TAR stuff

The Amazing Race will show a new episode on Tuesday and a clip show on Wednesday. Happily, this means I won't get gypped out of seeing a new episode next week. The clip show will conflict with Lost, but luckily, we now have two TiVos, so we can record two things at one time. Woo!

- nyanko

No plans yet for a Veronica Mars DVD

Tvshowsondvd.com has posted a summary of a chat with execs from Warner Home Video on future DVD releases. Apparently, there are no current plans for a DVD release of Veronica Mars. Bummer.

- nyanko

Showdog Moms & Dads

Dang it, it looks like Bravo's new series Showdog Moms & Dads may be a bust. Sigh.

Also, I watched Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason last night. The first movie was incredibly painful, and this one was pretty much on par with that, as I expected. But since I think Colin Firth is irresistably dreamy, I couldn't stop myself from watching this movie. So, Colin Firth was quite nice; the rest of the movie not so much.

- nyanko

I watched the pilot of Grey's Anatomy, and found it to be throwaway, but pretty entertaining. Probably much like ER was in the old days before they started doing 'You have to watch the last 5 minutes!' stunts. It's not the best show you'll ever watch, but I'm drawn to this type of crap. The NY Times also gave it a lukewarm rating.

Predictability factor: Four crystal balls
Overall verdict: The season pass stays for another week; might get bumped to watching in summer reruns.

I had a chance to see Porco Rosso, another Miyazaki film, about a man-pig fighter pilot during WWII. It was funny and sweet, and reminded me of Tale Spin, the Disney Afternoon show about Baloo the bear, who also flew a water plane. It's definitely worth your time.

The ABC Family show Garden of Love, about the teenager who works in a Las Vegas wedding chapel was a confusing mix of staged and real setups. I'm not sure if they're crossing the line of making it too obvious when some things are staged. But anyway, watching the show makes it obvious that adults find it extremely funny to see teenagers going through the milestones of first dates, etc. The first episode was too much teenage boy, not enough wedding insanity. I was losing interest halfway through. I'll give it a half of an episode more, but it's on the deathwatch.

My roommate just got her own TiVo, so we'll be two TiVo household. Woo! And maybe I'll be able to cut the three person 40+ list of season passes down to something far more reasonable, and not including things like ER and Survivor... Unfortunately, this will allow me to now see shows that conflict with shows taped on my TiVo. Uh oh, more TV...

- nyanko

Undeclared coming out on DVD this summer

I'm very excited that Undeclared will be coming out on DVD, hopefully in August.

I should say that I was in Vegas this past weekend, and saw the Jubilee show at Bally's, and I think I recognized at least one person from the Bravo reality show Vegas Showgirls: Nearly Famous. Sigh.

I watched The Cat Returns, yet another Hayao Miyazaki film, and really enjoyed it. Not as sublime as My Neighbor Totoro or Porco Rosso, but quite entertaining. It is a little weird, in a Tailchaser's Song kind of way, but it does include secret service agent cats, a king cat that calls everyone 'babe', and the most awesome cow and pig alarm clocks. (Also, does it seem like there's an entire genre of talking-cat world fantasy books?) The extras on the DVD also include a dramatic re-enactment of the dinner where they told the director that he would be directing the film. Heh. And entertainingly, the English version features the voice talents of Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars!), Andy Richter, and Tim Curry. How could I resist?

nyanko

Fever Pitch, Part II

Okay, what I had apparently selectively forgotten when I first saw the previews for the Drew Barrymore/Jimmy Fallon Fever Pitch trailer, and which I was reminded of when reading the Page2 article, was that I have in fact seen the first movie adaptation of Fever Pitch. Yes, I know. I want you to know that it's all the fault of the Colin Firth fame audit (third to last paragraph), and possibly searching Netflix for all movies with Colin Firth. Oy.

- nyanko

post-Spring Break Shark Attack

TaikoNinja brought it to my attention that CBS's AWEsome Spring Break Shark Attack made-for-TV movie was reviewed by Bill Simmons of ESPN.com's Page2. (last item)
Bottom line: "Final grade: A-plus"

Now, seeing as how I am out of town and forgot to set my sister's Tivo to record this masterpice, what am I to do? Must I live with this void in my soul until the end of days? TaikoNinja, Snuffles, myself, and the rest of the tv-watching bit torrenting world continue to be saddened, nay, grief-striken, by the death of suprnova.org
Wah.

