Seriously, TV.com. You're only making it worse. At least with the last **** redesign I still had access to my shows in a quick bar functions. Now even that's **** up. Kudos.

Watching tonight's premiere of "How I Met Your Mother", I was once again amazed at how well the show does what it does. It was preceded by "The Big Bang Theory" a cute show but truly the appetizer to the comedic entree of HIMYM. BBT only had one storyline and it usually only has one storyline which feels a bit like slacking when most sitcoms have b-plot and sometimes even a c-plot. It's also makes Jim Parsons do all the comedic heavy lifting. He's more than up to it but isn't it time to let the other characters stretch their comedic muscle and show off their talent?

By contrast, HIMYM was firing on all cylinders. All the characters had brilliant moments. It absolutely nailed how it feels to love something and the importance of having someone you love share that love. I know that if I feel in love with a girl and she didn't love The Graduate, I'd be absolutely heartbroken.

I think on some level, HIMYM will always be hamstrung by its framing device (it was an awkward attempt to use narration diagetically and while the narration is solid, the device has made the show a little clunky at times) and its use of a laugh-track. But its expert use of editing combined with sharp writing make it like nothing else on TV. I had to pause because I was laughing so hard at the following exchange:

Lily: Rhinoceros

Marshall: We have to go.

It's a quick little joke but it absolutely killed and I can't see it on any other show that's on TV right now (well, maybe 30 Rock, but that's television's best comedy and it's like five brilliant sitcoms crammed into one).

I'll say right now that I'll be with "John Adams" till the end of the series. That's the beauty of a mini-series. You know how long you're in for and you know that it can't be picked up for a second season. And it's that knowledge that helps me look past last Sunday's worthless episode, "Don't Tread on Me". Other than bringing John's character into sharper focus, it basically summed up his particiaption in the Revolutionary War as thus: He went to Europe and accomplished nothing. I give the series credit for portryaing the events objectively so that viewers can debate who was more at fault: Adams or Benjamin Franklin (I think Adams comes off worse as he doesn't he's completely out of his element in France). But there was none of the brilliant politicking and intrigue we saw in the first two parts. Hopefully next week's episode will focus on the construction of a free America and its constitution.

The world doesn't make sense anymore. I'm walking around this morning in a blind daze. My head is spinning. I'm trying to comprehend something, grasping to wrap my mind around this incredible concept:

I did not like an episode of LOST.

LOST is one of my favorite shows on television. Watching it is a holy experience where I shut off the phone and will snap if anyone so much as looks at me funny because that qualifies as an interruption and you'll be damned if you interrupt my LOST.

But last night's episode, other than the reveal of the guy that most fans had already deduced was Ben's inside man, was pure filler. And not even good filler. Filler that was a total cheat. Some fans may marvel at the use of a flash-forward AND a flash-back in the same episode, but that's an abuse of the technique that till now, has totally revitalized the show. It shouldn't be used to hoodwink us but to keep us wrapped up in a mystery. The most mystery this episode had was why Jin's tombstone marks his date of death as September 22, 2004--the day of the crash. So it was an episode meant to convince us that a dead character was alive even though the dead character may not be dead.

Rather than waste time with Jin's panda-hunting, that time could have been spent at Locke's camp, if only for a little character development, maybe some quality time with Miles.

When LOST ends, I'm sure I'll make a list of the best five and the worst five episodes in the series' run. Unless Lindelof and Cuse lose all their talent in a freak water-skiing accident (that's how people lose their talent), this episode will certainly be in that worst five.

Probably the best new show I've seen since Dexter.

They come back with one of their best episodes ever. Damn you, Marc Cherry.

Beautifully rendered but terribly told.

Not that the past three weeks were weak episodes, but this one finally got me jotting down my thoughts as I watched the episode. Here are my thoughts on "Grin and Bear It":

"If you have nothing to write, try killing yourself. If you fail, you'll have something to write about. If you succeed, your troubles will be over!"

Victor Garber's first at bat and he ends up hitting a home run.

