'Shark' Swims Again

Tonight marks the return of the law drama "Shark" (CBS, 9 p.m.), a show fairly derivative of Fox's superior "House."

The main difference between the two shows is that the larger-than-life lead character, Sebastian Stark (James Woods), is a lawyer and has a teenaged daughter while House (Hugh Laurie) is a doctor and completely alone.

But both shows are structured essentially the same. Stark and his minions get a weekly case that seems unwinnable, only to have Stark pull a brilliant legal trick to win in the end. "Shark" isn't a bad show, but is a good example of the sort of formulaic hour-long crime dramas CBS is famous for.

One of main things I wish "Shark" would do more of is develop the supporting cast better. Though the supporting doctors on "House" don't get a whole lot to do, at least we care about them as people. In "Shark," we rarely get that with the lawyers working for Stark.

Tonight's episode, the first new one since the strike, picks up with Stark facing both criminal charges and losing his law license after helping cover up a murder for his client (Jonathan Banks) years earlier. But that character is a small fish, and a tough U.S. Attorney (Paula Marshall) is pushing Stark to help net Banks' sociopathic partner, who ordered the original murder to cover up a bigger crime.

It's a pretty strong episode and something of a roller coaster ride as we see Stark facing up to the worst mistake he's ever made and risking losing everything. Marshall, who is filling in for Jeri Ryan while Ryan is on maternity leave, has some good chemistry with Woods.

The worst moments for "Shark" for me are usually the ones with his daughter (Danielle Panabaker), who is written as so consistently whiny and annoying, it's hard to care about her. She continues that streak tonight.

I'm not sure if "Shark" has been officially renewed yet, so the ratings for the next few episodes in its new timeslot could be critical. A new episode of "NCIS" at 8 p.m. as a lead-in should help.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Another crime drama that is testing a new timeslot and night for a ratings boost is "Women's Murder Club," (ABC, 10 p.m.) back with a new episode and new showrunners. This quirky little crime drama could get a big boost not only from switching away from the Friday night wasteland, but also following "Dancing With The Stars" at 9 p.m.

"Law & Order: SVU" (NBC, 10 p.m.) has guest star Robin Williams playing a character who does all sorts of crazy antics. Boy, never seen that before.

Fox's highly rated reality lineup of "American Idol" and "Hell's Kitchen" puts its contestants through the grinder once more.

On cable, "The Riches" (FX, 10 p.m.) is all new.

Finally, the documentary "Carrier" (PBS, 9 p.m.) continues tonight. It follows a rerun of "Nova," also about giant naval vessels, this one about the sinking of the Japanese supership the Yamamoto in 1945.

And The Agony Continues...

I'm not, by nature, an optimist.

So almost every Georgia-Florida weekend since I started at UGA way back in 1990 has been something of pure torture for me, as I'm sure it's been for the rest of Bulldawg Nation.

I carry little hopes that this year's Cocktail Party (CBS, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) is going to be much better. Georgia got whipped by Tennessee two games ago and barely beat Vandy before this past weekend's bye week.

My lone ember of hope is that this season, there are about five upsets every weekend, everything from Appalachian State winning at Michigan to USC losing at home despite being a 41-point favorite. Will the Dogs get swept up in upset mania and change what has been a constant fate for most of the past two decades?

I don't know, but winning this game more than once a decade would be nice.

THURSDAY RECAP: Maybe it was having Jason Reitman on board as director, or maybe it was the return to the half-hour format, but last night's "The Office" was definitely the strongest effort of the season, from Dwight and Andy's different reactions to the initial "D" to Michael's commercial, a classic Michael Scott joint if I ever saw one. Hopefully, NBC will finally learn the lesson that you can have too much of a good thing.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: Well, I dissed "Moonlight" (CBS, 9 p.m.) with my initial review, and four episodes in, I still don't think it's very good, but it continues to pull together a steady following. One of the few things I liked about the show was Jason Dohring's character of Josef, but he has hardly had anything to do thus far and wasn't even in last week's installment. And I still prefer the wide variety of demons and supernatural creatures that the gang on "Angel" fought to the vampire-of-the-week or really-bad-human-of-the-week that "Moonlight" is seemingly stuck with. A new "Ghost Whisperer" precedes it, while the night wraps up with "Numb3rs."

"Women's Murder Club" (ABC, 9 p.m.) is carving out its own niche on Fridays. It's a solid show, certainly not appointment television, but fairly entertaining if you are home on a Friday. It's followed by the cult hit, "Men In Trees."

Unfortunately, with both "Moonlight" and "Club" doing well, it takes away potential viewership from the night's best show, "Friday Night Lights" (NBC, 9 p.m.) Much like the cast and crew of the show, I'm resigning myself to the fact that this is never going to get even fair ratings despite superior acting and writing. If this is the last year, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. It's followed by "Las Vegas," in which former Tom Selleck's former "Magnum, PI" buddies Larry Manetti and Roger Mosley show up for a mini-reunion.

"Torchwood" (BBC America, Sat., 9 p.m.) is all-new and coming off its most ingenious episode yet last week.

On Sunday, new episodes of "Cold Case" (CBS, 9 p.m.) and "Shark" (CBS, 10 p.m.) compete with Game 4 of the World Series (Fox, 8 p.m.), as do ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers and Sisters," from 9-11 p.m.

As always, the pick for Sundays is the ingenious "Dexter," (Showtime, 9 p.m.), which is followed by a new "Brotherhood" at 10 p.m.

A Club Worth Joining?

Sorry for the late update, but hey, this is my vacation.

When I first got the pilot for "Women's Murder Club," (ABC, 9 p.m.), I can't say I was too excited. Based upon a series of popular mysteries by James Patterson, the series centers around four women - a cop, a coroner, a D.A., and a reporter - who work together to solve crimes and their own social problems.

For me, it looked like it was going to be "CSI" meets "Desperate Housewives."

But you know what? The show isn't half-bad. I was more entertained than I thought I would be. Is this appointment viewing every week? No. But it's not a waste of an hour either, and could find a place for itself on Fridays.

MORE TREK CASTING: Simon Pegg will play engineer Montgomery Scott in the new Star Trek film, while John Cho will reportedly play Sulu, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Pegg is a terrific actor who should be a good addition to the cast. As for Cho, it's an OK choice, but I think JJ Abrams missed an obvious opportunity - James Kyson Lee, who plays Ando on "Heroes" alongside original Sulu George Takei.

FRIDAY'S BEST BETS: If you were disappointed by "The O.C." turn that "Friday Night Lights" (NBC, 9 p.m.) took last week, I can only tell you the series returns to its strong dramatic roots over the next two episodes. And while the dumping of the body by Tyra and Landry was a ridiculous plot point, it does lead to some great moments between the two characters. And Mrs. Coach (Connie Britton) has some great scenes of post-partum depression that reminds us why Britton is the most underrated actress on TV.

I'd say "Moonlight" (CBS, 9 p.m.) is one of the biggest disappointments of the season, but then, my expectations weren't very high to begin with. It's followed by a brand-new "Numb3rs" at 10 p.m.

I don't have access to a TV schedule right now, so you guys on your own for the rest of the weekend.