Whats Hot On TV

Apparently Michael Phelps wasn’t happy with his fifteen minutes of fame being over, as now he’s appearing in an interview on 60 Minutes tonight. Honestly, aren’ we done with him yet? Aside from the football, we also have the final four facing off on The Amazing Race, and Tinker Bell making its primetime debut on Disney, as the fairy strikes out on her own away from Peter Pan. Maybe she wants another fifteen minutes as well.

1. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Teen comedy from the 80s which made a star of Sean Penn after he appeared in this as a stoner. The cultural references are reason alone to watch this as they talk about Cheap Trick and Pat Benatar, with the more fashionable people wearing leg warmers. 10:45 AM PM CT @Max

2. NFL Football: Panthers at Packers. Carolina is having a great year, but Green Bay really needs this win. At one point they were tied at the top of the NFC Central for first place, but now with the Bears and Vikings playing each other tonight, one of them will have first place, leaving the Packers to either tie for second or take third with a loss. 12:00 PM CT Fox

3. NFL Football: Steelers at Patriots. Pittsburgh is at the top of their division, and New England wants to be at the top of theirs. Bill Belichick is looking for his 150th win as a head coach. 3:15 PM CT CBS

4. Shrek the Third. Every Shrek movie is always a good time. Some people have panned this third installment in the series, but to me, Michael Myers is still giving me just as good of a time as I had with the first two. 4:00 PM CT HBO East

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I’m not sure why, but I never even saw White Christmas until I was a young adult. Nevertheless once I saw it with my sister, I was hooked. I now watch it every year. There’s plenty of other hot TV on today as well, including several college football games where they’re still fighting to make it to championships and bowl appearances. Oddly, we have several intrastate matchups with Georgia Tech at Georgia, Florida at Florida State, etc.

1. College Football: Georgia Tech at Georgia. The Bulldogs won the last time these two teams met up, but they’re completely out of the SEC race, with Georgia Tech still having a chance at the ACC title, meaning they have a little more to play for. 11:00 PM CT CBS

2. College Football: Grambling State vs. Southern. It’s the 35th Bayou Classic coming out of New Orleans, Louisiana, known for the football as much as the marching band performances seen and heard at halftime. 1:00 PM CT NBC

3. College Football: Auburn at Alabama. The Heart of Dixie features the Iron Bowl, with Auburn still looking for bowl position, and Alabama, undefeated, is looking to make it to the BCS championship. 2:30 PM CT CBS

4. College Football: Florida at Florida State. It’s the battle of the Sunshine State. The Gators are already locked in for a place in the SEC title game, but are looking for a spot in the BCS championship as well. The Seminoles have been inconsistent this year. 2:30 PM CT ABC Continue Reading »

I guess they think all we want to do is shop on Black Friday. Maybe this is their plan to help the economy, not put a whole lot on TV in hopes that it forces us out of our houses to go spend some money. The only new programming we have on regular prime time is Everybody Love Chris, The Game, and 20/20. But there’s some good college football this afternoon and some classic movies scattered throughout the day as well.

1. College Football: West Virginia at Pittsburgh. The Panthers knocked the Mountaineers out of playoff contention last year, and it’s a good guess that West Virginia is now looking for a little revenge. 11:00 AM CT ABC

2. College Football: LSU at Arkansas. LSU won the matchup last season, but neither of these two teams is doing all that particularly well this season. Is Arkansas looking for revenge like West Virginia? 1:30 PM CT CBS

3. College Football: Colorado at Nebraska. Colorado needs this if they want to make it to a bowl game this year. They won the matchup last year, but Nebraska has an offense ranked ninth overall in the nation. 2:30 PM CT ABC

4. Elf. Will Ferrell portrays a man who is raised by elves at the North Pole, but he searches for his humble beginnings, out to find his birth father in New York City. 6:00 PM CT USA Continue Reading »

It’s the official start of the holiday season, even though we’ve had holiday things out at stores for the past few months and holiday music on at least one local radio station for the past month. After you’re done watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, there’s plenty of homespun entertainment on throughout the day, with football, warm family movies, and then it really goes to the dogs! Make sure you get to bed early after all this fun to get a jump on Black Friday shopping!

