FINALE BLOWOUT: 'Alias' Finds its Happily Ever After! Plus CBS Keeps its Title

It has been an engaging, fun and interesting run on Alias, and I'm only talking about the last two seasons (I still need to rent the earler seasons on DVDs)! This week's finale gave us plenty of closure for each of the characters that we have grown to love, but it didn't provide an answer to the series-long burning question: What exactly is all of this Rambaldi mythology and how does it bring about the end of nature? I guess that's for Sloane to fantasize about for all of eternity while the rest of us still wonder. Let's face it; Sloane has nothing better to do while he's trapped in his underground tomb, cursed with eternal life. I loved the irony that Sloane's quest to live forever through the teachings of Rambaldi gave him the eternal life he wanted, but he will spend it alone, trapped in a collapsed tomb courtesy of Jack. It seems he got the better of Sloane after all. Some random musings on the series finale:

*Tom, we barely knew thee. I knew things weren't going to end well for Tom as soon as he found the bomb on the empty subway car. With so many people to evacuate and only 3 minutes to do so (with a few spurts of 20 seconds thrown in thanks to the liquid nitrogen trick), Tom wasn't going to make it out. I thought that the way he said goodbye to Rachel and sat there on the train alone was very poignant. I didn't tear up, but I found myself thinking, "That is really sad." I do think he would have made a more galant effort to get out if he hadn't just learned the truth about his wife's murder. Hopefully, the two are happy together in TV character heaven.

*Kelly Peyton has to be the most badass character I have ever seen on a TV series. The girl was ruthless and loyal to no one but herself. She marched into that Prophet 5 meeting and blew all 12 members away in a matter of seconds. She then turned and walked out without giving it a second thought. I honestly thought that she was playing Sloane, but she wasn't. If she's the female Lex Luther to Syd's female Superman, then her kryptonite is snakes! Who knew that the all-powerful Peyton could be brought down by something as mundane as the common snake? We all have out weaknesses, and it's Syd job to figure them out.

*I may not have cried at Tom's death, but the tears were certainly flowing when Sydney said goodbye to her dying father. I loved Jack, so saying goodbye wasn't easy. His revenge on Sloane certainly made it a lot easier, though! Gotta love jack, stronger all the way until the end. Back to the goodbye scene. The fact that Jennifer Garner was absolutely sobbing had me all upset. The girl can turn on the waterworks!

*Well, it had to come down to Sydney versus her mother, right? I mean, Irina was Syd's toughest foe because Syd wanted to trust her (and often did), but in the end she knew she couldn't. I liked the way they had Irina die at her own power-hungry hand. Had she just taken her daughter's hand instead of reaching for the Rambaldi artifact, she would be alive. Of course, she wouldn't be happy because she still wouldn't have the power she so desired. I guess her death was win/win.

*Marshall's wife = AWESOME! How great was it that she stepped in for her husband when Sloane and co. took him?? She rocks! It's too bad the show ended because it would have been fun to explore her involvement now that she knows the truth about Marshall's job.

*The ending scenes were great! Yes, they were schmultzy, but I wouldn't have wanted the show to end any other way. Vaughn and Syd were happily married with two kids, living on the beach and somewhat out of the spy business, although, ready to step back in with enough convincing, and Dixon was finally in a deserving position with the CIA. And there was the best part of all, little Isabel seems to take after her mother! That's going to spell trouble in the future! I smell future spin-off ;-).

So overall, it was a very satisfying final episode for a show that has taken us through many journeys. It was nice to see that the last one showed us Sydney's happily ever after. What did you think about the finale? Were you satisfied or did it leave you wanting more? Drop me a note with your thoughts. If you missed the Alias season finale, you can click over to abc.com to watch it for free. To read other Finale Blowout editions, click on over to the Best of Pass the Remote at PassTheRemote.net.

THIS SUMMER...

PASS THE REMOTE HAS YOUR TV FIX!

Your favorite regular season primetime shows may be on hiatus for the next 4 months or so, but Pass the Remote isn't!! I have a full slate planned for this summer with a regular edition 5-days a week. There will be new weekily installments featuring some of your favorites, an all-summer long countdown of this season's best episodes from across the television spectrum, coverage of the new season of USA's The 4400, a modified Friday Fun section featuring trivia, quotes and other fun TV bits, extensive Emmy coverage from the nominations in July to the awards in August and much, much more! So, stay tuned to Pass the Remote all summer long for your complete fix for the summer TV blues!!


~Primetime Pass~
Yesterday, I told you that About Last Night was going on hiatus for the summer and today, the same is true for Primetime Pass. I will continue to let you know when summer shows premiere and when Pass the Remote summer favorites air, but the full edition of this feature will return with your favorite shows this fall. And now, the last installment of Primetime Pass for the season...

@8 p.m. - Dan Brown talks about his controversial and hugely popular book The Da Vinci Code on NBC's Dateline.

@10 p.m. - A serial rapist who lived a double life as a happy family man is profiled on ABC's 20/20.

To see what else you can catch on television tonight with customized listings for your area (via Zap2it), visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.


QUICK CUTS

*CBS is once again this season's overall "Most Watched Network." The final numbers show that the Eye network snagged an average of 12.6 million viewers a night for the season, down a bit from last season's 12.9 million average. Both ABC and Fox are gaining on the top rated network, finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively. ABC went from an average of 10.05 million viewers a night last season to 10.8 million, the largest gain of any network this season. The increase was mainly fueled by the network's airing of the Super Bowl and a heavily watched Rose Bowl this season, but it also credits a full season of Grey's Anatomy (which overtook lead-in Desperate Housewives in total viewers) and the popularity of Dancing with the Stars. Fox was also up thanks to a 10% increase for American Idol and a 29% increase for House. NBC was the only Big 4 network to lose viewers, going from an average of 9.78 million a night last season down to 9.72 million this season.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.


That's all for today. I'm off on Monday for the holiday, but be sure to tune in Tuesday for thoughts on the second-to-last episode of Everwood!!! And more importantly, be sure to catch Everwood on Monday night at 9 p.m. on The WB. This week, the whole town gathers at the funeral of one of Everwoods most beloved citizens to celebrate a life well-lived. After the funeral, Amy begins to rethink her relationship with Ephram. I'll bring you all the details on Tuesday along with all the latest television news!!

To get more television coverage, including the network's new fall schedules and a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote with a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.

Will the Real Sydney Bristow Please Stand Up! Plus 'Idol,' 'Model' and Fox's Sweeps Plans

There are now two Sydney Bristows?? Oh my gosh! I figured out halfway through last night that Prophet 5 wanted Syd's DNA, but I had no idea that they were going to use it to turn Anna into her! I figured it was some sort of cloning experiment. Genetic mutation sounds very dangerous. Clearly, Prophet 5 is trying to have their very own Syd to carry out the Rambaldi foretelling, so it seems that there's trouble ahead. I'm excited to see how this plays out. I guess that Jen Garner will be pulling some double work. This is the point in my discussion of Alias where I should point out that I just started watching this show last season, so Rambaldi and Will are not my strong points. In fact, I met Will for the first time last night. So the following thoughts may be a little "off."

- Baby Isabelle is very cute. I wondered what Syd was going to do when she had to leave her. Those "babysitters" that Jack sent were hilarious Did you see the briefcase with bottles and other baby accessories? Classic!

- So even though I didn't know Will before last night, I LOVED him! He and Syd have a great friendship. I was really worried there at the end that he wasn't going to survive, but Syd saved him just in time.

- The bomb-in-the-head thing was pretty awesome, but only because it didn't go off. I LOVED the way everyone at A.P.O. kept dealing with it like it were any other bomb and then Will kept reminding them that it was in his head. How funny was the cell phone ringing?

- Sloane, Sloane, Sloane. I know I'm supposed to dislike you, but as I stated above, I've only known you since you have been "good." Therefore, I feel for you and you're struggle to save your daughter. BUT, this is going to blow up in your face very soon. I'm also thinking that Peyton didn't fulfill Prophet 5's end of the deal, but we'll see.

