Tonight on the Tube: Chuck, Life Unexpected & Greek

by Jason the TVaholic on February 8, 2010

in Tonight on the Tube

News & Notes

Find Chuck Season 2 on DVD at AmazonTonight, NBC has the fourth season finale of Heroes.

Over on cable, E! has the first season finale of Bank of Hollywood, HBO has Vol. 3 of The Black List, TLC has the second season finale of Cake Boss, Travel Channel has a Samantha Brown’s Vancouver special, truTV has the sixth season premiere of Operation Repo and the series premiere of NFL Full Contact, and VH1 has a For the Love of Ray J 2 reunion special and the seventh season premiere of Celebrity Fit Club.

If you think Thursdays are bad because of the number of good shows all on the same night, well Mondays are worse. I will be attempting to watch 15 shows tonight and it would be 16 if Men of a Certain Age was on this week. How many shows will you be attempting to watch from tonight?

Enter our White Collar and Burn Notice giveaways. The first prize pack includes a cashmere scarf, flask and t-shirt and the second prize pack includes DVDs, a logo flashlight and t-shirt. Tomorrow is the last day to enter the White Collar giveaway.

Prime Picks

Chuck (NBC): New. Chuck and Hannah, guest star Kristin Kreuk (Smallville), get mixed up in Shaw’s latest operation. Ellie and Morgan begin looking into Chuck.

Life Unexpected (The CW): New. Lux gets suspended from school and Cate tries to fix it. Baze finds out that Cate’s radio show is hosting an event at a bar across the street from his. Plays again Wednesday night.

Greek (ABC Family): New. Casey and Ashleigh go out on a double date. Things get heated during a softball game. I’m having a little trouble with this fire storyline and its seeming resolution. It just seems like something too big for this to be the result given the path the writers decided to go down. It’s brought one of my favorite shows down a level from its could-not-miss status in the first half of this season. What do you think of the first couple episode of the second half of this season?

Solid Selections

House (FOX): New. We get a look at how the hospital works from the point of view of Dr. Cuddy.

24 (FOX): New. The international delegates are reconvening and President Taylor’s goodwill is coming into question.

Castle (ABC): New. Beckett and Castle are investigating the murder of a former baseball player. Alexis is doing a genealogy project at school, which forces Castle to take a look at who his father was.

Other Options

  • The Big Bang Theory (CBS): New. Leonard is invited to visit the Large Hadron Collider, but on Valentine’s Day, which leaves him to have to choose who he brings with him. Starts a minute after the half hour and runs 29 minutes.
  • CSI: Miami (CBS): New. The CSIs are on the case of a man that seems to have been murdered in space.
  • Damages (FX): New. Patty is trying to keep a witness in her case against Tobin from leaving the country. Runs 61 minutes. Plays twice and again later, plus replays multiple times throughout the week.
  • Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Food Network): New. Guy is checking out some viewer favorites. Plays again later.
  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS): New. Lily and Marshall were supposed to fix Ted up on a blind date for Valentine’s Day, but forget. Runs 31 minutes.
  • Make It or Break It (ABC Family): New. The girls are aloud to attend their first prom. Lauren finds out that her dad is dating Emily’s mom.
  • One Tree Hill (The CW): New. Brooke and Julian are trying to find the right balance between work and personal. Quinn gets some news she wasn’t expecting.
  • Two and a Half Men (CBS): New. Charlie’s jealousy is threatening to ruin his relationship with Chelsea. Runs 31 minutes.

Sports Notes

  • ESPN has doubleheader college basketball action.
  • ESPN2 has doubleheader women’s college basketball action.
  • TNT has NBA action with the Charlotte Hornets at the Orlando Magic followed by the San Antonio Spurs at the Los Angeles Lakers.
  • Versus has NHL action.

Late Night

  • Burn Notice (USA): Repeat. Last Thursday’s episode, “Noble Causes,” replays.
  • Psych (USA): Repeat. Last Wednesday’s episode, “Thrill Seekers and Hell Raisers,” replays.
  • White Collar (USA): Repeat. Last Tuesday’s episode, “Vital Signs,” replays. Also replays earlier in the day along with the previous week’s episode.

