Monday, April 12

Quiz Show-5:45 PM-HBOP
Ralph Fiennes & John Turturro put out some fantastic performances in this Robert Redford flick about the game show scandal of the 50's. Turturro (who I swear is a chameleon onscreen) plays Herb Stempel, a disgruntled game show champ who wants revenge on Charles Van Doren (Fiennes), the new champ who is everything Herb is not (handsome, telegenic, multiple degree holding, comes from a well-known intellectual family). What's great about this flick is that Redford demonstrates how even the most upper class smartie pants can be seduced by television, money and the dark side of t.v politics. Also, catch Rob Morrow (best known as Joel on Northern Exposure) as Dick Goodwin, the investigator on the case (who also wrote the book). A neat side note is that Dick Goodwin went on to produce many game shows in the 70's and 80's (perhaps you remember the phrase "A Dick Goodwin Production" at the end of a lot of shows.).

Footloose- 8:00PM-Love Channel
A guy moves to a town where dancing is outlawed by some goofy minister. So, of course, the new guy has to buck the system because he just *has* to shake his ass. Possibly the stupidest movie ever made, with Kevin Bacon, the rich kid from Philly. He really bothers me, mostly because he pimps himself as a down to earth Philly guy (he is not. His father is one of the richest guys around, he was a city planner and designed half of Philadelphia) but in interviews all he talks about is how he had to get away from here. Irritating to say the least.

Pick Of The Night
Band Of Brothers - 9:00 PM-History Channel
This mini series is making it's debut on commercial television and thats awesome. If you don't have HBO and/or missed this all around fantastic show, sit on down and catch this. Based on the book of the same name by Stephen Ambrose, the series follows Easy Company from Basic Training through to the end of World War II. It's hard for me to explain to you guys how great thing is, from the cinematography (they shot this at the big soundstages in England they used for Star Wars, but you feel like you are in the middle of the war every second) to the writing (flawed characters are always the best ones aren't they?) to the acting (it physically pains me to say this, but Donnie Wahlberg is fantastic, as is Ron "Office Space" Livingston). Anyway, the series is being shown every nite at 9 in it's entirety. Do yourself a favor and see how good you have it these days.

American Chopper- 10 PM- Discovery Channel
Finally, a new season of American Chopper. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it chronicles the Teutel Family and crew as they build custom motorcycles at thier shop, Orange County Cycles. While this show has a lot of mechanical stuff going on (which my one roommate loves), the family bickering is fun to watch too (which my other roommate loves). Personally, I love to see how son Paulie develops his ideas into reality with the bikes, and how Justin, the painter kid, takes incoherent ramblings from Paul Sr., the dad, and Paulie, and turns them into some beautiful rolling artwork.Plus, Mikey always cracks me up.

The Late Show with David Letterman: Actor Billy Crystal; major league ballplayer Alex Rodriguez
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Actor John Travolta; 6-year-old dinosaur expert; Robbie Rosa performs.
The Jimmy Kimmel Show: Actor (?) Bow Wow; Marina Isabeau-Post; Charlie Musselwhite performs.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Actor Ben Stiller; the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson; comic Rich Hall
The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn: Actor/comic Cedric the Entertainer; actor David Carradine.
Last Call with Carson Daly: TBA

Tuesday, April 13

Scrubs-9:30 PM-NBC
J.D has to spend more time with Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso punctures his eardrums, which gives everyone the chance to tell him off. One of the funniest episodes this season, especially how everyone bombards Kelso with insult after insult.

Biography-8 PM- A&E
"John Belushi: Funny You Should Ask". John Belushi is one of my comic heroes. He was totally fearless in his performances on SNL and in movies like The Blues Brothers and Animal House. Even the weird movie Neighbors was propped up by his awesome performances. So, when I found out in the book "Live From New York" that he didn't think women were funny, it broke my heart. I try and think that, had he lived, he would have changed his outlook. Anyway, enjoy this retrospective of his time on Saturday Nite Live and various movies.

Pick Of The Night
100 Greatest Stand-Ups- 8 PM- Comedy Central
I love stand up comedy. Good stand up, bad stand up, whatever. My roommates hate it when I watch Friday Nite Stand Up on Comedy Central (on friday nites, natch) because of the up and down quality of the comics. This series attempts to rate the best 100 of the bunch. What's cool is that there is bound to be some awesome clips of classic stand up comedians like Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory, George Carlin, Richard Pryor and even Bill Cosby before he got old and kinda crotchety (and before The Cosby Show spoiled him). Keep an eye out for other classics too!

