My kind of marathon

Marathons are inherently stupid.

Seems like everyone I know is currently training for a marathon or half-marathon or triathlon or some such nonsense. I don't get the appeal. The first marathoner, some Greek dude who brought news of victory at the Battle of Marathon (hmmm, coincidence?), dropped dead when he finished. How does that inspire people to follow suit? "Wow, you mean I can feel excruciating muscle pain, have my body start to eat itself, get bloody nipples, lose control of my bowels AND maybe die at the end? Sounds awesome, count me in!"

No, my friend. Not for me. Now a TV marathon, on the other hand? Pure awesomeness. That's how I catch up with The Real World (well, not any more, but back in the day), The Hills, Top Gear, Reno 911 and whatever other cable shows I forget to tune into regularly. And especially No Reservations. Not the awful movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones (who pulls off an Alba-esque job of horrible acting in that one), but the brilliant food/travel show with Anthony Bourdain.

Traveling to exotic locales (Iceland, Vietnam, Romania and Ghana in past seasons) armed with nothing more than acerbic wit and a sense of adventure, Bourdain gives us a glimpse of how the rest of the world really eats. And warthog anuses aside, a lot of it looks really, really good. From the teeming megamalls of Singapore to the meat markets of Paris to the street vendors of Sao Paolo, it's an absorbing, eye-opening reminder of what makes food great -- simplicity, creativity and the company of good friends. And booze. Oh yeah, he drinks. A lot. But how else would I have gotten turned on to caipirinhas? (Look it up and try one, they're yummy.)

Now's the perfect time to catch up on Tony's travels. Travel Channel is airing an episode a day this week (usually at 1 p.m., set your DVR), punctuated by a Season 4 marathon starting at 9 a.m. Monday (Peru, followed by Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Greek Islands, Hawaii, U.S. Southwest, Uruguay, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Laos, Egypt, Tokyo and Spain). The marathon's followed by an end-of-summer clip show at 10 p.m. which promises to show the silliest moments, biggest and baddest foods and most exciting experiences (Beirut, anyone?) from No Reservations. If you're new to the show, this is a good way to get acquainted with it.

And really, what better way to spend Labor Day then to sit on a couch, do absolutely nothing and watch people eat all day? God bless America!
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Record It: Venture Bros.

Set your DVR for the Season 4 finale of The Venture Bros. (11:30 p.m. Sunday, Cartoon Network), as the threat of imminent and grisly death once again looms over the Venture family and their Swedish-murder-machine bodyguard, Brock Sampson. Their evil archenemy, The Monarch, and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (the former Dr. Girlfriend) have overrun the Venture compound, Doc and the boys are on the run, and O.S.I. hitmen are out to terminate the now mullet-less Brock with extreme prejudice. Who will survive? Who will be horribly dismembered? Who will be cloned and reanimated at a later date?

If you're not familiar with the Ventures' adventures (think Johnny Quest only sicker, more twisted and bloodier), there's really no better time to finally tune in than the second part of the cliffhanger Season 4 finale. Ummm, yeah. . . . watch it anyway. It rocks.
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Live blog: The Hills

It's my secret shame.

I admit it, I watch The Hills. Not always, just occasionally.

I can't explain it. Sometimes I just really love trashy, disposable, mind-numbing TV. And The Hills is that. In spades. It all started with that visual crack, Laguna Beach. Maybe it's the perfect soft lighting, the hyper-real photography. It just looks so nice.

Ehhhh, whatever. I'll save the psychoanalysis for another day. Now it's time for a live (um, via DVR delay) play-by-play of the Season 4 premiere. When we last saw our heroes, Lo kept looking at new roomie Audrina like she smelled bad; Lauren and Audrina were in the process of breaking up as friends, largely because of (or at least perceived to be because of) Lo; The girls' puppy was suddenly big (almost as if the episodes were shot weeks, even months apart, hmmm); and Heidi jeopardized her new jet-set job in Vegas to go back to that douchebag Spencer. What will happen next? MTV promises new relationships, new betrayals and undoubtedly new bad decisions by all involved. Here we go...

