“30 Rock” Thursday 8:30pm, NBC This should be fun. My favorite comedy is putting on a live episode, and who better to conquer live television than that UVA alum and former “Saturday Night Live” head Tina Fey? I have no doubt that Fey, co-star Alec Baldwin, and Broadway vet Jane Krakowski can pull off a […]
“Project Runway” Thursday 9pm, Lifetime We’re getting close to Fashion Week, and overall I think the Season 8 designers have acquitted themselves adequately. All of the remaining contestants have the potential to put together solid final collections, although I’m specifically pulling for hyper-creative Andy and goth pixie Mondo. I’m fairly certain the third spot will […]
“No Ordinary Family” Tuesday 8pm, ABC If you liked The Incredibles or The Fantastic Four (the comic series, not the crappy movies) you’ll probably dig this. The Powell family is the picture of modern American malaise. Father Jim (Michael Chiklis, “The Shield”) is having a borderline midlife crisis, mom Stephanie (Julie Benz, “Dexter”) is a […]
“Glee” Tuesday 8pm, Fox A pop-culture backlash is imminent, if not already here, and with good reason. While “Glee” has many wonderful qualities—great cast, novel idea, crack-addictive musical numbers—it has giant, glaring flaws. The characters are almost all caricatures, the plotting ranges from the maudlin to the nonsensical, and the showrunners have the narrative focus […]
“Top Chef: Just Desserts” Wednesday 11pm, Bravo Anyone who watches “Top Chef” knows that desserts have routinely been the downfall of many a great chef on that show. We’ve been told over and over again that there is a huge difference between cooking and baking. Baking involves precise measurements and miracles of chemistry, and generally […]
“Hellcats” Wednesday, 9pm, CW The new fall season is here, and CW is first up with this new series set in the competitive world of collegiate cheerleading. The cast looks like the remainders of a discount Disney Channel talent bin, with Alyson Michalka (“Phil of the Future,” one half of the pop duo Aly & […]
“Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” Friday 8pm, Disney Channel It’s the sequel to the hit 2008 made-for-TV movie, which was itself a pale imitation of Disney’s wildly popular “High School Musical” franchise. Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers return as a bunch of musically gifted teens who geek out at band camp and get involved […]
“She’s Got the Look” Wednesday, 10pm, TV Land TV Land’s modeling competition for women of a certain age (over 35, that is) returns for its third season. Original host Kim Alexis is out, replaced by omnipresent TV hostess Brooke Burns, whose pinched looks and irritating voice I’ve never appreciated. The judging panel’s biggest name, pioneering […]
“Melissa & Joey” Tuesday 8pm, ABC Family Holy Winona Ryder! Looks like the ’90s really are back. Take this new sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”) and Joey Lawrence (“Blossom”) in an update of “Who’s the Boss?” with a dash of Raising Helen thrown in for good measure. Hart plays an aspiring […]
“Hair Battle Spectacular” Tuesday 10pm, Oxygen I’m not sure what else you need to know on this one. It’s a new reality show about hair battles, and apparently it’s spectacular. What’s a hair battle, you ask? It’s when people take hues and build them into completely outrageous follicular sculptures. Cynicism aside, a good hair battle is […]