Chuck

Oscar-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan passed away on Monday, seven weeks after suffering a heart attack.

He was 54. Duncan was admitted to the hospital in mid-July after suffering a myocardial infarction, from which he never recovered; three weeks later, he was moved out of ICU but remained hospitalized. Continue reading »

While the main channels fill up with repeats and alternative programming over the two weeks of Easter non-ratings, GO! has managed to program some new content from next week, including new (to free to air) episodes of Chuck, season 16 of The Bachelor and unaired episodes of Top Gear Australia.

Chuck airs on Monday night (April 2) at 11.40pm, with the first episode of season three Chuck Versus the Pink Slip. Meanwhile, season 5 is underway on FOX8, and available in HD (and Chuck looks brilliant in HD – worth the money for the HD package just for Chuck in HD!).

The Bachelor will air at 7.30pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays from April 3. This is the 16th season of the show. GO! never aired the 15th season.

New episodes of Community find their way into Thursday nights, at 8pm. Suburgatory, on the other had is in repeats during Easter, with new episodes possibly to return from April 15.

Rumours on Facebook suggest new episodes of Fringe will air in GO! soon, as will the new series of Spartacus. Not holding my breath though, those rumours have been around for months.

The remaining few episodes of Top Gear Australia that Nine never aired will play out on GO! in the usual Top Gear USA timeslot of 6.30pm Saturday from April 7.

Meanwhile, with Excess Baggage finishing Thursday March 29 (sighs of relief can be heard), Two and a Half Men return to 6.30pm Monday to Thursday and Australia’s Home Videos to 7pm those days.

Still no sign of Survivor: One World on either Nine or GO! Hoping for after Easter?

Wednesday March 21 at 7.30pm on FOX8

This high-concept action comedy follows Chuck Bartowski as the Buy More computer geek turned secret agent. When Chuck unwittingly downloads a database of government information and deadly fighting skills into his head, he becomes the CIA’s most vital secret. This sets Chuck on a path to become a full-fledged spy, assisted by the stoic Colonel John Casey; Chuck’s best friend, Morgan Grimes; and the CIA’s top agent — and now Chuck’s wife — Sarah Walker. With the help of this unlikely team and his unorthodox techniques, Chuck is ready to take Operation Bartowski freelance.

Chuck’s spy abilities will be put to a new test when he and his team must save mankind without the help of the CIA CIA Instead they’ll use the cover of the Buy More electronics store to fund their own operations leading to new . Instead, they’ll use the cover of the Buy More electronics store to fund their own operations, leading to new missions, new stakes and new obstacles. With Chuck and Sarah as newlyweds and his family in on his secret, it has never been harder for Chuck to separate his spy life from his personal life. Featuring an amazing ensemble cast and action unlike anything else on television, there is no mission too impossible for CHUCK.

Chuck (Premiere) 7.35pm, FOX8
In the fifth season premiere, without the Intersect in his head or the support of the CIA, the world of espionage is a much more dangerous place for Chuck Bartowski and his team of freelance spies. To start, Carmichael Industries takes on a slick, rich thief named Jean Claude and a conniving investor, Roger Bale, who has stolen money from some of the world’s most dangerous people. Meanwhile, Morgan helps Chuck with a special surprise for Sarah, and back in the Buy More, Jeff and Lester have taken things to another level with their latest scheme.

Please Marry My Boy, 9pm, Seven
Mums Elva, Milena, Karen and Anne get together to reveal their emotions and share their experiences. They each have their own unique story as they tell Ada they have learnt more about themselves and their sons.

At the Movies, 10pm, ABC1
Margaret and David review: The Raid; The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth; Black & White & Sex; Le Havre; and David’s DVD Classic is the 1962 movie The Manchurian Candidate.

Get Off Your Knees: The John Robinson Story, 8.36pm, ABC2 / ABC4
Inspirational journey of congenital amputee John Robinson who overcomes extraordinary odds to live his dream to have an ordinary life.

Farrah’s Story, 10pm, Bio.
Farrah Fawcett tells the tale of her two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. Filmed by her best friend, Alana Stewart, this program is deeply personal, revealing, heart wrenching and very moving.

SUNDAY MARCH 18

LUCK – SHOWCASE – Season 1 Episode 1 & 2
7.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
Cancelled in the US on Thursday after the death of a third horse in this series, it starts in Australia now. In this provocative look at horseracing and gambling, Dustin Hoffman stars as ex-con ‘Ace’ Bernstein, who is hatching a complex plan involving the Santa Anita Racetrack, with his chauffer’s help.

MONDAY MARCH 19

TOP CHEF – ARENA – Season 9, Episode 1
9.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
It’s a whole new ballgame this season on Top Chef: Texas. For the first-time ever, season nine will boast a record 29 chefs – almost double the amount of season’s past. In the most challenging season yet, some of the biggest names in food and entertainment will be featured, including Charlize Theron, Pee-wee Herman, and Patti LaBelle. This season also sees the additionof two new judges, famed chef and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse and critically acclaimed chef Hugh Acheson.

