(S03E16) While I'll leave my commentary as to whether House is devolving into the rest of television - as in full of sex - for later, I'll start off by saying that we might have a pretty good relationship blooming when it comes to Cameron and Chase. Well, at least when it comes down to getting down. As far as our lovely doctor in charge goes, however, it seems that our addiction to certain types of medication is having negative impact on our ability to do certain basic things, such as go to the bathroom.

As far as shock value goes, we're usually treated to the "victim" of the story having a problem of sorts, and not House himself. This week, seeing his face when he looks at the case file of his next patient, a war veteran, was just fantastic. If you noticed, he said that he had never "met" the man before when Cuddy asks if he knows him. Of course, he left out the part that just seconds earlier, the man had tied off House's blown off leg while fighting in Iraq.

(S06E24) "And Then There Were Ten," Ryan screams to start the show. As if we didn't know, THIS, is American Idol.

This week, the contestants were coached by Gwen Stefani and selected songs by No Doubt, or by artists that inspired Gwen, such as The Police, Donna Summer, and The Cure.

We're given Gwen's list of accomplishments: singer, songwriter, fashion icon, actress, and performer. Gwen tells us that she's excited for the contestants, and she feels very invested in the competition now.

There's only an hour and seven minutes tonight, so we get right to the performances. First up, LaKisha.

Kal Penn, best known for playing Kumar in the flick Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, is going to be hanging around the University of Pennsylvania campus next spring. And not to search for the perfect American meal, Philly-style.

Penn, who just wrapped Harold & Kumar 2 and was most recently seen on TV playing a teenaged terrorist on 24, will be teaching two courses tentatively named, "Images of Asian Americans in the Media" and "Contemporary American Teen Films," according to a UPenn press release, which said his real name is Kalpen Modi.

The Chicago Tribune's/RedEye's NCAA tournament-like contest for the best character on TV is all over. And in the end, it was no contest at all.

RedEye announced today that Battlestar Galactica's Capt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace seriously trounced 24's illustrious terrorist hunter Jack Bauer by getting 3,061 votes to his 777.

Whoa. I did not expect the seemingly invincible Bauer to be defeated by anyone. In just this season alone, Bauer has deactivated a nuclear weapon, wielded a cigar cutter as an amputation device against a Russian diplomat and used plastic wrap as an interrogation tool on his own brother. Just mere hours after being released from a Chinese prison. I guess Bauer has met his match, and it's not in the form of a terrorist.

(S02E21) I have always loved Prison Break and I am rarely disappointed with an episode. Tonight, however, made me look forward to the season finale.

I understand that with the finale looming, many story lines have to be set up before they can be settled, but does it have to all be set up in one episode? All the exposition after Michael showed up in Panama made me feel like I was watching a documentary. Teddy's got the money, Bellick's got Maricruz and Micheal wants to stop Teddy. Yes, I get it already. When Teddy trapped Michael, Sucre and Bellick in the room and Michael yelled, "It's a setup!" I actually laughed out loud.

(S06E15) *Warning, spoilers from recent episode ahead*

It's really sad when the best part of a show is the last minute of a program, when you have to slog through 59 minutes of other material of so-so quality that seems very much like filler in order to get to something good.

That's how I felt about this new episode of 24. Did anyone in their right mind really believe that Nadia was a mole? Of course not, but I didn't expect her story to be resolved so quickly and simply, in less than an hour.

While critics may heap criticism on the torture-heavy Fox thriller 24, a former commander in chief -- and spouse of a current Democratic presidential candidate -- is a fan of watching Jack Bauer hunt down terrorists.

Former President Bill Clinton said even though 24 is run by "an uber right-wing guy" (referring to producer Joel Surnow), he thinks the show is fair in making both Democrats and Republicans look equally evil, according to a Reuters article.

Of other contemporary programs, Clinton said he's fond of Boston Legal and that his McFavorite is Grey's Anatomy. (Wonder where he stands on the Callie-Izzie contretemps?)

The Hollywood Reporter also said Clinton likes watching TV Land -- I Love Lucy, All in the Family and Bonanza -- because his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, is frequently away campaigning and it gives "me something to do at night."

Hey, everybody, here's a few tasty tidbits from the world of animation for you. Please chew carefully:

A fourth trailer for The Simpsons movie was released not too long ago. Most of you have probably seen it already, but if not, I've placed it at the end of this post. The brief shot of Lisa fainting over the cute boy gets me every time. The animation in that sequence is unlike anything they do on the TV series, which leads me to believe this movie is going to kick twelve essential kinds of ass.

