> Previously… On ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA?:  “Chelsea Newman,” aka the fictionalized Chelsea Handler (Laura Prepon) works in a New Jersey sports bar, knocking back drinks and men, and trading barbs with co-workers and family alike. Episode 2:  If it weren’t for hour-mate Whitney, Chelsea might be the least sexy show ever to be obsessed […]

> BOSS:  Fridays 10PM on Starz – Potential DVR Alert BOSS is Starz’s bid to be taken seriously as a pay-TV producer of original programming.  Up until now, Starz has been both successful (Spartacus) and not-so successful (Camelot) in its original shows, but all of them have been somewhat junky–even Torchwood:  Miracle Day, with its […]

> NBC’s WHITNEY hasn’t really had much of a midseason break, but tonight marked its move from a cushy home on Thursday night, where it aired behind the network’s only hit, The Office, to the much more challenging job of opening Wednesday nights and clearing the way for new sitcom Are You There, Chelsea?  So […]

  PARENTHOOD:  Thursday 10PM on NBC It’s something of a miracle that PARENTHOOD, with its marginal-or-worse ratings, low concept and large, expensive cast, even survived to a 6th season on NBC.  Much of its luck had more to do with the collapse of the network’s schedule around it than Parenthood itself–its audience, while small, was loyal, and […]

  BALLERS:  Sunday 9PM on HBO – Change the Channel BALLERS is alarmingly ramshackle by HBO standards.  Of course, it’s got enough A-list lineage to justify it getting on the air several times over, with genuine movie star Dwayne Johnson in the lead, and most of the Entourage production team attached, including Mark Wahlberg, this […]

  CHICAGO PD:  Wednesday 10PM on NBC Previously… on CHICAGO PD:  Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) is a tough-as-nails cop out of the Dick Wolf school of tough cops, and he runs a tough squad, although he has a heart of sufficient gold to rescue street kids who come his way.  His tough squad includes […]

        After last week’s tumultuous, spectacular battle of Blackpool, tonight’s Season 2 finale of GAME OF THRONES was, necessarily, somewhat lower-key.  It served more as a coda, and as a transition to Season 3 (considering that there was no attempt at closure in any of the stories, it’s a good thing that […]

  In the post-Homeland era of Showtime, SHAMELESS, the network’s Parenthood on crack, has been pushed even farther to the background–and to be sure, the two shows aren’t comparable in terms of seriousness of purpose or blazing quality.  Nor does Shameless have the tabloid zing of Dexter‘s plots.  Nevertheless, apart from being a steady, reliable performer […]