A look back at the best and worst of TV in the past week (July 25-31), and a peek ahead at what’s coming up.
Highlights
1. “Being Human.” This latest offering from BBC America is fantastic. The supernatural 
comedy, if it can be called that, has plenty of chills and thrills, with witty writing that doesn’t take itself too seriously. This is two weeks in a row BBC America has had my top show of the week (“Torchwood” is still haunting me); don’t those wacky Brits know summer programming isn’t supposed to be this high-quality?
2. “Top Chef Masters” (Bravo). Three reasons: Rick Bayless, Hubert Keller and Anita Lo. They’re like superheroes in the kitchen and an absolute delight to watch. So creative, so cool and so talented.
3. “Entourage” (HBO). I’ve criticized the show when it’s been down, but I have to give them credit for improving. I really liked last week’s episode, and I’m starting to have hope that it’s the start of better things to come this season. It was good to see some depth in Turtle. Maybe the boys are finally starting to grow up. (But E still needs to ditch the waif.)
Lowlights
1. “Rescue Me” (FX). The Janet-Sheila smackdown was fun and long overdue, but what was the point of that lesbian brawl at the beginning? (Other than to make crude lesbian jokes?) Mrs. Needles — the Russian sex freak — seems completely over-the-top gratuitous. (Not that I’m necessarily opposed to that, but. . .) I think I can count on one hand the number of times this series has shown women in a positive light, and this might have been the most misogynistic episode yet. Too bad, I really like the series otherwise.
2. “Better Off Ted” (ABC). Oh wait, there was no “Better Off Ted” because ABC ran a rerun of “The Bachelorette” instead. Jerks.
3. “Top Chef Masters” (Bravo). Specifically, the judging. Why did Michael Chiarello get dinged for making his Rick Bayless-inspired dish too reflective of himself, but Anita Lo got praised for doing the exact same thing – to an even greater degree – with her Hubert Keller-inspired dish? Didn’t seem fair to Chiarello. And I was really surprised at how Art Smith’s “horrifying” meat-and-egg-wad managed to beat Suzanne Tracht’s fish dish that had done nothing worse than sit around a bit too long. I love all the chefs, but the judges all bug me (except of course for the awesome Gail Simmons).
Looking forward to . . .
1. “Burn Notice” (9 p.m. Thursday, USA). I can’t believe the season finale is here already. I like the darker path the series is taking, with the straight-shooting Michael willing to compromise his ideals to get his old job back. Should be interesting to see how that’ll backfire on him. Added bonus: Tyne Daly will guest star, in a little “Cagney & Lacey” reunion with Sharon Gless.
2. “Chefs vs. City” (10 p.m. Friday, Food Network). Chris Cosentino (of SF’s Incanto) and Aaron Garcia go from city to city, challenging local chefs in sorta “Top Chef”-meets-“Amazing Race” challenges. I love both of those shows, so I’ll be watching.
3. Shark Week (all week on Discovery). More nightmare fuel. The highlight is probably Monday’s special “Survivorman” (9 p.m.) where Les Stroud travels to five of the most shark-infested areas in the world. I guarantee my legs won’t be dangling over the cushions of my couch when I watch.
UPDATE: Ooooh, I forgot another Shark Week highlight — “Blood in the Water” (9 p.m. Sunday), a docu-movie about a 1916 series of shark attacks in New Jersey that inspired the “Jaws” story. I remember seeing a History Channel show about that incident, and it’s pretty freaky.
