TV

Again, it's not time to sound the alarm, but like they used to say on "NYPD Blue," I want to get out in front of this problem. How are you feeling about "Desperate Housewives" these days? Talk about it on the TV Gal message board.

Quotes of the Week

"Grab life by the crack and lick the crap out of it." Barney giving advice to Ted on "How I Met Your Mother." Thanks to Joe for the quote.

"He's snarkastic." Lorelai about Michel on "Gilmore Girls." I'm working that word into my vocabulary. Who's with me?

"Back at school, Greg camped out for me like I was the new 'Star Wars' movie." Chris on "Everybody Hates Chris."

"We're going to need to watch that again." Locke to Jack and speaking for all the fans on "Lost."

"It was good. Lots of nice architecture and smokers." Ephram describing Europe on "Everwood."

Where Have I Seen Them Before?

DJ was the first to catch that Daniel Roebuck, the not-so-dear but very departed Arzt on "Lost," was Bree's insurance agent on "Desperate Housewives."

Evan recognized Brian George, the dry cleaner on "Desperate Housewives," was Babu Bhatt on "Seinfeld."

We all know that was James Marsters, Spike on "Buffy" and "Angel," on "Smallville." But Ted was the first astute reader to catch Leonard Roberts as one of the soldiers. Roberts was Forrest Gates on "Buffy." He also played a doomed guard in the third season of "24."

Michael Stoyanov was the detective who traced the phone call for Veronica on "Prison Break." He was Blossom's older brother Anthony on "Blossom" and was Jimmy Gold on "90210."

Todd and Lauren recognized Lukas Behnken as the son who gave his abusive father his liver on "Grey's Anatomy" played Hannah's boyfriend Topher on "Everwood."

Amy caught Raphael Sbarge was the mental patient whose whole family died when he was young on "Threshold." He was Jake on "The Guardian" and you can catch him this Friday on "Numb3rs."

Jay Karnes, Dutch on "The Shield," was the jeweler who set up his family to be kidnapped to pay off a gambling debt on "Numb3rs."

Best News of the Week

One of my favorites, Rockmund Dunbar, whose "Head Cases" was cancelled after only two episodes, is becoming a series regular on "Prison Break." That means we will be seeing much more of his character C-Note.

And "My Name Is Earl" and "Everybody Hates Chris" both got a pick up for the full season. Did I not tell you reports of the death of the sitcom were greatly exaggerated?

Highlights of the Week Ahead
All times listed are Eastern Time for Oct. 10 to 16

I knew that this was going to happen. We predicted this. Ruthie will begin to think she has feelings for Martin that go beyond faux older brother on "7th Heaven" (Monday, WB, 8 p.m.).

I actually think "How I Met Your Mother" (Monday, CBS, 8:30 p.m.) might need to lose the beginning and ending scenes that frame the show. Yes, I know the whole set up is a father talking to his children but it seems to break up the great rhythm of the series. I still want Bob Saget's narration, but maybe we don't need to see the kids anymore. Oh, and since I'm getting out in front of all sorts of things today, let's go ahead and predict an Emmy nomination for Neil Patrick Harris. Why not? I'm living on the edge. Don't even try to stop me.

Does anyone else think "The Amazing Race: Family Edition" (Tuesday, CBS, 10 p.m.) is starting to feel extremely claustrophobic? The Emmy-award winning reality show is still being billed as race around the world. Isn't it about time that we got out of the Eastern part of the United States?

I like Freddie Prinze, Jr. and you know I have a loyalty to Brian Green that transcends logical understanding. That's why I was disappointed in "Freddie" (Wednesday, ABC, 8:30 p.m.). Most things in this comedy simply don't work. Like Jenny Gago's grandma character who spews out putdowns but only in Spanish. Madchen Amick as Freddie's sister-in-law Allison strains to be a cross between Karen on "Will & Grace" and Samantha on "Sex and the City" but succeeds in being poor imitations of both. Really, the only thing that works is the buddy-buddy comedy between Prinze and Green. The show seems to know this since it swapped the pilot episode for the second episode which highlights their friendship. That's the episode you'll see this week. Two and a half stars.

The other day I was watching a repeat of "Will & Grace" when Will's friend from high school came to visit and I thought, "Oh, I wonder what famous person played his high school friend?" And here's the crazy part and something I had totally forgotten about -- early on in the days of "Will & Grace" there was no stunt casting. How crazy is that? Just regular actors played the guest parts. The live episode was pretty funny (loved Jack's "the more you know" moment) even if Debra Messing giggled through most of the episode. And I actually really like Alec Baldwin on the show. Perhaps in its final season, the long-running series can go out with a bang. Look for Richard Chamberlain to guest star on an upcoming episode.

I'm not exactly giving "ER" (Thursday, NBC, 10 p.m.) the silent treatment. It's now more like the final seasons of "90210" when I watched out of some sort of lingering inexplicable loyalty (see the notorious BAG above). But the continued reuse of previous story lines is becoming exhausting. Exactly how many "Love's Labor Lost" type episodes are we going to have? It emphasizes that the show is a shadow of its former self.

It is so time for Val to take a moment and choose "me." First, Luke Perry and now Jason Priestley guest stars on "What I Like About You" (Friday, WB, 8 p.m.).

I need a little more oomph from "Threshold" (Friday, CBS, 9 p.m.). I like the show, but right now, after an extremely compelling pilot, there's not enough here to make me keep tuning in week after week. Because right now the show is hitting every single alien TV show cliche -- the aliens were here long before us, people thought to be insane really saw the truth about the aliens, and nosebleeds (seriously, we got enough of that on "The X-Files). The show has a great cast. Let's think outside the alien genetic mutation box people.

Christine Estabrook, Mrs. Huber on "Desperate Housewives," guest stars on "Hot Properties" (Friday, ABC, 9:30 p.m.). This show is worth watching just for the hilarious Nicole Sullivan who makes every one of her lines perfectly funny.

To the TV Gal Readers Belong the Spoils

Remember don't read if you don't want to know.

For everyone who thought Emily and particularly Richard were being far too calm about Rory dropping out of Yale on "Gilmore Girls," that's about to change.

Let's make sure we're all on the same page on "Lost." We all know that it was Shannon and Boone's father that Jack didn't save when he saved Sarah in the hospital, right? And we all saw the marking on the shark and the numbers roaming around Desmond's little hatch paradise. So, I will simply tell you that Michael will desperately search for Walt while Jin and Sawyer are forced to lead the others to their camp site.

Aquaman will dive into "Smallville" on Oct. 20 and he'll have eyes (and fins?) for Lois Lane.

Susan might not be able to date Mike anymore on "Desperate Housewives" (can that really last?) but she will help Mike search for Zach. Meanwhile Gabrielle becomes a little too interested in Adrian Pasdar, Carlos' new lawyer, and start a prison riot by accident.

For those of us concerned that we wouldn't be seeing enough of Weevil this season on "Veronica Mars," I'm thrilled to report that he's the one who will get an anonymous call about the bus crash.

That's all for today. I'll be back next week with thoughts on "Everwood," "Everybody Hates Chris," and my picks for the best possible crossovers. Have a question, seen a familiar face, have an inside scoop or want to nominate a quote of the week? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com by clicking on my byline at the top of my column.