Get Those TVs Turned On – What to Watch…January 13, 2008

It’s Sunday, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an exciting night of TV ahead of us. Quite the contrary, there’s a ton of TV worth your while. I think by now you know that the Golden Globes ceremony has been canceled, but stay tuned to NBC for a 2-hour celebration of some of tonight’s nominees leading up to the televised press conference announcing the winners. Also, check out the brand new for 2008 MASTERPIECE THEATRE – new host Gillian Anderson brings life to the old classic show, and I for one am really excited about their new series featuring the work of Jane Austen.

All that and more, tonight on your TV.

Going for Gold | 7pm on NBC
Matt Lauer highlights the 65th annual Golden Globe Awards, featuring interviews with nominees. Included: James McAvoy; Sally Field; Amy Adams; Kyra Sedgwick; William Shatner; and Patricia Arquette. Comedian Kathy Griffin adds commentary.

Golden Globes Awards Announcement | 9pm on NBC
As the Golden Globe Awards have been canceled this year due to the WGA strike, the winners of the 65th annual Golden Globe Awards will be announced in a press conference. The Globes are always my favorite of all the award shows because the audience is allowed to drink, and you never know what can happen when people are boozing during a live telecast.

Masterpiece Theatre | 8pm on PBS
“Persuasion”
The venerable series “Masterpiece Theatre” changes its name but not its quality, delivering a solid adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion,” about 27-year-old Anne Elliot (Sally Hawkins) facing spinsterhood.

The Amazing Race | 8pm on CBS
“Sorry Guys I’m Not Happy to See You”
One female racer celebrates her birthday during the 10th leg of the competition, as the final four teams try to secure a spot as one of the three pairs who race to the finish line and the $1 million first-place prize. Phil Keoghan is the host.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 8pm on Fox
Debut: The sci-fi drama, based on the “Terminator” movies, follows a fugitive mother and son on the run from cyborgs sent from the future. First up: Sarah (Lena Headey) and John (Thomas Dekker) pack up and move to a new town. Note: Stay tuned to GMMR this week as I’ll have much more on this new show including interviews with the stars and video from inside last week’s premiere party. Check out my two cents on the pilot – GMMR Spotlight: TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES

Brothers & Sister | 10pm on ABC
“The Feast of Epiphany”
Tommy and Julia struggle to repair their damaged marriage, while Rebecca’s connection with David (Ken Olin) raises questions about her mother’s past. Meanwhile, Nora and Isaac (Danny Glover) have a very uncomfortable first date.What are YOU watching tonight?

Be my Friend? As always, GMMR’s daily “What to Watch” is powered by MeeVee’s interactive TV listings. I’ve just registered over at MeeVee but I don’t have a lot of friends to talk TV with over there. And with all of MeeVee’s TV content, there’s a LOT to talk about!! Will you register and add me as your friend? (username: GMMR). Thanks!!!

Doing My Part – the WGA Strike

I’ll be back at some point later with all the details of the TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES premiere party and some of the highlights of the Fox press junket that I attended yesterday, but I’m going to take off for a little while this morning and head over to some of the WGA strike locations and join in in the effort.  Might as well put hold a few picket signs while I’m here in support of the writers.

I’m sure I’ll have a few updates from the line, so keep checking for Twitter updates.

PROJECT RUNWAY Becomes Jennifer’s Runway

 With all my travel this past week I fell a bit behind on my TV watching, but nothing I missed pains me more than PROJECT RUNWAY. The fashion, the drama, Tim Gunn…I love it!! I wish I could sit here and dish with you all about this week’s prom dress challenge, but sadly I can’t. But lucky for both of us, I know someone who can…and who can do it much better than I.

I think you all know that my personal PROJECT RUNWAY experience isn’t complete until I read my friend Jennier Eolin’s always hilarious, PROJECT RUNWAY recap. So since I don’t have much to say on the show I haven’t see, run don’t walk, over to Jennifer’s MySpace blog to get her two cents and find out why she is so pissed at Project Runway.

