tv show – Page 45

Writers Strike Is Over

After 100 days, the writers strike, which began November 5, is now officially over. More than 90% of the writers who voted agreed to come back to work. Aside from a handful of reality shows, pretty much everybody lost in this battle. We can expect the returning shows to take 4-8 weeks to return with new episodes, and in most cases, we can expect about 4-6 new episodes before the season ends. With that in mind, some shows just simply won’t be worth starting up again until fall, while those that were borderline to begin with may not be worth starting again at all.

The whole situation is still entirely unclear. Once the showrunners, who returned to work yesterday, are able to sit down with the networks, we may get a clearer picture of what the TV landscape will look like over the days or weeks to come.

Jericho Season 2 Episode 1

After its ratings fell due to poor scheduling decisions last year, we were under the impression that Jericho had been cancelled, but an immediate public outcry led to a massive protest. Initially, CBS couldn’t care less since in the old days, something like this never would have worked, but behold the power of the Internet. 20,000 tons (8 million) peanuts later, the network finally caved in, giving Jericho an order for an abridged 7 episode season 2. It’s still far from out of the woods and really does come down to getting enough people to actually watch, but at least they have a chance now to either finish telling the story or at least allow it to progress some. Just in case, two endings have been written, one a season ender and one a series ender.

The army’s in the area and investigating the battle that went down in the season 1 finale, which ended when the air force attacked. Both sides blame the other for the attacks. They’re informed the dispute is officially over, whether they like it or not. Order will be restored. Or at least that’s the plan.

Four weeks after the New Bern war, they’re watching the news. Tens of millions are dead, dying, or homeless, and a senator from Wyoming has risen as a hero. In the small town of Jericho, meanwhile, the casualties now stand at 65, which of course includes Jake’s father.

The army manages to stop a shooting attempt believed to be from New Bern, then they raise the new flag, one which lacks about half the stars of the old one.

Hawkins believes that the new government’s tracking them but thinks they’re dead and is actually looking for the person who killed them, Sarah, who in reality is dead herself.

Stanley has now settled his debts with the IRS, which despite the destruction of the country is still collecting taxes, by agreeing to give them a portion of his crop for the next three years. Before he can get a word out about how he wants to marry her, Mimi asks him to get married.

70% of Jericho has had its power restored, with the rest of the town on schedule by the end of the month. The bad news is that New Bern has been given amnesty, even though it appears they were at fault. Jake warns there won’t be any reconciliation until Constantino is dead. Major Edward Beck’s response is that Jake is “the guy,” and he wants to appoint him to sheriff of the town. Unconvinced, Jake plans to head to New Bern later that night to get revenge.

Darcy confirmed Hawkins’ suspicions. They’re passing out wanted posters for Sarah.

Heather informs Beck that the man who they captured yesterday was one of the worst. He asks her to be the liaison between the two towns. Not at all awkward.

Mimi’s reviewing the contract Stanley signed. She informs him they’re just screwing with him. He’ll have to keep forking over his crops until a national monetary system is in place and won’t start receiving credit for the three years until then.

Hawkins doesn’t support Jake’s plan and heads home. He tells him he’s just making a big show, which is both dangerous and stupid.

Beck pulls Jake aside to show him a man in a body bag, a clear threat to put this to rest.

Mimi approaches the lawyer who tricked Stanley into signing the papers, accusing her of fraudulently taking advantage of a debt he doesn’t actually owe, as the new government has granted amnesty for non-violent crimes.

Jake heads to Emily to discuss his father’s death and how best to proceed. She already knows what he’s planning and says his father wouldn’t approve. While there, he’s given news that his brother grabbed a gun and went out with some rangers.

Jake tries to convince Eric not to go through with the plan, but he’s not real interested in listening. Maybe he’ll listen to some military men instead. Jake pretends that they were policing the border because of a rumor about an armed party on the way from New Bern. Beck’s not fooled but does let them go, advising Jake he just saved his brother’s life, and that other people will need similar saving.

