With apologies in advance to Michael Ausiello’s future earning potential, can we all not agree that the decision by LOSTerminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse to head into the final season of the show 110% spoiler free was the best one the two showrunners have made since pitching ABC a concrete end date for the series three years ago? Seriously. Having not an iota of an idea as to what’s going to happen when the clock strikes 8PM on February 2nd has only multiplied our excitement ten-fold for what we’re confident will be an epic final season of this landmark series.

Now that we’ve caught up with CHUCK following Monday’s fantastic episode, I just wanted to take a moment to publicly apologize to actress Kristin Kreuk who I’ve spent the better part of four years blaming for having forced me off the SMALLVILLE bandwagon thanks to her morose, uninteresting and whiny (Yes, we get it, your parents died leaving you an orphan!) portrayal of one Lana Lang. Playing Hannah, a beautiful girl-next-door-type love interest for the show’s titular hero on Monday’s episode reminded me that the actress was only reading what was given to her on the page. And more to the point, free of her lame Lana Lang persona does in fact have the ability melt hearts, sparkle on screen and best of all smile!

With yesterday’s news revealing that Rob Lowe’s recent decision to exit BROTHERS & SISTERS may have in fact stemmed from co-star Calista Flockhart’s request to work a reduced schedule next season, this TV Addict thought we’d offer up our version of a win-win solution to writers who are no doubt feverishly attempting to scribble together an exit plan which we hope goes a little something like this: Mr. McCallister goes to Washington1 A move that not only will be the closest thing we get to a WEST WING spin-off, but for Flockhart who is angling for a lesser workload, the ideal guest starring role as occasional First Lady. Who’s with me?

Just when I think I’m out, they suck me back in. Time and again, I vow that I’m over GREY’S ANATOMY thanks to it’s ridiculous plot twists and self-indulgent characters. And then, there’s a shocking moment. Not one of those “stunty” things like Meredith’s near-death or a bomb-squad member being reduced to pink mist, but an emotional sucker-punch like the one at the end of last night’s episode. I didn’t give a crap about Lexie dumping McWhicheverheis and sleeping with Alec, or even Meredith telling Derek that their boss is a drunk. What got me was Christina begging Dr. Altman to stay, her rarely-displayed heart on her sleeve. “Tell me what you want,” she begged. And when Altman said, “I want Owen,” Christina responded, without even a thought, “Then take him.” It was completely in keeping with what we know about Christina and her near-obsession with becoming a surgeon, and yet it was still a stunning moment. And that’s why, despite myself, I’ll tune in again this week.

What keeps me tuning in to DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES? Sheer habit and nothing more. I will say that the Lynette/Tom stuff has been very emotional and powerful over the past few weeks, but nothing else is working. And after a promising start to the season, the series has once again gone back to lazy writing with no cliffhangers (the gals all forgiving Katherine is not a reason to tune in next week) and a “mystery” that goes whole episodes without being developed. Worse, the show makes the worst mistake any serialized offering can make: It doesn’t let its characters grown from week to week. After the plane crash, Gabrielle had a vision about her daughter’s future and we were left with the impression that Juanita’s mom had learned a valuable lesson. Yet this week, there she was again, fretting over whether her child was advanced or not. It’s also a real shame that the show keeps playing Bob and Lee as secondary characters. Anyone who has ever seen Tuc Watkins’ work as ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s David knows he is an actor with an incredible sense of comic timing and the ability to play drama as well, and he’s perfectly matched against Kevin Rahm’s Lee.

While I wouldn’t necessarily miss BROTHERS & SISTERS if I stopped watching it, I continue to tune in for one reason: the Walker clan is wildly entertaining. Not their actual storylines, which are cliched and predictible to the point of being boring, but rather the actual dialogue and scenes which play them as a family unit. Get those characters together in a room, throw in a few drinks (their alcoholic tendencies is one of the best running gags on primetime) and the inevitable fireworks are a blast. B&S is a stellar example of a show with an amazing cast and great script writers that is in desperate need of someone to come in with an overall vision that goes beyond generic plot points. If this show actually started telling well-crafted story arcs with a few twists and a hint of originality, it could finally live up to its promise.

At some point over the past few years, THE DAILY SHOW morphed from a comedic look at today’s news to a biting commentary on how media outlets actually cover the day’s big stories. Of course, when you have Fox News personalities crying on a nightly basis, Rush Limbaugh accusing President Obama of “exploiting” the disaster in Haiti,  and MSNBC’s blasting a politician as “an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging supporter of violence against women”, it’s not like Jon Stewart and company have to look hard for good material! (And still SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE thinks bad imitations of a blind governor is great schtick.)

