DEXTER, TRUE BLOOD, BIG BANG and More: Give Me My Remote is Off to Comic-Con!

Fellow TV nerds, it’s the most magical time of the year.

COMIC-CON IS HERE!

Yes, I’m just the tiniest bit excited.

Though I may technically be a television reporter, I’m really just a complete and total fangirl at heart. Which pretty much makes Comic-Con my nerd nirvana.

Television writers and stars talking about my favorite shows?

Check.

Tons of fellow couch potatoes?

Check.

Free TV-related swag?

Check.

But we understand that not all of you can make it down to San Diego, so we’re going to be your eyes and ears at the Con and bring you on-the-spot coverage, so you can enjoy it as if you too are attending.

We’re covering the Con in a slightly different way this year.

In addition to doing many of the television press rooms and panels — provided we get in to Ballroom 20 every day! — we’ll also be hosting live chats during select panels! That means that you can experience Comic Con from the comfort of your couch, desk or wherever else you have internet access. Be sure to check back soon for the official live chat postings. Each live chat posting will allow you to set a personal reminder, so when the panel starts at Comic Con, you’ll be alerted and can follow along with our updates from inside the room. How fun is that?

So, which panels will GMMR be hitting? (Starred events indicate scheduled live chats)

Check it out…

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Take 5: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT’s Top 5 Episodes

“Take 5” gives Team GMMR (and YOU) a chance to look back to yesteryear and share 5 memorable episodes from some of our favorite shows of the past.  A walk down memory lane and back in time to revisit some of the best of the best of TV.

Today, our newest contributor, Ben Phelps, shares his five favorite episodes of the hit cult show and soon to be full length featured film (which of course I’ll believe when I see), ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Take 5 by Ben Phelps

Before last fall, during which we were given “Modern Family,” “Community,” and the astronomical improvement in “Parks and Recreation,” TV writers and viewers were lamenting the death of television comedy. After all, “Seinfeld” and “Friends” had ended years earlier and “The Office” and “30 Rock” were the only successful comedies to have launched in recent memory. Additionally, “Arrested Development,” one of TV’s best comedies – and series in general – of all time, had come and gone with no more than a cult following.

The latter beloved comedy was canceled all too soon in 2006, but besides its unceremonious four-episode finale marathon opposite the Winter Olympics, Fox at least gave it a fair shot. In the end, we were left with three seasons and 53 episodes of “the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.” And really, with no bad episodes in the entire run, that’s not too shabby, even if it does make a Top 5 list incredibly difficult and subjective.

Nevertheless, I made one, and I’m sure everyone will have different opinions on my picks. But with that, here are my five favorite episodes of “Arrested Development.”

5. Good Grief (2.04)

Like any great “Arrested” episode, “Good Grief” gives us a number of running jokes and references that you have to watch a few times to really appreciate. George Michael is still the only one to see Egg’s – er, Ann’s – appeal (or to even remember her name), George Sr. is drawn being dipped into a Cornballer in the Mexican newspaper reporting his death, and Oscar once again drops a hint that he is Buster’s real father (but of course it goes right over his head). The beauty of these jokes here, though, is that they are coming out of a story in which the whole Bluth family is interacting, not only with each other but also with supporting characters like Ann, Barry, and bounty hunter/party planner ICE. This cast was one of the best comedy ensembles ever, and episodes like this – even though they were ostensibly gathered to mourn George Sr.’s death – showed just how funny and in sync they could be.

This episode also features the first appearance of Gob’s magician rival Tony Wonder (though only through photograph), as well as the first time George Sr. says he was a patsy in the Iraq housing contracts, a claim that becomes much more prevalent later in the second, and into the third, season. So a hilarious episode that calls back to previous events, moves along the current arcs, and lays groundwork for future plots? Yep, that deserves a spot.

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THE WIRE Project: Season 1, Disc 4

The finish line is approaching quickly. After this week, The Wire Project winds down with the final two episodes of the show’s inaugural season. As promised, the discussion threads for each week will be maintained all summer, so you are welcome to jump in at your convenience!

Quick note for DirecTV subscribers: Channel 101 just started broadcasting THE WIRE’s full 60 episode run, so feel free to jump onboard with a simple click of your remote control. The show can also be obtained on DVD via Netflix or through the iTunes Store. Summer’s not over yet, and there is plenty of time to join the conversation!

Here is the layman’s perspective on “Game Day,” “The Cost,” and “The Hunt.” As always, the less than keen analysis is offered by yours truly and my friend Heather, a skilled attorney by day and adult spelling bee virtuouso by night.
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Blossom out, Beverley Mitchell in at SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER

Lucy Camden has apparently turned her back on the family business, leaving the church ministry to instead be a school counselor to a bunch of sex-obsessed kids.

Beverley Mitchell — last seen on 7TH HEAVEN a few seasons back before it finally rode off into the TV sunset — will join ABC Family’s SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER in January, the network confirms.

As TVGuide.com first reported, she will replace Mayim Bialik, who is currently playing the second or third counselor that the show’s high school has employed.

