My DVR List

On the eve of Premier Week, we found it both appropriate and exciting to review the shows that are about to be recorded.  If I do not answer e-mails or telephone calls in a timely manner, please forgive me.  This is the most exciting week of the year for us.

Monday

Barney, Robin, Ted, Lily
& Marshall, I have
missed you!

7 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

8 p.m. The Event (NBC)*

8:30 p.m. Mike & Molly (CBS)*

9 p.m. Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)*

9 p.m. Chase (NBC)*

Tuesday

7 p.m.  Glee (FOX)

8 p.m.  Raising Hope (FOX)*

9 p.m. The Good Wife  (CBS)—does not premier until next week.

Wednesday

7 p.m. The Middle (ABC)

7 p.m. Survivor (CBS)+ - This is Scotty’s deal, not mine. 

7:30 p.m. Better With You (ABC)*

8 p.m. Modern Family (ABC)

8:30 p.m. Cougar Town (ABC)

9 p.m. The Whole Truth (ABC)*

Thursday

For three months, I
have worried about
Dr. Shepherd's gunshot
wound recovery.

7 p.m. Big Bang Theory (CBS)+

7 p.m. My Generation (ABC)*

8 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)

8 p.m. The Office (NBC)

9 p.m. Jersey Shore (MTV)

Friday

8 p.m. Body of Proof (ABC)*
9 p.m. 20/20 (ABC)

9 p.m. Blue Bloods (CBS)*

Sunday

8 a.m. CBS Sunday Morning (CBS)

7 p.m. Amazing Race (CBS)—I have kind of given up on this one, but Scott still likes it.

7 p.m. The Simpsons (FOX)—Mostly for Scotty, but every now and then, Bart and Homer are hard to beat.

8 p.m. Desperate Housewives (ABC)

9 p.m. Over the Limit (TRU)—This show is funny!  It’s about cops that arrest drunk people.

9 p.m. Undercover Boss (CBS)—Again, a Scotty show. 

* Denotes new show

+ Denotes new time or night

We also record all episodes of Chelsea Lately, Kendra, Deadliest Catch, and The Closer.  And people think we need a kid.

NBC Fall Lineup

We are exactly one week away from Premier Week!  I am so excited for quality television!  No offense to Snookie, JWoww and The Situation, but I have had enough reality television for one summer (even though I secretly love The Jersey Shore and can’t get enough of it!)

My last installment of new show picks brings us to NBC.  The Peacock Network has been a slump lately, and I’m not so sure that 2010 is its comeback year. A sidenote to NBC’s web masters:  Thank you for organizing your shows by night and time instead of alphabetically.  It’s like you read my mind.

Here are my picks and pans by night and time:

The Event  (Monday at 8)—Although I can’t tell you exactly what the show is about, I am picking it.  There’s some sort of government cover up and an attempt to assassinate the president.  And Blair Underwood is the president.  I think its mysteriousness is why I’m interested.  It almost has a Lost feel to it…you’ll have to watch every week to figure it out.  Also, Dr. Carrie Weaver (Laura Innes) from ER is in this show, and I have missed her, and I want to support her career.  During her time off from ER, her leg must have miraculously healed. 

Chase (Monday at 9)—I’m interested for several reasons:  1) it’s set in Texas and I enjoy to see how Hollywood will stereotype us; 2) Jesse Metcalf is in it, and if you will remember, he played John the high school gardener that Gabby was, um, seeing, in Desperate Housewives; and 3) and most important, that creepy dude from Nip/Tuck that has all the tattoos was in the preview.

Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer of Chase, and usually his shows do very well.  Kelli Giddish, a relative newcomer, is the main character, and from the previews, it appears that she over-acts a bit.  This show makes the cut, but only on a trial basis.  Three weeks to hook me, otherwise, DELETE!

Undercovers (Wednesday at 7)—Meh.

Law and Order:  Los Angeles (Wednesday at 9)—I’m not even going to watch the preview, because it won’t matter.  All Law and Orders are successful.  I don’t watch any of them, but I know that they’re good, so I expect this one will be too.

Outsourced (Thursday at 8:30)—Fun idea, but I’m not feeling it.  An American call center outsources its employees to India, and sends their one remaining American employee overseas to manage it.  You might give it a chance, but my Thursdays are full already, and I have enough comedies in my life.

School Pride (Friday at 7, doesn’t premier until October 15)—Think Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition, but for schools.  Communities come together to renovate run-down schools.  It’s a nice idea and will probably be a really good show, but it’s not my kind of show.  Give it a shot if you’re looking for something that’s positive and family-oriented.

