Posted by RabbitEars

Some programs of note for you animal lovers:

Animal Witness — Animal Planet, Wednesdays beginning Sept. 3 at 9pm ET/PT. What if animals could testify to a crime? Thanks to dogged detective work and modern forensic science, they can. This new half-hour documentary series showcases amazing stories of animals helping investigators and forensic scientists solve high-stakes criminal cases. Each case unfolds through the unique perspective of the animal involved, whether it’s a cat, dog, bird, deer, or tiger. Keen-eyed detectives and scientists on the cutting edge of veterinary forensics will provide a voice for these powerful-but all too often silent-witnesses. The animals are ready to talk. Are we ready to listen? [Read more →]

Tags: Animal Planet, Animals, Dogs, Uncategorized by RabbitEars
No Comments »

Posted by johnnysweeptheleg

If you’re anything like me, then you have a penchant for ’80s movies and still re-live the moment you were kicked in the face by a kid doing something called a crane kick. But it also means you are eagerly awaiting the fall television season.

Lucky for us, Hulu and NBC are giving us the Hulu Fall Lineup. Beginning today, and running over the next seven weeks, Hulu will air many of NBC’s season premieres a week early online. For those who have been waiting decades for another Knight Rider, your wait just got diminished by a week. Life and Lipstick Jungle also premiere a week earlier.

Perhaps the show to benefit the most from this, however, is Chuck. NBC has high hopes for its sophomore season, even ordering an additional nine episodes after the network saw its first six completed shows (raising its season order from 13 to 22 episodes). Chuck fans can watch the season premiere a week early online, with its Hulu premiere beginning Sept. 22.

Still no word on whether or not NBC and Hulu will power up the Flux Capacitor to bring us advanced airings of Saturday Night Live. I’m going out on a limb here, and leaning towards no.

Tags: Chuck, Comedy, NBC, Preview, Uncategorized by johnnysweeptheleg
No Comments »

By Elaine B

First off, thanks to my brilliant DVR for catching this week’s episode at 2am Saturday when our local station decided to air it, since it had been cut for an NFL pregame. This is not odd. This is not indicative of the show’s future, but other things are.

What is of greater concern for fans hoping for a Season 2 is that the storylines are moving toward resolution – and quite nicely – making it unclear what would be left for next year.

And once again, the nicest and best-grounded couple on the show are Tom and Trina, whose advice to Susan and Bruce is right on. Tom notes how parents are always to put their oxygen masks on first, then help their kids. “Take care of yourself first,” he tells her. Trina never really gets a chance to say anything to Bruce, who talks about how he had such well-ordered plans that went all wrong. When she tries to get him to deal with priorities, he interrupts her to say, “God forbid life should throw you a real curve ball.” [Read more →]

Tags: CBS, Drama, Swingtown, Uncategorized by Elaine
1 Comment »

By Elaine B

Back in my early employment days, I landed a job at a small business publication. To be fair, the same cuteness factor that kept me from driving a bus landed me this one. It was not in journalism, my field, but in sales, which I truly hate but any job is better than none. I had a small windowless office and without warning, on about day two of my employment, a heavyset older man wandered in, sat down, closed the door, lit a cigar and said, “Has anyone ever told you that you have a beautiful bosom?” Then he proceeded to silently puff away, the cloud of smoke rising to ceiling where it accumulated and began to grow and fall toward us. Just about the time I was fairly convinced that my visitor and I were going to die of asphyxiation, someone came in and rescued me.

Ah, to have been Janet in that moment, when, though new to her temp job, she had the balls to tell her lecherous new boss at the Daily Sun where he needed to keep his hands, or her husband would come and beat the man up. Roger? She hardly needed him.

Nope, Roger is off visiting the psychiatrist where he confesses that he thinks he is in love with his wife’s best friend. “Friendship and marriage are two different things,” the woman cautiously tells him (probably because, having met Janet, she is terrified of giving him any other advice). But shouldn’t they be the same person? he asks. [Read more →]

Tags: CBS, Drama, Swingtown, Uncategorized by Elaine
No Comments »

By Elaine B
Those of us who came of age in the late ’60s and early ’70s were part of the “accommodating generation.” First, we accommodated our what-will-the-neighbors-think ’50s parents until we broke free and went far away to college where we could accommodate ourselves for a change. There we shed our bras and joined communes and expanded our minds with illegal substances and protested an unpopular war and got arrested. Then the most turbulent generation of the last century settled down and heaved a big sigh of relief that we had survived the mess and went on to become stuffy accommodaters of our children - some of whom now have parents so accommodating that they have not left home to this day.

