Watch with Intelligence

Tonight's TV: The Closer and Saving Grace Return

Saving Grace: Erik Heinila; The Closer: Ben Kaller

It may have been The Closer (airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on TNT) that started the performance-over-plot trend we see a lot of in summer TV, but it should be said it goes about it relatively better than most shows do, and that's primarily because Kyra Sedgwick is so ay-dorable as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, whose tics and mannerisms are coated extra sugary by her Southern drawl. But all that's actually scaled backed a bit as the fourth season opener takes on a pyromaniac and friendly stalker of Brenda's (Jason O'Mara), who may or may not have set a forest ablaze. The cases have never, ever been challenging, but it works because they're really beside the point. It's all about Brenda as Columbo with breasts.

And after The Closer is the second season premiere of Saving Grace, where a voracious and electrifying Holly Hunter plays Oklahoma City Det. Grace Hanadarko, who can chase one of the FBI's most wanted and nurse a cold one while holding a man hostage in her house all in the same hour. I'll admit I was too hard on Saving Grace before -- it's always going to be about Hunter giving a bold performance whether I like it or not, and I think the show's realized it too. Sure, the overarching story line (Grace is continually visited by the angel Earl, played by Leon Rippey, whose constantly on her to get into heaven) can get a bit muddled, but now that it's all Hunter, all the time, we get those deep, emotional moments it couldn't quite achieve before.

Tonight's TV: Burn Notice Returns

Burn Notice: USA Networks

Last season on Burn Notice (airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on USA), spy Michael Westen (a snappy, glib Jeffrey Donovan) was "burned," or inexplicably blacklisted by the CIA, and was left to fend for himself in sunny, pretty Miami, where he took up off-brand private eye jobs while hunting for his maker. And it looks like season 2 will be running along the same lines: the first couple of episodes has Michael working crime-busting-ish jobs for the very people who burned him -- namely Carla (Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer), whose assumed the role of Michael's handler. It's not quite in the same rhythm of breezy plots with extra-snazzy dialogue, but it remains a fairly enjoyable (if unexceptional) summer trip. Grade: B

Tonight's TV: The Baby Barrowers

The Baby Barrowers: NBC

I get the same feeling with The Baby Barrowers (airs tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC) that I got from Kid Nation: this could be really interesting and enlightening, or it could be a big, exploitative mess. Or the teen contestants could be really whiny and I'll just hate the whole thing. But it does at least have a decent interest factor: the couples participating in this "fast-tracked adulthood" won't just be taking care of infants -- but toddlers, preteens, teenagers, and seniors as well. And they have to get jobs and maintain a household on a cul-de-sac. Fun, right? Maybe. I'm checking it out either way (because that's how dedicated I am) -- with a big cup of skepticism.

Tonight's TV: Rescue Me Minisodes

Rescue Me: FX

We won't be getting any new full-length episodes of Rescue Me until next year -- so FX figures that five-minutes minisodes should be efficient enough to hold us over until wintertime. They might, but methinks the firemen dramedy should have taken a cue from Battlestar Galactica and put together a TV movie for the fall. But I haven't seen them yet, so I could be wrong. They start airing tonight in its regular 10 p.m. timeslot, so check them out if you're a Rescue Me frequenter, and together we'll determine if this is subterfuge or not.

Tonight's TV: 30 Days Returns for Season 3

30 Days: Ray Mickshaw/FX

Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) is genuine nearly to a fault on his docuseries 30 Days (airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX), which kicks off season 3 tonight with Spurlock himself spending a month as a coal miner in West Viriginia. The experiments are as varied and time-sensitive as always: next week former NFL player Ray Crockett scuffles around in a wheelchair; the June 17 episode has a hunting enthusiast living in a PETA-cized clan in L.A.