Wonder how long Mitchell will stick around!

Follow GMMR and KorbiGirl on Twitter, and Facebook too, for all your up-to-the-minute TV news and commentary.

Stay up to date on all of GMMR’s exclusive videos by subscribing to our new YouTube Channel – GiveMeMyRemote

Comic Con Survival Tips: The Best Tips to Survive Your First Comic Con

As a veteran to the pop culture convention, I can tell you that Comic Con is no joke.  The two years I went completely kicked my ass.  I came home from both trips and was diagnosed with pneumonia. You laugh. But believe me, getting tips on how best to survive Comic Con can save your life (well, at least save you Comic Con experience).

Comic Con is for legit fans only.  You’ll be sacrificing sleep. Eating horribly (if at all). Experiencing immense frustration when you can’t get into the panels you desperately wanted to attend. Your legs will hurt from all the walking. Your ass will hurt from sitting on the ground for so long. You’ll wish ill upon the makers of your smartphones and their annoyingly short battery life.

Did I mention it’s completely worth it?

I won’t be attending the Con this year, but GIVE ME MY REMOTE has Comic Con covered.  Both Korbi Ghosh and Marisa Roffman will be covering the panels, press rooms, red carpet and celeb-filled parties stuffed into the four days that CC lasts. If you see them, please stop and say Hi!

Stay tuned for GMMR’s full Comic Con schedule including exclusive live chats taking place during the panels!

But for now, here are some of my favorite Comic Con survival tips that I’ve aggregated from a few different sites. Those sites are listed at the end of this post. Please be sure to check all of them out for more great Comic Con ideas.

If you’ve been to the Con and have others to share, please, help your fellow TV fan by including your survival tips in the comments.

• Plan your schedule in advance.
  It’s overwhelming, but the sooner you figure out where you’re going to be and when, the better. If you’re not much a planner, pretend that you are. Being spontaneous doesn’t pay off when panels fill up fast.

• Accept the fact that you can’t see everything.
  You’ve got to be realistic about this. While ideally we’d all have those Harry Potter Time-Turner thingies—seriously, how useful would that be?—the truth is you’re going to miss some of what you want to see. Cry a little, then move on.

• Make a schedule that conflicts with itself.
  Know what you want to see or buy, and if you can’t do your first choices, always have a backup plan ready. Be prepared to not do, see, or acquire everything you want this week. It’s you versus 126,000 other people. The official Comic-Con site has a great tool for preparing your schedule.

• Arrive early. Like, really early.
  Showing up at 6 a.m. for a 10 a.m. panel is not unreasonable. (Nor is sleeping out on the curb the night before.)  There will be a line, trust us. And while we’re not all morning people, it’s easy to make friends when you’re all punch-drunk from lack of sleep and can bond over CHUCK.
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Doris Roberts Makes THE MIDDLE Premiere a RAYMOND Reunion

Marie Barone is back to drive Debra insane.

Well, sort of.

Doris Roberts, who played Patricia Heaton’s meddling mother-in-law on the Emmy award winning EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND for many a season is stopping by Heaton’s new sitcom, THE MIDDLE.

Warner Bros. confirms that Roberts will play young Brick’s new teacher in the September 22nd premiere, as EW.com first reported.

We’re hearing she’ll have some words of (parenting) wisdom for Heaton’s character, who may not be all that receptive.

Sound familiar?

Very much look forward to seeing this.

You too?

Follow GMMR and KorbiGirl on Twitter, and Facebook too, for all your up-to-the-minute TV news and commentary.

Stay up to date on all of GMMR’s exclusive videos by subscribing to our new YouTube Channel – GiveMeMyRemote

THE BACHELORETTE: WTF Moment of the Week: Frank Edition

Frank.

Oh, Frank.

We knew this day was coming thanks to those obnoxiously spoiler-iffic ABC promos, but that didn’t make the drama any less intense — or our pain any less real — while watching THE BACHELORETTE Monday night.

Once again ABC decided to spoil more of the episode with a new ad, which aired all day yesterday. It showed footage of Frank — rather comfortably — embracing a mystery woman, so those of us who had managed to stay in the dark on his big secret still had an idea of what was up.

But  the promos made it out to seem like Frank was completely evil. Turns out, he was just conflicted.

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MODERN FAMILY Co-Creator Steve Levitan on Season 2, Emmy Nominations and Cam’s Mom

MODERN FAMILY has its fair share of out-there-yet-lovable characters, but it sounds like we’ll be able to put at least one of them in better perspective come season 2.

Why? Well…

“We’re going to meet Cam’s mom this year,” co-creator Steve Levitan told GIVE ME MY REMOTE at a Paley Center event on Monday night (July 19). “She’s got her little quirks. I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say there’s some things about her that drive Mitchell a little crazy.”

Fans can also expect MODERN FAMILY to shake things up a bit in their second year.

“We’re doing a show that takes place around an earthquake,” Levitan shares. “There’s been a lot of earthquakes, it’s on our minds. So what happens if there’s an earthquake and how does this family react?”

