Hump Day Update

Hey gang! Brother bear got to blog last night which means I am full of things I missed from yesterday. We missed the hump day update, but let's just call it that for old times sake. This will be the last one for edubTV 1.0. Single tear.

• It's Thursday which means The Office is on. Last week's episode wasn't that amazing but the deleted scenes were brillz! (Yes, I'm very big on abbrevs this week.) Check out some of the most cringe-worthy scenes in Office history.
  

• Former Queer as Folk star and current Desperate Housewives man-candy Gale Harold is in critical condition after a motorcycle accident a few days ago. Reports show he is steadily improving but he is far from out of the woods. Harold's character has a large role in an upcoming episode involving a nightclub fire. The ep is being shot this week and EP Marc Cherry said it will need to be changed a bit. Hopefully he'll have a speedy recovery.
  

• Have you taken the NY Post Television Aptitude tests? I scored perfect on the comedy edition and did just-ok on the drama. Feel free to leave your score in the comments.
  

• Finally those Gossip Girl kids get something right. This faux-PSA about the election starring Blake Lively and Penn Badgely is right on the money. It's executed much better than that whole "Don't Vote" mumbo-jumbo.
  

• Diablo Cody, Steven Spielberg, Toni Collette and John Corbett teamed up to make a TV show. The result? What looks like another hit for Showtime. The first look is finally available online. And sidenote, boy am I glad John Corbett is back on TV. He is one charming fella.
  

• Whitney Matheson of PopCandy interviewed the Ed Asner. Awesomeness ensued.
  

• And finally, my two favorite websites of late involve Barack-O-Lanterns and Upside-down Dogs. My taste is nothing if not refined.

Reminder: Set your phasers to stun and set your bookmarks for edubTV.com.

A Conversation With My Brother About Desperate Housewives

My brother and I get on gChat and talk about TV occasionally. Here's today's installment on the season premiere of Desperate Housewives. The show is now taking place five years into the future. I add some punctuation, capital letters, and a few items in parentheses so the conversation actually makes sense.

me: I happened to enjoy Desperate

10:30 AM Chris: Yeah, I guess it got a little better towards the end.

10:31 AM The 5 yr experiment should be interesting, but it should take the show in a new direction.

me: I liked the whole thing. I was kind of sick of some of the old stories and this kind of lets everyone start over.

10:32 AM Chris: Yeah I feel ya. I think they really did it because, babies aren't that interesting. A couple of the women had really young kids--C'mon, how fun is that?

10:33 AM me: Not fun at all. I thought it was interesting that we still didn't really see Susan's kid.He's like 5, she was without him a lot.

Chris: Yeah not until the very end.

LOL...cause she's the worst mom ever.

me: Exactly. And I didn't think Lynette's twins were 11 last season.

Chris: (Still on Susan) ...and doesnt she write KID'S books? NQ.....NOT QUALIFIED, lol.

me: (on the twins) They looked about 9.

10:34 AM And where is their (Lynnette & Tom's) daughter?

10:35 AM Chris: Yeah, I would agree on both fronts about Lynette's kids...I was kinda wondering the same thing. But once again..8th graders are boring. There's a lot you could do with high school kids who are of driving age.

I think they are just trying to maximize story lines.

me: Yeah but they could've made the other son driving age

Chris: Ahhhh, good point.

10:36 AM But he is kind of a nerd right? Maybe he's already at college

me: Well he must be.

If their saying the twins were 11 last year, the older one must've been 12 or 13.

Chris: yep

10:37 AM me: Well either way it was interesting. I like that Edie's husband is a rage-a-holic.

10:38 AM Chris: (Going totally off subject) Oh crap...i just realized i never watched P-Break last night.

Sweet...Bonus DVR today!

me: It was good.

Chris: (Returning to the subject) Yeah, you know they had to have a twist, and with that creepy hair---I figured it was him.


Photo: ABC.com

Sunday Showdown!

There's quite a TV traffic jam tonight. I plan on recording or watching pretty much everything on this list and then making decisions as to what stays on my schedule. It's going to be a long night.

-Season Premiere (The 20th to be exact): The Simpsons - Fox 8/7c
-Season Premiere: Amazing Race 13 - CBS 8/7C
-Season Premiere: Desperate Housewives - ABC 9/8C
-Season Premiere: Californication - Showtime 9/8C
-Season Premiere: Brothers & Sisters - ABC 10/9C
-Season Premiere: Dexter - Showtime - 10/9C
-New Episode: Entourage - 10/9C
-New Episode: Mad Men - 10/9C


Photo: Hulu.com

Bravo's A-List Awards Barely Make The Grade

I caught the first annual Bravo A-List Awards tonight. It was flamboyant, funny, a little yuppie and full of advertisements...basically it was like every other Bravo show ever.

Kathy Griffin hosted, but even on an award show that no one's really taking seriously, she didn't get to cut loose. The crowd (surprisingly B-List considering the occasion) didn't seem to get a lot of the jokes.

The awards were a little confusing. They weren't necessarily awards for Bravo shows, TV shows or entertainment in general. They gave out awards for A-List designers, restaurants, best ass, and a few acting awards. It's like they picked out some categories from a be-dazzled hat and decided to run with it. It was an hour and a half episode of Stuff White People Like.

The only upside to so many random awards is that some folks who don't usually get nominated for anything walked away with wins. Three cheers for Dana Delaney (Desperate Housewives) and Rainn Wilson (The Office) who finally got the credit they deserved.

So what's my five word review of tonight's show:

Meh. Better than Housewives re-runs.

Photo: BravoTV.com

Longest Desperate Housewives Ever

Despite being two separate episodes strung together with a title screen, tonight's Desperate Housewives finale still managed to pack a pretty solid wallop of suspense, outlandish mystery, whimsy and humor.

