Finale Thursday

OK,so ABC isn't wrapping up tonight, but a bunch of other shows are.

The CW airs the season finales of "Smallville" and "Supernatural" beginning at 8 p.m. A bit of good news on the "Smallville" front - Allison Mack will be returning next season as Chloe. I'm assuming Jensen Ackles will also be back as Dean Winchester even though his soul is ticketed to go to Hell tonight.

Earl has to choose between continuing his list of good karma and Alyssa Milano on the hour-long finale of "My Name Is Earl." Tough choice. I'm still thinking...

It's followed by the hour-long finale of "The Office" (NBC, 9 p.m.) which promises a few shockers as well as the departure of Toby in favor of Oscar nominee Amy Ryan as the new HR person.

More isn't necessarily merrier, though. The supersized versions of the NBC sitcoms that ran this year haven't been among the best of either series by any means.

Speaking of NBC follies, check out this interview with "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence, courtesty of TVGuide: http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Ausiello-Scoop-Lawrence/800039701

No wonder NBC is a fourth-place network these days. Meanwhile, Steve Buscemi guest stars on the season finale of "ER" at 10 p.m.

CBS wraps up "CSI" (CBS, 9 p.m.) by paving the way for the departure of legally-challenged Gary Dourdan, whose character is legally challenged as well. It's followed by the season finale of "Without a Trace."

Speaking of weird programming, ABC isn't wrapping up tonight, but rather setting up its finales over the next two weeks. "Ugly Betty," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost" are all new tonight. "Lost" is essentially a three-part finale, but the final two episodes won't air for two weeks.

Meanwhile, "Betty" and "Grey's wrap up next week, with the latter having a two-hour finale, which is why "Lost is being broken up. Fear not, though. "Lost" will re-air tonight's episode in two weeks at the 8 p.m. slot.

Incidentally, some more good news. The "Lost" producers confirmed that the two episodes that got nixed this year because of the strike will be made up over the show's final two seasons. So we'll get two 17-hour seasons rather than 16 as originally planned.

'Scrubs' Finale - Perhaps

Tonight marks the possible series finale of one of my favorite sitcoms, "Scrubs" (NBC, 8:30 p.m.) I say possible, because there have been reports that ABC, which produces the show, will pick it up for one more season since NBC has officially dropped it.

I hope ABC does. Tonight's finale is a tribute to both "The Princess Bride" and "Monty Python" as Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) tells his son Jack a bed-time story involving members of the cast. It's something completely different, but for the "Scrubs" cast and crew, different is pretty normal.

What tonight's episode isn't is the series finale that creator Bill Lawrence had dreamed up before the strike. Because of the shortened season and production time, Lawrence wasn't able to put into effect what he wanted to do. So a move over to ABC would allow the series to wrap up on its own terms.

"Scrubs" has never been ratings gold, in part because it's never been a traditional sitcom. More accurately, the show could be described as a dramedy in the vein of "M*A*S*H," mixing comedy with drama. It's developed a rich and talented cast that perfectly complements each other.

If tonight is indeed the finale of "Scrubs," there is a silver lining. Sarah Chalke, who plays Elliott on the show, would be free to expand her work on "How I Met Your Mother," in which her character of Stella would almost certainly be revealed as the unknown mother in the title. In the ideal world, the scheduling would work out where Chalke could do both shows, helping "Scrubs" wrap up on ABC while integrating herself with the terrific "HIMYM" cast.

GOOD NEWS FOR "BAD": AMC made it official by renewing its other breakout hit "Breaking Bad," giving the network one of the best one-two punches in original drama along with "Mad Men." "Bad" revolves around a dying high school chemistry teacher (an Emmy worthy Bryan Cranston) who turns to making crystal meth in order to provide for his family after his death. This could be my favorite new show of the season, and one I strongly urge you to catch when AMC starts reruns.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: "Scrubs" isn't the only sitcom wrapping up tonight; "30 Rock" (NBC, 9:30 p.m.) also ends its second season with the return of Edie Falco. "My Name Is Earl" (NBC, 8 p.m.) and "The Office" (NBC, 9 p.m.) are both new, but both will be on for at least another week. They are followed by a new "ER" at 10 p.m.

