Photo courtesy of NBC/Universal.
Just deathly ill.

NBC will move Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip to 10 p.m. Thursdays starting May 24. I found out about it here, read the full story here and confirmed the basic fact of it here.

That’s after “ER” ends for the season, the day after the May sweeps and a week after NBC will announce what shows it’s renewing next season (in addition to those it’s already announced, such as “The Office”, “30 Rock” and “Heroes”).

Six episodes are left. Will NBC air them all? Who knows. Stay tuned.

Last night it was mo’ money, mo’ problems for Tony S.

Actually, it was NO money, mo’ problems. Turns out the Mob boss has a wee gambling problem and lives high above his means. And the cash in the bird feed has been dwindling these days.



This is an interesting twist for the show, and one that propelled Tony into acting even more erratic than usual. He’s always had a temper, of course, but he’s been spinning out of control these last few episodes.

Last week, Tony considered whacking Paulie because he thought he was too much of a chatterbox. This week, he turned on his oldest family friend, Hesh, who reminded him of $200k he’d borrowed.

There was no Jam on The Office the other night, and to be honest I might have been OK with that.

After all, there were plenty of laughs, and 21 minutes, 8 seconds flew by fast—so fast I felt like the ending got cut off. Let’s just say “Product Recall” was problematic. I’m not saying it was “obscene-watermark-on-the-prom-invitations” problematic. It just didn’t meet the bar this show has set. It probably deserved super-sizing like the next three episodes.

I don’t need angst and drama, but ignoring the most prominent dramatic storyline of the season four episodes from the finale doesn’t make much sense. That said, the laughs made up for a lot. Read more of this entry »

There weren’t many happy moments last night on our hot-to-trot doctors show. With 28 more days to go on the self-labeled “man whore� Sloan and feisty Addison’s “project� (abstinence agreement), the red-headed little minx (trollop?) couldn’t restrain herself from jumping Korev’s bones—and in a utility closet, no less. This in turn, sent Sloan Meredith’s way, and his advances were rebuffed.

And about those sample wedding cakes: Yes, I know they were a large part of the story line for metaphorical reasons, but is it really sensible that Preston would drab all the little cakes into the hospital?

There also wasn’t much joy in the storyline regarding Larry Jennings (Mitch “Skinner� Pileggi of “The X-Files�), Seattle Grace’s chairman of the board: Fluid in his testicles had made them the size of grapefruits (not that I’d know from personal experience, mind you, but OUCH!), he hasn’t been able to empty his bladder in three days (is that possible?), his girlfriend, Celeste, is left out in the cold because of her mistress status, and poor Mrs. Jennings has known about Larry and Celeste’s affair for a long time. The only funny moments were Cristina’s calling Jennings’ appendage a “VIPenis� and then everyone’s reaction upon seeing the icky funky fish “in person.� And wasn’t Celeste a bit young and absolutely gorgeous to being fooling around with a guy of his age and, shall we say, non-Brad Pitt looks?

Callie and George’s marriage continues to disintegrate. Yeah, sure, we didn’t see THAT ONE coming! He doesn’t belong with Callie OR Izzie! Perhaps he’ll find someone more suitable at Mercy West Hospital, though I doubt our Georgie will be leaving SG anytime soon.

As for Ava and Korev’s relationship, it started off rocky last night, with Korev giving her the cold shoulder for her yelling at him last week. Things improved after medical circumstances forced Ava to have her baby early, and the kid turned out fine. I don’t see their relationship turning romantic—it’s just not feasible. Plus, I believe that the actress who plays her is signed up for only a few more episodes.

One more thing: There was no pleasure in watching Meredith being more annoying than usual, when she kept keeping Derek informed of her every move. Her little-girl voice, whining and lisp are like chalk on a blackboard. Grow up! Sound like a woman, honey, not a 3rd grader! (Photo courtesy of NBC.)

