MAD MEN
For us every-day TV Addicts who let’s face it, don’t always pick up on the subtle subtleties of every look, nuance and intricate line of dialogue that are packed into each and every hour of the Matthew Weiner masterpiece, Sunday’s game-changer of a finale that had Don leading Roger and Bertram (Sterling and Cooper respectively) in a coup d’état in an effort to take control of their own destiny by secretly starting their own agency was plain and simple mad mad fun. Now, if only we had some assurances that we haven’t seen the last of Ken, Paul and Sal!

90210
After almost a season and a half, this week’s installment of 90210 finally delivered that missing piece of the puzzle. The spark of genuine friendship between our leading players upon Liam finally revealing to Dixon, Teddy and surfer chick Ivy the reason why he looks like he’s ready to ‘Hulk smash’ at a moments notice. Seriously. All that was missing from this next gen gang’s vow to help Liam take Naomi’s duplicitous sister Jen down was an iconic Brandon/Steve/Dylan fist-bump.

GLEE
Just how good was this week’s highly anticipated return of GLEE? So good that the defying-gravity-diva-off between Rachel and Kurt that we’ve been counting down the hours for wasn’t even the episode’s highlight. Don’t get us wrong, our current iTunes play count on Defying Gravity is at a solid 66 plays and counting in less than a week. But when an episode manages to humanize Sue Sylvester, provide Artie with a much-deserved moment in the spotlight and allow for Tina — who quite frankly we were starting to worry was quietly becoming the GLEE equivalent of FRINGE’s Astrid — to deliver not only what was easily her largest amount of dialogue to date, but a shocking reveal to-boot, there’s a good reason why we have yet to stop believin’ (or talkin’ about) this show.

DEXTER
Oh No Dexter Didn’t! Oh wait, he did. Break Harry’s code that is. And now that he’s killed what we presume is his first innocent man — the big, scary, question that remains is will we as fans ever be able to look at what was once America’s favorite serial killer the same way again? Stay tuned.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Predictable, cheesy, call it what you will. But Buddy “Clear eyes, full hearts can’t lose” Garrity’s denouncement of the Dillon Panther Boosters was one of those rare TV moments that PVR’s were made for.

In anticipation of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS kicking off its fourth season tonight on DirecTV’s 101 Network (NBC is expected to air the series sometime during the first half of 2010), this TV Addict had the pleasure of talking to the real heart of Dillon Texas, actress Connie Britton. Here, in our brief chat that took place over the summer at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, Britton, who plays Tami Taylor (also known as one-half of our favorite television couples) talks about the big changes that are in store for the series heading into its penultimate season.

On Tami’s Promotion: When you’re an actor, with great power comes not just great responsibility, but great opportunity. Particularly when your co-star in crime is the incomparable Kyle Chandler. “I loved it! For me as an actor, it was really fun to sort of see Tami in over her head, especially with all her lofty ideals,” explained Britton on her charter’s promotion to Principal of Dillon High last season. “And from a story stand point, it was great for both me and Kyle [Chandler] to be at opposite ends of the spectrum, which really gave us a lot of fun stuff to play.”

On a town divided: When we last left the gang from FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, Coach Taylor found himself coaching East Dillon High after getting unceremoniously fired from his cushy job at Dillon. “I really think seeing this town that we love torn into two is going to really resonate with the audience,” predicted Britton. “Everything that we know as normal and familiar we blow to smithereens which provides for some really interesting story… Dealing with a town and school split into two is a big deal.”

On the new student body: If there is one downsize to critical acclaim, it’s that your young and easy-on-the-eyes student body find themselves matriculating and fast! So to fill the void left by Adrianne Palicki who is off filming Red Dawn, Taylor Kitsch and Zach Gilford’s imminent exit, Dillon Texas will welcome a handful of new students. “I think the addition of new students will be a smooth transition because of the story. The beauty of the school redistricting is that it allows for new students to be added in an organic and authentic way,” said Britton. “And although I sure hope we don’t jump the shark, I believe the story-lines are so rich and layered with all the added conflict that it’s going to help us a lot.” Plus, like Scott Porter and Gaius Charles before them, Zach Gilford, Adrianne Palicki and Taylor Kitsch are all taking the time to properly wrap up their story-lines providing fans with some much needed closure.

