Wednesday: Battle of the New Year’s Shows.

It’s NEW YEARS EVE!!!! WOOHOO!!! I’m bringing in the New Year the only way I can…..watching a pack of drunken fools play that f*ckin’ Wii. They may not make it till next year, if I have my way……..

Hi. I’m not Dick Clark.

For those of you entertaining at home, there are a few networks bringing in the New Year. Ball dropping abounds!

ABC has “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009″. The countdown starts at 10pm with lots of entertainment, Lionel Richie(?), Taylor Swift, & the Pussycat Dolls. The big act for the night is the Jonas Brothers …eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! There are also appearances by Ne-Yo, Jesse McCartney, Fall Out Boy & Will.I.Am. Kellie Pickler will be jostled around by the drunks in Time Square as a correspondent (not a co-host) & Fergie will be reporting from Hollywood.(why?). No sign of Dick Clark this year. I hope Seacrest doesn’t think he’s Clark’s ‘heir to the throne’, so to speak. I grew up with Dick Clark & Seacrest, you are no Dick Clark! (someone had to say it).

“New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly” starts at 10pm on NBC. It’s Carson’s 5th year working on New Year’s Eve. Hope he gets at least time & a half. His show seems to be much better than Ryan’s as far as entertainment goes. He’s got rappers T.I. & Ludacris, pop rocker Katy Perry & the Ting Tings(?) Elton John even gives us Yanks a shout-out via satellite. Luke Russert, Tim’s boy, & Amy Robach are reporting amongst the masses in Time Square.

FOX takes on the night with “New Year’s Eve Live” hosted by Spike Ferestein. They’ll show us drunks, not only from Times Square, but Las Vegas as well. David Cook and Scott Weiland are some of the entertainment. Robbie Knievel (Evel’s kid) will do a death-defying stunt.

CNN knows a winning team when it sees one. Anderson Cooper pairs up with comedian Kathy Griffin in Time Square to countdown the minutes to 2009. They’re coverage starts at 11pm. These two were such a hit last year, they’ve decided to do it again. It’s live & unscripted, so who knows what will happen. The entertainment includes Lil Wayne, Lynyrd Skynyrd, My Morning Jacket, Coolio, 3 Doors Down, & Hinder.

MTV surprised me. They have “FNMTV Presents: A Miley-Sized Surprise…. New Year’s Eve 2009″ starting at 8pm. Miley goes to an unsuspecting fan’s home and does a performance just for her. (this is apparently pre-taped). The Veronicas are in Time Square with everybody else watching the Ball drop. They have entertainment too. Metro Station, The Academy is…., All Time Low, (are these guys snortin’ ritlin when they come up with these names) & Kevin Rudolf all perform. I just don’t understand where Miley Cyrus fits in with this bunch?

DISNEY has “Totally New Year” which starts at 6pm. Selena Gomez & David Henrie are two of the hosts who reveal viewer’s favorite Disney episodes & music videos. Miley Cyrus & the Jonas Brothers eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! both appear. ( the magic of television allows them to appear on different networks at the same time! A-f*cking-mazing).

PBS is going a whole different route. “Live From Lincoln Center: New York Philharmonic New Year’s Eve Gala Concert” starts at 10pm. Renee Fleming hosts an evening of operatic favorites sung by mezzo-soprano Susan Graham. Songs such as “Carmen”, “Lehar’s”, “The Merry Widow” & “Ariadne auf Naxos” (my personal favorite).

There are a few marathons airing during the day, most notable:

HBO2 is airing the full season of “True Blood”, it’s hit vampire series, starting at 6pm. If you haven’t seen it, now’s the time. Be warned, it is a tad graphic, so if you are squeamish, look away, but don’t let that stop you from watching an extremely intense, edge of your seat, whodunnit storyline.

HBO is marathoning “Entourage” starting at 10pm. This comedy has been up for numerous Emmy’s and Jeremy Piven won “best supporting actor” three years in a row for his portrayal of Ari Gold. I plan on watching this because I just didn’t see enough of it to like the show. Maybe I missed something. It’s been renewed for a 6th season & Gary Cole will be joining the cast as a regular.

FOOD Network is rerunning it’s 4th season of “Next Food Network Star” starting at 3pm. Ten contestants vie for their own show on the famous network. I was disappointed in the winner (sucked big time), but that person seems to be doing well. The challenges are better than “Top Chef’s”.

BIOGRAPHY has an all-day marathon of “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” and A&E is running “Dog the Bounty Hunter” again for the whole day & night too. That guy’s getting rich just off the rerun residuals!

truTV has a “Speeders” marathon with two NEW episodes thrown in at 8 & 8:30pm.

Let’s see, what else is on…….hmmmmmm……….

HISTORY Channel has a new episode of “Seven Deadly Sins”, tonight at 9pm. “Gluttony” is the sin of choice. I can’t help but be reminded of the movie “Seven”, with Brad Pitt & Morgan Freeman, when I see these shows. If you’ve seen it, you know just what I mean.

“UFO Hunters” follows with a NEW episode at 10pm.

VH1 has “100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs” starting at 8pm with a NEW one at 10pm.(part 3 of 5)

TCM is airing “That’s Entertainment” (1974) at 8pm. It’s a compilation of great legendary clips from 30 yrs of MGM musicals.

“That’s Entertainment, Part 2″ (1976) at 10:30pm is also many classic clips of musicals from MGM.

“That’s Entertainment III” (1994) at 12:45am is the most recent & includes outtakes from musicals with Judy Garland, Fred Astaire & Lena Horne, to name a few.

Well kids, that’s the shows that stand out the most for me. Hope you all have a safe New Year’s. I hope to see you all next year. Remember….”Don’t Drink & Drive”! It’s just not worth it.

love

chooch