Everyone is in a tizzy about The Wire coming to a close yesterday - it's one of the few shows that decided to go out while it was on top so kudos to them. The TV Junkie is barely keeping his head above water with the deluge of new shows coming out in the next week, tonight it's Julianna Margulies' return to the little screen with Canterbury's Law (that's a mouthful, say: Julianna Margulies in Canterbury's Law 10x fast). Stay tuned for more shows this week, including the fabulous Lewis Black (right) in Lewis Black's Root of All Evil which premieres on Wednesday at 10:30pm - I hope he does "the finger thing" a lot. more ›

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Am in a post-Super Bowl stupor. The commercials were so-so, I wasn't unduly impressed, and the halftime show was terrible, they practically had to frickin' wheel Tom Petty and his aging cronies out there. Going for it on 4th and 13?? That made me almost as sick as the above clip. more ›

There's a few new shows and seasons starting this week, including the 2 hour premiere of "Lost" on Thursday but it all just feels like a build-up to the Super Bowl. more ›

The WGA is engaging in talks but that doesn't mean that the Oscars still aren't in danger. For an idea of what the economic impact of a canceled Oscars will be check out the diagram to the right from the 01/28/2008 issue of Business Week. Obviously the entire dollar amount is not exclusive to Los Angeles but a significant portion of it is localized ($26.5 million on limos, security, and gifts??). After reading some comments about the WGA strike here at LAist it's obvious that a lot of people are in pain over this but it's seems silly to me to blame the writers for the situation - this is a chance for all the affected industries to put pressure on the producers, studios, and networks to be a little less greedy. more ›

If you care for "Just For Laughs", "According To Jim" and all things Tuesday ABC, they're new. We have a premiere tonight on Bravo, our new source of reality TV. This time they're launching Millionaire Matchmaker featuring Patti Stranger (right) who performs the very public service of hooking up desperate, misunderstood, and underprivileged millionaires with compatible mates - Patti, I hope someday a grateful society brings you the honors you deserve. more ›

OK so now Oprah wants her own network and she's going to get it. Remember that she is one of the four founders of the Oxygen Network, you know, that paragon of programming that now includes: The Bad Girls Club, Snapped, and the Oxygen Original movie Husband for Hire. Now she's distancing herself from that loathsome swamp of bad TV because of her new altruistic endeavor, the modestly named OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network) which replaces the Discovery Health Channel. Will the Big O stay with this for the long haul or just until something else, like a Stedman replacement, gets her attention? more ›

It's becoming a task to find episodes of anything new and/or remarkable. Do I even mention that there's new episodes of Celebrity Apprentice, Make Me A Supermodel, and CSI? Am I supposed to be excited about informing you that there will be two (2!) new episodes of NBC's Chuck airing two weeks from tonight? more ›

Hey check it, yours truly was invited to contribute some commentary to this ABCNEWS.com article (I'm on page 2). Thanks for your support! more ›

So The Colber(t) Repor(t) and The Daily Show are back and while Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Conan are all nimble on their feet, and very funny and engaging, it's amazing how the success of all these shows really comes down to the writing. It's great to have them all back on the air and it does provide us all with some late night alternatives, but I hope NBC, ABC, and Viacom come to their senses and end this. The ball is in their court. more ›

I've managed to avoid watching NFL playoffs and college bowl games but I'm getting worn down, I'm tellin' ya. If I got the Fox Movie Channel I would watch Less Than Zero tonight at 7pm because I'm just about as strung out as Robert Downey Jr.was in that flick. I'm not begging for the writers to capitulate, I want them to win, I'm just begging the networks to send me some shite to write about. Didn't you guys put stuff out on DVDs for the holidays? I'm sure that there's plenty of folks walking around with unused balances on their gift cards that would drop some cash on some of your repackaged programming. more ›

I vaguely remember the '80s so the return of American Gladiator to the screen presents me with a nauseating wave of nostalgia that I want to boogie board to the fullest. Then again, I vaguely remember the '70s and the relaunch of the Bionic Woman left a lot to be desired. But hey, we live in America, and with enough boobies and violence, American Gladiator could have the required recipe for success. more ›

Hey, even though there might not be much newly written TV on tonight (that's worth watching) tomorrow you are cordially invited to see acclaimed TV show creator and writer David Milch (creator of Deadwood, NYPD Blue) host: "The Idea of the Writer: A Writing Discussion with David Milch" tomorrow from 2:15-4:00pm at the WGA Theater at 135 S. Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills. This event is FREE and all are welcome on a first come,... more ›

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,... more ›

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... more ›

If you don't want to watch football over the next 4 days you are screwed. Normally I would tell you to head over to TCM or IFC for some fine movie action but it's slim pickins my friends. TCM has (lamely) decided to schedule a 3 day Andy Hardy marathon starring everyone's favorite short actor, Mickey Rooney, as the misguided but lovable Andy Hardy. One or two Andy Hardy movies is fine, but several days... more ›

A couple premieres tonight worth noting, Project Runway for all you fashionistas, and the incredible Kenny vs. Spenny makes its US premiere, and check the above video for a message made exclusively for LAist! The boys live in LA, check the show out or at least Tivo the mofo. 8:00pm Pushing Daisies ABC - "The Soup"'s Joel McHale guest stars tonight. TV Junkie 8:00pm Pick 8:00pm Wired Science PBS/KCET - Love the show, hate... more ›

