The Wire week 1 thread for the On Demand'ers

As I understand it, HBO is again going to be debuting each episode of "The Wire" six days early via On Demand. (Last season, episodes tended to go live sometime after 9 a.m. on Mondays.)

Because the majority of viewers still see the show for the first time on its Sunday broadcast window, my own recap and analysis of each episode won't go live until after the Sunday airing. But because enough viewers watch early with On Demand and want to be able to talk about those episodes, I'm going to do the same thing I did last season, and open up a thread each Monday morning for the On Demand'ers to comment. I would also encourage any On Demand viewers to read and comment on the Sunday night posts, but only so long as you keep those threads free of spoilers from the next episode after Monday rolls around. (In slightly clearer English, in the post for episode one, don't start talking or even hinting about stuff you've seen in episode two On Demand.)

People were really good about this last season -- when, in addition to the On Demand airings, there was that matter of the entire season having been leaked on-line before a single episode had aired -- and hopefully that behavior will continue.

So if you've seen it, talk about episode one, "More With Less," here. My own column preview of the season will run Sunday morning, and I'll have my specific thoughts on this episode up Sunday night at 10.

All TV: In memoriam

I had hoped to announce the first entry in the Strike Survival TV Club either Friday or today, but my bosses have asked me to wait until Thursday so there's room for a splashier announcement in the paper. In the meantime, today's column is the annual look back at some of the TV people who died in the last year.

The Post Mortem

If digging the Lakers throwback shorts makes me gay, then call me Rock Hudson because those that was pretty cool. Of course, the Lakers jinxed themselves by going back to the clown pants shorts that are currently in vogue in the NBA. Come on, you guys couldn't nut up for one more half? You would be hard pressed to find anybody who didn't get a kick out of that.

Of course, the Celtics could have played along. No, not by wearing short shorts of their own. Rather, by signing a few white guys and putting them all on the floor.

THE PATRIOTS ARE PERFECT
Wow, that was more underwhelming that even my cynical mind would have believed. Going undefeated is a nice achievement, but the buildup was just too much. Not that you can blame the NFL Network. When more than 50 percent of your teams have nothing to play for on Sunday, you might as well focus in on a dominant team.

The argument is out there that we should enjoy the Patriots who are saving us from the mediocrity of parity. But the Patriots just reinforce parity because in order for true parity to exist, there needs to be one perfect team and one winless team -- which the Dolphins almost provided us with. Let's say we go back to the days were each division had three good teams battling for the conference championship. Like the Rams-Cowboys-Vikings trio in the 1970s. Or the Cowboys-49ers-Packers threesome in the 1990s. That was more enjoyable then watching the alleged greatest team of all-time get lit up by Eli Messiah.

• The Chargers looked like they were performing their annual playoff pratfall a week early during the first half of their game with the Raiders. Way to build up the confidence, Hat.

• Art Monk's candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame took another hit when he was passed by Isaac Bruce on the all-time list. Sorry, Lil' Hater.

• Anybody even working today?

AND FINALLY
The Kurt Warner Machine finished one touchdown shy of the Cardinals club record. And he didn't even start every game. The Cardinals should go back to the platoon next season, because it would work. If Matt Leinart isn't down with that, then maybe he should get familiar with sitting on the bench.

Letterman and the WGA cut a deal

Over at the NJ.com blog, news of Letterman's production company and the WGA reaching an interim agreement to let him and Craig Ferguson return to work with their writing staffs. Could be great for the WGA (if Dave and Craig destroy Jay and Conan), or could be awful (if Jay and Conan continue to win even without writers).

Great moments in Wire history?

With the premiere of the fifth and final season of "The Wire" a little more than a week away, I'm already starting to work on my review (short version: still brilliant) and the standard-issue greatest hits-style sidebar. For other shows, I tend to do best episodes ever, but while "The Wire" certainly has brilliant episodes, each one is so much a part of the whole that it seems besides the point to single them out.

So I'm either going to do a best moments ever list, or possibly a funniest moments ever list, seeing as one of the themes of my review will be how consistently Simon, Burns and company manage to find the black humor in these incredibly depressing stories. (Season five is easily the funniest yet, in a way that doesn't at all diminish the drama.)

And as usual with these lists (whichever version I decide to do), I have a lot of the items already in mind, but I never want to miss a good one, so let me open the floor for suggestions in either category. With a lot of scenes -- like the one pictured above, the legendary all-F-word scene -- both categories will no doubt apply. Fire away.

andreikirilenkotattoo on TV: Best of 2007

Two columns today celebrating the best stuff I saw in 2007, starting with my top 10 list:

1. "The Sopranos"


2. "Mad Men"


3. "30 Rock"


4. "Friday Night Lights" season one


5. (tie) "Dexter" &


6. "The Shield"


7. "House"


8. "Extras"


9. "The Office"


10. (tie) "Chuck" & "Pushing Daisies"
    

To read the full column where I elaborate on why those shows got the nod (and include video links to great scenes wherever possible), click here.

Meanwhile, I did a second story about the best episodes and/or moments of shows that either just missed the cut (say, the "Price Is Right" episode of "HIMYM" or the mugging episode of "Flight of the Conchords") or weren't good enough for top 10 consideration but had rare moments of genius (say, the "Lost" finale or the "Day Man"/"Night Man" episode of "It's Always Sunny"). Lots and lots of YouTube links in that one, so click here for it all.

The Weak Ender

The New York Giants laying down for the Patriots would be a rather fitting way to end the season. Especially to defensive end Michael Strahan who broke the single-season sack record when Brett Favre took a dive. Turnabout is fair, play right? So expect Strahan, Eli Messiah and the rest of the gang to roll over. Although, how that will be different from most of the December games the Giants play in? That would be funny if the Giants were trounced 45-0 and the media pressure forced Tom Coughlin to concede that his team was actually trying.

The Giants should, however, just mail this one in. Nobody is expect the Cowboys to try at Washington. The 49ers certainly won't be interested in playing at Cleveland. The only team you have to feel bad for is Tennessee who will be playing Indianapolis. That apple polisher Gomer doesn't take games off, and you have to admire him for that. Well, unless you are Jim Sorgi's Mom. Then you know that she must be livid that Gomer has to go out and try hard in every single game.

• Bucky and Dawuss nailed Lil' Hater's lament in the comment section of the previous post, that being that the NFL finally caved on it's NFL Network game because it involved the New York Giants. Hard to imagine the NFL budging if this was, say, the Patriots vs. the Chiefs. But leave it to the NFL to throw away its only leverage so the country can see the Hefty Lefty go through the motions against the Patriots. Great move. The one question, though, why does America feel like they deserve to have this game on free TV? Where is Congress to demand that Wrestlemania should be on free television? Or the UFC? The NFL and DirecTV should be able to design its own business model. And if the game means that much to you, get a dish or go to bar. Just stop with the bellyaching.

• Warren Sapp was fined $75K for his temper tantrum in Jacksonville last week. Sapp should have just punched the guy if he was going to lay out that kind of money. This, of course, would have never happened in an Eddie Guns' called contest.

• The Chargers can wrap up the No. 3 see with a win over the Raiders on Sunday. Still believe that the Chargers would be better off facing the Patriots in the second round. Well, that is if they get to the second round.

• You know that Week 17 is meaningless when one of the biggest storylines involves a "Who is hotter" between Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. The right answer, of course, is Ashlee. Just kidding. It's Joe.

God bless the Pac-10 for quitting in its bowl games. The Arizona State game would be disturbing, but Dennis Erickson really hasn't had the chance to bring in his own players yet. Oregon is going to have to start a Leaf. Damn, load up against the rest of the Pac-10 outside of USC. Losers. But hey, the Pac-10 has two teams in the top five in the NCAA hoops and Arizona might just be the best team.

