NGTV Guide: Monday, March 15

Are we the only ones suffering from Gossip Girl fatigue? You may have noticed it missing from our Monday night lineup; we really didn’t miss it when it was on hiatus. Speaking of hiatus, Castle is a repeat tonight in advance of the doubleheader coming next Sunday & Monday.

Chuck – NBC 8/7c
“Chuck vs. the Tic Tac” – Casey (Adam Baldwin) carries out a side mission for his old commanding officer James Keller (guest star Robert Patrick) that leads to him committing treason. When Chuck (Zachary Levi) learns the dark truth about Col. Keller, he and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) set out to break Casey out of jail and clear his name. Meanwhile, Awesome’s (Ryan McPartlin) plan to keep Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) out of danger gets more difficult when she gets her dream fellowship. Joshua Gomez also stars.

Life Unexpected – the CW 8/7c
“Formal Reformed” – Jones (guest star Austin Butler) asks Lux (Britt Robertson) to be his date for the Winter Formal. Baze (Kristoffer Polaha) finds a condom in Lux’s room, and thinking it belongs to Jones, shows up at the dance to try and stop Lux and Jones from having sex. Cate (Shiri Appleby) agrees to chaperone the dance, but being at her old high school for Winter Formal brings back painful memories about the night Lux was conceived.

NGTV Guide: Monday, March 8

Happy Monday! For some reason I’m feeling quite chipper on this first day after the weekend. Feel free to smack me.

Chuck - NBC 8/7c
“Chuck vs. the Beard” – Chuck (Zachary Levi) feels like his life is falling apart when he can’t flash and gets left behind for a mission. While Shaw (guest star Brandon Routh), Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey (Adam Baldwin) go on without him, Chuck finds himself in a sticky situation back at the base. Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Scott Krinsky, Vik Sahay and Mark Christopher Lawrence also star.

Life Unexpected – the CW 9/8c
“Bride Unbridled” – Cate and Ryan are forced to put on a happy face as the hosts of a wedding expo, but the unfortunate situation becomes even more unfortunate after Baze and Math show up at the event. After watching Lux mope around the house for days, Baze solicits help from Jones in an effort to cheer her up.

Castle – ABC 10/9c
“The Mistress Always Spanks Twice” – When a half-naked woman is found covered in caramel sauce and hanging by bondage cuffs in a public park, Castle and Beckett’s investigation takes them into New York’s underground world of sexual domination. Naturally the case serves as sexy fodder for their already charged relationship banter

Nice Boy of the Week: Tom Schanley

This week’s Nice Boy fell into our laps as a very pleasant surprise. Tom Schanley is scheduled to appear in the next episode of Castle entitled The Mistress Always Spanks Twice. In this epsidoe, William Carraway, played by Schanley, becomes a suspect when one of his known sexual “turn-ons” matches the evidence in the homicide of a New York dominatrix.

As an Actor, Tom Schanley is known mostly for his work in television, on shows like Criminal Minds, Dexter and the CSI’s, but he has also had the privilege of working with some of the cinematic icons of our time:  Academy Award winning director Ed Zwick and Denzel Washington in Courage Under Fire,  Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts in Conspiracy Theory among others.   Along with his writing partner Jon Lindstrom, Tom wrote and executive produced the feature film The Hard Easy, starring David Boreanaz, Bruce Dern and Vera Farmiga.

Watch Tom on Castle, Monday, Mar. 8, 10/9 central, on ABC.

NGTV Guide: Monday, February 1

Happy February, everyone! Castle is a repeat tonight, but Chuck and Lux are stepping up to the plate.

Chuck – NBC 8/7c
“Chuck vs. the Nacho Sampler” – Chuck juggles his two lives as he trains new Nerd Herder Hannah (guest star Kristin Kreuk) and gets his very own asset who is caught up with The Ring. Chuck thinks he can handle his asset all on his own but Sarah and Casey feel the need to intercede. Meanwhile, Awesome must lie to Ellie when she starts to ask questions about Chuck and Morgan, Jeff and Lester do some recon work to learn more about Hannah.

