This Week 1/17 to 1/22

Well, the Golden Globes are tonight. I’ll see about doing a post on that. Maybe. For now, the schedule for the coming week. Woo.

MONDAY:
8pm – Chuck on NBC (midseason return!)
8pm – House on FOX
8pm – Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family
9pm – The Cape on NBC
9pm – Lie to Me on FOX
9pm – Being Human on SyFy (series pilot!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS
10pm – Harry’s Law on NBC (series pilot!)

I should probably just take House off of my schedule. I’m not watching it and, from what I hear, that’s not a terrible loss.

TUESDAY:
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
10pm – Southland on TNT
10pm – White Collar on USA

I have now removed V, Detroit 1-8-7, and No Ordinary Family from my schedule. Because, honestly, it just isn’t gonna happen. Ever.

WEDNESDAY:

Oh great. American Idol is starting again. (Bones marathon on TNT or NCIS marathon on USA? I think so.)

THURSDAY:
9pm – Bones on FOX (midseason return!)
10pm – Fairly Legal on USA (series pilot!)

Thank goodness for this Thursday!

FRIDAY:
9pm – Fringe on FOX (midseason return!)

…you’ve got to be shitting me. Fringe‘s Friday Death Slot premiere is titled “Firefly“? Can we spell “death sentence”? Jesus.

SATURDAY:

Nothing new is airing.

This Week 1/3 to 1/9

MONDAY:
8pm – Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family (midseason return!)
10pm – Castle on ABC (midseason return!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (midseason return!)

This week’s episode of Castle brought to you by the excellent and intriguing title “Nikki Heat.” It’s gonna be a good ‘un.

TUESDAY:
8pm – No Ordinary Family  on ABC (midseason return!)
9pm – V on ABC (season premiere!)
10pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC (midseason return!)
10pm – Southland on TNT (season premiere!)

Except I actually don’t watch any of these. Maybe I should take them off my schedule…

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX (2-hour midseason return!)

Also, there’s a Bones marathon on TNT.

THURSDAY:

Nothing new is airing.

FRIDAY:
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS (midseason return!)

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Jim Carrey and the Black Keys) on NBC (midseason return!)

SUNDAY:
9pm – The Cape on NBC (2-hour series pilot!)
9:30pm – Episodes on Showtime (series pilot!)
10pm – Shameless on Showtime (series pilot!)

Tis the Midseason

It’s that time again. Midseason return/premiere schedule. Go!

Monday January 3
8:00pm – Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family (midseason return!)
10:00pm – Castle on ABC (midseason return!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (midseason return!)

Hey, I could actually catch up on time to watch PLL! But that really doesn’t matter because I’m mostly just SUPER jazzed about more Castle.

Tuesday January 4
8:00pm – No Ordinary Family on ABC (midseason return!)
9:00pm – V on ABC (season premiere!)
10:00pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC (midseason return!)
10:00pm – Southland on TNT (season premiere!)

…I probably will not actually watch anyof these. But I thought I’d include them just for kicks. (Question: Should I be watching No Ordinary Family?)

Wednesday January 5
8:00pm – Human Target on FOX (midseason return!)

Happy half-birthday to me!

Friday January 7
9:00pm – CSI: NY on CBS (midseason return!)
10:00pm – Blue Bloods on CBS (midseason return!)

Sunday January 9
9:00pm – The Cape on NBC (2-hour series pilot!)
9:30pm – Episodes on Showtime (series pilot!)
10:00pm – Shameless on Showtime (series pilot!)

Not gonna lie, all three of these shows look semi-ridiculous. The Cape is about a cop who gets framed and goes all caped vigilante on his city and, honestly, it looks even stupider than it sounds. Episodes is about Matt LeBlanc (playing himself) ruining the marriage of a British couple. And Shameless is just the newest in a long line of excellent British shows being stolen for and ruined on American television.

Monday January 10
9:00pm – Lie to Me on FOX (midseason return!)

Tuesday January 11
8:00pm – NCIS on CBS (midseason return!)
9:00pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS (midseason return!)
10:00pm – Lights Out on FX (series pilot!)

In Lights Out, a former heavy-weight boxing champ starts working as a debt collector to make ends meet. Doesn’t pique my interest, but FX’s original series track record is pretty good and so should this be.

Wednesday January 12
10:00pm – Off the Map on ABC (series pilot!)

Basically it’s Grey’s Anatomy, but without indoor plumbing.

