Dancing with the Stars It sure...

Dancing with the StarsIt sure seemed like the judges were regretting last week's score inflation not that Drew and Stacy didn't deserve high marks, but now there's little room to mark their improvement. So in addition to handing out lower scores, Carrie Ann, Len and Bruno were downright nitpicky. I like it that way, though; how else would we know that a tango can be too Argentinean?

Jerry and Anna: The football player's "go for the jugular" tactic made him look like he was concentrating too hard and not having as much fun as in the first episode, when he didn't take this whole thing so seriously. Lighten up!
Giselle and Jonathan: I regret saying anything mean about Giselle last week; in her interviews she's quite likable. Her tango was kind of unmemorable, but she looked lovely.
Drew and Cheryl: Isn't it kind of unfair to everyone else that he's obviously had a lot of dance training? Whatever. Their jive had so much energy, it made me want to get up and join them.
George and Edyta: No one but George could do this silly Rodeo Drive campaign and get away with it. I'm so glad they let him do the tango instead of yet another aerobic dance. And again, he charmed his way around any lack of technical skill. Nice Spanish, too.
Lisa and Louis: First, India (Pepito the Wonder Chihuahua's Puerto Rican cousin) extends her sympathies to the Rinna-Hamlin family for the loss of their pooch. Second, it's great that Lisa finally got to shine and sparkle in a dance that fit her jumpy personality.
Stacy and Tony: Short women everywhere breathed a sigh of relief there is a dance better suited to us than to Ms. 42-inch Legs. It was a rather basic performance, but she's allowed an off night.
P and Ashly: So Ashly brought the mountain to Mohammed, wearing her own A hat in an attempt to match his style. The dance was better, but it still looks like P's got bricks in his shoes. Did love Tom Bergeron's very eloquent "Holy crap!"
Tia and Maksim: Tia not dancing too well = hot. Tia dancing the hell out of that tango = insert a Bruno hyperbole here. And she's lost over 20 lbs. doing this? The world is not fair.  Sabrina Rojas Weiss

Everybody Hates Chris
One of best things about watching this show is listening to its '80s sound track. This week we heard Lionel Ritchie's "All Night Long," Kurtis Blow's "Tough" and Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." I'm sure you geeky musicologists out there are griping that the latter was actually released in 1985, two years after the episode takes place. Hey, that's nothing compared to the street montage that included a clear shot of the Toys 'R' Us in Times Square, which was built in 2001. But who watches this sitcom for accuracy? It's not a friggin' documentary. It's only inspired by Chris Rock's childhood. Even the dates are off. (He was born in '65, yet he's supposed to be a high-school freshman in 1983. That would make him one dumb kid.) But warning, I'm getting pretentious here Everybody Hates Chris is life filtered through a nostalgic lens. The Bed-Stuy it depicts only exists in Rock's head, just like Woody Allen's Upper West Side or Rent's East Village. What's important is that the show rings true emotionally, particularly the father-son relationship. God, I love Terry Crews. I wish he'd been my dad. Maybe he would have inspired me to go out and actually do something instead of sitting on my toches at home watching TV. At least I found a way to parlay that into a living.  Raven Snook

The Office
In honor of Steve Carell's Golden Globe win earlier this week, here's a little symphony of Michael Scott non sequiturs that will hopefully make you giggle even if you didn't see the episode. (Although seriously, why didn't you see it? Have I not been clear so far with my instructions? Watch the show.) Anyway, here goes:

"Is that jacket made of updog?" "I could've used some of that famous Hispanic cleaning ethic." "Peach iced tea. You're gonna hate it." "I put a cigarette through a freakin' quarter!" "I don't wanna live like that. I don't wanna be Shyla."

Bravo, sir. Bravo indeed. Now then, on to more pressing matters. Like the fact that Oscar doesn't have the flu, if you know what I mean. Or more importantly, that Michael's totally cheating on Chili's. With Hooters, no less. The Awesome Blossom (with extra awesome) must be heartbroken. And speaking of heartbroken, Jim's secret? Out of the bag. Call me naive, but I really thought Michael might be able to make it through the full half hour without spilling the beans. Stupid, I know. The good news is, even with word of Jim's crippling Pam-crush out there in the Dunder-Mifflin ether, those two crazy kids are no closer to actually doing anything about it than they were in Episode 1. Which is precisely where things need to stay if I'm gonna continue to get my yearn on week after week. Embrace the pain, folks, 'cause you know it hurts so good.

Can I gush about my ever-growing love for Jim for just a sec? Did anybody notice that he brown-bagged a ham-and-cheese sandwich, and then when Michael convinced him to go out for lunch, our adorable lovelorn pup actually ordered a ham-and-cheese sandwich? Loyalty: always an admirable quality in a fictitious TV boyfriend.  Chana Shwadlenak

The O.C.
1) When did Marissa move into Julie's trailer? I think I missed that episode. 2) I wasn't feeling the hurricane references. At all. And 3) who knew the entire show would stop down for the return of Marissa's sister Kaitlin? Seriously. Just about every conversation was about her. Sandy and Kirsten were wondering about the prodigal daughter (instead of wondering how to drum up a story line for themselves). All of a sudden she was on the beautiful minds of Seth and Ryan. One of their chats occurred in the Cohen kitchen as the sarcastic one walked in, only to see his best pal staring outside:

Seth: "Hey what's up? You seem pensive, scoot down."
Ryan: "Soooo... Kaitlin's up to something."

I mean, what gives? These teens are in high school. It's their senior year! Surely, there are other things they could be gossiping about or doing. Having said all that, I actually think the powers that be cast Mini-Coop pretty well. And while I thought the show went over-the-designer-top bringing Kaitlin back, I see potential. I just can't believe the character's only 14. If this were Passions, they would have SORAS-ed (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) her about three years. Or is that 13? I forget. One thing: On her first episode back, why are they putting Kaitlin in so many scenes with Johnny? I would have rather seen her in more scenes with the established O.C. regulars, or in scenes with that kid who played Justin, who's also on that ABC Family teenfest soap Beautiful Girls (please don't ask how I knew that). Just know that a desperately needy Taylor, thoughts of a possible Julie Cooper-Nichol/Summer's dad pairing and genital warts entertained me verily this week. You had to be there.  Bettina Charles

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