Smallville: Cure

ORIGINAL EPISODES, THURSDAYS @ 8PM ON THE CW

I'm shocked and at the same time not surprised to see Lana looking more and more like Lex. Obviously she's not taking on his physical appearance but her secrecy and devious behavior are certainly rivaled by none other than Smallville's resident evil geniuses Lex and Lionel Luthor. At the conclusion of tonight's episode we learned that Lana is using the $10 million she stole from Lex to build a center of operations to surveile his activities, both inside and outside the manor, while using a foundation as a front for her operations. Clearly, this is a page straight out of Lex's book. What she's looking for and planning on doing with what she finds is still a mystery however. What definitely isn't, is how fast Clark is going to break things off with her when he finds out the kind of person she's become. No matter what the situation Clark would never stoop to Lex's level and I can't imagine he could stay with Lana after she's changed so much.

In the meantime, Clark has some family problems of his own to deal with. While everyone is telling him not to trust Kara because her father tried to assassinate Jor-El, Kara has been pleading with Clark to believe in her. Unfortunately, Clark hesitated just a few seconds too long and Kara took that as a sign that there was no way he was going to believe her and she flew off. It's understandable that Clark doesn't know who to believe since he has no idea what they're all talking about and has no way to figure out who to trust. But I have to believe that Kara is a good person. She's never shown a hint of ulterior motives, even when no one is looking. If anything, she's shown that she's just a teenage girl still looking to fit in and find a life for herself on earth. Clark needs to give her a chance until she proves she doesn't deserve one.

Sadly the Jimmy and Chloe relationship has come to an end. Chloe learned of a surgical cure for those infected by the meteor rocks. Apparently, her heart has a very high concentration of the meteor rocks. This is probably why she's able to save someone like Lois who she loves. We had an appearance from another former Man of Steel, Dean Cain as Dr. Curtis Knox. As Chloe struggled with her condition and the decision to have the procedure, she was slowly sacrificing her relationship with Jimmy. In the end, she lost not only her chance at the cure but she also lost Jimmy. I feel terrible for Chloe but I have no idea why she couldn't tell him about her problem. It's not like Clark where he risks putting the lives of those he loves in danger. It's just a matter of telling Jimmy something that could risk his feelings for her but that's exactly what she lost by not telling him anyway.

Tonight's episode was very good and I'm starting to see a lot of future story lines starting to take shape. Don't forget about Lionel though. We haven't seen him since he was dragged away in the season premiere and his whereabouts should be a very big deal sometime soon. Until next week, let me know what you think about tonight's episode and what you think is going to happen next week.

Pushing Daisies: The Fun In Funeral

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 8PM ON ABC

I'm actually surprised at how much I'm starting to like this show. There was a moment during last night's episode when I realized I was enjoying myself more than most of shows I watch (and don't get me wrong, I watch more than my fair share). My favorite aspect of the show is the relationship between Chuck and Ned. Their chemistry is amazing and Chuck is very cute when she's openly falling in love with Ned. I also love the characters played by Chi McBride (Emerson) and Kristin Chenoweth (Olive). They're extremely lovable and they draw you to their personalities. Obviously this show is a bit out their and quirky but there's something about it that makes me come back every week.

This week Ned, Chuck and Emerson were forced to take a trip make the funeral home where Ned brought Chuck back to life. Apparently, the funeral home owner who died when Ned didn't touch Chuck again within a minute had a brother who put out a reward to find his brothers killer. Luckily, he asked Emerson to find the killer. As the trio tried to figure out a way to cover up what happened and get the brother off the scent, craziness ensued. Oddly enough I found their attempts at covering up the truth very funny. At every turn they ran into problems and eventually the brother wound up dead in Ned's freezer. Now, I'm not exactly sure how the Chinese guy ended up being involved except that somehow his grandfather stole the identity of a Civil War General, the sword he took from the General was stolen by the funeral owner at the grandfathers funeral, and now his son ends up fighting Ned in the basement of the funeral home with that very sword. Good thing for Ned that he wanted to be Jedi when he was growing up or he would have been cut in half by that sword.

For the most part the episode was entertaining and I thought it was very inventive of Chuck to kiss Ned using a saran wrap barrier. At least they now have a way to get closer despite not being able to touch. I can't imagine being that in love with someone and never being able to show it.

Olive finally got a significant amount of time with her own storyline and Kristin Chenoweth did an amazing job. She's really turned Olive into an important and likable character. It's tricky playing this part because it's built into every viewers thoughts to be on the side of Chuck and Ned. So to play the part of a woman in love with Chuck that wants to steal him away can be difficult. If you don't watch yourself, you could turn the audience against the character in a heartbeat.

