Television
I've seen a few of the season's new shows and have come to the conclusion that Fox's "Arrested Development" is without question the funniest show being broadcast today. I almost fell over when Jason Bateman's Michael Bluth says of Scott Baio's character lawyer Bob Loblaw. "Let's not talk nonsense to Bob Loblaw." Say that out loud: "Let's not talk nonsense to blablabla." Believe me: it really, really works. It's unusual in that most shows the audience has to have someone to like, someone who's not a total crapweasel. In "AD's" case that would be the Michael Bluth character but he's been written to be just over the edge stupid and just over the edge crapweasel-wise that you can't ever see him as the hero of the show. So the viewer has no real rooting interest. Yet the writing is so incredibly funny that you can't help but love the show.
Case in point is the alleged profession of the "Tobias Funke" character. He has multiple degrees so he's both an analyst and a therapist. So he combines the two on his business card. Yep: "Analrapist" pronounced "ah-nal-rah-pist." Rude but damnably funny.

There is, however, a very unfortunate trend in this year's new shows: The return of the supernatural. I haven't watched the show that actually uses that name on the WB but it looks OK. The worst of it is CBS's "Ghost Whisperer." I know many people are hot for Jennifer Loves Hertits but she's remarkably talentless. A talented torso. Only. And the show is brought to a gullible public by the execrable James Van Praagh. He talks to the dead like I'm having a torrid love affair with Jennifer Lobes Hewitt (her name does lend itself, dunnit?). And the title could not be any more stupid if they set out to make it so.
Of course we have to suffer through this mess because NBC continues to plague us with the hideous Patricia Arquette in "Medium" (no link because I hatehatehate it). If only American toob viewers would just STOP WATCHING THIS CRAP (ahem, sorry I shouldn't shout).

"Lost" continues to kick ass on ABC. Are you not watching it? Shame on you. Rent the first season divid and start now. I'll not hear any carping on this. You must watch "Lost." It may be responsible for the new scary, weird shows: "Threshold" (still good but not quite as good as I thought on watching the pilot) on CBS, "Invasion" (can't bring myself to watch it - it looks too weak to care about) on ABC and "Surface" (I've watched it a bit and it lacks interest - poor CGI work so far) on NBC. I'll just wait for the viewing public (Didn't you just rip them up? -Ed.) to shake this out.

I guess that's about all for now. Don't forget to follow your shows at Snark Central: Television Without Pity.