- totoro

After pressure from totoro, I am ashamed to admit that I actually watched Spring Break Shark Attack. It was actually pretty hilarious for all the reasons in the Page 2 blurb. I laughed out loud a number of times. About 15 minutes in, I was a little afraid that I wasn't going to be able to survive the gore anticipation - the possibility of people getting limbs eaten off makes me a little jumpy. I can stand the craptacular part, but not the mauling...

Anyway, it was basically the OC with sharks, since Shannon Lucio was the exact same character as on the OC. There was the added bonus of hearing the CBS NCAA basketball announcers continually having to hype Spring! Break! Shark! Attack! The ending of the movie (spoiler ahead) includes the main characters luring the sharks away from the poor kids on the beach, the sharks "reeling in" their boat by pulling down the box of fish used to lure the sharks away, one guy getting shot by a harpoon and a shark-be-gone device that gave off a electrical current that sharks don't like. Terrible, yet funny.

- nyanko

Review: Ice Princess

Over the weekend, I made time between watching thousands of hours of basketball, to see Ice Princess. Sadly, this does mean that I contributed to the opening box office numbers for this movie. But I actually really enjoyed the movie. Michelle Trachtenberg succeeds in being far more likable than in Buffy. There's a surprising amount of humor around the Zamboni, including a really cute scene with the love interest. Anyway, it's no Cutting Edge, but nice for a teenybopper ice skating movie!

Pain index: 1.5 spiky balls of pain (Joan Cusack is painful, but surprisingly the rest of the movie is slightly cringe-worthy, but not so much of the intense pain that usually accompanies this type of movie)
Sniffle index: 1 wadded ball of Kleenex (sniffles and damp eyes, but no actual tears)
Expectations: Princess Diaries
Actual: A Cinderella Story (better than average for what it is)
Overall: I'm ashamed, but I really liked it. I give it a yay! And I would consider watching it again on DVD.

P.S. Also stars Hayden Pannetiere, who I recently saw on L&O: SVU while actually watching live TV on a work trip. And I would like to say now, that when you recognize a plot that has been ripped from the headlines *and* has appeared on one or more other crime shows, you start to feel like you really have no life.

- nyanko

reviewing the schedules

thefutoncritic has posted recaps of all the networks' schedules, comparing ratings of this year's shows to last year, and predicting which shows will stay and which will be cancelled: WB, UPN, NBC, FOX, CBS, and ABC.

- nyanko

X marks the spot

Heeeeey, this could be fun: NBC has picked up a reality show about people solving puzzles to locate a hidden treasure. Granted, if this involves pirates, or if the clues are "Go to this place via train" (yeah, I'm looking at you, Amazing Race) or solving anagrams (I stayed up all night finishing the Da Vinci code, but anagrams? and then more anagrams? please.), it's going to suck. But if it is more like some of The Games that are put on in the Bay Area, and elsewhere, it could definitely be a fun show. The Game is an all-weekend scavenger hunt where teams solve convoluted clues that may involve Braille, sign language, DNA sequences, or some combination of extremely nerdy things. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this one.

Also, Joss Whedon will be directing the Wonder Woman movie - there are all sorts of suggestions for the title role, including Lauren Graham, but my first choice: Rachel Bilson! Yay, Summer! Ew!

NBC has announced the pickup of a bunch of their shows, including Crossing Jordan, the West Wing, ER, Joey and Las Vegas.

- nyanko

March Madness!

The tourney has begun, and sadly for those of us on the West Coast, much of it happens while we are still at work. I'll be heading home right after my last meeting to sit on the couch and watch an ungodly amount of basketball. I am ready! And one of my roommates is out of town, so there will be that much less competition to get the TV. And one less person to see me still sitting in the same place after six hours...

Happily, I have achieved TiVo Zero, so I've done my part to keep the TiVo clean and able to record lots of other stuff... So there will be no panic to try and watch both the tournament and 10 hours of backlogged TV...phew.