AND FINALLY
Southern California lost a legend with the passing of Stu Nahan. That name might not be familiar to you outside of Southern California, but you should recognize him from all of the Rocky movies. Or better yet, this famous clip. (Just as Matt P. predicted I would post.)

RIP Stu.



Stu had better be in the Academy Awards montage for stars who have died. If they have a ceremony this year, that is.

The Guy to save Lakers Hoops

NBA basketball doesn't get a lot of run here in The Hater Nation -- and rightfully so -- but if there is one guy who makes us take notice and watch games, it's Andrew Bynum. It was noted in this space last year that Kobe Bryant's dismissal of Bynum was highly ironic. Remember, if was Kobe lofting air-balls in Utah, ruining the Lakers chance at the finals.

Bynum is now starting to fulfill that promise that made him the No. 10 overall selection and leading many to breathe a sigh of relief that Mitch Kupchak stuck to his guns. The Lakers aren't quite at the top of the mountain, yet. And out here, you have to win championships. But the Lakers are a lot closer right now, then they would have been if they had traded Bynum to New Jersey for Jason Kidd.

(Of course, if the Nets want to give away Kidd for say, Kwame Brown straight-up, that's cool. And that's really Mitch's only blunder, trading Caron Butler for Brown.)

The Lakers, even if they don't make any moves, are getting closer to being a factor in the West. And it seems that Bynum's presence has helped to appease Kobe, too. You notice he's no longer asking for Jermaine O'Neal because he has a younger, maybe better version of O'Neal right on his own team. It's too bad Michael Cooper or James Worthy isn't the GM of a scrub team with a superstar who could just give somebody away to the Lakers for nothing.

But right now, just watching this team starting to become a contender again is satisfying.

About Rivers' Taunting ...

Kind of torn on how to feel about Philip Rivers taunting of Jay Cutler.

The taunting is kind of funny on one hand, kind of in the same way that makes professional wrestling entertaining. Although, this is the equivalent of Moon Dog Rex or Leaping Lanny Poffo running his mouth. Players having that kind of gumption is cool. But only if that player is actually good. The taunting -- good natured or not -- is kind of ironic considering that Rivers is the Chargers biggest liability right now. Yes, even bigger than Norv Turner himself who has found a way to almost take himself out of the picture.

Right now, the Chargers would stand a better chance of beating the Patriots than they would the Colts. Only because the weather in New England could neutralize both quarterbacks. And 10-on-10, the Chargers are actually better than the Patriots. San Diego would be a much bigger disadvantage if they had to play the Colts indoors. You would hope that Gomer's choking would equal out, but that probably isn't the case.

So, in the end, my official feeling is that Rivers should probably just shut his mouth and keep handing the ball off to LaDainian Tomlinson. Rivers should probably look at Trent Dilfer as his hero, instead of Ric Flair.

Merry Chrismukkah to all, and to all a good week

No matter what holidays you choose to celebrate (or not celebrate) at this time of year, I hope you're feeling happy. And, if not, there's always the TBS 24-hour marathon of "A Christmas Story" starting tonight at 8, and that movie's good fun for Christians and non-Christians alike. (Even Ken Levine agrees.)

I'll be back on Friday with my two best of 2007 columns, and I may also announce the first entry in the How To Survive The Strike By Watching Canceled Shows That Were Awesome series.

Congratulations Raiders

Lane Kiffin finally knows what it is like to truly be the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. And somebody had better get him the phone number for the West Virginia AD. Stat.

Warren Sapp went ballistic during the Raiders embarrassing loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, drawing three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties culminating in his ejection. The Raiders once prided themselves on being the most penalized team in the league. But that was when the Raiders were getting flagged for late hits and roughing the passer, penalties that served a purpose.

Sapp's meltdown illustrated the new Raiders philosophy, where they display just how stupid they are. Not that it mattered, much. The Raiders were already down 28-3 at the time, and failed on fourth-and-4 from the Jaguars 20-yard line on the previous drive. Sapp obviously wanted to get the hell out of the stadium and probably was at the club long before JaMarcus Russell tossed his third interception of the game.

That's right JaMarcus, turns out that training camp was kind of important. Don't worry though, the Raiders will have a high draft pick to spend to give you some help this year. Maybe even an offensive lineman. Like Robert Gallery.

BTW, is anybody at work today or at the computer? The biggest question being, did anybody bother to watch NFL games yesterday?

Happy Festivus

andreikirilenkotattoo on TV: The dishonor roll (aka Happy Festivus!)

Today's column, as promised, is the annual Festivus list of TV disappointments:

Festivus is two days away, everyone! Are you ready for the Feats of Strength?

I traditionally avoid writing a list of the year's worst shows, because a sense of journalistic pride would require me to expose myself to enough bad TV to say with authority why "The Hills" is worse than "Rock of Love" (or vice versa). Instead, taking a page from the alterna-holiday created by choleric "Seinfeld" dad Frank Costanza (and/or by "Seinfeld" writer Daniel O'Keefe's dad), I like to gather my TV friends around the aluminum pole to explain how they've disappointed me over the past year.

So keep in mind that Festivus isn't over until you pin your father, and let's get with the guilt trips:

To read the full thing, click here. Top 10 and related stuff coming up next Friday. (The Ledger feature section devotes the final week of the year to every critics' Top 10 list, with me and our film critic traditionally going on the last day.)

The Weak Ender

Dude, Terrell Owens was totally kidding. How do you people not get that? Owens has always been a practical joker. Like the time he called Jeff Garcia gay. That was a riot. Like the guy who obsessively works out and is never seen with chicks would call out a guy who is married to a former Playmate of the Year. That was totally a joke.

Or how about the time Owens said that his suicide attempt was actually just him taking too many supplements. Hilarious.

That Owens is such a kidder.

ROMO NEEDS WINS, NOT CHICKS
The Cowboys had better take Saturday night�s game seriously at Carolina and really pound the Panthers. There are already whispers that the club is in its second consecutive December swoon. Distractions from starlets aside, you have to really question Tony Romo�s makeup, and wonder if this is a guy that can lead the Cowboys deep into the playoffs.

But remember, Troy Aikman had a lot of questions about him, too. Hell, Jimmy Johnson was seemingly never convinced seeing that he drafted Steve Walsh and started Steve Beuerlein in a playoff game at Detroit in 1991. Aikman didn�t really have a defining moment of his career until he led the Cowboys to a comeback with three touchdown passes at Denver in 1992. The Cowboys had a tough loss to Washington the next week (Aikman did play well), but the Cowboys came back and pounded the Falcons and Bears before steamrolling through the playoffs. That game against Denver was the point where Aikman turned from a guy with a lot of potential, to a guy who could lead a team.

Romo doesn�t really have that defining moment. Well, other than fumbling a snap in the playoffs or falling on his face in front of his girl friend counts.

• Good luck to all of you who have T.O. on your fantasy squad. Do you think Romo is going to look for him now? Notice that Romo always looks for the blonde-headed Jason Witten first? Dude has a serious fetish.
  

• Notice how the Cowboys have started to stumble, while the Chargers seem to just be regaining its stride? Norv is now the genius, while Wade Phillips is once again that playoff loser. But the truth is, both will probably be watching the Super Bowl at home this year.

• Hey Willie Parker, Jack Youngblood played in the Super Bowl with a broke leg. Why don't you butch up a little bit and shake it off. (Seriously, don't send the email, I know.)
  

• Still no word on the Georgia Frontandrearie death watch. But she is clearly circling the drain, seeing that there are no reports at all. The announcers on Thursday�s St. Louis FC vs. Steelers game will likely give glowing tributes to Georgia. Luckily, nobody will hear it because the game is on NFL Network.
  

