Next Week's Watercooler TV: Britney Spears on the MTV Video Music Awards and More!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Cops (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. The 20th season of this important observational reality series begins with two original episodes. Fans, mark your calendars: Fox will telecast the one-hour retrospective special Cops: 20 Years . . . Caught on Tape on Saturday, September 29.
iCarly (Nickelodeon, 8 p.m. ET) Series Premiere. Two Episodes. Miranda Cosgrove of Drake & Josh stars in this new comedy series that has the distinction of being the first scripted show to incorporate viewer-created content. Cosgrove plays a teenager named Carly Shay who becomes an underground celebrity after producing her own Web-casts with her friend Sam (Jennette McCurdy), and that's where the viewer-generated content comes in. As part of their Web show, Carly and Sam feature homemade videos from their fans -- allowing real-life kids at home to send in their own videos for possible inclusion in the Web-cast within this show. MediaVillage junior critic Maya Motavalli says, "iCarly is a great new show, in part because Miranda Cosgrove of Drake & Josh is one of my favorite actresses. She is really funny. When I watch her it doesn't feel like she's acting, it feels like she's living it. The content of this show is really funny, and it's especially cool that kids have a say in the show. I like that it's interactive. It's something that has never been done before. Another thing that will make Drake & Josh lovers set their TiVos is the return of Jerry Trainor. He was the hilarious co-star on Drake & Josh who did wild and crazy things in a bunch of episodes. He's as crazy as ever in iCarly. I know iCarly is going to be a big hit because it has got the computer/technical things kids love mixed with the added charm of a funny TV show."
High School Musical 2 Dance-a-Long Edition (Disney Channel, 8 p.m. ET) Have kids had their fill yet of this late-summer smash? Not a chance! Tonight, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Olesya Rulin, KayCee Stroh, Chris Warren, Jr. and Ryne Sanborn will host a dance-a-long telecast of HSM2 and teach kids at home the dance steps designed by ace choreographer Kenny Ortega for the movie's opening and closing musical numbers, What Time Is It and All for One. Kids can visit www.disneychannel.com and print out the dance instructions in advance.
America's Most Wanted (Fox, 9 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. This essential program's 21st season begins with NCIS star Pauley Perrette joining forces with host John Walsh to find the killers of two young girls, Raven Jeffries of Detroit and Shannon Paulk of Prattville, Alabama. Perrette -- one of the nicest and most down to earth people working in television today -- has family in Prattville and her boyfriend is from Detroit, which she saw as a sign that she should become involved in both cases. She donated $10,000 to the reward fund for each girl's case and was invited by AMW producers to travel with them to Prattville and Detroit and visit the crime scenes and other key locations and to urge viewers to call the show's confidential hotline, 1-800-CRIME-TV, with any information that could lead to the capture of the murderers.
Torchwood (BBC America, 9 p.m. ET) U.S. Series Premiere. Dashing adventurer Captain Jack Harkness -- who has energized many an episode of Doctor Who -- is the central character in this spin-off series about a team of investigators that utilizes alien technology to solve crime. Fans have been buzzing about the good Captain's sexual orientation since he first appeared on Doctor Who last season. They'll have their answer before season one of Torchwood concludes. The multi-talented John Barrowman stars.
Custody (Lifetime, 9 p.m. ET) Premiere. Rob Morrow (Numb3rs) and James Denton (Desperate Housewives) star in this drama about a widowed middle-class college professor who risks losing custody of his teenage stepdaughter after her wealthy, powerful and long-absent biological father reappears and wants her back. Kay Panabaker co-stars.
Rescue Mediums (WE, 8 p.m. ET) U.S. Series Premiere. Two Episodes. As the cameras roll, acclaimed international psychics Christine Hamlett and Jackie Dennison visit "haunted" locations and make contact with restless spirits, often solving the "hauntings" and guiding spirits toward a more peaceful afterlife.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
2007 MTV Video Music Awards (MTV, 9 p.m. ET) Live. There is so little music on MTV these days that it is no wonder ratings for the once mighty VMAs have been in deep decline during the last few years. Maybe this will help stop the slide: MTV is set to drag Britney Spears out of the tabloids and onto television for a live performance of her new song, Gimme More, on tonight's telecast. Spears, a one-time pop star now better known for her meltdowns, breakdowns and her questionable behavior as the mother of two little children -- not to mention her ugly public split from trashtastic hubby Kevin Federline -- may give the aging VMAs the goose they need to once again generate significant buzz. Telecast live from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, the 24th annual VMAs will feature performances by Alicia Keys, T.I., Adam Levine, Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Chris Brown, Foo Fighters, Rihanna, Nelly Furtado, Gym Class Heroes, Akon and Souljah Boy. Also appearing: Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Pamela Anderson, Shia Lebeouf, Jennifer Hudson, Rosario Dawson and Eve.
