TVSquad

For thirteen years, Lewis Black has been ranting and raving as a correspondent for The Daily Show, venting about all things political and pop cultural. For much longer than that, he's been a an actor, a playwright, and stand-up comedian, playing clubs and theaters everywhere around the country.

He taped his latest special, Stark Raving Black, earlier this month in Detroit for a fall release in theaters October 8th before it heads to a new premium HB cable channel called Epix, where it will debut December 5. (Black also filmed a documentary about his transition from a writer to a comedian - he's unsure where that will end up). And Big Bang Theory fans will be happy to know he'll be doing a cameo on the show September 28. I spoke with him by phone last week.

Why release the new special theatrically?

In order to... I think... I've got no idea. Everyone around me seemed to think it was a smart idea. Why not? I'm interested in seeing how that works and if it does work. It's another way to reach people.

To me, this should be a no-brainer. NBC should renew Chuck for a third season, even if it only commits to 12 episodes, it should bring the show back. However, I'm not one of the geniuses in Jeff Zucker's world; you know, those mental giants that have committed five hours of prime time to Jay Leno starting next fall and recently signed up for more Donald Trump celebrity/reality BS. No, I'm just a loyal Chuck viewer who has seen a show improve from week to week culminating with a superb final two episodes in 2009.

Well, there were rumors that on Monday at NBC's "infront" -- a preview for the "upfront" -- that Chuck would get a pick up. TV Guide says that's not the case. On Friday, Chuck star Zachary Levi told a reporter that Josh Schwartz, the Chuck exec producer, had emailed him that NBC's decision about Chuck was on hold. The pick up, if it comes, won't be for a couple of weeks.

10. Samantha Newly, Samantha Who? - Real Estate

9. Christine Campbell, The New Adventures of Old Christine - Gym Manager

8. Jim, The Office - Salesman

7. Betty Suarez, Ugly Betty - Editorial Assistant

6. Chuck Bartowski, Chuck - IT Guy

5. Kenneth Parnell, 30 Rock - Page

4. Gary Barnes, Gary Unmarried - House Painter

3. Susan Mayer, Desperate Housewives - Children's Book Author

2. Adrian Monk (Monk); Shawn Spencer (Psych); Patrick Jane (The Mentalist) - Police Consultants

1. Penny, Big Bang Theory - Cheesecake Factory waitress/aspiring actress

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(S02E14) Yay, The Big Bang Theory is back, and it didn't let me down. While this episode as a whole wasn't overly spectacular, it was full of fun interactions that definitely makes it one of the better ones of the season so far. As soon as we saw Penny and Sheldon together, you knew it was going to be good. Even better? Sheldon, for perhaps the first time, shows a side of his crazy that isn't completely off-putting.

I really like how, in his own way, Sheldon tries to be the best friend possible. In the cold open, where the gang was trying to figure out where they would go to the movies, and everyone decided to just go without him, Sheldon didn't get angry -- he realized that it was, in fact, the only option. While self-awareness may not be his strong suit, at least he does recognize that people can't always bend to his idiosyncrasies.

(S02E13) This episode was much better than last week's, which made me really uncomfortable. It was a Sheldon-centric episode, and while those can be hit or miss, I thought this one was pretty good. I enjoyed the subject of the episode, Sheldon trying to make a friend, because I'm sure that everyone who watches BBT has at some point wondered how this guy has any friends at all.

Sheldon has no idea how he has any friends either, so he has to invest a lot of time in research in order to come up with some sort of answer: the friendship algorithm. He's got some pretty strong science behind it; I may just have to reference it the next time I'm in the market for a friend.

(S02E12) You guys, this episode made me really uncomfortable. I was still riding high on the glow of the last episode, which was probably the best episode of the BBT ever, so I expected this one to be great. It... wasn't.

It started out promising enough, what with the killer robot and all. I mean, who wouldn't love a killer robot? The whole gang was hanging out in the apartment, doing what they do best: engaging in complicated geek pastimes. They killed a toaster oven with a robot! That's some good stuff right there.

Unfortunately, as soon as we're done with the opening credits, the episode really starts to go downhill for me. Penny starts out by being really mean to Wolowitz, and while she does have a point, it was really uncomfortable to watch. Yes, Wolowitz is creepy, but all of the guys are socially awkward. She wouldn't yell at Raj for not being able to talk to her, why yell at Wolowitz for talking to her the only way he knows how?

(S02E11) It's as though the folks behind The Big Bang Theory have been listening to me. This episode had everything I've been wanting: a bigger part for Wolowitz and Raj, acknowledgment of Penny and Leonard's relationship, and a good amount of Sheldon, without making the episode Sheldon-centric.

I don't recall if BBT had a Christmas episode last year, but if not, they should be sure to do one every year, because this is one of the best of the season. Penny finally got out of the laundry room and was front and center, when she not only decided to give Sheldon a Christmas gift, but took up with the hot new physicist at the university.

I'm kind of surprised that Sheldon succumbed to the social obligation of gift giving. I would have figured he would just refuse to participate in such an antiquated ritual. But since he did decide to participate, the generic girl gift of bath items was a perfect choice.

