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« Roush Dispatch
Thursdays on TV: So Ugly It's Pretty
Jensen Ackles in Supernatural by Sergei Bachlakov/The CW
At last, after only about four months, our Thursday nights are complete again. So many shows, too little time, a real embarrassment of riches. From the silver lining department: Without the writers’ strike, it’s possible we’d never have seen ABC program such a killer Thursday lineup that takes us from Ugly Betty to Grey’s Anatomy to Lost. Whew.
Everyone’s in the game tonight. CBS is coming off last week’s jaw-dropping ouster of Ozzy on Survivor, plus new episodes of the still-dominant CSI and Without a Trace. NBC is in full swing with its comedies, and has made a start move switching Scrubs and 30 Rock’s time periods to put 30 Rock after The Office (addressing some complaints that 30 Rock was unsuitable for the earlier time period, but also giving the show the best possible lead-in). The CW (once again, almost typed WB) restores its one-two punch of fantasy winners, with Smallville and Supernatural (more on the latter later). And Fox keeps its lights on with its light-hearted mainstream quiz shows. All in all, the night is a case study in counter-programming that serves just about any conceivable audience.
Of tonight’s premieres, ABC made only Ugly Betty available for an advance look-see, and while it may not be the best episode ever, it’s quite a bit of fun, hewing to the show’s basic set-up: a fractured fairy tale about a lovably ugly duckling who’s blossoming before our eyes. It’s a not-so-happy 24th birthday (at least initially) for our Betty (America Ferrera), as her boyfriend Henry’s pregnant ex Charlie shows up to put a damper on their planned Poconos weekend. Betty is dreaming of fireworks, carriage rides—in short, the whole fantasy package—and while nothing quite works out the way she expected, it could be because she’s not looking in the right place to find her handsome-prince bliss. It’s all very sweet, except when the focus garishly shifts to comic-book telenovela-style melodrama, which is also pretty entertaining. Just watch Wilhelmina (the fabulous Vanessa Williams) lock horns with her equally stunning but possibly borderline-psycho sister Renee (Gabrielle Union), who’s sinking her claws into Daniel (who may or may not have forgotten Betty’s birthday). Go, divas! Speaking of which, I laughed every single time Becki Newton’s Amanda was on screen, sporting a Kiss T-shirt (in honor of Amanda’s newly found dad, Gene Simmons), rock ‘n’ roll attitude and as usual a blithe contempt for Betty, who she guesses is turning 40. “I’m a receiver, not a giver,” Amanda says. Not true. She gives me enormous pleasure. As does Ugly Betty.
The other returning show I screened in advance was Supernatural, and no slight to NBC’s lineup, but this could well be the funniest hour on tap on any network tonight. Screams of laughter mingle with screams of terror as our heroes stumble into an inspired parody of Sci Fi’s Ghost Hunters, here called “GhostFacers,” an “unsolicited pilot” courtesy of that amateur-ghostbuster Mutt-and-Jeff duo Harry Spangler and Ed Zeddmore, from the first season’s “Hell House” episode. The “GhostFacers” (who work at Kinko’s during the day) are already breaking into “the most haunted place in America,” a creepy house inhabited by a “leap-year ghost,” when Dean and Sam (Jensen Ackles and Jared Padelecki) enter the picture, dismayed to find these “goofballs” getting in their way again. “We’ll make you recurring guest stars,” promises one of the goofballs, just around the time things get genuinely scary—courtesy of a “death echo” and a “supernatural lockdown” that threatens everyone trapped in the house. The episode is a pitch-perfect spoof of reality-TV conventions, including bleeped profanities during confessionals and inadvertent romantic subplots captured on camera. It’s probably no surprise that Dean, though contemptuous of these rubes, kind of grooves at being in the spotlight. He’s probably thinking, “You know what? This could make a pretty good series.” And you know what? He’s right. I couldn’t be happier that the CW has already taken the fear of cancellation from Supernatural fans, guaranteeing the show a fourth season (presumably in the same post-Smallville spot in which it has nestled comfortably for a while).
For the next month, we get to pretend we’re actually enjoying a normal TV season. It’s about time.
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Apr 24, 2008 10:32 AM
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Matt! Hello, I think I love you! Thank you so much for discussing Supernatural! I'm glad that you enjoyed this episode. I'm really looking forward to watching it tonight. Harry & Ed were two of my favorite characters from Season 1, so I was very excited to learn they would be returning this year.
You probably don't visit the CW website too often, but they have a special GhostFacers page set up with some fun videos.
Thanks again for the great thoughts on Supernatural!
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Apr 24, 2008 11:17 AM
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Thanks for talking about Supernatural - that show totally rocks and I love getting scoops about it!
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Apr 24, 2008 11:25 AM
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The other returning show I screened in advance was Supernatural, and no slight to NBC's lineup, but this could well be the funniest hour on tap on any network tonight.
