A look back at the best and worst in the past week of TV, as well as a sneak peek at what’s to come.
Highlights
1. “House Hunters International.” Have I ever mentioned how I’m totally hooked on this show? This was Fantasy Destination week, and wow, some of those houses really were fantasies. Living in a gorgeous luxury villa in Bali actually looked affordable by Bay Area standards. And how about that ultimate fixer-upper on the Amalfi coast, where the “modern addition” was 400 years old? It was a week full of fantastic housing porn that had me drooling.
2. “Top Chef Masters.” Not as drama-filled and tense as the original “Top Chef,” but that’s not a bad thing. It was simply a great opportunity to see world-class chefs do what they do best. And there is a certain thrill to that. It’s a fun show that’ll get your stomach growling, and a breath of fresh air from a summer reality-show landscape filled with absolute garbage.
3. Bret Michaels at the Tony Awards. I actually didn’t see this live (I hate awards shows, and god, I’d never watch the Tonys anyway), but the YouTube clip of him getting laid out by a set is flat-out hilarious. The “Rock of Love” star goes down like Wile E. Coyote smacking against the side of a cliff. I won’t even ask why he was performing at the Tony Awards in the first place.
Lowlights
1. “HGTV $250,000 Challenge.” Ehhh, it was kinda boring, just like the first week. It was amusing though, to watch the change-averse couple who got eliminated make a bold color change from grey to light brown walls (after the light pink, which she, for some reason, kept calling purple). Yawn.
2. Sarah Palin vs. David Letterman. I didn’t see the show where Letterman’s joke caused offense. But honestly, if Sarah Palin was offended, then I’m all for it. Why is this still even in the news? Enough already. There are too many real problems in the world to waste time on stupid fake controversies like this. Like, what does the new Miss California think about gay marriage?
3. “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.” I didn’t watch this either (sorry, I had a busy week and didn’t have time to watch enough trash), but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it sucked. By the way, I’m one week into kicking my Couple-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named habit, and feeling fine. This week I successfully avoided clicking on stories about a certain someone being hospitalized and posing for Playboy, and I don’t even know who got eliminated from the show. Gotta say, it’s a good feeling.
Looking forward to. . .
1. “Burn Notice” (10 p.m. Thursday, USA). Ooooh, Michael seems to have met his match with that police detective. This could be good. But the real reason I’m excited for the next episode is the guest appearance by Jay Karnes (“The Shield,” “Sons of Anarchy”) as a bad-guy spy. Karnes is becoming a great creepy bad guy.
2. “True Blood” (10 p.m. Sunday, HBO). I still haven’t seen the first season, but I might just dive in now as Season 2 premieres. I’ve been hearing good things (lots of blood, lots of sex), and I haven’t really had a vampire fix since “Buffy” ended its run. I’m curious. (Blah!)
3. “The Chopping Block” (8 p.m. Friday, NBC). Let me explain. I’m not actually looking forward to this, but it’s such a tremendously terrible show that I’m encouraging anyone who hasn’t seen it to tune in and see the carnage first-hand. The restaurant-war series was pulled in the spring after two episodes, and NBC’s burning off the remaining episodes now. Check it out while you have the chance — it’s not often you see a network series done this shoddily.
