A "How I Met Your Mother"-only post this morning; I'll try to hit the Fox dramas later today.

Hands up, anyone who actually thought Mary was a hooker when she first appeared. Now, hands up, anyone who didn't believe it at first but started to at any point in the episode (for me, it was in the elevator with the "not for all the money" feint). Now, hands up, anyone who even for a second believed that Ted would get to have sex with Mary, ho or no ho?

Funny episode with lots of good running gags: "You've been lawyered" (I like that they didn't even bother to set that up, just put it in as something Marshall and Barney have started doing), the telepathic communications, the parody of the NY1 anchor who really does read the paper on TV, Alexis Denisof's hair, the vampire kung fu movie host.... everything was clicking. On the other hand, I think it would have been funny if Ted's revenge on Barney went beyond the credit card thing and involved him actually managing to have sex with Mary, after all.

And hands up, everybody who told me I was being naive (like Kay Adams) for thinking Ted/Robin was over with. You all owe yourselves a beer. Click here to read the full post

Since I'm still watching "24" and "Prison Break," "How I Met Your Mother" (or, as I'm increasingly calling it, "HIMYM") gets to fly solo this morning -- just as Ted wound up last night.

Sooner or later, the writers were going to have to fill in the hole they'd dug themselves into with Ted and Robin. On the one hand, Future Ted had definitively said that she wasn't his Future Wife. On the other hand, there was undeniable chemistry between the actors, and Ted himself was always much more interesting with Robin than without her.

So after building up a case of Permanently Unresolved Sexual Tension, the writers had to come up with a plausible reason why these two kooky lovebirds couldn't make it work. And I think they did as good a job as they possibly could -- sure as hell better than, say, that dumbass list that scotched the first Ross 'n Rachel get-together on "Friends." By lying to Robin about being broken up with Victoria, Ted fucked up, and he fucked up in a way that would take a long time, if ever, to recover from in the real world.

And now, hopefully, we're done with this. Again, I like the two characters together, but it's manifestly not meant to be, and any more time spent dicking around with a will-they-or-won't-they scenario would just be stupid. Just move on. It's already obvious to everyone that the show is funniest when it's focused on some combination of Barney, Marshall and Lily (with or without Korean Elvis), and Robin and Ted can be funny to varying degrees so long as they're not pining for each other. So now that we've 100% established that this Love That Cannot Die did, in fact, die, it's time to move on.

And there's a very good show there, even without it. Because Bays and Thomas don't come from sitcom backgrounds, these episodes don't feel like standard sitcom stuff, even with the laughtrack. I like all the time cuts and use of music and other structural tweaks, and I obviously like all the people. So let's see what the show becomes now that, hopefully, we can put the error at the end of the pilot behind us. Click here to read the full post

So, the Shawn Ryan interview is in today's paper. In addition to reprinting the exchange I already put here, this was the most interesting thing he said:

"I spoke with the writers at the beginning of the year and I said, 'Let's not save anything,'" Ryan explains. "Most TV shows that are successful, you don't want to do anything that will risk the long-term viability of a show, and I gave my writers permission for the first time to ignore that. We're telling a story that the viewers can tell we're not going to rewind the clock back to midnight. This thing is moving forward; there are going to be complications, repercussions."

The 90-minute finale is so awesome that even Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" wouldn't need a custom-made motivational poster to get psyched for it. And speaking of which...

Really strong "HIMYM" last night that, not coincidentally, focused mainly on Barney and Marshall, while Ted and Robin were left to do the latest iteration of their Ross 'n Rachel dance in the background. Any episode that lets Jason Segel dance automatically gets the Sepinwall Seal of Approval, with bonus points for pop-locking, but this was the first time we've seen the show's two least-similar characters play off each other much. Question: is it wrong that I both loved Barney's karaoke AC/DC, and that I desperately want to work "steak sauce" into a conversation today?

I'll get to "24" later today. I have, however, already seen the first three post-hiatus episodes of "Prison Break," and I've been underwhelmed. Like I said in this column that ran over the weekend, the show has now gone into full-on stall mode until the real escape happens, presumably at the end of the season. This show is a classic example of why the 22 episodes per season model isn't right for every series.