- nyanko

OMG!

A pigeon movie! Woo! The animated movie is all about the Royal Pigeon Service during WWII - based on the true use of carrier pigeons for communication between the UK and the French Resistance/Allied troops. I'd hate to be the troop's pigeon wrangler...

Here's a trailer for the movie.

- nyanko

Bye bye Blind Justice

As a follow up to my earlier review of the Blind Justice pilot, I just viewed the second episode yesterday and I think that's going to be it for this show. The Futon Critic is reporting that its ratings fell sharply from the week before, and I can't really blame the Nielsen households of the country. Yesterday's episode was boring and the main character more annoying. The eye-candy of Rena Sofer and Marisol Nichols just ain't gonna cut it.

- totoro

Down with AD!

Some folks over at TV Squad have decided that it's about time to cancel Arrested Development already. As one of the comments below the article says, "it's very hard to get into a show if they don't tell you when to laugh."
I'm amused.

On an aside, TV Squad appears to be a site much like unto our own ("Blogging Television"). But with images and ads, and probably a full-time job from the look of it. Oh, and they blog on all kinds of TV, clearly we like to stick to the quality stuff. Uh huh.

- totoro

Lost will be back on 3/30

Instead of a long, long hiatus until April 13, in which we totally forget what has happened in the entire season so far, we'll get a new Lost episode on March 30.

Alexis Bledel is leaving behind shy bookish Rory and the cheesy girl from Tuck Everlasting with her latest role in Sin City.

And, Jessica Alba is going to be in a snorkel/scuba treasure hunt-shipwreck salvage action thriller. No really.

An NYT article about how many tv show writing teams don't plan out ahead of time how their seasons will end. There's also an minor reference that one of the actors didn't like his story arc in the season finale of the O.C. and might have gotten it changed at the last minute. Warning: there's a few spoilers in terms of plot points for Lost, but it's a fun read.

- nyanko

Will Arnett interview

TWOP interviews Will Arnett from Arrested Development. The writers and cast read TWOP. The interview isn't side-splittingly funny, but it has its moments.

- nyanko

Red Sox players will be on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar, Doug Mirabelli, Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek are getting made over. Heh.

- nyanko

Pilot Review: Jake in Progress

This is an addendum to nyanko's earlier post concerning the new sitcom Jake in Progress. (I'd say what station it's on, but I really have no idea. Zen TV.)
Bottom line is that it was a real disappointment, John Stamos can definitely pull off his best white Kevin Hill imitation, but the women aren't as attractive and the funny isn't there to pull this off as a 30 min laugher.
A friend of mine, who shall be known as Snuffles, was particularly put off by the pilot's overuse of a sweaty-palm motif for laugh-generation. Sweaty palms are not funny. Let that be a lesson.

Pain Index: 1 spiky ball, not funny enough to be painful
Cliche Index: very high.
Final Conclusion: I may watch a couple more episodes because I'm desperate for half-hour shows to fill that niche, but it's not looking good.

- totoro

What could have been for Wonderfalls

If you want to know what would have happend in future seasons of Wonderfalls, if it hadn't been cancelled...

- nyanko

Tivo + Comcast

Several news sites including slashdot and engadget are reporting (and linking) to articles about the new deal between Tivo and Comcast. This is a big deal for Tivo, who is still having some revenue issues and was facing competition from cable companies brewing their own DVRs, like Comcast.

- totoro

spare time

I watched three episodes of Project Runway's first season, and I have to say I thought it was enh. I think the concept was kind of interesting, and I liked watching them sew their own designs, but it wasn't as insanely addictive as the Amazing Race or as funny as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (they may be off the What's Hot list, but the show is still pretty darn funny, although I do fast forward through the fashion, the culture and the food bits. Hmm, doesn't seem to leave much... but the intro meet-the-guy, the house makeover, and the second half of commentary of the guy putting on some event is usually a riot.)

I also made time this weekend to watch the unaired episodes of Wonderfalls, and it made me laugh out loud. It's a little dark, and the main character is somewhat unlikable, but the humor gets funnier and wackier as the episodes progress.

