In these days of TiVo and other DVRs, many TV watchers are oblivious to when particular shows air. After all, you just tell your DVR which shows you like, and it automatically records everything for watching at your leisure.

Yet I find that I still want to know when my favorite shows are on. Sometimes it's because I want to watch something live with other people. Other times it's because I use TiVo--I need a reminder that there are going to be new episodes waiting for me to watch. Similarly, people who watch their favorite shows via iTunes downloads or on TV-network Web sites want to know when the latest episodes will be available. And, of course, not everyone has a DVR.

One of my favorite Dashboard widgets for Mac OS X is Big Bucket Software's TV Forecast, which lets you input your favorite TV series and then displays when the next episode of each will air. When the iPhone was released, you could get similar functionality on your iPhone using the TV Forecast Web app, but the developer recently released a native iPhone version, TV Forecast 1.0.1, and it's earned a permanent spot on my iPhone.

To add a TV show to your "watch list," you tap on the plus (+) symbol and then type in the name of the show. TV Forecast searches the listings at TVRage.com--which means the app requires an Internet connection--and displays any shows that match your search term. Tap on the desired show to track it. (If a show's name is grayed out, that usually means the show is no longer on the air or that only reruns are scheduled; TV Forecast is mainly for current TV series, although some major events--for example, the Super Bowl--are also available.)

After adding your shows, the program's main screen lists the next new episode of each, in chronological order. The list is conveniently divided into time periods: Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week, This Month, and Upcoming. (Shows for which no information on upcoming episodes is available appear at the bottom of the list under a section called To Be Announced.) For each show, you see a small thumbnail image for the show, the name of the show, the name of the upcoming episode, and the date of that episode (assuming the data is available). To the right, in large, easy-to-read type is the number of days until that episode airs. If you're a TV fan, this is a great way to see, at a glance, which of your favorite shows have new episodes coming up--and when each of those episodes will air. TV Forecast updates its information each time you launch the app.

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