TVSquad

(S02E05) Love was in the air, courtesy of Ugly Betty's newest phony website, bachelosity.com. Betty found a date, Amanda found a new way to tease Betty, and someone from Christina's past found her. Even Marc found romance! While some characters made significant progress, others (thankfully) went back to basics. Alexis remembered what being a Meade is all about, and Justin's dreaded rebellious phase is officially over! I just hope he didn't throw out his old clothes.

(S02E04) I felt like I was watching a bizarro version of Ugly Betty this week. Betty was a cheater, Justin belched, and the guy from Dawson's Creek was an insensitive jerk! What's next--Hilda dressing conservatively? There were several unpleasant surprises in this episode, but Gio's absence probably made some of the viewers happy. It's always difficult to watch the episodes where obstacles are set up for each character, but how else can there be a happy ending later on? Still, it took a while to get over the shock of seeing Justin wearing his Dad's leather jacket and hearing him say things like "Whatevs."

(S02E03) I've been waiting all season for it (OK, just three episodes), and it finally happened. Gio, the rumored new love interest for Betty, made his way into the Mode offices and Betty's heart. While it wasn't love at first sight, Gio made a strong impression on our green girl. Lunch will never be the same! Let's save the juiciest development for last, though. On to the rest of the Mode-Suarez saga!

(S02E02) The photo says it all, doesn't it? The humor, campiness, and wickedness were back in full effect. There were some sad moments left over from Santos' death, and I'm worried about Justin's newfound interest in basketball, but apart from that the episode was perfect. I'm suddenly hungry for a Naomi Campbell Tuna Meltdown.

(S02E01) Betty's back! The season premiere was an excellent bookend to last season's finale. While the finale ended on a sad note, tonight's premiere let the characters confront their problems and look ahead to the future. This episode was all about letting go of the past and starting fresh, something that many of the characters desperately needed to do.

(S01E21) I wish Ugly Betty's Christina could sit down with The Office's Pam and tell her the same thing she told Betty - "You can take care of yourself, princess." How original. How wonderful. How like real life.

Being an entertainment journalist (or writer, or blogger, or crayon scratcher... whatever you want to call it) sometimes yields some unexpected e-mails. After I interviewed actor Christopher Gorham six months ago, I somehow landed on his e-mail distribution list; I guess after his CBS sitcom, Out of Practice, got cancelled, he wanted to make sure people knew where to find him on the TV dial. God bless the Internet; you can be your own PR rep with just an e-mail account and a huge text based list of addresses. I do it all the time.

Anyway, he shot out a note to let people know that he will pop up tonight as a guest star on Ugly Betty. It's the first of a series of appearances as Henry, a nerdy accountant who has a little crush on Betty. To be honest, when I saw the teaser for this episode, I didn't even come close to recognizing him. Looking forward to seeing him; I liked him on OOP, and I think he's a pretty good actor, despite what others have said.

No, it's not any sort of Xander/Cordelia reunion, but as a starved Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan, I'll take what I can get. A friend pointed me to Nick's website where he has an audioblog. In his latest entry he talks about the play he recently did for the Blank Theater Company with Noah Wyle, how Wyle bought him for $1000 in a charity auction, and a TV movie for ABC Family that has him working with Charisma Carpenter again.

Relative Chaos is the story of the Gilbert family's annual contest for the Gilbert Cup. Every year the three Gilbert children, Dil (Christopher Gorham), Gil (Nick Brendon), and Lil (Jennifer Robertson) compete in contests that, as the website says, 'test their intelligence, agility, and sanity'. And yes, I said Dil, Gil, and Jil. It's ABC Family. Much to Dil's chagrin, he has never won the cup. But this year Dil has his new girlfriend Catherine (Charisma Carpenter) in his corner, which could make all the difference. And if that isn't enough chaos, the father of the Gilbert clan, Will (of course!), is played by Terry Bradshaw.

A video preview, wallpapers, bios, etc. are all available at the movie's website. Relative Chaos premieres Monday, September 4th on ABC Family.

We at TV Squad tend to think that we're blogging in a bubble; we post from homes and offices that are scattered around the country and truly don't expect many people to see what we write (at least I don't... just a little quirk of mine). So when not one, but two actors from a show you've covered comment on a post about that show, you sit up and take notice.

That's what happened last week, when both Christopher Gorham and Paula Marshall wrote comments on a post I wrote about their show, Out of Practice, getting shelved, along with fellow Monday at 9:30 exile Courting Alex. So, I reached out to both of them to respond and vent. Both answered, and Chris was the first that was willing to talk. We spoke by phone this past Friday.

In Out of Practice, the 31-year-old actor plays Benjamin Barnes, youngest son of a family of doctors. Ben's the only one who didn't finish medical school, instead becoming a marriage therapist. The ironic thing is, he's probably the sanest person in the Barnes family.

The show boasts a top-notch cast, which -- besides Marshall and Gorham -- also includes Henry Winkler, Stockard Channing, Ty Burrell, and Jennifer Tilly. It's executive producers are Chrisopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan, who were long-time producers on the classic sitcom Fraiser.

In this interview (after the jump), Chris discusses his frustrations with how his show is being treated, gushes on the writers and his castmates, and responds to people who say he and Marshall are "show killers".

[Photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage]

Joel and I try something a little different this time, limiting our topics to five minutes each. I think it worked out pretty well, so let us know what you think. Topics we cover this week:

• Joel's upcoming interviews: George Takei and Christopher Gorham.
• The new "Five Quick Questions" interview feature.
• Al Roker ... funny?
• What's with all the Paula Abdul talk lately?
• Comedy Central Motherlode contest -- will it make someone's career?
• SNL's best of TV Funhouse is coming! Sweet!
• HUGE I mean HUGE and very spoilery spoilers about not this week's, but next week's Prison Break. I'll likely not post these, so you'll have to listen to know.

Grab the file directly (link), subscribe to our podcast RSS feed (link), or visit the iTunes music store (link).  (Running time: 40:09)

TV scribe Lee Goldberg poses the question, why do they always give TV shows to Steven Eckholdt, Christopher Gorham, and Eric Balfour? They seem to have a new show every year, and every year the shows don't last that long at all. Eckholdt has been in many flops, but was just signed to another CBS show. Gorham has had three short-lived shows in the past few years (Out Of Practice has been taken off the schedule - for now). And Eric Balfour...I barely remember all the shows he was in.

What other stars do they keep giving shows to, year after year, even when the previous show has crashed in flames? (And don't say "Robert Urich" because he actually had some hits).

The Best:
1. My Name is Earl: I didn't think this was going to be any good when I first saw the commercials because it looked like another stupid sitcom about -- whoo-hoo -- rednecks. Jason Lee's a cool cat, though, so I tuned in for one episode... Boy, am I glad I saw it! Although Lee doesn't disappoint, Jaime Pressly's performance is absolutely hysterical and often steals the show. Definitely one of my favorite programs of the year.

2. The Daily Show: I've loved it. Sill love it.

3. The Colbert Report: I was a little worried about this show in the beginning, but quickly grew to love it. Stephen Colbert's got a good thing going on right now and I'm definitely looking forward to more.

4. Lost: I love it when a show/film has a strong ensemble cast. That plus deep, conflicted backstory and tremendous writing is must-see TV for me.

5. Project Runway: Okay, they're only a few episodes in, but Project Runway never fails to deliver. Classiest reality show, hands-down.