Well, Audrina hasn't moved out yet. And Lauren & Lo are throwing her a birthday part. Oooh, Lauren has a hot date! Someone from high school who isn't Stephen. Sad thing is, as much as I thought Stephen was a total tool on Laguna Beach, he now looks so much better compared to the idiots Lauren has been hooking up with since then.

Ahh, opening theme song. Feel the rain on your skin! How do the producers time and time again make crappy pop songs somehow tolerable by synching them perfectly to iconic images? It's like magic. Or else I'm just a sap.

Uh oh, Heidi's sister is visiting and that sounds like trouble. She hasn't told Spencer about the surprise houseguest. Why's she hiding her? Is she hiding Spencer from her sister? Well that part would make sense.

Quote from Audrina: "Lo's always just real bitchy. That's just the way she is." Methinks the roommate situation isn't going well. Can't say I disagree with her assessment though.

Heidi's sister Holly is sitting in the living room, looking uncomfortable as Spencer ignores her and plays video games. Heidi comes home . . . . and he walks out of the room in a huff. Smooth. Then they fight about Holly's visit right in earshot of her. That would be awkward if these two had any self-awareness or shame.

Lo's way too excited about Lauren's dating life.

Meet Doug, Lauren's date. He has somewhat of a faux-hawk and can't bother to button the cuffs of his shirt. He says he's adjusting well to living in L.A. Good for him, it's usually such a hard adjustment coming all the way from exotic Orange County.

They go out to dinner. Doug to Lauren: "So what have you been up to for the past four years?" Um, dude, do you not watch MTV?

Doug asks for a second date about 5 minutes into dinner. Smooooove. But he snags an invitation to Audrina's birthday bash.

Commercials: Super Sweet 16 meets Intervention in something called Exiled. Divas in the African bush and highlands of Peru. That looks awesome. What better way to make more people around the world hate Americans even more than to ship them our most spoiled princesses for a week of shrill whining? Eh, who am I kidding, I'll probably check it out.

Back to the show. Heidi and Holly are making breakfast. Holly offers some to Spencer, who literally turns his nose up at it. "Did you make it? Then no," he says. Heidi gets mad at him for being such a douchebag. And he goes back to bed. At noon. What a winner. OK, I know they're publicity whores and it's all an act, but wow, those two are just so unpleasant to watch.

Audrina's birthday party. Doug shows up in a Lamar Odom Lakers jersey. Lamar Odom? Really? Some people like underachievers, I guess. How appropriate. His buddy has a Kobe Bryant jersey. Ummm . . . those blonde white girls better watch out. And basketball jerseys? Really? Who wears those in public?

Audrina's friends -- many tats, many piercings and a giant red mohawk mixed into the wannabe hipster/suburban punk mix. Like the crowd at a Good Charlotte show, only with fewer 12-year-old girls. Lo views them from a distance, looking appalled. And she voices her barely concealed contempt of Audrina's friends right to Audrina, who looks kinda hurt. Lauren shoots her the evil eye. Ooooh! Drama building! Why is Lo even hanging around the party if she hates it so much? Go shopping or something. But that would mean she couldn't be the center of attention, so . . .

Heidi & Holly go to a salon. Heidi hasn't told her parents about the Spencer drama. "I don't need them knowing every detail of my relationship," she says. And the best way to maintain one's privacy is to . . . . air it on national TV. Makes perfect sense. Her family must be so proud.

Holly tried to be subtle and hints that Heidi's throwing away her life on a loser like Spencer. Ya think? Heidi gets defensive and puckers up before the dramatic fade-out.

Justin Bobby shows up to the pool party. His wit and wisdom is actually growing on me. And I can't believe I just wrote that last sentence.

