Dirty Sexy Mediocre: Dirty Sexy Money Isn't as Good as You Hoped

I like Dirty Sexy Money.

I really do.

But there is something about it that just doesn't compute. The show should be better. And I should like it more.

Reefer on One, Marijuana on Two: Weeds Season Finale Recapped

Unlike New York Magazine, I'm going to resist the urge to make an "up in smoke" joke while talking about Weeds' season finale. Yes, I know Weeds is a show about pot and the finale dealt with a massive California Wild Fire. It clearly lends itself to a joke about Cheech and Chong. But I will not grab at such low hanging fruit. I promise.

Instead, what I will grab at it is the notion that the third season of Weeds was no more than a retelling of the Book of Job combined with the worst aspects of the most recent seasons of 24. Stocked with a large amount of increasingly unlikable characters, Weeds survived this season on trying to get Nancy Botwin in as much trouble as possible. And it didn't matter if that trouble was emotional, sexual, psychological, parental, legal or even karmic. As Nancy told her brother Andy earlier this season--in what looking back was the single best moment of the year:

Cul-de-sac: Why Desperate Housewives Deserves Another Look

The first season of Desperate Housewives was really good.

There, I said it.

Combining an excellent cast with a compelling mystery, ample comedy and just enough melodrama, it wasn't difficult to see why it was almost immediately one of the most popular shows on television. Sure, the first season of Desperate Housewives was basically like LOST for soccer moms, but series creator Marc Cherry added a layer of satire and a winking glee that elevated the soapy machinations of the genre to another level. Desperate Housewives was a guilty pleasure that you didn't really feel guilty for watching.

And then Season Two happened.

Send in the Clown: The Sadness of Michael Scott

If you could boil down the difference between Ricky Gervais' Office and Greg Daniels' Office into one single sentence, it would be the following:

Whereas David Brent was a total ass, Michael Scott is a nice guy.

Through all the ups and downs of the spotty fourth season of The Office, it leaves me with a warm feeling in my heart that in what amounted to the season finale--thanks WGA!!--that point was indisputably proved. Amidst all the inappropriate comments, all the buffoonish daftness and all the sheer stupidity, Michael Scott's heart is in the right place. And that's what makes him the most relatable character on the show, Jim Halpert be damned.

Mean Girls and Date Rapists: Josh Schwartz, the King of Teen Dramas

Here's why I'm convinced Josh Schwartz is the Aaron Spelling of our generation--well, one of the many reasons why I think he's the Aaron Spelling of our generation--he's the only show runner currently producing that understands the value of continual forward progress.

For all the joy I take in watching LOST, Grey's and The Office, and for all the talent I think people like Damon Lindelof, Shonda Rhimes and Greg Daniels possess, none of them can touch Josh Schwartz when it comes to sheer momentum. Whereas those shows survive on flashbacks and wheel spinning and plots that fold back onto themselves like a snake eating its own tail, in the Josh Schwartz universe, plot developments happen at such a breakneck pace, you would almost think you missed something.

Sona Hawkins Dance: Prison Break Recapped

Prison Break's Fall Finale was so patently ridiculous that it necessitates it's very own special edition of "What I Learned," the semi/not really regular post where I breakdown what a particular television watching experience yielded me in the way of knowledge.

And since this was the last episode of Prison Break until January 2008, when it will return to save the Fox Monday night lineup from the WGA Strike induced lack of 24, it was an episode chock full of information and cliffhangers--Michael's getting taken out of Sona! Agent Mahone is coming back! Gretchen couldn't break Whistler out! It's the birthday of the little Spanish kid who loves Tracy McGrady!

Anyway, without further adieu, it's "What I Learned" Prison Break Edition (SFX: Mariachi Band version of "Triumphant Fanfare")

Broken Mountain: Steve Carell Should Write More Episodes of The Office

It should really surprise no one that last night's episode of The Office was easily the best episode of the fourth season--a season, which I've documented almost painstakingly, that has eschewed pathos and humanity in favor of clownishness and buffoonery--if for no other reason than it was written by Steve Carell.

Enough exceptional press has been bestowed upon "Carell the Actor" to fill the National Archives, but "Carell the Writer" doesn't even have his own pamphlet. And that's a real shame. This is a man who is not only partially responsible for one of the best movies of the past decade (co-writer of The 40-Year-Old Virgin), but also for the best episode of American version of The Office to date (the season two finale, "Casino Night"). Where is that Steve Carell's praise?

Strike Out: The Problem with the WGA Strike

Everyone who works for a living likes the idea of going out on strike. It's that fundamental workers of the world unite scenario that you sit and daydream about when the office runs out of coffee filters or the water cooler is empty. You can imagine slamming down an empty paper cup, picking up a placard and yelling, "I refuse to work in these conditions any longer! We're going on strike!"

And when other industries actually do go out on strike, it allows us all to vicariously live out our perfectly bourgeoisie fantasy: auto-workers, MTA employees, baseball players, television writers. It doesn't matter who they are or whether or not their grievances are justified. Workers will almost always support other workers against the black-hatted villainy that is "the man."

But there is always a moment when the tide turns, when striking workers lose all their support and eventually crumble. And for the striking writers of the WGA, that moment started occurring during Day 3.