Premiere Week Part 2

Premiere week is now over, and I still have a lot to watch. But here are some quick takes on all the comedies I watched this week, both the returning and the new. New shows first.

If you listened to most critics on Fox's two new Tuesday night comedies, you'd set the series pass on Raising Hope and figure Running Wilde would be a complete waste of time. But personally, I liked Running Wilde better. It's certainly flawed and far from perfect, but when it comes to which one holds more promise and makes me laugh more, it's Wilde.

From the creator of Arrested Development, starring Will Arnett and featuring David Cross, Running Wilde has very much the same tone as its comedy classic predecessor. Steven Wilde (Arnett) is the rich son of an oil company owner who's never had to work or grow up in his life, and Emmy Kadubic (Keri Russell) is an environmental activist who's spent the past six years in the Amazon. They had a thing when they were teens, and now Emmy's back in town. The show's narrated by Emmy's daughter Puddle, who otherwise chooses not to speak, and the rest of the supporting cast consists of the people who take care of Wilde and his competitively rich frenemy/neighbor.

Like most pilots, this one crams a lot into 22 minutes, so it's hard to tell what a normal episode will be just yet. Arnett and Russell's interactions could use some work, and nobody in the supporting cast has really stood out so well (though I sense potential in the neighbor character). But given the amount of talent behind this show, I bet all of that can be worked out down the line. In the meantime, the pilot has more laughs than most other comedies on TV, the three leads are all likable, and AD's style of humor is very much at work. There's even an overt reference to it with one of GOB's catchphrases.

Verdict: May ultimately go either way, but I'm certainly sticking with it for the time being.

As for the show that airs before it, Raising Hope, I'm betting this falls into the category of decent shows that just aren't for me. From the creator of My Name is Earl, the tone is very similar: sweet and funny, but way more sweet than funny, with a cast of colorful hicks. Jimmy (Lucas Neff) is a young pool skimmer trying to figure out his life's purpose when he ends up in charge of a baby for fairly entertaining reasons. His parents want him to give it away since they barely managed to raise him, but he's determined. So the show's about the three of them not-so-successfully trying to raise the baby.

There's a big missed opportunity by taking the baby's mother out of the picture by the 15 minute mark, since she was one of the better characters. And the pilot's best moment may be an inside joke about My Name is Earl's cancellation. Since otherwise the show's more about awww moments than big laughs. And when it does go for laughs, it tends to be in the broader slapstick direction, especially those involving Cloris Leachman's often-topless senile grandmother. And it doesn't have as strong a hook or characters as Earl did. It wants to be the next Modern Family, but it's just not as clever.

Verdict: I'll give it one or two more episodes to be sure, but this one just isn't for me.

Speaking of Modern Family, it came back this week very true to form: no frills, no crazy plot developments, just simple hilarity. Of the three plotlines this week, I'm calling Mitchell and Cameron the funniest, as Mitchell sets out to build Lily a castle using his supposed college theater abilities while Cameron and Jay try to keep him as far away from the tools as possible. Mitchell defending himself while accidentally cutting down the flowers is classic. But plenty of good stuff elsewhere as well, with the Dunphys taking one last trip in the car they hadn't used in years, and Gloria getting jealous of Manny's study date. MF continues to be the most consistently funny show on air.

On to NBC's Thursday, where Community started off the set with plenty of cliffhangers to resolve. Last year I gave Community three episodes then let it go. But it takes time for a comedy's ensemble to gel together, and when I gave it another shot this summer I ended up really liking it.

The premiere sure makes it seem like this could be a break-out year for the show. With season 1 ending with all sorts of love quadrangle drama, this week addressed everything in a way that stayed funny and set up the rest of the season. Overexposed as she may be, Betty White's guest spot totally worked, and it will be interesting to see how letting Senor Chang into the study group will alter the dynamics.

With The Office and 30 Rock increasingly heading into old age, Community's quickly becoming NBC's top show to watch on Thursday nights.

30 Rock started its 5th (!!!) year with plenty of meta references to the fact that nobody expected it to last this long. It's also no longer top comedy dog now that buzz has shifted over to Modern Family and Glee. Which I think is a good thing, as all the overhyping didn't really serve what's basically a fun little gem. And with lowered expectations, it still delivers.

It does seem 30 Rock is the place to go for dramatic actors trying to prove they can do comedy, as Matt Damon follows in Jon Hamm's footsteps to reprise his season finale role as Liz's pilot boyfriend Carol. Having initially played the role pretty straight, Damon definitely gets laughs as he reveals Carol to be kind of needy. Too bad he can't stay too long if he wants to keep making movies.

Elsewhere, the Kenneth-gets-fired plot continues, as Tracy misses him while he settles in at CBS (sorting the Letterman audience by attractiveness). A bit of a missed opportunity as Jenna is given a producer credit only to give it up by the end of the episode. Would have been fun to see her fight with Liz and Pete on stuff throughout the season. And no sign of Danny, except on Glee. There's a danger this season will continue on the all Jack and Liz's love lives, all the time track it keeps heading on, but so far so good.

Finally, The Office maybe should have ended a few seasons ago (why do they want to continue after Michael leaves?), but it always starts its seasons strong and this year was no exception. Last year we met some summer interns, and this year we got Luke, the new office assistant. Who's also Michael's nephew. And sucks at his job. Which led to plenty of hilarity and great Michael moments.

Even better, a return to the Jim and Pam pranks of old, which had been neglected since the writers decided all Jim and Pam could do was be cute. Unfortunately, Dwight continues to become more of a sitcom caricature with every second he's onscreen. Enjoying Kelly thinking she's smart and professional without backing it up. Sad for Andy that Erin left him for Gabe. And not really sure what the deal with the lip dub thing at the beginning of the episode was about. A take-off on a youtube video I haven't seen?

If this year's like the past few years, The Office has 5 good episodes in it before it starts to drag again. But all the writer interviews I've read say they're stepping it up for Michael's last year, so maybe this will be a return to form. It's certainly possible.

Premiere Week Part 1

With SOOOO many shows premiering this week, both new and returning, it's going to be awhile until I get to everything I'd like to. Possibly weeks. So in order to leave myself time to actually watch some of these shows, I'm just going to do a whole bunch of quick takes on everything I've seen so far all at once.

Glee was probably the returning show I was most looking forward to, and the premiere reminded me how much fun this show is, if also why it's often called out as problematic. Beginning with a list of all the criticisms people have made about the show, the premiere went on to exemplify one of the bigger ones: fitting 5 episodes' worth of plot into a single hour. Which is why I wouldn't say the episode itself ranks among Glee's best.

But as far as setting up the new season goes, it definitely did the job. Coach Bieste throws a whole new twist into the Schue/Sue relationship, and fun to see them working together for a change. Just about every major kid character had some kind of change: Finn getting kicked off the football team, Artie losing Tina, Rachel having to compete with newcomers, Quinn back as captain of the Cheerios, etc. New characters (Sunshine, Sam, and the new Vocal Adrenaline coach) were introduced in such a way that you got a good sense of them without them taking away from the leads. And great musical numbers combined with good Sue Sylvester lines made for a very enjoyable hour of TV.

Going right to the theme episodes next week with a Brittany Spears homage may be a bit too soon, but hey, we knew this wasn't Mad Men. Glee doesn't take its time. The important thing is that all of the fun, energy, and humor of the first season is still very much intact here in year two, and this will continue to be the show I actually watch the night it airs.

I've got a lot of pilots I still need to get to, but the one new show I know I'll be sticking with is Boardwalk Empire. Between Martin Scorsese directing and Sopranos alums running the show, the pilot had a lot to live up to. And as far as I'm concerned, it succeeded. Personally, I'm getting a little of sick of shows on HBO, AMC, and FX that take their sweet time getting to the point, making you sit through a few dreary hours before getting amazing by the fifth episode. Boardwalk Empire is not like that. There's so much action, character, and, yes, actual humor in the opener alone that this isn't just a prestige show; it's actually entertaining.