Lo's inside, upstairs, avoiding people, playing with the dog, not making any effort. Lo says she's making an effort. No she's not.

Awkward, stilted conversation between Lauren and Kobe jersey guy about her friendship with Lo and Audrina. How to choose? Because as everyone knows, you can only have one best friend, and you have to dump anyone else.

Holly's trip is over and she's going home. She says she had the best time in her whole life. How sad. And WTF? What did she do other than get a makeover and draw glares from Spencer? "Maybe I can just move out here," says Holly. She ponders staying with Heidi. SLAM goes the car door as Spencer can't pack Holly's bags fast enough. Spencer is not big on the idea of a new roomie. Somewhere an MTV producer is salivating, imagining the three of them living together in a spinoff. Call it Three's a Crowd.

Cut to Whitney at People's Revolution, talking to Lauren. Nice bit of exposition in her questions. "So how did it go off-camera after that last scene?" might be more genuine.

Lauren thinks Lo's trying to be nice to Audrina. Lauren's delusional. Or just too self-absorbed to be perceptive. Whitney sympathetically angles her head.

Lo and Audrina: Time for the Big Talk. Insincere greeting and small talk. Lo blows it off and cuts to the chase. She thinks they aren't getting along. Very astute. Audrina says she feels like a third wheel.

...And my recording cuts off. Thanks MTV, for running over your timeslot, and thanks Comcast, for your DVR that cuts off before the show's over.

Oh well, it's more of a cliffhanger this way. Gotta say, it was a pretty boring episode. Not enough cattiness, dimly lit drama or exotic locales. Not even a single infinity pool! OK, that's enough for now. I'm feeling lightheaded from the brain cells I killed watching that.
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Meet your Amazing Racers

Easy kids, you'll get your Amazing Race fix soon. Season 14 premieres Sept. 28. Among the exotic locales they'll visit this time around: La Paz, Bolivia (let's hope for a good physical challenge in the thin air there), Kazakhstan (brace yourself for Borat jokes), and Cambodia (watch where you step!). Here's a quickie handicap of the field.

Mark & Bill: The Geek Squad. They think strategy will pay off for them. Well, strategy won't do you much good if you can't rappel down a cliff-face. They sound a little too analytical. But teams with bearded guys have had a good track record. They won't win, but they may become the fan favorites. Because Amazing Race fans are geeks. (Sorry, but you know it's true.)

Anita & Arthur: The Hippies, Parent Edition. Oh god, they're annoying me already. They say they believe in the basic goodness in people. Saps. Organic saps, at that. I predict bad puns, hippie cliches and an early exit. TTOW!

Terence & Sarah: The "Opposites" Couple. His faux-hawk bugs me. But they're fit and in uber-competitive fields. They could be a contender. Could their "dietary restrictions" be their downfall? I'd love to watch a vegan choke down some raw beef.

Marisa & Brooke: The Sorority Sisters. Two blonde hotties who look exactly alike. How unique. They bore me already, and let's see how they cope without makeup. My guess: Not well.

Andrew & Dan: Team "Superbad." Interesting. The frat-boy tag is a red flag, which concerns me. On the other hand, they could they be funny, likeable frat boys like Kevin & Drew. They don't have that typical frat boy/date rapist look, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say they'll be competitive and provide comic relief.

Aja & Ty: The Long-Distance Couple. Sigh. Another one? Stupid Internet. Let's see, he has trouble being on time and she's easily upset. I predict an epic meltdown (hopefully involving a camel) and a mid-season elimination.

Toni & Dallas: The Mom & Son. And both with androgenous names. Ooooh, he's passionate and flirty. I hate him already. Mom & Son teams tend to do poorly, and I don't see these guys bucking that trend.

Nick & Starr: The Brother-Sister Team. Oh, and they'll "stop at nothing to win." Yawn. Hmm, he's a dancer, which is code for...um, yeah. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) They sound kinda like the second coming of Blake & Paige from Season 2, only with jazz hands. They look fit and could be formidable. But what's with the camouflage?