- nyanko

Wonderfalls! I seriously lamented over this show being cancelled last season, the main character has a level of apathy and underachievement that I can only dream of. But since she's off the air, I'll have to strive for more of a House-type angst instead.

- totoro

Jake In Progress

So I watched the two episodes of Jake In Progress that aired last night. The Gaymigo storyline was kind of silly, but not enough for me to love the show. Rick Hoffman, smarmy character actor for the ages, is in it; sigh, makes me think of $treet. Jennifer Connolly, you got away just in time.

It's so true: No one likes the double buzz! (You'd have to watch the show to get this, and well, I'm sure it's not worth it.)
Pain index: Two spiky balls of pain. Not without pain, but I've seen much much worse.
Belly laugh index: None.
Funnier than: NBC's Coupling
Not as funny as: Scrubs
Overall: Enh. Revoked the season pass.

Totoro will be adding his review shortly.

Kumars At No 42

Since the tomcat finally got digital cable, he suddenly has BBC America, even though he doesn't get MTV, ESPN and a number of the actual normal American cable offereings. But it did give us a chance to watch an episode of Kumars At No 42. It's pretty darn funny - I'll just have to hope that it comes out on DVD soon so I can watch a whole bunch of it.

- nyanko

Part II of the interview with Rob Thomas from Veronica Mars

The interview

- nyanko

the futon critic's annual review of network schedules

The futon critic is doing his annual review of each network's schedule and compares it to last year's schedule. Very interesting. Today is the review of ABC, the other networks will be posted on later days.

Is it bad if I'm excited about this movie? This one also seems intriguing except that it has the double-bad whammy of Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet.

- nyanko

Fever Pitch

Romantic comedy or tragedy? The fact that it's starring Drew Barrymore means it can go either way.

- nyanko

The Return of Lindsay

Shannon Lucio, formerly known as Lindsay on The O.C., has an upcoming made for TV movie (the words that just reek quality) airing next Sunday on CBS with the AWEsome name of Spring Break Shark Attack.
Check out some awesome pics.

- totoro

Movie Review: Hitch

Here's the long-awaited review of Hitch that Nyanko promised a while back. People who know me well know that I have a kind of intense negative physical reaction to sappy romance and many chick-flicks in general, but the truth is that I'm mostly willing to put up with some of that for a little bit of feel-good and some funny. Unfortunately, many such movies think funny and embarrassing are the same thing. That shoots the Pain Index way up.
Hitch has Will Smith, that alone brings a level of charisma to the movie that many romantic comedies lack. The trailer had some good parts, and it had been a while since there was any romantic comedy out there that didn't immediately make me want to dive for cover, so it seemed like a good choice.
I'll just get it out right now, if you're a fan of the genre, the movie should not disappoint. If you've seen the trailer and have an idea of what to expect, you'll pretty much get exactly what you want. There's some additional goodness not shown in the trailer, but you get the idea immediately.
It's not a ground-breaking member of the genre, and you'll probably forget many of the plot details soon after watching, but some of the jokes are good for conversation.

Pain Index: 3 spiky balls, I banged my head into a wall a few times to moderate the pain that the movie was producing, but it was less than most other such films.
Hype Index: 4, Will Smith. Good trailer. Nuff said.
Predictability Index: 4 crystal balls.
Final Grade: Pretty good romantic comedy with some good jokes and excellent mocking potential for comparing people you know to people in the movie.

- totoro

Gilmore Girls is back on my good side

The writing and storylines have actually been more interesting - particularly the conflict with Lorelei and her parents and the romantic issues with Luke. I think Lorelei's issues were always the heart of the show. But anyway, that's not really the reason I'm totally hooked on it. I mean, I'm back to watching on the night it airs... and it's because of Logan. I'm ashamed to admit it, since he's totally smarmy and only seems to have one expression: smirking. But he actually has chemistry with Rory, is far more interesting than Dean was when dating Rory and is far less of a twit that Jess was. I have to stop myself from fast-forwarding to watch all his scenes before bothering with the entire show. It's all over, I have been lost to the dark side.

Oh yeah, and he was on Young Americans. Oy.

