Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Sunday, April 26, 2009

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! There’s plenty to watch tonight so get ready. Me? I’ll be relying on Senor DVR a bit as Sox vs. Yankees game doesn’t start until 8pm. I hate when that happens.

What will YOU be watching?

The Amazing Race | 8pm on CBS
“Having a Baby’s Gotta Be Easier Than This”
The teams participate in an Olympic-themed task in Beijing, where they must swim the same distance Michael Phelps swam in the 400-meter individual medley; two teams continue to hold grudges against each other.

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency | 8pm on HBO
“Problem’s in Moral Philosophy”
A store owner wants Precious to find out if his daughter has a secret boyfriend; JLB uses a high-tech solution to help Precious with a case.

The Simpson | 8pm on Fox
“Father Knows Worst”
Homer decides to closely monitor Bart and Lisa to force them to succeed; Marge finds it difficult to resist the sauna she finds in the basement.

Sit Down, Shut up | 8:30pm on Fox
“Miracles Are Real”
Miracle distributes what she thinks are flowers to the staff to celebrate spring; Helen’s grudge against Sue jeopardizes the school’s spring fundraiser

Family Guy | 9pm on Fox
“Stew-Roids”
Stewie starts hitting the gym with Peter after Joe’s infant daughter beats him; Chris starts to date a popular girl at school and realizes that popularity is like physics. [GMMR:Check out a clip from tonight’s episode featuring the voice of Chace Crawford.]

Desperate Housewives | 9pm on ABC
“Rose’s Turn”
Carlos finds Lynette in a precarious position; Gabrielle hastily covers for Tom’s coy behavior; Orson tries to hide the truth about his wounds from Bree; Katherine confesses to Mike; Susan reveals her dark secret to Dave.

The Tudors | 9pm on Showtime
Brandon is unsettled by the viciousness and cruelty with which Henry brings an end to the Catholic uprising as the King puts the leaders to death; and, finally, a male heir is born to Henry and his queen, Jane Seymour, who dies shortly after giving birth.

Brothers & Sisters | 10pm on ABC
“Julia”
Julia makes a decision about the future; Robert finds out what Kitty has been keeping from him; Sarah and Holly try to find balance in their relationship.

In Plain Sight | 10pm on USA
“In My Humboldt Opinion”
A northern California marijuana mastermind cannot testify without using the drug to neutralize his anxiety disorder.

Also playing…

• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition| 8pm on ABC: The team creates a safe and comfortable home for a couple raising their three grandchildren and working with young people despite the loss of a daughter to domestic violence and a son to a drunken driver.

• Cold Case | 9pm on CBS: The 1963 death of a pool hustler is re-examined when the long-sought murder weapon is discovered during a pool hall renovation.

• The Unit | 10pm on CBS: Jonas and Bob find their carefully planned mission thrown into chaos by a random incident.

• Breaking Bad | 10pm on AMC: Walt and Jesse seek advice from a shady attorney when Badger gets in trouble with the law; the DEA believes they have caught up with “Heisenberg”; Hank returns.

What Sunday shows are YOU going to be watching tonight?

Thank You for Being a Friend – R.I.P Bea Arthur

It’s with great sadness that we say goodbye to Bea Arthur. The Emmy award winning actress died of cancer Saturday morning at her home in Los Angeles, her family by her side. She was 86.

She is survived by her sons Matthew and Daniel and grandchildren Kyra and Violet, he said.

While Bea had many notable roles throughout her career, people of my generation know her best as the feisty and pragmatic Dorothy Zbornak of GOLDEN GIRLS.  My teenage years were spent watch four elderly women laugh their way through life. To this day GOLDEN GIRLS is one of my favorite TV pleasures.

No funeral services are currently planned, Watt said, adding that the family asked that donations be made to either the Art Attack Foundation or PETA in lieu of flowers.

CHUCK Fans – Picture Yourself at Subway

If you are a CHUCK fan heading to Subway before Monday in support of the season finale, take a pic of yourself and your Subway footlong and send it in to me. I’ll post the pics here on GMMR.

Email me at info(at)givememyremote(dot)com

Waitress | 9pm on More Max

A pregnant waitress is caught between her controlling husband and the new town doctor, with whom she is having a steamy affair. Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Adrienne Shelly, Lew Temple

The Promotion | 7:30pm on More Max

Personality quirks and inadequacies come to the surface when two men vie for the top job in a grocery chain’s new store. Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Lili Taylor, Fred Armisen

Q&A with BONES Star Emily Deschanel

[GMMR: BONES extraordinaire, Seeleybaby, recently participated in a conference call with BONES star Emily Deschanel. Unfortunately there were a lot of people on the call (and some reporters asked more than one question (I hate that) and Emily had to run before Seeleybaby got to ask any questions, but here’s the full transcript so all of you can enjoy!]

