The first phrase that comes to my mind when I think about the pilot episode for The Defenders is ’smart move. When word first came out about this show, the word was that it was going to be a re-do of the popular lawyer series from the 60’s …

Hawaii Five-0’s pilot episode from September 2010 is designed to introduce us to the new team. This is not a replica of the Jack Lord series; it’s a re-think. It’s very important to go into this series with an open mind. If you are determined to …

I definitely enjoy the Surviving the Cut. It educates the everyday viewer about the military elite and all that they have to do to get there. Well, not all because actually some of it is classified. The cameras frequently have to shut off to avoid showing …

Project Runway: Race to the Finish had a challenge that involved L’oreal makeup, specifically eye shadow duos. The challenge was attached to a word like ‘bright’ or ‘velvet’ and it was to be a high fashion runway look.
As often happens so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, …

Highway Patrol: Portrait of Death is the 7th episode of the fourth year, airing back in November 1958. Police dramas were different then. This show which has been considered a leader from early television is rather tame and has some real staging and directing problems. However, …

The 34th episode of Sea Hunt’s 4th season on TV was called P.T. Boat and aired in August 1961. The show starred Lloyd Bridges as deep sea diving expert Mike Nelson with guest stars Kelton Garwood as Kendrick Calway and Lisabeth Hush as Linda Calway. Also appearing …

Survivor Nicaragua: Fatigue Makes Cowards of Us All is the 2nd episode of the current season where its older versus younger members. In my mind, I have to wonder about the fairness. The challenges in Survivor tend to be physical. I think the older tribe is …

The first part of Gareth Malone Goes to Glyndebourne shows the dedication, challenge, and determination that choir master Gareth Malone is faced with in achieving his current project. This three part series has Malone charged with putting together a teenage choir to perform at the Spring Festival at …

Gareth Malone Goes to Glyndebourne: Part 3 begins in February, 3 weeks before Malone’s opera chorus of teenagers has to go on stage and perform in a new opera called Knight Crew. The show opens with the chorus setting foot on the actual performing stage for the first …

Season ten is the last for Smallville and this second episode of the year, Shield, further progresses the story towards Clark Kent becoming Superman. In fact, in this outing we get the first real use of the Superman name, and it actually comes from a surprising source.
Now you’ll …

Gareth Malone Goes to Glyndebourne: Part 2 continues to show the choir master’s latest challenge which is to put together a teenage choir to perform an opera on stage. He has six weeks. I haven’t seen part 1 yet, but apparently, he screened 450 students and brought …

The Defenders: Las Vegas v. Reid is the second show of this new law series that is as much comedy as it is drama. For example, in the opening tease, the first bit has the series leads, Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell, standing below the big, bold billboard …

The Amazing Race: They Don’t Call This the Amazing Race for Nothin’ was the beginning of the 17th season for this Emmy winning reality show where pairs go off in search of adventure in the hopes of bringing home the million dollar prize.
This season there are two couples …

The Andy Griffith Show: Back to Nature is an entertaining fourth season episode that showcases Barney’s bigger than life ego. Wonderful Barney always thinks he’s better than he is. In this case, he envisions himself as a master Boy Scout, an outdoorsman who can survive anything. …

It’s a show about romance and misunderstandings, along with Barney’s normal over confidence. That’s what The Andy Griffith Show: Barney and Thelma Lou, Phfftt from May 1964 deals with. I actually love the opening scene where Barney and Thelma Lou are window shopping, essentially talking about their …

It really is hard to be all that excited by the April 1964 The Andy Griffith Show: The Rumor because we’ve been there and done that. There are countless episodes where Barney overreacts to seeing Barney with a girlfriend and then jumps to the conclusion that they are …

The wonderful Bernard Fox makes another appearance in this great comedy series in April 1964. In The Andy Griffith Show: The Return of Malcolm Merriweather, Fox plays the amicable gentleman’s valet, who comes back to Mayberry to say hello as he makes his way around that part of …

The Andy Griffith Show: Fun Girls is not an outing that I enjoy. The Fun Girls are legendary in the mythos of this superb comedy series, but for me, they’ve never been a hit. They are annoying, and both of their episodes are ones I tend to …

Ice Road Truckers: Deadly Melt is the second to the last show for the reason, and it was pretty tame going. They did some interesting camera work that focused more on the landscape than the trucks as they cleared the snow and ice from beneath a bridge so …

From December 1968, The Virginian: Nora is a family show of sorts, in that series stars John McIntire (as Clay Grainger) and Jeanette Nolan (as Holly Grainger) also appear with their son, Tim McIntire, who has a minor role as an Army lieutenant. Still, they do have scenes …

From October 1982, Remington Steele: : Tempered Steele is the second outing for this show, and it begins with Steele running up a huge tab which annoys Laura Holt big time.
An electronics company hires the agency to discover who is stealing their research. After Mr. Steele blows all Ms. …

The Andy Griffith Show: Bargain Day is one of the always fun to watch outings for this classic television series that aired during its fourth season, back in March 1964. It all begins when Clara tells Aunt Bee about a new butcher shop in Mayberry. The end result …

The Andy Griffith Show: Andy’s Vacation, a season four show that aired in March 1964, has some humorous elements to it, but it is also one of those plots that I am not really crazy about. I suppose it is because I am not big on the plots …

From February 1964, The Andy Griffith Show: The Song Festers is a favorite episode. It’s fun and poignant, and more than either of those, it’s an entertaining half hour. That said, it’s not all new and it doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense either.
In this episode, …

Season four of The Andy Griffith Show continued with Hot Rod Otis on February 17, 1964. The basic premise of the half hour program has Andy and Barney worried when town drunk Otis Campbell (played beautifully by Hal Smith) buys a car.
First up, though, is some competition madness …

