Last Chance to Win Modern Family and Friday Night Lights DVD Sets!

Today is the last day of my birthday-month giveaway contest. One person is going to receive an original DVD of Modern Family Season 1 and another person will get an original DVD of Friday Night Lights Season 1.

Details are in this blog entry.

I'll draw the lucky winners this weekend.

* Open to Philippine residents only.

Brittany & Britney on Glee

Brittany & Britney on Glee

Brittany: I don’t want to do Britney.
Kurt: Why no Britney, Brittany?
Brittany: Because my name is also Britney Spears.
Amber: What the hell is she talking about?
Brittany: My middle name is Susan. My last name is Pierce. That makes me Brittany S. Pierce — Brittany Spierce. I’ve lived my entire life in Britney Spears’ shadow and I will never be as talented or as famous. I hope you’ll all respect that I want glee club to remain a place where I, Brittany S. Pierce, can escape the torment of Britney Spears.

Brittany S. Pears cracked me up! And she was awesome with the dance moves. Did you enjoy this week's episode?

Lone Star Officially Cancelled, Lie To Me Returns

I saw this poster on Lie to Me's Facebook Page saying it's coming back this Monday, on Lone Star's time slot.

Lie To Me Season 3 Poster

It can either mean 1) Lone Star has been moved to another schedule or 2) it was officially cancelled. Deadline confirms that Lone Star is actually a goner. Darn. Seriously? Not even a schedule change?

Lone Star is the first cancellation of the season and a show I really, really liked! :(

Have you checked out Lone Star? Did you think it was right to cancel this show after two episodes?

Hilarious! Barney Stinson Back-Up Vocals To Stand By Me

I especially like the part where Barney T-pains to the song haha! And watch for Robin's reaction, who is sitting at the back.



This was from last night's episode on How I Met Your Mother: Season 6 Episode 2 - Cleaning House, where Barney and his brother meet their real dad. Or at least his brother's real dad.

Raising Hope Quote

Raising Hope

A sampling from the new comedy series: RAISING HOPE...

JIMMY: "Listen, I have a question about this food. It may be a stupid question, but I feel I should ask. Well, the book says I should feed her vegetables, and I want to do that. But the only vegetable jars I found have either pictures of black babies or Asian babies on them. And I don’t know if the pictures are random, you know, or if there’s a reason Asian babies instead of white ones should eat these particular string beans?”

SABRINA: “That is a really good question. The color of the babies on the jars doesn’t matter. However, it’s really important you do not feed her anything with a picture of a boy on it, or else she will grow a penis. And a mustache.

Ranking 2010 Fall Season Premieres: Which New Show Rated Highest??

Here's how all the programs ranked last week. A lot of these shows are season premieres. And the answer to the question on which new show is the highest rated would have to be the show highlighted in green ---

1 Dancing with the Stars 21.29M
2 NCIS 19.41M
3 Dancing with the Stars 9pm 18.52M
4 NCIS: Los Angeles 15.76M
5 The Mentalist 15.50M
6 CSI 14.69M
7 Two and a Half Men 14.63M
8 Grey’s Anatomy 14.32M
9 Hawaii Five-0 14.20M
10 Criminal Minds 14.13M
11 Big Bang Theory 14.04M
12 Blue Bloods 12.81M
13 Modern Family 12.67M
14 $#*! My Dad Says 12.58M
15 Glee 12.45M
16 Mike & Molly 12.23M
17 The Defenders 12.17M
18 The Event 10.88M
19 Castle 10.70M
20 House 10.69M
21 CSI: NY 10.28M
22 Law & Order: SVU 10.08M
23 Bones 9.89M
24 Detroit 187 9.34M
25 Private Practice 8.83M
26 The Middle 8.80M
27 How I Met Your Mother 8.79M
28 Undercovers 8.70M
29 The Office 8.48M
30 Rules of Engagement 8.35M
31 Cougar Town 8.32M
32 Dateline NBC 7.94M
33 Betty With You 7.86M
34 Outsourced 7.49M
35 Chase 7.31M
36 Raising Hope 7.31M
37 Hell’s Kitchen 7.17M
38 Medium 6.12M
39 30 Rock 5.91M
40 Chuck 5.79M
41 Fringe 5.73M
42 Running Wilde 5.60M
43 My Generation 5.17M
44 Community 5.00M
45 Outlaw 4.99M
46 The Whole Truth 4.85M
47 Boardwalk Empire 4.81M
48 Lone Star 4.10M
49 Smallville 2.90M
50 The Good Guys 2.90M
51 Supernatural 2.79M

Source is Nielsen's.

TV Premiere Report Card

TV has been so crazy this past week, with premieres rolling out five million at a time in one day (well okay, more like four million!).  I was already sleep deprived to begin with. Having to watch all these new shows and returning shows made me lose more sleep.

It is not going to be like this for long, I hope.  There's a reason why I needed to check out all those premieres. It's to figure out which ones I'd keep on my watch list.