Kelly & Christy: The Best Friends. And more cheerleaders. At least they don't look alike. Sweet Texas charm, magnetic personalities, no travel experience......BZZZZZT. Game over. I predict they'll be the first to go.

Ken & Tina: The Separated Couple. Married but hoping to reconnect? Strike one. Past infidelity? Strike two. Dedicated Christians? Strike three. They're going to be the team you roll your eyes at the most. Sounds like they have the brains and braun to compete, but they're too dysfunctional to be around at the end. Fearless prediction: I'll cheer at their elimination. Oh, and he's a former NFL player, but not one anyone's ever heard of.

Anthony & Stephanie: The Putting-Our-Relationship-to-the-Test Couple. Yep, there's always one of these. Will it work? Of course not. Here's a hint: Going on a reality show for six weeks won't solve your relationship problems. Idiots. Sounds like they'll be the bickering couple. Ugh. Sadly, I predict they'll be the team who somehow survive week after week despite themselves.

OK, so what have we got? A lineup straight out of central casting, that's what. White, model/actor types, the token minority, the token old folks, and people who probably describe themselves as "intense." Pretty disappointing group, considering that Season 12 actually had a selection of people you might actually find outside Hollywood.

Prediction for the final three: Terence & Sarah, Nick & Starr, Anthony & Stephanie. Remember which ones those are? Of course not. They're all interchangeable. Sigh.

Early favorite teams: Team Superbad and . . . . wow, who else? Maybe the Geek Squad, just because they seem to be relatively normal people. Other than that? Yikes, I might be feeling a lot of hate every Sunday night.
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Hold on, I'm watching modern pentathlon

The Summer Olympics is great background TV. It's on just to be on, just in case something happens, but mostly it just provides ambient noise and a comforting flickering glow.

I had been excited about the Olympics, and all 3,000-odd hours NBC would broadcast, much of it in HD. Then I tuned in and quickly remembered that most of it is really, really boring. Endless qualifying heats, opening rounds and obscure sports that no matter how hard I try, I just can't get into (sorry, team handball).

There are moments of excitement -- the swimming finals have been gripping, and the final leg of the men's 4x100 freestyle relay might have been the best moment of the Summer Games. And Michael Phelps is almost single-handedly creating must-see TV every time he plunges into the pool.

But can the average viewer get that psyched for whitewater kayaking (way to go, Togo!)? Or fencing? Or equestrian? I'm sure there are inspiring storylines, but it can be hard to care about sports that you completely forget even exist if there are no Olympics around to remind you. Then there are the sports that really aren't sports -- the synchronized diving, the trampoline, the rhythmic gymnastics. If they went away, would anyone notice? How about adding a few more viewer-friendly sports, such as golf, rugby . . . even bring back tug of war! I'd watch that. Seriously. Wait, the fact that I just watched the U.S. beat Italy in water polo proves I'd watch anything. Let's put it this way -- I'd pay more attention if there were better sports.

That's why I like the Winter Olympics better. Hockey, skiing, speedskating, bobsled -- more speed, more action, more risks of crashing and getting mangled. I can even get into the smaller sports, like cross-country skiing. The Winter Games are smaller scale, more intimate, and the corporate sponsorships are slightly less annoying. They're just more my speed as a viewer.

But we're stuck with another week and a half of the Summer Olympics, so we'd better make the best of it. Michael Phelps still has 5 more golds to win, and other swimmers should make a name for themselves in the coming days (Katie Hoff, time to step up!). Track & field starts next week, and that tends to be more exciting that swimming, if for no other reason than you can see them better when they race. And then there'll be the finals in basketball, soccer, softball and baseball, which should be exciting even if the Americans aren't involved.

Here's hoping for some memorable moments. They can't come soon enough.
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"Donna Martin Graduates!"

