at the end of every excruciating episode, one contestant will be expelled from Charm School and last night it was the aforementioned drunk Courtney. Hey, at least Sharon arranged for her to go to rehab!
Don't waste your time. It was really bad ...But just in case you don't want to heed my warning, you can check it out at http://blog.vh1.com/2008-09-08/the-charm-school-rock-of-love-girls-cast-the-first-season-ladies/

Over on ABC at 10 pm, Denny Crane continued his hilarious shenanigans on Boston Legal. Who'd ever thought that William Shatner could be so funny and entertaining! He totally makes the show, along with James Spader.
Spader, who started out his career playing the worst teen villians in John Hughes' movies, is the last person I would've thought I would like. But, hey, if I'm ever accused of a crime, I totally want his Alan Shore to defend me!
Don't miss the opportunity to catch this fine show while it enjoys its last season. For info visit http://www.abc.go.com/primetime/bostonlegal/index?pn=index

Shatner as the wacky Crane

So, moving on to tonight: It's the return of Fox's superhit Fringe! I found myself really missing this show last week (it wasn't on due to the debate). Tonight's episode finds dangerous and deadly occurrences following a man who has the ability to harness electricity. Dr. Bishop (the superb John Noble) enlists homing pigeons to help him break the case. Fringe starts at 9 pm. For info or to watch previous eps visit
http://www.fox.com/fringe/

Over on CBS at the same time, Aussie hunk Simon Baker stars in the second ep of the new hit The Mentalist - When a high school girl's body washes up on the beach, CBI investigator Patrick Jane (Baker) sets a trap to get a group of surfers to turn on one another and reveal what really happened.
I haven't checked out this one yet, but coworkers enjoyed last week's show. For info visit
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_mentalist/


The "Real" Housewives

At 9 pm Bravo will bring the rich biches back - I mean, The Real Housewives of Atlanta - for their second episode. I have to admit, this is my kind of reality TV. You just have to marvel at the way these broads can spend money! And, of course, money doesn't buy happiness, as is well illustrated on this show! Check it out http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives_Of_Atlanta/season/1/index.php

Following at 10 pm is the season finale of The Rachel Zoe Project. This show just caught my attention about two weeks on the recommendation of a coworker and I love it! It's ending way too soon for me. Rachel Zoe is a "celebrity stylist" and spends most of her time running all over the world (she's based in LA), finding the "hero" dress that some big star needs to wear to some awards show, or even for a whole press tour.
Tonight it looks like Rachel may have to fire one of her assistants! Will is be mean girl Taylor or nice guy Brad? My vote's for Taylor, she's really been making things difficult for Brad lately, and he's always stepped up to the challenge. Of course, probably no one will get fired, it was just a ploy to make us all watch!
For info visit http://www.bravotv.com/The_Rachel_Zoe_Project/season/1//index.php
Mean Girl Taylor


For those of you who asked yesterday, CMT will be rebroadcasting last weekend's episode of My Big Fat Redneck Wedding tonight at 10:30 pm. Enjoy the wacky redneck nuptials of Jeanne and Phil (refer to yesterday's post for more info). Just prior from 9-10:30 CMT is airing the first two episodes of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team. A fine show that both guys and girls can enjoy - for totally different reasons, you'll see what I mean.
Visit http://www.cmt.com/ for information on either show.
Jeanne & Phil tying the knot


And for the hopeless romantic (girls, you know who I mean), E! presents a favorite tonight at 8 pm. Sandra Bullock stars in Hope Floats, as a jilted wife who moves back home with her mother, and is courted by an old boyfriend ... and if you've seen this one, you know who I mean - Justin Matisse, played breathlessly by the gorgeous Harry Connick Jr.
If you haven't seen this one, drop everything and watch it - ladies, you won't be sorry. And if Justin's just not enough, tune in to Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC at 12:35 am, where Harry will be promoting his new Lifetime movie Living Proof, premiering Saturday night at 9 pm.
Dreamy Harry Connick Jr.


For the football crowd, get your fix on FX at 7:30 pm with Invincible, the gridiron saga of Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a 30-year-old sandlot player who earned a spot on the 1976 Philadelphia Eagles. I've seen it, and I recommend it. Enjoy.

Of course, you can always go out and rent/buy Memorial Day Weekend 2008 blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, out today! I know a lot of people have issues with this one (not to mention what the creators of South Park did last week), but I enjoyed it. It's always nice to see Indy in action again ...

