8.22.2008
Kristin Weighs in on New Mondays
Fall TV Preview: Monday Night's New Shows
Today 6:18 PM PDT by Kristin Dos Santos
Here's the funny thing about writing about Fall TV this year: There are still some new series that no one has seen, thanks to the lasting effects of the writers' strike.
Still, after interviewing the producers and actors, checking out the promos and previews and digging deep into what's going on behind the scenes (and doing a little soul-searching), I have a pretty good inkling as to which shows should be worth your time. (Especially the ones I've seen—some of which I loved and some of which made me break out in hives, ahem, Gary Unmarried.)
Also, just for fun this year, we reached out to a nationally syndicated Vegas oddsmaker—Benjamin Eckstein of America's Line—for his take on what will rock or flop.
And so, today, we are kicking off E! Online's night-by-night look at fall's new series with Monday's options—CBS' Worst Week, NBC's My Own Worst Enemy and TNT's Raising the Bar—and will tackle a new day each day this week.
Find out what's worth a look, and then weigh in with what you'll be watching...
WORST WEEK (CBS)
Premiere: Sept. 22, 9:30 p.m.
Time-Slot Competition: Heroes, Samantha Who?, Prison Break, One Tree Hill
Cast: Kyle Bornheimer, Erinn Hayes, Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Lenehan
Status: I've seen the first episode
If you've seen the giant billboards around town of a guy striking a pose in a diaper, you know what you're in for: The sexiest show of the season!
OK, so that's not true at all. But this does look to be the funniest new show (based on what I've seen so far), and Kyle Bornheimer, who plays leading man Sam Briggs, is undeniably likeable and just, well, awesome.
Worst Week is the story of Sam Briggs, a sweet schlub of a man who has wonderful intentions and terrible, terrible luck. His life is a veritable Rube Goldberg device of misunderstandings, mistakes and unfortunate decisions, where every catastrophe is the direct cause of a new, different and even more humiliating disaster. You will laugh your booty off at Sam's misfortune, and you should be sure to enjoy it, because Bornheimer is killing himself just to make you giggle. Kyle told me last week, "I was set on fire yesterday...sometimes I wonder, Am I part of some new reality show where they tell a guy that he's the star of a TV show and it's really just to put him through really torturous situations?" Torturous for Sam, maybe, but pretty uproarious for the rest of us.
Verdict: Definitely watch it
MY OWN WORST ENEMY (NBC)
Premiere: Oct. 13, 10 p.m.
Time-Slot Competition: Boston Legal, CSI: Miami, Raising the Bar
Cast: Christian Slater, Alfre Woodard, Mädchen Amick, Saffron Burrows
Status: No screeners available yet
Hey, look! It's Christian Slater, and he's on TV! That just might be enough to make some of you tune in, but FYI, the show's premise also sounds wickedly intriguing. Enemy is about a stay-at-home dad who lives a double life as an international superspy, but because of government meddling in his frontal lobe, he doesn't actually know what his spy side does at night.
As Slater puts it, "It's a Jekyll and Hyde story, with a little bit of James Bond thrown in. And yet it's very relatable—it's about the question, What do you do when you find out the person you can't trust is yourself?"
As for the real-life mystery, Enemy is one of the new NBC series that no one has seen yet. The all-star cast is a good sign, and I really like creator Jason Smilovic, but right now, there's just no telling if My Own Worst Enemy is worth our while.
Verdict: Wait and see, but looks promising
RAISING THE BAR (TNT)
Premiere: Sept. 1, 10 p.m.
Time-Slot Competition: Boston Legal, CSI: Miami, My Own Worst Enemy
Cast: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben, Jane Kaczmarek, J. August Richards
Status: I've seen the first episode
Trade the scrubs for suits and Raising the Bar is essentially Grey's Anatomy in a courthouse: Gorgeous young professionals wrestle their personal demons, flirt with each other and conspire to get ahead, always working out at least a temporary solution to both problems by the end of act four.