It all works because Spurlock isn't going for reality TV stunt work -- confrontations don't feel staged, the people involved are just that, and there isn't an uncomfortable glaze of schlock value. Instead, it pits people in places and situations foreign to them, and asks them to look around, spend some time with the people, and see if feels different. And its all anchored with Spurlock's knowing and insightful narration that moves each episode along with a briskness only stepped up by its wit. It's all brains with lots of heart --  if only more reality TV was as easy-going and "real" as this. Grade: B+

Tonight's TV: The Brothers & Sisters Season Finale

Brothers & Sisters: Michael Desmon/ABC

The wheel of rehashed story lines will have made a full 360 by the end of tonight's season finale of Brothers & Sisters (airs at 10 p.m. on ABC), only to begin turning again. Can't wait 'till we face the incest problem between Nora (Sally Field) and her brother Saul (Ron Rifkin) in season 4! I would say that I'm kidding if I didn't already think that such a "complication" isn't past B&S. But that's what season 2 has been -- impressively insipid. And while Kevin's (Matthew Rhys) wedding is pleasant, but don't expect anything else but problems you've already seen on this show 12 times. And flowers. Lots of flowers. Grade: C

Tonight's TV: Farmer Wants A Wife

Farmer Wants A Wife: Greg Gayne/The CW

Sincerity. Compassion. Love. These are just a few of the many qualities the contestants on Farmer Wants A Wife (airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW) are looking for in Matt Neustadt, the titular farmer with pectoral muscles that could drive a tractor. Like with the scads of dating shows before it, everyone involved seems to work with their groins more often than their brains -- or neither. Then again, these are the same people who thought they could find true love in television's phoniest genre. Turns out the strike's favorite punchline is also its worst side effect. Grade: F

Weekend TV: Battlestar Galactica and More

Battlestar Galactica: NBC Universal, The Mighty B!: Nickelodeon, Carrier: PBS

--As if the crew on Battlestar Galactica weren't morose enough, Tory (Rekha Sharma) is turning into a homicidal femme-bot that tosses mommies out of air decks. Will all be revealed in tonight's episode (airing at 10 p.m. on Sci Fi) as the preview said? Hopefully, but I'd be happy to know what happened to Six (Tricia Helfer) and her fellow Cylons after last week's betrayal.

--Kids shows don't really grab my attention -- except The Mighty B! (airing Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on Nickelodeon), which features the voice of SNL's Amy Poehler as 9-year-old girl scout-lite Bessie Higgenbottoms (Awesome. Name.), whose out to collect every merit badge so that she can become the titular superhero.

--Carrier (on PBS; check local listings for airtime) takes us aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz for a uninhibited look into the lives of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier's 5,000 crew members. This is the kind of documentary that's so raw, you can't believe it's happening.

Weekend TV: Brothers & Sisters Return and More

Brothers & Sisters: ABC

Those boozy Walkers are back for four more episodes of whining, reeling, and drinking -- and Rob Lowe wears business casual! Forced enthusiasm! I tease because I once loved, even it was for about two episodes. Last season. What started out as a show that pathetically tried to interject teary monologues with political policy has become a slightly less pathetic show about being generally upset about...stuff?

The point of Brothers & Sisters (airs Sundays at 10 p.m.; ABC) is indiscernible, as is the chemistry among the siblings, who all seem like they would rather have their own shows than share this one. Sunday's episode -- like every episode -- has the petulant Walker children screaming at their mother (Sally Field, master hand-wringer) after her beau (guest star Danny Glover) threatens to take her away. She'd be better off. Grade: C

Synergy At its Greatest? American Idol Contestants Sing Mariah Carey Songs on the Release Date of Mariah Carey's New Album. Canny, No?

I find it very, very interesting that American Idol contestants are singing Mariah Carey songs on the very day that Mariah Carey's new album, E=MC^2. Yeah, I'm still going to watch, but I won't be able to watch without reeling from the icky, product-placement-y overlay. And if David Archuleta sings "We Belong Together," I give up.

