For months, the thing about Heroes that bothered me most was Milo Ventimiglia’s hair: specifically, that dreaded dangling forelock Peter Petrelli kept playing with, as if in thrall to a fetish. I’ve long wanted the boy to get a haircut. But not like this!Quite the horrifying climax to the March cliff-hanger (no new episodes until April 23), as Sylar pinned that dupe Mohinder to the ceiling while slicing into Peter Petrelli’s skull to see why Peter ticks like Sylar, only less murderously. Blood drops from Peter’s forehead onto the floor, followed by that hank of hair. I cringed, then I cheered. Well done.The episode was a crackerjack thrill ride with one reversal after another. Simone rising from the dead? Shut up! It’s really Candice, the slinky shape-shifter! Mrs. Bennet betraying her hubby, in cahoots with The Company? Shut up! It’s really Candice, the slinky shape-shifter! What fun.By the way, I love how the writers have evolved HRG from sinister man...
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Law & Order
The networks have started working on new fall series, which means pink slips are coming for some of your old favorites. Here's what could be on the chopping block.
NBC Did you ever imagine the day when Law & Order would be canceled? We're not saying it's going to happen — it probably won't. But costs on the show have risen while its ratings have dropped, which means its renewal is no longer automatic every year. NBC's other middling crime dramas — Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Crossing Jordan and Medium — are more vulnerable. The network has also yet to decide on another season for The Apprentice
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Monday's rating highlights, and there are a few:• During the 8 o'clock hour alone, Prison Break (10.14 million total viewers) and (a rather uneven) How I Met Your Mother (10.78 million, up 1.23 mil from its last fresh outing) set new season highs. • This week's 9 pm face-off between Heroes and 24 went to... Team Bennet-Petrelli (14.56 million), which surged a mil week-to-week. 24 (13.57 mil) slipped 500,000.• Two and a Half Men (17.77 million) was up 1.7 mil, achieving a season's best, while new lead-out Rules of Engagement (14.89 mil) improved on Old Christine's most recent audience by 1.89 mil.• At 10, CSI: Miami (18.2 million) dominated, followed by Studio 60 (7.17 mil, up 220K) and ABC's celebrity-weddings thing, which, with a viewership of nearly six million, bested the latest What About Brian by a quarter mil. That's just silly.UPDATE: Men had a season high in viewers, while The Class (9.72 million) delivered its best numbers in key demos since the Sept. 18...
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Question: I recently read your review of Rules of Engagement, in which you indicate The New Adventures of Old Christine will be missed. I, for one, couldn't be happier, because when Christine returns, it will be on after my favorite non-NBC comedy, How I Met Your Mother. I have only one VCR and am addicted to Heroes, so I've been missing the CBS laffer ever since 24 premiered. As I'm not a fan of The Class, I hope next season that CBS decides to keep HIMYM and Christine paired together for a truly must-see hour of comedy. I also want to sing the praises of King of the Hill and say how glad I am to have it on after The Simpsons. Having grown up in small-town Iowa, I often relate to the humor on this comedy more than the live-action competition. I was a little nervous with the promos for the season premiere — "Who's coming out?" — which, in typical network-promo fashion, were misleading. The actual episode, however, was sheer delight. I don't think the majority of comedies out there ...
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Patrick Warburton, Rules of Engagement
If you have a 9:30 date with CBS tonight, there's bad news and good news. The New Adventures of Old Christine is still on hiatus, and even when it does return, on March 12, it will be airing an hour earlier. But in Old Christine's place is an old friend of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' — Patrick Warbuton, who played Puddy to her Elaine on Seinfeld, stars on Rules of Engagement, a new laffer juxtaposing the mindsets of a married couple (Warburton and Megyn Price), a betrothed duo (Oliver Hudson and Bianca Kajlich), and a Barney-esque bache
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I miss Christine already — as in The New Adventures of Old Christine, the sparkling Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy that's temporarily being benched for a tryout of Rules of Engagement (premieres Feb. 5, 9 pm/ET on CBS), a new romantic sitcom that delivers few sparks in either the comic or amorous arenas.
Like a less-cartoonish version of Fox's 'Til Death, CBS' Rules contrasts two couples: longtime marrieds Jeff and Audrey, who've settled into a routine of mutual but affectionate irritation; and young neighbors Adam and Jennifer, engaged after only seven months together and facing hurdles of insecurity as they get to know each other.
Adding some snark whenever the laugh track dies down is Adam's womanizing pal Russell, a bimbo magnet lazily
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