Say it ain't so! Tori Spelling has apparently dropped out of the CW's revamped Beverly Hills 90210 set to debut next month. Spelling reportedly wanted to be paid as much as fellow returning alumni Jenny Garth and Shannen Doherty. Producers balked. So Spelling walked.

Somehow you know this wouldn't happen if Aaron Spelling was still alive.
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What to watch tonight

Hopkins (10 p.m., ABC).

Amazing show. Tonight's the season finale of the seven-episode summer documentary following doctors and patients at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore. Forget House or ER or Grey's Anatomy, Hopkins is the real deal when it comes to life-or-death drama. Full episodes are available for free at ABC.com, so you still have a chance to check it out past episodes. If you're not choked up by the end, you just don't have a soul.

Mmmm, brain surgery in HD. . . now THAT'S must-see TV.

Also: The season finale of My Boys (9:30 p.m., TBS) -- Will Bobby marry the hot Swede? Will PJ realize he's the guy for her? And what's up with Kenny and Stephanie hooking up? (Though who couldn't have seen that coming?)
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The end is not the end

Good news for Battlestar Galactica fans -- the Los Angeles Times is reporting that another standalone BSG movie is in the works on Sci Fi, to be aired after the series ends its run in early 2009. The two-hour feature will be more or less a flashback -- a la Razor -- from the Cylons' point of view following their catastrophic attacks on the human home planets.

Michael Trucco (Anders), Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol) and Dean Stockwell (Cavil) are already signed up, and Edward James Olmos will direct the feature. Anders' storyline could be terrific -- the episodes from Season 1 hinting at the resistance on Caprica left open a million questions that could be flushed out.

This comes in addition to Sci Fi's upcoming series Caprica, a family drama that takes place about 50 years before the Cylon attack. Eric Stoltz stars in that, set to hit the air in late 2008 or early 2009 (based on Sci Fi's track record, bet on mid-2009). A trailer for Caprica has been released, but I've gotta say, it doesn't do much for me.
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Dear lord, please make it stop

BREAKING NEWS: Brett Favre did not participate in Packers practice today.

OK, technically that is neither breaking nor news. But don't tell the newshounds at ESPN, who are in a full Favre feeding frenzy. After all, why else would anyone watch ESPN during the summer other than to see 10-year-old football highlights?

Sportscenter is in its second month of wall-to-wall Brett Favre coverage, and I'm beginning to think it's a bit of overkill. Yes, on Monday night ESPN did devote two hours and 37 minutes to Favre-watch, but they did get to interview their NFL experts again and again and again, with the same questions and answers, and finally got the scoop that apparently a five-hour meeting was held between Favre and the coaches, with nothing resolved. That was well worth the wait. And it's not like there's any other news in the world of sports, like baseball pennant races, or NFL training camps with actual active players, or maybe even the biggest sporting event in the world about to start in Beijing. (Oops, that's on another network and therefore does not exist.) Nahhhh, give us more archive highlights of some guy who won only one Super Bowl in 17 years and is the NFL's all-time leader in interceptions. Geez, what would the media reaction be like if Brett Favre was actually a successful quarterback?

But in all seriousness, ESPN's Favre obsession has gone over the edge and has fully entered the realm of parody. And that's never good for news credibility. Get some perspective, ESPN, and wait until there IS news before reporting "news."

Thankfully we may be getting to the end of the road -- by later today Favre may be traded and there can finally be some actual news to report. But God help us if he goes to the Jets. Favre in a major market, just a hop, skip and a jump from the mothership in Bristol, would be insufferable.

On second thought, there has been a bright spot about Favrefest '08 -- less time alloted for Yankees and Red Sox stories!
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Shows, exciting and new . . .

New shows I'm looking forward to:

1. Sons of Anarchy -- From the creators of The Shield comes this drama about a gang of outlaw bikers out to protect their California town from drug dealers and developers. Civic-minded gang guys? Um, OK. But the trailer looks intriguing, and Dutch from The Shield will have a recurring role as a DEA agent. And all those Shield ties give it instant cred.


