TV Mad Man

Brothers & Sisters

Finally! Tonight marks the night of the return of ABC Sunday nights which means all new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters (9/8c and 10/9c on ABC). No more breaks from here on out with both shows airing straight to their finales, Brothers and Sisters (May 10th) and Desperate Housewives (May 17th). 

I have seen this new episode of Brothers and Sisters and it is a good one. Entitled ”S3X” it revolves around the return of Chad (Jason Lewis), Kevin’s actor lover in the first season of the show. This creates a whole lot of drama that is both funny and interesting with Scotty and Kevin. As the episode title suggests their is a lot of sex, mostly with Sarah who has finally gone back to Ojai. She notices some very common traits in the men their and creates a strong bond with one played by Christian de la Fuente. Hot! Overall, the whole episode is great with the perfect mix of funny, and the usually family drama mostly surrounding Kitty and Robert. Plus, Nora’s Nigel is back and he presents a very interesting offer that is kinda weird for Nora.

Nicollete Sheridan as Edie on her final episode

As usual, Desperate Housewives precedes Brothers and Sisters tonight and we get closure to the Edie storyline after five years of Nicollete Sheridan’s run on the show. Remember that episode earlier this year with the plumber going through his meetings with the housewives? This episode will be very similar just with Edie. Make sure to check it out, and what I have been hearing about the rest of the season is very positive.

Also on tonight, Amazing Race (8/7c on FOX) has begun its run to the finish line and all I can say is go Margie and Luke! Plus, the guilty pleasure Celebrity Apprentice (9/8c on NBC) is new with an extension of the great cliffhanger this week along with HBO’s In Treatment (9/8c)!

Here some quick picks for tonight which feature banished people, indian people, missing people, and maybe some dying people. Interesting!

Kings

Kings – 8/7c on NBC  Why did you guys not watch last week? What was it that made only 5 million people tune in to this epic story? Well you still have a chance to catch it tonight. If you want, watch the first two hours of the show right here on the great Hulu and then check out tonight’s episode “Prosperity” in which Gath and Giliboa meet in a very tense battle that David must be a part of. It is a great hour of TV and the always great Brian Cox plays a very mysterious role.

Desperate Housewives – 9/8c on ABC  Could we be seeing a death tonight? I think the chances are very strong for one of the housewives when Dave goes on a little camping trip with Mike and Katherine. I won’t say who it is even though it has already been on the cover of many magazines, because for the slight chance you do not know who it is, it will be a great surprise.

Brothers and Sisters – 10/9c on ABC  This show has been on just a high horse since its movie event and today is the last episode for another couple of weeks. The episode entitled “Missing,” I assume will be out Tommy’s recent run in Mexico. The story I am most interested in though is Ryan’s secret and how Holly factors in to it.

Big Love

Big Love – 9/8c on HBO  The honor for the show that has gotten the most consistently great praise from people and especially TV critics is Big Love. Everybody has just been raving about this season of HBO’s best family drama and tonight is the season ender. In the hour, will Bill bid adieu to one of his wifes or could it be two?

Since coming back from my break I have found that catching up on the TV you missed is a lot harder than it looks. Yesterday I caught up with 3 series from Sunday night and they are a mixed bag.

Luke & Margie

The Amazing Race: Mike White is the bomb. That is all you need for a reason to love this season of The Amazing Race. After 14 seasons, this show consistantly finds new ways for you to fall in love over and over again. This year with the characters. Mike and Mel are such a fun and crazy team that you have to love, while Margie and Luke are the true amazing team. They do every challenge to the fullest while having fun at it.

The last two episodes have been great. Last night’s episode with the marathon was hilarious and I love how it took everybody by suprise. Siberia is such a interesting and unknown land and that is partially why the episodes have been fun because you get to hear and see things you did not know about it before. Also, Phil in this underwear, genius!

Desperate Housewives:  I cannot say the same about the housewives. The show which had such a great change of pace at the beginning of the year with jump has sort of faltered after coming back as of late. Bree is boring with Orson, I am getting old of Lynette’s family troubles and the Dave storyline is not moving that fast at all. Gaby is getting the same old rich problems and Susan is actually starting to get fun and interesting. And they want to have this show on for 9 seasons. I do not think so. The couple bright spots of the last few episodes: more screen time for Dana Delany as Katherine, the awesome Swoosie Kurtz as Susan’s coworker, have both been great surprises.

