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 ...

Elfman's Favorite TV Shows of 2008

5) The Mentalist
Okay its not Masterpiece Theater, but I really like this show.The Mentalist is pure entertainment. It's mindless TV, but it's good Mindless TV.
Forget the dark sub plot and comparisons to USA's Psyched . The Mentalist delivers an hour of neatly wrapped crime solving suspense, but with a bit of a twist. Simon Baker (The Guardian) plays Patrick Jane, a former phony psychic who now works for the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation) now using only his observational skills to assist the team in solving murder cases. The show goes a long way on the charisma of Baker and a stellar cast including Robin Tunney (Prison Break). An hour of polished crime drama. Deep but not too Deep.



4) Mad Men
No other television show in recent memory has been so critically acclaimed (if viewer hungry), then Mad Men. And it has the Emmy and Golden Globe Awards to back this up. Madmen explores the deceptive and twisted world of power advertising in the 1960's. It follows the high pressure life of Don Draper, the best rep at Sterling Cooper, and certainly one of the best on Madison Avenue. Don, among others has some dark secrets in his past however. The show is a slow moving character study of successful but misguided troubled people and it sucks you into their lives on a weekly basis. Jon Hamm, Elizabeth Moss, John Slattery, and January Jones head up a cast that defines excellence. It is also interesting to see how many things have changed for the better since the 60's when you see all the inequality for women, blacks and gays of the period. Another sign of the times is the amount of drinking on the job, constant smoking by everyone in the cast and even littering.



3) Brothers and Sisters
Want to feel better about your own screwed up dysfunctional extended family for at least one hour a week? Then you must tune in to ABC Sunday Nights at 10 for the very entertaining Brothers and Sisters. The prime time sudser follows the lives of The Walker Clan, led by intrusive, but loving matriarch Nora Walker (Oscar and Emmy Winner Sally Field). The death of William Walker leaves the family to deal with the matter of running the family winery and the discoveries of all his extramarital affairs and indiscretions. Seems there is always a new Walker sibling showing up at the door step.
The plots are well written and finely polished for a soap covering the gambit of soap storylines including politics, addiction, gay marriage, and forbidden love..This show should be sponsored by Pepsid AC because I don't know how any of them get through a family dinner without sever indigestion.
Besides Field the cast includes seasoned professionals Rob Lowe, Colista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths.



2) Raising the Bar
I accidentally caught this show while channel surfing on Monday night and am extremely glad I did. From Emmy winning producer Steven Bochco(NYPD Blue), Raising the Bar follows a group of young public defenders in their daily lives and courtroom battles for the underdog with the powerful DA. Each week offers a gripping hard hitting drama but with a lot of heart there too. It stars Mark-Paul Gosselear (NYPD Blue, Saved by The Bell) as Jerry Kellerman, one of the most idealistic of these young attorneys who leaves no stone unturned for the rights of his clients. He has become one of the finest young actors on television today. His hair, however will remain a moot point. The superb cast is rounded out by Gloria Reuben (ER), Jane Kaczencrek (Malcom in the Middle) and Teddy Sears (One Life to Live).



1) Bravo Network
There's a new melting pot in America and it's right here on Bravo TV. No other network has ever assembled such an eclectic group of diverse interesting characters. How can you not be intrigued by the rich and powerful, sometimes back-stabbing women of the Real Housewives series, notably Nene (Atlanta) and Vicki (Orange County)? And how about Jeff Lewis of Flipping Out, who has raised OCD to an art form?
Bravo didn't invent reality TV, but they sure perfected it with shows like Millionaire Matchmaker and Top Design. But nowhere is this more evident then in the Network's two most successful shows, Project Runway and Top Chef. These shows take you behind the scenes of the competitive worlds of chefs and upcoming designers and their claw to the top. The judges are smart, tough and funny with Chef Tom Colicchio on Chef and Michael Cors doing the honors on Runway. They've got eye candy too with Top Chef's food-tasting temptress Padma and Runway's Heidi Klum, the queen of Victoria's Secret. There's also father figure and style mentor Tim Gunn, who has become a superstar in his own right from the designing show.
And how can you forget some of the contestants. There was the constant back-stabbing between Betty and Marcel on Top Chef season Two. Some of the chefs even went as far as to try to scalp Marcel during a night of drinking. And how about the knife wielding road runner Hung, from season 3?
Runway has its favorites too. There was season 4 winner Christian, who showed superstar designing talent and coined the phrase "That's Fierce". And the constant whining and underhandedness of style princess Kenley from last season. Bravo for me is Must Watch TV.

