• At 8, CBS has a new NCIS, followed by new episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Biggest Loser at 8, then a new Jay Leno Show.
• FOX has the two-hour season premiere of American Idol at 8.
• PBS has new episodes of Nova and Independent Lens.
• At 8:30, ABC has a new Better Off Ted, followed by a new Scrubs, another new Better Off Ted, and a new episode of The Forgotten.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs.
• History Channel has a new How The Earth Was Made at 9, then a new Life After People.
• Also at 9: BBC America has a new Last Restaurant Standing.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Chopped.
• TNT starts showing Southland at 10.
• A&E has a new Paranormal State at 10.
• Syfy has a new ECW at 10.
• Bravo has a new Tabatha's Salon Takeover at 10.
• At 10:30, Spike has a new Blue Mountain State.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Frankly, I was surprised that ABC gave Better Off Ted a second season at all. Don't get me wrong, I was pleasantly surprised, because I absolutely adore the show, but ABC didn't seem to have much confidence in it, and ratings weren't exactly out of this world. So, as a fan, I guess I should be thankful that I'm still seeing new episodes, but I'm still kind of annoyed that ABC seems to be burying this hilarious show.

Along with Zombie Scrubs, it was basically the only new show on the air over the holidays-- when nobody was home to watch. They're doubling up episodes and seem to be burning them off as quickly as possible. Fans have already seen the writing on the wall, and are beginning to mobilize to save Ted. Between the #saveted hashtag on Twitter, and the new site, SaveBetterOffTed.com, people are letting it be known that they do not want this show to go off the air.

A co-worker takes exception to Linda's bubbly attitude in the workplace on 'Better Off Ted,' and the two clash in the Veridian Dynamics office with a bit of sexual tension resulting ... at least for one of them.

The two trade insults and promises to treat each other poorly in the future until Linda's co-worker announces that he finds their verbal sparring titillating.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S02E08) Now this was an episode I could relate to. I hate small talk. This might sound cruel, but dealing with "energy sucking time gobblers" like Ryan was one of the things I hated most about working in an office. (That and having to wear pants, of course). So I can't blame Ted for wanting to cut the guy out of his life.

But Ted wasn't about to fire Ryan just for being a chatterbox. Instead, he took Veronica's advice (or Linda's advice, depending on who you ask) and decided to try and change him. And why not? Change is good. Except, of course, when it ruins a guy's life and causes an odd chain of events culminating in a stranger giving birth in the backseat of your car.

(S02E07) Leave it to Veronica, the master of manipulation, to use an employee's death to increase productivity. Actually, she was only following the company's orders, which were to keep everyone working 14-hour days until, like Jenkins, they all dropped dead. In defiance, Ted took his sleepy little daughter and walked out of the office to a thundering round of applause. It sure was nice of everyone to pause their clapping while little Rosie had a tinkle.

It's always great to see Ted sticking his neck out for the worker drones. He cares about the people in his department, and he usually does his best to help them out, especially when they're too stupid to help themselves. Ted's attempt to snap one drone out of the company's spell led to my favorite exchange of the night:

• TV Land's week-long Home Improvement marathon continues all night.
• At 7:30, FOX has FedEx Orange Bowl, Georgia Tech. vs. Iowa.
• At 8, ABC has a new Scrubs, followed by a new Better Off Ted, another new Scrubs, another new Better Off Ted, and a new episode of The Forgotten.
• CBS has a new NCIS at 8, then new episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife.
• NBC has the two-hour season premiere of The Biggest Loser at 8, followed by a new Jay Leno Show.
• PBS has a new Nova at 8.
• BBC America has a new Britain's Top Missing Model at 8, then a new Last Restaurant Standing.
• At 9, ESPN has a new Homecoming with Rick Reilly.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Chopped.
• A&E has two new episodes of Paranormal State at 10.
• Bravo has a new Tabatha's Salon Takeover at 10.
• Also at 10: Syfy has a new ECW.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

I'm kind of bummed that it looks like Better Off Ted might be on its way out. Maybe not, though. Mike's review this week sounded like it might get a reprieve from the axe. Who knows, really? But either way, I'm glad to have found this quirky series, and have been watching season one on DVD this week.

It's kind of a cross between The Office and Arrested Development. If you're not familiar with the show, it takes place in the Research & Development department of Veridian Dynamics, a corporation with lots of cubicles and fluorescent lights.

Ted (Jay Harrington) is a pleasant guy who runs things and answers to Veronica (Portia de Rossi), an uptight boss who wears her hair pulled back so tight it's amazing she can even breathe.

More of our best of the decade coverage, which started on Tuesday. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the women who made us laugh the most during the decade.

Since Lucille Ball, television has been a bastion of funny ladies, and the '00s were no exception. Like Lucy, many of the women on this list played second fiddle to no one. And those that weren't the stars of their own shows managed to steal the scene anyway the moment they got in front of the camera.