Unfortunately, a lot of these shows have really been so entertaining.  It's going to be a few more weeks before I decide which ones to drop.

Here's a report card, sort of. The ones in highlight are links to actual review/reaction of what I thought of the shows. Please click to read.

• Nikita
• Hellcats
• Boardwalk Empire
• Terriers
• Outlaw
• Lone Star
• The Event
• Better With You
• The Whole Truth 
• Blue Bloods
• The Chase

And here's the rest:

• Mike & Molly - this comedy starring fat people is cute but it's not something I would keep tabs week after week.
• Hawaii Five-O - AWESOME series premiere. Stars Alex O' Loughlin from Moonlight. Finally, he's got a keeper on his file.
• Raising Hope - Promising series. I think this is going to be the break-out show of the season. It's about middle class Americans and a single dad trying to raise his baby.
• Running Wilde - Disappointing, considering it stars some good actors - Will Arnett, David Cross and Keri Russell. Might have to watch another episode to really know if I'm going to watch this for long term. Will's a rich, rich dude. Keri's his old love. Bored already?
• Undercovers - A J.J. Abrams production. Quite uneven. Although yeah, it had some excitement and the actors are likeable. Worthy of another round of watching. There are hints Tom Cruise could be guest starring....which I think is just a rumor.
• My Generation - I could not understand this show. It was trying to be different and I was prepared to warm up to it but....I could not understand what it wants to become.
• Outsource - It has potential. Although I would imagine the call-center jokes and the racist jokes about India would dry out pretty quickly.
• Shit My Dad Says - also disappointing considering the Twitter account from which it's based from is hilarious. I'd watch it again though, to see if it improves.
  
• The Defenders - NO. Just no. I'm not watching this again. It stars James Belushi, Jerry O'Connell and one actress I really admire, Natalie Zea. Sadly, the characters are unlikable and this lawyer series has nothing new to give viewers.
• Detroit 187 - could not hold my interest. Some parts are intense but it just doesn't do it for me. Will give it a few more shots and then who knows?

First Thoughts: The Chase

Kellie Giddish on The Chase

The Chase is one of the new series under Jerry Bruckheimer's production that are now dominating cop and lawyer shows on television. The premise of this program is a lot similar to movies like The Fugitive or US Marshalls, except that the Tommy Lee Jones' character is played by this one badass of a woman --- Kellie Giddish.

I wasn't impressed by the way the story is done. I'm not impressed by its premise. Basically, it's just 45 minutes of cops running after criminals and the thing you have to find out in the end is whether or not the criminal is caught or gets away with it.

I wasn't impressed by its actors either (which has Amaury Nolasco from Prison Break, by the way).  I have no interest in knowing who the rest are, because I think this is something I won't be watching again.

I was mighty impressed, however, by how fearless Giddish is. If only we can have a show where she jumps off bridges and runs after the bad guys....and that would be it. I think I'd find that a lot more entertaining.

I guess, what I'm trying to say, in a nutshell, is this --- "Woman, you so fierce. But damn, your show is bad!"

First Thoughts: Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods

Because I had been reading raves about this program and because on a Friday night, it earned a solid 12M or so when it premiered, I had high expectations this show was going to wow me. I probably shouldn't have watched it with so much anticipation. Because it fell short of what I was hoping to get from the series.

I was expecting something like The Whole Truth, where,  as a viewer, I was treated to a familiar setting (law series) but was offered something different (you can read about that here).

The only thing that sets Blue Bloods apart from all the other cop shows already on TV is that the men in the family are cops and the females are lawyers (including the daughter in law).

The rest of the show is not as remarkable as I would have hoped. There was something contrived about the way the story played out.  Such as, solving the case of the week involved getting clues  from a prototype doll, where there are only 3 in existence in the whole world. What are the chances that these prototypes are all in the hands of New Yorkers, huh?

The series stars Tom Selleck  (who returns to TV after decades) as the police commissioner, Donnie Walberg as his detective cop/son, Bridget Moynahan as his DA/daughter, Will Eates as his other son who is also a cop and married to an associate lawyer. They also have a grandfather, Tom Selleck's character's dad, who is a retired cop.  They are the Reagans and they all serve the great city of New York.

I won't consider dropping this show from my list, just yet. Only because there's nothing else to watch the night Blue Bloods is on.

Ratings Game: Big Bang Theory Exploded on TV Last Night

Big Bang Theory Cast and Creators

Moving The Big Bang Theory from its Monday schedule to Thursday was in fact a smart choice as the networks have seen now. The series, now on it's third season, dominated the night and even helped pull newcomer, $#*! My Dad Says.

Community couldn't match up to BBT. I happen to like both series and its cases like this that makes me glad I could watch and enjoy these shows separately, without having to flip through channels.

Justin Beiber's acting debut did nothing to pick up CSI. It's really not the same without Grissom.

Elsewhere, new show Outsource did pretty decently while the other newcomer for the night, My Generation, lost. Yeah, I did not get that show, too.

8 p.m.

CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" season premiere (13.95 million viewers, 8.3/14 households)/"$#*! My Dad Says" series premiere (12.5 million, 7.5/12)
FOX: "Bones" season premiere (9.8 million, 6.0/10)
NBC: "Community" season premiere (5 million, 3.1/5)/"30 Rock" season premiere (5.85 million, 3.5/6)
ABC: "My Generation" series premiere (5.4 million, 3.3/6)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" (3.6 million, 2.2/4)

9 p.m.

CBS: "CSI" season premiere (14.6 million, 8.9/14)
ABC: "Grey's Anatomy" season premiere (14 million, 8.9/14)
NBC: "The Office" season premiere (8.4 million, 4.8/8)/"Outsourced" season premiere (7.4 million, 4.3/7)
FOX: "Fringe" season premiere (5.8 million, 3.5/5)
The CW: "Nikita" (3.2 million, 2.0/3)

10 p.m.

CBS: "The Mentalist" season premiere (15.3 million, 9.5/17)
ABC: "Private Practice" season premiere (9 million, 6.1/11)
NBC: "The Apprentice" (3.85 million, 2.6/4)

This data is from Zap2it.

First Thoughts: The Whole Truth

The Whole Truth

While The Whole Truth may just be another legal drama, amidst the gazillion legal dramas already on TV, Jerry Bruckheimer and company found a way to present this in a refreshing manner. It may be typically a procedural but there's something unique about the way the story is told, episode after episode. Knowing no prior information about the show, I was actually pleased with the way it was structured. It cannot be dismissed as just another lawyer series.

The Whole Truth presents both sides of the story --- the prosecutor's and the defendant's. It shows the process by which lawyers do their jobs. And at the end of the series, it shows us what actually happened, whether the criminal was indeed guilty or not.

I just wish though, that Rob Morrow, would tone done his own execution. Who was he trying to be? Tommy Lee Jones?

The series also stars Maura Tierney, who had to take a break from TV for a while, after her cancer scare.  It's good to know she's in the pink of health and is working again.

Did you catch The Whole Truth? Check it out if you didn't.

Ratings Game: Modern Family & The Defenders Win

Phil & Claire Dunphy, Modern Family

I have yet to watch The Defenders today but it looks like it has performed better than expected when it debuted its pilot episode, earning good numbers with 12M viewers. Modern Family benefits from its Emmy win and opened with a series high of 12.6M.

New show Undercovers did okay, but may need to improve. Given the hype around it, its 8.6M should have been way up. Better Than You fared well, too, given that it was hardly even promoted by its network.

Hellcats has been steadily growing. It does belong where it belongs. If only Life Unexpected from yesterday's line up could grow in the same way.

Losers of the night were Cougar Town and the other legal drama up against The Defender, which is The Whole Truth. It joins Lone Star on death watch.

8 p.m.

CBS: "Survivor: Nicaragua" (12.5 million viewers, 7.0/12 households)
NBC: "Undercovers" series premiere (8.6 million, 5.5/9)
ABC: "The Middle" season premiere (8.8 million, 5.2/9)/"Better With You" series premiere (8 million, 4.8/8)
FOX: "Hell's Kitchen" season premiere (5.95 million, 3.4/6)
The CW: "America's Next Top Model" (2.8 million, 1.8/3)

9 p.m.

CBS: "Criminal Minds" season premiere (14.1 million, 8.5/14)
ABC: "Modern Family" season premiere (12.6 million, 7.4/12)/"Cougar Town" season premiere (8.35 million, 5.2/8)
NBC: "Law & Order: SVU" season premiere (9.7 million, 6.2/10)
FOX: "Hell's Kitchen" (7.2 million, 4.0/6)
The CW: "Hellcats" (2.3 million, 1.4/2)

10 p.m.

CBS: "The Defenders" series premiere (12.1 million, 7.6/13)
NBC: "Law & Order: SVU" season premiere (10.4 million, 6.7/12)
ABC: "The Whole Truth" series premiere (4.9 million, 3.3/6)

The figures are from Zap2it.

Better With You is Actually A Lot Better Than You Thought!

Better With You Cast

I had no expectations whatsoever for this new comedy series, Better With You. I was fully prepared to treat is as something I could watch now and then, if I happen to remember. But, as it turns out? It was a good way to spend an easy 22 minutes. I had fun watching, thank you very much!

The series, which is created by Shana Goldberg-Meehan who previously worked on Friends, is about couples and relationships.

Here we have three of those at different stages of coupling:

• Maddie and Ben, high school sweethearts, have been together for nine years. They haven't gotten married but believes their union is a "valid life-choice".
• Mia and Casey only met less than two months ago and they surprise Maddie and Ben by announcing they are getting married/pregnant.
• Maddie and Mia are sisters. Maddie's a lot successful and Mia looks up to her. Ben's a nice, successful chap himself, much like Friend's Ross or Chandler; while Casey would have to be, uhm...early season Joey.
• The girls' parents have been married over 30 years and they're both real characters. They make fun of the fact that Maddie's made her "valid life-choice"; and they aren't bothered by the other fact that their youngest daughter, is rushing into marriage, when they are going to be grandparents.