My Top 5
I don't know why I've been agonizing over this, maybe because it seems so final ... here it is ... My Top 5 TV Shows of 2008:



5. Sons of Anarchy (F/X)
This is the only "new" show to make my list, and for good reason. When I first read about it in TV Guide, it was heavily compared to the Sopranos. As a fan of the latter, I had to check SOA out. And I wasn't disappointed! Starring Brit export Charlie Hunnam (another reason I wanted to watch), Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal (in a stunning, career-reviving performance), the show centers around the lives of a close-knit motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in the San Joaquin Valley in Northern California. The club specializes in running guns and ammo around the country and look-out if you decide to get in their way! Well-written and even more well-acted, this show easily fills the void left by my favorite Jersey gangsters. I only wish it were on HBO or another pay channel where it could get real nasty. Who knew Peg Bundy could be so tough?



4. nip/tuck (F/X)
It was early this past year when we last saw Drs. Sean McNamara and Christian Troy, but they'll always be close to my heart (and I'm sooo looking forward to the eight new episodes starting in January!). The show, originally set in Miami, moved last season to Hollywood and the already over-the-top shenanigans got even higher. Dylan Walsh's McNamara became a consultant on Hearts and Scalpels, a show loosely based on his own practice; dated a starlet with an eating disorder (doesn't everybody in H'wood?) and was stalked by his murderous agent (Sharon Gless, was that Cagney or Lacey?). While the hottest Doc on TV (McDreamy and McSteamy can't compare), with the biggest libido, Julian McMahon's Troy continued to bed everybody - oh and unintentionally (??) threw one of his problematic conquests off a roof to her death. Bye-Bye Gina! Nip/tuck is cheese at its best, I absolutely love it! Who knows ... maybe the Carver will return next season ... now that would make my New Year!



3. The Shows of Bravo
The Elfman and I totally agree on this one! Thinking about my Top 5, I realized I watch a lot of Bravo! He put it better than I ever could, but here's my rundown starting with the show that put Bravo on the map - Inside the Actors Studio. Though not in any permanent time slot, I still look for it on a regular basis and not for the guests. I find host James Lipton fascinating! Remember he made my most fascinating list last month, and for good reason. If you can, check out his book - Inside, Inside - you'll see what I mean. If you're a regular reader of this blog you already know that I love Project Runway, Top Chef and all the Real Housewives. But I also make time for Million Dollar Listing (Chad, get a real hairdo dude!), Tabitha's Salon Takeover (someone's gonna kill that woman), Sheer Genius (Kim Vo - WTH?), The Rachel Zoe Show (Brad, grow a pair) and Flipping Out (Jeff Lewis, don't ever change man). Looking to 2009, I can't wait for these shows to return, with the exception of Project Runway, of course, who's move to Lifetime is still being held up in court. So I say Bravo to Bravo, my favorite Guilty Pleasure!



2. Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction drama that deals with the machinations and activities of the Cardiff branch of the fictional Torchwood Institute. An anagram of Doctor Who, from which this show is spun, Torchwood delves into darker subject matter and is also sexier and adult oriented. Starring the dashing John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, a man who can't die, the team deals mainly with incidents involving extraterrestrials and time- and universe-travel. A little cheesy, but that's how I like my Sci-Fi, Torchwood got even better in its second season. Although not currently airing on BBC America, the show can be found on DVD. Try Netflix.



1. LOST
Is anyone surprised that this made my No. 1? Ever since Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on a supposedly deserted island on September 22, 2004, my TV world has never been the same. After watching the first three episodes, I was, well, lost! And I haven't found my way back yet, although last season really pulled out all the stops. What other show could possibly end their season by moving - yes, moving - an entire island? Season 3 ended with us finding out that some castaways actually got off the island and went home, while Season 4 showed us everything that led up to that fateful day, leaving us wondering what happened to everybody else? Sun lost Jin, Claire found her dead father in Jacob's cabin (and he seemed alive), Desmond found Penny, Jack and Kate left Sawyer behind and we found out, after a year of speculating, who was in the coffin. Are you LOST reading this? If so, too bad. If you haven't been watching, it's too late now unless you go back on DVD and watch from the beginning. I can't remember a show that had me debating theories with complete strangers before. And I mean heated debates. Fans of this show are passionate and for good reason. Looking forward to its return on January 21!

