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Arts and Entertainment

TV Junkie: Apple's iHulu? NBC's TdF App Missteps

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Weekend Edition


The final season of "Entourage" premieres this Sunday at 10pm on HBO - finally or finally?
Earlier this week we wrote about CBS porting thousands of episodes of vintage shows to Amazon's streaming service and yesterday rumors started of a possible bid from Apple for Hulu. This may be a welcome consolidation as I'm sure Apple would provide an easy handoff from streamed Hulu programs to related shows on iTunes. Networks involved are pledging to another 5 year commitment to Hulu but bringing on new TV content and networks seems like herding cats, a job I wouldn't want.
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It would be great if the networks could spread the programming around a bit - we have huge bottlenecks of good shows on Thursdays and Sundays but virtually nothing to watch on Saturdays and some other weeknights. This Sunday is no exception as we try to figure out priorities between "True Blood," "Breaking Bad," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Entourage," "The Marriage Ref," "Falling Skies," and more. We had to make some tough decisions reflected in the TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan below.
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It's great to hear that Kenny Johnson will be on NBC's "Prime Suspect" (with Maria Bello) this Fall with a premiere date of September 22nd. You'll remember Johnson best from his long run on FX's "The Shield" and we interviewed him as he was just starting TNT's "Saving Grace" - he's one of the nicest guys in showbiz so we look forward to his next run on TV.
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The Tour de France wraps up this Sunday following Saturday's individual time trial. NBC messed up by not giving away their online access to the Tour or their mobile app in these final few days. Don't they want us to get a taste of what we're missing? As we wrote previously, they made it complicated and convoluted enough to use these services, the least they could do would be to reward those who are truly motivated a chance to see if they should pay the (overblown) full price. We did see the NBC mobile app on a friend's device and even on an ample WiFi network the video was unviewable and the sound choppy - complaints we saw on Twitter back up these performance issues. NBC has got some work to do before it has the right to ask for an additional $30-$45 to watch this event.
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When we interviewed Marc Maron last month, we talked about his WTFpod podcast becoming a radio show and beginning this Sunday it will be on KCRW at 11am every Sunday. Congrats to Marc who was on "Conan" and "The Green Room With Paul Provenza" within the last week.
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The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan: Tonight - "Attack of the Show," "Real Time With Bill Maher" (Donna Brazile and Nick Gillespie; Martin Lewis and John Turturro), "Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings," "Fashion Police," "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (Kevin Connolly; actress Brit Marling; comic Matt Kirshen). Saturday - Tour de France, "The Graham Norton Show" (Jack Whitehall; singer Adele; actress Miranda Hart; actress Camilla Luddington; actor Nico Evers-Swindell). Sunday - Tour de France, "True Blood," "Breaking Bad," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Entourage" (both on late night reruns).

Tonight

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7:00pm Attack of the Show! G4 - Attack of the Show Attacks Comic-Con From San Diego Comic-Con.

8:00pm Real Time With Bill Maher HBO - Political strategist Donna Brazile and editor Nick Gillespie; marketing strategist Martin Lewis and actor-director John Turturro are interview guests.

10:00pm Haven Syfy - Fear & Loathing An epidemic spreads across town and Nathan feels again.

10:00pm Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings IFC - Rhett & Link make a commercial for the school "Make Me a Pro Wrestler"

10:30pm Fashion Police E! - New episode with Kathy Griffin as guest.

11:35pm The Tonight Show With Jay Leno NBC - TV-show host Ben Bailey; Dolly Parton performs.

12:35am The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS - Actor John Goodman; actress Jayma Mays.

12:35am Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC - Actor Kevin Connolly; actress Brit Marling; comic Matt Kirshen.

Saturday

5:00am 2011 Tour de France Versus - Stage 20 From Grenoble - the individual time trial.

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10:00pm The Graham Norton Show BBC America - Comic Jack Whitehall; singer Adele; actress Miranda Hart; actress Camilla Luddington; actor Nico Evers-Swindell.

Sunday

5:00am 2011 Tour de France Versus - Stage 21 From Crýteil - Paris. Final stage.

8:55pm Same Name CBS - Series Premiere. Actor David Hasselhoff trades lives with a 27-year-old high voltage power technician from Texas

9:00pm True Blood HBO - I Hate You, I Love You Sookie nurtures Eric; Bill gets involved in a crisis; Pam takes the veil; Sam becomes Tommy's accomplice; Arlene and Terry seek religion; Jesus and Lafayette travel to Mexico; Jason recovers.

9:00pm Masterpiece Mystery! PBS SoCal/KOCE - Zen: Cabal Zen tries to figure out whether a disgraced aristocrat jumped off a bridge or if he was pushed.

9:00pm Food Network Star Food - Ina Garten & Rachael Ray Guest judge, Ina Garten; live audience cooking demo on the Rachael Ray show.

10:00pm Breaking Bad AMC - Thirty-Eight Snub Walt attempts to form a new alliance; Skyler pushes towards a new business opportunity in hopes of protecting the family.

10:00pm Curb Your Enthusiasm HBO - Palestinian Chicken Larry plays social assassin at a dinner party, on the golf course and at a restaurant.

10:00pm The Marriage Ref NBC - Lauren Graham, Colin Quinn, Mary J. Blige guest

10:00pm Falling Skies TNT - Sanctuary Hal begins to distrust Clayton's image of the farm; Mike and Hal must battle an unforeseen enemy.

10:00pm In Plain Sight USA - Provo-Cation Mary helps protect a guilt-ridden Army veteran; Mary's ex returns.

10:30pm Entourage HBO - Final Season Premiere. Home Sweet Home Vince is excited about a new film idea; Eric and Scott sign Johnny Galecki to their management company; Ari tries to win back his wife; Drama throws Vince a welcome-home party.

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