Other stuff I watched in the last couple of days:

Take Your Daughter to Work Day on "The Office" featured almost too many highlights to list here (Stanley giving Ryan a hellfire-and-brimstone verbal beatdown, Angela blowing off Toby's daughter, Toby's daughter calling Phyllis "Mother Goose," Dwight reading those horrific German fairy tales to the kids, Pam's desperate attempt to connect with the kids), but the highlight by far had to be the reaction of Edward R. Meow to young Michael's comment about having 100 kids so he'd always have friends. That's the saddest, funniest bit of puppetry I've seen outside of Jim Henson. In general, shows about adults have a hard time incorporating kids without getting either too sappy or too mean, but I thought this was dead-solid perfect. Now that "Arrested Development" is gone, "The Office" is the only comedy on TV I feel the need to watch over and over to catch things I missed.

"Grey's Anatomy" was a'ight-blah, but the thing that entertained me most were the scenes where Sara Ramirez was in the same frame with either Ellen Pompeo or Sandra Oh and looked to be about three times either of their size. (And that's not a knock on Ramirez, who's gorgeous and voluptuous as all hell, but on two actresses who are reaching Danni Boatwright/Calista Flockhart levels of scary thin.) If the writers can't conspire an excuse to have Ramirez sing, could they at least have some kind of fight scene where she and Addison mop the floor with Meredith and Cristina?

Gotta go pay the bills with a review of "The Evidence," which made me feel like a kid again -- in that I was just as bored watching it as I was watching mediocre '70s cop shows. Click here to read the full post

After staying up late for the non-surprise surprise win of "Crash," I sacked out early last night, not too long after I got done with "How I Met Your Mother." Easily the worst, flattest episode they've done to date, and while I'd like to blame that on Ted and whatserface, the Marshall/Lily/Barney material wasn't any better than Mr. and Mrs. Schmoopy. Sometimes, you just get a stinker.

Some links, and then a question: the "Sopranos" cast and crew talk about the behind-the-scenes machinations of whacking, I review "The Unit" (long story short: if you like listening to Mamet dialogue, it's fun in spots; if not, skippable), while over at Matt's blog, he talks to David Milch about the "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" influence on "Deadwood." I don't even like Robert Altman that much (the idea of what he does is usually more interesting than his actual work), but it's a good interview.

And today's question for you, the reader: Other than the first episode or so, I haven't watched "24" this season, but I've heard that this year has been better than the last two. Any thoughts from someone who actually is watching? Should I wait for the DVD in the fall, or should I be tracking down all the episodes to catch up right now? Click here to read the full post

Sorry for the delay, but I was waiting for NJ.com to finally load up today's column, in which I point out something that may or may not have been obvious to the rest of you for a long time: that "House" and "Scrubs" are the exact same show. (Think about it: Cox=House, J.D.=Cameron, Elliot=Chase, etc., etc.)

Meanwhile, the only Monday show I feel at all passionate about continues to be "How I Met Your Mother," which trotted out an episode that felt like their equivalent of "The Zeppo" from "Buffy." Basically, Ted and Victoria were offscreen for almost the entire show, and when they were, they were being so over-the-top shmoopy that Marshall and Lily were mercilessly snarking on them. Like the episode with Drunk Ted, this was a good example of the writers recognizing some of their hero's more annoying traits and owning right up to them. The stuff with Marshall and Lily trapped in the bathroom was a rip off of both "Friends" and "Mad About You," but sometimes a stock plot can be useful. Highlight of the episode by far was the "Quid pro bro" bonding between Barney and Robin. Since Robin and Ted are fated to end up apart, having her and Barney hook up seems the path of least resistance, and they were really funny together. ("Leave no man behind!") Click here to read the full post

For the people who discovered this blog after the Sorkin/Schlamme or "Arrested Development" items, it was lousy timing that I almost immediately went out to LA for press tour and didn't have much time to, you know, watch TV.

Well, I'm back, and hopefully I'll get caught up quickly. Between iTunes and some advance network screeners, I got to catch up on half of last week's shows, plus I got home in time to watch Ted meet his potential future bride on "How I Met Your Mother."

Since that's the freshest, we'll start there. After spending a good chunk of CBS' press tour party haranguing the "HIMYM" producers for the whole "Aunt Robin" mess, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Josh Radnor can be just as good working opposite another love of Ted's life. And I thought Ashley Williams matched up with him very well. (She also looked really good after putting on a few extra pounds since her "Good Morning, Miami" days; someone playing a baker shouldn't be a size zero.)

