TV Chatting

If you are one of those who couldn’t care less about the big game on Sunday, but you would like to see the commercials, you don’t necessarily have to sit through the football to catch the ads.  NBC will make the spots available on NBC.com, SuperBowl.com and Hulu.com immediately after they air on television.  NBC.com and Hulu.com will have ads available for posting on blogs or web pages.  At Hulu.com, viewers will be able to vote for their favorite ads.

I’m not sure if this will also include some of the highly anticipated spots for NBC shows like the 3D Chuck commerical or the Heroes football spot, but I suspect it will.  We’ll post some of the favorites here!

The big game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals will kick off at 6:18 p.m. ET.  Coverage begins on NBC at 4:30 pm.  The halftime show will feature Bruce Springsteen (sometime around the 8 p.m. hour).

DreamWorks and Pepsi are planning to show 3D commericals during the Super Bowl this Sunday, February 1 and NBC is going to take full advantage of the Super Bowl viewership and pull out all the stops promoting its shows too.  That includes a 3D promo for Chuck.  Chuck will also air a 3D episode when it comes back next Monday, February 2nd at 8pm ET.

To get the full effect, you’ll need to pick up a pair of free 3D glasses at your local supermarket.  If you don’t have them yet, it’s not too late.  Here is a list of participating retailers:

• Kroger
• Ralphs
• Frys
• Safeway/Vons
• Supervalu
• Food Lion
• A&P
• Pathmark
• Coburns
• Fairway
• Fresh Brands
• Hy Vee
• Nash Finch
• Roundy’s
• Winn Dixie
• K-Mart
• Dollar General
• Hess (Select Stores Only)
• CVS (Select stores only)
• Meijer (on 1/31)
• Target (on 1/31)

I found mine on the beer aisle at my local Kroger, so make sure you check there!

The Office is bringing back Amy Ryan to reprise her role as Holly Flax for the season finale of the show.  Executive producer Greg Daniels tells EW’s Michael Ausiello that he is also "very open" to working out a more permanent arrangement with Ryan. "Because [Michael and Holly] have such a deep connection, I don’t think she can blow in and out every so often," he explains. "It would be too hard for him as a human being. So, we’re hoping to find some very significant things for them. And if we can get her to sign on for a really long period, we’ll do it."

Chuck finally has a dad and it’s…Scott Bakula.   Bakula has signed on to play the estranged father of Chuck and Ellie in at least three episodes beginning in April.  "Chuck made a promise to his sister, Ellie, that he was going to find their dad in time for her wedding," explains show creator Josh Schwartz. "And it’s something that Chuck becomes consumed with pursuing during the second half of the season.”  When Chuck finds his dad, he’s not the man he used to be.  "He’s living in a trailer, he’s disheveled, he’s paranoid and he’s claiming constantly that Ted Roark (who we reported yesterday will be played by Chevy Chase) has stolen all his ideas from him."

Kate Walsh is getting yet another love interest on Private Practice when Swingtown’s Josh Hopkins joins the show for five episodes as a surgeon.

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Comedy legend Chevy Chase is joining Chuck for a 3 episode guest stint. Chase will play Ted Roark, a billionaire technology mogul (think Bill Gates or Steve Jobs).  His character has been Chuck Bartowski’s idol and he has dreamed of working for Roark Instruments for most of his life.  Chuck will find out, though, that Ted may not be what he seems.

Chase joins a long list of big name guest stars who have done guest roles on Chuck this season including Bruce Boxleitner, Morgan Fairchild, John Larroquette, Melinda Clarke, Nicole Richie and Michael Clark Duncan.

Chevy Chase rose to fame as the Weekend Update anchor in the early days of Saturday Night Live.  He has also starred in the films Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation series, Fletch, Spies Like Us and The Three Amigos.  He has two new films due out this year, Not Another Not Another Movie and Stay Cool.

No word yet on when Chase’s episodes of Chuck will air.

Andy Richter and Jenny McCarthy are set to appear in an episode of Chuck called “Chuck Versus the Suburbs,” which will air during February sweeps.  The episode will see Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) going undercover as a married couple.

With the announcement that The CW is looking at a Melrose Place re-do, buzz immediately turned to Heather Locklear and wheather or not she might return to her old address.  EW’s Michael Ausiello is asking for fan opinions on that subject, as well as what other Melrose originals they might like to see.  Take a minute and weigh in (if you care about such things).