As for what Olive was up to tonight, she's starting to figure out some of Ned's secrets including his true relationship with Chuck. This could end up being a good thing - Chuck could have a another friend on his side - or a bad thing - a woman scorned could do just about anything. If Olive feels like Ned let her down by dating Chuck, she could reveal his secret to the public. I doubt this will happen but it could be an interesting road as Olive becomes a bigger part of the story.

I'm sticking with this show for a while longer and I suggest you do the same. There really is nothing like it on television and you might be pleasantly surprised at how attached you get. Until next week, enjoy the review.

Gossip Girl: Dare Devil

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

Last night we finally got a quality episode from the gang over at "Gossip Girl." I actually never thought I'd see the day when it would happen but it did and I think I know at least one of the reasons why; Chuck and Nate were no where to be found. These two characters were left out of the episode last night and we should all be thankful for that. An otherwise good show would have been ruined by their presence. This just goes to show, not only how terrible their acting has been, but how terrible the writing for their characters have been. Apparently, these two just are not interesting characters. Both of them are cliche's and the writers should find a way to get them off the show.

Another reason last night's show was much better was the fact that Dan and Serena spent a good portion of the night together. In my opinion, the success or failure of the show depends on these two actors and their characters. They're fun, interesting, and, above all else, dynamic. If you just watched last night's episode you could easily see that the most interesting aspects all dealt with their relationship. As for what actually took place, Dan made a big mistake when he decided to take Serena to a fancy restaurant. By now he should have realized she liked what he does and not her own life. She gets to go to fancy restaurants all the time; what she really wanted was a "Dan Humphrey date." Dan definitely did the right thing when he wasn't offended that she paid the bill for dinner. The two of them are really starting to open up to each other and because of that they ended up on a great date playing pool in a dive bar Dan knew about. And I have to props to Dan at the end of the night. That was one hell of a kiss with Serena and I have a feeling she won't be forgetting it for a long time.

As well as their date went it was almost ruined once again by Jenny. She accepted Blair's invitation to the sleepover which turned out to be a night of wild and crazy truth or dare. Not the truth or dare most people are know mind you, but one where they ruined strangers relationships, helped Erik escape from the hospital, and Jenny almost got arrested for robbing Blair's mom's store. Thankfully, everyone was alright and the date went on without a hitch. But Jenny man, is getting out of control. Many of the characters, and even Jenny herself, kept saying that she doesn't do anything she didn't want to do to begin. From my perspective though it seems like she's succumbing to peer pressure at every turn. No matter what happens Blair always manages to convince her to do that which it doesn't seem she would have done. She's entirely too caught up in the world of the rich and famous. I have the very distinct feeling that she's going to get a huge wake up call towards the end of the season or else end up sucked into that life with no way out.

As for Blair tonight was relatively low key. Well, low key in the sense that she didn't try to destroy any one's life completely. She did her best to get Jenny in trouble but that actually seemed to be more in good fun than anything else. Sadly Blair's idea of fun always involves mayhem. I'll give it to Blair though, she's very convincing as a drug addict. Her impression of one to help Erik escape from the hospital was excellent. The lipstick smeared all over her face was a good touch.

Let's hope Nate and Chuck somehow disappear from this show and never come back. Everyone will be much better off. I'll see ya'll next week.

The Real World Sydney: Girl Fight

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 10PM ON MTV

It never ends, does it? These girls can't help but fight about trivial stuff every single episode. It seems like all we've watched this season are the girls fighting with one another, the guys, and their boyfriends/ex-fiance's. Each time though I end up choosing one side and then in the next fight realizing that person is just as stupid. The only girl that ever seems to make any sense is Kelly Anne. She never really fights and the one time she did (her and Parisa over Dunbar which wasn't really a fight) she ended it in two seconds by sitting down, explaining her thoughts, and working it out with all sides. She also gives great advice. Tonight, for example, she told Shauvon that it's not love if you try to control someone, if you want things for yourself that your significant other won't allow you to do then you shouldn't be with them, and if it's this hard for Shauvon then it's not working. Too bad the other women aren't as normal as Kelly Anne.

So we started the night with the continuation of Trisha and Parisa's drunken screaming match from last week. The crazy thing is that once morning rolled around they were sitting in the kitchen talking all civilized. These girls run so hot and cold its dizzying. This little truce (if you can call it that) didn't last for too long though. Trisha decided she wanted to stay with Jared and would cut Alex and all other guys out of her life. Personally, I think this is too little too late and it seems Jared may be thinking the same thing too. Now Parisa has generally been the victim in all the fighting. The girls really do attack her unnecessarily but the girl isn't helping herself now. She took the high road many times and the one time it really mattered she didn't. Trisha came to her civilly and explained that she wanted to make sure things with Jared were alright and asked if Parisa wouldn't bring Alex to the house for right now. I think this was a reasonable request given everything. Instead of doing her this favor and maybe smoothing things over in the process, Parisa fought with her about it and made everything that much worse. The girl needs to chill and realize when she should be nice. It could go a very long way in making their lives better.