• The Giants will play at Buffalo this week, and leave it to the Giants to try to take ownership of the Kevin Everett story. The Jints picked up Domenik Hixon to be able to make Everett�s amazing comeback story all about them. (Hixon was the player Everett hit.) The Giants have done some douchey things in their history, but this might be the most disgusting.
  

• While everybody got worked up by Bobby Petrino�s departure from the Falcons, nobody seems upset that Bill Parcells played Artie Blank like a fool � leveraging the Falcons gig for more money from the Dolphins. Pity poor Blank, who just can�t seem to catch a break. But this is fitting for Blank, as if it is payback for the millions of people who have gotten lost in Home Depot looking for a damn screw. Sorry, if you aren�t going to feel sorry for the numerous local merchants Home Depot has put out of work, then you shouldn�t have some sympathy for Blank. In fact, he probably hasn�t suffered enough.

AND FINALLY
There seems to be an awful lot of complaining about the endless amount of bowls. And if there is one thing The Hater Nation hates, it is people complaining.

What is wrong with having thirty two bowl games and 64 teams extending its season?

Take Navy, for instance. The graduation seniors are going into the service, so giving them one last chance to hang out in San Diego and play in one more game isn�t very meaningless to them. And really, half of the NFL schedule would be whipped out if you eliminated meaningless games. Watching Navy some bowl game is a lot more entertaining than watching Raven or the 49ers.

If you don�t want to see any of the bowl games, just pretend its on NFL Network and you won�t have to worry about it.

Stewart and Colbert get back in the game

Over at the NJ.com blog, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert announce their intention to return to work on Jan. 7, strike or no strike.

What good is a blog...

...if you can't use it to scratch a particular itch? I was having a conversation with someone today about the SAG Award nominations, and somehow the subject of James Mason impressions came up. (If you don't know Mason, he's a classic movie star who has one of the most distinctive voices you'll ever hear; here's a clip of him in the original "Lolita" to fill you in, and go rent "North by Northwest" afterwards for Mason and so many, many other reasons.) Anyway, I remembered that I had once seen a stand-up comic doing an impression of Mason as Moe from the Three Stooges, warning Larry and Curly that he was about to beat them up, and I can't for the life of me remember who the comic was. I want to say Kevin Pollak, but so far the only luck I've had with Google was one reference to it on a message board with a link to a YouTube video that has since been removed. This ringing any bells with anyone?

And since I brought up the SAG-ies, might as well offer a few thoughts on them (including the full list of TV nominees) after the jump...

-Glad to see "Mad Men" continue to get awards show love. There's not 100 percent overlap between SAG nominees and Emmy acting nominees, but at least I feel like there's a chance Jon Hamm might get a nod when the nominating ballots go out.

-"The Closer" for best ensemble? Whatever. I understand why people like Kyra Sedgwick, even if I think the performance is overdone, but the job description for every other actor on that show might as well read, "Stand slack-jawed as Brenda Leigh does something unconventional."

-The lack of "Friday Night Lights" is proof, once again, that, as Heldenfels likes to say, showbiz awards operate on the Chamber of Commerce theory where making the industry look good is the most important thing. "FNL" films in Austin, not an industry town, and while Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton are recognizable, they're not big enough stars to overcome the geography problem.

-I didn't watch ABC's latest Mitch Albom movie, but I'm guessing Ellen Burstyn's screentime for her nominated role was a bit longer than her infamous 14-second Emmy-nominated turn in "Mrs. Harris."

-Hey, the Screen Actors Guild (unlike the Golden Globes voters) remembered that James Gandolfini was on "The Sopranos," and that he was great this year.

-I like the Christina Applegate nomination. "Samantha Who?" as a whole is a big mess, but she's sweating up a storm trying to make it work.

And here's the nominations list (I deleted the names of the actors in each ensemble category for brevity's sake; to see them all, follow the link at the top of the post):

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

MICHAEL KEATON / James Jesus Angleton �The Company (TNT)
KEVIN KLINE / Jacques �As You Like It� (HBO)
OLIVER PLATT / George Steinbrenner �The Bronx is Burning� (ESPN)
SAM SHEPARD / Frank Whiteley �Ruffian� (ABC)
JOHN TURTURRO / Billy Martin �The Bronx is Burning� (ESPN)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

ELLEN BURSTYN / Posey Benetto �Mitch Albom�s For One More Day� (ABC)
DEBRA MESSING / Molly Kagan �The Starter Wife� (USA)
ANNA PAQUIN / Elaine Goodale �Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee� (HBO)
QUEEN LATIFAH / Ana �Life Support � (HBO)
VANESSA REDGRAVE / Woman �The Fever� (HBO)
GENA ROWLANDS / Melissa Eisenbloom �What If God Were the Sun?� (Lifetime)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

JAMES GANDOLFINI / Tony Soprano �The Sopranos� (HBO)
MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan �Dexter� (Showtime)
JON HAMM / Don Draper �Mad Men� (AMC)
HUGH LAURIE / Dr. Gregory House �House� (FOX)
JAMES SPADER / Alan Shore �Boston Legal� (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

GLENN CLOSE / Patty Hewes �Damages� (FX)
EDIE FALCO / Carmela Soprano �The Sopranos� (HBO)
SALLY FIELD / Nora Walker �Brothers & Sisters� (ABC)
HOLLY HUNTER / Grace Hanadarko �Saving Grace� (TNT)
KYRA SEDGWICK / Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson �The Closer� (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy �30 Rock� (NBC)
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott �The Office� (NBC)
RICKY GERVAIS / Andy Millman �Extras� (NBC)
JEREMY PIVEN / Ari Gold �Entourage� (HBO)
TONY SHALHOUB / Adrian Monk �Monk� (USA)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE / Samantha Newly �Samantha Who?� (ABC)
AMERICA FERRERA / Betty Suarez �Ugly Betty� (ABC)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon �30 Rock� (NBC)
MARY-LOUISE PARKER / Nancy Botwin �Weeds� (Showtime)
VANESSA WILLIAMS / Wilhelmina Slater �Ugly Betty� (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
THE CLOSER (TNT)
GREY�S ANATOMY (ABC)
MAD MEN (AMC)
THE SOPRANOS (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 ROCK (NBC)
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
UGLY BETTY (ABC)

Journeyman: Fellow traveler

Spoilers for the final episode of "Journeyman" coming up just as soon as I figure out where Livia hides her cell phone in 1948...

Damn. Just about the only good to come from the writers strike was NBC's willingness to air all 13 episodes of this ratings catastrophe. "Journeyman" got markedly better as it moved along, the producers saw the writing on the wall early enough to make something resembling a proper series finale, and the thing actually aired all the way through. In a normal season, cancellation comes somewhere around the Dylan McCleen episode (right before the writers started to figure things out).

"Perfidia" had the same strike-induced raggedness as Monday's episode -- there were a lot of jarring narrative jumps, notably the revelation that Evan had been shot by Vogel's bodyguards -- but once again, the emotions were right on. The missions always worked best when there was a personal stake for Dan, so having him help another time traveler -- and, as it turns out, the man whose death led to Dan's own time-hopping -- was a good call. And because we'd just seen the danger of monkeying too much with the past with the Zach/Caroline switcheroo on Monday, it was much easier to get into the pathos of Evan's story. The dance scene was the first time in the whole series where I cared as much about Dan's target as I did about Dan and his family. (There was almost a "Cupid" vibe to that sequence, I thought.)

Between Evan's chatter and Dr. Langley's elevator conversation with Dan (which confirmed, as I suspected, that he was just lying to protect Dan the other night), we got about as much explanation of Dan's predicament as was possible -- and, for that matter, necessary. I don't know that I ever needed to know exactly who or what was controlling the trips, because the show wasn't about that. It was about the time traveler himself, and his wife, and the last two scenes (Katie giving Dan permission to keep traveling, and Dan waking Katie so she could finally see him disappear) beautifully brought that point home.