If you missed the first installment of the repeat of PBS’ magnificent “Bleak House” last Sunday, do not let that deter you from tuning to the programm when it repeats later this month (check local PBS listings for times). I put this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale of possession and dispossession right up there with “Brideshead Revisited,” “Lonesome Dove” and “Pride and Prejudice” (the Colin Firth one).

Writer Andrew Davies did that “P & P” and he’s at the top of his game again in this story of an inheritance trial that has gone on longer than the Baldwin-Bassinger custody case, threatening to destroy the family at its heart. This being Dickens, there are all kinds of ironic twists that double back on themselves as everyone turns out to be related in some way to everyone else. But the author is only partly interested in the way life comes full circle. Having suffered much deprivation in his youth, he’s really concerned with money — and the lack thereof and how desperate poverty can make you. At the same time, he’s not blind to the way great money, even the mere promise of big money, can delude you.
The entire cast of Dickensian oddballs is outstanding, but special kudos must go to Gillian Anderson as a woman who lets fear, particularly the fear of not being thought a great lady, ruin her life. Her final moment in the series, a kind of reverse “Pietà,” is unforgettable.

My only quibble is with an ending that seems more Jane Austen than Dickens. But that is a mere quibble. Far be it from me to deny Dickens his happiness, even if it can only be found on the page and screen.

30 Rock goes from “Hiatus,â€? last night’s hilarious season finale, to hiatus, five months of no Tina Fey. Harsh.

This little-show-that-could was a gamble from the start. It’s big-budget dramatic cousin, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip looked like the network’s darling, while Fey, Saturday Night Live’s former head writer, looked like she more than had her work cut out for her.

All she did in the last six months is outlast Aaron Sorkin, whose Studio 60 didn’t even make it past February sweeps. Meanwhile Fey’s baby is slated for a sophomore return.

For now, though, it capped its freshman season with a strong effort. Read more of this entry »

To be fair, the Federal Communications Commission isn’t just looking at “24.”

The FCC just sent Congress a report on television violence.

It recommends that if networks don’t or won’t reduce violence in programs that the feds should — particularly during hours when children are most likely to be watching, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. According to the WashPost, the FCC has had the authority to fine broadcasters for sexually suggestive or indecent speech or images, but no such ability to do the same in regards to violence. That’s what they’re looking to change.

Thanks to Al’s Morning Meeting on the Poynter website, I learned that Congress has debated regulating violence on television as far back as the 1950s.

Yeah, yeah, there’s the V-Chip, but apparently most parents don’t turn them on. And when they do, they don’t necessarily filter what they’re supposed to filter.

i o Eleven years ago, Congress passed legislation requiring the V-Chip be installed in new televisions. Networks are supposed to embed, in the signal, codes “S” for sexual content, “V” for violence, “L” for coarse language, and “D” for suggestive dialogue. Then, the V-Chip picks up the code. But now we learn that most programs are not correctly coded, so not only do parents not turn on the V-Chips (only 15 percent used them as of 2004), the V-Chips don’t filter what they are supposed to filter.

Here’s a quick look at what the Parents Television Council reported:
Content Descriptors Not Being Used
54% of shows containing suggestive dialogue lacked the “D” descriptor
63% of shows containing sexual content lacked the “S” descriptor
42% of shows containing violence lacked the “V” descriptor
44 % of shows containing foul language lacked the “L” descriptor
Network Analysis
On ABC, 100% of the TV-14 rated programs lacked one or more descriptors.
On NBC, 92% of the TV-14 rated programs lacked one or more descriptors.
On CBS, 73% of the TV-14 rated programs containing sexual content lacked the “S” descriptor.
Descriptors Lack in Every Ratings Category
40% of all TV-G shows examined were lacking one or more descriptor
59% of all TV-PG shows examined were lacking one or more descriptor
79% of all TV-14 shows lacked one or more descriptor

Obviously, the PTC is supporting the FCC report and recommendations. The Media Coalition does not. I couldn’t find a link to any statement about The Media Center’s stand on the issue, but if anyone else comes across it, that’d be great.