The '00s will probably go down in television history as one of those decades where the sitcom sputtered and almost died -- again! But it's alive and well now, with an amazing turn-around in 2009. But, as this list proves, it was never truly in danger. Throughout the decade these women provided plenty of laughs in both the hour and half-hour formats, proving that as long as we want to laugh, there will be brilliant actresses around to crack us up.

Here's our list of the top funny ladies of the decade:

(S02E06) Now that was more like it. This was easily one of the best episodes of Better Off Ted this season. We got a wonderfully bizarre and fruitful setup, a funny B plot for Phil and Lem, and quotable lines up the wazoo. It was just the thing I needed to kick off the new year right and wipe away the memory of last Tuesday's so so outing. All that was missing was a Veridian commercial (What's going on there, ABC? Are you guys saving those for the Web or what?).

It's good to see BoT back on track again. Sadly, though, the outlook for a third season isn't good. This might be one of the funniest and brightest shows on network TV, but that doesn't keep ABC from treating it like a redheaded stepchild (or like In the Motherhood, either metaphor works here, really).

• Bravo has Kathy Griffin specials all night.
• Syfy's Twilight Zone marathon continues all night.
• BBC America's Doctor Who marathon continues all night.
• At 8, FOX has the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Cincinnati vs. Florida.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then a new NOW and a new Great Performances.
• MyNetwork TV has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has 2010.
• At 8:30, ABC has a new Better Off Ted, followed by a new Scrubs.
• At 9, HGTV has Dream House 2010.
• Food Network has a new Iron Chef America at 9.
• Cartoon Network has a new episode of The Clone Wars at 9.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

(S02E04) So Better Off Ted is all but dead. OK, maybe that's not entirely true, but the writing is on the wall. ABC has opted to burn through the show's remaining episodes by double-running 'em every Tuesday through the end of January. (They're doing the same thing with Scrubs.) Considering that BoT only kicked off its current season last month, it's probably safe to assume that a third season isn't in the cards.

Sorry, Tedheads. I'm just as bummed about this as you are. Hopefully the powers that be will give creator Victor Fresco another shot at a series. After this and Andy Richter Controls the Universe, you can officially count me as one of the guy's biggest fans.

That's not to say that he can't let me down every once in a while. Tonight's episode seemed to be missing something. The brisk humor was there, but the jokes were more cutesy than funny. We spent very little time with Phil and Lem, and the Veridian commercial was MIA, again!

• HBO has a True Blood marathon all night.
• At 8, ABC has Rudolph's Shiny New Year.
• PBS has a new, two-hour Nova at 8.
• ESPN has the Champs Sports Bowl, Miami vs. Wisconsin.
• TCM has On the Waterfront at 8.
• At 9, CBS has The Kennedy Center Honors.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9, followed by a new Ghost Lab.
• A&E has a new Psychic Kids at 9, then two new episodes of Paranormal State.
• Also at 9: BBC America has a new Britain's Missing Top Model.
• At 9:30, ABC has a new Better Off Ted, followed by a new 20/20.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Tabatha's Salon Takeover.
• Syfy has a new ECW at 10.
• Biography has two new episodes of Shatner's Raw Nerve at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

On 'Better Off Ted,' Lem can't handle the fact that Bhamba is having sex with his mother, an uptight super genius who has always been hypercritical of his talents.

In this clip, Lem confronts his mother over the relationship, and narrowly avoids seeing Bhamba's "clapper" due to a much-too-short robe.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S02E03) This wasn't the great Dr. Bhamba-centric episode I've been hoping for since season one, but it'll do. Watching Bhamba and Lem work together to solve Stella Clifton's insane equation was a blast. And so was learning about the disturbing lack of crocodiles in Bhamba's dreams. But this ep was less about my favorite wacky underused character and more about a competition between two co-workers and an odd dynamic between a mother and her son.

Let's start with Ted and Linda. Veridian finally gave Linda a pat on the back after she came up with an idea for a scented light bulb that comes in "aromas ranging from zucchini bread to fresh laundry." Good for her. Sadly, the company's decision to greenlight Linda's smelly bulbs meant Ted's idea for a super long lasting bulb was shelved. I was hoping to see Ted squirm a little more to win back the company's favor, but the focus fell more on Linda and her newfound confidence.

• At 7, ReelzChannel has a new Hollywood Dailies with new contributor Richard Roeper.
• 8, FOX has Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special.
• ESPN has the MAACO Bowl, BYU vs. Oregon State.
• At 9, ABC has a new Scrubs, then a new Better Off Ted.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9, followed by a new Ghost Lab.
• History Channel has two new episodes of How The Earth Was Made.
• BBC America has a new Britain's Missing Top Model at 9.
• Comedy Central has four Christmas episodes of South Park starting at 9.
• At 10, Syfy has a new ECW.
• A&E has two new episodes of Paranormal State at 10.
• Also at 10: HBO has a new Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.