Honorable Mentions: Since we limited it to 5, here's the rest I considered good TV, in no particular order. Survivor: Gabon, Big Bang Theory, Dexter, Entourage, Skins (another BBC show), Doctor Who, Californication and The Graham Norton Show.

Happy New Year Everyone - don't spend tonight watching TV - go out and enjoy!

Well this week's pretty much all about the election isn't it? And just to get us all worked up, NBC presents Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash 2008 tonight at 9 p.m. Speaking of SNL, the funniest thing on TV last Saturday night was John McCain's and Sarah Palin's (Tina Fey's) SNL opener. Apparently, McCain just doesn't have the bucks to schedule the network airtime that Barack Obama has, so the duo ended up on QVC, hawing election themed items. View it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPWBY-zmnKk

Last night, Fox presented the 19th (?) Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror episode and it featured a hilarious send-up of AMC's Mad Men. AMC is so pleased with "How To Get Ahead in Deadvertising" that they're showing it on their site today. Take the time to enjoy it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcmM7Jh2Y3k

Over on CBS, the Amazing Race continued season 13 with episode 6, "Please Hold While I Singe My Skull." The teams departed the Pit Stop and traveled to Delhi, India. Everyone got on the same flight, evening up. After Dallas and Starr secured seats on the plane, they turned their focus to a more important issue: each other. However, Dallas is having a hard time making time with Starr with his mom around.

Nick & Starr took an early lead in Delhi to get to Moonlight Motors for the first Roadblock. Contestants had to paint an auto rickshaw green, after masking the yellow exterior and interior with newspaper. Ken & Tina had troubles with a lost taxi driver, and the tensions started mounting. They were the last to arrive at the Roadblock.

Frat boys Dan & Andrew completed the task first and headed off to the Ambassador Hotel, but immediately lost their lead to Nick & Starr when they couldn't find a taxi.

A Detour ensued at the hotel where teams had to choose between two "Launder" tasks, either making a wedding necklace or ironing clothes. After finishing the Roadblock, Ken & Tina's taxi driver continued to be lost, dropping them once again to last place.

Nick & Starr managed to come in first place again, followed by Kelly & Christy, Toni & Dallas, Terence & Sarah and Andrew & Dan. After more taxi troubles, Ken snapped at Tina when she refused to get back in the taxi until Ken moved his backpack, shouting "Please, get in!!"

The separated couple came in last but were told by host Phil Koeghan that it was a non-elimination leg. However, during the next leg, the couple will encounter a Speed Bump, a task that only they will have to perform before embarking on the rest of the race (thus costing them more time). To watch or for info visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/

Over in Bon Temps, La., the vampires on HBO's True Blood were out for blood. Literally. Last week's show ended with vamp sheriff Eric using Sookie's mind-reading abilities to find who's been stealing from him. Sookie fingered the bartender, who immediately flew over the bar to kill her. However, Sookie's BF, vampire Bill Compton, foiled his attempt by savagely killing him. It's good to have a vampire boyfriend.

Another Good Shot of Eric!

This led up to Bill having to leave town and stand trial over his actions (trial looks to be next week's ep). In the meantime, Sookie took refuge at the only place she feels safe, Bill's house, where a dog showed up to keep her company. Only when she woke up in the middle of the night, the dog was gone and sleeping at the foot of her bed was her boss and Merlott's owner Sam (Ok, could this be a werewolf tie-in?). We'll have to wait till next week to find out. Bad news is that there's only three more episodes left to the season :( and just when it's starting to get interesting ...For more on True Blood visit http://www.hbo.com/trueblood/

Hey everybody - Welcome to Fall Sweeps. The fall ratings period that networks use to price their advertising began on October 31 and well run thru November 27. And look out, there's lots planned. I'll try to keep you up on the goods as best I can, starting with the return of Lady Heather to CSI this week (Thursday, 9 p.m.).

Other things in store are a nightclub fire on Desperate Housewives, Jennifer Love Hewitt's TV hubby possibly biting the dust on Ghost Whisperer, Jon & Kate's Hawaiian Wedding, things promise to get worse for the Walkers (Bros & Sis), several mysteries will be resolved (?) on the Nov. 10 ep of Heroes and Drs. Greene, Romano and Weaver will show up in flashbacks Nov. 13 on ER.