If Victoria turns out to be the mom -- and you'll note the distinct absence of Future Ted narration at the end of the show -- then I can get behind that. If, however, she's yet another missed opportunity, then I think we have a big problem. I'm not married to this pairing after only one episode, but the writers sold the thing so hard that if it doesn't work out -- after we already got the Ted-Robin hard sell in the pilot -- then I just won't be invested in any of Ted's future girlfriends. Then he's just a schmoe who's in love with love, and who has to make every relationship into the greatest love of all (even though it's not inside of him). And at that point, I'll want him to just go away so I can watch Barney score at massage parlors and Marshall wax poetic about his new favorite cake.

More later on "Galactica," "Lost" and "The Office" (my story on the supporting actors will be running tomorrow or Thursday). It'll probably take me about a week to totally get back in rhythm. On the plus side, I've already seen this week's great "Veronica Mars" (directed by Rob Thomas), so that's one thing I'll be able to comment on quickly the next day.

Good to be back. So why does it still feel like the crack of dawn?
Click here to read the full post

First up, links du jour: my review of "The Shield" (I'll have more spoiler-y discussion tomorrow), and a mailbag column about Dick Clark, "Arrested Development" and a short-lived Newark cop show called "The Street."

Meanwhile, things either got pret-ay, pret-ay interesting over on "How I Met Your Mother," or just worrisome. After the last few episodes had me convinced that either the creators or CBS had decreed that Future Ted was a scumbag liar and that Robin actually was the future Mrs. Ted, the very end of last night's episode hinted strongly that the actual mom-to-be is some random hottie at the wedding, played by Ashley Williams.

Now, she was one of the few watchable things about "Good Morning, Miami" (the "Four Kings" of its day), but I can't help but feel that the producers are missing out on how much more likable Ted is when he's with Robin. If his chemistry with the new potential mama isn't as strong, then they've screwed up and will either stubbornly stay the course (ala "Ed," where Carol Vessey was always the least interesting woman Ed dated) or struggle to find an escape hatch.

And the thing of it is, I can't get too worked up about who Ted's going to impregnate, because the longer this show has been on, the less I could care about the premise. The best parts of this episode had little or nothing with Ted's quest to get laid: Lily making fun of Marshall's dream wedding, the fast-forwarded fight, Barney trying to score with the psycho bride, the psycho bride trying to kill Ted. Even Ted was funny in the non-Robin parts of the plot.

Then again, I could have given a rat's ass about Ross and Rachel after about a half-season of "Friends," and yet that was obviously what obsessed most of the fans, so what the hell do I know?

Meanwhile, over in warmer climates, Matt and the rest of the TCA (at least, the members who bothered to come for the first day) are getting ready to rap with Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter about her new Disney Channel sitcom. Not every press tour session can be a winner. Click here to read the full post

This is a tricky time of year to be a daily TV columnist. On the one hand, I have so many midseason shows arriving in the mail that I barely have time to watch them all. (Today's jackpot: the first four episodes of "The Shield" season five.) On the other, I can't write about those until closer to when they air, so I have almost nothing to fill the column with. Other than my top 10 list and our annual Festivus list of TV shows and people who disappointed Matt and me, it's an idea vacuum. Today's column, dealing with a couple of religious news specials and some more speculation on the post-John Spencer "West Wing," may be our last non-list column of the year.

"Arrested Development" was decent, not great last night. The J. Walter Weatherman's lessons gag is played, and we got three different lessons-within-lessons last night. Glad to see the return of Bob Loblaw (and the introduction of the Bob Loblaw Law Blog), plus the return of Tobias' gay single entendres, and even the brief snippets of the GOB/Franklin "It's not easy being white" duet, but overall, pretty meh.

"How I Met Your Mother" is about to have to do some fancy footwork. Either the producers saw that they had underestimated the level of Ted/Robin chemistry or someone at the network started sending very angry notes on the subject, because it's clear that, whatever Future Ted may have said about "Aunt Robin" in the past, the two of them are going to get together, and soon. Maybe we discover that Future Ted has been playing a large mindgame on his kids, and that Robin's name isn't really Robin so they wouldn't realize their dad was talking about their mom. But, like the other really strong episodes (the one at the nightclub, the one with Drunk Ted), the writers stuck to a single plotline and made Present Ted as upbeat as possible. Best moment: Marshall running out of the fog to the strains of "You Give Love a Bad Name."