He moved to America with $400 dollars in his pocket.
Just how badly did Gilles Marini want to make it to America, the country that he calls “the big dream,” and represents “the sky is the limit.” He picked up and left his native France speaking not a word of english, and with a mere $400 in his pocket. “As soon as I got to America a lot of people really helped me out and trusted me,” explained the actor on a recent one-on-one with the TV Addict. “People I will always remember, people who will always have a place in my heart. ”

His revealing role in SEX AND THE CITY was not his first big gig.
Although best known as the casanova in the beach house next door to Samantha in the SEX AND THE CITY movie, Marini actually found his way onto Hollywood’s radar with small parts in CRIMINAL MINDS, UGLY BETTY and DIRTY SEXY MONEY.

DANCING WITH THE STARS was the most difficult thing he had ever done.
Showing off his best, err… assets to millions around the world is nothing in comparison to competing on the hit reality TV show DANCING WITH THE STARS. Seriously. Although familiar with the ABC reality TV juggernaut (”I knew Cheryl Burke”) Marini had no idea what he was in store for. “It was the most difficult thing I had ever done,” said the actor. “Everything broke in my shoulder during the first week and I had to go the entire season with a fractured shoulder.”

BROTHER & SISTERS is his favorite acting job thus far.
“Everyone there is acting royalty,” explained Marini about working with the ensemble of ridiculously talented actors that make up the Walker clan on BROTHERS & SISTERS. “I’m very critical of the work I do and I don’t usually watch myself, but I’m very excited to see what this character will bring to the table. It’s by far the best acting job I have ever done in my life, I’m growing as an actor as I never have before. And I hope fans will love it.”

You probably haven’t seen the last of Luc
Although things aren’t looking good for Sarah and Luc, particularly after Sunday’s shocking final scene, Marini assures us you haven’t seen the last of Luc, “Expect a lot of ups and downs,” teased the actor. “But Luc is passionate at whatever he does, he loves what he does, he loves life, art, and I think that’s something that Sarah will come to understand.”

On this morning’s edition of THE EARLY SHOW, MURPHY BROWN star Candice Bergen revealed that Heather Locklear was in fact the network’s first choice to play the show’s titular character.

This Thursday, WILL & GRACE alum Megan Mullally will drop by PARKS AND RECREATION to play the ex-wife of Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), who according to the Pawnee politico himself may-or-may-note-have been “programmed by someone from the future to destroy all happiness.” More surprising still, Mullally is Offerman’s wife in real life.

Now pay attention, because this one’s a doozy: Teri Hatcher’s fictional small-screen son MJ played by Mason Vale Cotton on DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES is the real-life brother of Rachel Griffiths fictional TV son Cooper Whedon played by Maxwell Perry Cotton on BROTHERS & SISTERS. Got that?

Why did Jennifer Grey have the time of her life guest starring on the upcoming November 18th episode of THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE? It probably had something to do with getting paid to spend the week with her off-screen better half Clark Gregg.

Regardless of whether FLASHFORWARD’s special agent Demetri Noh really ends up dead by April 29th, 2010, of this we know for sure. We’d kill for John Cho’s genes, who if his imdb profile is to believed, is actually 37!

Good News: America Ferrera doesn’t care about UGLY BETTY’s ratings. Bad News: We have a feeling ABC doesn’t feel the same way. [Source]

Good News: According to reports NBC has asked HEROES to think about the final chapter. Bad News: Only three seasons too late. [Source]

First off, I’d be remiss if I didn’t congratulate you on your new job as BROTHERS & SISTERS showrunner. That said, there’s been an awful lot of speculation about the change of leadership and I’m hoping you can set the record straight.
David Marshall Grant: The holy grail of writing is the chance to develop your own show and move forward and after three years of Allison [Schapker], Monica [Breen] and I writing, collaborating and slogging through it, Allison and Monica wanted the opportunity to develop other things aside from this show. BROTHERS & SISTERS is insanely demanding, and something we can’t really do without them. So there was a discussion about how we could make a transition so that they could do more of what they wanted to to — be writers — but leave the actually responsibility of showrunning to somebody else. So I ended up slowly taking the reigns over from them and the transition has been pretty smooth.

