©2008 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Greg Gayne/FOX

There’s too much TV on Thursday nights. I’m afraid my DVRs are going to have a meltdown and refuse to tape anything just to spite me for juggling so many shows. That said, Bones is definitely the best thing about 8 o’clock tonight. (Sorry, Ugly Betty, I actually liked your last episode but this season has been less than stellar overall.) This episode sees the return of one of our old foes, the Grave Digger, and the team must race against the clock to save one of their own from becoming his latest victim.

Oh, and don’t forget the Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice crossovers happening tonight. I’ve been trying to let go of one, if not both, of these shows but I can’t not watch these particular episodes. I wonder if the crossover thing will work… I know Mona plans to tape GA just so she can see the whole thing. Hmmm. But, anyway, I’ll actually be watching Supernatural at 9PM as I always do. Followed by The Office which will hopefully be a lot funnier than the Super Bowl episode. (Sorry, it just didn’t work for me.) Then there’s Burn Notice, America’s Best Dance Crew, and ER at 10PM. See what I’m saying about it being a crowded night? Haven’t decided which of those I’m watching yet. I like to finish my night with Burn Notice but can’t vote for my favorites on ABDC if I wait to watch it. Decisions, decisions.

So! Bones was new the other night and we got two full hours! Maybe I’m easy but I kinda loved it. And it’s true that I’m just not all that picky when it comes to this show. All I want is a semi-decent case of the week, lots of humor, and some light flirting between Booth and Brennan. As long as those elements are present, I’m happy. Needless to say, I was ecstatic last night. Even though I’m more convinced than ever that DB is a kook. But a lovable one so you can’t help but adore him.

Bones
I think it’s important to point out that these two episodes were intended to be taped and aired last season and, while that wasn’t too obvious, having them air now did affect some of the storylines. Namely Angela and Hodgins. Their whole storyline felt off. Some of that may be my annoyance at seeing them break up because I like them together and I don’t think we need them to break up to add any extra drama to the show. However, I also felt like Angela’s reaction to her husband/ex. I actually think it’s in keeping with Angela’s personality that she kisses him so freely. What I don’t get is how we got from her not remembering she was married to her suddenly recalling everything about the guy. Wha-wha-what?!

As for the break up… was that really necessary? Also, why do characters always do stupid things like expect other people to be ideal? I don’t honestly believe their reactions indicate a lack of trust from either of them. Even when you’ve broken up with someone and you love someone else, there’s a certain sense of possessiveness there. Especially when it’s someone else close to you getting involved with that person. Angela was just being human. And Hodgins, well of course it wasn’t about not trusting Angela. It was about not being as assure of himself as he wanted her to believe. In fact, I’d say his reactions before that moment should have made her wonder. It’s not about not trust, it’s about fear. I might be able to buy that Hodgins would get caught up in the “logic” but Angela is usually the one who understands humanity a bit more.

Of course, we got some great stuff out of Grayson showing up. Loved everything about Cam’s reaction from her inability to look away to it driving her to Sweets for advice. I kinda love Sweets so I like it that he’s getting to interact more with the others now. I even loved the other (temporary Zach) guy and how uncomfortable it all made him. It would have been fun to have him as a reluctant new member of the family but I also liked that they are having fun with these temporary folks. So, ignoring the break up stuff, I liked what they did with the folks who didn’t get to go to the UK for filming.

Speaking of filming in England, Booth’s initial reaction to everything being different than what he’s used to was hilarious. I’m not sure it makes sense, character-wise, since he’s done so much that I don’t quite believe it’d all be so foreign to him. But his little hissyfit was probably worth handwaving that logic. And, of course, it was great that Brennan never got out of the car and mostly ignored him. Those two kill me!

I was a little sad that they got rid of Dr. Ian so fast. I kinda liked him. I like that Booth is the one who gets bothered by the idea of him being a womanizer whereas the only reason Brennan didn’t give in to her urges was to appease Booth. Still, I would have liked for Ian to exist out there somewhere so that I could happily contemplate the possibility of him showing up in the future. Alas… poor Dr. Ian, all that practice and he still wasn’t ready for the way he got screwed in the end.

Dr. Ian’s case of the week was much more interesting than the case during the first hour. Partly because the end of that first case wasn’t very satisfying. I know they don’t always get the bad guy but we do usually find out exactly what happened. Was it just a matter of bad acting? I got the distinct feeling that it was not the Duke who actually killed the girl. I know his butler stepped in to take the fall for him but I felt like we were actually cheated out of the real killer. Or did I just read that scene wrong? For a minute there I thought they were going to reveal that the son had overheard the truth and he was the one who lost it and killed her. Oh well. Having that second hour to immediately follow the first made it easier to overlook my annoyance at the way things ended. And that second case had lots of good twists and turns that I’m use to from this show.

