: NEW SHOW :
USA: ABC, 9/28/2010, 8 ET/PT

This is one of the most anticipated new shows this fall. The cast made an appearance at this year’s Comic Con and so far, the critical reception for the pilot has been positive and optimistic.

In a few words, No Ordinary Family is basically “Live Action The Incredibles.” The Powells are struggling to keep their bond as a family intact due to busy careers and puberty. In an effort to save it, Jim (Michael Chiklis) pushes for a trip to the Amazon, where their plane unfortunately crashed into the river. The unusual chemical properties of the river gives them superpowers; and their usually ordinary lives soon become extraordinary. Jim gets super strength, super bullet-catching abilities and super jumps. Stephanie (Julie Benz) has super speed a-la The Flash. Daughter Daphne (Kay Panabaker) has telepathy and son JJ (Jimmy Bennett) gets super brains. (I apologize for the endless “super” references. That’s the simplest way I could describe their powers.)

Writers Greg Berlanti (Everwood), Allison Adler (Chuck), Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin (both from Smallville) are all part of the show’s writing team. And with these people on your side, the show has a lot of promise. The pilot starts out slow; but that’s in keeping up with the transition from normal to super. We are also exposed to the fact that there are others who have some sort of super abilities aside from the Powell family (in the form of an Obama-mask-wearing criminal). Also, the people in their lives who they decide to let in on the secret are very into it… and hardly freaked out at all. One even made a “lair” for his friend. As for the family? I think the characters are approaching these new found abilities with an open mind… And as the series moves on from the pilot, I’m looking forward to seeing how they plan to deal with their family problems and at the same time live with their abilities. Will they abuse it? Will they fight crime? Will they keep it under wraps from the public? For how long?

I’m definitely catching this show to see where things go.

: SEASON 2 :
USA: The CW, 9/9/2010, 8/7c
Philippines: ETC, 9/10/2010

Among last season’s new crop of shows, The Vampire Diaries was the drama that surprised me the most. It came out during the height of vampire mania, so I was ready to let the novelty wear off and die in the corner. After all, I already had True Blood. One more vampire show might be too much. I simply didn’t have that many expectations. But as the season wore on, the show turned out to be exciting and pretty… well, simply put, GOOD. It had conflicting characters, interesting back stories and most of all, the cheesiness about vampire love was kept at a minimum (at least in my own limits).

The season ended with the surprise return of Katherine to Mystic Falls. She’s the vampire who looks an awful lot like Elena and is her complete opposite in that she’s evil and manipulative. Now, the sophomore season promises to be “The Year of the Kat.” Katherine obviously has plans; but we’re just not sure what. I personally can’t wait to see how much drama, not to mention confusion, she’ll bring.

Best Casting of a Drama Series: “Mad Men”
Best Casting of a Movie/Mini: “The Pacific”
Best Casting of a Comedy Series: “Modern Family”
Best Guest Actress in a Comedy: Betty White, “Saturday Night Live”
Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Neil Patrick Harris, “Glee”
Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Ann-Margret, “Law & Order: SVU”
Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series: John Lithgow, “Dexter”
Best Voiceover Performance: Anne Hathaway, “The Simpsons”

for a complete list of winners: source

It’s that time of the year again! Television shows will be finding their way back into our small screens this coming month of September; and I for one don’t want to miss a single moment! E! Online recently published their Fall TV Calendar. I’ve only put the shows I tune in to and the new shows I might check out… after consultation with the annual EW Fall TV Preview issue. Check the source for a complete list.

This may possibly be cheesy as hell; but I’m still checking the show out.

