Has it really been over a month since White Collar left us hanging on the cliff? Yes, I guess it has. Thank goodness USA has given this show an order for a second season. It's delightful. I know, it's a fruity word, but I can't think of a better one that describes the show. Okay, fun.

Tonight, apparently, we're going to resolve the Kate/Neal/Peter question in some way, shape or form because clearly there are other cases to resolve and the partnership between Neil and Peter is moving on. It's the premise of the show, so it was inevitable that they were going to have to keep it together.

How do I know for sure, well... take a look at the preview. After the jump.

We all remember and love the Folgers TV commercial from the early 80's that featured Peter coming home from college (or maybe prison or being stranded on an island, it's never really explained). I don't know why Folgers doesn't just run this ad every year people love it so much, but they don't. In fact, this morning I saw a new Folgers Christmas commercial that is very similar to the Peter ad: guy gets dropped off at his home, his sister is up first, and then the parents smell the coffee and get out of bed and come down to greet him. It's just not the same though.

Here's the old ad (and here's an interview with Greg Wrangler, who played Peter). Can't find the new one online yet but I'll post it when I can.

As Bob wrote the other day, NBC has assured fans that Heroes will be back next season. Isn't that great? Well, no, not to me. I would like to assure NBC that I have had it with Heroes. I'm exhausted and fed up. Do you feel like me? Do you have Heroes fatigue?

The changes have been detrimental to the original premise, ruining what was once the most exciting new TV show on the air since Lost. Quite simply, I don't like the new "book"; I don't like the characters that have been mangled beyond recognition; I don't like all the story lines that were dropped in favor of this new paradigm that has the government hunting down Matt and Peter and the other familiar heroes and treating them like terrorists. At the end of the last episode, I just felt bad about Heroes. What have they done to my show?

Before we get to this month's videos, two observations about Christmas commercials that are currently running.

The new Lexus ad where the guy remembers being a kid and getting a new Atari for Christmas and how that used to be his best gift ever until his wife said to hell with the economy I'm going to buy my husband a ridiculously audacious gift: is that Roger from Swingtown?

Second, the candle commercial where the woman buys a candle that smells like gingerbread men and then tries to trick her friends into thinking that it's not the candle but it's the gingerbread men that she just cooked even though she bought them at the store: why does she leave the candle approximately one inch from the gingerbread men? Does she think her friends wouldn't notice it?

Anyway, on to the classics...

(S06E02) This is the 100th episode of Family Guy (if the three edited-for-TV episodes of Stewie Griffin: the Untold Story are counted). Not bad for a show that was canceled for a few years.

The plot involves Brian moving in with his vapid sometimes-girlfriend Jillian (voiced by Drew Barrymore). Stewie then joins them to help with the rent. Meanwhile, Meg gets a job at a convenience store and helps Chris get a job there which leads to bad repercussions.

Say it isn't so!

OK, I'll say it: it isn't so.

Seth McFarlane is currently under negotiations with FOX about his new contract. The current contract runs out in early 2007, and McFarlane still hasn't finalized a deal with the network even though the new season is supposed to start filming (um...drawing?) very soon. Variety reports that the production offices are currently closed.

But I say the network and McFarlane make a deal. The show has been a hit and an important show for FOX since coming back, and I don't see them letting it slide away (again). Though wouldn't it be interesting if FOX for some reason didn't renew the contract and NBC picked it up? I don't see that happening, but that would be a cool twist and an instant hit for the Peacock network.

Fans of The Amazing Race should be happy to know that Peter and Sarah have broken up. IGN has a question-and-answer with the duo, who were eliminated from the competition last Sunday. They don't say much about why they broke up -- uh, I think we can guess that Sarah did the dumping -- but they do talk about their behavior on the show, especially Peter. When he's asked about why he kept wanting to quit during challenges, he gives a bullshit answer, saying "I'm going to quit" is a motivator to him. Whatever, pal. He also accuses the producers of editing out his good moments and only focusing on his bad ones. Racers Tom and Terry did an interview when they were eliminated and they said the producers portrayed them and everyone else accurately and fairly-- and I trust those two more than I trust Peter. The couple also talk about their high and low moments, other racers, and Sarah's climbing challenges.

