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TVGuide.com's Strike Recovery Guide

by Your Friends at TV Guide
Read Hanging Out with The Whitest Kids U' Know
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The Whitest Kids U Know by Andrew Robinson/IFC
The when: Sundays at 11 pm/ET on IFC

Why watch?: These days, sketch comedy on TV is all but restricted to those few Saturday late-night mainstays that by now have wrinkles in everything, including their jokes. If you haven't caught any of The Whitest Kids U' Know's second season yet, buckle up folks. The five twentysomethings of TWKU'K write all their own material and slay each half-hour episode with crisp wit and an intelligent, bizarre approach to comedy that'll make you wonder how those other sketch shows keep getting away with their old-school game plans. With riffs on everything from genitalia to gun control, these guys meld real grit (you'll never laugh so hard at death and destruction) with totally puerile gags (the squeamish be forewarned) and smart political satire. And in case you're missing some of the quirks of the old classics, these guys do have one thing in common with your John Cleeses and Dave Foleys: They sure do look pretty in drag.

Who's who: The facetious five are actors Sam Brown, Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Darren Trumeter and Timmy Williams. The lot met as undergrads in New York and started working their magic on the city's comedy scene before their act was picked up by the folks at IFC.

What's next: The remainder of the season is totally infectious... in that itchy, burning-down-there kind of way. The dudes who've so far shown us a guy with prosthetic bare breasts and sketches like "Instant Karma Bigot" (where an ignoramus is mauled the instant he makes off-color remarks) keep on their own merry way as they continue to put small children in awkward situations, mock history and give testicle jokes a new wind. Now there's a nice mental image.

Say what?!: Since the show airs on the Independent Film Channel (you know, the "TV, Uncut" people), every episode is totally unfiltered, uncensored and raw. Blood and violence? Check. Nudity? Yep. The seven words you can't say on television? Ding! The easily offended may want to V-chip this one from themselves.

What do you say?: Do you consider TWKU'K brilliant or tasteless? And is there even still a place for sketch comedy on TV these days? — Sandra Kofler
Read Here's Our Two Cents on Quarterlife
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Quarterlife by Elisabeth Caren/NBC
The when: The series makes its broadcast premiere on NBC Tuesday, Feb. 26. at 10 pm/ET. (Also see related story in Interviews & Features.)

Why watch?: If you want to see where original TV content is headed in the next few years, Quarterlife will be a perfect introduction. Developed for the Internet in eight-minute webisodes that began airing last November on MySpace, Facebook and Quarterlife.com (among other sites), Quarterlife explores the trials and angst of six twentysomethings in Los Angeles. Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick, who are known for their sensitive and accurate portrayals of characters from shows like thirtysomething and My So-Called Life (isn't that enough reason for you to watch?), have created a world of blogging, modern technology-savvy people that grow on you with each episode. If you're in your twenties (or remember them well), you'll be able to relate to Dylan and her unrequited love and crazy boss issues, Debra's unhealthy dependence on her family problems, Lisa's low self-esteem and binge-drinking episodes, or Jed's desire to do what makes him happy versus what will make him money. Hit any nerves yet? It did for us.

Who's who: Dylan is an associate editor at a flashy magazine, but she's anything but flashy. Actually, she's a mess. A pig-pen. She video-blogs on Quarterlife.com (a real social networking site created by the producers) about all her friends' secrets as well as her own. She's in love with Jed the budding filmmaker, but Jed is in love with Debra, the girl who still works for Daddy and is scared of her own shadow. Debra is in love with and dating Danny, Jed's filmmaking partner. Danny is a pig, and loves Debra but can't keep it in his pants. We also have Lisa, the bartender/wannabe actress/singer who is the sexy, self-destructive girl in the bunch. To round it out, we have Kevin, who lives in the basement and edits the boys' films... the resident geek/comic relief.

What's next: It all depends on how well viewers take to the show. Be sure to tune in!

Say what?!: Devon Gummersall, who played sweet Brian on MSCL, wrote two of the six episodes of Quarterlife, and his brother Josh is a producer on the show.

What do you say? Will you tune in to see Quarterlife on TV? And do you have any interest in exploring the website as well?

Use our Online Video Guide to "read ahead" and check out Quarterlife's first few episodes.

More strike recovery guidance:
• Day by Day: When Your Favorite Shows Will Return
• What Will Ghost Whisperer Scare Up Next?
• Desperate Housewife Teases "a Lot of Juicy Stuff"
Read Day by Day: When Your Favorite Shows Will Return
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Patrick Dempsey by Bob D'Amico/ABC, Hugh Laurie by Isabella Vosmikova/Fox, Steve Carell by Paul Drinkwater/NBC
Now that the networks have mapped out plans for what's left of this post-strike spring season, we've got your one-stop source for the return dates of all your favorite shows and how many episodes you can expect once they return. (Of course, if you prefer your data sorted A-Z, Ausiello's original chart lives on at TVGuide.com/ShowStatus.)

