Mercy sakes.

Man, this is scary--you guys are JUST LIKE ME!!!!! I htought I was the only me and here you are, hundreds of you--so WHY ARE OUR SHOWS BEING CANCELLED?!?!? Anyway, as they say, ditto to almost all of the above. I live for AbFab (bought all the tapes, got cable for The Last Shout)--got hooked on all the British soaps during a brief stint there in 88 (EastEnders, Coronation Street, etcetcetc)...adore the Brit SitComs (any other Vicar of Dibley fans? Dawn French is a riot as *spoiler alert?* well, not re ly since it's self-evident from the title, as the vicar of a small town in rural England). Man, how do you guys make fave lists? I'm such an indiscriminate addict!

Wow! I almost couldn't sleep last night--I was so excited about coming back here and I kept waking up to write down one more thing I wanted to mention. I'll split it up into several boluses, shall I? You must understand, I'm surrounded by anti-TV snobs wherever I go, so I have nowhere to chat about my Grand Obsession (background: In my childhood, my parents denied us almost any TV except Brady Bunch, so as an adult, I'm making up for lost time!). Throw on your life vests, this dam's about to burst! ne show I didn't see mentioned was Family (K MacNichol)(caveat: I can't spell actors' names). Loved it as a prepubescent. Can anyone name the show about the lady who ran a modeling agengy but was also a spy/detective (Cover Up?)--it also starred Jon-Eric Hexum before his tragic on-set accident with the prop gun (well, obviously it was before the accident--they wouldn't be able to use him afterwards!). It was cheesy but fun. Speaking of c-b-f, Fantasy Island? Love Boat? Mainstays of my pathetically ateless high school years. Watched Starsky & Hutch at slumber parties. Let's move on.

Does anyone else follow actors instead of shows? I find myself watching otherwise unwatchable shows just because of one actor--case in point: I endured the execrable Evening Shade and the painful lack of chemistry between Burt Reynolds and that gal from Taxi solely to watch the magnificent Micheal Jeter. I put up with Cybill Shepard's excruciatingly self-conscious clowning (and, yes, I liked Moonlighting, bet there it was the chemistry, not her acting hooked me) in order to enjoy the amazing Christine aranski (any chance she'll take the Joanna Lumley role in the US AbFAb?). They destroyed Naked Truth , but I stay put because Tea Leoni's just that good (remember Flying Blind?)(Fox show a few years back). There are more, but let's move on...

Well, I had a really great segue, but now I forget...ah well. So, does antone else find themselves almost unable to enjoy t a show because you're smacking your forehead and saying "I KNOW that actor--where have I seen them before?!?"--drives me NUTS and I always remember it at 2AM! It's particularly bad with BBC-ers because they're all over the place in dramas, comedies, miniseries, and boy! do they endure! Like right now we have *spoiler alert* the murderer from a Morse episode (antique dealer kills an in wheelchair; plot hinges on telephone repair) as a CID detective in Thin Blue Line (MUST SEE this sidesplitting Rowan Atkinson vehicle!); also *spoiler alert* the murderer from the 1st Prime Suspect has ended up an alcoholic journalist in Class Act (MUST SEE this post-ab-fab Joanna Lumley vehicle: funny, sassy, entertaining). Which leads us to...

I'm so excited my typing is all shot to pieces. I'll try to edit this one more carefully. I only saw passing mention of my true passion, the mysteries--they're almost the only thing I read, and I'm always thrilled to see them on screen: Morse, Dalgleish, the guy who *spoiler alert* married the artist Agatha Troy what is his name...; Marple/Wimsey/Poirot; Lovejoy, Dalziel&Pascoe, Frost, Cracker; and the frosting on the cake, the unbelievable Helen Mirren (oooh--gotta go back to the movie chat to rave ab ut Peter Greenaway!) as Jane Tenison in Prime Suspect. Any others out there I should know about or forgot to mention? Any news about Eliz George going to film?

