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Where Have I seen them Before?
Several Whedonverse sightings from TV Gal this week, including Potential Slayers Felicia Day and Indigo, as well as an ex flame of one of the Angel Crew. |
(KRT) - Let's be honest. We all have our biases.
And after reading my column, I'm sure you know some of mine. I'm partial to any former resident of "Melrose Place" and "90210" finding work (I will not rest until Thomas Calabro and Ian Ziering are back on primetime. I will not.). I can't really even have a rational conversation with anyone who doesn't think "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is one of the best television shows of all time. And I can still work myself into an uproar about the untimely cancellation of "Sports Night," "Boomtown," "Firefly" and "Once and Again." In fact, I'm getting upset just thinking about it.
So you probably are already well aware of the fact that I really couldn't stand Mary Louise Parker on "The West Wing" and that I'm quite fond of ABC Family. "Lucky 7," that movie where Kimberly Williams has to choose between Patrick Dempsey and Brad Rowe (as if there is an actual choice involved), is one of my all time favorites. And, hello, it's how we all knew long before "Grey's Anatomy" that Dempsey had grown cuter and more charming with age.
 But I seriously don't know what ABC Family was thinking with its new series "Beautiful People" (Mondays). The show makes "One Tree Hill" (Wednesdays, WB) look tame. I just think of ABC Family as, well, family entertainment, and with its coke-snorting, clothes-dropping teens this show is clearly not family entertainment. But I may have been able to overlook the questionable story lines if it weren't for the even more cliched plots. Not even Daphne Zuniga (a favorite of mine since "The Sure Thing" - you must rent this movie if you've never seen it) can save the show. Zuniga stars as Lynn Kerr, the mom of smart scholarship student Sophie (Sarah Foret) and aspiring model Karen (Torrey DeVitto). It's not long before Karen is on her way to developing an eating disorder, Lynn runs into an old flame who still pines for her and Sophie finds herself smack dab in the middle of teen love triangle. Because it was driving me crazy, I will tell you that James McCaffrey plays Lynn's old college boyfriend Julian Fiske and also stars as Tommy's deceased cousin Jimmy on "Rescue Me" (Tuesdays, FX). Now, because I kind of love ABC Family (they are, after all, the network airing "Gilmore Girls" repeats) I will tune in to episode two, but so far I'm very worried.
Let's turn our attention to "Weeds" (Mondays) the new Showtime series starring Mary Louise Parker as Nancy, the widowed mother of two who starts selling marijuana as a way to maintain her upper-class suburban lifestyle. If you missed Sunday night's premiere, fret not. Showtime is repeating the premiere this Wednesday and Friday at 10 p.m. I've seen the first five episodes and I must confess that I kind of like the show. My surefire test is how much I want to see the next episode of any new show and I wanted to watch all five episodes in one sitting. Parker is surprisingly sympathetic and the rest of the cast is pretty great. Elizabeth Perkins is downright scary as the mom who is so worried about her young daughter's weight problem that she goes to cruel measures. Kevin Nealon does his best Kevin Nealon as the pot-smoking accountant. And Alexander Gould is a true find as Nancy's youngest son Shane. Oh, and because this drove me crazy, I will tell you that Indigo who plays Vaneeta, the daughter of Nancy's pot connection, was slayer-in-training Rona on the final season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." "Weeds" is off-beat, at times funny, at times tragic and I'm pretty sure you are either going to love it or hate it (it doesn't strike me as a series that will inspire indifference). After you've watched "Weeds," talk about it on the TV Gal message boards.
WHERE HAVE I SEEN THEM BEFORE?
Robert noticed that Felicia Day was the newlywed on "Monk" (Fridays, USA). She was slayer-in-training Vi on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Ted recognized Daniel Roebuck last seen as Arzt on "Lost" (Wednesdays, ABC) as Larry Zwibel on "Monk." Ted also correctly noted that Brigid Brannagh who plays Dim's wife on "Over There" (Wednesdays, FX) was Wesley's girlfriend Virginia Bryce on "Angel."