*new show

Wednesday, Sept. 8
*Hellcats (CW), 9 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 9
The Vampire Diaries (CW), 8 p.m.
*Nikita (CW), 9 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 13
Gossip Girl (CW), 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 14
One Tree Hill (CW), 8 p.m.
Life Unexpected (CW), 9 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 19
*Boardwalk Empire (HBO), Time TBA

Monday, Sept. 20
How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 8 p.m.
Chuck (NBC), 8 p.m.
House (Fox), 8 p.m.
*The Event (NBC), 9 p.m.
*Hawaii Five-0 (CBS), 10 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 21
Glee (Fox), 8 p.m.
*Running Wilde (Fox), 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
*Undercovers (NBC), 8 p.m.
The Middle (ABC), 8 p.m.
Modern Family (ABC), 9 p.m.
Cougar Town (ABC), 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 23
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 8 p.m.
Community (NBC), 8 p.m.
30 Rock (NBC), 8:30 p.m.
Fringe (Fox), 9 p.m.
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), 9 p.m.
The Mentalist (CBS), 10 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 26
Dexter (Showtime), 9 p.m.
Desperate Housewives (ABC), 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 28
The Good Wife (CBS), 10 p.m.
*No Ordinary Family (ABC), 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 27
Friday Night Lights (DirecTV’s 101), 9 p.m.

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Since this site is more of a TV blog, I’m just posting the winners in the Television categories… and may I say, it’s good to know Chuck stars Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski have the teen vote! I just wonder why the show didn’t win in the Choice TV Show: Action category when in other genres, one particular show dominated each and every time (as in the case with Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars)… Hmmm…

Choice TV Show: Drama – “Gossip Girl”
Choice TV Actor: Drama – Chace Crawford, “Gossip Girl”
Choice TV Actress: Drama – Leighton Meester, “Gossip Girl”
Choice TV Show: Fantasy/Sci-Fi - “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Paul Wesley, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV Actress: Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV Show: Action – “NCIS: Los Angeles”
Choice TV Actor: Action – Zachary Levi, “Chuck”
Choice TV Actress: Action – Yvonne Strahovski, “Chuck”
Choice TV Show: Comedy – “Glee”
Choice TV Actor: Comedy - Jonas Brothers, “JONAS”
Choice TV Actress: Comedy – Selena Gomez, “Wizards of Waverly Place”
Choice TV: Animated Show – “Family Guy”
Choice TV: Reality Show – “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”
Choice TV: Reality Competition Show – “American Idol”
Choice TV: Male Reality/Variety Star – Lee DeWyze, “American Idol”
Choice TV: Female Reality/Variety Star – The Kardashians, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”
Choice TV: Villain – Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV: Personality – Ryan Seacrest
Choice TV: Breakout Show - “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer – Hilary Duff, “Gossip Girl”
Choice TV: Male Scene Stealer – Chris Colfer, “Glee”
Choice TV: Female Breakout Star – Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV: Male Breakout Star - Paul Wesley, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV: Parental Unit – Mike O’Malley, “Glee”
Choice Summer TV Show – “Pretty Little Liars”
Choice Summer TV Star: Male – Ian Harding, “Pretty Little Liars”
Choice Summer TV Star: Female – Lucy Hale, “Pretty Little Liars”

For the complete list of winners, go to the source.

|source|

I’ve watched Inception twice. And I’m one of those people who loved it. First time around, I was half lost (I was in a state of shock when the credits rolled)… Second time around, I’m more into it and on some level, I’m happy to say I “get” it… in my own way, of course. I know how everyone’s got their own interpretations of the movie and how they understood it.

Other than the ongoing debate that the movie has spawned over the Internet, here’s something interesting that has come out of all the hype (or backlash) surrounding this movie — trailer mash-ups. This is when the audio bed of a movie trailer is used with video clips from another movie. Anyway, they’re just really fun to watch. Here are two trailers that I personally liked… There are more examples at the source.