If you haven't had a chance to commit to tonight's epic, it's probably best you bypass the rest of this post. For those of you who tuned in, let's dish.

• Maynard? Not a bad name for a baby...goat that is. They couldn't compromise and make Maynard a middle name? I digress. Regardless, Maynard will end up in the newborn baby mystery spot. If you don't watch a lot of TV, this is where all the newborn babies go when their parents are out having fun and getting into hilarious hijinks. (See: Emma on Friends, Ben on Desperate Housewives, etc.)

• Anyone else glad Kayla's gone? I would be happy if that storyline is just gone forever. Tom can mention her in passing but if she ever finds her way back to Wysteria Lane it will be too soon.
  

• Katherine's husband Wayne went from zero to batshit nuts in about 40 minutes. At first he was kind of a stereotypical abusive husband character, more intimidation than anything else. Then tonight, he kidnaps, he almost kills, he tortures, he threatens. WTF? Did it seem sudden for anyone else or am I just a poor judge of TV characters?

• And speaking of which - Romanian orphanage? Katherine Mayfair is officially the most desperate of the desperate housewives.
  

• I missed whether or not Gabby made it out with the duffle of money. Any chance she'll hold on to it?

• And what are our thoughts on the 5 year jump? We knew it was coming. Do you think it's here to stay? Are you happy with how everyone's making out? Why are Gabby's kids so unfortunate looking? Or was that the messy make-up? Need to see it again to believe what you just saw?
  

So much to think about this summer.

Sunday Night Round-Up

I missed the 9 PM John Adams so I have to wait for the West Coast feed at 11. So far, its been a very long wait. The worst part? I will probably fall asleep before the 90 minute installment ends. What better to occupy my time than writing to all of you?

• If you loved the return of Comedy Night Done Right (I'm personally still tied to Must See TV) then why not take home the merchandise? Now you can own your very own Serenity By Jan candles (including a Bottled Water scent) or a MILF Island t-shirt. Better question? Why haven't they started selling a Michael Scott edition of the George Foreman Grill
  

• Viva Hollywood, a reality show about Latino actors competing for a starring role on a telenovela, premiered today. I saw an airing this afternoon and while it's not as fun to watch if you don't know telenovela conventions or stars, the drama is still there. Plus one of the wannabes drinks a lot, one isn't there to make friends and the rest of the girls are slutty. It's pretty much just like every other reality show.
  

• Desperate Housewives returned to the air tonight. The show was awful last season and was in the middle of a fantastic comeback before the Strike. Hopefully the break didn't slow their roll and the ladies will be funnier than ever. My secret hope? They take risks without being crazy.
  

• There's a new sitcom premiering on My Network TV tomorrow. It's about an ex-con who moves into his uptight brother's house. It's called Under One Roof. It stars Flava Flav and I will watch it so you don't have to. It's the least I can do for you.
  

TV-Giving

Before I sit down to my favorite meal of the year, here's what I'm thankful for, at least where TV is concerned.

• Returns to normalcy for Desperate Housewives & Prison Break. Thanks for finding your niche and settling in again. I'm glad I held out hope.
  

• The Writers Strike is a blessing in disguise. It's high time the writers get what they deserve, plus it clears the schedule for some ridiculous reality shows that I can rant and laugh at for years to come. Stay tuned for my diatribe on Clash of the Choirs.
  

• Again, I'm thankful for my DVR and iTunes for ensuring I never miss a moment despite late night meetings, boring banquets and priceless moments with friends.
  

• To Showtime & HBO for always raising the bar. The Sopranos finale made people believers again. New shows on HBO (Flight of the Conchords, Tell Me You Love Me) and dark hits on Showtime (Weeds, Dexter) are carrying the torch. They owe it to the Sopranos to continue to develop intelligent beautiful television...and they are.
  

• And before I forget, I'm thankful for all of the great blogs I ran into this year, mostly while writing for this one. Scanner, and Reality Blurred to United Hollywood and Best Week Ever. I learn and laugh my way through work everyday. Thanks for bringing up to date pop culture news to the masses.
  

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to all five of our readers, wherever they are. Here's to lots of turkey, awkward family moments, the best naps of the holiday season and great sales on TV on DVD.

Week In Review

So much to say! I wish I could type faster!

Desperate Housewives

It got really soapy last year but Marc Cherry and company have turned it around. The show has gotten a lot funnier, especially out of context. 

"Look at yourself, you've declared jihad on a possum."

I'm loving Bob & Lee, the new couple in town. Lee (Kevin Rahm, pictured) is the perfect person to put the biddies of Wysteria Lane in their place. Rahm was an underrated character on Judging Amy, it's nice to see him shine now. 

Gourmet Next Door

Finally, I sat down and watched Amy Finley's new show. Finley was the winner of Next Food Network Star and she proved the win was well deserved. I watched the first episode, and it felt a little rushed and panicky. The food looked really good though, and she took the time to explain what she was doing. Her recipes were simple, elegant and practical for working people. 

Saturday Night Live

Brian Williams ,anchor for NBC Nightly News, hosted this week. He is a much better actor, especially comic actor, than anyone will ever give him credit for. I hope he comes back, he's probably the best host this season. With the Writers Strike, he may be last host for awhile...single tear. 

Mazda's Black Choir Commercial. 

At first you think it's a commercial for Macy's, or maybe a restaurant. But then the zoomzoomzooms kick in. I have to find it on YouTube. Or you guys can just watch primetime TV for an hour. 

What's on tap for this week? A two-hour Prison Break, Green Week on NBC, no late night TV. Too much to watch!