Beginning right at the beginning of Prohibition, the show centers on Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), a city councilman in Atlantic City, New Jersey who puts together a bootletting operation to keep his city wet. He plays the politician by telling the temperance ladies he's one of them, then makes deals with New York (in the form of Michael Stuhlbarg's Arnold Rothstein) and Chicago (meet young Lucky Luciano and Al Capone). But just as central is Nucky's driver Jimmy (Michael Pitt), a young guy who turned down Princeton to fight in WWI, who plays the Christopher to Nucky's Tony. And at the same time, the Feds are trying to close the operation down, specifically Michael Shannon's Van Alden.

I've heard some criticism of Steve Buscemi as the leading man, and I will say I'm reserving judgement on that front. He definitely plays the part well, but as an excellent character actor he doesn't quite have the gravitas of, say, a James Gandolfini. But with so many great supporting players that may not make a difference. Michael Pitt's character is already emerging as just as much of a protagonist. And while much of the cast can be hard to distinguish as "white guys who look alike," enough stand out right away that everything should fall into place a lot earlier than in other HBO historical series like, say, Rome.

Obviously the production values of the $18 million pilot are extraordinary, and that's a reason to check it out alone. The show brings old Atlantic City to life in a big way, and the visuals are amazing to watch. You can tell the pilot was directed by Scorsese since it has the feel of his movies, which may have a lot to do with why it's so watchable. This is no dry history lesson, but a show that brings its era to life in much the same way Mad Men does, except with a lot more violence.

Given that the showrunners previously worked there, the show feels a LOT like The Sopranos, but in a good way. If you've been looking for something to fill that void, this is definitely it. And if you haven't, it's still a different enough show you might find something to like. With no other new shows breaking out as big hits the way Glee and Modern Family did last year, this seems to be it. HBO certainly thinks so, having already renewed it for a second season. If the rest of the season lives up to the promise of the pilot, we'll be seeing Boardwalk give Mad Men a scare at the Emmys next year.

How I Met Your Mother had what was pretty widely considered a weak fifth year. The showrunners are the first ones to admit that, so they wanted to step it up big time for season six. And in a lot of ways, this week's premiere showed the benefits of listening to your fans. It was a very back-to-basics episode, taking place almost entirely within the bar on a single night. Ted got to be the focus again (but not in an obnoxious way), and every character generally acted like themselves.

But while the rest of the episode was perfectly solid and enjoyable, it's the ending that makes this a great premiere and one that should re-hook any questioning fans. The show may be more of a "Friends for the 21st century" than an actual story about Ted meeting his wife, but this week brought the mother story a big step forward by revealing they meet at a wedding. The bigger surprise: Ted is the best man at the wedding! Ted doesn't know that many people. Marshall and Lily are already married. So the two most obvious guesses would be Barney or Robin. Though maybe it's Rachel Bilson marrying her new girlfriend. Why she'd chose some guy she dated for all of a minute as her best man I don't know, but she does at least she would presumably invite the mother-to-be.

Ah well, plenty of time to keep speculating. I'm certainly intrigued to find out.

Ok, catching up with some stuff from last week, Top Chef: Just Desserts premiered last Wednesday and while it's certainly not up to original flavor standards, I'd rank it above Masters. Like in the original, Desserts has contestants who really care about winning, so it's not all a good-natured lark like for the pros. The personalities are even bigger than on the regular version, so it almost feels more like Project Runway (not saying that's a good thing, just observing). But most importantly of all, there are so many delicious looking desserts that I will immediately need to run out to Crumbs after every episode. Total food porn.

If that weren't enough, everyone's favorite TC judge Gail Simmons is hosting, and Hubert Keller is supposed to show up somewhere down the line. It's hardly appointment TV, so too bad it's on during the busy fall instead of, say, the summer, where it would be exactly the right type of fluffy fun I'm looking for. But as a placeholder for real Top Chef, it works.

Finally (and STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE TOP CHEF FINALE YET), I finally saw the Top Chef finale tonight, and somehow stayed spoiler-free beforehand. Which made me all the more shocked by the result. It was clear from the episode that Kevin's was the meal they liked best, so in that sense he deserved to win. But it wouldn't have been clear that he would be Top Chef from any other given episode this season. He always seemed like one of the chefs that was good enough to stay in but not good enough to win too much. Then again, Ed sealed his fate when he decided to delegate the entire dessert course, and Angelo was working with a pretty severe disadvantage. Kevin did seem REALLY happy about it, so it's hard to hold it against him. But he seems more like another Hosea than one of the more obvious winners.

Well...So Much for True Blood This Year

I hadn't been a huge fan of True Blood this season, but I had faith it would pull itself together. Every season has a slow build-up before getting good, so it was ok that the first half of the season was kind of boring. I was frustrated that each of the main characters was stranded in a completely separate storyline and that there were more new characters than returning ones, but I believed it would all come together somehow. And now that the finale has aired, it's clear that....it didn't.

Nope, instead of all the separate characters pulling together to stop Russell Edgington like they did Mary Ann last year, each of the storylines remained just as separate as they've been all summer. Even worse, not one of them was properly resolved. Some fizzled to a lame end with the possibility of an encore, like Russell. Others went the cliffhanger route. And still others made it clear this entire season was just a big set-up for next year.

Let's start with Russell, who was supposed to be the unifying Big Bad this year. The moment that really got me re-hooked on the show and convinced me these last few episodes would kick into gear was, of course, when Russell killed the newsman on TV. Great, I thought, now Russell's going to go absolutely insane and have to be dramatically put down. But he didn't. That was the climax of his character arc. And since he was basically captured at the end of the last episode, he was rather easily defeated by Bill and Eric this time. He's obviously coming back, so I can't even say his cement burying counts as an ending, but since he was the only new character that positively added to the show that's ok with me.

Moving on to the main characters, a whole lot happened between Sookie, Bill, and Eric, but not a whole lot of it really worked. Bill went back and forth so many times it was hard to keep straight what he was up to, except that he may have completely lost it. Maybe this is supposed to signal a darker Bill in season 4 who kills anyone who looks at Sookie funny, or one deadset on covering his tracks. Given how many times Sookie's hated then loved Bill this season, it's hard to say if the reveal of his betrayal affects their relationship any more than anything else that's happened. And it's hard to take the Bill/Sophie Ann airborne fight scene too seriously.

Oh, and all the Sookie's a fairy stuff led to her entering fairyland. So.....again a set up for next year.

But even if it didn't all pull together, the Sookie/Bill/Eric stuff was still the most entertaining storyline throughout a season filled with extraneous ones. Were the sideplots worth sitting through? Let's see, we put up with Sam's consistently painful to watch birth family all year so....he could shoot his brother. Maybe. Seriously? Lafayette's romance with Jesus.....will make more sense next year, cause it was entirely set-up. Tara being depressed...caused her to cut her hair. Arlene being afraid of giving birth to Rene's baby....will continue. And worst of all, the complete waste of Jason's character we've witnessed this year seems to exist solely to put him in charge of a depressing village of meth addicts. That's not getting me excited about next season.

So I think it's safe to call season 3 an off year for True Blood. There was a whole lot of plot, but not a lot of drama. Most of what was built-up hasn't paid off yet because the pay off (hopefully) still has yet to come. Hopefully with Jesus and the Wiccan waitress already on the show there won't have to be too many new cast members next year, and we can spend more time with the ones we got. Hopefully the cast will also spend more time together instead of going off on separate adventures with various new supernatural creatures. Personally, I think witches are better than werewolves (not that the werewolves even served much of a point this year), so I believe next year will be better. Or at least I hope so.

