Switched at Birth
Alarms are sounded several times, but we never hear them, in a tremendously effective and thematically overdue episode of ABC Family's best-of-network Switched at Birth (8/7c), which unfolds almost entirely in American Sign Language. By necessity, actions speak louder than words — all in subtitles, or sometimes tweets — as the deaf and hard-of-hearing students at Carlton School for the Deaf rally to protest the school board's decision to shutter their campus. (The hearing students, whose integration into the student body has caused some friction this season, also pitch in.)
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Seth MacFarlane
The trend of so-called "hate-watching" is hardly a new TV phenomenon. We've been doing it with the Oscar show for years: picking apart the fashions, groaning at the witless banter, griping as we drift through the seemingly endless midsection where no awards of major consequence are presented, and nearly always regarding the unlucky host as a piñata ripe for the bashing.
This year's tuneful but torturously overextended production (ending just past the three-and-a-half-hour mark) was much the same. With one major exception: The musical numbers were no joke, especially when mighty divas as legendary as Barbra Streisand and Shirley Bassey and as electrifyingly current as Adele and Jennifer Hudson took the stage. No Rob Lowe-Snow White fiascos this time.
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Dallas
You have to give Deborah Shelton credit for being honest about her reaction to Dallas star Larry Hagman's death last November. "Selfishly," says Shelton, 1970's Miss USA, who played J.R.'s mistress Mandy from 1984 to 1987, "I thought, 'Well, there goes..
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Dallas
Christopher's petition for annulment was rejected! Ann's long-lost daughter hates her guts! Sue Ellen lost the election! It was an eventful return to Dallas on last week's two-hour season premiere. After five months off the air, the Ewing clan & Co. wasted no time answering some of fans' biggest burning questions from the first season finale, and raising some new ones for Season 2 (Mondays at 9/8c on TNT). Although she did her best not to spoil what's to come, we turned to showrunner Cynthia Cidre for answers:
1. Could Elena and John Ross be the real deal? It wasn't a complete surprise to see brokenhearted bad guys John Ross (Josh Henderson) and...
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Dallas
It's hard to imagine Dallas without J.R. — a sentiment shared by many when Larry Hagman passed away last Thanksgiving, midway through production of the rebooted soap's second season. Even harder not to contemplate that sad future while watching TNT's two-hour premiere (Monday, 9/8c), where once again the veterans wipe the floor with the young whippersnappers. None more gleefully than Hagman, whose gaunt frailty can't mask the devilish glint beneath those statuesque eyebrows.
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Lauren Graham, Jason Ritter
It's another ridiculously busy night of TV, with premieres and finales jousting for attention amid other distractions. It's just as well that CBS' top-rated lineup is taking a breather with repeats.
First, the farewells, going head to head. Once again, NBC sends away its reliably tear-jerking Parenthood (10/9c) earlier in the TV year than we'd like, but a limited run of 15 episodes beats the alternative. Shows like this don't tend to repeat well, and if a shorter run makes business sense — while freeing up the time period in the back half of the season for something else (in this case, a retooled Smash in two weeks) — then so be it. This fourth season has been Parenthood's strongest and most emotionally charged to date, especially in the storyline involving Kristina's breast cancer ordeal, providing Monica Potter and Peter Krause (as husband Adam) with their strongest dramatic material to date. Emmy voters, wake up and take note.
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Dallas
Two months after Larry Hagman's November 23 death, the Dallas cast past and present has assembled at the city's swanky Petroleum Club to shoot an epic, drama-filled memorial for his legendary J.R. Ewing. Among the mourners who have returned to pay their respects — or disrespects — are Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), Gary and Lucy Ewing (Ted Shackelford and Charlene Tilton), Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly), Mandy Winger (Deborah Shelton) and Cally Harper Ewing (Cathy Podewell). On set, the late actor's spirit is still very much alive. Each morning when he passes Hagman's trailer, Patrick Duffy, who plays Bobby Ewing, knocks on his friend's door. "Not like I'm expecting him to say, 'Come in,'" Duffy says. "But just to say to Larry, 'I'm still here, pal.'" And if you believe some of Hagman's costars, he's been knocking right back.
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Kaley Cuoco
Showtime's competitive juices aren't limited to the arena of scripted entertainment. Now the pay cable network is challenging HBO's Real Sports franchise by turning to masters of long-form narrative with the launch of 60 Minutes Sports (10/9c). Among the segments in Wednesday's premiere: a closer-up profile by Bob Simon of FC Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi, whose prowess at 25 was demonstrated in last Sunday's 60 Minutes piece on the Barcelona team.
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Nathan Fillion, John Noble and Jim Caviezel
Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com or tweet them to @adam_bryant or @NatalieAbrams.
I can't wait to meet Rick's dad on Castle this February! Got any more intel? — Jeannie
ADAM: You may be waiting longer than you think for that meeting. Although creator Andrew W. Marlowe confirms that there will be some further exploration of Castle's father come February sweeps, he certainly isn't the focus of the episodes. "I would not characterize the two-parter as being about his dad," Marlowe says. "Hopefully we can find a great and elegant way to embrace Castle's father's mythology in a way that's going to be exciting."
I can't believe there are only three episodes of Fringe left! Got any scoop on how it all ends? — Marc
NATALIE: As the two "good" Observers, September/Donald and Michael, help Walter piece together his plan, we'll get an interesting look at the origins of the fedora-wearing baldies....
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Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman fans will be able to see the dearly departed Dallas star on the small screen this spring.
Hagman, who died in November, will be featured on the CBS special I Get That A Lot, in which celebrities masquerade as ordinary people and then act like they're not stars when they're inevitably recognized. The actor filmed his segment in September, and appears as a salesman offering free samples of barbecue sauce, according to the network.
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