Up & Coming Weekly

FEB. 24 - MARCH 2, 2010 UCW 19 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Jay Leno returns to The Tonight Show (Monday, 11:30 p.m., NBC) after the failed experiment of his primetime talk show, displacing successor Conan O'Brien. NBC has been savagely at- tacked for this series of moves, but I really can't see why. Leno's foray into primetime looked doable on paper, but like many such risks, it didn't work out. Neither did O'Brien in the Tonight Show timeslot, losing a massive share of Leno's old audience, not to mention a massive amount of money. So if you were an NBC executive, what would you do? Allow O'Brien to keep failing at 11:30, as he seemed to think was his right? Or return to a sched- ule that viewers actually liked? O'Brien received a lot of support in the media, but to me he came out the whole affair looking juvenile. He refused an offer to move his show back a mere half-hour and spent his last days on the Tonight Show launching vicious, self-serving attacks at NBC. That's not a classy way to go out, especially for a guy who bombed big-time in his new job. There's talk of O'Brien getting another talk show on Fox, and I think I have a good title for it: The Big Baby Hour. Turn the Beat Around Friday, 10 pm (MTV) MTV's TV movie is about Zoe (Romina D'Ugo), a struggling young dancer/ choreographer who fulfills her dreams after convincing cute impresario Michael (David Giuntoli) to let her program a new nightclub with a classic disco theme. When you encounter a premise like that, the best you can hope for is dumb fun, and Turn the Beat Around certainly delivers on "dumb." Michael is a Prince Charming who falls for Zoe at first sight (Preposterous Plot Point #1) and decides to build a club for her within seconds (Preposterous Plot Point #2). "Life is short!" he says by way of explanation. So does Turn the Beat Around deliver on "fun," too? Yes. The actors are gor- geous, as is the dancing. You could grouse about the silly story or you could give in to the irresistible disco beat. I recommend the latter. Life is short. The Marriage Ref Sunday, 10:30 pm (NBC) Jerry Seinfeld produced this new series, in which a "marriage ref" arbitrates disputes between real-life couples. The ref will get advice from a rotating panel of experts, including celebrities like Seinfeld and Alec Baldwin. In the end, the ref will make a judgment about which partner is right and which partner is wrong. It's every married person's dream: an undisputed winner in an argument. Yes, The Marriage Ref sounds like an idea Jerry and George would have cooked up on Seinfeld. And when did one of those ever turn out well? Parenthood Tuesday, 10 pm (NBC) Move over, Brothers & Sisters — NBC's new series aims to be TV's top poignant-yet-funny large-family soap opera. Parenthood's pedigree is impressive, with executive producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer overseeing the update of their 1989 film, Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights) writing the pilot, and Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing) directing. The cast isn't too shabby either. Lauren Graham plays Sarah Braverman, a single mother who moves her two kids back to the family nest in Berkeley. Craig T. Nelson is the big-personality patriarch, Bonnie Bedalia the formidable matriarch, Erika Christensen the high-achieving sister, Dax Shepard the immature younger brother, and Peter Krause the troubled older brother. The production itself has had its share of trouble. It was originally scheduled to premiere last fall but got pushed back after star Maura Tierney bowed out. That's right, folks — the amazing Lauren Graham was the producer's alternate choice. With sloppy seconds this good, who needs firsts? The Right Tonight Show Jay Leno sensibly returns to his old timeslot TV by DEAN ROBBINS Coming to the Crown Center Coming to the Crown Center HAIRSPRAY Presented by Community Concerts February 28 GROWN FOLKS BUSINESS March 6 JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR March 19 EAST COAST STEP SHOW March 21 CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD & THE BAND OF OZ Presented by Community Concerts April 16 1-800-745-3000 910-438-4100 • www.AtTheCrown.com 910-438-4100 • www.AtTheCrown.com Tickets available at the Crown Center box offi ce, Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets and by phone.

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