So, what do you think? Should there be less violence on television? Do you use the V-chip? Do you think the voluntary “descriptors” are useful or accurate? Should the government get involved?

Is there an actor in Hollywood who wasn’t interviewed for TCM’s new documentary “Brando” (8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday)?

Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Edward Norton — goodness’ sake, even Ed Begley Jr. (who does a great impersonation): They’re all here. And interestingly, they’re identified not as actors but “friends of Marlon.”

Well, why not? Without Marlon Brando, there may not have been a Johnny Depp or Sean Penn. Brando set the standard not only for a new, more natural acting style but for a different kind of man — macho still in some ways yet more vulnerable in others. While I was blogging about “Rome,” I had occasion to go back and look at his Mark Antony in the 1953 movie of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” A lot of actors declaim the ironic “Friends, Romans, countrymen” soliloquy by which Antony turns the mob on Brutus. But Brando punctuates it like an impatient politician trying to get the attention of a rowdy audience. It’s an extremely effective moment that builds so that by the end when Brando turns to go up the steps, we see what the rabble can’t — the cruel smile on his lips. He’s got ‘em. And us.

How and why we were in his actorly thrall can be deciphered and is expertly analyzed by this very good documentary’s cast of characters. (Emphasis on the word “characters”. Pacino looks like Sideshow Bob, with a fountain of reddish hair spouting from atop his head. Jane Fonda looks like she’s about to head out for an afternoon of gardening. They’re all riveting.)

Understanding Brando the man — whom I suspect was something of a mystery even to himself — is much harder. Without resorting to amateur psychology, the documentary does suggest that Brando’s whole life was shaped and colored by a brutal, hypercritical father and a negligent, alcoholic mother. He played out his mother’s abandonment with a succession of women, who gave him a brood of children for whom he was a distracted and distracting paterfamilias. (You get a sense that a lot of the younger actors interviewed here were surrogate children.)

His father’s disapproval shadows the domineering Stanley Kowalski, whom he aced but scorned, and the many roles that enabled him to be humiliated, beaten and tortured. In the underrated “One-Eyed Jacks” (1961) — the only movie Brando ever directed — he’s Rio, a bank robber in the Old West, seeking revenge on the partner who betrayed him, brilliantly played by Karl Malden. Rio’s plans go astray, however, and he ends up being whipped and maimed by the Malden character, whose nickname is “Dad.”

There are lots of nice touches like this in the documentary and no easy answers. Perhaps the best and most succinct analysis, which might serve as an epitaph, comes from his friend and biographer George Englund, who says: “He would not conform. That is the epicenter of his art.”

That’s exactly where last night’s episode of Jericho had me for an hour. An action-packed hour and lots of Jake and Hawkins, just the way I like it.

How ‘bout that Green family? Looks like even Eric’s not too shabby with a weapon in his hand.

So let’s take everyone one by one (or, at most, two by two).

First off, Gail Green. She really is taking April’s death hard. I didn’t realize how close she really was to her daughter-in-law and how it wasn’t just circling the wagons that made her obnoxious toward Mary. She has been trying to be nicer to Mary, and I thought their conversation in Mary’s bar at the end of the episode was kind of sweet. And Mary really is trying. I guess she really does love Eric and can make him happy. Not that he’s really able to be happy these days. Gail, for her part is half June Cleaver, half Sarah Connor (without the weapons).

Emily doesn’t even seem to remember Roger (your financé, girly-girl?). But she wasn’t too annoying last night. At least she did something useful. By the way, where’s her dad? I’m thinking we’re going to see him next week as they prepare for war against New Bern. If anyone around Jericho can help fight them (besides Jake and Hawkins, who I think could probably take on half of New Bern just by themselves), it’s Emily’s dad and his minions.

