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.

90210’s Shenae Grimes
What started out as an interesting way to handle a poorly conceived character that never really connected with viewers continues to get well less so, after yet another week went by with Shenae Grimes’ Annie Wilson on the outside looking in. Seriously, we can’t recall the last time (if ever) a character that started out the series front-and-center was pushed so far back into the periphery. Hey 90210 EP Rebecca Rand Kirshner, care to explain?

The handling of Barney and Robin
After a season of build-up, anticipation and hype, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’s  Barney and Robin are officially (spoiler alert!) no more. And while disappointment may not be exactly how we’d characterize the relationship that we believe is at least partially to blame for HIMYM’s somewhat less than stellar start to the season, we can’t help but be somewhat surprised that the same writers who gave us the genius that is the ’slap bet,’ ‘Robin Sparkles,’ and one of the cleverest sitcom hooks in recent memory (See: The mystery surrounding the titular mother) handled the pairing up of ‘Robney’ so poorly.

The controversy surrounding Monday’s GOSSIP GIRL
Popular USAToday Blogger Whitney Matheson took the words right out of our mouth when she tweeted, “I can’t believe folks are crazed over the ridiculous Gossip Girl threesome. Next to Skins, that show looks like Dora the Explorer.”

The People’s Choice Award Nominees
Yesterday’s announcement touting the nominees for January’s People’s Choice Awards which include Blake Lively for TV Drama Actress, THE HILLS and THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER for TV Obsession, HEROES for TV Sci-fi, THREE RIVERS and THE FORGOTTEN for New TV Drama, ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE, HANK and BROTHERS for New TV Comedy has this TV Addict wondering, People’s Choice or Network Marketing Executive’s Choice Awards? And by that we mean, HANK, seriously?!

Good News: On Monday, David Boreanaz and wife Jaime Bergman welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world. Bad News: Named Bardot, which probably won’t serve her well in the school yard. Better News: Until of course the kids realize, “Wait your dad is David Boreanaz!” [People]

Let history show that on Saturday August 29th at 8:45PM Twitter officially became uncool. Thanks @jongosselin1.

Sarah Connor may not be back… but the next best thing will soon be thanks to her portrayer Lena Headey signing onto HBO’s highly anticipated GAME OF THRONES. [MoRyan]

As expected, AMC has given MAD MEN an early fourth-season renewal. Hopefully on the condition that creator Matthew Weiner decides to add a little plot development to what has slowly devolved into a brilliant, albeit somewhat arduous-to-watch character study. [The Live Feed]

2.8 million Americans reinforce the fact they’re indeed smarter than a fifth grader by tuning into MAD MEN’s record breaking third season premiere. [EW]

After umpteen seasons on 7th HEAVEN, David Gallagher is finally being let out of Hollywood purgatory, signing on (alongside WAREHOUSE 13’s Allison Scagliotti) to SMALLVILLE as the Wonder Twins. [io9]

Melissa Joan Hart and Debi Mazar’s career trajectories officially hit rock bottom with yesterday’s announcement that they’ll be just a few of the D-Listers to go DANCING WITH THE STARS. [TV.com]

Just when you thought the new season of 24 couldn’t get any frakkin’ cooler (see the addition of Katee Sackhoff) comes the news that ALIAS baddie David Anders will be joining the cast as an ‘Eastern Promises’-style godfather. [Zap2it]

Felicia Day asks, “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?” Answer: Umm.. Yes Please! [Video]

At the risk of coming across as either (a) stupid, or worse (b) really sexist, this TV Addict simply has to ask: On last night’s season premiere of MAD MEN, am I correct in assuming that Joan is either (a) pregnant, or (b) using food as an emotional crutch in the aftermath of the rape that occurred in last season’s shocking season finale? (And just because I know you’re wondering: No this post wasn’t completely an excuse for this TV Addict to have far too much fun designing ‘fat’ Joan at madmenyourself.com, rather that was simply an added bonus!)

MERLIN (8PM NBC, 7PM CTV in Canada)
Arthur slays a unicorn, which if Harry Potter taught us anything, probably means really bad news for Camelot.