Christmas in August

Mad Men typically takes its time to get its seasons started, doing a slow build that pays off big time by the finale. But after two episodes, it seems season 4 is no typical Mad Men season. That extra energy present in the season 3 finale that had been absent in the rather gloomy and downbeat season preceding it was back in full force in last week's premiere, as we watched Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce well into their start-up mode and very much in action.

There's a new feel to this season, and so far the change is for the better. Sure it's sad to see characters like Paul go, but that just means more time for favorites that had been neglected last year, like Peggy and Roger. And I imagine we'll see everyone soon enough, seeing as we've already had returns from Freddy Rumsen and Glenn, both of whom I'm pretty sure haven't been seen since season 2. Though I may need to refresh my Mad Men memory. Is Peggy's boyfriend new, or was he on last season?

As fun as the premiere was, it was actually the second episode I'd put as the first classic of the season. As odd as it may be to watch a Christmas episode in the midst of this heat wave filled summer, it was certainly a great one. Last week I think we witnessed the emergence of Diva Don - Don's the star of the new agency and everyone else pretty much has to do what he wants. But Don's star was nothing compared to that of Lucky Strike Lee, who's previously used his power to get Sal fired. As the sole person keeping the new venture afloat, he got to act like a little kid and have everything his way. The big party, the present, and most forcefully Roger in a Santa suit all came about to attend to his desires. Who else thought Roger might put the company in jeopardy by punching him in his over-tanned face?

While Roger was swallowing his pride to keep the agency going, Don didn't worry about his. Needing to be tucked in at night first by the nurse down the hall and then his secretary, it's clear his post-divorce life isn't going so hot. Though this week's Don's storyline was really ruled by his secretary, who I can't say I had noticed before (did she come over from Sterling Cooper or was she new last week?) but did a pretty great job establishing her character within the one episode. From competently yet flirtily taking care of Don's holiday shopping to thinking her crush had gone requited only to seemingly be paid off to keep quiet, she got quite the arc for a character whose name I still don't know. May be interesting to see if that continues this season.

Finally, I guess Glenn was always kind of creepy, but he definitely went big time creepy this week. I'm not sure if his sneaky phone calls or his breaking in was worse, but he seems to be getting kind of stalkerish towards Sally. Or maybe he's just trying to make Betty jealous. I have to admit I'm not minding the diminished screentime for Betty so far. Her courtship with Henry last year took away valuable time from the office. She's clearly sticking around, but for now at least she's taking up an appropriate amount of the episodes.

Oftentimes when shows try to change things up, it either fails miserably (Weeds moving to the Mexican border) or devolves back into the show the writers were trying to escape from (Nip/Tuck moving to LA). But while it's only been two episodes, it's looking like the move to SCDP was just what Mad Men needed after all. I'm looking forward to seeing how the new agency manages.

Elsewhere on AMC, Rubicon, the network's third original series, premiered last night. Due to a DVR mix-up I've only seen the first of the two episodes, but I can't say I'm excited to keep going. While the premise certainly sounds like my kind of show and the opening credits had me intrigued, Rubicon's pilot had to be one of the slowest moving hours of TV I've ever seen. I swear if they eliminated every long silence it would have been a third as long.

So what did happen? Not too much. Kim Bauer's ex now has Will Schuester's hair and first name and works at some government office where he sits around and does crossword puzzles all day. One of the crossword puzzles turned out to be dangerous and got his boss/father-in-law killed. This caused him to stare at a parking lot for 20 minutes. And....that was the first episode!

I will say that the preview for coming episodes did look a whole lot more interesting, but maybe that's because they took the entire season's worth of plot and condensed it to 30 seconds. I don't want to dismiss this one too soon because I wasn't wowed by Breaking Bad either and now I've got 3 seasons to catch up on since everyone says it's the best show on TV. But so far Rubicon is feeling to me like Treme did: something that's slow and boring but gets critical acclaim anyway. While I now know Treme never did pick up, there's still a chance Rubicon could. Did anyone watch the second hour? Will it change my mind? Or should I just enjoy Mad Men and not worry about what comes after it?

HBO is Summer TV Central

This past Sunday saw the return of Entourage which, when combined with True Blood's third episode, means we're really in summer TV season now. HBO may air a lot of serious stuff like The Pacific and that Al Pacino as Jack Kevorkian movie, but they know what people want to see in the summer: super light escapism. So for those of us who want to turn off our brains but maybe not so much as to tolerate America's Got Talent, here's where we'll be.

I went into Entourage's 7th (!!!) season the way I have every season since like season 3: by saying, "Why is this show still on and why am I still watching it?" But as it did last summer, Entourage reminded me: because there is no other show that better exemplifies summer fluff TV than this one. It's a show about rich people with problems so minor you'll have forgotten them by the time the credits roll. And in the meantime, plenty to live vicariously through.

After the season 3-5 rough patch where the show forgot what it was about and made Vince's career tank, Entourage is back in full-on fluff mode. Last year Vince basically took the year off with nothing to do, but this year he's back doing what he does best: acting as a vessel for a glimpse inside Hollywood without showing any personality whatsoever. This week saw him doing a stunt with no training to prove he's not a pussy, which of course made him seem all the bigger a pussy for not being able to say no to his director. That meant we got to see Vince on set, see a guy light up on fire, and watch his team react to Vince's whining. What more do you need?

Elsewhere, Eric had a light episode, enjoying a lunch with now fiance Sloane (at a restaurant that seemed to employ Top Chef season 5's Stefan?) and doing some basic Vince work. Ari realizes being head of WME (or whatever fictionalized name they came up with) is a lot of work. And Drama and Turtle are still really, really annoying. Turtle wins for worst subplot of the night, partly due to it involving Heroes-killer Dania Ramirez. But hey, Entourage was never a great show. Or even a particularly good one. But it's fun, and that's what makes it good summer TV.

I heard a lot of announcements between seasons about the huge number of new characters coming to Bon Temps this season, which made it all the nicer to see them all largely absent from the premiere. So many shows lose themselves in new characters and new plotlines that it's good to see True Blood sticking by its core characters. But the premiere also saw them all completely spread out. Sam off with his bio family, Bill in Mississippi, Jessica in her house - it was looking like we'd be getting 8 different separate subplots all season long.

While that's still somewhat the case, at least by episode 3 there's been some convergence. Sam is back at Merlotte's and interacting with everyone else. Jessica's been linked back in through Franklin's visit and Sookie's request that Sam look out for her. Sookie's left again in search of Bill, but her trip to Dallas last year didn't hurt anything.

Thing is, True Blood is one of the few shows that actually structures each of its seasons on one of the books it's based on. Which means each season is structured like a novel, with beginning, middle, and end spread out throughout the season. So there's no rush to introduce important characters right away - Eric didn't show up til like midway through season 1, I'm guessing so it would line up with the page he entered on in the book. And these first 3 eps have been a lot of build-up.

So while it's too early to know which of the many plot threads will pay off, here's how I'm feeling about them so far. Among the better ones, True Blood's decision to use actual wolves instead of really crappy CGI has paid off, and the werewolves have come off less lame than on most similar shows and movies. And cool to see Eric and Godric fighting Nazi werewolves. Franklin's super creepy so far, which could go either way. So far so good, but could overstay his welcome a la Maryann. And while she hasn't had too much to do yet, I'm liking the increased screen time Pam's promotion to regular has led to.

On the other end, Sam's family drama isn't doing it for me so far. Maybe it's cause I still remember his little bro being annoying on Prison Break, or because they've mostly been in their own little world, but so far it feels separate from everything else and not so interesting. I've got nothing against King Russell as a character, but that subplot won't kick in until somebody else shows up there. And way too early to say anything on Alcide, who's only barely been introduced (yet I believe is meant to be the biggest new character this season).