Dale and Skylar — dopes! You brought a bunch of people with guns to the salt mill, the most valuable piece of real estate in the region. And you didn’t think things would escalate. Um, YES, it is your fault. Oh, and Dale — when a hospital is treating a bunch of people with gunshot wounds, a twisted ankle gets to sit in the waiting room for, oh, about 1,000 hours. Skylar, your father probably was not a good man. He was a rich man who probably exploited his workers and treated everyone else like garbage, all the while donating things to the town to make it appear he was really a magnanimous philanthropist. He donated a clock? Whoop-de-freakin’-do.

Russell, you deserve a good old punch in the mouth, but I guess you really are just trying to do right by your family and your town and not screw over Jericho, so you can live. I just hope Constantino doesn’t kill you himself. He probably will.

Heather, I’m thinking she may not be dead, after all. I get a headache just trying to decide what I believe in that regard.

Major Dad — you rock. That’s really all I have to say.
Eric isn’t such a wuss, after all. When put to the test, he wouldn’t give up any info about Jericho that would help New Bern successfully attack. I wouldn’t have thought he could put up such a fight. And he handled the gun rather well. He also proved Hawkins’ assertion that torture doesn’t work.

Maggie, I don’t trust her as far as Major Dad could throw her. I completely thought she was trying to scam Jake, though she was completely up front with him, as it turned out. And Constantino doesn’t trust her. Basically, I think she’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive. She did what she did for her own sake, but she did actually help Jake and them escape. What was her “in” with Constantino, though? I think she may actually be a spy, Constantino allowing her to “steal” the keys from him so she could help the Green brothers escape and get the inside scoop on Jericho. Or maybe she’s on the level. But I don’t think so. That seems too simple.

OK, best for last.

Jake first. So he has an Achilles heel — love for his brother. Him giving up the info to Maggie (which I was all but yelling at the TV for him not to do) was totally because he didn’t want his brother to keep being tortured. His talking Eric down from giving up any info to prevent his own throat from being slashed was superb. He’s so obviously been in situations like this (perhaps on the other side of the knife). I hope we learn more about his work with Ravenwood. This season, not next.

Hawkins, Hawkins, how I adore thee, Hawkins. Every week you just get cooler. If Major Dad rocks, you rock, roll, shimmy and shake. I can’t express the shock I felt when you actually got shot. I figured you were made of Teflon. But that just made you human. You basically single-handedly dispatch the cops who find you in the cabin (“You don’t want to see it,” indeed). You hatch a plot, execute it pretty much flawlessly, even when Ted bags out (I won’t be too hard on him, the guy’s totally not a soldier. I’m surprised he didn’t poop his pants.).

As for the quartet (and Maggie, slung over Major Dad’s shoulders) walking home at night, 12 miles to go and swigging whiskey (real whiskey) from Hawkins’ private stash (have I mentioned how cool he is?), what an end shot.

Jericho just keeps getting better and better.

Photo of Skeet Ulrich (Jake) by Rene Macura, Associated Press.
Photo of Lennie James (Hawkins) by Cliff Lipson, CBS via Associated Press.

The Carnival has posted, and it’s over at Riding with Rickey (no, not Schroeder, but rather Henderson).

Check it out to get links to all sorts of analysis/humor/insanity. Thanks to Blogs4Bauer, the carnival’s creator, for the following photo, reminding us that May 9 is Jack Bauer Appreciation Day. Why? Because it is, Dammit!

I knew I could count on “Lost” junkies to jump on last night’s exchange between Mikhail and Parachute Girl.

PG (a.k.a. Naomi, although the show hasn’t actually named her yet) was speaking all kinds of languages, some of which Hurley and Jin could translate. But none of the castaways could understand what she REALLY said to Mikhail after he performed a life-saving procedure on her punctured lung.

We all knew she didn’t say “thank you” as he claimed. Now, the web site “Lostpedia”:http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/D.O.C. gives us the scoop on everything she said.

