Survivor Weeks 12 & 13- You're Next

Russell Hantz- "Now you're next. It's not me doing it, but you're next."

If Russell fails to get immunity next week, he has to go right? How can he continue to come at people with these baseless claims and not pay for it. Jerri is questioning why all of the sudden it's Danielle that is getting voted out and he snaps at her, "you're next." He then defends it by saying that he's not the one making that decision. What? If I'm Jerri I say, "Russ you just made that up that I was next because you got mad that I questioned you. I think you should be next, Mr."

As we go back to the start of what was a jam packed double elimination night, we got to witness an abridged endurance challenge in which the girls got to show off the natural look of their under arms. Thank you for that Survivor. The question of this challenge was how could Russell and Sandra give up after one minute?!? I don't care what the situation is, I'm never feeling safe enough to give up that easily. And for a prize they hadn't even seen yet? Just silly.

Parvati won the challenge and we then got hit with a surprise. What was that surprise? Another friggin' hidden idol clue. Really? Another hidden idol. So there's at least one per elimination at this point. There have been so many at this point that the effect has become really watered down. Come up with some new ideas please!

Sandra finds the idol, Rupert fakes like he has the idol and Candice is the one who is sent home. Very graceful exit by her. She got beat for leaving her Heroes last week, and she knew it.

Second immunity challenge was a great one. Three competitions in one to widdle the group down to a winner. Impressed by Russell's ability to win when he needs to. The self-proclaimed King of Survivor then works his magic again by getting Danielle booted.

He finally realized that Danielle was Parvati's go to girl, not him. He needed to split them up. The surprising part of this whole thing was that Danielle couldn't understand why he was doing this. "Why aren't we getting ride of Rupert and Colby?" Hello that thinking is so prosaic. It could be a great move to get rid of your own alliance at this point so that you don't have to fight with them at the end. And lucky for Danielle, she gets to go to Ponderosa and shave off her mustache that was getting very Tom Selleck-esque at this point.

Fantasy Results

Punch Face Champions

Russell (Villains)- W12 (67), W13 (79), Immunity (20)= 166
Danielle (Villains)- W12 (67), Votes (-16)= 51
Sandra (Villains)- W12 (67), W13 (79), Idol found (10)= 156
JT (Heroes)
Tom (Heroes)
Weeks 12 & 13= 373 Total= 1,408

Redwood Original

Boston Rob (Villains)
Parvati (Villains)- W12 (67), W13 (79), Immunity (20)= 166
Colby (Heroes)- W12 (67), W13 (79)= 146
Sugar (Heroes)
Candice (Heroes)- Votes (-20)= -20
Week 12 & 13= 292 Total= 1,196

DJ Roomba

Tyson (Villains)
Randy (Villains)
Jerri (Villains)- W12 (67), W13 (79)= 146
Rupert (Heroes)- W12 (67), W13 (79), Votes (-24)= 122
Amanda (Heroes)
Week 12 & 13= 268 Total= 1,041

Kick Puncher III

Coach (Villains)
Courtney (Villains)
James (Heroes)
Stephenie (Heroes)
Cirie (Heroes)
Total= 164

Fantasy Idol Results- Road to the Final Four

Just some score updates.

Fantasy Scores

The Rock Bodega
Casey James- Safe (56)= 56
Janell Wheeler
Tim Urban
Lee DeWyze- Safe (56)= 56
Week 11= 112 Total= 483

Splash Downs All Around
Todrick Hall
Crystal Bowersox- Safe (56)= 56
Tyler Grady
Michelle Delamor
Week 11= 56 Total= 223

Diabolical Haters
Didi Benami
Lilly Scott
Lacey Brown
Michael Lynche- Bottom 2 (-11), Safe (56)= 45
Week 11= 34 Total= 183

You're Coming With Me Leather
Andrew Garcia
Paige Miles
Aaron Kelly- Bottom 2 (-11), Eliminated (-22)= -33
John Park
Week 11= -33 Total= 150

The Curlgar
Ashley Rodriguez
Joe Muñoz
Haley Vaughn
Siobhan Magnus
Total= 92

HashTag Katie Stevens Is Only 16
Katie Stevens
Jermaine Sellers
Katelyn Epperly
Alex Lambert
Total= 19

Lost- A Moment of Weakness

Great ep of LOST. I guess Sun and Jin didn't care about their kid when they decided to leave her an orphan.
Wed May 05 12:45:42 via Echofonlarry avitabile
larrington_bevy

Not only did I want to get knee deep in embedding tweets to my blog posts, but I loved Larry's late night tweet for two reasons. 1) this guy is the biggest Lost hater that if he says it was a great ep, you know it was a great ep and 2) his second point about Jin and Sun is so true and I bet no one else is going to say anything about it.