- Syd definitely knows that Vaughn is still alive. I'm so dying to see their reunion!

- LOVED Jack's comment that Syd needed to keep sharp objects away from Isabelle because she's a Bristow woman, no matter her age.

Overall, another great hour of Alias. What did you think about the return of Will and Anna? How about Prophet 5's genetic mutation? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.

Music Moment

You guys have been buzzing a lot lately about some cool tunes on your favorite shows. A lot of you are talking about that awesome song that played while Veronica and Logan almost kissed the other night on Veronica Mars. That song is called "I Hear the Bells" and it's by Mike Doughty. You can hear a clip of it HERE (just click the little speaker button next to the song title at the top of the page in the brown banner). You've also been asking about the amazingly perfect and poignant ending song from Scrubs the other night. You know the one when Dr. Cox was in the middle of a breakdown because all three patients died and JD tried to comfort him? Anyway, the song is called "How to Save a Life" and it's by one of my favorite new bands The Fray (they of "Over My Head (Cable Car)" fame). You can hear a clip of this song at the band's web site (just click on the music player at the top of the page, and it's song 3). Like you, I've been loving both tunes, so you can be sure they'll both be getting heavy play on my iPod. To purchase these songs, visit iTunes or pick up either artist's album. "I Hear the Bells" is on Doughty's Haughty Melodic album. "How to Save a Life" can be found on The Fray's album by the same name, How to Save a Life. If you guys are ever wondering about the music you hear on your favorite shows, feel free to drop me a line (via comments or email), and I'll try my best to get the answer. Chances are if you're buzzing about it, others are too!

The Idol Moment
OK, this is really starting to freak me out! I asked you guys to stop putting Katharine McPhee in the bottom three (don't you love the way that rhymes?), I asked you to please stop voting for Ace and last week I asked you to stop picking Pickler. All three requests have been answered! You know I'm only kidding, but seriously, I'm happy to know that I feel the same as America. This is the end of the road for my requests getting matched, I'm afraid, because my next request is for all five contestants to remain on the show. I really can't pick just one from now on. Once again, I would like to give props to Kellie for her great attitude last night. Honestly, she is a talented girl when she's given the right material. I just felt that she was the weakest link of the remaining six. Chris continues to blow me away, and I'm still loving Katharine and Paris. Elliot has such an amazing voice and Taylor has such soul to his sound and a great personality to match. This is going to be very difficult from here on out. I would also like to give props to Katharine McPhee for pulling off that much talked about dress the other night. Her boobs were working overtime, and it must have paid off because despite the judges' harsh remarks, she and Chris managed to get the most votes.


The Model Moment
I have to admit, I'm still a little shocked about last night's elimination on America's Next Top Model. Nnenna (left - photo courtesy UPN)?? I mean I agree that she had been seriously slipping these last few weeks and her attitude was getting on my nerves, but I was just surprised that the judges saw it that way as well. How cool is Thailand??!! I was so psyched when they found out that this was where they were heading. I thought that Joanie and Sara's idea to learn the language and the culture was a good one. That massage task was a bit icky, and I have to agree with Furonda. Although, I do think that if you're in a competition, then you need to suck it up and do it. I agonized with Danielle over her decision to fill in her gap. The way the dentist did it, though, was sort of a compromise and it didn't take away from her originality. I thought it turned out well. That mermaid shoot, although painful, looked really awesome. Joanie and Danielle rocked their photos! The last little interview session at panel was interesting. I couldn't believe how many of the girls just couldn't pull this off. Danielle was awesome as usual, but Nnenna, Furonda and Sara were just awful! I LOVED that the judges think that Danielle is everyone's biggest threat right now. Yay! Go Danielle and Joanie!

About Last Night...NBC won the first hour of the night with Deal or No Deal, followed by Fox's Bones and CBS' The Amazing Race. ABC's Alias landed in fourth place. At 9, Fox took the lead with its combination of the Idol results show and Unan1mous, followed by ABC's Lost clip show and CBS' Criminal Minds (r). The final hour of the night went to CBS' CSI: NY, followed by NBC's Law & Order (r) and ABC's Invasion. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~ (NOTE: May Sweeps officially begins tonight)
@8 p.m. - Chris brings his father's Playboy to school, but panics when it gets stolen on UPN's Everybody Hates Chris. Over on CBS, the Casaya alliance has to vote out one of their own at Tribal Council since Terry has possession of the hidden Immunity Idol. ABC airs back-to-back episodes of American Inventor.

@9 p.m. - Solving the case of a wealthy defense attorney killed at her son's wedding is compromised when all of the evidence from the case is stolen along with Nick's car on CBS' CSI. Over on NBC, Earl attempts to take care of number 127 on his list, "stole a badge from a police officer." Fox's The O.C. features special guest star and former American Idol contestant Lisa Tucker as the gang attends the senior prom.

@10 p.m. - The team attempts to locate a 15-year-old Olympic-hopeful figure skater on Without a Trace. Look for guest stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Tracey Needham. Over on NBC, Noah Wylie and Diane Ladd guest star on ER. Mac calls on her new Attorney General to look into the growing urban unrest in nearby Prince George’s County, Maryland on ABC's Commander in Chief.



QUICK CUTS

*Fox is releasing some insight into its sweeps plans. Look for the final episodes of That 70s Show (May 18th) and Malcolm in the Middle (May 14th), the 2-hour season finale of 24 (May 22nd), the 3-hour, two night American Idol finale (May 23rd and 24th), the 90-minute season finale of Family Guy (May 21st) and the world broadcast premiere of School of Rock among the offerings. You can also expect big episodes of your favorite Fox shows, including pivital episodes of Prison Break that put the plan into action, a 2-night House event and a very personal case for Booth on the first season finale of Bones. If you would like to read more about what to expect next month, click on over to The Futon Critic (WARNING: the press release does include spoilers).

*Fans of The Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica are about to get a bonus. The cable channel announced yesterday that it is developing a new show, dubbed Caprica, that will focus on the back story to Galactica. The show will be set 50 years before the Peabody Award winning series during the years leading up to the Cyclons' devastation of humanity. The network promises that this series, like Galactica, will be about more than just space battles and will deal with family drama as well.

*And finally, NBC already has a hit with Deal or No Deal, and now the network is banking on another game show import. The Peacock is developing an American version of the popular international game show 1 versus 100. In the game, "one player must outlast a mob of 100 people in a tense battle of brains and greed for a chance to win a multi-million dollar cash prize" by answering trivia questions correctly. If the mob gives a wrong answer, then one of them leaves and the value of the cash prize goes up. If the single player can outlast all 100 members of the mob, then they win the top cash prize. No word yet on when the show will debut.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts from Nnenna about her Top Model experience. Plus, thoughts on CSI and Without a Trace and all the latest television news!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details

Syd's Back! Plus 'Idol,' 'Model' and Breaking Programming News for Tonight

So, what did everybody think about last night's 2-hour Alias return? I loved the way it literally picked up exactly where it left off. It was so seamless that I found myself wondering if Jennifer Garner filmed the cargo ship scenes before she went on maternity leave. I was surprised by how much information and plot lines that I remembered. I had somehow forgotten about Sloane's involvement with Prophet 5, but it came flooding back as soon as he got his little phone call about failing to tip them off about Syd's rescue. Here are some observations about last night's first-rate 2-hour return:

- Why was the baby glowing red and blue in the womb? I know everything checked out when they got Syd back, and the baby appeared to be fine, but that was weird.

- Weiss was back! And with a powerful position! I loved seeing him help Marshall, Dixon, Rachel and Thomas at CIA Headquarters. That scene in the server room with Rachel was intense. I loved how Weiss navigated her through it.

- So Thomas was married and his wife was killed. He tracked down the killer, but we don't know what happened. He said that he wasn't there about "that," which we can only assume is his wife's death. He sure was laying it on thick with Rachel later, though. He lied about the encounter, so it seems that something must have gone down.