As for Shauvon, this girl needs to realize what's staring her right in the face. Thanks to Kelly Anne it actually was when she told her that any guy who tries to control you like this is not in love with you and you need to move on. This is the straight up truth. Understandably she's torn because it's someone she truly loved and was supposed to marry up until a short time ago. Except, sometimes you just need to look at reality and ask yourself if you want to be controlled and have no dreams of your own except those of your husband or if you want a life for yourself. Some people don't mind putting their life on the back burner to their spouse but if you want your own dreams the answer is easy and it's not to stay with the person and accept a life you never wanted. Man is David a controlling guy. We finally go to hear the words come out of his mouth over the phone and they not only seemed controlling but mean too. Life with him couldn't be too pretty.

One thing Parisa needs to chill out about is being judgmental. Case in point, not only does she form an opinion on Shauvon's activities with the guy at the bar but she's also completely wrong. Shauvon might love and miss David but SHE'S SINGLE! A single person can care for anyone they want, speak about it all the time, and still be free to go out and hook up with whoever. If it helps her get over David or even if it doesn't, she has every right to do whatever or whoever she chooses.

Speaking of nutty women lets get back to Trisha. I have to hand it too Cohutta and Isaac, they really surprised me with what they said to Trisha at lunch. Trisha said she thought she was testing the relationship but clearly made the wrong choice. Cohutta's response was "why did you need to test it?" and Isaac pointed out that he was once in love and never would have done what Trisha did. This is basically what many of us have been thinking as we watched her 100% knowingly go for Alex over the last few weeks. Thankfully someone over there finally said it. And man, the girl finally decides to come clean and still can't tell the truth. She tells Jared that Alex kissed her when she totally kissed him! Doesn't she realize that even if he buys it now he's going to find out what really happened when the show airs?!?! Man is she thick.

Anyway, tonight's episode was pretty good. I could go for a little less fighting and a little more loving. I want to know more about Kelly Anne and Cohutta but the producers keep giving us the fighting instead. It seems like next week it's going to be the guys turn to yell but I'm still going to hope we get more info on the roommate lovin'. See ya'll next week.

Back To You: A Night Of Possibilities

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 8PM ON FOX

Honestly, this show really has potential but the problem is that they keep messing it up. The characters are somewhat unique and the plot line is similar to a Will Ferrel movie. Yet somehow the writers keep managing to screw up any possibility of this show actually being funny. If you listen carefully to the jokes you can tell they definitely build you up to the climax but when you get there it's almost always a let down. Take the exchange between Chuck and Kelly at the beginning of the episode; they're fighting about each others flaws and just as you think you're about to laugh and the joke reaches the climax...nothing. It ends and Chuck walks out with the big joke being that he throws the mug Ryan gave him in the trash after saying he treats everyone with respect.

The one good thing about tonight's episode was that we got to see the characters outside the newsroom for the most part. The show is just better when it's not there. Take Montana and Kelly for example. We've never seen them together much and when we have it's been in the newsroom and I can't remember a single funny joke between them. But tonight they spent most of the time in the car or in Kelly's bedroom and they were mildly funny together. Don't get me wrong, the entire episode was lacking in the funny department, but you could actually see some potential for funny once they left work. I haven't been able to figure it out but that seems to be the case with all the characters. If you compare this episode to the previous ones you'll notice that you can actually see potential in the show and that's because they left the newsroom for just about the entire episode tonight.

I did like the tension between Chuck and Kelly tonight. It became more of a central storyline and even the characters are starting to pick up on the sparks between them. I could very well see a nighttime sexual rendezvous between the two of them in the near future. Although it won't be kept a secret for too long at work and could lead to some very funny scenes.

Another disappointing week but the writers are definitely on the right track if they keep the characters out of the newsroom. Once they do that and polish up some of the jokes the show may actually be around for a little while.

Damages: There's No "We" Anymore

ORIGINAL EPISODES, TUESDAYS @ 10PM ON FX

So that's how they went too far! Ellen and Patty blackmailed Ray and then after he killed himself they removed the evidence of his insider trading from the office before calling the police. To be honest I thought the truth would have been a bit more outrageous but nevertheless it's all starting to come together now. We learned a lot tonight including David's killer and Ellen's attacker. The only problem is that even with all this information there's much to be resolved and much that's still a mystery.

In the end Frobisher turned out to be responsible for everything. He told his men to do whatever it took to recover the video tape Gregory Malina made and this precipitated all of the days events. First, his man that used to work with George Moore (the bearded man with the glasses) walked right into Ellen's apartment after Lila left the door open. She snuck in with her key and woke David up from a deep sleep to tell him they should be together. After throwing her out, Frobisher's men attacked David for the Statute of Liberty bookend. Much ensued after which resulted in David laying dead in the bathtub. Frobisher's men, however, did not find the tape. So they went to Patty's hoping it might be hidden there but they only found Ellen. This surprised them and as we saw before, she killed one of the men.