Life Unexpected – the CW 9/8c
“Rent Uncollected” – When Baze tells his parents (guest stars Robin Thomas and Susan Hogan) about Lux, they insist on planning a dinner at which they can meet their granddaughter and Cate. Cate reluctantly agrees to go to the dinner and is further annoyed when her overbearing mother (guest star Cynthia Stevenson) and neurotic sister (guest star Alex Breckenridge) show up unexpectedly. Meanwhile, when Cate hears about a gang fight at Lux’s school, she immediately decides to have Lux transferred to her and Baze’s alma mater, Westmonte.

NGTV Guide: Monday, January 25

Mondays are turning into a must-see lineup again. Here are the goodies in store for us tonight.

Chuck – NBC 8/7c
“Chuck vs. First Class” – CIA agent Daniel Shaw (guest star Brandon Routh) assigns Chuck to his first solo mission in Paris, ignoring Sarah and Casey’s wishes. During the flight to France, Chuck befriends Hannah (guest star Kristin Kreuk) and flashes on another passenger — the imposing Hugo Panzer (guest star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin). Meanwhile, Casey helps Morgan battle Jeff and Lester for control of the Buy More. (ChuckTV.net is giving away a press kit this week.)

Life Unexpected – the CW 9/8c
“Home Inspected” – Cate (Shiri Appleby) and Baze (Kristoffer Polaha) are paid a visit by a social worker whose job it is to evaluate both of them and determine if they are fit parents. Lux (Britt Robertson) is torn when her boyfriend, Bug (guest star Rafi Gavron, “24″), and best friend, Natasha (guest star Ksenia Solo), suggest that Cate and Baze may not be in it for the long haul and that Lux should return to her old life and the people who love her most of all. Meanwhile, Cate is pressured by the executives at the radio station to deny that she has a daughter in order to save her job.

Castle – ABC 10/9c
“The Third Man” – Mysteries abound when a family returns from vacation to discover a dead man in their daughter’s bed. Thinking they’re investigating the murder of a squatter, Castle and Beckett soon find themselves unraveling a multi-million dollar heist. Meanwhile, Castle tries to keep Beckett from finding out that they’ve been romantically linked when he’s featured as one of New York’s 10 most eligible bachelors.

NGTV Guide: Monday, January 18

We forgot to highlight Chuck’s return in last week’s TV Guide…partially because we didn’t actually do a TV Guide last Monday. Blame it on server issues. This week we’re making a big deal out of the fact that CHUCK IS BACK! Oh, and so is Castle. We heart those guys.

Chuck – NBC 8/7c
“Chuck vs. Operation Awesome” – -When Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) is mistaken for a super spy by the evil Sydney Price (guest star Angie Harmon), Chuck (Zachary Levi) must become his handler and show him the spy ropes. While on a mission for The Ring, they meet the mysterious Daniel Shaw (guest star Brandon Routh). Meanwhile, Morgan (Joshua Gomez) gets promoted to assistant manager and must deal with Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester’s (Vik Sahay) latest hijinks.

Castle – ABC 10/9c
“Sucker Punch” – While investigating the death of an Irish mobster, Beckett and Castle uncover a local turf war that may be connected to both a late-night infomercial guru and an international drug smuggling operation. But the case turns agonizingly personal when evidence emerges that the killer they’re chasing may have had a hand in Beckett’s mother’s murder.

Another Typical Week for a NiceGirl

Last week I had the chance to attend the Paley Center’s salute to the 100th episode of the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother. As a non-watcher of TV comedies, this event might seem like an odd event for me to attend; but as a long-time fan of Alyson Hannigan (dating back, obviously, to her days on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) and rediscovering the talent that is Neil Patrick Harris (thanks, in great part, to his role in the Joss Whedon internet sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog) and the fact that in the current world of TV reaching the landmark of 100 episodes is rare indeed, I jumped at the chance to be part of this unique event.

The audience was treated first to an introduction of the 100th episode by the creators of the show – Carter Bays and Craig Thomas – and then the episode was shown, which was rip-roaringly fun to watch and very entertaining to see Neil Patrick Harris as Barney dance and sing in a suit.

Appearing at the event were the entire cast – Josh Radnor, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders and, of course NPH himself – Neil Patrick Harris. Also on the stage were Pamela Fryman, long-time director of nearly all of the episodes of the series, and the creators.

