THE GIANTS!

THE APPRENCTICE: CELEB EDITION (NBC)
Pierce and Vincent Pastore had the best thing going ever on this weeks special 2 hour edition. Pierce sent Pastore to rat on the girls, then gave him up while he was still under, unaware that Pastore had become a double agent. Okay – Vincent Pastore the actor, historic as Big Pussy – is somewhat out of his mind. But the show was great, it deserved it’s 2 hour running time, and the SOPRANOS joke at the end with the Journey song was fairly priceless.
Grade: B +

ELI STONE (ABC)
I hadn’t heard too much about this show before it aired, and ended up really loving it. Jonny Lee Miller plays Eli, a cutthroat lawyer who begins to have hallucinations (including George Michael singing FAITH – which includes cameos by Mr. Michael.) He eventually is diagnosed with an inoperable brain aneurysm, and the show, which also includes the great actor Victor Garbor, is about Eli’s decision to change who he is. The show is well written with humor and compassion, and I highly recommend it. In a box full of cynical, negative shows – this one with the heart wins.
Grade: A


THE SUPERBOWL (FOX)
What a game. This was the first time in a long time I wanted to put money on the Giants. I was at the greatest superbowl party and was too busy stuffing my face to watch the commercials or the halftime show – I can just say this was one of the very best games and dramas in a long line of boring superbowls. This game ruled.
Grade: A


THE WIRE (HBO)
Is getting really tense in its final few episodes. While the story goes on, there are some clear signs of finish, resolve and "adios, pal" in the air. THE WIRE - will be greatly missed. The scenes last week involving “Proposition Joe” were fantastic.
Grade: A +


LOST (ABC)
"Through The Looking Glass" - a 2 hour repeat of the mind-bending season finale that aired last year. What a great concept for the re-airing - a sort of "pop up video" with all kinds of theories and facts about the show. I forgot just how insanely good this 2 hour finale was, and I can't WAIT for the new eps to start rolling out next week. From what I know, there are 8 that are filmed - so who knows - but I'm sure the 8 will hold me over for a while. It's very rare that a show rebounds the way this one did - the third season started truly horribly - the fact that it got so good is a testament to the writing and care that the producers and creators invested into this very special show.

UPDATE: By the end of the 2 hours, the “pop-up” stuff had become really cloying, annoying and started to make me hate the show. (BEST WEEK EVER echoed my statements, saying they started out being really helpful, and the pop ups got downright chatty!) Please ABC, never do that again.
Grade: A (It’s still a superb episode) And no, I haven’t watched the new one yet.


AMERICAN IDOL (FOX)
Yawn. Sigh. Yawn. Bring on the competition.


THE BAD GIRLS CLUB (OXY)
These chicks are insane! I love how that chick LYRIC thinks she's above it all. And I love how that chick who claims to be a radio host (what host leaves for 5 months to be on a reality tv show???) - is just such a follower and NEVER a leader of anything that goes on in the house. This is truly insane television - I love it.
Grade: B


NIP/TUCK (FX)
Gina left the show - I had no idea she was still on it. I don't remember her coming back. This episode, which also featured an older woman forcing her young lover to get a mustache implant (?) - was actually more in the vein of the still crappy - but better Nip/Tuck. There were strong themes and flashes of actual with and some profound statements. Unfortunately, it was ruined by the casual way the writers have treated the break up of Christian and Julia (or the coming breakup) and the cheap way they exploited AIDS in this episode. Still, for a show that's on life support, this was definitely one of the season's better showings. And that's saying a lot. And I guess, in the end, Gina was a monster, but she was a great character and her final speech might've been the last time we'll ever see some good Nip/Tuck. That said, Sharon Gless is unusually good in the role of the agent. God, this show used to have it all. Now it's just such patchwork. Good parts here, terrible parts here, a decent episode here, the worst episode in their history there - like I've said in the past, Ryan Murphy should write a great batch of eps that step up the NIP/TUCK endgame and get out while they still have a legacy. One more season - and I think this will have stepped over into PICKET FENCES territory - where the latter, bad 4 seasons truly outweigh the first 2 good seasons. Still, how many times are we going to have a woman in Christian’s life tell him “what a piece of shit he is and that sex is the only blah, blah, blah.”
Grade: B –

NIP/TUCK (FX)
Another show airs – another true piece of crap. This one had Sharon Gless’ increasingly demented agent stuff a live CAA agent with teddy bear stuffing. And it wasn’t funny, nor satiric. Just really dumb. Like the whole show.
Grade: D