The TV Addict 

When LOST rocks, it rocks. And last night… yup, the ship was definitely swayin’. Best moment of the episode? Sun earning her “pimp” card by telling her dastardly dad that she’d bought his company out from under him. In other news, the show did something I love and that too few programs have the ability to do these days: take a single basic storyline and divide it into several segments involving numerous characters and then build each individual plot to a cliffhanger. Will the boat explode? Will Ben sacrifice himself in order to help Locke become a hero? When the heck did Kate become such a great tracker? (Um, okay, let’s forget that last question… although it’s a valid one.)

Listen up, ’cause I’m only going to say this once: Thanks, you rapid worshippers of the Winchester boys, for using your powers for good by rallying to humble me into giving SUPERNATURAL a second look. If you hadn’t, I’d have missed a heck of a season, not to mention last night’s literally kick-ass finale. From the fantastic use of music (particularly Kansas’ “Carry On My Wayward Son”) to the fast-and-furious one-liners (my personal favorite? Dean referring to Ruby as “our slutty little Yoda”), this was a roller coaster of a ride made all the more emotional by the fact that you people got me to care about the Winchesters almost as much as they care for one another. Yes, the “Lillith in the suburbs” scenario was a little too reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite TWILIGHT ZONE episodes, but homages are one of the things this show does best. In fact, that final scene — with evil forces having gotten their “hooks” into Dean — reminded me of something right out of one of fav fright flicks, HELLRAISER. Yup, you fans totally reeled me into this show… heck, I’ve even kinda sorta maybe gotten used to that put-on voice Jensen uses.

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You know how just the other day I was bitching about the fact that too many shows have come back from their extended strike-induced absences with lame episodes featuring virtually no plot movement? Well, although SUPERNATURAL’s first post-strike episode (with the GHOSTFACERS reality crew) wasn’t my favorite, last nights offering more than made up for it. The Winchester boys were in find sted as they dealt with a zombified doc, the search for Bella, the ticking time bomb that is Dean’s date with death and perhaps the most highly-anticipated demons ever, Lillith. Anyone else get goosebumps every time her name is mentioned? (Maybe it’s because I only recently finished reading the Morrigan’s Cross trilogy by Nora Roberts, which featured a cool-ass vampire by that name.) The episode was gruesome (stolen body parts!), revealing (Lillith killed Bella’s folks) and funny (”Demons? Untrustworthy? Imagine that!”). I know, I know, there was a time when I loathed this show with a fiery passion. Well, you people can pat yourselves on the back for having made a believer out of me. I hope you’re happy!

The second the needle hit the record during the opening seconds of LOST, I knew this was gonna be a good one. From the John-related flashbacks to what may have been my favorite line of exposition this season (”Hopefully, the man who lives in the cabin can tell us what to do about the people who are going to kill us.”), this week’s tale definitely made up for last week’s less-than-thrilling hour. Of course, as always, more questions were raised than answered, (Especially once John entered that damn cabin, which left me with, to quote an AP article which came out last week after Paula Abdul’s infamous IDOL double speak, “the furrowed brow of mystification.”) And how precious was the scene in which Hurley and Ben shared a candy bar?

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Jimmy Kimmel grills LOSTerminds Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof on numerous LOST mysteries.

Thanks to TVTattle for the Tip!

Last night’s phenomenal return of Kate Walsh to GREY’S ANATOMY was the best advertisement PRIVATE PRACTICE could have ever hoped for. Not only did Addison light the spark for the inevitable Meredith McDreamy reconciliation, not to mention get the ball rolling on Callie hooking up with Hahn, she reminded viewers of how good PRIVATE PRACTICE could be. Assuming creator Shonda Rhimes looks back at last night’s episode, remembers what a powerful force she has in Kate Walsh and doesn’t squander another season of PRIVATE PRACTICE by turning Addison into an obnoxious and insecure teenager. [Here’s hoping.]