TV Marathons

Discovery Channel has six episodes of Overhaulin’.
Oxygen has 12 episodes of America’s Next Top Model.
Syfy has six episodes of Early Edition early.
USA has eight episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent early.
WE has five episodes of Bridezillas early and 14 episodes of The Golden Girls today.

{ 0 comments }

Top 7 Super Bowl XLIV Commercials 2010

by Jason the TVaholic on February 8, 2010

in Prime 7, Top Lists

Overall the ads during Super Bowl XLIV were pretty lackluster. Even the seven I picked below as my favorites weren’t really all that great.

The one thing I didn’t particularly care for was the number of ads that showed guys to be spineless, jerks, and cheaters, among other less than desirable characteristics. On the face of it, it just seems dumb. I mean, who do you think the largest group of people are watching the Super Bowl? It’s guys, dudes, men, males, etc. Is this the way to influence them to buy your product? Anyway, here are my favorites.

7 Best Super Bowl XLIV Ads

  1. The Late Show With David Letterman Ad with Dave, Oprah, and Jay Leno - This is the one ad that made you go what, wait, what? Plus, it was funny and a brilliant marketing move for both Jay and Dave, even though it was supposed to be an ad for >The Late Show. It got people talking about both of them. Plus, it was a nice play off the Dave and Oprah ad from 2007 when CBS has the Super Bowl last.

    Ad Result: While my favorite, it won’t get me watching either of the late night hosts’ shows.
  2. Snickers Ad with Betty White and Abe Vigoda - This was the first ad that at least got me chuckling. Great representation of not feeling like yourself, even if a Snickers bar won’t really get you going, the ad was funny. Plus, Betty White is the queen of comedy and has a great sense of humor about herself, which is showed off quite well in the ad.

    Ad Result: I won’t be buying any more Snickers than I already occasionally do.
  3. Bud Light Stranded Ad - Nice parody of Lost, which right now is at the top of my TV viewing thinking, so really liked this one.

    Ad Result: I don’t drink, so had no shot of working.
  4. Doritos House Rules Ad - Little kids are funny, especially when they do something you aren’t expecting, like telling his mother’s suitor to keep his hands of his mother and his Doritos.

    Ad Result: I won’t be buying any more Doritos than I already occasionally do.
  5. Google Parisian Love Ad - It’s always interesting just how little you actually need to tell a compelling story, like a few search terms for example. It was cute, told a nice story, but didn’t quite get the people that were getting all weepy over it, it wasn’t that good of a story. Mostly, I was just shocked to see an ad for Google on my TV, as I don’t recall ever seeing one before.

    Ad Result: I already pretty much use Google as my main search engine and wasn’t planning on changing anytime soon.
  6. Bridgestone Your Tires or Your Life Ad - I’m just partial to misunderstood words and sound a likes in my comedy, so enjoyed this one. But, seriously didn’t expect the wife to be hot.

    Ad Result: Don’t see myself seeking out any Bridgestone tires the next time I need new tires.
  7. HomeAway.com Hotel Hell Vacation Trailer Ad - It’s the Griswolds on vacation, so I’m in right off the bat. Haven’t gone and watched the whole short film yet, but probably will.

    Ad Result: May get me to their site to watch the entire video, but doubt I will be using their service to book any future trips.

So, overall there weren’t a lot of very memorable commercials and the ones that were don’t really do a good job at what a commercial is supposed to do, get you interested in spending your money on their product or service.

What did you think of this year’s Super Bowl ads? What was your favorite? Least favorite? Let us know in the comments.

{ 0 comments }

Tonight on the Tube: 33 TV Marathons & Super Bowl XLIV

February 7, 2010

News & Notes
Tonight, CBS has Super Bowl XLIV followed by the series premiere of Undercover Boss.
For those not interested in the Super Bowl there are 33 TV marathons to entertain the day away. See the list below.
Enter our White Collar and Burn Notice giveaways. The first prize pack includes a cashmere scarf, flask and t-shirt [...]

Read the full article →

Tonight on the Tube: Demons, Iron Chef America & Saturday Night Live

February 6, 2010

News & Notes
Tonight, FOX has NASCAR racing in primetime with the Budweiser Shootout.
Over on cable, Animal Planet has the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship 09/10, BBC America has the first season finale of Demons, HBO has the TV movie premiere of Temple Grandin, and Planet Green has a What’s On Your Plate? special.
Enter our White Collar [...]

Read the full article →