By Mike Frey

Last week the pickings were slim. This week reminds us of the season premiere of Saturday Night Live — musical performances are everywhere. And in this case it’s not because the show has nothing to offer aside from an accidental f-bomb and Megan Fox’s looks. (Seriously, U2. Three songs?) “The Rhodes Not Taken” offers up no less than four musical numbers, plus guest star Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies).

The first song of the episode is a joint performance by Rachel (Lea Michele) and April (Chenoweth) of “Maybe This Time” by Liza Minnelli from the 1972 film Cabaret. [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy, Fall Preview 2009 by Mike
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Tags: Carrie Underwood, FOX, Glee, Heart, Kristin Chenoweth, Liza Minnelli, Queen

By Jeff Pfeiffer

“I’ve been heavily approached about reality shows for the last couple of years,” Tyrese Gibson tells me at the start of our interview, “[but] I purposely stayed away from it. I don’t want to be a part of ‘baboon TV.’ I want to be a part of TV that’s really going to shed some light on some serious issues and really highlight the heroes of our generation.”

Deputy Chief Marcel Melanson of the Compton Fire Department

The singer/actor/model (and now digital comic-book creator) has found that opportunity. It’s the new reality series First In, premiering tonight on BET and airing Wednesdays, which Gibson co-executive produces and narrates. The show dramatically captures the daily lives of the firefighters and paramedics of the Compton Fire Department — both on the job and at home. The city of Compton, in south-central Los Angeles, has its own unique challenges for someone working as a first responder there. With a high concentration of gangs and related violence in the area, that may not only raise the number of potential victims that the department will have to assist — Gibson notes that the Compton department gets 10,000 ER calls per year, compared to most departments, which may have around 4,000 — but it can also put those very workers in danger themselves.

[Read more →]

Categories: Fall Preview 2009, Reality TV by RabbitEars
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Tags: BET, Compton, Compton Fire Department, Danny Salazar, firefighters, First In, first responders, Halvo, Jeff Pfeiffer, Jerome Goodall, Los Angeles, Marcel Melanson, paramedics, Shon Halverson, South Central, Tyrese Gibson, Watts

By Stacey Harrison

Credit: Prashant Gupta / FX

What starts out with good intentions leads to … well, where the road paved with good intentions often leads to. The club is running guns under the cover of a blood drive to the town of Eureka. Before takeoff, Jax tells Tara he loves her, and Tara suddenly realizes she’s arrived at the status of “old lady.” And she seems OK with it.

As the gang prepares to take off, we’re treated to the sight of Bobby’s beloved but decrepit Fat Boy bike, belching a cloud of smoke that would make Greenpeace take notice. Seems like a throwaway character detail, but it comes into play mightily later. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009 by sharrison76
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Tags: Charlie Hunnam, Eureka, FX, Katey Sagal, Neuticle, Recap, Ron Perlman, SAMCRO, Sons of Anarchy, Stacey Harrison

by haro1d

The plot thins on One Tree Hill. Last night’s episode was a bit of a filler (though for you Lucas/Peyton fans, they all feel that way now, right?), but it was filler with at least some purpose. It stood to reason that after Lucas and Peyton left the show, something dramatic would have to happen in the lives of Nathan, Haley and Jamie — it’s been way too happy in that household for way too long. Here’s the breakdown of events as they unfurled:

The opening montage: Haley is in the kitchen, looking at the photographic evidence — the ultrasound and the pics of Nathan at the party where he met the extortionist. We see Brooke running out of the house, telling Julian that she loves him. Over at Skills’ and Mouth’s pad, Skills gets out of bed, disrobes to get into the shower and, closing the bathroom door, screams at something Mouth obviously set up to freak him out. (Immediately planning his revenge, he asks himself who to turn to when it’s life or death — and he dials for Jamie Scott. Awww …) Just as Millie comes to Alex’s room to get her out of bed for the photo shoot she’s supposed to do, Alex stumbles into bed after a night out partying. Millie threatens her half-million-dollar fee, and Alex rises to the occasion … but is determined to be incredibly difficult all the way.

At work, Mouth’s editor tells him that a friend saw Nathan’s outburst at [Read more →]

Categories: Drama by haro1d
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Tags: Brooke Davis, Clay, Dan Scott, Haley, Jamie, Julian, Millie, Mouth, Nathan, One Tree Hill, OTH, Rachel, Skills, The CW

Ellsworth and Emery Kolb photographing in the Grand Canyon

By Jeff Pfeiffer

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea continues tonight on PBS with the third episode, “The Empire of Grandeur (1915-19).”

Though this episode chronicles only a short period of time, it is a very critical time in the history of the national parks. As the episode begins, the nation has a dozen national parks, but they are haphazardly organized, and under the supervision of different federal agencies. Before he passed, John Muir had suggested an overseeing body to manage the parks. After the failure to protect the Hetch Hetchy valley, conservation groups pick up on Muir’s idea and push the government to establish one unified national parks agency. And, in 1916, the National Park Service is established.

