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The CW zigs where others only dare to zag
Like any adolescent, The CW is still trying to discover its identity, experiment with innovative ideas and occasionally make some bold, if borderline wackily uncertain moves. Hey, they may even offend people (read: critics) along the way. Welcome to the first green network, the one that has less to do with living green than spending greenbacks.
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Into the dark heart of The CW
It was somewhere around the fourth song Adam Levine was singing at The CW's upfront/happy hour that the gin began to take hold, and I spoke the following words into my tape recorder: "CariDee, Maroon 5, slutty milkmaids."
'America's Next Top Model' ejectee Amis gets serious
Amy Jenkins, Amis to America's Next Top Model fans, got the boot for her rather unfocused, frivolous and rather un-fierce approach to modeling. She was just happy to be there before she skipped on home.
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'America's Next Top Model' ejectee Atalya has the last word
Atalya Slater thought she still had a shot at being America's Next Top Model when fellow contestant Kim bowed out of the competition, but the judges decided to have their say anyway. They sent Atalya home for being too pretty and commercial without the high-fashion versatility.
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The Year in Review: What Rick hasn't forgotten
Weird year, 2007. It began with the public immolation of Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington and ended with the possible immolation of TV as we know it. In between came the greatest fade to black of all time, the twee-est TV show ever to earn a full-season pickup and all kinds of really good (and some really bad) television.
in ABC , Cable , HBO , Pushing Daisies , The CW , The Sopranos , Top Chef: Miami , Writers' strike
'America's Next Top Model' ejectee Bianca gets real
Despite learning a lot on America's Next Top Model, Bianca Golden was eliminated on Wednesday's show for not being enough of a "natural" when it came to posing for photos.
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'America's Next Top Model' ejectee Heather connects with fans
Heather, who stood out because of her awkward beauty and difficulties adjusting because of her Asperger's disorder, was eliminated on Wednesday's episode of America's Next Top Model after she failed specatularly at the go-see challenge. In an interview, Heather proves that she really is the humble and optimistic person that made her a fan favorite.
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About face: 'America's Next Top Model' ejectee Ambreal
Ambreal Williams got a second chance when she was supposed to be eliminated two weeks ago, but fellow America's Next Top Model wannabe Ebony volunteered to leave instead. On Wednesday's show, however, Ambreal finally packed her bags after her posing skills came up short again.
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'America's Next Top Model' ejectee Sarah weighs in
Sarah Banks Hartshorn became the latest girl eliminated from the ninth cycle of America's Next Top Model. Coming into the competition, she was featured as the wannabe who was a just a little smaller than the plus-sized ideal. In the end,this in-between size and a much-discussed weight loss was her downfall. Sarah dishes about the controversial decision.
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'America's Next Top Model' ejectee Ebony speaks up
Ebony shockingly handed Ambreal a second chance when she voluntarily bowed out of America's Next Top Model on Wednesday night's episode (Oct. 24). The girl who began as a diva, but showed her insecurities with a strange lip affectation and then finally had enough shares her thoughts behind her surprising decision.
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'America's Next Top Model' Eliminee Janet waxes on
Janet was America's Next Top Model Southern belle aesthetician who couldn't make her poses beautiful enough as a high-fashion gargoyle and was eliminated Wednesday (Oct. 17). As the mother hen of the household, she got along well with the girls, but has some very blunt opinions about who she doesn't think is worthy of the title.
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'America's Next Top Model' Eliminee Victoria talks back
Victoria, who was eliminated on the third round of America's Next Top Model on Wednesday, Oct. 10, was painted as the brainy Yale student who was prickly and just kept talking back to poor Twiggy. The student is back at school now, but granted an interview to set the record straight.
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Premierewatch '07: 'Gossip Girl'
Gossip Girl is going to get me in trouble, and not because I'll copy the characters' decadent behavior ... although a martini seems like a nice companion for viewing this. I think this show is going to bring the mean out of me.
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A new crop of wannabes on 'America's Next Top Model'
Ahoy, mateys! I’m Liz, and I’ll be your Top Model cruise director! (Um, spoiler alert!) I’m going to kick things off with the disclaimer that if you’re watching this show and think that you want to look like any of the contestants, you should probably go into the kitchen right now and eat a big bar of chocolate. For reals.