(S02E10) I'm really interested to see what you guys thought of this episode, because I have to say: it didn't do it for me. I thought the last episode, although a little too Sheldon-centric for my tastes, was good. This one, however, was just sort of blah.They basically had one joke--that every time Leonard tries to talk to Stephanie about their relationship, they end up having sex--that is just repeated throughout the episode.

I really like Sara Rue in general, but she and Johnny Galecki have zero chemistry. Because of this, I found all of their scenes together really boring, and unfortunately, they made up most of the show.

What makes this multi-episode relationship between her and Leonard worse, is that her scenes with Sheldon are a lot more amusing. Big Bang Theory gets a lot of comedy out of how people deal with Sheldon, and I like her take: Be super-sweet and manipulate him for your needs.

(S02E09) Dr. Sheldon Cooper, FTW? Maybe, but this episode... eh. Not so much. While it had its funny moments, overall, I thought this was one of the weakest episodes so far. I talked last week about my fear of this devolving into a show about Sheldon and the ridiculous things he says, and that's pretty much all we got this week. Even his interactions with Penny at the beginning of the episode, which are usually the best part of any episode, felt kind of flat to me.

Sheldon's complete and utter inability to relate to people on a normal human level is where most of the comedy on BBT comes from, but it only works when it's surrounded by the rest of their characters and their own sets of awkward mannerisms. When it's just The Sheldon Show, the fact that you're watching a sitcom in which actors are paid to read funny lines becomes more glaring.

(S02E08) As much as I enjoy this show, I'm always afraid that it's going to start becoming too Sheldon-centric. Sheldon is easily the quirkiest character, so falling into the trap of, "hey, check out this ridiculous thing that guy said," over and over again would be quite easy. So far though, the writers have managed to avoid that; which is why I was happy to have a Wolowitz episode this week.

Of course, Sheldon was still there being his ridiculous self, but he wasn't there to move the plot along; much as his "Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock" game didn't move anything along (everyone always picked Spock).

(S02E07) What I love about Big Bang Theory, is that every time you're watching it and thinking, "yes, they're geeks. Thanks Chuck Lorre, I get it," they give you a beautiful gift: this week, that gift was Klingon Boggle. Who knew that the Yiddish word for a tasty meat dumpling was so close to the Klingon word for a tasty Klingon dumpling? I think this show is making me smarter.

While I love Klingon Boggle, I'm not so in love with the main plot from this week: the war between Sheldon and Penny. Don't get me wrong; I love the idea of a war between these two. Their interaction is my favorite part of the show. What I don't like is that the premise was flawed. There was nothing that happened in this episode that was even slightly out of character for Sheldon, yet Penny was constantly surprised by his behavior. I mean, come on, Penny. You've known this guy for over a year. Are you really that shocked that he doesn't want you to touch his food?

(S02E06) After watching this episode, I've come up with a theory of my own: The ground is being laid for a Sheldon/Leslie romance. It has to be; why else would they pay for Sara Gilbert to come on the show and just call Sheldon a dumbass a couple of times? I can't believe that they'd waste her talents like that, so the only other possibility is that they're laying the groundwork for something bigger.

In any case, there's no hot Sheldon/Leslie love this week, but BBT does delve into the possibility of a love life for Sheldon. Since the idea of Sheldon with a lady is a jarring one, I like how they eased us into the idea by basically giving him a stalker.

Boy, what a mess! Unless you live out in a tar shack in the middle of Montana (writing your manifesto, obviously) you know that the United States, nay, the world, is facing one of the worst economic crises in this modern time. Stocks are plummeting, financial institutions are folding, credit is tighter than Miley Cyrus' chastity belt. People are pulling out their money left and right, trying to find a safe place to invest until all of the craziness dies down.

That, of course, is where we come in. Sure, first and foremost we are a website that features information on television. But, we also have access to some of the greatest financial gurus that were ever created by television writers. To assist you in the right investment choices, we have compiled a list of those we feel you could trust to invest your remaining funds in a wise manner. Also listed, as a public service, are those who you shouldn't consider giving a penny to during the harshest economic times.

So, before your 401(k) loses another percentage point, here are your choices.

Like anything, watching television can be a habit. There are certain shows that you tune into on a regular basis because they make you feel safe, comfortable and give you that feeling of stability that may or may not surround the rest of your life. Because of that it can be difficult to latch on to a new show to watch. There's that uncertainty, that fear that you won't get used to the plot or the characters or the general feel for the show.

This is particularly true in my case since I watch a certain set of shows each week for review. However, this season I have decided to expand my television horizons a bit and search for some new programs to get involved with. By new programs I don't mean shows premiering this season, but programs that have been on the air for a while that I have never sen before of have glanced at from time to time. So, without further pontification, here are five shows that I'm now tuning into.

You know the one I'm talking about. After the writers strike ended last year in February, most of the networks made the interesting decision to just go ahead and shelve most of their freshmen series for the season, even if they'd picked up their "back nine" orders. Instead, they thought they'd launch the shows to big fanfare this fall, almost as if they were new again. Unfortunately, it looks like this plan backfired on them tremendously.

Across the board, those sophomore series that went on hiatus for more than six months are way down in the ratings. Apparently, absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder when it comes to the television landscape. It makes the instant gratification generation forget you existed. And stop caring.