A Television Viewer's Diary: 10/2-10/8

WARNING: The free form ramblings continue, be prepared for run-ons, incomplete thoughts, and atrocious punctuations. This is what happens to a mind on TV, it's not pretty, but kind of fun. Also, beware of potential spoilers for these episodes.

Best Show of the Week: Lost
Worst Show of the Week: Desperate Housewives

Sunday 10/2.

• American Dad (FOX 9:30). Stan's dad shows up. He is some sort of top secret super spy, but is actually a jewel thief looking to indoctrinate his son into the business. Steve becomes involved with a woman from a retirement community. Goofy fun. ***
• Crossing Jordan (NBC 10pm). Part one of a crossover with Las Vegas. A Vegas showgirl shows up and torches a body in the morgue. This leads to what looks like a conspiracy tied to a gangster in Vegas. Danny shows up to help. Dr. Macy has some trouble with the body of a biker who used to be a lawyer, his biker pals have plans for the body. ***
• Desperate Housewives (ABC 9pm). While watching, I realized that the show didn't captivate me as it did last year. This episode has Teri Hatcher dealing with her ex dating Edie. And Felicity Huffman has problems with her husband doing housework. Plus Marcia Cross does not appear to be grieving much for her dead husband. **.5
• Grey's Anatomy (ABC 10pm). I missed the premiere, but this was pretty good. The characters deal with whatever happened in the premiere, and deal with a guy who has swallowed 11 doll heads. Nice blend of comedy and drama. ***

Monday 10/3.