Tonight's TV: Bones Returns and More

Bones: Ray Mickshaw/FOX

Interesting scheduling choice made by Fox -- I know Bones (airs at 8 p.m.) has been building a pretty solid audience over the last couple seasons, but is it strong enough to open a night all on its own? New Amsterdam could use Bones-sized numbers if it expects to see another season, which I have to say seems very unlikely. (It's barely-decent 6.5 million or so viewers a week is made worse by CBS' formidable comedies, which score double-digit ratings every week with ease.) Anyways, tonight's episode is about a motorcyclist who turns up dead. (Surprise!) I bet Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) solve it. Any takers?

Tonight's TV: A Room With a View

A Room with a View: Sophie Molins/
IWC Media for MASTERPIECE

Now that we're done with Jane Austen, PBS' seminal Masterpiece Theatre focuses on other authors -- this week it's E.M. Forster's A Room With a View (check local listings for airtime), about another girl (Elaine Cassidy) who travels abroad, falls for a man (Rafe Spall) beneath her social status,  but doesn't realize it until she's ostensibly too late. Though sharply written by Andrew Davies (who also penned the illustrious Pride & Prejudice adaptation for BBC), the amended ending is neither necessary or worthy. Grade: B-

Tonight's TV: Samantha Who? Returns

Samantha Who?: ABC

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." That's what opens tonight's episode of amnesia-stricken comedy Samantha Who? (airing at 9:30 p.m. on ABC) -- actually, call it more anemia-stricken if anything. Like the aforementioned clunker said by Barry Watson's otherwise affable Todd, Samantha Who? isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is, and the pitfall I worried about when I originally reviewed it last fall has taken this breezy (and forgettable) comedy under. Still, Christina Applegate is great with her furrowed-browed gumption, and Jean Smart can handle any B-story you throw at her -- just don't expect much more. Grade: C+

Tonight's TV: Greek

Greek: Karen Neal/ABC Family

Now that the spring chapter has begun (Fall chapter? Really? What's wrong with calling it season 2?) on ABC Family's Greek, I can continue in my love-hate relationship with this admittedly racy show (for what network it airs on at least) that borrows the same emotional peaks and valleys from the all too annoying Grey's Anatomy. But Greek has proven itself a bit savvier than Grey's, which is why it's always "I hate it!" or "I love it!" There is no happy medium. Alas, I will watch with leaps of joy and cries of horror like every week,  because darn it, Spencer Grammer is just too likable not to.

Tonight's TV: Britney Spears on How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother: CBS

So this is it people. You no longer have an excuse not to watch How I Met Your Mother tonight at 8:30 on CBS -- it has Britney Spears! No really, please watch, because us HIMYM fans really want to see this underrated comedy make it through another season. And I think it's because of this ratings hunger that we're willing to let this very obvious use of stunt casting go unpunished. Britney, you have our blessing! Now watch!

Tonight's TV: Miss Guided (Again!) and More

Miss Guided: Richard Cartwright/ABC

Judy Greer's mostly good sitcom, Miss Guided, airs in its regular timeslot (two, back-to-back episodes starting at 8 p.m.) tonight, which features a guest role from exec producer Ashton Kutcher (above) as a free-spirited Spanish teacher named Beaux. It's an improvement over Tuesday's pilot, mostly because it lightens up on having the characters look straight into the camera. Oh yeah, this first episode of the night also has Jamie Lynn Spears as a pregnant teen! It's funny because it's ironic, and not because she's pregnant now and is playing pregnant too, but because this episode was shot before she got pregnant. You can't make this stuff up.

Tonight's also the last pre-strike episode of Lost, and it's all about Michael (Harold Perrineau), who -- surprise! -- is the most likely the Ben's man on the boat. Yeah, we all about this waaaaaaay back in the fall, but if Lost continues as it has been this season, then that won't matter.

Also, if you care, the season finale of Lipstick Jungle airs tonight as well. What? You don't care? I don't blame you.

