What was on TV? Mon, Nov 15, 2004

The Bush administration was no longer interested in pretending to be moderate, so Colin Powell resigned. Spider-Man 2 was flying off the shelves at Best Buys and Walmarts across America. Let's see what was on TV.

8:00 One On One on UPN

4x08 "Daddy's Home"

This show is so good! Last episode, Flex had a heart to heart with his daughter's boyfriend's father. This episode, he's dealing with his own dad, played by Ron Canada (it was so great to see him in this role, he plays a truly egregious Black best friend character on Jack and Bobby). Dad doesn't agree with how Flex is parenting his daughter Brennna. They're going to therapy and journaling and he's letting her stay at her boyfriend's place? What the hell? For awhile they but heads and try to figure out who the real man is. But eventually they have a classic sitcom heart to heart where Flex's father admits that seeing his son parent Breanna so differently makes him worried that he messed up. And Flex assures him that he's fine, and his dad did right by him and his siblings even if they all do but heads. There's a great joke about safe sex too.

Elsewhere, Breanna is jealous of the new lead singer in her boyfriend's band. This storyline is a less uplifting, but I didn't care because the music was bainging! I think the songs might have been original? They were bops!

This episode was written by Eric Lev. Lev has written for The Game, Legends of Chamberlain Heights, and the animated Good Times reboot.

This episode was directed by Ken Whittingham, a Black director who has helmed episodes on many beloved Black sitcoms from the past three decades, from Moesha and The Parkers to Girlfriends and Bernie Mac all the way to Abbott Elementary today. He's directed episodes on several other classic shows like Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, and Parenthood.

8:30 Half and Half on UPN

3x08 "The My Life and Kids Episode"

I'm realizing that the best part of this show is the moms. The main plot of the episode is fun, they change things up by giving Dee Dee the a-story. And there's a scene at a book signing! At a bookstore in the Haight! My favorite bookstore in real life is The Booksmith, in the Haight! This is exciting for me.

But the c-story is where it's at. Matriarchs Phyllis (Telma Hopkins) and Big Dee Dee (Valarie Pettiford) meet in the hallway to trade barbs and snatch wigs. They kill every line reading. The fake studio audience goes absolutely buck wild, and it feels earned. It also reminds me of executive producer Yvette Lee Bowser's previous series Living Single, which featured plenty of excellent hallway action.

This episode was written by writing Heather MacGillvray and Linda Mathious. Since Half & Half, they have primarily written for children's shows like Jonas and Live & Maddie.

This episode was directed by Ellen Gittelsohn. Her directing credits include episodes of A Different World, Roseanne, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Living Single.

9:00 Girlfriends on UPN

5x08 "When Hearts Attack" (record Everwood on the WB and Everybody Loves Raymond on CBS)

This episode quickly resolves last weeks cliffhanger (turns out that William didn't sleep with Joan's mom, phew) but then just kind of twiddles its thumbs before we get a big reconciliation and big kiss. But the kiss is worth it! It's an upside down kiss, except there was a run on Spider-Man costumes and so Joan had to improvise, and now she's wearing a turban and also a plastic spider? It's great. And we get an upside-down kiss (this one might be better than the one of the OC? That would make it the #2 upside down kiss).

The B-story is also really fun. I would totally watch Lynn's cable access show.

This episode was written by Regina Y. Hicks. She was a showrunner on Central Park and The Upshaws and has written for Sister, Sister and Insecure.

This episode was directed by Mary Lou Belli. Belli's first directing credit was on Charles in Charge, she has directed episodes of One on One, Hart of Dixie, NCIS: New Orleans, and Elsbeth.

9:30 Everybody Loves Raymond on CBS

9x06 "Boys' Therapy"

This was the series' 200th episode. Other series will pull a big elaborate stunt, people might give birth or get married or die. Everybody Loves Raymond sent its three male leads to therapy.

Except not really. The boys realize that they can just skip therapy and spend the money they were supposed to spend on the doctor at the racetrack (the smash cut the the racing horses is priceless). Then they can go home and tell their their wives that the therapist thinks they should "release tension" (Ray) or that they need "distance" (Frank). They've got it made!

The charade continues. But they need to come up with imaginary breakthroughs to keep their precious bro time a secret from their wives. And because this is television, all these pretend breakthroughs lead to an actual breakthrough when Frank reveals that his father abused him throughout his childhood, just like his grandfather abused his own father. The cycle stopped with him, he was too "weak." Frank's history of abuse and struggle to break the cycle was an undercurrent throughout the show, and here he was telling his kids and the audience all about it, directly. The aftermath is awkward, and silent, but Ray and Robert assure their father that he did the right thing, and show compassion for him the best way they know how. It's truly quite moving.

(Of course, upon returning home they immediately they get busted for their fake therapy in a hilarious comic set piece).

This episode was written by series creator Phil Rosenthal.

This episode was directed by Kenneth Shapiro. Shapiro primarily works on live tv events. He served as the technical director on the 2024 Emmys, the 2023 Oscars, and the 2023 Golden Globes.

Later Everwood (recorded)

3x04 "The Birds and the Batteries"

Oooh, a sex toy storyline! This is classic Everwood. Delia's reaction to Penthouse still reigns supreme (bongos!) but this is still pretty good.

The real benefit of this storyline is that it gives Nina a proper showcase and story. She ended up on the back burner last season, despite Niznik's promotion to series regular. Here, we bring the romantic tension between her an Dr. Brown to the forefront while continuing this season's running theme of putting our heroic leading man in a more unsympathetic light.

This episode was written by John E. Pogue. Pogue was a story editor on Everwood and later worked on Army Wives and Beauty and the Beast.

This episode was directed by Michael Lange. Lange was a producing director on Greek and has directed episodes of Northern Exposure, The X-Files, The OC, and Bones.

Too Hot for Prime Time?

ABC aired a skit at the beginning of tonight's Monday Night Football starring Terrell Owens of the Philadelphia Eagles and the cast of Desperate Housewives. The skit ended with Sheridan dropping her towel and jumping into Owens' arms as he declared his team would have to win without him. Then we cut to Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher changing the channel to Monday Night Football. That slut Edie is so gross!

This obviously caused a huge controversy, airing just months after the Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake incident. People were annoyed that it aired as early as 6pm on the West Coast and during a program that many families watch together. Football players and coaches expressed their dismay, and it was a topic on opinion pages all week. But ultimately, the FCC did not fine ABC for the skit.

I encourage people to read this ESPN story, which addressed the most interesting part of the story: the racial implications of the skit. ESPN obtained the complaints sent into the FCC and they provide a fascinating window into attitudes towards interracial relationships in 2004. There was garden variety racism, people who thought that the ad promoted the stereotype that Black men can't control themselves, and others thought it promoted the idea of a white woman as the ultimate status symbol for a Black man. The fact that this conversation was triggered by a promotional skit and not an actual scripted program says a lot about television in 2004.

What Else Was On

• Alec Baldwin, Ed McMahon, and Michael Rooker all guest starred on NBC's Las Vegas. The episode was called "Degas Away with It." 10/10 pun.
• Tonight's special sweeps guest stars: Sally Struthers stopped by Still Standing, and Jason Alexander's onetime Seinfeld co-star Wayne Knight dropped by his new show Listen Up.

TiVo Status

4 episodes of Everwood, the three hour Masterpiece Theater miniseries The Lost Prince, and The Office Christmas Special from across the pond (I’ll watch that one closer to the holidays, after I’ve rewatched the series), the two hour first part of Henry VIII, and first part of Category 6: Day of Destruction (2 hours). 13 hours, 15 hours of space left.