- nyanko

Pilot Review: Blind Justice

Blind Justice is a new show that just aired its pilot last night. The first time I saw a billboard for it, I could've sworn the dude was Matt Murdock come to primetime TV. Turns out that the main character is a blind cop, fighting crime sans one sense, but without any super-powers.
The pilot is about Det. Dunbar's first few days back on the police force after being shot blind and then suing his way back on the job. There's the usual feel-good stuff with people not thinking he can do his job, but him proving them wrong, etc. The only part of this pilot that I couldn't have guessed just by reading a one-line description of the show is the fact that Dunbar is not necessarily that great of a guy (the whole cheating on his wife thing).
Pain Index: 0 spiky balls. there's no funny, therefore no pain.
Predictability Index: 4 crystal balls.
As good as: pilot for Numb3rs, but Blind Justice has more attractive women (2 of them).
Conclusion: I'll probably watch more episodes, just like I did with Numb3rs and Medium, until I can't handle it any more.

- totoro

Lots of Scrubs

There will be 25 episodes of Scrubs this season!

tvtattle linked to an article about addiction to 24.

- nyanko

TiVo vs. MCE vs. cable

The tomcat told me that Engadget posted a link to an article comparing TiVo, MCE (the Windows media center), and cable DVRs. Perhaps my love affair with TiVo is not forever.

- nyanko

Jake in Progress

The ads for Jake in Progress, the new sitcom starring John Stamos, look kind of lame, but E! Online's Kristen gives the show a rave review. She was right about Scrubs and Arrested Development... Totoro and I agree that sometimes you only want to sit down for a 30 show (24 minutes), and there aren't many of those around, so this could be a fun show to pick up.

- nyanko

'Aqua Teen Hunger Force' movie

This one's for nyanko's tomcat. The Cartoon Network show Aqua Teen Hunger Force will be hitting the big screen.

- nyanko

Movie Review: Wimbledon

Wimbledon was also on the agenda for this weekend. I was actually planning to see this in the theater - a rare occurrence for me, so it means I was really excited about it - but it didn't quite work out. Anyway, I finally got around to seeing it. Kirsten Dunst - not too annoying. Paul Bettany - really quite likable, despite not being drop dead gorgeous. His character made the movie quite funny. Thank goodness they didn't try to cast Hugh Grant into this one...

nyanko's review:
Pain index (zero being not painful to five being Princess Diaries/Bridget Jones doing public speaking) : one spiky ball of pain
Hype index: 5 for me; 2 for the rest of the world.

As good as: Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

My advice to you: Quite nice, but unremarkable.
Feeling of self-worth after watching: Warm fuzzy feeling of contentment

totoro's review:
Keep in mind that I watched this on a 12 hour plane ride, on a 6" LCD screen along with about 3 other movies in marathon fashion. General consensus for me is that it could've been much worse, but actually ended up being decently entertaining without too much pain.
Pain index: 2 spiky balls, this is considered pretty good as romantic comedies come.
Hype index: 1 neon ball, very little hype.
Kirsten Dunst screech index: lower than you might anticipate.
Final Grade: The new standard for an average romantic comedy with moderate star power.

Reviews

I've made a few attempts to do genuine reviews of movies and TV pilots in the past, but have never been very pleased with the results. It's tough to honestly judge something when the most common response I have to a new movie is "enh." Sometimes "enh+".

In an effort to reduce my wordiness and boil down our impressions of stuff we watch to just a few numbers, Nyanko and I have implemented a new (and constantly changing) system of reviews. As was put so delicately on Scrubs recently, "It's not about empathy, it's about judging people."

- totoro

Movie review: First Daughter

So, I watched First Daughter, starring Katie Holmes and Marc Blucas. A few things I learned: Katie Holmes is purdy, as are ball gowns; the White House has the pretty pastel yellow Kitchen Aid mixers; and Katie Holmes looks ridiculous driving a VW Bug in a ball gown (plus, who starts a solo cross country road trip late at night?). The bad: a fairy tale theme for the beginning and ending ("once upon a time..."), an extended slow-motion, oddly editing ball gown dance sequence with Katie and Marc, and SPOILER ALERT! they don't really end up together - the door is open, but I'm not watching mediocre movies for the possibility of romance. Less empathy for the pain of unchosen celebrity, more cuteness and kissing!