I think I've given away too much of the story. But you ought to still watch it. Because there's a few worthy laughs and a couple of teary moments between sisters, too.  Also,  I didn't find any of the characters annoying (except there's a laugh track! Darn laugh track!)

I don't have any high hopes for this one, though. There's nothing ground breaking about this show. But then again, there's nothing groundbreaking about Two and A Half Men either....and look where it got them. I don't know who is watching that show (I don't. I don't anybody else who does, either!) but it's still on, and it's even a top-rater.  So maybe Better With You will be this season's surprise. Who knows?

Ratings Game: No Surprise, Glee Wins Tuesday Nights

Raising Hope

Last year's top new program, Glee, is expected to do well with its return, especially since all summer long, the show hasn't been really out of the radar. I've said this once before --- it's like every week, I get to read a news blurb about Glee or its stars, while the series is supposedly in hiatus. Guess that marketing pulled off. Glee's second season succeeds and earns with their biggest rating ever. That's even without American Idol to carry the show along.

As for the rest of the program, new comer, Raising Hope, had promising results. The show is worth checking out, indeed. Last year's most watched program, NCIS, did alright too. But I am not happy for Life Unexpected.....tick, tock, tick, tock!

This data is from Zap2it.

8 p.m.

CBS: "NCIS" season premiere (18.9 million viewers, 11.5/18 households)
FOX: "Glee" season premiere (12.3 million, 6.9/11)
ABC: "Dancing With the Stars" recap special (12 million, 7.8/12)
NBC: "The Biggest Loser" season premiere (6.6 million, 3.9/6)
The CW: "One Tree Hill" (1.9 million, 1.3/2)

9 p.m.

ABC: "Dancing With the Stars" results (18.3 million, 11.5/18)
CBS: "NCIS: Los Angeles" season premiere (15.7 million, 9.6/15)
NBC: "The Biggest Loser" season premiere (7.7 million, 4.4/7)
FOX: "Raising Hope" series premiere (7.5 million, 4.5/7)/"Running Wilde" series premiere (5.9 million, 3.4/5)
The CW: "Life Unexpected" (1.5 million, 1.0/2)

10 p.m.

CBS: "NCIS: Los Angeles" season premiere (13.6 million, 8.5/14)
ABC: "Detroit 1-8-7" series premiere (9.75 million, 6.5/11)
NBC: "Parenthood" (5.9 million, 3.8/6)

Locke & Ben Linus Reuniting!

Lost fans would be ecstatic to know this project is underway and has been picked up.

From NY Mag.

What's Wrong With Lone Star?

I've mentioned this twice yesterday: Lone Star is in danger of being cancelled after an abysmal season premiere rating. And it only happens to be the one show where I was totally impressed by the pilot.

Lone Star

There is nothing wrong with the show, I'd like to think. The critics have loved it and have been raving about it. The plot line is common but the conflict is very real. An average person can relate to it. Who hasn't been scammed, fooled or made to believe in something that's not really true?

There is nothing wrong with its actors. Even newcomer on Primetime TV, James Wolk, is impressive. Not only blessed with good looks, the kid is believable. I like the twisted dynamics of his character's relationship with his father. Robert/Bob (James Wolk) grew up trained by his Dad to con people. His father tells him he is the best at what he does, a natural. That's like having a dad shower you praises...for stealing and lying.

At a crossroads, Bob realizes he wants to set his life right. Because he is in love. With his second wife, who he lives with in another town and is a plane ride away from his first wife. To set things right and to avoid having all his lies spill over, Bob uses his first wife's company, to correct a con he and his father organized in his second wife's hometown.

His father thinks the best plan is for him to bail and start all over somewhere else. But in Bob's mind, he's got a good plan of sticking this through and sticking with the girl he loves. And this is what we have to watch unfold. How long is Bob going to keep things a secret? How far will he go to set things straight with his second wife, but ruining his credibility, and his life, with his first? How much of his father's influence will affect the way he unravels his plans?

Young people will not be driven to watch this, I'd have to say. It's serious. It's life.

And since Lone Star is on Fox, whose audience is composed of teenagers voting on American Idol or gushing over Glee's stars, this is probably where Lone Star got it wrong. Fox's viewers don't want a serious show that's almost true-to-life, right?

It probably is going to do better, ratings-wise, in another network. Or on cable.

Fun fact: Lone Star is created by Kyle Killen. And this is his FIRST show ever, with no prior credentials as writer or producer. You can check his IMDb profile.

HIMYM Robin Screen Cap

"She just went through a break-up....with hygiene"
~ Barney Stinson

First Thoughts: The Event

On The Event, in last night's premiere. Sean (played by Jason Ritter) asked his girlfriend, Leila, this:

Boyfriend: How's the water?

And she told him how great it was. Which meant, she took a dip and swam, right? To say how great it was, she wouldn't just be standing in the water?