1. Martian Child. On a day when we’re giving thanks, let’s give thanks for family. John Cusack is looking for a son, and this young boy is looking for a family. He’s so sad not understanding why no one wants him that he prefers to think he isn’t from this planet. 11:00 PM CT HBO Signature

2. NFL Football. Titans at Lions. I think Detroit would be thankful for a win. They’re back for their traditional Thanksgiving game, this time against Tennessee. They’re also working up quite a tradition of losing, having not won a game all season. Tennessee can’t say much, as they, too, lost big last week. However, that was their first loss of the season. 11:30 PM CT CBS

3. National Dog Show. John O’Hurley hosts this annual dog show. I didn’t even know there was another big dog show out there other than the Westminster, but I’m thankful to know there is. 12:00 PM CT NBC

4. Miracle on 34th Street. It’s the original! Lately every time I see this movie on it’s the more recent version. But this one always seems far superior to me, the original from 1947 with Natalie Wood and always beautiful Maureen O’Hara. 12:00 PM CT NBC

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Rosie O’Donnell has a new show premiering tonight. I’m not too sure about this. I think it might be too soon for her to pop back in after everything that happened with her at the View. And the commercials advertising this show are clever in a way except for one thing, there is no way anyone out there gets Rosie O’Donnell confused for someone else. She makes it well known who she is, and I’m guessing Elizabeth Hasselbeck in particular won’t be forgetting who she is. I’m also pretty sure Rosie won’t be giving thanks tomorrow for time spent on The View.

1. The Bonnie Hunt Show. Guests are Bob Barker and Mario Lopez. It’ll be good to see Bob again. I love Drew Carey and all, but c’mon. Bob’s a legened. He’s on talking about animal rights. Syndicated, check local listings.

2. Die Hard. Okay, so it’s an unconventional holiday movie, but it’s still a holiday movie. The company is having a Christmas party, and then everything goes to hell. 1:20 PM Encore West

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On second thought, I think I should be leaving out those exclamation points in the title, as there really wasn’t much excitement to the Dancing With the Stars final result tonight, and in fact it was rather anti-climactic by the time all was said and done.

Not only did we figure that Brooke Burke would win, but she had the look of a cat that ate the canary all night. Either she just thought so much of herself that she figured she would win or she was tipped off by someone early on that she would be the winner. And if the latter is the case, then she should stick to modeling, hosting reality shows, and dancing, as acting isn’t really her calling.

Throughout the night, every time Brooke was on camera she had a completely elated look. It wasn’t a look of “I’m just so happy to be here,” but a look of “Wow, I can’t believe I’m going to be winning this whole thing in an hour.” It definitely left a bad taste in my mouth. I can appreciate Brooke’s fine technique like the rest of them, and there’s no question that she’s the best in technique, but to show us that she knows that too? It just took any fun out of it and made me wonder why she couldn’t be as gracious as those that have been voted off the show so far. Continue Reading »

It’s a good night for TV, that’s for sure. We get Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and that means one thing. Christmas is coming, and pretty soon we’ll see A Charlie Brown Christmas. In addition we have some ex-NFL stars on The Biggest Loser helping them work out, a nutcase with odd demands on House, and of course the biggest thing of the night, the finale on Dancing With the Stars. I honestly don’t know who’s going to win tonight, but do hope for a Lance Bass win.

1. Regis and Kelly. Nicole Kidman is on promoting her new film Australia, and Tom Jones guests as well. What? It’s not unsual. Just a little Tom humor. Gina and Pat from the Food Network also show how to prepare a Southern-style Thanksgiving dinner. Syndicated, check local listings.