Pain index (zero being not painful to five being Princess Diaries/Bridget Jones doing public speaking) : three spiky balls of pain
Hype index: 0 (They dumped in September with no publicity for a reason)

As good as: The Prince & Me

My advice to you: Don't bother. Not wretchedly horrendous, but nothing redeeming about it.
Feeling of self-worth after watching: Ashamed.

- nyanko

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle will be released in the US on June 10.
-nyanko

... and there will be much rejoicing.
- totoro

Lots of news on movies in production

A great site for finding out about movies in the making, casting, release dates, gossip about movies going bad... the good stuff.
-nyanko

Zap2it looks at midseason shows

A review of all the midseason shows (though some started in January).
-nyanko

bits

House has been picked for a second season & the North Shore has been cancelled.

Also, there won't be a new Lost until April 13th.

And tvtattle has a link to an article about the BBC airing NBC's remake of the Office.

- nyanko

The man behind Veronica Mars

The creator and co-executive producer of Veronica Mars gives TWOP an interview. This is part I.

- nyanko

Joey is back on the market

Katie Holmes has ended her engagement to Chris Klein.

- nyanko

Garden of Love

I'm so drawn to the ABC Family Original Reality show Garden of Love, about a family that runs a Las Vegas wedding chapel. It can't be for real, can it? I hate myself.

Also, I was so desparate for entertainment last summer or I have such low standards (more likely the case), that I watched Summerland all last summer. During its hiatus I came to my senses (a little distance has some healing effects, and when you are cringing watching the show in front of another rational person, that's also a sign) and revoked its season pass, but I see the promos for the new season and I'm drawn like a moth to a very large, open flame. ZZZZZOT! Anyway, thankfully 24 conflicts so I can't watch it, but I'm just not sure how long my self-control will last. But I suspect that my self-control would reassert itself as soon as I actually watched the show...

- nyanko

no more Coupling

It looks like there won't be any further seasons of Coupling (scroll to the middle of the page, to the table row marked Series 5). However, there may be some hope that they will do a Christmas special, like the Office.

- nyanko

TiVo guilt

A blog post about the plethora of article about TiVo guilt and feeling forced to watch too much TV. Normally, I feel like I am watching a relatively reasonable amount of TV, but before my last business trip, I had a five night stint where I was watching at least five shows a night. It was tragic and way too much TV, but I had to clean down the TiVo to make enough room for shows during that upcoming trip.

I know a few people who continue to archive shows even though they aren't actively watching; it's probably a good thing that the 30-hour TiVo doesn't have enough space to give me that flexibility. The one good thing about impending TiVo overflow is that it forces you to watch a new show and quickly decide whether or not it's worthwhile to continue taping (I'm talking to you, NUMB3RS). And if you have say, four episodes of Joan of Arcadia on the 'Vo, it's a sign that perhaps the show is not your favorite... Hello, season pass death watch.

- nyanko

Paley festival

Someday, I'm going to make it to thePaley Festival, where they have screenings of popular television shows, as well as panels or Q&A sessions with the cast and crew of the shows.

- nyanko

March is the new January

Hmm, looks like March is becoming the new wasteland for television. Lost and Desperate Housewives are both taking off most of March, and then will probably come back for mostly new episodes until the end of May. Between shows taking a break (Everwood, Charmed, Lost, Desperate Housewives) and shows being pre-empted (two weeks of Thursday and Fridays on CBS will be devoted to NCAA March Madness), there may not be much TV to watch. Which is probably a good thing.

But, the Shield is starting on March 15 and there are a few midseason shows which I'll be checking out - Eyes and the Office. And I'm considering Life on a Stick, because it's by some of the same people who did Andy Richter Controls the Universe. The nyanko boyfriend may have to be the guinea pig on that one...

- nyanko

Peanuts

This is for nyanko's tomcat (the boyfriend) - there will be a Peanuts Easter special airing on ABC.

Also, bjc - thanks for the blog out!

- nyanko