The TV Addict 

Hey TV Addict, LOVED your reports from Paley Festival 2009, but why no love for BIG LOVE or FRINGE? — ThePaleyAddict
The TV Addict: Simple answer: Because spending a week in Los Angeles costs BIG bucks! And between my car rental, hotel, and borderline unhealthy Pinkberry obsession, this TV Addict could only afford to live out his TV adventure for eight days. That said, aside from Paley, I was lucky enough to drop by the sets of GLEE, GREEK in addition to spending time with a few of your favorite HEROES, so stay tuned for some great interviews next week. And, on a somewhat related note, if you’re reading this and just so happen to work for a major media outlet that includes any of the following letters “E,” “W,” “T,” “V,” “Z,” “A,” “P,” “T,” “W,” “O,” “P,” “E!” and are looking for an affordable, talented and really good looking west correspond, you know my digits.

I absolutely loved this week’s Evan/Cappie scenes on GREEK. Any word on whether we’ll be seeing more of my favorite Frat Bros. together this season? — RebeccaRocks
The TV Addict: Most definitely, because as it turns out, you’re not the only one who loves the Evan/Cappie dynamic. “I want Cappie and Evan back together,” explained GREEK showrunner Sean Smith on my recent one-on-one while visiting the set of GREEK. “So it was kind of nice to find the opportunity through a secret so…” And sadly, I’ve already shared too much. But rest assured, the Cappie/Evan bromance frienaissance is making a comeback in a major way. Stay tuned…

Any truth to the rumor that THE SIMPSONS are doing a 90210 parody in an upcoming episode. — DohnutFan
The TV Addict: Don’t let the May 3rd episode title of “Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D’Oh” fool you. It’s not so much a 90210 parody, as a HANNAH MONTANA one; When Lisa tried to impress her new Waverly Hills classmates by telling them she knows pop star Alaska Nebraska (pictured above and voiced by special guest star Ellen Page)

Read the rest of this entry »

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:
UGLY BETTY (8PM ABC, CityTV in Canada)
It’s a good news/bad news situation for Betty tonight. On the plus side, she finally gets a makeover from her co-workers. But seeing as the folks who give her that makeover are Mark and Amanda, we can’t help but worry. Speaking of makeovers, Daniel and Wilhelmina decide to give Mode one as well in an effort to boost circulation.

THE OFFICE (9PM NBC, GlobalTV in Canada)
Ugh. A Michael-centric office. here’s hoping the new vice-president who comes on board tonight can balance that out, because this show is in serious danger of having its lead character drag the whole thing down.

GREY’S ANATOMY (9PM ABC, CTV in Canada)
Is it just me, or are Christina, Bailey and Mark pretty much the only characters on this show who aren’t annoying? I suppose we could throw George into the mix, too, if only because he’s not on screen enough to actually annoy us. Anyway, tonight, Izzie tries to keep her disease under wraps, Christina finally gets a solo surgery and Mark tries to do a face transplant.

SUPERNATURAL (9PM CW)
Castiel and Uriel have been kinda nasty to Sam and Dean in the past, but you know how angels are: The minute they need a favor, they come knockin’ on bended wing. Which is what happens when someone begins killing angels with Lucifer’s sword. Of course, the real question is this: Who was stupid enough to give the devil a sword in the first place?

30 ROCK (9:30PM CW, CityTV in Canada)
Liz finds out that pretty people — like her boyfriend — get special treatment. Meanwhile, Jenna’s latest bid for attention from the public could result in the worst hair day ever.

PRIVATE PRACTICE (10PM ABC, “A” in Canada)
Addison has to repress her feelings for someone who’s not as single as she’d like. Unfortunately, Addison has never really been all that great at repressing anything…

Read the rest of this entry »

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:
UGLY BETTY (8PM ABC, City in Canada)
Wilhelmina headed for the poor house? Who wouldn’t tune in to see that! As an added bonus, Christine Baranski guests as Matt’s mom, and Hilda goes on a date with Ralph Macchio. It’s almost TOO much goodness!

SMALLVILLE (8PM CW)
Remember when Tori Spelling was nice-girl Donna? Well not any more! As reporter Linda Lake, she’s blackmailing Clark in an attempt to regain her journalistic mojo. “Frak that!” says Clark, who instead outs himself to Lois!

GREY’S ANATOMY (9PM ABC, CTV in Canada)
After finally realizing that a whole hell of a lot of his patients wind up biting the dust, Derek decides to quit. Frankly, that makes sense to us. I mean, once they stop calling you McDreamy and start calling you Doctor Death, it’s all over but the singing.

THE OFFICE (9PM NBC, Global in Canada)
Michael’s latest scheme involves placing “Golden Tickets” — ala Willy Wonka — inside paper packages. Anyone else suspect this won’t end well? Meanwhile, Kevin’s out to woo a woman, so his co-workers offer him some advice. Um… anyone else suspect this won’t end well, either?