- Jack's tactic at the Alpha Black meeting was awesome! He found the mole and got his daughter's location. Of course, he also got arrested, but it was short lived. I don't think I realized that he had such high clearance!

- Irina made me mad when she used her mother/daughter relationship with Syd to find the location of the fabled Horizon, although it was fun to see the family back together again. As soon as she double-crossed them, I knew things were going to get interesting.

- Is Peyton the badest bad girl to ever bad? She's completely ruthless! I knew she wouldn't die, but she did seem seriously injured.

- We're not much closer to finding out what Horizon is or why Prophet 5 wants it. We know it was stored in that safety deposit box on Vancouver during a mission that Vaughn worked in Paris in 1999. Whatever it is, it isn't very big and it's now in the hands of Irina.

- Speaking of Irina, she redeemed herself when she decided to choose motherhood for once. She coached Syd through that birth and made sure they got the help they needed after she left. Is it wrong that I both dislike and like Irina?

- I know none of you was shocked when Vaughn turned up at the end. The fact that he's still alive is like the worst kept secret ever, but a monastery? It seems that he is hiding out, but did I detect a hint that both Syd and Jack were in on his fake death? While they're on the plane flying back to A.P.O, we see Syd look at Jack and say "Dad" and Jack says nothing, but nods. The next scene shows Vaughn finding out about his daughter. It seems that Jack is the one who got word to Vaughn. We'll have to see in future episodes, but if Syd knew all along, that would definitely be a twist I didn't see coming!

Overall, it was great to have Alias back and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the series play out. What did you think about last night's return? Are you happy to have the show back? Drop me a comment with your thoughts.


The Idol Moment
You listen to me! You really, really listen to me! First, I enlist your help to keep Katharine McPhee out of the bottom three, and it works. Now, you got rid of Ace!! All joking aside, I was so thrilled, scratch that, ecstatic to see Ace go! Finally the faker is gone! Interestingly enough, it was on a night where he wasn't as horrible as he usually is, but no matter. What I am not rejoicing over is Paris' and Chris' descent into the bottom three. Why wasn't Kellie Pickler's tone deaf performance in the bottom three? Why is everyone buying her country bumkin act? It's not fair when fabulous singers like Paris and Chris get relegated to the bottom three and average - at - best singers like Kellie get tons of votes? Please people; stop picking Pickler for the love of Simon! Anyway, I thought Tuesday's performances were good overall. Chris, Taylor, Paris and Katharine shone the brightest, but Elliot did a fine job as well. Ace was his usual so-so self and you know how I feel about Kellie's painful performance. The one thing I will say about Kellie is her ability to recognize her own failures and address them. She was the first to point out that she messed up, and she took the constructive criticism very well. Is this why you're all voting for her?


The Model Moment
Ace's departure from American Idol was deserved, but unexpected, but Brooke's (left - photo courtesy UPN) elimination from America's Next Top Model was as expected as Jade's performance at panel. For weeks, we've been hearing about how she has all the potential in the world, but can't turn that potential into action. Her photos have always been so-so at best. It's a shame because she really does have a lot of potential. I think a lot of her shortcomings have to do with her lack of confidence. It's hard to sell something if you don't believe in yourself. Of course, it's hard to believe in yourself when you keep harping on all the negatives. It was just too much for Brooke to overcome. Is anyone else getting the sickening feeling that Jade is going to win this competition? I feel like the judges put her in the bottom two in hopes that it will fix her attitude because they want to see her through to the end. She needs a huge dose of humility stat! I really enjoyed the doll photo shoot, and I couldn't get over how well Danielle, Furonda and Joanie nailed it! Danielle is still my favorite, and I applaud her effort to hold onto something that she likes about herself, even if the judges are making her close that gap between her teeth. Joanie is my new second favorite. I loved the way she got so choked up about the dental work, and she truly appreciated the results. And her pictures are fabulous! That black and white crying photo was amazing (Above - photo courtesy UPN)!


About Last Night...Fox won the first hour of the night with Bones, followed by CBS' The Amazing Race and the first hour of ABC's Alias. At 9, Fox stayed in the lead with its combination of the Idol results show and Unan1mous, followed by CBS' Criminal Minds and the second hour of Alias. The final hour of the night went to CBS' CSI: NY, followed by NBC's Law & Order (r) and the return of ABC's Invasion. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Chris decides to enroll in karate classes so he can beat his little brother on UPN's Everybody Hates Chris. Over on CBS, one survivor suffers a medical emergency on Survivor.

@9 p.m. - Theresa and the baby return on Fox's The O.C.

@10 p.m. - The team searches for a young blue blood who went missing from the inner city shelter for indigent women where he volunteered as part of his sentence for drug possession on CBS' Without a Trace. Over on ABC, Mac stands by her nominee for Attorney General who takes a beating during his confirmation hearings for being soft on crime on Commander In Chief.



QUICK CUTS

*BREAKING NEWS! NBC is canceling Celebrity Cooking Showdown effective immediately. The celeb-reality competition was set to air its final two installments tonight and tomorrow night, but poor ratings led the network to scrap the series at the last minute. The unaired episodes will be available via webcast at nbc.com. Look for repeats of Will & Grace and My Name is Earl to air tonight and a repeat of Deal or No Deal to air tomorrow night in place of Showdown.

*HBO is giving Big Love a second season. The cable network ordered another season of its new hit show that deals with plural marriage. The show stars Bill Paxton as a Utah polygamist and Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin as his three wives. The second season will begin filming in August and is expected to premiere next year on HBO.

*And finally, is ABC's Lost losing another cast member? I'm finally giving into this story even though it is purely speculative at best. Actress Cynthia Watros (Libby on Lost) is signed on to the CBS comedy pilot My Ex-Life opposite Tom Cavanaugh. The show will focus on a divorced couple who are now best friends and sharing custody of their children. Like all other pilots, the show is vying for a spot on the fall schedule. The speculation is that Watros signed on to the pilot because her character must not live through the season on Lost. For now, Watros' role in the new pilot is being classified as "guest starring" according to The Hollywood Reporter, but she will play one half of the divorced couple. CBS will announce its new fall schedule next month. Lost airs its season finale May 24th on ABC.

That's all for today. I'm off tomorrow, but be sure to check back here for another edition of Friday Fun. This week's edition features thoughts from a controversial team from The Amazing Race. That's tomorrow on a special early edition of Friday Fun!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details

FRIDAY FUN: You So Need an 'Alias!'

It has been four months, but Alias is finally returning to a television near you! Yes, Syd and the gang are all back for the final episodes of the series beginning this Wednesday with a special 2-hour event on ABC. Four months is a long time to remember what happened when we last left Syd. If you remember, she was pregnant, Vaughn was "dead" and Syd was trapped on a ship in the middle of an ocean because of something having to do with her mother. Here's a quick recap from TV.com:

Sydney teams up with Vaughn after being kidnapped and being placed in a hypnotic state. What Sydney doesn't know is that the kidnapper is a very familiar face with an obscure interest in her unborn child.

ABC.com has a more thorough recap with all the important details. Here's what they have to say about that pivotal ending scene:

Inside Syd's head, she's with Vaughn on a beach. Syd says how much she wants to stay with him. Vaughn encourages her and tells her that together, they will defeat these people -especially after they find out that Syd had given them the wrong information. He has to go so they can stop using her.

At the Hungarian address, Renee and Jack find a room where a nursery was set up. Meanwhile, with the chemicals wearing off, Sydney opens her eyes and finds Peyton unstrapping her. Syd stabs Peyton with the drug and escapes. Still groggy, she finds her way around narrow corridors, only to discover that she's on a ship at sea.

Again, you can read more about the last episode at abc.com. Now that you're caught up, how about a look at what you can expect when the show returns this Wednesday? Entertainment Tonight caught up star Jennifer Garner on the set on her show. She talks about the big 2-hour return, which includes Syd's labor, the show's impending end and her new fake pregnant belly.