(My one and only disappointment is that Langley didn't explain how he was able to call Dan in the past, but it was such a cool moment at the time that I'll forgive the non-explanation.)

Godspeed, Dan Vasser, whenever you are.

What did everybody else think?

Strike odds and ends

Hey, there's almost no scripted programming to write about at the moment, but at least the various factions involved in the strike are helpfully providing some news fodder. The latest:

• Jimmy Kimmel followed Jay and Conan's lead and will be back on the air, sans writers, on Jan. 2.
  
• Rob Burnett, head of Worldwide Pants, Letterman's production company (as well as co-creator of "Ed" and "Knights of Prosperity") put out a statement about attempts to cut a separate deal with the WGA: "We are willing to agree to the writers demands that are within our control, so we have no reason to believe that an interim agreement can�t be achieved with the WGA. As a result, our only focus is on returning January 2nd with writers."
• The WGA refused to grant a waiver for the Golden Globes to use WGA writers to write the monologues, introductions, etc., and for the Academy Awards to show footage of WGA-written movies. (The Oscars haven't asked yet for the writing waiver, but I'm sure the WGA will refuse that one, too.) If the strike's still going on when each show airs, they'll be picketed and the celebrity turnout could be minimal.
  

Meanwhile, after the last post, some people asked me whether, with the strike eliminating so much original programming, I'm still planning to do another series where I go back and revisit an old series on DVD. The answer to that is yes, though I may not get a chance to do it properly until the new year. Still debating what show to start with -- maybe "Cupid" on YouTube, maybe "The Wire" season one (as a parallel to my planned blogging on the final season), maybe "Sports Night," maybe something else -- but I'm looking forward to it, and soon.

Clemens Was Juicing in Boston

And The Hater Nation (via With Lethur) has the proof.



But what we're really trying to get at here is that there is a new Last and Ten.

Mediocre housekeeping

With most of the shows I watch either out of episodes or dormant until sometime in the new year, it's time for a state of the blog address.

I'm going to write about the small handful of shows that have new episodes left this week/year ("Life on Mars," "Journeyman," maybe even "Gossip Girl"). I'll have my Festivus column this Friday, and a couple of Best of '07 columns the following Friday. Beyond that -- and barring some miraculous development with the strike -- things is gonna be slow until '08. Maybe it's time to start linking to funny YouTube videos again?

Also, someone reminded me that the two "Wire" documentaries I mentioned a while back -- "The Wire Odyssey" (about the series as a whole) and "The Wire: The Final Word" (about the state of the media theme of season five) -- are already available via On Demand. (If you don't have that, they're debuting Thursday and Friday night at 10:30. I pop up from time to time in both, though I feel kind of silly with my presence in the latter, where the other talking heads are real reporters and I'm the lone TV critic.

(Note: "The Final Word" mildly gives away some developments in the final season -- I've seen episodes 1-7, and there are scenes in the documentary that were new to me -- so if you want to enter the season unblemished, you may want to stick with "The Wire Odyssey.")

Journeyman: I turn my camera on

An actual original episode of a network series I watch in late December? Is that allowed? I guess it is if the show's been canceled. Spoilers for the penultimate episode of "Journeyman" coming up just as soon as I throw out all my red turtlenecks...

I have to assume that this was shot after the strike began, because "The Hanged Man" felt like a first or second draft. The idea of Dan accidentally making significant changes to both the world at large and his own family was a very cool one -- about time Dan experienced the butterfly effect -- and I loved Kevin McKidd and Gretchen Egolf's performances in the Dan/Katie emotional tug of war about their child of variable gender, but too much of the episode needed polishing.

Almost all of the dialogue from Dan's trips to the past seemed like placeholders -- "I saved your life," "Thank you for saving my life!" "Son, it's the man who saved our life!" "Oh, thanks for saving our life" -- waiting for someone to take another pass through the script. Really, the entire mission was just an excuse to make Dan deal with the Zach/Caroline issue; in later drafts, I imagine it either would have been punched up or those scenes would have been cut even shorter to focus on the real heart of the episode.

As for that heart, Zach vs. Caroline is one of those time-travel dilemmas that's more than theoretical. Dan's got a living, breathing, very sweet little girl staring him in the face, but he's also the only one who remembers the living, breathing, very sweet little boy who's supposed to be there. He knows Katie's never going to remember this daughter -- not that this is any consolation to Nanotech Katie -- but he's still making a choice to erase this girl from existence. (There are also countless other changes in the Nanotech timeline he's erasing, but this show has been at its best when it focuses on personal matters directly affecting the Vasser family.) That's a hard choice -- even if it's one Dan knew he had to make, if only to appease The Powers That Be who sent him to save that kid's life in the first place -- and McKidd did his best work of the series in playing those scenes.

Jack investigating the late FBI agent was interesting, but what do you suppose was up with Dr. Langley? Did Dan inadvertently change something else about the timeline by letting the corporate espionage lady get killed, or was Langley simply pretending not to recognize him because the security guy was there? (Their previous encounters have either been one-on-one or in places away from where Langley works.) One episode to go, and I'm hoping we at least get an answer to how Langley was able to call Jack while he was in the past.

What did everybody else think?

All TV: Late-night hosts return, even if writers don't

Today's column is a twofer (or, if you're Tina Fey, a toofer), starting with some talk about Leno and Conan agreeing to cross the WGA picket next month (and Letterman trying to find a way around the strike):

Just how badly do late-night talk show hosts need their writers? With Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien returning to duty next month without their writing staffs, and with David Letterman reportedly in talks to come back with a full staff, we may get some empirical evidence.

The second half looks at "The Simpsons Movie" on DVD, where I was especially struck by one feature:

The commentary track does contain a cool element I've never encountered before: Whenever the writers realize they're about to go off on a long discussion on a single point, they actually pause the movie so they won't miss the chance to talk about whatever happens next.

To read the full thing, click here.

The Post Mortem

Your San Diego Chargers are the 2007 AFC West Champions.

Even that didn't seem possible despite playing in one of the worst conferences in the history of the NFL. The Chargers were absolutely miserable in the early part of the season, with the home loss to Kansas City being one of the defining moments of Norv Turner's early tenure in San Diego.

But now the Chargers have won four consecutive games and eight of their last ten. They are playing good football right now. Almost like a real football team. Are they good enough to beat New England? Why bother to answer that right now. The Chargers have gone through so many losing seasons, fans need to take enjoyment from their team doing well right now.

Because really, they won't suck me in.

Like last year. The Chargers had me convinced. And we remember how all of that ended.

Of course, firing Marty Schotteheimer following a 14-2 season only raises the expectation level. Although, take a look at recent history. The Steelers went 15-1, but lost to the Patriots in the playoffs that year. Pittsburgh struggled the following year, but ended up getting into the playoffs and eventually winning the Super Bowl. The Colts went 14-2 and lost in the playoffs (to the Steelers) that season. Indy struggled (sort of) to get back into the playoffs the following year, but ended up winning the Super Bowl.

Oh great, the Chargers are starting to sucker me in again. Well, not really. But hey, they won the division title and have won a ton of games over the past two seasons. There is no team in the AFC (outside of New England) that looks that impressive. The Chargers have already beaten the Colts. Jacksonville would have to come to San Diego. Cleveland wouldn't be able to stop the Chargers. Pittsburgh has been exposed. And when you get down to it, the Chargers don't have to be better than the Patriots, they just have to be better than the Patriots for 60 minutes.

Damn it, they are not getting me.

