Thursday This N That

According to Punxsutawney Phil this morning, we've still got 6 more weeks of winter to get through. As wonderfully nice as this winter's been in MN, I won't be complaining. (there's a first time for everything, right?)

Turning our focus to the tv screen, let's catch up with the surprising hit, Downton Abbey.


I heard the news this week that Shirley MacLaine has signed on for season 3 as the mother of Lady Grantham. I've only gotten to episode 4 of this show so far, but I love how it brings us strong female characters. That's one of the things that keeps me interested in a show these days.


Speaking of strong female characters, it's great to see Jane Curtin on Unforgettable with Poppy Montgomery.

Now I've got the urge to get out my dvds of Kate & Allie.

Since the subject of the day seems to be strong women, the departure of Marg's Catherine Willows on CSI brings a big loss in that department for the show. We'll see how much of that loss Elisabeth Shue can bring back with the addition of her character, Julie Finlay.

Why does every new female CSI character that is not Catherine always have the description of "lack of social skills"? First it was Sara, then Sofia, then Wendy, and even Morgan was initially portrayed as a bit socially awkward. Then again, she's Ecklie's daughter, so I'll give her a bit of a break because of that. And another thing about Julie's description that bugs me - hint of a romantic past with D.B? Good grief. That is SO cliche that it's not even funny. I sure hope Elisabeth can make it seem a bit cute & flirty instead of a repeat of the cringe-worthy Gil/Sara route those two went.

One show I am quite looking forward to is next week's NCIS episode, "Life before his eyes". It's the 200th episode for the series and has been promoted as having some "surprises".


Next week brings the premiere of River on ABC.

This one looks interesting from the promos, but I'm going to go with the "Catherine Willows Theory" and be a bit skeptical to begin with. I remember that Terra Nova (another Speilberg show) seemed interesting this past fall as well, and it couldn't hold my interest.

On a final note:

I've just got to ask - WHEN are we going to hear anything about a season 5 of Sanctuary? How long does it take them to make up their minds? Since I'm talking about Sanctuary, I want to make mention that Amanda Tapping is currently shooting scenes for the upcoming movie, Random Acts of Romance. I had to laugh at one of the lines for Amanda's character, Dianne: "Please take that boner out of my back. I'm not having sex with you tonight."

You can catch all of the fun behind-the-scenes info at their website:
Random Acts Of Romance