However the various threads end up working out, True Blood's got a solid start so far and seems bound to keep getting better each week. I'm glad to have its campy style of fun on my TV this summer.

This Week in Summer TV

This week, my TV season fully transitioned from regular season to summer, with the finales of Glee and Top Chef Masters, and the premieres of two shows I thought I'd give one (and only one) episode each: Persons Unknown and Work of Art. I already discussed Glee, but here's my brief takes on the other three:

Persons Unknown sounds cool on paper: a bunch of people are kidnapped and put in a mysteriously empty village where they're watched by unknown people. Sounds a little like The Prisoner meets Lost, right? Well, if NBC hoped you'd think that, they didn't work too hard to make it known. I didn't hear about the show until the day of, which makes it all the more clear this is just typical summer burn-off.

But summer trash can still be summer fun. If there's any show Persons Unknown really resembles it's Harper's Island - CBS' attempt to do a weekly horror series that, well, didn't do so well. Like Harper's it's got kind of an intriguing idea, but also like Harper's it's undone by a rather C-level execution. By the end of the first hour, you don't really know anything about any of the characters, other than that they're all kind of annoying. And they don't really do much but wander around and yell "How do I know you're not THEM?!?!"

In the promo at the end, NBC's emphasized that the show will give you answers, and soon. But what they seem to forget is that people wanted answers on Lost so badly because they really cared about the questions. And so far this scenario just isn't quite creepy enough. Lost had the Monster and the polar bear. The Prisoner had the giant bubble and the question of why No. 6 resigned. Persons Unknown has grainy video footage and a bunch of Chinese guys saying "Please" a billion times a second. That's not gonna cut it.

No characters and weak acting and dialogue is one thing. But if this is gonna go for the campy guilty pleasure that is really its only hope, there's gotta be a bit more going on. I wouldn't mind watching another episode, but at the end of the day, I'd rather spend that time working through my TV on DVD.

Last night Bravo unveiled their newest entry into the Project Runway/Top Chef family: Work of Art. It's basically Project Runway with art instead of fashion. Take a bunch of wacky creative types, give them a mentor (but now with an accent!), and have them judged by a panel of experts in their field.

If "Project Runway with art" sounds good to you, you'll probably enjoy this show. Magical Elves make good reality TV, and it certainly feels like Bravo-era Project Runway. And unlike the Lifetime editions, this show actually does have some colorful characters and maybe even some talent (not that I'd have any idea).

But another part of me feels like this is to Project Runway what Top Chef Masters is to Top Chef: it's watchable enough, but it doesn't feel quite as right as the original. The new mentor doesn't have quite the spark of Tim Gunn, and the judges don't have the zing of Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. I'm also a little iffy on the concept. The artists all get to work in their own media, so you've got painting vs. photography vs. photoshop. No wonder the photographers came out on top; which do you think takes longer?

Again though, the reason I can't get into it is I'm just not that into art. And I'm over Project Runway. Really, the only reality TV I want to be seeing is shows involving food. So while I'm not opposed to having this on in the background, if I'm watching Bravo this summer it's for Top Chef.

Speaking of which, Top Chef Masters aired its season finale this week, and we again saw one of the biggest differences between the spin-off and the original: everyone on Masters always makes good food. The finales are never about who's going to win; it's about watching a whole lot of food porn. So the fact that the three came so close in the end is no surprise; any one of them could have won. But it was nice that Marcus did. Guess I should try out Aquavit some time.

That Sue Sylvester - She's a Marshmallow

This year's crop of finales has had quite the mix: crazy twists (Gossip Girl), emotional but puzzling (Lost), out-of-nowhere action (Grey's Anatomy), and business as usual (24, The Office, Modern Family). So while the TV season may have actually ended a few weeks ago, I'm still naming Glee as the one that was overall most satisfying. As tough an act as Sectionals was to follow, Regionals more than rose to the task, reminding everyone all over again why we fell in love with this show over a year ago when they first sang "Don't Stop Believing."

Glee may generally call itself a comedy, but this finale had far more moments to make some hypothetical person (totally not me) tear up than laugh. From Tina breaking down in that super depressing pizza "party" to Mr. Shu pumping everyone back up with his Journey idea, there was plenty of emotion on display well before everyone said how far they had come this year. To casual fans it may have come off as cheesy, but to us true Gleeks it was heart-warming.

While we all knew "Don't Stop Believing" would be sung to bring the season full-circle, the Regionals performance was a whole lot more than that: a medley that also included "Faithfully," "Anyway You Want It," and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'." And as was the case in Sectionals, they showed who brought the fun, getting everyone up on their feet to clap along (except Sue, of course). And everyone got a chance to sing - not just all Rachel and Finn.

While the Journey made for the musical highpoint, there was still plenty of music to go, starting with Vocal Adrenaline's ambitious cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody," which further proved Jesse's assessment of the group as "soulless automatons." Still, that was some of the craziest fill-every-inch-of-the-stage-with-super-speedy-people dancing I've seen. And all the more amusing for being set against Quinn's delivery. Quinn shouting out lines from the song was definitely too much, but otherwise I thought the juxtaposition worked. And I love that Quinn and Mercedes are now bffs.

As for the judging, as soon as celebrity came up you knew Sue was going to show the heart beneath her steel tracksuited shell and save the day. Josh Groban and Olivia Newton-John's cameos were kind of lame last time around, but ON-J was pretty awesome dressing down Sue, being offended only one group chose one of her songs, and insulting just about everyone. Groban still not so much. And though Sue couldn't get New Directions to place, she was able to make a jab at the hilariously named Oral Intensity.

So while I knew Sue would be the one to convince Figgins to keep Glee Club alive, that didn't diminish the super moving "To Sir with Love" performance the club gave to Mr. Shu (though still not as good as "My Life Would Suck Without You"), the series of insults Sue had to get out before she could give him the good news, or how great it was to hear him tell the club "One more year!" Oh, and the twist that Shelby adopted Quinn and Puck's baby? Brilliant.

So to me, the finale had everything we want in a Glee episode: great musical numbers, involvement of all of the characters, classic Sue Sylvester moments, and for it to leave you feeling good. Still one of the most satisfying hours on TV, and I can't wait to watch Will go up against John Stamos' dentist next season.

Party Down on DVD This Summer

With Glee providing the last major finale tomorrow night, the main TV season is most definitely over. And as much as the networks may talk about their 52-week schedules, we all know that summer TV, at least on the networks, is a bust. The benefit: more time to watch shows we somehow missed when they originally aired. Whether it's older shows you always meant to try (yes, I'm still working on The Wire) or new shows it's not too late to jump into, summer TV for me is all about the TV on DVD.

Or in this summer's case, TV on Wii. Thanks to Netflix adding Wii to their list of Netflix ready devices, I can now watch anything on Netflix's instant viewing section on my TV. Which is largely how I came to try Party Down, a show that premiered as one of Starz's first original programs a year ago and is currently on its second season, but few people seem to know about it. Despite big names in the cast and among the producers, it has remained very much below the radar.

Which is exactly why I'm recommending it for TV on DVD this summer. I got so hooked after starting I ended up watching all 10 episodes of the first season in just 2 days. So what is it? Well, it's basically The Office but set at an LA catering company comprised of wannabe actors, with each episode set during a different party. Though probably more the British version of The Office than the American one. And since it's on cable and is set in LA I'd toss in a little Extras, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Entourage. Think of the American version of a Ricky Gervais show and you're on the right track.