Would You Rather: Be fired from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for being too fat or not funny? That’s the question Casey Wilson is probably pondering this week after her SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE contract was not renewed. [TheWrap]

Full Hearts: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS will return to October 28 on DirecTV [THO]

Good News Mom: According to a study paid for by theTVaddict.com carried out jointly by the universities of Surrey and Illinois, television shows such as THE SIMPSONS, LOST and 24 helped viewers have a better understanding of political issues and make viewers more receptive to new information and ideas. [Telegraph]

Friday Funny: Kathy Griffin in KATE IS ENOUGH: THE KATE GOSSELIN STORY. [YouTube]

As any FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS SUPERNATURAL fan can attest to, star Jesse Plemons Jared Padalecki is a pretty hard guy to resist. Which is why, it probably should come as no surprise that this fall, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS star Adrianne Palicki will press pause on her burgeoning movie career to drop by FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS SUPERNATURAL for a mysterious late night rendezvous, reprising her role as Landry’s Sam’s girlfriend Jessica. Oh, and some guy named Lucifer also drops by, but that’s probably nothing to worry about! More photos of which can be found after the jump.

Inglorious Bastards! Why didn’t anyone — and by ‘anyone’ we of course are referring to the studio behind the new movie POST GRADS — bother telling us that this weekend we could have spent one hour and twenty-nine minutes in a darkened air-conditioned room with GILMORE GIRLS’ Alexis Bledel and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS’ Zach Gilford!? Luckily, this all-but-forgotten release didn’t sneak past our good friends over at theREELaddict.com, which is why we thought we’d share with you their take on Alexis Bledel’s Mission Impossible: The Search for a Post-GILMORE GIRLS Career.

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that because my affection for them runs so deep, when it comes to anything featuring Rory Gilmore and Matt Saracen (aka Alexis Bledel and Zack Gilford) it’s very hard for me to maintain any sort of critical objectivity. All the more so with POST-GRAD, since they are almost exactly appearing as they did/do on their respective shows, Gilmore Girls and Friday Night Lights. It’s like some sort of inter-serial crossover fan fiction fantasy come true, which is why in my book POST-GRAD gets away with a lot more mediocrity than I know it probably deserves to.

POST-GRAD begins almost exactly like a deleted scene from the Gilmore Girls. On the day of her graduation Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel) speaks to us video blog style, catching us up on her very Rory-like “The Plan” of using her straight A’s to land her dream job at renowned literary firm. She also introduces us to her best friend since childhood, Adam (Matt Saracen), who is a sweet, sensitive, supportive guitar playing guy. If you can’t see where either plotline is going, then you might be one of the few people to be graciously spared the pervasive sense of worn out familiarity that bogs POST-GRAD down.

In addition to those storylines going in precisely the direction you would expect, the film seems to almost want to distract you from it by inexplicably throwing in numerous additional characters and sub-plots that really don’t amount to anything beyond adding superficial quirky sheen to the film. What starts as an attempt to address the ever growing problem of post-grad reality and quarter life crises mixed with a SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL romance, veers in and out of plotlines involving her zany family members. Granted, they are played by an all-star cast that includes Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch and Carroll Burnett, who do better with the material than should be possible, but all their plotlines – nor one involving Ryden romancing her older neighbor (Rodrigo Santoro) – don’t amount to anything more substantial than a college course on humor. In effect, it seemed the movie never was sure what kind it wanted to be, and instead we get somewhat of a jumbled, inconsistent film.

Even more disconcerting is the fact that once POST-GRAD moves into its third act it turns completely into a romantic comedy (not that it ever really offered any deep insights into the post-grad experience), one that contributes to an unsettling trend in the genre of ambitious career oriented women being forced to learn that – to paraphrase one character’s apparent sage words – who you spend your life with is more important than what you do with your life. Maybe not an untrue sentiment, but an unfortunate one when in movies that always seems to mean a woman giving up her promising and ambitious career prospects for a boy. It’s all the more surprising when – like here – that narrative path is taken by not just a woman screenwriter, but a woman director.

But, here’s the thing. Despite all of that, it’s still Rory Gilmore and Matt Saracen. That makes a lot of things better in my book, especially when Alexis Bledel and Zack Gilford do demonstrate a cute, sweet chemistry together. Whether scenes involved them on their own or together, it always sort of made me smile to see their television characters unintentionally reprised and brought romantically together. For those of you unfamiliar with either show, or those of you who don’t love those characters, POST-GRAD may be harder to sit through. For me? It just made me a happy fan, and made me wish somebody would make a movie where Chuck Bartowski and Lorelei Gilmore hook up. Grade: C

Good News: SUPER SIZE ME’s Morgan Spurlock will produce and direct THE SIMPSONS 20th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL IN 3-D ON ICE. Bad News: The special won’t actually be in 3-D or on ice! [Source]

