(S06E15) It's the dreaded flashback week on 'Grey's Anatomy,' and we follow three flashbacks: Bailey, Callie, and the Chief, each following one of their first cases at Seattle Grace. All the flashbacks were because Derek reinstated Lecture Day. The Chief is finally getting back on his feet with 45 days of sobriety and was invited to speak. While we had actors portraying young Richard and young Ellis, Bailey and Callie adjusted their hair to represent youth.

While seeing a very yellow Seattle Grace in 1982, the one thing that was amazing was that the soundtrack for the Chief's flashbacks tapped into the '80s soundtrack. Anytime we have the Go-Go's 'We Got the Beat' and Hall & Oates' 'Maneater,' I approve of the episode.

There's going to be an upcoming episode -- a two-parter -- on 'Brothers and Sisters' that will boldly go somewhere it hasn't gone before (at least not in any detail). And when they do, we may be seeing teen heart throb Joe Jonas on 'Brothers and Sisters' as Tommy Walker. That's the Balthazar Getty role.

ABC hasn't confirmed the Jonas casting, but it would make sense. Look at how much alike they are? But there's still a question about acting. Is Joe Jonas able to make us believe that he's a young Tommy Walker?

I don't laugh much at The Cleveland Show, but I laughed at this from last night's episode. It opened with a flashback to 1984, and the show riffed on shows and movies that do everything they can do make us understand what year it is, from having songs from that year on the soundtrack, references to things in the news, and the clothes that the characters are wearing. I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!

Wallace should be carrying a Mac though.

[Watch clips and episodes of The Cleveland Show and other shows at SlashControl.]

(S02E10) So this was the inevitable flashback episode of The Mentalist. We've had flashbacks before, of course, but we knew we were going to get one where we learn how Patrick Jane became who he is. An episode where we see a teen Jane scamming people by making them think he could read their minds (though he's more talented than that and really can figure things out, just not in a mystical way). The kid playing young Jane was pretty much spot on doing a young Simon Baker.

Too bad the present-day mystery wasn't that interesting.

This past Monday's episode of House, "Brave Heart," showed us a side of House that we've seen bits of this season, but finally got proof of - he is getting better. Granted, a healthy House means a return to many of his old shenanigans but apparently it also means trying to forgive the past.

House's military brat upbringing was brought to light in season five's "Birthmarks" where we saw House say good-bye to his father - a man he didn't seem to have too much love for. In this past Monday's episode, House took a cue from Wilson (who'd been conversing with Amber) and before dozing off to sleep, he spoke to his late father admitting that maybe he'd been focusing on the wrong things because there had been some good times.

Well... what good times? There was no context to back up House's claim. Now we have it. House producer Greg Yaintanes has posted a deleted scene, a flashback, where young Greg recalls some of those good times. I never pegged House as an ice-cream cone fan. Take a look.

[Watch full episodes and clips of House, as well as other shows, over at SlashControl.]

Back in the Old Days, before cable ruled the air, Americans only got to see Brit television (most notably, Doctor Who, but also The Prisoner and Monty Python's Flying Circus) via their local PBS station.

Now, thanks to the magic of YouTube, we can revisit those days when the only on-air Comic Cons or Cosplays were the folks at PBS (or whatever public access station was available) dressing up and embarrassing themselves in front of a camera in an effort to get donations. The most interesting aspect is that the low-cost special effects they used to get donations were the same as those used on Doctor Who at the time.

I sincerely hope the folks behind these videos are watching them right now and cringing, praying for the ground to swallow them up. More likely, the people behind them are the ones who put them on YouTube in the first place.

(S07E14) "Rodderick Brody changed my life, maybe as much as Trudy." -- Monk

If I didn't know better, I would have taken this episode of Monk as the drinking game edition because if you took a drink every time someone mentioned the word "swirlie," you were seriously hammered halfway through the show. If that was what you were up to, good for you because you probably didn't care that the last act of the show was a ridiculous plot switch that spoiled an otherwise very good episode. More on the ill-advised plot development after the jump.

