'Veronica' Throws us Some Curve Balls and Kate Loses her Mind!

Wow! I'm not sure I've ever had the pleasure of watching two different shows on the same night that were both outstanding! Both Veronica Mars and Lost gave us a lot to think about, while also answering some big questions. After last night's episode of Veronica, I've decided to surrender to the TV gods because I am now certain that this is, without a doubt, THE BEST SHOW ON TELEVISION! Seriously, many shows pale in comparison! Just when I think it can't get any better, it goes and airs something like last night's outing. Man, I love me some Veronica Mars! So many twists and turns last night, and also so many more things to ponder. It was good to see Trina back in Neptune. Her little showdown with Kendall was hysterical. Those two are so similar it's scary! Anyone else still undecided about what happened between Kendall and Duncan? It kind of seemed like they maybe did something they shouldn't have, but I try to never assume anything with this show. He certainly didn't seem very interested in her or her Maserati last night. Veronica's quest to uncover her mother's secrets took a lot of unexpected turns. I never imagined that the prom baby would turn out to be Trina or that her mother is "Lunch Lady Doris" (Mary) and her father is the (former) principal! I loved Trina's reaction when she thought that Celeste Kane might be her mother ("Well, there's worst news you could have given me. They're worth billions!"). And then she has Veronica spread it all over the tabloids and entertainment shows. Classic! Speaking of classic, how awesome is this Weevil/Logan teaming up storyline?? Their scene in the men's room was HILarious! Logan is so witty and Jason Dohring's delivery is spot on. I'm really glad Veronica found out that her mother was a good person in high school. The girl needed some good news!

Now to the most pivotal moment from last night's episode. Meg's pregnant??!!?? And awake??!! I definitely didn't see this coming! I guess we're to assume the baby is Duncan's, but what about that mysterious letter? And how did good-as-gold Meg end up pregnant? Well I know HOW, but you know what I mean. I love how everything on this show is important, even if you don't think it is at the time. Last night's interactive baby assignment was all leading up to the shocking revelation at the end, but it also served as a realistic high school storyline. They threw the "Guess what? Meg's pregnant!" curve ball at us just as the show was ending, and I thought we had gotten all the shocking news that we were going to get for the hour. I have to admit, though, it was an awesome way to end the episode! Speaking of endings, if you haven't logged on to aol.com and watched the alternate ending, don't read any further if you don't want to know. The whole thing runs more than 9 minutes long, but most of it is the exact same as we saw in the broadcast last night. The difference comes during the last couple of minutes. After Veronica discovers that Meg is pregnant, she hears a woman coming to the room. She hides in a door while the woman starts babbling about her baby (the meaning is ambiguous). We never see the woman, but after she leaves, Veronica exits the door area where she was hiding and we hear the heart monitor beeping quickly. Veronica walks over to the bed and there is a pillow over Meg's face. She picks it up and a nurse enters to check the suddenly flatlining heart monitor. She looks at Veronica and says, "What did you do?!" Does this ending foreshadow next week's stunning revelation that one of the characters will die? Or is it nothing more than a red herring meant to throw us off track? Either way, I can't wait for next week! Remember to log on to aol.com and vote for which ending you like better. The results will be revealed during next week's episode.

While we're on the topic of excellent television, how awesome was Lost last night??!! Is it just me or is this show giving us more answers this season than last? I liked the parallel between Kate's drunk stepfather/real father and Sawyer. The whole thing was too much for her to bear and she started to go out of her mind. I think she kissed Jack just because he is the opposite of her father and Sawyer seems to be so similar, so kissing Jack was a way for her to suppress and deny any feelings that she may have for Sawyer. What do you think about Jack and Kate's kiss last night? Leave a comment with your thoughts. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't blame Kate for what she did. I felt so bad for her when her mother sold her out to the U.S. Marshall. Anyone else surprised when Sawyer said he loved "her?" I'm not sure whether he was delusional or telling the truth. I'm really not up for a Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle, though. I'm not sure where the whole black stallion thing fits in, but the horse did save her when the U.S. Marshall caught her. Maybe the island lets you see what you want to see (and apparently those around you as well), which would explain Shannon's and Sayid's sightings of Walt and all the other crazy things that the survivors have witnessed since they crashed landed there.