Amusingly, when they showed the preview for the new episode next week, I got annoyed they were showing a rerun one week after the premiere. Then I realized that it wasn’t a rerun, it was the episode they gave us a sneak peek at during Comic Con. HA! Now I’m excited because what we got a look at was great and I’m eager to see the conclusion.

 
 
 
 
 
America’s Next Top Model @ 8PM (CW)
 
Tyra is back with a whole new group of girls for the 11th cycle of ANTM. Is this show as popular as it was once? I’ve never watched but I can’t remember the last cycle being as talked about as the others that came before it. I’m not a fan but I do know people who are excited for this new season. Here’s what they can expect tonight: The season begins in Los Angeles with 30 would-be models being trimmed to 14 finalists and one of the contestants revealing that she is transgender. The 14 ladies move into a house and participate in their first photo shoot, which revolves around hot-button political issues. Later, the first person is eliminated.

 
 
 
 
Bones @ 8PM (FOX)
Man, oh man, who knew two years ago I’d be so excited for this show to return?! Then I got Mona watching and she, in turn, made me watch so she’d have someone to talk to about it… and here we are at the cusp of the fourth season and I am pratically giddy that we get two full hours of Booth and Brennan tonight. Attending the Bones panel at Comic Con probably helped. Getting a sneak peek of the new season certainly got me in the mood and it’s finally here. Tonight our intrepid duo is overseas where the fourth season begins with Brennan and Booth lecturing to their respective peers in London, but their trip is extended after they’re drawn into the investigation of the murder of a wealthy American’s daughter. Meanwhile, back at the Jeffersonian, Angela is shocked by the return of her estranged husband, who must agree to a divorce before she can marry Jack.

 
 
Sons of Anarchy @ 10PM (FX)
This all new original series from FX is about the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (Samcro) whose members try to protect their town from drug dealers and developers while running guns themselves. I’ve seen the first two episodes of the series and I’m intrigued. It’s a bit more dramatic and serious than I’m typically drawn to but then something based on Hamlet would be, wouldn’t it? It’s good, though, and fits in quite nicely at FX. Tonight’s opener starts with a rival club destroys Samcro’s illegal-arms warehouse. Meanwhile, there’s a medical emergency involving the newborn son of Samcro leader Jax Teller.

Write ups from the various press rooms I attended are still to come but, let’s be honest, most of you just want to see the pictures anyway!

SDCC 08 Preview Night

8 Photos

SDCC 08 Thursday

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SDCC 08 Big Bang Theory

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SDCC 08 Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

118 Photos

SDCC 08 Bones

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SDCC 08 Chuck

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SDCC 08 Fringe

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SDCC 08 Supernatural

117 Photos

SDCC 08 Friday the 13th

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• Thing #1: A podcast! Finally!! Ok, ok, so it’s not a podcast for RTVW (something I’ve wanted to do for awhile but have yet to find someone to do it with) but Ducky and GMMR were sweet enough to have me special guest on their newest TV Talk podcast for a little Supernatural chit-chat. I’ll probably annoy most of you fangirls out there with my opinions (because I’m almost always standing on the opposite of the fence from you gals after an episode) but it was lots of fun to do and I hope you’ll give it a listen! If nothing else, Ducky and GMMR podcasts are always great fun.
• Thing #2: I’ve seen some skepticism about the new FOX show, Fringe, but, before you dismiss it, I ask you to go read Jace’s review of the pilot. Now that Dollhouse has been slated for mid-season, Fringe is my most anxiously awaited new arrival of the Fall and Jace’s review captures why.
• Thing #3: I have three Q&As from the stars of USA’s new show, In Plain Sight, to post today but I’m doing another one this Thursday with Mary McCormack and Fred Weller. If you have anything you’d like me to ask, let me know in the comments below!
• Thing #4: I’m also participating in a Q&A with Javier Grillo–Marxuach about his new show The Middleman, set to premiere on ABC Family, Monday, June 16th at 8/9c. I’m kind of excited about it because I’ve been a fan of Javier’s for awhile and have followed the progression of The Middleman on his blog. It’s kind of exciting to see it all come together. You can check out the newly released trailer or catch up on The Middleman blog (which has pictures from the show, set, etc.). Javier’s worked on a bunch of a great TV shows like Medium, Lost, Jake 2.0, The Pretender, Charmed, and SeaQuest DSV. If you’ve got any questions you’d like me to get answered, leave them in the comments below and I’ll do my best!
• Thing #5: Sorry, you know how I am with the need to end on an odd number. IGN recently did an interview with Bruce Campbell that’s worth a read. I’ll hopefully have something awesome to announce about Burn Notice soon so it’s kind of fun to hear Bruce talk about it. Plus, the interview is totally worth it for what he calls Hulu. I think we should all adopt his name for it.