Saturday, February 23
• Saturday Night Live (starting with four consecutive new episodes)

Wednesday, February 27
• Men in Trees (with 11 pre-strike episodes)

Sunday, March 2
• Aliens in America (with eight pre-strike episodes)
• Everybody Hates Chris (with 12 pre-strike episodes)
• Unhitched (series premiere on Fox)
• Oprah's Big Give (series premiere on ABC)

Monday, March 3
• When Women Rule the World (series premiere on Fox)

Tuesday, March 4
• New Amsterdam (series premiere on Fox)

Monday, March 10
• Canterbury's Law (series premiere on Fox)

Tuesday, March 11
• Beauty & the Geek (fifth season premiere)
• Gene Simmons Family Jewels (third season premiere)

Wednesday, March 12
• The Return of Jezebel James (series premiere on Fox)
• South Park (12th season premiere)
• Top Chef (Fourth season premiere)

Monday, March 17
• Dancing with the Stars (sixth season premiere)
• The Bachelor (12th season premiere)
• The Big Bang Theory (with nine new episodes)
• How I Met Your Mother (with nine new episodes)
• Two and a Half Men (with nine new episodes)

Tuesday, March 18
• The Riches (with seven Season 2 episodes)

Sunday, March 23
• The Game (with nine new episodes)

Monday, March 24
• CSI: Miami (with eight new episodes)
• Greek (with 12 new episodes)

Sunday, March 30
• Cold Case (with five new episodes)

Wednesday, April 2
• Criminal Minds (with seven new episodes)
• CSI: NY (with seven new episodes)

Thursday, April 3
• CSI (with six new episodes)
• My Name Is Earl (with nine new episodes)
• Without a Trace (with six new episodes)

Friday, April 4
• Battlestar Galactica (the first half of a 20-episode final season)
• Ghost Whisperer (with six new episodes)
• Numbers (with six new episodes)

Monday, April 7
• Samantha Who? (with six new episodes)

Tuesday, April 8
• Boston Legal (with six new episodes)
• NCIS (with seven new episodes)

Thursday, April 10
• 30 Rock (with five new episodes)
• The Office (with six new episodes)
• Scrubs (with five pre-strike episodes and the possibility of four new episodes)
• ER (with six new episodes)

Friday, April 11
• Moonlight (with four new episodes)
• Hell's Kitchen (fourth season premiere)

Sunday, April 13
• Desperate Housewives (with six new episodes)

Monday, April 14
• Bones (with six new episodes)
• One Tree Hill (with six post-strike episodes)
• Rules of Engagement (with six new episodes)

Tuesday, April 15
• Law & Order: SVU (with five new episodes)

Wednesday, April 16
• Back to You (with eight to 10 new episodes)
• 'Til Death (an undetermined number of new episodes)

Thursday, April 17
• Smallville (with five new episodes)

Sunday, April 20
• Brothers & Sisters (with four new episodes)

Monday, April 21
• Gossip Girl (with five new episodes)

Tuesday, April 22
• Reaper (with five new episodes)

Wednesday, April 23
• Law & Order (with five new episodes)

Thursday, April 24
• Ugly Betty (with five new episodes)
• Grey's Anatomy (with five new episodes)
• Lost (with five new post-strike episodes)
• Supernatural (with four new episodes)

Monday, April 28
• House (with four new episodes)

Return Dates to Be Determined
• 24 (January 2009)
• Army Wives (June 2008)
• Big Love (Season 3 production begins in the spring)
• Burn Notice (Season 2 production begins in late April)
• Cane (no new episodes this season)
• Chuck (new episodes return in the fall)
• The Closer (Season 4 begins this summer)
• Dirty Sexy Money (no new episodes until the fall)
• Friday Night Lights (no new episodes this season)
• Girlfriends (series canceled, though a one-hour finale is being discussed)
• Heroes (new episodes in the fall)
• Life (new episodes in the fall)
• Law & Order: CI (expected to shoot an undetermined number of episodes to air in the spring)
• Medium (expected to shoot seven new episodes, to supplement five remaining pre-strike episodes)
• The New Adventures of Old Christine (seven pre-strike episodes remain; no new episodes this season)
• Nip/Tuck (Season 6 production begins this summer)
• October Road (three pre-strike episodes remain)
• Prison Break (not yet renewed for fall)
• Private Practice (no new episodes until the fall)
• Pushing Daisies (no new episodes until the fall)
• Shark (expected to shoot four new episodes; airdates TBD)
• The Shield (final season has been shot)
• Women's Murder Club (no new episodes expected this season)

Canceled
• Big Shots
• Bionic Woman
• Las Vegas
• Life Is Wild
Read What Will Ghost Whisperer Scare Up Next?
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Ghost Whisperer by Vivian Zink/ABC
Now that the WGA strike has ended, Ghost Whisperer will be among the first to film new episodes. In fact, the ink was barely dry on the new writers' contract when executive producer/head writer P.K. Simonds reported to work, rested and committed to his mission of making the remaining five episodes of this season the most compelling and groundbreaking yet. We were fortunate enough to catch up with Simonds in the midst of his heavily scheduled day to chat about what it's like to be back at work post-strike. — Zoλ Alexander

TV Guide: I'll bet you're excited that the strike is over, when do you officially report to work?
P.K. Simonds:
I'm a producer and a writer so the union encouraged me to go to work this past Monday to fulfill my producer duties, and I went back to work with the writers when they all started working on Tuesday after everything was signed.

