There’s one more week of Bones, and although there hasn’t been a blood pumping rush to a finale, there does seem to be some urgency in the works. Constantly full of cartoony gore, Bones can be inherently ridiculous. On the other hand, as a detective show Bones can be tense and emotional. Walking the line isn’t easy and very often its done in such a clumsy fashion that it completely undercuts both the humor and the emotion. This week that clumsy approach was really jarring.

The rotted semi-melted corpse of a wine critic is found in a cask or red wine. Watching wine snobs spit up red wine mixed with corpse was pretty funny, I must admit. Obviously a body that has disintegrated and red stained bones made flexible in the vinegar of wine making is going to be a task. Through several tests involving watermelons, wine bottles and denture cleaner, the murder finally reveals itself. One of the wine makers feels threatened that his plan to undermine a neighboring vineyard would be discovered by the critic, and he killed him stuffing the body in a wine barrel.

The real impetus of the story is Bones’ all to sudden decision to have a baby. Not only to have baby, but to have one using Booth’s sperm. Dr Sweets almost falls over himself in disbelief as Bones and Booth spend the entire episode trying to pretend that this doesn’t signal something deeper about their relationship.

The lead selling point of this episode is a special guest star. Stewie from Family Guy joins in as a Booth hallucination. Who at Fox thought it would be a god idea to have Stewie guest star in an episode of anything other than American Dad? Despite the ridiculousness of it all, Bones tries desperately to explain it away. Booth has seen visions several time this season and Bones finally forces him to go to the doctor. Within moments, Booth is diagnosed with a benign brain tumor and is on his way to surgery changing the entire tone of the episode.

This week made me wish that the writer’s hadn’t bothered with a murder. Other than giving the crew some time to bounce sperm donor jokes off of each other and hit fruit with wine bottles, it didn’t serve much purpose. Also, the complete 180 degree turn between silliness with a cartoon baby to the seriousness of a brain tumor was so quick it almost made my nose bleed. Despite that, we clearly have the set up for next week’s season finale. The preview promises a return of all the old faces and a possible bedroom scene between Bones and Booth. I’m gonna throw down $2 on it being a dream sequence.

“What a Difference a Day Makes”

It was beautiful, it was sad, it was breathtaking, it was moving, but most of all, the 100th episode of Grey’s Anatomy was everything it was hyped up to be and more.

On the day of Meredith and Derek’s wedding, you’d expect perfection. The skies would open up into beautiful sunlight, people would hum, heck even birds would sing, but that just wouldn’t be life now would it? No, life is so much more than that. If there’s one thing Shonda Rhimes, the creator, and her team of writers know, it’s how to make you appreciate life, in all it’s ugly and beautiful complexities.

Instead on the big day, Hunt, George, Lexi, Torres and Cristina and forced into a trauma involving a van full of kids just about to graduate college. When their lives should be beginning, the team watches as six lives end. It’s heartbreaking but inspiring to see the impact these kids lives instantly have on each team member.

Meredith rides a high after accomplishing her first solo surgery. The chief looks on like a proud but anxious Poppa but in the end her surgery, and day are a success. Derek, however, is forced into a much darker day. When Izzie reports that Denny, her hallucination, is back, Bailey, Derek and Izzie rally to find out what’s causing his sudden appearance despite a clean MRI. That’s when the worst news of all season comes…

Izzie has a new inoperable tumor. She’s losing her hair, her strength, even the ability to control her own brain, and she’s most likely going to die. So instead of receiving a wedding present from her dedicated wedding planner, Meredith gives one. Karev and her dearest friends turn what could have been one of the worst days of her life, into what could end up being one of the best by giving her the wedding she’s always dreamed of.

In next week’s special two-hour season finale, it’s time to find out which cast members we’ll be saying good bye too. Regardless of who stays or leaves, it’ll be the complexity of  heartbreak mixed with happiness; because really, that’s the only way that Grey’s knows how to exist.

