Archive for November, 2009

Mandy’s Pick of the Day | Monday 30 November

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9pm, FlashForward, Five
In the last episode before the show takes its mid-series break, Mark tries to find out the identity of the gangsters who targeted his team, and the FBI get a possible lead on the cause of the visions.

9pm, One Tree Hill, E4
Lucas and Peyton take a memorable road trip and Brooke discovers news that could change Sam’s life.

10pm, Burn Notice, FX & HD
Michael is asked by fellow spy Larry to carry out a hit on a wealthy widow, but then he discovers there is more than one contract out on her life. Tim Matheson, who guests as Larry, also directs this episode.

10pm, Without a Trace, More4
Jack and the team are faced with a double disappearance when two suburban housewives are violently abducted. The search becomes more frantic when one of them is found shot and left for dead.

11pm, The Closer, More4
Brenda’s wedding plans are put on hold again when she is called upon to look into a possible murder. Matters are further complicated when Fritz’s sister offers to help the investigation using her supposed psychic abilities.

Judy’s Pick of the Day | Friday 27 November

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9pm & 10pm, Medium, Living
In the concluding episode of the three-part story, Allison continues to dream about the serial killer and starts to realise that her boss, Mr Lydecker, is preventing her from telling Devalos in order to protect the killer’s identity. But then she suspects that Lydecker himself is in danger.

9pm, NCIS, FX & FX HD
Gibbs and the team are in the dark – literally – when a botched robbery leads to the death of a lieutenant and causes a city-wide blackout.  Without power, they must use old-fashioned methods of detection to find out what happened.

10pm, Life on Mars USA, FX & HD
Gene Hunt and his detectives compete with the cops from Lieutenant’s Nunzio’s 144th squad when they both try to solve a bank robbery that has links to the Russian Mafia. Meanwhile, Sam finds himself falling for a social worker.

Six things we learned today | Wednesday 25 November

24 season eight

1. 24’s back on US screens on Sunday 17 January - hopefully Sky won’t make us wait too much longer…

2. Here’s another preview of Chuck season three.

3. Lie to Me’s second season has been granted a full series.

4. Burn Notice has been commissioned for a fourth series.

5. Glee’s taking a four-month mid-season break Stateside.

6. Is this the best Battlestar Galactica cake… ever?

Stop what you’re doing – The Muppets do Bohemian Rhapsody!

In case you haven’t seen it everywhere all over the internet already, here’s The Muppets doing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody…

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Pete’s Pick of the Day | Wednesday 25 November

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8pm, Gossip Girl, ITV2
Olivia tries to prevent Dan from finding out something she said on a talk show, and Blair uses a new friendship to make Serena jealous.

9pm, 10 Things I Hate About You, Fiver
SERIES FINALE Kat gets help from Chastity in staging a protest against the school’s new policies on uniforms and bag searches. Elsewhere, Bianca jeopardizes her just-acquired cheerleader status by sneaking around with Joey.

10pm, Law & Order, Sky1 & Sky HD
SERIES FINALE The investigation into the murder of a jeweller leads the detectives to a prostitution ring run by the victim’s brother-in-law. The resulting trial proves to be a challenge for McCoy, whose career is threatened because of the probe.

10pm, Nip/Tuck, FX & HD
While preparing to operate on Olivia, Sean tries to deal with his feelings for Julia; and Christian meets someone who understands what he’s going through when he attends a breast-cancer support group. Oh and the wonderful Jennifer Coolidge is back as delusional actress Candy Richards.

Glee sneak peek update!

Glee comes to E4

As we let slip earlier in the month, E4 are planning an exclusive sneak peek of its awesome new musical comedy drama Glee ahead of it’s full-on premiere next year.

Hitting screens on 15 December, this first-look should whet your appetite ready for  the big launch after Christmas that will feature special directors’ cuts to kick-start the much talked-about series.

Here’s an extended trailer to give you some idea of the delights that await…

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In the latest issue of TV & Satellite Week…

 WK49 TVSw cover - David Tennant as Doctor Who

Christmas is coming! We’re getting very excited about this year’s TV treats, and we’ve got a sneak preview for you. The highlights include our cover star David Tennant in his last ever turn as Doctor Who; The Catherine Tate Show doing a send-up of A Christmas Carol with mouthy Nan; the enchanting animated adventure The Gruffalo; and ghostly drama The Turn of the Screw. Plus…

Anne-Marie Duff stars as Britain’s most celebrated ballerina, Margot Fonteyn

Amanda Holden takes on the colourful role of ringleader in new circus comedy Big Top

Delia Smith makes a long-overdue return to our screens with some top tips for keeping Christmas stress-free

Plus, all the latest goings on in Ugly Betty, House and new drama Eastwick; a round-up of the best new documentaries; the week’s most exciting sporting events and movies; and more TV listings than any other mag.

