Saturday, May 15, 2010

TV Premieres, Finales & Specials This Week 05/09/2010

Each week GeekTonic covers the TV scene with a complete listing of premieres, finales and specials for the week.  If there were such a thing as THE Finale Week, this would be it.  There are more finales this week than any other.

Don’t miss the Ultimate Guide to the Summer 2010 TV Season with free PDF downloads!

And the TV Status – Guide to which shows are canceled and renewed for next season

The Good Guys

        The Good Guys is one of the few new shows premiering this week

NOTE: All Times are Listed for EST – TV schedules subject to change

Sunday May 16

The 2010 Miss USA Pageant (7pm on Fox) – The 2-hour, annual pageant.  I have to ask…  Why would you air a show that is obviously a lot about looks in standard definition?

America’s Funnies Home Videos (7pm on ABC) – Season finale

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8pm on ABC ) – Season finale

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (8pm - 11pm on CBS – Available in HD) – season finale

The Pacific (9pm on HBO – Available in HD) – Series finale.  The 10th and final episode.  And so my short subscription to HBO is over.

Desperate Housewives (9pm on ABC – Available in HD) – season finale

Storm Worlds (9pm on National Geographic – Available in HD) – A new series that covers big storms from the past with speculation of the effects of storms in the worlds future.  This premiere episode covers solar storms.

American Dad (9:30pm on Fox) – season finale

Brothers & Sisters (10:01pm on ABC – Available in HD) – season finale

 

 

Monday, May 17

One Tree Hill (8pm on CW – Available in HD) – Season finale

House (8pm on Fox – Available in HD) – The team heads out of the hospital to help at the scene of an emergency for the season finale

Gossip Girl (9pm on CW – Available in HD – It’s the season finale and Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) is back.

Medium (9pm on CW – Available in HD) – Season finale

Castle (10pm on ABC – Available in HD) – Season finale

 

Tuesday, May 18

90210 (8pm on CW – Available in HD) – Season finale

Frontline (9pm on PBS – Available in HD) – A look at the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and combat injuries on U.S soldiers returning from Iraq.

V (10pm on ABC – Available in HD) – Season finale

 

Wednesday, May 19

The Middle (8:30pm on ABC – Available in HD) – Season finale

The Good Guys (9pm on Fox – Available in HD) – a “sneak peak” at a new show coming on Fox.  They’ll likely show this episode again on June 7th before determining whether it’s a keeper or not.  It’s old-school cop meets modern-day detective with a 70’s feel to it.

Modern Family (9pm on ABC – Available in HD) – My vote for best, new comedy gets it’s season finale

Delta Divers (9pm on National Geographic – Available in HD) – A new series that follows the Delta Divers, a team of highly skilled underwater adventurers who descend where few dare to go to - 300 feet below the water's surface. We'll join them on the dive barge "Southern Hercules" as they head out to repair an aging subsea oil well.  Sounds like they might have a lot of material to cover on this show after the ongoing disaster in the Gulf.

Cougar Town (9:30pm on ABC – Available in HD) – Season finale

Law & Order: SVU (10pm on NBC – Available in HD) – Season finale

 

 

Thursday, May 20

Bones (8pm on Fox – Available in HD) – Season finale

Community (8pm on NBC – Available in HD) – Season finale

Parks & Recreation (8:30pm on NBC – Available in HD – Season finale

Grey’s Anatomy (9pm on ABC – Available in HD) – 2-hr Season finale

CSI (9pm on CBS – Available in HD) – Season finale

Fringe (9pm on Fox – Available in HD) – In the season 2 finale, Anna Torv and Leonard Nimoy star.  I consider this a smart, Sci-fi series and one of my current favorites.  Glad to see it renewed for a third season!

The Office (9pm on NBC – Available in HD) – Jo is on the hunt for the whistle blower for the season finale

30 Rock (9:30 on NBC – Available in HD) – Season finale

The Mentalist (10pm on CBS – Available in HD) – Season finale

Marriage Ref (10pm on NBC – Available in HD) – Season finale

 

Friday, May 21

Ghost Whisperer (8pm on CBS – Available in HD) – Season finale

Medium (9pm on CBS – Available in HD) – Season finale

Kitchen Nightmares (9pm on Fox) – Season finale where chef Ramsay returns to some of the restaurants to see how they’re doing

The Ricky Gervais Show (9m on HBO – Available in HD) – Season finale

Miami Medical (10pm on CBS – Available in HD) – Series finale

 

Saturday, May 22

Witchville (9pm on SyFy – Available in HD) – A made-for-TV movie where prince malachy returns home from the crusades to find the kingdom haunted by a dark force.  Oh, SyFy….

