Season four of "the #1 ad-supported cable series of all time", aka TNT's "The Closer" returns to TV tonight. I've always had a problem with this series, whether it was the annoying music, Kyra Sedgwick's overpainted lips and weird accent, or the fact that her character, LAPD Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, has somehow attained the status of Deputy Police Chief despite being "hopeless at LAPD politics". Still, the series is well-funded, looks decent......

Here at LAist, we really love local folk music, especially The Hollow Trees. In fact, we love them so much that we've interviewed them three times: a little ">over a year ago, then in May about Stagecoach (the roots version of Coachella) and this last December. We'll spare any in depth analysis this morning, but will just say if you're looking for things to do late this morning, whether your a parent or babysitting some......

Thankfully I had Tivo'd Sunday's Kenny vs. Spenny and Robot Chicken to watch last night because after the first 15 minutes of Saving Grace I couldn't take any more. Unfortunately I tuned back into SG in time to catch Lem giving Holly Hunter a hand job which was so not worth it. In case you missed him last week, you have a couple more chances to go to a Q&A with writer/creator David Milch at......

Speaking of TV, LAista Julie Wolfson interviewed E!'s Soup host Joel McHale so be sure to check that post out as well as The Soup Presents... tonight for a review of 2007's "best" talk show moments. 8:00pm Clash of the Choirs NBC - The first of four parts Premieres Tonight and it is what it says it is. Choirs headed by celebrity choir leaders like Nick Lachey, Patti LaBelle, Kelly Rowland and Michael Bolton go......

I watched Saving Grace last night because there was nothing else on and I was sorry I did it. Holly Hunter I love you but there should be a better show than this for you - it's morphed into Touched By An Angel with touches of profanity. It looks like there's a lot of stuff tonight (below) but it's actually pretty sparse. I'll have some DVD reviews up soon since that's what I'm really watching,......

No deal in the writer's strike before Xmas folks, so we might just have to entertain ourselves. Monday's looking sparse - oh wait, was I supposed to highlight dreck like K-Ville, Samantha Who?, and Deal or No Deal? No thanks. 6:00pm Larry King Live CNN - Relatively new Los Angelino Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham is the interviewee today. Will there be more talk about her hubbie's giant schlong? Or about how she sleeps naked with......

Did anyone else catch SciFi's Tin Man last night? Definitely worth watching into Part Deux (they will repeat Part One at 7:00pm). I wish I could say the same about Comedy Central's Last Laugh '07 - I love Lewis Black, Dave Attell, and D.L. Hughley, but they crammed their acts, a lengthy animated intro, and a Q/A session into one hour. The end result left a lot to be desired. 7:00pm David Copperfield TCM -......

Am sorry to report the K-Ville is nothing more than another cop show. A shootout an car chase 8 minutes into it? Tough guy Anthony Anderson 's character crying in the first 15 minutes? I don't know how this show could redeem itself, I essentially tuned out after the first 20 minutes. I'll tell you what though, Saving Grace somewhat redeemed itself what with Holly Hunter's bare butt being the focal point of the......

The only thing this week means to me is that It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia premieres on Thursday. I've seen some previews and goddam if that shit isn't funny. 9:00pm Dateline NBC - Sensationalist exploitation of the Connecticut home invasion by 2 ex-cons that left a woman and her 2 daughters dead and her husband badly beaten. 10:00pm Saving Grace TNT - For lack of anything better (Dr. 90210 anyone??) I guess the only choice......

I used to work in an extremely uptight government office. My one saving grace was my friend, Karen, who was the only normal person there. We ate lunch together every single day and went out together after work. One day we were talking about how everything men say leads to some sexual innuendo. So I told her about one of my favorite Lynda Barry cartoons where the men only speak in phallic symbols. She......

No picks tonight because after a week of glorious vacation, vapid programming's got me down. Dear Holly Hunter, I love you desperately, and you are positively MILFy in TNT's Saving Grace but that goddam thing has turned into Touched By An Angel and it just doesn't have the legs so give us all a break. So what can a man do but look hopefully to the future. In a coupla weeks FX's It's Always......

8:00pm So You Think You Can Dance FOX - Two dancers get the boot 9:00pm Fat March ABC - The fat marchers have made it all the way from southeast Massachusetts to Connecticut. The men face a strength challenge. but wait! there's more! 9:00pm Hell's Kitchen FOX - Finalist hell! The final challenge!!! The winner becomes the new head chef at one of Gordon Ramsay's Las Vegas restaurants! 10:00pm Weeds SHOWTIME - Season premiere!......

