Program Planner: Aug. 10-16
Sunday’s Oklahoman, which includes TV Week, hits the newsstands in the Oklahoma City area on Saturday afternoon. And it arrives at the doorstep (or hopefully nearby) early Sunday morning.
But for those who can’t wait to begin planning the upcoming week around the best TV has to offer, here is a sneak peek at programs worth watching the week of Aug. 10:
SUNDAY, AUG 10
◊“Big Daddy’s House” (12:30 p.m. on Food Network): Aaron McCargo Jr. won season four of “The Next Food Network Star” two weeks ago, and his prize is this new series.
◊“Masterpiece” (9 p.m. on OETA-13): In the new mystery “Limbo,” Inspector Lynley (Nathaniel Parker) investigates the abduction of his godson.
◊“Summer Showdown” (8 p.m. on HGTV): Keenen Ivory Wayans (“In Living Color”) is one of the celebrity judges in this installment featuring a catastrophic kitchen being made over in six hours.
◊“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” (8 p.m. on Fox): Fox is counting down the days until the show’s second-season premiere — Sept. 8 — by airing the entire first season in order. The marathon will run from 8 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday for the next two weeks and conclude Aug. 24 with the first-season cliffhanger finale.
◊TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Doris Day: Among her 12 films airing in the festival today are 1955’s “Love Me or Leave Me” (5 a.m.), 1968’s “With Six You Get Eggroll” (5:15 p.m.) and 1958’s “The Tunnel of Love” (1:30 a.m.).
◊“Wizards of Waverly Place” (7:30 p.m. on Disney): Imagen Award-winning actress Belita Moreno (“The George Lopez Show”) guest stars as grandmother Magdalena, who teaches Justin and Max the Salsa.
MONDAY, AUG 11
◊“The American Mall” (8 p.m. on MTV): This new TV movie stars Nina Dobrev (‘‘DeGrassi: The Next Generation”) as an aspiring singer-songwriter whose mom owns a music store in a shopping mall.
◊“The Closer” (8 p.m. on TNT): Jennifer Coolidge (“Legally Blonde”) guest stars as a none-too-bright woman married to the rich owner of a car dealership who winds up ensnared in an undercover sting operation.
◊“Elvis: Viva Las Vegas” (7 p.m. on CMT): Journalist Elizabeth Vargas hosts this new special that features rarely seen footage of Elvis performing in Las Vegas, and recording artists singing his songs. Toby Keith and Joe Perry perform “Mystery Train.”
◊“Intervention In-Depth: Meth Mountain” (8 p.m. on A&E): This documentary looks at how meth has taken hold of a Northern Alabama community and its residents who are determined to see their community lose its reputation and nickname.
◊“The Mole” (9 p.m. on ABC): The identity of the Mole will be revealed in the season finale, along with the contestant who will take home the $500,000 prize for figuring out who’s been sabotaging the group’s missions.
◊“Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami” (10 p.m. on OETA-13): This new documentary chronicles the time that the boxing legend spent in Miami, Fla., in the 1960s, training at the Fifth Street Gym.
◊“Saving Grace” (9 p.m. on TNT): Former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys football coach Barry Switzer guest stars in the new episode “Do You Love Him?” He is questioned when money is found in Grace’s Porche, a car he used to own.
◊“Sesame Street” (9 a.m. on OETA-13)(PBS Photo above): Season 39 of the series starring Elmo, Big Bird and their friends will feature a new curriculum focusng on early literacy and mathematics. Celebrities featured in the season premiere are Jack Black (“King Kong”) and musical artist Fiest.
◊TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Richard Widmark: Among his 12 films airing in the festival today are 1964’s “The Long Ships” (5 a.m.) and 1953’s “Pickup on South Street” (7 p.m.).
◊“We Are Together: The Children of Agape Choir” (8 p.m. on HBO): This new documentary focuses on a choir made up of children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa.
TUESDAY, AUG 12
◊“P.O.V.” (10 p.m. on OETA-13): Artist Alexander Pushkin is the subject of the new documentary ‘‘Belarusian Waltz.” He stages public stunts mocking Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s pretentions.
◊TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Kim Novak: Among her 12 films airing in the festival today are 1956’s “The Eddy Duchin Story” (5 a.m.), 1962’s “The Notorious Landlady” (1 p.m.) and 1959’s “Strangers When We Meet” (3 a.m.).