Danny Bhoy: Subject to Change (11pm on Comedy) – Comedy special with Danny Bhoy

 

Sunday, May 23

The Simpsons (8pm on Fox – Available in HD) – Season finale

The Cleveland Show (8:30pm on Fox – Available in HD) – Season finale

Family Guy (9pm on Fox) – Season finale

Celebrity Apprentice (9pm on NBC – Available in HD)  – 2-hour Season finale

Lost (9pm on ABC – Available in HD) – 2-Hour Series finale (and there’s a recap special starting at 7pm in case you skipped some of the show)

The World’s Fattest Man (9pm on TLC) – Series premiere of a new realityTV series about, well you get the point from the title.  And I’m sure it this episode will get tons of ratings since it’s competing with Lost’s finale right?

 

Next week we see another hit series, 24 join Lost as blockbuster series ending this month.

If you follow GeekTonic for the TV Premieres and news, you’ll want to click here if you would like to get a regular e-mail for GeekTonic TV Premieres & News

Friday, May 14, 2010

The Rumors Are True – Netflix IS Streaming in HD to PC & Mac

There were many who disputed HackingNetflix’s claim earlier this week, but it looks like Netflix will be making it official soon with a blog post.  This post was published for a very short time this afternoon, but later pulled.  Fortunately I caught it in time to share with you here:

I haven’t been able to try it out myself, but it appears that Netflix is either now streaming in HD on the PC and Mac or they will be very, very soon.

Here’s the short announcement I caught from the Netflix Blog before it was pulled (screen-shot from my Google Reader Here):

This is Brent Ayrey, Director of Product Management at Netflix. I wanted to let you know that we now have a number of movies and TV episodes available to watch in HD on your PC or Mac. HD streaming requires Silverlight 3, and you must have both sufficient bandwidth and a sufficiently large screen size to get an HD stream. When watching a title that has HD stream available you’ll see an icon in the player controls at the bottom of the screen - if the title is streaming in HD that icon will light up.
You can browse the HD titles here:
http://www.netflix.com/WiHD
Enjoy watching in HD on your PC or Mac!

If you’re browsing a “streaming movie" title on Netflix’s webpage you’ll see HD noted this way:

Netflix Watch Now in HD

More info and a listing of movies available in HD can be found at Netflix’s HD Page.  Screenshot below:

Netflix Streaming in HD Listing

Note that is not true HD we’re talking about here.  But widescreen and better quality than before…

via the Official Netflix Blog (the post was pulled, but hey – its obviously going to be published very soon…)

Can anyone confirm whether they’re able to get the HD streaming working?

Thursday, May 13, 2010

TV Series Status – Renewed or Canceled?

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As we near the end of the Spring 2010 TV season the major TV networks make their decisions on whether to renew or cancel the TV series from the past year.  Many shows have already received the call, but several are still undecided at least until next week.

If you're interested in this post, don’t miss the Ultimate Guide to the Summer 2010 TV Season with free PDF downloads!

You can see how your favorite show is doing by keeping an eye on the list below sorted by name in alpha order.  If the network has officially canceled or renewed a show I’ll note that in the status.  If it’s unsure, you’ll see my bets on the status as “safe” = odds are good for renewal or “bubble” = could go either way.
I’ll be updating this list each day as we learn more.  What do you think – any of my bets you disagree with?  Is there a favorite show you’re pulling for (for me it’s Chuck)?
I have the following listed as “on the bubble”, but I personally think their chances of survival are slim at best:
  • Accidentally On Purpose
  • Cold Case
  • Flash Forward
  • Mercy
  • Numb3rs
  • Trauma
  • V
But you never know what those crazy TV networks will do.  We’ll know for sure soon.
FULL LISTING AFTER THE JUMP


UPDATE 5/14:
  • Better off Ted canceled
  • Chuck is renewed
  • FlashForward is canceled
  • Happy Town is canceled
  • Heroes is canceled
  • Law & Order is officially cancelled
  • Law & Order SVU is renewed
  • Law & Order LA is renewed
  • Mercy is canceled
  • Romantically Challenged is canceled
  • Scrubs is canceled
  • Trauma is canceled
  • Wanda Sykes Show is canceled
  • V is renewed

Update 5/18 – CBS fooled me as I thought Gary Unmarried & Ghost Whisperer were safe…

  • Accidentally on Purpose is canceled
  • Gary Unmarried is canceled
  • Ghost Whisperer is canceled
  • Life Unexpected is canceled
  • Medium is renewed
  • The New Adventures of Old Christine is canceled
  • Num3bers is canceled
  • One Tree Hill is canceled
  • Rules of Engagement is renewed