Yeah sure Jin was an absolute stud for being so strong and staying by his wife to die together. Of course it was an emotional moment, rivaling Charlie's drowning of season three *Update- and Juliet's* for most heart-wrenching death of the series. Yeah I absolutely bawled like a little girl. But let's not forget this very important point by Lar. The both of you are leaving your baby girl an orphan!

Yeah we get it that you never want to leave each other because you are so in love, but what about the breathtaking little girl that you were weeping over less than an hour ago? Jin you were so excited to see the pictures of her on the camera, but when you could have saved your own life to somehow get off the Island and spend the rest of your time on earth with what you and Sun gave to this world, you chose to kill yourself while holding hands. Interesting decision at best. At worst? Terrible move by you bro. I'm saving myself, I don't care how much I love Sun.

So how did we get to that epic moment in Lost history? Well sit back, have a Dharma beer and listen up. A ton of this episode was build up to get us all to the submarine. That build up was just so good. What's UnLocke really want? What's his game with the plane and the C4? What's Sawyer really up to? How's Jack gonna get this whole thing right?

The gang is currently captured by Widmore and his people and where are they sent? The cages! Sawyer obviously doesn't want to go in them again, but once Widmore threatens to shoot Kate they all willingly go. Widmore is willing to kill Kate because she is not on his list of names. Sawyer, Hugo, the Kwons are. Where did he get the candidate names? Good question.

Jack, continuing to stud it up in season six, joins forces with Smokey to get the gang out of the cages. When Kate asks the good doctor, "What are you doing here?" Jack calmly replies, "I'm with him." Of course he's not with Smokey, but his delivery of this line is awesome.

So now that MIB has everyone he needs together, we get to the good stuff. The UnLocke Monster gets C4 out of the Ajira plane that he claimed he wanted to use to get off the Island and shows it to the gang in order to gain their trust. Solid move. It's then that he claims that there could be more on the plain and Widmore will try to blow them all up if they get on the plane. I see where you're going with this there Smokey.

Only thing left to do is leave on the submarine (just what Sawyer wanted to do in the first place). Interesting how that all works out for MIB. Now everyone has so many different motives. Sawyer wants to leave with everyone except Smokey and/or Claire and Sayid. Jack wants to stay and could really care less what everyone else does. The MIB wants everyone to think he wants to leave with them, but really wants them all to get on the sub, which of course happens.

Jack is forced on due to the fact that his beloved Kate is shot and he needs to tend to her wounds. Once on board Sawyer starts the boat leaving. Well, well, well what is this? Another piece of C4 with a timer on it in Jack's back pack. "He dooped us again" "We did exactly what he wanted" Jack explained to the rest of the crew trapped in this enclosed submarine with a bomb.

Well yeah! Jack, and I, have been saying this for a while now. The Man In Black needs them all to die in order for him to get what he wants, which may or may not be to leave the Island. I first asked why did the MIB need to go through such an elaborate plan to kill all these people? Why not just turn into the smoke monster and throw them all around until they're dead? Well obviously because they're candidates and he can't kill them.

As Jack explains, the MIB needs them to kill each other. The bomb is not rigged to blow according to Jack. If they don't touch any wires it will not go off. I think I'm in agreement with this analysis by Jacko. The problem is that Sawyer doesn't trust Jack's reasoning and does a half-assed job pulling out some wires. The countdown of course starts going faster and Sayid decides to take one for the team.

Before running down the other end of the sub and blowing himself up, Sayid tells Jack that he needs to get Desmond out of the well because he is important. Yes! We all knew Desmond was important since he first started seeing the future, but it's so great to hear it come out of a character's mouth. "Why are you telling me this?" Jack asks the man of the Republican Guard. Well like I've been writing for a long time now, "it's going to be you Jack." How Sayid knows that Jack will be the one to take Jacob's place I'm not sure. Maybe he meant something completely different, but if not I'm excited. Jack has steadily been making his way back into my good graces and if he is the man that rules the Island for the next 1,000 years or so, I'll be happy.