I know I said short and sweet, but just a little news ... Terrence Howard is officially out for the Iron Man sequel. He's already been replaced by Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes, Tony Stark's best friend and future armor-clad hero War Machine.
According to RopeofSilicon.com, sources close to the deal with Howard say negotiations fell through over financial differences. Careful Terrence, you may be sorry ...
Handsome Howard


And last, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, what were you thinking? I'm talking about the tell-all book coming out today by former Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick. As usual, with "celebrity bios," something scandalous must always be revealed - I mean, why would we want to read it if there wasn't something juicy being offered (remember Barbara Walters scandalous affair with a gentleman of color?).

Anyway, McCormick apparently describes a teen life of debauchery that includes romancing her TV brother Barry "Greg" Williams (who also admits to dating TV mom Florence Henderson for God's sakes), dates with Michael Jackson and Steve Martin (Steve, who knew?), hitting wild Hollywood parties at the Playboy mansion and the home of Sammy Davis Jr., cocaine binges, trading sexual favors for drugs that lead to unwanted pregnancies, and blowing an interview with Steven Spielberg because she was high. Need I go on?
Not enough to get me to read it, but just in case you're interested, "Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice" hits bookstores today.

Short and sweet, I'll keep trying ...

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.

So last night the second episode of Fox's Fringe aired. And it did not disappoint. If you haven't yet, you need to start watching this show. It's full of intrigue, conspiracy, horror and humor.
You can actually catch up on their offical website http://www.fox.com/fringe/ You can either watch the episodes or read a detailed episode recap if you don't have the time to watch.
Last night's episode had Agent Olivia Dunham and father/son Walter and Peter Bishop investigating strange phenomena involving a baby grown to term in minutes, only to die four hours later from old age.
Somehow, it's all part of The Pattern, which is how Olivia's boss, Agent Phillip Broyles, describes the strange events the Fringe team will be investigating. John Noble as "mad" scientist Walter Bishop once again stole the show with his insane musings -- he likes the seat warmer in the car -- "it warms my ass." (Take that Jack M.)
And somehow, I'm sure if the show stays on long enough, we'll find out that the erie corporation Massive Dynamic was somehow responsible for the crash of Oceanic 815!
Check it out for yourselves ...

Taped 90210, didn't watch it yet. My enthusiasm is seriously waning for this show.

Tonight brings us another exciting episode of Bravo's Project Runway at 9 p.m. The contestants design window displays inspired by the show's creations. Guest judge is designer Cynthia Rowley. The episode will also feature guest appearances by former contestants Daniel Franco, Santino Rice, Sweet P, Andrae Gonzalo and Season 3 winner Jeffrey Sebelia.
As blogged about here on Monday, you can see the Bryant Park runway shows of the remaining contestants at http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/

Over on Fox tonight at 8 p.m., Dog Whisperer star and canine guru Cesar Millan guests on Bones. The episode centers on the discovery of the mutilated body of a veterinarian leading to an investigation that uncovered the deceased's gamblingaddictionand possible ties to an illegal dogfighting enterprise. By the way, National Geographic's Dog Whisperer will celebrate its 100th episode Friday at 9 p.m.


But what I'm most interested in seeing is on F/X at 10 p.m., the third episode of their new hit Sons of Anarchy. The series, if you haven't read this blog before, centers on a gun-running motorcycle club the Sons of Anarchy. Starring British actor Charlie Hunnam (looking pretty sweet), it also stars Ron Perlman as the current gang leader and Katey Sagal as Hunnam's hard-talking, over-bearing mom. Sagal shines in this part, like it was made for her. Peg Bundy would be so proud!

The show draws strong comparisons to The Sopranos, which is never a bad thing. For more info in this brilliant check out their website http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/#Nav/Homepage

In other news, Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair will mix it up tomorrow night with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. I don't know about you, but I find Blair extremely entertaining. I love his quick-witted, dry sense of humor.


Believe it or not: The Jerry Springer Show begins its 18th, yes 18th, season Monday! Shamelessly (shameless, Spring? who would've thought?) plugging for a Daytime Emmy on his website, www.jerryspringertv.com, fans can vote by clicking on "Why Jerry Deserves an Emmy."

Fox has suspended filming of Season 7 of 24 for a couple of weeks -- don't freak out yet. Sources say its because they've decided to retool the last six episodesand filming should begin again in two weeks. This will not cause any delay in Season 7's air-time schedule.

The same network has also halted production on Joss Whedon's new series, Dollhouse, for the time being. Apparently execs are not sure if the characters are "likeable" enough, and that the plot may be too confusing for viewers.

Dollhouse, starring Buffy alum Eliza Dushku, revolves around a group of people who've had their personalities erased and replaced with new personas.
Shooting is scheduled to resume next week.