Read more of this entry »

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The good news is that the final three episodes of The Office are super-sized, including an hour-long May 17 season finale. The bad news is that tonight is the season finale of 30 Rock.

But there’s even good news there because NBC’s decision so far to hold Alec Baldwin to his contract means that it’s not the series finale of 30 Rock.

NBC released the synopses for all these episodes a week ago, but I’d avoided them amid an online brouhaha over their spoiler-y content. (Click here, here and here to see what I mean.) But I’ve got a responsibility to my blog, so I’m finally peeking, literally as I write this. Read more of this entry »

The crux of this episode revolved around the paternity of Sun’s baby, and this episode delivered that plus a whole lot more.

The return of Patchy, info about the island super-sperm, questions about Jin’s parents, secret medical rooms and – oops, I almost forgot – EVERYONE ON OCEANIC 815 IS DEAD?!?!

I don’t think I was the only one echoing Hurley’s final word to Parachute Girl:

“What?�

Read more of this entry »

Just hours after news leaked from the set of The View that 30 Rock star and father-of-the-year candidate Alec Baldwin wants out of his contract, the Associated Press is reporting the veteran actor who plays GE programming exec Jack Donaghy isn’t going anywhere.

“Alec Baldwin remains an important part of `30 Rock,’” a network statement reported by the AP reads. “We look forward to having him continue his role in the show.”

Among other things, Baldwin told pal Rosie O’Donnell and Co. at a Wednesday morning taping – to air Friday – he would honor the terms of his contract but that he couldn’t care less if he never acted again.

Acting has lost its importance, Baldwin reportedly said.

“I’ve had enough of this quite frankly to last me a lifetime,” he said, “especially in the modern tabloid world and … there’s a bigger thing I want to do, there’s a more important thing I want to do.”

That, he explained, included working on legislation pertaining to divorce litigation and co-parenting.

Baldwin fired his talent agency yesterday, less than a week after he left his daughter, Ireland, 11, a scathing voicemail message, calling her “a rude, thoughtless little pig” for not taking his call.

He and ex-wife Kim Basinger have been embroiled in a nasty and ongoing custody battle over Ireland for several years.
————————————————————————-

Check out Remote Access’s earlier coverage of Baldwin’s recent woes…

4/24 – Reports: Baldwin wants out at 30 Rock

4/22 – 30 Rock’s Baldwin has done some good too

4/20 – Should be some Father’s Day for Alec Baldwin

I just got through saying the other day that Alec Baldwin, despite his recent woes with his daughter and ex-wife, is probably the reason 30 Rock is still on the air right now

Luckily the funniest show on TV has already been renewed for a second season because Baldwin’s association with the Tina Fey vehicle is suddenly in doubt.

A day after Baldwin reportedly dropped his talent agency, he told the ladies at The View he wants out of his 30 Rock contract. This does not bode well for the freshman comedy, which has wowed critics but struggled for viewers. It’d take a whole lot of Tracy Morgan and Jack McBrayer to step up with Fey and fill that void.

The situation should be a little clearer after the segment recorded today airs Friday morning. But as TMZ.com reports, Baldwin drew rounds of applause for what was apparently an emotional and heartfelt appearance on the morning gabfest. Read more of this entry »

During the introduction of last night’s “American Idol,” Ryan Seacrest revealed that this week’s mentor was U2’s Bono, the closest thing to a rock god on the planet right now. But unlike previous weeks, this celebrity vocal coach was nowhere to be seen, heard or found on the Tuesday episode. What a tease!

The show itself, as Howard Stern mentioned this morning, was more of a telethon than a singing contest. Don’t get me wrong, everything was handled with class and I actually thought the messages were effective. But would it be so awful for Fox’s parent company, News Corporation, to just donate the $5 million outright, instead of donating an amount directly proportional to the number of phone votes registered? Heck, the network reportedly made more than $5 million during the average commercial break of last year’s finale.

