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Reality TV

ANTM: The Girls Go To The Great Wall Recap

Nothing too shocking to start off this episode of America’s Next Top Model. Once again, Bianca is all snarky about Heather & not really noticing that she’s gone. Various girls squealing and packing for Beijing. Chantal wonders why she’s still wearing heels while she’s packing, showing her practical side. And whiz-bang, our models are there. (That is, after their 2-hour flight or 10-hour train ride. Doing my part to bring geography alive!) They meet Kevin their tour guide, who tells our girls that this very large image of Mao in what I assume is Tiananmen Square is the image of […]

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Magazine Archive

Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming And SCI FI Channel Give Oz An Extreme Makeover In “Tin Man”

Adaptations can be hit or miss. They come with a lot of baggage, from audience expectations to inevitable comparisons with the source material. So, if you’re going to mess with a classic — as SCI FI Channel has chosen to do with its three-night, six-hour programming event Tin Man — you’d better do it right. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to assemble a talented cast that includes Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Neal McDonough, Raoul Trujillo, Kathleen Robertson and Richard Dreyfuss. Premiering Dec. 2-4, Tin Man does both. Directed by Nick Willing, whose previous credits include TV adaptations of Jason and […]

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Reality TV

Amazing Race: We’ve Really Burned Bridges, For Sure

We find our teams ready to leave the Pit Stop at Hotel De Ville in Ouagadougou. Azaria & Hendekea are the first to depart at 6:45am. The clue is to fly to Vilnius, Lithuania and drive their marked cars to St. Anne’s Church. Nathan & Jennifer are second to depart. Jennifer declares, “Our eyes are full of fire right now. We are going to use that ball of fire that’s inside of us to just rage through.” Bex: I hope that really means “rage at each other.” I love it when these two get into it. They are followed by […]

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Sports

ESPN’s Best Of “This Is SportsCenter” Special

ESPN’s SportsCenter is, at times, difficult to watch, but the promos in the famous “This Is SportsCenter” campaign rarely disappoint (one of our favorites is above). On Dec. 11 at 8pm ET, ESPN airs a one-hour special hosted by Karl Ravech chronicling ESPN’s ad campaign, which began in 1995 and features mini mockumentaries that capture comical moments at ESPN’s Bristol campus when SportsCenter anchors interact with athletes, celebrities and mascots. The special will include more than 50 commercials, including the first-ever “This Is SC” spot and the debut of three others. Also included are interviews with athletes who’ve appeared in […]

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Drama

Dexter: Something about Harry

When the last episode of Dexter was over, a friend I was watching it with turned to me and said, “That was just a single hour?” Yes, it did seem longer, not because it was tedious, but because so much action and emotion was packed into a single episode. Suddenly Doakes is more than a glowering menace, Dexter more a conflicted monster than a focused hero, Harry something of a twisted lunatic, and Lila …

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Magazine Archive

Home On The Range Ain’t What It’s Cracked Up To Be In “Comanche Moon”

Forget your idyllic images of the Old West. In 1850s Texas, you’re more likely to get scalpings, rattlesnakes and tuberculosis than deer and antelope playing. An all-star cast of Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn, Rachel Griffiths, Karl Urban, Linda Cardellini, Elizabeth Banks, Wes Studi and Adam Beach team up in the six-hour miniseries Comanche Moon, a prequel to author Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove saga, airing in three parts beginning Sunday, Jan. 13, and continuing Jan. 15-16 on CBS. Comanche Moon is written by McMurtry and Diana Ossana, and directed by Simon Wincer, who also directed the 1989 Lonesome Dove miniseries. Comanche […]

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Comedy

“Scrubs”: My Growing Pains

Posted by SH What has two thumbs and has to retire? Bob Kelso. Turns out the administrator/devil in a white coat has been acting weirdly juvenile this season (“Hells, yeah!”) for reasons that have nothing to do with his newfound bachelorhood. He’s 65, mandatory retirement age at the hospital, and the search for his replacement is on. My prediction: It will be revealed that throughout his time at Sacred Heart, Janitor has acted as an undercover monitor in order to find out what’s wrong at the hospital he one day will run. His true identity is that of a brilliant […]

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Comedy

“My Name Is Earl”: Burn Victim

Honk if you know someone on death row. Earl has only six months and 10 days left on his prison sentence after helping the warden out of several jams. But the warden finds himself in another mess after a press conference embarrassment, and now the warden has to institute an inmate reconciliation program to replace the previous “two men enter, one man leaves” reconciliation program. So again the warden enlists Earl’s help and offers Earl six months off his sentence if he can get an inmate to reconcile with the victims of his crime. Earl finds a good candidate in […]

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Magazine Archive

We’re Into It – 2007’s Best!

TV isn’t just our profession — it’s our passion. So while coming up with a countdown of the 40 best programs, people, networks, moments and more from the year in cable was hard work (though not as hard as the jobs in #23), it was a labor of love. We argued and fought for our favorites with the ferocity of a Hip-Hopopotamus (see #9), and we didn’t earn nearly the paychecks of the two guys who fought in #16. And we did it all for you. And we’ll keep on doing it for you … if that’s what you’re into. […]

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Reality TV

Survivor: China: Week 10 Recap: No More Naked Frolicking

Our Thanksgiving leftovers can finally finish digesting in peace — after waiting two weeks for last episode’s cliffhanger to be resolved, we learn that the “more business” Jeff Probst warned of after Frosti was voted out isn’t an additional elimination vote but is instead a reward challenge that, apparently just for dramatic effect, takes place at the Tribal Council location. Peih-Gee wins the challenge, which is a quiz on Chinese culture (before you think that her Chinese heritage gave her an advantage, consider that “What is the capital of China?” was one of the questions). She chooses Erik and Denise […]