When I first heard the general premise for Drive, I instantly thought of Cannonball Run. The Cannonball Run is a movie a fondly remember watching time and again as a kid. Tons of money on the line, fast cars, hot women ... I mean hell, I was a hormone-filled kid somewhere between 10 and 13 years old when I first saw this flick, so cut me some slack.

While there is the obvious similarity with the whole race-around-the-country thing with Cannonball Run, after watching the rough-cut first episode of Drive I can start by telling you one way where the two differ: The Cannonball Run was for pussies.

(S11E04)

Lucky: I'm not sayin' stumpin' isn't risky. When you're out there with nothing but chains, beer and a winch you could rip your arm off and there ain't no one out there to sue.

Hank wasn't featured much in this episode, and that's rare. It seems that even when the plot doesn't revolve around Hank, he still serves as the lone voice of reason that helps maintain some semblance of sanity and common sense among his friends and family. Ultimately, he's the one that helps guide the story to its conclusion. This episode, however, focused on Luanne and Lucky, two people who pretty much live by their own code, which doesn't leave much room for Hank or anyone else. It also left us viewers with a nice little story about the compromises and sacrifices one has to make when they decide to spend their lives with someone.

(S05E14) The up and down season of Family Guy continues, and I thought this one was a bit of a valley, rather than a peak. It had its moments, to be sure, but as a whole, it was somewhat lacking. Peter summed up my feelings for this episode pretty well with his quote after seeing the opening to Maude, "That was an ordeal."

That bit is a good example of what was wrong with this installment. Aside from the fact that it was a reference to a show that you have to be 40 years old, or a tv nutter, to get, it just wasn't funny. And no matter how long the song went on, it was never going to be funny. I found myself in much the same situation while watching tonight. I was just sitting and watching, waiting for it to get funny.

(S18E16) I often counter anti-Simpsons bromides by telling people that no series can be perfect all the time, but I think there's a part of me that still expects perfection. I'm like a mother that knows her child isn't perfect, and yet feels let down when they falter, because damn it, I know they're better than that.

I probably could have come up with a better analogy, but it's too late now, I'm already on the second paragraph. The thing is: I liked this episode. It made me laugh, and it had a ton of great gags, and plenty were "pause button worthy." It just didn't feel "full," you know? Of course, the first indication should have been the extra-long opening sequence showing Homer evolving as he treks to his house to sit with his family on the couch. When you see a long couch gag, you know they were a little short on the episode length that week.

American Idol probably won't be holding a songwriting contest this year. Executive producer Ken Warwick recently told TV Week that the competition has been put on the back burner for the moment, because the launch of the Idol Gives Back charity has apparently made things a bit too hectic.

Last August, producers announced that a contest would be held to select an original song for the sixth season finalists to perform. This contest would have given one very talented and lucky songwriter the chance to have his or her tune heard by millions of Idol's fans.

Now it looks like struggling songwriters are going to have to put their American Idol dreams on hold, at least for this year. It's too bad, really. I guess now we can expect the same old bland and generic first single from this season's Idol winner.

Watching the torture scenes on 24 is the psychological equivalent of eating mercury-tainted fish, so says psychotherapist and author of a book called Democracy's Little Self-Help Book in a column on BuzzFlash.

Calling the viewing of torture scenes akin to watching a sadistic peep show, Peter Michaelson said he thinks 24's viewers are "absorbing emotional toxins." "America hasn't embraced torture as a device, literary or otherwise, but we're sure flirting with it," Michaelson wrote.

Maybe he should team up with the angry letter writer to the Aspen Daily News who wants like-minded Americans to boycott 24. They'd better hope that Mike "The Brawler" Doyle doesn't read blogs or newspapers.

Gwen Stefani will be coaching Idol's Top 10 finalists for next week's "pop-themed" performances. The Hollaback Girl will also sing "The Sweet Escape" with Akon on Wednesday's live results show.

A "pop-themed" week seems to be a fairly broad catergory, so it will be interesting to see what songs the contestants choose. Reportedly, they will be singing their "favorite songs from that genre." I wonder if this means they will sing pop tunes from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, or go with something more contemporary. As always, it is important that they select their songs wisely, and give memorable performances.

The Top 10 perform live on Tuesday, March 27 (8:00-9:07 PM ET). Please note that American Idol is extending the episode by seven minutes in order to squeeze in all of the performances. House will follow Idol in its entirety. Set your TIVOs accordingly.