This is the episode of Survivor that always makes me cry a little. No matter how predictable, expected and drama filled the “family reunion” episode can get, I still feel the need to shed a tear when I see those poor, dirty, starving people meet up with the family members that look at them with such pride and excitement.Would I put myself on an island in such conditions to win a million dollars? Probably not the first game I’d choose to win cash, but I do respect those that have chosen this route. They’re crazy, no doubt, but they still deserve some respect.

Having seen her husband come and go, with a lil pep talk in between, it was a little sad to see Debbie go tonight. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it was definitely her time, but still, she’s come so far. She’s definitely managed to hold on much longer then I ever gave her credit for. She’s just too conniving. If anything, she left because she was just too good at the game. While the boys are managing to hold on regardless of their brains and brawn, Debbie felt the first sacrifice of being a threat. Her gift of the gab just wasn’t enough of a bargaining chip to keep her around any longer.

I bet Coach was pretty annoyed tonight at J.T. and Stephen’s betrayal, yet again. However, as soon as they fill him in on all that Debbie was doing to sabotage Coach’s existence I guarantee he acts as if she was never going to make it and would be happy to help her pack. He’s such a tool. (Is it mean for me to point out that his visitor wasn’t even family or friends but rather an assistant coach who helps him stretch?) I sort of feel bad for the guy when I’m not being annoyed by him.

In any case, from here on out, I’m rooting for Stephen unless somebody else does something mind blowing to impress me. There’s no way Erinn will win. The only reason why she’s even still here is because she’s not much of a threat, but they’ve almost put her on the chopping block before. Now, it’s only a matter of time. I’m happy to see J.T. go because I don’t feed into his “good ol’ boy” act. Yes, he’s probably an amazing person, but he’s just as conniving and ruthless as the rest. His personality is keeping him afloat, but in part, it’s a sham because he too is playing this game to the fullest and chopping others down at the knees. Taj is sweet and I’d be perfectly content if she won, but part of me looked at that big ol’ house that her family was sitting in and realizes that if she missed out on more money in order to give it to someone who might need it more, well, that’d be okay. As for Coach… are you kidding me? I hope he’s next.

Scrubs is about to end its surprisingly long run. Last week, the seed was planted for JD’s exit. This week, that poorly thought out seed bore fruit. It was inevitable. Zach Braff has been itching to prove he could do more than Scrubs ever since Garden State. I;m not sure that Zach is getting good advice, but the decision has been made.

JD is moving away in order to be closer to his son. Claiming its only a 37 minute drive, he attempts to maintain his life at Sacred Heart. In less than five minutes though, he’s found a new job at a new hospital closer to his new house. Clearly the writer’s just didn’t care about exposition here.

Obviously, this episode would be all about how the other principles felt about JD’s departure. Dr. Cox pretends to be excited but obviously he’s not happy about it. Elliot has no real reaction at all (which is right in line with her acting skills). Even the janitor seems to be fairly underwhelmed. Only Turk has the expected reaction of being angry, then sad and then . Its all very predictable. I suppose that its necessary to try to give long term fans some sort of catharsis that will make them feel better about the direction the show is moving in. It just doesn’t pay off.

There are certainly some funny moments. Todd and his new three way relationship with a mullet having couple, Ted the lawyer and his new girlfriend and the Janitor’s ramblings are pretty funny over all. Sadly like much of this season, it just isn’t a very satisfying.

Scrubs is a show that has been an unlikely success. Its been batted around and generally treated poorly by critics and networks alike. I had hoped that Scrubs would get a proper send off this season. With one more episode to go, it doesn’t seem likely.

House is building toward a climax like many other shows this time of year. Its been a surprisingly rocky season for House. I spent much of the season longing for a shake up, but when one finally came (in the form of Kutner’s suicide), I wished it hadn’t. Network executives always say critics are fickle, I suppose they’re right.

Newlyweds Chase and Cameron are discussing the idea of a prenup. Not a normal prenup though. Cameron kept the frozen sperm of her deceased husband. She tells Chase that she wants to keep it just in case things don’t work out with Chase. Odd to be sure, and I don’t really think this was a good time to add another layer to the episode. It just felt tacked on and out of place. The real meat of the episode, was house and his hallucinations.