Clark (Tom Welling) must find out who carved Kryptonian symbols into Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) on "Smallville" (CW, 8 p.m.), while the Winchester boys must split up to tackle two cases on the criminally underrated "Supernatural." (CW, 9 p.m.)

Tonight's "Lost" (ABC, 10 p.m.) is Locke-centric, giving Emmy winner Terry O'Quinn yet another chance to shine as we finally meet the mysterious Jacob. Perhaps. It follows new installments of "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's Anatomy."

On CBS, there's one guy and four women left on "Survivor" (CBS, 8 p.m.) Hmm, I like those odds. Meanwhile, the writers of "2 1/2 Men" get to return the favor to "CSI" by penning tonight's episode, in which a sitcom star (Katey Sagal) is murdered and everyone is a suspect. It's followed by "Without A Trace" at 10 p.m.

2 1/2 CSIs

In the past, I've blogged about how much I love crossover episodes of two different TV series. Detectives from "Homicide: Life On The Street" would appear on "Law & Order" and so forth.

But tonight begins one of the weirdest TV crossovers ever. Tonight's episode of the hit sitcom "2 1/2 Men" (CBS, 9 p.m.) was written by a writing team from "CSI" and includes a guest starring appearance by "CSI" star George Eads as a crime scene investigator.

On Thursday, the "Men" writers return the favor by scripting this week's "CSI," about the murder of a difficult sitcom star (Katey Sagal). That episode is supposed to be full of in-jokes, since it was written by "Men" creator Chuck Lorre, who had a notoriously stormy relationship with Cybill Shepherd when he created her sitcom "Cybill" in the mid-90s.

It's certainly not a crossover that would have ever occurred to me. It's not like I watch either series, but I can't say the thought has ever popped up during a drama that said "Boy, this show would be much better if it was written by sitcom guys."

On the other hand, the switch could be a positive one for a couple of reasons. For one, shows that have been on the air for a while, even if they are hits, could use a shake-up from time to time, and bringing in different writers with a fresh perspective is one way to do that.

Another positive is that the writers themselves get to stretch their creative muscles for a bit by writing something completely different, including a different format.

My guess is that the "CSI" episode will work a little better, because comedy is one of the most difficult genres to write, and Lorre is bringing a lot of his own background into the "CSI" episode.

I'm wondering if both episodes do well, will CBS continue to switch around more writing staffs, and will other networks jump on the bandwagon? Perhaps the writers of "Numb3rs" could do an episode of "How I Met Your Mother," in which Barney uses complex mathematical algorithms to optimize picking up women, while the "Numb3rs" team from 30 years in the future recalls a case from 2008.

The possibilities are endless.

"MEN IN TREES" AXED: ABC won't be renewing "Men In Trees" for next season, TVGuide.com is reporting. The Anne Heche series jumped around the schedule a lot, making it difficult pick up an audience.

MONDAY'S BEST BETS: By the way, there are plenty of drama writers who can do comedy just fine, so I'm not dissing the "CSI" writers with tonight's "2 1/2 Men," which anchors new episodes of "Big Bang Theory" and "HIMYM," and is followed by "Rules of Engagement." Although I have to point out, "CSI" isn't as unintentionally funny as "CSI: Miami." (CBS, 10 p.m.)

For example, some of the best comedy writing of the season was done last week on "House" (Fox, 9 p.m.), as House and Cutthroat Bitch battled for custody of Wilson, who just hung around in the background helpless against the schemes of his best friend and his girlfriend. This week, House (Hugh Laurie) kidnaps his favorite soap star when he diagnoses him while watching an episode. It follows a new "Bones."

ABC sandwiches "Samantha Who?" (ABC, 9:30 p.m.) with "Dancing With The Stars" and "The Bachelor."

"Gossip Girl" (CW, 8 p.m.) has a character outed out of the closet. It's followed by "One Tree Hill" at 9 p.m.