Outlaw (Friday at 9)—Every time I tried to watch the preview for this show, the internet crashed or some other issue arose, so automatically I had a bad attitude.  I’m not a big lawyer show person, but this one looks really good, and so does Jimmy Smits, although he has some huge bags under his eyes in some shots..  Smits plays a Supreme Court justice that steps down to go into private practice.  I’m interested in this one, so I’m going to watch it online a few times before I’ll give it a full DVR commitment.

So here is my NBC lineup, including existing shows:

Sunday—Nothin’

Monday—The Event at 8 and The Chase at 9

Tuesday—Nothin’.  Although I am now a Jillian Michaels fan (her e-mail fitness tips are great!), I just can't watch two whole hours of her yelling at people.

Wednesday—Nothin’

Thursday—The Office at 8.  That's it. Wow.  And to think that my Thursdays were once completely dedicated to NBC.  I miss Friends. And ER. And Seinfeld. And Just Shoot Me...anyone remember that show? I liked it.

Friday—If Outlaw pans out, I may add it, but at the moment, my Fridays are free.  Maybe Scotty will take me to the movies.  I think adding another show to the DVR is more likely.

FOX Fall Lineup

Dear FOX Network:

Like CBS, your website is difficult to navigate. Additionally, when you’re trying to create buzz around the shows that you invested money in and need to garner ratings so that you can gain and keep advertisers, you should have those glaring on the homepage, instead of placing a two-color link to “2010-11 FOX Schedule” at the bottom of the page. Please see what ABC does.

Love,

Dr. Irlbeck

Putting all annoyances aside, FOX has some interesting new shows in the fall lineup.  Here are my picks and pans for the new shows by night and time:

Lone Star is the new Dallas.
And I still want Lucy's hair.

Lone Star (Monday at 8)—Anyone remember Dallas? I sure do.  Oh, how I longed to be Pamela Ewing and have my own swimming pool and work at a cool department store in downtown Dallas, all while having my own horses out back that I could ride when I got off work! I also wanted to be just like Lucy Ewing and have long blond hair and get to invite my friends over for pool parties. Well, Lone Star is the new Dallas, only sleazier.  The show is about big oil in Texas and follows a father and son who are ruthless. 

The show has some heavy hitters in the cast…starting with Jon Voight.  Brangelina’s baby granddaddy isn’t the main character, but as in all of his movies, he has that “I’m gonna kill ya just by lookin at ya” look in his eyes.  David Keith plays the mean dad.  You have seen him before, but it’s hard to pinpoint where.  His list of guest-starring roles is extensive on IMDB.

The difference between this show and Dallas is that the dad is mean and tries to get his son to be mean.  Jock Ewing would never be mean; Miss Ellie would have left him. He left that up to his ruthless son, J.R., who many people think looks like my dad.  I never thought so.

Anyhoo, I’m interested in this show, but I already have five seasons of Dallas DVDs sitting on a shelf collecting dust.  I think with this one, I’m going to watch it online during my lunch break before I make a full DVR commitment.  I’ll let you know what I think.

This show looks hilarious.
Add it to your DVR.

Raising Hope (Tuesday at 8)—This show follows my new favorite show, Glee, so FOX better bring their A game if a brand new show is going to follow the television genius of Glee. From what I can tell, FOX brung it.

Raising Hope looks hysterical.  I was laughing out loud during the preview. The show is the story of a single dad trying to raise a newborn and he has no idea what he’s doing.  He doesn’t have a stroller yet, so he wheels the baby around in a used shopping cart.  He pukes on the baby when she has her first dirty diaper.  It’s funny! Martha Plimpton plays the mom/new grandma and I have been a fan of hers since The Goonies.  Cloris Leachman plays the grandma/great grandma and appears to be senile.  Looks great! Give it a shot.

Rumning Wilde (Tuesday at 8:30)—FOX’s website won’t play this video.  Bad move, FOX!  Your failure just created an automatic NO!

The Good Guys (Friday at 8)—This show started airing this summer, but FOX is trying to pawn it off as a new show.  Nice try.  I’m not adding it.

So that’s it.  Fox has some other shows listed on its website that will start in January:  Bob’s Burgers, Masterchef, Mixed Signals, Ride-Along, and Terra Nova.  They’re available to preview, but I’m not a huge FOX fan, and really don’t care.  I’ll get around to it in January.