And then we got Sawyer knocked on conscious and Sun trapped on the sub. Jack saved Sawyer and left Sun for dead with her husband. I truly sad moment, but they were collateral damage. What kind of consequence will all of these deaths be in the end? Will the sideways world have any effect on what happens to those who have died in Island world? I'm not sure, but it was quite a moment for the time being.

American Idol- Shut Up and Take It

Harry Connick, Jr.- "I should be layin' by the pool. You think Shania Twain was up in here doin' this?"

Well there was one good thing that came out of last night's Sinatra week on Idol. Harry Connick, Jr. was on fire. With his witty jokes during taped segments and live action, and his ability to help arrange the contestants' songs, he could be a great second banana to Simon on the US version of X-Factor when it starts. "It's more than fun, it's my life."

For once Aaron Kelly wasn't the worst of the night. Casey James took that honor by a mile. This guy was out of tune the entire time and his mega vibrato was back to Carmen Rasmusen levels. Finally someone else picked up on his horrible vibrato. I'm just sad that it happened to be Kara. "you sound like a lamb," she claimed. I prefer the goat call but whatever. "Work on your vibrato because it's out of control."

Aaron was better than usual but still decently bad. The only thing working well for him was his new hairstyle. Crystal Bowersox was better than last week, but she continues to slide down my scale based on the fact that she continues to respond to the judges comments. Just sit there and take what they say!

Like my man Lee DeWyze. Who, although it's easy because they haven't said anything negative about him in a long while, just quietly takes in whatever they have to say because he could care less what they think. My man. Oh he also did a decently good performance, if the music was a bit too much for him. Kara came back down to earth with a ridiculous comment to Lee, "You can win this thing!" Um...of course Kara. There are only five left and he's one of two that have never been in the bottom three. Was that some sort of breakthrough you just came up with?

Big Mike Lynche was probably the best of the night. He has proven that he has great vocals. He chose the best song to perform of the night. He toned down his cheesiness again, but because he has that ability to charm, it worked for me. It wasn't too much, but it was just enough to win me over for the night.

Performance Rankings

1. Michael Lynche
2. Lee DeWyze
3. Crystal Bowersox
4. Aaron Kelly
5. Casey James

Breaking Bad- Too Easy

Unknown Caller- "Two men are coming to kill you. They are approaching your car. They’re coming."

The title of this week's episode was so aptly named. Hank had One Minute before the Two Suits would arrive to kill him. In that minute, as Hank sat in his car nervously hesitating to do anything, I went through so many emotions. I was excited, I was terrified, I was nervous, I was joyful. What happened after that clock turned to 3:18 might have been the best action sequence I've seen in a long while.

As my anticipation grew larger and larger I honestly expected one of two outcomes. 1) The Two Suits sneak up on Hank and shoot him to death or 2) Hank surprises them and shoots them dead before they know what happened. Why did I think it would be so simple? I was not expecting Hank to slam his car into reverse smashing one cousin to pieces while being shot only to have the other cousin right in front of him shooting at him as well, and survive that moment.

When the second cousin was all well and good and Hank was fighting for his life to stay alive after being shot three or four times, I was ready to let Hank go. Silly for the second cousin that shooting Hank in the face was "too easy", because in the time it took for him to walk ever so slowly to get his axe, Hank had just enough time to reach for the Devil Bullet that we were introduced to earlier in the episode. After former DEA Agent Schrader shot the cousin through the head with the Devil Bullet, the crane shot showing the three bloody bodies in a normal looking parking lot was so darkly comedic that I couldn't help but laugh.

The great thing about this episode was that everything leading up to that moment was also fantastic. Just as most had predicted, Walt was finally forced to take Jesse on as his lab partner because of his fear of how good Gale was getting at the chemistry. In the first scene between them, Gale was explaining how much he had already done without Walt and it was so easy to tell how irked Walt was about this. Later on we see the whole thing start to unravel when Walt makes up a mistake so that he can have a reason to complain about Gale ruining an entire batch.

