The TV Addict 

Three weeks into the new season and I’m still hopelessly hooked on LOST. Mind you, I’m not ‘hooked’ in the sense that I’m enjoying the show. Rather I’m just desperate for answers, and will continue to watch until we’re given some.

I love watching Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin on TV. If only 30 ROCK were actually funny. Hopefully a future episode will make proper use of these two comedic talents.

How embarassing must the whole ‘re-casting’ situation be for Rachel Dratch? Watching 30 ROCK, it’s more apparent then ever that NBC just didn’t consider Rachel ‘leading-lady’ material, and we all know what that means. Perhaps shallow NBC execs should take an hour and watch an episode of UGLY BETTY to learn a little bit about ‘inner beauty.’ For years, Rachel was the only reason to turn on SNL, now on 30 ROCK she’s been relegated to a glorified extra.

John Lithgow still makes me laugh, TWENTY GOOD YEARS not so much.

Does anyone else think that JERICHO’s initial charm is wearing out fast?

With that whole nuclear disaster on their minds, the residents of Jericho don’t have too much to smile about. But perhaps this news will brighten up their day. CBS has picked up JERICHO, the freshman hit drama about the aftermath of a nuclear explosion on a small, peaceful Kansas town, for a full season. JERICHO has averaged 11.3 million viewers, and boosted CBS in the Wednesdays at 8PM timeslot by 48%.

This TV addict has been a fan of the series since day one, and hopes the show continues to challenge viewers with interesting stories and fine acting. That said, last night’s episode was my least favourite of the series so far. Let’s hope the show picks up the excitement factor next week.

The most surprising thing about last night’s television watching was that between LOST, THE NINE, JERICHO, and KIDNAPPED I think I enjoyed JERICHO the most. There is just something so fascinating about the town of Jericho, its secrets and the mystery that’s unfolding before are eyes. A few quick notes about last nights TV.

JERICHO: Robert Hawkins clearly knows what’s going on. Why did he come ‘prepared’ with a Radiation Suit and what on earth is he sealing up in his basement. Also, how much did I love Gerald McCraney’s (the mayor) unexpected punch to the gut of his mayoral opponent (this is definitely a time for sticking together, not political maneuvering). Finally, the airplanes. How unsettling was that? There are clearly survivors outside of Jericho - and if next week’s preview is any indication, welcome and unwelcome visitors will soon be floating into the small town of Jericho.

KIDNAPPED: I have to be honest, I fell asleep with 15 minutes to go, so I don’t know how the episode ended, but if it’s any consolation, I LOVED the first 45 minutes. It’s disappointing that viewers haven’t given KIDNAPPED a chance. If the show is cancelled, it’s nice to know that the writers have a contingency plan to end the series properly after 13 episodes (yup, still bitter about how REUNION ended).

THE NINE: Fantastic premiere right? What on earth happened during those 52 hours in the bank? (Yes I realize I sound like a commercial for ABC - but in my defense, they did air quite a lot of them!). Needless to say, I’ll be tuning into to episode 2, 3, and 4 with the hopes of some answers.

LOST: And speaking of answers, LOST finally returned, and yet again raised more questions then answers. How do The Others know so much about Jack, Kate, and Sawyer? Why exactly will Kate’s next two weeks be ‘hell’? and most importantly, how long until Jack hooks up with Juliette? Okay, that last point, not so important, but once again, LOST confounds, confuses and frustrates (that would have been way cooler if I had another word that starts with a ‘c’). That said, I can’t wait for next week.

I’m officially hooked on JERICHO, and to be honest, I blame LOST, and what I’ve ‘cleverly’ dubbed The LOST Effect™. Within two episodes, JERICHO has set up an intriguing premise, following the blueprint successfully set-up by JJ Abrams, Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse (the creators of LOST).

Executive Producer John Turteltaub has unified and isolated an entire town thanks to a mysterious disaster (is it a nuclear attack?). The denizens of Jericho all coincidentally happen to have very interesting (and secretive) backstories. And like all good serialized dramas, not everybody is who he or she seems to be.