CSI: NY celebrates its 100th ep Nov. 19 with special guests Chris Daughtry, Rumer Willis, Scott Wolf and Julia Ormond, while CSI: Miami has a crane crashing into a building where Calleigh and Delko are protecting a witness, sending them on an emotional journey.

"Some established relationships will start to show strain" over at Seattle Grace (Grey's Anatomy), and Chloe and Jimmy are getting married Nov. 20 on Smallville.

TV Tonight: James Lipton talks up Goldie Hawn over on Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio at 8 p.m.

Sci-Fi Channel continues with Season 2 of Lost, airing four episodes from 7-11 p.m.

Bros Lincoln Burrows and Michael Scofield get one step closer to Scylla on Fox's Prison Break (is anyone still watching this?) at 9 p.m., following another ep of The Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8 p.m.

More crap from The Hills on MTV at 10 p.m.

And Jon & Kate Plus 8 get one stop closer to their Hawaiian Wedding renewal at 9 p.m. on TLC. On tonight's episode, the Gosselins touch down in San Diego, Calif., for a few days of exploration. The kids get to go to Legoland, a huge theme park celebrating Legos, and embark on a Safari at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park.

OK, enough with the World Series already!!! Game 5 ended abruptly last night when MLB decided the rain and wind was effecting the play too much ... so here we go again. It's still iffy if it will be resumed tonight and judging by the way its pouring right now (about 10:30 a.m.), with no hope of letting up anytime soon, I doubt it.
Anyway, the Phillies are starting to take their toll on my coworkers. Everybody's a little bleary-eyed this morning, even though the game was called early enough. Someone yawned a bit ago and muttered "Damn Phillies" ... I mean, we're soooo close. Maybe it'll all be over tonight and, after celebrating, we can all get back to our boring sleep schedules.
In the event that tonight's game is postponed, Fox is offering up a repeat of Fringe (it's the creepy speedy baby-delivery one) at 9 p.m. However, House (at 8 p.m.) is still supposed to be a new episode. Check The Mercury's home page, http://www.pottsmerc.com/, after 4 p.m. to see if the big game is back on!

Over on ABC, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown celebrates Halloween at 8 p.m., following by the Dancing with the Stars results show at 9 p.m. Don't look for pro-dance sweetie Julianne Hough tonight. She's currently having her appendix removed. Her partner, Cody Linley, will dance with another pro from the show until Hough is well enough to return - probably next week.

Those filthy rich "ladies" will be stirring up more trouble at 10 p.m. on Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Twilight's Edward & Bella/ABC Family tonight
However, game or no game, I'll be firmly planted in front of the tube at 9 p.m. tonight for the finale of ABC Family's Greek. No, I've never before seen an episode, but tonight's finale will feature 2, yes 2, special sneak peaks of never-before-seen-footage from the upcoming vampire flick Twilight! And you all know how much I'm anticipating this one ...
The clips will be personally introduced by the film's stars, yes, girls, you know who I mean - Kristen Stewart (Bella) and the oh-so-hot Robert Pattinson (Edward)! Don't miss your chance to get bitten ...

Halloween Horror Watch: The Sci-Fi Channel offers up a modern classic in Freddy vs. Jason at 7 p.m. This flick is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's still awesome to actually see two horror superstars mixing it up against each other - Freddy, as in Nightmare on Elm Street's child molesting Krueger, and Jason, as in the-Pride-of-Camp-Crystal-Lake-Voorhees. I must admit, Jason's the reason I never go camping ...

Jason and Freddy duke it out

And speaking of Freddy, his real life creator Robert Englund has a new one out on DVD today. Costarring sexy Jenna Jameson, Zombie Strippers revolves around a secret government re-animation chemo-virus which gets released in a - wait for it - strip club! How original (can you believe this flick was made by Sony?)! You can see the trailer here http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/zombiestrippers/

Also bowing on DVD today is Brendan Fraser in the remake of Jules Verne's classic Journey to the Center of the Earth. The story centers on a science professor whose radical theories have completeloy tarnished his reputation. While backpacking across Iceland with his nephew Sean, the two explorers find a cave that leads them deep down into the bowels of the planet ... watch the trailer here http://www.journey3dmovie.com/

Hey, speaking of movies involving caves ... another Halloween fave of mine is the recent horror flick The Descent. It's one of those, I-was-so-scared-I-almost-crapped-my-pants movies! Sure, the creatures encountered in the deep caverns are horrible, but the worst for me was when Sarah becomes stuck in that long narrow shaft and starts to panic - never considered myself claustrophobic before, but that did it for me. View the trailer here http://www.thedescentfilm.com/

Descent Creature

TV News: Sunday's season finale of Mad Men (I'm halfway thru it) garnered 1.7 million viewers. That's up 30 percent from last week's 1.4 million. Still not stellar numbers and the show still hasn't been renewed for Season 3.