In the end, the man who said he wouldn't cross the line to killing because you can never go back did so in a haze of drugs and hookers. We're really starting to see Frobisher unravel and Ted Dansen has done an amazing job. His switches from a caring, family man to an egomaniacal drug-addicted, ruthless business man have been brilliant. As for his character, I think we're seeing the downfall of a billionaire. At this point he has no idea where the video tape is and has very little chance of ever getting it back from Ellen before paying out his fortune first.

The questions about Patty's motives and involvement in everything were also answered last night. Patty didn't go to the beach house or leave the state because she's guilty but rather because she's scared and feels responsible for Ray's death. Ellen figured this all out and only pretended Patty was guilty to get her back to the city so she could be her lawyer in exchange for the videotape. Very smart thinking by Ellen; now she just has to make sure Patty doesn't double cross her before getting her off for the murder of David.

Speaking of David, that last fight with Ellen was terrible. I understand his nervousness about her sneaking off to help Patty and murders take place left and right but I think he overreacted by telling her it was him or the job. I don't know if that was really necessary just yet. Anyways, the terrible thing for Ellen is that for the rest of her life she's going to hate herself for fighting with him the last time they were together. As for Rose Byrne, she has also done an absolutely amazing job this season. Her break down when she reentered her apartment for the first time since finding David dead was incredible and so believable. She's been fantastic and I for one hope they find a way to bring her back next year.

We are left with two very big questions though: 1) What is Mr. Nye up to? He's supposed to be Ellen's friend and lawyer but now he's talking about taking care of it. Does he mean Ellen? Is he connected to all of this also? Is he a "bad guy" as well? This could flip everything that happened this season in its head. 2) Will Patty be able to get Ellen off on the murder charges and will they be able to hold Frobisher and his men responsible? They did leave the flashlight in Ellen's apartment after they killed David so maybe this could be just the thing they need. But will Patty double cross Ellen before she is acquitted or the charges are dropped?

The season finale has shaped up to be one of the best of the year and I'm psyched for next Tuesday night. Keep the conspiracy theories coming and I'll see you all again next week!

Chuck: Chuck Versus The Wookie

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 8PM ON NBC

I'm sorry to say this but this week's episode was just not good. I do like this show, I really do but if they can't do better than this "Chuck" may not be around for much longer. The one thing this show has going for it is the humor in the writing. The story lines are outrageous and in many ways so are the characters. Thus, if "Chuck" is going to be successful it needs to be funny while it embraces the outrageousness of its premise. Unfortunately, this week's episode was NOT funny and without that the show demonstrates its vulnerability. Without laughing for pretty much the whole episode I was bored during the entire hour. Granted the girl fights are awesome and Carina and Sara are gorgeous but aside from that the show doesn't do all that much when it doesn't bring the funny.

Tonight Sara got a visit from an old friend (if you can call her that), Carina. Carina works for the DEA as an undercover agent and needed Sara and Adam's help to recover a diamond from "The Wookie" (a man so nicknamed because he's cover with body hair). Now I have to tell you, Carina was absolutely gorgeous!! Which is pretty much the most I could say that's positive about her role in tonight's episode. The acting was mediocre but nothing special. With the funny missing, it basically spoiled any chance of this character being brought it on a high note. The girl fights between Carina and Sara were great though.

So Carina basically spends the episode playing with every one's mind especially Morgan who fell for her in about 30 seconds. More importantly she really got to Chuck when she told him that all secret agents never tell anyone anything real about themselves ever. Clearly Chuck felt he was getting to know Sara, even if it was just a little at a time. Even more damaging, was the fact that Sara dated Bryce which Carina let "slip" when they were talking. In the end, Chuck got over the fact that Sara dated Bryce but pleaded with her to tell him one real thing. She couldn't do it but came close when she whispered her middle name. He didn't hear it but we know that Sara is starting to fall for Chuck. Even Carina saw it. I do feel bad for Chuck though. He's trying so hard to get close to Sara but she won't and can't let him in.

The only funny moment of the night came when Adam was in the elevator handcuffed to the broken piece of the headboard. The mother and her daughter staring at him, clearly knowing what it looked like, was hilarious.

Let's see if next week gets any better. Until then, enjoy the review.

Heroes: The Kindness of Strangers

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 9PM ON NBC

We're getting a little better now. A bit more consistency could go a long way here and between this week and last hopefully the show is starting to return to old form. I was disappointed however that we didn't see anything about Peter or Nikki this week. I was hoping to see more of Peter's powers and maybe find out what happened to him but it appears we should be learning a lot about that next week.