Because, she came out of it looking this awesome:

Her hair's not even wet!!! Maybe she walked over water?  Or just waded through and from it. Of course, this observation has nothing to do with the actual program. I only pointed it out because...there was nothing else to nitpick about The Event.

Not to say that it was great. I wouldn't want to be too quick to declare this. Especially not after Flashforward last season (which started out with a lot of promise but didn't really deliver).

But I sat there enjoying the series, that I think I applauded more than once. I like the disorder, that it didn't follow the proper sequence of telling a story. It was not easy to tell where was the beginning, the middle or the end, without the subheadings. I like the suspense. I like the mystery of whatever is behind the conspiracy.

Somewhere in the middle of The Event, I was beginning to hope Jack Bauer would miraculously appear.  It was frustrating to watch Sean trying to "stop a terrorist" on the plane. And just as I was about to tell myself this was like 24 all over again....that plane zapped and disappeared in mid-air, leaving me with my mouth open.

What exactly was that and what's the big Event?

My hope for this series is that we get the answers as soon as possible. My hope is that we don't get thrown in a loop because I think it will have to take a decade before anyone who has seen Lost to ever really get over Lost. I know many writers are aspiring to do "the next Lost". But let's face it, there's only one like that series. So, the rest of you have to come up with something more clever to keep the viewers intrigued.

I AM OUTRAGED!!! How can viewers be so stupid?!

It says here, despite critical acclaim, Lone Star is facing cancellation. Oh, TV, how cruel can you get?! I'm just starting to enjoy you again and you do this to me!!!!! Haha, I'm taking it so personal. It's because of the five, six, seven (I lost count!) new shows I've already watched, this was my #1 pick!

This screen shot is taken here.

Ratings Game: WTH? Why didn't you love Lone Star????

I was gonna start blogging about how TV made me crazy yesterday but the first thing I did waking up was to immediately seek ratings results and discovered that Lone Star was probably the biggest loser last night.

WTH, America? This beautiful, charming face couldn't convince you to sit still and watch television for 45 minutes?

James Wolk on Lone Star. *sigh* 

Bristol Palin

Lone Star earned 4M viewers with a demo rating of 1.3 Million. That's cable standard-ratings and that's not good for a network show. Furthermore, it could not sustain the viewers watching House before that. 68% drop. Disappointing. Early reviews have said this show was gonna be great, did none of you get the memo on that?

Meanwhile, Dancing With The Stars' two-hour show went for a record breaking 21M viewers, especially since Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, is on it. That's where America was tuned in. Crap!

Other winners of the night were new shows like The Event, this Lost Meets 24 show and the Hawaii Five-O reboot, which I liked, surprisingly. Third time's the charm for Alex O' Loughlin, huh?

House returns to its seventh season with 7M drop, Castle comes back for its third season and did considerably well.

And here's the rest of the data (via Zap2it):

8PM
ABC: "Dancing With the Stars" season premiere (20.1 million viewers, 12.8/20 households)
FOX: "House" season premiere (10.5 million, 6.1/9)
CBS: "How I Met Your Mother" season premiere (8.8 million, 5.3/8)/"Rules of Engagement" season premiere (8.3 million, 5.1/8)
NBC: "Chuck" season premiere (6.1 million, 3.5/5)
The CW: "90210" (2.15 million, 1.4/2)

9PM
ABC: "Dancing With the Stars" season premiere (21.9 million, 13.9/21)
CBS: "Two and a Half Men" season premiere (14.5 million, 8.9/13)/"Mike & Molly" series premiere (12.2 million, 7.6/11)
NBC: "The Event" series premiere (11.2 million, 6.8/10)
FOX: "Lone Star" series premiere (4.1 million, 2.5/4)
The CW: "Gossip Girl" (1.9 million, 1.2/2)

10PM
CBS: "Hawaii Five-0" series premiere (13.8 million, 8.6/14)
ABC: "Castle" season premiere (11.2 million, 7.2/12)
NBC: "Chase" series premiere (7.9 million, 5.0/8)

Will be blogging more about these shows later. I have got to get some more sleep. Watching six hours of TV last night, and having to actually wake up this early the following morning (coz you know...life!)? Not a good way to start the day. I'mma recharge, get to real work first, feed my family, clean house and come back to blab about why I've fallen in love with TV all over again. (LAST. NIGHT. ROCKED!!!)

Boardwalk Empire Pilot

Boardwalk Empire

An $18 Million production budget,  with Academy Award Winning Director, Martin Scorsese doing the almost 2-hour pilot episode, for Emmy Award Winning Writer, Terence Winter's series creation --- Boardwalk Empire is expectedly a series of high calibre. It matters little whether it does well with ratings, in spite of its ambitious budget. For this is on HBO (cable), and they don't normally compete in that aspect. They do compete with awards. With a team like that, I guess awards should be expected when the Emmy's roll next year.