• WWE: Monday Night Raw (USA 7:55). This was an experiment, I free formed this while watching the show live. Sorry for the length. It opened at 7:55 with a brief recap of the early years of Raw on USA. Mick Foley came out to thunderous applause, he then introduced his host, Rowdy Roddy Piper. They gave each other lots of respect, only to be interrupted by Randy Orton with his father. Randy started some trouble with Piper, this led to a brawl between the two. The Ortons got the upper hand leaving Foley and Piper lying in the ring. The first match was the 30 minute Iron Man Match between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. It starts with some great action, suplexes, elbows from the ropes, thrown to the outside. The first fall goes to Angle after an Angle Slam from the top rope.The action continues. Michaels gets the second fall countering the Angle-Lock into a roll up pin.A short while later Michaels is forced to tap to the Angle-Lock.Angle's advantage did not last long as Michaels gets the upper hand and lands the Sweet Chin Music to get the pin. At the 1.5 minute mark, Angle once again locked in the Angle-Lock, after rolling through a moonsault, and held it for over a minute. Once he got out he hit the Sweet Chin Music, but the pin came as time ran out. The match is a draw. Michaels asked to go to sudden death, but Angle walked out. What a match, great way to start! Michaels was then seen celebrating with some past superstars in the front row, including Nikolai Volkoff, Jimmy Hart, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Koko B Ware. After a commercial Kevin Von Erich is announced at ring side. This is followed by a confrontation between Vince and Bischoff, just before Vince comes out to the ring. Vince is glad to be back on the uncensored USA, and then reminisces to beating up Austin way back in 1998. This prompts Austin to make his presence known, who then ran a collection of some of his favorite moments. Finishing it off with a stunner. Then Shane came down and got hit with a stunner. Then Stephanie came down, sporting some new blonde hair, followed by verbal sparring, and yet another stunner. Last but not least, Linda came down to the ring.This led to a nice little exchange and beer sharing, followed by one last stunner to finish off the McMahon clan. Second match is a Loser Leaves Raw, Money in the Bank Ladder Match. First interesting spot has Edge wedged in an inverted ladder with Matt Hardy above him, squeezing the two sides together. Lots of ladder spots, falling off them, jumping into the crowd off them, then Matt gets put through a table. Matt hits a Twist of Fate off a pair of ladder. Lita gets involved taking out the ladder from under Matt while he is swinging above the ring. Lita then holds Matt in the ropes while Edge retrieves the briefcase, meaning Matt has to leave Raw. We get some backstage stuff with Trish and Ashleigh, and Ric Flair. Next match Carlito and Chris Masters against Ric Flair and the returning Triple H.Not much of a match with Flair/Hunter controlling and eventually winning, once the sledgehammer appears. That is followed by Triple H turning on Flair and beating him to a bloody pulp. The beat down continued to the back, allowing Triple H to keep his street cred as a bad ass. Next up was a segment with a ring full of legends, who beat down an interrupting Rob Conway, ending with a splash from Jimmy Superfly Snuka. Now for the guys is a Bra and Panties match won by Trish and Ashleigh over Torrie Wilson, Victoria, and Candace Michelle. Next was a special Smackdown 6 man tag with Batista, Benoit and Mysterio against Guerrero, JBL, and Christian. But Bischoff turned the lights out quick, canceling the match. That was followed with the return of Hogan, who teased a challenge to Stone Cold. Final match was Cena against Bischoff, with Cena winning despite Angle's interference. The show ended with s Raw vs Smackdown brawl. ***.5
• WWE: Raw's Greatest Moments (USA 11:05). A collection of moments from the first era of WWE on USA. It was pretty good, but nothing special. ***
• TNA: Wrestling Impact (Spike 12am). The premiere episode of a a new televised competitor for the WWE. It usually airs Saturday at 11, but I missed it and had to catch the rerun. It was good to see some of this talent working, and some of the insane moves they pull off. We get matches with the likes of AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Alex Shelley, Jeff Hardy and Rhino. We see Raven get kicked out of the building, and the debut of Team 3D (Formerly the Dudley Boyz). ****
• Arrested Development (FOX 8pm). Scott Baio is the new lawyer for the Bluth family, Bob Bloblaw. Michael is avoiding Rita, who also happens to be a spy. Also, George Sr tries to escape house arrest. This series is genius. ****
• Kitchen Confidential (FOX 8:30). Jack's former mentor opens a standing reservation at the restaurant with the intent to have Jack's be the food that kills him. This leads to feelings of honor and guilt. Meanwhile, the youngest chef gets owned by one of the dishwashers. ***
• Prison Break (FOX 9pm). Continuing to be rather exciting television. This was the second part of what started last week. Michael continues his mission to save the doctor, trapped by the riots. Lincoln is on a mission to find Michael, and Teddy wants to take out a guard who has seen the operation, after horning himself into the works. Outside, the guards attempt to regain control. ***.5
• Surface (ABC 8pm). Kicking off the Monday night ABC block. This episode has the boys dealing with keeping their creature a secret, that is, until the playhouse blows up. The show starts with a rather spectacular sequence where a whirlpool opens up in a lake and swallows up a boat and a parasailor it had in tow. This show has been getting better each week. ***
• Las Vegas (ABC 9pm). The second part of the two parter which has Sam and Woody becoming embroiled in some personal matters. Meanwhile, Jordan shows up to surprise Danny. All that while they deal with a possible kidnapping. Not much of a two part episode, more of an excuse to get the characters back together since the crossover last season. ***
• Medium (ABC 10pm). Still on the slow side, the concept of this episode was good. Is Allison's life for real? She is having dreams of another woman, who says she is Allison, but isn't, plus the year is 1959. What could it mean? Perhaps Allison was always a dream and this other person is real. ***

Tuesday 10/4.

• Supernatural (WB 9pm). Possibly the biggest surprise this season, thus far. I really like this show, the brotherly interplay, the metal music references and such. This episode features Dr. James Hetfield (Hetfield is the vocalist/guitarist for Metallica). The episode focuses on a demon that is possessing airplane pilots and causing them to crash. The demon seems to know about the brother's dead girlfriend from the beginning of their episode. It is also revealed that their father knew he was leaving for awhile, redirecting the work to his son. ***.5
• Close to Home (CBS 10pm). Not sure if this was the first episode or not, but it was pretty good. It is about a new mother who is also a prosecutor looking into a fire that was set by a woman. A first it was thought she was trying to kill her children, but she was using it to escape the long time abuse of her husband. ***
• My Name is Earl (NBC 9pm). Already showing that it can break formula. This episode was more than just selecting a thing to fix and doing it. It brings the conflict between Earl and his ex-wife to the forefront, and introducing the possibility of him losing his enabling money. ***.5
• The Office (NBC 9:30). Michael is about to close on a condo, and brings Schrute with him. While the boss is away, the rest of the office mates have the office Olympics, a series of wacky games around the office. I really like this series. ***.5
• Law & Order: SVU (NBC 10pm). Let me first say that I didn't like the ads for this episode saying things about Emmy nominations and such, it's not necessary, one episode won't win you an award for the season. That said, the episode is good. A call comes through 911 from a girl who needs help, but can't offer much information. Benson and crew doing all they can to find out where she is. Very good. ***.5

Wednesday 10/5.