Darcy made copies of some faxes but thinks she wasn’t followed. They hear a noise outside. When he goes out to research it, Hawkins has a gun put to his head. It’s a blast from the past, Chavez. He wasn’t going to shoot anyway, but Darcy makes sure of that by in turn putting a gun to his head.

Hawkins lets him know Victor’s dead from radiation, and that Sarah’s dead from other causes (Chavez gives him an “I told you so” about her). He also tells him Valente, now within Cheyenne’s government, was the one controlling Sarah.

Mimi got the contract rescinded, an offer for equipment at a fair price, and an agreement to work with the government in an actual deal. She apologizes for proposing, but Stanley tells her he was going to ask her anyway. He pulls out his mother’s wedding ring to get her to stop talking, then he proposes.

Two countries have been wiped off the map to protect Cheyenne’s secret.

The west is alligned under Cheyenne, Wyoming. The east is under Columbus, Ohio. Texas has not made a decision but is close to siding with Cheyenne, which would end everything. The goal is to expose Cheyenne before they take over the whole country.

Jake agrees to be the sheriff of Jericho, and when he does, he’s given the news that the President’s on his way.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Jericho Season 2 episode 2 Condor, which airs Tuesday at 10/9c on CBS.

Early Renewals at ABC

With the end of the writers strike close at hand, ABC has announced renewals of the following shows for next season:

Brothers & Sisters
Desperate Housewives
Dirty Sexy Money
Grey’s Anatomy
Lost
Private Practice
Pushing Daisies
Samantha Who?
Ugly Betty

What exactly they’re going to do with these shows is anybody’s guess. They could opt to to have them up and running again by April, or they could simply hold off on them until fall.

Prison Break Season 3 Episode 12

After months of waiting, the gang finally broke out of prison in Prison Break Season 3 Episode 11. The episode ended with the power going out, giving them 30 seconds to make a run for it.

Lechero, Bellick, and T-Bag take their sweet time getting out. Michael knows they’ve taken too long and tells the others to wait. Ignoring the warning to stop or be shot, Lechero gets shot (but not killed). Despite this, Michael doesn’t need to go to plan B because he says this is all going according to plan.

Michael knew the generator was going to kick in sooner than 30 seconds. Lincoln tries to call Sucre, but Sucre’s caught and handcuffed.

Bellick spills the plan to the guards and promptly leads them to the tunnel. While their attention is diverted elsewhere, Michael uses the distraction to head out of the tunnel. Just as the guards reach the tunnel, the last of the guys gets out. Shortly thereafter, they realize they’re four inmates short (Scofield, Whistler, Mahone, and McGrady).

By the time the guards figure it out, the guys are already through the fence and running through the jungle. During the mad dash, Whistler falls and injures his ankle, but there’s no way they’re leaving him behind.

They meet up with Lincoln, who says they have what they need. Whatever it is, it’s buried, and they have to dig it up. While this is happening, Whistler warns that the Company’s going to kill all of them after the exchange, and he tries to convince them to just let him go. What they dig up is tanks so they can be invisible (underwater). Of course, they’ve only got four tanks since McGrady was unexpected. McGrady can’t swim anyway, so Scofield offers to share with him. There’s an added wrinkle. The bird book, with the coordinates Susan wants, was dropped in the escape.

Back at Sona, the guards are kicking the crap out of Bellick, who doesn’t know anything because obviously Scofield wasn’t going to trust him with any useful information.

When they get to where they’re going, there is no Sucre waiting for them because he’s still otherwise occupied.

Using dogs, the guards figure out something’s in the sand. They do some digging and find a cooler with shoes in it, so they know exactly where they need to look now.

They see a boat coming up to them, unsure whether it’s friend or foe. It’s not Sucre, but instead McGrady’s father has taken the boat and picks them up.

Meanwhile, the guards are getting tired of beating up Bellick, so they turn their attention to T-Bag, who just happens to be thrown down in the dirt right near the book, which he grabs.