Combine this with Jesse telling Walt that if he ever gets caught cooking meth that he will simply make a deal by giving up the great Heisenberg, and Walt had no choice but do everything he could to get Jesse to partner up again. How does the man go about doing this? Well by simply giving Mr. Pinkman some words of encouragement. "Your meth is good Jesse. As good as mine." Two minutes later a phone call from Jesse asking if 50/50 is good, in which he concludes, "okay partners." The two guys back together again.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Top Ten

Well it's that time again. Along with hearing myself talk, here at the Quiet Pool Perspective we like to let you know what tv you should be watching. Every two months I give you a few quick thoughts on the best television out there for viewing in what we call here at The Pool, the Bi-Monthly Power Rankings. As always I will rank the top 20 series on tv and here's what the best of the best in May 2010 looks like.

Top Ten

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

10. True Blood- (10) Sundays on HBO
It's been a long time since True Blood was on the air, but its third season is just around the corner. Now that Lost will be off our television screens for good come next month, True Blood is going to have to fill my science fiction/fantasy void. I hate looking at spoilers, so I have no idea what the next installment is going to focus on. All I know is that there is a wolfman.

9. The Office- (8) Thursdays on NBC
Steve Carell says he's leaving The Office after his contract runs out next season. Can this show go on without him? Alan Sepinwall seems to think it might benefit from giving Michael a limited role, but I disagree. He and the new addition of Erin are the only things keeping this show alive for me. Michael's antics will get me every time, and their inability to showcase some of the minor characters' talents has proven tiresome. Where are the great Creed moments?

8. Community- (9) Thursdays on NBC
Two weeks ago Community did a full on parody of Goodfellas using chicken fingers as a metaphor for drugs. Absolutely put this show over the top for best Thursday night comedy. Every single character on the show, except for Britta, is hilarious. And Britta works because she is used like a punching bag by me and the other characters.

7. Friday Night Lights- (6) Wednesdays on DirecTV
FNL's fourth season is about to start on NBC. Of course I've already watched it via DirecTV this fall and winter. Was it a great season? Yes. Could it have been better? Of course, that's why it's only number seven. The question still remains is next year's final season going to be enough to give us some good closure on the Taylor family and the state of high school football in Dillon?

6. Breaking Bad- (7) Sundays on AMC
Last week's ep was fantastic, and supposedly tonight's is even better (and crazier). Before last week I didn't think this season was stacking up to season two's standard, but if things keep progressing at the current rate, Breaking Bad could rise higher up the charts. I've said it before and I'll say it again, sprinters make the best bobsledders Walt and Jesse need to come together as partners again to make this show return to its greatness.

5. Modern Family- (5) Wednesdays on ABC
I'm definitely on the Poniewozik side, rather than the Sepinwall side, of the Phil's dad argument. I thought last week's episode was fantastic and it had much to do with the inclusion of Fred Willard as the father figure. The two of them were exactly alike and it worked perfectly. Phil is exactly the kind of guy who would emulate his father because he thought he was the best man in the world. Even when he's trying to be serious with dear old dad, he can't help but compliment him on a great joke. Classic Phil.

4. Sons of Anarchy- (4) Tuesdays on FX
Another one with a long layoff, and I'm getting sick of reading creator Kurt Sutter's tweets about which episodes he's finished writing, but Sons of Anarchy proved to be worth the wait after a fantastic second season last fall. With the third season ready to kick off in September, I'm excited to watch Jax, Clay and the rest of Sam Crow in real time this fall.

3. Curb Your Enthusiasm- (2) Sundays on HBO
And Larry David decided that he will take time out of his busy Marriage Ref Jury Duty to create another season of Curb. Yes! Rumors were flying around that Ricky Gervais will be guest starring on this season of the comedy hit. Not quite sure if that is happening, but LD is gonna need to come up with something golden to top the Seinfeld Reunion. But then again, he had to top him moving in with the Blacks, so he's fully capable.

2. Chuck- (3) Mondays on NBC
Chuck gets the bump past Curb due to the utter brilliance of the final two episodes of season 3.0. The first episode of 3.1 was also great, but come on! Chuck vs. the American Hero and Chuck vs. the Other Guy were instant classics. The hilarity of the Morgan, Casey, Awesome trio in the penultimate episode combined with the chills and thrills of the final one were tough to be matched by anyone.