And the ratings are in: HBO's True Blood, which didn't get stellar ratings in its debut, only went up a small percentage this week. Last Sunday's second episode came in at 1.8 million (not what I'd call good for an HBO original), while the premiere ep only garnered 1.4 million. In comparison, other recent HBO series' premieres scored much better -- Big Love with 4.5 million, Rome with 3.8 and Deadwood with 5.6.

TV Guide reports this week that Fringe (which I found is the best new show so far), opened last week with 9.13 million viewers, which put it behind America's Got Talent (11.61 million), in its time slot. So people, please, start watching this show!

In more disturbing news: Guess which pretty, vapid reality star just signed a 3-book deal with publishing giant HarperCollins? -- MTV's own Lauren Conrad, that's who. How does this happen? The Hill's star will be writing young adult fiction -- gag!


On that note, I'm done for today ...

If you tuned in last night to Fox to watch the encore presentation of the pilot episode of "Fringe," you got some nice little extras along the way. First off, there was a 10-minute preview of the big-screen remake of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (opening Dec. 12). Looked pretty good, actually. Then we got a little peek into Tuesday night's second episode of "Fringe," followed by a glimpse into what the whole season has to offer.
But the real gem of the evening was just before 10 p.m., when Fox, after much teasing, finally gave us a 3-minute trailer for "24: Redemption." Airing November 23, just before Thanksgiving and during those all too important November ratings sweeps period, Jack Bauer returns to save the world again, this time in Africa. I don't know about you, but whenever Jack shows up and in his gruff voice speaks into the cell "Mr. President, this is Jack Bauer ...." (or in this case Madam President), my heart always skips a beat!
Of course, this is just a little peace offering for 24 fans, since we lost a whole season earlier this year due to the writers' strike. But I'll take it! "Redemption" is a stand alone 2-hour movie, and supposedly some sort of lead-in to the next season which will begin some time in January.
In case you missed it, you can watch the trailer here http://www.fox.com/24/trailer/

Ok, now on to HBO: Last night also saw the second episode of Alan Ball's (Six Feet Under) new drama "True Blood." Set in the present day in Bon Temps, Lousiana, True Blood tells the fictional tale of vampires walking/living among us. Due to a break thru new synthetic blood "drink" vampires don't have to hide in the dark anymore and the American Vampire League is all about getting vamps the same rights a humans.
And it wouldn't be drama without a love story, right? Lead vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) returns to town and meets girl-who-can-read-minds/waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin). Sparks fly and you know the rest.
Sounds silly right? Well, actually last night's episode was more impressive than the first one, even if it did include the generic girl-drinks-vampire's-blood-in-order-to-recover-from-her- injuries (eewww!). And the Internet is all abuzz today with comparisons between True Blood and that other current vampire-love-epic -- Twilight.
While I'm starting to like True Blood, I have to side with the Twilighters for now (I'll let you know for sure after Nov. 21 when the big screen adaptation of Twilight opens). Although both deal with the taboo Human-Vampire love, Twilight's author's Mormon values keep the story more about longing and resistance. True Blood's not afraid to go all the way, and I do mean ALL the way! There's a reason True Blood's on HBO and not Fox! This show's definitely adults only.
For now, I'll leave you with this -- who would you rather endanger your life with ...
True Blood's Bill Compton

Or Twilight's Edward Cullen?

I'll take my chances with Edward any day.

I was planning on catching up with the first season of the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles this weekend, since the second episode of the second season is tonight, but I got sidetracked by something a coworker passed on to me -- Season 1 of The Big Bang Theory.
If you haven't watched this brilliant sitcom yet, you can catch it tonight at 8 p.m. on CBS. And since it's a sitcom, you don't need a whole lot of background in order to start watching. In short, it's the story of two brainiacs, Leonard and Sheldon, who are physicists at a university and share an apartment together. Beautiful girl Penny moves next door, Leonard develops a huge crush, and you can pretty much figure out the rest.
Anyway, it's hilarious, well written and instantly entertaining. Not too many shows can pride themselves on the brilliant dialogue going on here.
I watched the whole first season in two nights on DVD. You may want to rent it.
Did I mention how much I love TV on DVD? It's the best! You can watch an entire season in a matter of days, without commercials!!!

And speaking of entire seasons, attention to all fans of LOST: The Sci-Fi Channel begins airing the whole series in chronological order beginning tonight at 7 p.m. Four episodes will air back-to-back from 7 to 11 p.m. tonight and every Monday until presumably, Season Five gets underway some time in January!!
So if you want to relive the perils of the passengers of Oceanic 815, or if you never watched and want to know what everyone's talking about, make it a date tonight!

