TV Week

This is a post I've sort of been dreading writing – not because I don’t want to write it, but because it means summer is officially over and the onslaught of a new TV season is upon us ... It’s been such an enjoyable, free summer away from the pull of the TV set.

Then, why do you let it pull you back in? you ask. … Wish I had a better answer. Other than that some stuff on TV is just so darn entertaining (See below: Glee). And fascinating. And eye-opening.

Ah, but the fall TV season is upon us ...

So let’s get’s started.

* * *

After much thought, I'm giving up on "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters."

Sad I know. They've been our Sunday night mainstays for as long as both have been on the air. In fact, we haven't missed an episode of either show.

Kates insists she’s sticking with “Brothers & Sisters,” but I'm taking a hard line on my drama intake this year. I just can't take it anymore. I'm desperate for lighter, funnier fare. Stuff that leaves me happy and giddy when I go to bed at night and prepare to face another day of my somewhat dramatic work in this crazy tough world we live.

I'm facing it. "Desperate Housewives" will never be as fresh and bold and riveting and colorful as it was in that mind-boggling first season.

And "Brothers and Sisters" has become too predictable; I'm tired of watching the Walker clan spill each other's secrets and the inevitable blowup during another one of the family's classic dinners. It’s a formula for every episode, it seems.

And yet, I’m hanging on to “Grey’s Anatomy,” which like its former Sunday night ABC counterpart will never be as fresh and dreamy as it was that first season of love. But I can’t yet bare to break up with it.

* * *

Speaking of fresh, colorful shows ...

"Glee" is back!

Kates and I had to put it off an extra night because we committed Wednesday night to watching President Obama's healthcare speech (which was wonderful, we thought).

Like just about every one else in America who caught last spring's pilot episode, we've been anxiously awaiting it's return this fall ... And, despite some reviews that suggested otherwise, we thought the new episode was even funnier and entertaining than the pilot. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

It's punchy, snarky humor about a high school glee club -- without the sugar and sweetness of "High School Musical." Wednesday night's episode was loaded with one-liners.

I looooove Emma and the way she stutters and stumbles in the presence of Will. ... I, too, enjoy watching Terri and Quinn, even though they're supposed to be the villains. Quinn's performance of "I Say A Little Prayer" and its visually cool choreography was arguably my favorite musical number of the night.

Remembering Jessalyn Gilsig and Jayma Mays as their more serious characters on "Heroes" also made it fun to see them in comedic roles.

Yes, the show could not have cast a better person for Sue Sylvester than Jane Lynch. And yes, I too was shocked at how raunchy the "Push It" performance was for a network primetime show -- but it was all in the name of comedy.

* * *

Ellen Degeneres as the fourth “American Idol” judge …?

Wha … ?

Hmm.

I’m not sure what to think of this one.

I’m a huge fan of the good ‘ol sunny, bubbly Ellen. (See Jenna Bush’s phone call to her dad.)

But as a judge on “American Idol?” Not seeing it.

My initial reaction was that – while it will be entertaining to see how she contrasts with Simon Cowell – she’s not a music person (A music lover, yes. But she’s not a music industry person). She’s a comedian. And thus the show becomes less about music and more centered on its judges and their distinct personalities and slams on one another.

My initial reaction was that I didn’t like the idea one bit.

Then again, especially since the news of Paula Abdul’s departure, I’ve been on the fence of whether to return to Idol for its ninth season.

With Ellen in the “Idol” house, I’m thinking I’m going to have to return, which proves the powers-that-be are creating a new buzz about the show and they just might know what they’re doing after all.

* * *

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned Kates and I are getting into “Mad Men” …

I’m still saying it’s really too bad it took us three years, and now we’re playing catch-up.

But Sunday night’s episode I thought was the best we’ve seen yet … Between Peggy’s search for a roommate and the death of Grandpa Draper – which I totally did not see coming this soon. Then, there was poor Sally Draper, whose emotions EW summed up swimmingly in its review of the episode …

Can someone please give Kiernan Shipka an ice cream sundae The young actress, who plays tortured Sally Draper, certainly earned a special treat with that performance on the front stoop (''no! no! no!'') and later in the kitchen amongst the adults. It was an episode about family, and the fraught tether that binds its members. Parents demand too little or too much, inevitably disappointing in small and large ways. Children crave recognition and approval, even when they're breaking free of legacy. And nobody dealt with their familial pain and longing better than little Sally, who seemed to experience all seven stages of grief in the one hour.

* * *

TV columnist Tom Shales had a good read the other day about the challenge “Saturday Night Live” faces this year after last year’s dynamite season.

I couldn’t agree more with the notion that it’s not looking good.

Kates and I were equally shocked to learn of Michaela Watkins’ dismissal from the show. After her funny turn on “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” we were thrilled to see her cast on SNL, where her Hoda Kotb and a number of other characters were instant goodness. … But I can side with Lorne Michaels’ reported opinion that Watkins deserves her own show. It’s just too bad he thought she deserved it after just one season on SNL.

On the other hand, I won’t be missing Casey Wilson who was also dismissed from SNL. I just didn't think she was funny.

* * *

Here’s some of the new shows Kates and I are eyeing up and looking to try this fall … The keyword is try. If it's anything like previous years, we'll end up holding on to one or two of these ...

a Accidentally on Purpose
a Jay Leno
a Hank
a The Middle
a Modern Family
a Cougar Town
a FlashForward
a Community

Desperate no more

... I didn't like last night's "Desperate Housewives."

Talk all you want about the genius stroke of flashing ahead five years, I don't think it worked.

To me, last night's episode felt too scattered, too jumpy. And I thought the storylines -- aside from the somewhat amusing tiff between Bree and Katherine (though I also found it hard to believe Katherine would serve as an assistant to Bree) -- were mostly trite and predictable. ... Gabby's no longer fit for modeling and has two fat monsters for kids? C'mon, surely there was a better story for her than that?

