rating5

(S06E22) *Warning, spoilers ahead from latest episode.*

If you're a fan of gunfire, dim lighting and foot chases through tunnels and dank warehouses, the latest installment of 24 was right up your alley. Sure, there were still campy moments. Like Jack Bauer's sister-in-law Marilyn sobbing and losing her composure, and Jack's "nephew" Josh being squinty and whiny. Again.

However the name of the game in hour 22 was action, shoehorned into nearly every tick of the 24 clock. And if there's one thing for which I was grateful, it was that there were no scenes with Chloe and Morris "Drill-Bit" O'Brian saying insipid things to one another.

(S11E10) Holy crap! Nancy loses some of her hair in this episode, just like Marge did in The Simpsons episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious!" Quick, somebody make a video so we can expose how King of the Hill is ripping off The Simpsons!

Anyway, this wasn't a bad episode, but it wasn't anything that great either. It felt like a snapshot of a typical day in Arlen, which means it's probably not a bad episode to show someone unfamiliar with the series, but for long-time fans, it took us places we've already been to many times before.

As usual, Dale is obsessed with aliens, and his constant yammering about the vernal equinox and his pestering Nancy about cooking the right food for the aliens has stressed her out so much her hair starts falling out. Naturally, going back to the bliss she once felt with her former lover John Redcorn starts to seem like a good idea.

(S05E17) As I got into this episode, two things occurred to me. First, since next week is the season finale, when did they decide to cut this season to 18 episodes? More importantly for our purposes here though, this episode felt very familiar. It took a minute, but when Lois and Mayor West got to the debate, I remembered what it was. The main story was very similar to the season two episode, "Running Mates."

(S01E15) The plot of The Game sounded kind of cheesy at first. The idea of a civilization style game that actually controls a world initially put me off a bit. I had a hard time getting into the show because of it. Once the situation escalated a bit, it was much easier to get into things.

(S13E22) And now, please welcome Stanley Tucci to the cast of ER. As we reported to you back in March, Tucci was cast as Dr. Kevin Moretti, an ICU clinical director who becomes the new ER chief of staff after Luka Kovac decides to step down (due to the fact that Goran Visnjic , who portrays Kovac, is leaving the show). Moretti officially takes over the ER next week. In this week's episode we get to meet the man and find out a little about him.

Let's analyze Kevin Moretti for a bit, shall we?

(S03E24) "All rocks. Very typical." - Bailey

Speaking of typical? This episode. But trust me... after last week's spin-off installment of Grey's Anatomy, it was a welcome return to the show that I've come to expect. We weren't left without hints of what transpired last week though. Besides Sloan's incessant desire to know how Addison's week in the sun went, Dr. Montgomery was continually bombarded all episode long with pregnant women. A slap-in-the-face to help us recall what we found out last week - she can't conceive. If this keeps up into next week's finale, it'll make sense though. What better catalyst to send Addison to LA and take Naomi up on her job offer than constant reminders that she has "fossilized eggs?" Frankly, I'm not sure that I care. Addison wasn't in this episode all that much and while that says nothing about the spin-off, it proves that the original will be just fine without her.

(S03E22) There are times when House seems like he's just a bit too smart when it comes to how he solves a particular case, and this week was one of those times. After being so sure of himself as to what the solution to the problem was with Addie, the college student, he just had it pop into his head randomly that she had tried to off herself in a creative way? Okay, if you say so.

Other than that bit of nitpick on my part, I thought this episode was actually pretty good. Foreman shared some *ahem* comments about his colleagues, such as not liking Chase, and Cameron stating that he thought she was weak. Neither of these things are a bit surprising, but will Chase's psych-out on Foreman and House, combined with Wilson's drugged-up rant and the minimal efforts by Cuddy, get Foreman to stick around? I'm not sure. Then again, do we really want Piper Perabo in the picture every single week?

(S04E15) I thought that Mandee made a great comment on the post for last week's results show. She said, "You know, the Results show has been morphing into a terrific '60s style variety show, with comedy segments, guest musical performers, and, of course, lots of dancing. A slice of retro-cool, for the whole family, from grandma to pre-tweens." I completely agree with that.

