Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
It looks like the “NCIS” producers are ready to get rid of another character on tonight’s season finale. Last year, a sniper picked off Agent Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander). Promos for tonight’s episode promise that another series regular will be leaving the show.
As UPN gets ready to sign off, the TV version of the circle of life continues with a guest appearance by Brandy on tonight’s season finale of “One on One” and probably its series finale. Brandy was the star of “Moesha,” UPN’s first hit show, starting in 1996.
At last year’s upfront presentations, media buyers praised “Everybody Hates Chris” as the show that would revive the stagnating sitcom genre. But then again, many also were touting Martha Stewart’s version of the “Apprentice” as a sure thing.
It’s become an unwritten rule that reality shows, especially Fox shows, must have unexpected twists. Typically there’s a cruel twist as well. So expect a big one tonight when the season finale of “Unan1mous” at 9:30 p.m. reveals which contestant wins the cash prize of $1.5 million.
“Everybody Loves Raymond” has always been a show about a dysfunctional family that somehow manages to pull it together when it matters. Rather than growing tired in its sixth season, the sitcom manages to entertain viewers as it delves into the characters’ often unpleasant characteristics.
There’s nothing like a potential pandemic to rouse audiences, especially as a movie of the week airing during sweeps and on a network that could use the boost. Thus tonight’s movie, from ABC: “Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America,” airing at 8 p.m.
There used to be a time when magicians were happy to pull a rabbit out of their hats. These days they don’t seem to be pleased unless they’ve tortured themselves to the top of the ratings. Which brings us to David Blaine, the attention-loving Gen Y magician who doesn’t mind being buried alive, frozen, or drowned–all for the sake of good TV, or at least good ratings.
May 18 marks the series finale of “That ’70s Show.” This week marks what may be funnier, two back-to-back new episodes, one of which features guest appearances by real-life ’70s stars Christopher Knight and Barry Williams from that real ’70s show, “The Brady Bunch.”
“One Tree Hill” has never been as compelling or interesting as fellow WB shows “Dawson’s Creek” or “Gilmore Girls.” So upon hearing that tonight’s season finale also may be the three-year old drama’s finale, even fans may be muttering a tepid, “Eh.”
Last night’s Yankees vs. Red Sox battle had nothing on the tiffs that’ll be rehashed on CBS’s “Dynasty: Catfights and Caviar,” a reunion show of sorts that airs at 10 tonight. The knockdown fights between big-hair sporting Alexis Carrington Colby (Joan Collins) and Krystle Carrington (Linda Evans) are the stuff of primetime soap operas.
Airing a new poker series a couple years after the poker craze has already peaked can be a bold move, but GSN is gambling on a win with “Annie Duke Takes on the World,” which premieres at 9 tonight.
Rescue Me is a wake up call for every man who (as a kid) dreamed about becoming a fireman and every woman who fantasized about being with one. As flawed and complicated as they are selfless and heroic, the fire fighters in this FX series are a compelling lot. They deal with infidelity, drug addiction, and sexual abuse on a daily basis and make it seem like old hat. But the characters are so well thought out that they almost always make viewers care about what’s developing in their lives. This second season surpasses the debut year in terms of story lines and pacing.
Before “Degrassi Junior High” and “Seventh Heaven,” there was “The Facts of Life”–a feel-good sitcom where a lesson was learned at the end of each episode. Set in an all-girl boarding school, the series spanned nine seasons, countless hairdos, and an array of cast members and guest stars–some of whom (George Clooney, Helen Hunt, Molly Ringwald) would become very, very famous in the future.
“Kate & Allie: Season One” introduced a new type of nuclear family to the 1980s: a pair of divorced women living with their children together in a somewhat cramped New York brownstone. A mid-season replacement in 1984, the sitcom starring Susan Saint James as Kate McArdle and Jane Curtin as Allie Lowell was both a critical and commercial success. The shoulder pads, clunky answering machine, and hairdon’ts give away the decade, but the storylines of grown-up best friends supporting and, at times, sparring with each other during personal and professional crises are timeless.
If you look at the premise of “Here Come the Brides” on paper, the whole series sounds rather bizarre: three brothers head East to find 100 young women who agree to move to untamed Seattle to marry the single men in town. The potential brides have to remain in Seattle for at least a year. If they don’t, the siblings could lose their family business. But this show isn’t set in a society where there’s a Starbucks on every corner.
It’s not easy to balance the fine line between being funny and offensive, but Carlos Mencia manages to make it work on “Mind of Mencia–Uncensored Season 1.” Born in Honduras to a Honduran father and a Mexican mother, Mencia takes glee in mocking uncomfortable stereotypes.
Told with compassion and insight, the fascinating eight-episode documentary TransGeneration focuses on the lives of four college students struggling to fit into a society that doesn’t understand why they are the way they are–that is, transgendered young adults trapped in bodies that belie their true selves. Gabbie and Raci deal with their issues in vastly different ways.
Campy, earnest, and (at times) funny, “She Spies: The Complete First Season” is more “VIP” and “Charlie’s Angels” (with a little classic “Batman” thrown in) than “Alias” or “La Femme Nikita.” Showcasing the considerable physical charms of Natasha Henstridge, Kristen Miller, and Natashia Williams, who portray recovering criminals turned sexy she-spies Cassie, D.D., and Shane, respectively, the whodunit series offers a tongue-in-cheek alternative to hardcore crime-solving shows.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think that the masterminds behind “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and Chicago’s Second City improv troupe plotted to create “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out Season One,” one of MTV’s highest-rated shows.
Immoral, politically incorrect, and fiercely funny, “Action: The Complete Series” is a timeless comedy focusing on a group of Hollywood insiders whose moral compass has spun out of control. Led by uber-producer Peter Dragon (Jay Mohr), the series’ first and only season ferociously lampoons the sleaziness of modern-day Hollywood.