2. Problem Child. For all of us that have our kids home over the Thanksgiving holidays. Just to remind us it could be worse. It could be worse. Trust me on this one. 4:00 PM CT Starz 4

3. NCIS. To keep a criminal from stealing secret government files, the team has to learn to trust some shady criminals along the way. 7:00 PM CT CBS

4. The Biggest Loser: Families. Jerry Rice and Steve Young help lead the Losers in an NFL-inspired workout, and Chef Rocco deSpirito, fresh off his Dancing With the Stars loss, shows how to make healthy Thanksgiving dishes. Is it wrong to want Vicky voted out? I want her to lose weight, look great, and be healthy, but I also want her gone. 7:00 PM CT NBC Continue Reading »

It’s finale week, finally. We’ve been making predictions about it since the beginning of the season, and I think we have the same top three we would have even if the finale had been just a few weeks in, but I think we have a different possible winner. I thought for sure it was going to be Brooke Burke and Derek Hough taking the trophy, but now I have to give the edge to Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer.

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough show us their best ballroom dance of the season which was the quickstep. She recalls it started her season off with a lot of confidence. He thinks if they did it today, they’d get perfect 10s. Watching it again, it allows her good technique to show through, and doesn’t leave a lot of room for her to have to entertain, as the steps are that impressive. They also show their best Latin dance, which was the paso doble. He felt it was the first dance where she was able to show that fierce character she has. Again, it’s one where she was able to shine with her technique. Derek calls her the most consistent competitor, saying she has come out on top 80% of the time and has had the most 10s. Tom Bergeron asks Brooke how hard it was to come back this week after not getting good scores last week. She’s just glad it’s behind them and says they have only had positive thinking this week. Continue Reading »

There just isn’t anything tonight that’s bigger than the Dancing With the Stars performance finale. It appears to be ending in the nick of time, as if you look at Bruno’s face in the pic above, he seems like he’s in need of cranking one out. And although I promised you holiday viewing from hereon on out, there really isn’t anything suitable tonight to be called “hot” as far as holiday viewing other than The Holiday, and I’ve already mentioned my adoration of this film several times in these lists. Instead, be sure to watch My Own Worst Enemy which has been cancelled and is just finishing up its already filmed episodes. I’m hoping to find a way to save it on the SciFi Channel or something.

1. Regis and Kelly. Reese Witherspoon is a guest, promoting her new film Four Christmases that opens this Wednesday. The Love Chef is also on preparing a a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I can taste the mashed potatoes and gravy already. Syndicated, check local listings.

2. The Bonnie Hunt Show. Guests today include Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer of Dancing With the Stars. It could be foreshadowing, as I’m predicting them as the winners. Also, Chef Todd English will show how to make a meal for six when you’re on a budget. Syndicated, check local listings.

3. The Big Bang Theory. When Leonard starts dating Stephanie, Sheldon is thrilled, as she meets all of Leonard’s seemingly unreasonable standards. 7:00 PM CT CBS

4. Chuck. As Chuck deals with a huge personal betrayal, he gets assigned to smoking out an agent called Leader by exploiting his relationship with Jill. Captain Awesome’s parents arrange to visit for Thanksgiving, making Elle feel like she needs to cook a perfect dinner. Morgan stands guard at Buy More during the holiday. 7:00 PM CT NBC Continue Reading »

You know what they say about the best laid plans.

A few months ago, Kathy Cox became the first million dollar winner on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? The best part of her win was that she is the Schools Superintendent of Georgia and showed somewhat that she deserved her title. She declined the cash, choosing instead to donate it to charity, Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston, the Georgia School for the Deaf in northwest Georgia and to the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon, to be exact.

Despite her philanthropic move, Cox isn’t immune to the current economic condition of the country. At the time she made the decision to donate the money, she was fine. She makes $108,600 in salary in her job as superintendent, and her husband had a thriving construction business. Life was good, and she wanted to do good for others.

Yet now, a few months later, the home building business Cox’s husband owns is struggling just like all home building businesses. Cox has no role in the business other than being a co-signer. Because of the losses incurred, though, the two decided they had no choice but to file bankruptcy, listing $3.5 million in liabilities and $649,728 in assets, according to the Associated Press.

Despite the fact that just a few months again she had an extra million to spare, now Cox doesn’t have enough to pay her bills. Regardless, according to her spokesperson, she isn’t reneging on her original decision to donate her winnings to the charities. The spokesperson isn’t sure if the schools have received the money yet or not, but guarantees they will within the month.

Photo courtesy of ciclt.net

For more information on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? see SirLinksalot: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?