Thanks to Andy for letting me grab CSI this week. I knew tonight was going to be a great episode when it kicked off with a guy singing "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" at a rehearsal for an American Idol-type show called "Overnight Sensation." The producer, Drew Rich, is berating the finalists, Kip and Layla, for being flat.

First things first, the news. CBS announced earlier this week that it has ordered five additional episodes of Eleventh Hour, bringing the show to a season total of 18. The show will continue in the same Thursdays-at-10 timeslot through early April. It's an overdue but nevertheless appreciated show of support from the network for a series that is still having some growing pains but which certainly seems to be getting stronger over time as it figures out who these characters really are.

Maybe it's because a story about budget surpluses feels out of place these days, or maybe it's because I had a screener copy of a brilliant 30 Rock episode that I watched earlier on Thursday, and The Office paled a little in comparison. Whatever the reason, I came out of this week's episode kind of underwhelmed.

It's Big Solo Surgery Week on Grey's Anatomy, and as usual our merry band of residents are all angling to fly solo for the first time. But even though Cristina was unanimously chosen by the attendings, last week's inanely stupid debacle with the self-operating/mutilating interns has disqualified her from the running. So the Chief, eager to Teach A Lesson, makes Cristina choose the winner from among her peers. And because said interns are also banned from the OR, the winner will pick a fellow resident to scrub in as well.

All the super-capital-A-list guest stars probably helped 30 Rock attract a little attention in its first few episodes this fall. But in getting back to the show's core cast this week, the show gave us probably the best episode of the season.

It strikes me that Earl has destroyed many a person's life. The stuff he did to people before My Name is Earl started and he learned about karma caused a lot of pain and suffering. Tonight though, I'm pretty sure that Earl hadn't really caused the main problem he was attempting to fix.

Wedding bells are ringing on Dirty Sexy Money this week. It's Karen's date with destiny, er, Simon Elder, and it's slated to happen at The Imperial, a.k.a. the Darling manse. Talking with Nick, Tripp blames himself -- despite the fact that spying on Simon Elder was Karen's idea -- for letting her "wander into that den of iniquity." Oh brother. Ladies and gentlemen, we have entered the latest episode of Sutherland Overacting.

Top Chef: New York takes a bunch of chefs on TV and challenges them to become... chefs on TV. Apparently, it's a lot harder than it looks. Continue reading »

This week's Pushing Daisies had it all -- a deep-fried murder case, a couple of good guest turns, a Debbie Gibson song and a big, fat call-back to another Bryan Fuller show, Wonderfalls. It's almost enough to make me forget that we'll probably only get to see a few more episodes. Sigh.

Tonight on Stylista, I learned that the 80's are back, supermodels are obnoxious, and hard work will get you nowhere. And thus I resolve to wear nothing but Hammer Pants and bedazzled t-shirts, insist upon being served organic melon balls everywhere I go, and do nothing but call other people names and be bossy. I'll be running a fashion magazine in no time!

It's not beginning to look anything like Christmas on Private Practice this week. The characters are all going through some seriously heavy stuff, and dealing with big, pulsing hot button issues. And unlike the last couple of weeks, this episode didn't seem to be acted by puppets, but real live people.

On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. It’s the job of NCIS to figure out why some of those people die unnaturally. Of course, I think Gibbs and the gang would find it more helpful if those involved would break the first two rules.

Last week, Eli Stone won a case for Jim Cooper, a Mr. Moneybags bigwig control freak who was fighting to get his son medical marijuana to treat his MS. This week, Eli has taken up the case of Cooper's son, J.J., who's tired of being a pawn in his father's control games -- including the clinical trial that the old man got funded and brought to the hospital where Eli's brother Nate is coincidentally a neurologist.

Curses! Once again, we're denied the satisfaction of Vile Vicky's ouster on The Biggest Loser: Families. What's worse, it looks like the editors are trying to humanize her. Too late! Continue reading »

Fringe is all about a world in which science is pushed to the limit. It's sorta like taking the highway to the danger zone, but not in a Tom Cruise way. More like an Albert Einstein/Stephen Hawking way. Up until now, each exhibit in the worldwide experiment known as The Pattern has been isolated. Its Fringe's own version of the Mystery of the Week. But tonight, we saw the culmination of several Pattern pieces finally coming together for the first time. And in doing so, the show revealed that these individual mysteries were in fact all steps towards a much larger goal.

Because Jessi is off getting a fancy pants masters degree while I'm destined to die a couch potato, I'll be your guide to the world of the childish and immature on House tonight. Who knows? We may get around to discussing some medical mysteries, too.

Tonight on The Mentalist, we have a small-town murder. Does anybody remember Murder in Small Town X? I liked that show. Every night when they'd send two contestants off to a creepy locale and only one would return, I would always get pretty freaked out even though I knew nothing would actually happen to either of them. Yes, I'm a wuss. Anyway...

I can't give you a giant Christmas tree. I can't whip up either a rabbit cassoulet or a noodle casserole. I might be able to bedazzle some jeans, but I doubt you'd be very interested. Instead, all I can offer is my humble appreciation for the opportunity to talk Privileged with you. Now, let's have some fun, OK?

Nothing makes me happier (as I think I've said before) than seeing dear old Catherine Piper on Boston Legal and in the offices of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt. Tonight that fantastic, fantastic woman was back, but rather than having killed someone, she was working at the firm once more. Or, that's what she claimed anyway.

It may seem a little incongruous to have a Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles episode start at a New Year's Eve speakeasy party with a bunch of flappers, but that's exactly what we were treated to tonight. It all seemed so great and special, right up until a fire began and everyone started running for the exit. That sort of thing puts a damper on parties, even New Year's Eve ones.

Two weeks ago, we all gave thanks for a very emotional episode of Gossip Girl, with the possible exception of Vanessa, who you know is vegan and doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving because of the oppression of zzzzzzzz I'm sorry, what? Oh, right. Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we have even more to be thankful for: some sort of Christmas cotillion! I hope everyone wears masks again.

Man, that was one long eclipse, was it not? But now that the sun is out again, the Heroes have their powers back and Nathan Petrelli has turned back into the World's Most Suggestible Politician, we can get back to the business of starting to wrap up this arc.