I also half-watched "Two and a Half Men," which Marian enjoys more than I do but isn't bad. Senses-jolting moment: when I realized that Alan's hot but insane girlfriend was played by Josie Davis, the wallflower middle sister from "Charles in Charge" (aka "Bob Loblaw in Charge"). And, apparently, I've seen her before in things like "Titans" and the awful "LA Law" reunion movie without recognizing her. It's one thing for a former child star to turn hot in front of your eyes (Natalie Portman, the pre-anorexia Lindsay Lohan), but to have one disappear and turn up as a babe 15 years later? Unsettling.

Getting back to midseason for a second, I already blogged about "The Unit," and I got to see the excellent pilot for "Book of Daniel" (Vicodin-addicted minister pals around with Jesus) six months ago. In the last few days, I watched "Courting Alex," the new Jenna Elfman sitcom where she essentially plays Greg to Josh Randall's Dharma. Not a lot there, but if Randall starts wearing his "Vote Dukakis '88" t-shirt, I might be willing to give it another look. I hated Julia Louis-Drefyus' "The New Adventures of Old Christine," but Marian laughed hysterically at it, so either it's a show with a large gender skew or her standards have really dropped since sitcoms went into the tank at the end of the '90s.

And the "Chronicles of Narnia" rap remains firmly lodged in my head. "Google Maps is the best! True dat! DOUBLE TRUE!" Click here to read the full post

Working through the last two days in reverse chronological order:

"Prison Break": Well, the good news is that they didn't bust out yet, since I still can't imagine enjoying the post-escape show based on the ham-fistedness of the conspiracy scenes (exemplified by the reformed Secret Service baddie failing to shove the evidence into Veronica's hands before Kellerman pulled up). The bad news is that, even for a show where you check your disbelief at the door or you don't get to come in, the foiling of Michael's plan was damn hard to swallow. The guy has contingency plans on top of contingency plans, and one random janitor screws everything up? I'll be back in March, but my bullshit meter may need recalibrating before then.

"How I Met Your Mother": I got to see this one last week, and was pleasantly surprised to enjoy an all-Ted episode this much. Of course, the reason I liked it was because Drunk Ted is much, much funnier and more likable than regular Ted, a fact that his friends -- and, I hope by proxy, the writers -- all pointed out. But just because we're stuck with Present-day Ted doesn't mean we have to be stuck with Future Ted, too, since the voiceovers are shutting off a lot of good potential storylines. Danica "Winnie Cooper" McKellar was good as Drunk Ted's one-night stand, and I'd like to see her again, but Future Ted has already declared that she never turns up again, so that's what we're stuck with. Ted and Robin are both much more interesting when they're together than when they're apart, but Future Ted has already put the kibosh on them ever getting together (at least, not for very long). Go away, Future Ted, and stop ruining the fun for the rest of us!

"King of Queens": By default, one of the better remaining sitcoms on TV, though the return of Ray Barone was just okay. On "Everybody Loves Raymond," Ray's best moments were always reacting to other characters, and he and Doug are too alike to play to that strength. The fashion show, while predictable, was probably the highlight.

"Curb Your Enthusiasm": This is starting to feel like "SNL" to me: I tune in every week, knowing it's probably going to suck, but hopeful that for one night they'll recapture the glory days (which aren't nearly as far back as the "SNL" days). This was just awful again, full of people doing and saying things that they never would, even in Larry David World, notably Larry critiquing that woman's breast implants.

"Grey's Anatomy": In which Dr. McDreamy is revealed to be Dr. McPricky (during his taunting of Meredith), kind of appropriate given the priapism storyline. Sooner or later, every hospital show has to do an erectile superfunction gag subplot (Chicago Hope did it, and I'm pretty sure St. Elsewhere did it back in the '80s), and this one was well done. Not enough of the Nazi for my tastes, but another solid triple.