• Lost (ABC 9pm). Another good episode. We learn more about what is going on on the island. Sawyer, Mike, and Jin make friends with the woman they are captive with, but soon enough it is revealed that she is with the others. Back at the underground hatch, we learn that Desmond was there for three years and he was just inputting the code every 108 minutes. Now it is up to Locke and Jack to continue entering the code. Hurley discovers the food, which will become an issue next week. ****
• Invasion (ABC 10pm). This series is starting to drag, the ideas are good but it seems like nothing is happening. The main character's son is caught in the water and possibly attacked by an invading creature. Meanwhile, one of the other guys investigates the ring that was found after the skeleton disappeared from his trunk. **
• Veronica Mars (UPN 8pm). This week features the investigation regarding the bus crash from the premiere. It had been ruled a suicide, but the driver's daughter doesn't think so and enlists Veronica's help. Meanwhile, Wallace helps a new girl whose car was hit int he parking lot. ***.5
• Law & Order (NBC 10pm). A man on his death bed admits to a 10 year old murder that had gone unsolved. So the case gets some more attention and more facts are uncovered, but possible improprieties in the way things are handled threaten the integrity of the case. ***
• Over There (F/X 10pm). The team has been charged with evicting the occupants of an orphanage run by a stubborn French woman. It was interesting to watch the conflict that Scream goes through making his decision to delay his future for the kids. Meanwhile Bo and his wife try to figure out where his money is going. ***.5

Thursday 10/6.

• Smallville (WB 8pm). Clark is now dealing with his lack of powers, and his new relationship with Lana. While doing this, a super powered baddie and his wonder twin cohorts have his parents and Lana hostage. Clark and Chloe have to steal a serum from one of Lex's labs. The end is a confrontation between Clark and Lex over who could have helped who and when. ***.5
• Alias (ABC 8pm). Picks up 4 months after Vaughn's death. Sydney is intent on finding those responsible. She ends up teaming with a member of the most wanted list. They gain information which lads them to Curtis, the guy who pulled the trigger. This season has gotten off to a good start. ***.5
• Night Stalker (ABC 9pm). I liked this better than the premiere, but it still has a way to go to be good. A serial killer serving life has continued his murderous ways from behind bars. Focusing his mind to make his former followers have visions of deceased loved ones giving them orders. **.5
• CSI (CBS 9pm). The main thread this week has a woman found dead at the foot of her stairs. Did she just slip, or was foul play involved? The evidence supports two possible outcomes. ***
• ER (NBC 10pm). The biggest story of this episode has Kristen Johnston joining the cast as the new nurse manager. It doesn't take long before she is making friends with the rest of the staff. The Luka/Sam relationship continues it's downhill slide. Plus there are some patients who need help. May not be the powerhouse it was in the 90's, but still good. ***

Friday 10/7.

• WWE: Friday Night Smackdown (UPN 8pm). Teddy Long announces that the 6 man tag that was canceled on Raw would indeed happen tonight. We then move to a mediocre match between Orlando Jordan and Booker T. Nothing terribly memorable. We do get to see the out of shape Roddy Piper in a handicap match with the Ortons. The show closed with a decent tag match which saw Christian get pinned by Batista. ***
• Ghost Whisperer (CBS 8pm). I guess we all need to have that feel good show each year, this is the one for this year. This week has Melinda helping a psych hospital inmate and her deceased twin sister. Maybe it's Jennifer Love Hewitt, but I feel drawn to the show I fully expected to dislike. ***
• Threshold (CBS 9pm). The best of the new invasion series. This week the signal is spreading. A police detective becomes embroiled in the chase as she learns the truth of the Big Horn crew. One of the crew is found trying to build a transmitter that is tied to the subway. ***

Saturday 10/8.

• TNA: Impact Zone (Spike 11pm). This is fast becoming the wrestling show to watch. While there are some recognizable faces, and some that we don't really need, there are also some fantastic young talent pulling off crazy moves in the 6 sided ring. Match of the night was Matt Bentley, Christopher Daniels, and Austin Aries in a triple threat X Division match. ***

On the Bubble:

• Night Stalker
• Invasion
• Medium
• Desperate Housewives

That's all for this week,