WARNING: There are spoilers right from the start so don’t read if you are 100% spoiler free.

Matt Mitovich (TV Guide): Is a small part of Emily, is she kind of waiting for Bones and Booth to get into bed, so that question can be ‘put to bed?

ED: (laughs) Well, happily, for Emily, that’s already happened. People just haven’t seen it yet. Yeah, that is probably the most common question either by either people on the street, or people interviewing me. SO, it’s great to tell people that it’s happening, I guess on May 14th. We already shot that; it should be surprising, and good, and well, I guess it’s not surprising for people to know it’s happening, but the WAY it happens is surprising.

MM, follow up: Will anything with regards to the way it happens, will that spawn a whole new question that people are going to bombard you with from now on?

ED: Um, yes, I’m sure. (laughs). But I can’t really talk about that part.

MM: And what can you say about the dynamic with Booth’s brother, for when he returns, what can you say about that?

ED: Well, I can’t really talk about…what can I say about his role? Um…let’s just say that his feelings for Brennan haven’t really died, and so, there’s some dynamic there. A little bit of a love triangle that happens.

MM: Okay, but…her feelings for him? Those have kind of been doused?

ED: Um…we’ll see (teasing and very hesitant in tone)

——

Joshua Maloney with Niagara frontier Publications: I really enjoy your character, let me say, first of all.

ED: Oh, thank you!

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Forget the CHUCK Rumors…Just Watch!

Twitter was all a buzz earlier tonight with the rumor that CHUCK got picked up for 13 episodes. It was a lot of he said/she said/they said/but they didn’t craziness. I received a lot of emails asking if I knew if there was anything to it. I don’t know. But Josh Schwartz does. So hear it straight from him…

“The rumors are untrue. we have not heard anything nor do we expect to for a little while longer. So keep spreading the word, getting your friends to watch Monday and thank you for the amazing support so far.”

Monday is it people. You’ve got to do what you can to get people to watch. Buy your footlongs. Post reminders. Join us for our live chat at 8pm EST. Save CHUCK!

Chace Crawford Guests on THE FAMILY GUY

GOSSIP GIRL’s Chace Crawford lends his voice to this week’s episode of THE FAMILY GUY.  As you’ll see from this clip below, they didn’t really try to capture Chace’s look in the character.

Don’t miss an all-new episode of Family Guy with guest voice Chace Crawford, this Sunday 4/26 at 9/8c, on FOX!

PARKS AND RECREATION: The Reporter

Years ago, an innovative advertising campaign told all of us that, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” In the pop culture of 2009, with on-demand access to our favorite movies, music, and television, that phrase rings especially true. The motion picture industry has all but abandoned the development of small films, since they are rarely held for more than two weeks in our concession-driven multiplexes. New CD sales of established artists like U2, stunted by the proliferation of peer to peer sharing sites, are unfairly judged against those produced in the pre-Internet era. Most drastically, TV shows are launched with a window of opportunity more narrow than the mind set of people who are critical of Adam Lambert’s personal life.

Parks & Recreation has improved steadily each week, with this particular episode offering a full range of comedic opportunities and overarching storylines. Lost in that growth, I fear, will be a barrage of entertainment journalists and bloggers who will focus on the show’s lackluster ratings. Rome wasn’t built in a day. In fact, if the bureaucrats of Pawnee were in charge of that particular project, then HBO could probably count on their historical drama running for seventy-six seasons. My hope is that P&R’s core audience, which boasts a strong number of 18-34 year olds, will overcome the Monday Morning Quarterbacks and spread the word that smart sitcoms can still be found on NBC’s Thursday lineup.

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J.K. Rowling: “A Year in the Life” and More on ABC This Summmer

ABC just announced some of its summer specials and limited series. And while some of them certainly seem interesting, nothing got my attention like “J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life”. Now I’m not a die Harry Potter fan, but I find writers particularly fascinating. I’ll definitely be setting the DVR for this one.

