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Fall TV Preview: Big Day

PopSugar — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:35:37 -0800

OK so I will admit it, I'm a sucker for weddings. Even though mine was years ago, I still get excited about dresses, flowers, invitations, etc. If it's wedding related, I'm all over it. So when I heard about ABC's new show Big Day, which is set up sort of like 24 in that the entire season chronicles the events of a couple's wedding day hour by hour (but without the tick tock clock), I was instantly intrigued. The question is, how can a wedding day be anywhere near as suspense-ridden as a bomb that is about to blow up the country? Well, certainly an all-out brawl between mother and daughter regarding Caesar salad and a bitter older sister who sleeps with the best man is just as exciting to some of us as a threat to national security.

The all-star cast includes Marla Sokoloff (The Practice) as Alice, the Bride to Be, sitcom veteran Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me) as Jane, the Mother of the Bride and Kurt Fuller (Anger Management) as Steve, the Father of the Bride. The groom is super cute Josh Cooke (Four Kings). The writers of the show also wrote What Women Want and 13 Going on 30. I enjoyed the fun fast paced pilot episode and will definitely be tuning in to see where the rest of the season will go. We bet a lot of you must be asking what they will do next season after the couple is already married. Apparently the writers will plan to take us through other special family events like pregnancies, anniversaries or a graduation. Watch the first episode tonight at 9/8c on ABC.

Fall TV Preview: 30 Rock

PopSugar — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 11:08:22 -0700

Not getting enough of of a behind-the-scenes look at a variety show with Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? That's OK because 30 Rock is premiering tonight! Like Studio 60 it also centers around a weekly comedy show and airs on NBC.

Tina Fey, formerly of SNL, both writes and stars in this workplace comedy. Her character, Liza Lemon, is the head writer of a comedy show called "The Girlie Show," not too unlike SNL (In fact, "30 Rock" is the address of NBC Studios in New York where both SNL and the fictitious Girlie Show are located). She's thrown for a loop when a new network head played by Alec Baldwin demands that she incorporate a mentally insane actor (Tracy Morgan) into her mostly all-girl cast. Hilarity ensues. Or so, they say; it's getting pretty good reviews.

And while Tina Fey thinks that 30 Rock is very different from Studio 60, she hasn't hid from the awkward fact that they are both on the same network. In one of the promos for 30 Rock she has Alec Baldwin's character thinking that he is actually working with Amanda Peet (who stars on Studio 60).

For some reason we were unable to see a screening of this show and they did supposedly do some serious retooling to the pilot but we still can't wait to see it. I loved Tina on Weekend Update and we all loved Mean Girls. Who knows, maybe this means we'll get lucky with a surprise guest appearance by LL!

Fall TV Preview: The Nine

PopSugar — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 09:23:27 -0700

What Happened In There? Tonight we will finally begin to find out as The Nine premieres at 10/9c on ABC. The show is based on the lives of nine complete strangers who are survivors of a bank robbery gone bad. Held hostage for 52 hours, only they know what went on inside the bank, but we will find out a little more each week. All we know is that each person's life has dramatically changed by the time they are set free.

Cutie Scott Wolf (Everwood, Party of Five) plays Jeremy Kates a hot-shot surgeon who is about to find out that his fiance, Lizzie Miller (Jessica Collins, The Ghost Whisperer) is pregnant. However, when they come out of the bank, they are no longer engaged and he still is in the dark about his unborn child. What Happened In There?

Other notable cast members include Kim Raver (24) as Kathryn Hale a young, ambitious Assistant D.A who is now questioning the authority under which she is so gainfully employed due to their handling of the hostage situation.

I was definitely intrigued by the end of the episode, but there were parts of the show that were slightly more dramatic than necessary and I am not sure we can handle that much drama back to back with Lost! On the other hand, it could be the perfect marriage. Stay tuned.

Fall TV Preview: Friday Night Lights

PopSugar — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 07:45:05 -0700

The much anticipated new show, Friday Night Lights premieres tonight at 8/7c on NBC. The show is based on both the book and the movie of the same name and even has the same director, Peter Berg. So was it really necessary to make this into a TV show also? Anyone remember the disaster TV show that was based on one of the best movies of all time, Clueless?

For those of you who missed the movie, the show has the same premise in that it takes place in a small town in Texas that revolves around the high school football team. Coach Taylor has just been promoted to head coach and is under a lot of pressure by the townspeople to do well. The hands-down most exciting thing about this new show is Kyle Chandler as Coach Taylor. Kyle played Dylan, the hot bomb squad guy that got blown up last season on Grey's Anatomy! Just like in the movie, the star quarterback gets hurt at the end of the first episode and it seems that the rest of the season will tell the story of the rise of the second string quarterback and the trials and tribulations of the first time head coach. I actually enjoyed the pilot, but with all of the good new shows out this season, I feel like I've already seen this one before.

Fall TV Preview: Ugly Betty

PopSugar — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 08:40:29 -0700

Ugly Betty is one of the most highly anticipated shows this season. Betty premieres tonight at 8/7c on ABC. The show is executive produced by Salma Hayak (who does a hilarious cameo in the first episode!) and is based on the wildy popular Colombian telenovela, Yo Soy Betty La Fea. Its roots may be in telenovelas, but you can't help but compare the show to this summer's hit, The Devil Wears Prada.

Betty Suarez (America Ferrera, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), a somewhat unfortunate looking, but extremely genuine and hard-working girl from Queens, lands a job as the Assistant to the Editor of the extremely fashionable Mode magazine. Bradford Meade (Alan Dale, The OC), head of Mead Publishing, Mode's parent company, hires Betty to keep his womanizing son and Editor of Mode from continuing to sleep with his assistants. Other notable cast members include singer/actress Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater, the extremely bitter Mode fashionista who is not at all happy about being passed over for the top spot by the Boss's son.