Don't have a good segue as we've reached the miscelleneous portion of my notes. Shows I adore because they evoke a simpler time or place: Open All Hours (Diana from Waitg Fr God as the indominatable widow Mrs Featherstone: "You're wierd, Greville!"; the old bat NOT applying for the housekeeping position, addressing the mop: "Coostomeh? Ai'm noot a coostomeh!"); All Creatures Great and Small (just hearing the opening theme music relaxes and cheers me like an hour of medidative yoga); I'll Fly Away (a t me of strife, yes, but depicted with such grace and dignity).

I got kicked off the super departmental computer and am now on a much lesser model with no editing capabilites and very limited access so let's see how far we get. Last few notes: other actors I follow are Alison LaPlaca (what was the name of that Fox show where she was the bitchy realtor/sidekick to the sappy love story of the main character?); Helen Hunt (blew me away with her NON Method, totally natural acting in St Elswehere); Patricia Heaton (Was that It Takes Two where she was the TV exec with mom Linda Lavin?); the skinny lanky-haired brunette with slightly buck teeth who's currently a former AIDS researcher on Chic Hope but used to be on WIOU and ?Live Shot, two short-lived but entirely watchable shows from a few seasons ago. Run-on sentence! Take a breath. WARNING: Do NOT get hooked on any show I mention: I am the kiss of death. Even shows I don't like but tune into (EZ Streets) burst into flames and die horrible deaths, all because I GOT HOOKED! I tried to watch Sentinel, but gave up whe they refused to actually hinge plots on his unusual abilities--why bother making this quasi-90s-bionic guy if his powers are extraneous to the plot?!?! OK, almost done. Anne3--THEY KILLED OFF DEN?!?! I had a bizarre viewing of Eastenders: In London, Den had done something very bad and was in everyone's bad graces; I came home and PBS was showing episodes that were leading up to Den doing something bad, BUT I NEVER GOT TO SEE WHAT HE DID!!! Did he burn down the bar? I have a great video store nearby that has a huge selection of various TV series (Cracker, Froct Class Act, etc) but man! I wish they'd get some of the Brit soaps! One more actor: The gal in all the Britcoms from Good Neighbors, To The Manor Born, Executive Stress--adore her!! What was the name of that one where the main character ran a temp agency with her daughter and ended up re-connecting with her old WWII flame? OK, that's all I can think of for now. I hope someone returns to this topic to help me out!

Sorry, but I'm a terse writer by contrast, Aubrey! Just a quick response: 1) I too love Herriot series and wish the'd be replayed in entirety soon; 2) There's a gal who has a McGyver web page that's good & she too is sadly bemused by her Kiss of Death on loved TV shows, too.

OK, Aubrey, after all that effort, I'd feel bad if I didn't respond at least a little bit. I put up with Cybill Shepard's excruciatingly self-conscious clowning (and, yes, I liked Moonlighting, bet there it was the chemistry, not her acting hooked me) in order to enjoy the amazing Christine Baranski. Isn't CB the best? Unfortunately, I don't like the overall show enough to watch regularly, though. Alison LaPlaca (what was the name of that Fox show where she was the bitchy realtor/sidekick to the sappy love story of the main character?) That was Duet, with Mary Page Keller and Chris Lemmon (Jack's son). I LOVED that show!

THANK YOU for your responses--sorry I'm so wordy but I really have been storing all of this up for so long with no one to talk to! And thank you for your helpful i.d., Susan--I really liked Duet a lot, and actually first started watching it for the "sappy love story"; only later did I come to appreciate the sassiness of Ms LaPlaca (who has shown up guesting on TWO shows in a row this week: as the egomaniacal fashion maven in Temporarily Your, a dubious sitcom starring Debra Mazar, who might want to rethi k the whole career switch from drama; and her recurring role as Rachel's boss on Friends!) You guys must have (a) fabulous computers and (2) amazing know-how to be able to do things like put the pertinent sections of my ramblings in your response in italics no less, plus all that business of linking to other websites. This truly is a whole nother world!

It's not that hard, Aubrey. We even have a place in austen, middlemarch or drool somewhere where you can practice your html. And if you decide you want a website, it's yours free for the asking.