Jennifer’s Runway…
Dearest Project Runway,

Usually I like to open my letters with a hearty greeting like, “Hello!” or “Good tidings!” or “What up, Holmes?”  But after last night’s episode of your little show, you leave me no choice other than to offer the following as your salutation: “Go suck an egg.”

I don’t even know where to start with my complaint, PR.  (Can I call you PR?  It’s either that or “asshole.”  Your choice.)  Usually at this point in the week, I write a very witty and fabulously droll blog about the minutia in the workroom as well as the disasters and triumphs on the runway.  Wonderful people read it and we all laugh and yell in delight. And while I enjoyed the prom dress challenge this week, the ending of the show left me so completely pissed off that I can’t even muster the energy to be happy that Christian said “fierce” after not saying it last week or that Bossy Cow’s client didn’t even want her in the first place.  (A fact which I found to be 100% delightful.  So much so that I actually made “happy fists.”)  But, PR, I’m just so….  MAD.   I’m so mad that I just have to jump to the end. (Click here to read more)

What to Watch…Friday, January 11, 2008

Believe it or not, we’ve got a great night of TV ahead of us. With new episodes of favorites like MOONLIGHT and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and the return of PSYCH (a show you must, must check out if you never have before), it almost feels like a normal night of TV – when’s the last time we had that?

Check out what will be on my TiVo tonight…

Moonlight | 9pm on CBS
“Love Lasts Forever”
Mick and Beth attempt to rescue Josh after he is kidnapped by a vindictive drug lord. Sidenote: A special congrats to MOONLIGHT for taking home the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Drama. It beat out PRIVATE PRACTICE and GOSSIP GIRL…not an easy feat. Moonlight fans should be proud of their efforts.

Friday Night Lights | 9pm on NBC
“Jumping the Gun”
Smash feels pressured to make a commitment to a college. Elsewhere, Coach Taylor worries about Riggins and Julie; the Panthers gear up for the biggest game of the season; and Tami clashes with her sister (Jessalyn Gilsig). Sidenote: We are in for another fantastic episode of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS tonight. Look for more conflict between Coach and Riggins leading up to a scene that had me reaching for the Kleenex. Damn those hot men for making me cry. And look out for a shout out to another TV show tonight…one that is quite popular around this here blog. With only a few more episodes left, tonight is a must watch.

Monk and Psych return tonight…
Two of USA’s standout shows are returning tonight with all new episodes. MONK is an old standby enjoyed by many for quite some time now. PSYCH isn’t exactly new but it hasn’t quite caught on the way MONK has. But in my personal opinion, PSYCH is the standout show. I actually think it’s one of the premiere comedies on all of TV. If you haven’t ever done so, set those DVRs for PSYCH tonight…I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Monk | 9pm on USA
“Mr. Monk Joins a Cult”
Monk investigates a cult and unwillingly becomes influenced by its hypnotic leader. Howie Mandel guest stars.

Psych | 10pm on USA
“There’s Something About Mira”
A woman claiming to be Gus’ wife hires Shawn to search for someone. Kerry Washington guest stars.

Miss America: Reality Check | 10pm on TLC
Somehow I missed the premiere of this 4-part show, hosted by UGLY BETTY’s Michael Urie. I’m going to have to go back and try to find the first episode when I can. Anyway, this show follows the Miss America contestants as they prepare for the big show down later this month. I hate pageant and I’m trying to avoid reality shows, but my love for Michael Urie trumps it all. On tonight’s episode….Bye bye hairspray and caked on makeup. Two very special guests, celebrity hair-stylist Kim Vo and makeup guru Napoleon Perdis, give each woman a “prescription” for fixing their outdated looks.

Also playing…

• Ghost Whisperer | 8pm on CBS
• Cashmere Mafia | 9pm on ABC
• Numbers | 10pm on CBS
• Las Vegas | 10pm on NBC

Talk to me people…what are YOU watching?

