TVSquad

(S05E06 and S05E07)

Yup, that's right, there are two episodes of The Mole this week, thanks to last week's interruption by The Bachelorette. Of course, it turns out that the first episode is just one of those reality show "up to this point..." rehashes that we often get. These always bore me, especially since I've seen (and reviewed) every episode already. I'm sure there are a few new clues to who the Mole is in this recap, but I'll be damn if I could find them.

We did, however, get to see some unseen footage, including the very large Craig rolling over some of his fellow players on a bed and Nicole saying "All I have to do is be black and die," a quote from an earlier episode that I had forgotten about. We also get to see a new scene where Nicole and Alex admitted throwing that "Fruit of the Luge" challenge. But overall, it's not really a needed episode for fans.

So let's get to this week's new adventure...

(S05E05) Nicole said something interesting tonight, right at the top of the show. "Why is that everyone I pick as the Mole gets executed and I don't?" That's a good question, because you would think that if Nicole is truly concentrating on one person every time she takes the quiz that she would have been eliminated by now. Maybe she's The Mole! Of course, we can make that case for every single one of the remaining contestants at one point or another. Well, except for the one that was executed tonight, the player that a lot of viewers picked because this person was rather quiet and flew under the radar. Just goes to show you that you really can't predict who's going to get kicked off the show.

(S05E04) "In my everyday life, the only place I hike to is Bloomingdale's." - Nicole

Wow, I think a lot of people lost their Mole pools tonight.

But before we get to that, let's talk about those journals. I think tonight showed that, if the rules allow it (though Nicole is always bending the rules), players on this reality show should make duplicate copies of what they write in their journals. Or tear out important pages and stuff them down your sock or something. To some players, the journals are more of a pain because there's too much info and they'd rather keep it in their head. To others, the journals are their lifelines in this game, and those players were probably very stunned tonight.

(S05E02) "I'll kill you in your sleep...I can do it and not leave any forensic evidence." - Nicole, to Paul

Uh...wow. That's one of the more provocative statements made in the history of The Mole. Of course, if this show was on CBS Nicole would have said, "...I can do it and not leave any forensic evidence and even the CSI: Miami team wouldn't be able to prove I did it." The funny thing is, Nicole wasn't totally out of line in saying it. Just when you think Nicole was the "evil" one on this reality show, another strong contender shows up: Paul. I don't know which one I'd rather talk to less, though Paul pulled ahead of Nicole tonight in many ways.

(S09E06) "Cups are a very essential part of life, ya know. We use 'em for drinkin' and what not." --Matt on Big Brother taking away all the drinking cups in the house after last week's HOH competition

Do you see how much vital information you can learn from CBS's Big Brother 9? Did you know about the power of the drinking cup before this? I didn't. The cup and his brethren, the glass, have taken on a whole new meaning for me. Matt, you have officially rocked my world. Matt also told us to never trust anyone with pink hair. Wonder who he's referring to?

More of Matt's nuggets and a recap of last night's Big Brother 9 is after the jump.

(S01E05) "I think this was a mistake coming here today." - Paul Weston

Now this is what I was waiting for. Sure, it was still essentially a single therapy session in real time for thirty minutes, but it was Gabriel Byrne on the patient side and the always brilliant Dianne Wiest as his therapist Gina. Only it's been nearly ten years since he's seen her due to some kind of bad history, and their professional relationship was more complicated than simply patient/therapist. So out of the blue he called her and she agreed to see him, but was he wanting to see her as a friend, a colleague, a therapist? Gina had no idea what Paul wanted, and I don't think Paul did either.

As I expected, the Friday episodes will be the fulcrum on which the entire series balances, and if this episode is any indication, I officially think the series is going to be amazing. So much of the history of these two characters and the bad blood was hinted at, but thank god we weren't spoon fed information through awkward dialogue, and the acting on both sides to capture all those buried feelings bubbling near the surface was stellar.

(S01E12) Oh, my. The time is really getting down there for the kiddie pioneers of Kid Nation. Next week is the season finale. So many deserving kids, so many kids who are mere faces in the crowd. Who will get the last few gold stars? Brains? Brawn? Need? Greed? What will be the criteria?