You can also check out some clips from the next episodes at TV.com. It looks like things are going to get really intense!

Click HERE to go to the TV.com page with all the advance clips

TV Guide's Mike Ausiello has some great scoop and spoilers about the rest of this show's season. You can click over to TVGuide.com's Ausiello Report for more on the upcoming plots, the return of some former cast members and everything else Alias, but be warned, there are plenty of spoilers. Remember to catch Alias this Wednesday beginning at 8 p.m. on ABC for two back-to-back action packed episodes!

That's all for this edition of Friday Fun! Be sure to check back here Monday for the latest edition of Pass the Remote and next Friday for another installment of Friday Fun! And don't forget that PassTheRemote.Net is launching this Monday! Be sure to check out the site for all the latest television news, TV listings, Friday Fun archive, photo gallery and much, much more! Have a great weekend everyone!

Vaughn's Back! Whoops, 'Alias' was Just Kidding!

Even though we all saw it coming, it was still somewhat of a bummer to learn that the whole "Vaughn's back!" was nothing more than a series of Syd's memories invoked by Prophet 5. I found myself feeling sad for Sydney all over again when she had to once again say goodbye to Vaughn. It was nice to see the two together again, and in new scenes. The show totally could have gone through the archive and pulled out the scenes they needed from old episodes, but they went the extra mile and re-shot them to give us extra dialogue and reaction from Syd. I thought it worked really well, and it was a nice way of allowing Syd to let go. The do-over of the hospital scene posed an interesting question. Did the "doctor" give Vaughn something that led to his death? Syd said something about the last time she gave him that substance to drink, he ended up dead. Perhaps it wasn't just the shooting that killed Vaughn after all. I totally thought Syd gave Prophet 5 the correct information, so I was very happy to learn that she did not. Of course, this is going to get her in hot water as soon as they figure it out.

Ok, so Vaughn's back/not back was no surprise, but that doesn't mean the entire episode was predictable. Not in the slightest bit! Irina Derevko was pulling the strings on Prophet 5's kidnapping and extracting information from Syd!!?? The same Irina Derevko who is also her mother!? How in the world did they manage to keep Lena Olin's appearance a secret in this day and age of internet gossip?? Of maybe I'm the only one who didn't know? Now the question is, what does Irina want with Horizon's location? And after she thought she got the correct location, she left, leaving Syd (who still doesn't know that her mother is behind the whole thing) alone with Kelly "I had Gordon Dean killed so I could have more power" Peyton. Syd used a syringe to get the better of Miss Peyton and then hurried out of the room. I totally fell for the whole editing trick with the shots of Syd interlaced with the shots of Jack and Renee and thought they were all at the same place. What was up with that creepy nursery Jack and Renee encountered at their location? Is it set up for Syd, and if so, did her mother set it up so she could have Syd and the baby with her? In true Alias fashion, the show ended on a huge cliffhanger that we'll have to wait until March to resolve. As Syd made her way through the different rooms, she went out on what seemed to be a roof. There was the sound of a helicopter pulling away, and Syd walked over to the edge only to learn that she was on huge ship in the middle of the ocean! How will anyone ever find her out there? You've got to hand it to Alias, nobody does cliffhangers better than they do.

About Last Night... CBS won the first hour of the night with comedies Still Standing and Yes, Dear, followed by NBC's E-Ring (r) and ABC comedies George Lopez and Freddie. At 9, Criminal Minds on CBS won the hour, followed by ABC's Lost (r) and Fox's Trading Spouses. The final hour of the night went to CBS's CSI: NY, followed by Law & Order (r) on NBC and ABC's Alias. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~



The Santa Clause - Tim Allen stars in this family film about a man who accidentally kills Santa, and therefore, must assume his duties. 8 p.m. ABC

Everybody Hates Chris - Julius and Rochelle can't afford to buy Chris the Christmas gift he wants after the water heater breaks. 8 p.m. UPN

The O.C. - It's the third annual "Chrismukkah" episode. The gang searches for the best Christmas trees and Summer feels some of the holiday blues. 8 p.m. Fox

Joey - Two back-to-back episodes, but the second one is Christmas-themed. In the second episode, Joey throws a holiday party at his apartment, but he has to iron out some wrinkles between him and Alex. 8 p.m. (holiday episode 8:30 p.m.) NBC

Reunion - Each chapter takes place during a different season of 1994, starting with New Years. 9 p.m. Fox



QUICK CUTS

*NBC's Will & Grace is going live again. The comedy will air a live episode on January 12th, just as it did earlier this season with the premiere. In the episode, Karen throws a birthday party and ends up staying in the bathroom with her friends for most if it. Once again, the show will do two different versions - one for the East Coast and one for the West Coast. Will & Grace is in its 8th and final season on NBC.

*Dancing with the Stars contestant Romeo will not be a part of the upcoming season as originally announced. The young rapper/actor is suffering from a basketball injury and is unable to compete in the reality dance competition that pairs celebrities with professional dancers. Romeo's father and hip hop mogul Master P will take his place when the season begins January 5th on ABC.

*And finally, congratulations to the writing staff at Veronica Mars. The show picked up a Writers Guild of America nomination for the second season opener, "Normal is the Watchword." In the episode, Veronica investigates doping allegations at Neptune High and the season's bus crash mystery is revealed. Series creator Rob Thomas penned the episode. The awards will be handed out February 4th at ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on television's funniest comedy Everybody Hates Chris (you've gotta love a show that keeps it real even for a Christmas episode!). Plus, all the latest television news and a jam-packed edition of Primetime Pass with plenty of Holiday Highlights (yes, it's getting very close to Christmas and the specials just keep rolling in)!

'Veronica' Reports for Jury Duty! Plus, the Return of 'Alias!'

So maybe it wasn't the most shocking twist in Veronica Mars' short history, but Meg's death does set up a surprising future storyline: Veronica's promise to her that she would ensure that the baby not go to the scary religious adoption place or to Meg's parents. I'm not sure how our dear Veronica is going to pull this off, though. We know how crazy Meg's parents are, which is precisely why poor Meg didn't want them raising her daughter. Keeping with my motto for this show, I will "expect the unexpected" when it returns next year. Can you believe we have to wait until next year to see new episodes?? One thing that definitely surprised me last night was Wallace's return! Yay! I thought it was going to be Duncan at the door because of the sad news regarding Meg until I remembered that he was in Sun Valley with his parents for the break. This brings up an interesting point, though, why didn't Veronica or Duncan contact each other after hearing about her death? I wonder if Duncan has even heard yet. It's very possible that he hasn't. I thought Veronica took the Meg's-pregnant-and-it's-Duncan's news very well. You could tell that she was very upset, but she was also supportive of not only Duncan, but also Meg. Duncan is hard to read, though. I can't figure out how he feels about Veronica.

Veronica's jury duty was a nice way of continuing with the overall theme of the show: the class differences between the rich "09ers" and the rest of Neptune. Most of the jury, including Veronica, was easily able to accept the defense's story that the Mexican victim was a prostitute whose pimp got angry. The wealthy jury member who elected Veronica foreman, but decided to be extra vocal turned out to be so horrible. He refused to consider the other side because the victim was Mexican and her alleged attackers were kids "from good families." It's disgusting to know that things like this really go on. I knew when Veronica switched to the other side that there was no way she was backing down. Mr. CEO had no idea what he was up against! Interesting development with the juror who approached V about college next year. I know Creator Rob Thomas has said that he has some plans for next year when V goes to college, so I wonder if this was a bit of foreshadowing. I'd love to see her stay right in Neptune.

I understand why Logan did what he did so that the tapes would never end up on the internet, but he just seriously hampered the prosecution's case. Plus, how many more years of therapy is he going to need after watching his father and his former girlfriend together? I really felt bad for him while he was watching them (in order to testify to their content) and then erasing their content. How classic was it having Keith investigate the sheriff's office? It was like his own form of poetic justice! Sheriff Lamb is such a tool! I didn't see the Deputy Leo thing coming, but his explanation made sense. I liked the way Keith didn't write the entire truth in order to spare Leo. I wonder if he's gone or just suspended. Another strong episode, and it's going to be a very long wait for January!