TV Guide: What was going back to work like? Any fresh, bold, new ideas for the show?
Simonds:
Well, you know it's funny because while we were off I didn't write anything at all and I spent a lot of time on the picket lines with the other writers, but you can't help thoughts that come into your head, and also, I would have dreams about the show. With time comes perspective and so there are some things that we had come up with before the strike that we realized weren't so brilliant and some other things that we looked at after the strike and realized were brilliant.

TV Guide: So when you met with the writers for the first time on Tuesday, did everything fall into place, or were there drastic changes to what you were working on?
Simonds:
In this business, you always go from 0 to 60. We thought that there would be this big ramp-up before we actually went back to work. But we went back to work immediately, so there was a lot of dusting off of old notes and looking at old storyboards and trying to remember where we were going with our ideas before the strike. We've been doing a lot of global thinking about the rest of the season now and where we want to go because we've lost abut five episodes because of the strike. We were originally supposed to do 25 shows for the season and now it looks like it will be 18 for the season. So we have to wrap things up more quickly.

TV Guide: Does that make your job harder when it comes to maintaining the story arc?
Simonds:
No, it's actually easier because it makes you tie everything up faster. But we definitely have to make some changes and adjustments.

TV Guide: Any major changes in vision that fans can look forward to?
Simonds:
Yes. [Melinda] had been in the process of learning some things about herself and her family and the town they moved to and it was all beneath the surface. Now we are going to plunge more deeply into that and bring it up to the surface. We have really established her mythology, meaning where she comes from, who she is, who her family is. Storytelling for TV is a rolling process so with this fresh perspective that the strike has given us, we're going to revisit all of that. These are good problems to have because we want to satisfy ourselves as writers and also the audience.

TV Guide: So taking the time off to let your brains rest will probably lead to the most exciting season ever?
Simonds:
The strike was good in a few ways, it was not so good in others. For the writing process, it was good to take a break and step back. One thing about TV is that it gives you the gift of being in a room with other writers and coming up with great ideas, but when you are together all the time it's hard to have new ideas and perspective and the time off gave us that. So yes, we have some exciting things we are working on. On the other hand, financially it was hard on a lot of people but hopefully going back to work and finishing off our season will allow people to recoup some of that money, because we only lost five episodes and we have more to do to finish the season.

TV Guide: Is your family happy or sad to see you go back to work?
Simonds:
They are sad. Every night we say prayers at home and we say special prayers for people who are sick and when the strike was on, I asked my kids to say a special prayer for the strike to end and they wouldn't do it. They didn't want me to go back to work. Finally they did, and the strike ended, so that goes to show the power of prayer.

TV Guide: Are you happy with the results of the strike? You didn't get everything, but you got a lot.
Simonds:
Yes, you never get everything, but the strike was a good thing in that it strengthened our union and showed how unified we are, and hopefully it will embolden other unions to fight for what they want as well. Also, we made a lot of long-term gains that writers will benefit from for years.

Related:
Ghost Whisperer celebrity blog: Back to Work!
Read Desperate Housewife Teases "a Lot of Juicy Stuff"
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Brenda Strong by Andrew Eccles/ABC
Speaking with TV Guide Wednesday night at the Bebe Lingerie Launch Party, Brenda Strong (aka the dearly departed Mary Alice) confirmed that which Ausiello reported a few weeks back: When Desperate Housewives resumes its season in April/May, a significant amount of time will have passed since the Jan. 7 episode. "A lot of storyline got dropped because of [the strike-shortened season], so we're going to consolidate it [into seven episodes]," the actress shared.

As such, look for the balance of episodes to feature picket-fence-to-picket-fence drama. "It will definitely be worth watching," says Strong, "because a lot of the juicy stuff will be jam-packed into every episode. You don't want to miss it."

The super-soapiness, she says, will "tie up Season 4 in a nice bow, so we can start fresh with Season 5." Or as Mary Alice, queen of the well-placed homily would say, "What's old is what's new again."
Read After the Strike: Burning Questions Answered!
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Grey's Anatomy by Scott Garfield/ABC; 30 Rock by Chris Haston/NBC
Once the WGA strike order is lifted and writers can return to work, which shows can we expect to see back on the air first? How have summer series been affected? Might some programs (gulp) not return at all? You've got tons of questions, and in recent weeks TV Guide experts such as Matt Roush and Michael Ausiello have been trying to proactively answer them. For the past few days, for example, Ausiello has been painstakingly updating a "Strike Recovery Chart," detailing each show, its status, and how many fresh episodes you might expect during this crazy season. The URL is TVGuide.com/ShowStatus — easy enough to remember, easier to bookmark.