After the remarkable season they’ve given us, this TV Addict is not about to seriously take LOSTerminds Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse to task for last night’s underwhelming installment of LOST. But in TV terms, the Jack—centric adventure was clearly the classic “bottle” show. An episode meant to conserve funds for what will most likely be some very expensive episodes leading up to the super-sized season finale. Which I’m completely cool with, as long as fans start seeing dividends. And by dividends, I mean ANSWERS! You know, to little questions like, where the frak did Claire go? What’s the deal with Jack’s dad? And what favor is Kate doing for Sawyer? Yes Mr. Lindeloff and Cuse, it’s about time LOST started paying fans off for the four years we’ve invested into this time-sucking, maddeningly addictive show. [That we love. Really, keep up the great work!]

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Good News: Tricia Helfer will be heating up USA’s BURN NOTICE this summer. Bad News: Canadians still don’t get BURN NOTICE. Which begs the question: When will Global, CTV, or CITYTV wake up and pick this show up. [Source]

Good News: Rebecca Romijn will only be returning to UGLY BETTY next season as an occasional guest star. Bad News: Ummm… we got nothing. Since the moment she hijacked Mode’s big fashion show, Alexis Meade has been the show’s weakest link. [source]

Good News: LOST returned! Bad News: It’s audience didn’t, with Thursday’s phenomenal episode down a whopping 20 percent from the show’s February premiere. [Source]

Good News: Big names are being offered roles on the BEVERLY HILLS 90210 re-boot. Bad News: With the latest ‘big name’ being Lizzie McGuire Hillary Duff. Who’s next to join the cast — THE SUITE LIFE’s Zack and Cody? [Source]

Good News: E!Online’s Korbi is moving on to bigger and better things at Zap2it.com. Bad News: The TV Addict is still waiting to hear how his audition tape went over to be “America’s Next Korbi!”

I knew going in that last night was not going to be easy. Thanks to the recent WGA Strike — like any good athlete — this TV Addict was out of practice. One hour a night, two hours, heck even three on a good Monday. But six and half hours of television. It was a TV Addict’s Everest! And even for this self-proclaimed TV Addict, I wasn’t sure I could do it.

So I decided to get some back-up/moral support. Enter fellow TV blogger and local Torontonian TapeWorthy. Figuring at the very least we’d help each other through the ‘dark times,’ also know as commercials, TapeWorthy was more than happy to drop by TV Addict Central for a few hours. Bringing with him a TV Addict’s best friend, Popeyes [Cue Homer Simpson, “Mmmmm…. Chicken Strips”] for sustenance.

Unfortunately, the night didn’t start off on the right foot. UGLY BETTY was an ugly disappointment. Henry once again gets called away by a scheming Charlie leaving the far cooler Gio to pick up the pieces. And by pieces, I naturally mean Betty.

Which leads me to this question. Why is Betty still with Henry? Love triangles only work when one of the lovers isn’t totally lame. And I’m sorry to inform all you Betty/Henry [or is it ‘Benry’] shippers out there — Betty/Henry is no Ross/Rachel. In other words, the entire series should not be built around their snooze-inducing relationship.

UGLY BETTY works best, and by best, I mean it’s at its funniest and most entertaining when Betty is at Mode, your classic fish out of water. Interacting with her hilarious foils Marc, Amanda, Daniel and Wilhelmina. It’s time to put the bitch back in Betty. Or, in this case Wilhelmeena back at Mode. Or this TV Addict may soon find himself shaving an hour off his busy Thursday night schedule.

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The TV Addict knows a good idea when he see it. Which is why I’m taking a page from the CW’s controversial GOSSIP GIRL ad campaign to present my very-own edition of THIS WEEK IN TV: OMFG Edition!

Teri Hatcher gets desperate for attention is exactly the type of catchy headline I’d use if it wasn’t for such a good cause. But since Hatcher headlining ‘Band From TV’ on Wednesday’s IDOL GIVES BACK benefited six incredibly worthy charities, I’ll just say this. Teri, don’t quit your day job.