The hatch mythology continued last night, much to my happiness. I see a beautiful friendship beginning with Locke and Mr. Eko. They both seem to be men of faith. How weird that the film had been spliced and the missing frames hidden in a book on the other side of the island where there is another structure similar to the hatch. The frames didn't contain anything earth-shattering, other than a strong reinforcement that the computer is not to be used for anything other than the code that restarts the countdown to whatever everyone is trying to prevent. The frames did make special mention of not using said computer to try to communicate. Was the film splicing the work of sabotage? Did someone remove the frames, hoping that those who didn't view them would not fully know how important it is to not use the computer except for the code? And if someone did do this, why? Just when I thought it couldn't get any weirder, Michael gets an IM from............Walt???!!! Perhaps this is just another mind game as well or maybe "The Others" are more involved in all of this than we first expected. Either way, it's going to be a long wait for January!

About Last Night... CBS won the first hour of the night with its holiday special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, followed by fellow holiday program Christmas in Rockefeller Center on NBC and ABC comedies George Lopez and Freddie. At 9, ABC took the lead with Lost, followed by Criminal Minds on CBS and Trading Spouses on Fox. UPN's Veronica Mars landed in fifth, ahead of a Gilmore Girls rerun on the WB. The final hour of the night went to CBS's CSI: NY, followed by Law & Order on NBC and Invasion on ABC. For more on last night's ratings, click on over to Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - College fever takes over Newport Beach as the seniors decide what path to take next year on Fox's The O.C. Over on CBS, Danni attempts to break the alliance and the survivors get some surprise visitors on Survivor.

@9 p.m. - Fox takes us back to 1992 with a Thanksgiving episode of Reunion.

@10 p.m. - Gallant is back from Iraq and he and Neela get married on NBC's ER.

QUICK CUTS

*Fox is leaving American Idol right where it was for its upcoming season. The reality competition will remain on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for its fifth season. To make way for Idol, Fox is moving comedies That '70s Show and Stacked to Thursdays after The O.C. beginning March 2nd. The network will leave House in its Tuesday slot, and it will likely get a boost from its post-idol timeslot as it did last season. Freshman forensic drama Bones will move to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. starting January 25th, but it will move again in the spring when Idol's results show moves to the slot. Fox has not yet released plans for the rest of Wednesday night once that happens. Finally, the network announced a return date for its freshman hit Prison Break. The show will be paired with 24, and it will premiere (for the second half of its season) on Monday, March 20th. The new season of American Idol premieres January 17th.

*Fox isn't the only network announcing midseason plans, NBC is also releasing its new schedule. The network is returning to its Must-See-TV roots with a two-hour comedy block on Thursdays that will include Will & Grace (at a new time), new show Four Kings, My Name is Earl (on a new night) and The Office (also on a new night) beginning January 5th. Current Thursday night shows Joey and The Apprentice will return after NBC's coverage of the Olympics in February. The critically acclaimed new show The Book of Daniel starring Aidan Quinn will premiere on Friday, January 6th with back-to-back episodes. The show will continue to air on Friday nights as a limited series until February 3rd. Scrubs will finally return in January to its usual Tuesday night slot. The show will air back-to-back new episodes every Tuesday (running from 9-10 p.m.) starting January 3rd. For more on NBC's midseason schedule, visit The Futon Critic.

*And finally, as a general rule here at PASS THE REMOTE, I don't report on the personal lives of the actors who make up our favorite shows. After all, this is a television blog, not a celebrity gossip one. But some news is just too good to not pass on, especially when it concerns one of our favorite actresses from one of our favorite shows. Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay is expecting her first child with her husband of more than a year Peter Hermann. Hargitay's publicist confirmed the news as did Mariska herself on her official web site. No word from the show or NBC on whether or not the pregnancy will be written into the show (see, I related it back to television). Congrats to Mariska!

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for some crossover ideas (shows that were meant to be crossed over, but more than likely will never be). Plus, Primetime Pass, About Last Night and all the latest television news!