Still, you may have other, more basic questions. To that end, we've set up this "FAQ," serving up generalized answers about the obvious topics. If between this and Oz's "SRC" you still need some answers, give us a holler in the comments field. We got you through the strike, and we'll get you through this next seemingly endless slew of weeks!

When will established shows like CSI and Grey's be back on the air?
CSI is expected to shoot four to eight new episodes to air in March/April/May, while the Seattle Grace gang is aiming for four to seven, to air in April/May. In general, as reported in Ask Ausiello, established shows would likely go back into production later this month or early March on episodes to air in April/May, making a few new episodes for this season as well as some for next. Then they'll take a summer break before starting regular production on the fall season. The reason for this is twofold: They don't want to bail out on this season, but they also don't want to go to the expense of putting shows back into production for just two or three episodes. One industry observer describes this as "a smart plan," while acknowledging that there's another variable in all this — the actors. "The trouble is, a lot of actors schedule hiatus movies, or just elaborate vacations. And if they ask them to work through certain dates, that could trigger some contract issues." (For much more on the complicated matter of actors’ contracts, watch for the Feb. 13 Ask Ausiello.) Now, continue reading for the worst-case scenario....

What about newer shows, like Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money?
As Daisies creator Bryan Fuller told Ausiello weeks ago (and has since been confirmed), "It looks like they will scuttle the rest of the season. This is for many reasons. One is that it will be hard to launch a big promotional campaign for four or five episodes; it's just not cost-effective. Two is that if we did come back we would land right in the path of the American Idol juggernaut, and would likely be decimated. Three is if we came back in the fall with a full slate of episodes, then ABC could relaunch the show in a big way. But that's all tentative. We've talked about so many options since the strike began and they fluctuate on a weekly basis. But right now a shortened first season seems the most likely."

Did the WGA get everything they fought so ardently for?
Yes… and no. “We didn't get all we wanted in every category and there are some disappointments,” Battlestar Galactica writer-producer David Weddle told us after the WGA was briefed on the deal, “but I think in general we got much more than the companies ever said they would ever give us, so there's a sense that we achieved a lot, particularly for the future — establishing a precedent that we have a piece of new media going forward.” Perhaps the biggest “shortfall” of the new deal is that writers will not get paid for streamed-online content during a 17-day window after the first airing of a program. WGA East prez Michael Winship has said, "We would have liked to have closed that window completely. That is one of the things we did not achieve in this contract and something we will be working on going forward."

This is great and all, but aren't we going to have to go through this whole thing again in June, when the Screen Actors Guild’s contract ends?
Unlikely. Just like the DGA proved a catalyst to a WGA deal, the WGA deal similarly will serve as a blueprint for a SAG deal.

Will the networks hold upfronts in May?
Unclear. NBC has already hinted that it will back out of the annual dog and pony show, but the other nets have been mum.

Does this mean we'll get a real Oscars?
Lisa Rinna's likely at a dress-fitting as we write this. The WGA deal means an Oscar ceremony with all the trimmings. But really, you’re concerned about the Oscars when more 30 Rock is on the table?!

Use our Online Video Guide to catch up on the last-aired episodes of many strike-struck shows.

In TVGuide.com's Strike Watch blog:
• WGA Voting Tuesday on Lifting Strike Order; Hug Your TiVo!
• WGA Chiefs Analyze Tentative Deal
• WGA Boards Approve Deal: Showrunners Can Return to Work Monday
• Outside the WGA West Meeting: Writers React to New Deal
• Tentative Deal Struck: Writers Could Start Work by Wednesday
Read Why We Think CBS' Jericho Is the Bomb
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Jericho by Andrew Cone/CBS
The when: Season 2 premieres Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 10 pm/ET.

Why watch?: The brave citizens of Jericho cling to the hope of normalcy after the country survives a nuclear attack on 23 of its most prominent cities.

Who's who: Jericho has a large ensemble of characters, but with the show's high mortality rate, that number is steadily diminishing.
The show's main characters are Jake Green and Robert Hawkins. Jake Green returned to Jericho just prior to the attack on the neighboring city of Denver. Once an irresponsible troublemaker, Jake has grown into the leader of Jericho. Much of Robert Hawkins' past is shrouded in mystery. As an affiliate of the black-ops sector of the government, he tried unsuccessfully to prevent the nuclear attacks from taking place. He responded by extracting his family from Washington, D.C., and taking them to Jericho where they would be safe. Robert also averted another attack by stealing a nuclear bomb from the enemy, bringing it with him to Jericho.

What's next: For Season 2 of the acclaimed action/drama, Jericho shifts its focus to a new government (the "Allied States of America") that has established itself without public vote. Also, Robert Hawkins continues to investigate the truth behind who is responsible for the horrific nuclear attacks.

