It has been one freaking slow week. Well, there have been a couple premieres, but they were either too dull to bother with or, well, so counter to everything I hold dear that I could not bring myself to write about them.

So share a book as a family tonight. Invite all the readers in the family to take turns doing the reading. Or just read to them.

Either way, it’ll be far more fun than anything on the tube. Unless you’ve already got a Thursday night fave.

If you do, please share. Would love to know what folks like watching.

This was not a good Oscar show. I mean I’m thrilled that Katheryn Bigelow became the first woman to win a Best Directing Oscar, but I’m annoyed that it took this long.

And, frankly, co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were not served well by their writers. The in jokes were so in even the insiders

Continue reading Oscar Recap, Monday, Mar. 8

The Academy Awards are on at 8 p.m. (5 p.m. Eastern).

It’s my favorite awards show. I’m not going to do any handicapping here. And while there are several movies that your kids may have seen, including the really young ones, do be aware that many of the nominated films are not for kids.

And it being

Continue reading Gotta Add the Oscars, Sunday, Mar. 7

NBC’s new show looks suspiciously like what Dr. Henry Louis Gates has done on PBS, but ain’t bad. Hallmark Channel has another formulaic romance that may or may not be bad.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Friendly Rating: Good for all but the youngest viewers

Safety Rating: Nothing graphic, but does cover some of the uglier parts

Continue reading Uncorked Romance and Ancestry, Weekend, Mar. 5-7

The Marriage Ref

Friendly Rating: Allowing for some eeuw moments when the sex stuff comes up, as young as early teens should find something interesting.

Safety Rating: Definitely a watch-with due to sexual themes – it’s marriage.

Quality Rating: Funny, but could pall quickly.

NBC, at 10 p.m.

The idea behind The Marriage Ref, as explained by creator and comic

Continue reading The Marriage Ref, Uh…. Thursday, Mar. 4

This is not a review because I didn’t get through the whole show.

I was all set to review Mayday! Bering Sea, airing at 9 p.m. tonight on the Discovery Channel. And like I noted above, I couldn’t finish it. It’s not that the show is bad. Alas, the reverse is true. It does its job

Continue reading The Non-Review for Mayday!, Wednesday, Mar. 3

Looks like the Olympics drought is over and we have not one, but two shows to feature today: NBC’s new family drama series and a Nova episode about everybody’s favorite planet. To the planet, first, ‘cuz it’s a much better show.

NOVA The Pluto Files

Friendly Rating: Genuine, real family fare. Your toddler might not get the

Continue reading Pluto and Parenthood, Tuesday, Mar. 2

I may be the only person not watching the Olympics, but while it has been less than exciting TV-wise, I’ve been going crazy this week with other projects.

Need to point out that no preview screeners were sent out for The Marriage Ref, which if you’ve been watching the Olympics, you’ve surely heard about. It’s the

Continue reading Quick Notes for the Weekend, Feb. 26-28

Quick note – wish fulfillment action series Aaron Stone starts its second season tonight at 8 p.m. on Disney XD. There are some issues of violence – mostly stuff and aliens going boom – but overall, I like the show.

More interesting is ABC Family’s announcement today that Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska governor Sarah

Continue reading Teen-Age Moms, Fictional and Real, Wednesday, Feb. 24

There’s nothing on except the Winter Olympics – and I’ve already written about them.

Women’s short form figure skating is up tonight, but check your local listings for the exact time, since it’s mostly tape-delayed.

And enjoy. This is aspirational TV and even if you and your young ‘uns are the antithesis of Olympic athleticism, you can

Continue reading Olympics, Again, Tuesday, Feb. 23