Ok, enough with the announcements. Let’s get on to the TV talk, eh?

Bones
I had just read an interview with Hart Hanson yesterday so I knew that Gormogon’s apprentice was going to be one of the main cast. And, the interview actually had me believing it was going to be someone would have a little more impact on the group. I was freaking out the whole time that it really was going to be Hodgins or Camille. (Sweets would have been too easy.) In a way, I’m disappointed it was Zack because I feel like they had already tried to distance him from the show with the whole “gone to Iraq and back already” storyline. I do suspect that aspect of his story probably would have played into the storyline a little more had we gotten a full season but I have no trouble buying that Zack would work for Gormogon. We’ve already seen his devotion to Brennan and her teachings so I think they had nicely established he was the type who needed that authority figure in his life and was capable of compartmentalizing enough to go as far as he did. I did love that last moment with Booth and Bones, though. So sweet. (And yes, of course, the bath thing was hilarious.)

The Big Bang Theory
Aww, I like that they aren’t dragging out the Leonard/Penny thing! It was a very sweet ending. I wonder if they’ll actually start next season with those two dating. It could be fun for her to be his girlfriend for awhile and opens the door for some unexplored storylines between Penny and the guys. That said, Sheldon in Penny’s apartment was hands-down my favorite part of the episode. I laughed out loud several times at his being unable to pick a spot to sit and his annoyance at her for trying to jump ahead of him in the conversation. Who knew this would be one of my favorite sitcoms at the end of the year?! Alright, I’ll say it, I was wrong.

How I Met Your Mother
You guys, I loved the Barney/Robin moment at the end!! NPH SOLID IT! I’m sure they won’t move that quickly next season but I loved that, after completely dropping it for a few episodes, he realizes he loves her and that he had to almost die in order to see it. Very appropriate for Barney Stinson, Man Whore. What I kind of love is that it’s not Robin who’s googly-eyed about him. I predict that he tries to pursue her, but seriously this time, and she doesn’t believe him. You know his past is going to be haunting him next season! As for Ted and Stella… well I have to admit I enjoyed them this episode. I still don’t buy she’s the mother. I’d find it unbelievable that the kids from the future wouldn’t have broken into the narrative by now to point out that Stella must be their mother. Plus, wouldn’t it be kind of annoying that we finally meet the mother but we didn’t actually get to see their relationship develop? So, unless she says no and the story becomes about how Ted has to get her back, I find myself hoping she’s not the mother. But weren’t we promised we’d have met the mother by the end of this season? Hrmm.

One Tree Hill
Ok, I guess I should touch on this one despite having become disenchanted with it over the course of this season. Luckily The CW put it back on Mondays where I already have way too many shows so I won’t have a problem not watching this fall. For the sake of all that is holy, I hope to God that Dan is finally dead. I felt bad as a human at how freaking happy it made me to see him mowed down by that car. Lest you judge me, let me remind you that the man was freaking seconds away from smothering a man just to get his heart!!! As for Lucas, well I must say that unlike everyone else in this fandom I don’t hate Lucas just because he’s played by CMM. He remains one of my favorites but I’m over the Lucas/Peyton/[Insert Any Girl's Name Here] triangles we constantly have to sit through. With the amount of time the show has had Peyton invenst in pining over Luke, you know those two are THE couple of the show. Lindsay may have won me over much like Brooke did back in the day but I know how this story goes and I’m not interested in watching it again. I know other stuff happened but I’m better off not thinking about Brooke and her stupid quest to adopt a child AT THE FUCKING AGE OF 22. Oops, see? Haley, Nathan, and Jamie were definitely the best thing about this finale. How cute were they in the pool together? Too bad I know, despite all of Haley’s “love is everything” speechifying in this episode, there will be some stupid pointless drama to tear them apart next year no doubt to do with both Haley and Nathan getting back to their true passions at the same time. I’m kind of happy to be saying goodbye to this show for the last time if only because I won’t be afraid about being spoiled for who went to Vegas with Lucas.

House
I don’t watch this show but I had to mention that I saw the last five minutes of it and bawled my eyes out. Surely it’s a testament to both the writing and the acting on a show when someone who has no attachment to the characters (in fact, doesn’t really know any of the characters other than House) would be able to feel the emotions in those few scenes? Also annoying because I still had other shows to watch and I was all stuffy and blurry eyed.

Did you watch any of the various season finales last night? What was your take?