Say what?! In Season 1's finale, Jake Green boldly exclaimed "Nuts!" to the leader of its neighboring town New Bern, which was attempting to invade Jericho. After CBS unceremoniously canceled this acclaimed series, the fans united by sending tons of actual nuts to CBS executives. CBS responded by giving the show a reprieve with a seven-episode second season!

What do you say? Jericho's riveting action sequences have the same ruthless intensity of 24, but they also have the quieter moments to focus on its characters' growth. Jericho fans, you've saved your show! Now it's time for more TV viewers to see what the fuss is all about! Keep spreading the word! — Joshua Green
Read This Week's CSI: Ten Things You Didn't Know
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CSI by Cliff Lipson/CBS
As you sit down this Thursday night to watch the "Chick Chop Flick Shop" rebroadcast of CSI, keep the following fun facts in mind:

1) The character of director Zack Putrid is played by John Asher, who is himself an accomplished director as well as an actor. The name "Zack Putrid" is a nod to current horror-meister Rob Zombie.

2) John Ventimiglia, who guest-stars in this episode as producer Stanley Vespucci, is best remembered as Tony Soprano's longtime friend and restaurant owner Artie Bucco on The Sopranos.

3) Carla Orlandi, who plays horror diva Weatherly Adams, has been seen before on CSI. She played "Bubbles," the wife of chicken slaughterhouse owner Ike Mannleigh in Season 7's miniature-killer episode "Loco Motives."

4) In the episode, horror-movie posters adorn the walls of the studio, including "I Have to Axe My Mother" "Can I Lick the Spoon?," "Vortex of Evil," "Into the Mouth of Hell" and "Chop Chop Fizz Fizz." Each of these was considered (and rejected) as the title of the episode itself.

5) Character actor/comedian Will Sasso ("Mason Lafoon") has appeared in many films and television shows, and is probably best known for his comedy work on Mad TV.

6) Character actor Irwin Keyes, who plays horror-film star Russ
Beaudreux in our episode, is easily recognizable as a fixture of actual
horror films, having acted by his estimation in over 50 of the sort!

7) To create the horror production company and studio lot of Repulsion
Pictures, the show used L.A.'s legendary Lacey Street Studios, which
has been home to many low-budget horror movies. The name Repulsion
Pictures is a nod to the famous European director Roman Polanski and his 1965 film Repulsion, starring Catherine Deneuve.

8) In this episode, Catherine gets a determined admirer in the form of
Dickie Peebles, played by actor Martin Klebba, who was most recently
seen in Pirates of the Caribbean.

9) The "movie-in-a-movie" sequence in which DNA tech Wendy Sims (Liz
Vassey) is chased down a hall by a chainsaw-wielding maniac was filmed
in the CSI production offices.

10) The place where Jessica gasses her car up in the rainstorm is actually the set of the Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

More strike survival guidance:
• Movies-on-TV: Ken Fox's Picks for the Week of Feb. 11
• NBC's Lipstick Jungle Promises Sexy and Chic
• Survivor: Micronesia — Do the Newbies Stand a Chance?
Read Movies-on-TV: Ken Fox's Picks for the Week of Feb. 11
080216farfromheaven.jpg
Far from Heaven by David Lee/Focus Films
Monday, Feb. 11, at 8 pm/ET
It Happened One Night | TCM
Take two minutes — any two minutes — of Frank Capra's riotous 1934 classic and you'll find everything that goes into a classic screwball comedy: a dashing, slightly boorish newspaper man (Clark Gable at his most charming), a madcap heiress (the devastatingly adorable Claudette Colbert) on the run, and a road trip fraught with sexual tension and sparkling dialogue. Along with a handful of other films, Capra's perfect comedy defined the genre that would include some of the best comedies to come out of Hollywood.

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 10:30 pm
The Red Shoes | TCM
It's been called the ultimate ballet film, but you don't have to be a tutu-wearing balletomane or know a thing about dance to enjoy Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's feverish, magical masterpiece. Moira Shearer stars as a gifted young ballerina who dances her way to stardom — and her own doom.

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 9 pm
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | IFC
I love it, everyone else seems to hate it — and I mean hate it — especially the French, who nearly booed David Lynch out of town when this feature-length prequel to the groundbreaking series played at Cannes. I don't get it: This dreamy, deeply disturbing chronicle of Laura Palmer's final days in the mythic northwest town of Twin Peaks is entirely faithful to the series and guaranteed to give you at least one nightmare.

Thursday, Feb. 14, 8 pm
Romancing the Stone | FOXM
Sometimes it takes a truly terrible movie like Fool's Gold to help you realize just how much we tend to take other movies for granted. Take this romantic adventure starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a pair of treasure hunters. They make it look so easy: Both are at the very peak of their sex appeal, and they share something Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey do not — old-fashioned chemistry.

Friday, Feb. 15, 8 pm
Little Big Man | TCM
Arthur Penn's 1970 revisionist Western is one of the great movies of the era, but for some reason it's fallen by the wayside while its contemporaries — Five Easy Pieces, M*A*S*H — have become part of the early-'70s American canon. Perhaps it's the genre, or maybe it's the film's message: Dustin Hoffman tells the story of the Battle of Little Big Horn from the victims' perspective.