MEOW MEOW’S LITTLE MATCH GIRL – STUDIO
8.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
International sensation Meow Meow headlines the famous Spiegeltent at the 2012 Sydney Festival, with her fiery sell-out show based on Hans Christian Andersen’s bittersweet fable.

TATTOO HIGHWAY – A&E – Season 1, Episode 1
6.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
15-year tattoo veteran Pendelton and his new business “Ministry of Ink” hit the road in this new series to transform personal stories into living art. To create a touching memorial tattoo that brings him to tears, Pendelton mixes the cremated ashes of a deceased wife into the ink for a portrait on her husband’s chest. For another job, he uses UV ink for a tattoo only visible with a black light, for one man’s constant reminder of his mother. From a pair of matching eggplants, to a giant gorilla riding a scooter and an emblem of Apache stars on the forehead of an elderly woman, Pendelton and his team encounter unusual and inspiring stories from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and beyond

TWINS IN PERIL – BIO – One-hour Special
8.30pm – Subscription TV Premiere
This documentary follows family members taking drastic steps to save the lives of their unborn children, who suffer from the life-threatening twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

FATAL ATTRACTIONS – BIO – Season 1
9.30pm – Channel Premiere
Fatal Attractions focuses on human obsessions with wild animals that often become dangerous and sometimes fatal. Just how close can you get to wild animals? Go inside the homes of several people who insist that sharing their lives with deadly big cats, chimpanzees and venomous reptiles is worth the risk. More now than ever, fatal wild attacks are making world headlines. Discover what drives people to love the one thing that could hurt them most…even kill them.

TUESDAY MARCH 20

LOVE, LIFE AND DEATH IN A DAY – BIO – Documentary Special
10.30pm – Subscription TV Premiere
Filmed in Britain on the longest day of 2008, this documentary explores landmark events in the cycle of life. Ordinary people go through life-changing events in this moving and revealing snapshot of 21st-century Britain. And as these intensely personal moments unfold, the rest of the world carries on its usual business on what is, for others, just another ordinary day.

CRIME INC. – CI NETWORK – Season 1
8.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
Crime Inc. examines the underground industry where hopelessness and greed create a sinister and sometimes lethal combination.

MAGIC BEYOND WORDS: THE JK ROWLING STORY – MOVIE ONE
8.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
This dramatisation of the life of J.K, Rowling traces her life from a girl with a flair for writing to her creation of Harry Potter which transformed her into the world’s most successful author.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 21

FOX8 – CHUCK – Season 5, Episode 1
7.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
Chuck’s spy abilities will be put to a new test when he and his team must save mankind without the help of the CIA. Instead, they’ll use the cover of the Buy More electronics store to fund their own operations, leading to new missions, new stakes and new obstacles. With Chuck and Sarah as newlyweds and his family in on his secret, it has never been harder for Chuck to separate his spy life from his personal life. Featuring an amazing ensemble cast and action unlike anything else on television, there is no mission too impossible for CHUCK.

CRIMES THAT SHOOK BRITAIN – CI NETWORK – Season 3, Episode 1
7.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
Crimes That Shook Britain investigates some of the country’s most horrendous murders through the eyes of the people at the core of the crime. Together with reconstructions, key interviews and archive material we will piece together the last moments of the victim’s life and how the fall-out from the crime led to significant changes in British law. The six most notorious crimes in modern British history which are covered in the series are; the Hungerford massacre; Harold Shipman the murderous doctor; the kidnap of Stephanie Slater; the mother and daughter Russell Murders of 1996; the ‘Angel of Death’ female serial killer Beverley Allitt; and the murder of eight year-old Sarah Payne.

JERSEY SHORE – MTV – Season 5
Hurricane Situation: The roommates return from Italy and couldn’t be more excited to get back to the Jersey Shore. But a drama storm is brewing as Mike threatens to destroy Snooki’s relationship with Jionni.

THURSDAY MARCH 22

BIG LAW: DEPUTY BUTTERBEAN – CRIME & INVESTIGATION NETWORK – Season 1
8.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
Former heavyweight boxer Eric Esch, more popularly known as Butterbean, barreled into the national ring in the ’90s like a 400-pound wrecking ball clad in American flag shorts. Now, Butterbean is taking his hard-earned, tough guy reputation to the streets of his hometown: he’s been deputized by the Walker County Sheriff’s office, and he’s on a one-man mission to bring back a sense of community safety… no matter how many butts he has to kick.

