Some TV Musings

I don't like to toot my own horn (OK, who am I kidding, I LOVE to toot my own horn) but the TV Guy was on fire with the Golden Globe picks.

Eleven TV categories, seven correct. And of the ones I missed, I did write that "Ugly Betty" could pull the upset in Best Comedy Series and that Hugh Laurie should win Best Actor in a Drama, I just didn't have enough faith in the common sense of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (and who could blame me for that?), so really, it could have been nine of 11. And the remaining two categories, the supporting actor and actress selections, are ridiculous in how they lump performers from TV series with those of TV movies, so it's a near impossibility to call.

Combined with my runner-up finish in our gang's "My Boys"-inspired board game decathlon this past weekend -- I lost in the tiebreaker of Battleship -- I had a pretty good groove going.

REASON #6543598 WHY NBC.COM SUCKS: So, being the good son that I am, I taped a bunch of shows for my parents while they were out of the country. Last Thursday night, I was out doing the Team Trivia thing, so I taped "Ugly Betty" for the folks, figuring I could catch "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" on the Web.

And as I was sitting in the Joshua Cup enjoying my day off, I did indeed log onto a very funny installment of "Earl." With my mood joyous (and, in this case, Joy-ous) from the comedy I had just watched, I clicked over to "The Office" section. And I clicked. And I clicked.

Nada. No where on that page could I find the latest episode online. In frustration, I clicked on the 2-minute recap of the episode. It caused Internet Explorer to crash. With the safety of the other Joshua Cup customers now in serious question, I tried the recap again. Again, IE crashed.

Self-control finally did kick in when I realized that NBC was looking to make a quick $1.99 by having the episode available only at iTunes. I can wait until the episode is repeated on broadcast TV, thank you very much NBC.com.

But it was another reminder why NBC has the worst Web site of any of the networks.

LOST ENDINGS: There was much buzz yesterday as the producers of ABC's "Lost" announced that they would be ending the series within the next couple of years.

I really wasn't surprised by this as everyone else seems to be. After all, "Lost" must have some sort of ending the writers are shooting for, which requires some sort of structure and outline. Otherwise, it turns into the last five seasons of "The X-Files," where the writers keep inventing nonsensical twists to keep the show going.

No doubt ABC, which has treated its best series shamefully this season, will try to milk an extra year or two out of the producers, but here's hoping J.J. Abrams has enough clout and fortitude to end the series on his own terms.

24 BIZARRO PICK OF THE WEEK: In honor of the return of "24" to the airwaves, I will pick one item in the show each week to highlight as a fundamental flaw of logic that can't possibly happen in the real world, yet does to move the plot along. "24" being what it is, I figure I should be able to run this on a weekly, consistent basis.

Lots to choose from out of the first four hours of the show, but this week's pick is definitely the bomb-making terrorist who manages to cross all of L.A. ON FOOT from the middle of nowhere to the secret terrorist hideout in the span of about seven minutes of the show's real-time format.

That, and seriously, doesn't Curtis know by now that Jack Bauer never shoots to merely wound, but only to kill? What was he thinking?

Other nominees included the President's moronic sister; the seemingly endless piles of pardons laying around the White House specifically for striking deals with terrorists; and Ahmed not shooting the family out of spite for continually mis-pronouncing his name even after he told the kid how to pronounce it.

TUESDAY'S BEST BET: Come on, it's the return of frakkin' "American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m.) All of TV shall bow and tremble in its wake. I'm saving my thoughts on "AI" for tomorrow's blog.