When you see the same plot twist on more than one TV show in a season, you might call it a coincidence. Three times, it might be a trend. Four times? A cliché. But what do you call it when the same plot device turns up multiple times on several shows on the same night, on the same network? A company directive? A conspiracy? An epidemic of lazy writing?

Whatever you call it, it happened Thursday night on NBC, where season finales on three different shows ('Community,' 'Parks and Recreation,' and '30 Rock') not only had plots in which a character was forced to choose between two romantic rivals -- call it the Betty-or-Veronica dilemma -- but each show also had multiple characters forced to make such a choice. You could pore through a stack of 'Archie' comic books as high as your chin and not find as much Betty-or-Veronica dithering as you would have seen within two hours on NBC. -- By Gary Susman

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The short winter days aren't so bad when you have your favorite TV shows keeping you warm at night. As the days get longer and warmer, it's that time for TV fans to bid adieu to some of our favorite shows for the summer. Think of it as the television industry's way of saying, "Hey! We're playing in the sun. So should you!" Alas, this particular May finale season will sting as we watch the clock stop on '24' and bid our final goodbyes to hopefully departed 'Lost' friends.

Good news for everyone who likes to plan their schedules far in advance. Fox has released the season finale dates for some of their most popular shows. If you already know that you won't be around, you can set the DVR right now. Either that or cancel that Aruba trip for fear of missing the finale of 'The Cleveland Show'.

The network is giving a whopping 127 minutes for the finale of 'American Idol'. There is also a double-feature finale of '24' and and a one-hour finale for 'Family Guy'. Oddly, they are showing a repeat of 'House' during its season finale (most likely they're showing the new episode finale and a repeat back-to-back). It doesn't seem likely that any of the listed shows will be series finales.

The finales end in early June with 'Glee', which paves the way for repeats during the summer. So which season finale are you looking most forward to?

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(S02E13) "Any idea where we're headed?" /"No." - Chief Unser to Gemma

If you're looking for someone to yak to at the office tomorrow about the second season closer of Sons of Anarchy but don't want to open your meathole to someone who has no idea what you're talking about, there's one sure-fire way to tell without having to say a word: check their fingernails. They will be bitten right down to the bone.

The 90-minute episode was a real tension builder from beginning to end and it not only managed to solve some of the protagonists' problems in very creative and interesting ways, but it also created new ones that just made me hungrier for season three. It couldn't come soon enough if I had a time machine.

-- Suffering from 'American Idol' and 'Dancing With the Stars' withdrawal? Here's how to get through it [NY Daily News]

-- The Paley Center and NBC recently counted down the 50 funniest TV phrases, which included quotes from shows like 'The Simpsons,' 'Friends' and yada, yada, yada ... [Seacost Online]

-- With all the Susan Boyle hoopla happening right now, are you actually following 'Britain's Got Talent'? [Buzz Sugar]

-- Ever wonder what TV shows former President Bill Clinton watches? Now's your chance to find out [NY Times]

Do the American people really like watching their favorite shows this way? Assuming you have more than one or two shows you enjoy following, this week is daunting to say the least and beyond exhausting. Just last night I had a three-hour finale of The Biggest Loser and that awesome Fringe finale. In the past few days we've said goodbye to The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, Cold Case, The Unit, Brothers & Sisters, The Big Bang Theory, House and Castle. And that's just on the major networks.

Over the next two days we have America's Next Top Model, Lie to Me, Lost, Bones, My Name Is Earl, Smallville, Parks & Recreation, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Hell's Kitchen, The Office, Supernatural and even CSI: NY on a special night. And it goes on through the weekend. In an era where ratings are slipping, how can it make good business sense to put all of these finales on against one another all within a few days of each other. I know they've always done that, but I just don't think it makes sense anymore.

As the TV season winds down, the drama is ratcheting up. Check out top-secret, delicious scoops from 17 of your favorite TV shows. Warning: Major spoiler alert!

Michael Ausiello is the harbinger of death.

OK, to be more specific, he's the guy to go to if you want to know how many people are going to die at the end of the season on your favorite show. He's not naming any names (if he knows them), but we can probably make some sort of guess for each one.

We've already discussed the death coming up on Heroes, but now it looks like three people are going to die on the show. Two of them will stay dead, and one is a fake out. I would guess that Danko is one of the people who is going to die (I don't see Zeljko Ivanek coming back to the show next season), but I'm not sure who the other one will be. I'm sure Tracy is involved, though I'm not sure if she will stay dead, come back to life, or split into another personality or whatever.

