A look back at the best and worst in the past week of TV, as well as a sneak peek at what’s to come.
Highlights
1. “The Tonight Show.” Conan O’Brien slid effortlessly into his new gig. His first night was a bit heavy on the prerecorded bits and didn’t flow particularly smoothly, but the shows improved each night as Conan relaxed and got into his old spontaneous, improv groove. It was nice to see Andy Richter back, though I hope he gets more involved as the show evolves.
2. “Burn Notice.” There was a well-done retooling of the show for Season 3, with Michael now targeted by police and his old enemies. That little twist opens up whole new avenues for plot directions, a nice change of pace after the whole “who burned me?” quest got a little stale last season. Looks like this season will have a new under-siege mentality, which I think should serve to ramp up the drama. This series makes me giddy, I’m so glad it’s back.
3. “Nurse Jackie.” I caught the premiere episode a few days early on On Demand (it debuts Monday on Showtime). It’s really good. Edie Falco plays a morally flexible nurse with a perfect balance of jaded weariness and quiet desperation. There’s a good amount of dark comedy to offset some pretty serious (and grisly) dramatic moments. I’d definitely watch it again, if I had Showtime. (Which makes me ask myself again, why do I get HBO instead? Do I care about “Entourage” that much? Well, that, and I’m holding out for the new season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and haven’t caught up yet with the last seasons of “Weeds” and “Dexter.”)
Also good: “Rescue Me” (Can Tommy balance both Janet and Sheila? Um, no. But it’ll be fun to watch) and “Man vs. Wild” (Will Ferrell peeing in the snow is always good for a laugh).
Lowlights
1. “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.” It’s truly frightening when Janice Dickinson is the voice of reason, as she was at times this week. And has it really come to this for Lou Diamond Phillips? So sad. I promised I wouldn’t mention you-know-who, but their ridonkulous act was really the show’s only drawing point. Without them, it’s nothing. But with them, it’s. . . . well, it’s with them, which I just can’t stomach.
2. “The Hills.” I almost forgot I even watched this, it was so insignificant and anticlimactic. For a series that manufactures drama at every turn, couldn’t they do something to make the wedding somewhat interesting? (Again, thanks to Holly for providing the drunken mess that actually seemed real.) Lauren’s oh-by-the-way departure was beyond lame.
3. MTV Movie Awards. Ugh, it was two hours of “Twilight.” And watching it made me feel old. I know I was stupid to fall for it in the first place, but the Bruno-Eminem dustup was a lot less funny in retrospect, knowing it was all planned. I like my Sacha Baron Cohen spontaneous and real. Andy Samberg had a couple of good bits, but mostly the show was an orgy of tween hype and network bloat.
Looking forward to . . .
1. “Top Chef Masters” (10 p.m. Wednesday, Bravo). My most-anticipated summer show, besides “Burn Notice.” It’ll be interesting to see how the egos of two dozen world-class chefs do in a reality show competition.
2. “The Colbert Report” (11:30 p.m. Mon-Thurs, Comedy Central). Stephen Colbert will do four shows taped before an audience of U.S. troops in Baghdad. Should be interesting.
3. “Burn Notice” (9 p.m. Thursday, USA). Michael meets his new nemesis — a Miami police detective played by Moon Bloodgood.
