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Anthony Bourdain hangs out with Bill Murray tonight in the Hudson Valley in "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" on the Travel Channel at 10pm
The news is out that the Super Bowl was the most watched program ever and that the remnants of The Who are the most embarrassing senior citizens ever. Viewers were also generally very unimpressed with the commercials that ran during the show and while a lot of people think "so what" let's not let them get away with that.These commercials sucked and yet they are supposed to be la creme-de-la-creme of overpaid Don Draper wanna-bes. Your toilet paper, cell phone bill, and cars cost more because of the ads that are run on their behalf and this was the best that Madison Avenue could come up with? We know some people in the industry and saw them giving supportive shout-outs to their buddies on Twitter as their ads were broadcast yesterday: Dear Friends, come up with some better shit because if there's another industry that needs an overhaul, it's yours.
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A colleague of ours, Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle, had a great write-up about the Winter Olympics yesterday but we take issue with a couple points he raises. Should viewers get really excited about the Winter Olympics? Yes, absolutely. Should they take what they get from NBC and like it? Absolutely not. Goodman mentions "treacly [athlete] profiles" (we call it "Jim McCayification) and the need to get vital information about unknown Team USA members. We don't need to get those profiles because virtually none of the "information" in them is vital. We didn't need to know Michael Phelps' dog Herman, and we're not going to need to know Lindsey Vonn's favorite yogurt flavor. Let the athlete's perform without the hype.
Goodman also states that biathlon might not be TV gold. For some reason those insane Europeans have made biathlon the most televised winter sport on their continent so let's think that they are smart enough to be on to something. Since we're going to Vancouver to follow a biathlete that we know, we are only slightly biased. Speaking of Olympian profiles, if NBC could come up with video pieces like this one on American biathlete Tim Burke by Time Magazine (yeah, magazine), viewers would be both informed and enthused about events they have (so far) had little exposure to. C'mon Tim, drink some biathlon Kool-Aid!
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Tonight: The 10pm slot is super congested with some really good programming. You've got "Damages", "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations", "Secret Diary of a Call Girl", "Ultimate Cake Off", and the premiere of "NFL Full Contact" on truTV. Thankfully all of these shows with the exception of "NFL Full Contact", are repeated again at least once before 1am so you can watch/Tivo to your heart's content. We've seen a screener of "NFL Full Contact" and it's very good so if you are more sports inclined, that show will be your bet tonight. What we really want to see is Bourdain hanging out in the Hudson Valley of New York with Bill Murray so that will take precedence over hot hookers, angry lawyers, and sweet cakes.
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The TV Junkie Plan: @aots, "How I Met Your Mother", "The Black List, Vol. 3", "24", "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" (in Hudson Valley with Bill Murray!), "La La Land", Letterman (Sandra Bullock - see our great pics of her at the SAG Awards), Fallon (Stephen Colbert)
7:00pm Attack of the Show! G4 - Lethal D; motocross; sneakerheads.
8:00pm How I Met Your Mother CBS - Lily and Marshall forget to fix Ted up on a blind date for Valentine's Day; Robin's obnoxious colleague invites her to a party at his apartment.
8:00pm Chuck NBC - Chuck and Hannah unexpectedly become part of agent Shaw's latest mission
8:00pm Bank of Hollywood E! - Season Finale
8:00pm House FOX - The inner workings of the hospital are seen through the eyes of Dr. Cuddy.
8:00pm The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love ABC - Jake visits the hometowns of the final four contestants; one bachelorette, after making a surprise visit to Jake's room, makes a shocking revelation that leaves him reeling
8:30pm The Black List, Vol. 3 HBO - Special Presentation
9:00pm American Experience PBS/KCET - British and American allied forces carry out a bombing campaign over Germany's cities which claims the lives of almost half a million civilians.
9:00pm 24 FOX - Day 8: 10:00PM - 11:00PM As international delegates reconvene at the U.N., President Taylor's goodwill comes into question.
9:00pm Heroes NBC - Season Finale. Everyone bands together to try to stop Samuel from taking the lives of thousands; Peter teams with an unexpected ally to save Emm
9:00pm Celebrity Fit Club VH1- Season Premiere
9:25pm The Big Bang Theory CBS - Leonard must choose who to bring with him when he goes to see the Large Hadron Collider on Valentine's Day.
10:00pm Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Travel Channel - Anthony explores the history and foods of the Hudson Valley in New York state.
10:00pm Damages FX - Patty races to prevent a key witness in the Tobin case from fleeing the country; Ellen learns a dark family secret.
10:00pm Secret Diary of a Call Girl Showtime - Belle tries to broaden Jackie's sexual horizons; suffering writer's block, Belle seeks help from Duncan.
10:00pm NFL Full Contact TruTV - Series Premiere
10:00pm Ultimate Cake Off TLC - Three masters compete to build the most impressive cake for the American Kennel Club's Agility Invitational and take home $10,000.
10:30pm Tracey Ullman's State of the Union Showtime - Architectural commission representative; vocal coach; angry driver; environmental activist; Kate Winslet.
10:30pm Be Good Johnny Weir Sundance - Johnny struggles with the departure of Paris and a new choreographer and it seems that this show was created simply to be mocked by "The Soup"
11:00pm La La Land Showtime - LA, prepare to be mocked, subtly and not-so-subtly
11:00pm Chelsea Lately E! - Musician Ozzy Osbourne; round-table guests include Matt Braunger, Randy Sklar and Jason Sklar.
11:35pm Late Show With David Letterman CBS - Actress Sandra Bullock; the announcement of the cover model of the 2010 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue; Josh Turner performs.
12:35am The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS - Actor Pierce Brosnan; Patty Griffin performs.
12:35am Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC - TV host Stephen Colbert; actor Willie Garson; chef Eric Ripert.