Be my Friend? As always, GMMR’s daily “What to Watch” is powered by MeeVee’s interactive TV listings. Wondering if you’ll help me out with something. I’ve just registered over at MeeVee but I don’t have a lot of friends to talk TV with over there. Will you register and add me as your friend? (username: GMMR). Thanks!!!

ONE TREE HILL Reunion

Note: Talk about being a little off the mark. I wrote this piece on ONE TREE HILL last Tuesday and noticed that it never posted to GMMR. As 50 Cent and JT so eloquently put it ‘Ayo, I’m tired using technology”. So if you are still interested in reading, just know that it’s almost a week old…sorry.

So I watched the two hour season premiere of ONE TREE HILL (airing tonight at 8pm on The CW) yesterday on the train ride from Boston to NYC and I was left feeling a bit empty. Although I hadn’t watched the show since its early days, I was really hoping that I would be able to reconnect with this reinvented version and love it as much as many of you do. And while I’m not giving up totally on the show yet, I’m really hoping there’s some kind of turnaround in the next few weeks that make me actually want to watch the show, rather than just watch it for the sake of saying I would.
I refuse to give away an specific spoilers, but I think it’s common knowledge among OTH fans that when the fifth season opens tonight we see the kids from Tree Hill navigating their lives four years from when we last saw them. I applaud the producers for understanding the pit fall of ‘the college years’ that many of their set in high school counterparts stumbled in to. It was a smart way to bring the show current and more in touch with the age range of the audience watching at home.

A lot has changed since the crew was last all together and there’s a lot to catch up on. Flashbacks are employed to help fill in the blanks of the past four years and let readers into the events that brought the characters where they are today. Unfortunately in the premiere, the director seemed to be a little confused on how to smoothly transition between the present time and that of yesteryear. It was all a bit predictable and repetitive.

Read more

CHUCK Returns to NBC

Fans of CHUCK – your boy is back!! At least for one night. NBC has just announced that the last two new episodes of CHUCK will be hitting the air later this month. Good news, of course as I’ve been missing Bartowski, Casey, Sarah and the Buy More guys, but on the other hand we have to say goodbye to them again. Never a good thing

In a bizarre scheduling move, NBC will be airing the final two episodes in the same night…but not back-to-back. The two episodes will be sandwiched in between an hour of the dreadful Celebrity Apprentice. Why they aren’t airing the two eps together is bewildering enough, but why NBC is opting to air the two shows on the same night, rather than giving viewers two new weeks of eps is beyond me.

But looking on the bright side, the story of Chuck Bartowski will be back and I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to finding out just what John Casey will do about his new orders.

Send NBC a message and tune in to CHUCK on Thursday, January 24th at 8pm (then shut off the TV when Celebrity Apprentice comes on) and then tune back into CHUCK for the final new episode at 10pm.

LIVE from the Fox Press Junket

Hey GMMRers…Kath here and I’m living it up in good old L.A.. Landed yesterday and went straight to the premiere and after party for Fox’s new show TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. A great time was had by all and I’ll be sure to post all about it at my first opportunity. But this morning, I’m in the famed Roosevelt Hotel waiting to get the scoop on some of Fox’s new shows as well as some of your returning favorites.

I had hoped to be able to live blog the event but the format changed a bit and I’ll be meeting with the stars one on one so typing while talking to them is a bit rude, no? But I will be providing updates through the junket so keep checking back for the latest.

Update: Just spoke with the legendary Fred Willard – funny guy with a lot of great stories.  Craig Bierko from UNHITCHED has been cracking me up all day (and he has some nice eyes).

Mary Murphy and Dan Karaty from SYTYCD just walked in…could I be more excited???

Patricia Heaton from BACK TO YOU is sitting down for her first radio interviews of the day. I recently spoke with Michael Orland, vocal coach for AMERICAN IDOL. And just shared a few moments with Keith Robinson (Dreamgirls) who stars in the new Fox show CANTERBURY’S LAW. (more coming soon)

YOU ask the stars….