In other ways, the stories were just unrealistic, even for Wisteria lane. As annoying and hollow as Susan could/can be, I can't imagine her being so unfair to Mike. We learned last night that Susan and Mike separated after a deadly car crash and she blames Mike for not checking their vehicle's brakes.

On top of that, none of the women -- minus Gabby -- looked a day older than we left them last season. Did the makeup artists get laid-off over the summer? ... Seems like all the kids on Wisteria Lane got pink slips too; how convenient that Lynette and Tom still have their evil twins, but the rest of their once full house has suddenly disappeared.

Ugh.

The bottom line is it failed to pull me in. And I'm not sure I want to continue watching.

Sunday reading

Some of the stories that caught my eyes during the last couple weeks ...

Sports ...
a Brett Favre Getting That Retirement Itch Again ... A funny one from The Onion.
a Favre talks candidly about retirement, comeback
a Hill never loses grip on career
a Change in the air as baseball enters final month of season
a Amazin' ... Do you believe in miracles? The '69 Mets certainly do—and when they look at the upstart Rays, they see plenty of parallels with their own remarkable run.

TV ...
a 'Desperate Housewives' Welcomes Gail O'Grady! ... Maybe they'll cast Brittany Snow as her mischievious teenage daughter. Man, I miss "American Dreams" ...
a Dave at Peace: The Rolling Stone Interview ... I may not be up to stay up late for him as much as I used to, but Letterman still rocks. Reading about that Warren Zevon moment almost made me cry.

Politics ...
a Are the Candidates Putting Best Foot Forward?

Internet & media ...
a A Social Network Where You Can Be Too Social ... Ah, the vacuum that is Facebook.
a Facebook Ads Target You Where It Hurts
a 6.5 reasons you're not too old for Facebook
a Fans flock to Disney's Club Penguin Times

Travel ...
a Mackinac? Sweet.
a Wright's Taliesin showcases 'organic' architecture
a More than Rushmore: South Dakota road trip
a Paris doesn't have to be expensive

Life & other stuff ...
a Florida woman claims slice of Americana via a magazine

Killer finales!

Kates and I passed up a chance to go to a "Sex and the City" premiere tonight ...

Whatever. We'll catch it on DVD.

We had to watch the Lost finale baby! Aw yeah.

First things first -- Ben's whole island disappearing act explained a whole lot for me. It's no wonder why rescuers couldn't find the castaways, why Widmor's crew was so ecstatic to find the place and why we had all those what-the-heck questions about the time continuum -- Now we know how Ben ended up face-down in the middle of a desert.

I'm also thinking I called it when I said the scenes being shown in this season's flash forwards weren't showing the end of the series but rather some things we could see play out, say, next season ...

And, after the name Jeremy Bentham was dangled in front of us for the entire episode, we finally got a look at who was in the much-debated coffin -- Locke.

There were quite a few other good moments in the finale, too. Perhaps the best was the scene involving Ben and Locke in the depths of the Orchid stations and Ben sitting Locke down in front of an ancient television -- that still worked! -- to watch the latest orientation video. Meanwhile Ben is tossing into the time travel chamber any piece of metal he can find -- just as the video is explaining to Locke that whatever you do, do not place any metal into the chamber. ... I also got a good kick out of the bit of dialogue with Sawyer crawling back onto the beach after his dive from the rescue helicopter, and finding poor Juliet getting drunk on rum as she watched the freighter go up in flames ...

... And my heart was never racing as hard as it was when Jack and the gang finally boarded that helicopter to head to the freighter, and knowing Michael, Desmond and Jin were back on the ship trying to un-wire the explosives -- and all that was happening while Ben and Locke were in the Orchid chamber with Mean Army Dude, whose armband was set to detonate the explosives the moment his heart stopped beating ... which it did. Riveting TV folks!

Oh, and Jin -- yeah, I'm thinking he's still alive too; he dove off the freighter before it burst into flames ...

But here's another question -- What happens to him and Faraday's life raft? What's their fate now that the island is gone and they're floating in the middle of the ocean?

Lost reads ...
a 'Lost' season finale should answer questions
a For Durand, playing the 'Lost' psychopath can be a blast ... A good read on Mean Army Dude meantioned above. Didn't expect him to go as fast as he did. He was one mean dude ... Then again, I had a feeling he wasn't dead the first time. Should've shot him in the head when they had the chance -- Though that wouldn't have been good for Sun, who was still on the freighter at the time ...
a Josh Holloway finds himself on 'Lost'

And here's a look at the two other big finales in our household ... both of which I give a big thumbs up.
a Grey's Anatomy: Big kisses ...I never thought I'd be enjoying Izzie as much as I did this spring. And lo and behold Derek and Meredith are fawning over each other again ...
a 'Desperate Housewives': Five-Year Plan ... A terrific end to a terrific season. Tom finally canned Kayla, and we finally got some answers in the whole Dylan saga. Now we've got to figure out what happened between Susan and Mike!

Fun and games

I read this passage yesterday on a music blog that was talking about the sorry state of our world and challenging, for a lack of a better description, the little people to do what they can to make things better ...

dream big, you f**kers -- start with an idea, think it through, make it happen

I’m making it my mantra for 2008.

* * *

It's been bitterly cold here the last couple days ... Bring back the 60-degree tornado weather.

* * *

Kates and I have officially started work on the baby’s room. We’re re-doing what once was Kates’ office …

The room is already orange, which we decided to keep because there are bits of orange in some of the décor we’ve picked out …

We also thought it would be a great idea to paint the ceiling yellow -- also taken from bits of our décor.

But when the yellow went on the ceiling Sunday night, Kates hated it … And for the record, I wasn’t exactly keen on it at first, either. But the more I studied it, the more I liked it -- it gave the room sort of a cool, whimsical feel, I thought.

Still, after 24 hours, Kates wasn’t bending …

So guess what I was doing last night?

That’s right -- painting the ceiling back to its former wedding cake white.

* * *

I’m still enjoying the respite from trying to keep up with a constant flow of TV shows. Sorry, Writer’s Guild.

Two weeks ago “Desperate Housewives” signed off with the cap on its tornado saga. (How interesting was that -- and then we had an actual tornado the next day!?)

