Off the Map – Recap & Review – Saved by the Great White Hope

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Off the Map
Saved by the Great White Hope

Original Air Date: Jan 12, 2011

Meg – Sr. Reviewer
meg@thetwocentscorp.com

Welcome to “somewhere in South America” (a South America that looks suspiciously like Hawaii…). It’s the series premiere of Off the Map and we’ve got a whole lotta ground to cover.

Off the bat, let me say that I don’t really watch Grey’s or Private Practice, so I’m looking at this show on its own merits and won’t be drawing too many comparisons. Unfortunately, on its on own merits, it’s not that great. Read on for the recap and review, where we’ll take a look at the good (the actors), the bad (the script), and the ridiculous (pretty much everything else).

Modern Family – Recap & Review – Our Children, Ourselves

photo: abc

Modern Family
Our Children, Ourselves

Original Air Date: Jan 12, 2011

Karen Belgrad- Associate Staff Writer
Karenbelgrad
@thetwocentscorp.com

The character with the greatest “book smarts” on Modern Family has always been clear. We’ve always known that sarcastic Alex Dunphy has textbook knowledge beyond her years. But she’s also been largely MIA from in the form of any leading plot. Tonight we might learn the reason why.

This week each family had their own silo plot. Nobody spoke to anyone else, save the end tag of Mitchell and Jay. My favorite episodes have always been the overlapping family ones, so let’s see how this one stacked up compared to others…

America Ferrera to Guest on The Good Wife

ferrera

From TVLine:

Ugly Betty star America Ferrera is heading to The Good Wife.

The Emmy-winning actress will guest star on the CBS drama as Natalie, a graduate student and possible love interest for Alan Cumming’s character Eli.

The three-episode arc will be her first TV role since Ugly Betty went off the air last year.

That’s not all: Seinfeld actor Jerry Stiller will also join the show for one episode as a judge who has a tendency to fall asleep during trials.

“It’s thrilling to have two actors who combine such dramatic and comedic ability,” says Robert King, executive producer of The Good Wife. “We’ve been watching and loving America for years now on Ugly Betty, and it’ll be fantastic to see her take on a completely different role — especially one that puts her across from Alan Cumming. And Jerry Stiller is our dream judge. It was great when we got to stop saying ‘We need a Jerry Stiller-type in the role’ and just got Jerry Stiller.”

My Two Cents: Pairing America Ferrera with Alan Cumming is definitely an interesting choice, and it’ll be good to see her in a different type of role.

What do you think about this casting news? Give your two cents in the comments section.

Hector, TwoCents Reviewer
hector@thetwocentscorp.com

Biggest Loser – Recap & Review – Season 11 Episode 2

photo: nbc

Biggest Loser
Season 11 Episode 2

Original Air Date: Jan 11, 2011

Anne – Associate Editor
anne@thetwocentscorp.com

Welcome to week 2 of The Biggest Loser. Tonight Irene realizes that she can only truly rely on herself. Will we finally meet the new trainers? Nope, they remain in the shadows for another week. But we do learn a little about which set of teams is more together.

Ali tells the Ranchers that if they beat the Unknowns at the weigh-in this week, nobody will be eliminated. Then she lets the Unknowns know that whichever team wins gets $10,000! It’s on!

The Good Wife — Recap & Review — Breaking Up

photo: cbs

The Good Wife
Breaking Up

Original Air Date: Jan 12, 2011

Patricia Morris Buckley — Sr. Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

The great thing about The Good Wife is that the characters wear neither pure white or pure black hats. This episode was a very good example of that. While we know that the lawyers at LGB have the best interests of their clients in mind, that doesn’t always mean they do what’s right.

So if trying to make an incriminating weapon disappear or have another suspect confess, we saw these lawyers, warts and all.

SouthLAnd – Recap & Review – Punching Water

photo: tnt

SouthLAnd
Punching Water

Original Air Date: Jan 11, 2011

Farrah Kaye – Sr. Editor
farrah@thetwocentscorp.com

Thanks to Anne for filling in last week. But I’m back and my favorite show is wasting no time diving into their third (and still possible final…) season.

This week brings back the fresh-from-rehab Dewey, so there will be some partner switching. Let us not forget that crazyT (Tammy) announced she was pregnant last week (although does anyone think that baby is actually Sammy’s? She probably was doing a little somethin’ somethin’ to get money for a new camera…) while also shooting Paul Young (wait, wrong show…). Lydia and Josie definitely don’t have the same outlook on their job, Ben ran off with some redhead and John ran out of pills. Oh … tonight is gonna be fun!

Opening Scene: The cops are looking for evidence at the scene of a crime with Dewey rattling off about it being a good thing a kid was shot. Lydia goes off on him and they get into a fight.

Voiceover: Most good cops are passionate cops. Put enough of them together, and occasionally those passions explode.

Big Bang Theory Renewed for Three More Seasons

photo: cbs

“BAZINGA!” CBS Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television have reached a multi-year broadcast agreement for the top-rated, critically acclaimed comedy, THE BIG BANG THEORY, it was announced today by Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment, and Peter Roth, President, Warner Bros. Television.

The agreement renews THE BIG BANG THEORY for an additional three years, extending it through the 2013-2014 season.

“It doesn’t take a theoretical physicist to see why this show is a BIG part of our comedy future,” said Nina Tassler. “From ratings to critical acclaim to pop culture buzz, it’s struck a chord on all levels. The creative genius of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and the on-camera talents of an amazing young ensemble have created a comedy that will entertain viewers for a long time. We’re proud to partner with Warner Bros. on another highly successful, long-running comedy.”

Detroit 1-8-7 – Recap & Review – Key to the City

photo: abc

Detroit 1-8-7
Key to the City

Original Air Date: Jan 11, 2010

Caitlin- Associate Staff Writer
caitlin@thetwocentscorp.com

Every week, Detroit 1-8-7 gets more intense and interesting. And, unfortunately, every week, the rating seems to sink still future. I’d like to think an episode like tonight’s would get people watching, but we’ll have to wait and see.

This week brought the return of Henry Malloy (and reporter JJ Zagorski), the death of a recurring character, and a heck of a lot of trouble for Fitch. Then there was the ending, which means a heck of a lot of trouble for everyone.

NCIS: Los Angeles – Recap & Review – Overwatch

photo: cbs

NCIS: Los Angeles
Overwatch

Original Air Date: Jan 11, 2011

Shannon – Associate Editor
shannon@thetwocentscorp.com

Hey folks!  I’m filling in for Alyssa this week since it’s a tad rainy in the land of Oz.  I have never seen an episode of this show before or it’s predecessor so this is entirely new territory for me.  Bear with me while I acquaint myself with the show and its characters.  Also bear with me while I drool over LL Cool J and how he has hardly aged in 20 years.

The Cape – Recap & Review – Tarot

photo: nbc.com

The Cape
Tarot

Original Air Date: Jan 9, 2011

Rachel M – Associate Staff Writer
rachelm@thetwocentscorp.com

Vince is in a store, minding his own business, when the place gets held up. He is able to slip out his cape (how many layers is he wearing?) and defeat the low level bad guys. One of the guys puts up a good fight but he’s no match for Vince. The store owner is grateful but unimpressed by his superhero name, and I have to agree.

Richard Schiff makes an appearance as the one and only dissenting vote against ARK taking over everything. Love him. In a creepy lab, a creepy dude is mixing up something that is probably very bad.