Tuesday This N That

The Terrible Tuesday TV schedule is back again for another week.

1. Tonight’s schedule begins with an excellent NCIS episode, featuring guest star Lily Tomlin as Tim McGee’s grandmother, Penny.

After watching the episode, I’ll say that the two have a great story to tell. I’ve mentioned numerous times that this show always gets the greatest guest stars as family members to the main cast – Ralph Waite as Jethro’s dad, Gena Rowlands as his ex mother-in-law; Michael Nouri as Ziva’s father; Robert Wagner as Tony’s dad; and now Lily as Tim’s grandmother. The best part about having these great guest stars is that this show knows how to use them well and let them shine. This episode was no different. Lily Tomlin and the Penny/Tim relationship were enjoyable to watch.

2. Back for a third week is the new drama, Unforgettable, with Poppy Montgomery. This show developed nicely last week, coming off the somewhat cluttered pilot. However, it’s not to the point where it’s overtaken Body of Proof as my first show to watch in that time slot – yet. And speaking of “nicely developed”, this show has grown nicely in its second season, bringing out more of the other characters, which helps take the entire focus off Megan. That, in turn, helps to lighten up the show a bit. As I mentioned previously, I think this show has taken its cue from Rizzoli & Isles that the right amount of “interesting” humor can do wonders to brighten up a show. That’s not to say that I don’t adore the bitchy Megan/Kate catfights & make-up sessions like we got last week – cuz they were totally adorable.

3. I’m still waiting for Parenthood to bring me a decent Camille storyline – or even a Zeke/Camille storyline would be good. Anything to bring more screen time for Bonnie Bedelia. I was rewatching Bonnie’s CSI episode the other day and it made me wish she could be featured in some new project. Has anyone seen her in “heart like a wheel” or her previous pairing with Craig T Nelson on “The fire next time”? I really need to track down some full episodes of “The Division” that aired on Lifetime a number of years ago.

4. It seems that Sons of Anarchy has brought up the rear for the past two weeks in this overcrowded time slot. I missed the late rerun on FX last week, so I hope I will have a chance to watch late tonight.

5. Backing up for a moment – I was only able to watch a little bit of Terra Nova, Hart of Dixie and 2 Broke Girls episodes last night. I need to go back and watch all three again without interruptions. Somehow, I don’t seem to be doing real well on the multitasking for this fall tv season. I’m thinking it’s a real good thing that CSI moved to Wednesdays, because it makes it much easier for my work schedule. Anyway, 2 Broke Girls still gives me visions of what an updated version of Jo & Blair from the Facts of Life would be like. The small glimpse I got of last night’s Hart of Dixie has me definitely interested to go back and pick up the parts I missed. As for Terra Nova – I guess it would be a decent scifi show if it hadn’t come with enormous expectations to begin with. Considering that it includes the Spielberg name, expectations for many were high before the show even aired. I, however, stuck with my Catherine Willows Theory and decided not to expect too much, thus I wasn’t totally disappointed, but definitely not pleasantly surprised, either.

6. One show that always seems to outdo my high expectations is Sanctuary. Season 4 begins this Friday night. They just released one hell of a teaser yesterday for the season premiere where Helen (whom we last saw ending up back in Victorian Era England) gets to beat the crap out of longtime on-again/off-again lover, Jack-the-Ripper (aka John Druitt) from that era. ( check out the video here )That’s what I love about this show. They don’t hide things from the fans. They give us kick-ass, action-packed previews, instead of boring dialogue scene previews like some other shows I watch *cough*CSI*cough*. Their stars, writers, and even crew members bring us fun behind-the-scenes stuff as well. It’s apparent that Martin, Amanda, & Damian (M.A.D.) are in charge of this show and they know how to treat their fans well. In return, the fans reward that preferential treatment by attending the cons, charitable events, and donating to related charities – like Sanctuary For Kids. I’ve only been an actual scifi fan for a couple years, but it’s hard not to notice the difference in the actor/show/fan relationship compared to other genres. SciFi genre actors seem much more in tune to their fans than the rest.