The results show has always had to fight the problem that they only have about two minutes of actual results for their 60 minute show. Right now, it's as good as it has ever been. It's always going to be behind the performance show, because the star's performances are what it's all about, but the producers deserve credit for how much work is going into the results show. Enough about that though, we have results to get to.

(S06E21) *Warning, spoilers ahead from the new episode ahead.*

In order to enjoy the 21st hour of Jack Bauer's sixth bad day, I had to suspend reality and stop myself from wondering:

a) How in the world CTU could possibly be so vulnerable, b) Why a presidential chief of staff would be hanging out in a surveillance van, c) How a confused looking teen with a mop of blond hair could suddenly take on such importance, and, d) Why on God's green earth should I care about the romantic bickerings of a divorced couple with no chemistry?

But, once I decided to stop asking the why's and the how's I was able to enjoy this hour for what it was: An odd 60 minutes with surprising moments and real, actual dramatic tension.

(S02E21) Wedding mishaps are one of the "go to" devices of the sitcom writer; I don't think there's been a sitcom wedding that has ever gone smoothly. Usually, one of two things happens during these wacky weddings: either things come together and the couple has a memorable wedding, or something out of nowhere happens -- the groom says the name "Rachel" instead of his bride's name, for instance -- to completely derail the marriage.

Luckily, HIMYM's wedding was more of the former. But it was done with a twist that allowed everyone to get what they wanted.

(S02E12) Stop-motion animated sex is kind of disturbing. While watching this episode I wondered how much needed to be cut to make it suitable for air. Perhaps nothing needed to be cut, but this was certainly one of the more sexually graphic episodes.

The series was renewed for a third season recently, but I wonder how deep the "idea well" is for a series like Moral Orel. The city of Moralton and the denizens therein are trapped in their own little world, and it's not a world like Robot Chicken or Family Guy where gags can just come from anywhere, and it's not a satire of everything like The Simpsons. I'm obviously a fan of the show and its menagerie of characters struggling to appear righteous while committing all the sins us "normal" folks do, but the Moral Orel universe is so specifically constructed to represent a certain way of life I can't imagine it continuing further without starting to repeat itself.

(S11E13) Ahhh... I really was rooting for the Beauty Queens! I think they were really, really bummed about coming in very close second. I wanted to cry with them. I'm not sure what my problem is with Eric & Danielle. I just felt like they didn't have a whole lot of personality, unlike the other teams in the top three. I feel like they pout a lot.

(S06E20) Smallville has another "dream" episode, or as I like to call it "the writers take a much needed week off." It might be nitpicking too much, but to me a dream episode is like a clip show, where the character all reminisce about other episodes. Nothing happens that really affects the characters or their storylines, so it kinda seems like cheating, but they pulled this one off pretty well, so I can't gripe too loudly.

Mostly, it's because I'm a sucker for black and white, the 1940s speak, and whodunit stories. Plus Humphrey Bogart as a detective in pretty much anything is tops in my book, kid. One question though, how could they possibly do a black and white version of Smallville set in the 1940s, and not put Jimmy Olsen in a bow-tie? What a missed opportunity.

(S13E21) Oh, Rich, I hope Disney World was worth missing the wedding of the week, as you called it last week. Hello, folks, I am pitching in for Rich this week. I noted one of the comments from a story (this post has spoilers, do don't click the link unless you like spoilers!) Isabelle Carreau did a few weeks ago about the show: Another Jen said that the show really ended for her when Mark Greene died. I was in a hotel a couple of weeks ago and caught a TNT rerun of the episode where Greene died and cried through it all over again. I swear, I have cried more over that TV character dying than some over the deaths of some of the people I've actually met who have died. (Kidding. That was a joke.)

The show didn't end for me when Greene died-- but I haven't been as enamored with it since Luka and Abby were being stalked by Curtis Ames (the fabulous Forest Whitaker).

(S03E22/S03E23) "I'm just saying, it's a relief to be on a "not horny" elevator... you know?" - Addison

Well that's it. We speculated. We ooed and ahhed. We wondered what could possibly be in store for a Grey's Anatomy spin-off starring Kate Walsh's Addison Montgomery. Well now we know and based on my initial diagnosis (doctor lingo!), I have to be honest -- it feels a lot like the exact same show in a different city with different players. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so because we've got a formula that works here. Did I like it? Sure. Did I love it? Well... love is a strong word.