I was originally intrigued because one of the creator/producers is Rob Thomas, who previously created one of my all-time faves Veronica Mars. If you like Veronica Mars you'll definitely find a lot to like here, since a lot of Veronica Mars alums show up. Of the six regulars, four of them have some kind of Veronica Mars connection, as Ryan Hansen played Dick Casablancas, Ken Marino played Vinnie Van Lowe, and Adam Scott and Jane Lynch both guest starred. And more of their former castmates have guested here, including Kristen Bell (Veronica), Enrico Colantoni (Keith), Jason Dohring (Logan), and Alona Tal (Meg).

The rest of the cast is plenty accomplished as well. There's Jane Lynch, who has since left the show to become Sue Sylvester. Martin Starr, a Freaks and Geeks alum who stuck with the Apatow clan (and is probably best known as the beard guy from Knocked Up). And Lizzy Caplan, who you either know as Janis from Mean Girls or Jason's V-addicted girlfriend on True Blood (or both).

Anyway, I'll give imdb a rest and move on to the actual show. Ken Marino plays Ron, the David Brent/Michael Scott-like team leader of the catering crew who takes his job more seriously than anyone else there does and has the low-aiming dream of opening up his own chain soup restaurant. Adam Scott plays Henry, the Tim/Jim character whose greatest achievement as an actor was a beer commercial that gets him recognized everywhere but led him to quit acting. And Lizzy Caplan is Casey, the Dawn/Pam character, an aspiring stand-up comedian whose husband wants her to move to Vermont.

The party-of-the-week format allows for a ton of great guest stars (JK Simmons, George Takei, and Rob Corddry are a few more) as well as many different scenarios for hilarity. Some of my favorites: A college Republicans party in which the team manages to ruin the flag the students were planning to give to Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Hollywood sweet 16 where the birthday girl won't leave her room, a post-party for the porn awards, and a party for a Russian gangster who just got away with murder (but also recognizes everyone from their F-list acting jobs).

The show does have one major flaw though: it can't hold on to its cast. Jane Lynch leaves after the first 8 episodes to join Glee, which admittedly is an improvement for both Lynch and the world. Less acceptable is the news that Adam Scott will only be in three episodes in the third season due to his role in Parks and Recreation which is troubling for three reasons: 1. He's basically the main character on Party Down, 2. Party Down is a better show, and 3. Parks already has a large ensemble and doesn't really need him. That said, the producers' explanation that realistically catering tends to be a temporary job and people come in and out all the time makes sense. The show can survive it.

Far better news is that Netflix is able to stream the second season as each episode airs, so I can keep watching without having to wait for the DVDs. So if you're looking for something funny to watch this summer, give this a shot.

Want some more TV on DVD recommendations? Here you go!

Dexter - It's had four consistently great seasons, and with 24 and Lost over it is now the most addictive drama on TV.

Damages - It may or may not get a fourth year, but it's still got three crazy suspenseful seasons out there that I still can't believe more people didn't watch.

Glee & Modern Family - They were the breakout shows of this past season. If you haven't already, time to figure out why (these may not actually be on DVD).

True Blood - If you wished Twilight had a lot more nudity and was awesome instead of the stupidest thing ever, then this is for you.

Lost - You know you were secretly curious listening to your co-workers talk for hours about the finale. Go marathon all six seasons, and when you finish in two weeks we can talk.

Clocking Out on 24

This week saw the end of two of the biggest dramas on TV, which also happened to be two of my favorite shows from the past decade. While most of the attention has been paid to Lost for many obvious reasons (more build-up, more unanswered questions, less of a drop in quality over time), I'm still processing its polarizing ending and am not yet ready (ie don't have the time) to do a full write-up. Though while I can't say I loved the very ending, I still liked the episode overall.

Compared to Lost, 24 didn't try to do too much. While it was cancelled in plenty of time to craft a series finale, it still felt very much like just a regular season ender. Up until the last five minutes there was nothing broader-reaching than ending the season's plot. No references to earlier seasons, no surprise returns of previous characters, just...well...about what you'd expect.

I admit that I was behind for most of this season, and spent the past few weeks rapidly catching up so I could watch the finale on time. And overall it was uneven. After a very slow start and one of the stupidest storylines in 24 history with anything having to do with Dana Walsh, the middle of the season kicked it into gear as the Hassan assassination plot came back with a vengeance, and it felt like vintage 24 was back.

That momentum carried in briefly to phase 2 with the return of President Logan, 24's Benjamin Linus or Arthur Frobisher, and one of its most enjoyable villains. But as Jack got a little too into his crazy revenge killing spree, something happened that frequently happens to long running shows: everybody lost their likability. Jack's always walked a fine line between good and dark, but even if he was trying to expose the truth it was clear he had just straight-out lost it. Since most of us watch the show to see Jack be badass, crazy Jack just isn't as much fun. With President Taylor having gone crazy in the opposite direction and most of the cast already written out, that pretty much left Chloe as the sole person worth rooting for.

So much of the finale was about bringing everyone back to sanity. Chloe talked Jack down off his Russian president-assassinating ledge to get him to expose the conspiracy. President Taylor called off the peace treaty at the last second to announce her involvement in the cover-up. Even Pillar wanted to call off the hit on Jack....before Logan went full-out crazy and shot him because...oh, who knows. Was it believable Logan would kill his trusted aide just to be extra sure nobody would find Jack on time? Not so much.

If Logan's end didn't make a whole lot of sense, it was at least somewhat surprising. For a show that's prided itself on its big twists and shocks, these final two hours were surprisingly by the book. The biggest character death was Pillar's, since we were led to believe Logan would survive. There were no shocking reveals or reversals. Even ending with Jack in exile isn't anything new. Previous seasons have seen him fake his own death and go into hiding, be captured by the Chinese, and wander around the world hiding from a government investigation. Other than setting up the movie we all know about, Jack's end didn't accomplish much.

For me though, what brings 24's end from unambitious to disappointing was the relative lack of Jack Bauer throughout its running time. He basically spends the second hour in a gurney. There's no awesome Bauer moments where he does something crazy and badass. He doesn't outwit anyone in any clever way. He starts off crazy, and ends just sad and depressed. There's something wrong when the finest moments in the episode are between President Taylor and Dahlia Hassan. This is Bauer Hour, and Jack didn't go out on top.

I wish 24 had gone out with a bit more of a bang. I wish we could have had a surprise visit from Mandy, or Tony, or at least Aaron Pierce. Seriously, how was the final season the only one out of eight to not feature our favorite secret service agent? But it just goes to show that this was the right time for 24 to end. It didn't overstay its welcome with an embarrassing end, just an unexceptional one. I'll have more to say about the 24 legacy eventually, but this final season certainly didn't harm it. It may be awhile until any show comes close to matching 24 for action, suspense, and daring, but until then we can look forward to the movie.

We've Reached the Final Four Episodes

Wow. I figured tonight's Lost would be big. Not only did it begin the final four episodes of the series (!!!), but next week's episode is a Jacob/Man in Black flashback ep. And whenever there's a flashback ep, there's always a huge cliffhanger the week before to keep you watching. But I still wasn't expecting an episode that should thoroughly silence anyone worried this season wasn't moving fast enough. Obviously, HUGE SPOILER ALERT to anyone who hasn't seen it yet, as you don't want to be spoiled. I'll skip a few lines and then continue for those of you who have already watched.

Ok, has everyone else left? Good. So much happened it's hard to know where to start. How about in sideways world, which boiled the show down to its original conflicting relationship: Jack and Locke. In sideways world, it's Jack who's the believer and Locke who's the cynic. And turns out Locke's alternate path was chosen by a familiar event: a plane crash. Instead of restoring his legs, a previous plane crash took his ability to walk away.

We know Desmond's plan to make Locke remember the island worked to some extent, as he flashed to his time in the hatch while unconscious. And certainly Jack saying aloud Locke's own posthumous words, "I wish you had believed me," made a difference. So while Desmond may be the link between the two worlds, it's Jack and Locke who are the center, the ones all the other characters are flocking to.

