tvfanatic

Good news for those of you who have DIRECTV, the new season of Friday Night Lights begins for you tomorrow, Wednesday Oct 1^st at 9PM EST. The 3^rd season will have 13 new episodes, which will air every Wednesday on DIRECTV. Along with the new episodes, DIRECTV will air a custom-produced extended version of Friday Night Lights that will be commercial free. In addition there will also be a live weekly show, Live From Dillon, that will have cast interviews and a chance for viewers to chat with the actors. That is pretty cool. Friday Night Lights is a phenomenal show that is constantly endanger of being cancelled. It is one of those shows that people are always talking about how great it is, yet ratings wise it doesn’t do very good. I think this deal with DIRECTV is a great idea to get the show some more publicly. For those of us who don’t have DIRECTV we will have to wait until February when new episodes begin airing on NBC. Wow I kind of wish I had DIRECTV, I am going to have to wait so long for new episodes. I miss my Dillon Panthers. If you have DIRECTV please watch Friday Night Lights, it is seriously one of the best shows I have ever watched. I really want it to be saved.

I recently had the Reality TV show debate with my grandma. Yes I know you shouldn’t debate with your grandma, but I was trying to defend the merits of Reality TV. Grandma basically thinks Reality TV is ridiculous and stupid and will rot my brain That is her opinion and I respect it. Anyway the whole debate with my grandma got me thinking that I am sure there are many people out there with her view, as well as mine. I personally like Reality TV and quite frankly I watch a lot of Reality shows. My faves are Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, and The Hills. Those are all very reputable shows that I honestly would rather watch then the 25 different versions of CSI or Law & Order. Now I am the first to admit that there are some crap Reality shows out there, but there are also some crap non Reality shows out there too. I get so tired of Reality TV getting such a bad rap. Some of the best romances are on Reality TV, Rob & Amber from Survivor, Danny & Melinda from the Real World Austin. There is also great drama too; just watch an episode of Survivor or Big Brother and you’ll know what I am talking about. I really just want to ask my TV Fanatic viewers to open their minds and give Reality TV a chance. That being said I hope you take my suggestion.

ABC Sunday night is one of my favorite nights of TV and tonight it returns with all new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters, as well as Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Now I don’t watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition, but I am a huge fan of both Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. I am particularly excited about the return of Desperate Housewives, since they took a page out of One Tree Hills book and fast-forwarded five years. I have to say I think it is going to do wonders for the show, which in my opinion was getting a little played out. The five-year jump opens up so many possibilities, including the return of a married Edie. As for Brothers & Sisters I am looking forward to the new season, but am also kind of blah about it. The season finale was ok, the news that daddy Walker had another affair and child, has potential. However, I was kind of grossed out by the whole Justin/Rebecca new relationship. I mean you did just think you were related, whatever just my opinion on those two. I am sure I will get over it. Brothers & Sisters is a great show, and one that did not suffer through a second season slump like a lot of shows. I have faith the new season will be great. After all who doesn’t love the Walker clan. There you have it Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters all new tonight. The fun begins at 8PM EST on ABC.

I was sitting here flipping through my DVR when something occurred to me. I have multiple episodes of one show to watch, which got me pondering the question do I keep them and try to catch up or do I delete them and drop the show. For example I have 4 Prison Breaks, 3 Raising The Bar and 3 Fringe to watch. Now I have watched all seasons of Prison Break and think it is a great show. I got behind because of the 2-hour premiere. As for Raising The Bar and Fringe they are new shows that I really thought I would like and I just haven’t gotten a chance to watch them. Anyway obviously I don’t want to drop any show unless it is terrible. So when does it come time to drop a show. Do you wait until you have like eight or more episodes? Sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day to watch everything I want. Granted I probably do watch too much TV, but hello this isn’t TV Fanatic for no reason. Anyone have any suggestions or thoughts? I know I could download one of them to watch on my IPOD on a plane or something but it seems silly to pay for a show that is sitting on my DVR. I am sure I will most likely spend a Sunday catching up on Prison Break, Fringe and Raising The Bar. What can I say I am a sucker for good TV, now if Raising The Bar and Fringe suck then I will drop them for sure. As always let me know your thoughts.

Ok so let me start off by saying that this is in no way shape or form a political blog. I am not going to discus politics, tell you who to vote for, etc. Everyone has their own opinion and I respect that. However, this is a TV blog and the presidential debate is on TV tonight. All major networks will be carrying the debate, which begins at 9PM EST. I am informing you of the debate because I feel it is important for people to watch. As you all know this will be an election like no other. I feel the TV debate is great and gives everyone a chance to see the candidates go head to head. So all of that being said, I do think it is important to watch.  At the very least you should DVR it. That is all I got for you, I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware the debate was on tonight.

Being that I am the person who brings you TV Fanatic, I am pretty sure most of you will not be surprised that I am a huge fan of Soap Operas. That is right I love Daytime TV as much as the rest of it. Here is the thing, Soap Opera’s always get the shaft. They are viewed as the red headed step children of television. I am here to tell you that they are not that but they are so underrated. Seriously some of the most talented actors on TV are currently on Soap Operas. Think Susan Lucci, Deidre Hall, Eric Braden, Grayson McCouch and many many more. I will be the first to admit that sometimes the stories can be a little ridiculous, and drawn out, but hello that happens on Reality TV too. I just think that too many people write off Soap Operas as second rate and they don’t deserve that. These shows produced new shows every day, unlike primetime shows that produce like 25 new shows a season and take 4 months off in the summer. Let me tell you General Hospital and As The World Turns are two shows that I must watch daily, that is right daily. They are that good and keep me that tuned in. I am not saying that Soap Operas are the greatest thing on television or anything but I am saying people should give them a chance. But hey that is just my opinion!