And speaking of "Over There," of course you recognize Sprague Grayden, Judith on "Joan of Arcadia" and Anita on "Six Feet Under" (Sundays, HBO), as Terry, the wife of Bo. Nicki Aycox, Mrs. B., was Carol's sister on "Ed" and Lily's sister on "Cold Case" (Sundays, CBS).
Jennifer recognized Wilson Cruz, Rickie on "My So-Called Life," Victor on "Party of Five," and C.J.'s assistant Jack on "The West Wing" (Wednesdays, NBC), as one of the patrons in the opening scene of "The Closer" (Mondays, TNT). Elliot caught Kerr Smith, Jack on "Dawson's Creek," as the strung-out man accused of murder on "The Closer."
And TV Gal reader Jeff finds it very interesting that Hank Stratton played the dead man's partner on "The Closer." Stratton played Donald on "American Dreams." He marks the second American Dreamer to show up on "The Closer." Rachel Boston who played Beth on the series guest starred back in June as a murderous hairdresser.
Emmanuelle Chriqui played Eric's latest crush on "Entourage" (Sundays, HBO). We saw her last season as Alex's jealous girlfriend on "The O.C." and she played Abbey in that Lance Bass movie "On the Line."
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"Playing a raging bitch on TV actually agrees with you." Ari's wife to Melinda Clarke on "Entourage."
"All he ever wanted was someone who could make him feel like he was a better man than he actually was." Brenda to Maggie on "Six Feet Under."
"I tried to channel you." Kenny to Tommy after he disastrously lied to a woman on "Rescue Me."
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
All times listed are EDT for Wednesday through Sunday.
Director/rabid "Degrassi" fan Kevin Smith begins his three episode guest appearance at The N.
Omar Gooding (who was great in ESPN's "Playmakers") stars in "Barbershop" (Wednesdays, Showtime). Showtime had success before in moving things from the big screen to the small screen (see "Soul Food"), but the first episode (and the only episode available for review) wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. But Gooding is so likable I'm willing to give the show a second chance.
TO THE TV GAL READER BELONGS THE SPOILS
OK, we appear to be in a full-fledged panic mode that Michael Vartan is leaving "Alias" (Wednesdays, ABC). So much so that I've received multiple e-mails about www.mvcampaign.com which is a campaign to keep Michael Vartan on the show. Here's what I know - he's still listed as part of the cast and Greg Grunberg, who is leaving the series, is not. With Jennifer Garner's real life pregnancy being written into the show and two new characters joining the series (Rachel Nichols as a young CIA agent and Idole Bouchez as a woman who has been secretly working with Vaughn), changes abound. ABC president Stephen McPherson said at the press tour "There's some very, very big changes that take place very early on in the season that drive the story for the remainder of the year." But despite the changes, word is that Michael Vartan will still be on the show next season. I promise to keep you posted.
It's confirmed that Richard Burgi, Susan's ex-husband Karl, will be joining the cast of "Desperate Housewives" (Sundays, ABC) full time. And - get this - he's dating Edie.
And Carlos Bernard will be back as Tony on "24" (Mondays, FOX) and in a stroke of genius casting Jean Smart will play the wife of last season's dumbbell president. Also, Connie Britton of "Spin City" will play Jack's latest girlfriend. Let's hope that a) she's not annoying like Audrey, b) doesn't die like Teri, or c) isn't a traitor like Nina. Good luck to you Connie.
That's all for today. I'll be back next week with a review of "Tommy Lee Goes to College" (um, will you think less of me if I liked the show?), thoughts on the series finale of "Six Feet Under" (is it bad that I don't care that Nate's dead?), and Bravo's "Battle of the Network Reality Stars."
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Have a question, seen a familiar face, have an inside scoop or want to nominate a quote of the week? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com.
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