With the CTB still trapped in his head, House tries to take some time off but is drug in to deal with a new patient. This week’s insane patient is a ballet dancer. As usual, the cause seems unknowable. Unable to trust his own judgement, House turns to Wilson for help overseeing all of his diagnostic work as well as helping him treat his hallucinations. Even so, he can’t bring himself to tell Wilson that its his dead love Amber who is stuck in his head.

This particular patient has perhaps on of the single grossest symptoms ever. Her skin is coming off. Yikes. House thinks the skin disintegration was his fault and feels guilty about it. House takes this as a symptom of his own sickness (which on second thought is hilarious) and worries about possibly having MS. In an attempt to reconcile that emotion he goes to the patient and apologizes. All the while, the CTB is acting as his subconscious mocking him from inside.

While trying to talk out the diagnosis and his hallucination with Wilson, House lets slip who the real identity of his invisible friend is. Wilson takes it surprisingly well but also decides that House has to detox. Regardless of what the cause is, House’s future as a doctor hangs in the balance.

Because of the icky skin situation, House and the crew elect to stop the patient’s heart in order to get an MRI. Its risky and crazy dangerous, but they can’t figure another way. At the same time, House becomes desperate and tells Wilson he’s going to put himself into insulin shock thinking this will exorcise the CTB demon in his head. Its an excellent back and forth scene with the crew trying to save the patient, while House fades into shock. Its very well done and quite gripping.

House wakes up without his hallucination. Sure that he’s cured, he returns to the patient.  Foreman saw a shadow behind her heart during the MRI andbelieves there was something there. House comes to the psychotic epiphany that her boyfriend gave her gonorrhea and that it has somehow made it to her heart. Huh?

With House now celebrating his victory, Foreman calls and throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing. House guessed right, but it was a lucky guess not an informed one. As this dawns on him, the CTB returns. House immediately calls Wilson and sets out to check himself into rehab. At that moment, Foreman calls to tell him that the patient is spiraling down. Thought the diagnosis may be right, they can’t stabilize her enough to operate. House however is off the case now. The crew is on their own. Eventually they do figure a way, but the drug they give her gives her gangrene in her feet and hands. It requires amputation but as a dancer she’d rather die. Spurned on by Taub, they crew tries an long shot treatment that pays off, curing her black extremities.

House goes to Cuddy to quit his job. In doing so he makes an emotional plea for her help. House begins to withdraw from the Vicodine with Cuddy acting as his nurse. He tells Cuddy where his stashes of drugs are, confounding his hallucination. CTB and House go back and forth arguing over Cuddy and his addiction. Clearly his hallucinations are standing in as a symbol for his addiction. The scene is excellent, cathartic and raw.

As the morning comes, House and Cuddy talk about their past. Suddenly, House realizes CTB is gone. As she’s about to leave, Cuddy and House embrace and we get the moment we’ve been waiting for. The two begin to tear each other’s clothes off and the show cuts to black.

The reappearance of the CTB has been fantastic. Acting as House’s subconscious she added a whole other layer of subtext. It remains to be seen if House’s new found cleanliness will last, or if the romance with Cuddy will see the light of day next episode. Regardless, this episode was rock solid television. The fundamentals of House are strong once again.

(S02E23) “The Wrath of Con”

Georgina’s back and better than ever. It didn’t take much for this holy roller go remember her roots. With a little designer help from Blair, scamming from Poppi and a whole lot of anger from within, Georgina’s about to do the dirty work for the whole team in order to seek revenge for what was stolen. I guarantee no church camp has ever gone to such lengths to get back collection bin cash.

With Georgina back in action, Gabrielle guilty as sin, and Poppi on the run, you’d think someone else would be behind bars. Poor S, Momma L is only trying to do what’s best. Besides, shame on you for thinking you’d earned those prized family jewels. As the saying goes, like mother like daughter.

Does the same hold true for boys? Are the Humphrey guys destined to be broke and woman-less? Sure, Dan’s got the brains for Yale, but will he ever  have the tuition? With Lillian out of the picture my magic eight ball says “don’t count on it.”