Monday January 17
8:00pm – Chuck on NBC (midseason return!)
8:00pm – House on FOX (midseason return!)
9:00pm – Being Human on SyFy (series pilot!)
10:00pm – Harry’s Law on NBC (series pilot!)

Being Human is another of those ripped-off Brit shows. Harry’s Law is a legal drama with an incredible cast that will most likely be at least fairly decent…but, frankly, I’d just rather have The Whole Truth back. (Oh, wait, wrong network…) Also…I can totally catch up on Chuck by this day…right?

Tuesday January 18
10:00pm – White Collar on USA (midseason return!)

I’m getting the impression that this show has only gotten better. I should work on catching up at some point.

Thursday January 20
8:00pm – Bones on FOX (midseason return!)
8:30pm – Perfect Couples on NBC (series pilot!)
10:00pm – Fairly Legal on USA (series pilot!)

Perfect Couples comes from minds behind 30 Rock and Friends. Fairly Legal stars Sarah Shahi and Michael Trucco and I have been waiting for it for two years. So guess which of these two shows is the one I’m going to be watching.

Friday January 21
9:00pm – Fringe on FOX (midseason return!)

Oh shit guys, Fringe has been relegated to the Friday Death Slot.

Wednesday January 26
10:00pm – Face Off on SyFy (series pilot!)

Normally I avoid competition/reality shows like the plague. But a competition/reality show about special effects makeup? Hell yes!

Thursday January 27
8:00pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW (midseason return!)
9:00pm – Nikita on the CW (midseason return!)

Monday February 7
9:00pm – The Chicago Code on FOX (series pilot!)

It’s just another cop show, but it’s shot on location in Chicago and really wants to be the next hardxcoreawesome thing.

Tuesday February 8
8:00pm – Glee on FOX (midseason return!)

Wednesday February 9
9:30pm – Mr. Sunshine on ABC
10:00pm – Justified on FX

Mr. Sunshine sounds like an awful everyman semi-comedy indie film come to television. But more glamourous because, well, that’s just how it works.

Monday February 28
10:00pm – The Event on NBC (midseason return!)

Tuesday March 29
9:00pm – Body of Proof on ABC (series pilot!)

Crime procedural slash personal drama centered around an M.E. It could easily be interesting and fun. It could just as easily be awful and boring.

Wednesday April 6
9:30pm – Breaking In on FOX (series pilot!)

Oh look, Christian Slater‘s back. Again. Trying to make it as a television leading man. Again.

Wednesday April 13
10:00 – Happy Endings on ABC (series pilot!)

It’s another of these melodramedies about attractive young people and their romantic shenanigans. But I will admit, it has a pretty good cast.

This Week 12/6 to 12/12

I am watching the Rizzoli & Isles marathon on TNT all day. That is a fun thing. A less fun thing: no new episodes until summer. LAME. (But at least it’s been renewed!)

Tonight:
10pm – Castle on ABC
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS

Castle is back!!!! Also, lack of new Chuck means that catching up isn’t becoming any more daunting, which is nice.

TUESDAY:
8pm – Glee on FOX
9pm – Eureka on SyFy

A Glee Christmas special? I’m very afraid.

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC

…The Whole Truth has been cancelled, actually. But I guess we get a few more episodes.

THURSDAY:
8pm – Bones on FOX
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
9pm – Fringe on FOX
9pm – Nikita on the CW

FRIDAY:

Nothing new is airing.

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Paul Rudd & Paul McCartney) on NBC

SUNDAY:
9pm – Leverage on TNT

Shows that can totally pull off a three-episode Christmas special: Leverage.

This Week 11/22 to 11/28

I AM BACK WITH A VENGEANCE.

But of course I would choose Thanksgiving weekend for my glorious return. Ah well.

Tonight:
8pm – Chuck on NBC
8pm – House on FOX
9pm – The Event on NBC
9pm – Lie to Me on FOX
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS

Dear Boycool, I PROMISE my first MB-related priority right now is getting up to speed with Chuck!

TUESDAY:
8pm – Glee on FOX
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS

Oh Glee. I have words for you. And now they will be expressed again.

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX
10pm – Terriers on FX

THURSDAY:

Nothing new is airing. Because it’s Thanksgiving.

FRIDAY:

Nothing new is airing. Because it’s the the day after Thanksgiving.

SATURDAY:

Nothing new is airing.

SUNDAY:
10pm – The Walking Dead on AMC

I haven’t seen any of this. But I’ve been informed that I really ought to get on that.