6:45pm Track of the Cat (1954) TCM - Dear environmentalists, don't get your panties in a twist over this classic about some cattlemen tracking down a cougar that's been preying on their herd. Robert Mitchum is classically craggy, ooh, and there's a chance to see Alfalfa (from Our Gang) all growed up. 9:00pm Fat March ABC - I can't pass up a show called Fat March, especially since this week we get to watch......

Cable networks continue to fire on all cylinders this last week. A new episode of Mad Men on AMC has revealed that everyone is flawed and that they're all potentially unredeemable. Last night's angel-stalked Holly Hunter (Saving Grace, TNT) has her thinking about cleaning up her act but despite being a tough girl, she's weak and human and falls back into old habits. Tonight we get to see just a glimpse of the Machiavellian......

The big three networks are getting their asses handed to them by cable this summer. Last night we had Holly Hunter debut her new show 'Saving Grace' on TNT and tonight we have Glenn Close dishing it out on FX with 'Damages' (Tuesdays @ 10:00 p.m.). I don't know if you saw Close during her season-long stint on FX's 'the Shield' but her performance reinvigorated that series and they're still coasting on her energy.......

Count Holly Hunter among the middle-aged big screen queens making a move towards cable with the new TNT offering 'Saving Grace' which premieres tonight at 10:00 p.m. Holly plays a narcissistic Oklahoma City detective who likes getting drunk (a lot) and laid (a lot) while going after the bad guys. In the incessant preview you see that she runs down a pedestrian some fateful night [uh, hmmm, how many Oklahoma City detectives can afford......

The specter of leaving Pedro in the game will never be erased if Grady Little keeps managing like this. Going into the series, I thought the Dodgers could easily handle the Cub’s offense and take advantage of the Cub’s horrible pitching particularly their bullpen. I expected a Dodger’s sweep with the score being about 10-2 each game. What actually happened was three games where the Dodgers had to come from behind late in the......

The best thing about last night's Saturday Night Live was neither Scarlett Johansson hosting nor Bjork singing - both were disappointing to say the least. Indeed the only saving grace of the whole night was the TV Funhouse cartoon "Torboto". "The Prince Show", was ok, we guess, or was that the week before? They're all so disposable and interchangeable. If you didn't make it an hour and twenty minutes into the show and missed......

Kim Kardashian, Superstar starring: Kim Kardashian, Ray J Vivid Entertainment We get a lot of things in our mailboxes. Maybe you do too. Yesterday we got the Kim Kardashian sex tape. Funny how sex tapes starring quasi-celebs makes it to the top of the list. This is a very confusing DVD. On one hand, we're supposed to believe that neither Kim or Ray J wanted this out; but when you watch it you see......

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was the coolest movie ever: Star Wars. As it was loved by men, women, and children of all ages, a year after the movie was released it was decided to produce a Christmas Special that would appear on CBS, some think aimed at kids. The two hour "holiday" special was so bad that even children hated it. Roundly panned, it was deemed by......

Before everyone gets their panties in a bunch, let's make one thing perfectly clear, LAist LOVES Hollywood. We love the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce's bizarre choices for stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We love the seediness of Hollywood Blvd. Hell we even love the the monstrosity that is the world's most fucked up strip mall known as Hollywood & Highland. We love these things because they represent the half-shitty, half-shiny semi-glamorous paradox......

Liquid Nitrogen + Hotel Swimming Pool + Nerds = oooooooo - via Boing Boing Victoria Silvstedt and her new boyfriend reallllly love each other Tom Petty has a new single with an infectious Bo Diddley riff and is called "Saving Grace". click to stream - via stereogum University researchers claim that the drugs salmeterol or formoterol found in three common inhalers might be responsible for four out of five U.S. asthma-related deaths per year......

The NCAA Tournament brackets were just revealed, and it's fair to say UCLA got screwed. While the Pac-10 was complimented with Washington getting a number-one seed, giving UCLA an 11th seed is downright insulting. How is the 4th place team in the Pac-10 seeded 11th? How is UCLA worse than Creighton, Iowa, or St. Mary's? To make matters worse for the Bruins, they now have to play a Texas Tech team that probably should......