Last night some big news was discovered as Parkman and Nathan began working together to figure out why Mrs. Petrelli was willing to turn herself in for the murder of Mr. Nakamura. In their search for some answers Nathan found an old photograph of his mother and father along with Mr. Nakamura and others, including Matt Parkman's father. Apparently, his father stole a lot of money and left home when Matt was 13 years old. So how he ended up in this picture is very intriguing. Even more intriguing is Molly's identification of his father as the man she sees in her nightmares. Remember, this is the man Molly said was worse than Silar. It could be that Mr. Parkman is the person behind the murders of the people in the photograph.

Parkman needed Molly to track down his father so he could figure all of this out. Suresh tried to stop him but Molly agreed to do it anyway. Sadly, Mr. Parkman somehow attacked Molly when she found him and he appears to have put her in some sort of coma. Parkman should have left her alone and figured out another way to track down his father. Using a little girl like that when you know the consequences is irresponsible. Anyway, I'm thinking that everyone in the picture is a member or former member of "The Company." The man Dr. Suresh works for is also in the picture so this would seem to make the most sense. Why the symbols are showing up on each of their pictures and why someone would be taking each of them out is still a mystery though.

Meanwhile, Claire is up to no good herself. Not in the evil sense but she got much closer with West. She finally let him in and now they're dating. Unfortunately, it's Wests arms she ends up in the night her father is murdered. Noah is doing everything he can to prevent her from dating but Claire did a very good job covering up her activities by telling him she's made the cheerleading team even though she was forbidden. West creeps me out a bit, something about him seems off like he's hiding something from Claire. I wonder if maybe he's up to something and not just a guy she happened to meet at school.

As for Nathan, I still want to know if the mangled face he sees in the mirror is his true face or if its a memory of what he looked like after Peter exploded. It's a damn ugly face for sure though. We did find out that after Peter exploded Nathan became an alcoholic as he looked to liquor to ease the pain of losing his brother. His life could end up turning around when he finds out Peter is still alive.

Maja and Alejandro continued their trek to the U.S. last night. Naively, they picked a man up who was barely alive off a dirt road in Mexico. Unlucky for them it was Silar. I still have no clue how he ended up there. At the end of last week it seemed like he was in some tropical jungle not Mexico. Worse for everyone, Maya not only told him about going to see Dr. Suresh but he now knows what her power is along with her brother's. A power like that in the hands of Silar could be it for everyone. He would be able to kill at will and no one except her brother could stop him. But imagine if he got Alejandro's power also; who knows if anyone could ever stop him except maybe Peter. The one thing I thought was interesting though was the cockroach on the brick after he killed the driver. From what I remember, we saw it last when Silar was run through with the sword in the season finale last year. What does that mean? What's the cockroaches significance?

Lastly, we met a new hero this week. Monica seems to have a power similar to Nikki. She totally kicked that robber's butt. The only difference is that she didn't appear to turn into any kind of alternate personality to do so. I can't wait to find out more about her power and if she and Nikki are somehow connected with what they can do. Micah, meanwhile, needs to be a bit more careful. People will start to become suspicious if he keeps working his magic on electronics.

This was a great episode and very well rounded. I especially liked not having to sit through more of Hiro's Feudal Japan trip; it's starting to get very boring. Next week should be awesome and I can't wait to find out how Peter came back and who Kristin Bell is going to be playing.

Journeyman: The Year of the Rabbit

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 10PM ON NBC

This was a big night for Dan and Katie. As I predicted last week the two of them were going to have some serious bumps in the road now that Katie knows Dan has seen Livia on his trips back in time. Tonight showed just how bumpy it's going to get. Dan had to go back in time to save a woman from being killed over some embezzling in her Internet start-up business. Unfortunately, this was a big night for Katie as she was throwing a massive black tie affair she had been planning for a very long time. Needless to say, Dan's constant disappearances in addition to his meeting Livia did not go over well.

Understandably Katie is having a very hard time with Dan's travelling. He disappears at random times, comes back days later sometimes, and now he's seeing his ex-fiance. My problem with all this is that Katie is mad at him for something totally out of his control. Obviously he shouldn't have lied to her but throughout tonight's episode she got increasingly agitated at the circumstances, all of which are completely out of Dan's control. If he had started this whole thing or had any power to stop it then clearly she would have every right to be angry at him; but he didn't and he doesn't so I don't see why she should be this angry at him.

The worst part of all this is that Katie is leaning on Jack. This is something I'll never understand. Granted Dan and her are having problems but it hasn't been going on that long and yet she's already leaning on her ex. Her comment that she wanted him to ask her to dance at the event was over the line. Saying no was the right thing to do but then by saying that it's just as bad as if she had danced with him. Especially since none of this is Dan's fault there is no reason under the sun why she should be thinking of another man. We still don't know how or why Jack and Katie broke up and how she ended up with Dan but what Jack is doing now is wrong. He is clearly making it known that he wants her back and doing that with a clear mind and thought out is the worst thing he could do to a brother.