Created by Steven Bochco, Raising centers around a group of law-school classmates who now face off as district attorneys and public defenders in the New York City courts. Respectable writing, decent production values, a sustainable procedural premise and a cast of TV favorites—Malcolm in the Middle's Jane Kaczmarek, ER's Gloria Reuben, Angel's J. August Richards and, of course, Zack Morris himself—add up to a pretty good time.
Verdict: DVR it for a rainy day
Today 6:18 PM PDT by Kristin Dos Santos
Here's the funny thing about writing about Fall TV this year: There are still some new series that no one has seen, thanks to the lasting effects of the writers' strike.
Still, after interviewing the producers and actors, checking out the promos and previews and digging deep into what's going on behind the scenes (and doing a little soul-searching), I have a pretty good inkling as to which shows should be worth your time. (Especially the ones I've seen—some of which I loved and some of which made me break out in hives, ahem, Gary Unmarried.)
Also, just for fun this year, we reached out to a nationally syndicated Vegas oddsmaker—Benjamin Eckstein of America's Line—for his take on what will rock or flop.
And so, today, we are kicking off E! Online's night-by-night look at fall's new series with Monday's options—CBS' Worst Week, NBC's My Own Worst Enemy and TNT's Raising the Bar—and will tackle a new day each day this week.
Find out what's worth a look, and then weigh in with what you'll be watching...
WORST WEEK (CBS)
Premiere: Sept. 22, 9:30 p.m.
Time-Slot Competition: Heroes, Samantha Who?, Prison Break, One Tree Hill
Cast: Kyle Bornheimer, Erinn Hayes, Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Lenehan
Status: I've seen the first episode
If you've seen the giant billboards around town of a guy striking a pose in a diaper, you know what you're in for: The sexiest show of the season!
OK, so that's not true at all. But this does look to be the funniest new show (based on what I've seen so far), and Kyle Bornheimer, who plays leading man Sam Briggs, is undeniably likeable and just, well, awesome.
Worst Week is the story of Sam Briggs, a sweet schlub of a man who has wonderful intentions and terrible, terrible luck. His life is a veritable Rube Goldberg device of misunderstandings, mistakes and unfortunate decisions, where every catastrophe is the direct cause of a new, different and even more humiliating disaster. You will laugh your booty off at Sam's misfortune, and you should be sure to enjoy it, because Bornheimer is killing himself just to make you giggle. Kyle told me last week, "I was set on fire yesterday...sometimes I wonder, Am I part of some new reality show where they tell a guy that he's the star of a TV show and it's really just to put him through really torturous situations?" Torturous for Sam, maybe, but pretty uproarious for the rest of us.
Verdict: Definitely watch it
MY OWN WORST ENEMY (NBC)
Premiere: Oct. 13, 10 p.m.
Time-Slot Competition: Boston Legal, CSI: Miami, Raising the Bar
Cast: Christian Slater, Alfre Woodard, Mädchen Amick, Saffron Burrows
Status: No screeners available yet
Hey, look! It's Christian Slater, and he's on TV! That just might be enough to make some of you tune in, but FYI, the show's premise also sounds wickedly intriguing. Enemy is about a stay-at-home dad who lives a double life as an international superspy, but because of government meddling in his frontal lobe, he doesn't actually know what his spy side does at night.
As Slater puts it, "It's a Jekyll and Hyde story, with a little bit of James Bond thrown in. And yet it's very relatable—it's about the question, What do you do when you find out the person you can't trust is yourself?"
As for the real-life mystery, Enemy is one of the new NBC series that no one has seen yet. The all-star cast is a good sign, and I really like creator Jason Smilovic, but right now, there's just no telling if My Own Worst Enemy is worth our while.
Verdict: Wait and see, but looks promising
RAISING THE BAR (TNT)
Premiere: Sept. 1, 10 p.m.
Time-Slot Competition: Boston Legal, CSI: Miami, My Own Worst Enemy
Cast: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben, Jane Kaczmarek, J. August Richards
Status: I've seen the first episode
Trade the scrubs for suits and Raising the Bar is essentially Grey's Anatomy in a courthouse: Gorgeous young professionals wrestle their personal demons, flirt with each other and conspire to get ahead, always working out at least a temporary solution to both problems by the end of act four.