Premierewatch '07: 'Beauty and the Geek'
Oh boy, I've always enjoyed Beauty and the Geek, especially last season with Nate and Jennylee's romance and the bitchy Cecille's comeuppance. And judging by the fourth season's premiere, the show has managed to add new elements and challenges to keep it fun and fresh.
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Brill and Eric Watch TV 220: Press Tour Dispatch
We have the scoop on Aliens in America, Gossip Girl, America's Next Top Model, Smallville, Supernatural, Beauty and the Geek and more.
Continue reading »CW's missing PC Doll and a mimbo for 'Geek'
Where in the world is Asia? The Pussycat Dolls were missing a member during this month's Live Earth concert: Asia Nitollano, the Knick City dancer who won the CW's reality competition show Pussycat Dolls: The Search for the Next Doll.
'Hidden Palms': Johnny takes a bite out of crime...
Dear CW,
Hey, it's me, Ryan McGee. Been doing these recaps of your summer show Hidden Palms for the past few weeks now. And, as one of the eight people in America who bothered to do so, I'd now like to ask for those eight hours of my life back.
Continue reading »'Hidden Palms': Dragging to the finish line
I think I finally figured out how Hidden Palms ended up on The CW's schedule. I think Kevin Williamson was walking around the halls of the Programming division, looking to pitch I Know Why You Screamed In Dawson's Creek Last Summer, when he walked past a meeting between CW executives and Rob Thomas, creator of Veronica Mars.
'Hidden Palms': Truths and Liza
In some ways, we should be thankful Hidden Palms only received an eight episode order from The CW. We're at least getting answers to the show's central mystery, "Who killed Eddie?" If the show were open-ended, a la The X Files, we'd be subjected to at least eight more minutes per episode of Cliff talking about his soft, chewy center, and I'm not sure I could take any more of such discourse, if I may be frank.
Finalewatch '07: 'One Tree Hill'
While a number of bubble shows tried to force their networks' hands this spring by ending on big cliffhangers, One Tree Hill took a more dignified approach. Wednesday (June 13) night's finale gently set up next season, but probably would have served as a satisfying series finale if it had come to that.
'Hidden Palms': Ghosts in the machine...
I'm used to receiving feedback after recapping episodes. After all, it comes with the territory of putting my opinion out in the open for all to see. I'm a big boy; I can handle it. But I have to say I was a bit taken back by a particular reader who chose to express discontent through the comment section, but by sending instant messages to my computer. I'll publish a small sample of the back-and-forth below.
'Hidden Palms': If we have ghosts ...
In the pilot episode of Hidden Palms, Cliff, the poor man's Logan Echolls, tells newcomer Johnny Miller (Taylor Handley) than Palm Springs is a place where, "people come to die." One could say that The CW is where shows not featuring Tyra Banks or Superman come to die.
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Brill and Eric Watch TV 208
This week, we attempt to decipher HBO's trippy new surf drama from David Milch, John From Cincinnati. Naturally, the creator of Deadwood's penchant for salty language rubs off and gets the best of us. For those who have already given...
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Chekhov's Gun fires blanks on 'One Tree Hill'
That, pre-literary One Tree Hill fans, is what we call Chekhov's Gun, as textbook and border-line infantile an example of that particular device as you're likely to see in your lifetime. So kudos OTH scribes. You just earned a gentleman's...
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Review: 'Hidden Palms'
Hidden Palms' angst-ridden, possibly supernatural mystery buried beneath the characters' superficial indolence is just as oppressive and maddening as the Palms Springs heat that purportedly drives its denizens crazy. As far as summer programming goes, the show's painful deficiencies in...
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Brill and Eric Watch TV 207
Now that we've seen some of the pilots for the new fall shows, we explain the delicate difference between previews and reviews before giving out more-informed takes on two new CW fall shows: Reaper and Aliens in America. We also...
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Finalewatch '07: 'Veronica Mars'
Sniffle. For those of you still unsure or in denial about the fate of Veronica Mars, here it is: the show has not been renewed by the CW for the upcoming fall season. This is why Tuesday's(May 22) finale, while...