You are too kind, terry--no I mean it, REALLY too kind. Clearly you weren't present during my teeny tiny baby intro to the internet class where I made an aspic of myself by axing all kind of dumbo questions. However, I shall remove myself to the aforementioned topics/conferences and see if there's anything I can do without ruining life as we know it on this planet! Getting my own website might be a little TOO scary!

I missed your comment, fen--all my verbiage got in the way! Did you loathe the replacement wife on ACG&S as much as I did? The first one was so pretty and sweet and the second one was just a cow!

Did anyone else get all caught up in The Dame Edna Experience?

And by the way, terry, I'm not finding anywhere to "practice" html! Any further guidance?

Did you check middlemarch and drool?

I did yesterday; the problem is with my hookup which wouldn't even take me to the casbah where htmling goes on (it's only available in one of the 3 places you suggested, austen I think). Instead I get some yield sign and a halt who goes there message. I'll try again. When I'm less cranky.

Really, give it another go. Do you want a telnet account, aubrey? It's *much* faster. That's what I use.

I think a telnet account, whatever that might be, would be WAY too much fun for the likes of me! Does it work for people using state-owned and operated computers? Sadly, I lack my own device and depend heavily on the kindness of The State to support my ever-growing Net addiction. How good does you computer have to be? This one is total crap. The one I usually use is better but belongs to the whole department so I can't really treat it as mine. I'll try the htmling thing again later today (right now omeone's using the dept, good comp for slide-making, actual work-related projects. Fancy that!) because sometimes I get yield messages but it's just our server acting cranky.

Any Windows 95 or 3.11 machine has telnet. Take a look at the telnet programs at http://www.stroud.com. I like ws-ftp. Windows 95 is easy. Just click on the start button and type telnet://www.spring.com Login with your username (you have to email me a username and password to set up) then type bbs. Then you just type 'r' to read, 'r' to respond and 'b' to browse. It greatly reduces your wait time.

I've got that CAN DO! attitude (see my ramble--I changed my car tire! I am woman hear me roar!) so when I get a minute, I'll get on it!

You'll need a username and password set up by me to do this, which I'll be glad to do. Email or call me for this. mailto://terry@spring.com or phone 512.303.4000 evenings.

ummmm...I'm in over my head...that stroud thing is all greek to me! Let me e-mail you (can't do it from this computer for some reason) and try again. There doesn't seem to be a start button at stroud, just a lot of gibberish about apps. I'll also try the html site wherever it was here. Just to be sure: it's not a problem that this is not in any way my own computer, that it belongs to the State, etc? (the reason I can't e-mail is it's departmental so there is no one person for whom it has an specifie e-mail return address)

Go to any app in Stroud and then go to Forrest's review. The next step takes you right here, to the apps conference on the Spring.

I don't know why I'm having such a block here. Though I know I've been to that Stroud location before (from the app conf, maybe?), now my computer slams me with "does not have a DNS entry" whenever I try to go there. It says that a lot. What does that mean? Can I get around it? Also, my friend who's trying to get on the spring said he left me a message in "telnet"--when I try to go there (from welcome page), mr.computer says "unable to find application". Application THIS, pal! What am I doing wrong Besides giving up too easily (I am a little cautious about trying anything too fancy with this machine, since if I break it, the wheels of science grind to a halt in the neuro dept!). I'm sorry to seem like such a whinger, terry, but I do want to try some of the cool things you've suggested and I don't seem to be getting anywhere!

Plus, another message I get all-too-often just happened when I tried to click on the homepage line on the first spring screen: "FILE NOT FOUND The requested URL (whatever) was not found on this server." This happens a lot with Spring stuff. Also when I jump around topics, I sometimes get some message about how it can't go back to a previous page because the information has expired (let's have a little funeral) or something. Do I have a lazy server?

"does not have a DNS entry" whenever I try to go there. Go where? To www.spring.com? You need to email with the username and password that you want to be set up with. Please have your friend email me for an account or they can sign up through the web. If you get "file not found" messages. Make a note of the exact link and I'll make it work.