New rankings after the break.

Tonight, on a “very special” episode of “American Idol,” we’ll be “treated” to the six finalists singing ” ‘life anthem’ songs about compassion and hope.” (I think I just shattered a record for quotes in a sentence, although a few of them were added for emphasis/sarcasm.)

Of course, it’s been almost a week since Sanjaya Malakar was eliminated from the show. I have to say, I miss the guy (for now). I actually felt sad for him when the crowd cheered his April 18 departure. Many blame the voters—‘tween girls, Howard Stern fans and VoteForTheWorst.com supporters—for carrying him that far in the competion; I believe far more blame must be placed on the “judges” (read: producers) who decided that his image was more important than his voice when they picked him for the Top 24.

Once I realized that his subpar vocals and rejuvenated charisma actually made the show more interesting to watch, I let go of the fact that he was vastly inferior to the remaining contestants and watched the departure of middle-of-the-pack contestants—Haley Scarnato, Gina Glocksen, Brandon Rogers, et al. Short of displacing Melinda Doolittle, Blake Lewis or Jordin Sparks, I would have been content with Malakar finishing as high as fourth.

In just 48 days, the second season of Kyle XY takes to the airwaves on ABC Family. This is the first — and only — ABC Family show I’ve ever watched, and it’s a pretty decent little slice of sci-fi, with its season 2 premiere at 8 p.m. June 11.

Last season’s finale had an XX (as in the chromosones) version of Kyle being created, so we should expect to see a female Kyle (Kyla?) showing up. The Tragers are regulars again, so it appears they either will have learned more about Kyle’s true background or have been fed some story as to why he’s back with them.

This summer is shaping up to be pretty decent, sci-fi-wise — Dr. Who, Kyle XY and The 4400. My DVR will be busy.

Photo courtesy of NBC/Universal.

It’s about time. The SciFi Channel announced this week that it will air the third season of Dr. Who. It kicks off in July.

We’ll have David Tennant again as the Doctor, with his new sidekick, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman). Before the first episode, “Smith and Jones,” we’ll be treated to the Dr. Who Christmas special, “The Runaway Bride,” which should wrap up where we left things off with the Doctor when a wedding bride (as my sister used to call them when she was but a toddler) suddenly appeared in the TARDIS.

The season’s already airing in the U.K. and this week’s epsiode deals with the Daleks in 1930s New York. Speaking of, The Daleks have been voted the top 10 Dr. Who villains, according to the BCC.

Well, we knew the first thing wouldn’t happen. There’s too many hours left in the season for Jack to have met his untimely demise last night.

And Audrey being saved, well, I have two words about that and they rhyme with “Drain Bamage.”

OK, so let’s start, as usual, with Jack and then deal with the rest of the stuff (Karen fired Bill!? Bitch.)

So the night’s most unrealistic moment (for 24, anyhow) was that Doyle managed to drive up to the motel and spot Jack’s (well, it was Doyle’s, but possession is 9/10ths of the law or whatever) car (which Blogs4Bauer points out is a Japanese car, while the Chinese are driving American cars. Go figure.). I did not believe for a half a second that Jack wouldn’t have noticed Doyle driving up.

Speaking of, Doyle channeled Jack a bit to get the car he drove up in — standing in the middle of the 118, waving his arms, stopping people. Loved how he told the guy in the car he was a federal agent and needed to commandeer the car, just pulling him out of the car and tossing him onto the ground. In the middle of the road. On a California freeway. Hah. I admit that while Doyle’s no Jack, they’re certainly trying to set him up as a replacement Jack.

Anyway, back to Jack. He disables the tracking device. Starts ordering Chang around. You are powerless to resist the orders of Jack Bauer. Sets up the swap. Preps the C4 for detonation. Calls Bill’s voice mail (was anyone else startled when Jack got voice mail when he called Bill, before you realized he specifically wanted to get Bill’s voice mail? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone’s voice mail pick up on 24 before. Another thing that makes the show totally different than real life) and leaves a heartbreaking message. Why does Jack love Audrey so much? Bring back Kate Warner!