[Read more →]

Categories: Documentary, Fall Preview 2009 by RabbitEars
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Tags: Acadia National Park, Ellsworth Kolb, Emery Kolb, episode three, George Dorr, Grand Canyon National Park, Horace Albright, Jeff Pfeiffer, John D. Rockefeller, Ken Burns, National Park Service, PBS, Ralph Henry Cameron, Rocky Mountain National Park, Stephen Mather, The Empire of Grandeur, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, Zion National Park

By Lori Acken

Looks like Papa Gosselin is about to get his much-vocalized wish for more time [to party it up] away from the watchful eyes and lenses of TLC film crews … but possibly with much less cash in the bargain.

TLC announced today that — no doubt in light of the show’s plunging ratings and Jon’s escalating affection for the lifestyle of an indulged frat boy — it will relaunch Jon & Kate Plus 8 in November minus its prodigal patriarch.

According to the network, the newly named Kate Plus 8 will “adapt to the changing Gosselin family” and “continue to capture the incredible lives of the eight Gosselin children and their family, but will now include a deeper focus on Kate’s role in the family and her journey as a single mother building the next chapter in her life.”

[Read more →]

Categories: Fall Preview 2009, Family, Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by buttonknows
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Tags: Button Knows, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Jon & Kate Plus Eight, jon and kate plus 8 announcement, Jon gosselin, Kate Gosselin, Kate Plus 8, Kate Plus Eight, Paula Deen, TLC

By Mike Frey

Synopsis: This episode tells the story of two blind dates taken by Ted seven years apart. Although it might as well have been one, since the dates were the same in every way: same restaurant, same conversation, same girl. Despite the familiarity, neither Ted nor his date Jen (played by guest star Lindsay Sloane, who we love) realize what’s going on until halfway through the evening. Once they realize that they’ve lapped the whole dating field, they decided to give each other insight that might help them avoid the dating mistakes that have kept them single since 2002. For instance, Ted makes bad jokes, points out spelling errors on menus and has a wandering eye (even if it only wants to sneak a peek at Mustache Marshall). Jen talks too much about her cats, doesn’t offer to pay the check and shares every detail about her ex-boyfriend except for the fact that he has a shockingly small wiener. Also, Ted doesn’t always call when he says he will. That’s only because he believes it’s worth waiting for a person who loves his quirks rather that trying to tolerate them. Jen agrees and, seven years later, they decide to part ways for the second time. [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy, Fall Preview 2009 by Mike
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Tags: Double Date, himym, How I Met Your Mother, Recap

Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir at Yosemite National Park, 1903

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Ken Burns’ wonderful miniseries The National Parks: America’s Best Idea continues on PBS tonight with episode two: “The Last Refuge (1890-1915).”

John Muir, who figured so prominently in last night’s premiere episode, as he figured so prominently in America’s story of conservation, is back tonight. As the episode’s title implies, it focuses a lot on how, at the dawn of the 20th century, people began thinking differently about the parks and conservation in general thanks to people like Muir. This thought turns more toward how not only the land can be set aside, but also toward how the wildlife on that land can also be saved. It is reflected in the stirrings of the conservation movement, with organizations such as the Sierra Club, led by Muir; the Audobon society, led by George Bird Grinnell; and the Boone and Crockett Club, led by Theodore Roosevelt, being formed. It is also reflected in the fight to set aside the Everglades as a protected area, to help save the wide variety of birds that thrive there, but which are being decimated to accommodate the fashion trend of the time of having bird feathers adorn ladies’ hats.

[Read more →]

Categories: Documentary by RabbitEars
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Tags: Hetch Hetchy valley, Jeff Pfeiffer, John Muir, Ken Burns, PBS, Sierra Club, The Last Refuge, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, Theodore Roosevelt, Yosemite

With little fanfare, this morning BET J relaunched as the new, 24-hour entertainment network Centric. The channel — a partnership between BET Networks and MTV Networks — features artists, music, series, movies and reality programming geared toward African-American and multicultural adults in the 25-54 year-old demographic.

Some highlights of what’s on Centric during its launch week:

[Read more →]

Categories: TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: BET J, Centric, Fame, Leading Men, Leading Women, Michael Jackson, MJ: Our Icon, rebrand, relaunch, Scott Mills, Soul Stage, Soul Train, Soul Train Awards

By Dizzy Miss Lizzy

An action chase opens the latest episode. A preppy man on a bicycle pedals frantically away from a sketchy car driven by gun-toting thugs. The chase leads to an alley where the man loses control of the bike. He sets off on foot, acrobatically leaping up a fire escape ladder, and makes it into his apartment, where he has just enough time to upload and email some kind of video before the thugs bust the door open and strangle him. A surprisingly intense and violent opening for Psych (Who directed this episode? Michael Bay!?), but it works.

The dead bicyclist, Diddle, was a college friend and former bandmate of Gus’s. Along with Tony (Jaleel White) and June (Kenan Thompson), they made up a college a cappella quartet called Blackapella. The group went through a bitter breakup years before, but Gus and the other two surviving members reunite briefly to sing a tribute at the funeral. Gus is tight-lipped about the reason for their estrangement, despite Shawn’s best efforts to get the truth out of him. [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy by Dizzy Miss Lizzy
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Tags: Blackapella, Dule Hill, Jaleel White, James Roday, Kenan Thompson, Psych, Spot the Pineapple, USA Network