At least now Katie knows that Dan sees Livia every time he goes back and that she travels too. I don't think she knows that it means she never died in the plane crash or not. It would be interesting to see the two of them have a conversation in the present. Maybe Katie could work out her fears and she and Dan could move on from all the angst.

The biggest question of the night is about how the travelling is occurring. In the present, Dan made a call to Elliot Langly about tacions; apparently these are particles that might be involved in time travel and Elliot is an expert that may know about them. The weird part is that the return phone call Dan received was on his old cell phone from the early 1990's AND he got the call when he was IN 1998!!! There's no way this guy is not somehow involved in everything that's happening. At the very least he knows who or what is controlling it and he's associated with it all somehow. There's no way he can't be if his present day phone call reached Dan back in 1998. The details about Elliott are still eluding us but hopefully next week we'll get some more information.

I do want to point out that it was great seeing another appearance from our old friend Geoffrey Owens, Elvin from "The Cosby Show." He seems to be everywhere lately. We saw him show up in the season premiere of "Las Vegas" a few weeks back and if you saw "Boston Legal" last week he also made an appearance in one of the trials.

This was another great episode from "Journeyman" but unfortunately the ratings are still on the low end. One bit of encouraging news is that the new ratings systems placed "Journeyman" in the top ten DVR viewed shows within 24 hours of the original airing. Maybe this will save the show for a little while longer; NBC did announce their order of four more scripts.

The Big Bang Theory: The Luminous Fish Effect

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 8:30PM ON CBS

Is "The Big Bang Theory" a front for a "Roseanne" Reunion? Last week we had a visit from Sarah Gilbert who played a coworker of Leonard's. This week Laurie Metcalf visited the set as Sheldon's mother, Mary. Not that I mind seeing the old "Roseanne" crew working together again but they should spread it out a bit. Anyway, Mary showed up these week after Sheldon was fired from his job. As we've come to know, Sheldon has a bit of trouble keeping his mouth shut and not telling people the absolute truth. It happened again except this time he told his new boss that he was a fraud. Thus, FIRED.

I wish I had more to talk about with this episode. It was only mildly funny and not all that much actually happened. The only storyline of tonight deal with Sheldon's antics after being fired. With so much time on his hands he attempted to develop the perfect batch of scrambled eggs;

breed luminous (glow in the dark) goldfish; and weave ponchos using a loom.

While all these activities were somehow funny, the only truly funny scene was his trip grocery shopping with Penny. Sheldon was beyond rude and annoying which made the trip that much better.

With the all of Sheldon's ridiculous activities taking place, Leonard decided to enlist the help of Mary to snap Sheldon out of it and get him back to work. At first she used appeasement which did nothing but keep Sheldon locked in his room for days. Then, well, she decided to kick his butt and force him to go back to work and apologize to his boss. Which he did... Unfortunately (or fortunately for Mary depending on how you look at it), Sheldon got his job back after his boss was "taken" with his mother. I liked the idea of the storyline but the writer's just didn't come through with the humor.

The big thing I'd like to point out about tonight though was it's effect on the Penny-Leondard relationship. Two things are significant: 1) When Mary said Penny and Leonard made a good couple BOTH of them had awkward but smirky looks on their faces. This could mean that Penny does think Leonard is interesting. 2) Penny clearly can't stand spending time with Leonard (at least alone) which means that she hangs around their apartment for some other reason. Maybe that reason is Leonard. Hmmm...interesting.

Hopefully next week will be much better than last night's episode. I'd hate to think the writer's peaked four episodes into the first season. In the end, Sheldon actually did create a luminous fish - sadly, this was the funniest scene of the night.

How I Met Your Mother: Little Boys

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 8PM ON CBS

Barney is the greatest! Only he could formulate such an elaborate plan to win a bet so quickly. If you didn't watch the episode, Barney and Ted made a bet on who would sleep with a random girl at the bar first. It was a bet to prove who had more game. (By the way, no Marshall does not win this one - he had girlfriend/wife for the last 11 years; thats not game) Just as the bet begun Barney was already up and talking to the girl when 5 seconds later she slapped him across the face. When he came back to the table he told Ted and Marshall that he slept with her last year and she wanted nothing to do with him. So Ted was in to take his time and win the bet; or so we thought.
As we go through the episode Ted and the girl begin to date. After a number of dates it appears that Ted is going to win the bet. Unfortunately, Barney knew exactly how to keep Ted from going through with it. Apparently Ted has a phobia about sharing things with people - he couldn't even take a sip from Barney's drink let alone share the same girl. Thus, when it came time for Ted to "seal the deal" he kept seeing little Barneys that made fun of him for not being able to go where Barney had been the year before. It was absolutely hilarious! Too bad for Ted the whole thing turned out to be a lie. Barney is a damn genius. He told the girl in the bar that Ted was getting over a relationship and if she slapped him he would get the courage to talk to her himself. Then as Ted dated her Barney got information on what she liked and used that to get in her good graces as well. In the end though no one won the bet; the girl couldn't hook up with Barney either because she wasn't over Ted.