As for all of the drama we’ve continuously seen issued by the Blair, Nate and Chuck love triangle, I couldn’t be more over it. Obviously Blair and Chuck are meant for each other. Misery does love company. Too bad they’re disastrous romantics who will never allow themselves to be happy. Lucky Nate, he gets the leftovers.  Victory, how sweet it is.

There are only a few more episodes of Dollhouse left now and the show seems to have found its footing. Last week’s episode wasn’t as explosive as the previous weeks, but this week’s is an absolute scorcher.

Ballard is trying to break up with his active/ girlfriend Lilly. Not surprisingly, Lilly is devastated. As the Dollhouse collects its now suicidal active, Ballard follows them back to the home base and discovers the Dollhouse’s location.

Echo is trying to help young girl with emotional difficulties. In order to help the girl, Topher has imprinted Echo with the kid’s own patterns thus giving Echo all the tools to help the abused girl. It seems to be Topher’s own personal charity work.

Meanwhile at the Dollhouse, a chip supposedly from the NSA has been found and the only way to decode it is to let Dominick out of the attic. Not Mr. Dominick actually, but Victor imprinted with the former security head’s brain. Dominick reveals that the chip isn’t from the NSA, but from Alpha. Alpha was trying to point Dominick to Dollhouse HQ in Arizona.

Ballard discovers that a man was brought on as an environmental specialist during the Dollhouse’s construction. After finding the shaky, pot growing environmentalist, played brilliantly by Whedon favorite Alan Tudyk, Ballard forces him into an alliance.

Now at the Dollhouse, Ballard and the pot-head are breaking in just as Echo is returning. Eventually the two make it inside and Ballard gets his first look at his white wale. Slowly making their way through the Dollhouse, its becoming clear that the pothead knows more than he’s letting it on. The unlikely pair make their way to a computer terminal and begin to try to free the actives. As Ballard does, he’s discovered by Boyd. Boyd and Ballard fight in what must be Dollhouse’s most sought after tussle as these are the only two characters on the show with any moral compass. While the two scrap, the pothead disables all of the security systems. Its a pretty impressive fight scene, and Boyd comes out the winner.

Now here comes the twist. As the doctor escorts Victor back to her office for medical attention, the potheads true nature reveals itself. The goofy environmentalist is Alpha. Now in control of the whole Dollhouse, Alpha begins a rein of terror. He mutilates Victor in his traditional blade happy way and then holds the doctor and Echo hostage. He takes Echo to the chair and he imprints her. Alpha and Echo embrace and Alpha’s motivations are now obvious. He’s in love. Now with no one to stop them, the happy couple walk out of the Dollhouse.

This is an episode that payed off. It was good enough to make all the other silly inconsistencies of earlier episodes fade out of memory. Tudyk is great on screen as Alpha and I only wish we’d seen him sooner. The only downside of this episode is the abused child plot line. It seemed to go nowhere even though the concept had a lot of potential. The intensity os seriously ratcheted up by the end and I for one am really looking forward to next week.

A general running theme in almost every episode of 30 Rock is the idiocy of the entertainment industry. Stars are always self-centered and dumb and the writers always nerdy and awkward. This episode drove that point to the hilt.

Claiming he’s tired of being treated differently, Tracey literally plays the race card saying that Liz treats him like monkey. Tracey even goes so far as to get a actual monkey to replace him. Liz challenges Tracey to show up on time and do his work just like all the other staff. He does. For a day, he’s on his best behavior. Eventually, he turns the tables on Liz and forces her to do physical work as a sign of ‘equality’. There’s a long shot of Liz trying to refill the water cooler, which turns out great. Its classic physical comedy, which Tina Fey pulls off surprisingly well.

Jack’s bulldog-ish mother is also featured this week. In from Florida, Jack discovers that she’s brought a man with her. Conflating his revulsion for her mother’s new boyfriend with his feelings of abandonment from his father, Jack decides to investigate and discovers he’s a married man. Again confusing this new man as his father, he confronts  him. In the ensuing argument with his mother, Jack discovers that the man he thought was his father may not be. Also we find out that Florida retirement homes are for swingers. Which is its own set of sillyness.  In a final ‘twist’ Jack realizes that his father may not actually be his biological father at all.