And Allison, since you’re on the line, I imagine it was an amicable transition?
Allison Schapker: It’s been very smooth by Hollywood standards. And actually, I’m on the line because I wanted to talk about the “Wig Party” which was the final episode Monica and I oversaw as showrunners. David wrote it and it really speaks to the transition and is an episode we’re really proud of. Monica and I love the show, loved working as showrunners and David’s right, it was incredibly demanding but very satisfying. But we had a long run of it and I’m excited about taking the next step forward. David has been with the show from the beginning, he is a superstar and we’re so excited to pass the baton over to him. He’s going to great things with BROTHERS & SISTES and the fact that we still get to work with him and everyone we love on the show while at the same time do some other things is great.

How involved is Greg Berlanti with the show?
Allison: Any discussions that I’ve had with him or Monica has had with him have been so inspiring. He really weighs in on the big picture. David talks to him regularly too, but he has so many projects on the go, it’s really the showrunners job to oversee the implementation of the storyline on a daily basis and be on the ground to make the many, many decisions that are made everyday.

David now that you’re at the helm, can you give us an idea of what your quintessential episode of BROTHERS & SISTERS is? For me, it’s those little moments, like last week’s fist bump between Kitty and Rebecca as Luc was swimming that make the show.
David: I totally agree. The show lives in this great soft spot between drama and the ironic take on a circumstance. Humour is such an important part of the show. Some of the episodes that I think exemplify that was season one’s “Northern Exposure” which was all about Tommy being sterile, a subject that had real stakes, but one that we surrounded with such humour. While another good example was the first episode Allison and Monica and I happened to co-write, which was about Justin’s intervention, where we turned a heavy addiction story into a really funny sibling episode with the brothers upstairs. Really those are good examples of the kind of tone that we shoot for.

And finally, the introduction of Luc (Gilles Marini) has gotten a great reaction from fans. How long can we expect him to stick around, and does he — as most characters who tend to meet the Walkers — bring any of his own baggage to the show that will undoubtedly come out at some sort of Walker dinner party that more likely than not involves copious amounts of alcohol?
David: Clearly you’ve been watching the show and you’re a good guesser! I think that Gilles can stay as long as he wants, we all love him as do the fans. He’s going to play a large part this season in the lives of both the Walkers and definitely Sarah.

When it comes to our favorite fictional serial killer, suspension of disbelief is pretty much par for the course. Which is why we’ve gladly put aside our question as to how on earth Dexter Morgan’s employer, the Miami PD has yet to clue into his extra-curricular activities in lieu of a far bigger mystery: Just how on earth does a blood splatter analyst afford to support a wife and three kids in a spacious suburban alcove, plus an oceanfront condo and a boat on his public servant salary?

In the world of STARGATE UNIVERSE, mankind is capable of harnessing the power of a Stargate to travel millions of miles away, transport themselves to-and-from ships at will, and protect themselves with state of the art weaponry. Yet David Blue’s Eli Wallace is still using an iPhone.

Be it father William or brother Tommy, the Walker family hasn’t exactly had the most stellar track record when it comes to family members working in the family business. Yet Uncle Saul and Holly waited all of three-minutes to hand over the financials and entrust the future of Ojai Foods to very-sketchy illegitimate step-son Ryan.

Giving us yet another reason for us to worry about the American educational system comes GLEE’s Will Shuster, who has yet to clue into the fact that his wife is wearing a fake pregnancy belly.

Only in the world of MELROSE PLACE do men who look like they’ve just stepped out of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue have to hire call girls like Stephanie Jacobsen’s Lauren. We’re just sayin’

Last week the five major broadcast networks outlined their new fall schedules and previewed clips of new series for advertisers at their annual Upfront presentations. After taking a look at these clips myself, I’ve compiled a list, divided into what’s most promising, what’s roughly in the middle, and what looks horrible. These aren’t reviews per se, they’re just immediate reactions to very brief footage – I’ll reevaluate after I’ve screened the pilots later this summer.  First up, least promising of the bunch… Alex O’Loughlin fans, please don’t hurt us.?

100 QUESTIONS (NBC)
Buzz was that NBC was high on this comedy before its Upfront presentation and that it was being touted as “the next FRIENDS.” Highly doubtful, and I’m pretty sure the laugh track was the only thing laughing during the dreadfully unfunny trailer.

BROTHERS (FOX)
Starring former New York Giant Michael Strahan…plays former NFL player Mike Trainor, who returns home to help his brother’s struggling restaurant business. CCH Pounder from The Shield and Carl Weathers also star as their parents. Strahan does fine, but what would really be great is if the whole thing didn’t feel so strained and dated.

