'Top Chef' Finale: Better safe than savvy

Want to know why the America's Next Top Model staffers think they're entitled to call themselves writers even though their show is unscripted? Look no further than Wednesday (Jan. 31) night's finale of Bravo's second season of Top Chef to see some vintage reality TV storycrafting at work. I went into the finale rooting hard for... More »

I'm not a big message board reader, but Tuesday (Jan. 30) night's House was provocative enough to send me to several sites trying to get a sense of how fans were responding to the decidedly atypical episode. It turns out that "One Day, One Room" was either the show's best episode since season one's Emmy-winning "Three... More »

So much for putting your best foot forward. Comedy Central is airing the second episode of The Sarah Silverman Program -- titled "Officer Jay" -- as the show's premiere on Thursday (Feb. 1) night. Only the network's programmers know for sure why, because the episode originally shot as the pilot, "Batteries," is vastly funnier and a... More »

It cannot be easy to walk through life suspicious of everyone and everything, particularly when experience has so often proved you right. Such is the lot of Veronica Mars. As demonstrated (painfully) again on Tuesday, her boyfriend Logan's past is like a scab Veronica can't stop picking. And as all our moms told us, doing... More »

Congrats to Lauren Graham on her newly obtained status as credited "producer" on Gilmore Girls, a title she received for the first time before Tuesday (Jan. 30) night's episode. Graham has been so routinely under-valued by awards groups over the years that it's nice to see her get her due in other ways, even if the... More »

Shove the clutter in a closet. Throw a pillow here. Light a scented candle there. Marry fashion to function. How hard can interior design be? Bravo shows us just how challenging gracing your space can be with Top Design, its latest reality show competition to fill the magic Wednesday night time slot. Not only must... More »

Well, they can't all have bombs going off, can they? Sometimes even terrorists and government agents need a little time to relax, regroup and chill out. Monday (Jan. 29) night's episode of 24 was as peaceful and serene as the adrenaline-charged series has ever gotten. It was neither good, nor bad, just forgettable and uneventful. Perhaps... More »

Monday (Jan. 29) night's new episode of Prison Break began by teasing viewers with what looked like a news bulletin, complete with Fox News insignia and info graphics. I suspect at least a few more gullible fans were initially ticked off that FOX would interrupt their favorite 8 p.m. serial before realizing that the anchor was... More »

A short time ago in this space I quoted Heroes creator Tim Kring talking about his show being one "where s**t happens." That has been abundantly, and happily, the case for nearly this entire season, and even this week, there was some s**t that did happen. But not, for my taste, quite enough. And I'm not... More »

You caught me. I admit it. I'm watching NBC's Grease: You're the One that I Want, or as I like to call it The Search for America's Cutest, Whitest Young Singers. Yeah, I know. Sandy and Danny are supposed to look like Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta and Grease fans are a pretty fanatical lot. They... More »