Former West Wing star Bradley Whitford will return to NBC as the star/producer of a new comedy pilot called Off Duty.  The comedy centers around a once-legendary police detective, played by Whitford, and his new up-and-coming new partner. 

It’s that time of the season when networks start deciding what shows will stay and what will go in their schedules.  This season is a bit unique due to the strike.  In addition to all of the new shows awaiting their fate, there are also several sophomore series with unsure futures.

While some shows, like Chuck and 90210, got early pickups, some shows have had to wait to find out if they will receive full season orders.  In just the last week, full season pick-up announcements have been plentiful.  Here are the shows that have received full season orders from the networks so far:

CBS

• The Mentalist

NBC

• Chuck
• Knight Rider

ABC

• Private Practice

FOX

• Fringe
• Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles

CW

• 90210

We’ll keep you posted as other announcements are made.

Former Moonlighting star and four-time Emmy nominee Cybill Shepherd will guest on the season premiere of  Samantha Who? on Monday, Oct. 13. Also on the episode will be Dancing with the Stars pro Mark Ballas. Sam ( Christina Applegate) enters a dance competition with her mom, Regina (Jean Smart), in hopes of beating Regina’s rival Paula, played by Shepherd. Paula, however, has hired a ringer (Ballas) to help her win.

Grey’s Anatomy is adding several new recurring players. L Word alum Janina Gavankar will join the cast as a new intern and Journeyman star Kevin McKidd will play a former Iraq doctor and love interest for Cristina. Also cast is Brandon Scott who will play a "junior McDreamy," according to EW’s Ausiello.

Former LOST actress Tania Raymonde, who played Ben’s dearly departed daughter, Alex, is joining the cast of Cold Case as a lab tech and potential love interest for Danny Pino.

Another Olympian is trying her hand at acting. Gymnast Nastia Lukin will guest on an episode of Gossip Girl. She is set to begin filming in mid-October. 

Gary Cole (Desperate Housewives) has been cast as the Sarah’s con-man father on Chuck. His guest spot will air during November sweeps.

Breckin Meyer will guest star on House later this season as a struggling artist whose disease causes him to get wildly aggressive. Of course, House and his crew set out to solve his medical mystery. Meyer and his buddy Seth Green will also guest star on Heroes as a couple of comic book geeks. They started filming this week.

NBC will debut the season premieres of some of its shows on the online streaming service Hulu one week before they air on television.

Knight Rider and Lipstick Jungle, which will premiere on NBC on September 24 will be available on Hulu on Wednesday September 17; Chuck and Life, which premiere September 29, will debut on Hulu September 22; and 30 Rock, which will premiere on October 30, will be available October 23 on Hulu.

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait to see favorites like Heroes, The Office, and My Name is Earl and the new shows My Own Worst Enemy and Crusoe.  They will debut on the network as scheduled and then be available on Hulu within a few days, usually the next day.

For the full schedule, see Hulu’s Fall Premiere Lineup.

NBC has given an early back-nine order to Chuck, just over a month before the second-season premiere.

Chuck’s first season held its own in the ratings, but was cut short due to the writer’s strike.  NBC executives are apparently so impressed with what they’ve seen from the first few season 2 episodes that they decided to give the show an early full-season pickup.

"We couldn’t be more excited with the creative direction Josh (Schwartz) and his team are executing on Chuck, " NBC Entertainment executive vp Teri Weinberg said. "This show has really hit its stride and deserves a full-season commitment to carry out the producers’ vision for this unique series."

Chuck is back to kick off Monday nights for NBC starting September 29 at 8pm ET.

At the Comic-Con Chuck panel, it was revealed that we would be meeting the parents of Chuck’s future brother-in-law, “Captain Awesome.” We finally know just who those parents will be.

EW’s Michael Ausiello is reporting that Morgan Fairchild and Bruce Boxleitner (who will also have a role on Heroes this season as the Governor of New York) have been cast as Honey and Woody Woodcombe. They will arrive just in time to help plan the nuptials of Awesome and Ellie…but ol’ Woody may be a little too excited about Ellie joining their family.

In other Chuck news, creator Josh Schwartz told Ausiello that a major character will die in the first episode.  Really die!  Who??!! We’ll have to wait and find out.  Chuck comes back September 29 at 8pm ET on NBC.