It was nice to have Alias back last night and off of crowded Thursday night! Rachel's little tryst with Sark ended up working for them rather than against them. Not only were they easily able to locate him, but he was willing to work with APO to find Jack and Jack's old MI-6 agent friend. I'm really liking Rachel, so I'm curious to see how she and Syd work together once Syd has the baby. Next week's episode is the one that we have all been waiting for, though!

About Last Night... NBC took the first hour of he night with E-Ring, followed by ABC comedies George Lopez and Freddie and UPN's America's Next Top Model finale. At 9, ABC landed in first with Lost (r), followed by Trading Spouses on Fox and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart on NBC. UPN's Veronica Mars landed in fifth, ahead of the WB's Related (r). The final hour of the night went to NBC's Law & Order, followed by CSI: NY (r) on CBS and ABC's Alias. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Johnny tells Marissa how he really feels on Fox's The O.C. Over on NBC, Joey's best friend from high school (guest star Adam Goldberg) comes to visit on Joey.

@9 p.m. - Rose gives Harold some startling news, Delia falls in with the popular crowd, Nina begins to suspect something is up with Jake, Bright helps Hannah work on her self-esteem, and there's a major development between Amy and Ephram on the WB's Everwood. Over on CBS, the team investigates the kidnapping of a boy from a local park on CSI.

@10 p.m. - Sam agrees to do a favor for a friend and she and the team try to help a young woman who has lost her memory. Meanwhile, Jack is forced to make a decision about his father's (guest star Martin Landau) failing health on CBS's Without A Trace.





Will & Grace - The gang spends the holidays at Will's mother's and Grace warms up to Will's brother. Meanwhile, Jack helps Will's gay nephew organize a Christmas show. 8:30 p.m. NBC

ER - Abby and Kovac exchange Christmas gifts, but Abby's gift to him is bigger than expected. Meanwhile, nurse Haleh holds chorus auditions and everyone is surprised to see who she picks to sing the solo. 10 p.m. NBC


QUICK CUTS

*Next week's Amazing Race finale on CBS is not the final leg, at least not for the two teams that finish second and third. Those teams will continue in a mini-race for a 2006 GMC Yukon XL. But, you won't be watching this Race on your television set because CBS will stream the competition on its web site immediately following the show's West Coast broadcast on December 13th. The mini-race will require teams to recall challenges and places from this season's journey. This is the first time the second and third place finishers have had a chance to win a prize. The two-hour Amazing Race finale airs next Tuesday on CBS.

*And finally, CSI creator Anthony Zuiker's paycheck just got a little larger. The man behind all three CSIs inked a reported eight-figure deal with Paramount Television that will keep him as executive producer of all three and calls for him to develop new programs for the production company. The pilot episode for CSI was Zuiker's first television script.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Everwood (what will happen between Amy and Ephram?) and Without A Trace (how will another Jack episode go over?). Plus, all the latest television news!

Hannah has a Change of Heart, Syd Gets to the Bottom of Things, and Gil Goes to the Brass

So, the big news today is that Hannah is staying in Everwood. Not that I thought she was leaving permanently, but I was surprised that there wasn't big exit scene this week (with a return scene in a future episode). I know her mom needs her, but I think Hannah made the right decision. She may have been running away from her problems when she left Minnesota, but she found happiness and relationships that she was missing back home. The character has been such an asset to the show, and she has helped Amy's character grow and mature, not to mention the wonders she has done for Bright. Honestly, I can't imagine Everwood without her. So, yeah, I got a little weepy when she said goodbye and broke up with Bright. I also got a little teary eyed when Amy admitted how much losing Hannah was going to affect her. Luckily, there was the HI-larious "Extreme Andy" and "Extreme Harold" storyline to quell any stray tears. Actually, I think this story caused more tears, just of the wetting-my-pants laughing variety. As if those two planning to sky dive together to prove they're both risk takers wasn't funny enough, they give us that awesome scene in the general store where Andy convinces Harold to shoplift a 25 cent pack of gum! I almost died when he started running for the door! LOVED Andy's "put it on my bill" comment. If Harold only knew! The irony between the Andy/Harold storyline and Jake's extreme bike ride (which triggered Andy and Harold's "extreme" behavior) was well played. Mr. Extreme takes his friend down an uncharted mountain bike course, and his friend ends up losing the use of his lower body after hitting a rock and crashing. It seems that Jake does not deal with hardship well, either. I knew we were going to see the return of the pills. Things are getting interesting with his relationship with Nina anyway. Another strong, emotional and hilarious episode.

Syd finally got some of the answers that she has been longing to discover last night on Alias. Dean's organization, Prophet 5, seems to be a collaborative effort between agencies within 12 different countries. She would have learned more had Sloane not eliminated Dean before Syd got there to retrieve the passcode for the server holding the pertinent info. One minute, Sloane is good and the next he's bad again. I guess his overall motivation is Nadia, so he does whatever is necessary to try to save her. Kelly has turned out to be worse than her former boss Dean, and even more ruthless. She had him killed so she could gain control over the unit. I liked Sydney and Jack's crib adventure. So funny when it wouldn't fit through the door. I was so happy when Rachel took out Dean! She pounded him with that shovel, which led to APO's capture and information collection. Way to go Rachel! The girl is finally getting some confidence and skills. This Prophet 5 mystery has me very intrigued, especially since we learned that it involves various country's governments. I'm really enjoying the overarching storylines this season, and I thought that last night was another strong episode.

Damn you CSI! You are not supposed to make me all teary eyed! That job belongs to the likes of Everwood and Cold Case! You're supposed to be the show that I can count on to sit back and enjoy a "fun" hour of television, not a weepy one! Last night, the tears reared their ugly head when Captain Brass attended the slain officer's memorial and the dead officer's pregnant widow hugged him. Just seeing the little girl who is now fatherless was enough to start the waterworks. The only other episode that I can remember getting teary eyed at was the one from earlier this season with the murdered family and the missing little girl, so now this show has gotten me twice! I found the entire two-part episode to be very emotional. Sofia was a complete mess. I so didn't want the friendly fire shooter to be either Brass or Sofia, but it was more of a shock to learn that it was Brass. I had a hard time understanding why the other cops were so quick to shun him. Accidents happen, especially in a huge fire fight where multiple people die. The cops were lucky to not have lost more than one. Of course, it's a complete tragedy that the one was killed by one of his own and not the bad guys, but Brass was trying to shoot the fleeing suspect and he made a bad shot. Definitely an emotional episode for a show that usually stays on the lighter side, but it is nice to see them mix it up a bit. No worries anyway, it looks like next week's episode is very typical CSI fare.

About Last Night... CBS won the first hour of the night with Survivor, followed by NBC comedies Joey and Will & Grace and Alias on ABC. At 9, CBS once again landed on top with CSI, followed by The Apprentice on NBC and Primetime on ABC. In an interesting development, the WB's Everwood took fourth ahead of Fox's Reunion. The final hour of the night went to CBS's Without A Trace, followed by ER on NBC and Primetime on ABC. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Bernie puts the kids on lockdown during tonight's The Bernie Mac Show on Fox.

@9 p.m. - CBS's Close to Home continues its Friday night trial run tonight as Annabeth discovers that an open and shut hit and run accident is more murder than accident.

@10 p.m. - A dangerous meth lab explosion ends the life of one of Megan's agents on CBS's Numb3rs.

SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - Lilly and the team reopen the 1972 death of a former POW after his dogtags are found in an abandoned drug house on CBS's Cold Case (you know the routine, it might start late due to football). Also, as reported here earlier this week, Broadway's Tracie Thoms joins the cast.

