Friday Feast for Stay-At-Homes

Once again, Fridays are shaping up to be a great night of TV, great for those of us who don’t go out, that is. At 9pm tonight Fox unveils its most-touted midseason series Wonderfalls, the third series this year where lovely young women receive their daily marching orders in extraordinary -- make that supernatural -- ways. Like the successful CBS drama Joan of Arcadia (which providentially airs at 8pm, right before Fox’s entry), Wonderfalls features a more-than-a-little quirky female protagonist who’s reluctantly dragged into adventures, only instead of getting the word from God, Jaye of Niagara Falls listens to an array of tourist souvenirs come alive, for instance. You’ve gotta have a gimmick, as the song says, and let’s see if this one works.

This is all going to come down to how appealing French-Canadian actress Caroline Dhavernas is in the lead; Joan of Arcadia is blessed (no pun intended, believe me) by the terrific Amber Tamblyn and a great supporting cast, too. In Wonderfalls we get to see the underused Diana Scarwid and William Sadler (Roswell), but will it measure up to what Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen have given to JoA? I’d certainly recommend giving this one a chance, if your tastes run to that sort of thing.

Also at 9pm, USA is debuting its newest detective series Touching Evil, wherein an almost-lethal gunshot wound to the head renders David Creegan “virtually shameless” as the show’s website says, and one can only dream what that could mean. Does he solve crimes dressed only in his underpants? Or might he take his flatulent time going over a murder scene? Set in the near-future, Touching Evil is based on a British series which aired over here on PBS’ Mystery, and I guess it’s a little too late now to wish we could watch it to compare. The original was much praised for its dark portrayal of the main character, and we can only hope that it hasn’t been prettied up too much for USA. Let’s hope that the cable network has found another success to fill in the time when Monk’s on vacation, but it’ll take some damn fine show -- and the resultant ratings boost -- to hit the mark that their original defective detective has established.

But the fun doesn’t stop here. Trio, at 9:30pm, presents the some-may-call-him-icky and intriguing anatomical artist Gunter Van Hagens as he performs a real autopsy in front of an audience. If America has the stomach for Extreme Makeover, this is the surely the next logical step, and at least this is art.

If it’s been far too long since you’ve visited the Ministry of Silly Walks, BBC America plays the Monty Python MoSW episode tonight at 9:20pm. Star Trek fans of both the Next Gen and Classic variety will be pleased to see the repeat of the Mr. Spock guest appearance on the two-part Star Trek: The Next Generation “Unification,” at 9pm and 10pm tonight on Spike TV. Nobody talks about how Spike is so much more about old TV than anything else, and it’s heartening to see that they haven’t dumped Trek, so far at least.

And wow! MTV2 -- and I never thought I’d recommend them for much – is running a Beavis and Butthead marathon tonight from 7pm – 11pm. The world hasn’t quite been the same since these two hilarious and really rather touchingly average characters stopped making new episodes. Take a look sometime at the sad state of their sofa, and the generally depressed circumstances in which they live. In addition to the schtick, BaB is a bleak look at the life chances for the nearly-disadvantaged, and they’re not pretty. All of which doesn’t it from being funny as hell, of course.

If you missed the premiere of UPN’s CGI series Game Over from Wednesday, you’ve got another chance to see it tonight at 9pm, followed by a repeat episode of The Mullets with guest star Roddy Piper, the greatest pro wrestler-turned-actor around. America, predictably, turned its collective back on Game Over on Wednesday, and there’s no reason to believe it will be any different tonight, but at least UPN is trying to throw something out there. My only beef with Game Over is that it’s more like a standard family sitcom than a game, but then again, if people really knew how much better most games were than most of what’s on TV...bye-bye remote control, hello joystick.

Choose wildly!


Fox premieres Wonderfalls tonight at 9pm. Visit the show website for more information, annoying graphics that unfortunately render the site almost unreadable, and a spirited discussion board where the participants are already out for blood.

Since Wonderfalls’ website uses View-Master imagery, what better time to reacquaint yourself with this most fascinating of toys, first at the site of Mr. Viewmaster, and then at this comprehensive Ultimate View-Master Reel List.

Touching Evil premieres on USA tonight at 9pm, with an encore at 11pm, and more repeats on the near horizon. Check out the show website for background information and the complete run schedule.

The original British Touching Evil ran on PBS several years ago, and here’s its website. Don’t miss the interesting essay on main character Creegan’s troubled psyche.

Grab a barf bag and tune into Trio’s Autopsy (not to be confused with HBO’s continuing series of the same name) tonight at 9:30pm, with lots more encores for the not-quickly-sated. Check the website for the complete airing schedule. Artist Gunter Van Hagens spectacularly successful flayed-human art exhibitions are the toast of Europe, as reported on his official website.

 
UPN Dares To Be Different


Even though you know they're scratching their heads over at UPN, wondering why audiences keep rejecting their clever and interesting shows like Jake 2.0, darned if they aren't trying something again tonight with Game Over, a new animated comedy at 8pm. It's an all-CGI production about the secret lives of videogame characters and their crazy adventures that evidently don't end when the game is over. At the very least it will look different from anything else on primetime TV, and if it's got as much wit, heart and excitement as some of the actual games out there that people are playing, it could be just the ticket for attracting a very desirable demo to the network.