I was just trying to get some info about the new version of Jane Eyre that'll be on A&E. Does anyone happen to know when it'll be on yet? Also, I noticed that there are many fans of Ciaran Hinds and Timothy Dalton around here..good-I like them too. I'm extremely excited to see how Ciaran will fill the Rochester role.

On your welcome screen I have 3 choices vertically and 4 choices horizontally. Of the 4 horizontal choices, clicking on "telnet www.spring.com" gives me the "unable to find application" response (I will e-mail a username and password,if that's what's required--but I guess I need more info: what does it mean to have a telnet account? Not philosophically, of course, but practically); clicking on "Stroud CWSA" produces (after a loooong pause) the "no DNS entry" response. Not that that's critical--I know can get to Stroud from your html thingie a few responses back. The other links that don't work--let me play around, make careful notes (that's the research scientist in me comin out!) and get back to you. I appreciate all your help terry!

Well, I played around a little with your first page, the one that appears when one types in "www.spring.com". I suspect most of the problems I'm having are related to my lazy server! I used to get cool graphics, a really neat "The Spring" lettering thing. That doesn't come up anymore (there's a hole at the top of the page where there obviously should be something nice), there's just one of those little symbols that lets you know you're not seeing all there is to see (ok, that's not very descriptive, s rry). For "sign up or log in now" I get "unable to locate server: yapp.html does not have DNS entry". For "visit our home pages" I get the same message. When I click on the URL right after "Here's a sample..." I get "The requested URL/yapp-bin/read/homepage/2 was not found on this server"--again, it's probably just my server! So I'll let you know that kind of trouble I land in in future, ok?

Here's the coolest error message I get: when I go away from the spring abruptly--like, I try to send e-mail, I'll suddenly get the message "DATA MISSING This document resulted from a POST operation and has expired from the cache. If you wish you can repost the form data to recreate the document by pressing the reload button" which works great, incidentally, always brings me back to The Spring!

I was just trying to get some info about the new version of Jane Eyre that'll be on A&E. Does anyone happen to know when it'll be on yet? Also, I noticed that there are many fans of Ciaran Hinds and Timothy Dalton around here..good-I like them too. I'm extremely excited to see how Ciaran will fill the Rochester role. Heather, Jane Eyre is supposed to be on in September in the US. People who have already seen it in England say it's pretty good, and Hinds was a fairly effective Rochester. I can't wait to see it!

Well, I have a few levels of favorite shows. NYPD BLUE is my religion practically. Never miss it. Never go out and tape it. Ever. Am always home to watch it every week. I don't watch repeats of it at all. Then, there's ER, Frasier, Ellen, Party of Five, and 3rd Rock which I watch every week, but tape if I won't be home. Then there are a few others that I like to watch if I'm home. The saddest cancellation of my life was the Bonnie Hunt show on CBS. Followed by My So Called Life. My favorite miniseries was the Thorn Birds, but I've only watched one and a half miniseries. The other one was The Odyssey.

My favorite tv show remains Politically Incorrect, if I can hang in there that late. And of course Saturday Night Live, as always.

Does anyone else think TV really sucks this season? NYPD Blue: Diane lost the baby and Sipowicz can't pee: yawn. Homicide hasn't been on for like a month, being pre-empted by everything from the Olympics to Hanson. ER is running hot and cold, and even my absolute fave, Law & Order has been forgettable this year. I wind up watching reruns of Almost Perfect on Lifetime at 11:00 because it's the most entertaining thing on (well, next to Loveline)...

What's Almost Perfect like?

It's a romantic comedy featuring Nancy Travis as a harried TV producer, supported by a writing team of 3 guys, each hilarious in his own way. She's in love with an equally harried D.A. and the chemistry between them is very magnetic. Even my husband enjoys watching this show (if he can stay awake that late!) Check it out (unless you've scrambled the "Lifetime" channel!)

hey ho everyone! I got near a tv the other night and watched part two of the Star Trek holodeck extravaganza! Gotta love them moving pictures!

