TV Mad Man

Thursdays. Oh, Thursdays, easily the busiest night of all of TV and there are some really great stuff that makes it even harder to decide. Let’s see what I am still watching and see if it matches up to you?

I am going to go network by network this time because there are so few things I don’t watch. Starting with cable, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is one of the best installments of this series since New York. Good women, doing crazy stuff, nothing better. On the CW, The Vampire Diaries is one really smart show, and the best thing about it: it is a smart show for teens that uses vampires in a great way. I always look forward to TVD, especially along with Nikita which has done nothing short of approve every single episode.

At FOX, I have never been a Bones fan (I hope to catch up one day on DVD) but I do love me some alt-Fringe, that is for certain. This season has creatively been on fire, with each episode alternating between worlds seamlessly and Anna Torv really proving herself as n actress. The only thing that is lacking, the ratings. Get them up, while at CBS, the ratings are great, where Big Bang is still funny and working and The Mentalist a stable performer on Thursday night.

The best shows however on Thursday nights are on NBC and ABC. I look forward every week to a new 30 Rock, which I can’t say about the past two seasons. Its lead in, Community is funny, damn funny, but I can’t say I am as on-board as some other people in the TV universe, while The Office is slowing improving in the waning days of Michael Scott.

On ABC, Grey’s Anatomy is having its best year since maybe even season 2, delivering smart, original stories, while placing the characters in new and harrowing situations following the traumatic shooting. As you know, last week I gave so much praise to it’s spin-off which is just magnificent in the days of Charlotte King, you must watch, and read the article here.

So, what are you watching Thursdays, and how are you handling it. Sound off below.

ABC has always been successful in creating dramas but nothing hit and last as well in the past 10 years for them than Grey’s Anatomy, and now entering its seventh season next Thursday, it is time to catch-up if you have missed the last year. The Complete Sixth Season DVD set is out on Tuesday, along with its Thursday partner.

I entered Grey’s sixth season a little late after marathoning last summer the entire season, needless to say, that the previous year hit a creative low, the sixth slowly grew into their best year in years. Katherine Heigl departed, characters played by Kim Raver, and a group of new doctors for the merger which combined Seattle Grace and Mercy West in the first episodes back, gave us some great faces, but most of all it was the stories that went from soapy pieces to hard-hitting medical stories.

But we can not deny the highlight of the season: the finale. It was two-hours of edge-of-your-seat television, easily some of the best hours of the last year, and something that I remember fondly. I was in tears, I had my mouth open, and I was in awe of what creator Shonda Rhimes created for those characters. Do yourself a favor and get the DVD set which includes 20 more minutes of the finale as well as features and more.

Private Practice in my mind has always been the smart ones Grey’s. After its rocky first year during the strike, the show turned into a dark and compelling medical drama with just a tint of romance and soap. The third season out Tuesday, really showed that off.

Although it started as a vehicle for Kate Walsh’s Addison, the show is now a true ensemble with Amy Brenneman and Tim  Daly really hitting out of the park this year.

The DVD set includes a look ahead as well as Kate Walsh’s best 8 of the year. Buy them this Tuesday everywhere.

I continue my look at the past television season and doing some top 5′s for what worked in a ratings-challenged year. Up second are the returning entries that graced the screen this year and which ones worked well:

1. Parks and Recreation is easily the biggest jump from below mediocrity to so far above the bar this year. The first season of six episodes was nothing special and Amy Poehler was not her finest as Leslie Knope but back in September something changed, and we should all be so grateful for whatever it was. Leslie became a much more grounded character and with less Michael Scott qualities and more funny. The supporting cast was featured more from Nick Offerman as Ron to Rashida Jones better used Ann. Rob Lowe and Adam Scott additions can only make it better come midseason. (Why do we have to wait?!)

2. Lost, I love you. Thank you for the best finale and an overwhelmingly awesome final season. That is all I can say.

3. Survivor this year can be summer up in one word: Russell. Russell Hantz was just brilliant in both Samoa and one of the best seasons ever done, Heroes vs. Villains. Especially this spring edition, really showed what a surprising, compelling reality show it still is and once was and I can only hope this high ride will continue in the fall.

4. Private Practice is a pretty great show and not a lot of people know it. The show was not the best spinoff in its first season but after the writer’s strike the writing got better, smarter and the cast gelled and it has been smooth sailing ever since. What really makes Practice different from Grey’s in recent months is that the cases of the week are very intelligent and are still very much part of the story as much as the soap. Check this out in the fall, you will be very happy you did.

5. The New Adventures of Old Christine was cancelled and I was much more upset by it than I thought I would. While the Julia Louis Dreyfus fronted comedy was never must-see it was a consistent funny half-hour that I wish ABC would have support. This season really developed Christine as more of a dumb single woman and that’s it.

Came close: Grey’s Anatomy rebounded from a rough fifth season in a very solid way. This was the first year I have ever watched a season when it has aired and I am very fond memories from it. Most notably, the shocking, awe-inspiring, intense finale they have ever done. What a fantastic two hours, but not only was that well-done, the season’s fifth episode “Invasion” was remarkable. All told in flashbacks to a day where someone died that shouldn’t have that featured great work by the new Mercy West crew and Sarah Drew. Well done, Shonda and team again.