This Week 10/12 to 10/16

OK OK I’M BACK LETS DO STUFF.

Tonight:
8pm – No Ordinary Family on ABC
8pm – Glee on FOX
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
10pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC
10pm – Caprica on SyFy

Oh, woah, Caprica‘s back! (I don’t know if I ever watched more than the pilot…)

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC
10pm – The Defenders on CBS
10pm – Terriers on FX

I’ve actually been watching The Whole Truth. The Defenders is up next, and then I’ll post something! Crazy!

THURSDAY:
8pm – Bones on FOX
8:30pm – Shit My Dad Says on CBS
9pm – Fringe on FOX
9pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

FRIDAY:
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS

SATURDAY:
8pm – Outlaw on NBC

Actually, Outlaw‘s officially been cancelled. So nevermind that.

SO HEY.

I did, as a matter of fact, get all caught up on watching things last week…and we’ll pretend that’s why I didn’t post anything. But I have seen all that has aired so far of The Whole Truth, Undercovers, and the NCISes. So the goal for this week is actually getting some commentaries done. Hopefully on the days when these shows air. Oh, and I’ve got a post on this season of SNL in the works. Sorta.

Enjoy your week!

This Week 9/27 to 10/2

WOW, last week.

I had no idea there were that many interweb-active Castle fans. For those who haven’t heard, last week’s Melted Brain review was a HUGE SUCCESS on Twitter. By “HUGE SUCCESS” I mean it has a Topsy.com page with twelve – count ’em, twelve! – tweets. Keep in mind exactly how ridiculously small-scale and amateur my effort here is and you should be AMAZED. I certainly am. Thanks, Castle fans!

Anyway.

No promises on what I’ll actually get done this week (because clearly those promises aren’t worth a whole lot). But you can probably count on seeing reviews for Castle and Glee and another installment of “Oh THAT Guy.”

MONDAY:
8pm – Chuck on NBC
8pm – House on FOX
9pm – The Event on NBC
9pm – Lone Star on FOX
10pm – Chase on FOX
10pm – Castle on ABC

Also, FX is airing 27 Dresses AGAIN. Seriously. They play that movie ALL THE TIME.

TUESDAY:
8pm – No Ordinary Family on ABC (series pilot!)
8pm – NCIS on CBS
8pm – Glee on FOX
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
9pm – Raising Hope on FOX
9:30pm – Running Wilde on FOX
10pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC
10pm – The Defenders on CBS
10pm – Terriers on FX

Fyi, this week’s episode of Terriers is entitled “Fustercluck.” Keepin’ it classy, FX.

THURSDAY:
8pm – My Generation on ABC
8pm – Bones on FOX
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
8:30pm – Shit My Dad Says on CBS
9pm – Fringe on FOX
9pm – Nikita on the CW
9pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

FRIDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – The Good Guys on FOX
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS
10pm – Outlaw on NBC
10pm – Haven on SyFy

HUMAN TARGET! SO EXCITED!

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Bryan Cranston and Kanye West) on NBC

Enjoy your week!

This Week 9/20 to 9/26

DID YOU KNOW: It is a year later and Melted Brain still exists.

The fact that this month has kind of gotten away from me aside, THIS THING HAS STAYED ALIVE. FOR A YEAR. That is CRAZY.

All the more reason why this week, I am getting with the program and doing stuff! Come rain or shine or sleet or snow or thunder or nuclear holocaust!

Tonight:
8pm – House on FOX (season premiere!)
8pm – Chuck on NBC (season premiere!)
9pm – Lone Star on FOX (series pilot!)
9pm – The Event on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Castle on ABC (season premiere!)
10pm – Chase on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (series pilot!)

Don’t ask what I’m going to do. I really am not sure.

TUESDAY:
8pm – NCIS on CBS (season premiere!)
8pm – Glee on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS (2-hour season premiere!)
9pm – Raising Hope on FOX (series pilot!)
9:30pm – Running Wilde on FOX (series pilot!)
10pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC (series pilot!)

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC (series pilot!)
10pm – The Defenders on CBS (series pilot!)
10pm – Terriers on FX

I didn’t realize that The Whole Truth and The Defenders were time-slot buddies. That’s interesting.