2. Life on Mars -- ABC might screw this one up completely, but the original BBC series was, well, original, and compelling. In a nutshell, a present-day cop gets hit by a car and wakes up stuck in the '70s. Did he travel through time? Is he in a coma imagining it all? Is he just crazy? The big problem I think ABC might face is longevity -- you can only tease the audience so long with the reality vs. imaginary question. It lasted two seasons in the UK. That's about one full U.S. season. I'm skeptical they'll pull it off, but it'll be worth checking out. This is one show that I think will fall one of two ways -- either it'll be the best new show of the season, or it'll be a trainwreck of Bionic Woman-like proportions.


3. Fringe -- Rumor has it the pilot needs work, but the trailer for the JJ Abrams show that looks like a cross between X-Files and Altered States is dark and interesting. Maybe a little too out there to catch a big audience though, and with what's bound to be a tangled series mythology, this is a good candidate for quick cancellation if it doesn't draw viewers right off the bat.

4. Dollhouse -- Joss Whedon is back on network TV, and he's bringing along former slayer Eliza Dushku to star in it. I don't care what the show is about (though it sounds weird and creepy and dark, if disturbingly like a hybrid between Dark Angel and AI), he built up enough viewability equity from Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I'll check it out. This'll be a midseason replacement on Fox.

5. Kath & Kim -- Remake of an Australian sitcom about a dysfunctional mother and daughter, and supposedly it killed at the network upfronts last month. I might check it out, but it sounds a bit too sitcomey for my liking.

6. Worst Week of My Life -- Another remake, this time of a British sitcom. It too is getting a lot of buzz. The series follows the misadventures of a guy in the week leading up to his wedding. So what happens after that? Will it be like 24 and he'll keep having horrible weeks as the series progresses over the years? I'll check it out, but I'm already dubious about its staying power.

7. True Blood -- Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) is back on HBO, this time with a romantic drama based around Southern vampires and the women who love them. Or at least a woman who loves one of them. Anna Paquin (X-Men) plays the psychic waitress with questionable taste in men. The previews look slightly ridiculous, but it's got a cast (including Alexander Skarsgard of Generation Kill and William Sanderson of Deadwood) that could make it interesting.
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A pet peeve

I mentioned last time how I'm a fan of My Boys. It's not the funniest show on TV, but it makes me laugh. The cast has chemistry and it's light and breezy fun, perfect for the summer TV doldrums. And Jim Gaffigan just kills me. But one thing bugs me. The show follows Jordana Spiro's PJ as she hangs with her buddies in the neighborhood bar, hangs with the same buddies on poker night, catches brunch or drinks with her best friend, Stephanie, and has hapless romantic escapades with a series of Mr. Not-Quite-Rights. Yet PJ is supposed to be a newspaper beat writer covering the Cubs. So when would she have the time to have a social life? The typical baseball beat writer works almost every day from March to September (October's free -- this IS the Cubs we're talking about), and their days off usually correspond to their team's off days. A Monday here, a Thursday there....certainly no weekends off. Even if the Cubs still played all day games, PJ gets out way, way too much. Maybe that's why this season the show's writers have played down her work life almost completely. Which is too bad, because being a beat writer -- especially a female beat writer -- is a job ripe with opportunity for plot points, as it was in the show's first season. Seems like a wasted opportunity to me, but not too surprising, since TV and movies that delve into the newspaper world almost never get it right. (Copy editor Drew Barrymore having an office and a secretary in Never Been Kissed? Screaming front page headlines reading "LOCAL MAN TO FACE MURDER CHARGES" when in reality the story would be a 3-inch cop brief?)