And finally, say good-bye to CBS' The Ex List. The hour-long comedy about a woman searching for true love among her ex-boyfriends has been pulled from the network lineup. After only four episodes, the show had slumped to only 5.5 million viewers.

Dr. Carlisle & Esme Cullen
Don't feel too bad for star Elizabeth Reeser, though. She'll next been seen on the big screen as Esme, the matriarch of the vampire Cullen family in Twilight. After that, there's at least 2 more vamp sequels in the works. It all depends on the box office, and judging by all the chat on the Internet, this flick's gonna be huge!
View the latest Twilight trailer here http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

Hi, everybody, sorry so late today. I'm actually enjoying a day off, but had to get on to recap last night's Survivor! Hope you watched, things are really getting good.
Over in good ole' Gabon, Africa, the Kota tribe was feeding its faces, and Randy couldn't have been happier about (Randy was constantly worried about the intake of food when he was with the Fang tribe). Apparently Kota has an abundance of fish, although Randy still fears he will be the first one out if they lose immunity.
The Fang tribe spent their morning watching an elephant across the river. Ace and Matty dared to get closer in their canoe ... oh, and Ace knows Sugar has the Immunity Idol.

The Fruit Flies Challenge
Which brings us to the Reward Challenge, a fruit toss was held and whichever tribe got the most fruit past the other tribe, weight-wise, won not only the fruit, but a live herb garden as well.
Fang got 16 lbs. of fruit across, but was agani bested by Kota, which garnered 18 lbs.
Kota elected to send Sugar back to Exile Island and stupid Dan actually told them why -- they think Sugar's got the Idol and hope to flush it out if her tribe votes for her, thus putting the idol back in play ... never give your strategy to the other tribe!
GC's fed up with everything and is letting everyone know. He disappears right before they have to leave for the immunity challenge. Ace is ticked off because everyone is expending their energy trying to find GC. He shows up in the canoe just in time ...

However, the next challenge involved throwing giant wicker balls down a slope into slots worth various amounts. Hence the tribe with the greatest numeric amount wins. Each tribe has a member blindfolded at the bottom trying to block the ball before it can score. Another tribe member has to be the "eyes" and guide them in the right direction.

Sugar was not the best choice to be the guide and Ace suffers greatly for it! Randy is the guide for Kota and in addition to doing a great job, he also yells commands to Ace, confusing him enough to lose the challenge.
Back at the Fang camp, GC tells Matty he wants to go home. Matty tells everyone else and they decide to grant his wish.
Later on, Crystal goes thru Sugar's bag and finds the immunity idol. Then she tries to get everyone to vote for Sugar, thinking it's the best time to blindside her, thus getting rid of the idol altogether.
In the end, the Fang tribe spoke and gave GC his wish. Yeah! He had to go ... he was nothing but a hinderance to the tribe and the game.

Bye Bye G Sizzle

To watch this episode or for more info visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/


Weekend Watch: Tonight at 8 pm NBC rolls out its latest epic drama, based on explorer Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe sets sail for the New World and becomes straded on an island in the premiere of this adaptation of Daniel Defoe's classic novel.

Saturday brings great news for me over on the Food Network. Not only does Giada DeLaurentis have a new show, airing at 1 pm, called Giada at Home (c'mon guys, you all know you love Giada and her low-cut shirts), but my all-time foodie Ina Garten returns with an all new season of the Barefoot Contessa following at 1:30 pm. Just in time for lunch ... how easy was that?

The Barefoot Contessa
For those of you who don't know, Garten, former owner of the culinary store of the same name in Southampton, N.Y. -- Yes, those Hamptons -- is a best-selling author and all around entertaining guru. If you're lucky enough to count her as a friend or neighbor, your parties will be the toast of the town! And nothing's too hard to make, I have a few of her books and have made several of her dishes and they've all turned out great!