THURSDAY:
8pm – My Generation on ABC (series pilot!)
8pm – Bones on FOX (season premiere!)
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
8:30pm – Shit My Dad Says on CBS (series pilot!)
9pm – Nikita on the CW
9pm – Fringe on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

FRIDAY:
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS (season premiere!)
9pm – The Good Guys on FOX (midseason return!)
1opm – Outlaw on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS (series pilot!)
10pm – Haven on SyFy

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Amy Poehler & Katy Perry) on NBC (season premiere!)

SUNDAY:
9pm – Rubicon on AMC

Now that I’m looking at this schedule, it is really scary.

Working my ass off, ho!

Enjoy your week.

This Week 9/5 to 9/12

Guys, guys, FALL TV STARTS THIS WEEK. GET EXCITED.

Tonight:
9pm – Rubicon on AMC
9pm – Leverage on TNT (season finale!)

Please note, the exclamation point after the ‘season finale’ after Leverage actually indicates despair, not excitement.

MONDAY:
8:30pm – CBS Fall Preview on CBS (special)
9pm – Friday Night Lights on ABC Family (network premiere!/pilot!)
10pm – Rizzoli & Isles on TNT

I have never watched Friday Night Lights. I don’t know that I would like it. But ABC Family is airing the whole series starting anew, so here’s an opportunity.

TUESDAY:
9pm – White Collar on USA
10pm – Covert Affairs on USA

WEDNESDAY:
9pm – Dark Blue on TNT (2 hours!)
10pm – Terriers on FX

I neglected to mention Terriers in my Fall TV preview post (reason: I didn’t know slash forgot it existed). Terriers is, to the best of my opinion, a sort of unconventional cop show of the general FX variety – so, a wacky mix of hicks and major criminals. That part falls pretty well under the take-it-or-leave it umbrella. The reason you should watch Terriers is, it stars Donal Logue (lately of Life)! He’s a funny man. Still confused? Understandable. See a preview here.

THURSDAY:
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW (season premiere!)
9pm – Nikita on the CW (pilot!)
9pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

I guess my foray into actually watching the CW is going to have to wait; I’ve signed away all my Thursday nights for September to Doing Real Things. But I will still make sure to watch these in a timely fashion! (And also finally get around to seeing The Vampire Diaries‘ S1 finale…)

FRIDAY:
9pm – Eureka on SyFy
10pm – Haven on SyFy

SATURDAY:

Nothing new is airing.

SUNDAY:
9pm – Rubicon on AMC
9pm – 2010 Video Music Awards on MTV/MTV2

What you can expect from me this week:

• Review of Leverage season finale/season as a whole
• Review of Nikita
  
• Review of Terriers
• special post of some variety

Wham Blam Thank You Ma’am (Fall TV I am jazzed about)

Well, by the end of last spring a lot of my favorite shows were done and over with for good. No more Heroes. No more Lost. No more 24. And while there were several exciting new series this summer that I am pretty much entirely devoted to at this point, they are going to be gone soon. Thank goodness for new Fall TV!

I’m not ridiculously excited for any of this, really. But several things intrigue me, others worry me, and a couple I am just expecting to fail. The good news: if nothing else, I will have lots of fodder for blogging.

ANYWAY. New shows. Checkitout.

Nikita

Yes, Nikita. As in “La Femme.” As in, based on the movie and television series of bygone days. No, no, sadly there are not any original ideas anymore.  But hey, this looks exciting. And I am a fan of Maggie Q (scrawny an action star as she may be). Plus this is definitely my kind of show. Action! Spies! Lead female badass! Xander Berkley! Hopefully Nikita will turn out to be one of the good CW shows (a la Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, etc).

Outlaw

I predict this is going to be one of those shows whose livelihood is totally dependent on the popularity of its lead actor, because the rest of the cast is generally unknown and only passably interesting. Luckily for Outlaw, Jimmy Smits is a BAMF. I doubt I’ll become crazy dedicated to this show (see: my general disinterest regarding law shows). But the pilot definitely seems worth a shot.

Lone  Star

A con man living two lives but trying to get out…because he’s in love with both his wife and his girlfriend and has suddenly developed a conscience? I could potentially really love or really hate this show. The lead, James Wolk, seems loveable enough, and god knows I enjoy Jon Voight. Lone Star is gonna have to seriously impress to stick around, though, at least on my post.

The Event

Trying to be the new Lost? Quite possibly. Also trying to be the new 24? Probably. Going to fail as badly as FlashForward did? Just might. Do I care? No. Am I still going to be watching? Obviously. Because even if it ends up being terrible, it has Zeljko Ivanek. What else do you need.

