Daily TV Schedule, Ratings, News, & Opinions

2005-12-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

What's On Tonight?

ABC:
8P.M. Head of State (Movie)
10P.M. Primetime Live

CBS:
8P.M. Survivor: Guatemala
9P.M. CSI (The lack of evidence in a kidnapping case leads Grissom to wonder if the case is fabricated)
10P.M. Without A Trace (Jack faces an important decision about his father (Martin Landau); the team attempts to identify a young adult female amnesiac).

Fox:
8P.M. The O.C. (Ryan takes an internship working for Sandy and Matt at the Newport Group, but he ends up working to save Matt's reputation)
9P.M. Reunion (The friends gather at Samantha's grave to pay their respects and reminisce; Samantha cancels plans on her 25th birthday after one of the ER patients she releases suddenly dies).

NBC:
8P.M. Joey (When Joey's old friend, Jimmy (Adam Goldberg), comes to visit, Jimmy reveals a surprise to Michael and Gina. )
8:30P.M. Will & Grace (When the gang spends Christmas at the home of Will's mother, Marilyn Truman (Blythe Danner), Grace gets romantic with Will's brother.)
9P.M. The Apprentice
10P.M. ER (Pratt and Weaver struggle to save the life of a little girl who has been mistakenly shot; everyone is shocked by nurse Haleh's pick to sing the solo in this year's annual holiday choir).

UPN:
8P.M. Everybody Hates Chris (Repeat)
8:30P.M. Love, Inc. (Repeat)
9P.M. Eve (Repeat)
9:30P.M. Cuts (Repeat)

WB:
8P.M. Smallville (Lex has difficulty deciding whether to use information that will destroy Jonathan's life because it will also bring harm to Clark and Martha)
9P.M. Everwood (Smitten Ephram becomes a confidant to Amy, but the friendship takes a turn when a moment of intimacy leads to them waking up together the next morning).

Captain Mike's Picks: At 8, if you're bored with The O.C., there's always fading Joey. At 9 catch Reunion while you can and at 10 there's the always intriguing Without A Trace.

News:
Stephanie March will reprise her character she played on Law & Order: SVU on a new NBC drama called Conviction. Her character, Alexandra Cabot was shot on SVU and changed her identity. Full story here.

Ratings for Wednesday, December 7th

NBC won the night overall thanks to Law & Order. E-Ring won the 8PM Hour with a 6.0, followed by George Lopez and Freddie. UPN managed to rank third thanks to the Finale of American Top Model. The conclusion of the Pope John Paul miniseries on CBS disappointed with a 4th place finish, followed by That 70's Show / Stacked on Fox. Last in the hour was WB's One Tree Hill.

At 9PM, a repeat of Lost won the hour with a 6.9 rating, followed by Trading Spouses (4.8) on Fox and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart (4.7) on NBC. Underrated gem Veronica Mars on UPN was fifth and a repeat of Related on WB was last. I can't believe we have to wait until January 11th for new episodes of Lost!

At 10PM, Law & Order won the hour, and night, with a 8.4. In second was a repeat of CSI: NY on CBS. In last on ABC was the fading, and soon to conclude, Alias.

This is Captain Mike signing off!

Charlie Brown Scores Big For ABC

2005-12-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

What's On Tonight?

ABC:
8:00 p.m. George Lopez (George and Angie enter a fierce competition to determine who does more work in their marriage and around the house.)
8:30 p.m. Freddie (Freddie overrides Sofia when he buys Zoey an expensive phone she wants, leading to a complicated lesson in the value of a dollar.)
9:00 p.m. Lost (Repeat)
10:00 p.m. Alias (After Rachel inadvertently compromises a mission, she and Sydney must team with Julian Sark to prevent a deadly micropulse bomb from getting into the hands of a dangerous mercenary.)

CBS:
8:00 p.m. Movie – Pope John Paul II (conclusion)
10:00 p.m. CSI: NY (Repeat)

NBC:
8:00 p.m. E-Ring ( On Christmas Eve, JT learns that a Taliban force is advancing on an Afghan village that aided Delta in the past and orders a Special Ops humanitarian and relief mission to the area.)
9:00 p.m. The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
10:00 p.m. Law & Order (Religious tempers flare when a man is killed after desecrating a treasured edition of the Hebrew Torah.)