The other four head off together, leaving McGrady to go home with his father. While they’re driving off, they get a phone call from Susan, who’s right near them. The watch Whistler got from Susan is a tracking device, and they know exactly where they are.

They cause one car following them to wipe out. The second one chases them to a dead end, a cabin in the woods, where a shootout ensues. Eventually, Susan shows up to join in, realizing they’re just faking her out (either that or they’re really bad shots, since they only hit the car three times). She barges down the door to find out it’s just sound effects. They’ve all headed out back and got another car.

T-Bag tells the guards “I know less than you do, which is hard considering how dumb you are.” So then they decide to electrocute him. When he sees Sucre, who’s finally been allowed to go, he tells them Sucre knows everything.

Susan calls Lincoln, who’s stopped at an abandoned warehouse. He demands she meet them there, telling her she’s not calling the shots any more.

McGrady and his father are headed straight for a police blockade. We’ll have to find out what happens to him next week.

Sucre plays dumb, but the information about the escaped Fox River prisoners says otherwise.

Mahone says he’s going to leave. Lincoln wants to shoot him as revenge for his father. Michael tries to convince him not to, but the noise from outside (Whistler escaping) is what actually gets him to stop. He’s running pretty fast for a guy with an injured ankle, and he steals a truck and drives off.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Prison Break season 3 episode 13 The Art of the Deal, which airs Monday at 8/7c on Fox.

The CW Drops WWE Smackdown

What do you do when your network’s becoming more and more invisible as the days go by? Cancel your top rated show, of course. Neither side commented on why WWE Smackdown, which has been on UPN since 1999, is being dropped at the end of the 2007-2008 season. Presumably, they could not come to terms on financial agreements, and despite the high viewership, Smackdown never particularly meshed with what is supposed to be a network targeted at young females (even if it did provide some potential boost for something like Reaper). It’s unclear where Smackdown might end up, but USA Network and MyNetworkTV have been suggested by some.

Kyle XY Season 2 Episode 17

Amanda returned home from school in Kyle XY Season 2 Episode 16. With her mother unwilling to take the hint, she decided to not get back on the plane and instead hid in Kyle’s house.

Amanda asks Kyle if she can stay there just until the morning. He offers her his tub to sleep in and literally gives her the shirt off his back. Not wanting to offend him by refusing the tub (he says he would understand because “It’s a tub”), she agrees to sleep in it. He can’t get comfortable on the floor, though, so she of course lets him get in the tub with her. How many times have I heard this story before? The next morning, Nicole knocks on his door, wondering why it’s locked. She doesn’t suspect anything.

Lori’s hoping to get paroled from grounding, and her excuse is that she’s the designated driver for a bunch of underaged drinkers. Josh pretends he needs to see Andy for emotional support because she’s got chemo, but Nicole knows her chemo is actually on a different day. Unlike the other two and the worst attempts at getting time off for good behavior ever, Kyle’s willing to do his time.

As Kyle’s saying goodbye to Amanda, she gets stuck in the room because Josh has chores that will require him to leave the windows closed. He sneaks her out the other way, where Josh sees her, and then Lori walks in. Just as Amanda’s running around from room to room, someone from the Department of Children’s Services shows up regarding a complaint filed against Kyle, which may be ridiculous, but since he was a former ward of the state, they have to check it out. While they’re discussing keeping the truth about who Kyle really is a secret from the woman checking into the complaint, Amanda is in a convenient position to overhear the whole conversation.

The kids get concerned about the social worker because that’s basically a fancy word for snoop. Josh wants to hide his porn. Lori needs to hide her beer that she claims she was holding for a friend.

Amanda is stuck hiding in Kyle’s room when Nicole warns him to clear out anything incriminating. Still not understanding the part about going to the front door, Jessi climbs in through his window, looking to spend time with Kyle and hoping Amanda would get lost. Just then, Declan shows up to take the beer, blocking them in with the ladder.