Thursday we watched the final “Grey's Anatomy” -- which, for all my whining about how bad it’s become, actually shaped up decently in its last few episodes.

And Sunday night we caught the final “Brothers & Sisters.” Love it. Wonderful, human drama.

But for all the crying about reality shows taking over the primetime airwaves, so far the networks are doing a decent job of filling some of the slots …

Kates and I do like the new “Cashmere Mafia,” … though reviews have been less than favorable.

And we’re welcoming back “According to Jim,” “Old Christine” and “Lost” -- Lost!! -- with open arms …

That, and bring on the Jayhawk basketball. I watched Saturday’s win at Nebraska and last night’s blowout of Oklahoma with glee (good to see George Brett at the game!) … But I shutter every time an analyst calls them the best team in the nation, because that only sets us up for another choke …

* * *

Time for some Internet fun.

I got this Frank Sinatra spoof from a friend who suggested this be played at all airports ...

I also received this video from a friend. The video apparently is of a phone call placed by a boy to a Houston radio station ...

Talking TV

So I haven’t been much for talking about TV this fall. Sorry.

I blame it partly on getting so wrapped up in the postseason baseball. Then, I was racing to catch up with so many shows on the DVR that I hardly had time to soak up a lot of them. And now Hollywood is in a writer’s strike that’s halting our favorite shows and there's no signs of them resuming.

I also blame it on the fact I haven’t exactly been blown away by anything I’ve been watching this fall -- at least not the way I was always blown away by the hilarity of Friends, Fraiser, Raymond or Will & Grace. Or the soaring drama, action and charm of West Wing, or the early episodes of Lost and Heroes… Which is sort of surprising because it’s a rarity I don’t really like at least a handful of the new shows ...

This year has been a rarity … I was turned off by Caveman and Carpoolers in just five minutes. We stayed with Samantha Who for two episodes before cutting that one loose. And Reaper hung around on our DVR for about three or four episodes before we dismissed that one too …

Oh, and Private Practice? Yeah. Still boycotting it.

We’ve kept up with Big Bang Theory (I do really enjoy Sheldon …) and Back To You, but those are starting to wear too … Even How I Met Your Mother and The Office seem to have lost their edge (Although I must admit the first couple episodes of this season's Office, despite being an hour long, were pretty stellar -- Angela to Dwight, referring to her cats: “I don‘t want Garbage! I want Sprinkles!” And later during their breakup: “I will leave your toothbrush on your tire.”) ... That said, 30 Rock may be the sitcom I've most enjoyed watching this fall -- and that's something I never thought I'd be saying last fall ...

If a show has any premise remotely about crime and cops, or even smells of sleaze, I'm not getting near it. I don’t care how well it’s written or produced -- I get enough of that in my every day work …

There have been some signs of TV life lately, though … mostly in Daisies, a tornado and a favorite from last season that couldn’t have returned at more appropriate time.

Yeah. So how about that tornado on Wisteria Lane last night!? Captivating at times (Lynette's scream at the end), funny at others (Edie vs Gabby; Victor vs Carlos -- I saw Victor getting pinned with that fence post a mile away), and sometimes just dumb -- No one predicts a tornado hours before it's going to hit and then prepares for it. McClusky driving up in her car and yelling to the neighbors (who were standing under a sunny sky) at 9 in the morning that a tornado had hit Mt. Pleasant and they'd better get under cover for the 4 o'clock tornado was the worst. And c'mon, aside from the Scavo clan, why was nobody worried about Julie and the rest of the kiddos!? ... If you ask me, the Halloween episode was the best so far of a season that's almost reached First Season levels. Danielle playing Bree might have been the funniest thing I've ever seen on Housewives… Still, more recent Sundays have been like watching “a very special episode” of Desperate Housewives. Between Lynette’s cancer battle, Mike’s drug user/abusive husband persona and now Andrew moving out ... Seriously.

Keeping with the Sunday night lineup, Brothers & Sisters quietly endures as the new age thirtysomething … Sally Field. Rob Lowe. Calista Flockhart. A large, beautiful California family. Wonderful plots. A good wedding. I love the dynamic Rebecca adds to the family ... If B&S lost any points with me this season, it happened when they brought in that creepy Leena to sleep with idiot Tommy ...

On to Monday nights ... Heroes didn’t start out so hot, and I was beginning to doubt my draw to the show I fell so deeply in love with last year … Ah, but the last few weeks have turned almost as stellar as the high points of last season’s fight to save the world … With every new episode, new character and new power revealed -- it’s like one giant game of rock, paper, scissors! Seriously. It's like regeneration beats electricity, which beats flight and -- you get the idea … I'm comfortably on board again. Except, now it's over for a few weeks. (Who assassinated Nathan!?!)

As for Greys Anatomy, however, I've resigned to the notion it's never going to be as good as the pre-Super-Bowl bomb-era Grey's. … Our fearless, gonna-save-the-world interns are growing up; they're not so innocent anymore. They're more cynical and mean now. And these days they appear to be more concerned with who can have the most closet sex than they are with being chummy at the cafeteria table. I miss those days ... At least Bailey finally got to be a chief.

And that leaves me with the colorful and dazzling Pushing Daisies ... Why the buzz on this show is so subdued baffles me. (Kates was slow to warm to it too, but I finally got her hooked after a couple episodes) Did I mention how colorful it is? I love the straight-on camera angles of the characters during their conversations. I love the narration. I love the idea that Ned and Chuck are so deep into each other but it's impossible for them to touch, and the way your heart sinks for them every time they get close. And I love that each episode is a 40-minute fantasa-magical who-dun-it adventure with four people I'd love to spend my days with ...


Oh, and that show that couldn't have returned at a more appropriate time? I'm talking about Notes From the Underbelly, baby! The critics can and will say what they want about it. Yeah, so it's not the greatest premise ever, but it's darn fun and cute for a young couple that's sharing the same experiences -- and I'll watch anything with Rachael Harris ...

Not ready for primetime

It can’t start. I’m not ready yet.

