The Complete Jane Austen

How much do you love PBS? Come on, you know you love it -- from when you were a wee little babe watching Sesame Street to today when it brings you the brilliant programming that is 'The Complete Jane Austen'. Starting the first Sunday in January and continuing for THREE MONTHS, PBS will be treating us to the all the Masterpiece Theater versions of Jane Austen's works, including the dreamy Colin Firth adaption of Pride and Prejudice and Kate Beckinsale's feisty take on Emma!

If you can't wait for January to start, tune in to PBS tonight to catch Jane Eyre. Yes, it's Charlotte Bronte, but it's almost-Austen and will get you in the mood for all the respectable British adaptations about to flood your way. An independent woman, an inappropriate love match, scandals that rock society! It's all there and the second part finishes up next week on the sixth, and then we launch in Austen-mania!

Check out the schedule below and remember that you owe your local station a little cash for all the love they're showing you!

• “Persuasion” (1/13, 9-10:30)
• “Northanger Abbey” (1/20, 9-10:30)
• “Mansfield Park” (1/27, 9-10:30)
• “Miss Austen Regrets” (2/3, 9-10:30)
• “Pride and Prejudice” (2/10-2/24, 9-11)
• “Emma” (3/23, 9-11)
• “Sense and Sensibility” (3/30 and 4/6, 9-10:30)

Looking for non-Masterpiece versions of these novels? Check out these excellent adaptations from Hollywood!

5 Reasons Why Angie Harmon is the Sexiest Woman on TV

Angie Harmon has been robbed - TWICE! First AOL named their 50 Sexiest Women -- EVER! and there was no Angie Harmon. There was a lot of uproar about the list, including the number one pick Pam Anderson. So AOL was nice enough to let fans pick their 20 hottest women, but again no Angie Harmon. I'm sorry, but she's so hot I would switch teams for her. I've been watching her new show Women's Murder Club and I can see how everyone would have a crush on her. So without further ado I present a handy list for you all Angie Harmon beats the competition hands down.

1. She's low-maintenance. Well, at least she appears to be. She seems to just roll out of bed looking fabulous which can be frustrating if you don't have a girl crush on her.

2. She's a tomboy. She's married to an ex-football star, and looks like she was born in jeans and a leather jacket.

3. She's got style. A former model, Harmon knows how to dress to accentuate her

4. She's a mom. That's right. She's had two kids and still looks unbelievably good. Yes, celebs have access to personal trainers and such, but Harmon looks like just as good as she did on Law & Order all those years ago.

5. She oozes sex. Despite all the qualities that make Angie accessible, it's her bedroom eyes and husky voice that gets most men's hearts pumping.

Long Live the '90s!

Has anyone else noticed that this decade is back in a big way? First, there was a Spice Girls reunion. Then, there was VH1's Top Songs of the '90s. Now, there's a new album from Boys II Men.

I'm loving all this nostalgia -- so far it's making me super happy. But the Boyz 2 Men thing feels like we've turned a corner to tragic. I mean, they're down to 3 members and it's an album of Motown covers. I'm sure they pull of the songs -- they've got great voices. But there's something that feels almost desperate about it. Like, would anyone under the age of 25 even listen to these songs? Sad to think, but the answer is probably no.

Cloverfield Trailer

I know this has been around for a while, but it's probably one of the best movie teases since Jaws. The idea that we don't know what the monster is, but we can see it's destruction. It's like what the Godzilla remake should have been like.

One complaint -- what's up with always destroying NY? DUDE STOP IT! I HAVE TO WORK HERE EVERY DAY!

Clash of the Choirs vs. Duel

This showdown of special edition series was no contest. On one channel you had a well manicured sportscaster refereeing a game show whose set looks suspiciously like 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. On the other channel - a choir, featuring a 77 year old woman, singing and dancing to Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer'. Like I said -- no contest!

Duel
I really like Mike Greenberg. I try to listen to 'Mike and Mike in the Morning' as often as possible. Great banter and a lot of great insight. I was super psyched to hear that he was going to be hosting this show. Not only does he have kids, but he's quite fond of Prada. So any income would probably out, but he doesn't really bring anything to the show. He's so stiff that it's a little uncomfortable to watch. Not that the show is really his fault -- it's just kinda lame. But then again so is 'Deal or No Deal' and that's a ratings blockbuster.