Kyle sneaks Jessi out first because getting caught with her wouldn’t be completely terrible. She insists on talking rather than sneaking out, though. She brings him the missing record from the jukebox, which she found in her room. She takes offense to his unwillingness to help her out right away. As she’s leaving, Jessi mentions that she’s like part of the family, so the social worker accuses Nicole of becoming too emotionally involved.

With his newfound ability to control electricity, Kyle is able to send Amanda a signal to escape. It works. But as she’s sneaking out, her mother is getting ready to knock on the door. Busted. Amanda stands up for herself, and the social worker says that they’re pretty much done there since that’s a family dispute. Except she does need to see Kyle’s room, which has had everybody concerned seeing that he sleeps in a tub and all. When they walk in, there is no tub (it’s beer with pillows and blankets covering it, but nobody needs to know that until later). Kyle ends up getting a glowing report, but she says she has “grave concerns” about Nicole and will file the proper notice.

Amanda brings news that her mom listened more than usual, but still won’t let her see Kyle outside of school. At the end of the day, Kyle doesn’t regret his decision because it’s worth the risk to protect those he cares about.

In the end, we find out that it wasn’t Amanda’s mother who called the social services. Instead, the person who said she was from social services was sent by Latnok and refers to him as “the one.”

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Kyle XY Season 2 episode 18 Between the Rack and a Hard Place, which airs Monday at 8/7c on ABC Family.

Prison Break Season 3 Episode 11

Sammy overthrew Lechero in Prison Break Season 3 Episode 10, but it wasn’t long before Lechero was back in charge with Sammy’s untimely death after Scofield set him up. Sucre got a bribe from Susan, which he immediately sent home to Maricruz, so now Susan knows exactly where to find her.

The plan’s to get out of there by tomorrow, a seemingly impossible task, which means it should be no problem for Michael. He breaks the news to Lincoln that T-Bag’s coming, too, and Mahone, and Bellick, and a druglord.

T-Bag warns Whistler that he shouldn’t trust Michael, the guy who’s broken him out of prison twice now.

While they’re digging, it starts raining. Worried that the tunnel won’t hold up at night, the plans are changed: they’re leaving tonight instead of tomorrow.

McGrady confronts Michael, and once again, he tells him he’s not going with them, saying he’s protecting him from a life on the run.

Susan threatens Maricruz again, which gets Sucre to spill the beans that Michael’s having second thoughts about who he’s breaking out with, since last time he broke out some mad dog killer types.

Bellick wants to be a team with Mahone, turning on Scofield and being a hero. Mahone’s not real interested in the plan.

Sucre shows up at the prison. Michael needs help with the backup generator. He feeds the information on it back to him (manufacturer, model, and customer service number). By calling customer service, he finds out they’ve got just enough dark to make it out.

Susan wants to meet with Lincoln in person. When he arrives, they call Whistler so Susan can drive home a message to him by torturing Sofia. Scofield warns him that if he gives away the information, which he hasn’t figured out yet, Susan will turn on them. Later on, Whistler does figure out the coordinates and warns Scofield so he can plan accordingly. Michael suggests giving them the wrong coordinates to buy some time.

T-Bag wants to be Mahone’s partner, too, which leads to a response involving the word inbred.

Susan, Lincoln, and Sofia come to the prison to get the coordinates. Whistler gives her part of what she wants, saying he won’t give her the rest until he knows that everybody’s safe. She gives them 24 hours to get her the rest.

Lincoln’s going to have to cut the power from the outside. Michael tells him he’s got his concerns about pretty much everybody, but he just wants it to be over.

Michael has another chat with McGrady, giving him the option whether to stay or leave. He obviously chooses to leave, since nothing good can come from staying either.

Everybody finds out just how much time it’ll take for the backup generator to come on: 30 seconds. Not leaving them a lot of time. With that in mind, T-Bag and Lechero threaten to kill Whistler if they’re not first. Mahone’s not interested in moving ahead in line, though, as he doesn’t want his back to any of these people.

While at the prison, Sucre’s stopped and told that, when they ran his ID, they found out he’s got a warrant out for his arrest.