I'm running way late on this, so that's all for now. More tomorrow, which should come sooner given the number of shows that I watch being pre-empted for sweeps programming (Gilmore, Earl, Office, etc.). Click here to read the full post

Real estate is an obsession in the New York/New Jersey area. At every party I attended during my single days, if there were four conversations going on at once, two or three of them would be about square footage, rent hikes, crazy landlords and, as we got older, mortgage rates. A lot of people want to live around here, and there's not enough elbow room for all, so everyone's constantly hustling for a bigger space, a better rent, a parking space, whatever.

Shortly after Marian and I resumed dating after a short and stupid break, she got a tip from a friend about a ginormous two-bedroom in a prime location in Hoboken. She brought me with her to check it out, and it was as great as advertised. Her only problem was that she would need to find a roommate to cover the rent. I offered to move in with her, only half-joking, and it was as much about my love of the place as my interest in taking things to the next level with Marian. She rolled her eyes and said, "Umm... no," and found herself a roommate who we'll call Georgia for legal reasons. When she was interviewing possible roommates, she told all of them that it would be a one-year deal, and at the end of that year, if Marian wanted the place to herself, she'd get it.

By the time that year was coming to a close, we were engaged and we wanted that place. One problem: Georgia claimed to have never had the one-year conversation with Marian, and told us in no uncertain terms that she wasn't leaving. Marian had put both their names on the lease so she'd have legal recourse in case Georgia turned out to be a flake who wouldn't pay rent, but that backfired.

So the plan became for me to move in -- along with all my furniture, books, comic books, electronic equipment, etc. -- and make my presence as big and loud as possible (as any of my friends will tell you, that wasn't much of a challenge) until Georgia decided she'd rather live in a smaller place than deal with me and my stuff. Georgia responded to Operation: Sasquatch with a strategic retreat into her bedroom, gradually removing all of her stuff -- including the TV, the lamp and one of the couches -- from the living room. My friend Jennifer advised us to get a bucket of popcorn and "watch her like a movie" to make sure she didn't start messing with our stuff.

After a few weeks, Georgia surrendered and found another place. But as one final salvo in our little war, she locked her bedroom door (a keyless lock that can only be opened easily from the inside) as she left, so that we were only a few minutes into our celebration of having the place to ourselves before we had to call a locksmith.

Why am I telling you all this? It's a (very) roundabout way of saying that I've lived something close to what happened on "How I Met Your Mother" last night -- minus the dueling part -- and I could relate to the anguish over shared real estate. (This, of course, is TV New York, where a kindergarten teacher can afford to carry the rent on an apartment big enough to be converted into a Chinese restaurant, even though she doesn't live there.) Not as good as the club episode, but pretty funny nonetheless. Barney's Lemon Law subplot was also nice, and featured yet another "Freaks and Geeks" guest appearance, by Martin "Bill Haverchuck" Starr as Robin's nerdy date. (Samm Levine was one of the losers stuck outside the nightclub, and, of course, disco-dancing Jason Segel is in the regular cast.)

I'm still catching up on other things from Sunday and Monday nights (I wasted most of last night watching the ugliest NBA game I have ever seen), but I did see the latest "Simpsons," which opened with what I think is the longest couch gag in the show's history. (My friend Dan suggested the parody of "Contact" as the only other one that came close.) That couch gag was also funnier than the rest of the episode combined. After all my complaining over the years about the writers moving away from the emotional dynamics of the family, I can't get too worked up over a half-hour about Marge and Bart bonding, but it felt like a rough outline of an episode; there was sort of a story, and sort of a few jokes, but they weren't close to finished. And the Homer's dumbbell subplot? I know the show's been around for 8,000 years, but this is at least the third different episode where Homer or Marge gets randomly bulked up (the last time, Homer accomplished it by unleashing the power of apples); if you're going to repeat that joke again, at least make it funny.

I also suffered through another episode of what's shaping up to be the worst "Saturday Night Live" season since Anthony Michael Hall and Randy Quaid roamed the halls. Watching it this year is like that Tom Hanks sketch where everyone in the family has to take a whiff of the rotten milk carton so they know for themselves just how disgusting it is. I love Jason Lee, but even he can't do much when the writing's not there. The closest thing to a good sketch was the HGTV parody, and even that was a rip-off of two older sketches: Schweddy Balls and a Prince Charles/butler sketch that featured the same caulk-in-the-crack joke.

