September 2009

CHICAGO – CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” had a good first season but, like a lot of sitcoms, it became much more confident in season two and really developed a rhythm that I expect will carry it for years to come. Don’t believe me? Check out the nearly-perfect and Emmy-nominated second season of “The Big Bang Theory,” now available on DVD.

CHICAGO – FX’s award-winning legal thriller “Damages” is adding four new actors, Campbell Scott (“Royal Pains”), Martin Short (“Primetime Glick”), Lily Tomlin (“Desperate Housewives”) and Keith Carradine (“Dexter”), to the cast for the upcoming season which premiers in January. Production on the series 13-episode season begins in New York tomorrow.

CHICAGO – Clearly inspired as much by the success of “Desperate Housewives” as that of its actual source material, ABC’s “Eastwick” is a mixed cauldron of possibilities, a show with a strong enough cast and concept to warrant a second look but also one with enough deep flaws in its premiere to suggest that perhaps this spell will not be cast over too many viewers.

CHICAGO – There are major chunks of ABC’s very disappointing “Cougar Town” with Courteney Cox that resemble a stand-up comedian so eager to please that you can see the desperate flop sweat forming on their brow as joke after joke hit the floor with a thud. More pathetically manic than honestly funny, it’s the writing on the weakest part of the network’s entirely new Wednesday night line-up that lets down its talented star.

CHICAGO – In our latest horror edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of the film festival-favorite horror film “Paranormal Activity,” which Bloody-Disgusting.com calls “one of the scariest movies of all time”!

CHICAGO – Doesn’t it feel like there will someday just be a few mystery franchises with several different iterations on the air? We have three versions of “Law & Order” and “CSI,” and now “NCIS” has joined in, expanding the franchise of this surprisingly popular show to “NCIS: Los Angeles” with appealing stars Chris O’Donnell and L.L. Cool J.

CHICAGO – Start planning your Halloween marathon now. Last week, we highlighted the Universal wave of titles that included greats like “Shaun of the Dead” and “Army of Darkness” and we’re back with another wave of modern horror classics, including Oscar winners “Silence of the Lambs” and “Misery”.

CHICAGO – In the United States, the remains of 40,000 people remain unidentified.

CHICAGO – CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother” reached a creative and cultural peak last season shooting up twenty-one places in the ratings and an average of 1.2 million viewers a week - a virtual tsunami of TV watchers in an era of constant erosion with broadcast TV ratings.

CHICAGO – The inaugural sketch in the first season of Comedy Central’s “Important Things With Demetri Martin” takes place on a movie set where an actor knows his lines but can’t summon the proper emotions to make them believable. The character calls his unfaithful girlfriend some nasty names in what is supposed to be a fit of fury, but the words coming out of his mouth are said in a nonchalant, nearly cheery tone.

CHICAGO – Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic bring their spectacular chemistry back for another season of the increasingly enjoyable “Castle,” a mystery-of-the-week show distinguished by excellent writing and some of the best lead chemistry on television.

CHICAGO – Neil Patrick Harris hosted a joyful edition of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night, September 20th, 2009, at which AMC’s “Mad Men” and NBC’s “30 Rock” were the big winners with Alec Baldwin, Jon Cryer, Kristin Chenoweth, Toni Collette, Cherry Jones, Michael Emerson, Glenn Close, and Bryan Cranston walking away with the major acting awards.

CHICAGO – You would have to live under a pop culture rock to not know about the big hook that will happen on this season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” - the reunion of the cast of “Seinfeld”. Yes, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards all return, but the season starts with a pair of episodes that affirm that “Curb” needs no stunt guest appearances to succeed.

CHICAGO – We just received the new, high-definition movie trailer for “Transylmania” as well as the new, high-resolution movie poster for the horror comedy film, which opens on Dec. 4, 2009.