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Brill and Eric Watch TV 206
With upfronts out of the way, we get down to our regular weekly schedule, starting off with news notes about the not-yet-dead pilot for a Mr. & Mrs. Smith television show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip's brief return and...
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Brill and Eric Watch TV 204 & 205: FOX, The CW Upfronts
We kind of admire FOX. If it's not winning, it changes the rules of the game (apologies to whoever I stole that line from; I honestly can't remember). Who needs one measley fall schedule, when you can come out with...
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Finalewatch '07: 'Supernatural: Part II'
Well, hmmm. When you have a show called Supernatural that deals with demons and spellcasting and the like, there's always going to be a loophole or twist. Oh, and hello? This is the season finale we're talking here, so blah,...
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Finalewatch '07: America's Next Top Model Cycle 8
If at first you don't succeed, then just audition for America's Next Top Model again. That perseverance -- along with a killer walk, fierceness and cha-cha diva attitude -- won Jaslene the eighth Top Model crown. Not bad for someone...
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'Veronica Mars': Coming up Piznarski
Oh, the CW is such a tease. We won't know officially until Thursday (May 17), but it doesn't look like Veronica Mars is coming back even though the future looks bright personally for the private eye. So is this the...
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'Gilmore Girls': Series Finale
Although I've been rather unsatisfied with Gilmore Girls in the past few years, Tuesday night's (May 15) series finale pushed my buttons in a sentimental but thankfully not overly maudlin way. It was all a little too quick, but seven...
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'7th Heaven': Series Finale
The Camdens will be gone from the primetime lineup for good after the 7th Heaven series finale Sunday (May 13). After 10 years on the WB and a premature series finale in 2006, the show was revived for one more...
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'Supernatural': Finale Part One
Oh, Sammy, Sammy, Sammy. If you haven't seen this episode yet, it'd be best to hold off reading this post since it contains spoilers. Part One of the Supernatural season finale, "All Hell Breaks Loose," was all about reunions with...
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Yes, we noticed that 'One Tree Hill' is back
Many a moon ago, back in February, The CW aired the "Prom Night at Hater High" episode, a showcase for the best that One Tree Hill offers, if you happen to really like watching attractive young women engaged in cat-fights...
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'Veronica Mars': 'Shippers, ahoy!
Now I expect every one of you Mars fans that whined about The Pussycat Dolls being on to diligently comment on this blog to prove how devoted you are to our favorite pixie-ish PI now that she's back on the...
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'PC Dolls': A Doll is born
In the end, the real competition to be the next Pussycat Doll came down to Melissa and Asia -- the two girls who spotted each other as their main competition from the very first episode. Maybe it's because of that...
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'PC Dolls': Final Three doll up
As the inaugural Search for the Next Doll comes to a close, one of three lucky finalists will get the honor to be a freak like the Pussycat Dolls. In the beginning there were nine, and one-by-one we bid adieu...
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'PC Dolls': Celebrity Skinned
I had such a sense of foreboding going into this episode because every promo centered on how Chelsea's lack of dance training would be her downfall now that the Pussycat Dolls competition was down to the Final Four. Add to...
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'PC Dolls': Someone like Chelsea ...
Okay, seriously, what is Melissa S.'s beef with Chelsea other than that that girl has no dance training? From the first day in the house Mel S. has not only excluded Chelsea, but belittled her lack of terpsichorean skills, and...
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'PC Dolls': Welcome to the Vomitorium
Pussycat Dolls Presents: The Search for the Next Doll needs a shorter, snappier title, but other than that, the show has lots going for it. Like the Dolls themselves, The CW's latest reality show pretends to be nothing more than...
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'Veronica Mars': You think you know ...
Oh wow. I can't believe that Piz totally did Dean O'Dell in. Who would have thought that the lovesick sidekick would seethe with such jealousy, scheming at night during his college radio show to impress Veronica with his criminal masterminded...
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'Veronica Mars': No one shot the sheriff
Sure I expect upheavals and reversals on Veronica Mars, but I certainly didn't see Keith's (Enrico Colantoni) reinstatement as sheriff coming. Perhaps I kind of liked thinking of him as the rebel, a PI who doesn't have to play by...