Created by Steven Bochco, Raising centers around a group of law-school classmates who now face off as district attorneys and public defenders in the New York City courts. Respectable writing, decent production values, a sustainable procedural premise and a cast of TV favorites—Malcolm in the Middle's Jane Kaczmarek, ER's Gloria Reuben, Angel's J. August Richards and, of course, Zack Morris himself—add up to a pretty good time.
Verdict: DVR it for a rainy day
The new shows to check
Monday, Sept. 1
Raising the Bar (TNT), 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 2
90210 (CW), 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 3
Sons of Anarchy (FX), 10 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5
Samurai Girl (ABC Family), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 7
True Blood (HBO), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 9
Fringe (Fox), 8 p.m.
Privileged (CW), 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10
Do Not Disturb (Fox), 9:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 22
Worst Week (CBS), 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
The Mentalist (CBS), 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 24
Knight Rider (NBC), 8 p.m.
Gary Unmarried (CBS), 8:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3
The Ex List (CBS), 9 p.m.
Sanctuary (Sci Fi), 9 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 9
Kath & Kim (NBC), 9:30 p.m.
Eleventh Hour (CBS), 10 p.m.
Life on Mars (ABC), 10 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 10
The Starter Wife (USA), 10 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 13
My Own Worst Enemy (NBC), 10 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 17
Crusoe (NBC), 8 p.m.
Crash (Starz), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 22
Stylista (CW), 9 p.m.
Welcome back, TV :)
When do your favorite shows return? Check it....
Tuesday, Aug. 26
Greek (ABC Family), 9 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 1
Gossip Girl (CW), 8 p.m.
One Tree Hill (CW), 9 p.m.
Prison Break (Fox), 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 2
The Shield (FX), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 3
America's Next Top Model (CW), 8 p.m.
Bones (Fox), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 7
Entourage (HBO), 10 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 8
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox), 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10
'Til Death (Fox), 9 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox), 9 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12
Don't Forget the Lyrics (Fox), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Biggest Loser: Families (NBC), 8 p.m.
House (Fox), 8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 18
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX), 10 p.m.
Smallville (CW), 8 p.m.
Supernatural (CW), 9 p.m.
Survivor: Gabon (CBS), 8 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 22
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 8 p.m.
Boston Legal (ABC), 10 p.m.
CSI: Miami (CBS), 10 p.m.
Dancing with the Stars (ABC), 9 p.m.
Dr. 90210 (E!), 10 p.m.
Heroes (NBC), 9 p.m.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 8:30 p.m.
Two and a Half Men (CBS), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Law & Order: SVU (NBC), 10 p.m.
NCIS (CBS), 8 p.m.
Without a Trace (CBS), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 24
Criminal Minds (CBS), 9 p.m.
CSI: NY (CBS), 10 p.m.
Lipstick Jungle (NBC), 10 p.m.
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS), 8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 25
ER (NBC), 10 p.m.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC), 9 p.m.
My Name is Earl (NBC), 8 p.m.
The Office (NBC), 9 p.m.
Ugly Betty (ABC), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 28
Amazing Race (CBS), 8 p.m.
American Dad (Fox), 9:30 p.m.
Brothers & Sisters (ABC), 10 p.m.
Californication (Showtime), 10 p.m.
Cold Case (CBS), 9 p.m.
Desperate Housewives (ABC), 9 p.m.
Dexter (Showtime), 9 p.m.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC), 8 p.m.
Family Guy (Fox), 9 p.m.
King of the Hill (Fox), 8:30 p.m.
The Simpsons (Fox), 8 p.m.
The Unit (CBS), 10 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 29
Chuck (NBC), 8 p.m.
Life (NBC), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC), 10 p.m.
Friday Night Lights (DirecTV 101), 9 p.m.
Pushing Daisies (ABC), 8 p.m.
Private Practice (ABC), 9 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3
Everybody Hates Chris (CW), 8 p.m.
The Game (CW), 8:30 p.m.
Ghost Whisperer (CBS), 8 p.m.
Numb3rs (CBS), 10 p.m.
Supernanny (ABC), 9 p.m.
