[Televisionary]

I've always been outspoken about my love of TiVo, that little box that sits in my entertainment console whose little red light twinkles in the evening light with the promise of fresh programming and the absence of commercials. If there is one thing I cannot stand, it's mindless commercials that interrupt the flow of the show I am watching (and yes, I am aware that's it's those very same commercials that make it possible for me to watch those shows). But thanks to TiVo, I can start Lost late and zip through commercials for Supernanny and laundry detergent and catch up with Locke and Jack that much more quickly. It also comes in handy on nights, where awards shows like, say, the Oscars for example, can drag on endlessly for hours and viewers are forced to slog through commercial break after commercial break and acceptance speech after acceptance speech. (I don't mind moving speeches, such as George Clooney's, but if I have to hear someone thank their manager/pu

As my co-workers and friends know, there are very few things that usually bring me more joy (and yes, er, Joy too) than the one-hour single camera comedy block on NBC on Thursday nights at 9 pm. I look forward to Thursday nights with a newfound appreciation whereas before it was yet another day before Friday. But since NBC wisely shifted My Name is Earl and companion The Office to Thursday nights, it's the television highlight of my week. Earl could have been truly a one-note joke. Meet Earl Hickey (Jason Lee): a career criminal, no-good thief, and lifelong loser. Whenever Earl does bad things, bad things happen to him. Like in the show's pilot, when he winds $100,000 on the lottery, only to get run over in a car the next moment. Recuperating in the hospital, he learns that his wife Joy (Jaime Pressly, in a career-defining role) has been having an affair with Darnell (a.k.a "Crab Man," played by Eddie Steeples, whom you might remember from those Office Max commerci

Burnett to Play "Desperate" Step-Mother USA Today is reporting that Marc Cherry has cast comic legend Carol Burnett for duty on Wisteria Lane. Burnett will play Eleanor Mason, the icy stepmother of Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross) in an episode expected to air April 9th. Eleanor and Bree's father will turn up on Wisteria Lane after Bree's son Andrew announces his desire to emancipate himself... and reveal a number of family secrets in the process. Says Cherry of Burnett's character, "Eleanor took over after Bree's mother was killed when Bree was a child. She's a very tightly wound, proper lady for whom appearances mean everything. A lot of what Bree has become came from this woman." Cherry also gave some hints about what's to come on the show, including a huge, explosive season finale that will put the focus back on the four main housewives, one of whom will be dating a man with "dark secrets." Secrets which will comprise next seaso

This week's episode ("Maternity Leave") brings us closer to solving some of the mysteries that have laid dormant the past year: namely, what happened to Claire during the two weeks between her abduction at the hands of Ethan and her mysterious reappearance; how Rousseau got those nasty scratches on her arm; and what happened to Rousseau's daughter Alex. Plus, we inch closer to clearing up who and what The Others truly are. Aided by clinical psychologist Libby, Claire begins to remember fragments of what happened during her abduction and experiences flashes of memory--a teenage girl, blue knitted baby booties, a syringe, a nursery--which culminate in a complete memory of Ethan injecting her with some sort of vaccine--a vaccine which has those cursed numbers on the label, much like the bottles that Desmond took from the hatch before he skeddadled (speaking of which, where is Desmond?) The memory compels Claire to seek out Rousseau's help in locating the facility whe

There are very few guarantees in this life. Death and taxes, certainly. Mortgages, very likely. But the one thing that you can depend upon in this life is British Comedy. Whenever things are gloomy or grey, the only thing that can cheer me up is the sight of some loony Brits putting on drag and creating some hilarious television comedy characters in the tradition of the Monty Python boys and Benny Hill . (What exactly is it about British comedians and their tendencies towards putting on women's clothing?) Little Britain is no exception to this rule. Adapted from their hit radio series, David Walliams and Matt Lucas have created an alternate universe which on the surface seems similar to our own, but just beneath that is a world of psychotics, eccentrics, and psychotic eccentrics. Oh, and unreliable narrators who sound suspiciously like Dr. Who 's Tom Baker. My fear at first was that the show would be too similar to that other British cult sketch comedy series, The League of E

Okay, so I can honestly say that The Amazing Race as we know and love it is back. After the catastrophic error in judgment that was The Amazing Race: Family Edition , this season is already off to a great start. Interesting departure location? Check. Eyebrow-raising, arm-dropping Phil sending them off with a twinkle of excitement? Check. Destination requiring a valid US passport? Check. It's that last bit that had me regain my trust in the show; after meandering around the country last season, the fact that the contestants left the good ole' US of A on the very first leg of the race is cause for celebration. (In fact, the episode's first ten minutes contained more excitement than the entire season of AR: Family Edition .) Even before the teams reached the airport, I had already picked my favorite teams: hippies BJ and Tyler (whom I will dub Reefer Madness); boyfriend and girlfriend nerds-and-proud-of-it David and Lori (let's call them Team Frodo); and Latina mother and

"Arrested" But Not Forgotten Via Screenhead , witness this soulful eulogy for quite-possibly-dead-but-never-forgotten show Arrested Development , entitled "A long time ago, in a Sudden Valley far, far away." Moving past the Star Wars homage, I especially love the little details: the seal that bit off Buster's hand, the little Monopoly piece in the form of a house (one of the show's motifs), George-Michael and Maeby in the Bluth's frozen banana stand, and of course, standing in for Star Wars ' sexually ambiguous C-3PO, our very own sexually-ambiguous mandroid, Tobias, in his omni-present cut-offs. "Arrest" the Presses Okay, awful pun there. But stop the presses, cancel the headstone, silence the fat lady. The New York Post is reporting today that Showtime has not only picked up Arrested Development but has actually ordered a full 26 episodes! (Which would be more than they produced in either Season Two or Season Three.) No official commen