While last night’s episode revolved around the town evacuating into fall-out shelters, I’m far more curious in Robert Hawkins (Lennie James), and his true identity and motives. He definitely has his own agenda, and seems to actually know what has happened across America. It’s clearly no coincidence that he recently moved his family to Jericho. My theory so far: Major cities across America have been destroyed, while small towns have remained untouched. Each town has its own ‘Lennie James’, communicating through morse code. Why? I have no idea, but I’ll definitely be sticking around to find out.

Way too much to watch tonight, God Bless my PVR! Tonight, I’ll be tuning into JERICHO at 8PM in the hopes of learning more about that mysterious ‘nuclear cloud’ that has wrecked havok on the small town of Jericho? As long as it’s not a cloud of nano-bots I’ll be happy! Following JERICHO, I’ll be spending the 9PM hour with the coolest lawyer on TV, Victor Garber (aka Ron Trott) with the last new episode of JUSTICE until November (due to baseball). Folks, if you’re bored with the endless episodes of LAW & ORDER, do me (and Victor) a favour by tuning into JUSTICE - it’s the most entertaining legal procedural on television. Following JUSTICE is NBC’s KIDNAPPED. I thought last week’s premiere was interesting enough for me to tune into episode 2, let’s hope the writers don’t disappoint. Also on my PVR’s agend is episode four of WEEDS, sadly in Canad we’re behind, as well as the season premiere of ONE TREE HILL.

If you’re looking to get caught up on what you’ve missed (or forgotten) on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA you can now download BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE STORY SO FAR FOR FREE from iTunes. [click here]. JERICHO fans can also download last week’s episode for $1.99 (well worth it, trust me) from iTunes by clicking here.

Before I run out for the evening, I just wanted to throw in my two cents about last night’s season premieres. Firstly, JERICHO. I’m completely sucked in and curious. My only concern is that I hope the show has some happy and uplifting moments. The premiere was a pretty big downer (nuclear holocaust and all), and considering that I generally tune into TV to escape CNN’s constant ‘terror alerts’ I hope it lightens up.

Now on to KIDNAPPED, again, another entertaining hour of television. Like every pilot this season (sorry, with the exception of VANISHED), the show sets up the series perfectly. I’m hooked, intrigued and definitely curious as to how the writers are going to keep this premise going all season long (obviously there is much more to this ‘kidnapping’ then meets the eye). My only complaint with the pilot were these three points.

1) I can’t stand when a show ends on a music montage - way too overdone.

2) The kid (aside from having the highly pretentious name of ‘Leopold’) is obviously one of those too smart for his own good TV kids. Generally those characters can get annoying fast (see: Wesley Crusher, Malcolm), so hopefully they’ll tone that down a bit.

3) Finally, the whole Brookly Apartment building explosion being a set-up was obvious from the get-go. Let’s hope the writers give the audience a little more credit then that.

Tonight is a busy night of season premieres. On my MUST WATCH list are JERICHO (CBS 8pm) and KIDNAPPED (NBC 10pm. Also premiering, but not on theTVaddict’s must watch list are CSI: NY (CBS 10PM), CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS 9PM), THE BIGGEST LOSER (8PM NBC).

Also of note, ABC is airing last season’s incredible two-hour finale of GREY’S ANATOMY. Prepare yourself for television’s best drama, premiering tomorrow night, but catching up tonight.

Director Jon Turteltaub made us smile with THE KID, tear up during PHENOMENON and laugh at WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING. With his latest project, JERICHO, odds are you won’t be laughing or crying — you’ll be running to your emergency supply cabinet to ensure you’ve stocked up on duct tape and bottled water.

The premise of JERICHO is simple: What would happen if your town was completely cut off from the rest of the world in the wake of a nuclear blast? “JERICHO will explore all the things that could occur when people are left to their own devices,” executive producer Turteltaub explains. “How are people in the town of Jericho going to deal without phones, groceries or money? There are no more lawyers, judges or police. When you don’t have someone telling you what’s morally right or wrong, what would you do?”

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