State of Mind (Lifetime, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. How's this for an end-of-season cliffhanger? Just as her divorce comes through, Ann discovers that she is pregnant and she isn't sure if the father is Phil or William! Lili Taylor, Courtney B. Vance and Devon Gummersall star.
Design Star (HGTV, 9 p.m. ET) This is it: The final design showdown of the season. Landscape architect Todd Davis and hairstylist Kim Myles compete to win their own series on HGTV and a feature story in In Style Home magazine. And they'll do it in Hawaii! The virtual polls to select the winner will open tonight at 10 p.m. ET and will close at noon on Wednesday, September 12. Viewers can vote once daily for either Todd or Kim at www.hgtv.com/designstar or send as many as five daily text messages designating their choice via mobile phone to HGTV1 (44881). Next week: The winner and next HGTV star will be revealed in a live telecast!
Tell Me You Love Me (HBO, 9 p.m. ET) Series Premiere. Destined to be one of the most talked about new series of the year (and possibly the decade), Tell Me You Love Me centers on three couples (plus one kindly therapist and her husband) grappling with emotional and sexual challenges that compromise their relationships. And it features the most explicit sex sequences ever seen in a scripted television series on pay cable or anywhere else. Jane Alexander, Sonya Walger (Penny Widmore on Lost), Ally Walker (Profiler), Adam Scott, Tim DeKay (Carnivale) and Michelle Borth star. Look for revealing guest appearances by Ian Somerhalder and David Selby, among others, in the weeks ahead.
Deserving Design (HGTV, 10 p.m. ET) Series Preview. Design Star judge Vern Yip is the host of this new series that provides dramatic room makeovers for deserving people around the country. The makeovers are inspired by the personal stories of the recipients. Tonight, Yip provides exciting bedroom makeovers to two sisters and their mother who lost nearly everything to Hurricane Katrina and relocated to a cramped rental home in Los Angeles.
Curb You Enthusiasm (HBO, 10 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. The sixth season begins with Cheryl unwisely talking Larry into adopting a family displaced by a hurricane. Misunderstandings and misery abound. Vivica A. Fox is the guest star.
Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq (HBO, 10:30 p.m. ET) Premiere. Ten soldiers who suffered significant physical injuries and/or emotional trauma while serving in Iraq talk about their lives back home, their disabilities and their devotion to their country with Sopranos star James Gandolfini in this profoundly moving documentary. They also talk about their Alive Days: The day each of them survived an enemy attack that could have left them dead. As Sgt. Bryan Anderson notes, "Everybody makes a big deal about your Alive Day, especially at Walter Reed [Hospital], and I can see their point, that you would want to celebrate something like that. But from my point of view, it's like, 'Okay, we're sitting here celebrating the worst day of my life. Great. Let's just remind me of that every year.'" Don't miss this show. You have never heard Iraq war veterans speak with such unabashed candor on television. Many of the things they say will likely surprise you.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
The Oprah Winfrey Show (check local listings) Season Premiere. Oprah Winfrey begins her 22nd season with two shows filmed in New York City. (Why only two? That's a question for Winfrey and for daytime's other red-hot host, Ellen DeGeneres, who similarly started her new season last week with two shows from NYC.) Winfrey's big-name guest star today is David Letterman.
Judge David Young (check local listings) Series Premiere. You may remember Judge David Young of Miami from that high profile case in 2005 when he sent two America West pilots to jail for attempting to operate a commercial airliner while intoxicated. You may have heard about the wicked sense of humor he brings to his courtroom, or that he occasionally bursts into show tunes. As of today, you'll know him as the first gay judge with a daytime court show.
Merv Griffin's Crosswords (check local listings) Series Premiere. This game show is the last project that legendary entertainer, producer and businessmen Merv Griffin developed before he passed away in August. How fitting that, unlike his long-running super-hits Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, this one actually bears his name.