As Tracey’s plan to get revenge on Liz unravels, the two switch roles. Liz is forced to go out to a strip club with the writers and Tracey must stay at the studio working. Not surprisingly, it drives both of them to tears and reconciliation.

Good job again from Fey and company. I was really impressed by the ammount of physical comedy Fey brought into this episode. She certainly isn’t known for it, but she came through with flying colors.

Bones is always finding new and creative way to turn up bodies. A few weeks ago they found a skeleton being used as a prop in a metal band’s stage decor. This week, they find a dead body shoved into a mascot costume. Bones, is there any place you can’t find a corpse?

The mascot corpse had been mutilated during a pep rally by the students and at first its a little difficult to determine the cause of death. In particular, the students fired a canon filled with random junk at the mascot leaving perforations and random junk scattered throughout the body. Eventually though, the affable Muslim intern from a few weeks ago finds a bullet.

The victim was nicknamed “beaver” and was a member of a frat. The investigation first turns to the fraternity brothers first. The victim was a popular guy and regular party animal. He had however slept with another student;s girlfriend, this putting the jilted boyfriend in the crosshairs of the investigation.

Booth’s brother also reappears this week. After helping Booth in the gravedigger climax a few weeks ago, Jared received a discharge from the military. Booth decides its up to him to get his little brother back on track. Jared ignores his brother, buys a motorcycle and is set to take a trip to India. He even invites Booth along. Booth is going to be forced to let his little brother go on his own.

After some insane DNA tests involving the sheets from the frat house, they discover that Beaver had been sleeping with an older woman. While looking for evidence of his lover’s identity they also find evidence that the victim was acting as a campus bookie. All of these clues though still have uncovered a true cause of death.

At this point the writers have a lapse of creative mojo because in order to get a cause of death, the don’t set out any logical pattern. They simple have Bones star at the corpse with sappy pop music playing until she has a moment of revelation. That’s some pretty lame story telling.

After some more electronic wizardry, a few photos are found on the victim’s computer. One of which was a sexually explicit picture of the dean’s wife. Obviously, the dean now has a motive. Despite that, the dean as murderer just doesn’t add up.In the end, its not the jilted boyfriend but the girl he claimed to be involved with. The victim was trying to force himself on her and she shot him with a nail gun.

A pretty good episode overall for Bones. Aside from the fraternity sheet testing, this one seemed almost plausible. Plus, I’m pleased how Bones has treated the Muslim assistant. I had worried that they would turn him into a cartoon character, happily they’ve avoided that impulse so far.

(S02E22) “Yours, Mine and Ours”

According to E! Online Private Practice! Online will most likely be returning for a third season. Even after this pathetic attempt at a second run, the boost the show receives from post- Grey’s Anatomy fans has kept it alive. Switch the time and let’s just see how it survives.

Speaking of surviving, in tonight’s finale, Violet was left with her life dangling on a cliffhanger ending. Her one chance of survival seemingly left when Cooper didn’t walk into the life-ending drama going on in his living room but instead turned his sights towards the life-changing drama Charlotte was facing. Meanwhile, poor Violet is about to have her baby literally cut out of her by a psycho patient that believes the baby really belongs to her.

As for also possible partings that next season may see, Naomi has decided to take over Charlotte’s job and leave Sam and their practice behind for good. Seeing as her new digs will be just one floor up I’m sure that doesn’t mean she’s gone for good. God knows they love to mix the love dramas between the two floors.

Dell is another character that just may have seen his curtain call. After committing, perhaps the biggest faux pas to date at Oceanside Wellness when he accidentally switched patients embryos, the word “fire” is of course being thrown around. However, since Addison can’t keep her cool long enough to deliver her “almost-lover’s” wife’s baby, Dell’s act of kindness in taking over may just help him since Addison will most definitely owe him big time.

And did you just note how soap opera-esque that last line sounded? Such is Addison’s life apparently. Ever since Noah showed up, they’ve turned into the TV world’s worst couple and the viewers most unrealistic characters. I can hardly stand how wish-washy and pathetic the two act due to their uncontrollable lust. Save it for One Life to Live. I don’t watch daytime TV for a reason.