‘Chris Learns the Value of $10, Andy Learns the Value of Humility and Jack Finds the Value of Murder and Kidnap!

Thursday nights are so good that even if one of your usual favorites isn't on, you can find other excellent shows to watch in its place. Such was the case last night with Everybody Hates Chris, which substituted nicely for the missing Alias (ABC chose to air Pirates of the Caribbean instead of their usual Thursday schedule). Anyone who thinks that comedies aren't funny anymore, is definitely not watching Chris. This show is hysterical! Last night, Chris's parents decided to take a rare evening out on the town and hire a babysitter to watch the kids. This set up two parallel storylines that were both well done. Before the parents left, Chris's dad gave him ten dollars "in case of an emergency." Chris Rock's narration told us that his father believed that "there wasn't anything ten dollars couldn't fix." When young Chris asks his dad what happens if it costs eleven dollars, his dad replies, "Talk him down to 10!" Yeah, it was really funny. At the restaurant, Chris's father sweats the total price as the cashier rings it up. He then proceeds to pull out a coupon, which made me laugh for a long time because I can seriously relate. The cashier tells him that the coupon is not good for what his wife ordered, so he says it's okay, but he wants his coupon back! Later at the restaurant, two masked men came in and robbed the place. When they got to Chris's parents, one of the men recognized Chris's mom and he told her his name! Yeah, it was awesome! Back at home, the babysitter proved to be less than reliable and spent the entire evening coming and going because of her baby. When Chris's parents returned home, everything seemed in order, until Chris blurted out exactly what happened because he was afraid his parents would leave them with that babysitter again.

So, the Andy-and-Jake-go-to-counseling scene on Everwood was just as awesome as it looked. I was cracking up, and my only wish was that it had been longer. I especially liked it when Jake called Andy "an ass," and Andy responded by asking the therapist if she heard what Jake just called him. Despite the bickering, the two men did work out some issues. It seems that cocky Jake is really just intimidated by everything that Andy represents, and Andy didn't realize how much bigger-than-life he can seem. Meanwhile, Ephram found out about Amy and Reid, and he took it pretty well. I'm sure he's not so happy on the inside as he referenced with piano student Kyle. Amy ended up confused by Reid's hot/cold reaction to her, but it turns out he's just too busy for a serious relationship, which seemed fine to Amy (and me because now I'm thinking that she can still get back together with Ephram). Rose was lost without her mayoral position, and Harold made it worse by jamming job ideas down her throat and telling her that she's at an age and stage in her life that's prone to depression. Seriously, it was enough to drive even the happiest person straight to Prozac! He came to his senses and now the two are taking a trip on an African Safari, which was something Rose had wanted to do if she had found out that she was dying from the cancer. I'm really enjoying Ephram's journey through his teen years. Kyle is exactly how Ephram used to be, so the two are so well-suited for each other at the piano and on spur of the moment field trips. I think Ephram finally broke through with Kyle last night. Another well balanced episode.

Well, I definitely got my Danny-centric episode last night on Without A Trace, so I was really happy. But, I was also really happy about the fact that this show has been light years better lately. I've been getting season one vibes from it, and that makes me feel all tingly inside! See, I told you that this show used to be excellent and it had the potential to return to its excellent self. This gives me new hope for my other favorite procedural Cold Case, which has been struggling a little this season. I thought this episode was going to be all Jack and Danny all the time, which would have been fine with me (the Danny part, of course), but I really liked the way they had the other agents working the American angle of the case. I'm still loving Elena Delgado, and I thought she had a nice catch last night with the dialect pick up. It was good to see Viv and Martin joking around, and Sam and Martin's scenes weren't awkward as they had been in the past. How horrible was that wife, Lucy!!?? She arranged her husband's first wife's murder and arranged his kidnapping to get him back for, what she assumed was him, cheating on her. The man lost his finger in the ordeal! Was he even cheating on her? She thought he was because she saw him somewhat flirting with one of his tennis students. Man, this woman has a very rigid idea of cheating. I LOVED Danny's dirt bike chase through the Mexican desert. Overall, a well done episode.

About Last Night... Seriously, it's a good thing Nielsen fixed this "Processing Error," stat, because I was about to have to call this section "About Not Last Night But The Night Before (and no, 44 men did not come knocking at my door)." And that would have been much too cumbersome! Anyway, here's Wednesday's overnights. NBC won the first hour of the night with E-Ring, followed by the comedy block of Still Standing and Yes Dear on CBS and the hour-long season premiere of Fox's That 70s Show. At 9, CBS took over the lead with Criminal Minds, followed by a rerun of ABC's Lost and Fox's Trading Spouses. WB's Related encore edged UPN's Veronica Mars repeat. The final hour of the night went to CBS's CSI: NY, followed by Law & Order on NBC and a repeat of Invasion on ABC. For more on Wednesday's ratings, visit Zap2it.

Now, onto last night's ratings. CBS easily won the first hour of the night with Survivor, followed by ABC's airing of Pirates of the Caribbean and the comedy block of Joey and Will & Grace on NBC. At 9, CBS had the most watched program of the night with CSI, followed by The Apprentice and the ABC movie. WB's Everwood tied Fox's Reunion for fourth. The final hour of the night went to Without A Trace on CBS, followed by ER on NBC and ABC's movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Wanda learns about the power of the belt and it soon becomes her new best friend until it leads to some not-so-nice results on The Bernie Mac Show on Fox.

@9 p.m. - The Three Wishes team travels to Cedar City, Utah to surprise a retired couple who makes toys for underprivileged children all over the world tonight on NBC. A team member goes missing on CBS's Threshold.

@10 p.m. - Don and his team work to stop a suspect who interfered with counter-terrorism drills on CBS's Numb3rs.

SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - Lilly revisits her past when a recent gang shooting turns out to be related to her first case in homicide on CBS's Cold Case (may be delayed due to football). NBC once again tries out the live thing, this time with The West Wing. Presidential candidates Santos and Vinick debate each other live on both the East and West Coasts (they're doing two shows).

@9 p.m. - Paul Young returns, Bree is mortified by her reaction to George, Lynette indulges a new obsession, Susan and Mike hit a bump in their relationship and Gabby works to free Carlos on ABC's Desperate Housewives.

@10 p.m. - A male patient seems to be pregnant on ABC's Grey's Anatomy.


QUICK CUTS

*CBS is giving a full-season order to freshman comedy Out of Practice. The Monday night sitcom has become the second most watched new comedy of the season behind NBC's My Name is Earl. The show has also continued to improve each week and it holds onto 80% of Two and a Half Men's audience. The show stars Stockard Channing, Henry Winkler and Paula Marshall.

*And finally, Lost is crossing into a new dimension with a storyline that will blur the lines between real and fiction. In the popular show, the survivors will come across a finished, but unpublished, manuscript written by one of the passengers who perished in the crash. The passenger had delivered a copy to his publisher before he set out on his fateful flight. ABC's publishing company, Hyperion, will then publish the manuscript as a novel in real life. The company says the book entitled Bad Twin will be ghost written by a well known author. The manuscript deals with a man's search for his no-good brother. Other real works of fiction featured on the show saw their sales skyrocket after they were used on Lost. Look for Bad Twin to hit shelves sometimes next year and the episode of Lost featuring the manuscript later this season.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for CSI, Desperate Housewives (will this show finally break through and start living up to its first season potential?) and Cold Case (will I enjoy Lilly's journey through her career related past? Oh, you guys know I will! But, will the show improve now that there aren't so many cooks in the kitchen?). Plus, all the latest television news!