Tonight's TV: Miss Guided

Miss Guided: ABC

Miss Guided's (airing tonight at 10:30 p.m. on ABC) leading lady, Judy Greer, should have had her own show a long time ago. As high school loser-turned-guidance counselor Becky Freely, she isn't doing half bad -- Becky's the same of kind of spastic, furrowed-browed sweetheart that Greer played so perfectly on Arrested Development. But besides Greer, this comedy is mostly forgettable because its so formulaic (the dumb love interest, the arch nemesis returns). And for reasons unknown (besides extremely lazy writing), all the characters speak directly into the camera. It's best just to adore Greer, and glaze over the rest. Grade: B-

Tonight's TV: How I Met Your Mother Returns

How I Met Your Mother: CBS

Post-strike living will begin tonight as underrated CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother returns for nine straight episodes of inappropriate behavior from Neil Patrick Harris. I have no idea what tonight's episode is actually about, just that it guest stars Vanessa Minnillo as a potential conquest for Ted (Josh Radnor). Doesn't matter, I'm going to be watching anyway. And if you still think you're too good for some HIMYM, then I've got the solution: Britney Spears!

Tonight's TV: The Return of Jezebel James

The Return of Jezebel James: Eric Liebowitz/Fox

The Return of Jezebel James (airing tonight at 8 p.m. on Fox) is so jarringly awful, my media cabinet nearly recoiled in shock. This new sitcom from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino is embarrassingly unfunny, much of which can be attributed to the stilted tone that tries to set a laugh track to Palladino's lightning-fast, pop culture-savvy colloquialisms -- nothing really lines up the way it should. And Parker Posey's performance as a shrill and flighty children's-book editor leaves only more yearning for Lauren Graham to return to the small screen. It's an unbearable, tragic mess. Grade: D-

Tonight's TV: Top Chef and South Park Return

Top Chef: Bravo; South Park: Comedy Central

The glory of TV is that there really is something for everyone. You have your sudsy dramas with "complicated" characters and the comedies that almost foray into incest (Oh, 30 Rock, how I miss you!), and tonight, the return of downright foodie porn (Top Chef) and animated ever-children saying the darnedest things (South Park). Yes, in 2008 it's acceptable to juxtapose between sophisticated cuisine art to brash, raunchy loony 'toons in the same night.

Tonight's TV: Canterbury's Law

Canterbury's Law: KC Bailey/Fox

I was skeptical about new courtroom drama Canterbury's Law (airs tonight at 8 p.m.): haven't we all seen the show about a strict-business lawyer already? Yeah, but this is a different kind of procedural -- it's suspenseful, riveting, and just the right amount of vicious. All of this is empowered by a great Julianna Marguiles as the titular lawyer with as much of an acid tongue as Rescue Me's Denis Leary -- canny, seeing how Leary is a producer. Maybe not as fluid in its writing as it could be, Canterbury's Law gets props for being different and approachable. Grade: B

Tonight's TV: Men in Trees

Men in Trees: ABC

Tonight's episode is sort of like the second season premiere we were supposed to get before the despicable success of October Road ended Men in Trees' (airing tonight at 10 p.m. on ABC) first season early, and caused the remainder of last season and this season to be rolled altogether. But I'm over that, and just in time too: we finally deal with Jack's (James Tupper) fate, and Anne Heche gives the performance of her career. Prepare to weep -- and laugh, and cheer, and revel in the delight that this show is finally back. Grade: B+

Tonight's TV: New Amsterdam

New Amsterdam: Jeff Neira/Fox

Fox has been a little skimpy lately with the screeners, so I haven't actually seen tonight's premiere of immortal cop drama New Amsterdam beforehand, and thus, no review. But it's OK! In light of my lack of review, I thought I'd give you some snippets from reviews by the TV critics I trust the most (and added the corresponding letter grade), so you can decide whether to watch or not. I have to anyways, but it's good for me to know that you have the choice.