The talent behind the show is top rate, including several writer-producers from the cult favorite The Tick, and bringing over that show's distinctive voice talent, Patrick Warburton, to voice the main character. Warburton, still beloved for his role as Elaine's boyfriend Puddy on Seinfield, is always dead on the money and should be delightful here; he'll have able support from Lucy Liu who's voicing his wife. (For an amazing Warburton performance, check out 1999's terrific B&W The Woman Chaser, set in late 1950s L.A., where he plays a used car salesman who wants to be a movie producer. He look likes something right out of an old episode of The Adventures of Superman, and the whole movie is a kooky delight.)

I'm hoping America shows up for Game Over, not just because I'm a game fan and will enjoy the spoof, but because goodness knows UPN could use a little encouragement on Wednesday night. Poor Enterprise keeps taking it in the 'nads, not just from the audience but from critics, too, who somehow think killing off this newest Star Trek incarnation -- because it hasn't quite caught on (but in a much more mess-up TV landscape, which I think excuses a lot) -- will preserve the franchise. I wouldn't bet on that, and besides, the show isn't bad. Granted, it also isn't ten people in a mansion eating rotten possum eyeballs for cash, but we'll leave that to the other networks. And I'm still crying for Jake 2.0, which possibly has been cancelled for good but let's hope is just on a long vacation. It's my favorite show of this year and I miss the heck out of it.

Ah...I almost forget the other new delight on Wednesday night, and boy it is taking the predictable knocks and brickbats from everyone. The Mullets, originally on UPN's Tuesday night line-up but dead there, has returned, and that's good news for the few of us who thought it was a breath of fresh air. I loved it, not that every joke was a winner, but the overall goodheartedness and snidelessness of the premise was enticing, and the performances hilarious, broad and genuine. The show's lower middle class "White Trash" millieu took a lot of critical beating, but it smelled a lot more like class hatred to me. Excuse these guys for living in a trailer park instead of a Manhattan apartment, I guess, or for not knowing -- or caring about -- the names of posh shoe designers. Michael Weaver and David Hornsby are terrific as Dwayne and Denny Mullet, Loni Anderson's comedy chops are better than ever as their luscious mother, and John O'Hurley makes like a New Millenium Mr. Mooney (and please tell me I don't have to explain that reference) as Loni's new and horrified TV star husband.


UPN's the place to be tonight, with the new Game Over premiering at 8pm, followed by The Mullets at 8:30pm, and Enterprise (encore episode) at 9pm.



Check out UPN's own Game Over site, then go on over to the show's official standalone site which is much better!


UPN's The Mullet's site is mighty scrawny, but it's better than nothing.

 
Loss Number Two


Though he had been missing for over two months, it was shocking to hear that the body of actor/writer Spalding Gray had finally been found in the East River, after his probable suicide jump from the Staten Island ferry in January. Gray was one of those performers who truly can be said to have been brilliant but troubled, with a family history full of mental illness travails and a personal one brimming with it as well. But what a talent, his distinctive monologues performed with insight, intelligence and huge helpings of wit and humor. Take a look at the filmed versions of his Swimming to Cambodia and Monster in a Box for proof of his unique gifts, and you'll be sad he's not around anymore.


The New York Times has a wonderful article on his life and death in this morning's edition. Check it out online here. Registration required, but it's free.

And here's a really wonderful -- and mournful -- piece on Spalding written by his friend John Perry Barlow at the time of Gray's disappearance; it captures the complex brilliance of the man and what it was like to have him as a friend.

This is an amazing article (also written before the confirmation of his death) about his disappearance, full of fascinating and sometimes shocking background information that paints a sad yet compelling portrait of the unique Gray, including the plausible connection that the movie Big Fish had on his (now we know) demise. From New York Metro.com, where you can probably find plenty of info on the whole Martha Stewart situation, if that's your thing.

 
City Confidential Loses Its Voice


Sad to see that veteran actor Paul Winfield died this past Sunday; his narration is the glue that holds A&E's immensely entertaining series City Confidential together. Just this side of overdone, Winfield's distinctive honey-coated verbal indictments made the show unique and unforgettable, and his absence will be a great loss to the overall impression of the show. Of course, Paul Winfield also had a long and impressive career on stage, screen and lots of TV, including miniseries like King (as MLK) and the second Roots and way back when the groundbreaking series Julia with Diahann Carroll. Cult aficionados will remember him fondly as the officer who, along with Chekov, had one of those creepy worm things put into his ear in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, and in another less-great but no less entertaining crazy 1973 TV movie about a cursed airplane, Horror at 37,000 Feet (also with Trek's Shatner).

Other prominent TV appearances include a recurring role on Touched by an Angel, an Emmy-winning guest role on Picket Fences, another recurring role on L.A. Law, and lots of other stuff, including frequent animation voice-overs and comedy performances on The Simpsons and the wonderful and nearly forgotten It's Garry Shandling's Show. And of course like any actor worth his salt, Winfield did the obligatory guest roles on the great '60s dramas like The F.B.I. , The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mannix and Ironside. He had a long and well-rounded career, though it ended far too soon with his death at only 62.

In case you've missed his wonderful City Confidential work, check it out every weekday on A&E at noon and 6pm, and in primetime at 10pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.