Greek, 1×18: “Mr. Purr-fect”
It’s time for the annual ZBZ’s Mr. Purr-fect competition, in which each of the girls coach a different fraternity in a series of games. When Casey takes the Lamda Sigs, she ends up falling for one of their guys, Shane, and enjoys the novelty of him NOT being Evan or Cappie. Unfortunately, Evan’s not enjoying it nearly as much. He makes a few moves to be Casey’s “friend” throughout the episode but finally, at the urging of Frannie, uses one of the weapons he’s got as his disposal… his money. He offers Shane $1000 not to date Casey and then moves in just when Casey’s feeling bad about being rejected by Shane. Elsewhere in the competition, Kappa Tau has Rebecca as their coach and she’s driving them crazy. Especially Rusty, who Cappie assigned as her assistant in hopes that they’d learn to get along. As the week progresses, Rusty wants to tell Cappie how much Rebecca is getting on everyone’s nerves but the other guys warn him that the Guy Code forbids it. In the end, he can’t keep it inside and finally comes clean to Cappie. Only Cappie’s relieved to hear it, he thought he was the only one who saw it because the guys wouldn’t fess up. Cappie throws the final competition and Rebecca quickly understands why when he points out that these are not the type of things she usually cares about. She even buys all of hte Kappa Tau guys pizza to help make up for the week of hell she put them through. Her offering doesn’t completely win Rusty over but we weren’t expecting miracles were we? Elsewhere in Greek-ville, Ash sets Calvin up with her French TA and, even though Calvin thinks he’s a little too gay, he agrees to give it a shot. - R

The Big Bang Theory, 1×16: “The Peanut Reaction” 1/2
After finding out that Leonard has never had a birthday party, Penny decides to throw him a surprise party. All is going according to plan until Sheldon shows up without a gift. Convincing him that bringing a gift is “a non-optional social convention,” Penny takes him to the electronics store to get one and gives Howard the job of keeping Leonard distracted. But when Sheldon delays them by helping the other customers in the store, Howard goes to drastic meaures to keep Leonard away from the apartment. At first he merely pretends to be having an allergic reaction to peanuts but, when he can’t get the ER nurse to help him out and Penny promises to point which of her friends are “easy,” he really does eat a bag of peanuts. Cut to several hours later, Leonard and Howard arrive home only to find that Raj is the only partygoer still going strong. Penny apologizes to Leonard for things not working out as she planned and he pretends to be ok with it despite his disappointment. That is, until she gives him a birthday kiss which perks him right up! - R

How I Met Your Mother, 3×19: “Everything Must Go” 1/2
Barney discovers that Stella’s receptionist, Abby, is the one sabotaging his attempts to get new girls because he never called after they slept together. He confronts her and they discover they are both still upset with Ted. They hatch a plan to show Ted how “lame” he is when he’s in a relationship by flaunting their fake “couple love” in his face. Ted isn’t falling for it but things go wrong when Abby believes Barney’s fake proposal is real. In the end, Barney tells Abby they can’t get married because Ted wants Abby for himself (lie!). Meanwhile, Marshall finds out the fixes to the new apartment are going to cost a lot more than they anticiapted and he wants Lily to sell her stuff to help pay for it. Not wanting to part with her clothes, she tries to sell her paintings instead but, when going to a gallery doesn’t work, she moves to a coffeehouse instead and finally to the street. It’s there that a gay couple without kids, a GCWOK, finally buys it from her. She rubs her success in Marshall’s face until she finds out they only bought it for the frame and threw her painting out. Feeling bad, Marshall goes searching for the painting and finds out that a vet has it and dogs (NOT birds) are strangely enthralled with it. The vet agrees to buy two more leaving them with enough to pay for changes to the apartment and for Lily to buy more painting supplies. As for Ted and his red cowboy books, well I think all of us can agree that the best thing he can do with them is pull them off. - R

House, 4×15: “House’s Head” 1/2
House is left with amnesia after a bus accident and can’t remember the last 4 hours. As bits of his memory return, he vaguely remembers observing someone on the bus with a life-threatening illness before the accident occurred. He attempts various methods to reactivate his memory including hypnosis, sensory deprivation and drugs, and with each gets closer to recalling the events leading up to the crash. After several misdiagnoses (and one correct one, but for the wrong reason), House finally remembers that Amber was sitting across from him on the bus. We see the crash unfold and Amber is left critically injured with a metal pipe penetrating her thigh. - G

Gossip Girl 1/2
Manhattan’s elite take their SAT’s… or most of them do anyway. Blair continues to scheme and manipulate, focusing on a new target – Nellie Yuki. Nate and Vanessa get a little too friendly for the likes of Lonely Boy and Queen B. Georgina, an old nemepal from Serena’s past shows up and causes Sparks to fly (and not in a good way) in all aspects of Serena’s life. In a boring side story, Little J finds a Prince. - JJ