Other brilliance:

- Justin trying to connect with his deceased father was sad, sweet, and funny.

- Rebecca Romajin pretending she doesn't know how to be a sexy woman is hilarious and a great idea.

- John Cho! Huzzah!

- The Anna Nicole Smith joke was the best thing that came out of Anna Nicole Smith's death (unless you're counting the death itself in which case it's the second best thing that came out of Anna Nicole Smith's death).

I loved how the New York Cabbie is so stereotypical, that even when a small child covered in blood runs into the middle of the street, the cabbie still calls her a moron.

I loved Adam Beach putting his hand on Ice-T's leg when the woman thought they were a gay couple.

I loved how, like any good Law & Order, it made sure to leave you feeling like crap.

Friday Night Lights is a show worth championing. I didn't care for the movie (I thought it was a tad racist; ask me how!) so I didn't really think I'd care for the show. The promos highlighted it as a whole town who only cared about football and that just seemed sad and pathetic. Of course, after hearing all the critical acclaim and getting to see the pilot for free off of iTunes (you're losing far more than you know by quitting them, NBC), I was hooked and found my way into a show that explored small town life in a way that no other show was really doing. The show wasn't perfect. Only Zach Gilford, Jesse Plemons, and Aimee Teegarden looked like they could really be in high school and any plotlines involving the hot but horrid actress Minka Kelly usually ended in tears. But the show succeeded on so many unexpected levels. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton gave tremendous performances both as a couple and as individuals. The relationship between Matt Saracen and Julie Taylor was heartwarming and thoughtful. And the football, which should have been the dullest part since we knew they would be going to State and thus would be winning, was absolutely captivating. But despite the show's strengths and critical acclaim, it ended up "on-the-bubble" and only received a repreive at the end of the season. This was a show that needed to step up its audience because critical acclaim and a small-but-devoted fanbase isn't enough to keep the network executioners at bay.

But judging from the first two episodes of the new season, FNL is playing like they not only breezed into a second year but already have a full-order for twenty-two episodes. While I admire the bravado, if they keep the tone of the season where it's at right now, they can start packing their things right now because it won't survive past mid-season.

It's not that season isn't dramatically rewarding, but it's just too brutal. Granted, a tried-and-true dramatic premise (especially in television) is to shake the status quo so that the characters have to work to restore it. The problem is that everything is broken right now in the world of Dillon. Characters we depended on for comic relief last season are practically on the verge of going into a warm bath and opening a few veins. And it's not that I don't appreciate giving these characters weightier material, but the show just isn't strong enough in viewership to open the season with that. If you're a new viewer to FNL and haven't watched any episodes from the first season, you won't understand the dramatic leaps in character from Buddy Garrity and especially in Landry Clarke. And the deterioration of those aforementioned great relationships will have zero effect on your emotions. And the characters that should now be bringing levity to the show, namely Smash and Riggins, aren't getting enough screentime. Oh, and there still hasn't been a game this season. The show isn't all about football but if you want to showcase the aspect of your show that requires no real previous knowledge about the characters, the football would be the card to play. The lack of levity and football makes me upset as fan of the show so I can imagine that if you're giving Friday Night Lights a first shot and you've watched the entire first two episodes without changing the channel, then you have far more perseverance and faith in this show than I'd expect from an non-fan. Or maybe you just don't have anything else to do on a Friday night. Although, in that case, the new season of FNL is probably just adding sadness to your life.

This season needs to break the habit. It needs to find hope and strength. You want to keep the Landry-Trya drama? Fine. You want to keep Buddy Garrity a depressed wreck? If you have to. You want Matt and Julie to find new relationships? I'm not crazy about it but let's give it a shot. But you can't keep Eric and Tami apart. It's the straw that breaks the camel's back. It's not being played well (Tami is seriously and understandably depressed and Eric isn't exactly living his dream down at TMU) and it's hurting the show.

I'm still a fan and I want this show to succeed but the showrunners need to get a better sense of their show's reception or pretty soon, their won't be a show to receive.