Matt Roush, TV Guide
"Cult alert. For viewers who love a mystery with a brooding supernatural hero — and you know who you are, you Moonlight maniacs — I call to your attention New Amsterdam's John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a handsome and haunted Manhattan detective who truly has seen it all. Tends to happen when you've been around 400 years.

...The procedural stuff is mostly drab, but John's institutional memories of the Big Apple (dating back to when it was still a big jungle) make New Amsterdam more intriguing than it initially appears." Grade: B

Maureen Ryan, Chicago Tribune
"It’s not a bad premise, or at least it wouldn’t be if Amsterdam’s partner (Zuleikha Robinson) weren’t the typical angry female cop and if Amsterdam’s attitude toward his 300-plus years on Earth weren’t one of bland cynicism. " Grade: D-

Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle
"They spent a lot of money on the pilot of "New Amsterdam," but maybe not enough on the writers. Or, more accurately, the plot." Grade: D

Brian Lowry, Variety
"Leave it to the minds currently running network TV that immortals don't teach history (as one logically did in an old Twilight Zone) but rather pursue procedural-friendly vocations. Easy to dismiss at first glance, the series does exhibit some possibilities in its second episode, though it's still a relatively uninspired time-killer for those of us with just one life to live." Grade: B-

Tonight's TV: Oprah's Big Give

Oprah's Big Give: ABC

It should be called Oprah Winfrey Presents: An Intimate Hour of Altruism. I joke only because I kind of like it: Orpah's Big Give (airs tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC) is blissfully charitable (it sends people nationwide to help others in need) while being downright proud of the near-saccharine philanthropy. Thing is, it feels a little weird watching the struggles of others being used as challenges in a competition. (To the 10 contestants' credit,  they don't know there's a million-dollar prize waiting for the winner.)

Oprah herself doesn't make much of an appearance, and the competition angle is just unnecessary -- you don't see Ty Pennington voting construction workers out of a destroyed house. Regardless, Big Give scores for make us feel, like on tonight's premiere, which features a woman and her two daughters struggling to make ends meet after she's been widowed. Sniff. Break out the tissues already. Grade: B-

Tonight's TV: Reaper Returns?

Reaper: Jack Rowand/The CW

Unfortunately, the show notes for Thursday night's American Idol had to be nixed because I ended up working really late. Sorry. Anyways, I was a little surprised when my DVR's to-do list showed Reaper airing tonight at 9 p.m. on The CW. Was there any press for its return? Mind you, I don't watch commercials, which should have been indicated by the mention of my DVR above. I'll be watching  that and Lost tonight. So for the first time in awhile: what are you watching tonight?

Tonight's TV: quarterlife

quarterlife: NBC

quarterlife (debuts tonight at 10 p.m.), a MySpace import by thirtysomething and My So-Called Life producers Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick isn't something neither the web or television hasn't encountered before: a soap about whiny, self-involved twentysomethings trying to figure life out in an over-conceptualized depiction of the current Web 2.0 generation. Worse, it's so intent on giving off indie/hipster sensibilities that it winds up being more like self-parody. But like Herskovitz and Zwick's previous series, these characters are inherently interesting all while being painfully grating. Grade: C

Tonight's TV: A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun: Peter Stranks/ABC

Like the Lorraine Hansberry play, A Raisin in the Sun (8 p.m., ABC) opens with the Langston Hughes poem "A Dream Deferred," where this impassioned, beautiful work gets its title, and is the basis of this drama, which puts an entire family's  fate in the hands of a measurable insurance check. Starring the cast of the 2004 Broadway production, this television adaption is rife with excellent, almost unreal performances -- including from rapper Sean Combs. But it's the women in this special that make Sun shine the most. Grade: A-

Tonight's TV: American Idol

American Idol: Frank Mlcelotta/Fox

Idol has finally gotten to the point where people get to vote, and when the real competition begins. Actually though, the main reason I'm mentioning Idol today is because, starting tomorrow morning, I will be posting recaps of the previous night's show. A first for Watch with Intelligence, it will likely be a quick, two or three sentence review of each person's performance (the guys are on tonight), along with a grade. So check back here tomorrow morning (say, 8 a.m. central time?) to read my thought and share yours. And don't forget to vote. No really, it's an election year.