Fox:
8:00 p.m. That ‘70s Show
8:30 p.m. Stacked
9:00 p.m. Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy

UPN:
8:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model
9:00 p.m. Veronica Mars (When Veronica is called for jury duty over Christmas break, she must sit on a difficult, polarizing case against a pair of affluent defendants accused of assaulting a young Hispanic woman)

WB:
8:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (Lucas reveals that he knows who tried to kill Dan; Brooke, Peyton and Haley find themselves behind bars.)
9:00 p.m. Related (Repeat)

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Charlie Brown Scores Big For ABC

Although 40 years old, A Charlie Brown Christmas still packs them in. Tuesday's telecast on ABC averaged 15.4 million viewers, up from 13.6 million last year. That was enough to give it a first-place finish in the 8PM hour, tied with a repeat of CBS's NCIS.

Top 10 Shows of the Week - Nov 28 - Dec 4

2005-12-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Nielsen Top 10 For November 28 – December 4 (Week 11 of the 2005-06 season)

10. NCIS (CBS) 11.3%
9. Survivor: Guatamala (CBS) 11.4%
7. NFL Monday Night Showcase (ABC) 11.6%
7. 60 Minutes (CBS) 11.6%
6. Lost (ABC) 12.3%
5. CSI: Miami (CBS) 12.9%
4. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) 13.0%
3. CSI (CBS) 14.5%
2. Monday Night Football (ABC) 14.8%
1. Desperate Housewives (ABC) 15.7%

More to come later today!

NBC's Las Vegas

2005-12-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

I can't say enough good things about NBC's Las Vegas. If there's one cast of a show that I would meet if I could, it would be the gang at Las Vegas.

You would think a show about running a hotel in Las Vegas would get redundant after awhile, but it doesn't. James Caan is brilliant as "Big Ed", the hotel's manager. And every once in awhile the show winks at the audience. In a recent episode, for example, Ed admits that he's never seen The Godfather.

When it premiered in the fall of 2003, it got mediocre reviews. Some critics said it wouldn't last. But I've stuck by it since the Pilot episode, and, now in it's third season, only gets better. Although still highly underrated, it has become a gem for NBC who has been struggling the last couple of seasons. It's not a top 20 show yet, but I hope one day it will be.

Catch the fun Las Vegas every Monday at 9PM on NBC!

Capt. Mike

Beauty & The Geek back on WB

2005-12-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

What's On Tonight?

ABC
8:00 p.m. A Charlie Brown Christmas (Repeat)
9:00 p.m. Commander In Chief (Repeat - Vice President Mackenzie Allen unites the nation in the wake of the president's death, quelling her critics, who wanted her to resign to allow the Speaker of the House to succeed to the office).
10:00 p.m. Boston Legal (While Denise Bauer shops with her housekeeper and the woman's 4-year-old son, the boy is kidnapped by a known pedophile.)

CBS
8:00 p.m. NCIS (Repeat)
9:00 p.m. The Amazing Race 8: Family Edition
10:00 p.m. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

NBC
8:00 p.m. Fear Factor (season premiere)
9:00 p.m. My Name Is Earl (Earl, Randy and Catalina enter a radio contest to win a new car for Joy, so Earl can atone for all of the thoughtless presents he gave Joy when they were married. )
9:30 p.m. The Office (After Michael suggests a game of ``Yankee Swap'' with the Secret Santa gifts, everyone fights over Michael's gift to Ryan, bringing morale to an all-time low. )
10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (An investigation into the near-fatal beating of a 12-year-old boy uncovers a female suspect whose trial becomes about the rights of same-sex parents.)

Fox
8:00 p.m. The 2005 Billboard Music Awards

UPN
8:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model (Repeat)
9:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model (Repeat)

WB
8:00 p.m. Gilmore Girls (Repeat)
9:00 p.m. Supernatural (Repeat)

Captain Mike's Picks: A Charlie Brown Christmas, My Name Is Earl, The Office, Boston Legal.

NEWS
Beauty & The Geek will be back for a second season on the WB in January - in a more competitive timeslot. It will take over Everwood's timeslot (Thursdays at 9PM) for 8 weeks, starting January 12. It will air opposite TV's #1 show, CSI. But I think it will survive, it really is a different type of show. Read the whole story here:
http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271989711,00.html

This is Captain Mike signing off!

What Kate Did

2005-12-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

So we finally found out why Kate was on the run in ABC's Lost - She killed her stepfather who she found out was actually her biological father. He was abusive to her mother and Kate hated that he was a part of her, so she blew up the house with him inside... Then, ironically, her mother turned her in.