The whole thing about the bet wasn't the funniest storyline HIMYM has come up with but it was definitely funny. Whereas most shows would go with it straight up and try to make the exploits of the characters in the bet funny, HIMYM does that and it goes one step further. HIMYM added the Barney deception in which turned the bet from a generic storyline into a one-of-a-kind HIMYM moment. That's the genius of this show and what sets it apart from the other comedies on television. If you haven't been watching the show you need to start and I promise you'll agree with me in one month's time.

Meanwhile, the writers apparently think it's a good idea to give Robin her own adventures apart from the group. Why? I'm not sure. I think they may be attempting to get us used to the idea of Robin and Ted dating other people and Robin having a life of her own so that when they have Ted meet his future wife we won't be calling for Ted and Robin to get back together. This is the only thing that makes sense to me because Robin out on her own just isn't all that funny. It's a bit humorous but the best moments of this show are when the cast is interacting with each other not when they're set apart with other characters.

Last night, Robin started dating the father of one of Lilly's students. The hitch was that he had a son and we all know how much Robin hates kids. While Robin spent most of the night going from liking the guy to hating the fact that he has a kid, the guy apparently moved on and started dating someone else. It was a bit of a shock for Robin when she went over to his apartment to break up and met his new girlfriend instead. This storyline wasn't all that great let alone funny. The funniest moment came when she thought his son was getting attached to her and she felt she needed to break up with the kid; and even that wasn't all that funny. They need to keep Robin in the group or the writers risk alienating her with the audience.

This may be a bit out of order but I do have to mention the opening scene. Ted was 100% right; whenever someone wants to set you up they leave out the "but" when describing the blind date. He/she is smart, funny, successful... You never get the "but." "But" she has a dead tooth. "But" she has a pug that she pushes around in a stroller. This was so true and so funny. Maybe we'll get to meet the girl Ted thought killed his turtle sometime; I can just see how great that would be.

Overall a decent episode. Not as good as last week but much better than the week before. Still can't wait to meet Ted's future wife; keep in mind we did catch a glimpse of her in the season premiere and I'm sure we're going to get more as the season goes on.

The Hills: What Goes Around

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 10PM ON MTV

We're back! After a week off with a "Cram Session" season in review episode, our friends from L.A. are back for some more wild and crazy fun. Well, maybe not so much with the wild but definitely the crazy. Big question of the night, did Brody spread the sex tape rumors about Lauren?

Jen finally got in touch with Lauren looking to smooth things over and to tell her about Heidi. After some time has passed Lauren decided it might be good to have lunch and put the past in the past. The only problem is that Jen had some news from the past that's HUGE now that Lauren and Brody hooked up in Vegas. I get how Lauren would automatically say Brody didn't do it but it was so obvious that she felt just as betrayed as she did all last year with her friends. For a moment, she had that look like "what if Brody did do it? I can't believe another friend and now a hookup did this?" All this is understandable though; how many times can one person get messed with and not have some trust issues?

So Lauren approached Brody and I thought she did it in a good way. She could have accused him and just got in his face about it but instead she just asked him once and let it be. That was the best thing she could have done because in situations like this it's very easy to make enemies out of friends. I definitely take Laurens side when it came to whether Brody should tell her if Spencer and Heidi spread the rumors. At this point, Spencer has gone against Lauren AND Brody, not to mention Heidi is telling people Brody spread the rumors. There's no reason not to tell Lauren and every reason to tell her. On top of Speidi taking their positions against Brody, he hooked up with Lauren again and made it clear that they're friends too. When you know something like that which concerns your friend you have to tell her. I'm glad the truth is finally out there.

Tonight Lauren showed why she's different from most of the girls on this show. Whereas many of them only think of themselves and generally have no concern with how they act, Lauren actually notices what she does and wants to be better. She wants to be a good friend and actually took responsibility for her actions. This was something we rarely see on this show and something we've NEVER seen from Heidi. Lauren really is a good friend and probably the best person on the show. I think she was a little hard on herself though when she blamed herself for Heidi leaving. Heidi was responsible for everything that happened, not Lauren. Even if Lauren was a bit too pushy the fact still remains that Heidi chose Spencer over her, treated Lauren like crap, and allowed Spencer to treat her terribly also. It's really not her fault and she shouldn't blame herself.

Let's get back to Speidi for just a minute. Heidi got in trouble at work for the whole Elodie situation the other week. I find it funny though that even with her boss explaining exactly what she did wrong, Heidi still completely missed the point. He wasn't made because she didn't know that Elodie quit, he was mad that she had her cover for her and didn't tell anyone else. If she had spoken to him or anyone else about Elodie covering the event she would have found out she quit. Instead, she goes home and tells Spencer he yelled at her for what happened, completely leaving out the part about her needing to keep others up to speed. Then again, no matter what she tells Spencer he'll always take her side.