Anyone see Merlin on NBC the other night? See my comments in 'babes' about Miranda Richardson, Isabella Rosellini, and Helena Bonham Carter's performances which were very fine.

We have a hot debate on who some of the actresses were over in topic 17 in babes. And some pix of the three lead actresses. Worthwhile stuff!

Did anybody catch NYPD Blue last night??? WOW! I think that's the best episode all season. And I'm not at all looking forward to next year, with Jimmy Smites leaving (he is SO hot!); I hope he turns up somewhere else....

like on film at your house on RealTV?

No, just at my house...

got it...

Glad you found it . .. What? I'm bored.

how come?

Couldn't sleep last night - Chris bought a scanner, so I was trying it out. It's cool. And then I worked on my still life until 6:30. Now I'm too tired to sleep, but bored as he��, because everyone else is still asleep. Good answer?

good as any, I 'spose...

Ooh, sounding a little cranky . . . bedtime coming up here.

So are we gonna get that Rietta pic now?

later perhaps . . .

Well, George, what did you think of the season premieres of "L&O" and "Homicide"? I like the new ADA, except she has to lose the Farrah Fawcett hairstyle. Jamie and Claire would never have worn a ponytail into court. All the new characters on Homicide could be interesting, especially the love triangle among Ballard-Falsone-new woman. Bayliss is already getting on my nerves, though, with all that "reality is illusion" crap.

The new L&O character is Babe City. Definitely up there with Jill Hennessey. As for Homicide, this office romance stuff strays so far from the show's roots, and I don't like it. That whole beauty queen turned homicide detective premise is utterly stupid. They're injecting sexy stuff into the show in a ploy for ratings that turns it into just another cop show. I'll give it a chance, though because I've been a fan of the show since its first episode. I hope to see more of Munch, because we seem to have the same sense of humor (isn't that sick?).

I LOVE Munch! He is so sexy, I am not kidding! After Beau & Kay, he's my favorite detective. His surly demeanor would make coming to work fun, I think. I understand the new ADA comes to "L&O" from "Baywatch". What do you think Jill H. is up to these days?? I cannot wait for Det. Mike Logan to turn up in his TV movie, "Exiled." He is my absolute favorite TV character of all-time (even beats out Hope from "thirtysomething"!)

Homicide's finally on again tonight. Woo-hoo!

I found it a little disappointing, if only because it's Tuesday and I can't even remember what is was about.

That may say something about the show in general recently. I don't have cable, so I can't watch the late night reruns, but I can still remember plots, scenes, and pieces of dialog from 6 years ago. That's one hell of a show if it can stay in your mind like that. I forgot the main plot, too, by the way. I like Munch being Bayliss' partner, especially if Bayliss is on this trippy psuedo-Zen rap. Munch's cynical humor can be put to good use shooting down the things Bayliss says in this state of mind. "Behind that dogma, there's still a dog," Munch told him. Don't like the new set. Too arty, especially the office of G's son. The old office looked like a drab public office building, with drab walls and florescent lighting. It looked real.

Absolutely! Miss the yellow cinder block "box." You are right about being able to recall threads of plot and conversation from old episodes, yet not retaining anything about the past season. Munch should be a great foil for Bayliss and should lighten him up considerably. Did you catch "Law & Order" last night? I set the VCR but it didn't work :-(. I heard a rumor (*holding my breath*) that Det. Mike Logan is going to be on L&O in 2 weeks--true??

L&O's going to be a 2-hr. Sunday movie, and Logan will be in it. Don't know which Sunday. I'm looking forward to the "Temptations" TV movie, too. Last Homicide was better than the previous two. I especially liked Much taking a date to see the Zapruder film. He would do something like that.

Friday's episode was much better than any from perhaps last season. We are finally learning a little bit about some of the characters that were new last year. I am really starting to like Laura Ballard! And I'm a little (bi) curious what's going to happen between Bayliss and Sheppard. 2 hours devoted to Mike Logan?? (*swooning*) Can't wait!!