By the way, have I mentioned yet today that Jack has gone rogue? (Still can’t say that enough!)

OK. So everything is going as planned, then Doyle and CTU start firing automatic weapons and bring in the helicopters IMMEDIATELY AFTER Jack tosses the actual computer chip/board/whateveritis to the Chinese guy. Nice timing, Doyle. I think I’m going to start calling you Ricky again. You totally destroyed any good will you engendered from pulling that guy out of his car.

Why doesn’t everyone do what Jack says? Even Audrey, in her utter drain bamage-ness, knew enough to listen to Jack. Of course, she thinks that everyone is either Jack or someone who’ll torture her. If only they’d keep listening to him, everything would turn out fine. Of course, this was the one time we were rooting for them not to obey Jack, because obeying him would have ostensibly meant his death.

OK, so Jack’s arrested (again — how many times over six seasons has he been arrested or “taken into custody” or fired or something to that effect?). Audrey’s totally batty. Doyle/Ricky screwed up the whole plan.

So back at CTU, Chloe and Morris totally annoyed the crap out of me. Morris is a whiny little boy. And Chloe’s right.

Don’t arm nuclear weapons for terrorists.

Oh, waah, waah, Bill, I can’t work with Chloe anymore. She hurted my feelings.

In our other soap opera at CTU, Nadia continues not being mean to Doyle/Ricky, which continues to upset Milo/Idiotboy. Reign in your jealousy, boys! The safety of the world is at stake! Put it back in your pants and rumble later, after Jack’s saved the world.

As for Milo, the jury’s still out on whether he’s a mole, but I’m starting to think he’s far too much of a jealous idiotboy to actually be a mole. I’m leaning toward Tom Lennox, now. In this episode, he wasted all the good will he’d engendered in me from the last several episodes. Between his willingness to not rat out Daniels and his flippant attitude about how Karen should fire Bill, he was unpleasant — as unpleasant as he was at the beginning of the season.

And now that we know there’s a spy (guess they got tired of using the word mole), I’m thinking it’s Tom. He’s very good at covert methods (getting that recording of Daniels), pretending to go along with people (Reed Pollock), ratting out the right people at the right time (Reed Pollock). All very spy/mole-like behaviors. But what do I know? It’s probably Karen. Or Kim Bauer. Or not.

That brings us over to the White House.

Show of hands — whose skin crawled when Daniels and Lisa kissed?

Wait a minute — I just had a brainstorm. Lisa is the spy. Seriously. I bet when she goes home to get a “change of clothes” she hooks up with her honey. I read that some guy who used to be on “Stargate: SG-1 plays her lover, and that ain’t Vice President Cy Tolliver. She goes home, gets a change, hooks up with her real honey, tells him she has to spend the night with the acting president in order to keep doing her spy thing.

Still, ick.

So that leaves us with Karen and Bill. Now, from a purely dispassionate standpoint, she was between a rock and a hard place. But she could have fallen on her sword for Bill. She could have even offered to fall on her sword for Bill and let him talk her out of it.

But she fired him?

That’s just cold.

This does leave Bill free, however, to go rogue, hopefully with Jack. He went rogue a little bit last season (was that only last season), after Karen took over CTU temporarily and — wait, didn’t she fire him last season?

So there we are.

Bill’s out of the loop. Nadia’s in charge of CTU. Milo’s pouting. Morris is crying. Chloe’s being rather Chloe-like (someone give her a Taser!). Doyle’s half good, half Ricky-like. Jack’s still alive, but in custody. Audrey’s alive, but totally drain-bamaged. Karen’s a beyotch. Tom — or Lisa — is a spy. Daniels is a horndog. Ick.

All in all, rather silly.

Photos courtesy of Fox.