Send In The Clones

With the good TV still weeks away, I'm probably going to be taking in some of the big releases this weekend at the cinema (though not "Vicky Christina Barcelona," which isn't coming to Macon yet).

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" is a continuation of the animated series of shorts that ran on The Cartoon Network a couple of years ago, and tells the story of the years between the second and third prequels. The animation of the shorts was done in traditional, 2-D animation but this new version is CGI 3-D.

Though I'm curious about the project, I've heard enough negative reviews of it (and no positive ones) that I'll wait for it to be re-run on TV — which will be in only a few weeks. In this rather unique deal, the movie gets a cinema release first before debuting on TV.

The other big movie that opens this week is "Tropic Thunder." Earlier this week, I covered protests from people representing groups such as the Special Olympics, who are protesting nationwide the movie's excessive use of the word "retard."

It's tough to judge something to be offensive without having seen it, but from what I can gather, the movie uses the word in a satirical sense and is making fun of the actors who play physically or mentally challenged individuals in order to win Oscars, not those individuals themselves.

Does that make it right? It's hard to say. I remember when "Pulp Fiction" came out and blacks were incensed at the frequent use of the n-word by both black and white characters. And though I enjoyed "Pulp," it did seem use of the word was gratuitous, whereas in a movie such as "Mississippi Burning," for example, the word is used to provide historical context.

I asked one of the demonstrators if she thought that by protesting "Tropic," it would actually bring more people to the film by raising their curiosity. She said that while that is a possibility, the movie could also serve as a forum to teach people that use of language can be hurtful, which may be the most important part of the controversy.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: If you are staying in and not watching the Olympics, you still have some choices of new stuff.

"Monk" (USA, 9 p.m.) must solve a mystery while trapped on a Navy submarine; it's followed by a new "Psych" at 10 p.m. "Stargate: Atlantis" (Sci-Fi, 10 p.m.) is also new, as is "Swingtown" (CBS, 10 p.m.)

On Saturday, I was a little underwhelmed by the premiere of "Primeval" (BBC America, 9 p.m.) The premise is pretty interesting, but the rather poor CGI effects of the dinosaurs proved to be a distraction. Still, there's enough there that I'm going to give the show another chance.

On Sunday, it's a night of endings. Chris Noth departs another "Law & Order" franchise with his final "Criminal Intent" (USA, 9 p.m.), which is followed by the season finale of "In Plain Sight" (USA, 10 p.m.)

On PBS, the last-ever "Inspector Lynley Mysteries" airs on "Masterpiece Mystery" (PBS, 9 p.m.)

On the bright side, we've got a whole lot of season left on the superb "Mad Men," (AMC, 10 p.m.), which has somehow managed to raise its game to an even higher level.

Network Report Card '08, V: ABC

Oh, ABC, ABC, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

--The most imaginative slate of new shows from any network this year, including "Eli Stone," "Dirty, Sexy Money," and "Pushing Daisies."
--A schedule that satisfied people both critically and in the ratings, such as "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy."
--Looking to poach the best of other networks, by grabbing "Scrubs" after NBC discarded it and nearly grabbing CBS' "Old Christine."

WHAT WAS GOOD: Just about everything. There wasn't a network that came up with more innovative stuff than ABC, ranging from the wonderful comedy/drama mix of "Eli Stone" to the perfection that was "Pushing Daisies." "Samantha Who?" was the network's most successful sitcom, both creatively and numbers-wise, in ages.

"Desperate Housewives" had a big rebound year thanks to the addition of Dana Delaney, and "Lost" hit on all cylinders, owning the public eye while everyone else was on strike. "Grey's" just finished out of the Top 10 at No. 11, and "Ugly Betty" turned in a very solid sophomore campaign.

On the reality front, ABC owned the No. 2 reality series with "Dancing With the Stars" and also got strong ratings contributions from "Extreme Makeover," "Oprah's Big Give" and "The Bachelor."

WHAT WAS BAD: ABC didn't hit on every cylinder. It also gave us the worst show of the year by far in "Big Shots." "Carpoolers" and "Cavemen" were duds that were more consistent with ABC's sitcom failures of the past. "Private Practice" failed to live up to the show it was spun off from, "Grey's Anatomy."

"Miss/Guided" had a lot of potential, but ABC buried it on the schedule and won't bring it back.

ABC also announced it has renewed the likes of "Boston Legal" and "According to Jim" for another season.

OVERALL: ABC's hits far exceeded its misses. While it didn't have a break-out-of-the-pack commercial success like it did when "Grey's," "DH" and "Lost" all came out, the best of the new shows used a combination of critical praise and timing from the strike to earn renewals. ABC may be making a mistake by not re-airing some of those series to give new viewers a chance to catch them before the new fall season begins.

GRADE: A-. Had ABC spared us "Big Shots" and "Cavemen," they might have earned an A.

COMING NEXT: Mini-report cards for cable.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: Tonight's new "Doctor Who" (Sci Fi, 9 p.m.) is called "The Doctor's Daugter." Yes, we do meet the Doctor's daughter Jenny (Georgia Moffett), and her existence is explained in the first minute as the Doctor, Martha and Donna land in the midst of a massive war. Fun fact No. 1: Moffett is genuinely the Doctor's daughter - her dad is Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor (and her mother is Sandra Dickinson, Trillian from the BBC's "Hitchhiker's Guide" miniseries from the 1980s.) Fun fact No. 2: Moffett originally auditioned for the role of Rose Tyler, which of course went to Billie Piper. Fun fact No. 3: Moffett is apparently dating series star David Tennant in real life, according to the UK press.

Also new is "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci Fi, 10 p.m.), which finds Vipers flying with Cylons, not against them.

The extremely popular "Meerkat Manor" (Animal Planet, 9 p.m.) kicks off a new season as well.

On Saturday, "Robin Hood" (BBC America, 9 p.m.) finds himself fighting the Black Knights. (Hopefully, they won't try biting his kneecaps off).

CBS presents a remake of "Sybil" (CBS, 8 p.m.), with Jessica Lange playing the shrink who has a patient with multiple personality disorder.

On Sunday, Spike airs the "Deliverance"-style movie, "Backwoods" (Spike, 9 p.m.) "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (USA, 9 p.m.) kicks off its new season, followed by a new episode of "In Plain Sight" at 10 p.m.

Also kicking off its season is the popular drama "Army Wives" (Lifetime, 10 p.m.)