WATCH-O-RAMA THE HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS OF THE COMING TV WEEK.Byline: David Kronke ``Everything You Want'' (ABC Family  The novelty of research or terms used in this article is disputed.Think: Shy loner loner Psychiatry A single young man estranged from society and family, who suffers from psychogenic pain, and tends to live 'on the edge', vacillating between aggression and depression; loners often have unrealistic goals, but are unable to work towards those goals Abby (Shiri Appleby Shiri Freda Appleby (born December 7 1978) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her leading role as Liz Parker in the Roswell television series. Early life Appleby was born in Los Angeles, California. ) is torn between true love with dreamy if surly Quinn (Nick Zano Nick Zano (born March 8, 1979 in Nutley, New Jersey) is an American actor and underwear model based in Los Angeles who has also lived in Florida and New Jersey. He is best-known as "Vince" from the WB sitcom What I Like About You (2002-2006). ) or life with her imaginary pal Sy (Orlando Seale). Yes, you read that correctly - imaginary pal. Don't think: Product placement goes horribly awry when a large chain bookstore figures in the film with stultifying prominence, only everyone who works there is rude or inept. In a nutshell: Hard to see what the screenwriters are trying to say about Abby's psychosis, but their efforts at quirkiness throughout are decidedly flat and misguided. ``Arrested Development'' (Fox Channel 11; 8:30 tonight) Think: ``Desperate Housewives'' creator appears as himself, the target of indecency INDECENCY. An act against good behaviour and a just delicacy. 2 Serg. & R. 91. 2. The law, in general, will repress indecency as being contrary to good morals, but, when the public good requires it, the mere indecency of disclosures does not suffice to exclude protesters, in the season - and, perhaps, series - finale of the Emmy-winning comedy. Don't think: Meanwhile, the model house the Bluths are living in is falling apart. Sort of a metaphor for the show's bewilderingly be·wil·der tr.v. be·wil·dered, be·wil·der·ing, be·wil·ders 1. To confuse or befuddle, especially with numerous conflicting situations, objects, or statements. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. low ratings. In a nutshell: Typically absurdist, though an odd cliffhanger cliff·hang·er n. 1. A melodramatic serial in which each episode ends in suspense. 2. A suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode. 3. (Fox reduced the show's episode count late in the season) and kind of a lousy way to end the series if it doesn't return. ``Murder at the Vicarage'' (KCET KCET Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (Japan) KCET Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology ; 9 tonight and April 24) Think: Agatha Christie's killer-catching biddy Miss Marple (Geraldine McEwan) wonders who would want Derek Jacobi dead, and it turns out there's quite a large number because he's playing a stuffy, prissy and altogether unpleasant fellow. Don't think: Christie created Marple with this yarn 75 years ago, explaining it was based on her grandmother and granny's friends, who ``always expected the worst of everyone and everything - and were, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right.'' Some things never change. In a nutshell: This is practically the template for the droll droll adj. droll·er, droll·est Amusingly odd or whimsically comical. n. Archaic A buffoon. [French drôle, buffoon, droll, from Old French drolle , red-herring-strewn whodunit. Solid, thoroughly professional, old-fashioned entertainment. ``Exploring Einstein: Life of Genius''/``Biography: Albert Einstein'' (Science Channel; 10 tonight. Biography Channel; 10 p.m. Monday) Think: Dueling biographies on the comb-deprived professional genius on the 50th anniversary of his death and 100 years after he essentially created modern physics. Don't think: Which is better? Quality, like time, is relative. In a nutshell: ``Exploring Einstein'' is an attempt to explain his theories, punctuated with grandiose aesthetic flourishes and unfortunate re-enactments of his last days. ``Biography'' is more populist, obsessing curiously over his love life. ``I Married a Princess'' (Lifetime; 8 p.m. Monday) Think: Celeb-reality show about married C-list actors Casper Van Dien Casper Robert Van Dien, Jr. (born December 18 1968, in or Ridgefield, New Jersey[1]) is an American actor, best known for his role as Johnny Rico in Starship Troopers and most recently as bodyguard Andre in My Network TV's Watch Over Me. and Catherine Oxenberg, who - and this, unfortunately, is the show's hook - descends from Yugoslav royalty. (Too bad Yugoslavia no longer exists, splintered after years of war ... wanna wan·na Informal 1. Contraction of want to: You wanna go now? 2. Contraction of want a: You wanna slice of pie? guess how much Balkan history figures into this?) So that whole ``princess'' thing is about as persuasive as a frat boy's ``professor of mixology'' T-shirt. Don't think: Van Dien's narration sounds as though he signed for this project at gunpoint. In a nutshell: When producers attempt to wring drama from the family's