J.K. ROWLING: A YEAR IN THE LIFE – THURSDAY, JULY 16 (8:00-9:00 p.m.) — The woman who created an imaginary world for millions, J.K. Rowling, allowed cameras extraordinary access during the year before the 7th Harry Potter book was published. From the one bedroom apartment in Scotland where it all began to a hotel room where viewers watch her type the last words of the Potter saga, Rowling lets millions of fans into her world. The documentary exposes her childhood sorrows, visits the church where she and her sister worked after-school as janitors, and allows people to see her now as both the queen of a magical, alternate universe and an everyday mom. Cameras also travel back to her hometown and discover where many of the characters of Harry Potter originated. Upon the release of the latest Harry Potter movie, Elizabeth Vargas takes viewers on a journey into the life of the woman who came from “nothing” and created all of her own success.

The rest of ABC’s summer specials after the jump. Anything look especially interesting to you? I might be into learning about managing debt and my finances from Seth Green and The Jonas Brothers. Ha!

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CHUCK’s Ryan McPartlin is…Awesome!

Want to know just how awesome Captain Awesome is? Pretty damn awesome. Ryan McPartlin, who as you all know plays Devon Woodcomb on CHUCK,  sent me an email message to share with all of you. How sweet is that?

Dear CHUCK friends and fans:

First of all, I have to say thank you for your love and support of the show!!! I’m blown away at what a truly AWESOME fan base we have and I can’t believe the creativity and intelligence that you’ve all shown in the “SAVE CHUCK” campaign. I’m impressed at all the different ways you’ve come up with to save the show, from Twittering, MySpace and Facebooking to watching Chuck on NBC.com and HULU, to buying $5 footlong subs from Subway on the day of the season finale. You guys are the best fans ever and personally, I’m going to put your ideas into action on Monday and have a “SAVE CHUCK” party with a bunch of $5 footlongs from Subway. It should be right up there with my bachelor party at the Buy More (without the strippers of course). Keep the momentum going this week, so NBC can give us the green light to work on Season 3! Thanks again!!!

All my best,
Ryan McPartlin aka The Captain

Chuck vs. The Podcast!
Cast members, writers, producers, directors, and the composer from NBC’s CHUCK came together to thank their fans for rallying behind the show and encourage them to watch the season finale in the latest Chuck Podcast. The very special episode launches tonight at 6pm EST on www.ChuckPodcast.com and on iTunes. Check it out!

THE OFFICE: Broke

“Idiot, we’re starting back up. This is Dwight by the way.”

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen the rise and fall of the Michael Scott Paper Company.  A storyline that on paper (no pun intended) could have been disastrous.  Once again the writers were taking beloved characters out of the Scranton office – and this time they were taking the BMOC, Michael Scott.  But against all odds it worked.  And it worked really well. The events over the past few weeks have allowed THE OFFICE to bring their characters to a different level. Not easy to do during the fifth season of a show. But tonight all that ended, and I’m rather bummed.  The dynamic worked well and I thought there were many more stories to tell.  But alas, a reunion was inevitable. Now we get to see what comes of it. I’m all in.

The pieces worked so well in last night’s episode.  The writing was spot on and really tight, and the story arcs gelled like a calculator in jello.  Kudos to Steve Carell on his OFFICE directing debut. What can’t this man do?

I’m always delighted when the writers remind us that Michael Scott is not a complete buffoon. Clearly he doesn’t know the first thing about running a business, but he sure knows how to negotiate.  See he did learn something from Wikipedia. Michael taking on David Wallace was probably the most competent Michael Scott moment we’ve ever seen. “I don’t need to wait out Dunder Mifflin. I think I just have to wait out you.”

There was one part of the negotiation that confused me a bit.  Did Michael give up the $60,000 in lieu of getting them their jobs back or did they get the jobs back in addition to the money?  I hope they got the cash so Pam doesn’t have to work at Target…oh wait, they wouldn’t even interview her.  And how arrogant of Ryan to assume he would get all of the money.  He’s such an asshat.

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SMALLVILLE: Stiletto

[Note from GMMR: Hey Smallville fans – Poor Sarah had TV issues last night and had to watch most of the episode without sound. And being the dedicated soul that she is, she still managed to write up a review – even if it took a little lip reading to do it. A round of applause for Sarah!]

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Hey GMMR! After yet another brief hiatus we finally got to see Smallville back on the small screen last night. The episode, titled Stiletto, showcased the pushy and persistent Lois Lane as Metropolis’ new superhero. I do have to say though before I get into last night’s action that I spent most of the time trying to read lips! Something was going on with my connection and I wasn’t getting any sound. So forgive me if I get something wrong! Onto the highlights.

