Let's Kick It Off!
It's September. The weather has turned cooler. I'm ready for some football, and I hope you are too! Saturday we have the home opener from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium as the Appalachian State Mountaineers head into Greenville to take on the Pirates. Then next week, get a shack, grab a drink and get ready for Faith Hill to start the house rocking.... with the NFL on NBC! Here's all the details for the next few weeks....
Thursday 9/03
30 Rock airs at 8:00pm and while Liz's ex-boyfriend returns to New York, the teamsters are guarding the sandwich shop. Parks & Recreation is at 8:30pm and while Leslie attends to business at a meeting with the bigwigs, her co-horts hit the concert circuit. The Office will air a repeat of the season finale at 9:00pm and we find Michael and Holly reunited at the company picnic. 30 Rock follows at 9:30pm with a repeat of it's season finale that had an all-star charity event with Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Clay Aiken and Mary K. Blige. Law & Order is at 10:00pm and the detectives make a gruesome discovery while working through the rubble of a bombed out army recruitment center. Former ECU student Sandra Bullock is on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
Friday 9/04
We will have the first of several ECU Football Pre-Game Specials at 7:30pm to kick of this year's ECU football scheduled. Billy Weaver and Brian Meador will set the scene for the season opener against Appalachian State. On Southland at 8:00pm a string of robberies in a very rich section of Bel Air has residents upset and the cops struggling to find the crooks. Dateline NBC follows from 9:00pm - 11:00pm with Sara James reporting on a woman raped by a man in a mask. The police thought the rapist was a phantom, invented by the woman and threatened to arrest her, until proved wrong.
Saturday 9/05
At 12:00noon we will have coverage of ECU Football: Appalachian State at East Carolina. This is the first game of the 2009 season and the stadium will be rockin' for this cross-state game. Jeopardy Weekend will air following the game and will transition us into Notre Dame Football: Nevada @ Notre Dame (HD) form 3:30pm - 7:00pm. The Friday episode of Jeopardy bumped by the ECU Pre-Game Show will air at 7:30pm. It's an evening of Law & Order starting out with Law & Order:Criminal Intent at 8:00pm with a celebrity chef on the rise until his business partner and tabloid seeking girlfriend turn up dead. On Law & Order at 9:00pm the torture and murder of a firefighter and his wife has the detectives searching to find how this couple was able to live a lavish lifestyle. Finally we have Law & Order:SVU at 10:00pm with Hillary Duff making a guest appearance as the young mother of a child that turns up missing. Saturday Night Live at 11:30pm is a repeat from earlier in the year with Anne Hathaway and The Killers.
Sunday 9/06
A couple a specials air early in the day. First the NBC Primetime Preview Show will air at 11:30am with a look ahead at the new season. The ECU Coach Skip Holtz Show at 12noon will recap highlights from the ECU vs. Appalachian State game. Turbo Dogs (E/I) and My Friend Rabbit (E/I) will air on a delayed basis from their normal Saturday airtime at 12:30pm and 1:00pm. NBC Sports: Golden League Track & Field (HD) is from 2:00pm - 3:00pm followed by NBC Golf: Deutsche Bank Championship (HD) from 2:00pm - 6:00pm (The final round airs on Labor Day Monday). In primetime we have a 90-minute Dateline NBC airing from 7:00pm - 8:30pm reprises Chris Hansen's story about shady tactic utilized by debt collectors. The NBC Movie: Friday Night Lights has a football theme from 8:30pm - 11:00pm. This is the movie that led to the weekly series of the same name.
Monday 9/07
Labor Day Monday. The final round of NBC Golf: Deutsche Bank Championship (HD) airs from 2:00pm - 6:00pm preempting our afternoon court shows and early newscasts. On Law & Order: Criminal Intent at 8:00pm a sexy poster boy turns up dead after a night of partying and womanizing on the town. A second episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent follows at 9:00pm with a former radical deciding that the time is right for an uprising by trying to kidnap a powerful banking CEO in broad daylight. Dateline NBC wraps things up for the evening at 10:00pm with interviews with Alex and Derek King, two young brothers convicted of killing their father back in 2001 .
Tuesday 9/08
America's Got Talent Recap airs at 8:00pm with a repeat of last week's results show. We wind down closer to a final decision on America's Got Talent at 9:00pm with the second 2-hour performance show that features the final 10 performers from the Top 20 acts.
Wednesday 9/09
The America's Got Talent Recap show at 8:00pm will features the best of the performances from Tuesday night. That's followed by America's Got Talent at 9:00pm with this week's live results show leading up to next week's grand finales. On Law & Order: SVU at 10:00pm a young girl sends out nude photo's of herself via text messages and is then found brutally beaten leading Detective Meloni to enlist the aid of his teenage daughter.
Thursday 9/10
Are you ready for some football? The official kick-off to the NFL season is here! The NFL Pre-Game Show airs at 8:00pm followed by NFL Kick-off: Tennessee Titans @ Pittsburgh Steelers. The Tennessee running game with former ECU standout Chris Johnston has suffered in the preseason and they will need to get all the wheels turning as they face the Super Bowl Champion Steelers. This is the first game of the 2009 season.
Friday 9/11
We have another edition of the ECU Football Pre-Game Show. This week Billy Weaver and Brian Meador set the scene for the big match-up as East Carolina is on the road to face West Virginia. Southland is at 8:00pm and it's shaping up to be a bad day when the officers find a member of the Marta's Avenue gang dead in the trunk of a car parked near Dodger's Stadium. A 2-hour Dateline NBC follows from 9:00pm - 11:00pm.