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I loved the wedding episode of ONE TREE HILL, but I can’t help wishing the show would slow things down a bit. If I were writing the show (and really, who doesn’t imagine taking over the reigns of their favorites?), I’d have either had Dan be in cahoots with Nutty Nanny or, even better, have this play out over several weeks. Show the kid being led away from the church, but not by whom. My dream story? Thanks to Haley, everyone points accusatory fingers in Dan’s direction. Meanwhile, Dan has to cozy up to the nanny in order to find out where she’s got Jamie stashed. Eventually, he finds out where the kid is and rides to the rescue… but in the process, Jamie is badly injured and winds up in a coma. The nanny skips town, leaving everyone in Tree Hill to assume that Dan kidnapped and injured Jamie. Because he was spotted with the nanny on several occasions, it is also assumed he was romancing her. Only after they’ve all torn into Dan does Jamie wake up and reveal that his grandpa was, in fact, his rescuer! Anyway, I loved the moment when Lindsay — and, by extension, the audience — realized what the “comet” in Lucas’ story represented. As a long-time soap fan, there’s nothing I respect and appreciate more than a show which plays to the established history and, in doing so, flashes back to long-ago scenes fans remember. It’s like a wonderful little reward for loyal viewers.

This season of LOST continues to rock, although I wish the producers would tell those in the promotions department to stop giving away final-moment twists. After seeing endless ads touting the fact that someone would die, it was almost inevitable that we might be disappointed when the fatalities turned out to be Carl and Danielle (although I hated seeing Mira Furlan, whom I’ve loved since her days as BABYLON 5’s Deleen, bite the bullet… here’s hoping her shooting was of the near-death variety). Fortunately, the episode delivered on so many other levels, whether small (Big Tom is gay???), medium (”If Widmore finds the island… he’ll kill them all without thinking twice.”) or large (”You can’t kill yourself. The island won’t let you.”). Heck, I even got to see my beloved Libby.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever finally found the perfect project for Judy “That’s the last time you’ll ever see these!” Greer. Is MISS/GUIDED perfect? Not by a long shot. But to paraphrase Stuart Smalley, “It’s good enough, it’s smart enough and Doggone it, I like it!” Greer is surrounded by an appealing cast (Brooke Burns hasn’t been this likable since… um, ever!) and the whole package is just fun on a stick. I’m voting this high-school set series “Most Likely To Succeed… in stealing your heart if you give it half a chance.”

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The island has to let Michael die. Because if last night’s episode illustrated anything, it’s that fans, or at the very least this TV Addict, is never going to be fully satisfied by another Michael flashback.

Alas, there is a far more sinister force at work here. More powerful than both LOSTerminds Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse combined. That force, puberty. And thanks to Walt, there is always going to be a piece of the Michael story missing. Big questions like how Michael and Walt got off the island, what happened between the time they escaped and the time they arrived in Manhattan, as well as an explanation for all of Walt’s creepy powers will remain unanswered. Because apparently there are only so many ways the show can hide the fact that actor Malcolm David Kelly has most likely doubled in height since the series premiered. [See: last night’s shot of Walt through the window, odds are good he was crouched on his knees!]

Nothing against actor Harold Perrineau, who did a fine job of portraying the immense guilt that haunted him for murdering Libby and Ana Lucia as well as betraying all of his fellow castaways. But Walt being MIA seriously crippled the potential WOW factor of his flashback.

In fact, aside from learning that the island won’t let Michael die [I wonder if affects Jack as well?] should flashback etiquette not mandate that the episode’s final shocking moments be dedicated to Michael and not numerous peripheral characters. This was, after-all the Michael episode fans have waited how many seasons for.

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9:00PM: Walt, Anna Lucia, Libby… it has been so long. Any bets as to who’s going to get killed tonight? Things aren’t looking up for poor Miles.

9:05PM: Michael is “Here to die?” Umm.. did actor Harold Perrineau get arrested for a DUI that we didn’t hear about?

9:16PM: Interesting that Michael has a death wish. So to did Jack in May’s season finale. Coincidence, not on LOST.

9:19PM: Is that Libby!?!?! Holy Frak! How did the vision inducing smoke monster get into Michael’s hospital?

9:24PM: Mr. Friendly! Today’s episode is playing like a ‘best of’ installment. Who’s next, Greg Grunberg?

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