Here’s a look back at the best and worst of TV in the past week (May 7-13), and a peek at what’s coming up next week.

Highlights

1. “The Pacific” (HBO). Another brutal, grim, mind-numbingly violent hour, but wow, was it powerful. From the booby-trapped mother to the newbies’ deadly mistakes to Sledge’s rediscovery of his humanity while facing the ultimate inhumanity, it was gripping stuff.

2. “Friday Night Lights” (NBC). So good to have this show back. It’s always a crapshoot when a series reboots itself in order to stay fresh, but the new kids and new storylines here are working well. And Wallace from “The Wire”!

3. “Fringe” (Fox). How cool was that alternate world? The opening sequence before the credits was enough to blow me away. I want to know so much more about the alt-Fringe Division.

Honorable mention: “Breaking Bad” (AMC) if, for nothing else, that scene with The Cousin crawling toward the door. Good lord, that was a jaw-dropper. On “30 Rock” (NBC), I don’t know what was funnier, Jon Hamm as Captain Hook, Tracy’s repressed childhood memories or the groomsman explaining his Plushie fetish to Liz.

Lowlights

1. “Gossip Girl” (The CW). Just awful and inane. What happened to the witty writing and self-aware attitude? By the time this episode was over, I wanted to break my TV screen, reach in and slap each and every character.

2. “Lost” (ABC). This was not the time to give us a meandering, cheesy information dump that really didn’t dump all that much useful information. A super frustrating episode.

3. “Amazing Race” (CBS). Speaking of frustrating . . . .

Looking forward to . . .

1. “Lost” (9 p.m. Tuesday, ABC). Don’t worry, I’m still on board. A friend of a friend got a sneak preview of the upcoming episode, and she said it was mind-blowingly awesome.

2. “Survivor” (8 p.m. Sunday, CBS). I’ve gotten so sucked in, and I haven’t even been a regular watcher since Season 1. The finale should be full of twists and turns and betrayals, and I’m finally realizing why no one wants to vote out Russell: Go up against him in the final, and you’ll win, no matter who you are.

3. “Fringe” (9 p.m. Thursday, Fox). The season finale in the alt-world looks awesome. Even more awesome: That fight between Olivia and Alt-Olivia.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)