What is your Top 5?

Wednesday and Thursdays are packed full of fun television including some buzzworthy dramas and comedies, here are my thoughts as some wind down, and some are gearing up, plus my take on a Sunday fave.

The Middle/Modern Family/Cougar Town – I’m laughing. All the time, and that is all that matters with these three renewed for year two, superb comedies. With The Middle, their key to success has been in the Heck kids who especially in the biggest episodes to date. Brick (Atticus Shaffer) in particular with his delivery just makes it so so funny, and then Axl and Sue who are so unique in his approach on girls and her trying to fit in.

Modern Family just rocks and after “My Funky Valentine” officially became my favorite comedy on TV. In a combination of hilarity, sweetness, and uniqueness it just works. The one thing that in every episode which each story is synchronised to the others in that episode from latin housekeepers and dog butlers that are somehow intertwined by mannerisms and dialogue. That is a testament to the cast and that writing that is so so Emmy worthy. (Sorry Glee.)

Cougar Town is one brilliant town and it is not for Jules (Courtney Cox) only but for the supporting players that make each half-hour from Ellie’s views on life to Bobby, Andy, and Grayson’s night out, and Travis maturity with his mother (Did you know he is really 25?). The show has twindld in the ratings but I hope an upcoming recurring role from Sheryl Crow can change that, plus where is Barb, and Rachael Harris? I miss them. All three comedies return on March 3rd to ABC.

Leverage – Leverage to me is one of the funniest shows on TV in a long while. The past few weeks with Nate’s ex-wife (played by the absolutely wonderful Kari Machett) coming back into the picture when she did not want him was fun, and the finale has started and I can say it finishes on a huge win. The last hour airing this Wednesday marks the return of some old favorites in a surprising turn, Jeri Ryan exits for now, and a cliff hanger till the summer that you will really want to know about. The best thing about the second half of the season was to see a pregnant Gina Bellman as Sophie in ever-changing outfits and locations from Africa to the super cliché in Eiffel Tower in the background Paris. Just fun.

Human Target – 12 million to 8 million is not the best thing to hear, however, it is very early for the action drama on FOX. I have not been enthralled by the series but last week’s episode “Run” which was originally the second episode showcased big action and story and that is what I like and want to see. The story they have introduced about Chance’s first case with a mysterious woman named Katherine is intriguing as well as Guerrero’s “side-projects” but if they are not in the mix each week I feel it will be lost in the action.

Lots to come as this drama is just finding its footing and the survival will all depend on FOX’s development slate and other performers like the dying Past Life and new entry Code 58 in the spring.

Burn Notice – Is it just me, or has this second half of the season been way uneven? This past Thursday’s episode has been the only one that I truly enjoyed. I feel like the action mixed with the character reactions have not been gelling together. The season is ending on March 4th and it will mark the return of some old pals that will change the game, and I can only hope it changes for the better.

Survivor – AMAZING TELEVISION. The two-hour première of Heroes vs. Villains was some of the best TV I have seen all year. Conflict, romance, injuries, tribals, survival, that were all so captivating to watch. Jerri and Coach’s romance was repulsing but so fascinating. I love the idea of reliving some of our favorite challenges from earlier years and I have some ones in my mind that I hope that do like the giant ball challenge from Guatemala and more. Just superb reality competition. More after the jump…. (more…)

Tonight on ABC, two old companions start to come together for some special reasons. Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice begin to crossover into each others shows. I have seen tonight’s episodes of both Grey’s and Practice, and what ABC has been calling the start of the crossover is merely a phone call. That doesn’t mean it isn’t successful. 

The basis of the crossover will start with Practice. Addison’s brother Archer played by Grant Show, returns to LA and carries a big problem with him. After a great night with Naomi leeds to a scare. Archer has a medical problem which is so serious (I won’t disclose what it is here) that it requires Addison to call Derek back in Seattle to help. 

Overall the episode of Private Practice is solid. The other cases and stories are great and once again I was sobbing multiple times. It wasn’t the best but not bad. Violet is once again grappling with the idea of being pregnant. When she tells both Sheldon and Pete, they give one reaction that was not expected by her. The best story though was that of Cooper. He is so sweet, and even sweeter when he is with a kid. A little girl is left in the practice by her parents before her surgery to finally be able to walk freely after a car crash. He fights for this sweet little girl with all his heart.

First, I should mention that I do not watch Grey’s Anatomy, I have seen it a couple times and read enough about it over the years to know all the characters and what is going on with them. Now onto the episode, I quiet enjoyed it. It was funny and more soapy than the former but it did have some heart and tenderness. In the hour, Derek is preparing to propose to Merideth but since everybody knows except her it is hard for Derek to find the right time. Jennifer Westfeldt starts her guest stint also tonight as a pregnant women who runs over her husband, not fattally, but then has some complications of her own. The best parts for me though were Chandra Wilson who is so sweet and adorable, and Jessica Chapshaw as Arizona and Callie together. I love the girl-girl story line and find it so rare on TV other than The L Word. I was sad to hear the news early the season about Brooke Smith, I love her. 

I do recommend this event and hope when the actually “crossing-over” begins it will get even better. Grey’s Anatomy airs at 9/8c on ABC, and Private Practice following it tonight.