TV in review

Quick thoughts on my favorite shows (because few were actually new episodes) this week ...

Amazing Race: ... a ha! So the frat boys thought they were all done when they saw ol' Phil standing at the end of that Moscow square. Then Phil just stared at them and said, 'I'm sorry to tell you...' ... with a long pause during which I was waiting foir him to say ' ... you've been eliminated from the race for flirting too much.' ... but he just told the boys the race wasn't over and made them go on their way. ...Otherwise, no real surprises here. The old folks some how are staying in it, it's not looking like the forgetful pinkies will be hurt too much by their mishap at the pool.

... In the meantime, I've quietly begun establishing affections for BJ & Tyler (The Hippies), David & Lori (The cute 'geek' couple from Manhattan, Kan. ... Woo hoo!) and Wanda & Desiree (the sweet mother-daughter combo).

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Sons & Daughters: ... Love it!

For the record, I haven't seen an episode of the comparable 'Arrested Development' (but that doesn't mean I'm not extremely curious about 'A.D.' or think about renting it every time I stop in a Blockbuster to see what all the buzz is about ...) Still, no matter how much funnier its fans think 'A.D.' is than 'S&D' ... I think the raw and quirky little S&D is pretty darn good and you've got to take it for what it's worth -- a nice little breath of fresh air that, judging the way TV execs think these days, probably won't see the light of primetime next fall.

... through the first four episodes, there's been plenty of laugh-out-loud moments for me and there's not an unlikable character on the family tree -- although Cameron's sister Sharon and her daughter Carrie seem to be the scene-stealers thus far... My favorite moment so far came in the second episode when sex-deprived Sharon and her husband Don got 'that feeling' and, while Don headed to the bedroom, Sharon exhuberantly dialed up brother Cameron and screamed into the phone 'Cameron! We're having sex!' ...

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Invasion ... I was barely hanging on through the fall, but lately, it's been getting better and better every week.

Mariel's one smart gal, surviving creepy Christine's wrath and pulling off that slick trick with the carbon copy board and alerting a doctor that Sheriff Underlay needed to be called ...

... and throughout the episode I couldn't help from longing that somebody would just knock off Christine and put her out of her misery ... Then! Thank you Zura for popping her right in the forehead ...

... But as my buddy Brian pointed out today: is she really dead? ... One can only hope.

... and that whole scene in the gym with the basketball players blindly passing the ball around!! How freaky was that!?!?!