Interesting, but I was expecting something maybe a bit bigger. But there is still a mystery. Does Sawyer remind Kate of her father for some reason? And does Sawyer love Kate, or was he mumbling about some other girl? And, unrelated to that, who is on the other end of the computer Michael was communicating with? I don't think it was Walt. We won't find out until next year - The next new episode of Lost is January 11.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm really mad at Fox for cancelling Reunion. The show, which covers 1 year per episode to reveal which member of 6 friends killed the other, will only go 13 episodes. It makes no sense, they may as well just end it now since we'll never know who did it. I don't even think they will reveal it. Full story at:
http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271989291,00.html

Tonight is mostly repeats but there is a new episode of Las Vegas on NBC. Ed is back in charge at the Monticito and I'm glad. James Caan is so cool!

This is Captain Mike signing off!

Canceled TV Series Part 2: American Dreams & Jack & Bobby

2005-06-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ratings For Monday, June 20, 2005:

CBS, as usual, won Monday with an overall 6.5 household rating, followed by NBC with a 4.2. Fox was third with a 4.0, then it was ABC at 3.1, WB at 1.7, and in last place was UPN at 1.6.

At 8PM, two episodes of Still Standing won it for CBS followed by Fox’s Nanny 911. A repeat of Fear Factor on NBC was third, and ABC’s reality dud The Scholar was fourth with a 2.8. Lucky for ABC, Dancing With The Stars is a hit. Over on WB, 7th Heaven beat UPN’s One on One / All Of Us combo.

At 9PM, CBS gained momentum with Everybody Loves Raymond (6.8) and Two And A Half Men (7.4). yes, Two And A Half Men actually picked up more viewers out of Everybody Loves Raymond. Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen (4.3) narrowly beat a repeat of NBC’s Las Vegas (4.2) followed by ABC’s movie Patch Adams, UPN’s combo of Girlfriends / Half & Half, and last at 9PM was WB’s Summerland. How Summerland went from being a modest hit last summer to this is beyond me.

At 10PM, CSI: Miami (7.3) won the hour for CBS, followed by NBC’s Medium, and the conclusion of Patch Adams on ABC.

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT? Wednesday, June 22, 2005

ABC: 8PM – Supernanny (Repeat). 9PM – Dancing With The Stars. 10PM – Lost (Repeat, "Walkabout")

CBS: 8PM – 60 Minutes Wednesday. 9PM – The King Of Queens. 9:30PM – Yes, Dear. 10PM – CSI: NY (Repeat "A Man a Mile")

Fox: 8PM – That 70’s Show (Repeat). 8:30 – Stacked (Repeat). 9PM – The Inside ("Pre-Filer").

NBC: 8PM – Psychic Detectives. 9PM – Law & Order: (Repeat). 10PM – Law & Order: (Repeat).

UPN: 8PM – Eve (Repeat). 8:30PM – Eve (Repeat). 9PM – Veronica Mars (Repeat, An Echolls Family Christmas)

WB: 8PM – Beauty & The Geek. 9PM – Smallville (Repeat).

What I’ll be watching: Beauty & The Geek. The repeat of Lost is my favorite episode so I may watch that. If you haven’t discovered the wonder of Veronica Mars yet, do so now!

TV NEWS TIDBITS:
Amy Brenneman, who produces and stars in the now cancelled Judging Amy, has written a note to all her fans. She is trying to get CBS to do a 2-hour TV movie to end the show properly:

http://judgingamy.tvfans.org

CAPTAIN MIKE’S CORNER: Canceled TV Series Part 2: American Dreams & Jack & Bobby

Here goes a list of some of the shows I watch regularly that won’t be coming back for the 2005-06 TV season. In other words, canceled TV series.

American Dreams (NBC) – When American Dreams ended its third season in April, Meg was leaving her family behind on the back of a motorcycle. That may have been a good way to end the series, but I don’t think the producers intended it to end that way. American Dreams was never a big hit, but it had a dedicated fan base. American Dreams will be missed.

Jack & Bobby (WB) – Jack & Bobby managed to combine teen drama with politics very well. Maybe that’s why it failed. As good as it was, I think it was very hard for the show to find a steady audience. Jack & Bobby was a show that often gave me Goosebumps. When they would show a situation in Bobby’s life, then flash ahead to show how that situation, however ordinary, affected President Bobby, it made for great drama. The whole cast was great too. Jack & Bobby definitely deserved a second season, but at least they told us how Jack died in the finale.

This is Captain Mike signing off… Come back & visit tomorrow!