Hawaii Five-0

Speaking of unoriginal ideas! Remaking Hawaii Five-0 might be one of the most questionable plans of the season. Could it succeed? Maybe. Especially if they’re keeping the music (one of the best TV themes Of All Time). Why might it not succeed? Well, it stars Alex O’Loughlin and he, well…see: Moonlight and Three Rivers and their utter failures. On the other hand, the rest of the cast includes Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, Will Yun Lee, and Jean Smart. (Dear H5-0 2.0: way to hog the bankable Asian actors.)

Raising Hope

There is little to no chance I will watch this show. I only mention it because a) it is new and that is the point of this post/list/thing and b) it has Garret Dillahunt and I am excited he’s got a regular gig.

Running Wilde

Here is another show I probably won’t watch. I also don’t expect it will last very long. But it is probably better than it looks, because that is what we would expect of the minds behind fan-favorite Arrested Development. The trick will be making sure this show doesn’t get a case of same-old-same-old-itis. Who knows, maybe some especially clever writing’ll make it a break-out hit (or, you know, not).

Detroit 187

Hey, cop show! I don’t think I know who anyone in this cast is, but that’s okay. What we seem to have here is a gritty cop drama where the cases are less like wealthy-and-pretty CSI: NY stuff and more of the down-and-dirty Southland variety. Nice of ABC to give Detroit a little boost too, considering how much the last couple of years have sucked for that city.

Undercovers

Sooooo excited. I’m a little afraid it’ll end up being terrible. But then I remind myself that it is J.J. Abrams and that he is a champion of awesome when it comes to the spy genre. All the preview stuff is so shiny and clean and, well, sort of cheesy, that I can’t help worrying. I am definitely hoping that is all unnecessary anxiety and that Undercovers will end up being as spectacular as lead actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw is ridiculously attractive.

The Whole Truth

Rob Morrow vs. Maura Tierney. If ever there was a chance to maybe convince me that I should start watching legal dramas, this is probably it. Except that I still probably won’t. I’ll watch the pilot, at least, which is notable. For those who do like legal dramas, I expect this is probably a good one. You can expect the acting to be excellent, and ABC is good with the lead-male-lead-female interaction stuff shows.

The Defenders

This show has the potential to be hilarious. Jerry O’Connell being over-the-top wacky and James Belushi being grumpy but probably also wacky? The stuff that awesome is made of. Funny story: from 1961 to 1965 there was another legal show called The Defenders but the 2010 version is not a remake!

My Generation

Basically, My Generation is an attempt to take the fake-documentary method of comedies The Office and Parks and Recreation and utilize it for a drama. The plot is not particularly fascinating: it’s one of those reality show “where are they now” ten-years-after-graduation-old-friends-meet-up-and-dramatic-shit-happens things. Only scripted. Interesting concept, but I don’t know that it’ll pan out successfully.

$#*! My Dad Says

Hereafter referred to as Shit My Dad Says because everyone knows that’s the real title (and also it is a pain typing those characters instead of letters). For those not in the know, this show is based off of some guys Twitter account on which he posted Shit His Dad Said because they were living together and his dad was old and the two of them apparently didn’t get along all that well. This show will probably be a major hit this year for three reasons. 1) the Twitter account has thousands of fans and I’m betting a good portion will cross over to watch this, 2) William Shatner is the star and (logic defying as it may seem) he brings the fans, and 3) there has already been so much publicity/free press due to the “controversial nature” of just the title.

Blue Bloods

Hey, cop show! Slash family drama. I think the most interesting thing about this show is going to end up being the audience demographics. Depending on exactly where Blue Bloods ends up falling on both the Gritty Cop Grit and Touchy Feely Family Love scales, it could end up having either very wide or very narrow appeal. And wide appeal is what keeps things on the air.

No Ordinary Family

It is going to take a lot of awesomeness for me to watch more than the pilot of this show. I adore Julie Benz, I enjoy Michael Chiklis, and Romany Malco is a funny dude. But let’s be honest. This really just looks like ABC trying to remake NBC’s Heroes and cover up the fact they are doing so by dressing it up in Aww Family junk. If you want superheroes + warm fuzzies, watch The Incredibles. Seriously.

Law & Order: Los Angeles

Dear NBC,
Why exactly did you decide that making a new Law & Order series seemed like a better idea than just extending the original for one more season and letting it take the record for longest-running primetime television series?
Love, Logic

The world may never know.