Friday, January 25, 2008

Doubleshot of James Marsters

For all of the James Marsters ("Buffy," "Angel") fans out there, this week should be twice as nice.

On Saturday, Marsters shows up as Capt. Jack Harkness' former partner (in more ways than one) on the season premiere of "Torchwood" (BBC America, Sat., 9 p.m.) Then, on Thursday, Marsters reprises his role as Brainiac as "Smallville" returns with new episodes on The CW.

"Torchwood," BBC America's highest-rated show, returns for its second season as Jack (John Barrowman) returns after a mysterious absence. Where was he? Well, if you watched Season 3 of "Doctor Who" on Sci-Fi, you know the answer. If you didn't, now's your chance to catch up as BBC America will start showing the most recent season beginning at 7 p.m.

MORE DEALS REACHED: Some companies aren't sitting around waiting for the WGA and the AMTMP to reach an agreement. Lionsgate and Marvel Studios became the latest production companies to reach a deal with the WGA, allowing films in production such as "Thor" and TV series such as "Mad Men" to get back to work.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: Smash has to deal with all sorts of fallout after his dustup with a group of white kids on "Friday Night Lights," (NBC, 9 p.m.) while Tammy takes over the women's volleyball program. For those Jason Street fans (Scott Porter) who have missed the former QB, he's found a new calling. It's followed by a new "Las Vegas" at 10 p.m.

Sci-Fi begins the two-part season finale of "Flash Gordon" at 8 p.m., followed by a new "Stargate: Atlantis" at 9 p.m. On sister network USA, "Monk" and "Psych" are all-new, beginning at 9 p.m.

As for the rest of the weekend, the best bet is the phenomenal new series "Breaking Bad" (AMC, Sun., 10 p.m.) While some people have compared the show to a darker version of "Weeds," I think this truly might end up being the successor in spirit to "The Sopranos."

COMING NEXT WEEK: "Lost" fans, I've got a special interview for you guys that will run just before Thursday's season premiere.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As I missed out on the first season, I can't start watching "Torchwood" now, but I may have to see if the Torchwood DVD's are available and check the first season out.

So far, I have really enjoyed the 2 series I have been watching through Netflix on DVD as my strike counter programming: "The Wire" and "Undeclared". I am especially glad I have finally allowed myself to delve into "The Wire" and see what all the critical fuss is about.

Speaking of great Television, the Lions gate deal is fantastic news. It means we'll get a 2nd season of "Mad Men" this Summer, ON TIME. I just felt really bad for star Jon Hamm who's obviously raised his profile signifigantly with his star turn as Don Draper on 'Men', but winning the Golden Glove would have really propelled Hamm's public profile - instead, because there was no awards show, if Hamm doesn't win the Emmy later this year or a Globe next year, he will have missed his window for added (and deserved) recognition.

I am excited to see a 2nd hour of "Breaking Bad" and would be pleased to see star Bryan Cranston join Hamm in the Emmy list later this year.

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