Rob Lowe

Brothers & Sisters:  For the show following Desperate Housewives it is the COMPLETE opposite. Since its two hour movie two weeks ago, Brothers and Sisters has shown everybody once again why we love this show. The acting has been just top-notch. Give an Emmy to the whole cast especially Sally Field and Rob Lowe. The show is doing all the right things: getting rid of Tommy, showing more Holly, giving everybody the right storyline including Kevin having problems with Scotty, Rebecca having troubles, Kitty being Kitty, and Nora being in the middle. I am actually loving Ryan. He is such a great addition to the cast and such a fun one. Dave Annable is great again doing what he does best, mixing comedy with drama. Also, thank you for finally separating Rebecca and Justin so they can great better stories out of them. Keep it going Brothers and Sisters because you are on a huge roll right now.

My quick thoughts on last night…..

The United States of Tara

The United States of Tara:  Loved it. For all intensive purpose this was a Marshall episode which made it even better. Marshall is such a fun kid and the actor makes the most of it. Also, Jessica St. Clair is such a great, fun actress. This time she played the client of Tara’s who often wants to discuss the D.I.D. Eventually it gets to Tara when she switches to an alter and ceases the relationship. A real gem of the show is also John Corbett, he plays such a innocent and kind husband that is just a solid part of Tara’s life.

Brothers & Sisters:  During season 1 of Brothers & Sisters, the number one complement of the show was that it was fun drama. It was just a funny family tale about wine, siblings, and everything in between. Last nights episode was one of those episodes. It centered around one family event, Kitty’s baby shower, which of course goes not according to plan. There was new deals struck, secrets told, and new and old faces popping up. I love Nora in this episode and how she is so innocent and in the process funny. Sarah Jane Morris (Julia) was actually present in this episode and what joy that was. Her and Emily Van Camp were great in there scenes together and I just feel so bad that she is leaving the show because of Balthazar Getty’s mistakes. She will find great work though. The big story of the episode was the reintroduction of David Caplan played by executive producer Ken Olin and the long-awaited start of Ryan Lafferty (Luke Grimes). While both parts were brief tonight, you can tell that they will have a big impact on the rest of the year. David will help Rebecca help her mother keep Ojai and Ryan opening up new secrets of the horrible William Walker.

Desperate Housewives:  Last night’s episode of DH is almost ditto of that of Brothers & Sisters. It was back to season 1 classic Housewives. All the characters were featured and it was fun, but also a lot of stuff happening. I loved how Dave is getting scolded, how Katherine is actually in the show, how Bree is still innocent, and Susan is still crazy in a good way. The best part though is Bob & Lee. Wisteria Lane’s gay couple are so funny and bring a smile to my face every time. Keep up the good work!

There is actually new TV on Sundays! Lots of offerings including returning faves, and specials….

Grammy Awards – 8/7c on CBS  When it comes to award shows I have never gotten into the Grammys. I love music but to me award shows combined with music don’t mix. This year’s ceremony’s have a lot of great artists performing including U2, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Jennifer Hudson, The Jonas Brothers, and more! Coldplay and Lil’ Wayne lead the nominations.

XIII – 9/8c on NBC  NBC has really gotten into miniseries this year. First it was last month’s terrible The Last Templar, not it is the very non-promoted XIII. I have seen this one and it may or may not be for you. It is really stupid in the vein of The Last Templar, but is interesting. It did not fell like a NBC show. It felt like a European small budget action film. It stars Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff, who the latter is a person like Jason Bourne who does not who he is and is only know by the number 13. After the president’s assassination, 13 is framed and he must clear him name. The first two hours air tonight, while the last two air next Sunday.

Luke Grimes; Brothers & Sisters

Desperate Housewives – 9/8c on ABC  After a 3-week break, the housewives are back. As usual they are up to their usual drama, and if only Dana Delany had some. Is it just me or after her first huge season last year, she has been way underused? Get Dana back in the fold! Tonight, Gaby wants to get back to her model physique and enlists Edie’s help. Also, Bree gets a new car, while her friend Lynette loses hers for money.

Brothers & Sisters – 10/9c on ABC  The time is finally here. Since May, we have heard that Rebecca is not a Walker and it turns out it is a kid named Ryan Lafferty who is the real “R” Walker. Now in February, he finally shows up. In the first of two new episodes (B&S takes a week off then comes back with a two-hour special episode), Ryan contacts Nora after learning his dad is not who he thought and he wants answers. Luke Grimes plays Ryan, who is slated for multiple episodes this season, and an option to become a full regular next season. Also in the hour, Nora learns Nigel has a wife, and Rebecca goes to find her dad David Caplan (Ken Olin) after she learns about Tommy’s illegal plan to get her mom out of the business.

The United States of Tara – 10/9c on Showtime  Have you been watching this new comedy? I have and I am still loving it. This hardcore dark comedy that stars Toni Colette as Tara who has D.I.D (Dissociative Identity Disorder), is such fun and an awesome character piece for Toni and the rest of the cast. Her son Marshall is still my favorite part of the show. He is so fun and interesting, love it!