Good News: Arguably, television’s most memorable survivor Richard Hatch was this close to returning to the series that put him on the map (and ironically enough, in jail for tax evasion) for SURVIVOR’s 10th anniversary “Heroes Vs. Villains” edition Bad News: Until that is, a federal judge in Rhode Island denied his request to leave home confinement early. [Source]

Good News: There is still hope for MEDIUM and MY NAME IS EARL, with rumors circulating that CBS and FOX (the studios that produce each series) might pick up each show for their respective networks. Bad News: For the now defunct CBS series’ WITHOUT OF TRACE and THE UNIT… crickets… crickets… [Source]

Good News: UGLY BETTY will face far less competition come Fall 2009. Bad News: Which is what happens when a network decides to move your show to Friday, the night that audiences forgot. [Source]

Good News: After eight long years, ABC’s ACCORDING TO JIM is finally dead! Bad News: For FOX’s ‘TIL DEATH, which just became every TV critics new go-to example for everything that is wrong with the state of TV sitcoms today. [Source]

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (9PM NBC, E! in Canada)
Taking a bit of the suspense out of Coach Eric Taylor’s contract reviewal is the already announced pact between NBC and DirecTV to renew television’s best drama for two more seasons. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

DOLLHOUSE (9PM FOX, Global in Canada)
Echo and Sierra are turned into spy hunters in order to track down a Dollhouse traitor. Which means after yesterday’s twitter snafu, Felicia Day might want to watch her back. We’re just sayin’

NEW & NOTABLE:
GHOST WHISPERER (8PM CBS, CTV in Canada)
Further reinforcing our belief that listening to Hilary Duff’s music may in fact be hazardous to ones health, Melinda and Eli help a ghost as he tries to settle a matter with a mysterious woman (Hilary Duff) who may be connected to another man’s death.

1. 90210: That noise you just heard was 90210 finally getting interesting thanks to the introduction of Naomi’s new fast and furious guy candy (can we trademark that moniker?) Liam and Silver, who went from zero-to-crazy in less than sixty minutes.

2. LIFE ON MARS: As much as we’d like to applaud executive producers Josh Appelbaum, Scott Rosenberg and André Nemec for ending the American version of LIFE ON MARS on their own terms, it would help if we had a better understanding as to what exactly those terms were.

3. SUPERNATURAL: Regardless of whether you’re a “Sam Girl” or a “Dean Girl,” this TV Addict’s fairly confident that neither camp is complaining about Thursday’s seriously meta and super hilarious installment of SUPERNATURAL.

4. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: From the gut-wrenching play that lost the Dillon Panthers the State Championship in the closing seconds of the game to Tyra Collete’s heartbreaking college entrance essay, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS continues to be the best show on television nobody is watching.

5. TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES: And speaking of shows nobody is watching, our kudos of the week goes to TERMINATOR show-runner Josh Friedman for not only managing to keep a lid on one of the biggest surprises of the season, but for doing what BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s Ronald D. Moore failed to do — pull a ‘Whedon’ by killing off a major character in a minor way.

6. ER: In what we can only assume is an unfortunate sign that ER should have checked out years ago, the hour-long retrospective that aired prior to the two-hour series finale packed a far more emotional punch than the episode in itself.

7. GLEE Trailer: If “being a part of something special makes you special” GLEE stars Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele and Company are in for one helluva ride. That, and can FOX get their actor together and please release a “Don’t Stop Believin’ single on iTunes so I can stop re-playing this trailer again and again and again.

DOLLHOUSE (9PM FOX, Global in Canada)
What are the odds that Echo, Sierra and Victor, who have re-awoken as their original selves (complete with their own memories) escape from the Dollhouse? Well, considering the show is called DOLLHOUSE, we’re gonna go out on a limb and say not very good.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (9PM NBC, E! in Canada)
The Taylor’s make a decision about the McCoys, which if you ask us, sure has the makings of an awesome old school Western, should, you know, FNL ever wish to pull another “murder mystery” ratings stunt by introducing time travel.

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER (10PM HBO)
It’s Plumber versus Maher when Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher gets grilled by Bill. We can’t wait.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:
FLASHPOINT (9PM CBS, CTV in Canada)
When two 16 year olds wind up in a robbery gone wrong, the Team is faced with the chilling prospect of having to take a lethal shot – at a kid. Or as we’ll be calling it from now on, thanks to last week’s LOST, “Pulling a Sayid.”

DOGTOWN (10PM National Geographic)
In what we can only assume is a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner episode gone terribly terribly wrong, a golden retriever undergoes surgery after its paw is injured in a trap.