Steve Joyce, CEO of Choice Hotels, is the executive going under cover in this first show of Undercover Boss’ second season. They’ve changed up the scenario a little bit to try to prevent people from realizing what is happening, now that this is the second year of the …

Remington Steele: Signed, Steeled and Delivered is the fourth effort for this freshman year of NBC’s detective series from October 1982. The show begins lightheartedly with Steele, played by the suave Pierce Brosnan, asking Laura Holt, portrayed by the talented Stephanie Zimbalist, out on a date. She …

From October 1982 is Remington Steele: Steele Waters Run Deep, episode 3 of the series. Part of the action in this hour is the fake Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan) wanting to be a real part of the agency and not just a figurehead, so to speak. …

Remington Steele: License to Steele was the first episode of what would become a successful drama for five years on the NBC Network. The show starred Stephanie Zimbalist as private detective, Laura Holt, and Pierce Brosnan as her fictional detective and agency head, Remington Steele.
Basically, Laura Holt was …

The original Stand Up 2 Cancer television event occurred in 2008 and it received enormous attention. The show was aired on all three major TV networks as well as numerous cable channels and networks. It was everywhere, and the hour long show was even replayed a couple …

Have Gun - Will Travel: Cream of the Jest from May 1962 was the 33rd episode of the western’s fifth season of televising. This particular outing was more humorous in tone with just a hint of drama intermixed. The action takes place in Santa Fe, which Paladin …

One of the reasons for watching Remington Steele: Thou Shalt Not Steele from November 1982 is that the episode guest stars Cassandra Harris, who is perhaps better know as being Mrs. Pierce Brosnan. The British actress sadly passed away years ago of cancer, but shows like this show …

I really haven’t watched The Wendy Williams Show from start to finish before catching this September 2010 episode of the talk show. What has often happened is that I’ve seen the last few minutes when changing the channel to tune into the beginning of another show. I …

For the second week of the current season of Dancing with the Stars, the stars danced either the quick step or the jive. Note, I don’t always agree with the judges, especially these three who I feel now pick favorites early and comment and score appropriately. Following …

From season one in November 1982, Remington Steele: Steele Belted was fairly interesting. It began with Steele’s condo being ransacked, though Laura Holt doesn’t seem to care. It’s not until he ends up in the middle of things himself, that Holt lets Steele in on the current …

The fourth season of Sea Hunt was just underway with this fourth episode known as Vital Error from January 1961. The show revolves around diving expert, ex-Navy frogman Mike Nelson, as played by Lloyd Bridges. In this half hour, Nelson is diving with is friend, Fred Darrow.
Darrow …

The fourth show of the fourth season on TV, Highway Patrol: Transmitter Danger was another show that focused on dynamite. They’ve done this a couple of times so it wasn’t the freshest of plots to be doing in this half hour show. This show is about the …

From its first of five seasons on TV, Remington Steele: Your Steele the One for Me has Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan) wanting to learn the detective business, and this time, Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) agrees to teach him. It’s a natural progression of the series in which Steele …

It’s the holiday season in Remington Steele: Etched in Steele, and the Remington Steele Agency is going through a slowdown. That is, until Laura Holt gets in an uproar over her fictional detective whose identity has been assumed by a mysterious man. It seems that Steele has …

From August 1961, Sea Hunt: Superman is a fourth season episode that focuses on just three characters. The first is the series mainstay of deep sea diver Mike Nelson as played by Lloyd Bridges. The second is Liz, played by Sue Randall. Liz is an old …

As the World Turns from September 17, 2010 was the last of the series as this decades-old soap left the airwaves for ever. The hour long program was more of a Don Hastings reflection show, a compilation of vignettes in fact, that wrap it all up forever. …

Project Runway: A Rough Day on the Runway had the competitors focused on American sportswear with Jackie Kennedy as the inspiration or muse. The twist came on what was to be runway day when the designers are told that they have to add a piece of outerwear. …

I consider Remington Steele: In the Steele of the Night to be a miniaturized version of Murder By Death. We have Laura Holt and Murphy Michaels headed to an old friend’s lavish estate for a reunion. These folks apparently all used to work together at the same …

Sea Hunt: The Destroyers, episode 3 of season 4, was a little bit different from the normal show in that it centered around two ships that collided in the harbor. Unfortunately, the situation looks bad for one Navy man, which is why expert diver and one time Navy …

From October 1958, Highway Patrol: Family Affair was the third outing of this fourth and final year of this police drama. The plot is family oriented, but not in a good way per se. This half hour program surrounds a wife who plots her husband’s escape from …

The tenth season of The Apprentice began with a focus on America’s poor economy and recession. In essence, the theme is: ‘what if you had a second chance?’ This weeks-long interview by Donald Trump is that second chance for all of the candidates. This is also …

From November 1958, Highway Patrol: Train Robbery was the 8th outing of the fourth TV season, and it really was different. I love fresh shows, things that weren’t done before. Granted, that isn’t always easy, but it can be done. The premise of this half hour …

The pilot for Mike & Molly aired in mid September 2010. This is one of the new crop of comedies that I decided to try out and see if I was missing something. The answer across the board is pretty much a resounding no. The jokes …

One of the new dramatic shows for the 2010 Fall TV season is called Undercovers:. It has a very big action beginning that is very spy like. That, of course, is appropriative since this hour long show is indeed about a couple of spies. This first …

From December 1958, Highway Patrol: Deadly Diamonds was an okay half hour, but the entertainment value wasn’t as strong as some other outings simply because it’s a stale plot. We’ve seen jewelry thieves on the show before, and we’ve also seen three person teams.
Frankly, the set up for …