Masi Oka and David Anders in Heroes by Paul Drinkwater/NBC Photo
Already playing catch-up on only the second day of the official TV season. Geez, how will we ever survive Wednesdays and Thursdays? (Pause here for a silent prayer to the powers that protect my DVRs.)Anyway, the biggest news on Monday was how Heroes would bounce back from a first-season finale that disappointed many (I was not among them, but then, my expectations for this uneven show haven’t always been all that high). I was mostly enthralled, once I got over yet another tedious Mohinder speech to kick off the season with more blah-blah about destiny and the plague that threatens to eradicate these evolutionary wonder-heroes as “the fate of humanity itself hangs in the balance.” Seriously, they talk that way all the time on Heroes, and don’t I wish Mohinder would just put a sock in it.But then the story kicks in, and by the end, I’m even in awe of Mohinder, who’s in league with Noah Bennet (formerly HRG) to infiltrate The Company and bring them down. O...
read more
Question: I'm probably one of many writing in about this, but you'll have to suffer through one more. I've seen only a few episodes of Boston Legal, enough to know that I didn't really enjoy the show but can see how people would like the characters. I even respect James Spader's work. He was excellent on The Practice way back when, and I'm assuming he's carried at least some of that over to the spin-off. But really, Emmy-worthy? This is even his second win, isn't it? I just don't understand it. Never mind the fantastic competition (Kyle Chandler and Matthew Fox off the top of my head) that weren't even nominated, but what could the voters have possibly seen to give him the award instead of their last chance to honor James Gandolfini for what will certainly go down as one of the more legendary roles in television history? Is it because the show is on HBO? Is it because it's a fundamentally flawed voting process and most of the voters never even watched Tony Soprano's work the final ...
read more
Question: Love your column, but at times your bias shows itself: Someone needs to come to the defense of Boston Legal after the drubbing it has earned over the past week. It's unduly harsh, and everyone (including you) needs to understand that people have different tastes. It seems that this show is being attacked because it took a spot over Friday Night Lights and Lost. But over the last three seasons, Boston Legal has been appointment television for me. Sure, it's not on par with Picket Fences or The Practice or even Boston Public (which got a bum deal from Fox), but the writing is always sharp, and it has an energy to it that I find very appealing. James Spader is terrific and the supporting and guest cast are at the top of their games. Is it at times preachy? Yes. Snooty? Sure. It's also true that this season has been inconsistent, and I am peeved that four great characters are gone in lieu of a cross-dresser and an annoying guest character who has been promoted to regular status ...
read more
Question: Thanks so much for keeping up with everything going on this summer — from the new shows to the TCAs, you're helping me impress my friends with my TV knowledge! As for the Emmys, you may have addressed this previously, but how is a show submitted in the best-drama or the best-comedy category? I assume the voters don't watch entire seasons. Is it a representative episode or a synopsis of some kind? I ask because Boston Legal, which is nominated in the drama category, seems to be more of a comedy. ABC tends to promote the humorous angle, but still. Tony Shalhoub is consistently nominated in the Best Actor in a Comedy Series category, but what I've seen of Monk isn't all that funny. In fact, sometimes it makes me sad for him. Any insights?
Answer: Matt Roush: It's up to the show (and/or the actors) to submit itself in whatever category the producers, the studio, the network or whoever deems fit. Boston Legal has muddied the waters, because it has submitted itself as a comedy to
...
read more
Deadwood Season 3 courtesy of HBO Home Video
June is shaping up to be a great month for TV-on-DVD releases. June 5th was packed with releases, and June 12th, while offering less than on the 5th, has some great sets as well.Comedy fans have lots to choose from; Welcome Back, Kotter season 1, What's Happening Now! season 1, Doc Martin series 1, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List season 1, Mile High season 2 (available in two volumes), and Trapped in TV Guide season 1 are being released on the 12th.Fox is releasing The Practice volume 1, which contains 13 episodes on 4 discs, plus a featurette, "Setting up The Practice." MGM has The Rat Patrol season 2, and CBS Home Video is releasing Walker, Texas Ranger Season 3, and the second season of Diagnosis Murder.My pick of the week comes from HBO - Deadwood season 3, the final season of David Milch's wild west series. This is definitely mature viewing, but it's a great series. The DVD set includes 4 commentary tracks with David Milch, Executive Producer Gregg Fienberg, Writer Mark Ti...
