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Tonight's big series premiere, and perhaps the premiere of the week, is Fox's "Terra Nova" at 8pm - the Steven Spielberg-produced science fiction epic whose hype knows no bounds. I attended the Television Critics Association panel on this show over 14 months ago where 18 members and the creators were displayed for us to ogle and the show is just now making it on TV. Fox went in all the way on this show, bypassing a pilot order and going straight to a 13 episode commitment. The show shoots in Australia and had multiple delays due to torrential rains, further adding to the cost. The May premiere date was delayed until tonight in order to accommodate additional visual effects and footage which couldn't have been cheap either - conservative estimates are that this show costs at least $4 million per episode. In the show the earth has become so polluted and overpopulated that in order to save itself, the human race must time travel 85 million years in the past and "start over," kind of like Terminator meets Jurassic Park.Is there any way that this show can live up to the expectations? Will you be watching?
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Last Night's Post-Mortem: Alec Baldwin's best moments in the "Saturday Night Live" premiere were the opening debate sketch and his impression of Tony Bennett, congrats to him on his 16th hosting landmark; "Breaking Bad" continues to accelerate towards a cliff where it doesn't seem possible that anyone will survive the drop (kudos to Bill Burr for his cameo last night); "Boardwalk Empire" had an expectedly exciting premiere and delivered on our wish for more Chalky White; ABC delivered another stunning example of McTelevision with "Pan Am," a series about an airline in the 1960s where nobody seems to smoke, among other anomalies (as a kid who regularly flew in the 1970s, every domestic and international flight I was on was simply a metal tube filled with cigarette smoke), also, series "star" Christina Ricci was barely ever onscreen, yet another misrepresentation of what was supposed to compose this show.
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Just before last night's "Boardwalk Empire" premiere, HBO ran a "Game of Thrones" teaser that was notable for nothing other than its brevity (see clip embedded at the end of this post). I can understand getting some content out there in order to maintain interest and keep the "true fans" going, but to just mutter a tagline and then display the series name is a bit of a joke. No word on when season 2 hits the screen either.
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If you didn't enjoy Radiohead on "SNL" then you'll want to avoid tonight's "Colbert Report" which will be an hour-long special featuring the band.
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The brilliantly funny Mindy Kaling of "The Office" has a great essay about the movies in The New Yorker.
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The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan: "Adventure Time," "Regular Show," "Weeds," "The Big C," "Chelsea Lately," "Conan" (2nd half), "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"
8:00pm Gossip Girl The CW - Season Premiere. Yes, Then Zero Serena makes a mistake at work; Chuck, Nate and Serena attend a party in the Hollywood Hills; Blair and Louis hit a snag while planning their wedding
8:00pm Adventure Time Cartoon Network - New episode in the Land of Ooo
8:00pm Terra Nova Fox -Series Premiere. Genesis The Shannon family travels back in time as part of the Tenth Pilgrimage of settlers to the Terra Nova colony.
8:15pm Regular Show Cartoon Network - Bet to Be Blonde After winning a bet, Rigby forces Mordecai to get a blond perm.
9:00pm Hart of Dixie The CW - Series Premiere. Hart of Dixie After being turned down for the fellowship she was hinging her future on, Dr. Zoe Hart decides to take a stranger up on his offer to work at his business
9:30pm Mike & Molly CBS - Season Premiere. Goin' Fishin'
9:55pm Hawaii Five-0 CBS - Ua Lawe Wale Lori Weston, an officer with excellent profiling skills, joins the Five-0 to ensure McGarrett and the team follow new rules set in place by Gov. Denning
10:00pm Weeds Showtime - Season Finale. Do Her/Don't Do Her Silas betrays Nancy; Doug and Whit hatch a plan to keep the hedge fund alive.
10:00pm American Underworld Discovery - Identity Theft Mark infiltrates the world of grand theft, from autos to credit cards.
10:00pm Alphas Syfy - Original Sin The Alphas and Red Flags collide and a secret is revealed.
10:30pm The Big C Showtime - Season Finale. Cathy is inspired by Lee's passing; Paul tries a new tactic with the insurance agency; Adam makes a connection with Dr. Todd.
11:00pm Chelsea Lately E! - Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar; comic Jo Koy; comic Whitney Cummings; comic Ben Gleib.
11:00pm The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Comedy Central - Ron Paul is interview guest
11:00pm Conan TBS - Actor Taylor Lautner; actor Kevin Hart; Neal Brennan performs.
11:30pm The Colbert Report Comedy Central - Radiohead performs from its recent release.
11:35pm Late Show With David Letterman CBS - Actor Seth Rogen; actress Poppy Montgomery; Fleet Foxes perform.
11:35pm The Tonight Show With Jay Leno NBC - Actor Ryan Gosling; actress Pauley Perrette; Arctic Monkeys perform.
12:05am Jimmy Kimmel Live ABC - Actress Dana Delany; sports journalist Erin Andrews; Kelly Rowland performs.
12:35am The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS - Actor Jonah Hill; Chris young performs.
12:35am Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC - Actor Andy Samberg; Elmo; drummer Nick Mason; the Shins perform.
