what about brian

(S02E12) You'll have to forgive the lateness of this review folks. I've been on a business trip for the past week and the hours I worked were crazy. I missed pretty much every TV show I like. That being said, I finally got to see this episode (thank goodness for ABC's online video player) and all I have to say is wow. This is precisely the way this story needed to be told and it's exactly the type of episode that What About Brian needed for a recharge. Despite the recent string of decent episodes, this show is now officially back on track and I'm excited to see how it develops during the rest of the season.

So last night was the first really big Monday night of the new year, with the return of Heroes and Studio 60. And how did those shows fare?

Typical numbers for Studio 60 at 10pm, with around 7.4 million viewers. It was crushed by CSI: Miami, which got 18.7 million viewers. But the big news of the night (well big-ish, I guess) is that Two and a Half Men beat Heroes fairly easily. The Charlie Sheen show got 16.1 viewers, with Heroes getting 14.8 (24 was close, with 14.4). And yes, for you 18 to 49 demographic fans, Heroes won in that race.

That number for CSI: Miami is what I keep thinking about though. My God, almost 19 million for that show? I'm not just saying this because I'm a fan of Studio 60, I'd still say it if it was on Tuesdays at 8 or Saturdays at 9. It just depresses me that this show (and all the CSIs, actually) do that well in the ratings. It must make the network execs scream "hey, we should do more of those shows!"

(S02E11) Yes! Yes! Yes! This is the episode we've all been waiting for. We're at the midpoint of the season and everything that happened at the very beginning is finally coming full circle. Fans of the show - you know what I'm talking about. So bear with me as we go through everything else. You have to admit, the way this episode culminated, it was well done. It didn't feel canned... OK, I'm stopping. Plenty of other plot points to discuss before we get to the good stuff.

The good stuff being Marjorie's return.

(S02E09) I've gotten to the point where I'm overly critical of this show because it used to be really good. So I'm trying to make an effort to like it again. The five season one episodes were just such a welcome surprise last spring and I even speculated that this show could become the next Grey's Anatomy if ABC handled it right. Well guess what? They didn't handle it right.

For the longest time I've been lobbying for the return of Marjorie. After last night's episode, I realized something. I don't think Marjorie's return will make a difference at all. Adam is too proud to take her back and Brian is too smart at this point to throw it all away on her again. Besides, I'm starting to enjoy their respective new storylines and Bridget and Heather make nice additions to the show.

(S02E08) Well this was certainly an improvement. If anything, I say that only because the show did some things that I actually didn't expect to happen.

It's interesting with shows like this, especially ensemble shows. If often becomes easier to predict what certain characters are going to do next because they get put on a path of sorts. So it's always nice when they deviate from that path and you don't see it coming. I like surprises.

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and What About Brian.
• CBS has repeats of How I Met Your Mother, The Class, Two and a Half Men, Old Christine, and CSI: Miami, starting at 8.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, followed by the fall finales of Heroes and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
• The Billboard Music Awards airs on FOX at 8.
• The CW repeats of Everybody Hates Chris, All Of Us, Girlfriends, and The Game.
• ABC Family has The Year Without A Santa Claus at 8, then Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer & The Island of Misfit Toys.
• TNT has new, two-hour ep of The Closer at 8.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• Wintertime Treats Unwrapped airs on Food Network at 9.
• Hallmark has The Christmas Box, also at 9. It's followed by Santa Jr.
• At 10, Court TV has a new Murder By The Book, profiling Faye Kellerman.
• Discovery has a new American Chopper at 10.

I love watching a show's opening credit sequence. They're like mini-films. However, I'm sure others have noticed this, but it seems like more and more shows are foregoing a full-blown credit sequence and instead opting for a brief title placard while the credits roll during the opening scenes of a given show. Take Grey's Anatomy. They used to have a pretty nifty show open complete with sex in a hospital bed. Now it's gone. Boo to that. I like seeing the credits and it's lousy that some shows have tossed it in favor of what probably ends up being a few extra seconds of time for ad buyers to purchase. Oh well. Some shows still have a lengthy open and with that comes some good music. Here are some of my favorites (old and current) in no particular order.

1.) C'mon C'mon by The Von Bondies [Rescue Me] - Awesome tune. It's loud. It's angry. And it goes perfect with the imagery of a fire engine roaring down a Manhattan avenue. I'm not sure if it's still on the F/X website, but there used to be a blurb about how Denis Leary picked music for Rescue Me and apparently he stumbled onto this song one day while his son was listening to it. Good find.

(S02E06) What about Brian? What about him indeed... I'm officially enjoying every other storyline way more than Brian's. There's just so much going on and Brian almost seems like an afterthought at this point.

The entire Adam/Heather relationship is great. Here's my fear though. What if she's playing him? It wouldn't be too hard to imagine, especially now that they've eloped (did not see that coming). She said her mother was a stripper too and that she basically grew up in the back of a club. It's not crazy to think that she heard of or knew some other women who used a man for money. She is going to med school too and could probably use the extra bucks. Regardless, if they stay together for a while, it'll set up some fireworks for Marjorie's return. Unless (I just thought of this), what if Marjorie comes home and she's married too? Ooohh...

• At 8, ABC has A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, followed by He's A Bully, Charlie Brown and new episodes of The Bachelor and What About Brian.
• CBS has new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, The Class, Two and a Half Men, Old Christine, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, then new eps of Heroes and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
• There's a new Prison Break on FOX at 8, then a repeat House.
• The CW is all new tonight: Everybody Hates Chris, All Of Us, Girlfriends, and The Game.
• Lifetime has a new episode of Lisa Williams: Life Among The Dead.
• Emeril cooks up "Thanksgiving Favorites" on Food Network at 8. It's followed by Thanksgiving episodes of Unwrapped and Ham on the Street.
• Sci-Fi has a Threshold marathon starting at 8.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• Lifetime has the movie Griffin & Phoenix at 9.
• There's a new High Stakes Poker at 9 on GSN.
• At 10, Court TV has a new episode of Murder By The Book, profiling Michael Connelly.

(S02E05) Going into this episode, I wasn't too excited about it. Funeral for Angelo? I figured it would just be sort of cheesy as the writers officially wrapped up his story. Turns out though, this was a great episode. Probably the best one of the season so far.

Wasn't it weird to not have Marjorie there for any of this though? If there was a logical time for her to make an unannounced return, this certainly would have made sense. Despite everything that happened, she really should have been there for a friend's funeral. But at the same time, if she did come back, with everything else that's going on? Things would have gotten messy. Her absence really stood out during the end of the episode, especially when the whole group went to spread Angelo's ashes at the pier. At this rate, everyone is probably going to be a little ticked off at her when she finally comes back.