Saturday, Feb. 16, 7 pm
Far from Heaven | IFC
The most buzzed-about film among serious moviegoers this fall was Todd Haynes' multi-character portrait of Bob Dylan, I'm Not There. It's good, but for my money, Haynes' 2002 exercise in Douglas Sirk-style melodrama is better. Here, Haynes does what he does so well that you forget he's even doing it and simply fall headlong into the rich, soapy suds. Julianne Moore is simply exquisite as a housewife who figures out her husband is gay.

Sunday, Feb. 17, 10 pm
Calvaire | SUND
This odd shocker owes a lot to American horror movies of the '70s (think Texas Chain Saw Massacre or The Hills Have Eyes), but it took a Belgian to put a fresh spin on an old formula. A guy's car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, he gets some help from a seemingly kindly farmer and soon finds himself trapped inside a psychotic nightmare. It's grim, bloody and oddly funny. Check it out, if you dare.

More strike survival guidance:
• This Week's CSI: Ten Things You Didn't Know
• NBC's Lipstick Jungle Promises Sexy and Chic
• Survivor: Micronesia — Do the Newbies Stand a Chance?
Read NBC's Lipstick Jungle Promises Sexy and Chic
080206lipstickjungle.jpg
Lipstick Jungle by Andrew Eccles/NBC Photo
The when: Enter the Jungle Thursday, Feb. 7, at 10 pm/ET on NBC.

Why watch?: If you were a devoted Sex and the City fan then you'll love Lipstick Jungle, as both began as novels written by Candace Bushnell. With hip and powerful females at the center of the plot it's sure to become a staple on your TV schedule or at least on the DVR. Lipstick also has a lot of buzz surrounding it and both critics and viewers have been wondering for months whether it will be better than its competitor, Cashmere Mafia, which was created by SATC scribe Darren Star. Sure, it's catchphrase — "It's a jungle out there, dress accordingly" — is a little cheesy, but the show promises not to be, with its chic wardrobe, sexy plotlines and witty dialogue.

Who's who: Three powerful women who are best friends — Wendy, Nico and Victory — have just been named among New York's 50 most powerful women. Wendy Healy, a film executive, is played by Brooke Shields. Victory Ford, a fashion designer, is played by Lindsay Price and Nico Reilly, a magazine editor, is played by Kim Raver.

What's next: Watch as these women tackle the big apple while trying to balance high-powered careers with their complicated relationships.

Say what?! All three women have starred on hit TV shows: Kim Raver on 24, Brooke Shields on Suddenly Susan and Lindsay Price on Beverly Hills, 90210.

What do you say? Could this be the TV obsession we've been waiting for, or will it be swept into the pile of Sex and the City copycats? — Robyn Ross

Take a look at Lipstick Jungle in our Online Video Guide.

More Strike Survival guidance:
• Survivor: Micronesia — Do the Newbies Stand a Chance?
• Ten Things You Didn't Know About This Week's CSI
• Movies-on-TV: Ken Fox's picks for the Week of Feb. 4.
• Why You Should Make a Date with Old Christine
• It's Not Too Late to Find Lost
Read Survivor: Micronesia — Do the Newbies Stand a Chance?
080206survivor.jpg
Survivor: Micronesia---Fans vs. Favorites by Monty Brinton/CBS
The when: Premieres Thursday, Feb. 7, at 8 pm/ET on CBS.

Why watch?: Generally good-looking people with worsening hygiene sharing cramped, sandy quarters, subsisting on a couple of grains and rice, and buckling under the pressure of a win-or-go-home scenario — what's not to love? Survivor has managed to come up with new conflicts, new challenges and new locations for 16 seasons now, and this one is no exception: Some of the best-liked players from seasons past are back, and this time they're taking on their biggest fans.

Who's who: Jeff Probst has been the host of Survivor since Season 1, when the contestants were cast away in Borneo. This season, familiar faces return to the competition, like last season's gentle giant James, the gravedigger, Cook Islands' likable jack-of-all-trades Ozzy, and Fiji's sympathetic underdog Yau-Man.

What's next: With new challenges and a brand-new premise, this season should be one to remember. Will it work to the favorites' advantage or disadvantage that they're repeat contestants? They've been in the situation before, so they know what to expect — from the game and from each other. The fans have that uncertainty factor going for them, but they may not be prepared for the grueling demands of 40 days without the comforts of home.

Say what?! Several love matches have happened on Survivor — and some of them have even lasted beyond the showmance stage! The most famous hookup, between Rob and Amber on the All-Stars season, led to a televised wedding and a short-lived Fox Reality Channel series called Rob and Amber: Against the Odds. And shortly after she appeared on the series, host Jeff Probst found love with Vanuatu contestant Julie Berry.