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'Veronica Mars': Logan takes heart
Normally, I'd say save me from precocious, nosy and interfering kids, but 11-year-old Heather (Juliette Goglia) grew on me, kind of like a fungus. Don't get me wrong. The "moppet who saves Logan from the mopes" was a glaring plot...
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One dead pet, one dead relationship on 'Gilmore Girls'
When Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino left Gilmore Girls this past spring, they stuck the new caretakers with a pretty untenable situation: After spending six years talking viewers into believing that Luke and Lorelai were soulmates, a couple destined for...
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'Veronica Mars': Oh come, all ye sinners
Okay, we get the message: Sex = Bad. Well, the sex itself is probably somewhat satisfying, but on Veronica Mars, it can only lead to trouble. In the past, there have been rapes galore, a hooker love connection gone wrong,...
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Careful what you wish for, 'Veronica'
It cannot be easy to walk through life suspicious of everyone and everything, particularly when experience has so often proved you right. Such is the lot of Veronica Mars. As demonstrated (painfully) again on Tuesday, her boyfriend Logan's past is...
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Huzzah to 'Producer Lauren Graham'
Congrats to Lauren Graham on her newly obtained status as credited "producer" on Gilmore Girls, a title she received for the first time before Tuesday (Jan. 30) night's episode. Graham has been so routinely under-valued by awards groups over the...
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'Veronica Mars': Would you like to touch my monkey?
While I try to figure out the slightly sideways turn Veronica Mars made with Tuesday's episode, let me at least get this out of the way: How cute is Mac? The way this show has been nickel and dimed over...
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'Gilmore Girls' is back, but the Aerie Girls aren't
The best part of Tuesday (Jan. 23) night's return of Gilmore Girls was the eerie silence at the end of the episode, the eerie absence of Aerie, the cross-promotional coffee klatch that has become the bane of many a fan's...
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Brit 'Top Model': Similar, but with cooler accents
As an armchair runway critic and ANTM fan, I was psyched to get a taste of modeling across the pond in a two-hour condensation of the first season of Britain's Next Top Model. I definitely had a few expectations, but...
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It's a 'One'-derful Life
Since I'm always quick to tear One Tree Hill to shreds when the show is bad, I should come out and admit that last week's episode was pretty fun. The Ravens won the state title. Lucas and Peyton locked lips....
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Lingering thoughts on 'Veronica Mars,' 'Gilmore Girls' and 'HIMYM'
So did you see that coming on Veronica Mars? (And yes, if you've not yet watched Tuesday's rape-mystery conclusion, you should probably head elsewhere.) This is pretty much the first time an obvious suspect turned out not to be a...
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'Gilmore Girls' experiences post-wedding blowback
I'm just going to say this right up front: If Rory Gilmore has to move in with her two new insufferably chirpy friends, I may not be able to keep watching. I mean, she said she wasn't going to, but...
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The Tease: Patricia Hearst guest stars on 'Veronica Mars'
I'm still reeling from Veronica Mars' GHB-aided almost-rape, during which the perpetrator had enough time to buzz off one lock of her pretty hair. That dark and creepy tone carries over to the latest episode, "Lord of the Pi's," which...
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A Very Brady Thanksgiving
Have you missed Wayne Brady lately? I know he's been in the movies and on TV recently, but Crossover was a rather sober departure and Celebrity Duets ... well, that was just wretched (through no fault of his of course)....
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An 'ANTM' V.I.P. on 'OTH'? OMG!
Has anybody seen Michelynne McGuire lately? You remember Michelynne, right? Cute? Ernest? Formerly homeless? Less-than-perfect skin? Won the first and only season of The Starlet and won a single episode stint on One Tree Hill as her prize? I ask,...
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Embarrassing sweeps guest star watch: Rick Fox on 'One Tree Hill'
If it's November sweeps, it must be time to whip out the guest stars. And on Wednesday (Nov. 8) night, One Tree Hill unveiled its secret weapon for the fall. And that secret weapon is... Legendary NBA pretty boy Rick...
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Car-wreck TV, but in a good way
When I did that On Notice entry a few days ago, I thought about putting something about my annoyance at the recently popular car-crash-as-plot-device trend on the board. You had Alias end its 2005 season with one, and since then...