Showbiz Moms and Dads- 9 PM- Bravo
Come and see what these obsessive parents do to drive thier kids into a teenage heroin addiction when they are no longer cute.

The Late Show with David Letterman: Comic Chris Rock.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos; Cypress Hill smokes it up
The Jimmy Kimmel Show: Actor Matthew Perry; actor Michael Madsen.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Actor Michael Chiklis; Sugarcult performs.
The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn: Modest Mouse performs.
Last Call with Carson Daly: TBA

Wednesday, April 14

Pick Of The Night
Copland- 8 PM- AMC
For many years, Sylvester Stallone cried that no one took him seriously as an actor, so he stepped up in this film to show everyone he could pull it off. He puts on a helluva performance as a disrespected sheriff of a small New Jersey town (populated with New York cops) who confronts key men on both sides of a law-enforcement cover-up. I cannot stress more what a great performance Stallone puts out. Of course, the supporting cast rocks too: DeNiro, Ray Liotta and Harvey Keitel just to name a few. It was written by James Mangold, who wrote the awesome movie Heavy and went on to write Girl, Interrupted. What baffles me is this; after the accolades Stallone got for his dramatic performance, what does he turn around and do? Announce he's doing another Rocky movie. Way to make that acting transition from action star to dramatic star Sly.

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid- 8 PM- Western Channel
"Keep thinking Butch, that's what you're good at". So much to say about this movie. The all-star pairing of Redford and Newman. The awesome "buddy comedy" witty banter. Um, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" premieres. Ok, that last one isn't so great. However, this is a don't miss.

The Believer-9:30 PM- SHOCSE
Ryan Gosling plays a Jewish Skinhead who, obviously, has some internal issues. Ya think? Great acting by Gosling, an appearance by a Phoenix sibling (Summer) and a finely tuned script by Henry Bean (who also directed). What is even more interesting is that this story is based on the true story of an American Nazi Party leader in the 1960s who was revealed to be Jewish.

Coming To America- 9 PM- Spike TV
Come one come all and see Eddie Murphy's last really funny movie! Basically, he plays a prince who needs to find a queen so he goes to, where else? Queens, New York. Wackiness ensues. This is also where Eddie starts playing various characters like in the movies after this. The exception is that this time? It's funny. This is also the kick start of Arsenio Hall's career, unfortunately. Bonus? Keep an eye out for the 2 rich guys from Trading Places (Murphy's best flick, in my opinion.).

The Late Show with David Letterman: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.); Damien Rice performs
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Actress Jennifer Garner; chef Emeril Lagasse; comic Tom Papa.
The Jimmy Kimmel Show: Actor/comic Cedric the Entertainer; actress Natasha Henstridge; Evan & Jaron perform.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Director Quentin Tarantino; actress Rhona Mitra; Ben Kweller performs.
The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn: Comic Jim Florentine.
Last Call with Carson Daly: TBA

Thursday, April 15

Pick Of The Night
The Apprentice-9 PM-NBC
Donald Trump, or rather, his hair, are picking the winner and giving them the dream job of running one of his vast companies and, of course the one year $250,000 salary (Jealous? Don't be. It's really only about $230 grand after taxes.)

Fatherland-9 PM- THMAX
I don't know if you guys have picked up on this yet, but I'm kind of a history geek (surprise!). This movie explores a big "what if?", which is "what would have happened had the Nazis not been defeated at the end of WWII?". Rutger Hauer plays an interesting SS Officer who works with an American Reporter to uncover a secret. Keep an eye out for "President Kennedy".

House Of A Thousand Corpses- 10 PM- Cinemax
Rob Zombie is an interesting guy. His love of old horror stuff knows no bounds, including making his own 70's horror flick tribute. It took almost 2 years for him to secure distribution for this movie and you'll understand why. It's part 70's horror flick, part Marilyn Manson video and part Zombie having fun being ghoulish. You'll either love it or hate it.