The episode opened with Lois getting denied at a social event. After several attempts to get in the door the lady just can’t find her on the list. Soon after Chloe shows up and Lois decides to give up. Walking back the car Chloe ends up falling victim to a mugger. Dressed up in a black evening dress and stilettos Lois saves the day and comes up with a story that will kick her career into high gear.

After the incident Chloe ends up at the hospital where she runs into Clark and asks for his help getting her laptop back. The computer was in her car that was stolen by one f the criminals running off to avoid the wrath of Lois. Meanwhile Lois has left her there to chase after a big wig at the Daily Planet to show off her story. Without photos of Stiletto though she’s not making headlines.

At this point there is a good amount of action but not enough Lois and Clark. The chemistry just isn’t entertaining enough. When they finally do meet up at the Daily Planet and argue about Clark trying to find Stiletto they come off flat and mundane.

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30 ROCK: The Ones

Oh dears! I’m not sure what to say about an episode that seemed devoted mostly to showing us how flamboyantly Salma Hayek could remove a trench coat, even if one of those removals revealed a pointless yet fabulous BSG t-shirt.

This one lost me almost entirely, with Elisa’s Black Widow secret bringing out the boring in everybody and leaving Liz with little to do other than react while snuggling up with her Slanket and Night Cheese. I was equally baffled by the weirdness of Jenna approaching Pete with her problem, although I enjoyed her heartfelt serenade of “Don’t Cry Out Loud” before self-identifying as a sociopath and then proving it by trying to kill Kenneth. I also liked Tracy helping Jack the only way he knows how: first through a test of erotic temptation in a flashy nightclub and finally by admitting his own terrible secret (that he’s never been unfaithful to his wife). And let’s give special props for the shirtless montage, where they slipped in a bizarre real-life Tracy Morgan appearance on Chicago’s WGN in which he improv-ed a pregnant woman giving birth on the news desk.

Overall the small touches saved it for me: the Pranksmen’s feathered caps; Liz searching for online stories on Elisa (“Ew, writing on green. Why?”); Brian Williams taking a misdirected call for Tracy, then inviting the caller up to Connecticut; Tracy’s Angie tattoo morphing quite naturally into Tangiers the gay lion.

Anyway, this is two negatives in a row for me in a disappointing season, but I’m still hoping we can ride it out in style over the next couple of weeks. What did you think?

A FEW FAVORITE THINGS

• Jewelry salesman on Liz: “She’s very spirited. Like a show horse.”

• Lutz running into that wall with his face. (Lutz seems to be this year’s Josh in the humiliation and pain department.)

• Tracy to Liz: “You are wise, Liz Lemon. Like a genetically manipulated shark.”

• Liz to Elisa: “How are you so quiet when your parades are so loud?”

Kari is a 30 ROCK fanatic and will be taking it out on you, her new imaginary friends.

SUPERNATURAL: Jump the Shark

I think I’ve been spoiled a bit by SPN’s lightening-quick pace lately (or I am just really tired after a long week and need to re-watch the episode) but I was a little underwhelmed last night. Sure, we got to see that Sam is, in actual fact, much more similar to John Winchester than Dean will ever be, and we learned that there is a third Winchester son, although we won’t be seeing him around in the future. We had a battle of the siblings: kids of hunter vs. kids of hunted ghoul.

When Dean and Sam get a call on John’s cell phone from a kid named Adam claiming to be John’s son, they’re instantly suspicious. They meet with him and Dean hilariously sets trap after trap to determine if the kid is really a demon or shapeshifter in disguise. He passes all the tests, Dean puts his gun away and the next thing you know, Adam is regaling the boys with tales of John’s involvement in his life. I wasn’t feeling this Adam kid – he seemed clueless about how the things he was saying were affecting his new brothers, particularly discussing John’s active involvement in his life; taking him to ball games, showing up for all of his birthdays, etc. Plus, his mother was missing and he seemed to slip into happy mode way too easily given the circumstances.

Sam was ready right away to turn Adam into a hunter like them, saying that he needed to embrace his new life because he’s cursed with the Winchester name. Dean fervently argued that the kid should be able to live a normal life; it was too late for them, but he didn’t need to be dragged into it. I thought that this was interesting – not too long ago I think their positions would have been reversed, with Sam arguing for the kid to be given a shot at normalcy. Dean wanted to get the kid out of there so that they could fight whatever had likely killed Adam’s mom but Sam thought it would be more prudent to use him as bait for the vent monster (apparently Adam, his mom and another victim were all connected to a case John had worked on years ago where bodies were stolen from graves).

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