By and large, though, there was a lot of good stuff here. The flashback to little Adrian in seventh grade was superb, right down to his tweed jacket and beige shirt and black slacks. A lot of Monk's psychological damage occurred in that junior high school bathroom thanks to the bully in question, Rodderick Brody.

I saw that Michelle Rodriguez was back playing Ana Lucia and my first thought was "What the hell? Have they finally made good on all that zombie talk?" Alas, it doesn't appear so. According to the Access Hollywood piece, she is appearing in a flashback. The article is spoiler free, for those of you that dodge the dirty details. The only thing it gives away is her wardrobe.

How her return is received will, of course, depend on the story they are telling, but I am surprised that they are bringing her back at all. I was under the impression that most people were ok with being done with Ana Lucia. Are there Lost fans with burning Ana Lucia questions that have to be cleared up?

No word on whether or not the producers popped for a full time driver this time, but one can hope. Lost is scheduled to return from its mid-season break on February 7, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of that getting bumped up. Week after week of fourth place finishes has a way of shuffling schedules and changing plans.

[via tvtattle ]

*UPDATE* Reader A points to the news on the Official Michelle Rodriguez site that says the Acess Hollywood pics are not of her, and she is not currently in Hawaii.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorite shows, in order, every week.

(S01E11/S01E12) When I decided to go the route of reviewing the 'Serenity' episodes before 'The Train Job', I wasn't quite sure what Firefly purists would think. Most fans of the series know that Joss Whedon had originally pitched this two-parter to FOX as what would kick off the series, but the execs disagreed. They thought it wasn't the right kind of thing that would draw viewers in for following weeks, so 'The Train Job' was aired first, shuffling off the 'Serenity' episodes well into the season, right before it got canceled.

So, why am I not starting with 'The Train Job'? Because, my friends, this is how the series should have started. This is what makes sense. This is what Joss envisioned as what would start his beloved series, and I can see why. I mean, who introduces characters at the end of the series?

Well folks, tonight is the last new episode of Lost until a four episode blitz in May that's capped off with a two hour finale. Are they going to give us something worth our time, or will they waste our time? If we follow the "one on, one off" pattern of good episodes, this should be a good one. As with all of our chats, you need to have AIM or a compatible client (Trillian, GAIM, etc). Once you have that, make sure you meet right back here to this very post at 8pm ET, and that's when I'll unveil the location for the chat room. You can chat along with me (TVSRyan) and the rest of the Lost fanatics live! I'll see you there.


UPDATE:
Come one, come all; here is the secret location for our Lost Chat! See you inside.

Disclaimer: All or parts of the discussion in this chatroom may be posted in a later column on this site.

Back in late 1999, there was a classic commercial produced by Nike that showed a guy going out for a run on New Year's Day morning, 2000. As he traverses through his neighborhood, ATMs are shooting out money, there's a power outage, and people are rioting in the streets. However, the message from Nike was despite all this mayhem, remember to "Just Do It." Funny, funny stuff. (If you want to see it, check it out at YouTube.)

Anyway, Earl Hickey wasn't immune from Y2K madness, and last night's episode was a flashback to the time when Earl and his gang decided to start a "new world" on January 1, 2000 since they think the world as they knew it came to an end at midnight. This was all predicated by Earl wanting to cross number 24 off his list--stole a red take-a-number-machine at Camden County's version of Wal-Mart, Bargain Bag.

Earl readily admits in his narration that usually he and his friends were too drunk during previous New Year's celebrations that fireworks went off at midnight and a parade took place the following morning, so they think they are the only ones left and want to start a new society at the store. Being the misfits that they are, things go awry quickly when everyone becomes territorial over areas such as the beauty and pharmaceuticals and TV departments.

We're back! The first new episode of Lost since sweeps, which was the first new episode since... sweeps. Luckily we won't have to wait until May to get the next episode. Tonight's episode of Lost dealt with Sun and Jin and their struggle to expand their family. Did they succeed? Is their baby going to be picked up by the Others? Was it what they both wanted? Were they both *ahem* even involved? Well... that's a whole other story, and one for a flashback. With that in mind, on with the show!