Last winter during the writers’ strike NBC gave us what I like to call the show that has cured my longing for the days of Sex & The City. That show is Lipstick Jungle and the new season begins tonight at 10PM EST on NBC. Lipstick Jungle follows three friends, the movie mogul Wendy, the magazine mogul Nico, and the fabulous fashion mogul Victory as they juggle family, careers, and love, doing it all in great clothes. This show is great. It is like the older mature woman’s version of Sex & The City. The women are beautiful, hip and their lives are in disarray. I can’t really describe how great this show is, without giving you a dull description, so I think you should just check the show out for yourself. Trust me Brooke Shields, Kim Raver and Lindsay Price do not disappoint. Plus remember hottie Andrew McCarthy from Pretty In Pink, well he plays a mega billionaire, who you will love. Also Mary Tyler Moore is joining the cast, that in itself is enough to tune in. Ok if you were a Sex & The City girl, and seriously who wasn’t, tune in to Lipstick Jungle. I promise you will not be disappointed.

I literally just got done watching Gossip Girl and all I can say is WOW! I shamefully admit that I was starting to actually write off Gossip Girl. The first few episodes lacked that OMG factor that made Gossip Girl a hit last year. I really thought the show was going to suffer from the second season slump that so many great shows go through, a kind of growth process if you will. Well I gladly admit I was so wrong. Last nights episode proved that the OMG factor is still a major player in this show. Talk about shocking, the episode packed a lot of punches so to speak. It also set the stage for what I now have full confidence will be a kick ass second season. I am still in disbelief over all the events that transpired. Gossip Girl had moved to my, I can watch it later section, but not anyone it is back as a must see night of show. I can hardly wait for next week. I know there are GG fans out there, so let me know what you thought of last nights show.  Gossip Girl I am so glad you are back on top. If you haven’t checked out Gossip Girl tune in Mondays at 8PM EST on The CW.

I love awards shows. I don’t really know why, I just do. However last nights 60^th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were one big snooze fest. From the opening monologue to the closing credits it stunk. The hosts were terrible. I was bored as soon as they started, actually all I could think about during the opening monologue was OMG Heidi Klum is freaking tall. Yeah that is what I got from that whole non-bit thing they did. Apparently Jeremy Piven felt the same way I did, he had a nice remark during his acceptance speech regarding the opening monologue. I should have known something was up when Oprah actually opened the show instead of the five hosts.

Aside from the hosts the show was just dull. What was up with the whole being on different sets thing? I get it was like a tribute to the last 60 years, but I didn’t like it at all. It was awkward and not entertaining. Oh and poor Josh Grobman his tribute to TV theme songs was less than stellar, and it was so not his fault. The whole order and song choices did not blend at all. The poor guy just looked so uncomfortable. By the way I think Josh Grobman is extremely talented so my critic is not against him, but what he was given to work with.

Let’s talk about Lauren Conrad who presented with the hottie David Boreanaz. That poor girl was so out of her element even David could tell. Holy uncomfortable for both of them, sorry L.C. but maybe you should stick to fake reality shows and designing. Beyond that the other presenters were ok. Nothing really stands out, which is why the show was a snooze fest.

Now I want someone to tell me why awards shows are filled with so much crap no one cares about. Other than the In Memory of stuff the only thing viewers want to see are stars getting their awards. All the other junk gets fast-forwarded through. Case in point the show was three hours long, I DVR’d it and managed to watch it in an hour fifteen minutes.  Maybe the powers that be should think about shortening the show, it might make it better. Stick to what people want to see which is who wins the awards.

There were some good moments in the show though, basically anytime an award was given out was great. I want to say congrats to all the winners, especially Jeff Probst who won in the first ever Reality host category. Also to Brian Cranston from Breaking Bad, who I think is an phenomenal actor working on an outstanding show. Mad Men for being the first ever Basic Cable show to win Outstanding Drama Series. And finally to Tina Fey who took home not only a Emmy for writing, but won her first ever acting Emmy. Again congrats to all of last nights Emmy Winneers.
So you have my thoughts on the Primetime Emmys what are yours, did you think it was a big BORE?

ABC kicks off its National Stay At Home Week with the Primetime Emmy Awards tonight. The Primetime Emmys begin at 8PM EST and are hosted by Ryan Seacrest, Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst, Tom Bergeron, and Howie Mandel. You will find the ABC premiere schedule below, all times are Eastern Standard Times. Anything with an NS next to it is a new show. Enjoy!

Monday September 22nd
Dancing With The Stars 8PM, Boston Legal 10PM

Tuesday September 23rd
Opportunity Knocks 8PM (NS), Dancing With The Stars Results Show 9PM,

Thursday September 25th
Ugly Betty 8PM, Grey’s Anatomy 9PM

Sunday September 28th
Extreme Makeover Home Edition 8PM, Desperate Housewives 9PM, Brothers & Sisters 10PM

Wednesday October 1st
Pushing Daisies 8PM, Private Practice 9PM, Dirty Sexy Money 10PM

Friday October 3rd
Wife Swap 8PM, Supernany 9PM

Thursday October 9th
Life On Mars 10PM (NS)

Tuesday October 14th
Eli Stone 10PM

20.20 began last Friday and will air Friday nights at 10PM. ABC will air College Football at 8PM on Saturday nights through out the Fall. Please note these are just premiere dates and times, not ABC’s entire fall schedule. As always the schedule and times are subject to change once the season starts. Check back for any schedule updates.