Hey Autumn. Did you catch the documentary about Homicide that was on PBS last week? If it hasn't aired yet where you live I don't want to be a spoiler.

George, I saw the write-up on that in the paper and they cracked on it big-time. Said it was full of inaccuracies, that no one had fact-checked it. I must say though, the subway episode was my favorite (well, it's tied for first with the one where Kay quit smoking. And the one where Crosetti died and Frank was the honor guard at his funeral.) Boy, that L&O movie was a MAJOR disappointment! Not very true to the Mike Logan character and rather anticlimactic. I'm sure going to miss the guys at the two-seven (that's the 27th precinct for you neophytes) referring to calling Profachi for back-up.

Well, I liked the Homicide documentary. It was mostly about production of that one episode from the writer's idea through actually shooting the episode. They had a hard time getting permission from the subway authority to shoot there because they don't want riders to thnk that could EVER happen. But the show was also a tribute to Homicide in its entirety (they showed clips of all previous cast members) and talked about the show's difficulties with the networks. That's what the Washington Post criticized - the reporter said the network execs deny ever giving Homicide pressure to be more mainstream. The documentary producer sticks by his story, though (and I believe him). Then they showed the subway episode without commercials!

It's a good one, isn't it? I'm taping tonight's show as we speak--and the L&O that preceded it was a freebie! So, is Bobby Simone going to die or what?

Actually, I've never really followed NYPDB. Reruns come on Sunday night after the news, and I watch them now. Kim Delany's H-O-T.

BTW, Dennis Franz and I grew up about 3 or 4 miles from each other, on the West Side of Chicago. We have the same accent. I'm younger and have a better hairline.

So when is your audition? Give it a shot!! Who knows?

Hey, if he can wind up with Sylvia (who's pretty H-O-T too), who knows--you may get lucky with Diane Russell after all... (Why did they show a re-run of L&O before last week's "Homicide"?)

It never hurts to try. The only way you know you won't get it is not to try.

Maybe they showed the L&O rerun Fri. night because the regular show at that time, a new one, sucks and is about to be cancelled. I wouldn't know, as I've never seen it. I try to be selective in my TV watching, and only have the tube on when I know what I want to watch. When I'm home alone (which is too frequently) I'm into books and music and TV.

A variety of interests is good, Too much TV makes you a vidiot.

Since this topic IS about favorite Tv Shows and miniseries and no one has discussed much of either lately (other than NYPD Blue)...My favorite TV show is James Burke's "Connections" and my favorite miniseries is (brace yourself for the obvious) "Pride and Prejudice" which is how I found myself in the hallowed precincts of Spring and Drool in the first place. Too obvioous?

"P&P" is the best!

*Gasp* You are right, of course. That is why there is all that Drool in that conference... I had no idea! Good for you, Autumn. It is the best!

I love The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. Wonderful characters, writing, acting. Had episodes taped, but they were lost in a move, which broke my heart. Now, it seems as though no one even remembers this great series. No one is showing reruns, no tapes available, nothing. Does anyone remember Molly Dodd? I thought it was great! (I think David Kelley used it as a premise for Ally McBeal, which I think is a commercialized Molly combined with L.A. Law - not a criticism, apparently it worked. I hear about Ally all over the place - not a word about Molly). Also really like Northern Exposure and Absolutely Fabulous. Haven't seen any new series to get excited about for the past few seasons. Everything seems cloned, commercial and aimed at 14-22 year olds. I do kind of like Welcome to New York. Hope they don't cancel it and give it time to develop.

Suzanne, my mother used to watch that show when I still lived at home, so that must've been at least 13 years ago. My current fave show is Once and Again.

Fav. shows: (in no particular order) King of Queens Who's line is it anyway Drew Carey Jeopardy Law & Order ( AND L&O SVU ) Everybody Loves Raymond Any and all Lucy shows Inside the Actors Studio ( Why no Colin Firth yet? ) City Confidential ER Most missed Sit-Coms: Friends Seinfeld Frasier Favs from the Way Back files: Pink Panther cartoons Dobey Gillis (Loved Maynard G.) Family Brady Bunch Hogan's Heros

Firth should be on Inside the Actors Studio, he'd be perfect on that show.

the only series i've been watching is Lost....and it's really ticking me off with all the reruns stuck right in the middle of the season!