Have questions for stars from some of your favorite Fox shows? Then leave a comment and let me know and I might just be able to use your question. Here’s who will be here….

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Thomas Dekker
Summer Glau
Richard T. Jones

Canterbury’s Law
Keith Robinson

Back to You
Patricia Heaton
Fred Willard

The Moment of Truth
Mark L. Wahlberg
Nick Savastano
Howard SChultz

American Idol
Deborah Byrd
Michael Orland

Unhitched
Craig Bierko

Prison Break
Amaury Nolasco
Dominic Purcell

Are You Smarter Than a First Grader?
Cody

Talkshow with Spike Feresten
Spike Ferestein

GMMR – Coast to Coast

If you were following my Twitter updates from today then you probably already know that I had a great day in NYC. I couldn’t have picked a better day to spend walking around this fantastic city. I walked all around but really enjoyed the time I spent in Central Park before heading down to people watch at Rockefeller Center. Tonight I spent some time on the Upper West Side catching up with a friend. Not a bad day [/Jim Halpert].

I want to give a shout out to a Kelly, a girl who was helping me out in her store when I found out she was a GMMR reader. How surreal?! And I want to thank her for hooking me up…very sweet of you!

I’m off to L.A. in the morning and hitting the premiere party for TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES tomorrow night. I’m going to be updating via Twitter as best I can throughout the day and I’ll be sure to send along any scoop from the party.

And on Thursday morning (or early afternoon for those of you on the East Coast), check back to GMMR as I’ll be live blogging from the Fox press junket. Stars from “Back to You“, “Prison Break“, Fox’s new comedy “Unhitched” and others will be in attendance. Once I’m there, I’ll let you know who will be joining us and if you have a question for one the stars, I might be able to get them to answer you directly. More details coming soon.

And before I sign off, I just had to share this video with all of you. I was randomly watching skaters do their thing on the ice at Rockefeller Center when a woman caught my eye. She seemed to be really enjoying herself and getting into the music (and perhaps taking herself a bit too seriously). I caught her skating on film a few minutes and this was the result…

(Sorry if it’s a little mean, but it made me laugh.)

People’s Choice Award Winners (TV)

This isn’t your mama’s People’s Choice Awards. The WGA strike changed the format of the show – no red carpet, no audience, no celebs. It’s just Queen Latifah all on her own doing her best to fill time in between announcing the winners and introducing their pre-taped acceptance speeches. Moments from past PCAs are being shown as a nice retrospective and personally I find it more entertaining that the than the awkward presenter banter we are usually subject to. It’s new, but as they say…they show must go on (unless of course it’s the Golden Globes).

Favorite TV Actor
Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy) – Winner
Keifer Sutherland (24)
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men)

Favorite TV Comedy
Two and a Half Men – Winner
My Name is Earl
The King of Queens

Favorite New TV Comedy
Samantha Who? – Winner
Chuck
Pushing Daisies

Favorite New TV – Drama
Moonlight – Winner
Private Practice
Gossip Girl

Favorite TV Drama
House –Winner
Law & Order: SVU
CSI

THE DAILY SHOW is Back

THE A DAILY SHOW with Jon Stewart returned last night sans writers. I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but GMMR reader Joey just passed on this short video of Jon Stewart’s opening monologue. Jon introduces us to his WGA unibrow as well as informs us of the new, and hopefully temporary, name of his show.

Looking forward to watching both Stewart and Colbert sometime later today (ah the joys of the Slingbox).

What to Watch…Tuesday, January 8, 2007

I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but I’m in NYC and it was beautiful yesterday and there’s going to be record breaking warm weather today. I’m looking forward to spending some nice time outside. Perhaps head to the Upper East Side and spend some time with my friends Serena or Blair, or maybe I’ll just hang with Lily, Marshall, Ted, and Barney (my friend Robin is going to be at mall and won’t be around). Although, maybe I should take one for the team and visit Ryan Howard over at Dunder Mifflin Corporate – I can’t imagine he has too many friends. So many (imaginary) friends and so little time in The Big Apple.

