#39 – If It Ain’t Broke – Recorded 5/31/07

TV left us with little to do this week, so listen to this episode three or four times so it doesn’t feel as if we suddenly changed our format like one of the two shows we had to get to this week. Truly, that’s it. On The Lot and the season finale of House. Only one of which we’ll be continuing with, and it’s the one that isn’t on again until the fall. So it might not matter that we may not be able to record again for awhile. But don’t hold us to that.

#38 – Mindless Entertainment – Recorded 5-27-07

Everything came together beautifully for us this episode. House Guest Christine became Special Guest Christine as we forced her to sit down and discuss the Heroes season finale with us. But then, miraculously, she’d also seen the season finale of 24. And even more miraculously, she also watches Lost, which I just happened to finally catch up on… in time for the season finale. You see how this all just seemed too perfect? Darwin also sat through five episodes of Studio 60 so we could talk about its return to NBC. For only discussing about four shows, we cover a lot of ground, including a brief foray into the little question of TV’s purpose.

#37 – Scorched Earth – Recorded 5-19-07

Things feel as if they are slipping away from us this time. There’s the series finales of King Of Queens and Gilmore Girls and the season finales of Survivor, How I Met Your Mother, Notes From The Underbelly, America’s Next Top Model, Ugly Betty and Scrubs. House, Heroes and 24 are holding out for better deals. Also, Australia’s Next Top Model makes its triumphant return. And has lost half its weight. So now we’re worried about its eating habits. Or we would be, if it hadn’t promptly reached its conclusion as well.

(If you downloaded this show and it’s missing the last ten minutes or so, it’s fixed now, though I feel obligated to tell you all you missed was Scrubs talk, and who needs that? I mean, besides Scrubs.)

#36 – The Good Ole Days – Recorded 5-12-07

This week’s episode opens with a very special PSA from Darwin. But then we’re right into it: the finale of The Amazing Race, Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, King of Queens, 24, Heroes, Gilmore Girls, the season finale of the The Unit, House, America’s Next Top Model, Notes From the Underbelly, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, some kind of sneak preview of Traveler, Scrubs and Survivor. Things are winding down, but as the upfronts this week remind us, there’s always some new show ready to fill the void.

Tangents

It doesn’t matter why, but we couldn’t record this week. But luckily for you, I’ve been preparing for this day ever since we started, saving some of the longer pieces cut from shows along the way. And that’s what you’ll find here. Subjects ranging from the usual (Friday Night Lights) to the vain (our iTunes reviews) to the seemingly unrelated (Harry Potter.)

Obviously, this episode isn’t for the casual listener. Episode isn’t even the proper term. So please don’t start here if you’re new.

We’ll be back to normal next week. And we’re assuming you think that’s a good thing.

#35 – Raising the Bar – Recorded 4-27-07

The real question this week was whether the return of Heroes was enough to unseat October Road. from its vaunted place as Darwin’s low. There’s only one way to find out—listen to our newest episode. Or I suppose you could also ask one of us. Two ways then.

So The Amazing Race managed to be completely suspenseful, while The Apprentice finale managed to be completely weird and yet somehow perfectly suited to its strange season. Entourage—or more specifically Carla Gugino in her underwear on Entourage—sparked a debate about its depiction of women. Meanwhile Drive got itself canceled and 24, impossibly, got more boring. But Heroes made up for everything by returning to form beautifully. Of course the real hero is writer Jennie Synder of Gilmore Girls. House loses a patient, but The Unit gained Ricky Jay. I took actual notes on Notes From The Underbelly, but I still can’t quite explain why I kind of enjoy it. America’s Next Top Model was a clip show, and it was still better than most everything else. And we wrap up the week by going through the typical ups and downs of Thursday night TV: Ugly Betty, Survivor, 30 Rock, Scrubs and October Road.

#34 – Blind Spot – Recorded 4-21-07

The highs and lows were particularly easy to spot this week, despite my apparent inability to recognize other obvious truths about TV. We learn how to cross October Road., say goodbye to Andy Barker, P.I. and sigh about The Amazing Race,The Apprentice and Entourage. And then there was three hours of Drive, which still felt shorter than one of 24. King of Queens is courting me, Gilmore Girls is boring Darwin, and House is at least enjoying himself. I think Notes From the Underbelly might have been okay, but I also can’t figure out why. Thank god for the clarity of America’s Next Top Model. We wrap up with Thursday night’s Ugly Betty (including a fight about who watches it and why, so seriously, tell us, do you watch Ugly Betty and why?) 30 Rock, Scrubs and Survivor.

#33 – Playing Along – Recorded 4-13-07

Darwin and I didn’t really agree this episode. Am I being willfully blind? Is he just wrong? Is Oswald maybe the best TAR contestant of all time? Should Nicole (and her stupid voice) have been fired on The Apprentice? Is Entourage worth the time it takes up on HBO’s schedule? Is How I Met Your Mother capable of using flashbacks for good instead of evil? Was The King of Queens the funniest half-hour show on last week? Is it possible to laugh at 24 in a good way? How many different meanings did House’s title have this week? Do we care why The Unit gets to show up at any crisis it wants to? Is it worth even entertaining the idea that Friday Nights Lights might have flaws? (And can we live without another season?) Could Natasha or Dionne actually win America’s Next Top Model? How good was Tracy’s Thomas Jefferson trailer on 30 Rock? Does the guy from Notes From the Underbelly have something actually wrong with his face? Was that the most unfair Survivor episode ever? We’ve got answers.

#32 – Literal Interpretations – Recorded 4-8-07

Can you hear the glee in Darwin’s voice? It’s not because it was Easter when we recorded. It’s not because this episode wasn’t as long as they normally are. There’s so much glee that I’m guessing it’ll last all the way until when we record the next show. In the meantime, we mull over two full legs of The Amazing Race, more Apprentice silliness, the season but not series finale of Prison Break and another long hour of 24. We didn’t actually discuss this, but feel free to weigh in on which was more ridiculous, the CGI baby hand grabbing House’s finger or those tribe scenes on The Unit. Plus there’s a new heroine to embrace (and a new name to use when talking about her) on America’s Next Top Model and speeches galore on Friday Night Lights. Finally, we wrap up with a crowded Thursday night of TV: Andy Barker, P.I., 30 Rock, Scrubs, October Road. and Survivor.

#31 – The Coriolis Effect – Recorded 3-31-07

This episode is not like the others. Darwin got fancy with the title, and I went nutty with the order. And yet, by the end, we’d still discussed the return of Six Degrees, the premiere of Acceptable TV, Raines, Andy Barker, P.I., October Road., Survivor, America’s Next Top Model, Friday Night Lights, House, 24, Prison Break, The Apprentice, The Amazing Race and the promised end of Slings and Arrows. It’s April now, which isn’t the same as May sweeps, but hours and hours of new TV loom on the horizon. Enjoy these under-two-hour episodes while you can.