swingtown

• At 8, NBC has more Olympics coverage.
• FOX has a Preseason Football game, the Titans vs. the Raiders.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• ESPN has more Little League World Series coverage at 8.
• At 9, USA has a new Monk, followed by a new Psych.
• At 10, CBS has a new Swingtown.
• History Channel has a new Shockwave at 10.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• Also at 10: Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis.

Check your local TV listings for more.

'Gone Country 2' and 'Outsider's Inn'
(8PM & 9PM, CMT) premieres
Lorenzo Lamas or Jermaine Jackson, boot scootin' boogiers? The soap star and the Jackson 5 singer are among the seven new B-listers trying to break into the country music scene in 'Gone Country's' second season.

The rest of the wannabe line-up includes 'N Sync-er Chris Kirkpatrick, 'Fame' singer Irene Cara, Skid Row hair band star Sebastian Bach, 'American Idol' cast-off Mikalah Gordon and actress Sean Young, whose penchant for tabloid behavior should provide some reality fireworks.

Meanwhile, Maureen 'Marcia Brady' McCormick has roped fellow season one alums Bobby Brown and Carnie Wilson into helping her run a B&B in rural Tennessee on 'Outsider's Inn.' But unlike Tori and Dean before them, Bobby and Carnie don't seem to be 'inn love' with the idea.

The Nielsen ratings for last Friday night showed that NBC did really well with the Olympic opening ceremonies. Good for NBC, bad for fans of CBS's Swingtown. It didn't take a psychic to predict that all that NBC Universal hype would draw those who love pomp and spectacle. It also didn't take a seer to see that CBS wasn't giving Swingtown a fair shot by asking it to go up against the Olympics.

Still, in CBS's defense, Swingtown just hasn't grabbed the kind of ratings all summer long -- mostly on Thursday nights -- to warrant the network believing that it has a potential hit on its hand. The New York Times pondered Swingtown's fate, too.

I think it does, but only if CBS gives Swingtown some time. I'm not alone in thinking this either. Josef Adalian agrees, as do and many TV Squad readers have expressed their passion for this show. Will CBS hear them as they chant, "All we are saying, is give Swingtown a chance."

(S01E10) "All right, let's go fix this family."

Oh, if only it were as simple as a family vacation to repair the damage to the Millers. It's clear by now that something's missing between Bruce and Susan because she can't stop thinking of Roger.

And Laurie is going through teenage rebellion -- I recognize the symptoms -- and Bruce's answer is to threaten her boyfriend and rip the phone cord out of the wall. Of all the characters, Bruce needs the most work for the writers. He's way too predictable.

While the Millers are struggling, so too are the Thompsons. Janet made an appointment with a psychiatrist -- for Roger. The truth is that they both need counseling, as the therapist realized when she spoke with them. Janet is so much a woman of that time, unsure about getting a job because it may emasculate Roger and struggling with the attention she's received -- and enjoyed -- from Tom.

• NBC has The Olympics all night.
• At 7:55, Disney Channel has a new Jonas Brothers: Living The Dream, then a marathon of Phineas & Ferb.
• At 8, PBS has a new Washington Week, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• ESPN has more Little League World Series coverage at 8.
• TCM has Support Your Local Sheriff at 8, then Support Your Local Gunfighter.
• At 9, USA has a new Monk, then a new Psych.
• Hallmark Channel has the new movie Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery.
• At 10, CBS has a new Swingtown.
• History Channel has a new Shockwave at 10.
• There's a new episode of The Soup at 10 on E!

Check your local TV listings for more.

'XXIX Summer Olympics: Opening Ceremonies'
(8PM, NBC)
NBC is planning more than 3,000 hours of coverage of the XXIX Summer Olympics on the tube and Internet, and it all begins with tonight's opening ceremonies -- featuring more than 10,000 performers -- at the National Stadium in Beijing.

Everything, in fact, is souped up for these international games, from the amount of coverage and the quality of the technology NBC will use to capture it (mini HD cams will be strapped to athletes for up close and personal shots, for example) to new events (BMX racing and the women's steeplechase among them) and the line-up of superstars competing, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on the U.S. men's basketball team; U.S. swimmer Dara Torres, who's already won nine medals as she heads into her fifth Olympics; and American swimmer Michael Phelps, who earned six gold medals at the 2004 Games in Athens.

All in all, this is one stretch of reality programming worthy of your coach potato hours this summer.

First he shaves the porn 'stache and now Grant Show has signed up to guest star on Private Practice. Is there something Show isn't telling us about the fate of Swingtown?

Well, hopefully not. Despite the fact that Swingtown's rapidly disappearing audience does not bode well for the fate of the series, Show's extracurriculars don't mean that anything is definite. As of now, Show is only signed on to appear in one episode of Private Practice early on in the season. He plays a flirtatious doctor who has ties to a series regular's past.

I've recently become a big fan on Swingtown, so even though the odds are against it, I'm really pulling for its return. However, if it doesn't work out, I definitely wouldn't mind him coming to Private Practice on a more regular basis. For me, that show's first season was super weak and quite frankly, it could use all the help it can get. Grant Show wouldn't even have to grow the mustache back--although it would be pretty awesome if he did.