◊“Wide Angle” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): The new installment “China Prep” follows four Chinese students through their final year at an elite high school where a class of 1,800 is competing for 59 spots in China’s top two universities.
◊“Wipeout” (7 p.m. on ABC): Hosts John Henson and John Anderson present “Wipey Awards” for the best contestants, memorable moments and spectacular wipeouts from the season so far.
WEDNESDAY, AUG 13
◊“Brooks & Dunn: Cowboy Town” (8 p.m. on GAC): The country music duo, which includes Ronnie Dunn from Tulsa, gives fans first-hand access to their latest tour and life on the road in this 90-minute special.
◊“Criss Angel Mindfreak” (9 p.m. on A&E): The illusionist transforms a toy Hummer into a real Hummer and solves a Rubik’s cube by throwing in up into the air.
◊“Mythbusters” (8 p.m. on Discovery): Adam and Jamie try to replicate a popular video where a car is blasted 15 feet into the air with the water pressure from 10 fire hoses.
◊TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Peter Lorre: Among his 14 films airing in the festival today are 1945’s “Hotel Berlin” (5 a.m.), 1950’s “Quicksand” (4 p.m.) and 1964’s “Muscle Beach Party” (3:15 a.m.).
◊“Wife Swap” (7 p.m. on ABC): This rebroadcast from March features Teresa Ketchum, a sports-crazed mom from Oklahoma who swaps lives with an artistic cafe owner in Maryland.
THURSDAY, AUG 14
◊“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (8 p.m. on CBS): In this rebroadcast from February 2007, Kathleen Quinlan (“Family Law”) guest stars as a retired psychotherapist who gets involved in the investigation of the miniature killer.
◊“Dragons’ Den” (8 p.m. on BBC America): Five multi-millionaires are ready to back the best new ideas and innovations in this reality series. Items being pitched this episode include a snow bike and a new form of advertising in cabs.
◊“Live From Abbey Road” (9 p.m. on Sundance): The music series taped at London’s Abbey Road Studios features performances by Sara Bareilles and The Kills.
◊TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Greer Garson: Among her 12 films airing in the festival today are 1949’s “That Forsyte Woman” (5 a.m.), 1939’s “Goodbye Mr. Chips” (5 p.m.) and 1941’s “Blosoms in the Dust” (3:15 a.m.).
FRIDAY, AUG 15
◊“Gone Country 2” (7 p.m. on CMT): Country artist John Rich challenges seven celebrities to go country. Among them are Sean Young (“Third Man Out”), Lorenzo Lamas (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) and Irene Cara (“Fame”).
◊“Outsider’s Inn” (8 p.m. on CMT): Maureen McCormick (“The Brady Bunch”), Bobby Brown (“Being Bobby Brown”) and Carnie Wilson (“Carnie!”), who were housemates in the CMT series “Gone Country,” attempt to run a bed-and-breakfast in rural east Tennessee in this new eight-episode reality series.
◊TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Rita Hayworth: Among her 14 films airing in the festival today are 1940’s “Susan and God” (5 a.m.), 1944’s “Tonight and Every Night” (5:15 p.m.) and 1941’s “Affectionately Yours” (3:30 a.m.).
◊“The Young and the Restless” (11 a.m. on CBS): Michael Gross (“Family Ties”) joins the daytime drama’s cast as Lowell “River” Baldwin, the long-lost father of Michael Baldwin.
SATURDAY, AUG 16
◊“Myths & Legends — Elvis Presley” (7 p.m. on TV Land): Find out definitive answers to long-lived Elvis rumors in this encore presentation that separates fact from fiction. The second-season of “Myths & Legends” begins Aug. 27.
◊TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Fred Astaire: Among his 13 films airing in the festival today are 1933’s “Flying Down to Rio” (5 a.m.), 1937’s “Shall We Dance” (3:30 p.m.) and 1934’s “The Gay Divorcee” (3 a.m.).
–Penny TV
“Tudors” addition for season three
Network News Release …
Los Angeles, CA – Acclaimed film actor Max von Sydow has joined the cast of Season 3 of Showtime’s critically-acclaimed series “The Tudors.”
