Bill Clinton and Mindy Kaling, The Today Show
Our top moments of the week:
10. Best Silent Killer: When it came time for the jury to have at the final three Survivor: South Pacific contestants, the most vicious commentary of all comes from an unexpected source —Whitney — the sweet Southern belle. "Albert, you're sleazy," she says. "Coach, you used Christianity to manipulate your whole tribe. And Sophie? You're the most condescending person I've ever met." Are you sure about that, Whitney? Because that condescending person managed to snare enough votes to win.
9. Most Biting Remark: Top Chef delivers a Christmas miracle, or perhaps just a case of...
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Jason O'Mara
Terra Nova ended its freshman season by permanently cutting off the colony to the future and unloading a whole slew of new mysteries for what the producers likely hope means a second season.
Lucas Taylor (Ashley Zuckerman) finally got the upper-hand on his father, bringing the Phoenix Army to the past, where they planned to mine and strip Terra Nova of all its resources. Commander Taylor (Stephen Lang) refused to go down without a fight, sending Jim (Jason O'Mara) to the future to destroy Hope Plaza, essentially plunging everyone left in the colony into the dark ages, with no further contact with the future possible. However, before the Phoenix Army high-tailed it away, they left a clue that could mean... there may be humans on prehistoric Earth? Or another portal?
Check out the best TV shows of 2011
What will happen to the stranded colonists on Terra Nova? That can only be answered if Fox decides to renew the show. We've put together a list of 10 reasons why the network should or should not bring the series back for a second round...
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Allison Miller
'Twas the week before Christmas, and I can't remember when so much was stirring on TV this late into the year. Here are some highlights from an unusually busy pre-Christmas week.
MONDAY
DINO-MIGHT? The biggest cliffhanger regarding the two-hour finale of Fox's time-tripping family sci-fi drama Terra Nova (8/7c) isn't so much what happens on the show, which is fairly standard action-adventure mayhem, but whether it will return for a second season next year. (That decision should be ...
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Fear Factor
On the 12th day of December, with only 12 days (gulp) until Christmas Eve, here's a dozen topics of interest — or possibly disinterest — regarding today's unusually busy, for mid-December, TV lineup.
Mother's Day: On CBS's biggest Monday hit, Two and a Half Men (9/8c), Mimi Rogers drops by the Malibu manse as Walden's mom. Alan, naturally, is smitten (ewwww), but in the opposite-of-nurturing tradition of mothers ...
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Nina Dobrev
Question: As we approach the annual barrage of year-end Top 10 lists, I'm dreading the fact that one worthy, excellent TV show will be overlooked by most critics: The Vampire Diaries. Don't get me wrong, I love Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones as much as any sane person, but I also think TVD is one of the most expertly paced, perfectly plotted shows on TV right now. Unfortunately, I don't think many professional critics bother to watch it, though they'll analyze lesser shows like True Blood and The Walking Dead just because of the networks they air on. Even if critics don't think The Vampire Diaries is Top 10 worthy, I think it at least deserves to be part of the year-end conversation. Why is it so hard for a show like this to be taken seriously? — Donnie
Matt Roush: I like Vampire Diaries and probably give it more consideration than ...
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Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian
Our top moments of the week:
12. Better Late Than Never Award: Con man Frank O'Hara (special guest star William Shatner) has spent most of his daughter's life on the run. So when he returns to town on Psych to try to redeem himself with Juliet in time for her 30th birthday, she is obviously skeptical. But Frank does what he does best to win her back: He figures out a way to deliver the bad guys to the front door of the police station. "It was a good plan, dad," Juliet tells him. "It was the least I could do," he responds. Well, there's also the little matter of what he's going to get her for her birthday. Bigger is better, dad.
11. Best Acceptance: Max Braverman, who suffers from Aspergers, has always been a handful, but when he runs...
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Jason O'Mara, Stephen Lang
Don't expect the season finale of Fox's Terra Nova to end with a bang — it starts with one! Airing December 19, the two-hour episode kicks off with the colonists warily awaiting the arrival of the 11th Pilgrimage. They're not sure if this is good news or bad. Bet on the latter. "Our evil guys, the Phoenix Group, will send somebody through the portal with a bomb, and it explodes," says exec producer René Echevarria. "Jim Shannon [Jason O'Mara] is hit by the blast and wakes up three days later to a very surreal scene — Phoenix soldiers have taken command of the colony."
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The Sing-Off
The two-hour finale of The Sing-Off plummeted 37 percent in the coveted demo from a year ago and some 20 percent in viewership. Instead, people got into the holiday spirit by watching the umpteenth showings of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Shrek the Halls on ABC in the first hour of Cyber Monday's prime time.
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Kyra Sedgwick
Taking advantage of the networks' post-sweeps lull, TNT roars back in a big way this week, with tonight's winter return (for five episodes) of its two biggest hits, The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles, and starting Tuesday for the next month, a weekly series of first-run mystery movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. (More on that later this week.)
The Closer (8/7c) and Rizzoli (9/8c) each have similar starting points for this ...
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Amy Poehler
Send questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!
Question: Now that we are about at the mid-season break for shows, I have been thinking about which returning shows are having the best, most satisfying seasons. Fringe, Castle, Community and Bones are at the top of my list, but I have to single out Parks and Recreation as the best returning show. I wasn't sure Parks and Rec could sustain the consistently funny run it had last season, but it has easily lived up to the expectations of Season 3. I think what has made this season even better ...
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