For the fall TV season that is.

There’s still too much good baseball left, dang it.

( … and it’s not looking good for the Brewers right now, folks. Stayed up and watched ‘em blow an extra innings affair against the Astros on Wednesday night. Then Kates and I hooped and hollered watching the come-from-behind thriller on Friday night. And we endured the heartbreaker yesterday during which they came from behind once again and went up in the top of the 10th on a Corey Hart home run, only to see the Braves tie it up again in the bottom of the 10th on a Scott Thorman home run, and then we watched the Brewers lose it in the bottom of the 11th …All the while, the Cubs have kept on winning, and as of this evening, the Cubs are 3.5 games up with six left to play … Ah well. The Red Sox are in. The Angels are in. And at least all is well in Packer country … )

On Wednesday night, Kates and I caught the premiere of “Back to You.” ... Not bad. It is a change from Fox’s usual style of programming, and Patricia Heaton's and Kelsey Grammer's and Fred Willard's comedic chops will be enough to keep me watching for awhile … Though I’m not betting on this one. Frankly, it reminds me too much of “Good Morning, Miami.” And we all know how long that one lasted ... On the other hand (and I'm disagreeing on this one with my cohorts who also watched the show) there could be some strong possibilities with Kelly Carr's daughter Gracie and the idea that Chuck Darling is her father. It could be fun to watch how Darling adapts to the news, which Carr broke to him at the end of the premiere, and then how the parents raise her while serving as co-anchors of the Pittsburgh news station.

Then on Thursday night, only because we couldn’t find anything else to watch for the time, Kates and I ran through the DVR and watched the “Grey’s Anatomy” Addison Montgomery lovefest that originally aired on Wednesday night … Seriously. That thing featured everyone on the People Magazine staff, including the janitor, (and probably paid them handsomely) gushing about how strong and smart and vulnerable and dignified Addison is …. And blah, blah blah … bleh!

Whatever. I’m boycotting “Private Practice.” (see why here.) I wish I could predict that it will barely last a season, but the reality is that Grey's has such a strong fan base and PP has such a cast of TV stars that it will probably stick around. And before we know it Grey's is going to be ABC's version of "CSI" ... bleh!

Still, the premiere of "Survivor" remains on our DVR, unwatched. And tonight “Desperate Housewives” and “Brothers & Sisters” come back.

I’m not ready yet.

But here’s what I do plan to watch during what looks like an otherwise disappointing year for new shows …

a Pushing Daisies ... This reviewer, and the fact it has Kristin Chenoweth was enough to pique my interest ...

"... Chenoweth calls this show "fantasmagorical," and when you see it, you’ll know precisely what she means. Pushing Daisies is bizarre and strange and wonderful and vivid and has all the makings of a great new TV love affair."

a Samantha Who? ... Same reviewer.

a Cavemen ... which I'll bet doesn't make it past a third or fourth week. But, hey, the commercials make me laugh ...

Good TV reads ...
a CBS aims to be the talk of the Web
a The joke's on sitcoms as dramas get the laughs

TV talk

Ah, spring.

The time when TV networks give in. They dole out their leftovers and cheaply-made, reject TV shows to fill the voids left by the shows that at first seemed oh so glamorous but we, the Average Joe, middle-class audience didn’t get 'em or like 'em …

With baseball, church activities, graduate classes and workplace responsibilities running us straight to bedtime on most weeknights lately, Kates and I have barely been keeping up …

Thank God for DVR. Now we spend most Friday and Saturday nights parked on the couch taking in all the TV we’ve missed during the week …

The usual favorites have remained steady and strong. Desperate Housewives (Mrs. McCluskey was keeping her husband in he freezer!!), Brothers & Sisters (We’ve believed in it even when it wasn’t doing well, and now it’s picking up steam. Woo hoo! … Last week: Best episode of the season; excellent writing. Ooooh Rebecca!), How I Met Your Mother (Best sitcom on TV!), Heroes (Ok, that’s my personal favorite) According To Jim, American Idol (Talk about addictive ...), Lost (uh, where the heck is this thing going!?), Survivor, The Office, Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy (Kates’ favorite … and more on that later…)

Now we’ve got October Road (actually, that’s just Kates’ show … I refused to let myself get into it), The Real Wedding Crashers (my show. Kates refuses to let herself get into that one …) Thank God You’re Here and Notes From The Underbelly …

... The latest candid camera show to hit TV, The Real Wedding Crashers gets my vote simply for being a zany, laugh-out-loud prankfest. Plus Ben, Gareth, Cat, Desi and Steve are five people I'd love to party with ...

... And Thank God You're Here is just as fun for it's never-know-what's-gonna-happen-next factor. It's fun to see people like Jason Alexander and Angela Kinsey doing something out of the norm, and the icing on the cake is watching the talented ensemble cast play with the guest stars -- Hello, Maribeth Monroe! -- Kates and I saw her perform on more than one occasion in Chicago, loved her!, and now she's all over TV!!

Meanwhile, Notes is good for its wry, sarcastic humor, spun on Andrew and Lauren's journey into parenthood. Or maybe it's just more interesting because Kates and I are inching closer to that chapter of our lives ... Either way, Andrew and Lauren are a totally cool, relatable couple. I'll watch anything that Rachael Harris is on. And Melanie Paxson has been a favorite of mine for a few years too ...

Then there's that whole Grey's matter ... Thursday's episode? Loved Christina's latest bout with Burke about the idea of a big wedding (the scene of the girls in the bridal shop was priceless), it was heart-warming to see Meredith and her dad getting along, and smiling, and the whole George-Izzie-Callie love triangle continues to pull on the heart strings too (I'm rooting for Izzie). It's a great show... when it's only an hour long...

So when ABC started advertising Thursday's special two-hour episode, my expectations were lowered considerably considering the show's lackluster other special episodes (the whole Izzie-Denny debacle and the Meredith-drowns-and-comes-back-from-the-dead escapade) ...

What I didn't love about Thursday night's episode? Addison going off to free herself, aka the pilot for her Grey's spinoff ...