Obviously, we can’t wait to find out…

Check out the video to hear more on MODERN FAMILY, why the sitcom is shying away from stunt casting, how their recent Emmy nomination puts pressure on them and who Levitan is campaigning for…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkc7R_v_TTA[/youtube]

Follow GMMR and Marisa on Twitter, and Facebook too, for all your up-to-the-minute TV news and commentary.

Stay up to date on all of GMMR’s exclusive videos by subscribing to our new YouTube Channel – GiveMeMyRemote TV

DirecTV Picks Up DAMAGES

DirecTV has done it again.

After saving critical favorite — but ratings-challenged — FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, DirecTV has pulled a similar stunt with DAMAGES and picked the FX series up for two 10-episode seasons.

The broadcast satellite service  has also acquired the rights to reair the first three seasons of DAMAGES and will begin airing new episodes in 2011.

The only bad news for some fans of the Emmy-nominated series?

Unlike the DirecTV/NBC deal for FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS — which allowed NBC to run the show after it had been initially broadcast on DirecTV — DAMAGES will be airing exclusively on its new network.

But we’re not complaining.

High fives to DTV. We like what you’re doin’…

You thrilled that DAMAGES will be returning? Or did you think it should have sailed off into the sunset?

Follow GMMR and Marisa on Twitter, and Facebook too, for all your up-to-the-minute TV news and commentary.

Stay up to date on all of GMMR’s exclusive videos by subscribing to our new YouTube Channel – GiveMeMyRemote TV

THE GOOD GUYS: Pictures From Tonight’s Episode

You guys know that FOX is airing a new episode of THE GOOD GUYS tonight, right?

And while we’ve already shown you some Emmy-worthy video clips of the hour, we figured we’d show you some photos of what will go down, too.

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In Case You Missed It…GLEE, PSYCH, WHITE COLLAR, BONES and More

Did you pull a Rip van Winkle and sleep through all of last week?  Perhaps you were taking advantage of the beautiful summer weather and weren’t on the interwebs as much. Well don’t you fret because we’re here to catch you up on some of what you missed.

Here are just a few of GIVE ME MY REMOTE‘s exclusive news items from last week.

• BONES Rumor Roundup

• GMMR Chats with DROP DEAD DIVA’s Guardian Angel, Ben Feldma

• SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE’s Ashley Galvan on her Show-Ending Injury and When We’ll See Her Again

• Are the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Contestants Pushing Themselves Too Hard? Adam Shankman Weighs In

• PSYCH Stars James Roday and Dule Hill Talk Season 5

• THE WIRE Project: Season 1, Disc 3

• WHITE COLLAR: Matt Bomer on Losing Kate, the Peter-Neal Dynamic and Flashbacks

• GLEE: Mike O’Malley on his Emmy Nom, Playing Opposite Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith

• GLEE Exclusive: Mike O’Malley Made Series Regular for Season 2, Plus More Show Intel…

For the latest TV news follow @GMMRTV on Twitter.  Check in with other TV fanatics on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s Facebook page.  And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to the official GIVE ME MY REMOTE YouTube channel.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: The Action Movie (Trailer)

It might be a looong time until we the promised movie version of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. But when it is released, who says that it will be a comedy? Perhaps The Bluths leave the war of the words behind for a much more important war – the war or terror. Check out the trailer for the action packed, never to be seen in theater – ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.

HUGE News: Meet Nikki Blonsky at The Grove Today in L.A.

If you’ve been watching Nikki Blonsky’s new ABC Family series, HUGE — which follows a group of teenage kids at a summer fitness camp — you may be excited to hear that the book by Sasha Paley, upon which HUGE is based, is being re-released.

Blonsky is hitting the Barnes & Noble at L.A.’s outdoor shopping center, The Grove, today at 2 p.m. to sign books and meet fans and I just thought you might like to know.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, and have a bit of time on your hands, you should definitely stop by.

Check out the book, talk to the HAIRSPRAY/HUGE star and maybe get a little tan while window shopping afterwards.

All the info you need to get to The Grove can be found here.

So, yeah, I’ll see you there?

Follow GMMR and KorbiGirl on Twitter, and Facebook too, for all your up-to-the-minute TV news and commentary.

Stay up to date on all of GMMR’s exclusive videos by subscribing to our new YouTube Channel – GiveMeMyRemote TV

Celebrity Ghost Stories | 9pm on Bio

Michael Imperioli meets a tormented spirit; Joan Collins enranges a ghost; Donna D’Errico befriends a spirit; a spirit helps Corey Feldman get his life on track.

BONES Rumor Roundup

If you’re a BONES fan, you may have noticed that new rumors about season 6 have been popping up every other day.

Instead of devoting a post to each rumor, I thought we’d just tackle a few of them at once and see if we can make some sense of what’s being reported around the interwebs, mmkay?

(And, yeah, if you want to remain spoiler-free for season 6, probably best to stop reading now…)

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