All that said, the sideways story wasn't anywhere near as riveting as the island story, which was easily the most suspenseful and most upsetting episode of the season, if not the series. All of the island characters (minus chronically MIA Richard, Ben, and Miles) converged at Widmore's camp and made a break for the plane. With Locke declaring the plane unsafe, claiming Widmore was trying to bring them into a contained space and kill them, the back-up plan became the sub....an even more contained space.

As soon as the sub dived and everyone realized "wait, why did Jack let Locke put his backpack on," things got fucking nuts. Of course Locke put the bomb in the backpack, but why? Oh, because he was the one who actually wanted to get everyone in a contained space and kill them so there would be no candidates left to stop him. But Jack had a solution: Locke can't kill the candidates, so if they do nothing, it will be like Jack lighting the dynamite on the Black Rock. Nothing would happen. But Sawyer didn't believe him, and the clock sped up.

Then the show's resident Iraqi Jack Bauer did what Jack Bauer always threatened to do: sacrifice himself to save everyone else. While it was certainly rough to see such a fan favorite go, Sayid's death made a lot of narrative sense. He hadn't been himself ever since coming back from the dead in the Temple, and he's been going through the season like a zombie. But he showed signs of humanity when he didn't kill Desmond (nobody really believed he did), and has been getting more normal since. So by taking one for the team, he proved Ben and MIB wrong in their continued insistence that he's just a killer. A noble death for one of the show's strongest characters.

While Sayid's death was at least understandable, Jin and Sun's just hurt. As many times as Jin insisted he could free Sun, it was clear what was going to happen: he would stay to die with the woman he spent 3 seasons trying to find again. Talk about a Joss Whedon move, killing them off one episode after their reunion. Sure, it was a bit Titanic with the water level rising, but Jin and Sun easily made for one of the saddest death scenes of the series to date. It was also a lot like Charlie's death, which was also under water. Man, Lost characters really need to stop going underwater.

So between Sayid, Jin, Sun, and I suppose Lapidus as well, this was Lost's deadliest episode ever, and a clear set-up to the end of the series. There's no more question about which of the island gods is good or evil, or what side to choose. It's survivors vs. MIB at this point, and at all cost. We know Desmond will play an important part given Sayid's final words to Jack. And while despite the episode title we didn't find out who will actually replace Jacob, it seems pretty clearly to be Jack. Next week should provide some major answers that were in shorter supply this week. But for an action and character packed episode, this one seems bound to stand up with some of the series' best. I'm gonna miss this show.

The Trials of Ricardo Alpert

Tonight's crazy good Richard Alpert-centric Lost actually reminded me of something that first appealed to me about Lost. Back in the early days of season 1 flashbacks, I remember thinking how Lost was a completely different show depending on whose episode it was. On a Kate week, the flashbacks could feel like a Hitchcockian thriller. For Jack a family melodrama. And not to mention full stories in Korean, Arabic, etc.

So I thought about that when we were first sent back to 19th century Canary Islands, a location and story that seemed more like it was out of a 19th century novel than the Lost we know. As Ricardo begged for medicine for his wife and later sat in a prison cell awaiting his execution, it almost felt like something out of Les Miserables or The Count of Monte Cristo. There's not many shows that can get away with doing episodes this radically different.

But things got a bit more familiar once Richard landed on the island (somehow destroying the statue with the strongest boat known to man) and the familiar squeals of the Smoke Monster chimed in. After a rather lengthy time trapped in his chains, Richard escaped to find himself trapped again in that chess game between Jacob and the Man in Black that has become the show. Having previously only seen him in that one pivotal scene from last year's finale, we got a lot more actual Man in Black this week, feeding in to Richard's explanation for the island in order to get him to do his bidding. And interesting that he used the same words to Richard that Dogen used to Sayid when he sent him to kill Man in Locke.

Speaking of Richard's explanation for the island, I'm sure plenty of people worried the island really would turn out to be Hell. After all, the producers have publicly denied that the island is Purgatory, but they never said anything about Hell, and have been known to use such tricky wordplay in the past. But since we've seen people come back and forth and dead people already walk around the island as ghosts, it didn't seem too likely.

Instead, Jacob and MIB just kept calling each other the devil to get Richard on their side. And in doing so, we learned a WHOLE lot more about what their game entails. According to Jacob, he believes people are inherently good, and MIB believes they are corruptible. Jacob brings people to the island to prove his point, while MIB forcibly tries to make his. Since Jacob doesn't like interfering on free will, he hires Richard to do his bidding, giving him immortality cause it was Richard's third choice behind getting back Isabella and being forgiven for his earlier murder. If that seemed a slightly convenient and unlikely explanation for a three season long mystery, it was one of the rare rushed moments in an otherwise well-paced story.

Speaking of Isabella, this episode also has something in common with the second season finale, in which we first met Penny Widmore and learned of her troubled romance with Desmond, and by the end of a single episode declared them one of the best romances on the show. Similarly, a single episode here was enough to make Richard and Isabella such a compelling couple that the final scene with Hurley really made up the emotional center of the episode. Regardless of whether you felt the "big answers" promised in this episode delivered (which probably depends on how much you care about Jacob and MIB's feud), it thoroughly succeeded in telling an individual character story that you cared about, no matter how minor a character Richard may have seemed before this week. Makes you wish there was time for a whole Lapidus backstory too.

Tonight's episode at times felt more like a self-contained movie than an episode of a weekly TV show, but it certainly accomplished a lot. We learned pretty much everything we need to know about Richard, making him a far more layered and sympathetic character than we ever thought. We know even more what the stakes of this season are (namely, Locke escaping = hell on earth). And we got solid proof that Jacob absolutely could have beat the crap out of Ben had he desired. Not such a calm, peaceful island god after all.

We're now halfway through the final season. Things are only going to get crazier from here.

The Final Cut

I may have given up on Nip/Tuck last fall (which was still at least 2 seasons too late), but I still wanted to see how it would end (even if it took me a week to get to it). It's only every so often a show gets a chance to air an actual series finale, and I'm always fascinated to see how it will play. Will it satisfy, like Battlestar Galactica and Scrubs did last year? Or will it be totally lame like Alias?

Turns out the answer was the least thing I'd suspect from a show that began by feeding a dead gangster's body to crocodiles: boring. Nip/Tuck has always prided itself on being absolutely outrageous, trying so hard to shock that it couldn't really do anything else. Yet for its finale, the big episode to end everything, there was probably less going on than any given episode from its entire run. Nip/Tuck would have never ended a season like this, but somehow did for the series.

So what happened? Well, if you're like me, you probably need the "previously on." Had to watch a couple times, but the highlights seem to be Julia's moving to England, Liz is having a baby using Sean's sperm (and is somehow friends with Christian again even though they were going through a bitter divorce last time I watched), and Matt tricked someone into marrying him only to leave her at the altar for Ava, the tranny from season 2. Got it? Didn't think so.

Aside from a traditional patient-of-the-week story about an old Japanese porn star that didn't in any way scream series finale, the main plot here is, of course, the bromance between Sean and Christian. With Julia leaving and taking the kids, Sean's free to do whatever he wants. But dead Kimber says Christian is a negative force on him and needs to let him free. So the episode mostly consists of a series of downbeat goodbyes. Liz leaves Sean so the baby won't know him. Julia leaves for England. Matt lies about reconciling with his ex so he can leave with Ava. And Christian convinces Sean to leave plastic surgery and the country with some baby Ava left behind because...well, I missed that part.