For a little bit of reality, how about this scenario for My Boys, Season 3: With her newspaper announcing major cuts and looming layoffs, PJ becomes a blonde ball of stress, has doubts about her career path and drinks too much with her friends, complaining about how her work has had the fun sucked out of it and how the corporate slash-and-burn strategy will only bring ruin to the paper. She spends a few episodes secretly applying for soulless PR jobs and pondering major lifestyle changes until the season finale, when a major TV sports network swoops down and hires her to be an on-air personality, giving her plenty of time to hang with her friends and enough money to buy rounds.

'Cause you've gotta have a happy ending.
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A few of my favorite things

So what am I watching now? Not a lot, really. Generation Kill and My Boys (how's that for both ends of the spectrum?) are keeping me going through the summer. And their upcoming finales will provide a perfect segue into the Summer Olympics (I plan to watch all 40,000 hours, including live team table tennis between South Korea and Sri Lanka at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday) and the kickoff of the fall TV season in September. And I've got Season 1 of Dexter from Netflix, which I hope to get through in the next month. Oooh, can't forget Burn Notice. That's good breezy fun with lots of pretty explosions.

I'm actually excited for September. The writers strike wreaked havoc with last year's TV schedule, and a lot of my favorite shows ended way too early or were delayed way too long. Good lord, it's been almost a year since the last fresh episode of Entourage! So here's a look at what I'm looking forward to:

Can't wait for the debuts


1. The Shield (Sept. 2, FX) -- The end for Vic Mackey and crew? We've been waiting more than a year for that scheming turncoat Shane to get what's coming to him. You know this won't end well. I'm already tingling from the anticipation.
2. Entourage (Sept. 7, HBO) -- Last season was almost as bad as Medellin -- slow, bloated and feeling out of place. I have high hopes for a rebound. Sorry, but the boys aren't as fun when they have to work for their money. Give me bacchanal excess, infinity pools populated by models and Ari verbally bitch-slapping E during meetings at Koi.
3. Heroes (Sept. 22, NBC) -- It was just starting to regain its groove when the strike hit. The focus on villains should be beneficial to the show getting off to a fast start -- bad guys are always more interesting.
4. Amazing Race (Sept. 28, CBS) -- One season of arguably TV's best reality show (Top Chef might have a word to say about that) is already in the can and another is being shot as we speak. Rumored destinations for "TAR 13": Angor Wat, Cambodia and La Paz, Bolivia. Can't. Freakin. Wait.
5. Pushing Daisies (Oct. 1, ABC) -- The cynic in me thought the quirkiness would rub off. It didn't. Clever, sweet and downright nice. It's my TV sorbet, to cleanse the palate with goodness in a world filled with corrupt cops, evil super-dudes, and serial killers.
6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Sept. 18, FX) -- Clever, cruel and completely un-nice, it's probably the funniest, most twisted show on TV. I love it.

Can't wait until midseason
1. Lost (Jan. 2009)
2. Battlestar Gallactica (early 2009)
3. Rescue Me (spring 2009)
4. Damages (early 2009)
5. Reaper (midseason replacement)
6. Flight of the Conchords (Jan. 2009)

Why I regret not having Showtime right now
1. Californication -- I finally caught up on DVD and I'm hooked. A dramedy that's actually dramatic and comedic? A show where the characters actually develop? Shocking! Of course, not as shocking as the Season 1 finale, which I'm praying was just a dream sequence.
2. Dexter -- I haven't even watched Season 1, but already I want to catch up to Season 3.
3. Weeds -- Sure, it's gone over the top and taken a sharp turn left, but it's still one of the more original shows around. At least it hasn't become a parody of itself like "Desperate Housewives" has.
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Here we go . . .

Click.

What's on TV? What's good? What's not? Those are the burning issues here at That Warm Glow. We'll try to answer those questions and ask a lot more (and maybe even answer those too) in the coming months.

We'll probably be wandering aimlessly for a while, posting irregularly, trying to find a consistent voice and coming up with regular features, so for now you'll just have to put up with the haphazardness until we find our groove. But when we do . . . look out Tim Goodman!

Until then, we'll be goofing around in amateurland. Hope you enjoy it.
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