Weekend TV: Dexter on CBS

Dexter: Peter Iovino/Showtime

We knew it was coming: Dexter's first season begins re-airing on sister network CBS this Sunday -- edited of course for content. Will it be the same macabre hour with out all the lovely expletives? Probably not, but I'm going to re-watch the original, profanity-laden pilot tonight so I can compare the two later. Hopefully it won't be anything like the repeats of The Wire on BET, which were just neutered to the point it was completely different show. Michael C. Hall though, no matter what kind of censoring they do, will still be bloody brilliant.

Tonight's TV: Lost

Now that the strike is over its only a matter of weeks before new episodes start trickling in -- including Lost,which, as of this writing, is most likely to produce an additional five episodes to make a season total of 13, just three shy of the original plan. Tonight's episode is the first episode I haven't seen beforehand, so I'll be watching along with everyone else. Now I'm off to down a couple episodes of condensed quaterlife.

Tonight's TV: American Idol

American Idol: Timothy White/FOX

Every year we hear how this season's batch of American Idol hopefuls are the "best yet." This has only been true, what, twice now? I'm talking about season four (or the one were Carrie Underwood won) and, surprisingly, this season, which has figured out the perfect Idol formula: focus on talent, show us the crazies, and forget about the grating animal noises that are the audition rounds. Last night was a trim and fit, two-hour expose on Hollywood Week, the official transition from loony tunes to the competition, and it was simply top-notch. Whittling down the hopefuls from 50 to 24 is tonight, and the phone-it-voting kicks off next week -- just in case Ryan Seacrest doesn't remind you 20,000 times what to do.

Tonight's TV: Jericho Returns

Jericho: Cliff Lipson/CBS

Thanks, Jericho fans -- your enthusiasm for the post-apocalyptic  drama made me lose a wager -- that resulted in me watching unhealthy amounts of The Brady Bunch -- and forced CBS to revive the axed show, which starts its shortened, seven-episode second season tonight at 10 p.m. I'll admit I gave up right around the wannabe Western shoot 'em up scene, and didn't bother looking back, figuring it wouldn't matter since it showed very early signs of cancellation. This time I promise not to be so foolish, and I have thusly set my DVR to record tonight's premiere, along with subsequent episodes. So relish your victory Jericho fans, you deserve it.

Tonight's TV: Welcome to the Captain

Welcome to the Captain: Michael Yarish/CBS

How odd to see a single-camera comedy on the older-skewing CBS. Welcome to the Captain (airing at 8:30 p.m.), a hapless, glib trifle, probably won't have Les Moonves begging for a season two. About a struggling writer (Fran Kanz) who moves into the titular Hollywood apartment building, Captain is full of predictable oddball types, including a witless Chris Klein as the best friend and out-of-place Jeffrey Tambor as gossip hound "Uncle" Saul. Never outright terrible, but not especially funny either, Captain is mostly bland. Grade: C+

Tonight's TV: The Friday Night Lights Season (?) Finale

Friday Night Lights: NBC

Why is it that good news is always followed by bad news? Good news: the writers strike could actually be on the verge of ending, according to this article from the LA Times. Bad News: NBC Entertainment co-chairman recently aired his distaste for Friday Night Lights to Radar -- it's already got middling ratings, and this isn't helping anything. Entertainment Weekly, and TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, however, have reported that Friday Night Lights' following amongst other NBC execs is inspiring them to potentially relocate the show to a different network, possibly one of NBC's sister nets like Bravo or USA, or even ESPN, where it'll probably be canceled even swifter. So I propose in the loom of a possible end to this horrid strike, everyone sit down on the couch tonight at 9 p.m. and enjoy the Friday Night Lights season finale on NBC. Tell everyone you know to make time to watch it -- preferably live, but DVR ratings would be fine too. You have your orders, now march!