And throughout the cheese factor was cranked to the max. From a very serious talk about the morality of plastic surgeons (to remind us we were indeed watching the end) to the final line, Christian telling a woman at an airport bar, "I'm a plastic surgeon," everything was super dramatic and hyper emotional. In a show where the characters hadn't gone off the rails years ago, sad goodbyes could have been emotional and heartwarming. But emotional and heartwarming aren't what Nip/Tuck does well. Nip/Tuck was, at its best, a crazy soap that was outrageous but fun. Its end was just blah. At least it's over.

On a completely different note, I also just caught up on last night's Lost, which was something I wouldn't have expected to see a few seasons ago: a heart-warming Ben episode. I've heard complaints about this season that it's too much leading up to answers or just not enough answers, but as long as they keep delivering episodes like this one I have no complaints. I don't know what the sideways stories mean, but the past few weeks they've been every bit as resonant as the original season 1 flashbacks.

Off-island, Ben's a European history teacher who eats lunch with Dr. Arzt and tutors his prize pupil Alex. When Locke takes a move from the being inhabiting his body on-island and convinces Ben to claim power, he makes a grab for the principality (yes, I'm calling it that). But power comes with a cost: the principal will torch Alex's chances at Yale if Ben goes through with his plan. So what does he pick, power or Alex?

On-island, Miles exposed that Ben killed Jacob, and now bodyguard and maybe adoptive daughter Ilana wants vengeance. Locke Monster still wants Ben on his team, so he offers him an escape. But Ben just wants to explain himself, in a speech so moving you completely forget he's the guy who pretended to kill a bunny in front of Sawyer. Aww. And off-island he picked Alex, giving up his plans for power for a glowing recommendation and the return of his history club. Double aww. On any other show the villain going cuddly would be a cop-out. Maybe it still is, but at least it's a very satisfying cop-out.

As for the bigger stuff, once again we've moved a little bit further to that war that's brewing. All of Team Jacob has rallied together, and Widmore's back to make some mischief. I was minorly worried he might sit this season out, making his significance the past few seasons kind of irrelevant, but of course the writers are ahead of me. We know he helped Locke in his efforts to bring everyone back to the island, but does that make him Team Jacob or Team Man in Black? Can't really see him siding with Ben. And where's Desmond?

We also got further confirmation that Richard Alpert did indeed come over on the Black Rock, as well as an interesting continuation of a previous plot point. Richard can't kill himself, the same way that Michael couldn't kill himself when off the island. Should we assume Michael was touched by Jacob as well, even if he didn't appear in the flashbacks from last year's finale? His name must have been somewhere on that wheel, right? And if Jack's "Man of Faith" stuff got a little annoying last year, it was a lot cooler when he was making his bet with a stick of dynamite.

So to me, this season of Lost just keeps getting better and better. From the Locke ep to the Jack ep to Sayid to Ben, we've had a steady string of great episodes, all of which moved the pieces a few steps forward to their endgame. Clearly most of the action is coming later this season, but I'm not worried about guessing how it will go down. I'm just along for the ride, and Lost is still the best one in town.

No Alarms and No Surrpises

The biggest mystery for me coming out of this year's Oscar ceremony was this: how did it still go past midnight? After all, it seemed like they cut every extraneous element to the show. No best original song performances. Only three montages. And far less awkward presenter banter (although the Cameron Diaz/Steve Carell bit had enough unfortunateness to make up for the next 3 hours combined). So seriously, with such a focus on just getting the awards done, how did the show still end the same time?

Yes, despite all the promises from the new producers that they would spice things up and deliver an Oscar show unlike anything we'd ever seen, this year mostly felt like an effort to get us in and out as quickly as possible. The awards went by fast and furious, and little was done to add any extra oomph. Sure, the Neil Patrick Harris opener went a long way, but this was his fourth awards show in the past year. His presence is kind of expected now. So while he was of course great, I assumed there would be more innovation to follow.

As far as Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as duel hosts go, I'd give them a B. They, like Neil Patrick Harris, have the uncanny ability to spout out somewhat lame material and still make it funny based solely on their delivery. There was an almost effortless quality to their hosting, knowing they could coast on their personalities alone to still make things enjoyable. So while that was the case, they didn't do much more. With Neil Patrick Harris essentially doing the "monologue" section for them, they just had to step in and say a few words every now and then. Seemed like a pretty hands-off hosting affair. So while they certainly did their job, this was no Hugh Jackman situation where anyone would accuse them of revolutionizing the show.

As for the awards themselves, well, I predicted 16/24. I know that doesn't sound all that great, but I'm REALLY bad at predicting. And of the 8 I missed, most of them were my 2nd choices. If you poll the broader Oscar watching community, I doubt anyone would say there were any real surprises. Probably my biggest surprise came when Precious stole Up in the Air's best adapted screenplay award, but that "surprise" was more about the fact that Up in the Air really deserved it more. I also went against the consensus in predicting Inglourious Basterds for original screenplay over the expected Hurt Locker, proving consensus generally ruled out.

So what are the takeaways here? The Hurt Locker gets to go down in history as the best picture winner of 2009, and I'm totally fine with that. A lot of deserving frontrunners won their expected awards, like Kathryn Bigelow making history as the first woman to win best director, Jeff Bridges taking a lifetime achievement-ish award for his great performance in Crazy Heart, and Christoph Waltz and Mo'nique winning awards only unexpected because they stand so far above their competitors.

I'm disappointed they still had five people introduce the best actor awards, as it seemed to add that entire last hour to the show. Fun to try to figure out the connections, but otherwise just extra time wasted. However, I'm glad they introduced all the best picture nominees, even if there were ten of them. It helped me remember how much I loved Up in the Air, and even more so Up, to the point that I kind of wished Up had somehow managed to win best picture. And I certainly don't begrudge anyone the John Hughes tribute, which was easily one of the highlights of the night.

I feel like every year it's expected that everyone criticizes the Oscars for any number of reasons: for making picks either predictable or wrong, for the hosts being too conciliatory or too inflammatory, for being too long or insanely too long. So I don't want it to seem like I'm just going through a yearly ritual and kvetching. Because at the end of the day, the deserving movies and performances and craftsmen generally won, and the producers got us through the night in a perfectly reasonable way. Did I feel like this was a particularly innovative year outside of the ten best picture nominees? Not in the slightest. But there was nothing particularly offensive about it either. Mostly, I just hope this time next year there will be movies I loved even more, so that I'll feel even stronger about the outcome.

Tell Me Where the Unsecure Nuclear Materials Are!

There's a reason I haven't written about 24 yet this season: I've been consistently behind by at least 2-3 episodes. Starting with four episodes in a row is tough on those of us with lives (however minimal they may be). But tonight, after over a month and 9 episodes, I've finally caught up.

So what's the verdict? Not great. 24 long ago gave away its position as top dog among buzzy, addictive serials to shows like Lost, Dexter, and Damages, but last season it was able to act as fun TV comfort food - not leaving you breathless for the next episode, but usually pretty enjoyable.

This year so far feels closer to the much maligned season 6, in which there's not enough Jack, and way too much lame filler plots. Most guilty among them this time is Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff aka Starbuck), whose storyline falls somewhere below Kim's cougar and Terri's amnesia on the list of stupidest 24 plots ever. As a woman with a shady past whose blackmailing ex is threatening to expose it, Dana has done no actual work all season nor performed any logical actions, and each week keeps getting more and more absurd. It seems to be over now that the ex and his psycho friend are dead, but we'll still be subject to the unfortunate "what do we do with the bodies" episode. Hopefully once that's done Dana and Cole can get back to work and stop wasting the show's time.