I'd write more, but someone sitting on my lap needs a new diaper. More later after I've watched "Prison Break." In the meantime, links to the two most recent All TV columns: Monday's, featuring Matt on PBS' Las Vegas documentary and me bemoaning the fate of "Arrested Development," and Tuesday's, a mailbag dealing even more with "Arrested Development." (It's my goal to mention the show every day this week if I can get away with it.) Click here to read the full post

So here I was, all prepared to write a column, or a blog entry, or both, on how bored I've been by most of what this season has to offer, when I went to TV Tattle and saw that Melanie McFarland had beaten me to the punch. Few things sting more than having someone write the story I hadn't gotten around to yet.

From that column I wish I'd written (well, except for the parts about Jared Padalecki's hotness):

This season of network television is boring. Not terrible, BO-RING. There's a difference. Terrible television has nothing redeeming about it, and forces us to take up odd projects, like curling or crocheting trousers. Whereas boring television is just decent enough to keep you hanging on in the hopes that this will finally be the week that a show finds its way.

My TiVo Season Pass list is shrinking rapidly. I've given up on TV altogether on Fridays and Saturdays (though the networks beat me to the punch on the latter), and there are other nights where at most I want to watch one or two shows. I've found myself multi-tasking even through the shows I couldn't bear to look away from last season. It was obvious from watching the pilots that there wasn't going to be a "House" or "Veronica Mars" among this year's rookies, but "House" and "Veronica Mars" are two of the few returning shows that still have my attention.

At first, I thought it was just an ongoing post-accident malaise, but I've been hearing the same thing from lots of friends, several of whom, like me, get paid to watch this stuff.

I was excited by the return of "Arrested Development" after baseball-induced hiatus, but every episode these days makes me feel a bit sad, since I know there probably won't be many more of them given the awful ratings. (I actually saw a "story" in the new issue of Inside TV about Fox execs conducting secret talks to turn the show into a movie -- because, of course, that idea worked so well with "Firefly.")

The first half hour was much stronger than the second, with the creative bleeping of "pussy," Michael's hatred of Ann reaching new lows (loved George Michael's exasperated "You've met her on many, many occasions" muttering) as my favorite gags. Episode two was more uneven -- it's taken, what, five episodes for the writers to figure out why Charlize Theron's supposed to be funny? -- but I applauded the surprise return of Annyong, which I'm guessing was a one-shot gag.

"How I Met Your Mother" had a Ted-centric plot, which is a problem, since (say it with me), he's the least interesting, least funny character on the show. Everytime I laughed, it was during the cock-a-mouse subplot. Is it too late to make Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan the leads and redub the show, "How We Ditched Our Depressing Roommate"?

"Prison Break" edges closer and closer to fulfilling its title, at which point I'll probably escape the show myself, but the gradual expansion of the escapees list was entertaining. On the other hand, Hollywood needs to put a moratorium on ripping off the fake-out finale of "Silence of the Lambs," because no one's even being fooled by it anymore. If you actually thought the house Mikey Palmice and friends were about to storm was Fibonacci's, shame on you.

Come on, TV season. Dazzle me. And soon. Please. Click here to read the full post

Spent the weekend in Boston, which should be my last travel weekend for a while, but it still leaves me lagging behind on TV.

Before I get to what I have seen lately, some links:

• Monday's All TV column , with Matt giving what may be The Star-Ledger's first positive review of a Lifetime original production in three years (since "Any Day Now" got canceled).
• Today's All TV column , leading off with my review of the disappointing season finale of "Over There" (which was pretty disappointing all season, frankly).
• Ellen Gray in the Philly Daily News delivering a backlash against the predictable "Desperate Housewives" backlash.
• A column by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TV critic Rob Owen about the rise of dramas with female leads.
• Melanie McFarland from the Seattle P-I giving some blunt advice to Martha Stewart and Tyra Banks.

As for what I've watched in the last day or so, let's go in reverse chronological order:

"Prison Break": Hey, did you know this show is on Fox? They were so subtle in plugging it during the baseball playoffs that I wasn't sure if everyone knew about it. (As Phil Rosenthal pointed out to me, the "Prison Break" ads weren't as unintentionally funny as the "Skin" campaign ("His father is THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY!!!!!!") or last year's "House" ads ("You're risking A PATIENT'S LIFE!!!") because none of the main characters on "Prison Break" yell much.)

