This time of year is rife with holiday episodes, and for the most part, I think we TV audiences agree that we'd rather our favourite shows take an extra week off rather than produce what is often a badly-written show with too much room given to guest stars playing the parents of our lead characters (negative bonus points if one of them is Jane Kaczmarek, Elliott Gould or Candice Bergen). ...

Barbara Walters: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011 - Wednesday December 14, 9:30PM ET/PT, Global/ABC Poor Babs. She's forced to include the Kardashians on her list this year, though there's no denying they took up plenty of tabloid and head space over the year. Also included are Pippa Middleton, she of the royally sexy bum, Simon Cowell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet of ...

Over the six seasons I've been watching 'Dexter,' I have at times been frustrated that the show insists, season after season, on setting our man up with a double -- a partner, a lover, an enemy. Like other fans, I've bemoaned the predictability of it. But on the other hand, there is something to be said for a show that consistently tackles the fascinating idea of how others affect our view of ...

A Michael Bublé Christmas - Tuesday December 6, 8PM ET/PT, CTV/NBC I will definitely not be watching this, but as I see this round-up as a service to others as much as an exercise in planning my own weekly viewing, I include it for all the people who, inexplicably, love this guy. The Bubbler is joined by guests including Justin Bieber, Kellie Pickler, Tracy Morgan and Ed Helms. (Forgive ...

Before I dive in to the meat of my column this week, a few caveats: 1. I understand that 'I Hate My Teenage Daughter' is a sitcom and therefore not to be taken overly seriously. 2. Like everyone else, I adore Jaime Pressly and think she is enormously talented. With that said, let me begin. The premise of 'I Hate My Teenage Daughter' is this: two moms -- best friends -- were nerds growing up, ...

I Hate my Teenage Daughter - Friday December 2, 9PM ET/PT, Global and Wednesday November 30, 9:30 PM ET/PT, Fox Well now, this is a strange time of year to debut a new show. The fact that Fox has moved the debut of this comedy around could be a sign they don't have a ton of faith in it, or it could mean nothing at all. With Jaime Pressly ('My Name is Earl') in a lead role, it's bound to ...

Whenever people complain about all the bad programming on TV, I like to remind them that television is one of the few true democracies. We vote with our eyes, and the amount of time we spend parked on the couch. The things we watch get renewed and the things we don't watch get canceled. I know that's little consolation to the fans of 'Arrested Development' -- or more recently, 'Community' -- but ...

An Idiot Abroad - Friday November 25, 10PM ET, Discovery If you've missed the latest collaboration between Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, this is the perfect chance to get on board. Ricky (recently confirmed to return to host the Golden Globes) and Stephen send their sad sack friend Karl Pilkington out to see the world and make fun of him mercilessly as he whines and complains his way ...

Undeniably one of the big hits of the season, 'New Girl' is quite lovely. It makes me laugh, which I always appreciate, but it makes me laugh when I'm not expecting it, which is rare since so many of my favorite comedies are deep into multiple seasons. But series star Zooey Deschanel has become a bit of a lightning rod for pop culture criticism and I'm always curious to know how others are ...

Bones - Thursday November 17, 9PM ET/PT, Global/Fox I do enjoy it when 'Bones' decides to have a little bit of fun with their murder scenes. This week, they find their victim shrink-wrapped with a Prince Charming doll. Turns out, the woman worked for a toy company headed by guest Morgan Fairchild, who always adds a dash of creepy camp when she turns up. Meanwhile Sweets prepares for his gun ...