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Week of August 9

Sunday, August 9
Season Premiere of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (ABC)
Season Finale of L&O: Criminal Intent (USA)
Series Premiere of Shark Tank (ABC)
Series Premiere of There Goes the Neighborhood (CBS)
Season Finale of In Plain Sight (USA)

Tuesday, August 11
Season Finale of Better off Ted (ABC)
Special Presentation of The Cleaner: The Man Behind the Cleaner (A&E)

Wednesday, August 12
Season Finale of The Philanthropist (NBC)

Friday, August 14
Season Finale of Mental (Fox)

Next week: Mad Men, The Universe, Ghost Hunters, Top Chef

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Our own recording plan for next week:
* Sun8/9 7:30 am Public Access
* Sun8/9 10:00 pm In Plain Sight
* Sun8/9 10:00 pm Defying Gravity
* Mon8/10 9:00 pm The Closer
* Mon8/10 9:00 pm History Detectives
* Mon8/10 10:00 pm History Detectives
* Mon8/10 10:00 pm Anthony Bourdain: No ...
* Tue8/11 9:00 pm Warehouse 13
* Tue8/11 10:00 pm Saving Grace
* Tue8/11 10:00 pm The Colony
* Wed8/12 12:00 am Make It or Break It
* Wed8/12 9:00 pm Wipeout
* Wed8/12 10:00 pm The Philanthropist
* Wed8/12 10:00 pm Dark Blue
* Wed8/12 11:00 pm Leverage
* Thu8/13 11:00 am Wolf Lake
* Thu8/13 9:00 pm Mental
* Thu8/13 10:00 pm Royal Pains
* Fri8/14 8:00 pm Smallville
* Fri8/14 9:00 pm Eureka
* Fri8/14 9:00 pm Mental
* Fri8/14 10:00 pm Psych
* Sun8/16 7:30 am Public Access
* Sun8/16 7:00 pm Merlin
* Sun8/16 8:00 pm Merlin
* Sun8/16 10:00 pm Mad Men
* Sun8/16 10:00 pm Defying Gravity

Other shows that we watch and that are being broadcast, but we're not recording (because we're waiting to rent the BDs, instead of paying for HBO and SHO): TRUE BLOOD, WEEDS

This pops out, now, from the TiVo web site, for folks who have TiVo S3 or TiVo HD DVRs. It is kind-of neat seeing on a web page what your DVR is planning to record for you next week.

Aaron62

That is pretty cool. Do you have the option of being able to set your TiVo from the web too? Think I saw where there are some phone apps where you can do it now, only seems logical that you'd be able to do it from a computer too.

bicker

Yup, we can program our TiVos from the web, and there is even a mobile-friendly web interface.

The web interface also provides us a way of seeing what's already recorded waiting for us to watch:
* Dark Blue (3)
* The Philanthropist (2)
* I Survived a Japanese ... Wed8/5
* Leverage Wed8/5
* Time Team America (4)
* Saving Grace Tue8/4
* The Colony (2)
* Anthony Bourdain: ... (4)
* Make It or Break I ... (7)
* The Storm (2)
* Public Access Sun8/2
* Mental Fri7/31
* Smallville (15) ## (see below)
* The Listener (5)
* Moonshot Tue7/21
* Meteor (2)
* Criminal Minds (7)
* Impact (2)
* Wolf Lake (8)
* Level 9 (7)
* Breaking Bad (9)
* The Book of Beasts Sat5/30
* The Simpsons Sun5/10

There's also a mess of suggestions (programs TiVo recorded automatically, without me telling it to, based on a formula factoring in the kinds of programs we rate highly within the DVR and which programs we rate poorly within the DVR) -- probably about 40 or 50 suggestions waiting there. However, the web interface doesn't show them.
_____________
## For some reason, it is showing only 15 episodes of Smallville, when there are really 26 episodes. The other 9 episodes are episodes that I had on my DVR before I upgraded to the new 1TB hard drive. I had to transfer them to my computer (another great TiVo feature) and then transfer them back after I replaced the hard drive (still another great TiVo feature), so perhaps there is something about the trip they took that makes them invisible to the web interface, just like the suggestions are invisible to the web interface. But the episodes are there and play back fine.

TonyT

Tivo is awesome, expensive, but awesome.

*qualifying my expensive answer under the assumption that I refuse to pay for equipment instead of renting because I like to upgrade after my service contract is up

bicker

Yup, TiVo is running about $550-$650 now, for a TiVo HD with lifetime service (no monthly fees).

Aaron62

Primetime Ratings: ?Millionaire' Returns To Primetime With No Lifeline - 2009-08-10 12:03:07 EDT | Broadcasting & Cable

Suprised? It's a fairly "easy" lineup for the Sunday 8 pm time slot, would have thought it would have done better.

bicker

Sunday, August 16
Season Premiere of Mad Men (AMC)

Tuesday, August 18
Season Finale of Hawthorne (TNT)
Season Finale of Saving Grace (TNT)

Wednesday, August 19
Season Premiere of Top Chef (Bravo)
Season Finale of Top Chef Masters (Bravo)

Thursday, August 20
NFL Football (Fox) can you believe it?


Next week:
Season Finale of Merlin (NBC)
Season Finale of WWTBAM (ABC)
Season Finale of Great American Road Trip (NBC)
Season Finale of Dating in the Dark (ABC)
Summer Finale of Make It Or Break It (ABC Family)
Season Finale of Nurse Jackie (SHO)
Summer Finale of Leverage (TNT)
Season Finale of Royal Pains (USA)
... all these finales means the week after is going to be pretty thin, because fall premieres don't really start until a week or two later ...

bicker

It sounds like we will see the end of Saving Grace next summer.

Saving Grace canceled, or will be after summer 2010 run - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings | TVbytheNumbers.com

As the article indicates, the reasons are financial: The financial demands of a top-shelf cast led by an Oscar winner are beyond what is sustainable by a cable television series gaining revenues on just over three million (often commercial-avoiding) viewers.

I view this as both bad news and good news. After all, folks really hate it when a television series doesn't have a suitable ending, and clearly, with the addition of the three episodes, Saving Grace will have a thoughtful, deliberate ending.

CptlA

Speaking of TV this summer. I can't turn on the E channel these days without seeing some kind of blub about John and Kate this or John and Kate that.....