SUPERNATURAL (9PM CW)
Baby, don’t fear the reaper. Especially now that all the reapers have gone missing, allowing people to literally cheat death! Sam and Dean journey to the netherworld (insert spooky sounds here) to find out what the heck’s going on.

30 ROCK (9:30PM NBC, City in Canada)
Liz has jury duty, which means the staff of TGS has no babysitter. Wacky chaos ensues.

PRIVATE PRACTICE (10PM ABC)
Pete and Sheldon want Violet to take a paternity test. And who can blame them? Meanwhile, Sam commits the ultimate boyfriend sin when he calls his current girlfriend by his ex-wife’s name… while in bed. Yeah, that’s bad.

ER (10PM ABC, E! in Canada)
Thanks to a cavalcade of original series stars including Eriq La Salle, Julianne Marguilies and he-who-shall-not-be-named returning to Country General tonight, we officially give-in! Seriously NBC, you win. We’re back on the ER bandwagon.

Read the rest of this entry »

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:
UGLY BETTY (8PM ABC, CityTV in Canada)
It’s fashion week in New York. Maybe this year, one of those fancy designers will pull Betty aside and give her a few tips… ’cause the girl’s apparently too clueless to look around her and pick them up for herself.

BONES (8PM FOX)
Fanboys and girls will either be laughing or cringing during this case, which takes the team to a comic book/video game convention.

GREY’S ANATOMY (9PM ABC)
The best thing I can say about this show these days is that Addison is on again tonight. But the subplot about Christina doubting the abilities of a renowned surgeon — played by Faye Dunaway, who stole the show when she was a judge on the reality series THE STARLET back in 2005 — has a been there/done that (a million times) feel to it. And that’s exactly what made me quit watching ER a million years ago. Well, that and the episode where the helicopter landed on Dr. Romano

PRIVATE PRACTICE (10PM ABC)
A baby born with both sex organs kicks off a debate about sexual reassignment surgery. Which is interesting… think about it. What if you’d been that baby and your parents chose to lop off the opposite of what you have right now? Discuss amongst yourselves.

NEW & NOTABLE:
SURVIVOR (8PM CBS)
Someone’s gonna call Taj out! And it’s gonna sound something like this: “What’s a former pop star who’s married to a former NFL player need a million bucks for?”

Read the rest of this entry »

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:
UGLY BETTY (8PM ABC, CityTV in Canada)
Daniel’s got a new lady. Wilhelmina’s got a new guy. But both are going to face big problems tonight. Meanwhile, Betty’s attempt to put together a fitting tribute for Claire’s 60th birthday party might wind up putting someone else in the spotlight!

GREY’S ANATOMY (9PM ABC, CTV in Canada)
In case you’ve been living under a rock (or busy kevetching about that woman who had eight babies and is now asking people to send her money so she can support them!), there’s a big crossover event tonight revolving around Addison’s brother, Archer (played by guest star Grant Show). We suspect the best part of this will be the chance to watch Meredith bristle as McDreamy works closely with his trampy ex-wife.

GREY’S ANATOMY/PRIVATE PRACTICE (9PM ABC, CTV in Canada)
In case you’ve been living under a rock (or busy kevetching about that woman who had eight babies and is now asking people to send her money so she can support them!), there’s a big crossover event tonight revolving around Addison’s brother, Archer (played by guest star Grant Show). We suspect the best part of this will be the chance to watch Meredith bristle as McDreamy works closely with his trampy ex-wife.

THE OFFICE (9PM NBC)
Michael’s road trip continues. But since he’s become so wildly annoying as to be unfunny, let’s focus on what else is going on. Apparently, Angela’s new cat causes a bit of an uproar, while Dwight and Jim’s attempt at party planning is… well, do we need to even finish that sentence?

30 ROCK (9:30PM NBC, CityTV in Canada)
Oh, Liz Lemon. Will you never learn? The poor girl has decided her first date with Drew (aka Jon Hamm of MAD MEN) should be on Valentine’s Day! Yeah, no pressure there!

Read the rest of this entry »

Showrunner of the Week: Regardless of where your Winchester loyalty lies, this TV Addict thinks showrunner Eric Kripke deserves some serious kudos for poking the beast… err… we mean the SUPERNATURAL fandom and speaking out on an issue he felt needed clarification. It’s official, Dean is not a “Dick.”

Showrunner of the Week (Runner-Up): Call me an obsessed dog owner (which by the way, guilty as charged, see Mac), but this week’s Showrunner of the Week (Runner-Up) is Shonda Rhimes, for doing what she does best. Taking another tried and true television cliché, which in PRIVATE PRACTICE’s case revolved around your standard troubled teen and parlaying it into an interesting story complete with a surprisingly emotional ending.