THE PATRIOTS WIN
Funny, watching the Patriots get all of the calls on replay and their fans tossing snow balls in the air was a lot of fun a few years ago. Fun, when it was coming against the Raiders and the St. Louis FC. But now, looking back at partying with Patriots fans following Super Bowl 36, you feel like the Americans who sided with Bin Laden during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It made sense at the time, and hell you made some money off of it. But now you just feel dirty.

And wasn't it ironic that it was the Jets who were done-in by a video replay on Sunday?

• Is it wrong to root for hotter heads to prevail in NFL brawls? The Bucs and Falcons were getting into some great fights on Sunday. Just what do you suppose the Bucs were saying to Falcons players on the field during the game? That would have been a great game to have some players mike'd up.
• When you heard that Ray Lewis broke his hand, was your immediate reaction, "how will he conceal murder weapons now?"
• And incidentally, what's the over/under on the number of Dolphins and or Raven arrested in South Beach after Sunday's game? Even the French would be embarrassed by the way Raven folded. (Did you notice that it was two former Chargers Cleo Lemon and Greg Camarillo who led the Dolphins to the win? Figures.)
• How many fantasy owners would like to bring a class action suit against Brian Westbrook for not running in that touchdown at the end of the Cowboys game on Sunday? Nice move, jerk.
• Could Jessica Simpson be the new Yoko Ono of the Dallas Cowboys? (And please, no supportive emails saying that it wasn't Yoko's fault that the Beatles broke up. Yes, she just had to take the deal in St. Louis, the same way that Hitler just had to take Poland. Oh wait, got the Murdering Showgirl confused with the Murdering Ono.) The point is, don't hook up with broads during the football season. Tom Brady didn't start knocking up models and actresses until after he won a Super Bowl.
  
• Lil' Hater sent in a note to say that all snow games should immediately be shown on local television. And that sounds good in theory, like a round of Jagermeister shots. Those games are fun for a few minutes until you end up getting an 8-0 snoozer. The only time those games pay off are when the Raiders get screwed.
  

AND FINALLY
Rich Rodriguez will be the new coach at Michigan. Titan Tim had the best reaction to this, namely, how does he think he is going to get guys like PacMan Jones and Chris Henry into Michigan? That can't happen.

Extras: Keep your girdle on

Brief spoilers for the "Extras" finale coming up just as soon as I give a male friend a hug near an open window...

My love of "Extras" -- well, at least, of the second season and now of this movie -- hasn't been shared by the world at large, or even by the much smaller world of Ricky Gervais fans. Previous columns and blog posts on the subject haven't generated much feedback, and most of the original recipe "Office" fans I know seem either unaware of or uninterested in Gervais and Stephen Merchant's follow-up.

That's a shame, because while "Extras" will never have the bracing, fresh quality of "The Office," it's an even deeper, nastier examination of the cult of celebrity that's pacifying Western Civilization. And of the two works, it's the one I find myself going back and revisiting more. (I will never say a bad word about the character of David Brent, but it often pains me to revisit him in a way that Andy Millman doesn't.)

I mostly said my piece on the movie-length finale in my column on Thursday -- much of it is a thematic rehash of the season two finale, but parts of it had me laughing so hard I gasped for air, and Ashley Jensen is superb, both in the more serious moments and the funny stuff -- so for the three of you who care about this special, I'm just gonna rattle off a list of the moments that had me especially pained with laughter or wondering why the living room was so dusty:

-The department store sequence, complete with racist Michael Richards doll;

-Maggie assuming Andy would be Jewish in a world without Christmas;

-Maggie watching the heavyset "While the Whistle Blows" actor pick over the last of the craft services food, only to be saved from deciding whether to eat it when Andy calls her to his dressing room;

-Andy's girdle exploding in mid-audition (and "exploding" is a pretty good description for my laughter level at that moment);

-Darren and Barry coming up with a system to deal with his busted zipper;

-The mortified look on Maggie's face throughout the Clive Owen/whore scene, followed by Clive's reaction to Maggie's elderly replacement;

-Andy acting above the whole "England's number one catchphrase" thing, followed by that all-catchphrase episode of "When the Whistle Blows";

-Maggie being shown her spider-infested new apartment (one of those scenes that was hilarious and tragic at the same time);

-The neighborhood kids calling Darren and Barry gay (a cheap joke that was expensively set-up, if you know what I mean);

-Darren trying to jump over the plexiglass barrier, followed by Darren's usual goofy smile seeming like the saddest thing in the world when he realizes Andy won't give him a pass;

-"Fame is a mask that eats... into the face!"

-Darren, Barry and the other Carphone Warehouse guy doing their ridiculous dance every single time that one ringtone goes off;

-Andy as a farting slug alien on "Doctor Who";

-The "celebrity" "Big Brother" contestants insisting they haven't given up their dignity, followed immediately by them doing the Chicken Dance on cue;

-The entirety of Andy's anti-fame rant (maybe more on the nose than Gervais and Merchant's usual stuff, but they've said this is the last work they're going to do on celebrity, and they clearly had a lot to get off their chests);

-The lad mag girl being moved by Andy's speech, but still insisting on putting on a bikini before walking out;

-Andy and Maggie riding off to the sunset as "Tea for the Tillerman" plays one last time. (Can't wait to hear the exit music for their next series.)

What did everybody (or all three of you) think?

Dexter: Variations on a theme

Spoilers for the "Dexter" season two finale coming up just as soon as I floss...

Well, that was... inevitable, wasn't it?

I would call the season two finale "predictable," but that doesn't seem fair. Unlike season one, which had a genuine mystery about the identity of the Ice Truck Killer, season two hasn't been a whodunnit -- it's been a character study. There was always the question of how Dexter would get out of this mess, but we all knew that he would. And I can't fault a series for delivering a payoff episode that builds off of everything that's come before and plays fair with the audience, can I?

And yet... after what had, for the most part, been a superb sophomore slump-avoiding season, I came to the end of "The British Invasion" saying to myself, "Huh. That seems about right, I suppose."

Where the season went wrong in the end -- and, before I continue, let me say once again that I consider the season as a whole to be outstanding, something that's easily going to be near the top of my Top 10 list for '07 -- was with the Lila character. There was so much potential in the idea of Dexter trying to take a slightly eccentric but not irreraparably damaged person under his wing, but making Lila out to be just as crazy as Dexter was the easy way out.

They already had Dexter confront his cracked mirror image with Rudy in season one, and at least there, they forced Dexter to make a choice between his own blood and the life (and Code) Harry had created for him. Here, Dexter did make a choice in the previous episode when he decided to continue the frame of Doakes, but Lila's actions then absolved him of having to deal with the consequences of his choice. Doakes died before Dexter had to tell him he had changed his mind, before he could loudly protest his innocence and argue for Dexter's guilt during a protracted trial, etc. Sure, it's Dexter's fault that Doakes is dead -- both for leaving him in the cage and for "creating" Lila -- but he still gets off pretty clean.

(This clean feeling was symbolized by the hilarious recreation of the opening title sequence -- which I'm thinking might have just been alternate angles of each shot, as opposed to something they filmed a second time.)

Also, with the death of Doakes -- the far more interesting character and dilemma for Dexter -- so early in the episode, we had to spend the bulk of the hour on more of Lila the kooky-crazy stalker. And for the second season in a row we had the villain (if you can call Lila that; more in a second) abduct and attempt to kill people Dexter cared about. The episode wasn't so much bad as anti-climactic. We spent so much of this season on Dexter (the true villain, a danger even to himself) wrestling with his confidence, his methods, his history, only to wind things up with him deciding everything's okay because the kooky vampire lady solved his Doakes/Butcher problem for him? It seems like one of the least imaginative destinations the creative team could have arrived at.