Saturday 9/12
A new Qubo Children's E/I lineup debuts today with Zulu Patrol at 10:00am, My Friend Rabbit at 10:30am, Willa's Wild Life at 11:00am, Babar at 11:30am, Jacob Two-Two at 12:00noon and Jane and Dragon at 12:30pm. NBC Sports: Face the Ace is back at 2:00pm with amateur poker players taking on the pro's. NBC Sports: BMW Championship (HD) airs from 3:00pm - 6:00pm. The Friday edition of Jeopardy will air at 7:30pm. On Law & Order: Criminal Intent at 8:00pm we have Boz Borman who got off on a murder charge and then hosted a successful TV crime show only to wind up dead in the East River. An episode of Law & Order follows at 9:00pm with the story of a possible serial murderer when three homeless men turn up dead. Law & Order: SVU wraps the crime trio at 10:00pm with a judge asking the detectives to re-open a 30-year old cold case. Saturday Night Live at 11:30pm features Justin Timberlake and Ciara.
Sunday 9/13
The final round of NBC Golf: BMW Championship (HD) airs from 2:00pm - 6:00pm. We kick off our Sunday night regular season NFL schedule with Football Night in America hosted by Bob Costas at 7:00pm with a preview of the night's matchup and highlights from earlier games in the day. Faith Hill is back once again at 8:15pm to kick-off NBC Sunday Night Football with Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth with tonight's game featuring NFC Central Division rivals Chicago Bears at the Green Bay Packers. WITN 7 News slides to 11:30pm for the season with Attorneys on Call following at 12:00midnight.
Monday 9/14
It's time kick off a new era in prime time television. We get the evening starting with the first of two America's Got Talent Finales from 8:00pm - 10:00pm. The final eight contestants will perform live for America and the judges. At 10:00pm it's the premiere of The Jay Leno Show. Comedy at 10 will feature Jerry Seinfeld along with Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rihanna on Jay's first night as the host of a weekly, prime time comedy hour.
Tuesday 9/15
The Biggest Loser is back with season #8 airing from 8:00pm - 10:00pm. Allison Sweeny, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels welcome sixteen new contestants who will compete individually to win the title. We have an eastern North Carolina connection with contestants Antoine Dove of Dudley and Daniel Wright of Willow Springs. On The Jay Leno Show at 10:00pm, Jay and guest Tom Cruise introduce a new segment "10 at 10" where they make house calls.
Wednesday 9/16
Tonight, it's the end of the line for America's Got Talent as the winner of the $1-million prize is revealed along with special performances by Nick Cannon and some special surprise guests. Comedy is once again King at 10pm as The Jay Leno Show welcomes comedian Robin Williams and Miley Cyrus doing "10 at 10" with Jay.
Thursday 9/17
Tonight we have the premiere of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday at 8:00pm. Since the cast of SNL will be getting ready for next Saturday night's season premiere, expect some fresh topical comedy. The season premiere of Parks & Recreation follows at 8:30pm with Leslie planning a penguin wedding at the zoo, until it get's out that the penguins are both males. The Office season premiere is at 9:00pm and Michael is feeling left out of the juicy office gossip about the summer interns. Community debuts at 9:30pm with Joel McHale and Chevy Chase leading a band of misfits at Glendale Community College. Joel plays Jeff, a sly lawyer with a law degree from a foreign country that doesn't hold up too well in California. On The Jay Leno Show at 10:00pm the premiere week continues with Jay's guest to be announced.
Friday 9/18
We have one more episode of the ECU Pre-Game Special at 7:30pm as the Pirates prepare to go on the road to Chapel Hill to face UNC. Dateline NBC is scheduled from 8:00pm - 10:00pm followed by the Friday episode of The Jay Leno Show at 10pm with guest Drew Barrymore.
Saturday 9/19
Saturday Today is shortened to 1-hour in length. Jacob Two-Two (E/I) and Jane & Dragon (E/I) air at 9:00am and 9:30pm. NBC Sports: Dew Tour airs from 12:00noon - 1:30pm followed by NBC Golf: LPGA Samsung World Championship from 1:30pm - 3:30pm. Notre Dame vs. Michigan State follows and airs from 3:30pm - 7:00pm. The Friday edition of Jeopardy again airs at 7:30pm on Saturday. In primetime we have repeats of The Office at 8:00pm and Community at 8:30pm. On Law & Order at 9:00pm the murder of the executive director of a famous charity sends Detective Sisto and Bernard on a trail of political intrigue. Law & Order: SVU is at 10:00pm and the investigation of a missing girl leads to a schizophrenic serial rapist. Saturday Night Live is a repeat of the season ending show with Will Ferrell and Green Day.
Sunday 9/20
NBC Golf: Payne Stewart Special airs from 1:00pm - 2:00pm. That's followed by the finals of NBC Sports: Dew Tour from 2:00pm - 4:00pm and then the final round of NBC Golf: LPGA Samsung World Championship from 4:00pm - 6:00pm. Bob Costas and gang will have Football Night in America from 7:00pm - 8:15pm and then it's NBC Sunday Night Football: N.Y. Giants at the Dallas Cowboys live with Eli Manning leading the Giants into the brand new House that Jerry built in Dallas!
