Sundays are seldom as busy during the regular TV season as was the case this weekend, with season and series finales all over cable. So much for summer being the sleepy season. If you'd been watching any of these shows this summer, you wouldn't have wanted to miss the payoffs.Big Love: So much drama and trauma on HBO's increasingly addictive domestic melodrama about a family man and the three wives who alternately adore and tolerate his whims, schemes and transgressions. One reason I love the show is that it has lines of dialogue you could never hear anywhere else. Here’s Nicky: “Our husband’s dating life is none of our business.” Bill to Barb: “There are two other people in this marriage.” Bill to Margene: “You are not having the neighbor’s baby!” Barb to Bill: “I don’t want a fourth [wife].” Margene: “Boss lady outed us to the neighbors!”So twisted, and yet presented in such a way that it almost seems normal. Th...
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Question: I am so pleased with the programming offered this summer. In fact, I think a lot of this summer's shows are better than the regular fall lineup (with a few exceptions). Wouldn't it be interesting if next year's Emmy nominations were filled with more summer candidates than fall ones? I can't believe the acting from the likes of Damages, The Kill Point, Mad Men, Big Love, Californication, etc would be overlooked. In the past, they've thrown a bone to a few summer favorites, recognizing Monk, The Closer and Weeds. But there are only so many spots available. I think the writers and producers of this fall's programming had better step it up a notch. What do you think the chances are that next year's Emmy nominations will be filled with a lot of these summer hits instead of fall shows?
Answer: It would be gratifying, but don't hold your breath beyond some of the no-brainers (like, say, Glenn Close). I'm thinking newfangled miniseries like Kil
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Question: I've been watching TV for so long, I remember when test patterns were "must-watch TV." Critics fondly reminisce about the golden years, and there were some truly great years. But am I wrong to think that we are now in the platinum age of television? As this past winter season wound down, this DVR viewer was bummed by the thought of a long summer season of reality shows, relieved only by Rescue Me. To my surprise (and here's a plug for TV Guide), I learned about some of the new series that would be flung all over the cable globe: Mad Men, The Bronx Is Burning, Damages, Kill Point (episodes piling up as I try to catch up with other shows) and now I hear buzz about The Company. Add to that So You Think You Can Dance (far superior to American Idol), Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen, and my personal addiction The Daily Show, and I just can't find enough hours to watch. So my question is: Why don't the networks just give up the full season philosophy (usually thrown in with repeats or as ...
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Question: It seems strange to be saying this, but I think I'm actually enjoying summer TV much more than I enjoyed regular-season TV this year. And it's all because of cable. I have a show to watch every night that is really good: Mondays have My Boys (and Greek isn't bad), Tuesdays have Damages, Wednesday has Rescue Me and Thursday has Mad Men. They are all really good, well-acted, well-written shows. During the season I was really having trouble finding shows I enjoyed (Heroes, The Office and Friday Night Lights were about all). I don't remember ever really watching any scripted TV during the summer in the past, besides maybe the occasional show (The O.C. comes to mind). I'd assume it has a lot to do with cable networks putting out really good original TV, since I'm not watching anything on network TV. So, is this really the best summer TV schedule ever?
Answer: It's certainly the busiest TV summer ever. But yes, it's also shaping up to be among the very best. The fall season would be
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Bravo's Top Chef delivered its most-watched episode of the season on Wednesday, drawing 2.1 million viewers. The series is up 28 percent versus Season 2.... The enthusiasm is officially curbed. Larry David's wife of 14 years, Laurie, has filed for divorce. The pair separated in June.... Spike TV is offering a free online video-game companion piece to the drama Kill Point, which premieres this Sunday. Go to SpikeTV.com for more.... Onetime Surreal Lifer Brigitte Nielsen has checked into rehab for treatment of an undisclosed condition. Her manager tells the AP, "All I know is it's something she did on her own free will".... I, Matt, make my debut this week as the TV Guide Talk podcast moderator. Check back around 6 pm/ET for our rehash of the Emmy noms, Isaiah, Mandy and more.
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