The pilot episode, which premiered the other day, starts off slow but it's hardly disappointing. You don't see everything happening in the pilot, anyway. The series showed me enough to make me want to watch it again in the weeks that will follow.

It's unsettling to imagine Steve Buscemi in the title role because I think that he works better as supporting to the lead character.  He does alright, being central to the story.  As Nucky, the city's treasurer who runs an illegal ring of liquor smugglers, he carries the show quite well.

But I think I will like the layers to this Jimmy Damody character even better.  The pilot episode suggests Jimmy as going over to the dark side. I predict that as the show progresses, Jimmy, who serves as Nucky's driver and boy friday, will become his ultimate competition, his biggest headache.

I have this fascination for mobs, gangsters and organized crimes, as depicted on films and TV because they're such interesting human studies. They have this inner conflict, this weakness to be evil even when they may have this innate goodness in them.  I find it interesting that they can do stuff above the law and then justify the act because it gratifies and benefits someone (e.g. killing a battered woman's abusive husband as it was in Boardwalk Empire). This is the kind of conflict we will see a lot on this show.

Boardwalk Empire is touted as one of this season's best. I can't argue with that. It's been satisfactory, so far.

NBC's Outlaw Should be Outlawed

* Wow, something went wrong with my blog and it deleted this whole entry! Here is what's left of what I've salvaged. From memory!!!*

I shouldn't be blogging about this one.

I shouldn't be wasting space.

But someone out there must be told that when you watch Outlaw, this new lawyer series from NBC, you would have spent one hour of your life super unproductively. And like they always say --- that's one hour of your life you cannot take back.

Jimmy Smits plays Supreme Court Justice Cyrus Garza on Outlaw 

For a show that puts a Supreme Court Justice (played by Jimmy Smits) front and center, as its main character, as its lead...the writers couldn't bring any justice to the story revolving around him. The dialogue alone is painful to watch. The characters are unlikable, which is a shame because Jesse Bradford, who we loved in King of the Hill, is in its cast.

Acting is terrible, even with Smits and Bradford present.  And the worst one of the bunch was this girl:

Carly Pope as the annoying Lucinda Pearl

She is this hacker something of a dudette who works for the Justice to...well, hack and thoroughly investigate cases. Her character is so much like Kalinda on The Good Wife, or may, in fact, be really imitating her, down to the clothes and the attitude.

The thing was, Lucinda did not fail to make it known to people that her character is great at what she does (hacking) and that she's weird but also very cool. She's so much more cooler than anyone else within the 100 mile radius. Words to that effect come out of her mouth each time she has a line. Though it isn't totally Carly Pope's fault. Writing is just really, really, really bad.

I couldn't finish watching the pilot for Outlaw. And going by way of other opinions by critics, it seems my dislike for it isn't only limited to me.

This is one show you can immediately judge by its content...even if you are not a judge (haha!).

And so the verdict is? Don't watch Outlaw. You're better off spending an hour with Hellcats. At least the cheer dance routines are entertaining.

TV Quick Thoughts: 2nd Episodes from Hellcats, Nikita & Covert Affairs' Season Finale

Second episode down and I've decided it's pointless to pursue watching Hellcats. I just don't get it. This officially seals it then --- I'm old and uncool. Or Hellcats is really what it is --- contrived and shallow, with every character annoying me.

On the other hand, Nikita's second episode improves with better storytelling. Alex getting activated very early into her training was a bonus. Like I said in a previous entry, this show is as much about Alex as it is about Nikita. Although I get the feeling that while they are allies for now, Alex will become Nikita's nemesis later on. And what an awesome conflict that will bring!

Nikita's 2nd Episode is action-packed with a solid storyline.

Covert Affairs' short summer run ends with a cliffhanger. Ben Mercer comes forward to the CIA and is sent on a mission. He unfortunately is shot at the end of the episode, and it will be another few months before we know whether he lives or not.

Annie Walker and Ben Mercer on Covert Affairs

The series hasn't lived up to expectations because Covert Affairs is a lot like....Skipper trying to become Barbie Doll, you know? It's a crazy analogy but that's the closest way I can best describe the series. Covert Affairs is like Alias' little sister, who is trying to become like its big sister, but fails at it big time. It's fun to watch but I think it needs to find its identity.

And I couldn't care less if Ben Mercer lives or dies...because eventually? Annie's going to go back to doing lame assignments with the CIA and he will have to disappear again.

But you know what Ben Mercer should do? Move on to Rubicon. I think the actor playing him, Eion Bailey, would be a perfect fit for that kind of a series. As it is, I have stopped watching Rubicon because, as much as it should be an intellectual program, it's boooooooooring to death. James Badge Dale could not hold my interest. Something about him just doesn't read: deep and smart. But if they put Eion Bailey in there, then maybe I will watch again. I've seen Eion Bailey play the intellectual Harvard-type and he was very, very sexy as one. As a deflecting CIA agent on Covert Affairs though? Not so sexy!

Anyway... so that's what I've been watching today.

You?