Bones
Brennan and Booth had a baby. Riding along with them, that is. When the child’s mother is found dead, Booth and Brennan are on the case but the baby eats important evidence so they take custody of him until they can retrieve the evidence. The case was your standard fare but everyone’s interactions with the baby made the episode. One day we’ll realize that one of Bones’ contributions to pop culture will be mothers waving their fingers at their crying babies and happily repeating, “Phalanges!” - R

Greek
Casey gives in when her ZBZ sisters let her know, in no uncertain terms, that they want to approach the Omega Chi’s about reuniting the two houses. She’s ready to let it go when Evan shuts down her attempt to talk to the Omega Chi president but Ashleigh does a little talking of her own and manages to set up a mixer between the two houses. Thinking they’ve got the perfect way to avoid each other, Casey and Evan end up paired up at the door checking IDs. It didn’t take long for the two of them to be at each other’s throat and Casey storming out. The next day, just as Evan is deciding that he wants Casey back, Casey decides it’s time to move on. Meanwhile, Rusty really has moved on and found himself a new girl. Only his eagerness to be her boyfriend has her running the other direction and, by the end of the episode, he’s once again girl-less… though not completely without possibilities. - R

Big Bang Theory
Leonard is stunned when the miniature time machine replica he’s bought on e-Bay turns out to be a full-size prop from the 1960’s movie The Time Machine. The guys agree to share it but when their attempts to get it into Leonard and Sheldon’s apartment causes Penny to miss work, she goes off on Leonard telling him to grow up and get over his obsession with sci-fi collectibles. But when he does give them up, he realizes that it doesn’t change Penny’s feelings about him. - R

How I Met Your Mother
Barney and Robin swear never to tell Ted about their night together and pretend it never happened. Only Barney can’t get over his guilt for breaking the Bro Code. He goes as far as to hire Marshall as legal council just so he can tell him about it and claim attorney-client privileges to keep him quiet. Marshall wisely councils him to tell Ted the truth before it’s too late. Unfortunately for Barney, Robin had already broken down and told Ted. Angry at Barney for his betrayal of the Bro Code, Ted “breaks up” with him and goes to his surprise 30th birthday party alone. Oh, and there was a goat but he wasn’t actually there. And Robin’s living in Ted’s apartment when he turns 31… no, we don’t the hows or whys yet but I’m sure we will eventually. - R

One Tree Hill
Jamie’s birthday party is the perfect excuse to gather everyone together in one room for a little drama. Even Lindsey shows up, making Lucas hope she’s ready rekindle their relationship. Except she’s not, she packs up the rest of her things and leaves her key on the dresser as she leaves. Meanwhile, Jamie and Dan both want Dan to attend the party but no one’s having it. He does manage to sneak in his present, though, one of Nathan’s old basketball jerseys. Also, Brooke and Peyton are getting no sleep because of baby Angie’s incessant crying. In the end, Brooke goes to Lucas for help and naturally he’s got some kind of magical stop-baby-from-crying power and makes it all better. Elsewhere in Tree Hill, Millicent is initiating water gun fights with Mouth’s roommates, Deb’s getting it on with a clown, and Skills is spending way too much money on a five-year old. - R

Samantha Who
Sam gets an invite to Todd’s photo exhibit, but even though she plans not to go, she ends up saying she’ll be there with her new boyfriend when she finds out Chloe doesn’t want her there. Only she doesn’t have a new boyfriend so she’s forced to ask a stranger, Craig, to go with her. It’s not until she’s at the photo exhibit that she realizes that Craig is actually a thief who once stole from her. Meanwhile, Sam’s Dad realizes one of the nude pictures in Todd’s collection is Sam and he tries to steal it. Hilarity ensues as Sam thinks it’s her date stealing the photo. Chloe, not to happy that Todd kept the photo of Sam, leaves and, as we see from the way Todd comforts Sam at the end, she has reason to be upset. - R

Nothing like a little mistletoe to finally get your two leads playing tonsil hockey, eh?

Today’s advent is a look at the filming of that scene. ED and DB are so cute. How come this kiss is so much better than the one that actually aired? Look at me talk. I suppose if I had to kiss the same guy a million times in a row, I’d lose the chemistry pretty quickly too. Not. Oh well, let’s just be grateful that FOX gifted us with this video so we can enjoy the hotness:

Obviously no one really wants a strike. It’s going to hurt everyone in the industry and that’s unfortunate but it doesn’t mean that the writers are wrong to stand their ground on this issue. You can find out more about the strike pretty much everywhere online but, if you’d like to understand why I support the writers, check out Ken Levine’s latest post. Let’s all just hope things get resolved quickly so we can get back to the things that really matter… like Best in Week.