Also in this category: David Anders as the son of the Russian with the nuclear rods that make up this season's MacGuffin. Anders played one of Alias' most memorable characters and was the only good thing to happen to Heroes after season 1, but somehow 24 made him boring. He mostly just complained about his brother, then became main villain for all of 5 seconds before being killed off this week. For that matter, how many villains have we had? Vladimir, Sark's dad, Sark, Middle Eastern Jason Schwartzman, and now his band of merry terrorists. And none of them are memorable. Who knew we'd so miss the days of Nina and Sherry Palmer?

As far as Presidents Taylor and Hassan.......sorry, I fell asleep. I liked the idea of making the big threat an assassination a la season 1, but that threat was resolved within the first four hours. Now we're back to the same threat as every season: nukes. Whether rods or in a suitcase, it's the same thing. Hassan's turn from benevolent leader to paranoid dictator should be interesting, but it just isn't. And Taylor's trapped scheduling meetings, while her new chief of staff just makes phone calls.

That leaves Jack and Renee in charge of carrying the season, given that Chloe gets three lines per episode, Hastings/Dana/Cole don't really work, and Shia LeBeouf just wants to gossip about Dana. And I admit to usually enjoying Jack's undercover plotlines. But when they drag on too long, that's too long when Jack's not in control. All the worse since Renee's the primary undercover agent here. And I'm not sure Annie Wersching is a good enough actress to pull off psycho Renee. Sure, she's more interesting that way, but it's all a little silly.

Still, if there's one thing that always succeeds, it's the classic "Jack Bauer is awesome" moments. It's no wonder the most talked about scene this season has been when Jack pulled Renee's knife out of his body and threw it in some guy's neck. I also enjoy any occasion in which Jack kills a guy with his feet, or knocks a guard out by karate chopping him in the neck. Next week Jack leads a team to rescue Middle Eastern Jason Schwartzman, so we're bound to get some good action there. And when Jack's onscreen, the show definitely improves.

Problem with 24's method of basically introducing a new cast every season is the show's not all that great at creating characters. The writers seem to hope 2 out of 10 will stick (last year it was Renee and President Taylor), and the rest can just be killed off, as is 24's way. But despite the high number of new characters and the impressive actors playing them, not one of them has made a positive impression so far. Which means it continues to be the Jack Bauer show, and anything else is just running the clock.

Welcome to Alterna-Lost

For the number of times it's been said on the show, tonight it became true: it's the beginning of the end. Lost began its 6th and final season with a two-hour premiere both exciting and baffling, filled with tons of mythology, great character moments, and, yes, more questions, despite a promise to end them in ABC's promo. What's with the multiple timelines? Who are the people in the temple? Why after two hours do we still not know the name of the Man in Black/Fake Locke/Smoke Monster? Let's get to it.

Following the season-ending white-out, this season begins with Jack back on Oceanic 815, reliving a scene from the pilot with Cindy the flight attendant. But not everything's the same. The turbulence that originally sent the plane down passes. Desmond pops up next to Jack (though was he really there?). Shannon is definitely MIA, and there's no sign of Michael, Walt, Ana-Lucia, Eko, Libby, or Nikki&Paolo (though that doesn't mean they weren't there). Oh, and the island is now under water.

While it seems like without the island their flight would end in a normal and boring fashion, plenty of people find nasty surprises at LAX. Kate of course is still in the custody of the Marshall. Charlie was trying to hide his drugs at the time of the plane's crash, and without it he is indeed caught (though not before nearly killing himself trying to swallow the bag). Less expected - Christian's coffin didn't make it to LA (so maybe he's still connected to the island somehow?) and Jin gets in trouble for the money he brought over to start a new life with Sun.

I had a feeling the nuke would lead to us seeing the flight land as normal, and was concerned it would cause a retread of season 5 in which everyone had to be found and brought back to the island, just killing time before the real plot could begin. Thankfully, that's not the case. Instead, we get to play the "what if?" game, and enjoy all the interactions between these now-strangers. Especially enjoyable was Boone telling Locke he'd stick with him if the plane ever went down (guess some things never change). But if this parallel world is to last all season, and it seems like it will, it will need to tie in to the real story on the island or it will just feel like a distraction with so few hours remaining.

Heading back to the beginning, we get to watch Juliet hit the bomb for a second time, making us all wonder why the previously clips are repeating. But this time the white-out led not to flight 815 but to Kate's eye, as she wakes up by the site of what was once the Hatch (before Desmond blew it up). At first I wondered if she and Jack landed in different universes, but no, the gang is all there, even Juliet. Some suspense was definitely lost knowing Juliet wouldn't likely be surviving the episode. And her "I have something really really important to tell you" before dying is the kind of frustrating tease Lost is infamous for. Thankfully Miles is onhand to go all Pushing Daisies on her grave. So how does Juliet know about the alternate timeline? Seems like the strongest evidence that the two will indeed merge somehow.

The other ghostly encounter here is Jacob's visit to Hurley, instructing him to bring Sayid to the Temple, that much-discussed but never-seen place that clearly plays a central role in the mythology. And once we saw it, the world of Lost got even more confusing. There's a whole other group of people on the island, run by an Asian guy who knows English but doesn't like its taste on his mouth, so he has a hippie translate for him. Ben had told the Others we know to go to the Temple when he moved the island (if I'm remembering that right), which could explain Cindy and the kids' presence there, but beyond that we don't know if they are the same Others. We just know they're on Team Jacob.

And they have mystical healing water that may be somewhat on the fritz. After noting its different color, they still drown Sayid in it. But the water must do its job, cause rise from the dead he does in the final moments, as they begin fortifying themselves against the Man in Locke. These new Others seem like a big new addition for the final season when so much is already in play, but since they're more likely to have the answers than anyone outside of the island's two deities, I'm sure they have their role. And last bit on this group - just as becoming LaFleur made Sawyer a different and more interesting character last season, Juliet's death seems to be bringing him into a darker side that should be fun to see play out this year.

Finally, third subplot is same universe, other side of the island with Ben, the Man in Locke, and the Ajira-ites. One of the episode's biggest answers comes when we find out the Man in Black is the Smoke Monster. I've figured the Smoke Monster for a shapeshifter ever since Eko was visited by the ghost of his brother immediately before his death-by-monster. However, I can't imagine the ghost of Jacob is also a manifestation of his archrival, so clearly the Monster does not make up all the ghosts on the island. In fact, it seems more likely that the ghosts are Team Jacob, as Christian was willing to speak on Jacob's behalf. This also doesn't explain how the Temple seemed to be the Smoke Monster's home when it attacked the French team, but now clearly the Temple dwellers want nothing to do with him. Maybe they switched sides?

In the same scene, we learn that the Ajira-ites seem to have an even shorter shelf-life than the Tailies did. The Tailies at least got a full season, but Caesar was gunned down by Ben the second he landed on the island, and the other guy whose name we must have known at some point gets stabbed by Smokey this week. That just leaves Ilana, who had very little to do despite being upped to regular status. We still don't know what lies in the shadow of the statue (unless the answer is Jacob), but we do know that this crew came to protect him. Seems like Jacob could do better.

Another reveal came when the Locke Monster confirmed what many of us suspected from last year's finale - that Richard Alpert did indeed arrive on the Black Rock (unless Alpert was in chains for some other reason). More interesting than the confirmation though was that Lockester said that was the last time he saw him. Makes you wonder all the more about what happened that day after Jacob and the Man in Black's fateful talk, and how Jacob made Alpert ageless.

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. From these two hours, it's clear the writers plan to keep going strong until the final frame, finding new and inventive ways to surprise and confuse us. As after Lost's best hours, I don't understand everything I just saw, but I can't wait to see more. So do you think the premiere was worth the wait? What did you think of the alternate reality - fun, intriguing, or time-wasting? What answers do you want to get before the series ends (I still think we're owed an explanation of why Walt is special)? Let me know in the comments, and keep on watching.

And if you want more on the Lost premiere, click here for an interview with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.