News & Notes
Tonight, on the networks, ABC has the series premiere of Cashmere Mafia, which will begin airing in its regular Wednesday timeslot starting this week and the season finale of Desperate Housewives, FOX has the season premiere of King of the Hill, and NBC has the two-hour series premiere of American Gladiators, which will move to its regular Monday timeslot starting tomorrow night.
Over on cable, HBO has the season premieres of Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam and the final season of The Wire, Showtime has the season premiere of The L Word, VH1 has an I Love New York reunion special, and WE has the season finale of Hair Trauma.
Prime Picks
The Simpsons (FOX): New. The mayor holds an early election and Homer is destroying the fast food district.
King of the Hill (FOX): Season Premiere. Hank tries to get help for the dog’s fear of loud noises.
Desperate Housewives (ABC): Season Finale. This is the final episode completed before the writers’ strike. Tonight, we find out what happened to everyone after the tornado leveled Wisteria Lane. Runs 61 minutes.
Cashmere Mafia (ABC): Series Premiere. This show will normally air in the third hour of primetime beginning this Wednesday. It gets a special post Desperate Housewives launch tonight. It is the story of four women big shots that have been friends since business school. Sometimes it seems that their friendship is the only thing that helps them deal with their hurried lives at home and at work. Stars Lucy Liu (Ally McBeal), Miranda Otto (The Starter Wife), Bonnie Somerville (Kitchen Confidential) and Frances O’Connor (Madame Bovary) and is from Darren Star, the producer of Sex and the City.
Solid Selections
Life Is Wild (The CW): New. The class is out on an adventure in the bush, but Jesse has no interest, and two of them get lost in a cave. For some reason that description sounds kinda dirty for a family show. Looks to be two more episodes left after tonight.
Cold Case (CBS): New. A serial bomber hits the wrong target and the team investigates. There is one episode left after tonight.
Shark (CBS): Repeat. The second season premiere, “Gangster Movies,” replays, where Stark gets Devlin to come back and help him with a case when the lead witness is taken out with a car bomb. It looks like their may still be one episode left to air.
Cable Choices
The Wire Odyssey (HBO): Repeat. This is a retrospective of the first four seasons to get fans back up to speed, or to help new viewers to catch up a little. Runs 45 leading up to the fifth season premiere of The Wire.
The Wire (HBO): Season Premiere. The fifth and final season begins. Sgt. Carver is dealing with unpaid officers that are none to happy with the situation. The mayor is trying to keep a campaign promise. A meeting is held to divide up the drug territories. Plays twice.
The L Word (Showtime): Season Premiere Replay. The fifth season begins tonight and plays three times, so you can watch The Wire and then watch the first replay of this episode. Jenny has returned from vacation with a new money guy for her movie. Phyllis is having some doubts about her relationship. Shane has to deal with the repercussions of changing some plans. The season four finale replays before the first airing of tonight’s premiere. Check out some photos from tonight’s The L Word premiere.
Other Options
- American Gladiators (NBC): Series Premiere. This only gets a mention because of the nostalgia factor. The TVaholic remembers staying up late to watch the first version of this show way back when, with the likes of Nitro, Turbo, Ice and Zap taking on the challengers. Mike Adamle and Joe Thiesman hosted that first year and later became Adamle and Larry Czonka for most of the its run. Now, Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali will take up the hosting duties. The show moves to its regular Monday night timeslot as of tomorrow night.
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Spike TV): Repeat. The “Pilot” episode of the series replays. It also plays earlier in the day.
- Iron Chef America (Food Network): New. British Chef Jamie Oliver, which is returning to the Food Network with a new show, Jamie at Home, that will premiere after tonight’s battle and will then air in its regular Saturday night timeslot starting January 12th, takes on Iron Chef Mario Batali. Plays again later. Two repeat episodes replay right before.
Sports Notes
- CBS has the AFC Wild Card Game with the Tennessee Titans at the San Diego Chargers.
- ESPN has the GMAC Bowl with the Bowling Green vs. Tulsa.
- FOX has the NFC Wild Card Game with the New York Giants at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- NBA TV has the Dallas Mavericks at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Late Night
- Jamie at Home (Food Network): Series Premiere. Tonight, Jamie cooks with peppers, which like much of the food on this show is grown in his garden. The show moves to its regular time on Saturday, January 12th. Plays again later.
TV Marathons
Comedy Central has 12 episodes of Futurama.
G4 has seven episodes of X-Play early.
Logo has 15 episodes of Bad Girls.
MTV has 10 episodes of My Super Sweet 16.
The N has 24 episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
TLC has 10 hours of LA Ink episodes.
TruTV has five episodes of Dominick Dunne: Power, Privilege & Justice.
VH1 has the entire season of I Love New York leading up to the “Reunion” special tonight.
So, what looks good to you, tonight on TV?