Sunday: I enjoyed both Life is Wild and Brothers & Sisters but the wacky wives of Desperate Housewives were definitely the best of the night. I could empathize with the desire to get rid of the fountain and laughed out loud at Bree’s lamenting that they got the two gays without good fashion sense. The previews for the next episode look like it’ll be pretty great as well.

Monday: If I’m honest, I’d admit that I enjoyed all of my Monday shows about the same. None of them wow-ed me but I had fun watching them and that’s all I ask. That said, I do have to pick just one and I’m going with Chuck for its homage to The OC and shout-out to Comic Con. Well, that and the desert island sandwich debate. For the record, I’d take a ham, salami (genoa), turkey, and swiss sandwich with honey-mustard dressing. And you?

Tuesday: I was a little disappointed not to get another Halloween episode of Boston Legal. Plus, they were a bit heavy handed with their ‘message’ this week and that took away from the episode for me. This was the second week that I actually enjoyed Reaper. I liked how they switched it up a little, giving the one escaped soul more depth than they have with the others. And, of course, I was amused by the Devil’s dislike of Halloween. That said, Bones still beat it out as my favorite of the night. I liked how they worked Halloween into their normal formula and loved Bones as Wonder Woman. I had a bonding moment with her when she was spinning around behind Booth at the very end. Will you laugh if I admit that I used to dress up in my WW underoos (or, as I called them, my wonderoos) and do the same thing?

Wednesday: Each week, I enjoy Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money about the same. They are both fluffy soaps that never quite reach the depth to which they seem to aspire. PP never quite manages to “get” me like Grey’s does and I find the Darling family amusing but I don’t actually care enough about them to feel affected by what’s going on with them. Even the mystery on DSM is not nearly as interesting as the mystery in Life which had another good showing this week. That leaves me with Pushing Daisies and an episode that might have been my favorite yet. I notice that not many others feel this way but I liked that Ned and Chuck were not the focus or even together for most of this episode. It’s good to know that show holds up just as well without Ned as the center of attention. Plus, Chuck and Olive were an awesome duo and I hope they continue to involve Olive in their investigations more in the future.

Thursday This one was hard. Survivor was good this week. James cracking himself up at the idea of Jaime and Eric using a fake immunity idol was definitely worth watching. I also liked this week’s installments of Grey’s Anatomy and The Office. My favorite part of the latter was Jim gesturing at the camera crew to get down when he was trying to hide from Karen in the car. It’s a little thing but I like it when they keep true to the setup of the show. I love fairy tales (and I prefer the Grimm versions to the Disney versions) so I’m sure it’s no surprise that I adored Supernatural’s “Bedtime Stories.” ER wasn’t bad either even though I hate what they’re doing with Abby. (Sidebar: I should note my “hate” for this storyline isn’t of the “the writers aren’t doing what I like so I think their storyline is stupid” variety. It’s more “I love this character so I hate to seeing her go through this” type of hate. It’s actually a very realistic storyline but, when it’s happening to your favorite character, knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to watch.) It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was a little weak this week but still had some great moments. Even Big Shots wasn’t bad. So what makes Ugly Betty stand out? Well, for one, they made me care about the Betty and Henry pairing again and I was beginning to think they’d never pull that off. For another, there was more interaction between Betty and Daniel than there has been lately and, since they’re a large part of what I enjoy about this show, I enjoyed that. Plus, Wicked! I really loved how they worked the music of Wicked in as well because it really does fit so well with this show. Overall, I thought they did a nice job of balancing all of the ongoing stories in this episode.

Friday: Does anyone know if this week and next week’s Men in Trees were supposed to be the last two episodes of last season? It makes sense that Jack’s decision to go on the boat exposition was meant to happen during the show’s hiatus between seasons. Overall this episode didn’t do much for me. I think I’m just sick of the fake “will they, won’t they” stuff between Marin and Jack. However, I don’t think I would have been as tired of it had we seen these last Spring when the episodes were supposed to air, so I’m cutting them some slack. Avatar was good this week. The issues between Toph and Katara seem to come and go as the writers need them but I can hand-wave that because the underlying problems they were talking about are always there. I don’t really want to talk about Moonlight. I didn’t enjoy this episode nearly as much as others did but I feel like I’m always picking on this show so I’d rather just let it go at that. All of which means Women’s Murder Club was my clear winner of the night. I enjoyed the case of the week and they did a good job of injecting some humor and character quirks into the mix. I care more and more about these women each week.

Best in Week: It’s a tough call but I think any show that includes something called a Jock Off deserves to win. For me, Pushing Daisies’ “Girth” takes the cake… err, the pie. What about you?