I'm glad the writers didn't sell out Lundy in the end, that Dexter escaped the noose without Lundy having to look the fool. (Even here, you could tell Lundy knew something wasn't right with the way he said the evidence against Doakes was "overwhelming, really.") Even his affair with Deb came to a better end than possible. Sure, Deb could get on another plane at some point, but she knows she won't, because Lundy is right about her needing to be a cop. Following him from city to city as his groupie isn't the life for her, even if he's a hell of a cook. Bye, Keith Carradine. Please bring your flinty goodness to another show I like, soon.

But back to Dexter. He and Deb both spent this season recovering from what Rudy did to each of them. Thanks to Lila, Doakes and Lundy, they're back to normal -- relatively -- and Dexter is already talking about "new rituals." His monologue at the end about no longer caring about the morality of his actions is an interesting approach for the character -- part of what's always made Dexter so vaguely sympathetic is his own awareness that what he's doing is wrong, and his attempt to be as good as possible given his condition -- and while I think I'm okay with an amoral Dexter moving forward, I don't want the series to let go of those questions.

I don't know what kind of story arc they can do for a third season -- Dexter's been hunted in different ways for the first two seasons -- but whenever this damn strike is over, I can't wait to see what it is.

What did everybody else think?

Some 'Lost' better than nothing?

So ABC became the final network to announce a strike schedule, and the big news is that, unlike what Fox is doing with "24," they've decided to air whatever "Lost" episodes they have, truncated season or no.

Also, "Lost," which comes back on Jan. 31, will air away from Wednesdays for the first time ever -- no doubt to get away from "American Idol," one of the few other guaranteed ratings draws in a strike season -- and will take over for "Grey's Anatomy" on Thursdays at 9.

So, before I present the full ABC press release after the jump, let me put it to you, "Lost" fans: would you rather wait to get all 16 episodes as Cuselof intended them, or will you take whatever "Lost" you can get, even if it means the "season" ends oddly?

The full release:

ABC will premiere four new series, �Cashmere Mafia,� �Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann,� �Eli Stone� and �Oprah�s Big Give,� in addition to the premiere of the much anticipated fourth season of �Lost� on Thursday, January 31 at 9:00 p.m.

�Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann� premieres with a special two-hour episode on Monday, January 7, followed by 90-minute episodes through January. �Notes from the Underbelly� and �October Road� will continue to air at 9:30 and 10:00 p.m., respectively. �Samantha Who?� will return with original episodes in February at 9:00 p.m. �Dancing with the Stars� and �The Bachelor� start new seasons on Monday, March 17.

�Just for Laughs� returns Tuesday, January 1, at 8:30 p.m., following the Rose Bowl, and will air back-to-back episodes Tuesday nights (8:00 and 8:30 p.m.), beginning January 8. �According to Jim� will also return January 1, with two episodes at 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. The series will regularly air at 9:00 p.m., followed by �Carpoolers� (9:30 p.m.) as of January 8. �Dancing with the Stars the Results Show� will return at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25. �Boston Legal� will continue airing Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m.

�Wife Swap� will premiere at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 2, and �Supernanny� returns with special back-to-back episodes at 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. that same night. The new drama series �Cashmere Mafia� premieres in its regular timeslot at 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9, following a special premiere on Thursday, January 3. Beginning February 27, �MEN IN TREES� will air Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m.

On Thursday nights in January, �Ugly Betty� will continue to air at 8:00 p.m., followed by �Grey�s Anatomy� at 9:00 p.m. and �Big Shots� at 10:00 p.m. �Lost� will premiere on January 31 at 9:00 p.m., followed by the premiere of �Eli Stone� at 10:00 p.m.

On Fridays, drama encores will air at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m., followed by �20/20� at 10:00 p.m.

On Sunday nights, �Oprah�s Big Give� will premiere on Sunday, March 2 at 9:00 p.m.

ABC�s midseason primetime schedule is as follows (all times Eastern; new shows in bold):

MONDAY (JAN)
8:00 p.m. �Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann�
9:30 p.m. �Notes from the Underbelly�
10:00 p.m. �October Road�
MONDAY (FEB)
8:00 p.m. �Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann�
9:00 p.m. �Samantha Who?�
9:30 p.m. �Notes from the Underbelly�
10:00 p.m. �October Road�

MONDAY (MAR)
8:00 p.m. �Dancing with the Stars�
9:30 p.m. �Samantha Who?�
10:00 p.m. �The Bachelor�

TUESDAY
8:00 p.m. �Just for Laughs�
8:30 p.m. �Just for Laughs�
9:00 p.m. �According to Jim�
9:30 p.m. �Carpoolers�
10:00 p.m. �Boston Legal�

TUESDAY (MAR)
8:00 p.m. �Just for Laughs�
8:30 p.m. �Just for Laughs�
9:00 p.m. �Dancing with the Stars the Results Show�
10:00 p.m. �Boston Legal�

WEDNESDAY
8:00 p.m. �Wife Swap�
9:00 p.m. �Supernanny�
10:00 p.m. �Cashmere Mafia� (�MEN IN TREES� beginning Feb 27)

THURSDAY (JAN)
8:00 p.m. �Ugly Betty�
9:00 p.m. �Grey�s Anatomy�
10:00 p.m. �Big Shots� (after special premiere of �Cashmere Mafia� on Jan 3)

THURSDAY (FEB)
8:00 p.m. �Ugly Betty�
9:00 p.m. �Lost�
10:00 p.m. �Eli Stone�

FRIDAY
8:00 p.m. Drama encores
9:00 p.m. Drama encores
10:00 p.m. �20/20�

SUNDAY (MAR)
7:00 p.m. �America�s Funniest Home Videos�
8:00 p.m. �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition�
9:00 p.m. �Oprah�s Big Give�
10:00 p.m. �Desperate Housewives�

30 Rock: Merry Sheinhardt to all

Spoilers for "30 Rock" coming up just as soon as I give my daughter a block of wood...

Since I now apparently have to begin every blog review with a note about how may episodes are remaining, I should say that this was episode 8 of the season, and we know that 10 episodes were made. (Tina Fey lamented in several picket line interviews that she was contractually obligated to act in the 10th episode, the last script they had finished.)

(Note: Turns out I don't know how to count, and this was episode nine. Also, turns out the 10th episode may not have been completed, in which case, never mind. This is what happens when you blog at 7 in the morning.)

So we'll have two more in the new year (or not), which is probably a good thing, as "Ludachristmas" was one of this season's weaker episodes. If we're going to be deprived of "30 Rock" for a long time, I'd at least like to see them go out on a high note.

(Please note: the usual "substandard compared to other '30 Rock' episodes isn't the same as substandard compared to the rest of TV comedy, and I hold the great shows to a higher standard" caveat applies.)

I was so over the moon with last week's episode that all I did was list the jokes I liked enough to jot down in my notes. This week's list would be far shorter -- though Jack's move to slide the donut tray under the coughing stripper may have been the funniest thing in either episode -- as I thought a lot of the jokes and stories were either predictable or not fully formed.

Take the Andy Richter brother character, for instance. The idea of a character permanently stuck in a single day in 1985 is strange enough for a "30 Rock" joke(*) (or an "Arrested Development" joke, for that matter), but, other than Cerie taking pity on him (or having some fun at his expense, depending on your opinion of Cerie), I don't feel like they did anything with it other than to put Richter in a ski jacket and make a handful of '80s references over and over. And then to let his condition be easily cured with a few references to the present sold out the joke and made Liz and her parents look like fools.

((*) Though wasn't this basically the plot of that Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore movie, "50 First Dates"?)

I appreciate the "SNL" legacy quality of having Buck Henry (the most frequent, beloved host of the Belushi/Radner era) play Liz's father, and I liked Jack's initial confusion about ("What did your mother mean when she said you were a beautiful genius? Was she taunting you?") and then affection for the Lemons. But, again, I think having Jack's mom turn out to be right seemed an easy way out -- that, or it wasn't executed well enough.