Way back in August, I called this the best new drama of the season. It probably still is, but more by default, and I spend more time multi-tasking while watching it than I should during a thriller. I'm a sucker for stories about men of different backgrounds forced together to do a tough job ("The Magnificent Seven," "The Professionals" and, of course, "The Great Escape"), and the scenes inside the prison walls are fun, if completely ridiculous. I mean, the chief hack strangled a cat, for God's sake! But whenever we cut back to The Conspiracy, I zone out. Not even the relevation that Patricia Wettig is the Vice-President was much of a shock, given that this is the season of "Commander-in-Chief."

"How I Met Your Mother": Not as good as last week's club episode, but passable. The angel and the devil battling for Ted's soul was the highlight, along with Barney's constant costume changes (you can read more about them on his blog), and the trick photo of the parrot on the pirate's shoulder. Given that last scene, though, I think the creators are making a big mistake being so definitive that Robin isn't Ted's future wife. Ted is a lot more interesting and likable when he's with her than he's been with any other woman, but barring some real Houdini writing, they're destined to stay apart.

"The West Wing":I once asked my mom what she thought of some depressing Oscar-bait movie (I think it was "The Hours") and, after a long pause to figure out something nice to say about it, replied, "There was a lot of acting. Basically, it was all about acting." This week's "West Wing" was all about acting, but in a good way. I don't for a second believe that Toby would have let the leak investigation go as far as it did before he martyred himself, but the scenes between him and CJ, him and Babish and him and the president were terrific. Too bad the flash-forward from the season premiere eliminates any suspense over Toby possibly doing serious jail time.

"Grey's Anatomy": Apparently, the DGA has some sort of clause that requires every hospital drama to hire Mark Tinker to direct at least one episode. First he was one of the executive producers on "St. Elsewhere," then directed episodes of "ER," "Chicago Hope" and now "Grey's." This was another episode with stories we've seen a million times before on other doctor shows, but they felt specific to this one. "ER" played the trapped in an elevator bit for major suspense; here, it was more of black comedy. And next week's episode looks an awful lot like the "Subway" episode of "Homicide," but I expect just enough variety to keep it interesting. The highlight of the episode, by far: Sandra Oh's bored, embarrassed porn story. That, and all the references to the Hmong making me think of the "Wayne's World" sketch where Garth was freaked out by the word "mung."

Click here to read the full post

Today is my birthday, which may have contributed to yesterday's long dark tea-time of the soul. As John Astin liked to say on "Night Court," I'm feeling much better now.

There's so damn much on every Tuesday night that it's difficult to get through it all for a timely Wednesday morning blog entry (especially in a week where I'm still catching up on Sunday and Monday shows). Would it kill the networks to put some decent stuff on, say, Friday? Please?

Anyway, on to what I've already seen (comments on "Commander-in-Chief," "Amazing Race" and others to follow):

"How I Met Your Mother": I was on the verge of writing a column about how this show has fallen prey to Herskozwickitis, a disease (named after the "thirtysomething"/"Once & Again" guys) where a TV show's supporting characters are infinitely more entertaining than the leads. I enjoyed everything about last week's episode except the Ted stuff, and had concluded that maybe a "Valerie's Family" situation was in order -- maybe change the title to "How We Dumped Your Father"?

This week's, thankfully, was strong in all parts, easily the funniest they've done since the pilot. Jason Segel got to dance (took 'em long enough), the subtitles in the club was a joke I hadn't seen before, and I could relate to both Ted's hatred of clubs and Marshall's fear of becoming a boring married guy. Good stuff, and if they can do episodes like this every week, I won't care if we don't meet the mom until season three.

"Gilmore Girls": Wow, was that a waste of time. When the writing is clicking, it doesn't matter if nothing happens in an episode (which is most of the time), but this was an episode with no plot and no memorable banter. When even Richard and Emily aren't funny, there be problems.

"My Name Is Earl": This is the first episode so far that didn't make me wish it was funnier. (It helped that Victor Fresco, creator of the brilliant "Andy Richter Controls the Universe," wrote the script.) The ESL classroom scenes were great (the first time I've liked that particular joke since they did it in "Stripes"), the flashbacks to Bad Earl were good, and Giovanni Ribisi (who'll always be the kid from "My Two Dads" to me) provided some additional Bad Earl-type mischief.