It was as if the creators grabbed as many beautiful actors as they could find, stuck them in a glossy California treatment center, loaded up the characters were there own life issues and wah-lah, Addison has her spin-off ...

At least most of the beautiful actors in Grey's Anatomy were virtual unknowns. The spin-off -- Taye Diggs? Amy Brenneman? Timothy Daly? -- the star-power was too distracting ...

Sure, the show obviously has a ton of possibilities, but there's almost too many possibilities -- with little direction, no depth and too many gags. Seriously. The show could've done without the whole receptionist/surfer dude walking through the lobby shirtless. Having Pete drooling over Addison was way too predictable, and then having them makeout in the stairwell was just weird and creepy. And let's not forget the biggest gag of them all -- an elevator that Addison believed was talking to her. Yes, we learned at the end of the show that the voice in the elevator was a security woman, but seriously?

Good read: 'Grey's' secret weapon: Can ABC bank on breakout success with an "Anatomy" spinoff ?

Sunday TV

Thanks to ABC showing reruns of "Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters" tonight, I actually got to watch "You're The One That I Want" and "The Apprentice" in real time ...

... For my money, ballerina bombshell Ashley Spencer blows all the other wannabe Sandys away; I've liked her from the start and I'll take her to the end. And while I'm still not very keen on any of the Dannys, Chad's far out take on "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" pretty much sealed his status for me ...

So I voted for Ashley and Chad. That's my story and I'm sticking to it ...

As for The Apprentice, Marissa was as good as gone the third time she dialed Heidi to try once more on selling her crazy chickens-on-a-corner idea ...

Golden wha!?

... We're almost two-thirds into tonight's Golden Globe Awards and very little has surprised me...

But 'Ugly Betty' for Best Comedy Series!?!? Are you kidding me!?!

"The Office," "Desperate Housewives" and what I've seen of "Entourage" and "Weeds" are 10 times more original and funnier than "Ugly Betty" ... and if you need any more proof, look at the clips that they showed tonight while the nominees were being read. The clip for "Ugly Betty" was a scene from the first episode showing Betty not saying anything, but simply running into a glass door and falling to the floor ...

Pleeeeeeeeeeease. Hardly funny because the stunt's been used in a million other comedy sketches, movies, TV shows and just about everything else played out on a stage.

... And now America Ferrera is winning for Best Actress in a Comedy Series!! ... Again, all four of the people she was up against -- Marcia Cross ("Desperate Housewives"), Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives"), Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") and Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds) -- were more deserving ...

... At least America's speech is heartfelt, and I'll give it to her that her Betty Suarez is putting a new face on TV and inspiring young girls ...

But the show isn't that funny!!

Dang foreign press.

Desperate

Wow.

They told us it was going to be a memorable ''Housewives." And for once, they weren't lyin' ...

Somehow I sensed Nora was gonna get it. I mean she was a witch, but she didn't deserve to go like that. The final exchange between her and Lynette was touching ...

Lynette continues to be, by far, my favorite character ...

Best line of the night: Edie to Harvey Bigsby whose gun-wielding wife is waiting for him on the other side of the door. “Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team!”

Best scene: Carlos gleefully revving up a chainsaw to continue the unforgiving destruction of his and Gabby’s belongings while Gabby stands at their door with a dumbfounded Mrs. McCluskey … followed by Bree serving up appetizers to the neighborhood as they gather to watch coverage of the supermarket hostage situation on TV ...

Catching up ...

... It's been one of those weeks ...

... It's never a good thing when your boss starts it by saying he's heavily medicated. But give him credit, he had just returned from a cross-country trip and was going on two hours of sleep ...

... Our office also ushered in a new computer system and software this week. Oh, the madness ... I arrived in our office Tuesday morning to the sight of a gleaming new flat screen computer on my desk. But it was another three hours before the tech guys had all the proper drives installed and programs working properly -- something that was supposed to be completed overnight. Worse yet, I couldn't access my email. The tech guys told me the program was fixed before I left Tuesday evening -- only to discover the next morning they input the wrong password to my computer when they were changing over the system on Monday night ... and the problems with my machine were hardly as bad as some of my cohorts ...

* * *
... It's that time of year again. The first quarter is coming to a close, and Kates is stressing about filling out grade reports and dealing with crazy (... that's putting it nicely for some of them ...) parents.

... add to that the stress of her masters classes ...

... yeah.

Pray for her.

* * *

... With as cold as it's been around here this fall, we've been ready for snow any day now ...

... then on Monday, the leaves kept falling, the sun shined ... and the temperature rose ...

... despite being night falling earlier, it was freakishly warm as we arrived home from work. And I heard a weather report the next morning that said O'Hare's temperature guage read 62 degrees at midnight...

... in October!

* * *

I spent Thursday afternoon visiting the new Discovery World museum in Milwaukee ...

Another museum, I'd love to go back to on my own ... when it's finished.

It's truly a new world of fascination on Milwaukee's lakefront, sandwiched between the art museum and the Summerfest grounds ... But half the museum is still under construction. Walls are being painted, exhibits are being assembled and down the halls you can hear workers banging and drilling. The museum officials contend they wanted visitors to be able to see the museum grow and evolve, but I don't buy it. Sure about two-thirds of it is open and ready, but the lack of a finished product makes it look as though they ran out of money and had to open the big white box in hopes of attracting some visitors and raking in the money to finish it ...

... aside from the construction mess, the museum atrium alone is a sight to be seen with its wide-open views of Lake Michigan. And the interactive science and technology exhibits on the second floor are worth your time as well.

As expected, though, the aquatic room is by far the highlight. The tunnel underneath the aquarium of Carribean fish sucks you in and doesn't let go -- we stood inside the tunnel for several minutes just gazing at the fish passing over us... amazing. And then there's the parts of the floor where only a piece of glass seperates your feet and the fish-filled water that flows underneath you -- that sensation of walking on the water is sure to freak out nine of every 10 people who visit the museum ...

* * *

It was a good TV week ...