According to reports, Ugly Betty will differ from The Devil Wears Prada in that it will not make over Betty, she will continue to be her charming self throughout the season. We enjoyed the first episode and can't wait to see where it's headed. The only observation we had was why they felt the need to make this an hour long show. It seems like it would be more appropriate for a 30 minute sitcom but I am hoping ABC proves us wrong.

Fall TV Preview: Tuesday Round Up

PopSugar — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 07:23:53 -0700

The most notable shows premiering tonight include Gilmore Girls and Help Me Help You. While Gilmore Girls is not new to TV, it is new to The CW and the new season kicks off tonight at 8/7c. Help Me Help You, a new sitcom, premieres tonight on ABC at 9:30/8:30c.

On last May's final episode of Gilmore Girls, Rory throws Logan a wild party to celebrate his graduation from Yale, but it's hard to enjoy it since Logan is leaving for London the next day. Meanwhile, Lorelai realizes she was wrong to let Luke postpone their wedding, tells him it's now or never and ends up in bed with Christopher. We head in to this season wondering what will happen when Rory and Logan are separated and how will Luke respond to Lorelai's ultimatum.

Help Me Help You stars Ted Danson as psychologist Bill Hoffman who specializes in group therapy. It does not take long to realize that Dr. Hoffman is probably in more need of therapy than his patients. While it's definitely not geared towards the Friends crowd, I think the show could have a shot. Ted Danson is making what some are saying is his best performance since Cheers and I think viewers may find comfort in the fact that their lives seem pretty good compared to the situations Dr. Hoffman and his patients find themselves in.

Fall TV Preview: Runaway

PopSugar — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:47:50 -0700

Executive produced by Darren Star, Runaway is the story of a high-powered attorney, played by Donnie Wahlberg (NKOTB, Band of Brothers), and his family who are on the run because he is being framed in the brutal murder of his mistress. The family moves to a small town in Iowa and claim to be victims of Hurricane Katrina, forced to rebuild their lives. Paul Rader (Wahlberg) promises his wife (played by Leslie Hope, "24") and three children (ages 8, 15 and 17) that the situation is temporary and that he just needs time to prove his innocence.

Although I was thoroughly entertained by the pilot, and especially sympathized with the teenage kids, I must say you really need to suspend your disbelief on this show. Why would Paul's wife agree to leave her wonderful life in the posh suburb of Potomac, Maryland to live a life constantly on the run, at standards well below what she had been accustomed to when she just found out her husband was a cheating scumbag? The show tries to solve this question by making it so the people that are framing her husband for murder are threatening to kill his family, but this plot twist seems to have developed out of convenience. Bottom line, I was entertained by the first episode and I am curious about when happens to the family this season, so I am happy to just accept the parts that are somewhat unbelievable and allow myself to be entertained especially since the dialogue among the kids is great. Runaway premieres tonight at 9/8c on The CW.

Fall TV Preview: Heroes

PopSugar — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 07:20:42 -0700

Heroes, which premieres tonight at 10/9c on NBC, tells the story of seven different people from all over the world who each discover that they possess super hero-like powers. Sound like X-Men? Well it should. It's pretty much a total rip-off but we still really enjoyed the pilot episode and it seems like this could be one of the most promising new shows of the season.

The cast includes Hayden Panettiere who was better known as Paris' protege. Luck for her, she stopped hanging with Paris and became one of the lead characters in this soon to be hit show. Hayden is Claire, the cheerleader from Odessa, Texas who can throw herself off bridges and walk in to burning buildings without suffering a scratch. Then there is Hiro Nakamura, a “nobody” working in a cubicle jungle in Tokyo who discovers that he can teleport himself anywhere in the world using the power of his mind. Niki (Ali Larter, Legally Blonde), a stripper in Las Vegas, can't shake the feeling that someone is watching her. Peter, a nurse who has always lived in the shadow of his older brother discovers he can fly. Too bad his brother Nathan can too. And finally there is Isaac, a morphine addict who discovers he can predict the future through his paintings. The first episode sets up the premise of the show, but it seems the remainder of the season they will work together. Stay tuned to this one for sure.

FALL TV: Sunday

PopSugar — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 16:30:58 -0700

Yeah for Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters! 3 solid hours of entertainment tonight. There's no better way to relax at the end of the weekend than watching some wonderful TV. Enjoy!

Fall TV Preview: Desperate Housewives

PopSugar — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 10:01:38 -0700

Desperate Housewives disappointed most viewers last season with its less than stellar follow-up to an amazing first season. However, now that the pressures of the sophomore slump are over, Marc Cherry promises to return to the original DH that we were all sucked into. In case you forgot, at the end of last season Gabrielle discovers that Carlos and Xiao Mei are having an affair. Gabrielle promptly kicks Carlos out of the house, but insists that Xiao Mei stay and do her job while she is carrying the couple's child. Tom admits to Lynette that he has a teenage daughter, the product of a one night stand. His daughter and her mother buy a house down the street and are determined for them to all become one big happy family. Susan decides she is going to propose to Mike and they will be together once and for all. On his way to meet Susan, Mike gets run over by the mysterious new dentist, Orson who it seems has taken a liking to Bree. Poor Bree, why does she always get stuck with the psychos? Maybe because she is one herself? At the end of the episode she escapes from the Fairview Meadows Psychiatric Hospital and comes home to find Orson on her front lawn with flowers.

So what will happen this season? The previews look mighty juicy! Bree is in a wedding dress and Susan seems to think she is making a big mistake. It looks like Gabrielle is in bed with John again and Lynette is having a hard time merging the extended family. I think this season is going to be good! Watch the premiere tonight at 9/8c on ABC.