earnest discussion about the cost of designer jeans, you know you've found a really boring couple upon which to focus a reality show. ``Rehab'' (HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ; 8:30 p.m. Monday) Think: Documentary following five young adults trying to crowbar the monkeys from their backs at a Santa Cruz clinic. Don't think: ``A year from now, two of you will be dead,'' the clinic's director tells her patients by way of welcome. Quite the pep talk. In a nutshell: Grim, earnest, affecting portrait of troubled souls giving themselves over to an industry with a 20 percent success rate - which wouldn't keep you in double-A baseball. Laments one addict, ``It's not fun anymore.'' ``Everwood'' (The WB Channel 5; 9 p.m. Monday) Think: Remember Madison (Sarah Lancaster), the young woman Andy (Treat Williams) surreptitiously sur·rep·ti·tious adj. 1. Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means. 2. Acting with or marked by stealth. See Synonyms at secret. shooed from town when she got pregnant by Ephram (Gregory Smith)? Here, she tells Ephram all, then Andy tells Ephram even more; his reaction is predictably seismic. Don't think: By comparison, the subplots are pretty average, mere placeholders to extend the A-story's melodrama. In a nutshell: One may question the severity of Ephram's response - the dude could take it easy just every once in a while - but strong writing ensures that it's a typically affecting episode. ``The Office'' (NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. Channel 4; 9:30 p.m. Tuesday) Think: Another morale-booster from ebulliently e·bul·lient adj. 1. Zestfully enthusiastic. 2. Boiling or seeming to boil; bubbling. [Latin execrable boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) - a basketball game between office and warehouse employees - goes disastrously, if inevitably awry. Don't think: Meanwhile, pathetic toadying gun nut Dwight (Rainn Wilson) is given the job of arranging the weekend work schedule. ``This is the smallest amount of power I've ever seen go to someone's head,'' marvels Jim (John Krasinski). Were ``The Office'' another kind of show, it would end with Dwight snapping and a tragic shooting spree. In a nutshell: The American version, almost miraculously, continues to grow into a very funny series on its own merits. It's easily NBC's best comedy in years. ``Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story'' (USA Network; 9 p.m. Wednesday) Think: On March 24, 1962, Emile Griffith killed Benny Paret. On live national television. In a boxing ring. This documentary offers prologue and aftermath: Was a homophobic comment partially to blame? A craven manager? Should boxing be banned? Don't think: Which critic's blurb blurb n. A brief publicity notice, as on a book jacket. [Coined by Gelett Burgess (1866-1951), American humorist.] blurb v. is more effective: ``Packs a wallop'' or ``Pummels you senseless''? In a nutshell: Too deliberately paced, but Pete Hamill, Neal Gabler and Griffith himself contribute intriguing insights. ``Strange Days on Planet Earth'' (KCET; 9 p.m. Wednesday and April 27) Think: Edward Norton hosts this series examining bizarre environmental anomalies and what they may portend por·tend tr.v. por·tend·ed, por·tend·ing, por·tends 1. To serve as an omen or a warning of; presage: black clouds that portend a storm. 2. for our future. Tonight: When ``alien species'' migrate from continent to continent and crop up in places they don't belong, the results can be disastrous; also, scientists divine curious links between sometimes incongruous ecological phenomena. Don't think: The Onion.com recently reported that the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and recently removed those first two words from its name, since given its track record of late, they don't really apply. In a nutshell: Fascinating and stylishly creepy; a satisfying alternative to the usual earnest environmental treatises. ``Blowin' Up!: Fatty Koo'' (BET; 9:30 p.m. Thursday; thereafter, 9 p.m. Thursdays) Think: Reality series charts the career arc of Fatty Koo, a promising group whose music represents a genre gumbo (hip-hop/Latin/pop/r&b/gospel/etc.), from unknowns to - well, have you heard of them yet? Can they keep from getting chewed up in the music business's remorseless machinery? Don't think: They got a song on the ``Fat Albert'' soundtrack. But don't hold that against them. In a nutshell: Promising premise rendered in standard reality-TV fashion. ``Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (French for "Circus of the Sun") is an entertainment empire based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier. : La Nouba'' (Bravo; 8 p.m. Saturday) Think: More mind-blowing antics from the acrobats to whom the laws of gravity do not apply. Don't think: How do people discover that they can perform such stunts? And wouldn't discovering that one can't do these things be, well, fatal? In a nutshell: Most of this show is pretty familiar if you know anything about the troupe. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) ``I MARRIED A PRINCESS'' (2) ``CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: LA NOUBA'' |
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