What a week of TV

All of the stars must have been aligned properly this past week because practically all of my favorite TV shows delivered a home run. The conspiracy theorist in me says that the writers planned it so that their best episodes would air the week they went on strike so that the viewers would side with them even more. But we can speculate about that more at a later date; for now, let's review what went down on the boob tube...

Chuck: After producing solid episodes the past few weeks showing Chuck evolving into a spy, we got a good episode this week that provided some answers to some of the overarching questions of the show. Seeing Chuck's days at Stanford via flashbacks was neat. It also gave us the first indication that perhaps Chuck was born to be a spy, what with his memorization skills. We still don't know exactly why Bryce sent Chuck the images, but I'm sure that will come in due time. On the flip side of things, we got to see the Buy More gang try to mutiny against new assistant manager Harry Tang (talk about a name designed for dirty jokes). The best part about this was an extended role for Nerd Herder Anna. As I've said before, I can take or leave Morgan, but they've got to keep giving more to the rest of the co-workers. They're all solid.

Heroes: Finally! It's about time they started to give us a unifying storyline and have everyone take sides. So glad to see Hiro back from Japan. No real surprise to see Kenzo turn out to be Adam Monroe, but that's ok because that was the right move give how everything's played out so far. I'm so happy HRG learned about West and decided to put his foot down. I guess poor Caitlin is stuck in 2008 (Does she just vanish if they prevent the virus from spreading?) The nightmare man stuff was ok, but they could have done more with it (should have spent more time with that than having to force us watch Parkman weep over Molly's bed. Ugh) Bob continues to be an awesome morally ambiguous character. I loved him giving Nathan some juicy info and then calling out Mohinder for his confession (BTW, Mohinder just needs to die. He serves no purpose for anyone). Next week is the flashback episode, so hopefully it'll do a good job of providing all the missing pieces of the puzzle.

How I Met Your Mother: Another hilarious episode this week. The "what he should have said" running gag was used perfectly. My favorite part of the episode had to be Ted doing his best David Caruso impression while trying to figure out the details of Marshall and Lily's fight. I also liked the divorce fake-out and how the gang reacted before and after they knew the true story. I can't wait to see how Marshall and Lily handle living in their new apartment which is the heart of that new New York hot spot, Dowisetrepla.

House: About the only 'miss' this week. Just when I thought we were finally going to start trimming the fat of this intern candidates, they go and bring in yet another new cast member this week. The cast is just too bloated right now and it's taking away from the original appeal of the show. I did enjoy House getting to showcase his antics for the CIA, but the case he was dealing with wasn't particularly interesting. One of the primary problems with this large cast is the continued shafting of screentime for Cuddy and Wilson. I respect them for trying to think outside the box this season, but it's not working. The prescription for this show is get back to basics.

Reaper: Once again, the best parts of this show had nothing to do with the 'soul of the week'. I savor the moments each week that focus on the devil or at the Work Bench. For instance, I was doubling over in laughter hearing the devil talk about new girl Taylor's erogenous zones. Then we had the introduction of Russ (Booger from Revenge of the Nerds!), who was all sorts of creepy. I really hope they bring him back in future episodes. I loved Sam and Sock telling Ben not to be too friendly with him, yet he couldn't resist not taking Russ up on his offers. Perhaps best of all was Andi's fort/entertainment center (aka the Ted-free zone). How amazing was that thing?!? I want to marry her right now. At this point, I don't care if Sam dates her, he just needs to have her part of the soul capturing team. She is all sorts of awesome!

Back to You: Even this show produced an above average episode. This will never be a classic, but if the humor content stays at this level, I'll stick around. I must admit though that I missed the last few minutes of the show because of a DVR error, so the finish may have been lousy. But for now, the show has earned a stay of execution. The same cannot be said for Journeyman which I abandoned last week.

Survivor: I was watching this live and got a phone call during it, so I missed the last 10 mins. I know who got booted and can't say that I'm particularly upset over it. The only thing that bugs me about it is that it proves that there are very few smart players this season. A lot of them are trying, but their plans are terrible/poorly executed. Todd isn't comfortable if he's not making some grand scheme. Dude, you just have to pick off the Zhan Hus. It's not that difficult. Trying to shake things up will only bite you in the ass later on. James continues to come out of his shell and deliver some hilarious lines. I guess I'll be rooting for him, but he certainly has a big target on his back. Finally, both challenges were pretty lame this week. Is there any surprise that Courtney won immunity? A barrell can't roll around if there's nothing on it to make it unbalanced. BTW, was anyone else curious if she was going to wear the immunity idol as a belt instead of a necklace?

The Office: This was probably my favorite episode of the season. And dare I say it, this episode felt the closest to a season 2 episode than I've seen in a while. I always love when it's Michael out of the office, leaving everyone else to play. Although there wasn't much playing going on thanks to Jim's terrible birthday party plan. It should have been obvious that that plan wouldn't have worked, but it was fun to see Jim endure the error of his ways. Meanwhile Michael's antics in the woods provided a number of laughs (most involving his various uses of his pants to survive). But I think best of all was Dwight. First we got to see that great montage of Dwight's hidden office weapons (file that under Mr. A. Knife). Then his watching over Michael provided some additional funny moments. His tackle of Michael was wonderfully reminscent of him slapping the coffee out of Stanley's hand last season. The final scene involving Michael and Jim was that perfect blend of emotion and humor that this show has always excelled at.

30 Rock: Another wonderfully absurd episode. Their handling of NBC's "green week" was easily the most overt, but it produced some hilarious results. David Schwimmer did a great job as the increasingly delusional Greenzo. And credit to Al Gore for his small role that poked fun at himself. Easily the best part of this week's show was everything related to Kenneth's party. First, there were the great flashback clips of past lame parties. Then we got the awesome scene involving the post-party meeting that had spliced in clips of the out-of-control bash. This did just a great job of showcasing the show's great cast while providing consistent LOL moments.

My Name is Earl: An improved effort over last week's uninspired COPS episode. But this one can't truly be evaluated until we see part 2 next week. I was glad to see Craig T. Nelson back as the warden. I also thought the tryouts for Earl's Scared Straight performance delivered some good laughs. I'm glad that Joy's finally going to have that kid. She hasn't been able to truly be herself while having that kid inside her. Hopefully we'll continue to see more episodes like this throughout the rest of the season.

CSI: Didn't get a chance to see this yet this week. But considering this post is probably way too long already, it's for the best that I don't have anything to say here.

With the way things are playing out, it looks like I'm going to have to savor the greatness of this week, because there may not be too many more of them like it for a while to come.