Sydow will portray Cardinal Von Waldburg, a German-born clergyman who tries to organize the defeat of Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and whose family was killed by Protestant revolutionaries. A fearsome intellectual, he was appointed by the Pope to head his first inquisition, which was the crushing of the Reformation.
The Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor will be seen in four of the eight episodes, which is currently filming in Dublin, Ireland, and will premiere on Showtime in 2009. Sydow, who worked with legendary director Ingmar Bergman on 13 of his films, is best known to American audiences for his work in “The Exorcist,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” and “Minority Report.”
‘Truth’ sacrificed for body-bending game show
Network News Release …
“Hole in the Wall,” a body-bending, mind-twisting, global game show phenomenon, will premiere at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, on Fox.
Previously scheduled in that time slot was “The Moment of Truth,” which will now premiere midseason.
“Hole in the Wall” (Fox Photo at right) became an instant ratings success story on-air and online after launching on Japan’s Fuji TV in July 2006, where it continues to rank No. 1 in its timeslot. The format swiftly created waves around the world, and versions are now airing in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Hosted by Brooke Burns (“Dog Eat Dog”) and Mark Thompson (“Guinness World Records: Primetime”), “Hole in the Wall” is one of the trickiest, fastest, funniest and wettest shows on the planet where speed, agility and a hearty sense of humor are essential tools to survive. During each episode, two teams of three compete against each other in multiple rounds of play, facing various barrier walls speeding toward them with weird and wacky cut-out shapes. Each team must contort their bodies individually or in unison to fit through the wall or be swept away into a pool below.
As players struggle to strike a pose, points – and dignity – can be easily lost with a simple miscalculation. As the rounds progress and the pace heats up, mind over matter, quick thinking, coordination, agility and clever teamwork play a crucial role as each team strives to maneuver through walls literally closing in on them. The team with the most points at the end of the competition will win $25,000 and the chance to face the dreaded “Blind Wall” for the opportunity to win an additional $100,000.
MTV opportunity to attend Video Music Awards
Network News Release …
Think.MTV.com, MTV’s online community for youth activism, will reward one young activist with tickets and a trip to Los Angeles to attend the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards Sept. 7.
Every Think.MTV.com member at least 18 or older who joins the “Do Good. Go to the VMAs” group will be entered to win two tickets to the VMAS, along with travel and hotel accommodations.
To enter, go to at http://think.mtv.com/Groups/DoGoodGoToTheVMAs/. Entries will be accepted through Aug. 22.
Designed to reward young people for doing good, this contest exposes them to hundreds of organizations on Think.MTV.com through which they can take action in their communities. These organizations include CityYear, Declare Yourself, Kiva, Malaria No More, Millennium Promise, ONE, PlayPumps, President’s Volunteer Service Award, Social Citizens, Strong American Schools and YouthBuild, among others.
Bob Barker — the plight is right
Bob Barker retired as host of “The Price is Right” last year. But he has returned to television to remind Americans about the upcoming switch to digital television (DTV).
“If you get TV with rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna, you need to upgrade to digital or you’ll lose reception,” Barker said in a television spot produced by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).
It is part of the NAB consumer eduction campaign encouraging viewers to upgrade their sets — or get a digital converter box — so they can continue receiving television signals after the transition to digital on Feb. 17, 2009.
NAB distributed Barker’s spot to television stations across the country on July 24. It can also be viewers at www.dtvanswers.com/30secspot/.
Readers who still have questions concerning the switch from analog to digital can call 1-888-DTV-2009.
–Penny TV
Olympic figure skater takes part in Sprout’s ‘Good Sport Week’
Network News Release …
PBS KIDS Sprout, a 24-hour cable channel designed for children ages 2 to 5 and their parents and caregivers, will celebrate “Good Sport Week” on the live “Sunny Side Up Show” each morning from 8 to 11 a.m. the week of August 11.
Olympic figure skater Michael Weiss is one of several athletes who will appear in various segments to share concepts of inclusion, participation, persistence and being a good sport.
Weiss, a three-time U.S. Champion, two-time World bronze medalist and two-time Olympian, will take Chica the Chicken (the puppet sidekick on “The Sunny Side Up Show”) out on the ice for her debut skating lesson at the rink where he received his very first medal. They are pictured above in a PBS KIDS Sprout photo.