"The Office": First real dud of the season. Greg Daniels (the executive producer, who wrote this one) has been making a concerted effort to make Michael less of a bad guy this year -- not mean, just socially clueless -- and this went so far in that direction that I spent most of the half-hour feeling sorry for him. The Dwight/Jim scenes almost saved it -- almost.

"The Daily Show": One of two shows I watch every weekday ("PTI" is the other), and I won't be commenting on it all the time, but last night's Bill O'Reilly interview was just so damn bizarre it warrants mentioning. The interviews have always been the weakest part of the show, since Jon clearly feels uncomfortable savaging people to their face. This is the closest I've seen him come to outright dissing a guest, and he only started doing that after O'Reilly baited the audience and got repeatedly booed for it. But the mockery was still pretty gentle, and not helped by O'Reilly's belief that he should be funny, too. (At least, I hope O'Reilly thought he was being funny, because the alternative is too scary to contemplate.) Click here to read the full post

First of all, today's All TV column about "Freddie." Didn't turn out as vicious as I had wanted, but I think I used up too much bile on "Hot Properties" last week.

I called Fox about the non-mention of "Arrested" and "Kitchen Confidential" at the start of Monday's playoff game, and was reassured that it was a "Prison Break"-specific promo, that "Arrested" would be returning with back-to-back episodes on Nov. 7, and that "Kitchen" would be on the week after that. And, to head out any other nervous media queries, Fox put out a press release about their return this morning.

I'm still running behind in my TV-watching (two hours got taken up last night by my wife's desire to watch "Hitch," the highlight of which was me winning a bet over whether there would be running in the climax), but here's what I've gotten to:

"Grey's Anatomy": Yup, Cristina miscarried, just as I figured she would from the minute she got pregnant. You can count the number of TV characters who've had abortions on one hand (Maude, Joanna Cassidy on "Buffalo Bill" and Claire Fisher are the ones that come immediately to mind), not because Hollywood writers are anti-abortion, but anti-controversy, and this is the hottest button we have. So when they make a character pregnant and then decide they don't want to deal with a baby, the writers induce a miscarriage to avoid the inevitable advertiser boycotts.

Predictability aside, this was a very strong episode, with two major personal/medical developments unfolding simultaneously (Cristina's miscarriage and the staff's discovery that Meredith's mom has Alzheimer's). My only worry is that this show, like other soaps of recent vintage ("The O.C.," "Desperate Housewives") is burning through so much plot in such a short period of time that there won't be enough material for the long haul. This is one of those leftover first season episodes, and already Meredith's secret is out and Izzy and Alex are on the verge of sleeping together. I respect shows that don't drag their feet on this stuff, but they all pay for it down the road.

One last "Grey's" thought: did Meredith's mom have an affair with the chief of surgery when they were younger? I couldn't tell if his concern was just friendship or something deeper.

"How I Met Your Mother": That left turn at the end of the pilot, where we find out that we won't be meeting the mother for a very long time, has left this as a kind of formless show. It's the best "Friends" knock-off ever made, but it's still a "Friends" knock-off. Willow and Doogie will always make me laugh, and I liked the subplot about Robin's discovery that no one watches her channel, but the main plot dragged. Plus, someone needs to sit the writers down for a "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" marathon so they'll give Jason Segel more to do.

"The Amazing Race": Not enjoying this family tour of America, at all. This episode featured some of the least interesting challenges the show has ever done, and though we finally stopped at an airport, it was only for a 500 mile flight. When "House" comes back after baseball, this could fall off the viewing list until the next edition.

"The Office": Not as good as last week's office Olympiad, or, especially, the episode with the Dundies, but still some good stuff with Jim trying to keep everyone entertained during the fire alarm. For the record, my desert island books would be "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," "Empire Falls," "Lonesome Dove," "The Princess Bride" and "The Right Stuff" (or one of my other books on the space program, like "A Man on the Moon"). Also, the more hints we get about Michael's personal life, the more I'm convinced that Andy Stitzer wasn't the first virgin Steve Carell has ever played.

"My Name Is Earl": I know Earl's redemption is the whole premise of the show, but I enjoy the flashbacks to Bad Earl much more than the present tense scenes. Jason Lee is one of my favorite actors, and part of that is his ability to be likable while playing absolute pricks like Brodie and Banky and Jeff Bebe. The nicer he plays, the less interesting he is. Click here to read the full post