McLean Stevenson (M*A*S*H), Terry O'Quinn (Lost), Leslie Hope (24)
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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Janel Moloney by Mark Lipson/FOX
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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Jason Clarke and Jason Isaacs in Brotherhood by Jim Fiscus/Showtime
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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Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
She's quiet, yet occasionally lets slip some spunk. She favors a tepid homemade sandwich over a "fancy" lunch-cart nosh. And she really needs to start showing her pins. She's Mad Men's plucky Peggy, and TVGuide.com asked Elisabeth Moss (The West Wing, Invasion) to share a peek behind those bangs. Mad Men airs Thursdays at 10 pm/ET, on AMC.
TVGuide.com: How goes it playing poor Peggy?Elisabeth Moss: It goes good! [Laughs] We're all done with the first season, and it was good. I'm back in New York now.
TVGuide.com: Did you have any reservations about playing Peggy, who's not exactly the most glam gal in the steno pool?Moss: No, no... I liked that she was new to everything. Everybody has their specific, unique character.
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Question: What the heck have they done to Bravo? The network has been completely destroyed. I loved The West Wing, Project Runway, Inside the Actors Studio — heck, even the first season of Blow Out was mildly diverting. Today, while waiting anxiously for the next season of Runway, I am served a diet of endless marathons of The Real Housewives of Orange County (possibly the most revolting show ever), real estate shows, workout shows, etc. There is no programming but these marathons! The West Wing is never on. My friends who like Top Chef will kill me, but except for the occasional Kathy Griffin special or show, a network I used to watch all the time is never on in my home. Are their ratings actually up? And what happened to NBC having a boutique network arm? Will I ever see Josh and Donna again?
Answer: Your primary gripe against Bravo appears to be the fact that The West Wing has been taken out of rotation, which I would guess has something to do with the fact that it probably doesn't
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Question: It was my understanding that when The West Wing was first going into production, the role of the president was somewhat peripheral to the activities of his staff: that he would be sort of an unseen (or infrequently seen) presence. But when Martin Sheen got the role, it shifted the gravitational center of the show so that President Bartlet was at the center. The staff then orbited the president, as it would be in the real West Wing. I'm wondering if you think, as I do, that Sam Waterston is capable of similarly "pulling rank" as the new district attorney on Law & Order.
Answer: You may be right. At the very least, it will be refreshing to see a real actor in the DA role again. Here's what Dick Wolf had to say at the TCA press tour when asked about Jack McCoy (aka Sam Waterston) getting promoted for the new season: "Sam is not going to be the pragmatist that the elected politicians have been. He is also going to be somebody who goes through changes in his own attitude because he
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Lee Pace in Pushing Daisies by Bob D'Amico/ABC
Could the third time be the charm? Being an eternal optimist when it comes to TV shows I love, I certainly hope so. For the third season in a row, the show I’ve picked as my favorite pilot of the fall season is on ABC, and once again, after two consecutive seasons of my pick failing to make the grade, this show’s projected success is far from a slam dunk. But let me tell you why I believe, despite all logical skepticism to the contrary, that the dazzling “forensic fairy tale” called Pushing Daisies has a shot at making it.First, here’s why my earlier picks didn’t pan out. For one thing, both shows — Invasion in 2005, The Nine in 2006 — had the mixed fortune of being scheduled directly after Lost. (As we’ve learned, the Lost viewing experience is so intense and its fan base so obsessed that it’s pure folly to put any show, especially a demanding one, after Lost.) Both shows were also exceedingly dark in tone, whereas Pushing Daisies...
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The West Wing's Donna ain't lovelorn no more. Janel Moloney is joining the cast of Showtime's Brotherhood for at least four episodes this season, playing a woman who has an affair with Jason Clarke's ambitious politico. (All together now: Poor Annabeth Gish.)In other Showtime news, in addition to Matthew Modine joining Weeds for at least 10 episodes (first scooped by the Ausiello Report, he'll serve as a love interest for both Nancy and Celia), Zooey Deschanel's krazy Kat is returning for the Season 3 opener, while Carrie Fisher will guest this season as Celia's "May-the-divorce-be-with-you" lawyer.
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