Life Unexpected: Burning Questions for Season 2's Premiere

Life Unexpected Season 2 

Creator of Life Unexpected, Liz Tagelaar, had said in one interview that some of the conflicts that were introduced when her series returned for its second season,  were choices from the network. She didn't exactly agree with them.  But since these were orders from the bosses, she had to change the story and direction of  the how to accommodate the boss' wishes.

Thus, while I enjoyed the fact that LUx is back on air and had earned a second season (after its status was in the bubble for a while), last night's premiere felt like the show missed its step.

Like....

• Who are all those new people? Where are Alice and Tasha? And why does Ryan suddenly have something cooking behind Cate's back?
• Baze and Cate...that's never going to be over huh? Because when it's over, where's the conflict going to lie?
• Lux meeting this new guy who turns out to be a teacher at her school? Did I not already see that last summer on Pretty Little Liars? 
• And what's the likelihood of Paige, Baze's one night stand, becoming Ryan's sister? Where in the world can that happen? Only in a TV program where network bosses say --- "Let's cook something up, and make everyone go crazy!"
• Why is everyone making bad decisions after bad decisions?

It sounds as though I was disappointed by the premiere. I wasn't. For all these questions, Life Unexpected at least kept the best part --- the heart; where there so much more to this one.

I guess the 180 degree changes...were, well, unexpected.

Maybe in the next episode following, it will get its footing back on track.

Hopefully.

Prince of Tides TV Series in the Works

Could not remember if I had seen the movie back then...but it would be interesting to see who will star in the TV show.

I got this from THR.

Ratings Game: Rizzoli & Isles does a First on Cable TV!

Dear TNT,

It's me again! I just read this today and I want to pass it along to you...(like you wouldn't already know, huh?)

You have a hit series under your wing as this report below shows it. Would it really be a good idea to delay it's second season for a year????????????????

This screen cap is from EW.

Rizzoli & Isles Season 1 Ends With a BANG!

WOW!

It's all I can say for Rizzoli & Isles' first season ender. I was *immensely* satisfied.

I have to admit that as a whole, the show's writing is pretty uneven. But the chemistry between Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander more than makes up for its flaws.

I so love these girls! And they obviously love each other, for real.

Dear TNT,

Thank you for bring a fantastic women-centric program on television. But can you please bring them back sooner than July 2011 for Season 2?

Huge fan,
M

True Lies To Become a TV Series

Screen cap is from Deadline Hollywood.

I've only got one word to say to this: Undercovers. (Watch the sneak peek of Undercovers here)

Ratings Game: Nikita Kicked Butt (in a sexy red monokini to boot!)

Nikita, aiming for the kill, wearing her red hot monokini.

Despite being pitted against an opening for the NFL games, Nikita's pilot episode did considerably well, making its debut one of the largest for The CW since January of last year. Ratings also showed that Nikita was able to retain viewership for the whole hour, meaning, not a few people switched channels or dropped the show in the middle of it.

Nikita's numbers: 3.6Million, 1.4Million in its target demographics.

Nikita is the first "girlie" show on The CW that doesn't revolve around high school culture or worldly trends (I'm talking about Gossip Girl, 90210, Melrose Place). In a way, it was an oddball fit for the network.

Things should get interesting later this month, when it goes up against season premieres of shows from the bigger networks.

Surprises on Nikita

Maggie Q & Lyndsy Fonseca in The CW's Nikita

In trying to remain spoiler free this season, I also managed to miss the fact that Lyndsy Fonseca is in the cast of Nikita. Oh, sure...she may have been in the teasers and the previews, but it didn't occur to me to dig deeper and find out why she's in the cast and more importantly --- where the heck have I seen this girl before again?

So, it did come as a surprise to me to find her all grown up, playing the role of a character who will potentially become another bad-ass in this series. Just like Maggie Q's Nikita.

It's a huge surprise because... why she is familiar only registered to me after watching the pilot episode a couple of hours ago.

This is the girl that sat on this famous couch, in this famous living room, waiting to hear how her dad met her mother. Remember her?

Lyndy Fonseca on How I Met Your Mother

Had I known what a very, very important character she plays on Nikita, beforehand, I would have done all I can to follow her interviews and promos. Then again, if I did all that? I wouldn't have such a surprising, delighted reaction after watching the pilot episode. I would have ruined the big twist for me.

So, on hindsight...I guess it was better I didn't know too much about the show.

What I do know now is that I'm going to watch for more of Nikita, because of this girl and her character, Alex.

The promos were banking on Maggie Q as its X-factor. While she does well in this series, I'm gonna go with Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca) and bet she will make a significant impact, too.

For the many times that Nikita's story has been done (as a French series, or that 90's American series, or the movie starring Bridget Fonda).... this particular production actually has something fresh to offer. Which I can't say, because it's going to ruin the surprise for those who have yet to watch it.

But do know this:  there is a big, exciting twist at the end. It's nicely put together to make viewers, like me, come back for more. (And if you've already seen the pilot, come back to this post and let's talk about it!)