Reminder You’re Getting Old of the Week: Following last week’s flashback to Sarah’s (Yvonne Strahovski) High School days on CHUCK which featured some ‘classic’ tracks courtesy of Paula Cole, Hanson and Chumbawamba, it’s official. This TV Addict is starting to feel really old. Begging the question, what’s next, a Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour? Oh wait…

Read the rest of this entry »

THE GOOD: DIRTY SEXY MONEY
By arresting Letitia Darling for the murder of Nick’s father Dutchie, last night’s fantastic season opener of DIRTY SEXY MONEY managed to do what very few television shows have the ability to do anymore — surprise. No really. Amidst the hilarity that was Brian holding his baby mama and Brian Jr. captive in New York, the ridiculousness that was Jeremy Darling and the crazy one-two combo of Patrick Darling and his now permanently-ex-wife Ellen, this TV Addict was far too busy grinning from ear to ear to see Letitia’s arrest coming. Which was great news, because until those surprising final moments, this TV Addict was slightly concerned that the show had jettisoned last season’s murder mystery entirely in an effort to start the season anew. Now all that’s left is for someone to explain where on earth Juliet is? I mean is a throw-away line that she’s “studying abroad” really too much to ask?

THE BAD: Amy Brenneman
You know how ABC incessantly ran ads all week long promoting the fact that the new season of PRIVATE PRACTICE would bring fans the Addison “you loved from GREY’S ANATOMY.” Well, maybe next week, creator Shonda Rhimes will bring fans back the Amy Brenneman we loved from JUDGING AMY. Because right now, her character, Dr. Violet Turner is single handedly managing to bring down what was actually a fairly entertaining and emotionally charged season premiere.

Read the rest of this entry »

THE OFFICE
Not only was spending the full twenty-two minutes at Dunder Mifflin Scranton a welcome change of pace from the recent over-the-top zany antics of Michael Scott. It gave the Dunder Mifflin denizens a welcome opportunity to shine. Stanley’s tour-de-force performance aside, anyone else curious as to what Phyllis the delinquent teenage vandal immortalized in cement all those years ago? Because you just know she was a wild child!

HOUSE
Even with the new team and the return of Cutthroat Bitch, this TV Addict can’t seem to get excited for HOUSE anymore. Is it just me, or are we watching virtually the same show each and every week? Diagnose, Snarky Comment, Cure, Repeat.

THE BIG BANG THEORY
As a stare blankly at my ridiculously large collection of Entertainment Weekly magazines [quite literally, almost every one], this recovering eBay Addict couldn’t help but laugh sympathize with Leonard, Sheldon, Wolowitz and Raj’s Time Machine predicament.

SMALLVILLE
It should come as no surprise that television’s most frustratingly uneven series relied on the tired and clichéd “It’s a Wonderful Life” plot contrivance for their very special 150th episode. Talk about your super lack of creativity.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last night’s phenomenal return of Kate Walsh to GREY’S ANATOMY was the best advertisement PRIVATE PRACTICE could have ever hoped for. Not only did Addison light the spark for the inevitable Meredith McDreamy reconciliation, not to mention get the ball rolling on Callie hooking up with Hahn, she reminded viewers of how good PRIVATE PRACTICE could be. Assuming creator Shonda Rhimes looks back at last night’s episode, remembers what a powerful force she has in Kate Walsh and doesn’t squander another season of PRIVATE PRACTICE by turning Addison into an obnoxious and insecure teenager. [Here's hoping.]

After the remarkable season they’ve given us, this TV Addict is not about to seriously take LOSTerminds Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse to task for last night’s underwhelming installment of LOST. But in TV terms, the Jack—centric adventure was clearly the classic “bottle” show. An episode meant to conserve funds for what will most likely be some very expensive episodes leading up to the super-sized season finale. Which I’m completely cool with, as long as fans start seeing dividends. And by dividends, I mean ANSWERS! You know, to little questions like, where the frak did Claire go? What’s the deal with Jack’s dad? And what favor is Kate doing for Sawyer? Yes Mr. Lindeloff and Cuse, it’s about time LOST started paying fans off for the four years we’ve invested into this time-sucking, maddeningly addictive show. [That we love. Really, keep up the great work!]

Read the rest of this entry »

On last night’s PRIVATE PRACTICE, things finally started to get interesting. And while “Old Man Fight Club” is guaranteed water-cooler fodder — the moment this TV Addict’s going to highlight is all about Addison. It’s about time she got back in touch with the strong and sensible Doctor she left behind at Seattle Grace. Did anyone else crack a smile when a gorgeous Addison [finally] stepped it up and walked into Kevin’s [David Sutcliffe] Fire Department?

Creator Shonda Rhimes is no dummy. She knows the first rule of fight club good drama — the love triangle. In fact, thanks to Addison/Pete/Kevin, Naomi/Dell/Sam and Cooper/Violet/Charlotte — PRIVATE PRACTICE is all about the triangle. Which means, whenever the WGA strike ends, PRIVATE PRACTICE may finally star living up to the hype. Agree, Disagree, Post away.