There were some nice touches in the Ludachristmas subplot, like Jenna singing the scales to "open-pit barbecue sauce" or the running gag about the paper shredder/photo scanner, but it wasn't as funny or memorable as your average "30 Rock" B-story. (Also, that was some of the worst green-screen work outside of "Pushing Daisies" in the sequence where the gang rushes out to destroy the Sheinhardt Christmas tree. I know "30 Rock" films in Queens and not at the actual 30 Rock, but since they went to the trouble of bringing half the cast to Rockefeller Plaza to film the skating scenes, couldn't they have brought the rest in a van? Or would putting the neon Sheinhardt sign up on the big tree have been a problem?)

I suspect this is the point at which people tell me I'm being too harsh, so fire away. What did everybody else think?

The Weak Ender

The NBA doesn't get much run here in The Hater Nation -- and rightly so -- but news of Tony Parker's illicit affair with this model has raised interest. Not so much that Tony would find a reason to cheat on Eva Longoria. But rather, his explanation for why he's not cheating.

"Dude, it's so hard bearding with one chick, there is no way I would try this scam with another. I don't make that much money."

You really have to believe a guy when he says that, right? Just kidding. He said he was sleeping with her brother.

Credit to your typical smut peddlers, Sports by Brooks and With Lethur for following the story and finding photos that can actually be used here in on a family site such as THN.

I USED TO LOVE HER, BUT I HAD TO KILL HER
The strangest thing about Georgia Frontandrearie's hospitalization isn't that she is in Los Angeles and not St. Louis. Realize this was never about going back to her "home town." This was about making the most money. So she started a football franchise in St. Louis, but there was no way a society dame like here was going to live there.

No, the surprising thing is that her kids, under the assumption that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, haven't killed her yet. Or at least CR's son.

But knowing the female dog, she is going to cling to life until Thursday's NFL Network game so she can get a glowing send off. So, and this is hard to do, but THN asks that you pray for Georgia Frontandrearie to live through the season and the Super Bowl, hopefully passing away after the draft in April so it that obit will take its rightful place in the sport page under the water polo agate.

WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS?
How come people are still upset about Bobby Petrino? The players didn't like him, he wasn't very good at his job and he ended up doing the right thing. Arthur Blank could say that he has been betrayed, but isn't it better than having an unmotivated guy cashing a pay check for the next couple of years?

Compare that to what is going on in Miami. Cam Cameron probably won't have the decency to resign after the job he is doing. Would you rather be stuck with a college coach who is in over his head, or would you rather take a mulligan to start over? The Falcons are in a pretty good spot. They have a top draft pick. They can get a coach that knows what he is doing in the NFL. This seems like a perfect situation. All of this moral indignation is laughable.

• The could be another first-year coach going back to college, as Raiders coach Lane Kiffin has shown interest in coaching at UCLA. Oh man, this has to happen. Not for poor UCLA. That would be a disaster. But for the Raiders to have to go through the humiliating exercise of being turned down by coach, after coach, after coach, after coach ... would just be too rich.

• Herman Edwards also is a candidate at UCLA. That would be strange, Edwards running a running back's career before they even got into the NFL.

• The Texans, it seems, could have saved a whole lot of money by just going with Sage Rosenfels to start the season. The guy has been really good for the Texans this season. And he didn't cost them anything. And what about Mario Williams? The Texans were much maligned for drafting him ahead of Reggie Bush and Vince Young. But the defensive end had an incredible coming-out part in front of 800 viewers on NFL Network.

• The Patriots need to run up the score on Eric Mangini and the Jets. Not because of the whole video taping deal, or the tattle-tale stuff. But because that Razr commercial with Mangini makes absolutely no sens. Like, should we be buying Razr phones so we can throw them into cars, trees and ceiling fans? Does this make sense to anybody else?

• Here is a look at some of the other great NFL games this weekend ... uh, alright moving on.

• Actually, the Sunday night game with the Giants and Redskins looks pretty good. Except that the Redskins have already had their emotional win for Sean Taylor and now it's time to mail it in for the rest of the season.

AND FINALLY
The Mitchell Report sure had some interesting reading. But why is all of the focus on baseball? There are NFL players doing 80-pound curls with their ears, but it's Mo Vaughn who is abusing steroids. The NFL has a bunch of 280-pound dudes who run like 4.45 40s, but it's the baseball players who are using the junk. The NFL's ability to dismiss itself from any steroid talk is truly amazing. The league certainly had the right idea when it started testing for drugs back in the day.

Say You Are Sorry

There really isn't too much to add to the whole Mitchell Report, other than everybody in the world owes Jose Canseco a huge apology. Especially Major League Baseball.

And a quick note to the Bonds defenders -- this doesn't clear Barry Bonds of anything. The only thing is does is give him some company down at the soup kitchen.

Pushing Daisies: The fickle finger of fate

Spoilers for "Pushing Daisies" coming up just as soon as I buy some vanilla extract...

I'm not sure whether this is the last episode completed before the strike shut down production (when the strike began, the LA Times said they'd be able to complete nine episodes, and this was show nine), but if so, I'm as disappointed as I've been as my other favorites have, one by one, run out of episodes. This was another strong, confident, weird, pretty episode and I may need to borrow some mood enhancers to replace the giddy feeling it often provides me.

Nine episodes admittedly isn't a huge sample size -- this will be a lot more surprising by episode 30 (if the show makes it that far) -- but I continue to remain impressed by the sick-but-sweet imagery the show cooks up, in this case the corpse-containing snowmen, plus Aunt Lily's hallucinations. (The bees under their winter covers were also cool to look at.) Couple that with some more eccentric guest characters -- notably the perky to the point of homicide Make-A-Wish lady -- the usual Emerson and Olive one-liners and some understandable romantic angst, and you've got another winner.

I'm glad that the writers didn't use Chuck's discovery of the truth about her father's death as a wedge to split up her and Ned for a bunch of episodes -- the whole no-touching thing is as much Unresolved Sexual Tension as any show needs -- and I thought Friel did a nice job of playing the head vs. heart conflict Chuck was dealing with.

Because the heat in my house has been off all day for some minor home repairs my fingers feel as frozen as Emerson and Ned's must have last night, so I'm going to move on to bullet points and then put on a pair of gloves:

-Vis a vis Chuck's desire for Ned to bring her dad back for a minute, wouldn't the guy be a skeleton by now? How comforting would that be for her?

-This show usually calls upon the comic side of Chi McBride's vast talents (see his complains about the non-word "Ginormous"), but Emerson's confession about his daughter was a potent reminder of what a great dramatic actor he can be. If forced to choose, I'd pick Funny Chi, but the man's a true double-threat.

-Has Chuck's mom even been mentioned before? Does she believe her mom died in childbirth or something? And which is worse: Chuck's mom making her think she's her aunt, or Chuck making her aunt/mom think she's dead?

-God, I love morgue attendant guy. One scene per episode, a couple of lines at most, and he's always funny.

-I didn't mention Paul Reubens when he first appeared, but I hope he comes back now and then to (literally) sniff around Chuck. I like how he's chosen to dial down his own innate weirdness, since the character as written is so weird that a more understated performance actually accentuates what's on the page.

What did everybody else think?

Mad about the Globes?

I'll get to "Pushing Daisies" shortly, but I wanted to say a few words about the Golden Globe TV nominations (with a full list) after the jump...

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is such a weird group that there's no point in getting worked up about their choices for nominees and winners. (Not that the Emmys are much more credible these days, of course.) But while everyone focuses on the movie nominations, I'm always interested in their TV choices. The HFPA may be a joke, but they invariably nominate a more diverse (and often deserving) batch of shows and actors than the same-old, same-old Emmy voters.