As for the rest of the show...

• I'm a little bit turned off by the way part of the plot was told because Nikita had to spoon-feed some of it,  as in narrate what happened to her, to the viewers, through her foster parent. Which made it a bit awkward. Bad, bad writing.
• I'm a little bit turned off by some of the actors and I can't put my finger on why yet. There's this cheese-ball factor to them, that I have a hard time buying they are dangerous men.
• I have issues with Maggie Q's sex appeal. LOL. My gad! The woman is stick thin but she is so, so hot! How can that be?
• "Division" is revived. Division supposedly died with Jack Bauer. But apparently, people are still working for Division.
• And lastly....(SPOILER) if Division is so good at finding out all of their agents' secrets, past and present, how can they not trace the connection between Nikita and Alex? Or....what did Nikita and Alex do to hide this from anyone ever finding out?

Ratings Game: Cats win, Dogs lose!

Hellcats on The CW

I didn't want to say anything about ratings after writing my entry for Hellcats and Terriers  coz I didn't want to jinx it. Anytime I say out loud that I think I can guess what's going to happen --- the opposite happens. But anytime I keep to myself, it always comes true. (By the way, this "rule" applies to almost anything in my life!)

So last night, I got this feeling Hellcats was going to debut strong compared to Terriers, though I didn't want to comment, lest I jinx this again...and then lose credibility points.

But the numbers are out. And since I kept my prediction to myself --- I got it right.

Hellcats debuted to solid numbers: 3M viewers, 1.4M in the 18-34 demo, 1.2M in the 18-49 demo. These are okay numbers for a new show on The CW. In fact, this is more than okay, as the series delivered one of its strongest debuts of any show (on that network) to date. Of course, if these numbers were on NBC, CBS or any of the other bigger networks, this would be pretty bad.

Terriers, on the other hand, only drew 1.6M.  It's on CableTV (FX), which viewers have to subscribe to. But compared to other debuts on cable television, this is not a good start.

Both these shows were heavily marketed with tons of promos, spins and campaigns. Yet only Hellcats managed to reap something out of these marketing push. Which is actually true. I didn't know about Terriers until a month before it was going to start airing. But Hellcats has been something I've heard of since April.

FX is beefing up marketing by re-airing the series premiere of Terriers, Tuesday.

Nikita Series Premiere Tonight on The CW

Maggi Q as Nikita

Nikita, the story of a rogue assassin out to seek vengeance, is going to have its series premiere this Thursday (Friday in my region). I definitely don't want to miss this gorgeous lady kicking butts or butting heads (or doing both!) tonight.

This is a concept that has been done many times over, in both film and television. But what makes this Nikita particularly different? Early reviews are saying Maggie Q's strong screen presence should pull viewers in.

Here's a three and a half minute preview to whet your viewing appetite:

Cats Vs. Dogs? Dogs Always Win! (Or Why I enjoyed watching Terriers over Hellcats]

Terriers on FX

Cats and Dogs. Huh. I didn't realize this till I was about to blog about these two new shows, Hellcats and Terriers.

And like cats and dogs, these shows are miles different. I don't imagine those who watched Hellcats would get Terriers, and those who watched Terriers could stay glued to Hellcats.

And because I love dogs better, Terriers is definitely way cooler. But if I had a 15 year old teenage girl with me, she'd most likely disagree and say those girls and their wild cheer moves are way cooler.

What I liked about Terriers? Clever, clever writing. Though that was expected. This show is from the guys who created The Shield and Ocean's 11, anyway... they actually know what they are doing. What I didn't expect? That this show was gonna be funny! Donal Logue and Michael Raymond James play unlicensed private investigators and their repartees and exchanges are so witty. Plus, with interesting character stories (such as Donal's newly divorced character, Hank, who still pretty much pines for his ex-wife),  this show is going to have so many layers to it.

I'm looking forward to each of the layers peeling off.

Hellcats, on the other hand, was fun for the first ten minutes. You would pretty much get the gist of the story when there's an underdog trying to prove herself to the mean girls. And while I appreciate a good showmance, none that I saw from this pilot actually impressed me. Not even when the lead character, Marti, went crazy and did her own routine. If anything, I wanted to throw my pillow at the TV set,  at these girls jumping and gyrating. Plus, Marti resembled Christina Aguilera. Slut!

I'm not sure I'm tuning to the second episode.

Did you watch the premieres of Hellcats and Terriers? What did you think of it?

Photos of Jennifer Aniston in Cougar Town

Former Friends co-star and real life best friends, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, are reuniting on Cougar Town. Jen will appear on the season premiere of the show's sophomore year. And her character could be recurring, according to its show creator.

The season premiere is Sept. 22nd.

Courteney Cox gets a visit from an old friend, Jennifer Aniston, on Cougar Town

Jen will play Jules' new shrink, and their characters will hit it off, making Ellie a
bit jealous of the closeness between these two. She becomes very involved with Jules' life.

Awww. BFF's 4ever. 

More photos can be seen here.