@9 p.m. - Susan's mom gets married and the residents of Wisteria Lane get spooked when they learn that there is an intruder on the loose on ABC's Desperate Housewives. Over on CBS, Christmas comes early as the eye network rolls out its first holiday movie of the season. Without A Trace's Poppy Montgomery and CSI's Eric Szmanda join Mary Tyler Moore, Camryn Manheim, Jennifer Esposito and Jason Priestly for Snow Wonder, which is based on the short story by Connie Willis. In the movie, a snow storm brings miracles to people all over the country.

@10 p.m. - Thanksgiving brings difficult times for the doctors of ABC's Grey's Anatomy. Izzie worries about who will show up for her dinner at Meredith's, George endures the family tradition of turkey hunting and Meredith treats a patient who has been in a vegetative state for 16 years.


QUICK CUTS

*It seems that NBC's Three Wishes used up its last one. According to TV Guide.com the network is canceling the reality heartwarmer after it recently ordered additional episodes. The cancellation is due to the show's high production costs and slumping ratings since CBS moved Close to Home up against it according to Variety. The last episode is expected to air next month.

*Fox is adding more characters to its hit thriller 24 when it returns early next year. Actors Julian Sands, Peter Weller and JoBeth Williams will all be a part of the cast for the show's fifth season. The show kicks off with a four-hour, two night event on Sunday, January 15th and Monday, January 16th.

*And finally, ABC is moving Alias to Wednesday nights for the two weeks before it goes on hiatus to accommodate star Jennifer Garner's pregnancy. The move pushes Invasion off of ABC's schedule for the two week period. That show will return December 21st. The network hopes the post-Lost timeslot will breathe some life into Alias, which has seen its numbers decline from over 10 million viewers last season to only 7 million this season. The change goes into effect on December 7th.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for Cold Case (how will new girl #2 fit in with the show?), Without A Trace (did the change in perspective for this episode work or was it too different?), and Desperate Housewives (how funny is this wedding going to be?). Plus, all the latest television news, About Last Night and Primetime Pass!

Rachel Goes 'Solo,' the Bullets Fly in Vegas and Hannah Says Goodbye!

I'm really enjoying this season's Alias storylines from Rachel's story paralleling Sydney's to Sloane's betrayal to save his daughter and Syd's quest to avenge Vaughn's death. So far, it has been a season filled with good old-fashioned spy capers and undercover work. Last night's episode, "Solo," continued the trend as new agent Rachel completed her first solo mission, and it was nail biter! Rachel has been very reluctant from the beginning, and then watching her freeze and run during the intel collection in India caused me to have serious doubts about her. She makes me nervous because she is so unsure of herself. Obviously, she has the guts and the abilities to complete these missions, but she seemed to be lacking the confidence. I think that her ease of collecting the data combined with her fight scenes with former friend and Gordon Dean accomplice Kelly might have done the trick. She completed the mission with just a few missteps ("RayMichelle") and got herself out of a sticky spot without compromising the data. I liked the parallel between Syd helping Rachel by "being in her ear" for her first mission and Syd's own experience with Vaughn in her ear during her early missions. The ending scene with Sydney holding the tape player with a tape of the communication between her and Vaughn during the earlier missions to her pregnant tummy was really poignant. It was nice to see Nadia, even if she was unconscious in a hospital bed. I admire Sloane's tenacity toward saving his daughter, but turning over information to someone as dangerous as Dean just doesn't balance out the scale correctly. I did like the stand he took after Dean sent Kelly to the oil rig and almost messed up the entire mission. Too bad Dean refused to play along. I can't wait to see what happens when APO discovers Sloane's betrayal.

Man, were the bullets flying last night on CSI, or what? I felt bad for Greg when he found out he had to mark bullets and casings for 20 blocks. Talk about an overwhelming task! I'm not a fan of Nick's new 'stache. It ages him, but I did like Warrick's "mustache boy" comment. The detective from internal affairs was really smug, and he didn't seem to care that Sofia was having a hard time dealing with everything that happened. For crying out loud, the girl just made detective. She was a CSI previously! Cut her a small break, huh internal affairs! I had never seen Captain Brass shaken up before, let alone with tears in his eyes. The whole incident seemed to happen so fast. When the detective was asking those involved what happened, I couldn't remember, and I was simply watching and not participating, so I can imagine that these cops must have been struggling to remember every minute detail. The real shame in the whole matter was the shooting of the innocent kid on his bike. It looks like he was shot by one of the suspects and not one of the cops, though. The ending scene when they captured the last suspect had me a little leery. It seemed like something was about to go down, but I wasn't sure until someone fired and hit the suspect. Then we got the dreaded words, "To Be Continued..." I thought this episode worked really well. It never dragged, and I found myself very wrapped up the story. I'm looking forward to the conclusion next week.

So, I get that Hannah was upset about not getting to say goodbye to her father before he died on last night's Everwood, and I even get that she feels that her mom needs her, but what I don't get is how she could seem so indifferent to leaving Amy, her life in Everwood, and especially Bright. Her comment about having no reason to stay was cold, even if she tried to backpedal and say it didn't come out right. During this scene at the Abbott's, I kept thinking, "Why can't her mom move to Everwood and then everyone gets what they want?" I suppose, just as in real life, it's not that simple. Speaking of the evening at the Abbott's, I LOVED Harold's slideshow of his and Rose's African safari. It was just so him! It was nice to have him in the final scene because I definitely missed him this week. Ephram has really gotten himself into a whole with Amy. He got angry at Reid, who could not have been more fair or nicer about the whole thing, came to an agreement that Reid would no longer see Amy and Ephram would tell her how he feels, and then chickened out on the whole telling her how he feels part when he learned that Amy had met Reid over the summer. This was probably the last opportunity he's going to get for a while to turn things around with Amy, and he let it pass him by! The writers, they tease! It was nice to see Andy and Nina hanging out and talking like friends again without the Jake and Andy thing hanging between them. Another strong episode for a show that's having an amazing season!

About Last Night... Another Thursday night, another sweep for CBS. The eye network started out on top with Survivor, followed by NBC's comedy hour of Joey and Will & Grace and Alias on ABC. At 9, CSI easily snagged the hour for CBS, followed by The Apprentice on NBC and Nightstalker on ABC. Everwood landed in fifth for WB, ahead of UPN's comedies. The final hour of the night went to CBS's Without A Trace, followed by NBC's ER and ABC's Primetime. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - An opossum decides to make its home at the Mac house and Bernie becomes the butt of jokes after his reaction to the critter on Fox's The Bernie Mac Show.

@9 p.m. - CBS's Close to Home tries out a new night and time in hopes of generating more viewers. Tonight's episode finds Annabeth contending with a defense lawyer who wants to shift the blame from his client to the victim's parents. Over on NBC, the Three Wishes teams travels to New Philadelphia-Dover, Ohio to grant the wish of a Girl Scout who's collecting books in order to open a library in her town.

@10 p.m. - Don and his team investigate a string of upscale home invasions, the latest of which resulted in a father's murder on CBS's Numb3rs.

SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - Lilly reopens a 1999 case after a diary is discovered on a recycled computer that belongs to a woman involved in the dot.com world who died of a stress-induced heart attack on CBS's Cold Case (may start late due to football).

@9 p.m. - Linda Dano guest stars as George's mother, Gabby takes a trip down memory lane when some old friends visit, Lynette and Tom learn more about the Applewhites, Bree answers a big question and Betty loses something important on ABC's Desperate Housewives. NBC airs a two-hour special that visits Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost and Found.

@10 p.m. - Derek and Addison's disagreements become professional when their close friends have a medical crisis on ABC's Grey's Anatomy.



QUICK CUTS

*SHOW COMINGS/GOINGS: Things aren't looking so good for Fox's Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential. The network pulled both shows for the remainder of sweeps, replacing them with reruns of Prison Break. Fox also cut both shows' episode order to only 13 for the season. The two shows have struggled to find an audience this season and reruns of Prison Break returned better numbers for Fox than new episodes of either series. Fox plans to bring back both comedies starting December 5th, but their futures remain up in the air. There's also not-so-good news for fans of the WB family drama 7th Heaven. The network confirmed that this will be the show's last season. It is mainly due to a cost issue for the network, and creator Brenda Hampton concurs that she'd rather take the series out on a creative high note. This is 7th Heaven's 10th season. There's good news for freshman comedy Freddie. ABC wants a full season of the Freddie Prinze Jr starrer. The show has garnered a modest audience on Wednesday nights for the alphabet network.