What do you say? What do you think of the favorites taking another shot at the million dollars — any past players you would have liked to see again who didn't make the list? Any you would rather not watch again for a whole season? (Check out our feature for the complete list of contestants.) Do you think the fans stand a chance, or do you think they'll dominate in the challenges? — Nina Hδmmerling Smith

Get a preview of Survivor: Micronesia, Fans vs. Favorites in our Online Video Guide.

More Strike Survival guidance:
• Ten Things You Didn't Know About This Week's CSI
• Movies-on-TV: Ken Fox's picks for the Week of Feb. 4.
• Why You Should Make a Date with Old Christine
• It's Not Too Late to Find Lost
Read Ten Things You Don't Know About This Week's CSI
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William Petersen by Robert Voets/CBS
As you sit down this Thursday night to watch the "Lying Down with Dogs" rebroadcast of CSI, keep the following fun facts in mind:

1) The PSA at the end of the episode for the ASPCA (the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) features William Petersen's dog Bruno. Bruno has appeared in episodes of CSI as Grissom's dog.

2) The "fighting dogs" were actually playing, and it was through editing and sound that aggressive behavior was portrayed. These two dogs were brought up together and trained to do this all under the supervision of the American Humane Society.

3) The dog attacking and biting the other dog in the fight was actually biting a doll.

4) The blood used was a mixture of Karo-type syrup, and the dogs loved it. (Producers had to film quickly before the dogs ate it all!)

5) The dog graveyard was made up of all foam-cast animals. Production had to bury a bone under the rubber-cast body of the woman so that the dogs would "attack" it, otherwise they would just run about with their tails wagging.

6) Dennis Christopher (who plays the homeless guy in both last week's "Cockroaches" and in "Laying Down with Dogs") has a million credits, most notably the lead in Breaking Away, for which he won a lot of awards (including a Golden Globe).

7) The actor who played the animal-control officer was Chris De Rose, a noted animal activist and founder of the organization Last Chance for Animals (LCA).

8) The "Homeless Box City" is actually under an approach to the Golden State Highway in Burbank.

9) Whenever dogs were on the set, so was a representative for the American Humane Society.

10) The "dying" dog in the fight was filmed at high speed, and the footage then slowed down to create the illusion that the dog was barely moving.

More Strike Survival guidance:
• Movies-on-TV: Ken Fox's picks for the Week of Feb. 4
• Why You Should Make a Date with Old Christine
• It's Not Too Late to Find Lost
Read Movies-on-TV: Ken Fox's Picks for the Week of Feb. 4
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Idiocracy courtesy 20th Century Fox
Monday, Feb. 4, at 2:45 pm/ET
Gimme Shelter | SUND
It's been said that the '60s came to a crashing halt at California's Altamont Speedway where, in 1969, the Rolling Stones at their most satanic played "Sympathy for the Devil" while the Hell's Angels rampaged and a young man died. You'll get no argument from me: This classic concert film from the Maysles brothers captures the dark twilight of the Age of Aquarius.

Tuesday, Feb. 5, 8 and 9:45 pm
Enter the Dragon | AMC
Bruce Lee is a legend for a reason, and even if you don't think you like "chop-socky" flicks, you need to check this one out. Lee stars as a martial-arts expert who enters a contest held in a remote island fortress, a setup that's been copied endless times ever since. This was Lee's last completed film before his untimely death in 1973, and he's spectacular.

Wednesday, Feb. 6, 8 pm
Vertigo | TCM
I still personally prefer Notorious and Shadow of a Doubt, but I certainly won't throw down with anyone who contends that this dark and disturbingly romantic tale of an obsession that transcends death itself is in fact Hitchcock's greatest film. Once seen, it's never forgotten.

Thursday, Feb. 7, 8 pm
2001: A Space Odyssey | TCM
I've seen this one countless times and I still don't quite understand what it's all about, but I swear Kubrick's vision of the future (particularly the creepy HAL section) is getting better — and ever truer — with age.

Friday, Feb. 8, midnight
Female Trouble | SUND
Pink Flamingos may be more notorious, but this relentlessly vulgar satire of a celebrity culture is my pick for John Waters' best film of the '70s (Hairspray wins best overall). The divine Divine stars as Dawn Davenport, a bad girl with a bad attitude who becomes a notorious criminal.

Saturday, Feb. 9, 12:15 pm
Rio Bravo | AMC
It's served as the inspiration for movies as diverse as Night of the Living Dead and John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, but Howard Hawks' 1959 Western still stands as an original, and one of the last great American Westerns. John Wayne, Ricky Nelson and a too-often-underrated Dean Martin star.

Sunday, Feb. 10, 10 pm
Idiocracy | CINEMAX
Mike Judge's intermittently brilliant follow-up to Office Space was denied a theatrical release when it was rudely dumped to DVD. Why? Hard to say, unless it's all part of a vast conspiracy to bury the inconvenient truth of its premise: The dumbest among us are reproducing much faster than the best and the brightest, and we're fast heading for a future where literacy is dead and "Ow! My Balls!" is the top-rated show on TV. So true it's scary and so funny because it's true.