1. Lost- (1) Tuesdays on ABC
Sometimes I take a step back and think that my loyalty to this show goes unwarranted. Then I watch the next Tuesday's edition and am completely enthralled by what's on the screen. The action, the drama, the questions, and the nostalgia. You can poo poo the blatant nods to season one all you want, but a lot of true fans of the show really like that. Damon and Carlton have come out and said that there will be questions left unanswered when the show ends. Of course! Why would answer everything?!? Your show would never live on. By leaving some (or many) things left with no answer, it allows people to talk about it long after it's gone. The arguments that will ensue about what really was going on in certain circumstances will benefit the show far greater than if everything is summed up cleanly in episode 618.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

Well it's that time again. Along with hearing myself talk, here at the Quiet Pool Perspective we like to let you know what tv you should be watching. Every two months I give you a few quick thoughts on the best television out there for viewing in what we call here at The Pool, the Bi-Monthly Power Rankings. As always I will rank the top 20 series on tv and here's what the May 2010 version looks like.

20 Through 11

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

20. Justified- (-) Tuesdays on FX
I haven't gotten a chance to post about an episode of Justified since the premiere (because Idol and Lost take up my time on Tuesday and Wednesday), but it has been very solid early on. None have been as good as the first ep. The semi-procedural nature of the show is a nice change-up for me. Just like The Mentalist and House, Justified works as a great procedural because of how good the main character is.

19. Jonas- (HM) Sundays on Disney Channel
The Jo Bros finished up their first season of television in March with a fantastic finale chock full of musical performances. All three guys bring a certain Zack Morrisian charm to the show, right down to the words and glances to the camera. People can rant and rave about Glee all they want, but Jonas is the best musical comedy on television.

18. 24- (13) Mondays on FOX
Oh how the mighty have fallen. I'm not one of these guys who's gonna write a show off just because it does the same thing over and over (like many critics out there). I can appreciate the repetitiveness of a 24 when it's doing it well. Last season they did it well. Whether it was the reintroduction of Tony or the fact they were working with the FBI and not CTU, it was a great season. This year they've taken a nose dive and it's sad that they'll be going out on a bad note.

17. Parks and Recreation- (20) Thursdays on NBC
I can't imagine what the addition of Adam Scott to this rising comedy is gonna do. I know I might be a bit biased, because I absolutely loved his character Derek Huff on Step Brothers, but I think the show would be better suited if he played closer to that character than his Party Down character. His dry, down-on-his-luck Henry Pollard works for Party Down because everyone around him is so outrageous, but on Parks you already have April and Ron that fill the quiet comedy assassin roles. We need somebody to come in and tell all of these people how dumb they are. Cue Derek Huff.

16. The Mentalist- (18) Thursdays on CBS
Patrick Jane's sarcasm goes a long way, but it's been the extra effort of Kimball Cho that keeps The Mentalist in the rankings. Yes it's a straight procedural, but every once in a while you need one of those to keep things light. The supporting cast has been great this season, especially Cho, who got an entire ep dedicated to him and his gang related past earlier in the year.

15. American Idol- (12) Tuesdays on FOX
Did American Idol just drop down to my third favorite reality series? It's a sad state of affairs, but how can you blame me? The competition this season has been lacking, the judges continue to get on my nerves, and even Seacrest hasn't been on his game this year. The early eliminations of Lilly Scott and Did Benami didn't help the cause. Maybe it is a product of the majorly boring episode we endured this week, but I'm glad X-Factor will be around soon to spice things up.

14. Survivor- (17) Thursdays on CBS
In my opinion, you should have to watch the Life at Ponderosa webisodes on CBS.com if you watch Survivor. It really gives you the full effect of the season. The bittersweetness that exudes from each contestant that gets voted off is breathtaking to watch. They get to stuff their face with great food, shower away the disgust, and sleep in an actual bed. But then again they lost, so they are deeply saddened at the same time. Great stuff. Oh and by the way this has been a great season of back stabs.

13. Mad Men- (15) Sundays on AMC
I think Mad Men moves up just based on folk lore. When I watch the show it moves down the rankings, and when it's not on it Mad Men moves up. Credit all of the tv blogs and podcasts that continue to claim that it is one of the best shows on television. I still don't see it that way, but if it's not always super entertaining, the superb quality of the series needs to get credit.

12. 30 Rock- (14) Thursdays on NBC
James Poniewozik said that "sometimes it's just worth taking note of what an effortlessly weird show this has become." And I agree completely. I thought at first that 30 Rock had gotten really bad this season, but I might have mistaken bad for weird. Don't get me wrong, it's still not where it used to be, but it's just oh so weird now. Everything is completely over the top, and my memory may be failing me but I don't remember it like that in the beginning.

