Monday, November 17, 2008
8:30 EST – Monday Night Football: Browns at Bills (ESPN)
Apparently there was some scandal or something involving yesterday’s Chargers/Steelers game and point spreads or something or other. All I know is that I already lost my fantasy game for the week, so I will spend the rest of this post/week pouting.
8:30 – How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
So the real question is: which is better, Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s guest spot on Entourage last night, or her guest spot on HIMYM tonight? Or her shoulda-been-Emmy-nominated turn in the Heidi Fleiss TV movie? Answer: none of the above.
9:00 – The Sea Inside (IFC)
Javier Bardem went scary for No Country and sexy for Vicky Cristina – here he goes quadriplegic for The Sea Inside. The feel good movie of the year!
Late Night
Emma Thompson legitimizes acting on Letterman, Kiefer Sutherland delegitimizes it again on Leno, Snoop Dogg abstains from the argument on Conan, David Frost tells Jon he wanted to play himself in Frost/Nixon on the Daily Show, and Colbert doubles down with Tom Brokaw and Malcolm Gladwell.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
8:00 – Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (BBC America)
I was a Gordon Ramsay skeptic for a long time, mostly based off of his crappy American shows on Fox. But these BBC originals with Ramsay getting hands-on with failing restaurants are totally addictive. Even better is Kitchen Nightmares Revisited, where he shows up months after whipping them into shape, only to usually find the establishments back in disrepair. Standard British series warning applies: it seems like BBC America only has ten or so episodes, so get used to lots of repeats.
9:00 – Friday Night Lights (DirecTV 101)
I feel bad mentioning this here since it’s only available to DirecTV subscribers (of which I am not one), so I will make it up by linking to a BitTorrent site.
9:00 – Larry King Live: Sarah Palin (CNN)
She’s still here! Alive and kicking! It’s pretty funny how these days Governor Palin seems to be in front of any microphone that someone’s left on, as opposed to a couple weeks ago…
Late Night
That British comedian character of apparently rising importance Russell Brand is on Letterman, that American comedian character of potentially waning importance Steve Carrell is on Leno, Tom Brokaw is on Conan, T. Boone Pickens builds a windmill on the set of the Daily Show, and Bob Woodward begs Colbert for a scoop.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
8:00 – Rocky III (AMC)
Announcement from AMC: In light of yesterday’s historic election results, the end Rocky III has been reedited to let Mr. T win. That is all.
10:00 – South Park (Comedy Central)
Matt and Trey chime in with some election humor. Election humor? That is so yesterday. And the 700 days before it. New national meme: hobo humor. (Side note: Gawker runs down some of South Park‘s past forays into Doonesbury territory.)
10:30 – Chocolate News (Comedy Central)
Giving David Alan Grier’s show another week isn’t just compassionate charity, it’s an investment. Because if we keep watching, it has to get better, right? Right?
Late Night
Tom Brokaw calls the election on Letterman, Samuel L. Jackson yells a lot on Leno, Dennis Hopper has an acid flashack on Conan, Fox News flack Chris Wallace flacks on the Daily Show, Ambassador Andrew Young retains his title despite not being an ambassador since the gosh darn seventies on Colbert.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Yes, it’s summer. Yes, this is going to be painful to get through, but we’re going to do it together, dammit. So here, take my hand, and let’s channel surf our fears away…
8:00 – American Gladiators (NBC)
They take this “contestants must have sob stories” thing way, way, way too far sometimes. Tonight: a Columbine survivor. Really. He beat Klebold and Harris, but can he withstand the sheer lunacy of Wolf??
9:00 – Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (HBO)
I believe this made-for-TV documentary is essentially a step by step how-to guide for when you need to roofie an underage girl in your hot tub.
10:00 – Star Trek: The Next Generation “Q-Who?” (Sci-Fi)
Look, if we’re gonna make it through the summer, we’re going to have to watch some syndicated reruns. Try this on for size: the debut of the Borg in the Star Trek universe, featuring that fanciful lad Q. You’re going to have to trust me, I promise this is better than Oxygen’s Ocean’s 12 marathon. Cross my heart.
Late Night
Tom Brokaw and Gnarls Barkley on Dave, some British guy named Russell Brand on Leno, Robert Smigel on Conan, Betty White on Ferguson (nice), vice presidential hopeful Sen. Jim Webb on the Daily Show, and writer Philip Weiss on Colbert.