Okay, I’ve been down that road enough for now.

7. I need to shift gears again for a minute – back to last week’s episode of SVU. I finally got a chance to watch it over the weekend. What an excellent episode. I love the addition of Kelli Giddish. I’m not so sure about the new guy they added for this episode yet. I do love how they have Liv struggling with her emotions over the whole Elliot situation. Having scenes like that with character emotion over a longtime partner who has left the team is what was missing from CSI when Gil left. We didn’t get to see Catherine struggle with his absence the way Liv did with Elliot. However, the ending scene from last week’s CSI episode reminded me of the great Cath/Gil scenes from seasons past that were in Gil’s office. Seeing Cath walk out so DB could answer the phone call from his wife, and the emotions on her face had me thinking that she was also reliving (and missing) the many times she and Gil would have their quiet moments after wrapping up a case, and how things weren’t the same with the ‘new guy’.

Speaking of the “new guy” on CSI – I had to laugh at the new press release for an upcoming CSI episode where Morgan is hijacked/kidnapped on a Medivac helicopter. Yep, there are two new CSI’s on the team now – both of whom have not yet had their CSI-in-Peril story lines, so of course, that needed to be rectified very quickly. Those of you who know me, realize how many times my eyes rolled when reading that synopsis. I’m guessing the DB-in-Peril story line won’t be far behind. I can guarantee it. It’ll be here soon.

8. A few other This N That notes : I saw today that there will be a season 2 of the Canadian crime drama, King, that stars Amy Price-Francis. It’s a pretty decent show. I also saw that The Listener, with Lauren Lee Smith, will finally be getting a US distributor. However, it’s going to be on ION TV, a channel which I don’t get. Yes, that’s the story of my life.

Wednesday This N That TV Madness

Before we get to the Wednesday TV madness, we need to recap a full Tuesday schedule.

1. Last night was the season 9 premiere of NCIS. Picking up from where we left off last season with Tony getting his ‘top secret’ orders, we find Tony in a bit of trouble as he’s apparently shot another NCIS agent, but can’t seem to remember it. Dr Cranston (the wonderful Wendy Makkena) is talking him through the rest of the episode as we seem to be flashing back to the story of what he can’t remember.

First of all, you’re probably aware that Tony is my least-favorite character on the show, so an episode that features him is always considered just “so-so”. This is no exception. That being said, it was a great performance by Michael Weatherly. However, can someone please bring me the standard NCIS “dead Marine of the week” story? That would have been preferable to this slower-than-slow flashback-style episode that didn't really feature much of the great cast. It was the season premiere, for goodness sake! Bring out the big guns!!

I did like the small Ziva/Tony moments. That always brings me a smile. I also liked the appearance from Matt Craven as Sec. of Navy Clayton Jarvis. I recently re-watched the movie, Indian Summer, and always love his performance in that one. Another great moment was Tony’s comment, “Who doesn’t like hot girls carrying guns?” LOL That’s the real Tony DiNozzo! I think watching “hot girls carrying guns” is my sole reason for most of the shows I’ve watched through the years.

Anyway, if they’re going to have a season premiere, bring me some action. Bring me lots of Gibbs, Ziva, McGee, Abby & Ducky. For this season premiere, I was totally not impressed.

2. Body of Proof returned for a second season last night. My first thought is that Body of Proof has learned from Rizzoli & Isles that humor in a drama can make a decent show into a much better show, since there are so many “serious” dramas these days. The humor brings a great change. It was great to see Rick Fox on the show as well.

I love the Kate/Megan tension, with Kate sleeping with Megan’s ex, Todd. It gives both Dana & Jeri something to sink their teeth into, instead of just rattling off technical medical terms. I also love that there seems to be more Sam & Bud, as well as Peter, Ethan & Curtis.