If you've got eight spare minutes and don't mind seeing cartoon nudity and hearing animated flatulence at work, then take a look at this video: someone has compiled what he or she thinks is Family Guy's ten funniest moments and clipped them together. It's kind of odd how some of the selections are maybe 15 seconds long, while others -- especially a clip featuring Quagmire -- seem to go on forever. But I think that's the nature of Family Guy: just when you think a gag should end, Seth MacFarlane purposely extends it to the point where it becomes funny again.

Anyway, I don't agree with all of this person's choices, but it's not a bad way to spend eight minutes. The video is after the jump.

A quick promo/contest/text message type thing appeared near the end of The Amazing Race last night, asking viewers to vote for 'Most Annoying Couple' on The Amazing Race. I found this funny because the show always tended toward positive votes, like 'VIP' for the episode. But not last night. I thought it was a great question that was worth more than just a text message... it's worth an all-out discussion, people!

The three candidates for 'Most Annoying Couple' were David and Mary, Sarah and Peter, and Rob and Kimberly. They all definitely lead the pack for 'Most Annoying'. (I'd show pictures of them, but CBS' website doesn't have any!)

Let's break it down after the jump, and you'll see who I find most annoying. Feel free to chime in down in comments.

And when we say "NSFW," we really mean "NSFW." Family Guy fans undoubtedly remember the episode "Road to Rhode Island" in which Brian and Stewie travel across the country after Stewie misplaces their plane tickets. The B story for that episode involved Lois purchasing a marriage counseling video with a special "men only" section in which the instructor does a strip tease. In this clip found on Google Video, the instructor takes the strip tease a tad further than she did in the original episode. Rumors are abound as to where the clip came from: some claim it was done as a joke played on either Seth Green or Seth MacFarlane, others say it's included as a deleted scene on one of the DVDs. For some reason the only thing I could think about while watching the clip is that I haven't seen Fritz the Cat in a really long time. Weird.

[via Digg]

The Brady Bunch (and The Partridge Family) were weekly rituals in my house when I was a kid. My sister and I would get a huge bag of candy down at the corner store and come home and watch both shows on Friday night.

So it was interesting to see what Cousin Oliver, aka Robbie Rist, is up to these days. As fans of The Brady Bunch know, he was brought on to the show later in its run to add something to the show. I don't know, maybe a cute factor or just shake things up a bit. But all he did was annoy fans, and many people see this as a big "Jump the Shark" moment. Even Rist himself says he has that web site to thank for renewed interest in his career.

Check out what Rist looks like now. Quite a change.

[via TV Tattle]

(S05E18)

Diane: In other news, after several grueling days of frightening uncertainty, I finally get my period.

Tom: Well, Diane, I'm sure you and your brother must be devastated by the loss of the two-headed offspring that might have been. 

Hey, Bob's cable is out so I told him I'd cover this week's Family Guy review. If you want to fantasize about Bob while reading this I won't be offended. Okay, let's get to it:

(S05E17) What can you say about an episode of a cartoon that shows that the universe was invented by God farting?

This episode had a big Simpsons vibe to it, where one character tells a historical story and the characters from the show serve as the historical characters as well. This one had Peter telling the rest of the family the story of the Griffin family as they all hide out in a panic room while robbers break into the house. It all starts with the dinosaurs, and the show helpfully gives both the theory of evolution and the intelligent design theory (Jeannie blinked everything into existence).

I watched this earlier today and I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know, I just find it funny. It's not every day that you get references to the Olympics, eye boogers, and Mac computers all in one 30 second clip of a TV show.

You can also check out preview clips from this week's 24 and Big Love, but they're not as funny.

(S05E13) There aren't many shows - ever - that would make a Scarecrow and Mrs. King joke. One more reason to love this show.

Brian gets a job as a cabbie ("It's about time I got a job. For God's sake, I'm seven!").  Peter and Lois find out about the community talent show coming up (long story how they find out - it involves Peter and Brian shooting at Lois' car from the taxi and the car crashing), and decide to bring back their folk band (A Handful Of Peter).

Brian gets a $400 parking ticket for parking in a handicapped spot. Meanwhile, Mayor Adam West goes for a pizza and finds the Domino's Noid in his office. He kills him ("Maybe the Domino's Noid should have avoided me").