'Rescue Me' Returns -- Sort Of

I'm the first to admit that FX's "Rescue Me" isn't coming off its strongest season. Last year was kind of all over the place in terms of consistency.

On the other hand, "Rescue Me" at 60-70 percent quality is usually better than the bulk of the shows out there at 100 percent, so everything is relative.

The writers' strike pushed the upcoming season of "Rescue Me" back to 2009, but the good news for fans of the series is that we won't have to wait that long to see Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) and the crew back in action.

FX is launching five-minute "mini-sodes" tonight beginning at 10 p.m., which will run over the next several weeks. Each one features a short scene with regular cast members that will refresh viewers' memories from last year and bridge the gap to the new season. There will be 10 in total, and FX is likely to edit them into one episode at the end of the run.

If you miss them when they air on FX, you can still catch them on crackle.com.

AROUND THE DIAL: Disney's "Camp Rock" didn't quite the hit the ratings stratosphere of "High School Musical," but the 16.2 million combined viewers for all the airings this weekend has ensured a "Camp Rock 2," according to The Hollywood Reporter. ... Good for NBC naming Tom Brokaw as interim host for Tim Russert on "Meet The Press." Brokaw is the logical choice and will host the show at least through the election. It will also make the transition much easier for whomever the network taps as the show's new permanent host.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: With the "Rescue Me" mini-sodes airing, "30 Days" (FX, 10:06 p.m.) will be trimmed slightly and air after "Rescue Me" does.

More game-show funness, courtesy of the networks. NBC airs "Celebrity Family Feud," (NBC, 8 p.m.), which sounds slightly excruciating, before airing a new "America's Got Talent," which IS excruciating.

On the flip side, watching the average American getting the snot knocked out of him or her has some humor value to it, which is why you may want to check out the tandem of "Wipeout" (ABC, 8 p.m.) and "I Survived A Japanese Game Show" (ABC, 9 p.m.)

Two episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" air consecutively on Fox from 8-10 p.m.

Finally, not to overstate this or anything, but the most important game in the history of college baseball takes place tonight as Georgia looks to clinch the College World Series title against Fresno State (ESPN, 7 p.m.)

In Praise Of The Grand Moff

Trying to break into the screenwriting business myself, there are certain writers who always get me jazzed when I know there names are going be in the credits.

As TV writers go, the UK's Steven Moffat is one of those guys. I'd put him in that rare category of TV's best, right up there with the likes of Joss Whedon, Aaron Sorkin and Shawn Ryan, to name but a few.

Moffat has made a name for himself in recent years, thanks to his phenomenal miniseries "Jekyll" that ran on BBC America last summer, and his work on "Doctor Who," contributing such classics as "Blink" and my all-time favorite, "Girl in the Fireplace."

Moffat is one of those rare writers who can blend humor, tragedy, romance and action, all within the same 42-minute span.

I bring Moffat up for two reasons. First, he was tapped by the BBC to take over the showrunning duties for "Doctor Who" from Russell T. Davies, who has shepherded the series since its relaunch in 2005. Most fans of the series have been pretty excited by the news. While Davies is a good writer (I think), Moffat is in a whole other weight class.

The second reason is that tonight's episode (Sci-Fi, 9 p.m.) is penned by Moffat, a two-parter called "Silence of the Library"/"Forest of the Dead." The episodes are among the best of the entire series, as Moffat deftly mixes humor and horror, creating a tale that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. It also doesn't hurt that the guest cast includes Colin Salmon and Alex Kingston.

It's always nice to see a master at work.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: Get a bunch of good-looking teenagers together, add a bunch of musical numbers and dance routines, and turn it into a TV movie. That's the formula Disney used to turn the "High School Musical" franchise into one of the most popular in the history of television.

We'll see if lightning strikes again as the Mouse presents "Camp Rock" (Disney, 8 p.m.), starring the Jonas Brothers as campers at a musical summer camp. If Disney can get even half the audience for "Camp" as it did for "HSM," expect to see "Camp Rock 2" by early next year.

ABC is presenting the Daytime Emmy Awards (ABC, 8 p.m.), also known as the Emmys that I don't handicap. It's followed by a rerun of the pilot of "MVP" at 10 p.m., for those of you who didn't catch it on SoapNet Thursday night.

On Saturday, "Robin Hood" (BBC America, 9 p.m.) is new as Marian has to adjust to life in the forest.

Those of you expecting to see Georgia continue its College World Series romp on Friday will have to wait until Saturday (ESPN2, 2 p.m.) thanks to rain in Omaha. The Bulldogs get set to face Stanford.

On Sunday, Alan Cumming takes over as the host for "Masterpiece: Mystery" (PBS, 9 p.m.), which will present the new "Inspector Lewis" series, featuring the former sidekick (Kevin Whatley) from the old "Inspector Morse" mysteries.