The problem with the characters on Swingtown is they missed all the fun of accommodating themselves. And now, with children who might be scandalized by their behavior, they are finally trying to find their way in secret. But no one has done as marvelous a job as Janet (and to be fair, Roger) does in the Aug. 8 episode. Hopefully you have DVR so you could watch the incredible Olympic opening ceremony (a dramatic, precise and overblown event that Nazi architect Albert Speer would likely have appreciated) and catch Swingtown, too. If not, CBS.com offers full episodes for viewing on their website a few days after they have aired on the network. [Read more →]

Tags: CBS, Drama, Swingtown, Uncategorized by Elaine
No Comments »

By ElaineB
Near the end of the latest episode of Swingtown, Janet, in shock at what she’d discovered in a single night, confesses to Tom that “I can’t be that kind of woman.” She doesn’t mean loose, though that is a part of it. She means wild, sexy, free. Tom says she underestimates herself, she is a beautiful woman. Then he kisses her. A friend watching the scene with me raised his fist in the air. “Tom kicks ass!” he said. “He’s so smooth … like a white Billy Dee Williams.”

Yes, Grant Show fans, the former Melrose Place star is finally bringing Tom’s character to light and it is good. Tom and Trina are the powerhouse couple on this series for their honesty, their insight and their incredible ability to put people at ease in the most uneasy of situations. But more on that later. [Read more →]

Tags: CBS, Drama, Swingtown, Uncategorized by Elaine
No Comments »

Submitted by KiKi Vanderhousen

I, along with many others, watched the much anticipated premiere of The Cleaner. I, along with many others, was not disappointed. From what I’ve seen on the AETV.com community boards, comments have been favorable. And it’s the comments from the public, the people who actually watch the show, that will determine the success of the show.

Judging by what the critics have to say, some say yah, some say nay. Read some of their pieces and you’d think they watched all of 10 minutes of a screener and no more. Thank “God” I’m more three dimensional than that. If I listened to what critics have to say, I’d never see a movie or new television show.

When you get a chance, read the community boards on The Cleaner at AETV.com and you’ll realize there’s a large percentage of people who have never had any experience with addiction. Many taking the time to comment on the boards have had their lives touched by addiction.

The greatest love of my life was an addict. When he would be on a drug binge, I would feel like I was being punished. When he would come home, I would ask him what I had done wrong. But that’s my story …

Seeing William Banks (Bratt) conversing with “God” and raising his eyes toward the heavens during the football game wasn’t that uncommon of a sight. I mean you see it on the sidelines every Sunday on prime-time television during football season. To tell the truth, I just don’t find a grown man conversing with a higher power and NOT expecting an answer that strange. But I live in Wisconsin. [Read more →]

Tags: A&E, The Cleaner, Uncategorized by ahavlicek
1 Comment »

Posted by johnnysweeptheleg

Here’s something I’ve learned over 10 seasons of Big Brother. On an eviction night, if the editors slant heavily in one direction, the opposite individual will be voted out. Last night was no different. Every flashback consisted of houseguests who once were dead-set on voting Steven out, slowly wavering and considering a house shakeup. But no one in a position of power is going to risk it all this early only to make a move that guarantees nothing. And so, Steven is voted out unanimously.

A rather dull episode overall, though we did learn a few things. [Read more →]

Tags: Big Brother, Reality TV, Recap, Uncategorized by johnnysweeptheleg
No Comments »

Posted by johnnysweeptheleg

The Episode 3 recap couldn’t happen, as Johnny Lawrence was out of the office representing the Cobra Kai dojo. Here it is, down and dirty in EP3: Brian was kicked out. Renny and Jessie continued to squabble on live TV. Jessie landed HOH. Done.

It’s Episode 4 on Sunday night where true colors began to show through the houseguests. Case in point — Jessie. Jessie has let the power go to his meathead. My brother made the greatest observation. Jessie looks like George Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, when George Michael decides to wear the muscle suit under his clothing. After this episode, I am actually disturbed by Jessie. He’s a man child. Not only does he look like a child with a man’s body, but he’s as emotionally undeveloped as a child. More on that, later. [Read more →]

Tags: Big Brother, Reality TV, Recap, Uncategorized by johnnysweeptheleg
No Comments »

Posted by RabbitEars

I guess I’m not like a lot of people in this country in that I have no delusions about my abilities in various endeavors requiring physical creative talent, most notably singing and dancing. Frankly, I have none in those categories. This has saved me much humiliation in the form of futile auditions for the likes of American Idol and Dancing With the Stars. Not so with many other people, who do overestimate their talents and throw themselves to the wolves (or the Cowells; same difference) in an effort to get famous, and seem genuinely shocked when faced with the fact that they do, in fact, stink. But you have to admire their confidence in themselves, at the very least.

My assessments of my own abilities were proven quite accurate last night at the summer TCA tour. During ABC’s evening event for writers, several personalities from Dancing With the Stars (which begins its new season Sept. 22) were on hand to give crash courses in dancing. [Read more →]

Tags: Uncategorized by RabbitEars
No Comments »