The Lovely Giada
DeLaurentis, the grand-daughter of legendary director Dino DeLaurentis (King Kong '70s remake), is a well-known chef in Los Angeles. She specializes in Italian cuisine and her dishes are almost as easy and elegant at Garten's. And she's a favorite among male Food Network viewers for more than just her cooking. See for yourself ...
For more info on either show visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Later Saturday at 9 pm on Lifetime, Harry Connick Jr. returns to acting in the premiere of Living Proof. It's the story of the doctor who helped develop the breast-cancer drug Herceptin. I don't know how interesting the movie will be, but I sure can stand to look at him for two hours.

Love Ya Harry

Of course, over on CMT at 9 pm it's another wacky episode of My Big Redneck Wedding, following by more auditions for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making The Team. This week, the cheerleaders start boot camp.

And you can pretty much count on seeing guest host Josh Brolin bring his recent character W. to life on Saturday Night Live, NBC 11:30 pm.
According to people.com Brolin said, "Expect a lot of fun and some surprising moments. There's a good chance the W. (himself) may appear in a skit -- you'll have to watch to find out!"

Halloween Horror Watch: Tonight over on FX it's scary incidents on the road beginning at 7 pm with Joy Ride and followed at 9 pm by Wrong Turn. Both flicks are good for some Friday night fun -- and they're free. I wouldn't have paid to see either in the theater, but what the heck ... there's a few thrills for all.

But if you really want to be scared, click on over to TNT at 8 or 10 pm for two airings of The Ring! The generic TV Guide description of this one goes "video is linked to deaths of several teens, so a reported investigates."
Well, that's pretty basic, but this movie is absolutely chilling. It's a good, solid, creepy story throughout, but what makes it great is the last 10 minutes, when you actually find out how the video kills people!
The first time I saw this (on DVD, thank God it wasn't in the theater), it was around 1 am (the ending, I mean) and I had to stay up 2 more hours before I could calm down enough to turn out the lights and go to bed! And, if you watch it on a big screen TV (which is what I have), it makes it that much worse!


In the News: Apparently, Mad Men may be on its last legs, so enjoy it while you can. After making history as the first basic cable seriesa to every win the Emmy for Best Drama, Mad Men has yet to be renewed for another season.
I already told you that I gave this show up two weeks ago. I loved the first season, but the second did nothing for me. And others must feel the same way because ratings have really slipped.
The NY Post reports today that there is no scheduled start date for shooting Season 3, no scripts are written and the creator hasn't been rehired yet. If AMC doesn't want it, there is talk that it could move to another network. We'll see ...

The Major Players of Mad Men

Also reported in the Post, Fox and Major League Baseball have agreed to a 15-minute delay in the start of a World Series Game in order to carry in informercial by Barack Obama. That's a little UnAmerican, isn't it -- interrupting America's past time during the World Series, no less, for an infomercial?
If there is a Game Six, it would start at 8:35 pm instead of the scheduled 8:20 start time to allow for this.

Have a great weekend!

Fey as Palin
The funniest thing by far that I saw on TV this weekend had to be Saturday Night Live's opening sketch. Once again, it featured former SNL writer and regular Tina Fey as VP hopeful Sarah Palin. And, of course, it was a send-up of the recent VP debate (which I didn't watch). Queen Latifah was on hand to portray the debate moderator PBS's Gwen Ifill and SNL cast member Jason Sudeikis was dead-on as Democratic VP nom Joe Biden.This was the third appearance by Fey as Palin in the last four weeks and her guest shots have garnered higher ratings for the NBC show and increased traffic on its Web site. So those of you who couldn't stay up or just missed it (because, let's face it, SNL hasn't been too great the last couple of seasons) can visit and watch what everyone else is talking about! Check it out here http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/

A major Jeer to TNT!!! Saturday night's interruption of the final half hour of TITANIC was bad enough, but then they did it again yesterday!! I don't know if someone fell asleep in the control room, but about 30 minutes before the ending (you know, right about when the ship was breaking apart and crashing into the people floating below) the film was abruptly pre-empted by the MLB game that was already airing on sister-station TBS! And it went on for about 10 minutes. I guess that's why I should just get the DVD out from now on ...

And if my Sunday viewing schedule wasn't already tight enough, the football game had to run about half an hour late over on CBS ... thus preempting 60 minutes, which ran half an hour into the Amazing Race, and so on, and so on ... http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/
So that meant a major decision was to be made regarding whether to finish the race or tape Desparate Housewives http://abc.go.com/primetime/desperate/index?pn=index ... the Race won, so I missed the first half of DH (no big loss, not into this season so far). Because, of course, I was over on HBO catching up with the bloodsuckers on True Blood.

