The TV Addict 

After months of hype, FOX finally unleashed TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. Not surprisingly, this TV Addict has a few question. Did it live up to the hype? Is Summer Glau not incredible? And most importantly, did last night’s pilot accomplish the most important goal of any pilot. Sufficiently hook you so that you’ll be tuning into tonight’s second episode? (Which in this TV Addict’s opinion is even stronger than the first.)

Moving on, last night’s episode of BROTHERS & SISTERS had all the ingredients for the perfect Walker evening. Mix a bunch of family secrets with a classic Walker family dinner. Add an ample supply of alcohol, plus a dash of awkwardness courtesy of newcomer Isaac. What do you get? The perfect way for BROTHERS & SISTER to kick off 2008. Agree/Disagree, Post away.

Back in mid-December, we asked the readers of theTVaddict.com for their favorite TV Moments of 2007. Here’s another favorite moment, courtesy of reader Katie

Katie said: “On Brothers & Sisters, when all the Walkers, Rebecca, Robert and Holly jumped into the pool at the end. It was such a great scene, and the perfect way to wrap up an amazing season.”

Check back throughout the week to see if your moment is featured in the 2007 TV Year in Review.

You know why SAMANTHA WHO? is my household’s favorite new show? Because it isn’t trying to reinvent the long-rumored-to-be-dead comedy genre, it’s just — and this is pretty crucial — funny. Very, very funny. Every performance is spot on. Yes, yes, Melissa McCarthy is basically playing GILMORE GIRLS gal pal Sookie, but I loved that character (before she became a breeding machine) so big whoop. Best of all, SAMANTHA doesn’t settle for the typical sitcom set-up, punch line dialogue, instead offering such witty exchanges as when our heroine apologized for dragging Andrea (the deliciously wicked Jennifer Esposito) into her web of deceit, only to have the bad girl reply, “I’m a lawyer. Web of deceit is where I pick up my mail.” This week’s outing — in which Samantha’s car accident triggered a chain of lies leading to an unexpected twist involving mom Jean Smart — was another sparkling entry, although it would have been nice to see Sam’s in-progress story with Eddie Cibrian continue. Then again, no need to rush things… right?

I tried watching another episode of REAPER last night, and within the first five seconds, Tyler Labine — or rather his character, Sock — was once again ruining the show for me. The guy is a seriously talented actor, but I just can’t stand the walking slacker stereotype he’s playing.Not that his alter ego isn’t completely in keeping with the tone of this show, on which Ray Wise’s devil refers to his minion as a “wienie.” You don’t need to see the scene in which the lead’s two best friends easily convince his girlfriend to bare all in a hot tub to realize who the target audience is here. We’re in what was once Porky’s territory here, where authority figures are to be mocked, feminism is a dirty word and men will be boys.

There’s something kind of kharmicly pleasing when one of the annoying twosomes is eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE. This time around, it was bickering Shana and Jennifer. While they weren’t as bad as some previous contestants, their whiny, bitchy ways had me hoping that the next leg of the race would involve a bus which someone could then throw them under. And yet, such is the power of this show’s closing moments that when the two annoying blondes spoke of having learned so much during their journey and then were shown walking hand-in-hand into the sunset toward a gorgeous windmill, I couldn’t help thinking, “Aww… they’re not that bad!” Especially when compared to Nate and Jen. At various points in the evening, he called her a bitch and said “I just can’t believe what kind of person you’ve turned into. It’s the ugliest thing I’ve seen in my life.” Her response? “Same with you, Nate.” At this point, I’m totally rooting for Kynt and Vyxsin, the goth duo who seem not only genuinely nice and loving, but actually take the time to smell the roses. Far too few of the teams seem to do that.

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It was cliffhanger madness on TV last night. Fellow TV Addicts, we now have seven long days to ponder who Holly’s mystery-man is [aside from real-life husband Ken Olin] and how the final act of the delicious Dexter Doakes Dance is going to play out. Any Guesses? Post away.

Having just sat through a double-dose of BROTHERS & SISTERS, I’m left wondering if anyone else thinks the show should is totally dancing around the obvious attraction between Justin and Rebecca. Yup, they share a dad, but they’re also the hottest couple this show has.But why do they have such a tough time writing for Balthazar Getty’s Tommy? Despite his wife being artificially inseminated by his brother, one of the resulting children dying, her packing up and leaving and his drifting into an affair with new-plot-device-in-town Lena, Tommy is still the most underdeveloped of the Walker clan. And I’d also like to see more done with Patricia Wettig’s Holly and her uneasy frienemy status with Nora. Speaking of whom, I’m sure that moment when Nora locked the door to prevent Justin from leaving was supposed to be powerful, but all I could think was how much better KNOTS LANDING, of all shows, did with a similar story. I’ll never, ever forget glamourpuss Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing demanded pothead daughter Olivia hand over her keys. “What are you going to do? Lock me our?” To which Abby replied, “No, I’m locking you in. With me.” And in that single moment, a character who’d often been wildly over the top was brought crashing down to earth with the rest of us mortals. Yeah, that was a detox I’ll never forget, as opposed to Justin’s instacure. Which I suppose points out one of my major problems with this show: It’s determination to rush every story to the point where things fly at us faster than we can possibly connect on an emotional level.