Here’s a few shows that you might want to check out tonight. For those of you who listened to the latest TV podcast by GMMR & Ducky, you won’t be surprised to learn that I’m going to be TiVoing BOSTON LEGAL tonight. I’ve been impressed by the few episodes I’ve seen this season and I think I should check it out.

One Tree Hill | 8-10pm on The CW | Season Premiere
“Four Years, 6 months, 2 Days”
(spoilers in episode description) As the fifth season opens, the series flashes forward four years to postcollege life. While most of the gang struggle to find their footing in the working world, now-famous fashion designer Brooke faces the challenges success brings her. Skills and Lucas enter Jamie in a soap-box derby and begin coaching the Ravens. Meanwhile, Haley encounters difficulties on her first day as a teacher and interviews potential nannies for her son.

Note: Check back in just a bit for my two cents on tonight’s season premiere of ONE TREE HILL.

People’s Choice Awards | 9pm on CBS
Queen Latifah hosts the 34th annual gala that recognizes fan favorites in movies, TV and music, from L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium. The winners are determined by online votes cast by fans. This should be interesting as no actors will be in attendance…wonder what they’ll do.

According to Jim | 9pm on ABC
“Safety First”
Cheryl takes the bull by the horns when it comes to the family’s health and safety, but it still can’t prevent Jim from being injured during his daily run.

Carpoolers | 9:30pm on ABC
“The Seminar”
Laird is attracted to a sexual-harassment workshop leader and claims he’s being harassed to get some alone time with her. Meanwhile, Leila uses Marmaduke to promote her real-estate business. Dorrit: Bridgette Wilson-Sampras.

Boston Legal | 10pm on ABC
“Mad About You”
Shirley and Carl worry about the firm’s reputation when Denny turns down Alan’s assistance in order to go it alone on a headline-grabbing murder case. Meanwhile, Jerry and Katie help a woman who claims her husband’s employer caused their divorce.

Law & Order: SVU | 10pm on NBC
“Signature”
A body found in Central Park appears to be the latest victim of a serial killer, forcing Benson to work with an FBI agent familiar with the murder’s profile. But the agent also has a personal interest in the case.

What are YOU watching tonight…

Be my Friend? As always, GMMR’s daily “What to Watch” is powered by MeeVee’s interactive TV listings. Wondering if you’ll help me out with something. I’ve just registered over at MeeVee but I don’t have a lot of friends to talk TV with over there. Will you register and add me as your friend? (username: GMMR). Thanks!!!

Want to be on ONE TREE HILL?

The CW, Macy’s and the Warner Bros. Television Group are offering eight passionate ONE TREE HILL fans the opportunity of a lifetime – a chance to win a walk-on role and spend a star-filled weekend with the cast in Wilmington, North Carolina, where the series is filmed. ONE TREE HILL season five premieres on Tuesday, January 8 (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET).The “Ultimate Fan Weekend in Wilmington” promotion, which began December 18 and continues through February 4, 2008, offers fans the chance to spend time with the cast, see the show in production, attend a charity event and appear in an episode. Fans can enter the contest in one of two ways: by attending a regional casting call at seven Macy’s stores nationwide, or by uploading an audition video at www.cwtv.com/macys. In addition, ONE TREE HILL cast members will be signing autographs at the following Macy’s locations on Saturday, January 19 from 2:00-4:00pm (local time):

• · Macy’s Herald Square – New York City (cast members Sophia Bush and Daphne Zuniga)*
• · Macy’s Aventura – Aventura, FL (cast member Hilarie Burton)
• · Macy’s Union Square – San Francisco, CA (cast member James Lafferty)
• · Macy’s Lenox Square – Atlanta, GA (cast member Antwon Tanner)
• · Macy’s State Street – Chicago, IL (cast member Lee Norris)
• · Macy’s Downtown Seattle – Seattle, WA (cast member Bethany Joy Galeotti)
• · Macy’s Easton Town Center – Columbus, OH (series creator Mark Schwahn and cast member Michaela McManus)

* These are the scheduled cast members but circumstances may result in a change as to the cast member participating at a particular location.