Lincoln runs a bus into the wires outside the prison, knocking out the power, and that’s where we leave things for next week.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Prison Break season 3 episode 12 Hell or High Water, which airs Monday at 8/7c on Fox.

Kyle XY Season 2 Episode 16

In an attempt to gain approval from her peers, Jessi jumped off a building, walked on water, and got caught doing it in Kyle XY Season 2 Episode 15. Kyle managed to convince everybody it was all just a trick, which Jessi ultimately was okay with, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have a mischievous side to explore.

The Trager family decides to do some spring cleaning. Josh just dumps everything without thinking, mostly so he can goof off while everybody else cleans, but Kyle likes all his stuff. While they’re outside finding out that in addition to everything else Kyle’s great at throwing a football, Amanda steps out of a cab. She’s greeted in a way only Kyle can: all the car alarms on the block go off at the same time. When they start talking, Kyle senses she’s troubled. She delays his question until a later time and says “We need to talk,” leading to warnings from Lori and Josh about that phrase being bad news.

Once Lori’s done cleaning, she asks for permission to boycott an assignment from her guidance counselors about who she really is (guidance counselors give assignments?). Josh suggests a paper about how she’s sarcastic, moody, and cynical (she says she’s not a cynic).

Jessi comes to see Kyle and wants some more lessons. She brushes off the fact that she hurt herself jumping off another roof. He wants to wait until after he’s done seeing Amanda. That talk, though, is pretty brief. As the others were afraid, she’s got bad news for him. She tells him she can’t see him any more, and her mother forces her inside, upset at the news that Amanda wants to drop out. Kyle’s told he can’t see or speak to her until she returns to the music conservatory. Yeah, because that type of excessively restrictive attitude will really help matters.

Kyle’s got a plan. He doesn’t need to see or speak to her. There’s text messages (phone’s been confiscated). There’s e-mail (blocked by parental controls). So when all else fails, he plays the guitar outside her window (d’oh… Stephen stops him). The alarm code’s even been changed to keep her in the house.

So it’s on to plan b. Kyle, Lori, and Josh are discussing the next move, when they find out an eavesdropping Jessi can do anything Kyle can do. They decide they can utilize her, sending her to ring the doorbell. Amanda’s mom isn’t too happy, saying “You’re Lori’s trampy friend.” Jessi responds, “No, that’s Hillary.” She slams the door on her face, telling her to pass a message to Kyle, “Nice try.” It’s really all just a ploy to get close enough to get the code to the alarm, though. The next step is to get the shades pulled down in Amanda’s room, so Lori throws pebbles at the window, resulting in a quick response from her mom.

Jessi wants Lori to know she didn’t mean to do what she did and is there to help now. Despite the initial resistance, Lori may be willing to meet her half way.

Kyle begins phase two on a set of Christmas lights. This leads to the electrical system, which connects to the neighborhood transformer, which leads back to Amanda’s house. After knocking out the lights in her house, Kyle uses a projector and writes the alarm code and a meeting place on his window to send her a message, an idea he got from Amanda’s favorite Romeo & Juliet scene. Phase three involves Josh in a wig in Amanda’s room, praying not to get caught.

When they meet, a romantic dinner is setup for them. Even Hillary pitches in by cooking (she’s secretly a Top Chef fan), modifying their menu to what she wants instead of what was requested. Kyle eventually brings up the reason he brought her there, and she tells him that her feelings for him could never change. Everything’s going great until her insane mother shows up and catches them. She forces her to get in the car to head off for a flight back to school. As she’s leaving, we find out an increasingly jealous Jessi is the reason the plan didn’t work.

Kyle, Josh, and Lori get grounded, but Jessi’s not quite off the hook. Taylor busts her as she’s sneaking back in. Just as it looks like she’s about to be punished, though, he turns out to mostly be concerned with the big plans he has for her, which they’ll discuss in the morning.

Amanda never got on the plane. She knocks on Kyle’s window looking for a place to hide.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Kyle XY Season 2 episode 17 Grounded, which airs Monday at 8/7c on ABC Family.