More Strike Survival guidance:
• Why You Should Make a Date with Old Christine
• It's Not Too Late to Find Lost
Read Why You Should Make a Date with CBS' Old Christine
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Hamish Linklater in The New Adventures of Old Christine by Mitchell Haddad/Warner Bros. Television/CBS
The when: Mondays at 9:30pm/ET. Season 3 premieres Feb. 4.

Why watch?: Remember back when traditional sitcoms were funny? Turns out some still are, and The New Adventures of Old Christine is one of them. You don't have to be a Seinfeld lover (or even a Seinfeld tolerator) to appreciate Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Emmy-winning work as the titular "Old" Christine Campbell, a woman whose bizarrely close relationship with her ex-husband and his twentysomething girlfriend (also named Christine, get it?) is eclipsed only by her even more bizarre relationship with her live-in brother. While she's more likely to vote for the next American Idol than for president, and she repeatedly confuses racism with anti-environmentalism, she's also managing to raise a (semi-) well-adjusted son and run her own business. And though the New Christine/Old Christine dynamic can be trying at times, the scenes between Old Christine, ex-husband Richard and their close friend Barb (a truly dynamic Wanda Sykes) can be gut-bustingly funny.

Who's who?: Christine spent most of last season lusting after Mr. Daniel Harris (played by Blair Underwood), her son Ritchie's teacher. Former amour Richard (Clark Gregg) is mostly out of the picture romantically, and in a stable relationship with New Christine (Emily Rutherfurd). Brother Matthew (Hamish Linklater) and the aforementioned Barb, while not without their own quirks, are voices of reason to the increasingly off-the-wall thoughts of Richard and Christine. If she ever wanted to defend her thought processes, Christine could claim extreme mental anguish caused by the ever-present and always hilariously evil "Mean Moms" at Ritchie’s tony private school (played to the hilt by Alex Kapp Horner and Tricia O'Kelly).

What's next?: Last we tuned in, with Richard and New Christine temporarily broken up, he and Old Christine (on the cusp of a relationship with Daniel) slept together, prompting a pregnancy scare:

Christine: "What if I sleep with Daniel real fast and then I can tell him the baby is his?"

Barb: "Really? You can't think of anything wrong with that plan?"

Luckily, Ritchie wound up not getting a sibling, and New Christine was spared the knowledge of her boyfriend's dalliance. In the season premiere, Christine is chockablock with anxiety over her and Daniel's first time between the sheets.

Say what?!: Though it’s the first show to break the so-called Seinfeld curse, Old Christine has deep ties to Larry David's empire. Wanda Sykes starred on Curb Your Enthusiasm, while Mean Mom Alex Kapp Horner played one of George Costanza's girlfriends late in the series. Likewise, Jennifer Crittenden, a former Seinfeld producer, is credited with writing three episodes of Christine. Finally, in an odd confluence of events, last year, the Louis-Dreyfus comedy was relocated at midseason to make room for Rules of Engagement, which stars Patrick Warburton, aka David Puddy, Elaine's monosyllabic beau.

What do you say? Is Old Christine funny enough to stave off the demise of the traditional sitcom? — Leah Friedman

Let our Online Video Guide preview Old Christine's new season for you.

More Strike Survival Guidance:
• It's Not Too Late to Find Lost
• Should You Seek Treatment from Gabriel Byrne?
Read Not Feeling Super? The Football Haters' Survival Guide!
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The Closer by Andrew Eccles/TNT
Let's face it, it's pretty hard to avoid the Super Bowl (Sunday on Fox at 6 pm/ET, by the way). But to some people the big game and its inescapable surrounding hoopla is anathema. With that in mind, we present this Football Haters' Survival Guide, a few decidedly non-sporty shows that should appeal to those who think a flea-flicker is a way to kill bugs. — Joseph Hudak

• Fans call the plays in Discovery's 18-hour viewers'-choice marathon of Mythbusters, beginning Sunday at 9 am.

• Kyra Sedgwick's tireless Brenda Johnson pulls a 12-hour shift as TNT kicks off a marathon of The Closer at noon with the second-season opener, which finds Brenda investigating the double murder of a detective and a drug dealer.

• Puppy Bowl IV (Animal Planet, 3 pm): Baby dogs romp and roll for three hours inside a pup-sized football stadium in the third-annual cutefest, which repeats through 3 am.

• Food Network takes the cake with six hours of shows about wedding cakes, beginning with an installment of Food Network Challenge (3 pm) that follows the action at a three-day cook-off in Oklahoma.

• Rich Bride, Poor Bride, WE's series following soon-to-be brides of varying budgets as they plan their nuptials, airs five hours of episodes starting at 4 pm.

• Small towns air their dirty laundry in a 20-episode, 10-hour marathon of Suburban Secrets (truTV, 6 pm).

• HGTV gets amorous with a tour of love dens in Ultimate Bedrooms for
Romance
(9 pm), which also offers tips on decorating your own boudoir.
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