TVSquad

Right about this time of year, most of the true children of the nineties are graduating from four years of Hell and preparing for a lifetime of also Hell, this time sans meal plan and floor meetings. Take a break from job-hunting and crying about student loans, children, and join me in wading in this pool of nostalgia, for your dreams have finally come true. Yes, yes. It looks like Nickelodeon's totally awesome sports challenge show, GUTS, is coming back.

A few critics have actually said good things about Cavemen. Surprised? Yeah, well apparently it's not as uncommon as we might think. As this New York Times article details, there have been positive reviews of the show, but they've been mostly overshadowed by the enormous negative press it has received since before its premiere.

From the beginning, the hastily-produced pilot lead to critics thinking Cavemen was just a show relying on thinly veiled racial humor, with the cavemen standing in for African-Americans. Then they started talking about what a terrible idea the concept was (if it's funny for a thirty second commercial, that doesn't mean it's funny for thirty minutes). But was the show doomed from the start? Did all the negative publicity lead to more negative reviews of those early episodes than they could have rightly earned?

It's the day after the big (and often controversial) Evel Dick Donato first place win on Big Brother 8, as well as his daughter Daniele's second place win. Together, they won $550,000. Not chump change for sure, but I'd like to see this show increase its grand prize to a million like other reality shows of its ilk.

Julie Chen interviewed both Dick and his loving Evel Spawn on The Early Show -- the CBS website has an extended version of that interview available online as well as the initial interview itself.

But the kicker is a set of video interviews with all of the houseguests posted by the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles. Those took place in the yard before the wrap party and include such treasures as Amber telling us she taught America it's okay to cry. Yeah, right. [A tip of the hat to commenter OrkMommy for the link to the CBS backyard interviews!]

(S08E09) If I were going to compile a list of three things I didn't need to see during this season of Big Brother, it would probably look a little something like this:

1. Zach racing through the courtyard in the buff.
2. Dustin prancing around comfortably in a red unitard.
3. A close up of scrawny little Eric concentrating as fluorescent lights glimmered from his nipple rings.

As luck would have it, I got to see all three of these things tonight and actually had to watch Zach streak in slow motion on my TiVo to get the appropriate screen capture for this post. I can honestly say that I will never be the same.

(S08E07) Somewhere along the way, Big Brother's Julie Chen got stuck with the nickname "Chenbot".

I figured the term of endearment came from her steely cold gaze, her stoic, apathetic delivery, or maybe even those stiff, robotic movements she performs that make bronze sculptures absolutely limber by comparison.

Turns out I missed the most obvious reason. She's actually a robot running on Windows ME.

During tonight's HOH Competition, there was a sequence where the Chenbot ran out of RAM. She was stuck there motionless for a noticeable period of time, yet she was still talking to the contestants.

A swift change of cameras by a quick thinking producer and a ctrl + alt + delete later - she was good as new. Video proof after the jump.

(S08E05) In the screen capture above, it'd be easy to think Dick is being censored by Big Brother as he spits out an acerbic tirade filled with F-bombs. That's not the case. Dick actually just chewed off his own tongue in disgust because he bleeping bleeps the bleep out of Jen.

Okay, he didn't really chew off his tongue, but after this episode it's not hard to imagine that Jen could really set off that kind of rage inside the evil one.

Need proof? Here's a sampling of some of the pleasant things Dick had to say about Jen this week. Parents may not want to let the kiddies follow the jump...

(S07E24) "You were the one thing I thought I done right." -Ernie Dell

That's it, huh? It's weird, but I suppose it is possible to enjoy something that you don't like. It's too bad that this is what we waited all season for, but the resolution of the Miniature Killer story was far less imaginative than I hoped it would be. The identity of our killer ended up being just about as standard as it could get and nothing creative even seemed to be attempted. Very un-CSI like if you ask me.

Natalie Davis, i.e. The Miniature Killer, was indeed one of Ernie Dell's foster kids who just happened to be out of her mind. The "great" twist? She blamed Grissom for her foster father's suicide. Foolish I know, but there wasn't much else to go on I guess. I hate to say it, but I have to complain.

