Gilmore Girls In many ways, this...

Gilmore Girls In many ways, this homecoming ep was hardly a surprise. If you paid attention to the teasers, you knew Rory would be coming back home. And if you read any of the spoilers, you knew Luke would find out he has a daughter. But you know what? It really doesn't matter. It's the way these stories unfold and reveal themselves that has us totally addicted. Who would ever guess that April would seek out Luke not for a relationship but for a middle-school science experiment about DNA? (In true hangdog fashion, Luke looked completely blindsided when he saw his mug circled on her poster board. Helluva way to find out you're the daddy of a brainy 12-year-old.) And while we knew Rory was tip-toeing closer and closer back to Lorelai and Stars Hollow, I loved the confidence and the poise of her final leap. Who else but Rory Gilmore could land a great job because she patiently sat in the lobby every day with her gigantic portfolio (all three of them), and worked it every time the editor-in-chief walked by? And they weren't even hiring!Her confidence has returned, she's enrolled at Yale and she's mended her relationship with her mother. Everything is right with the world. Sort of. There's this matter with Luke and the kid. (Nothing says "let's get married" quite like "hey, I have a child I didn't know about!") And then there's Emily. During my favorite scene of the hour, she confessed to pushing both Lorelai and Rory away. (A confession that occurred mid-purchase of a private jet, mind you. But I'll take it.) Instead of telling her that she deserved it, that she was a horrible mother for throwing her out of the house when she got pregnant, leaving her to raise Rory alone, then snatching her away the first chance she got, Lorelai paused. Turned around. And quietly said, "You haven't lost me." Totally unexpected. Totally surprising. Wow, what a great show.   Robin Honig

The Office
"Last year, my performance review started with Michael asking me what my hopes and dreams were, and it ended with him telling me he could bench-press 190 lbs. So I don't really know what to expect." I'll tell you what you can expect, Pam: a healthy dose of interoffice romance analysis with a dash of "satisfactories" and "adequates" to taste. Not particularly helpful if you're an employee, but plenty of fun if you're an at-home viewer. You know, as it turns out, it's performance-review time here at TV Guide, too. I'm thinking maybe I ought to use Dwight's "I am awesome" karate-chop stairwell technique to prep for my big sit-down with the boss. Although without the charts and graphs, the whole presentation pretty much falls apart, and I'm just not that willing to commit to the joke. (Great, now I know what the "Additional comments"box on the form is gonna say this year: "Follow-through on random silliness sometimes lacking. Raise denied.")

I must admit, I'm pleased to see the complete jackass side of Michael Scott back in action after a few weeks of legitimate, albeit hilarious, pathos. Between his badgering of Jan Levinson-Gould into an awkward it's-not-you-it's-me conversation and his dismissal of Tom, the guy who used to work in accounting [insert hideously inappropriate yet uproarious gun-to-head motion here], I think my brow might be permanently furrowed from a full half-hour of constant cringe-laughing.

It seemed like the camera eye contact in this episode was bordering on out-of-control Jim, Kevin, Dwight, all with the devilish glances and yet it got me to full-on chortle every single time. What can I say? These guys have got me in a comedy death grip, and they're not letting go.   Chana Shwadlenak

Commander in Chief
So long, Rod Lurie, hello, Steven Bochco. Ahh, can't you just smell the parallelism? A shake-up behind the scenes; everyone jockeying for position; the press not really sure what to make of it I do so enjoy it when life imitates art. After some soul-searching during an early-morning row on the Potomac, LadyPrez officially puts Rod in charge of strategic planning. Which is clearly gonna lead to some tension with Alpha Dog Jim: "I learned a long time ago, never cross anyone who sleeps with the boss." And that, First Hubby, is where we like to say ohhhh snap.

Uh-oh, Templeton's on tape pulling a Jesse Helms back in the '60s. Luckily for him, Mac's too noble to go public with it. You know, I think this is just a part of the modern political landscape it's merely a matter of whether the unearthed footage of you is offensive, criminal or just plain embarrassing. If I, for instance, were ever to run for public office, I have a funny feeling that a certain videotape of me tipsy at a New Year's party elucidating the hows and whys of the Buffy-Angel-Spike love triangle would surface and single-handedly eliminate me from the race. Go ahead and toss your campaign buttons in the recycle bin, folks, and thanks for your support.

Did I mention that clandestine, info-seeking nookie with the enemy doesn't pay? So long, Templeton's chief of staff. Whereas a little honesty about your HIV status gets you your own warm fuzzy press conference from the presidential podium. We learned a lot of lessons this week, didn't we? Oh, and bonus points if you noticed that Edgar "Allen" Poe was misspelled on the chalkboard in Horace's classroom no wonder the kid's failing English. Chana Shwadlenak

Got any burning questions about Commander in Chief? Send them in here.