ARMY WIVES (10PM Lifetime)
Claudio Joy and Denise escort a former Gilmore Girl senator’s widow (Kelly Bishop) to a groundbreaking ceremony on the base.

MAD MEN (10PM AMC)
In what gets our vote for most misleading episode logline of the week comes courtesy of MAD MEN’s third season premiere: Sal accompanies Don on a business trip to Baltimore, where both men succumb to the powers of persuasive seduction. Trust us, totally not what you’re thinking! Click here for our full review.

ADDITIONAL TV ADDICTIONS:
TRUE BLOOD (9PM HBO)
HUNG (10PM HBO)
ENTOURAGE (10:30PM HBO)

Watching MAD MEN, AMC’s buzzing drama set in the hustle of a 1960s ad agency, is like gazing at a meticulously designed museum display – so gorgeously detailed by curator by ex-SOPRANOS scribe Matthew Weiner, half of the show’s charm is in the visual wonder of its setting and characters. You could stare at a still shot, like the ones in this Vanity Fair spread, and be completely enraptured by its remarkable talent for being seductive, perceptive, soapy, and cerebral – sometimes all at once.  

But just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it’s a lightweight: In the third season premiere alone, its brooding, mysterious hero Don Draper (the steadily smooth Jon Hamm) is seeing visions of his birth as his pregnant, caged bird wife (the always poised and deft January Jones), waits in the other room. The next day he travels with closeted art director Salvatore (Bryan Bratt) to Baltimore, where a dinner date with their flight attendants ends with them half-naked on the street.  

At Sterling Cooper, the ad agency where Don and Sal sip cocktails in their lavishly furnished offices, their new British owners are moving in, kicking a third of their staff out – something not entirely unheard of in Our Troubled Times. But what’s happening to Sterling Cooper isn’t the recession – it’s a revolution percolating at the seams. Not far off is Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, the Beatles, Martin Luther King Jr.’s arrest, and the assassination of JFK.  

Part of the drama is the tragic irony – office empress Joan (Christina Hendricks) assimilates into her expected role as a housewife after being raped by her husband just as the counterculture that could liberate her waits around the corner; rising copywriter Peggy (Elizabeth Moss), who had a baby, was ogled by her co-workers, and came this close to a romantic relationship with a priest, is beginning to dominate in a man’s world that hasn’t revealed a heroine she can relate to.  

Yes, season three is shaping to be the season of Change, resonating with viewers and the impeccable cast; it works as a swank telling of the shape of things to come. Don, master orator with the ability to practically smolder with his steely gaze, opines over his soon to be harried Baltimore evening: “I keep going to a lot of places and ending up somewhere I’ve already been.” MAD MEN is as deeply rooted in 2009 as it is in the last 50 years, and it’s beautiful, rich trip. Grade: A-

Good News: BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT phenom Susan Boyle has reportedly been offered a cameo on the new season of UGLY BETTY. Bad News: Three words: Jump. The. Shark. [Source] According to ABC, rumors of Susan Boyle appearing on UGLY BETTY have been greatly exaggerated. And by that we mean, false!

Good News: Over the weekend, VIRTUALITY made headlines for FOX. Bad News: For delivering a fourth place finish on Friday night after attracting a mere 1.8 million viewers. [Source]

Following last weekend’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE parody and Sunday’s upcoming TREEHOUSE OF HORRORS XIX on THE SIMPSONS, I think we can all agree that MAD MEN has officially found its place in the American Pop Culture Zeitgeist.

Thanks to TVTattle for the Tip!

With Halloween mere days away, this TV Addict thought now would be the perfect opportunity to talk about what scares us in the world of television. So without further ado, we present our Halloween Scare #3: A Matthew Weiner Free MAD MEN.

With Matthew Weiner’s CAA representatives and Lionsgate, the studio behind AMC’s MAD MEN at a negotiation standstill (over suprise, surprise, money!), Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting that there is now a genuine possibility that the Emmy-Awarding winning series could part ways with its visionary creator as the critically acclaimed drama heads into its third season. Which following Sunday’s brilliant season finale, would drive this TV Addict well, more than a little mad.

More Halloween Scares:
Tuesday’s: NBC President Ben Silverman
Monday’s: An Amy Poehler Free SNL