(S07E23) "So now you're building your own?!?" -Catherine

A fan favorite returns. This was only Melinda Clarke's fourth appearance as Lady Heather on CSI, and I'm fascinated with how much they've developed her character in that short time frame. It just proves that good writing can go a long way, especially when the notion of "less is more" is kept in mind.

The episode started off quite unexpectedly, as we were reintroduced to Heather in a situation that didn't exactly jive with her own beliefs. She's a dominatrix, so why has she put herself in a submissive role? Recall what she told her late daughter Zoey in her very first appearance? Something like, give your body and heart to a man but never your power? Well now Heather is ignoring her own advice. Sounds like a good premise for an episode to me.

(S07E22) Another one-shot episode and a crazy one at that. Fortunately we got some little hints as to what may be in store for everyone as the season winds down.

The main case as I said was a bit crazy. Believers of some kooky reptilian race were behind the conspiracy and murder of a Las Vegas black-jack dealer who they apparently thought was some kind of hostile lizard queen. Hmm... there's a sentence you don't find yourself typing out every day.

(S07E21) I've gotta be honest. I loved this episode, but it was frustrating. Give me more Miniature Killer! As enjoyable as these one shot episodes can be, I'm sick of being teased. Especially when those "Go To MiniatureKiller.com" lower-screen graphics keep popping up every ten seconds. At least we got some verification that Grissom and Sara are still going strong.

So the episode focused on a washed up boxer that had been living at a brothel on the outskirts of Vegas and guess what? He's dead. The question pressing Doc Robbins? What killed him?

(S07E20) I've got to be honest. After the previews for this episode, I was psyched. What a cool idea to finally feature all the lab techs in an episode. Not so much. This ended up just being a fancy way to roll out a clip show as a refresher to anyone who wanted to brush up on the history of the Miniature Killer. With no actual story, the episode was packed with scenes from the previous Miniature Killer murders. So while everyone else got wrapped up in other nondescript cases, Hodges and the rest of the techs weaved us a narrative we've already heard.

(S07E19) That was a pretty enjoyable episode. Pulling a move that CSI hasn't used in some time, the episode began with what seemed like two completely unrelated cases, but by the end of the episode, they were completely intertwined.

Adding to the episode was the return of Method Man, reprising his season six guest starring role as club and rap mogul Drops. The guy is a good actor. I don't care what anyone says. He brings this likability to any character he plays and Drops is no exception. He's a thug, but the whole time I still found myself rooting for him to find a way out.

However, the best part of the episode was definitely the closure Greg got from the Demetrius James case. Greg finally stood up for himself. It's about time.

(S07E18) Well this wasn't the best episode of CSI, but it still had its high points. I know it's a lot to ask to have every episode tie together and not stand alone, but I was really hoping for some more stuff on The Miniature Killer.

What we did get was a look at Sara how this job is affecting her. We've always known that she was the most emotional member of the Vegas team, but it really came through on this case. I suppose holding the hand of someone who's about to die will do that to you. However, as I said, despite the mediocrity of the episode as a whole, there were a few really good high points.

Somebody give Nickelodeon a cookie, because the network "gets it."

The new comedy series iCarly, starring Miranda Cosgrove (Drake and Josh) as the host of a Web show, will allow kids at home to contribute content to the series through a special Web site where they can upload videos. Chosen videos may be integrated into future episodes, or become part of the online Webcast. The series will premiere with thirteen episodes this September.

I think this could be a really cool thing, and I hope more shows of this kind follow. Nickelodeon's audience now consists mostly of digital natives, kids more or less born and raised on the Web, and a new approach like this makes a lot of sense.

(S07E16) I'm glad I got back into this show (I'm going to start reviewing it weekly in place of Numb3rs) because it's good again. After the great four episode story arc with Keppler, Grissom is back on track hunting down his latest arch-nemesis -- The Miniature Replica Killer.

They thought they had him with the death of Ernie Dell, but no. The CSI writers have crafted quite the story here, possibly one of the best multi-episode arcs this show has seen yet.

Grissom finally got around to opening the large cardboard box that was delivered to his office right before he left on sabbatical. We knew what was inside of it though since we got a sneak peek right before he left. It's another replica. The only problem? The murder hadn't occurred... yet.