Kimora Lee Simmons
I thought I had gotten a little ahead last week when I discovered that Showtime on Demand had the second episode of Californication already up to preview. So I didn't need to watch that last night. However, over on E! I found out just in time that the second season was premiering for Kimora Lee Simmons: Life in the Fab Lane. (Just what I need, another Sunday night show.) Sorry, file this in my I-just-can't-turn-it-off file. I mean, really, so you're fabulous, separated from mega-music mogul Russell Simmons, dating Djimon Hounsou, have your own clothing line (Baby Phat) and oodles, and oodles of money to spend ... you can catch an encore of last night's show at 9 p.m. tonight or visit http://www.eonline.com/on/shows/kimora/index.jsp

Dexter's just going to have to wait. This is where my cable's On Demand services work against me. See, Dexter and True Blood are on at the same time, but both are also On Demand ... after last week's TB I decided to make that my main 9 p.m. Sunday show and I would catch up on Dexter later in the week ... bad news for Dexter: I'm still trying to make time to catch up on Season 2 of Showtime's wildly popular The Tudors (season 2 ended last April). Anyone else feeling the On Demand or DVR guilt?

And I've decided to give up on AMC's Mad Men. Anyone else? I devoured the first season of this formerly great show over the summer on DVD. What the hell happened? Good thing they won the Emmy this year ... see season 2 for yourself at http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/

So many shows, so little time ...

And no, I didn't actually "watch" Cartoon Network's Star Wars: Clone Wars or Sci-Fi's new show Sanctuary either from Friday night. Both are saved for my future viewing ... and after looking at this week's schedule, I can see I'm gonna have a hard time penciling in time for that.

But at least I don't have to waste time watching Dancing with the Stars anymore. According to Access Hollywood, Olympic medalist Misty May-Treanor suffered a show-stopping injury Friday and is out for the rest of the season. Not that I'm a big Misty fan, I am, however, a HUGE fan of her hot, hot, hot partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy (both turned up on E!'s Soup this week)! Damn, that means he's out too ... and if we didn't need any more bad news it seems that producers will bring their first Dancing sex-tape star Kim Kardashian back to take Misty's place in the line-up (until, hopefully she gets voted out again this week). For info visit
http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=index

Maksim

Well, for tonight at least I can turn on over to AMC at 8 p.m. for a rebroadcast of 2004's ultra beef-cake flick Troy - Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean - do I have to go on?It's like Baywatch for women!

Men of Troy: Bean, Bana, Bloom and Pitt

And then there's always the LOST marathon continuing over on the Sci-Fi channel from 7-11 p.m. Tonight's episodes include "Hearts and Minds," "Special," "Homecoming" and "Outlaws." We're still in season one.

For more beef-cake: Our favorite Gladiator Russell Crowe chats up David Letterman tonight about his new flick with Leo DiCaprio, Body of Lies. While over on Jay Leno's couch will be the equally beefy Gerard Butler, who's plugging Guy Ritchie's latest film RocknRolla - but to me he will always be King Leonidas, leader of the 300 Spartans, who were so strong that all they needed were their red capes, shields and tiny loin cloths ... hmmm

King Leonidas (center) "Tonight We Dine in Hell!"

Well, I got to Thursday and I'm still somewhat sane with my full TV schedule. This morning everyone was talking about last night's Project Runway. In case you missed it, our blue-highlighted boy Suede got the boot.

But everybody wishes it would have been newly-ordained Diva Kenley! She continued dissing everyone on the show, while making an absolutely ridiculous Hip-Hop ensemble. (It even has one of my coworker's wondering if they're just keeping her around for good TV. I wouldn't be surprised.)

Last night's challenge involved the contestants designing garments in various styles relating to music genres. And, after shaking up their designated models, the designers were told that they, themselves, would be modeling their rivals' creations.
As mentioned before, Kenley got to design a Hip-Hop outfit, and failed miserably. Even after being strongly warned by style guru Tim Gunn. Then she had the audacity to argue with Gunn in front of everyone else! And everybody who knows anything about Project Runway knows that you NEVER sass Tim! The fans just won't stand for it. I wonder what they're blogging about Kenley all over the 'net today?
Well, I wonder, even if Kenley does make it to the final, will Tim be as unbiased in his judging as he said he would be? Hmmmm... For more info visit http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/season/5/index.php
By the way, you can catch Tim tonight on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Over on yet another installment of Dancing with the Stars, Ted McGinley was dismissed from the lineup. I have to say that I'm really disappointed that it wasn't Kim Kardashian. I mean, really, she was bad, bad, bad both nights! But, afterall, it's not REALLY about the dancing is it? Like American Idol, it's all about who's popular and gets the most votes.
For more information or to watch the dancers visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=index

OK, on to bigger things ... like What's On tonight and my serious viewing dilemma!