Canceled TV Series Part 1: Joan of Arcadia & Judging Amy

2005-06-19T07:33:00.000-07:00

Ratings For Friday, June 17, 2005:

NBC won the evening thanks to two episodes of Dateline which averaged a 4.6 and 4.5 in the 8PM and 9PM hour, respectively. At 10PM, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, finished second at 4.6.

CBS finished second with an overall 3.7. Two episodes of JAG finished second behind dateline, while Numb3rs finished 3rd in the 10PM hour.

Over at ABC, 20/20 won the 10PM hour with a 4.7. Earlier in the night though, the now cancelled sitcoms 8 Simple Rules and Complete Savages finished third with a 2.7. At 9PM, bad luck continued as Hope & Faith / Less Than Perfect finished fourth, behind the movie The Wedding Singer on Fox, which earned a 2.9. ABC just needs to find a good sitcom and they’d be set.

UPN’S Driven beat 2 episodes of WB’s What I Like About You to end the night fifth overall. At 9PM, Driven continued to beat repeats of Reba and Living With Fran, which earned a 1.4.

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT?

ABC: 8PM – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Repeat). 8:30PM – NBA Gametime. 9PM – NBA Basketball (Finals, Game 5: San Antonio Spurs at Detroit Pistons)

CBS: 8PM – Cold Case (“Sleepover”, repeat from November 7, 2004). 9PM – Twelve Mile Road (Movie).

Fox: 8PM – The Simpsons (Repeat starring Ray Romano). 8:30 – The Simpsons (Repeat) 9PM – Family Guy. 9:30 – American Dad.

NBC: 8PM – Dateline NBC. 9PM – Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Repeat from January 2, 2005). 10PM – Crossing Jordan (Repeat from March 20, 2005).

WB: 8PM – Charmed (Repeat from May 1, 2005). 9PM – Steve Harvey’s Big Time Challenge (Repeat From January 23, 2005).

What I’ll be watching: Lucky there’s a Family Guy to save us from these repeats!

TV NEWS TIDBITS:

- Big Brother begins Season 6 on July 7.

CAPTAIN MIKE’S CORNER: Canceled TV Series Part 1: Joan of Arcadia & Judging Amy

Here goes a list of some of the shows I watch regularly that won’t be coming back for the 2005-06 TV season. In other words, canceled TV series.

Joan of Arcadia (CBS) – When Joan of Arcadia premiered in September of 2003, it not only got critical acclaim, but also decent ratings for a Friday Night show. It was a modest hit. Joan of Arcadia was a show that both adults and teens could enjoy. Then came Season 2, where ratings began to decline. I think the writing got sloppier, too many things were going on, and Joan never seemed to learn any lessons from God. Still, I think CBS is giving up too soon on Joan of Arcadia.

Judging Amy (CBS) – Another CBS show that doesn’t deserve its fate. After 6 seasons, I think Judging Amy fans deserve better. CBS should have told Judging Amy producers that this was it, so that they could’ve prepared a proper Series Finale, to give everyone, especially the cast who’ve worked together for 6 years, closure. The sad part is that Judging Amy will be replaced by a new show called Close To Home, which looks destined to fail.

Coming up in Part II (Tomorrow): American Dreams & Jack & Bobby

This is Captain Mike signing off… Come back & visit tomorrow!

Beauty & The Geek

2005-06-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT?

ABC: 8PM – Lilo & Stitch (Movie). 10PM – America’s Funniest Home Videos (May 8 Repeat)

CBS: 8PM – NCIS (UnSEALed, repeat from April 6, 2004). 9PM – NCIS (Repeat from May 11, 2004), 10PM – 48 Hours Mystery (Repeat)

Fox: 8PM – Cops. 9PM – America’s Most Wanted.

NBC: 8PM – Dateline NBC. 8:30 – The Bone Collector (Movie)What I’ll be watching: If anything, repeats of NCIS. I may just see Batman Begins!

TV NEWS TIDBITS:- Is Bo Bice really glad Carrie Underwood beat him in the American Idol Season 4 finale? Consider how Clay Aiken is doing in comparison to Rueben, maybe:

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/ap/20050617/111901782000.html

CAPTAIN MIKE’S CORNER: Beauty & The Geek

OK, I’m sorry, but I like WB’s Beauty & The Geek. Now, I also liked NBC’S Average Joe (which begins Season 3 June 28!). Unlike some people, I didn’t feel like Average Joe was an insult to, well, average joes. Sure, when the “Hunks” came in you felt a bit cheated, but it made you root for them more.

