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Question: Two slightly related questions. First, in recent weeks, we've had the return of (at least) three classic TV stars guest starring on hit shows, with Bob Newhart on The Big Bang Theory and Patty Duke and Meredith Baxter on Glee. While a large part of me got a kick out of seeing them again (especially Newhart), part of me was kind of saddened to see how much they've aged. Newhart seemed fairly frail (granted, it has been almost 25 years since Newhart left the airwaves), though still funny.
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Hannibal is without a doubt the most appetizing scripted show on television, all thanks to creator Bryan Fuller and culinary consultant Chef Jose Andres. The showrunner and chef spoke to TVGuide.com about how they make human meat look so tasty and what sets Dr. Lecter (Mads Mikkelson) apart from your average cannibal.
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The action is about to pick up on NBC's Hannibal.
On Thursday's Silence of the Lambs-esque episode, "Entrée," (10/9c), Eddie Izzard guest-stars as an imprisoned killer who, after murdering a nurse inside the asylum, now claims to be the Chesapeake Ripper. Refusing to believe that the big fish he's been chasing for years is already behind bars, Jack (Laurence Fishburne) sends Will (Hugh Dancy) and Dr. Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) to question Izzard's character...
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Could it be that NBC has produced a keeper in the deliciously creepy Hannibal? We shouldn't break out the proverbial Chianti just yet; the early returns have been modest, to put it mildly, but in this tough-for-NBC time period (Thursday, 10/9c) that the network once owned, it's looking better than it has lately (with an insta-dud like Do No Harm or the below-the-radar Rock Center). And the media buzz, while understandably mixed, is stronger than for most of the networks' midseason yawns. With repeats on the other networks this week, and featuring one of the show's most relentlessly unnerving chapters to date, this is as good a time as any to sample Hannibal's unsavory wares.
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There's more tearful soul-searching than singing in Fox's Glee (Thursday, 8/7c) as the show tackles an issue that couldn't be more timely and topical, on Capitol Hill and in any community that worries about its children's safety in the wake of recent (and not-so-recent) tragedies. The episode is titled "Shooting Star," which should give you an indication of just what triggers such intense emotional anxiety in the halls of McKinley High. Some would argue that the way the story ultimately plays out trivializes the issue, and maybe they're right, but as unpleasant realities seep into what is usually a musical-comedy fantasy, the glee club won't be the only ones left shaken and perhaps even a little more awakened.
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