Tonight's TV: Super Tuesday -- Outstanding Drama Series of the Year

Barack and Hilary: Emmy winners in the making?

It's here. It's Tuesday, and it's Super. It's Super Tuesday. No Idol tonight for me folks, I'm going to be watching the best show on TV right now: The Barack and Hilary Variety Hour -- tonight's a super-sized edition!

Tonight's TV: The New Adventures of Old Christine Returns and More

Old Christine: Adam Taylor/Warner Bros.

Oh, Old Christine, how I've missed you so! Having not (intentionally) laughed on Monday nights in a long while, Julia Louis-Dreyfus' winning little sitcom on CBS is a welcome return. In fact, I've been missing genuinely funny moments on TV for awhile now, and I still hunger for more Midnight Train to Georgia. Old Christine should fill the gap for a few weeks, with tonight's episode guest-starring the omnipresent Blair Underwood (he's got to have a great agent) as Christine's crush Mr. Harris. There's also some show called Welcome to the Captain premiering earlier at 8:30 p.m. The sad thing is that I hadn't even heard of it until I flipped through an issue of Entertainment Weekly this morning. That's what we have DVRs for my friends -- so that we can record mediocre sitcoms and give 'em a chance.

Weekend TV: House

House: Fox

No, I'm not going to watch the Super Bowl. Not even for the commercials. Yeah, a few are occasionally cute, but as a honed DVR ninja, my thumb has a reflex that immediately taps the fast-forward button the second someone tries to sell me something on the tube. I will, however, be checking out the post-Super Bowl show House, a much better fit than last year's deplorable Criminal Minds on CBS. The episode (if somehow you've managed to dodge the nonstop preview reel on Fox), "Frozen," guest stars Mira Sorvino as a doctor stationed in the South Pole suffering unnamed ailments. While maybe not as spectacular as Grey's Anatomy's bomb episode, it looks like a solid, regular-flavor episode of House, and if it's anything this series has been throughout its run, it'll be a charged, well-done hour.

Tonight's TV: In Treatment

In Treatment: Claudette Barius

There's little new TV to watch tonight without Project Runway, so tonight I thought I'd mention HBO's nifty little series, In Treatment (9:30 p.m.), about a calm, almost too cool, and collected therapist (Gabriel Byrne), and the sessions he has with his truly devastated patients. Inspired by a hit Israeli series, In Treatment runs like daytime TV by airing a new episode every weekday, each featuring a different patient, and on Fridays, the doc himself as he visits his own psychotherapist. Thing is, In Treatment isn't entirely worthy of the demanding schedule it proposes: some days are better than others (Wednesdays are gripping, Mondays are dull), and it's just a little too much like work than watching TV. Still, it's worth a look -- maybe just not every day. Grade: B

Weekend TV: SAG Awards and More

Mad Men: AMC

There's an usual amount of buzz for this year's SAG Awards, airing Sunday night at 8 p.m. on TBS. And that's probably because this is an awards show where the stars are actually going to show up. This could also be the prime opportunity that the Golden Globes could have been: a forum for members of the TV biz to spread word that this writers strike needs to end sooner rather than later. Plus, if Globe winners like Tina Fey and Jon Hamm (pictured, above) win trophies, we get to see the acceptance speeches we were sorely denied.

On another note, I know that posting has been light, and I'm sorry about that. I've been working some late hours, and I just can't squeeze in a timely post everyday. Next week should be better. I've got reviews of Mansfield Park and Eli Stone coming up, and Lost finally returns next week. So until then, go watch Friday Night Lights.

[UPDATE: In an apparent Best Friday Ever, I've just got my hands on the first two episodes of the new season Lost. So I'll also have a review of that on Thursday as well.]