Clash of the Choirs
Thank you Jesus! After 'Viva Laughlin' got pulled, I was afraid that I would be robbed of pure cheesy musical joy. Thankfully NBC has answered my prayers with this FABULOUS reality competition. The choirs sounded great and the winnings will go to some awesome charities so we can all sit back and enjoy the show. There are faults her too -- way too much filler and the celebrity "judges" are also the directors of the choris competing so they don't say anything bad or really add to the proceedings. If there is a God in heaven, Michael Bolton's choir will go through to the next competition so I can watch him choose a completely inappropriate song for his choir to sing, hog the spotlight by "performing" instead of conducting, and PLAYING AIR GUITAR. Thank you again Jesus and the suits at NBC for life's little joys.

Not so shocking reality moments

I have never been the world's biggest reality show fan, but there are a few that I follow religiously. Two of my favorites are America's Next Top Model and Project Runway have always been fun, but both are starting to show their age. Really, was anyone really shocked by last night's developments?

Project Runway
I would have found Jack's early departure if not for the 8 million ads on Bravo that basically gave it away. Bravo is certainly not the first network to be guilty of this (I'm looking at you Fox!), but what is so frustrating about these slips is that it completely destroys the illusion of reality TV. I'm not stupid. I realize these shows are heavily edited and manipulated, but that doesn't mean we can't all pretend that all this drama doesn't just magically happen! Bravo, I find that hard to do that when you give away the twists in your freakin promos!

Having said that, I'm said to see Jack go. He was crazy hot, obviously talented, and fun to watch.

America's Next Top Model
Saleisha wins? Really? OMG I totally didn't see that coming! Of course we say it coming, she's the only one who is remotely pretty enough to be a freakin' model. If I were Tyra Banks I'd be getting a little nervous that Bravo is planning to make their own modeling show. They're much better at casting that you are baby.

Finally a Good "Grey's Anatomy"

Much has been said about the disastorous pairing of George and Izzie, but they are not totally to blame for this fall's lackluster season. After all, Meredith still can't make a decision, Bailey has been relegated to the sidelines after losing out on being named chief resident, Callie and Christina walking around as if they don't have any purpose, and no one stepped up to fill the giant holes left by the departures of Addison Montgomery and Preston Burke.

So imagine the delight I had watching the recent two-part episode that really let the entire cast shine. Everyone's character flaws were worked into a thrilling arc that actually led to me watching the second part in real-time (yeah, it was that good). Bonus points to Shondra & the gang for throwing in Gale Harold and Seth Green, both sorely missed since they've left their regular TV gigs.

Besides the thrill of 2 great hours of TV, I also feel like the show has turned a corner. Christina, Callie, and Bailey are back to being complex, female characters, and the addition of Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn might just be enough to make me forget both Addison and Burke. Hell, I even liked Meredith in this episode! And McDreamy finally did something that didn't make me want to smack him but kissing that adorable nurse.

Hopefully the show will be able to carry this momentum after the strike is over, but it's nice to see the old Grey's starting to come back. Oh, and please please please let this be the last we hear of George and Izzie.

'Heroes' is the new 'O.C.'

I had many emotions Monday night watching the "fall finale" of Heroes -- boredom, anger, um, bordeom -- but after it was all over I was struck by one thought. Heroes is the new O.C..

All TV junkies know that The O.C. was pretty much perfect when it started out, but fell apart as the seasons dragged along. It was like a soap opera on speed - everything great that could happen to the characters seemed to work itself out in the first season. It's probably the closest we've come to a telenovella on American TV. Sure The O.C. had its fans all the way through to the season's end, but it never reached the popularity or pure fun that first season had.

How does that relate to Heroes? Really, is there anyone who has cared what happened after they saved the cheerleader? The idea that this group of super mutants will have to constantly save Earth from doom is a little exhausting. The cast keeps getting larger and duller - Maya (or Mayja as her thankfully deceased brother would call her) and West, really? - and all we got from Monday's episode is that if you are remotely interesting as a character you're doomed (nooooo Nathan!). Now Tim Kring has admitted that this half of the season didn't really work and volume 3 (villians) will be better. So, here's hoping I'm totally wrong about the show. I'm fairly certain that Tim Kring has a better idea of what's going on than I do , and I've definitely held out on shows much longer than they deserved only to be rewarded (I'm looking at you Lost!).

Tin Man

What an utter disappointment this miniseries has been . . . I know a lot of people have already written about how terrible these past three nights have been, but unlike those people I actually like The 10th Kingdom. But this movie has just been a mess -- from the actors to the plot to the title of the damn series. If this movie is suppossed to be about "D.G." than why is it called Tin Man?