The drama series nominees, for instance, include big hits like "Grey's Anatomy" (sigh...) and "House," but also newbies like "Mad Men," "Damages" and "The Tudors," plus under-the-radar "Big Love." The acting nominees include Michael C. Hall and Jon Hamm, of whom I would be pleasantly stunned to see on the Emmy roster come July.

Showtime, as usual, gets more love than it ever gets from the Emmys ("Brotherhood" is their only major series to not get a nomination, I think), and even BBC America gets some attention, with a few nominations for "The State Within" and "Jekyll."

I'm not in love with all of these nominations -- "Grey's," "Entourage," "Californication," no "Shield" and almost no "Sopranos" -- but they at least acknowledge that TV changes and evolves each year, and that new and obscure shows are just as worthy of celebration as the familiar hits.

My friend Rich Heldenfels has this theory that Hollywood awards shows are basically like Chamber of Commerce awards: they're not about what's best, but what's best for business. So it makes more sense to reward shows that film in industry towns, that are ratings hits or feature movie stars "slumming" on the small screen, etc.

The HFPA has its own starstruck qualities, and their love of the new also means they lose attention quickly, but at least there's something to talk about with these nominees beyond, "God, not them again!"

Here are all the nominees for TV (to read the full movie list, you can go to the official site):

Series, Drama: "Big Love," HBO; "Damages," FX Networks; "Grey's Anatomy," ABC; "House," Fox; "Mad Men," AMC; "The Tudors," Showtime.

Actress, Drama: Patricia Arquette, "Medium"; Glenn Close, "Damages"; Minnie Driver, "The Riches"; Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"; Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters"; Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"; Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer."

Actor, Drama: Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"; Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"; Hugh Laurie, "House"; Jonathan Rhys Meyers, "The Tudors"; Bill Paxton, "Big Love."

Series, Musical or Comedy: "30 Rock," NBC; "Californication," Showtime; "Entourage," HBO; "Extras," HBO; "Pushing Daisies," ABC.

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"; America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"; Tina Fey, "30 Rock"; Anna Friel, "Pushing Daisies"; Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds."

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"; Steve Carell, "The Office"; David Duchovny, "Californication"; Ricky Gervais, "Extras"; Lee Pace, "Pushing Daisies."

Miniseries or Movie: "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," HBO; "The Company," TNT; "Five Days," HBO; "Longford," HBO; "The State Within," BBC America.

Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Bryce Dallas Howard, "As You Like It"; Debra Messing, "The Starter Wife"; Queen Latifah, "Life Support"; Sissy Spacek, "Pictures of Hollis Woods"; Ruth Wilson, "Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theatre)."

Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Adam Beach, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee"; Ernest Borgnine, "A Grandpa for Christmas"; Jim Broadbent, "Longford"; Jason Isaacs, "The State Within"; James Nesbitt, "Jekyll."

Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Rose Byrne, "Damages"; Rachel Griffiths, "Brothers & Sisters"; Katherine Heigl, "Grey's Anatomy"; Samantha Morton, "Longford"; Anna Paquin, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee"; Jaime Pressly, "My Name Is Earl."

Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Ted Danson, "Damages"; Kevin Dillon, "Entourage"; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"; Andy Serkis, "Longford"; William Shatner, "Boston Legal"; Donald Sutherland, "Dirty Sexy Money."

All TV: An 'Extra Special' treat for a bleak season

Today's column reviews the Christmas finale to "Extras":

A year ago at this time, I listened to Ricky Gervais tell me that he had no interest in continuing "Extras," his comic follow-up to the original British version of "The Office."

"What's the point?" he explained. "Got other things to do, really."

Demonstrating a rare sense of TV perspective, he followed that up by admitting, "But then again, that's like saying, 'Do you want to be on telly?' 'What's the point?' I've just reduced my life's work to 'What's the point?' My gravestone: 'He did "The Office." What's the point?' "

Still, he seemed like a man who had a story to tell -- in this case, about a film extra and wannabe actor named Andy Millman (Gervais) who becomes famous but miserable as the creator and star of an awful but popular Britcom; had spent two seasons telling it, and was done.

So what, then, is the point of "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale," which HBO is airing Sunday night at 9?

To read the full thing (which gets more positive as it goes along), click here.

Petrino's Dear John Letter

Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino left a letter to his former Falcons players in the wake of his resignation. Because really, just sending out a group email seems to impersonal. But some of the Falcons players, namely Lawyer Milloy, did not take kindly to it.



Oh snap, did you see what Milloy did there? He crossed out Bobby Petrino and put, "Coward." The old ball coach was just owned.

Hell's Population Expected to Rise

St. Louis Football Team owner Georgia Frontandrearie is in an LA hospital with an undisclosed illness. Please join The Hater Nation in sending only bad thoughts to Georgia as she looks directly into the light.

Talk about your Christmas miracles.

The story, however, won't mention which LA hospital she is in, in fears that certain members of The Hater Nation would either pull the plug, or pull a Chief Bromden at the end of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Stay tuned to THN for details on this impending joyous occasion.

Life on Mars: Voice of the future

Dark days ahead for this blog, I fear. The studios now seems determined to break the union, which means the strike could go on a really long time (not that anyone but critics care, but the mid-winter TCA press tour just got canceled), and most of the shows I follow are either out of episodes or almost out. For the first time that I can remember on a weeknight in-season, my DVR didn't have anything set to record in primetime. I briefly pondered watching ABC's two-hour bloc of "According to Jim" and "Boston Legal" before deciding to be kinder to myself by watching another "Wire" episode, then introducing my wife to McLovin and "Superbad."

Thank God, then, for "Life on Mars," which returned to BBC America's lineup tonight. I'd already seen the premiere, but at least it gives me something to blog about for the evening. Spoilers coming up just as soon as I throw some punks off a rooftop...

I hadn't realized how much I missed Gene Hunt until he broke down the door of Tyler's apartment and boasted that their next case was "as big as Shelly Winters' ass!" Between that entrance, his response to Sam's question about whether he keeps a reporter in his basement for random beatings ("Don't have a basement") and, especially, him threatening to torture cremains to make a suspect talk, it's safe to say they didn't soften up ol' Gene for the second season.

It's also safe to say that they haven't lost that tricky balance between spoofing the cliches and political incorrectness of '70s police dramas and embracing them. Gene provides the comic relief, but he also keeps these stories grounded because you believe he existed back in 1973, while Sam provides both the pathos and the fantastical elements that open every other part of the show up for questioning. Is Sam really in the past? Is he crazy? Some combination of the two? Will he have a crossover with "Journeyman" in the series finale?

I watched all of season one in a rush a year and a half ago before it premiered here, and the episodes have blurred in my memory since, but I think this is the first time Sam has been this overt in his talk of the future (except with Annie) and his attempts to change it. I'm curious to see whether Gene took any of Sam's ranting seriously or if he dismissed it as yet another eccentricity of his second in command, but with the series' end coming with this batch of episodes, I imagine Gene will have to confront the future at some point.

As always when I write about shows that have already aired in another country, I'm going to ask that we keep the discussion contained to the episodes as they air here. No spoilers or even loud hints about what's to come, got it? The one thing I think is fair game is to discuss how the original British cuts differ from the abbreviated versions that are going to be airing on BBC America. I believe my screeners (which I'll be watching one at a time, so I'll be guaranteed at least one interesting scripted show per week for a while) are the original cuts, but I imagine some of you who already watched the show will be doing it again on BBC America. If you want to mention important or memorable scenes that got chopped, feel free -- just so long as you're talking about this specific episode and not something that's going to play out three weeks from now.

What did everybody else think?