• TNT has NBA Playoffs all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by the season premiere of The Bachelorette (God help us all).
• CBS has the season finales of Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement, and CSI: Miami.
• FOX has the season finale of Bones at 8, then the season finale of House.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, then a new Dateline.
• The CW has the season finale of Gossip Girl at 8, followed by the season finale of One Tree Hill.
• There's a new Antiques Roadshow on PBS at 8.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World starting at 8.
• Also at 8: ABC Family has a new Greek, then a new Wildfire.
• At 8:30, Food Network has a new Heavyweights.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs.
• MTV has two new episodes of Life of Ryan at 9.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• TV Land has the M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion Special at 9.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Drive-Ins, Diners, and Dives.
• MTV has a new episode of The Paper at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Holy frik! We've only just started to embrace the return of our shows after a shortened strike season. Now, they are almost over. In the next few weeks all of our network favorites will say good-bye for the summer to be replaced with reality shows, reality game shows, reality soap operas, and Regis on primetime (again).

Needless to say, I'm a bit depressed. As I am sure you are as well. But, we will do our duty and press on. Thusly, we here at the sprawling lakefront offices of TV Squad (you choose the lakefront) have compiled list of when your favorite, and not so favorite, shows will be saying good-bye for their summer vacation. As usual, taking the fickleness of the networks, these times and days can change at a moment's notices. We will try to update you of those changes as quickly as our little fingers can type it out.

So, with a leaden heart, here are your season and series finales.

Of course, the subtitle of my title should probably be "Do you avoid spoilers?", because a lot of TV fans actually like them.

There was a time when there were no spoilers for TV shows. None at all. In the 60s and 70s and 80s and early 90s, there was no internet to speak of, and the gossip magazines and gossip TV shows really didn't go to any great lengths to find out what was going to happen on a season finale or a particular episode. Of course, it's a chicken or egg thing now. The shows are doing cliffhangers all the time (even sitcoms) and actually like to cultivate spoilers to hype the show (there was a time when a TV show's season just ended with a regular episode, nothing shocking or cliffhanger-ish). Cliffhangers really took off with the famous "Who Shot J.R." episode of Dallas.*

• At 8, FOX has a new On The Lot, then the season finale of House.
• At 10, ABC has the season finale of Boston Legal.
• At 9, PBS has a new Independent Lens.
• Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9, followed by a new After The Catch.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 9.
• Also at 9: Travel Channel has a new John Ratzenberger's Made In America.
• At 9:30, Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Orange County special.
• CBS has the Kimberly Dozier news special Flashpoint at 10.
• FX has a new episode of The Shield at 10.
• There's a new ECW on Sci-Fi at 10.
• HBO has a First Look at Ocean's 13 at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has the two-hour season finale of American Idol.
• Discovery has a new Hazard Pay at 8.
• More John Wayne movies on TMC at 8: Island in the Sky and The High and The Mighty.
• HBO has the documentary Wide Awake at 8, about a man's bout with insomnia.
• At 9, ABC has the two-hour season finale of Lost.
• The Travel Channel has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• BBC America has a new Perfect Housewives at 9.
• At 10, NBC has a new Dateline.
• There's a new Hustle on AMC at 10.
• Bravo has a new Shear Genius at 10.
• Also at 10: History Channel has a new Modern Marvels.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has the season finale of Ugly Betty, then the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and a special Lost (a clip show that supposedly has "the answers").
• CBS has Bob Barker: A Celebration of 50 Years On Television at 8, followed by the season finale of CSI.
• It's all season finales on NBC starting at 8: The Office, Scrubs, and ER.
• The CW has the season finales of Smallville and Supernatural.
• TBS has four good Friends repeats at 8.
• BBC America has two new episodes of Innocent starting at 8.
• Also at 8: ESPN has two NBA playoff games.
• At 9, HGTV has a new Divine Design.
• The Travel Channel has a new 1000 Places To See Before You Die at 9.
• At 10, Spike has a new Ultimate Fighter.
• There's a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10 on Showtime.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show with David Spade.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Wow, time sure does fly, doesn't it? It seems like only a few short months ago that we were talking about a new television season that was full of promise and good fortune. Yeah, right! And now, we look towards May, a mere three or so weeks away, and the end of the official television season.

That being said, we've gone ahead and updated our current list of season/series premieres and finales with the latest information on when your favorite shows will be coming to an end for the summer, or forever. Most of the shows will be ending between May 14th and May 20th. Also, mark your calendars for May 21st thru May 23rd because this is when the latest winners will be announced for both Dancing With the Stars and American Idol.

Also updated is the return of One Tree Hill to The CW schedule (May 2nd) as well as some changes that were made to other premieres/finales over the last few weeks. So, review at your leisure and remember that dates are subject to change at a moment's notice.