Tonight's TV: The Moment of Truth

The Moment of Truth: Kelsey McNeal/FOX

Can't say that the concept of Fox's The Moment of Truth are entirely humanitarian, but I can say that I'm definitely interested. Will it be fun to see people squirm for their little white lies, or will it be foul for degrading people and their relationships, all for the pleasure of a studio audience and for those of us at home. Either way, I'm checking it out.

Tonight's TV: The Real Hustle

The Real Hustle: TruTV

Oh, the lessons to be learned. In The Real Hustle, which premieres tonight with two back-to-back episodes at 10 p.m. on TruTV, Apollo Robbins, Ryan Oakes, and Dani Marco -- who are "professional" cons -- use their slick hustler skills to teach us how, deep down, we're all suckers. It can be informative, like when we see Dani and Apollo nab a man's cell phone while asking for directions, and when they steal a woman's trash and ostensibly take her identity, but it's not anymore enjoyable than all the other watch-and-learn-type shows. And that's because The Real Hustle isn't at all entertaining: the cons are too self-impressed with their quick pick-pocketing, and the narrator seems to think that he's speechifying a Disney movie trailer. It too often condemns us instead of educating us, and that's never any fun. Grade: C-

Tonight's TV: American Idol Returns

American Idol: Michael Becker/Fox

It's baaaaaaaaaack! American Idol returns tonight with the first round of auditions in Philadelphia. And I don't think that Watch with Intelligence has been around long enough for me to tell you how much I love it. Yeah, that's right, I love American Idol. And I don't feel an iota of shame for it either because I don't watch for the auditions -- I watch for the singing competition. And yeah, I know there are more important things going on in the world right now, so I set the TiVo to record the Democratic debate on MSNBC and the Republican debate on Fox News. So there. I'm having my cake and eating too. Tell gentle viewers, what are you watching tonight?

Tonight's TV: Sarah Connor Chronicles

Sarah Connor Chronicles: R. Foreman/Fox

So I hear some people like them some Terminator. But are they the same people who thought they'd like them some Bionic Woman, who scurried away faster than Jaime Sommers' bionic legs could run? Are you the same fickle fan, or were you just too lazy to change the channel after the football game? Both? I want to know who you are, because when a show posts high marks in the ratings it either means we have a genuine hit on our hands, or we can expect to see a steady ratings drop in the coming weeks. Episode 2, which I've already seen, is an improvement over the pilot, but it still isn't great. Maybe episode 3 will change my mind, maybe it won't, but I'm willing to stick it out for the remaining six episodes Fox has in the can and find out. How about you?

[UPDATE: I have no idea what happened, but for reason Typepad posted most of my words (and a few I don't even remember typing), and not all of them. All is better.]

Tonight's TV: Ugly Betty and More

Ugly Betty: Ron Tom/ABC

It's a season finale extravaganza tonight as more shows are airing their last remaining episodes. So say goodbye to Ugly Betty (which I'll sort of miss), Grey's Anatomy (good riddance), and 30 Rock (Noooo!!!) -- you're probably not going to see them again for a very, very long time at the rate of this strike. I know this post is short, but tomorrow I have reviews of Sarah Connor Chronicles and Persuasion. So say goodbye, and stay strong.

Tonight's TV: One Tree Hill Returns

One Tree Hill: Andrew Eccles/The CW

Apparently, One Tree Hill is returning with a two-hour premiere (8 p.m.-10 p.m.) tonight on The CW. I've never had the slightest inkling to spend an hour or two with Chad Michael Murray and co. (so no, I don't have a clue who half the people are in the photo above), and I don't plan on it either -- this strike will not control me. I just thought it was interesting that unlike a lot of high school-set teen dramas, OTH will not venture into college, but will instead be skipping ahead four years. Now why couldn't Veronica Mars do that? Fans, if you read this, come back tomorrow with your thoughts on the time-warp.