TV Patrol: Vampire Diaries Returns!

Vampire Diaries, the biggest hit for the CW since Gossip Girl, returns tonight at 8pm. The sexy vampire soap opera hasn’t aired a new episode since the end of November. The CW has been stuck in repeat hell for almost two months. Supernatural will follow with a new episode at 9pm. Will anyone remember to watch……Big things are happening on Thursday night. A new show begins & a new show ends:

ABC is rolling out a new law show. The Deep End premieres at 8pm. It has a soap opera type storyline, with the bosses sleeping around with their law partners. The firm is known as “Sterling”, after it’s namesake, Hart Sterling, played by Clancy Brown (Carnivale). The focus is on 5 first year attorneys, all vying for partnership & taking on some extremely difficult cases. Billy Zane (Titanic) is one of the whoredog bosses & the only name I recognize. I don’t think he’ll be our next Denny Crane. I’ll give it one episode before I form a negative opinion.

Burn Notice returns tonight at 10pm on USA. Tyne Daly guest stars, which will reunite her with Sharon Gless, who plays chain-smoking Madeline on the show. The premise is that Madeline needs to go undercover to trap some con men who have been preying on widowed old ladies. This is where she runs in to Tyne. I’m gonna watch just to see the two of them together again. Besides, I’m a huge “Maxine” fan.

MTV’s Jersey Shore has it’s season finale tonight at 10pm, with a reunion show immediately after, at 11pm. This has been MTV’s surprise hit ever since it’s first episode. Will there be another season with new characters?… or will they spin-off another show with Snookie as the star? We’ll just have to wait & see. MTV is good at peeling off new shows from the success of others.

Other shows on tonight:

CBS has two repeats of The Big Bang Theory at 8 & 8:30pm. A new CSI at 9pm & The Mentalist at 10pm.

Of course it’s the second week of Project Runway on Lifetime, at 10pm. This is turning out to be a crazy-ass season. Thank god they’re back in New York City.

NBC has it’s “comedy night” with new episodes of Community, Parks & Recreation, The Office & 30 Rock. This is the return of The Office with it’s first new episode since the holiday hiatus. Of course there’s The Jay Leno Show at 10pm. He’s got Billy Cyrstal. Does his show end this Friday now that Conan’s done then? Will he jump right into The Tonight Show on Monday? Will I watch either way? NO.

Friday Night is ALL About Hope.

George Clooney’s efforts to organize a massive campaign to help the people of Haiti, who suffered massive devastation in the aftermath of a 7.0 earthquack has paid off. No less that 20 networks are airing Hope For Haiti at 8pm est, for 2 hours of commercial-free entertainment & pledging for donations. Big name celebrities, like Justin Timberlake & Bruce Springsteen, will appear to help with the cause. You will not have much of a choice of what to watch with ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW, BET, BRAVO, CMT, CNN, ComCentral, DSCHealth, E!, FuseTV, HBO, MTV, NGC, OXYGEN, STYLE, TNT & VH1 all broadcasting live coverage. George Clooney & Anderson Cooper are the emcees.

As Mr. Spock would often observe: “There are always alternatives.”

The much-anticipated prequel to Battlestar Galactica airs Friday night at 9pm, on SyFy. Caprica premieres with a 2 hour episode which takes us back 58 years before the Cylons attacked. Eric Stoltz plays mega-wealthy technology genius Daniel Graystone. He is bonded by tragedy with a conflicted lawyer, Joseph Adama, played by Esai Morales. they have both lost loved ones in a terrorist bombing. SyFy claims that you don’t need to have seen BSG to watch this new series & they say “Yes, there will be robots, especially one in particular.” Will I watch? Not unless someone tells me it’s “must see” TV.

Spartacus is STARZ attempt at new & original programming. I’m excited about this new series. It’s premeire is this Friday at 10pm. It takes us into the world of gladiators in ancient Rome & is styled much like the movie 300. Andy Whitfield is our star gladiator & Lucy Lawless, of Xena: Warrior Princess fame is also on the show. Maybe that’s because her hubby, Sam Raimi, is one of the producers. I really need something historical like this to replace The Tudors when it finishes it’s final season this year. This could just be it.

FOX Movie Channel (FMC) has a new series also starting on Friday. AVATAR: Creating the World of Pandora is a half-hour show which delves into all the advanced technology that goes into creating this awesome 3D enviroment. Everything from sound design to photo realistic computer-generated animated characters (wow that’s a mouthful!) is examined. The show airs at 7:30pm, so you can still get to see the Haiti marathon. It will play out on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays with new episodes through Feb. 27th.

That’s it for me kids. Hope I’ve helped you decide once again what to watch. My “Pick of the Week” is Spartacus on STARZ.

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