Wife Swap (ABC), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 5
Girls Next Door (E!), 10 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 6
Samantha Who? (ABC), 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 9
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 14
Eli Stone (ABC), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 30
30 Rock (NBC), 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 26
Greek (ABC Family), 9 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 1
Gossip Girl (CW), 8 p.m.
One Tree Hill (CW), 9 p.m.
Prison Break (Fox), 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 2
The Shield (FX), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 3
America's Next Top Model (CW), 8 p.m.
Bones (Fox), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 7
Entourage (HBO), 10 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 8
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox), 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10
'Til Death (Fox), 9 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox), 9 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12
Don't Forget the Lyrics (Fox), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Biggest Loser: Families (NBC), 8 p.m.
House (Fox), 8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 18
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX), 10 p.m.
Smallville (CW), 8 p.m.
Supernatural (CW), 9 p.m.
Survivor: Gabon (CBS), 8 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 22
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 8 p.m.
Boston Legal (ABC), 10 p.m.
CSI: Miami (CBS), 10 p.m.
Dancing with the Stars (ABC), 9 p.m.
Dr. 90210 (E!), 10 p.m.
Heroes (NBC), 9 p.m.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 8:30 p.m.
Two and a Half Men (CBS), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Law & Order: SVU (NBC), 10 p.m.
NCIS (CBS), 8 p.m.
Without a Trace (CBS), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 24
Criminal Minds (CBS), 9 p.m.
CSI: NY (CBS), 10 p.m.
Lipstick Jungle (NBC), 10 p.m.
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS), 8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 25
ER (NBC), 10 p.m.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC), 9 p.m.
My Name is Earl (NBC), 8 p.m.
The Office (NBC), 9 p.m.
Ugly Betty (ABC), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 28
Amazing Race (CBS), 8 p.m.
American Dad (Fox), 9:30 p.m.
Brothers & Sisters (ABC), 10 p.m.
Californication (Showtime), 10 p.m.
Cold Case (CBS), 9 p.m.
Desperate Housewives (ABC), 9 p.m.
Dexter (Showtime), 9 p.m.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC), 8 p.m.
Family Guy (Fox), 9 p.m.
King of the Hill (Fox), 8:30 p.m.
The Simpsons (Fox), 8 p.m.
The Unit (CBS), 10 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 29
Chuck (NBC), 8 p.m.
Life (NBC), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC), 10 p.m.
Friday Night Lights (DirecTV 101), 9 p.m.
Pushing Daisies (ABC), 8 p.m.
Private Practice (ABC), 9 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3
Everybody Hates Chris (CW), 8 p.m.
The Game (CW), 8:30 p.m.
Ghost Whisperer (CBS), 8 p.m.
Numb3rs (CBS), 10 p.m.
Supernanny (ABC), 9 p.m.
Wife Swap (ABC), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 5
Girls Next Door (E!), 10 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 6
Samantha Who? (ABC), 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 9
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 14
Eli Stone (ABC), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 30
30 Rock (NBC), 8:30 p.m.
8.11.2008
Your Olympic Hottie of the Day: August 11
The fabulously wonderful 100M Backstroke Gold Medalist Aaron Piersol... it goes without saying.
8.10.2008
Your Olympic Hottie of the Day: August 10
While all are deserving (most of all Jason Lezak) after today's huge 4x 100 m freestyle relay win, today's honor goes to Cullen Jones (far left).
In the off-season... new TV obsessions
You shouldn't miss out on...
Shear Genius
Arrested Development on DVD
Friday Night Lights (for the love of Matt Saracen, there is time to catch up before the season!)
Weeds season 3
supposedly Fringe is going to be pretty good, so I may have to check that out. I also think I want to catch up on what has happened on 24 since I gave up watching after season 3. I want to check out this prequel business for the premiere.
And lastly... because it's time for the Olympics again, that means I have reason to look up pictures of Aaron Piersol.... lots of pictures.
Shear Genius
Arrested Development on DVD
Friday Night Lights (for the love of Matt Saracen, there is time to catch up before the season!)
Weeds season 3
supposedly Fringe is going to be pretty good, so I may have to check that out. I also think I want to catch up on what has happened on 24 since I gave up watching after season 3. I want to check out this prequel business for the premiere.