... Sunday night's Brothers & Sisters was entertaining and pulled on the heart strings, as usual. And this week's Desperate Housewives may have been my fave of the season. Seeing the girls get drunk on Lynette's porch was classic. And then Lynette finally gave it to Nora ... yes!

... Unfortunately, Lost isn't holding up as well. We didn't watch Wednesday night's episode until late Friday night because, well, we're not so interested anymore. And even then, I'd already heard enough to know that Eko was going to be killed off ... Here's hoping they let Ben die off, end the torture and the survivors band with the Others to figure out what's really happening on that island ...

( ... I totally disagree with the people who are suddenly coming out of the woodwork and saying Eko was one of the most entertaining characters ... but Tim Goodman's rant is a little entertaining ...)

... As for Thursday night, the Aitu tribe's good vibes and domination never ceases to excite me on Survivor. So long Flica: I'll miss ya, you were darn cool, but you were the weakest link ... The Office, as usual, was good for a chuckle here and there ... and Grey's Anatomy finally started making some sense again. Thank goodness ...

But ...

None of those comapare to Heroes. These days, there is no show I look forward to more each week than that exciting web of ordinary people discovering their crazy super-powers ...

* * *

... Still, with no more baseball to watch and several shows in reruns this week I spent much of my evenings this week laying back and -- as the lovely and talented Corrine Bailey Rae sings so beautifully -- put my records on ...

Talk about a great way to get away from it all ...

... I caught the Dixie Chicks on Storytellers last weekend ( ... amazing performance! Catch it if you can in reruns!! They rocked "Cowboy Take Me Away" ...) and that got me on a kick that started the week with "Wide Open Spaces."

... Monday night was truly dedicated to the records: Cat Stevens: Greatest Hits, Fleetwood Mac: Rumors, The Carpenters: A Song For You, Billy Joel: The Stranger, Elton John: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player ...

... On Thursday morning, I reached way back and pulled out Hootie's Fairweather Johnson ... underrated album.

... And as the weekend arrived, my stereo has performed multiple plays of the Rent movie soundtrack, KT Tunstall's Eye To The Telescope and, dare I say, Paris Hilton's Paris ... hey, it's a catchy album!

Fall TV

So I just finally got around to watching Wednesday night's premieres of 30 Rock and Twenty Good Years ... I doubt I'll be watching 30 Rock again, which is too bad for all the star power and talent involved. The premiere hardly made me laugh. The jokes were dumb. And Rachel Dratch's talents were wasted. The whole thing plays like Tina Fey said 'Hey, I wanna do a sitcom, I'm going to steal some people from SNL, we'll just mess around and see what we can do ..." ... Twenty Good Years, however, has some potential. Ok, so the jokes weren't much better. But the carpe diem plot is intriguing -- John Mason, the surgeon, is forced into semi-retirement, and judge Jeffrey Pyne is dealing with the death of his wife. And Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow seem to have the type of chemistry that could carry the show for awhile ...

And now my fall TV-watching schedule is a little bit clearer ...

... On Sunday nights, a lot has changed. Then again, not much has changed at all ... West Wing is gone. And three weeks in, I'm still trying to get used to the void that used to be the start-to-the-week-pick-me-up that was Grey's Anatomy (which is holding its own on Thursday nights ...) ... Kates and I still have Amazing Race. Love the ethnicity this season. And it wouldn't be Amazing Race without a trashy couple bickering in every show. The Beauty Queens, the Cheerleaders, Alabama -- they all drive me nuts at some point. And the coalminer and his wife -- well, it's all entertaining ... Glad to see Desperate Housewives has returned to its former self. Before the season started, I heard a radio interview with James Denton that had him talking about how messy and chaotic things were behind the scenes last year. Cast members were getting scripts handed to them as they were walking on the stage. Things were screwed up and the show suffered because of it. Denton explained how the writers and everyone involved knew the show had to be turned around. And they've delivered -- the quick wit is back. The deep mystery, the suspense, the tension -- all of it is back, mostly compliments of Orson, who gives me the creeps just looking at him ... Then you have Brothers & Sisters. Eh. The premiere was pretty decent, but ultimately it's probably going to be Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths and the interesting dynamic among the brothers and sisters that keeps us watching, plus the fact that it's on after Desperate Housewives ...

... Come Monday, Kates and are still attached to the CBS sitcoms ... The Class, a pleasant surprise, is charming and fun to watch with its cool and quirky ensemble of characters ...How I Met Your Mother -- Love it. As good as ever ... Two And A Half Men is still strong ... As for The New Adventures of Old Christine, I watched the first couple episodes last spring and barely watched much more. When it won an Emmy, I didn't understand 'Why?' But some of this season's episodes have had us laughing 'til we cry ... At 9 p.m., we're switching to NBC for Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. The cast is phenomenal and it's hard not to love Aaron Sorkin's racing, walking-the-halls dialogue ... But I think the best new show on television is, by far, Heroes! A sci-fi, comic book, X-men fan I am definitely not. But I've liked watching Hayden Panettiere since Remember The Titans and I was again drawn to the ensemble cast. I watched the first episode and I was hooked! I love the complex characters, although some a more than others (Hiro rocks!) and every twist and turn blows your mind more than one before ...

... on Tuesdays, there's nothing on. Whew! ... at least until According to Jim and Scrubs return mid-season ...

... Wednesday comes and we're all about Lost, dude. Kates and I had half my office over and hosted a Lost party to watch the premiere (... apparently I wasn't the only confused one...). It moves as slow as molasses, but it's a darn fascinating show. Classic story-telling. Fantastic character development ...

... Thursday night arrives ... Five years ago, Survivor didn't stand a chance of showing on my TV, then Friends went off the air, NBC tanked, the Survivor producers added some new twists, added the whole exile island and reeled me in last season. And here I'm back again for this season, even though the point of the racially-divided tribes was ... ? By merging the tribes, the producers rendered their little experience pointless. Either way, I've been rooting hard as heck each week for the Aitu tribe. Yul, Becky, Flica, Jonathan, Candice, Ozzy, Sundra -- what a likable group ... Then the marathon continues when we pickup The Office on the DVR at 8, followed by Grey's Anatomy and the ancient, but rarely dull ER ...