Before I get into any commentaries, can I just note how awesome P-C is for getting us the Cupid scoop a full four days before anyone else picked it up. I’m still torn about it all. Part of what made Cupid so great was the chemistry between Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall. Well, that and Piven himself. It’s going to be hard to accept anyone else in that role. As I told, P-C, I kind of hope they don’t erase history completely. I’m not sure how they could explain away two people thinking they are cupid but it’s going to be hard to overcome the expectations of previous fans if they don’t. Should be interesting to see where they go with it.

And, now, onto commentary for the past three days… I enjoyed all three of my Sunday shows. I’m sticking by my belief that Ian Ziering is not Cell Phone Man on Side Order of Life even though we got no hint of that in this episode. Sandie tells me the preview for next week’s season finale hinted that I might be right. If only Lifetime would update their website so I could see what she means.

On Desperate Housewives, I was happy to see Edie still alive. I didn’t really expect any different seeing as how she’s in all the group promo shots but I would have loved it if she had really been dead. How fun would it have been to replace Mary Alice’s narration with Edie? Oh well. I mean, I like what Edie adds to the neighborhood so I am happy that she is alive but I wouldn’t have minded if they’d had the guts to actually kill her off. In the meantime, I could not be any more excited to have Nathan back on my TV week to week. I love Nathan Fillion and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Not really sensing any chemistry between he and Dana D but I’ll give it a few more weeks before I decide on not liking the two of them as a couple. It’s interesting because as of right now I don’t really like Dana D’s character and I know that she was who Marc Cherry originally wanted as Bree. I think he should count his blessings that she didn’t take the role. Like I said, I’ll have to give it sometime before I make a final decision about her but she’s not quite working for me just yet.

The season opener of Brothers & Sisters earned nothing but love from me. I love the parallels to last year’s season opener and I loved having the weekly family fight back. I thought the writers did a nice job reminding us of where we left off while summing up what’s happened since. I’m a little confused about a few things but I’m sure we’ll find everything out as the new season unfolds. Mostly I’m just happy to have the Walkers back.

I’ve recently realized that Monday night is insane for me! I’m actually happy that I dropped Journeyman because it leaves me with an hour to try and catch up on my overlapping 8PM shows. (Note: I do have Weeds at 10PM but I like to save that for my Tuesday afternoons.) I will say that I was enjoying this week’s Journeyman for the first ten minutes but I’m just not that into it. Once some of my other Monday shows go into repeats or are pre-empted by baseball, I’ll probably start watching it again.

So, Chuck still makes me happy. The people had seen early screeners of this episode had me worried but I should have known better. I could have done without the repetition of information we had learned in the pilot but, overall, I laughed a lot and that’s really all I’m looking for. I think I liked the fight in the Weinerhut a lot less than most but all of the Chuck and Casey interactions cracked me up. The helicopter scene was a little lame but it amused me that it was his gaming experience that saved the day. (Of course that’s probably because of the research we’re doing at work right now, how video games can be used to teach exactly these type of things.) All in all, I was very happy with this episode. So far, this is absolutely my kind of show. Here’s my favorite exchange so far:

CHUCK: So, in this plan I basically do nothing.
CASEY: Yes.
CHUCK: Let’s do this.

I feel like everyone out there is going into this season with huge expectations for everything because I’m liking all of my returning shows just as much as I did last year while everyone else keeps talking about how they are being disappointed left and right. For instance, I liked this week’s How I Met Your Mother. I even liked it more than last week’s premiere. I don’t think it’s one of the best episodes ever but it was on par with most of last year’s episodes. I am back to finding Robin annoying. I hope that I don’t just like her when she’s with Ted because y’all know how much I hate Robin/Ted. I think I’d like her if she and Barney were more of a twosome. I don’t need them to date but, as we’ve seen, they are two of a kind so I like it when they’re playing off of each other.

Then there was Aliens in America and I still didn’t find it as funny as everyone else seems to think it is. I did, however, like Scott Patterson as the father much more than I thought I would. I prefer the original father and felt like Scott was almost overdoing it in parts but he does manage to fit in with the rest of the cast. Plus, I actually do buy Justin as his son. I have too many things to tape at this time on Mondays so I don’t know that I’ll be watching every week but I’ll probably check it out again in a few weeks to see how it’s holding up.

Saw the opener to Big Bang Theory and it was more time than I should ever invest in this show. It’s clear that people either love it or hate it and I’m firmly in the latter camp. I hate it when people rag on shows I like so I’ll just let it go there. And that’s a nice segue into Heroes which is another show that I feel like is suffering from the hype over the summer because I’m loving it just as much as ever but I know that’s not the case for everyone.