That's the Question (GSN, 7:30 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. Season two of the game show that combines word scrambles with a test of world history and pop culture trivia knowledge begins tonight. That's the Question is telecast Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Bob Goen (Entertainment Tonight) returns as host.
The Bob Newhart Show Tribute (TV Land, 8 p.m. ET) Can you believe it has been 35 years since The Bob Newhart Show debuted in CBS' legendary Saturday night lineup of All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Carol Burnett Show? (Yes, Saturday night television used to be that good!) TV Land marks the occasion tonight by running eight episodes personally selected by Newhart. You can catch all eight episodes over at www.tvland.com where they will be continuously streamed until September 16.
The Closer (TNT, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Damn, the third season of this show has been sensational. It has been so good, in fact, that it should be included in many ten-best lists later this year. Season three ends with the conclusion of last week's thriller, in which Brenda was unable to get a confession from a suspected murderer and ended up embroiled in a high-profile trial, where she was forced to consider if she has accused the wrong person of the crime. Brenda was also dealing with a startling discovery: Her fiancé Fritz was twice arrested for driving under the influence. Kyra Sedgwick -- a frontrunner in next Sunday's Emmy race -- stars. Larry King, Dominick Dunne, Rikki Klieman and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez guest star.
Greek (ABC Family, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Has anyone noticed that this unassuming college drama has become a big hit on iTunes? We'll see if its online success continues after tonight's season one finale, in which a scandalous story in the school paper has the brothers and sisters of Omega Chia, Zeta Beta Zeta and Kappa Tau in a collective frenzy and Ashley discovers Calvin's secret. Charisma Carpenter and Alan Ruck guest star. Jessica Rose (a.k.a. lonelygirl15) reprises her role as Jen K.
Sin City Law (Sundance Channel, 9 p.m. ET) Series Premiere. Two Episodes. This gripping eight-part documentary series chronicles four recent and deeply disturbing criminal trials in Las Vegas, each one covered in two installments. Tonight's episodes, titled Butchered Innocence, tell the story of brother and sister meth addicts Beau and Monique Maestas, who took revenge on a duplicitous drug dealer by killing one of her daughters and leaving the other paralyzed for life. In an effort to protect his sister, Beau pleaded guilty and took full blame for the stabbings. Three years later, at his penalty hearing, the district attorneys seek the death penalty and Beau's defense attorneys try to persuade the jury to consider the hellish childhood suffered by Beau and Monique. On the same day that the jury pronounces sentence on Beau, jury selection begins for Monique's trial.
Falling Man (Discovery Times Channel, 9 p.m. ET) Premiere. Who can forget that horrifying photograph of a man falling to his death from the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 -- an image deemed so disturbing that it is rarely included in documentaries about that terrible day. This film tells the stories connected to that controversial photograph, including those of the photographer who nearly died shooting it, the citizens who insisted that it was sensational and exploitative and the journalist who committed himself to uncovering the identity of the Falling Man.
My Boys (TBS, 10 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Two Episodes. In the final two episodes of the season, Stephanie unwisely subjects her new love interest to a game of poker with the gang; Kenny, Mike, Brendan and the others try to one-up each other by comparing pain thresholds; PJ seeks a traveling companion for her trip to Italy, and the gang decides to be tourists in their hometown, taking in all the Chicago sites they have never seen.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
The Biggest Loser (NBC, 8 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. Two Hours. We wouldn't even call attention to the start of the fourth season of this show were it nor for the addition of new host Alison Sweeney, the actress who plays scheming Sami Brady on Days of Our Lives and one of our favorite soap opera stars. NBC should have found a primetime perch for her years ago. Better late than never! This season will feature 18 overweight contestants grunting, groaning, crying, sweating, vomiting and seeking to avoid weekly painful eliminations as they work their way toward leaner physiques and improved health. They'll be divided into three teams of six -- and one will be a secret team the other two know nothing about!
What Perez Says (VH1, 9 p.m. ET) Premiere. VH1 has scooped up self-made Internet superstar and gossip maven Perez Hilton to host a series of specials that will focus on major pop culture events. That means celebrities who have been humiliated in his column will now have to deal with him on red carpets! This could get ugly. Tonight's show will center on last Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards and the performance there by one of Perez' favorite targets, the tragic Britney Spears.
Damages (FX, 10 p.m. ET) Can Patty (Glenn Close) keep key witness Gregory Malina safe from the murderers who are gunning for people involved in the case against billionaire whack-job Arthur Frobisher?