As for Zooey Deschanel, I've always wondered how she is an actress. While she's as cute as a button, she has no emotion. Neither does her sister Emily, but she's found the perfect role for her monotone delivery in Bones. In this show she appears like a confused little bird.

Didn't see the film? Don't believe me? You can watch the whole series over at scifi.com.

Daytime TV: Curse or Blessing?

I'm really not sure anymore whether Daytime TV is a gift from God or sent from the Devil himself. Being out of work has been an eye-opening experience for me, mostly because I can't believe how much television I've consumed. I would think that it was all a waste of time, but I've been learning so much!

In the end I think it all comes down to choice. Are you going to spend that rainy day on the couch watching Jerry Springer or Maury Povich? Or are you going to watch a home improvement show that teaches you how to caulk your tub? I've been spending a lot of time on the History Channel myself, but I recently found that ABC Family is re-running Gilmore Girls from the pilot episode. Sigh. They make me so happy. :)

The Darjeeling Limited

I might be crazy, but I am a Wes Anderson fan. It's the cute little details that I love discovering in his films (like the framed drawing of underwear in The Royal Tenenbaums), which often make him a target with critics.

Even though The Life Aquatic was a bit of a letdown for me I rushed out to the theaters for this exotic tale of three brothers attempts to reconnect after their father's death. There was something intoxicating about the film, which may have a lot to do with the lush Indian settings. I can't for the life of me remember anything that was said in the movie, but I do remember feeling warm and fulfilled after seeing the film. It's also inspired me to take a train trip through India, perhaps one of the last truly exotic travel options left in the world.

Fall finales

Fox spent last week eagerly hyping its "fall finale" of Prison Break. As the writer's strike continues to cause ripples throughout the world of scripted television, this could look like a blessing. Fans of the show will have a conclusion that will tide them over until new episodes can be produced, unlike other shows which will just abruptly cease airing new episodes.

However, this fall finales trend has been going on for some years now and I'd like start a discussion as to whether these are actually helpful to viewers. Last fall I was absolutely engrossed in Heroes as were many Americans. I was desperate to know whether or not Peter and the gang would "Save the Cheerleader. Save the World." When the event finally occurred I felt a rush of satisfaction, but also a lot of disappointment. It was no surprise when the Season 1 finale rolled around that I felt it was all very anti-climatic. There was so much hype and promise and delivery from the "fall finale" that I didn't need anymore resolution.

I hope networks start treating their viewers with more respect. We're media savvy - we understand sweeps ratings, product placement, hell we can even get our favorite programs from places other than TV now. By trying to stick to a outdated profit model, networks are losing site on what will really keep us coming back - quality shows that run uninterrupted so that we can tune in and enjoy. They don't always have to be amazing (even the best shows go through rough patches) but they do have to be consistent.

cheers and jeers

Awesome! Someone else out there agrees about the desperate shilling of both NBC and Jerry Seinfeld. Woo hoo TV Guide!

The Writer's Strike

Unless you work or follow entertainment media, you might not have noticed that the writers went on strike. For everyone dealing with this "tragedy" I've got good news and bad news.

Good News - No more dreadful Saturday Night Lives! After Saturday's episode with Brian Williams I think it's time to finally put this show to rest. I know, everyone else has stopped watching it years ago, but there was always one or two sketches that were worth watching for.

Bad News - No new Daily Shows or Colbert Reports until the strike is over. OK, this can be a serious problem. I look to those shows to provide a little dose of sanity to the ridiculously over-hyped and biased news coverage that blankets American media (and CNN is as much to blame as Fox News on this front).

Basically as long as all of this ends before the new season of Lost starts we'll be good.

Where have all the trick or treaters gone?

I've been home all day waiting for cute little kids in costumes and I've gotten nothing! I live in a development. When I was kid lazy parents used to drive their kids here. Boo. What the hell do I do with all this candy?

Bee TV

All right Jerry. We get it. You have a movie coming out. Really, did Dreamworks think this movie needed mini comedy spots starring Jerry Seinfeld on NBC for over a month? What animated movie opening in November doesn't go well? All you had to say was "Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. From the creators of Shrek." Every kid and their mother is going to see this movie, so just stop with all the friggin' commercials already.

Danny Houston is one scary vampire

Seriously where did this guy come from? I know he's acting royalty but it's like he burst onto the scene a few years ago and he's just totally intense. In 30 Days of Night he was like Bela Lugosi meets Nosferatu on steroids -- terrifying and yet charming. I really need a film journalist to interview him and find out what makes him tick. Oh wait, is there even such a thing as film journalism anymore?