read more
Glenn Close by Larry Riley/FX
One of the boldest forces in TV drama, the FX network, is at it again. At a press upfront lunch gathering Wednesday afternoon, the risk-taking cable network screened the pilot episode of its much-anticipated new legal thriller Damages, starring Glenn Close. Premiering this July, it looks like a winner, reminiscent of the early days of David E. Kelley’s masterwork The Practice, before it descended into grotesque silliness and evolved into the ridiculous, sophomoric cartoon that is Boston Legal.Damages is a dark melodrama to be sure: tough and gritty, not even pretending to be earnest on the surface, with wild plot twists that make you wonder if there are any heroes in this picture. The closest thing to a truly sympathetic figure is Ellen Parsons (Australian ingenue Rose Byrne), the new not-as-naive-as-she-looks protégé of cunning high-stakes litigator Patty Hewes, played by Close as an elegant tigress who devours rather than suffers any fools in her path. Does Patty se...
read more
Michael Emerson, Lost
Last week, ABC's Lost (Wednesdays at 10 pm/ET) ended with a whopper, as Ben revealed to Locke that the former paraplegic's papa is on the island and in the Others' custody. What happens next? TVGuide.com invited Michael Emerson, creepy Ben's compelling portrayer, to share a preview.
TVGuide.com: So we have now learned that Ben was born on the island, and is as loath to leave it as Locke is.Michael Emerson: Yeah... what's interesting is in neither case do we know why they're so attached to the island. Interesting....
TVGuide.com: Terry [O'Quinn] and I t
read more
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
If you were ever a fan of Bosom Buddies, and you now watch CBS' Two and a Half Men (Mondays at 9 pm/ET), not many a week goes by where a line delivery or physical flourish from Holland Taylor doesn’t harken back to the days of Kip, Henry, and the Livingston, Gentry and Mishkin ad agency. Taylor's Ruth Dunbar was a role that would pave the way for many more women to be reckoned with. TVGuide.com welcomed the chance to take a walk down memory lane with Taylor, dropping such names along the way as Hanks, Clooney, Pfeiffer and Sheen.
TVGuide.com: Do you know what I have on my desk right here?Holland Taylor: What?
TVGuide.com: The just-released Season 1 DVD set for Bosom Buddies.Taylor: [S
read more
Camryn Manheim, Ghost Whisperer
Many fans were shocked by the season-ending death of Aisha Tyler's Andrea on Ghost Whisperer (Fridays at 8 pm/ET). But true to form, Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) picked herself up and found a new friend, Delia, played by Camryn Manheim. TVGuide.com got a chance to speak with the delightful former star of The Practice about what it was like stepping in for the CBS drama's second season, how she manages to juggle single motherhood with acting, and to find out what her costar is really like on set.
TVGuide.com: Delia's really a lot of fun!Camryn Manheim: Yeah, I think as they start to figure out how to incorporate her into it, it's going to ge
read more
David Boreanaz, Bones
Since the very first episode of Bones, audiences have been enthralled with Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and their will-they-or-won't-they relationship. TVGuide.com got a chance to talk to Boreanaz about what's in store romantically for his character this year (the short answer: a lot!), and what he did on his summer vacation.
TVGuide.com: How'd you spend your hiatus?David Boreanaz: It was kind of short, since we finished later than normal and started back on production in June. I went home to Philadelphia, then went to Mexico to kind of dissolve myself with
read more