*Ray Romano will reprise his Ray Barone role on an upcoming episode of CBS's King of Queens. In the episode, Ray and Doug go out on the town while Doug's wife is out of town. Romano has appeared on Queens, which stars his good friend Kevin James, in the past with his most recent appearance five years ago. Look for the episode to air on CBS on November 28th.

*And finally, the People's Choice Awards nominations are out, and it seems that the people really love Chris and crime. In the television categories, comedies Everybody Loves Raymond, That 70s Show and The Simpsons all landed in the Favorite Comedy category. Dramas CSI, Law & Order: SVU and Desperate Housewives (yes, in the drama category) garnered nods. Favorite Female TV Star nominations went to Jennifer Garner, Teri Hatcher and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Favorite Male TV Star nominations went to Ray Romano, Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland. Everybody Hates Chris, How I Met Your Mother and My Name is Earl all garnered Favorite New Comedy nods and Commander In Chief, Criminal Minds and Prison Break landed Favorite New Drama nominations. The 32nd Annual People's Choice Awards air January 10th on CBS. For a full list of all the nominations, click on over to The Futon Critic.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for Cold Case (will the balance remain restored and can this episode possible live up to last week's?), Desperate Housewives (will George continue to creep us all out?) and Without A Trace (will my rediscovered love for this show continue?). Plus all the latest television news!

Charlotte Unlocks a Mysterious Web on 'Alias,' 'Everwood' Weaves a More tangled One and the FBI Gets Caught in a Family One!

Despite the CSI rerun, it was still an overloaded night of television last night. Let's go ahead and dig right in with last night's Alias. You have to love the old Alias bait-and-switch. First they reveal the cryogenically frozen man, and we're left scratching our heads. Ok, you guys didn't think it was going to be Vaughn, right? I'll admit the thought crossed my mind, but I knew better than to expect the obvious with this show. Then, they tell us that the frozen man is Renee's father. He got involved in Prophet 5 after Renee's medical bills kept adding up (she was a sickly child). He allowed Prophet 5 to conduct their experiments on him in exchange for some serious cash. The last time Renee saw her father he was injected with something and dragged off. The heartwarming reunion between father and daughter was abruptly cut short when an observant Syd realized that "not-Dad" shouldn't have known about the beacon. And all the men dressed in black outside the building weren't trying to kidnap "not-Dad," but rather trying to rescue him. We learned at the end of the episode that "not-Dad" was actually Dr. Desantis, the man who conducted all of the experiments for Prophet 5. No wonder they wanted this guy back so badly! Just a side note, but am I the only one who wanted my very own "Charlotte?" I mean, this little mechanical spider could read documents through steel, allowing our favorite APO members to learn about Desantis' work! Marshall is just so crafty. Elsewhere, Sloane manipulated the only hold-out Senator on his clearance reinstatement for APO, so he's back. The only problem is that he has to work for Gordon Dean if he wants to help his daughter, so he'll be essentially spying on APO for Dean so Dean can be sure to stay at least one step ahead of Syd and co. I guess this is what APO gets for trusting Sloane in the first place.

Some of the best episodes of Everwood usually involve the hysterical interaction between Harold and Andy, so when I heard that these two, along with Bright and Ephram, would be taking a weekend camping trip, I was so there! It's so much fun to watch two very talented actors play off of each other the way these two do. Their exchanges are the best on television! I also loved the conversation between Bright and Ephram on whether or not Bright could deal with Hannah's assertion that she does not believe in having premarital sex "until after you're married" (loved that quote from Bright!). This conversation was especially great when you contrast it to the one Amy and Hannah had in the costume store. Hannah was gushing about Bright's no-big-deal attitude when she told him about her beliefs. Meanwhile, Bright makes the decision to break up with her as soon as he gets back, even though he realizes he's being a jerk. I really didn't think he would do it. Ok, for a moment or so I thought he would, but then when I saw him watching her through the window, I knew he was way past that stage. So, Ephram returned to Everwood because he's still in love with Amy. What a tangled web my dear Everwood weaves. Amy gets caught up in a charity haunted house debacle with Reid, and comes away thinking he doesn't have any interest in her. But Reid is a tricky one, and catches her off guard by kissing her the next day. Amy tells Hannah later at Nina's restaurant, Andy overhears it (and he knows about Ephram) and now it looks like my favorite teenage couple ever will not be getting back together any time soon. There's one thing I can always count on, though, and it's the guarantee that this show will always give me an awesome, first rate episode each week. The surprise this season has been that each week keeps getting better and better.

Go ahead and throw the tomatoes. I can take it, I swear. But, I will not bash Agent Delgado on Without A Trace. I'm really liking her, as in, she's quickly becoming one of my favs along with Viv and Danny. She's feisty, and that's something that this show was missing. I know I wasn't a huge fan of the new girl on Cold Case, but she was different. First of all, that show is supposed to focus on Lilly and her crusade to solve the unsolved and the new girl added zero, zip, zilch. Delgado adds something to Without A Trace, which is much more of an ensemble show than Cold Case anyway. She has an edge from working vice and, as we learned last night, she comes from a traditional family and she broke out of the mold. This experience was especially helpful last night when the team was searching for a young Korean woman named Wendy who went missing from her family's deli. Wendy was also raised in a traditional family, but, as she told her brother, she wanted more than that life now that she was an adult. She had gotten mixed up in an arranged engagement to a man who turned out to be gay. They even staged a break up scene for their families in order to protect his secret. She was also involved with some not-so-nice guys that she met through an internet dating service, one of whom, posted a nasty ad that instructed guys to climb through her window and they'd get whatever they wanted. Despite all the wrong men in her life, it ended up being her brother who was worst of all. In a fit of rage (and a page ripped right out of Cold Case's playbook), he killed her with a found piece of wood in an alley outside the deli because she was getting out of the traditional life all together and he was going to have to stay. It was a bummer to find out that the missing person was really a murder victim. A lot of the time on this show, they turn up alive. I guess it's a sobering reminder that many real missing persons cases don't end well. I thought this was a strong outing for this show, and further proof that it's back on the right track.

About Last Night... CBS once again dominated the night. At 8, the eye network's Survivor: Guatemala took the hour, followed by a tie between ABC's Alias and reruns of NBC's Joey and Will & Grace. At 9, a repeat episode of CBS's CSI easily won the hour, followed by NBC's The Apprentice and Fox's movie Maid In Manhattan. The final hour of the night went to CBS's Without a Trace, which had a larger audience than NBC's ER and ABC's Primetime combined. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Fox's The Bernie Mac Show airs a special Halloween episode. Zombies invade the Mac house after Jordan is left in charge of the babysitting. He watches a DVD and scares himself into believing zombies are attacking his house.

@9 p.m. - Marines serving in a unit that lost 48 men in combat get new homes in their special homecoming on NBC's Three Wishes.

SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - It's do or die time for the candidates on NBC's The West Wing when they are both faced with the abortion debate.

@10 p.m. - Woody and Macy work an old missing persons case after the body surfaces in a park while Jordan struggles with her issues with commitment after a violent husband/wife murder case on NBC's Crossing Jordan.


QUICK CUTS

*ABC is bringing back Dancing With the Stars at the beginning of next year. The celebrity dance competition will fill in for Alias while star Jennifer Garner takes her maternity leave from the show. That places the show on the Thursday night schedule at 8 p.m. EST. The competition will run 8 weeks through January and February starting January 5th. No details yet on any of the celebrity contestants, but there will be an American Idol-type results show this time around.