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Psycho 'Hill'-er, qu'est que c'est
A warm greeting to all One Tree Hill fans in Hawaii, who got limited CW access just in time for Wednesday's extraordinarily special episode, which has to tact to turn a troubling situation in which a female character is stalked...
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Logans, Logans, Everywhere
Whoa. Did the CW blow your mind with Logan Fest 2006? First, Matt Czuchry -- as Logan Huntzberger -- shows his smiling mug on Gilmore Girls, giving his girl Rory (Alexis Bledel) a surprise visit all the way over from...
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Snakes on a 'Gilmore' girl
It was just last week that I praised the new writing staff on Gilmore Girls for making entirely prescient references to Mark Foley and poopy spinach, savvy nods that they couldn't have known they were making. It's only fair for...
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Tainted spinach and naughty text messages on 'Gilmore Girls'
Shows like Law & Order and CSI rip plots from the headlines all the time, but beyond its pell-mell string of pop culture references, Gilmore Girls is rarely discussed in terms of timeliness. What a pleasant surprise, then, to find...
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'Veronica Mars': Crime of fashion
I usually like to leave such things to professionals, but sometimes you see something that you just can't let slide. There I was watching the second episode of Gilmore Girls, feeling pretty good about how things are shaping up for...
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That's just mean
I had pretty well gotten over the fact that Everwood didn't survive the end of The WB. Its de facto replacement, Runaway, is not a bad show, and I at least kind of understand the business decisions behind bringing One...
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'Smallville' Kneels Before Zod
It's hard to get a feel for a season of Smallville based on its premiere. Usually, with a summer to plan, the show almost always starts off strong. There's a liberal dipping into the special effects budget, some big drama...
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'One Tree Hill' Premiere: Who lives? Who dies? Who cares?
When it comes to sheer number of unresolved questions, it's tough to top last season's One Tree Hill finale. Think of all of the plotlines left dangling: Who survives the limo wreck? Hot Uncle Cooper? Wooden Groom Nathan (James Lafferty)?...
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'7th Heaven': Lucy on the loose
The following contains spoilers, so if you want to experience the Camdens' dramas with them, wait to watch the season premiere before reading this. When The WB thought that "7th Heaven" would be shutting its pearly gates for good after...
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About This Blog
Zap2it TV Talk
Recent Posts
- Goggins lays down the leather jacket as 'The Shield' ends
- TV Review: '24: Redemption'
- Suri Cruise beats Shiloh Jolie-Pitt in celebrity toddler smackdown
- Hill Harper Celebrates 'CSI: NY' Milestone, Barack Obama
- Misha Collins Is 'Supernatural's' Dark Angel
- Al Jean puzzles over 'Simpsons' future
- Telling the truth about 'Lie to Me'
- 'Hannah Montana's' Miley Cyrus conquers grown men, one tattoo at a time
- J.J. Abrams tells 'Fringe' viewers they can't handle the truth
- Mary McDonnell talks 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Battlestar Galactica'
- Strange love: Angela and Andy on 'The Office'
- Anthony Edwards on his return to the 'ER'
- Should Barack Obama's daughters guest star on 'Hannah Montana'?
- Analysis: FOX's January Scheduling Moves
- ABC unveils the secret of 'True Beauty'
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- Interview: Hart Hanson talks 'Bones'
- Brooke Smith, and a gay relationship, out at 'Grey's Anatomy'
- 'NCIS' Repeat Ends CBS' 'Moonlight' Curse
- 'Heroes' drops two of its producers
Shows We Recap
- 30 Rock
- 90210
- The Amazing Race
- American Gladiators
- American Idol
- America's Best Dance Crew
- America's Got Talent
- America's Next Top Model
- The Celebrity Apprentice
- Army Wives
- Baby Borrowers
- The Bachelor: London Calling
- The Bachelorette
- Battlestar Galactica
- The Big Bang Theory
- Big Brother
- The Biggest Loser
- The Biggest Loser: Families
- Big Love
- Bones
- Boston Legal
- Brothers & Sisters
- Burn Notice
- Californication
- Chuck
- The Closer
- CSI
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Damages