Watch THIS: Dance on Thursday, Friday on Sunday

Two favorites of mine, should be favorites of yours. I'm not just saying that because I'm obsessed with television. These are shows that you should watch. So we can talk about them.


So You Think You Can Dance
Premieres tonight (Thursday) on Fox.


Friday Night Lights
Returns on Sunday on NBC.

Thank you.

That's One Boring Hit Show

Just for the record, I think NBC's hit Heroes is boring.

The Season 1 Finale was anti-climactic. The season two preview was even more lame - I mean, Hiro in 1671 Japan? Who cares? I think the show is predictable and is lucky that it has a cool concept, innovative characters and a nice budget. But, between the fake New York and the fact that I don't really care about any of the characters, I know I may be a villain in the eyes of some hard core fans.

Now the real question is, will I be back for more? That's about the only Heroes cliffhanger worth waiting the summer to find out because knowing me and my TV, you never know...

Clips of the Day: 30 Rock

Every day on Nick'd videos with a common theme are at the top right hand corner of the page. From 1-5 videos, just clip on the image of a video you want to try and watch it without leaving the blog.

Today it's Tina Fey's genius 30 Rock. A whole new episode on tonight and some popular clips to the right.

What will be Friday's clips theme bring us? Well, you'll have to come back and see, now won't you? Maybe there will be more questions? Probably just more clips.

NBC Show Updates: Friday Night Lights Finale, The Black Donnelly's Anyone?

Apparently, there IS crying in football. And it got me nearly every episode in this inaugural season on Friday Night Lights. The season finale was on last week and I didn't get to it until the weekend. Some nice "twists" for the finale, but nothing that takes you out of the pure, real life beauty that is FNL. What? You're not watching it yet? Luckily you can watch the entire season online. Start watching today.

In other NBC news, The Black Donnelley's has most likely scene its last network broadcast. The show was starting to grow on me, although it never touched me in an emotional way (see above). It got me in more of a hot guy way. And sine I can only recall one scene where the Tommy Donnelley (that's right) stripped down, I guess I wasn't the only one who gave up on it. NBC did too. RIP to another show filmed in New York. The remaining episodes are online only. Here's a video of my guy Tommy doing his thing (clothed, unfortunately):

The Status Quote: 30 Rock's Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy

NBC has owned the Thursday sitcom for decades. Not counting all the ones that they got wrong. With the exception of My Name Is Earl, which I tired of at the beginning of this season, there is some serious comedy happening weekly that gets totally Nick'd.

If you're not watching 30 Rock, do. It's wacky, funny, and it's a classic example of the "underdog" poking fun of itself. Made doubly delicious because it's NBC and parent company GE, making it corporate self-mockery. Genius.

From tonight's new episode, two quotes:

"Jack goes to Sbarro's when he's angry, the New York Stock Exchange when he's horny, and Christie's Auction House when he's depressed."

-Liz Lemon, 30 Rock to the writers and Kenneth, the
page

"I'm not a creative type like you, with your work sneakers and your left handedness."

-Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock to Liz Lemon while being depressed at
Christie's Auction House

New TV: Thank God You're Mo'Nique, "I had a couple of cocktails before I got here..."

Did anyone else catch the back-to-back premiere episodes of NBC's unscripted "game show", Thank God You're Here?

I LOL'd a couple of times. I wish the show was a little less Who's Line Is It Anyway in the awarding a meaningless prize (been there done that) and a little more funny sketches (since SNL can't seem to get it right these days), but, they got me to watch both hours (on DVR and no commercials). I've signed up to record all future new eps, so we'll see how that goes.

Here's a sample with comedienne, Mo'Nique. The premise of the game is that she has neither any idea what she walking into nor who she is supposed to be:


From my performance days we always talked about improv not negating...and this sketch seems to negate what Mo' throws out there, making her look a little stupid. The show works a better when the cues are being taken from what the guest star does, but she handles it with style and she ends up "winning" the episode, so God bless her.

This is based on a hit Australian TV show of the same name.

TV's Black Monday

Monday nights have become one of my most stressful nights of television. Sounds rough, I know.

Action-packed hour-long dramas, a concoction of characters, plenty of plot lines and 4 hours of TV that really needs undivided attention the night it airs (Mondays) because you never know whats going to turn up at the water cooler (we have a fridge full of Poland Spring in my office, but you get the general idea).

Here's the line-up:
Prison Break, 8pm on Fox
Heroes, 9pm on NBC
24, 9pm on Fox
The Black Donnellys, 10pm on NBC
(and to keep things light, the charming sitcoms How I Met Your Mother, 8pm, and The Class, 8:30pm, both on CBS.)

I could spend time trying to justify the various reasons I have for watching the various television I watch. Now's not the time for that.

I could spend time telling you my history with Prison Break, Heroes, 24, and the aforementioned CBS Monday night sitcoms that are only so-so acclaimed and only perform so-so in the ratings. Bot, now's not the time for that either.

I'm here right now to talk..and complain a bit...about Monday's newest drama, The Black Donnellys. A replacement for NBC's other problematic Monday night hour-long, Studio 60. I wasn't going to watch The BDs because the reviews weren't that great and the whole The Departed meets The Sopranos in Queens wasn't really hooking me. Based on Ally's recommendation I DVR'd a re-airing of the pilot and caught the second episode tonight.

Just because I've seen two episodes doesn't mean I'm ready to be called a fan.

The show has it's share of problems. The biggest one is identity. I think it can't decide what it wants to be. It uses several devices that are already distracting, the voice-over from a non-main more-comic relief character who puts himself in scenes but only at the end when it doesn't interrupt the drama, a mixture of music from today and from the middle of last century along with other time-period issues like - if this takes place today, then where are people's freaking cell phones? I mean, it's New York City. And these baby face boys ruling the neighborhood, pulling one over on not one, but two crime bosses.

It has flaws the remind me of a show I stuck around one season for and now can never get that time back - Desperate Housewives. I am still trying to decide if the show is so deeply confused about who it is trying to appeal to and how it's going to achieve it's ultimate story or if it is a stroke of genius that is 10 steps ahead of me and I'm going to be wow'd, like, next week.

I think they only have four episodes to hook me, and except for the the scene where two of the brothers stripped down to their underwear to keep some blood off their clothes, I haven't yet felt a true emotional draw. But, damn, that scene alone mad the two hours I've spent with the Donnelly brothers worth while. It had better come up with something else soon (maybe more Irish sausage shots?) or my TV will be showing The Black Donnellys minus the "The"...and the "Donnellys". Get it? Just black.

Well, not really. It's not like I don't have plenty to watch as it is.