Quote of the Weekend: "Before...

Quote of the Weekend: "Before we go any further, I want you to know that over the years I have developed a certain instinct. And you are the type of contestant who could do me bodily harm." — Bob Barker on The Price Is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular, to an obviously excitable player named Debra.

SUNDAY

Alias
All right, I'll say it. That guy Sloane is just a real, real jerk. Injecting that green glop into his daughter's arm was the surest way to put a damper on their long-awaited reunion. Well, what did we expect? We knew ol' grizzled face was going to turn at some point. After all, who can resist the siren song of Rambaldi? Certainly not the CIA, which seems to allocate a helluva lot of resources to uncover and decipher the work of one 15th-century goofball.
Watching Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and her newfound sis (Mia Maestro) simultaneously kick butt was pretty cool. I kept thinking that at any moment the Powerpuff Girls and Catwoman were going to swoop in and lend them a hand, too. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Imagine if it did though, in some sort of surreal Roger Rabbit way. That would be pretty sweet.

High School Reunion
After 10 years apart, Louann and Johnny have fallen back in love (see ya later, boyfriend back home). Gabe and Denise are going to give their relationship another shot (notice the word "engagement" wasn't actually used?). Post-makeover Lenny can't wait to start living his real life (you're doing fine, pal, but baby steps. Baby steps). Daniel got some closure when he was voted "Prom Queen" (I bet Louann, who probably wanted the crown, too, was momentarily miffed). And of course, the class of 1993 was treated to a classic rendition of that year's Tag Team hit, "Whoomp! (There It Is)." (If the producers were going to feature a '93 song, I wish it had been "Can't Do a Thing to Stop Me" by Chris Isaak. Well, he probably would have had a scheduling conflict anyway.)

The Sopranos
Tony B. kills two people for a rival family while Tony and Carmela hook up in the pool after the big birthday bash for her dad. I'm not sure which was more startling, to be honest. However, the scenes from next week's episode make it pretty clear that this reconciliation will be short-lived. I love that "Hey!" or whatever the hell it is that brackets the upcoming clips.

Arrested Development
Henry Winkler has taken what could have been a blatant example of stunt casting (courtesy of executive producer Ron Howard) and turned it into one of the funniest recurring roles of the year. It's hard to believe that the Bluths' thoroughly incompetent lawyer is played by the same actor who played the Fonz for 10 years. Hey, did you see the subtle Happy Days homage a few weeks ago in which Winkler was in a public restroom about to comb his hair and then abruptly stopped? Perfect. As for this episode, the Bring Your Daughter to Work Day subplot surely peaked at the end of Michael's police interrogation when the detective's daughter tells him, "You're free to go." Oh, and before I forget: Please, oh please, may this show stay on the air next season.

Van Helsing Commercial
The Wolf Man! Dracula! Frankenstein! Together again! Whew, this movie is either going to be absolutely fantastic or a giant, toxic stink bomb. I see nothing in-between.

SATURDAY

The Price Is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular
It's rare that I catch this venerable game show, but when I do I still get hazy flashbacks of staying home sick from school. Moving past that, I found myself especially rooting for Kristi who told Bob Barker that she used to watch the show all the time with her great-grandfather. When Kristi lost the dice game (and a new Buick Century) against all odds I actually found myself yelling at the TV as loud as I did during the Super Bowl. Quite a proud moment for me.
My favorite part though, remains the screw-your-neighbor betting that goes on in contestants' row. At one point, someone bid $4300 on flat-screen TV. Then, in quick succession, her competitors bid $4301, then $4302 and finally, $4303.

FRIDAY

Dinner for Five
Host Jon Favreau had dinner and drinks with Jersey Girl director Kevin Smith and supporting cast members George Carlin, Jason Biggs and Stephen Root. Yeah, it probably would've been more appropriate if this had aired about a month ago when that film was released, but hey, what can you do? Anyway, somehow the conversation turned to the dubbing needed for a movie to play on an airplane. Carlin pointed out that you can't say "Oh God...," but you can say "Oh Satan" (which I bet comes up considerably less often). Trivial tidbit No. 2 is Biggs saying that it took Woody Allen about two weeks during the shoot for 2003's Anything Else to discover that the American Pie star wasn't Jewish.

Late Show with David Letterman
I had missed the original broadcast of Courtney Love acting like a total loon, so it was a real treat that it was rerun so soon. With all the emphasis on the singer lifting up her top for the host, a brilliant line by Letterman was sadly overlooked. At the end of her bizarre and interminable segment, he tried to graciously wrap things up but she kept saying that she wanted to stay while begging him over and over to ask her another question. With a bemused smile, Dave finally gave in and just casually said, "So, whattaya weigh?" Hilarious. Just hilarious.