The only thing I can say is that Heroes was a little slow to really ramp up the speed last year too. It’s a roller coaster type of show. The crawl to the top can be annoying but watch out when you get there because it’s going to be one hell of a drop! And, well, I’m the person on the roller coaster who is practically dancing in her seat during that ascent. You know who I mean, the person you hate because she’s way too excited just to be on the damn ride. That’s me. And that’s how I feel right now about this show. I can see how they are setting things up and I’m getting all excited for what’s coming. I can’t wait to see what happens.

First up, Clair cutting off her toe? WORST SCENE EVER. Wait, let me backtrack to her mother pointing out that just because she can do something doesn’t mean she has to do it all the time. LOVED IT. Because that’s how I feel about the writers and Claire. Does she have to do something disgusting to herself every single episode just because she can heal? Really? And do you have to show it in such exquisite detail? Because high on the list of things I never need to see is someone cutting off their freakin’ pinkie toe. It makes me shiver just talking about it. I was too busy being grossed out over it to even notice the peeping tom in the window.

While I’m on Claire, I must be the only person not bothered by the scene where her car gets stolen. First, because I hated it that she had the car in the first place. (Sorry, I’ve got issues with teenagers owning expensive SUVs.) Second, because I was kind of amused that it was the opposite of product placement. Sorry, honey, you’ll only get cars like when Nissan sponsors an entire episode! Heh. So, yeah, funny to me.

Meanwhile, over in Ireland, Peter is hot but also a little stupid. He can throw grown men across a bar with the flick of a hand and he can’t just take the damn box from the guy? Whatever. Weak plot device to force Peter into helping bad men do bad things. Like he needs more angst. He should see his brother and the scary facial hair he’s got going on… that’s angst for ya.

I need to stop because I can go on and on about this show. I liked Hiro’s stuff even though I don’t really like him being his own hero. It goes against the rules they set up when he couldn’t save Charlie last season and that confuses me. I also like the Bobbsey Twins and how their powers are intertwined. I do think it’s probably about time that they at least make it to the border. She kills when she’s seperated from her brother. We get it. Move them along. I liked Matt and Ando’s brief interaction if only because I know that Ando knows who Matt is even if Matt doesn’t know him. These are the kind of things I dig about this show. And who didn’t think Mama Petrelli screaming at Matt to get out of her head wasn’t made of awesome? That’s what I thought.

It was nice to see the Haitian again. I’m confused as to how he contracted the virus in the first place but I like that Mohinder knew exactly what he was doing and had the perfect built in excuse for why he let him get away. Also, Midas Man should get over himself. He’s the one that didn’t warn Mohinder about what the Haitian could do so why get mad about it? I have to wonder if the Company wanted the Haitian to get away. They can’t be happy to have lost HRG and Claire. I’ll be interested to see how it all plays out. In the meantime, I’d like to know about our other heroes now. I know people hate Niki but I still like her and would like to know what the hell is up with them. Not to mention it’d be nice to see Sylar. I need my Zachary Quinto fix, people.

I watched Weeds and I love it. That’s my commentary. Ha. I enjoyed last night’s episode of Bones but I never have anything to say about this show. Good thing because this post is way too long as it is. Boston Legal was decent. I was surprised by how sad I was to see Alan and the judge break up. Denny’s comments at the end of the episode stayed with me because it’s something I often think about… how we have these intimate relationships with people and then one day it’s all just gone. It’s sad that way that works. Sometimes, if the friendship is strong enough, something can survive but it’s never the same as it once was. Love can be an amazing thing but it can also be a pretty horrible thing as well.

Well, enough of those kind of deep thoughts! The last show I’ve got to talk about is Reaper and I don’t have much to say. I was hoping that my reaction to the first episode was somewhat due to the circumstances I was in while watching. Not so much. It’s weird to be on the other side of fandom. Watching everyone loving a show, talking about all the things they adored, and not being able to see it at all. It’s not like Big Bang Theory where it seems more evenly split. No, there’s an almost universal love for Reaper out there and I feel like I’m missing something because I just don’t get it. Not only did I feel like this week’s episode could have served as an alternate pilot, it wasn’t nearly as funny as the pilot. Since this is coming from someone who wasn’t wowed by the pilot, that’s not a good thing. I did like the stuff with Sam’s mother and I actually liked that the supernatural element of this week’s demon was played down a bit more. The scene where Sam confronts him, though, was just bad… from the outfirts to Sam’s lame speech. It was all a little too forced for me. I want to like this show but I don’t see what everyone does. That makes me kinda sad.

On my schedule for tonight: Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Bionic Woman, Top Chef (S3 finale!), Dirty Sexy Money, and Life