TV Squad

• Dirt: Ita Missa Est (season finale)
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cable, OpEd, FX, Dirt

  (S01E13) That was... interesting. The writers definitely kicked it up a notch with this episode as things certainly felt more dramatic than they have throughout most of the freshman season of Dirt. A lot of that feel was do in part to simple things that were used very effectively. Numerous times in the episode, the power of silence coupled with the rhythmic sounds of a beating heart helped to cut together some very cool scenes unlike anything this show has tried before.

  Add to that a rather off-beat cameo from Jennifer...
  




• Sanjaya the Trojan wasn't the only looney on TV
  

  Filed under: FOX, OpEd, American Idol, Music and Variety, Watercooler Talk, FX, VH1, Dirt, News and Gossip

  Sanjaya has turned American Idol into a hair competition with himself. Many people have used the term mohawk but Sanjaya actually resembled more of a fighting Trojan. If anyone can find a comparable picture to prove this please send my way. Sanjaya cannot get all the attention for looney television moments, so we will move on to other TV's Top 5! moments.
  
  Last night, Tori "I want to be Jessica Simpson" Spelling...
  



• Two women kissing on TV? Not a big deal anymore - VIDEO
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TV Royalty, OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, FX, Dirt

  When I was watching The Riches on Monday night, FX had ads for the season finale of Dirt on fairly heavy rotation. Of course, the big promotional point of the ad was that Jennifer Aniston was going to guest star on her Friends buddy Courteney Cox's show... and they were going to kiss! In fact, not only did FX make a huge deal out of this kiss, but tabloid entertainment shows and morning news shows all over the country breathlessly touted "Courteney...
  



• The Shield season six -- An early look
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, The Shield, FX, Early Looks

  
  Recently Jonathan and I got on the phone with The Shield's Walton Goggins, but if you read the interview you'll note we hadn't yet seen the first six episodes released to the press. Having now seen those episodes, I think our line of questioning would have been quite different.

  Continue reading The Shield season six -- An early look

   

  Permalink | Cable, The Shield, Interviews, Celebrities, FX

  I'll be the first to admit it. I was a latecomer to The Shield. I'd never watched a minute of it until right before the fourth season started and a buddy of mine let me borrow the first three seasons on DVD. He told me it was the best cop show ever. Wait a second. Better than NYPD Blue or The Wire? Yes. So I watched the three seasons... in one weekend. The phrase "glued to my seat" does not begin to do justice to how mesmerized I was by...
  




• The Riches: Operation Education
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, FX, The Riches

  (S01E03) Things are starting to settle in for the Malloys, and their new lives as the Riches, and this is where the fun starts. As I watched the first two episodes, I was waiting for the series to get into a routine and show the Malloys faking and conning their way through life at Eden Falls. I just felt during these cons we'd see the lighter touches that the show's casting and premise indicated would be there.
  
  And this third episode doesn't disappoint.

  Continue reading The Riches: Operation Education




• Dirt: Caught on Tape
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cable, OpEd, FX, Dirt

  (S01E12) Not bad. Not bad at all. Actually, it's unfortunate. Last week was a great episode and so was this one. Now the finale is next week. Why do shows always seem to get better when there's fewer episodes left?

  Lots of stuff going on, especially the leak of the Julia/Johnny sex tape. It was bound to happen, but I truly didn't see it turning out the way it did. I suppose all signs pointed to Julia being behind the leak. When I first considered that it could have been her, it...
  




• New York Times: Iraq war's influence seen in many TV shows
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, News, 24, FX, Comedy Central

  With the TV news networks dedicating major portions of their broadcasts this week to the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, a New York TimesTV critic says that the war, as well as issues related to terrorism and torture, have become major themes on American television, ranging from dramas like 24, to comedies like Saturday Night Live.

  "Television shows process news events much faster than ever before but not much more directly than they did...
  




• Is Eddie Izzard's American accent getting better?
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Watercooler Talk, FX, The Riches

  One of the things I noticed when I watched last week's pilot of The Riches was that Eddie Izzard was struggling to maintain an American accent of any kind, much less the southern accent that his character, Wayne Malloy, is likely to have.
  
  But when I watched last night's episode (Brett and I are trading off reviews on this show), I noticed that Izzard's accent had smoothed out, and his British didn't seep out as much as it did in the first episode. This is no small feat; doing an accurate American accent...
  



• The Riches: Believe The Lies
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cable, FX, The Riches

  (S01E02) This week the Malloy family continues their transition into their new lives. The episode felt like a part two to the premiere as it ended with a bit of resolution for everyone, finally acknowledging that they are really going to do this. Now that they have committed, we can move forward with the story and let the drama and hijinks begin.
  
  We'll get to all of that in the coming weeks though. For now, there are setup fish to fry. For me, the best part of this episode was how they showed...