Well, they're kids, so it's hard to say. But one thing is for sure, they'll be steered by the invisible adults in the background all the way to the decision. For me, that's been the nagging flaw of the show -- the amount of adult intervention. But the most enjoyable aspect of the show is getting to know the children themselves.

(S14E11) Some of you took me to task for only giving last week's episode a 5 rating. And perhaps rightly so, after all it was easily the best tribal council of the season. But I had my hopes set on tonight's episode because the most interesting thing is often the fall-out from a big shakeup. And sometimes players that are outnumbered and cornered suddenly become brilliant strategists. Not tonight.

The Real World entered its 18th season last week with an extra-slutty, Denver-based debut. Over the years, The Real World has grown more codified, silly and porny. Its stars are extremely aware of the camera and the show's conventions. They know that a spectacular run could result in thousands of dollars in post-Real World, Gauntlet engagements.

As the show grows older, so do I. I'm keenly aware of my inner curmudgeon. I grouse whenever I hear text messaging abbreviations used in face-to-face conversations. I scoff when yet another YouTube star is born, and I hold my head in disgrace for America's youth every time I watch The Real World. The Denver debut threw me for a real loop with these five "you've got to be kidding me" moments:

The first season of Family Ties will be available on DVD on February 20 of next year. For those of you who didn't grow up watching this series like I did, it focused on two hippies (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney) from the '60s raising a family in the Reagan era. Michael J. Fox starred as Alex, their Republican son, and their two daughters were played by Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers. The set will include all twenty-two episodes of the first season, including a two-parter featuring Tom Hanks as Elyse Keaton's secretive brother.

The series, which managed to be very smart and funny while also dealing with series subjects, aired on NBC for seven seasons. While it struggled during its first season, the show soon became part of NBC's sitcom domination when it was placed right next to The Cosby Show. I have to say, though, I always thought Family Ties was the better series. It would sometimes cross the line between funny and preachy, but never to the degree that The Cosby Show did. Both shows had lessons to teach, but Cosby sometimes felt more like a half-hour lecture on good behavior.

Poor Sam. First she breaks up with Luka, then she's kidnapped by her psycho ex-husband and is forced to kill him in cold blood. But things might be looking up for Linda Cardellini's character.

TV Guide is reporting that Kip Pardue is being brought on to the show as a love interest for Sam. He'll play a resident nurse.

You might not know the name, but Pardue (real name: Kevin Ian Pardue - that's where the Kip comes from) has been in on several TV shows, including House and 7th Heaven, and in movies such as Remember The Titans and The Rules of Attraction. Here's his IMDB page. The pics are all of the same person? He doesn't look the same in any two of them.

(S12E22) I was sort of dreading this season finale. All week I had been seeing the coming attractions, and there was going to be yet another melee in the ER. Shooting, maybe an explosion or something, couldn't tell. This particular emergency room seems to get as much action as the front lines of a war.

But this episode was actually one of the better season finales the show has ever had. A bit crazy, but well done and rather suspenseful, with more than one plot twist I didn't see coming at all.

Last night on Grey's Anatomy, karma was biting everyone back. And I know most of you feel so badly for George, because Meredith used him, because he's the victim. And you're feeling bad for Izzie. She's the one who walked in on Alex with Olivia, so she deserves the sympathy, right? And Addison. Everyone loves to hate Addison, who cheated on her husband, who's been approached by Sexy McSteamy, her old love interest, and you know what we're all thinking: is she going to sleep with him again?

You've got all this righteous anger, against Meredith over her treatment of George, Alex over his romp in the hospital bed with the hottie nurse, and Addison for just being there. And if you're anything like me: your anger pulled a switcheroo on you, diffusing, spreading out over the whole cast until it wasn't anger any more, really, but sympathy and sorrow and this little, sad hope.

But before we continue on with the major themes of the show I have to send out a hearty, loud, mama-rific cheer to the writers for their portrayal of Bailey. Oh how I love you, writers. You made her leak. As I'm deep in the throes of my second experience with breastfeeding, I've had those twin milky spots on my nice work shirt oh, so many times. And the way she plays it is priceless, in an especially emotional conversation with Addison: "Please don't cry! You're going to make me... (holds breasts in a motion to which I totally relate) lactate!" I would have jumped off the couch and done a little dance of joy over this realistic and funny portrayal... but I was breastfeeding my 10-month-old.