Full rules for this event are posted at www.cwtv.com/macys.

Golden Globes Canceled (Update)

UPDATE: The Golden Globes have been canceled so here’s the award-related activity on Sunday night.

• At 7pm NBC will air Dateline with clips and interviews with nominees.
• At 8pm, NBC is in talks with Dick Clark Enterprises for a one-hour retrospective/clip show.
• At 9pm there will be a press conference covered by NBC News announcing the Golden Globe winners. (9pm-10pm)
• At 10pm NBC will broadcast an “Access Hollywood” style, Golden Globes party show… visiting the various parties in Hollywood.

Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting that her sources are saying that the Golden Globes have indeed been canceled.

SOURCES: NBC And Hollywood Foreign Press Association Cancel Televised Golden Globes; Entire Event Will Be Scrapped

The Hollywood writers strike can now claim its first awards show casualty. The latest I’m hearing from my sources as of a few minutes ago is that NBC will not be televising the Golden Globes as planned on January 13th. Insiders tell me also that the entire event, even if it were held untelevised, will be cancelled. And the Hollywood Foreign Press Association instead will merely make an announcement of the winners. I’ve not yet received any official confirmation of any of this. But insiders tell me that NBC Universal topper Jeff Zucker and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association which bestows the Golden Globes made the decision together.

I’m such a selfish girl, but I was looking forward to joining the picket lines at the Globes in support of the WGA. Looks like there will be no picket lines at all.

TV Podcast #18: Welcome to TV in 2008

Happy New Year and welcome to TV in 2008 — something the likes you’ve never seen before. The WGA Strike has completely changed the landscape of television for the upcoming winter/spring season and we’re here to dish about it.

Dan and Kath are back for TV Podcast #18 and while shows are still new we’re covering the latest from Friday Night Lights, Gossip Girl, The Amazing Race, and Project Runway.

We also give you the latest counts for original episodes remaining for our favorite shows as well as returning faves like LOST, PSYCH, TORCHWOOD and KYLE XY. What about newbies like TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES and NEW AMSTERDAM? What about AMERICAN GLADIATORS? Yup, we chat about those too.

*Just a warning there are major spoilers for the finale of GOSSIP GIRL which has yet to air (we give you fair warning but be prepared to skip ahead if you want to)

 Subscribe and Listen via iTunes

Listen Online: TV Podcast #18

Interested in catching up on our past podcasts? Head on over to the podcast page where you can listen to all of our previous episodes.

iTunes Comments:
This is a great way to spread the word about our podcast and it really helps new listeners determine if they want to subscribe to us or not based on YOUR COMMENTS. Subscribing to the joint podcast between duckydoestv.com and givememyremote.com is the best way to listen to us.Please comment on Ducky Does TV and Give Me My Remote’s TV Podcast at iTunes.

IMPORTANT! PUSHING DAISIES Needs More of Your PCA Votes

Time to rally Pie Makers!! Word from deep inside the PUSHING DAISIES camp tells ThePieMaker.com that votes for the Favorite New Comedy category at the Tuesday’s Peoples Choice Awards are VERY close. It’s anyone’s category to take but it’s a must win for PUSHING DAISIES.

Stop what you are doing and vote right now – you can vote once a day so please set a reminder to remember to vote daily until Tuesday. If you have more than one email address, then see if you can’t register and vote more than once.

This is an important award for PUSHING DAISIES as it will really help to bring attention to the show.

VOTE FOR PUSHING DAISIES AS FAVORITE NEW COMEDY

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