Baseball was fun last night since there wasn't much else on. Tonight we have more choices, except for late night which only offers us Kimmel. If you have the Sundance Channel you really ought to check out the series Iconoclasts, which pairs up incongruous individuals from sometimes completely disciplines to see what kinds of discussions result. Weird and fascinating. 5:00pm World Series: Game Deux FOX - For all you non-Francophiles or non-Naked Gun fans, Deux... more ›

Tuesdays will be the worse for the lack of Damages until when, next Summer?!?! There seems to be just a couple worthy prime time choices tonight despite a full plate of new offerings that have, to me, seemed mediocre. Please tell me in the comments if you watch any of the following and why (I've got an open mind, I'll check them out again): Gossip Girl, Life, Dirty Sexy Money, Criminal Minds, Private Practice. 5:00pm... more ›

A lotta hungover people in Boston today, no doubt - and with that drama, who the eff was watching the GOP debate? I don't really care about that much this week other than the Damages finale tomorrow night, but first things first. Late night's a bust with almost 100% repeats tonight. Did you catch last night's Curb Your Enthusiasm? Hilarious that Larry David's fictional wife is also leaving him - brilliant too. 8:00pm Chuck NBC... more ›

Hope you caught the season finale of Mad Men - it was excellent, especially the final pitch to Kodak (the finale will repeat tonight at 10:00pm on AMC). Am still bummed over the death of Deborah Kerr, of the King and I and From Here to Eternity fame (yeah, that was her rolling around in the surf with Burt Lancaster), she will be very much missed. We also lost the last remaining member of the Rat Pack (not the Brat Pack as I previously wrote), comedian Joey Bishop. more ›

Some cool stuff heard over the weekend: Stephen Colber(t) is writing a column for the New York Times. Jimmy Kimmel will be doing 2 shows a day, 1 on each coast: Live With Regis and Kelly in NYC in the AM, and then Jimmy Kimmel LIVE from LA in the PM. The insanity starts on 10/22 and goes for a week. 8:00pm Chuck NBC - This still feels pretty new and engaging although they are... more ›

It's not really a big Wednesday, I'm just making a reference to the obscure and awful surfer flick starring Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey. I've got a major case of the munchies as I write this so tonight's primetime is all about food for me. 8:00pm Back To You FOX - Series Premiere - oops, NOT[TD]. I'm not so sure I want to give Kelsey Grammar another chance on network TV. I would like... more ›

If there are 30 minutes of television for you to watch tonight, then those 30 minutes should be 30 Rock. Tina Fey's American Express commercial has left me wanting more and finally I'm getting some. And hey lookie, they actually got Seinfeld back in a sitcom, for at least an episode. 8:30pm 30 Rock NBC - Season Premiere. TV Junkie Pick of the Night. 9:00pm Supernatural CW - Season Premiere. 9:00pm The Office NBC -... more ›

I used the word hump mainly because I think that Sarah Silverman would endorse my use of that word, and perhaps go on to give us an explanation of humping and whom/what humping should be applied to. Am I immature? Yes, but it's a good kind of immature. I feel like I've waited forever for her show to get back on the air but the day hath arrived. Check the clip above to get... more ›

This week seems to be the week that new sitcoms will be unleashed upon us. Tonight we have the bizarre historical moment in which commercial characters have now secured themselves an actual network television series. We're of course talking about Cavemen. While GEICO may have created a successful commercial campaign, one would think that the idea of a series could have been tested online much more economically. Everyone is predicting a flameout and that the... more ›

Check out late night TV, lots of good stuff including an appearance of Juliette and the Licks (photo via Juliette's Myspace) on the Late Late Show. Tonight we also present the guilty pleasures of Steve-O's new show Dr. Steve-O, USA @ 11:00pm. Steve-O's sidekick is the lovely Trishelle of Real World fame who was interviewed here on LAist a couple months ago. The premise is that Steve-O and Trishelle subject "wussies" to various humiliations... more ›

Grab a beer friends, we survived the week. I still got hours of junk Tivo'd that I'm supposed to watch but on the calendar it says it's Friday and that's a great thing. Late night TV is super busy tonight, check it out: a free Paris Hilton, Michael Douglas, Seth Myers, Jenny McCarthy. Also, LeBron James is on SNL tomorrow - have a great weekend. more ›

A couple more days of this visual and mental assault. I've discovered that drinking really helps though. 7:30pm Where Eagles Dare TCM - Here's your chance to bypass most of the new and quite possibly very mediocre offerings this evening by watching this classic. Richard Burton is wooden and robotic in this good guys vs. the Nazis flick, Clint Eastwood is fantastic and there's lots of cool explosions and Nazis getting shot and stuff. 8:00pm... more ›

Holy jeebus my eyeballs are gonna fall out. There's about a 1/2 dozen series premieres and a 1/2 dozen season premieres tonight. Unfortnately the only new thing calling my name is the Bionic Woman (9:00pm NBC) but that's based on junior high school fantasies and not what I've seen so far of this show. Prime time offers such an overabundance of mediocrity I'm tempted to head off to TCM at 8:00pm and watch the... more ›