But I think the appeal of Beauty & The Geek is it isn’t forcing anyone to ‘fall in love’, as so many of these reality shows do. But you can already see that it’s happening, like with Chuck and Scarlet, who aren’t even on the same team. I think Beauty & The Geek will be around for many more seasons to come.

This is Captain Mike signing off… Come back & visit tomorrow!

PS. This doesn't have anything to do with TV, but if your computer is running slow, you may want to check it for Adware & Spyware.

Fall Preview

2004-09-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

The 2003-04 season had it’s ups and down. We’ve seen old actors make successful comebacks (James Caan in Las Vegas, Charlie Sheen in Two & A Half Men) and not so successful comebacks (Whoopi). We’ve seen a millionaire get back into the spotlight (The Apprentice). And we’ve seen that America is willing to watch 2 spoiled rich girls ride horses (The Simple Life). This season also had a lot of bad shows that were cut right away. Luis, Skin, and Coupling to name a few. It also had some good shows that unfortunately never found an audience (I’m With Her, All About The Andersons, Wonderfalls, and A Minute With Stan Hooper. These shows will join John Doe and Birds of Prey from 2002-03). We’ve said goodbye to Friends and Fraiser. We’ve seen how a show can successfully deal with the death of its star (8 Simple Rules), how lightning doesn’t always strike twice (Joe Millionaire), and not every reality show is a hit (Forever Eden). We’ve also seen that some shows, like CSI and American Idol, will be around for a long long time.

Now with the 2004-05 season set to begin on September 20, 32 brand new shows will premiere. Of course, not all 32 shows will survive the entire season. While it’s impossible to predict which shows will become the next big hits and which will tank, I’ve put together a listing of the 10 shows which I think will make it past their first season. The listing is based on what I’ve read about them, commercials I’ve seen, and the basic idea. Here they are:

1. Jack & Bobby (Sundays @ 9pm on WB) – Premise: 2 brothers who are very different grow up together with an overprotective mother. One will grow up to be president in 2040.

Why I Think It Will Survive: It sounds like an original idea and the previews look great.

2. Desperate Housewives (Sundays @ 9pm on ABC) – Premise: A town of seemingly ordinary housewives have secret lives. It kind of sounds like a TV version of The Stepford Wives.

Why I Think It Will Survive: While I personally don’t get the appeal, this show already has critics fighting for it.

3. Second Time Around (Mondays @ 9:30pm on UPN) – Premise: Two people who have already married and divorced each other get back together years later.

Why I Think It Will Survive: UPN has been a very unstable network, but that may change this year. In fact, 3 shows out of the 10 list are on UPN. This show will work because it knows its audience.

4. Clubhouse (Tuesdays @ 9pm on CBS) – Premise: A young boy becomes a batboy for a famous baseball team.

Why I Think It Will Survive: I’m taking a big risk putting this on the list because baseball shows have never worked, but this one could be worth fighting for. Plus, Christopher Lloyd is in it.

5. Veronica Mars (Tuesdays @ 9pm on UPN) – Premise: Veronica Mars is a high school student who is also a private-eye who helps her dad solve mysteries.

Why I Think It Will Survive: It sounds like another 24 or Alias… So I’m in.

6. CSI: NY (Wednesdays @ 10pm on CBS) – Premise: The third installment of the CSI franchise where forensic detectives solve murder mysteries, this time in the city of New York. But this one promises to focus more on character development.

Why I Think It Will Survive: Come on… It’s CSI.

7. Lost (Wednesdays @ 8pm on ABC) – Premise: After a plane crash, 48 castaways are stranded on an island. And they might not be alone.

Why I Think It Will Survive: It’s created by J.J. Abrams, the creator of Alias, and it looks very intriguing.

8. Kevin Hill (Wednesdays @ 9pm on UPN) – Premise: After his cousin dies, lawyer Kevin Hill must take in his infant daughter, turning his life upside down.

Why I Think It Will Survive: If the idea of becoming an instant parent worked on Summerland, why not here?

9. Joey (Thursdays @ 8pm on NBC) – Premise: Joey Tribbiani moves to Hollywood to pursue his acting career with his older sister and geeky nephew.

Why I Think It Will Survive: People have mixed feelings about this, but it’s gotten relatively good reviews. If they can bring in some good supporting characters, there’s no reason why Joey won’t be around for awhile.

10. Medical Investigation (Fridays @ 10pm on NBC) – Premise: Doctors solve medical mysteries when epidemics break out.

Why I Think It Will Survive: While I’m a bit tired of forensic shows, I don’t think America is. Yet.