SAMANTHA WHO? continues to be a fav in my home. This week’s episode was probably the weakest of the season, and yet it was still better than any other sitcom on television. This year’s Emmy voters are going to have a tough task ahead of them. Why? Because surely even that group, notoriously blind to actual talent as they historically are (just ask fans of BUFFY, GILMORE, BATTLESTAR…) will have a tough time ignoring some of the great performances being offered up this season. Topping my list at the moment? Jean Smart.

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Kevin Walker, today is your lucky day. Okay, perhaps not-so-lucky but more on that later.

As predicted months ago by theTVaddict.com and confirmed today by Variety, CBS has lowered the curtain on its musical/comedy/drama hybrid VIVA LAUGHLIN. Which means your boyfriend Jason McCallister [actor Eric Winter] may be coming home a wee bit early from his predicted eight month ‘mission’ in Malaysian. Great news right?

Well here’s the bad news. It looks as though you’re going to have to make one pretty big decision in the near future. Is it going to be cater waiter Scotty, or Reverend McCallister? Perhaps the readers of theTVaddict.com can help you decide. [hmmmm… what name forms a better Brangelina-esque moniker?]

Quick sidenote, more good news assuming you’re fans of THE AMAZING RACE. The Race begins in LAUGHLIN’s old timeslot. See you at the starting line, November 4 at 8PM on CBS.

Finally, BROTHERS & SISTERS was back on track with last night’s fantabulous episode. I’m intrigued by Saul’s ambiguous sexuality, and loved every second of the Walker women’s spa trip. Between being unable to shut up in the resort’s relaxation room and crashing the wedding, this was classic B&S. Best line of the night? Determined-to-get-laid Sarah’s frustrated declaration, “We’re being lock-blocked!” upon finding her hotel room door wouldn’t cooperate. I still think the show’s making a mistake in getting rid of John Pyper-Ferguson’s Joe rather than exploring not only the dynamics of this troubled marriage but Rebecca’s true role in what happened, but I know I’m pretty much alone in that. And I’d really like to see Patricia Wettig’s delightfully prickly Holly put to better use. But when an episode is as satisfying as last night’s, these are pretty minor quibbles.

This has been a killer season for DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, but they may have hit a bit of a bumpy patch last night. I’m a huge fan of Tuc Watkins, the brunette half of the neighborhood’s first gay couple. So I was sorry to see that the relatively bland Kevin Rham got the lion’s share of the spotlight during the pair’s first episode. Susan was particularly annoying, but that didn’t make it any easier to swallow how snarky and downright nasty Rham’s Lee was to her. Elsewhere, however, the show continued to sparkle. The crab cake sequence was a well-directed treat, and Lynette’s realization that she’d transformed into “cancer bitch” was one of the moments this show does so well, perfectly combining heartbreak and humor.

I had every intention of catching VIVA LAUGHLIN, but since football ran over and threw the whole night’s schedule off, my DVR cut off at least 10 or 15 minutes. I’ll be interested to see how this show does ratings wise, because from the bits and pieces I’ve caught, it’s an interesting — if flawed — concept.

Don’t forget to tune in for SAMANTHA WHO? tonight… if the second episode is even half as entertaining as the pilot, you’ll be in for a treat. Christina Applegate is radiant and the writing sparkles. It’s hard to imagine anyone who catches an episode not remembering to make this memory-addled beauty a keeper.

Like any good family member, I unconditionally love my BROTHERS & SISTERS. Of course with unconditional love, comes great responsibility. And as any good brother would, this TV Addict feel obligated to point out a few issues I’m having with my fictional family. After-all, isn’t pointing out each-other’s flaws what what family’s for?

Issue #1: Justin
Watching Justin struggle with his Iraqi war injury has been just as painful for the audience as it’s no doubt been for Justin. Simply put, if Justin didn’t finally cave and take some meds last night, this TV Addict was going to have to start popping pills himself to get through the episode.

Issue #2: The McAllister Run for the White House
As much as I love the Kitty and Robert story-line, this TV Addict can only get so invested in a story that’s bound to end abruptly. Since this isn’t THE WEST WING, McAllister’s candidacy will undoubtedly soon implode, the only question remaining is when?