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And the winners are…
• PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: “Glee” (FOX)
• OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM: “Glee” (FOX)
• INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: Jane Lynch, “Glee” (FOX)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: “Modern Family” (ABC)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: TIE – “Lost” (ABC) and “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
• INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife” (CBS)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION: “Life” (Discovery)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH PROGRAMMING: “Yo Gabba Gabba” (NICK JR.)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINISERIES & SPECIALS: “The Pacific” (HBO)
• HERITAGE AWARD: “M*A*S*H*” (CBS)
• CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: James Garner

|source|

Here’s a hilarious and quite concise recap of Mad Men‘s first three seasons in preparation for the fourth season premiere this Sunday.

|source|

What a ride that was… It’s the first time I caught the announcement of the Emmy nominations on live streaming; and it was great… Mostly because the nominations, despite being predictable on some occasions, actually served up some surprises. The most surprising to me, but nevertheless satisfying, were the nods for both Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights! (Did my previous post give them good vibes or something?) After being snubbed for nods ever since the show began, my favorite TV couple Eric and Tami Taylor finally get recognized! I was practically screaming with delight!

In addition to that,my favorite new comedy Modern Family got some well-deserved nods… from Outstanding Comedy Series to Outstanding Supporting Actor/Actress for 5 cast members! After being absent for some years, Lost also reappeared with nods for the show, Matthew Fox, Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson. Glee, as expected, also got a number of nominations: one for Outstanding Comedy Series, with Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Chris Colfer (wow!) and Jane Lynch all getting acting nominations of their own for their respective roles in the breakout show. In the Outstanding Variety category, a glaring observation upon the announcements would have to be the absence of one Jay Leno and the nomination for one Conan “Coco” O’Brien. Woot woot!

The usual nominees also made the list, a number of which I’m still happy about: Michael C. Hall, Neil Patrick Harris, Jon Hamm, Tina Fey and True Blood to name a few. I’m also happy about the nods for Christina Hendricks and Jim Parsons, among others… Anyway, here’s the list:

Outstanding Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm • HBO
Glee • FOX
Modern Family • ABC
Nurse Jackie • Showtime
The Office • NBC
30 Rock • NBC

Outstanding Drama Series
Breaking Bad • AMC
Dexter • Showtime
The Good Wife • CBS
Lost • ABC
Mad Men • AMC
True Blood • HBO

Outstanding Miniseries
The Pacific • HBO
Return To Cranford (Masterpiece) • PBS

Outstanding Made For Television Movie
Endgame (Masterpiece) • PBS
Georgia O’Keeffe • Lifetime
Moonshot • HISTORY
The Special Relationship • HBO
Temple Grandin • HBO
You Don’t Know Jack • HBO

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report • Comedy Central
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart • Comedy Central
Real Time With Bill Maher • HBO
Saturday Night Live • NBC
The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien • NBC

(more…)

I just finished the final episode of Friday Night Lights‘ fourth season. I can’t really explain why I held off watching that last episode; but upon finishing it, all the strong feelings I have about loving this ridiculously amazing show came to the surface once more.

Overall, I’d have to say season four is a decidedly dark and depressing time for almost all of the characters. And as expected, some of the best performances came out of those story lines. Zach Gilford, in particular, truly shined in ‘The Son’, and why this actor doesn’t get to star in good movies still baffles me. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton continue to be the anchor of the entire show. With Eric Taylor’s challenges in coaching the East Dillon football team and Tami’s public battle with the community over a controversial issue, the couple still manages to stay ‘real’… as real as any TV couple could get. And then there are the new additions to the cast, Luke and Vince, among others who at first may strike you as character cardboard cut-outs… but in true FNL fashion, they slowly shine in their respective roles.

The finale is a welcome relief after so many episodes of feeling bad for the Taylors. We get the vindication strongly desired for our new home team, the East Dillon Lions. We also see how and why Matt moves on without Julie. Everyone continues to grow up; and the show isn’t afraid to say goodbye to characters that we’ve come to know and love. Sadly, the future is bleak for Tim Riggins; but behind that sad ending, his journey towards that dark path was a richly layered story arc. I loved it and cried through it.

I don’t know what’s in store for the fifth season except that even more of our characters will move on. New characters will make their way into the show once again; but one thing’s for sure… I will be watching.

Anyway, I got sentimental while watching this wonderful season one fan-made trailer; and I hope this convinces you to start watching Friday Night Lights, if you aren’t already hooked. Watch it here.