3. Unforgettable debuted as well. Poppy Montgomery, Dylan Walsh, and Kevin Rankin star in this cop show that brings a different twist. Poppy is Carrie Wells, a former cop who seems to have total memory recall. For some reason, that brings to mind Gibson on Birds of Prey. Anyway, Carrie hears a murder outside her apartment and gets brought into the investigation, which happens to be run by her former boyfriend, Al. Both had worked together back in Syracuse before it got too much for Carrie and she moved to NYC, where she’s taking care of her mother who has Alzheimer’s. That was a nice little backstory that they put in there. I have a soft spot for the shows that include dementia/Alzheimer’s disease, as it reminds me of my grandmother.

Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked again. Carrie replays her part of finding the victim in the alley through her mind and notices other details she had missed previously. It seems that no matter how long ago, or where it was, if she was there, she can call up the memory in finer detail. I like the fact that they don’t make it overly easy by having her recall stuff from anything she touches. It makes it a different time of a cop show. Maybe it’s one I can actually get into.


4. I love the fact that FX replays Sons of Anarchy late at night. It gives me a chance to actually watch. Sometimes this show really confuses me. What never confuses me is the great character that Katey Sagal has brought to us in Gemma. I love the scenes Gemma has with Wayne, especially when she gives him the finger! And I also love the Gemma/Tara scenes as well. I wasn’t too pleased at Clay roughing up Gemma a bit, though. I was hoping she’d be a bit tougher at that point. Despite all of the bikes, guns, drugs, etc, this show does have its humor as well. After a car/bike chase and the SAMCRO gang stops the car, Jax looks into the window & says, “license & registration please”. LOL


5. Body of Proof, Unforgettable, Sons of Anarchy & Parenthood on all at the same time really sucks. Parenthood seems to be odd one out this time around. It’ll be my show to catch up on for this week.


6. Now that the Tuesday recap is done, we turn to the highlight of the week. That would be the Season 12 premiere of CSI tonight, and the beginning of the DB “Dead Body” Russell era, and from what I hear, the return of feisty Catherine, now that she’s gone from “Supervisor Cath” back to “CSI Cath”. I’m trying to be optimistic for the new season (at least until Carol Mendelsohn starts with more blah-blah-blah and makes me wish that Marg’s exit will come sooner rather than later). Anyway, I’m intrigued by the addition of Elisabeth Harnois as Ecklie’s estranged daughter. My only goal for this season is to cherish the wonderful, but always infrequent, Cath/Sara scenes until Marg leaves in January. All I can say is that CSI really lost something that could have been great, by always keeping those two ladies apart and at odds as much as they have in the previous 11 seasons. Maybe that’s why I’m always bitching at the writers. They have just never seen the strength that a real Cath/Sara friendship could have brought to the show. They could have still gone with their precious Grissom/Sara story line even if the two ladies had any kind of a friendship.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Rant. Rant. Rant. Don’t worry. My CSI ranting will be done in four months.

7. tonight also brings the beginning of the second season of Harry’s Law. I’m excited to see all of the changes in store. Specifically getting rid of Brittnay Snow’s character. She was highly annoying. I’m not sure if I’m going to like more of a focus on the cases & courtroom stuff, though. That’s usually a big turn off for me. But hey! It’s Kathy Bates. It’s Jean Smart & Mark Valley! Things are looking up!

8. Tonight also brings the series premiere of Revenge on ABC. I guess I’m going into watching this one with very low expectations. The only reason I’m giving the pilot a watch is because of Madeleine Stowe. It seems she might actually have a decent-sized role in this one. That would be good, since I don’t know any of the other cast. I’m hoping it will surprise me like The Secret Circle did.

9. to finish the Wednesday schedule, Up All Night with Christina Applegate continues tonight in its regular timeslot. I wasn’t impressed with the premiere, but pilot episodes usually aren’t that great, so I’m hoping that a second chance will bring it into the “watchable” category. I’m thinking it’s Will Arnett that’s the turnoff for me. I wasn’t a fan of his last comedy, Running Wilde, either, and it was because of him.

That's my line-up for Wednesday. Thursday will bring three interesting premieres that I can't wait to check out as well.