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 America's Next Producer (TV Guide Channel, 8 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Two Episodes. The competition has come down to Zo, Jessica and Gwen. Tonight one of them will win $100,000, a first-look deal with TV Guide Network, a production office in Hollywood and lots of cool equipment.
Explorer: Ultimate Crocodile (National Geographic Channel, 8 p.m. ET) Premiere. Did you know that the giant saltwater crocodile has survived unchanged for 100 million years, or that the power of its jaws is second only to those of the long extinct T-Rex, or that it has the most complex heart in the animal kingdom? It's pretty smart, too. Small wonder the scientific community regards this croc as perhaps the most successful predator ever to roam the earth. Learn all about it tonight.
American Masters -- Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends (PBS, 9 p.m. ET, check local listings) Premiere. Clint Eastwood is the executive producer of this film that reviews the life of the astonishing Tony Bennett. His career has spanned more than 50 years, during which he has been honored with 15 Grammy Awards (two when Bennett was 80) and sold more than 50 million records! Included: Coverage of Bennett's performance at the 2005 Monterey Jazz Festival and interviews at his home and painting studio.
Rescue Me (FX, 10 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Colleen continues to blame Tommy for her failed relationship (as we continue to wonder why he gave the brat a credit card); Franco and Natalie come to an understanding (as we continue to wonder why she up and dumped him after she insisted he go and talk to his former flame), and Tommy and his father take in a ballgame (as we continue to marvel at the performances of Charles Durning and all the other amazing actors who appear in recurring roles on this show).
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Big Brother 8 (CBS, 8 p.m. ET) Live. It's time for the last painful eviction before next week's season finale.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) If you and your kids can't get enough of this show, be advised that a second installment will be telecast tomorrow night!
Private Screenings (TCM, 8 p.m. ET) Premiere. Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne talks with 80-year-old producer and director Norman Jewison about his long career in television and film in this special, which was taped last April at the Sarasota Film Festival. Private Screenings will be followed by four of Jewison's best-known movies: Moonstruck (9 p.m. ET), The Cincinnati Kid (12 a.m. ET), The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming (1:45 a.m. ET) and Gaily, Gaily (4 a.m. ET).
Burn Notice (USA Network, 10 p.m. ET) Michael agrees to help a woman (Lucy Lawless) who claims that her estranged husband has kidnapped their child -- only to end up matched against a ruthless assassin. Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless star.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 10 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. Two Episodes. FX's signature single-camera sitcom begins its third season with its uniquely disarming vulgarity intact. In the first of two episodes, Dennis joins an environmentalist group but can't get along with the activists while Dee and Mac decide to raise a baby they find in a dumpster. In the second, Mac, Dennis and Dee attend open try-outs for the Philadelphia Eagles while Frank (Danny DeVito) and Charlie have an altercation with the bad-news McPoyles.
Mad Men (AMC, 10 p.m. ET) A rival agency attempts to lure Don away from Sterling Cooper. Meanwhile, as the presidential campaign heats up, the agency looks for new ways to counter the latest Kennedy ads.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) This is the first of four Friday editions of Fox's Waterfountain TV sensation. (5th Grader will also be telecast on Sept. 21 and 28 and Oct. 5.) Jeff Foxworthy is the host.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team (CMT, 8 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. Season two begins with hundreds of anxious Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders hopefuls arriving at Texas Stadium for the preliminary auditions. Before the hour is over, many of them will be rejected, while those who remain compete for admission into the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Training Camp.
Nashville (Fox, 9 p.m. ET) Series Premiere. Eight aspiring country singers pursue their dreams in the title city in this new observational reality series from the producers of Laguna Beach. Watch for a guest appearance by Nashville Star judge Anastasia Brown.
Monk (USA Network, 9 p.m. ET) Mid-Season Finale. Suffering from insomnia, Monk heads out into the night and comes upon a murder. Donal Logue is the guest star.
Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge (CMT, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. As season one concludes, the bruised and battered C- and D-list celebrities travel to Nashville to compete at an official Professional Bull Riders event, where they will ride for the first time in front of a stadium full of fans.
Psych (USA Network, 10 p.m. ET) Mid-Season Finale. Shawn and Gus race to catch an accused murderer on the run before the professional bounty hunter hired by the victim's husband nabs the guy. Kevin Sorbo is the guest star.
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