Network Show Title Status
FOX 24 canceled
CW 90210 renewed
ABC Family 10 Things I Hate About You renewed
NBC 30 Rock renewed
CBS Accidentally on Purpose bubble canceled
CBS Amazing Race, The renewed
CW America’s Next Top Model renewed
TLC American Chopper renewed
FOX American Dad renewed
FOX American Idol renewed
FX Archer renewed
Lifetime Army Wives renewed & underway
CBS As the World Turns canceled
ABC Bachelor, The safe renewed
CW Beautiful Life, The canceled
ABC Better Off Ted canceled
CBS Big Bang Theory, The renewed
HBO Big Love renewed
NBC Biggest Loser, The safe renewed
TBS Bill Engvall Show, The canceled
PBS Bill Moyers Journal canceled
FOX Bones renewed
Syndicated Bonnie Hunt Show, The canceled
HBO Bored to Death renewed
AMC Breaking Bad renewed
Showtime Brotherhood canceled
FOX Brothers canceled
ABC Brothers & Sisters renewed
USA Burn Notice renewed
Showtime Californication renewed
Syfy Caprica bubble
ABC Castle renewed
NBC Celebrity Apprentice safe renewed
NBC Chuck safe Renewed
FOX Cleveland Show, The renewed
CBS Cold Case bubble canceled
NBC Community renewed
ABC Cougar Town renewed
Starz! Crash bubble
CBS Criminal Minds safe renewed
CBS CSI safe
CBS CSI: Miami safe
CBS CSI: NY safe renewed
HBO Curb Your Enthusiasm renewed
FX Damages safe
ABC Dancing with the Stars safe
TNT Dark Blue renewed
ABC Deep End, The canceled
ABC Defying Gravity canceled
ABC Desperate Housewives safe renewed
Showtime Dexter renewed
FOX Dollhouse canceled
HBO Eastbound & Down renewed
ABC Eastwick canceled
FOX Family Guy renewed
ABC FlashForward bubble canceled
HBO Flight of the Conchords canceled
ABC Forgotten, The canceled
NBC Friday Night Lights renewed
FOX Fringe renewed
CBS Gary Unmarried safe canceled
CBS Ghost Whisperer safe canceled
FOX Glee renewed
CBS Good Wife, The renewed
CW Gossip Girl renewed
ABC Family Greek renewed
ABC Grey’s Anatomy safe renewed
CBS Guiding Light canceled
ABC Hank canceled
ABC Happy Town bubble Happy Town
Starz! Head Case canceled
NBC Heroes bubble canceled
MTV Hills, The canceled
FOX House renewed
CBS How I Met Your Mother renewed
HBO How to Make It in America renewed
FOX Human Target renewed
USA In Plain Sight renewed
HBO In Treatment renewed
FX It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia renewed
NBC Jay Leno Show, The canceled
Comedy Jeff Dunham Show, The canceled
NBC Kings canceled
NBC Law & Order safe canceled
NBC Law & Order: SVU safe renewed
USA Law and Order: Criminal Intent renewed
FX League, The renewed
FOX Lie to Me renewed
CW Life Unexpected bubble canceled
ABC Family Lincoln Heights canceled
NBC Listener, The canceled
ABC Lost canceled
NBC Marriage Ref renewed
CBS Medium safe renewed
CW Melrose Place canceled
TNT Men of a Certain Age renewed
CBS Mentalist, The safe renewed
NBC Mercy bubble canceled
CBS Miami Medical canceled
ABC Middle, The renewed
NBC Minute to Win It renewed
ABC Modern Family renewed
USA Monk canceled
CBS NCIS safe renewed
CBS NCIS: Los Angeles renewed
CBS New Adventures of Old Christine bubble canceled
FX Nip/Tuck canceled
HBO No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, The bubble
CBS Numb3rs bubble canceled
Showtime Nurse Jackie renewed
NBC Office, The renewed
CW One Tree Hill safe canceled
NBC Parenthood renewed
NBC Parks and Recreation renewed
FOX Past Life canceled
NBC Philanthropist, The canceled
ABC Private Practice safe renewed
USA Psych renewed
TNT Raising the Bar canceled
Comedy Reno 911! canceled
FX Rescue Me renewed
ABC Romantically Challenged bubble canceled
ABC Family Ruby & the Rockets canceled
CBS Rules of Engagement safe renewed
Syfy Sanctuary renewed
Comedy Sarah Silverman Program canceled
TNT Saving Grace canceled
ABC Scrubs canceled
Showtime Secret Diary of a Call Girl bubble
Lifetime Sherri bubble
FOX Simpsons, The renewed
CW Smallville renewed
FX Sons of Anarchy renewed
Fox Sons of Tucson canceled
TNT Southland renewed
Starz! Spartacus: Blood and Sand renewed
Syfy Stargate Universe renewed
CW Supernatural renewed
ABC Surviving Suburbia canceled
CBS Survivor renewed
CBS Three Rivers canceled
FOX Til Death canceled
NBC Trauma bubble canceled
HBO True Blood renewed
Showtime Tudors, The canceled
CBS Two and a Half Men renewed
CW Tyra Banks Show canceled
ABC Ugly Betty canceled
CBS Undercover Boss renewed
Showtime United States of Tara renewed
ABC V bubble renewed
CW Vampire Diaries renewed
Fox Wanda Sykes Show canceled
Showtime Weeds renewed
NBC Who Do You Think You Are? renewed
The schedule for the 2010 Broadcast Network Upfront Meetings for each network is below.  We should know where each of these networks will go with their shows by these days:
  • 5/17/2010 NBC
  • 5/17/2010 FOX
  • 5/18/2010 ABC
  • 5/19/2010 CBS
  • 5/20/2010 CW