First up, there's nothing more important to me than catching the season premiere of Survivor: Gabon. The 17th season of the granddaddy of reality show's starts at 8 p.m. and in an unusual move, is 2 hours! While I'm pretty happy about that, it still means that I'll be mising the first hour of Grey's Anatomy, which debuts tonight and airs for 2 hours from 9-11 p.m.

Survivor first: Tonight's show kicks off with 18 all new contestants journeying to Gabon, Africa, where they'll presumably break into two tribes and battle each other to "Outwit, Outplay & Outlast" and become the soul survivor, sometime before Christmas, to win $1 million!
This season boasts an Oympic gold medalist, a 22-year-old video-game champ, a middle-aged physics teacher and an actress who appeared on Gilmore Girls (loved that show)! (Of course, I'll miss Survivor's dumbest player ever, last season's Erik, whose occupation was "Ice Cream Scooper" -- need I say more.)

Can't wait to see who we'll hate first! I hope there's plenty of cheating, catfights and manupilating, 'cause that's what we really want to see. We all know that our favorite Survivor moments always involve someone doing someone else wrong! Remember Johnny Fairplay and his "dead" grandmother?

Survivor airs tonight on CBS from 8-10 p.m. For more information and bios on the contestants, visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/

Over on ABC the randy doctors of Seattle Grace will be dealing with trauma when a sudden ice storm hits! It's never a dull day over there is it?
Anyway, according to NY Post critic Linda Stasi, who gives the Grey's Anatomy premiere 3 stars, the episode will feature "one of the sexiest non-sex scenes on TV in years." Looking forward to that.
And a new hot doc makes his first appearance tonight (we can never have enough of those). Scottish actor Kevin McKidd, last seen starring in last season's short-lived drama Journeyman, and before that, in HBO's Rome, makes his debut as Major Owen Hunt, who we're told will be a love interest for Sandra Oh's character. And apparently the aforementioned scene involves the two of them.

Anyway, even though show creatr Shonda Rimes swears that McDreamy and Meredith are together now for keeps, we can still expect problems in their relationship. Rumor has it that the nurse he dated briefly last season may end up pregnant.
And Rimes also assures us that she's planning on keeping Katherine Heigl for the season, despite rumors to the contrary. I just hope she comes up with a better storyline for Izzy this season.
For more info on this show visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/greysanatomy/index?pn=index

And for those of you who couldn't care less about either Survivor or Grey's (who are you people?) , there is still plenty to watch tonight:

If all your coworkers are still taking about AMC's Mad Men and you want to get in on the action, the channel is having a Mad Men Season 2 marathon from 7-midnight. You can catch up on all th happenings at the Sterling Cooper advertising agency with handsome Don Draper and his cohorts.
Or if you just don't have the time, you can find an episode guide here http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/

HBO is also getting in on the marathon, airing three episodes of their new vampire series True Blood (only 3 have aired so far), beginning at 8 pm. http://www.hbo.com/trueblood/

Fox is showing two episodes of chef Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon will be revamping two restaurants tonight with all his usual belittling brilliance. Shows begin at 8 p.m.
http://www.fox.com/kitchennightmares/

Supernatural will continue to battle demons over at the CW at 9 p.m. http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural

But the guilty pleasure I'll be tuning into at 11 p.m. will be a replay of the 10 p.m. episode of Tabatha's Salon Takeover over on Bravo! What a Bitch! It's basically the same show as Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, but switch him with, as The Soup's Joel McHale dubbed her, a middle-aged, Australian forrest pixie and substitute failing hair salons for failing restaurants.
Anyway, once you've met Tabatha, you'll never be the same. And just hope and pray that no one turns your salon into Bravo for this show!
For more, check out http://www.bravotv.com/Tabathas_Salon_Takeover/season/1/index.php

So I guess my evening's set, till tomorrow ...