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. “Gossip Girl.” And so ends my first season as an inexplicable fan of this show. The finale offered mysteries (Is Serena too cool to wear a graduation cap?), fakeouts (Eric’s boyfriend Jonathan as Gossip Girl? Nahh.), cliffhangers (Blair and Georgina NYU dorm-mates?!?) and shockers (Chuck finally said those three magic words). It was great trashy fun. I just hope the college years don’t go down the “Saved By the Bell” route.
2. “Reaper.” One of my favorite episodes of the season. I loved Sam’s new corporate job at Hell Inc. or whatever it was. That’s a great direction for the show to take if it somehow survives for another season. The soul of the week thing was getting tired, so I was glad they got it out of the way early, in a good and creepy opening. Ray Wise was at the top of his game too, showing Sam the ropes around the office and lamenting his poor dead tailor. Sock’s storyline bored me, and once again Nina was the most interesting character, though I would have liked to have seen what she was doing down in Hell. When all was said and done, we got a few laughs, a few thrills and a little more insight into the show’s mythology.
3. “Rescue Me.” Another strong episode in what’s turning out to be an exceptionally strong season. I loved Tommy and Janet’s doomed attempt at being genteel, the dining room snob smackdown and ensuing destructo-sex. And hats off to Lou for the pity sex from the French journalist! Garrity’s plumbing problem was achingly funny, as was its resolution (“Ever light a match to get rid of the smell? You’ve got a whole building burning around you and it’s not making a dent.”). Intriguing ending too, with Katie — errr, Katherine — lurking by the driveway then running off. Kinda creepy.
Also good: The season finales of “How I Met Your Mother” (nice goat fight and use of an A.C. Newman song) and “Party Down” (I love me some Kristen Bell).
Lowlights
1. “Survivor.” The finale itself was fine, but did it really need to be three hours? Especially when the “Amazing Race” finale — in which things actually happen and people actually do things — gets crammed into 60 minutes? Talk about bloated. I could say the same for “American Idol,” but I didn’t even come close to watching that.
2. “Reno 911.” I’m not digging the new characters. I miss Clemmie and Garcia and even Kimball.
3. “My Boys.” Mehh. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t a particularly standout episode (I’m trying to remember right now what it was even about). I’ve been disappointed in the current season. The show’s fallen off my must-watch-that-night list.
Looking forward to . . .
1. “Reaper” (8 p.m. Tuesday, The CW). The season (and yeah, sadly, probably series) finale will have Sam trying to defeat the devil at some contest so he can get his soul back. I know things probably won’t end well for Sam, but it should be fun watching Satan play quarters.
2. UEFA Champions League final (11:25 a.m. Wednesday, ESPN). I’m not usually a soccer fan, but I love big games between big teams. And this meets the standard. Manchester United vs. Barcelona, two of Europe’s most storied teams, will meet for the most prestigious club championship in the world. As an added bonus, it’ll feature the world’s top two players, ManU’s foppy, floppy Christiano Ronaldo and Barca’s short and scrappy Lionel Messi. Should be a fun game, especially once the fans start singing and chanting. Go Barca! (ManU is the Yankees of soccer, so. . .)
3. National Spelling Bee (8 p.m. Thursday, ABC, early rounds on ESPN). Yeah, I’m a nerd. But at least I admit it. There’s no way the spelling bee should be as fascinating as it is. Yet it’s gripping, thrilling, heartbreaking and frequently the source of fantastic unintentional comedy. Count me in. By the way, I’m still bitter than I got bounced from my fifth-grade spelling bee on the word “rhythm.” Stupid word.
