(S02E09) - "I know the greater devil when I see it." - Deputy Chief Hale to Clay
The great thing about a show like Sons of Anarchy is you never exactly know when you're watching its true boiling point. You might think the situation you're watching is the apex of the conflict, particularly the beef between Clay and Jax, but it always finds an interesting and surprising way of making it worse and makes you forget that it still has more episodes to go.
That's the true sign of a good series. It sucks you in and erases any and all concept of time. Unlike other TV shows that you can just have in the background to break the silence of your lonely place, SOA demands your attention and gets it every time, at least for this season. You can't just leave it on and not not watch it (screw good grammar, if you can think of a better and more entertaining way to say it, be my guest). Anything that can stop and slow time, whether it's a TV show, a flying DeLorean or a hot tub deserves special merit in my book.
(S09E07) If Smallvillecontinues to produce episodes of good quality like tonight's, I may have to take back some of the things I've been saying about it. Seriously.
Tonight we got a lot of backstory and explanation about some of the stranger aspects of the Smallville universe. Why is Earth such a magnet for Kryptonians, dead or otherwise? Because Krypton has been observing Earth for a long, long time and designated the planet as a bolt-hole. We also learned more about that Kryptonian artifact that has been a mystery in Smallville for a few seasons now.
(S05E07) "The answers are there, but you have to know when to look." - Carl the Watcher
Starting this week, TV Squad now offers regular reviews of CBS' Ghost Whisperer. What an episode to start reviews with! The first episode of November Sweeps offered us more backstory and mythology about the shadows, some of their powers, the book ... and Jennifer Love Hewitt in lingerie doing some pole dancing!
We were also treated to a case of the week that kept us guessing as to who was to blame for the death of now-ghost Tina and what secret Dr. Morgan and President Bedford were hiding.
Part of me is surprised that this deal took this long to happen. But when you watch the recent crop of new shows on the Chortle Network (with the exception of Tosh.0), it really shouldn't surprise anyone.
Comedy Central has ordered a half-hour scripted pilot based on the Onion's Sports Network. The OSN is part of the popular satirical magazine's online TV news network that launched a little under a year ago.
This isn't the first time the network has tried to do a satirical sports show. Comedy Central also shot a pilot for a Daily Show-esque sports show called Sports Central that died in the pilot stage. This incarnation sounds much more promising since it will spoof not only sports figures and stories, but also the tone and style of sports media. Sweet sassy molassey, this is gonna rock!
While NBC juggles its possible new owner, another TV takeover went down this week in the epicenter of its shadow.
Scripps Networks won the right to buy the "controlling stake" in The Travel Channel from Cox Communications and it only cost them $181 million to earn a 65 percent stake in the cable network. Only $181 million? Did Cox put The Travel Channel up for sale at a flea market?
Why did they jump at a deal for a network with such a small audience? Slate's Troy Patterson says that even though the audience is small, it's a "niche market" that "advertisers can't resist pandering to."
Poor Oscar the Grouch. Not even PBS' ombudsman will cut him a break. No wonder he's so grouchy. Well that and he lives in a garbage can. That would make me more than a little perturbed.
A clip of a two-year episode of Sesame Street popped up on YouTube thanks to conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart's on his Big Hollywood blog in which Grundgetta, Oscar's girlfriend, makes a crack about "POX News" that sounds very close to "FOX News." PBS' ombudsman Michael Getler said while the name could be construed as a "clever and appropriate title" to the "Grouch News Network," the joke about the reference "should have been resisted.
I was shocked when I saw it. Oscar the Grouch has a frigging girlfriend?!?
I saw that cover of the December issue of O magazine that was revealed today. Congrats to Ellen DeGeneres. She's been campaigning to get on the cover since last March, and it's good to see her goal become a reality. It proves that even regular folks with a daily daytime talk show and a million Twitter followers can realize their dreams too!
I'm not sure if this is the right venue for this, but I'll just come out and ask: can I be on your cover too? I don't have to be paid for it and you can dress me up any way that you like. I just want the honor of being on the cover with you.
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for: 24, 90210, Cougar Town, Desperate Housewives, Eastwick, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, and NCIS. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
Good news, everyone! The Jay Leno Show was funny this week. There were some funny guests, genuinely funny comedy correspondent moments, and another Real Housewives quiz show, this time with the ladies from Atlanta.
Jay even managed to get a quick jab in to the bosses at NBC during an archery "Earn Your Plug" with Wanda Sykes. "This is NBC," he said to her. "I'm used to getting shot in the back." I've grown to respect Leno during his 10 o'clock experiment. He's a trouper doing what NBC is paying him to do, but you can tell he thinks the whole situation's about as screwed up as we do.
Even better, there were only two "10 @ 10" segments and no "Green Car Challenge" races, which allowed for more room to bring on Frank Calliendo and Sebastian Maniscalco to do stand-up routines. This is what I was expecting Leno to be doing, showcasing comedy rather than driving around a track trying not to hit Al Gore.
(S09E07) If 
Part of me is surprised that this deal took this long to happen. But when you watch the recent crop of new shows on the Chortle Network (with the exception of Tosh.0), it really shouldn't surprise anyone. 
While 
Dear Oprah:
Good news, everyone! The Jay Leno Show was funny this week. There were some funny guests, genuinely funny comedy correspondent moments, and another Real Housewives quiz show, this time with the ladies from Atlanta.
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