FRIDAY MARCH 23

WORLD POKER TOUR VIENNA – FOX 8
10.00pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
The World Poker Tour is a high stakes tournament not for the faint-hearted as fortunes are lost or made with the flip of a card. Join us as we travel the world with these specials and catch the final table action in Vienna

THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER – HISTORY
8.30pm – Australian Exclusive Premiere
We examine the lawsuit against Henry Kissinger, in which he was charged with having authorized the assassination of a Chilean general in 1970, with engineering the secret bombing of Cambodia without the knowledge of the US Congress in 1969, and with supporting the sale of US weapons to Indonesian President Suharto for use in the massacre of one-third of the population of East Timor in 1975. These and several other recent charges cast a haunting shadow on the reputation of a man long seen as the most famous diplomat of his age, the Nobel Laureate who secured peace in Vietnam, who secretly opened relations between the US and China, and who, more than a quarter-century out of office, remains a central player on the world stage, only recently voted the number one public intellectual of the 20th century.

Chuck is returning for it’s final season March 21st on Fox 8 at 7.35pm. Starring Aussie Yvonne Strahovski and Zachary Levi, the show is about Chuck Bartowski, the Buy More computer geek turned secret agent. When Chuck unwittingly downloads a database of government information and deadly fighting skills into his head, he becomes the CIA’s most vital secret.

In the first episode of the last season, Chuck and Sarah stand on the cliffside balcony of an opulent home, surveying a magnificent ocean view. Chuck asks Sarah if it’s the sort of house she’d love; she responds that she’s more of “toes in the sand kind of girl.” Chuck takes note, but they both realize the conversation is premature. They’re about to executed by the armed henchmen of Jeanne Claude, a villain who has stolen their client’s precious vase.

Will Chuck and Sarah marry? Who dies this season – get ready for shocks and suprises as this series ands with a bang!

The US networks have made a lot of casting additions and a renewal of late.

* Former Gossip Girl pot-stirrer Holley Fain (Madeline Vanderbilt) is joining the cast of Grey’s Anatomy as a recurring love interest for Eric Dane’s McSteamy.
* Marg Helgenbergers’ Catherine Willows on CSI will be embroiled in a “steamy affair” with an FBI agent played by Grant Show (Melrose Place)
* Amy Sedaris (Strangers With Candy) has booked a multi-episode arc on The Good Wife as Stacie Hall, a new lobbyist who competes directly with Eli Gold.
* Former Chicago Code cop Matt Lauria is transitioning from the police department to the FBI with a multi-episode arc on CSI.
* Carla Gugino from Entourage and Californication, is going to star in a recurring run on Justified.
* The Glades that airs on W has been renewed for a third season.
* Bo Derek will star as herself in the fifth season of Chuck. Derek joins an impressive roster of guest stars for Chuck‘s farewell run, which includes Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Tim DeKay (White Collar), Cheryl Ladd (Charlie’s Angels), Rebecca Romijn (X-Men), Justin Hartley (Smallville) and Jeff Fahey (Lost).
* Former Sex and The City star Craig Bierko will guest star on an upcoming episode of The Mentalist.
* Dana Delany will reunite with her former China Beach co-star Robert Picardo in a Season 2 episode of Body of Proof.
* Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Lost‘s temple master Dogen, has landed a recurring role on Revenge.
* True Blood is casting a new series regular role: Nora, who is described as “a beautiful and intelligent … double agent within the Vampire Authority.” She also shares an interesting history with Eric.
* Rachel Taylor is rumoured to be heading back to Seattle Grace on Grey’a Anatomy

Source TVline

9/11

[Correction] On Sunday September 11 at 9.30pm, NINE (not GEM as previously reported) will air the special 9/11- A real life documentary following the events of September 11 from an insider’s view, through the lens of two French filmmakers who were in Manhattan the day that was September 11, 2011. Tonight we re-visit that fateful day and see what has happened in the 10 years since the tragedy.

Movies on Mondays?

With Rescue (Special Ops) now over, it’s timeslot on Monday night has been filled with the movie The Ugly Truth, starring Katherine Hiegl and Gerald Butler. New CSI: Miami is out of the schedule yet again.

With all the new shows starting in the US from Monday September 19, expect a possible line up of new programming on Nine from 8.30pm the following Monday September 26, with another movie for Monday September 19.

Now – if only Nine had not played unnecessary double episodes of Rescue, they could have had the series continue on Mondays until September 19, with something new and fast tracked Monday Sept 26 – possibly The Mentalist? Or will that land on Wednesday night where they are currently airing repeats (will be a bad move if they do as people know that time as a repeat timeslot now for The Mentalist).

Season two of Chuck on GO!

Season two of Chuck airs on GO! from 11.30pm Monday September 12.

More Big Bang for your Buck.

And for those keeping tally, the Big Bang Theory airs on Nine weekdays at 7pm – so that’s five episodes a week straight away, then it also airs in doubles on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30pm, there is another 4 – 9 now in total. Then on GO!, you can see Big Bang as a double 8.30 Monday as well as 7.30 Wednesday. There you GO! – 13 episodes a week.