11. Big Brother- (11) Summers on CBS
The more I watch Idol and Survivor, the more I realize how great the Big Brother season is. There's something so refreshing about relaxing in the summertime heat and watching people fight with each other three times a week. We had a terrible cast of awful human beings this season and it was fantastic. Imagine if they get some dudes I would enjoy watching!

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

Well it's that time again. Along hearing myself talk, here at the Quiet Pool Perspective we like to let you know what tv you should be watching. Every two months I give you a few quick thoughts on the best television out there for viewing in what we call here at The Pool, the Bi-Monthly Power Rankings. As always I will rank the top 20 series on tv and then come up with 10 more as honorable mentions. Because of the sheer volume of great tv out there in 2010, the honorable mentions won't necessarily be 21-30, just the one's I want people to know about at the time being. For example, this time around Californication, House and Greek aren't on my list of Honorables, but that doesn't mean I don't like them more than those that are. They got a shout out last time so I'm making room for some newcomers.

Honorable Mentions

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

90210- (16) Tuesdays on The CW
The acting and writing continues to be terrible, but that's never stopped me before. 90210 is worth watching for nostalgia, atmosphere and Naomi Clark. She is still somewhat of a villain, but she's really the best on the show because she is just completely out there about every topic on earth.

Bored to Death- (-) Sundays on HBO
This dry, subtle comedy had only a short first season to wet my appetite, but I'm hungry for more. Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis are quite the trio. I'm still waiting for Zach's character Ray to throw some of his empty Schweppes cans down a tube into the basement.

Flash Forward- (20) Thursdays on ABC
They still haven't sold me with a lot of character development on this show, but the mystery keeps it a worthy watch. What's the deal with the blackout? Who's a bad guy? What will happen next? These are all questions that keep me involved in the plot of the show. Now if they could only get me to care about what happens to the characters, it might move up the rankings.

How to Make it in America- (-) Sundays on HBO
Another HBO series that got a short first season order. How to Make it, which was labeled as Entourage East early on, was much better than the LA dramedy this year. The way they use New York City as a character is fantastic, and it might be worth the watch just for the superb opening credits alone.

Life Unexpected- (-) Mondays on The CW
The first of two straight family dramas just finished up its first season run and still hasn't been re-upped for a second. Life Unexpected always give off a loving feeling, even if the given episode deals with some strange form of tragedy. I for one continue to want to see good things for this small family of three.

Parenthood- (-) Tuesdays on NBC
And then there is the big family drama. If you ever have enjoyed Brothers and Sisters, this is the show for you. Parenthood is basically a good version of it. Less stupid drama, more real life issues and comedy. Oh and there are actually characters on this show that are likable. One of them happens to be Dax Shepard's Crosby. I never thought I could like this dude, but he brings it here.

Party Down- (-) Fridays on Starz
Adam Scott is leaving the show for greener pastures at NBC next year so watch it while it's still around. Season two has opened with Adam's Henry Pollard as team leader of the catering company and he has a new outlook on life. It's much different than the down on life Henry we first met in season one, but Adam Scott can pull anything off in my book, even an acapella Sweet Child O' Mine.

Rules of Engagement- (-) Mondays on CBS
It always seems to get a half season order, but Rules is not only the only Monday CBS comedy that is good, but the only one that is tolerable. All five leads bring something good to the table. Adam, although he gets less air time than David Spade's Russell or Patrick Warburton's Jeff, is the highlight of every week for me. His combination of self-deprecation, loser attitude, and femininity bring about most of the laughs every episode.

Treme- (-) Sundays on HBO
As I mentioned in my first review of the series, Treme has gotten off to a good start. The quality of the writing and acting has been great so far. The only thing holding it back are story lines that don't give you much to hold on to. In the same way that Mad Men started out as a period piece about people working at an ad agency, Treme has started as the same in post Katrina New Orleans. If the new David Simon series can grow in plot the way Mad Men did over its second and third seasons, I'll be excited.

V- (-) Tuesdays on ABC
V has returned from its long hiatus, and done so in fine fashion. The battle between good and evil is on the verge of coming to the forefront. If there is a major downfall in V it is that they really haven't kept it a surprise that the Visitors are bad. Before the show started they made it seem like it was going to be a question of whether or not you should trust the Vs (not that different than The Others on Lost). Although many of the people in this universe may trust the Vs, there is no mistaking that they should not be trusted, and that just leaves a lot of mystery out of the equation.