*Lifetime is pulling the plug on the longest running original cable series Strong Medicine after 6 years on the air. The show averages 2 1/2 million viewers and has aired 132 episodes. Lifetime feels that the program has run its course and it's time to send it off. The show stars Rick Schroder and Rosa Blasi. It will end its run early next year.

*And finally, you like her, you really like her!! That's right Wednesday's episode of UPN's Veronica Mars scored its largest audience ever! More than 3 1/2 million viewers tuned in the other night. That may not sound like a lot compared to timeslot rival Lost's more than 20 million a week, but it's a huge feat for a show that usually averages around 2 million. Veronica got an extra push this week because ABC aired a repeat of Lost. You go girl! In other ratings news, it was a different story for Fox's coverage of the World Series this year. The broadcasts received their lowest ratings ever for the network.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for my final thoughts on Veronica's first season (I'll have the DVDs finished then) and Primetime Pass, About Last Night and all the latest television news!

Syd Gets a Protege, Amy Gets More than She Bargains For, and the CSIs Get Caught in a Cult!

You've gotta love Thursday nights. TiVos working overtime, VCRs spinning their heads, and three jam-packed hours of great television. What more can a TV fan like myself ask for? It's time for the usual Friday roundup of Thursday's busy television schedule. Let's start with Alias. Once again, I am really enjoying this season. I really like the new agent Rachel Gibson (Rachel Nichols), and I think she's going to make an excellent edition to A.P.O. I love how the writers decided to give her the same experience as Syd with a rogue agency fronting as a CIA-run legit one. How great was the moment when Rachel realized she had been helping the bad guys the entire time and not the U.S. government? I seriously can't imagine learning something so devastating. This led to a great scenario packed with the usual Alias intensity. Rachel had to go back to her old agency, pretend nothing was wrong, copy Dean's hard drive information, and make the switch with Syd while keeping her rogue co-workers unaware of her ploy. One former co-worker figured out that something was up, and alerted Dean. He instructed her to start Plan B - a horrible solution that ended with Dean and the tattletale getting out of the building while their fellow workers were left at the mercy of a ticking time bomb (literally). Rachel made it to the stairwell, but her fellow former co-workers were not as lucky as the bomb exploded. Meanwhile, Sloane was disappointed when he learned that his $300,000 wasn't buying an experimental cure for Nadia, but a set-up for a former friend to kill him because he blamed Sloane for the death of his own daughter. Sloane walked away unharmed, but defeated, finding that there is no known cure for Nadia's condition. Again, another strong and intriguing episode.

My dear Everwood is just getting better and better! This show portrays real human emotion better than any other on television. From Andy's awkward dinner invitation and eventual and even more awkward conversation about awkwardness with Nina, to Amy's hesitation about Ephram rooming with Bright and Reid, to Harold's detachment from Rose over fears that she won't pull through her battle with cancer, this show conquers raw human emotion with such honesty and reliability. Amy's realization that she was feeling left out because she isn't living on campus plus her discovery that Reid may not be gay, and she just might want to get back together with Ephram is all part of what we all go through. I loved the scene she shared with Ephram in the movie theater. You could tell that there was so much hanging between them that needed to be said, but neither was willing to say it. I still hold out hope that these two will end up together and live happily ever after (well, as happily as those two could possibly live). Hannah's willingness to attend the party with Bright backfired big time for her. Now, he wants to go to many more and it doesn't seem that Hannah is really game considering it wasn't really her thing. And I continue to enjoy and be mesmerized by the amazing relationship that Harold and Rose share - good and bad. This is the one aspect of the show that they can never change! Anyway, another awesome episode! I can't wait to see what happens with Amy and Reid now that she found out he is not gay.

Last week on CSI we had a single-case episode that didn't really work, but this week was an excellent example of one that did. This case was very involved and multi-layered, so a full episode was needed to delve deep into the cult, their not-so-mass-suicide, and the murder of their leader. Like split screens, cults are a popular theme on the Bruckheimer shows, but they are extremely interesting and make for some pretty great episodes so I don't mind them. Plus, each show seems to use it in different ways, so they manage to keep it original and fresh. Turns out that what appeared to be a simple case of a cult's mass suicide, was in reality, the devious work of one member who wanted to make sure all the members really died. She slipped them some pet drugs she swiped from her former place of employment (a veterinary office) instead of the sleeping pills that the scamming leader had left for them. Only problem was that the elixir-mixing vixen chickened out while the others were downing the toxic vodka mix. Before she watched her fellow cult members poison themselves to death, she murdered the leader, Diamond, with a tire iron (who was bilking the young member's parents by having the members write letters to their parents requesting money, which they promptly turned over to Diamond). The only innocent victim in all of this was cult member Emma's boyfriend who went looking for her and found a trip over the balcony instead. Like I said, it was an involved case and it really worked well as a single-case episode. A much stronger outing for this show than last week's snoozer.

About Last Night... It was a familiar story as CBS claimed all three primetime hours. The eye network started off on top with Survivor: Guatemala, followed by NBC's comedy duo of Joey and Will & Grace, and MLB coverage on Fox landed in third. ABC's Alias wound up in fourth. CSI garnered the night's largest audience and the 9 o'clock hour, followed by The Apprentice on NBC, and MLB coverage on Fox. WB's Everwood landed in fifth, beating Eve and Cuts on UPN. The final hour of the night went to Without A Trace, followed by ER on NBC, and Fox's MLB coverage. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - MLB coverage continues on Fox as the White Sox take on the Angels in game 3 of the ALCS.

@9 p.m. - The Three Wishes team heads to Le Mars, Iowa tonight on NBC. Molly and the Red Team infiltrate a rave in Miami on CBS's Threshold.

@10 p.m. - Numb3rs delves into the corporate world when a whistle-blowing CFO turns up dead tonight on CBS.

Sunday Edition
@8 p.m. - Lilly and Jeffries open the 1945 case of a baseball player killed with his own bat on CBS's Cold Case (remember, this show might get a late start due to football). Does anyone else think that the campaign episodes of NBC's West Wing are far superior to the lame duck president episodes? Well unfortunately, this is another lame duck episode as a member of the intelligence committee approaches CJ with some disturbing news. I'm also not enjoying the obvious "ripped from the headlines" storyline involving CJ.

@9 p.m. - Crazy Gabby starts a prison riot, Lynette learns that Parker has an imaginary friend, and Susan helps Mike search for Zach on ABC's Desperate Housewives. Walker, Texas Ranger returns with the original cast in tow for an all-new television movie packed with its trademark Chuck Norris bad one-liners for two hours on CBS.

@10 p.m - Jordan investigates the prison health care system while Lily gets caught in a court house shooting on Crossing Jordan on NBC.


QUICK CUTS

*Las Vegas creator Gary Scott Thompson is spilling some secrets about his series' upcoming November sweeps episodes. He promises that one character will exit the show, but he's not saying who or how. Also, look for a flashback episode with all the usual characters playing to a 1962 Rat Pack theme and a comic book outing that will be a little Sin City-ish according to Thompson. For more on these upcoming episodes and the possibility of an update on the Montecito's sister casino in New Orleans, visit Zap2it.

*Actress Nicole Sullivan is making her final appearance on CBS's King of Queens. Sullivan left the comedy to star in the new ABC sitcom Hot Properties where she plays cursed-in-love realtor Chloe. On Queens, she played a dog walker who often took Arthur (Jerry Stiller) for walks. Her last Queens episode airs Monday on CBS.

*And finally, CBS is ordering more scripts for freshmen series Out Of Practice and Threshold. The order allows the network to evaluate the shows' ratings for a few more weeks before it has to make a final decision on their respective futures. Threshold has managed a respectable 8.4 million viewers, but it fails to retain 25% of its lead-in's audience. Out of Practice averages a healthy 10 million viewers, but it too, loses some of its lean-in's audience.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for Cold Case, Without A Trace (was the actual episode as eye roll- inducing as the preview for it?), and Desperate Housewives. And coming next week, a look at how your favorite comedies are faring this season. Plus, all the latest television news!