TV on DVD for July 21st
We’re still a week away from the #1 DVD release of the summer, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some fine wares hitting shelves this week. A few of USA’s favorite characters show up, with season sets for Psych and Monk. Speaking of characters, has any show had a more unique collection of them than Pushing Daisies? And The Mighty Boosh? It’s just a character bonanza this week. You can also be on the lookout for new offerings from Stargate, Prison Break, Route 66, SpongeBob, and a host of others. My pick of the week would be Pushing Daisies. The big list is after the jump.
TCA Awards nominees, a new Tonight Show and Speidi – The Week in Clack
Hey did you get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather this week? Don’t worry if you did, we’ got your back. Here’s some of what went down in the world of television:
- The TCA (Television Critics Association) Awards nominees were announced, with NBC and The Shield leading the pack. But I still want BSG to take home “Program of the Year.” Winners to be announced Aug. 1.
- Susan Boyle didn’t win Britain’s Got Talent, which of course has lead to some controversy about the voting on that show as well, and a clinic stay for Boyle.
- Conan O’Brien debuted on Monday as the new host of The Tonight Show with huge ratings, in what some are unhappily saying is a subdued iteration of himself.
- We spent way too much time talking about Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno” character landing ass-bare on Eminem’s face at the MTV Movie Awards.
- Tell your children not to worry, Miley Cyrus has signed on for a fourth season of Hannah Montana, which will feature her and her father moving out of the beach house.
- Octomom Nadya Suleman is going to film a reality show, but has no networks to air it in the US.
- Actor David Carradine dies, and his death may be more colorful than his career was; I’m sure some sleazy network is looking for the rights.
- Prison Break’s “T-Bag,” Robert Knepper is cast in Heroes, where he’ll play a sleazy villain … that’s a stretch. But still great casting!
- Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag contiue to annoy everyone on and off the set of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
Kind of makes me want to take my television outside and just throw it in the garbage… except that I just got a 52″ plasma and video games and Blu-Rays look amazing on it!
Ratings Clack – Chuck and Heroes kick off finale season
And just like that, finale season is upon us. Over the next few weeks, all of our favorite shows will be pulling out all the stops and heading off into the summer break, with hopes of returning for another go in the fall. Some of them, no doubt, will be disappointed in that regard. Aside from the marriages, pregnancies, and lives left hanging in the balance, finales are interesting from a ratings perspective because they provide the possibilities of a numbers boost. One last data point to point to as you make the case that this show shouldn’t be canceled. NBC got the ball rolling last week as Chuck and Heroes both fired off their finale salvos. The results were something less than stellar. The news was better for Fringe, the NCIS spinoff, and the CW Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »
Prison Break – The Scofield family reunion, part 2
So from what I can tell so far, Christina Scofield is every bit as cunning and clever as her son Michael. In fact, you could say she’s his “Mirror Universe” version, only minus the goatee. I always figured that if Michael went bad, he would be diabolically evil, and then we get Kathleen Quinlan in pure evil genius mode in the role of his mother.
After the disastrous family reunion Christina had with Lincoln a couple of weeks back where she ultimately tried to have him killed, it’s Michael’s turn. Only he turned the wheels on her a bit and gave himself the upper hand. Unless she planned it that way. When you’re dealing with two tactical geniuses, it’s hard to say who’s got everything going exactly the way they planned. It is nice to see Michael facing off against a worthy adversary. She certainly knew what bombs to drop to get him off his game.
Prison Break – Who is VS, and why do we care?
There are four hours left of this final season of Prison Break before it’s all over, so I guess they can be allowed a slow episode. This episode was entitled “VS.” or “Vs.” depending on where you looked. That’s because there was an ain’t-you-clever double meaning there. We now have three factions fighting against one another, each one with a member of the Burrows-Scofield family. Mama Christina is trying to broker a deal for Scylla. Lincoln, working with the company, is trying to get it back for The Company so he can earn his freedom from their machinations. And Michael and Sarah just want to see it all come crashing down.
Surprisingly, Michael has the least well thought out overall plan at the moment, though he also has the most relevant and valuable information. Of the brothers, Michael has always been the brains. Maybe that’s why they’ve got Lincoln and his crew basically failing to get true information out of the other meaning of the title, a man by the initials V.S.
Ratings Clack – What does the Prison Break failure mean for Dollhouse?
It was another up and down week for numbers, where we saw some shows rebound (Heroes, Lost), while others continue to raise eyebrows (Better Off Ted, Samantha Who?, CSI). Through it all, the most intriguing story is again the FOX Friday night. Prison Break took over where Terminator:TSCC left off, literally and figuratively. What does that mean for Dollhouse? Elsewhere, ABC has a strange mess on their hands with a handful of both comedies and dramas that are all returning mediocre numbers at best, with no clear standouts. How do you decide what to keep? Read the rest of this entry »
Prison Break – Did you miss Mama, Linc? She won’t miss you!
Remember when Prison Break was a fun show? Escapist (get it?!) fiction at it’s best? Those days seem to be long gone if you look at what we have now. The series has gotten very complicated and much darker now that we’re getting deeper and deeper into the world of “The Company.” Last year’s revelation that the boys’ mother was still alive and involved with The Company, as well as the search for Scylla, was the driving thrust of this latest installment.
Taking a four-month hiatus in the middle of the arc may not have been the best idea. We are hip-deep in some incredibly convoluted relationships and connections, with strange and bizarre people working together and Michael and Lincoln at odds. I suspect this episode was absolutely impenetrable for potential new viewers. Of course, with less than three-and-a-half million viewers tallied, it looks like it’s only us completists left.
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