Issue #3: Nora Walker
Again, I love Nora Walker. But the writers need to start giving Sally Field something more interesting to do. When is she going to start to developing a new identity outside of mother and family matriarch? Isn’t it time Nora starting dating again? Like all good Moms, there’s only so much nagging we can take.

ABC’s much-hyped premiere week had a whole lot more highs than lows — perhaps due in part to the fact that someone wisely — and not-so-inconspicuously — opted to keep the premiere of CAVEMEN out of the much-hyped period. Sunday night capped the week of debuts with the return of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES as well as BROTHERS & SISTERS, both of which did pretty much what they do best. (Yes, I’m aware that EXTREME MAKEOVER was back as well, but even a reality-whore such as myself has limits, and that’s a show I’ve just never gotten the appeal of.) HOUSEWIVES avoided what might be called Alfre syndrome by immediately connecting the new kids on the block to our main characters. And how cute is Lyndsy Fonseca (ex-Colleen, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS) as the girl around whom the new mystery revolves? It seems a little soon to be having Susan be pregnant, and I was a little uncomfortable with how casually the gals reacted to Edie’s attempted suicide. Yes, we know it was fake, but they don’t. Then again, Edie’s always been something of an outsider for the ladies. As for B&S, by the time the Walkers were throwing back shots of tequila, it hit me that if there’s one thing this show isn’t, it’s subtle. Everything is played big… whether its the laughs or the drama. I wanted to feel the families pain as they worried about off-in-Iraq Justin, but Nora’s “I-can’t-leave-the-house-in-case-someone-calls” just felt a little forced to me. Then again, not having a loved one fighting overseas, I could be completely wrong on that one. I do kinda wish the show would be a little less schitzophrenic. By playing every emotion so big, the smaller moments filled with genuine emotion wind up having less impact. In the end, however, I still believe there’s no better way to end the week than by hanging with the Housewives before downing a few with the Walkers.

I’ll admit I was a little worried about my beloved UGLY BETTY. I can’t even say exactly why… perhaps because the freshman season was so brilliant that I feared there was nowhere to go but down. But the premiere put all my fears to rest. Yes, there were a few awkward leaps in logic (were we really to believe that Betty, whose modus operandi is to look out for everyone, wouldn’t warn Henry that he might not be Charlie’s babydaddy?), and it was hard to believe that Justin was so cavalierly bounding about while his mom was upstairs endlessly mourning his dad’s death. But by the time Wilhelmina pulled a switch on Claire and Alexis woke up thinking she was still a he, all was forgiven. My one request is that Tony Plana’s papa Suarez be brought home ASAP, as his balancing presence in the household over which he rules is much missed.

Finally caught the second episode of GOSSIP GIRL last night, and I’m happy to report that the pilot wasn’t a fluke. For those thinking this is simply THE OC transplanted to New York’s Upper East Side, think again. Penn Badgley’s Dan is no Ryan Atwood, and while Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen (God, I love that name!) could probably be mistaken for poor-little-rich-girl Marissa Cooper, where THE OC occasionally tried pretending it was more than it was by infusing itself with a social conscience (albeit a really, really shallow one), GG doesn’t bother. This show is as superficial as it comes, and that’s exactly why it works. Who wouldn’t want to be these rich, pampered little snots? Yes, they’re obnoxious and self-absorbed, but heck, they can afford to be! DIRTY SEXY MONEY wants to be an adult version of this, and just misses the mark by playing every character and situation as larger than life. Where DIRTY asks us to look at the core characters with a sense of superiority as if to say, “there but for millions of dollars go I”, GG knows that the key to a true guilty pleasure is wanting to step into the lives unfolding on screen. We want to protect Jenny, beat up Chuck and push Serena right into the arms of Dan… all while getting invited to those fantastic parties. In other words, GG is the kind of TV that the word “escapism” was invented to describe. It won’t make you smarter, it won’t enrich your life… but man, are you gonna have fun.

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I know things are looking bleak.

To have spent all summer reveling in your first stable relationship, only to discover that the love of your life is being sent off on a mission to Asia Malaysia for eight months to a year. Talk about a downer.

But before you drown your sorrows in another WICKED matinee, consider this. Jason McCallister isn’t really off to Malaysia. He’ll simply be spending a few months in Laughlin Nevada. And while the ‘bishop’ said that his ‘mission’ would be lasting around eight to twelve months, we have a feeling that you’ll be reunited with Jason just in time for February Sweeps [trust us, we’ve seen VIVA LAUGHLIN].

So grab a Tequila, cheer up and send the Walker Family our love.

Thrilled you’re all back,

Sincerely,

theTVaddict