We really should've known better. We waited two weeks for Brothers & Sisters' "shocking death," when all along we should have realized that what the network had been teasing for weeks (months even, among insiders) in the end wasn't all that shocking — especially when it didn't even really happen.
Oh well, maybe we're all patsies. But to make ourselves feel better, after the jump are the TV deaths that actually delivered a gutshot and had us talking about a character's demise the next day — for all the right reasons.
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Cheers to Janel Moloney for proving there's life after The West Wing. The former Bartlet Administration staffer delivered a brave dramatic turn on House as a single mother battling a mysterious disease that caused partial paralysis, temporary blindness and — in the episode's ickiest scene — bleeding eyes. This high-profile guest shot comes on the heels of Moloney's impressive change-of-pace role on Showtime's Brotherhood as a politician's coldhearted mistress. George W. Bush can only hope for such a successful post-White House career.• Read and react to Bruce's opinions on HBO's In Treatment, The Sopranos' SAG Awards wins and more!• Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
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This Sunday, it sure didn't feel as if the sweeps month had already ended. Major pivotal episodes of ABC's hit series, a movie special on CBS (one of the better Hallmark Hall of Fames to air in a while) and, somewhat lost in the shuffle, a season finale of one of TV's more underappreciated dramas. That's a lot to digest.First off, the watercooler show of the night was unquestionably Desperate Housewives, capping an above-par season with the long-awaited arrival of a devastating twister. The circumstances were just about as far-fetched as most things that happen in this diverting comedic soap, but that final shot of a flattened Wisteria Lane was truly apocalyptic. Lynnette’s banshee screech would have been justified even if she hadn’t just realized the house where her family had hunkered down in the basement was buried in rubble. Outstanding.(For the record, I side with those who think that Ida, the owner of the wayward cat, is probably the “friend” referred to in...
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Question: Since about 2000, I've tried to find one place on the TV lineup where there are three continuous hours of television that I want to watch. I think it began with Millionaire, The West Wing and Law & Order, and then there was Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars and Judging Amy. My favorite trifecta was last season's Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy and Men in Trees, which was fun while it lasted. Now, to my surprise, this year I have an all-freshman guilty-pleasure trifecta on Wednesdays: Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl and Dirty Sexy Money, although that will soon be complicated by another guilty pleasure, Project Runway. I know that since you get screeners you don't necessarily watch TV live or in order, but do you have a trifecta?
Answer: It's not so much that I get screeners (fewer than you'd imagine this time of year) but that, like others who watch TV in high volume with an eye for time management in a DVR age, I tend not to watch TV in real time. That often means that I start the evening by
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Question: I love your column. It is refreshing to hear the way you dissect television art, and I'd like to discuss Brothers & Sisters. I'm so glad I tuned in, despite the early problems. Not only was my perception of Calista Flockhart as annoying totally shattered, especially in the Sept. 11 episode, but the players I had no preconceived notions about, like Matthew Rhys and Dave Annable, showed me how strong the show really is. And last week's episode with Justin's return was pure brilliance, from the beginning with Kevin and Sarah talking on their respective cell phones all the way to the beautiful scene where Justin clings to his mother Nora, played brilliantly by Sally Field. I immediately thought of my mother through the tears this scene brought to my eyes, and remembered trying times in my life when a long hug made me feel better. This show has opened my eyes to the power of storytelling and reinvigorated my desire to crack into this business as a writer. I think this hour of ...
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