Please – fast track new episodes – it premieres on the US as a double Thursday September 22.

Chuck
Things are looking up for John Casey on Fox 8′s Chuck. Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss is joining Chuck‘s final season as a love interest/foil for Adam Baldwin’s lovelorn spy.

Her character, Gertrude Verbanski, is a former spy who now runs Verbanski Corp. — the chief rival of Chuck and Sarah’s new company. She’s ruthless and deadly, yet she also has a weak spot for Casey, her old rival.

News of Gertrude’s imminent arrival leaked out at America’s cult Comic-Con last weekend, prompting Baldwin to declare, “Casey has either met his match, or his love match.”

Chuck airs on Fox 8 at 8.30pm Fridays.

Two And A Half Men
According to some US websites, Ashton Kutcher may play either Charlie Harper (Sheens charachter) or his illegitmate son. What is known is that his charachter will be called Raymond and that’s about it! Will Charlie die? And will Chuck Lorre stop Sheen from ever returning?

Greys Anatomy
When Grey’s Anatomy opens its eighth season in the US on Sept. 22, very little time will have passed since Derek and Meredith’s big falling out.

“We only pick up five days after the finale ended,” reveals executive producer Shonda Rhimes. “ We pick up pretty much where we left off.”

That means Derek and Merideth are far from resolving their marital crisis, which was further complicated by the new girl in their life, baby Zola. “Meredith and Derek have a lot of things to work out,” Rhimes stressed. “They have their personal relationship, they have their parenting relationship, and they have their work relationship.”

Meanwhile, Cristina has yet to act on her decision to terminate her pregnancy — a sign that perhaps she’s having cold feet. “Five days later and she still hasn’t gone and done it — why hasn’t she and what’s going on with her?” Rhimes muses. “The old Cristina would’ve had the abortion [already].”

The cliffhanger won’t remain unresolved for long, however. “By the end of the season premiere she has made her decision,” Rhimes confirms, “and it’s pretty set in stone what’s going to happen.”

Entourage
Vinny Chase & Co. are officially back in action on HBO’s Entourage in the USA, so what can fans look forward to throughout the remainder of its final season? When creators Doug Ellin and Mark Wahlberg, as well as the cast of TV’s most notorious boys club, dropped by the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills, no topic was off limits — including that buzzed-about big-screen take on the showbizzy series.

When all is said and done, the consensus is that Entourage will be remembered for exactly what it was — a fun ride. “I really wanted [the finale] to have a feeling more than anything else,” Ellin explained. “To leave … the audience feeling like they loved hanging with these guys.” The series-ender is “not open-ended,” adding that there are “no major deaths” during the final season. Instead, expect “a vibe of where we were back in year one.”

 “We’re all choked up,” Adrian Grenier expressed, of the final season. “It’s not only sad to say goodbye to each other, but to what we created.” Added Kevin Connolly, “It’s been hard…. And as we sit here right now, this is literally the last time we’ll all be together for this show.” Jerry Ferrara called the ending “very, very bittersweet for me.”

Jeremy Piven — who brought Ari Gold, the series’ most iconic character, to life, amassing three Emmys along the way — said, “This season feels like our best. It’s so gratifying to finish this way. Ari has always been such a reactive character, and to humanize him in this last year was a gift that Doug gave to me.”

Kevin Dillon accidentally divulged that the series’ very final scene was shot at the Van Nuys airport — so make what you will of that tiny scooplet.

So, about that movie…. Wahlberg revealed that he is definitely on board with an eventual Entourage flick. “I’ve said that if I have to finance it myself, I’ll do it,” he joked. “I certainly hope that this has a chance to become a feature film.” Providing a more definitive answer — and likening the possible end product to a Hangover-style lark –  Ellin said, “We’re gonna do a movie. It’s just a question of when and how quick… and then we’ll make it happen.”

Hamill to guest on Chuck

Former Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has landed a guest role on the new season of Chuck. Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, will appear as a villain on the spy series.

Hammer to reprise role on The Simpsons

Actor Armie Hammer will reprise his role as The Social Network’s Winklevoss twins in an episode of The Simpsons. The 24-year-old will make a guest appearance in the animated comedy instead of the actual Winklevoss twins Cameron and Tyler, who sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing the idea for the website.

Doherty scores own reality series

Actress Shannon Doherty will feature in her own reality series that will follow her as she plans her wedding to celebrity photographer Kurt Iswarienko.

BBC comedy axed

Long-running British comedy series Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps has reportedly been axed after 10 years on the BBC.

Gervais developing new sitcom

Ricky Gervais is creating a new comedy series with Dexter producer Clyde Phillips called Afterlife. The sitcom will centre on an atheist who dies and goes to heaven.