Laura & Rich Find Themselves Way Below the 'Surface!' Plus, Allison's Vision Isn't What She Thinks!

So, I know everyone isn't exactly into Surface, but you're going to have to trust me when I tell you that it had its best episode so far last night. I know that's not saying a lot for a show that rarely find itself on the right side of the critics' corners, but it was very well done. What this show lacks in dialogue, characters and overall plausibility, it certainly makes up for in suspense, adventure and intensity. After all, despite Lost's "best show" status and loads of enamored fans (and I include myself in this category), it also relies on its audience to take a leap of faith and throw plausibility out the window. I'm not suggesting that Surface is on the same level as Lost, just that the former doesn't ask you to suspend reality any more than the latter. What made last night's episode really shine was the return to the sea. The show is centered around the ocean and what lies beneath the deep waters, so sending Rich and Laura down to investigate during a major yearly event in the life of this creature made since, but it also made for some great drama. Yes, it was a bit cliche, but I can overlook it because it literally kept me at the edge of my seat for the entire final 20 minutes or so when Laura and Rich descended into depths of the ocean. Everything was going fine until the window started its slow leak, which the pair decided to ignore for the sake of knowledge. As the makeshift submersible went deeper, the creatures came into view. They sent one of their deafening electronic pulses, which cut the radio and all other electric devices onboard and halted the electric cable on the barge that served as Laura and Rich's only link to the surface. Things got even dicier when the cable started unwinding very quickly, sending Laura and Rich into a frightening descent to the ocean floor, where a glowing opening that radiated heat was closely approaching. The submersible landed on the edge, but the weight of the two ton cable soon pulled it down into the hole. And of course, that's how the episode ended. We got to see more of the grown creature, and the writers further developed Savannah's character. When the show first began, she was a cookie cutter popular high school girl who lived to see her brother (Miles) in trouble, but she has become more real. They have given her heart, and I've found myself liking the character now. I really think that Surface is the type of show that improves the more it stays on the air. Luckily, NBC is willing to take the same gamble because they gave it a full season order.

Speaking of NBC, fellow Monday night show Medium also had an excellent night. I liked the way the writers showed us what can happen if Allison misinterprets a vision. She saw the "future" political ad for her boss's opponent, and jumped to the conclusion that the young man in the ad really raped and killed a woman. Going on this assumption, she enlisted the help of the always eager Detective Scanlon to track down the supposed murderer in order to prevent the future crime, but they ended up really messing things up in the process. The kid saw Scanlon and ran, but he ran into traffic and got hit by a car. Turns out, the kid was dating the woman that Allison saw in her vision, and the kid thought Scanlon was his girlfriend's ex. In the end, Allison and Scanlon figured it out, but it was interesting to see how this misinterpretation affected Allison. She was really torn up about what happened. Elsewhere, Joe ran into an old girlfriend, and Allison saw them in bed together, which prompted a fight because apparently, Joe had neglected to mention this woman in past discussions. Only one more week until the huge ratings stunt that is Medium 3-D, and I couldn't be more excited!! And yes, "sucker" is written on my forehead!

About Last Night... ABC won the first hour of the night with Wife Swap (football on the West Coast), followed by CBS comedies King of Queens and How I Met Your Mother and Surface on NBC. At 9, ABC stayed on top with Monday Night Football, followed by CBS comedies Two and a Half Men and Out of Practice and NBC's Las Vegas. The final hour of the night went to CBS's CSI: Miami, followed by football on ABC and Medium on NBC. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Rory and Lorelai finally turn a corner and Luke gets the shock of his life on WB's Gilmore Girls. Over on Fox, its modern mummies, drugs and the death of a local musical artist on Bones. CBS airs the 39th Annual CMA Awards and ABC has a special night and time airing of sitcom Hot Properties.

@9 p.m. - Sela Ward guest stars on Fox's House as the good doctor works with a pro cyclist who admits to using performance enhancing drugs. Over on My Name is Earl on NBC, Earl learns about Joy's wedding through Randy's invitation that instructs him to bring anyone but Earl.

@10 p.m. - Alan and Denny challenge each other to get MRIs and the firm tackles a case involving a plastic surgeon accused of injecting fat from his own behind into a woman's lips on ABC's Boston Legal. Over on NBC, a wife of a serial rapist falls into a coma and her husband must decide her fate on Law & Order: SVU. Dean Cain guest stars.



QUICK CUTS

*CBS will offer a bonus scene from hit show CSI: Miami exclusively on its web site. The scene will follow a storyline introduced during the November 21st episode, and it will debut immediately following the East Coast broadcast of the show. The eye network promises that the scene is pivotal to the course of events that will take place the rest of the season. For more information on the bonus scene and the episode (including spoilers), click on over to The Futon Critic.

*And finally, there's good news for NBC's E-Ring. The peacock picked up the Pentagon drama for a full season after improved ratings in its earlier timeslot. The show is averaging around 9 million viewers an episode and saw its biggest audience to date with last week's episode. The series stars Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Law & Order: SVU (what's up with Dean Cain playing bad guys?) and the lowdown on new episodes of Veronica Mars and Lost in Primetime Pass! Plus, all the latest television news!