And finally, or should I say finale? Project Runway taped the current season's finale Friday afternoon at Fashion Week in Bryant Park, NYC. Yes, I know I said this last week, but I have more news ... Guest judge Jennifer Lopez was a no-show! Yes, that's right, she left Heidi, Tim, Nina and Michael Kors in the lurch! Something about hurting her foot, but she's still training for a triathlon or something ...
Ever the gentleman, fan favorite Tim Gunn replaced Lopez as guest judge and promised to show no partiality. And as reported by www.nypost.com, the audience went ballistic for him! Also spotted at the show were previous contestants Sweet Pea, former finalist Jillian and last season's winner Christian Siriano.
According to http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/ Leanne, Korto, Kenley, Joe, Jerell and Suede all got to show their collections. Bravo did things similarly last season, allowing all the remaining contestants (that we knew of on-air) to show their collections, although only 3 were actually competing for the finale. That's to keep everyone in the dark regarding who the actual finalists are. Click on the link above and you can view the complete collections of the designers.

Till tomorrow ...

Ok, so as promised, last night I caught up on Fringe, J.J. Abrams latest attempt to drive us all crazy. And, I have to say, that after just one episode, I'm hooked.
The show features a flesh-eating disease, FBI agents looking for a cure, and, references to disasters happening around the world (classic Abrams), including plane crashes (sound familiar Lostees?). Not only that, but one of the main characters is portrayed by Lance Reddick, the same actor who played prominently as Matthew Abaddon in the last 3 episodes of LOST last season .... hmmmm, could there be a possible crossover episode in the future (maybe somehow connecting the Fringe storyline to the crash of Oceanic 815)? It's enough to keep me tuned in.
Also, it's nice to see actor John Noble portraying a "mad" scientist, instead of the insufferable Lord Denathor, steward of Gondor (LOTR/ROTK, look it up).
So, if you're a fan of LOST, Alias or even Heroes, you'll definitely want to check this show out. Fortunately, Fox will be broadcasting an encore presentation of the pilot episode Sunday night at 8 p.m. And you can also watch the episode and get more information on the show at
http://www.fox.com/fringe/
And here's another reason to tune in to Fox Sunday night -- how about a preview of the new 24 season prequel "Redemption"? According to www.nypost.com, although the new season of the popular Keifer Sutherland series won't be debuting until January, there will be a 2-hour prequel that will air in November. It's a roughly three-minute preview, so tune in early.
Also debuting will be a an extended scene from the movie remake of "The Day The Earth Stood Still," scheduled for release in December.

Moving on to what was actually on TV Wednesday night: The Sons of Anarchy's second episode on FX didn't disappoint. I actually think the already good show got even better. In case you missed it, you can watch the episode and get any news about the show on FX's website
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/#Nav/Homepage Of course, I'm sure FX will be re-airing the episode over the weekend, but you'll have to watch the pilot on the Net.
Anyway, the show, compared to The Sopranos, about a gun-running motorcycle gang is really shaping up. Featuring British actor Charlie Hunnam in the lead role as Jax, son of the former, now deceased, gang leader, and Ron Perlman as Clay, the gang's current leader, it's Katey Sagal who is really starting to shine. Sagal plays Gemma, Jax's mom and girlfriend to Clay, who is trying to keep her family together as well as ensure her son's ascent as rightful leader of the gang. She's a stronger version of Carmella Soprano, if you can imagine. So much for Peg Bundy.

And it wouldn't be Thursday without bringing up who was asked to leave the Runway last night. I absolutely love Project Runway. I was late getting to the party, only picking up this show after friends begged me to half way thru the third season. We're now well into Season 5, and as I said yesterday, the finale is being filmed tomorrow at Fashion Week in Bryant Park, NYC.
This show continues to enthrall me, mostly because these people can take fabric and turn it into something beautiful (most of the time) in a matter of hours! Something I couldn't do in a matter of months, or even years!
Anyway, last night we said "Auf Wiedersehen" to two contestants this week -- Terry and our fave "holla atchaboy" Blaine. At least we still have Suede. In case you missed it, you can watch the replay this weekend on Bravo or at http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/season/5/index.php

On TV tonight: The History channel presents "102 Minutes That Changed America" in honor of the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by reconstructing the events in chronological order using footage from more than 100 sources, amateur and professional.

And in poor comparison to that one, I'll be tuning in to one of my guilty pleasures -- Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares at 9 p.m. on Fox. I find the show interesting in a way that makes me NEVER want to eat out at a restaurant again!