A complete write up of the event can be found here at NiceGirlstTV by our very own Tiffany.

Also starting this past week was the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, which has been getting a lot of coverage by bloggers and entertainment writers alike all over the net and on Twitter. NiceGirlsTV should be providing a round-up of the FOX presentation, which was to take place yesterday, via Louise, who has, once again, been invited to attend the “fete”.

It is always interesting to see what each network has to say about their upcoming new schedule; talk about what worked and what was not so successful and what new ideas we can expect down the line. Of course, the big talk has been the resounding lack of success with the prime-time airing of the Jay Leno show with NBC recognizing the failure of this “new” programming idea to work with the viewing audience. Leno’s last show will be on February 12 and the viewers can only hope that NBC can get their programming back on track and somehow dig themselves out of the fourth place ranking that has been commonplace at the network for too long.

And thankfully, with the end of the holidays, the start of the mid-season schedule will be upon all of us, starting this week with many of the network shows returning with new episodes and some summer programs coming back with new episodes to complete their new seasons. Among the shows returning this week, I was excited for the return of Castle on ABC and Chuck on NBC last night; and I look forward to the next-to-the-last episode of Dollhouse, the return of 24 and debut of Human Target all on FOX, the return of Leverage on TNT and the two-hour finale of Sanctuary on Syfy. It’s going to be a very fun television-viewing week that’s for sure.

With the return of new episodes, what shows are you most looking forward to seeing again?

Catch Nice Girl’s Faves on Late Night and Daytime

I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing I enjoy more than watching talent from some of our favorite television shows playing around with talk show hosts. In an effort to organize my DVR settings, I’m going to attempt to post a listing, when available, of late night and daytime talk show appearances. I hope this will aid you as well.

Nathan Fillion (Castle) – Regis & Kelly Monday, Jan. 11

Matt Bomer (White Collar) – Regis & Kelly Friday, Jan. 15

Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) – Regis & Kelly Monday, Jan. 18

That’s it for a start. Am I missing one of your faves?

NGTV Guide: Monday, December 7

Is it the Ghost of Christmas Past on Gossip Girl? Will there be a Christmas miracle on Castle? Tune in!

Gossip Girl – the CW 9/8c
“The Debarted” – A year after his father’s death, Chuck deals with an issue from the past, and another car accident occurs on the Upper East side. Meanwhile, Dan and Vanessa face the new complexities in their friendship; and Jenny gets accused of assaulting a classmate.

Castle – ABC 10/9c
“The Fifth Bullet” – When an art dealer is gunned down in his gallery, Castle & Beckett discover that a bullet is inexplicably missing from the crime scene. The mystery is deepened by an amnesiac who witnessed the crime but can’t remember what he saw or even who he is…

NGTV Guide: Monday, November 23

Happy Thanksgiving Week! It’s time for our favorite shows to break out another holiday-themed episode; let’s see what kind of drama they can cook up alongside the turkey tonight.

Gossip Girl – the CW 9/8c
“The Treasure of Serena Madre” – It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving on the Upper East Side if there wasn’t a serving or two of some major drama for the holiday. Blair suspects her mom has been keeping a big secret from her, but it turns out to be something else entirely. Vanessa is supposed to spend Thanksgiving with her parents, but has a fight with her mom (guest star Gina Torres) and shows up on Dan’s doorstep. Rufus learns that Lily has been lying to him about her mother, Cece (guest star Caroline Lagerfelt). Chuck tells Nate that he has some potentially damaging information about one of their friends. Jenny learns that Eric was behind her very public embarrassment at Cotillion and can’t pass up a chance to get even. Serena is put in a very awkward position when her mother invites Trip (guest star Aaron Tveit) and Maureen (guest star Holley Fain) to join them for Thanksgiving dinner.

Castle – ABC 10/9c
“One Man’s Treasure” – When a murdered man is found stuffed in the garbage chute of an apartment building and two women arrive to ID his body — one his wife and the other his fiancee — Castle and Beckett have their hands full keeping the women from killing each other as they work to peel back the layers of the victim’s double life. Was it a jilted woman, corporate espionage, or a much darker secret that led to his demise?

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