... And on Fridays ... we rest.

TV reads ...
10 fall tube tips
NBC Completely Revamps Fall TV Schedule
TV Commercials Move Beyond the Box
What’s new next fall? Shows to get your blood pumping

'Desperate' finale

I think 'Desperate Housewives' has officially lost its mojo ...

The finale was good, it was suspenseful (somewhat) ... but it wasn't great.

The flashbacks of the housewives moving onto Wisteria Lane and becoming friends were entertaining, and it was great to see killed-off characters Mary Alice, Rex and George ... Lynette remains far and beyond my favorite character (... as insane as her kids driver her sometimes, most of the time, it seems she's the only intelligent and halfway decent person living on the block ...) ... and the climaxing scene with Bree facing a gun-pointing Matthew was gripping ...

But ...

... Susan's on-again, off-again thing with Mike and her do-nothing-right personality and constant ditzy, whiny heart-breaking is getting a little (ok -- a lot) annoying. ... And where the heck did Mr. Creepy Dentist guy come from!?! Suddenly he appears after Susan's house burns down and becomes the new creepy guy on the block ... and to make matters worse, Bree appears to have some affection for him.

sigh.

... Another 'Desperate' story being recylcled for a 'Desperate' cause. ... I'm actually contemplating not watching next season, but I'll probably watch anyway out of habit ... I hate good TV.

I'm tired.

This story says it all ...

The Long Way Home

So today was the day. The culmination of months of training, planning and anticipation. The Tour de Cure bike ride and my first game in the city’s new men’s adult baseball league … Given the day I was about to have, it struck me that when I started my car this morning, plugged in the iPod and set it on shuffle, the first song that came on was Supertramp’s ‘Take the Long Way Home.’

… I certainly took the long way today.

My alarm had gone off at 5:58 a.m. and -- after I literally jumped out of bed (I saw how bright it was outside and thought I was late, and then realized I was fine …), got dressed, ate a bowl of cereal and skimmed the paper -- I was on my way a little after 6:30 …

It took a little over an hour to drive to the registration site. I checked in. Got my free T-shirt. And waited.

A group of riders already had left on a 100k trip. And at 8:30, after a few pre-ride introductions and guidelines, I slipped on my iPod and joined the hundred or so riders as we set out for our 50k ride. 34 miles.

The ride started easy enough with a stretch of downtown roads and neighborhood streets. Soon, however, we were riding on wide-open rural roads, head-on into a northeast wind. Pile on top of that some gradual, but grueling hills that left me seriously doubting whether I would be able to complete this thing. Not to mention my calves already were burning.

The first of four rest stops finally came about eight miles into the ride, although it seemed like 20. … I grabbed a banana, a power bar, downed a cup of Powerade and was off again.

… Fortunately the second and third legs of the ride proved to be much easier. We stayed on rural roads, but they remained mostly flat and some abundant tree lines helped block the winds. I found myself gaining some good speed at times. And by the end of the third leg, the course was beginning to loop back to the starting point, pitting the wind at our backs … But it also was the end of the third leg that my iPod battery ran out of juice (doh!), which meant I was going to have to finish the thing on my own will power with no energizing music to help me keep going ….

I contemplated skipping the fourth and last rest stop, but stopped anyway, I was glad in the end. I chowed down one more banana, grabbed some water and got my mind set on finishing …

Though the fifth and final leg proved almost as difficult as the first. The final miles took us along side busy streets, up some more gradual hills and into more wind. Even in a low gear my legs were burning so badly it was as though lava was bursting from them. And then trying to ride on the Interstate overpass with the wind currents coming over the bridge … ugh.

Finally, 34 miles and 3 ½ hours later, the finish line appeared and I rode in … stopping at my car, hopping off my bike and, well, taking a lot of pride in what I had just accomplished … and realizing, amazingly, yeah I’ve still got some left to play a ball game…

I picked up my goodie bag, another free T-shirt, chatted with a team member, grabbed a sandwich and was on the road again. On my way home to play ball -- I hoped …

* * *

Somehow I beat the traffic and arrived at the ball field about 1:10, ten minutes passed the game’s start time. With my uniform in the back seat, I changed in my car, then grabbed my gear and jogged to the ball field. My team was in the field and I stepped into the dugout to the surprise of my teammates. … (I had told them last week my bike ride probably was going to prevent me from making the game. It wasn’t until last night that I started thinking about it and realized I might be able to pull off both …)

… Now, I wish I could say I got into the game and came up with a game-winning hit. Nope. Didn’t happen. Not even close.

In the dugout I learned my team hadn’t even stepped to the plate. It was still the top of the first and we were down 7-0. Apparently our starting pitcher had the jitters and when I arrived, Coach was making his second pitching change …

When our turn came to bat, Coach stuck me at the bottom of the lineup and I made my first plate appearance in the bottom of the third. I drew an easy walk. But I was quickly erased when the next batter hit a line drive into right field and I rounded second, gunning for third.
Making the turn I heard ‘Go three, go three,’ but didn’t think to look up at my third base coach. Big mistake. The right fielder’s throw was dead on, I tried sliding around the tag , but the third baseman got me square.

… At about the fifth or sixth inning (we were losing so badly all the innings were running together), Coach made another pitching change, allowing me to get into right field. … With two outs I had a shallow fly hit to me and should’ve made a shoestring catch, but the ball skipped under my glove and, luckily, died in the grass. We got out of the inning on the next batter, but not before another run scored on my error. It was the only time I would touch the ball on defense.

I got to the plate one more time, in the bottom of the sixth or seventh, I think. I quickly ran up an 0-2 count swinging and fouling off some pitches. But I kept battling, taking some balls, and fouling off some more pitches to run the count to 3-2. Then the pitcher, who was throwing absolute meat, ran one inside on me. I backed away from the plate thinking it was ball four, but the umpire thought otherwise. He called it a strike on the inside corner and rang me up. I would end the day 0-for-1 at the plate with a walk and a strikeout.