THE DEEP END (ABC)
GREY’S ANATOMY with lawyers. Because it refuses to stop.

THE FORGOTTEN (ABC)
A band of amateur detectives work to identify victims and solve their murders. Looks like a COLD CASE lookalike CBS passed on – and with good reason.

HANK (ABC)
Kelsey Grammer plays a CEO who loses everything in the stock market, forcing him and his family to relocate to suburban Virginia. It’s the recession comedy of the year: humble, and kind of cheap.

HAPPY TOWN (ABC)
I demand a moratorium on prefacing previews with “from the network that brought you [insert cult favorite here].” Just because you mention TWIN PEAKS, doesn’t make this murder mystery set in a town Where Bad Things Don’t Happen Twin Peaks. Got it?

MELROSE PLACE (The CW)
Sydney Andrews, of the original Melrose, inexplicably survived her seemingly fatal death and has returned to collect rent from a whole new gaggle of tenants, which include Ashlee Simpson-Wentz in her return to TV. Like the 90210 remake, it seems to lack the balance of soap and melodrama. Needs a Heather Locklear sooner than later.

PAST LIFE (FOX)
Honestly, it’s the silliest sounding show I’ve heard in a while. About “an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before,” I couldn’t decipher from the clips previewed whether this reincarnation drama was a joke or a sadly mistaken idea for a procedural.

THREE RIVERS (CBS)
MOONLIGHT’s Alex O’Louglin is a star dammit! It’s great CBS is so enamored with him, but could they find a role any more thankless than as a surgeon at a organ transplant hospital? I don’t even like him that much I know he deserves better than this.

TRAUMA (NBC)
It’s THIRD WATCH, with a bigger budget (so more explosions) and about paramedics. Already I’m feeling medical drama fatigue.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (The CW)
Twilight = icky. Twilight x Dawson’s Creek’s Kevin Williamson = slightly less icky, but still pretty icky.

FAMILY GUY (9PM FOX, Global in Canada)
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for FAMILY GUY, which in only their eighth season, really has no excuse for tonight’s Stephen King inspired tale. That said, since Seth MacFarlane and Co. are skewering three of our all-time favorite movies — Stand By Me, Misery and The Shawshank Redemption — we’re gonna go ahead and give them a pass on this one.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (9PM ABC, CTV in Canada)
The word on Wisteria Lane is “Deception,” with tonight’s installment having Bree lying to Orson, Katherine lying to Mike, Susan and Jackson lying to the authorities and Tom lying about his age.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (10PM ABC, Global in Canada)
Swine Flu be damned! Or at least that is what Nora Walker must be thinking when she heads down to Mexico to knock some sense into Tommy in tonight’s BROTHERS & SISTERS third season finale.

NEW & NOTABLE:
FROM THE TOP AT CARNEGIE HALL (10:30PM PBS)
Wondering what you could have accomplished if you weren’t blessed cursed with an incurable addiction to television? Meet 12-year-old violinist Anna Lee, 11-year-old pianist Alice Bural and 13-year-old cellist Taeguk Mun. Three talented youngsters who probably watch less TV than you or I. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

FAMILY GUY (8PM FOX, Global in Canada)
Further evidence that actual talent is not a prerequisite for providing a guest voice on the Seth MacFarlane laugher comes Wentworth Miller and Chace Crawford who lend their voice to tonight’s episode playing high school students (Further cementing our theory is next week’s special guest star Lauren Conrad.)

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (9PM ABC, CTV in Canada)
ZZZZZzzzz…. sorry, what’s that? Last week’s tribute to Edie is finally over? Phew.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (10PM ABC, Global in Canada)
Growing tired of waiting for Tommy’s return, Julia takes a long hard look at her future. Which we’re just gonna go ahead and say, doesn’t look good. I mean just ask Joe (John Pyper-Ferguson) how he’s doing following his divorce from Sara.

NEW & NOTABLE:
ANY DREAM WILL DO (8PM BBC America)
Aspiring actors vie for the lead role in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Soon to be “Josephine and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” if Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber and Susan Boyle have their way.

THE 2009 TV LAND AWARDS (8:30PM TV Land)
While the evening’s honorees include M*A*S*H, HOME IMPROVEMENT, MAGNUM, P.I., Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Don Rickles, all one really needs to know is that it’s hosted by future TV land honoree and current awesomeee Neil Patrick Harris (and yes, we’re aware that ‘awesomeee’ is not actually word; But frankly, we’re so over the ‘Legen…. (wait for it)…. dary’ gag)