Thank you for noticing. I don't have time for TV; hadn't watched for years, but then I came across THIS show and not only do I make time to watch it every week without fail, but I make time to post about it, too. Thanks again!
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Apr 24, 2008 11:25 AM
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I live in the Chicago area and instead of Smallville and Supernatural a White Sox and Yankee game are on CW instead. Smallville is suppose to come on at 10:30 and Supernatural at 11:30 Pm CDT. Now since the White Sox are playing the Yankees I suppose that means 2 big markets are being taken out of the ratings game. Not only is this an insult after waiting so long for a new episode of Supernatural but I am a die hard Cub fan and I would still be upset even if it was the Cubs playing tonight. I NEED MY SUPERNATURAL FIX.
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Apr 24, 2008 11:37 AM
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Matt - Thanks so much for the great coverage of tonight's Supernatural episode, complete with a picture of Dean, no less! I'm thrilled that you liked it so much.
My Thursday night shows are Ugly Betty, Scrubs, Supernatural, CSI, 30 Rock, Lost and Without a Trace. This wouldn't be a problem for me, with my two-tuner DVR, except for the networks' maddening and unconscionable scheduling of their 9:00 shows to end at :01 and :02 after 10:00. This means that my scheduled recording of 30 Rock has been bumped and won't record, which means I'll have to watch it tomorrow online. It's obvious that they're doing this to screw up their viewers' recording devices. Just what do they think they're gaining by doing this?
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Apr 24, 2008 11:42 AM
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Thank you for the awesome review of tonights Supernatural. I've been chomping at the bit to see this episode since well I heard Kripke mention it in an interview!
Harry and Ed were awesome guest stars the first time around and I'm looking forward to seeing them annoy Dean and Sam again.
Thanks for giving the Only Thursday show I watch such props!
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Apr 24, 2008 11:58 AM
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Thanks for the Supernatural love, Matt!
Thursdays are crazy again. So many quality shows, so little time. Supernatural, Lost, Without a Trace, Ugly Betty, Grey's, Smallville, The Office, 30 Rock. Sheesh! Thank goodness for DVRs.
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Apr 24, 2008 12:22 PM
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Ditto on the thanks for the Supernatural support, Matt!  Doubtlessly, we fans are also thrilled that our boys are back after that excruciating hiatus (or hellatus, as we SN fans call them, LOL) and absolutely ecstatic/relieved/thankful (with a little bit of shock thrown in there!) that the CW has already confirmed our fourth season! Glad to see you share our feelings!
Here's to a hilarious episode tonight, a sure-to-be intense rest of this season, and an awesome Season 4! 
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Apr 24, 2008 1:04 PM
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Thank you Matt for your support of Supernatural. I also agree and thank God for Tivo/VCR's (yes I still own one, and on top of that I do NOT own a cell phone, just use the trusty old landline).  Extra thanks to you Vicki for giving the info about the change of time for the airing of Supernatural here in Chicago. I would of been one crabby bi**h if I recorded it at 8:00 and would of found out later that I recorded part of the game!!
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Apr 24, 2008 2:20 PM
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Thank you for the shout-out to my favorite show, Supernatural. I don't think people realize that this show can be just as hilarious as it is spooky! Can't wait to watch tonight's ep.
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Apr 24, 2008 3:27 PM
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While being excited that we are finally getting a new Supernatural tonight, in my mind I was almost looking past Ghostfacers to the more "normal" format of the last three episodes. After your great write up, 9 p.m. can't come soon enough for this SnOb! Thanks, Matt!
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Apr 24, 2008 3:39 PM
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Thank you for the Supernatural recognition, Matt! I am eagerly awaiting this episode for its humor and the rest of the season for its intensity. In my opinion, Supernatural mixes humor, scares, and deep emotion better than anything else currently on television - often all in the same episode!
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Apr 24, 2008 8:49 PM
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Don't get me wrong, but I sort of wish that this bounty of shows could have been spread out a bit more. I'm having to use a Tivo and 2 VCRs to catch everything! I suppose I should just be grateful that the writers' strike didn't kill the entire season, leaving me with a surfeit of riches to be enjoyed on other not-so-television happy nights like Saturday!
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Apr 24, 2008 9:37 PM
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I live in the Chicago area and instead of Smallville and Supernatural a White Sox and Yankee game are on CW instead. Smallville is suppose to come on at 10:30 and Supernatural at 11:30 Pm CDT. Now since the White Sox are playing the Yankees I suppose that means 2 big markets are being taken out of the ratings game. Not only is this an insult after waiting so long for a new episode of Supernatural but I am a die hard Cub fan and I would still be upset even if it was the Cubs playing tonight. I NEED MY SUPERNATURAL FIX.
actually, i live in New York and the game was on YES, so I could still watch Supernatural. The only time baseball games are on the CW are Fridays and weekends because the Yankees have the YES Network and the Mets have SNY
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Apr 25, 2008 8:04 AM
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