Those of you who’ve learned how to play this game are still drunk, or in jail, from the weekend….

• At 8:00, TNT offers up last week’s episode of The Closer, “Identity Theft.”  USA has a familiar NCIS caper, while TBS decides to go with the (kinda) funny stylings of Family Guy. Over on ABC, it’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire … wait, is that a rerun from 10 years ago, or did they really resuscitate this thing? I was sure Bob was lying. Oh, and you should be tuned to CBS for How I Met Your Mother (”Rebound Bro”) and Rules of Engagement (”Jen at Work”).
• At 9:00, TVOne will still be in the midst of airing about a thousand episodes of Martin. CBS makes you switch channels FAST (Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory are on; run!), The CW tries its hardest to do the same with Gossip Girl (if you were already tuned there for One Tree Hill)…. What to do? Maybe switch to FOX for the second half of Teen Choice 2009, hoping the Jonas Brothers’ and Miley Cyrus’ performance abominations are over already?
• As you can see, I’m not a 12 year-old girl. If you are, CINE has Jonas Brothers: The Concert Experience replaying a lot, another airing beginning at 10:00. Alternately, catch two episodes of My Name is Earl on TBS, or last night’s Army Wives on Lifetime. Otherwise, see Castle, “Little Girl Lost,” on ABC, or … well, you could always go to sleep. Or visit with your kids or spouse (12 year-old girls: hopefully that doesn’t apply to you).

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Checking out “The Big D’s” IMDB page, I was surprised to find that I know McDermott from none of his past work. I didn’t watch any of the shows that he was on, and I doubt I remember his small roles in a handful of movies. So why does he look, and seem, so familiar?

Don’t know; but, what I do know is that he’s back (from where?), helming a new show for TNT – Dark Blue. Right off the bat I can tell you: this is no HawthoRNe. The question of compelling drama does not apply.

On the other hand, I’m assuming this is no Closer or Saving Grace, either. Why, say you? No lady leader. Okay, so how’s about Leverage and Raising the Bar? Well, as for the former, Dark Blue lacks the light fun of Leverage. And the latter? It’s a legal drama, so that’s its own school. Why does it matter? Read the rest of this entry »

Two of the recurring season five themes on The Closer were on display again this week. As with the previous episodes, this one also brought a nice bit of guest casting with the appearance of Mary McDonnell as Captain Raydor. In addition, it also presented yet another department for Brenda to create some bad blood with. If you’ve been playing along with the home game, it’s no surprise that Brenda came out on top. But you have to wonder … are all of these confrontations adding up? And is this all going to come back and bite Brenda in the end? Read the rest of this entry »

After a successful premiere for season five, The Closer returned with a second episode that featured much of the same. We had another outstanding guest star, an officer from a different unit that could pose future problems for Brenda and the team, and a few more hints at just what the heck is going on with everyone. Even better, while they didn’t offer the explanation for the Gabriel/Daniels resolution, they did at least acknowledge it. It was all wrapped around a case that, while interesting, was never really that surprising. Read the rest of this entry »

That didn’t take long. When Conan debuted on the Tonight Show, his premiere soundly defeated Letterman. Of course, as expected, the curiosity of the premiere wore off immediately, and the numbers began to drop. Things really got interesting last week as we started seeing the first signs that the late night war is back on. In week 2 for Conan, Letterman actually managed to win a couple nights in the overnight household ratings. NBC is quick to point out that Conan is still tops in the younger demos.

While that is true, it’s worth noting that the last time Letterman managed to top Leno in the overnights was some eight months ago. Considering that the late night shows operate on scales of years, it’s way too early to declare a winner. However, it all does serve to make the late night ratings race, one which Leno had pretty much owned for years, very interesting again. Elsewhere this week, more good news for cable, from The Closer, Burn Notice, and Royal Pains. Back on the networks, The Bachelorette and I’m A Celebrity squared off again, the dancing kids were winners for FOX, and even without Lebron, the NBA was very good to ABC. Read the rest of this entry »

In her capacity as an actress, I don’t have much of a frame of reference for Jada Pinkett Smith. What was she in? A Different World, The Matrix franchise, Madagascar, and Reign Over Me (awesome movie, by the way)? Besides being married to one of the biggest, and one of my favorite, movie stars in the world, she’s never left much of an impression on me.

And yet, it wasn’t surprising to hear that she was set to star in TNT’s newest series, HawthoRNe. A network built on the backs of strong female characters (Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, Detective Grace Hanadarko), adding a third to its crown.

HawthoRNe hits the little screen at the same time as another nurse-centric series, Nurse Jackie. While I had no reason to believe that the two would have anything in common, I began to watch the pilot a little bit uncertain of what was to come, and a little bit trepidatious about what was to come.

Let me put this out there right off the bat: Christina Hawthorne is nothing like Nurse Jackie. That’s not to say that she necessarily wins any prizes of her own, but at least she’s not despicable. Phew. Read the rest of this entry »

The big network schedules may look like a veritable wasteland at the moment, but all is not lost. If the temps are up, that must mean that our friends on cable are ready to rejoin the party. Michael and the gang over at Burn Notice are back this week. And hot on their heels? Brenda and the Major Crimes Division of The Closer. It’s fitting that the two premiere so close together. While TNT promotes The Closer as ad-supported cable’s number 1 series of all time, Jeffrey Donovan has eyes on being a contender for the throne. In a message posted on twitter, he’s calling for 8 million viewers of the Burn Notice premiere. We’ll have to wait and see which show comes out on top, but the big winner will be the viewers. Read the rest of this entry »