GLEE: There was a whole lotta mama drama in last night’s episode as Will discovered Terri’s scheme and pregnant Quinn found her voice and stood up to Coach Sue. It was odd to watch an episode and have almost half of it go by with no musical number. I’m still charmed by any scene with Will and Emma (Jayma Mays) and when Will talked to her about his problems at home, my heart went out to Emma as she tried to counsel Will but clearly couldn’t do so because of her feelings for him. Looks like her wedding is a crucial part of next week’s fall finale episode.
TOP CHEF FINALE – PART 1: While the Top 3 are deserving competitors, I’m sad about Jen. She’s so smart and technically savvy. I think it’s a pressure management issue with her. I say that knowing full well I could never even try to compete in a reality TV show, much less cook a gourmet meal in front of a camera. She’s a talented chef and I’m curious to see what she’ll do next in real life. I continue to root for flavormaster Kevin to win it all.
HOUSE: This week’s episode “Wilson” was outstanding because while it contained the usual medical mystery hunt, the patient was a longtime friend of Wilson’s whom he treated for leukemia (Josh Malina played the friend). The episode also explored the nature of friendship; what friends will do for each other as well as what they won’t do. When Wilson’s treatment of his friend’s sudden sickness cause the man’s liver to fail, Wilson felt obligated to help his friend even though he was his doctor. Wilson agreed to give a lobe of his own liver to his friend and when he asked House to be in the operating room during the procedure, House said no and told Wilson, “If I lose you, I’m alone.” The scene was stark, simply written and overpowering in its emotion. Robert Sean Leonard and Hugh Laurie and one of TV’s best couples; call it a bromance or whatever you will, these two actors are so perfect together as the new Odd Couple (House even asked Wilson is he had been out with The Pigeon Sisters in this episode which is an Odd Couple reference), the show could be about the two of them every week and it would be a huge win for the audience.
LIE TO ME: In “Fold Equity,” Cal and his team went to Vegas to help find a missing poker player before the World Poker Championship. In order to do so, Cal has to interrogate professional poker players who make their living by not letting anything show on their faces. In a funny twist, we found out Cal was banned from Vegas and he was thrilled to be back. Tim Roth had a lot of funny lines in this episode and it worked so well because Roth does sardonic/sarcastic very well. He’s always a pleasure to watch but sometimes LIE TO ME repeats itself with the process Cal goes through in his interrogations and this week’s episode was a refreshing change from that. I also have to mention Abby Brammell’s performance; she was especially good as hot blonde poker player Poppy Wells, a woman who immediately fascinated Cal in more ways than one. Ricky Jay was also strong as a veteran poker player who had made it to the finals of tournament.
Note: You can watch both the HOUSE and LIE TO ME episodes on Fox.com; Fox has a very good streaming player too so it’s not a drag to watch online.
ON THE DVR: Bravo’s new fashion competition LAUNCH MY LINE and last week’s PBS documentary OBJECTIFIED (thanks to my friend Lisa for the heads up about it). Reminder: you can still view the outstanding and extremely moving P.O.V. documentary about troop greeters in Maine, THE WAY WE GET BY, on the PBS website: http://video.pbs.org/video/1321508265/
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: Rickie Lee Jones – “The Moon is Made of Gold”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIjl5LMf8D4
Tonight’s rundown:
ABC: FlashForward, Private Practice (special time), Private Practice
Once again, the promos for FLASH FORWARD are telling us not to miss the last few minutes of the episode; I wonder if that means the other 41 minutes of it suck. In tonight’s episode: Mark and Demetri travel to Tokyo in search of more info about Demetri getting shot in the future and Lloyd Simcoe wants to apologize for his role in the blackout but Simon is not in favor of this idea.
There are two hours of PRIVATE PRACTICE tonight. GREY’S will return in January with new episodes.
CBS: Survivor: Samoa, CSI (repeat), The Mentalist (repeat)
NBC: Community, Parks & Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock, The Jay Leno Show
Sex ed is the topic in tonight’s episode of COMMUNITY.
On PARKS AND REC: Tom’s green card marriage to his incredibly hot doctor wife is ending so the Parks & Rec gang takes him out to cheer him up. Any episode that focuses on Aziz Ansari promises great things! Maybe Ron Swanson’s alter ego will bring his sax too.
On THE OFFICE: When Michael can’t fulfill a promise he made to a group of kids years ago, he has to “face the music.”
On 30 ROCK: Whoopi Goldberg guests in tonight’s episode as Liz starts production on her “Dealbreakers!” show.
FOX: Bones, Fringe
CW: Vampire Diaries (repeat), Supernatural (repeat)
Animal Planet: 8pm: Echo: Queen of the Elephants (special, 2-hours)
This just sounds cool! “Echo is the much-studied matriarch of the elephant population that lives in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. This two-hour special follows her on a long journey during which she and her family face drought, famine, and predators. Meanwhile, Echo’s health fades. Produced with the team that has been watching these elephants for decades, this documentary about Echo promises to be an extraordinary view of mother nature.”
BBC America: The Truth About Binge Drinking (special)
BRAVO: 10pm: Real Housewives of Orange County
Discovery: Destroyed in Seconds (returns from hiatus)
Food: Ace of Cakes (season premiere)
FX: 10pm: It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, 1030pm: The League
The IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: IT’S A VERY SUNNY CHRISTMAS DVD is available now! It sounds especially twisted and features a buck naked Danny DeVito in one scene. Order early, order often:
http://www.amazon.com/Its-Always-Sunny-Philadelphia-Christmas/dp/B002IFUCYE
The very funny Tom Lennon (aka RENO 911′s Lt. Dangle) guests in tonight’s episode of THE LEAGUE. I’m liking this show more and more every week and while I was home in Chicago, I found out it’s the new fave show of BOTH of my big brothers.
History: Gangland
MTV: 10pm: Jersey Shore (series debut)
At least one Italian-American organization was not happy about this show as they thought it was derogatory that the word “guido” is used. The concept of the show is simple: eight people from the TriState area live together in a summer share house on the Jersey shore. THE REAL WORLD goes to Jersey, eh?
NFL Network: NFL Football: Jets @ Bills (special)
Science: Science of the Movies: Puppet Meisters, How’d They Do It?
Spike: TNA Wrestling Impact!
TBS: The Very Funny Show
TLC: American Chopper, BBQ Pit Masters (series debut)
TOON: Chowder, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Total Drama Action (season finale), Johnny Test
That’s a wrap for now.