Our games are supposed to go nine innings, but the umpires called it at the end of the 2 ½ hour time limit. We lost 19-9.

… but, boy, did it feel good to be in uniform and playing again. If anything makes my summer, this may be it. I’ve been waiting years for something like this …

* * *

4:15 p.m. and I was home. … I had biked 34 miles. Played in a baseball game … and now I was heading out to mow the lawn and work in the yard.

Tired, schmired.

I mowed. Pulled dandelions. And finally sat my butt down at 8, just in time for the ‘Desperate Housewives’ finale …

As good as it gets

... On 'West Wing,' the Santos Administration is moving in and Arnold Vinnick could be the next chief of staff ...

... On 'Desperate Housewives,' Gabby just lost her baby (hello, Eva Longoria!! ...for once, she turned in a performance that was convincing dramatic and, dare I say, Emmy-worthy...) and Lynette is talking dirty to her boss's wife (HA-larious ...)...

... and on Grey's Anatomy, well ... it's simply the best all-around show on TV...

... Oh, the days when Thursday nights (and NBC) ruled TV land. ...that is no more.

... Television has never got the week off to a better start ...

PS: Dear ABC, Sure 'West Wing' won't be around next year -- heck, it's not even your show to worry about -- but don't even think about fiddling with your Sunday night lineup ...

Sunday reads ...

Ok folks. Admittedly some of these stories are dated. But with the holiday hangover and the chaos of the last couple weeks -- that's the way it goes. I've been meaning to share these for weeks and I can hardly stand them cluttering up my desktop anymore ...

First of all. This is just wrong and sad for all that is America ...

Moving on ...

a Revving Up an Old Relationship ... this story is getting a lot of play. If you haven't seen or heard about it, it's truly a classic ...

a A party place grows up: On the lake with two names, a boom brings many changes ... A story I dug up while searching the Internet archives for a related topic. But a good history-laden read about one of our neighboring cities nonetheless.

From Mark Patinkin ... a Providence Journal columnist I got hooked on when my newsgroup start running him. He's got life.

a At 53, the bills are higher, but you appreciate things more ... I can only imagine.
a Google growing on us ... I Google myself all the time too.

From baseball ...
a There's a Central theme within the NL ... Uh, yeah. I especially laughed out loud when Ringolsby referenced Jim Hendry dumping "Sammy Sosa's contract on Baltimore, and the Orioles so welcomed the distraction last year that this time the Cubs unloaded center fielder Corey Patterson on them." And we're all rejoicing because of it in Chi-town!

a Epstein rejoining Red Sox full-time
a It's the Red Sox who see the light ... and they're all rejoicing in Boston too!

a Vintage cards found in dead man's home

And in music...
a Looking forward to her love angel music baby ...Congrats Gwen.
a Soulful Blunt stirs listeners with ‘Beautiful’ ...And it truly is. I was hooked on James Blunt the moment I finished downloading one of his songs on iTunes last fall ...

In other entertainment...
a 'Housewives' Bree Even Shocks Marcia Cross
a Current season will be final one for ‘West Wing’ ... It was fun while it lasted, but I don't think any of us that still watch the show are surprised. For me, the long good-bye started when Rob Lowe left the show ...
a ABC defends head-spinning cancellation of Heather Graham's comedy ... Seriously!? The trailers were bad enough to make me not tune in and the two people that did watch the show confirmed it was one of the worst shows in the history of television.
a 'Why We Fight' ... and why I'd like to see it...

And finally ...
State quarter's extra leaf grew out of lunch break ... Great. And I just took a cannister to the bank full of like $60 worth in quarters ...

'Rent' check

Let’s face it … the weather outside was rainy and crummy. Kates and I had been bickering for most of the afternoon and then I lost her in Target.

Then we saw ‘Rent.’

The two of us walked out of the theater bubbling with smiles and, well, feelings of love. I simply said, ‘Awesome.’ Kates added, ‘Yes. I think we will be owning that on DVD.’

Chris Columbus couldn’t have put together a better film version of our beloved musical. His vision and interpretation of Jonathan Larson’s script and music was spot-on. Having most of the original cast act it all out makes it even more worthwhile. In a nutshell -- the film version of ‘Rent’ was everything I had imagined and dreamed it would be. … it’s just too bad it ranked fifth on this week’s box office list.

What’s more, Columbus put new life and refreshing spins into scenes and lyrics I hadn’t cared for previously. I loved the depiction of ‘Tango Maureen’ with Mark and Joanne doing the tango in a spiffy dance hall and Maureen parading around them in a slick red dress. The choreography of the gang on a subway train during ‘Santa Fe’ was very cool. And Joanne’s and Maureen’s engagement party ‘Take me or Leave Me’ spat scene was among the most comical of the film.

Even the cuts and alterations were hardly noticeable. The voicemails weren’t sung, but the lines were there and we still got to hear Roger and Mark’s deadpan ‘speak’ at the opening of each message. And sure I fretted last week about learning that ‘Goodbye Love’ was cut from the film, but seeing it now, I’m not sure how the number would have fit and Columbus’ take on Mark and Roger doing ‘What You Own’ helped us to the flim’s climax just fine. It wasn’t until a few hours after seeing the film I realized ‘Contact’ had been eliminated. But then again, I didn’t see where it belonged in the Broadway version.

It seemed almost every review I read for ‘Rent’ the last few days had a critic complaining that Columbus’ vision wasn’t far enough out of the box, or imaginative enough. … I, however, wouldn’t have wanted this ‘Rent’ film to be portrayed any other way.

* * *
In case you missed 'Desperate Housewives' tonight .... it was bye, bye, George.

But my favorite scene? That would have to be when Bree saw George singing' Don't Give Up On Us Baby' on her front lawn, stomped up to her bedroom, pulled a shotgun from under her bed, loaded it and shot off the speaker of George's van. HA-larious!

Oh and 'Grey's Anatomy.' Still no contest. Best show on TV. ... need more reasons why?