Seven things we learned today | Tuesday 24 November

Katee Sackhoff in 24

1. Here’s your first look at Katee Sackhoff and the news cast of 24, courtesy of Aceshowbiz.

2. Production on FlashForward has been temporarily suspended while the producers take a long, hard look at things…

3. Brian Austin Green will return as Smallville’s Metallo early next year.

4. Dexter’s dad - James Remar – is to appear in ITV2’s forthcoming The Vampire Diaries.

5. Those nice Fringebloggers have sought out every sighting of the Observer in Fringe.

6. Here’s a cinema trailer for Lost that tries to fuse Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love into Addicted to Lost…

7. Rumours of Drea de Matteo’s axing from Desperate Housewives appear to be untrue.

Competition time | Win a Scooby-Doo! First Frights game for Wii

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Christmas is coming, but us folks here at TV Spy never learn… you can guarantee we’ll be plodding round the shops five minutes before closing time on Christmas Eve, desperately trying to find woolly socks for Auntie Sue and Liquorish Allsorts for Grandad…

If you’re as skilled in the art of procastination as we are, we may be able to help you sort out at least one family member’s pressie in advance with the minimum of effort…  Warner Bros has very kindly given us two copies of Scooby-Doo! First Frights on Nintendo Wii to give away to two lucky readers.

The game features four mystery-solving episodes to tackle including a creepy castle, a haunted high school and a visit to a spooky toy town. In each episode you will be given clues, meet friends and foes and be rewarded with scooby snacks to take you up to 22 levels, and as well as tackling mysteries you can do battle with witches, scary dolls and mutant sea creatures.

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The game may say 7+, but we tested it out on a particularly stubborn 5-year-old Scooby fan as well as a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old, and it was a hit all round. The kids especially liked the hilarious chase feature, which even the most uninitiated member of the family can enjoy.

We’ve got two copies of Scooby-Doo! First Frights  to give away - just answer the question below.

Q. What is Shaggy’s favourite catchprase?
a Doggone!
b Doh!
c Zoinks!

Email us your answer, with ‘Scooby-Doo! First Frights competition’ clearly marked in the subject line, at tvspy@ipcmedia.com. The competition will close at midnight on Thursday 10th December.

PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept entries submitted via the comments section of our blog. All entries must be via email.

We will collect your personal email data solely to process your competition entry. Prize will be awarded to the first correct entry drawn at random under independent supervision after the competition closes at midnight on Thursday 10th December.  We will notify the winners by email within 21 days of this closing date. The prize consists of one copy of the Scooby-Doo First Frights for Wii game. Promoter: IPC Media. Prize Supplier: Warner Bros.

Pete’s Pick of the Day | Tuesday 24 November

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8pm, Stargate Universe, Sky1 & HD
While Scott and Camille use the communication stones to visit Earth, Rush supervises an exploration of Destiny’s labyrinthine ship - leading to the discovery of a piece of Ancient technology that could promise a way home. There’s no SGU next week, but returns for one last episode before its Christmas break.

9pm, Ugly Betty, E4
Singer Adele makes a cameo when Betty, Matt and Marc hire her for their crucial final YETI assignment. However, as Matt decides he wants a different career, his mother (guest star Christine Baranski) involves Betty to try to keep him in line. Elsewhere, dopey Daniel finally gets hitched with Molly, and Claire has a huge surprise for Wilhelmina.

9pm, CSI: Miami, Five
The team have their hands full when a sexy bachelorette on a popular TV dating series is discovered murdered in a limousine just as the bachelor on the show is going to propose to her.

9pm, Warehouse 13, Sci-Fi & HD
SERIES FINALE MacPherson engages in a scheme to secretly sell off Warehouse artefacts, but a trail of clues lead Artie, Pete and Myka directly back to him. What a loser. But Warehouse 13 fans rejoice! The show’s been picked up for a second series and will air on Virgin1 next year.

9pm & 10pm, Eastwick, Hallmark
NEW SERIES Described as Gilmore Girls meets Charmed comes a new drama, loosely based on the famed Jack Nicholson film The Witches of Eastwick, in which Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price and Jaime Ray Newman play three women, with hidden supernatural powers, who find their lives in a tiny New England town turned on its head with the arrival of the mysterious Darryl Van Horne (Due South’s Paul Gross).