The Man Who Wasn't There-7:15 PM-SHOCSEP
Another gem by the Coen Brothers. A plan for fast cash backfires after a laconic barber blackmails his wife's lover. Plus, it's in black and white, which gives it a really cool 40's feel.

The Gift- 10 PM- TBS
A fortune teller assists the cops with a missing person case. A creepy tale of psychic vision and domestic murder. Also directed by Sam "Evil Dead Series" Raimi.

The Late Show with David Letterman: Actor David Duchovny; Patti Smith performs.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Actress Tina Fey; Courtney Love performs.
The Jimmy Kimmel Show: Actress Vanessa Williams; Barry Manilow performs.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Comic Chris Rock; actress Shannon Elizabeth.
The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn: Actor Matthew Perry; actress Kim Delaney; Blondie performs.
Last Call with Carson Daly: TBA

Friday, April 16

The Quiet American-8 PM- StarzC
Michael Kane and Brendan Fraser play a journalist and a shifty man fighting over a girl. Sounds dumb, but it's actually an interesting story set in the very beginning of the Vietnam Conflict.

Grounded For Life-9 PM- WB
Of all the stupid family sitcoms out there, this one is awesome! This week:Claudia's father (Stephen Root) comes to visit; Sean can finally pay off his debt to Tony. Stephen Root is best known as either Jimmy "D.B Cooper" James on Newsradio or Milton from Office Space. Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler?

Pick Of The Night
Identity- 9 PM- HBO Zone
John Cusack and Ray Liotta star in this thriller where strangers come together and not everyone lives to tell the tale. Telling any more would just ruin it.

The Help- 9:30 PM-WB
Ok. This show has Tori Spelling in it, yes. Believe it or not, she's pretty funny, as is Mindy "Natalie from The Facts Of Life" Cohn. Even Antonio "I left General Hospital. Why god, Why?" Sabato, Jr gets some good lines in. This show is good, could be better, but is a fun thing to catch as a friday nite network show.

The Late Show with David Letterman: Actress Kathryn Morris.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Actor Billy Bob Thornton; winner of ``The Apprentice.''
The Jimmy Kimmel Show: Director Quentin Tarantino; actress Tamala Jones; Jet performs.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Actor David Duchovny.
The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn: Actress Sofia Milos; Toby Lightman performs.
Last Call with Carson Daly: TBA

Saturday, April 17

Chris Rock-Never Scared-10 PM-HBO
Chris Rock is back with a new Stand-Up Special taped in Washington, D.C., during his "Black Ambition" tour. Always "controversial" but also, always entertaining.

Pick Of The Night
Reno 911-8 & 9 PM- Comedy Central
Reno, Nevada police officers gone berserk! This goofy Cops parody (stocked with former members of The State) is one of the funniest shows ever. The reason? Tom Lennon's shorts. Nuff said.

Iron Chef 21st Century Battle- 10 PM- Food Network
Kandagwa Toshiro vs. Iron Chef Sakai; Rematch of Bobby Flay vs. Iron Chef Morimoto. Bobby Flay is the model of a complete tool, he grates on my nerves like no other. Come watch him behave like a 4 year old.

George Carlin- You Are All Diseased-9:40 PM- HBO Comedy
Watch the originator and inventor of the intelligent rant. One of the first vhs tapes my parents had for our brand new pop-top vcr in 1983 was "George Carlin at Carnegie Hall". I watched it so many times, I had the whole "Snap, Crackle, F-You" bit down cold. Doesn't every 8 year old?

Sunday, April 11

The Breakfast Club- 8 PM- AMC
John Hughes' classic tale of a wrestler, a rebel, a brain, a beauty and a shy girl sharing Saturday detention in a Chicago high school. While I love this movie, I never believed that whole "saturday detention" thing. I mean really, who does that?

The Simpsons-8 PM- FOX
Edna. The Comic Book Guy. Skinner. Weddings. What else do you need?

Pick Of The Week
Arrested Development- 9:30 PM- Fox
Jason Bateman always played a good smart ass. He starred in the sitcom "It's Your Move" with David Garrison (Steve from Married With Children) as a wiseass and I always thought it suited him. Luckily this character he plays fits the bill. This whole cast is a riot, especially David Cross (Love that Mr. Show!).

All show times Eastern Standard Time and all opinions used their feminine wiles this week.

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