And lastly... because it's time for the Olympics again, that means I have reason to look up pictures of Aaron Piersol.... lots of pictures.
Quick reality tv predictions...
Project Runway: winner will be Korto
ANTM: Tyra will get more obnoxious than we ever thought possible
Shear Genius: Charlie will win even though Paolo deserves it.
Big Brother 10: Renny and Memphis will be the final two... Renny will win
ANTM: Tyra will get more obnoxious than we ever thought possible
Shear Genius: Charlie will win even though Paolo deserves it.
Big Brother 10: Renny and Memphis will be the final two... Renny will win
Friday Night Lights casting news
My blog is back.... just in time for the Olympics and the new fall season. More to come shortly... but here is some quick FNL (the best show that no one is watching and everyone SHOULD be) casting news.
Janine Turner, D.W. Moffett team up with 'Friday Night Lights'
Aug 8, 2008, 07:21 PM by Dan Snierson
Categories: TV Biz
We don’t know where the Hatfields are, but the McCoys are coming to Dillon: Season 3 of Friday Night Lights (airing on DirecTV this fall and on NBC in early 2009) will feature a few new faces, including Janine Turner (Northern Exposure) and D.W. Moffett (Life Is Wild, Traffic). The two will appear throughout the season as a married couple — Joe and Katie McCoy — who move from Dallas with son J.D., a hotshot freshman quarterback, so that he can challenge Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) for the starting job on the Panthers.
FNL executive producer Jason Katims hints that Moffett's Joe "has a sort of Machiavellian charm. He is unapologetic about who he is, about how successful he is, and about saying what he wants." What he wants is some serious playing time for his son. "One of the stories I’ve always wanted to play," continues Katims, "is the parent wanting to have influence over how the coach coaches, and in this case, wanting his son to have a chance to play before Coach Taylor [Kyle Chandler] is ready to do it. Ultimately the story line gets more personal because it becomes not only about him trying to influence the coach, but about the pressure he’s putting on his kid, and Coach becoming aware of that and having to intervene."
Meanwhile, Mrs. Coach — Tami (Connie Britton) — will bond with Joe's wife, Katie, portrayed by Turner. "Katie is a fun, smart, sexy woman who swoops into town and charms Tami and they become friends," says Katims. "We’ve never really established somebody that Tami talks to other than Coach. She becomes a bit of an adviser to Tami as Tami becomes the principal [of Dillon High School] and takes on bigger things."
Janine Turner, D.W. Moffett team up with 'Friday Night Lights'
Aug 8, 2008, 07:21 PM by Dan Snierson
Categories: TV Biz
We don’t know where the Hatfields are, but the McCoys are coming to Dillon: Season 3 of Friday Night Lights (airing on DirecTV this fall and on NBC in early 2009) will feature a few new faces, including Janine Turner (Northern Exposure) and D.W. Moffett (Life Is Wild, Traffic). The two will appear throughout the season as a married couple — Joe and Katie McCoy — who move from Dallas with son J.D., a hotshot freshman quarterback, so that he can challenge Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) for the starting job on the Panthers.
FNL executive producer Jason Katims hints that Moffett's Joe "has a sort of Machiavellian charm. He is unapologetic about who he is, about how successful he is, and about saying what he wants." What he wants is some serious playing time for his son. "One of the stories I’ve always wanted to play," continues Katims, "is the parent wanting to have influence over how the coach coaches, and in this case, wanting his son to have a chance to play before Coach Taylor [Kyle Chandler] is ready to do it. Ultimately the story line gets more personal because it becomes not only about him trying to influence the coach, but about the pressure he’s putting on his kid, and Coach becoming aware of that and having to intervene."
Meanwhile, Mrs. Coach — Tami (Connie Britton) — will bond with Joe's wife, Katie, portrayed by Turner. "Katie is a fun, smart, sexy woman who swoops into town and charms Tami and they become friends," says Katims. "We’ve never really established somebody that Tami talks to other than Coach. She becomes a bit of an adviser to Tami as Tami becomes the principal [of Dillon High School] and takes on bigger things."
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