Also, Heidi goes home and tells Spencer that Brody confirmed it was them who spread the rumors. This was a HUGE moment in the season because Spencer all but admitted he did it. Even Heidi was speechless. Somehow despite the usually thick head she has that nothing reasonable can penetrate, Heidi even realized that Spencer probably did it. Spencer is such a slimy person and should never be allowed to around people again. The screen shot on the left is the look Spencer gave Heidi after she said "I just think it's so sad that they're blaming you, right?" Come on now, is that a look of guilt or what? He's clearly smiling and even though he said nothing you can totally tell that he did it. And by the way, the kid still needs to shave that stuff off his face.

Tonight's episode was decent but very important with the discovery that Spencer was really the mastermind behind the sex tape rumors. I do have to say that Lo looked great! She's really been looking good this season and it's great to see her around again. Next week should be interesting when Heidi finally tells Spencer he should get a job. Is the honeymoon over before the wedding? I guess we just have to wait and see...

Brothers & Sisters: History Repeating

ORIGINAL EPISODES, SUNDAYS @ 10PM ON ABC

This was a high quality episode that seemed to set us up for some bigger moments down the road. Generally when other shows hit the moment where they need to slow down and set things up for the future they tend to lose some quality in the process. The great thing about "Brothers & Sisters" is that no matter what the purpose of the episode, the quality is never lacking. Each and every episode is a demonstration of near perfection; a demonstration of what it means to write the best possible show every week.

Tonight was mainly about Justin and his struggle with the decision to take pain killers or suffer through an excruciatingly painful leg injury. Nora wants him to take the medications even though she knows it's going to change him and possibly push him back into the world of addiction. It's one of those choices in life where no matter what you do you're risking a life altering event that could change your future. For me, I don't know what I would do in a similar situation. If Justin takes the pain killers he can rehabilitate his leg properly and save his ability to walk and enjoy life but he risks becoming a drug addict once again. On the other hand, if he doesn't take them his risks losing most of the mobility in his leg for the remainder of his life but he won't fall back into drug addiction. It's a VERY tough call but I think he made the right. Although he's going back to a life of drugs it's different this time; he has a support system that's there for him and monitoring what he's doing. Plus he knows that he doesn't want the life he used to have and I think he's strong enough now to resist turning back to it.

However, the end of the episode gave the impression that Justin's personality may not be the same even if he can prevent himself from becoming addicted again. He already seemed different, dark like he used to be. I hope he can be strong enough to resist the temptation. He's a lot more fun when he's not on all the medications.

Tommy also had some trouble of his own tonight. Apparently, Julia blames him for William's death. Somehow her depression has changed her perception of the past events and she believes Tommy pushed her into making the decision to save their daughter and not their son. I really feel for Tommy here. He's done everything he possibly could to build a life for his family, make the best possible decisions, work with Julia to make them, and be sensitive to the fact that she's depressed. In the end, Julia still overlooks everything and holds him responsible. That's tough especially when he realized there's nothing else he could possibly do but to let her spend time with her parents in Arizona. I think they'll eventually work it out but not before a few more run-ins between Tommy and Julia's father. It's going to be a long ways off until we see these two happy again. Tommy just needs to make sure things don't go too far with Lina; clearly things seemed a bit, well weird at the end of the episode.

As for the rest of the Walkers not too much happened. Kitty and Robert had to deal with his ex-wife since she decided to go on Larry King to discuss her marriage with Robert. The former wife still believes (or pretended to believe) that Robert had an affair with the nannyeven though he has always told her that it was 100% not true. Kitty eventually visited her and bluffed with a story about finding the nanny and she was willing to tell the truth. After this, Robert's ex-wife cancelled the interview and all trouble was averted. The only problem for Kitty is that the ex told her Robert only looks out for himself and that his wife isn't really his partner. Hopefully, things will be different for Kitty and Robert because Kitty doesn't deserve a life like that especially when she's so successful herself.

I should point out that Scotty has re-entered our lives once again. He was pulled over for a D.U.I. and needed Kevin's help to get out of it. Turns out the police officer was homophobic and gave Scotty the ticket because he was gay. After Kevin won the case (of course he would) Scotty treated him to a five-star dinner at a sheek restaurant where he is now an intern. Since breaking up with Kevin, he's turned his life around and become a very good chef. Unfortunately, Scotty was just trying to impress Kevin in order to get him back. For the first time though Kevin remained faithful but it seems the two of them may still be "friends." I'm not sure how long a friendship will last between these two without something bigger "accidently" happening.

My overall impression of this episode was a huge thumbs up. I love the acting, the writing, and the family bonds that permeate every storyline. It's one of the best shows in recent memory and I'm glad the Walker Family will be around for some time to come.