Also participating in “Good Sport Week” is Special Olympian Christa Mereen, jump roper Judy Khan and field hockey player Annie McLaughlin, who will join “The Sunny Side Up Show” host Kevin Yamada and Chica the Chicken in the studio.
Sprout airs on channel 149 on Cox Digital Cable and channel 295 on Direct TV.
USA welcomes guest stars
For the summer TV season, this is an impressive list of guest stars USA Network has lined up for its shows this week:
“Burn Notice” (9 p.m. Thursday)
Robin Givens, Audrey Landers and Oded Fehr guest-star in “Scatter Point.”
Episode description: When his client can’t back out of a crime ring, Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) must join the planning for a jewelry heist to destroy the group from within.
“Monk” (8 p.m. Friday)
Robert Loggia and James Lesure guest-star in “Mr. Monk Takes a Punch.”
Episode description: When a famous boxer’s life is threatened, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) takes the case and finds himself in the middle of a big championship fight…well, actually, in the corner (pictured in USA Photo above are Loggia and Shalhoub).
“Psych” (9 p.m. Friday)
Ted Lange guest-stars in “Disco Didn’t Die. It Was Murdered.”
Episode description: The biggest bust of Henry’s career just walked out of jail on a technically, so Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dule Hill) must revisit the seventies to reinvestigate the case and put the culprit behind bars for good.
“Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (8 p.m. Sunday)
Skipp Sudduth, Darrin James Malone and Leslie Hendrix guest-star in “Neighborhood Watch.”
Epsiode description: When the decapitated, stabbed, and mutilated body of Kyle Jones is found in Maspeth Creek, the entire community is a suspect when it becomes clear that he was not welcome in the neighborhood.
“In Plain Sight” (9 p.m. Sunday)
Will McCormack guest-stars in “Stan By Me” (part one of two-part season finale).
Episode description: When Federal Marshal Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack) is kidnapped, her fellow Marshals, as well as the Albuquerque PD and the FBI work together to find her.
–Penny TV
Presidential nominees tape campaign ads for “Comic” finale
Network News Release …
BURBANK, CA – August 4, 2008 – America’s vote to determine NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” will be revealed at 7 p.m. Thursday in the show’s season finale that will also feature funny campaign ads from Presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain.
In last week’s episode, Jeff Dye (Seattle, Wash.), Louis Ramey (Queens, NY), Iliza Shlesinger (Hollywood, Calif.) and Jim Tavare (London) were chosen by America’s vote to be in the top five, joining Marcus (West Jordan, Utah), who won a spot in the final five by winning the challenge in the previous week’s episode.
Thursday, viewers will learn which of the final five America chose to be the “Last Comic Standing” and win the $250,000 grand prize, including an exclusive talent deal with NBC, a brand new Honda Pilot, and a starring appearance in Jubilee! at Bally’s Las Vegas.
But first, it’s a night of non-stop laughs with “Last Comic Standing” campaign ads filmed by Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama and Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, and stand-up performances by Jon Lovitz and reigning “Last Comic Standing” champion Jon Reep. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Joel McHale, host of E! Entertainment’s “The Soup,” also guest star.
This season’s top 12 finalists also return, including God’s Pottery, performing the opening song specially written for the finale. In addition, Richard Belzer and Steve Schirripa, who were celebrity talent scouts in the season premiere and the semi-final episodes, will make guest appearances.
At the end of the star-studded season finale, the “Last Comic Standing” will be revealed.
CBS seeks multicultural sketch comedians for talent showcase
Network News Release …
CBS will sponsor its fourth talent showcase for multicultural sketch comedians in January 2009 in Los Angeles.
The showcase is open to African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander actors, as well as performers with disabilities. And all applicants should possess extensive sketch comedy experience.
To apply, send photos and resumes to AFTRA, 5757 Wilshire Blvd., 9th floor, Los Angeles, Calif. 90036 – Att: Jasmine Vargas. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 15.
CBS Entertainment executives, casting directors from the network’s primetime and daytime programs, as well as casting directors from shows on other networks, will be on hand at the showcase. Each person auditioning will be required to perform a one-minute original sketch comedy monologue.
The network’s on-going talent showcases are part of the CBS Diversity Institute, a comprehensive program designed to identify and develop diversity within the writing, directing and talent communities. For information regarding the CBS Diversity Institute, go to www.cbsdiversity.com/.