I can't believe it's gone. I've been watching for weeks now and the damn thing has grown on me, not to mention the polyester pants and paisley shirts. Are you lost? I'm talking about Swingtown. There are but two episodes left of the series and unless there's a dramatic spurt in the ratings, I don't think CBS is going to re-up the show. Add to that the fact that Grant Show has shaved his moustache. That could be a signal that Swingtown is not coming back.

Grant actually named the Fu-Manchu moustache, Sebastian. "[It'd] gotten out of control. The moment they called wrap on the last episode, I shaved it off," he told the New York Times. "I feel like myself again. People who didn't know me looked at me like, 'What the hell are you doing?' I was at a restaurant the other day, and a woman asked me if I was a porn star."

(S01E09) Okay, we're really into swinging tonight. Everybody seems to get into the action, including the kids. Frankly, the summer of '76 is making everyone in Swingtown hot and horny and just a touch too adventurous. It makes for interesting viewing, but I'm not sure how realistic all this is supposed to be. What is the difference between swinging and cheating?

Brad and Sylvia are back. It's yet another dinner party at the Deckers! The writers really have to find other ways to get these people together. Anyway, after Bruce's admission of his overt flirtation with Melinda -- a couple of kisses and a trip to her apartment -- the Millers accept an invitation to the Pendulum Club. That's an erotic cabaret according to Trina, and yes, the Deckers decide to go along at Susan's behest.

• At 8, PBS has a new Washington Week, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• Nickelodeon has a new Fairly Odd Parents at 8.
• At 8:30, Sci-Fi has the season finale of Doctor Who, then a new Stargate Atlantis.
• At 9, NBC has a new Dateline.
• USA has new episodes of Monk and Psych starting at 9.
• ESPN has more coverage of The X Games at 9.
• Lifetime has the movie Joy Fielding's The Other Woman at 9.
• At 10, ABC has a new 20/20.
• CBS has a new Swingtown at 10.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• There's a new Live at Gotham at 10 on Comedy Central.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels.

Check your local TV listings for more.

'Doctor Who'
(9PM, SCI FI) 4th season finale
Enjoy this appointment viewing with the Doctor, for it's the last regular season episode we'll see until 2010.

Oh, there'll be specials -- the annual Christmas installment this year, as well as four specials in 2009. But star David Tennant has kept fans guessing about his future as the titular time traveler, with rumors suggesting the 2010 season may be his last.

Again, all the more reason to savor this season ender, the second of a two-parter, in which the Doctor and the TARDIS are in Dalek-driven jeopardy.

Former companion Rose (Billie Piper), her ex-boyfriend Mickey and 'Torchwood' hero Jack Harkness are on the scene to help, but their presence isn't going to be enough to keep the good Doctor unscathed in the end ...

Sparkly dresses, disco tunes, platform shoes, Studio 54... it's all about the 1970's in Showtime's new drama, Studio, which centers on the iconic New York nightclub that brought it all home.

Bryan Singer -- undoubtedly one of the busiest guys in Hollywood -- is in talks to direct the pilot, with writer Chad Hodge and Hairspray producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron helming the project.

Studio will begin in the months leading up to the club's April 1977 opening. Though fictional, the series will revolve around the real-life co-founder of the club, the flamboyant Steve Rubell.

(S01E08) "New year, new neighbors, new secrets." That's Trina as she sets up for tonight's game of Puzzlerama, but can pretty much be said about tonight's episode. Everyone has secrets, and they're all coming out.

Before we get started, I just want to mention that I'm filling in for your normal Swingtown host, so if I miss anything, don't blame her. She'll return to give you next week's review.

The kids are back in this week's episode, but they're only making cameo appearances. The focus is really on Susan and Bruce and Janet and Roger and the feelings they have for each other and those around them.

• At 8, PBS has a new Washington Week, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Duel, followed by a new 20/20.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 9.
• There's a new Monk on USA at 9, then a new Psych.
• TLC has a new What Not To Wear at 9, followed by two new episodes of something called Ashley Paige: Bikini or Bust.
• VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Doctor Who at 9, then a new Stargate Atlantis.
• Also at 9: HGTV has a special Design on a Dime: 35 Top Secrets, sort of a greatest hits of tips from the show.
• At 9:30, Toon Disney has a new Digimon.
• At 10, CBS has a new Swingtown (new night).
• History Channel has a new Shockwave at 10.
• Comedy Central has a new Live at Gotham at 10.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Things don't look good for our favorite wife-swapping, bad clothes-wearing, Tab-drinking characters: CBS is moving Swingtown to Friday nights at 10pm.

Why, you ask? Well, the ratings have been going downhill, and I think this is the first indication that the show won't see a second season (Friday nights are where network shows go to die). But CBS seems to think more of Flashpoint, the action/cop show that currently airs on Friday nights (in short, it gets better ratings than Swingtown). Flashpoint is going to replace Swingtown in the Thursday at 10pm slot.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I haven't seen Flashpoint. As for Swingtown, although I have a lot of problems with it, I do know that it has had me tuning in every Thursday night (well, OK, on DVR - I have to watch Burn Notice live!). I want to see what happens to these characters.

[via TV Tattle]