Same thing with "Desperate Housewives". It's hard to predict when the reruns will be.

SHARK SIGHTINGS CURRENT SHOWS NYPD Blue | Deadwood | The Bachelor | Good Day Live | CSI: Miami from http://jumptheshark.com Do you know about this website? The Academy Awards First Show 1953 Last Show Genre Awards Network ABC Jumped The Shark when... Votes Whoopi hosts 14 Day One 11 Michael Moore's acceptance speech 11 Halle wins the Oscar 11 Titanic 11 Billy Crystal hosts 6 Roman Polanski wins 5 Nicole Kidman goes home empty handed 5 Rob Lowe dances with Snow White 5 Uma. Oprah. 5 Shakespeare In Love 4 Richard Gere's Tibetian vibes 3 Eminem wins 3 Fight Club gets shut out 3 Julia Roberts wins 3 Roman Polanski wins 3 The Lord of the Rings sweep 3 I guess Chris Rock hasn't gotten votes yet.

Jump the Shark is a phrase for a show or celeb that has started downhill. Not a good thing.

My favorite MiniSeries has to be Battlestar Galactica. The last episode was a comic farce. The sets are awesome. The acting is superb. And there's sex, lots of it. The cylons have destroyed the system which the colonials, led by Edward Olmmos Captain Adama, are fleeing. The cylons in hot pursuite. And the cylons have gained the ability to simulate human form. And it has been renewed for another 20 episodes!

new tonight on tv The Contender will follow 16 aspiring boxers from training camp through an evolving series of ring challenges and boxing matches over 16 episodes - with the final victor claiming a million dollar prize. The driving force behind the series will be the pursuit of the American dream and the natural trials, tribulations and heartbreak inherent in that quest combined with the drama and tension of the sweet science. The canvas of the show is much broader than boxing - it will give viewers a first hand look into the real life hopes, triumphs and defeats of the contestants. The Contender will be a joint production of Mark Burnett Productions, DreamWorks Television and Rogue Marble. Stallone , Burnett and Katzenberg are the executive producers. The Contender will trace aspiring boxers from training camp through an evolving series of ring challenges over 16 episodes � and the final victor would claim a chance at becoming a professional prizefighter , and winner of 1 million dollars. Sundays 8:00 PM

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/entertainment/8098224.htm "Kirstie Alley's Wild Ride" will be at 7 p.m. Sunday in the 1922 atmospheric-style theater at First and Broadway. Alley is backed by six Los Angeles-based actors, gospel singer Michael Speaks and a 12-member swing band from London called the Jive Aces. She'll also use a Wichita gospel choir at one point. The show is hard to describe, Alley acknowledged. It will be a multimedia experience based on Alley's life and career -- both the highs and the lows -- with the help of the Emotional Tone Scale discovered by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. What inspired the show, Alley said, is that people are always asking how she got to where she is. "They never ask the important question: How I survived," Alley said "Acting is a tricky, insidious business full of invalidation. Whenever there are bright lights, there are vampires hanging around to suck your blood, so to speak," she said. She said Hubbard's Emotional Tone Scale -- ranging from exhilaration at the top through moods like enthusiasm and boredom down to fear, pain, despair and death -- helped her identify and avoid people who are chronically stuck in one of the dark tones. "Everybody goes up and down the scale. That's not the problem. The problem comes when a person is chronically angry, hateful or invalidating, it can destroy your life if you stay around them."

My favorite tv show right now is OLN's coverage of the Tour de France. If it's July, or juillet, it's le tour. OLN has excellent coverage. Of course, this year I'm not doing a big TourWatch event so I can just watch it at home. See http://touroftexas.com and http://touroftexas.com/blog which I'm cranking up again for the occasion.

24 is back! Don't miss part two tonight of the four hour season opener.