Last night, everybody's favorite obsessive compulsive decorator and house flipper, Jeff Lewis, was back on Bravo, and the ratings for Flipping Out were through the roof. The Season Three premiere was the highest ever for the reality show, up 53 percent from last season's opener.

More important than the numbers, though, was the show itself. If you want to see how the recession has hit the real estate business, check out this show. Instead of flipping million dollar homes in Southern California, Jeff is now reduced to taking renovation jobs and working for other people. He's not used to having to work for others, but it's great to see it happen.

(S02E01) I watched the first season of Flipping Out on Bravo last summer based on a teaser I saw during Top Chef 3. The show is about a real estate "flipper" who buys properties, fixes them up and then resells them for a profit. You might say, "Yawn, that's just like a bunch of other shows on TLC, Discovery, et al." Well, yes, that's true.

But Flipping Out isn't really about the flipping, it's about the flipper -- Jeff Lewis. This guy Lewis is not normal. I mean it, he's not. He says he's not. He's obsessive compulsive and it comes out in everything he does. It makes him a better flipper, because of his attention to detail, but it also makes him really hard to take if you're his employee, partner or contractor. But, boy, is it fun to watch Jeff Lewis's life! That's what Flipping Out is really all about and it's back.
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Finally, after having to deal with lesser Stephen J. Cannell shows being released (Renegade?!), one of my favorite shows is coming to DVD: Riptide!

Riptide starred Perry King and Joe Penny as Cody Allen and Nick Ryder, two private eyes who lived and worked off a boat in California. They were helped on cases by the third member of the team, the nerdy brainiac Boz, played by Thom Bray. This was a highly enjoyable 80s adventure-drama, and I've been waiting for it to come out on DVD for quite some time.

Interestingly, there might be two versions being released: a Canadian version is coming out, and insiders tell TVshowsonDVD that an American version is in the works too.