'24' comes to an end.

Well, OK, it's really just Season 1 of 24 on DVD, but it did conclude tonight -- remarkably, with the same outcome as every other time I've seen the final episode. Our crowd was a little smaller this week, but it was still fun. We've been watching at my house every Monday night for the last 11 weeks, and next week we'll launch Season 2 on DVD. Sure wish the new season was running, but if it's as horrible as Season 6, maybe we'll just keep watching the DVDs over and over and over...

Jericho returns to form.

I finally got around tonight to watching this week's episode of Jericho. I was reasonably pleased with last week's season premiere, but I felt something was lacking. Tonight I realized what it was: All of the first season was filled with this foreboding sense of doom and confusion and fear.

First episode of season two? Ho hum.

But with episode two, Jericho returned to form. The conspiracy is back, shadowy figures have been revived, and Ravenwood has stormed into town.

The next five episodes should be a blast.

Political sidenote: The "Allied" states are considered red states, and the "United" states are considered blue. A political undertone? Commentary by the show's creators? Perhaps...

Sad but expected news on '24.'

Bauer fans lament.

NEW YORK (AP) -- One fallout of the Hollywood writers strike is that fans of Fox's drama "24" have to wait until next January to see Jack Bauer again.

The network has committed to air a full season on consecutive weeks and had been planning to start last month. If it had started airing new episodes soon, the season finale would not have taken place until the summer, when TV networks rarely show their high-profile programs.

Even though eight episodes for this season had already been filmed before the beginning of the writers strike, producers would have had to ramp up production soon to complete the season.

So "24" represents this television season's most prominent casualty due to the writers strike.

A January 2009 start seemed the best way to comply with viewers' wishes that a season's episodes run without interruption to conclusion, Fox said on Thursday.

They could have made it a fall premiere, but oh well. Life goes on.

'Jericho' makes its return.

"The nightmare is over. Order will be restored."

An interesting promise for an addictingly fascinating show. "Jericho" returned tonight for a short season, thanks to the writers' strike and the original plans to cancel the show after its first season.

Tonight's episode was decent. It did a good job of tying up some plotlines left over from the season finale. Jake and Heather were reunited. A new flag is flying over Jericho. Most of the states west of the Mississippi have united under a new government, which appears to be corrupt.

I'm probably hooked again. Great...

Hurray for writers.

For those of us longing for the return of such TV shows as The Office or 24 or 30 Rock, this was such good news today.

Best idea I've heard in the last 48 minutes.

Just caught the end of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. The final guest was a professor of some sort, who has a particular interest in poker. His closing suggestion to Colbert ranks as the best idea I've heard in the last 48 minutes: You should invite the presidential candidates onto your show to see how well they play poker. That would absolute entertainment.

Only problem: Bill would find a way to cheat for Hillary...

The most annoying woman on TV.

Her name is Nancy Grace. Perhaps you've heard of her. If not, congratulations. Your world is a bit less shrill, less annoying, less bizarre without her.

Why can't MTV do this in the States, too?

Apparently MTV is actually capable of creating boundaries in its content. At least, when it's the new kid on the block in the Middle East:

MTV is hoping hip-hop and reality television tailored and sanitized for a more conservative Middle East will draw young Arabs away from dozens of locally produced music video channels that already dominate the market.

MTV Arabia, which launched over the weekend, will feature 60 percent international music and 40 percent Arabic music, along with local adaptations of the channel's popular non-music shows.

But MTV, which is known for airing provocative videos featuring scantily clad women, says the Arab version of the pop-culture channel will show less bare skin and profanity.

And MTV is unwilling to do this in the United States why? Oh yea...we take their bait hook, line and sinker.

Indiana Jones rocks.

This is awesome news:

"The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume One" was released on DVD Tuesday, the first of three boxed sets gathering all of his youthful exploits from the 1990s TV series.

Along with seven feature-length adventures, the 12-disc set packs 38 documentary segments offering historical insight into the eras, events and illustrious figures Indy encounters, including Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, T.E. Lawrence and Sigmund Freud.

"If Indy just touches on it, sees it or hears about a major historical character, there's a full half-hour documentary on every one of those people," said Rick McCallum, Lucas' producing partner on "Young Indiana Jones."

I remember the shows on TV, and they were well produced as far as TV shows of that era go. I bought many of the episodes on VHS, but now I need to go get my hands on the DVDs. And the second set is supposed to come out in time to make the annual Christmas list for family members...hmm...

Best news hour on TV.

If you're looking for a good one-hour news program that isn't filled with a bunch of idiots yelling at each other or non-significant news stories, check this out: Watch CNN each day at 9AM Pacific (noon Eastern), for "Your World Today." It's actually a broadcast from CNN International, which I've fallen in love with during my various trips to Europe. CNNI has a calmer tone than its American counterpart, which I find obnoxious (I also find Fox News and MSNBC obnoxious). Anyway, it's not quite as "serious" as the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" over on PBS, but "Your World Today" is a good, internationally focused program that helps Americans remember that we aren't the only country of significance in the world.

This news stinks.

It's always possible NBC and Apple will work out a new deal, but right now they don't seem to be on good speaking terms.

Apple Inc. escalated a dispute with NBC Universal over the pricing of television shows by announcing Friday it would not sell any of NBC's programs for this fall season on iTunes.

Earlier, NBC had told Apple that it would no longer allow its programs to be sold via iTunes at the end of the year. NBC Universal-controlled television programming accounts for an estimated 40 percent of the video downloads on iTunes.

"We are disappointed to see NBC leave iTunes because we would not agree to their dramatic price increase," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "We hope they will change their minds and offer their TV shows to the tens of millions of iTunes customers."

Rather than cut off NBC programs in the middle of the season, Apple decided to stop before the new fall episodes premiere next month, he said.

Sorry I'm late to The Office.

I'm ashamed to admit this. I've only recently become a fan of The Office. It's not that the show started weak and has improved. It's just that, um, well, I only recently started watching.

And that's embarrassing to admit!

Last week I downloaded the entire first season (gee, all 6 episodes) so I could watch on my iPod while traveling to and from Indianapolis. I finally got around to viewing yesterday on the way home. Advice: Don't watch hilarious shows on your iPod in the middle of an airport. You'll get strange looks from other travelers as you truly LOL.

Anyway, it's now time to download the second season and enjoy more of the hilarious, painful, authentic, gutwrenching fun!

Drew Carey? Hmmm...

OK, so I've really been out of it this week up here at camp. Missed the most important news of the week -- that Drew Carey will replace Bob Barker on The Price is Right.

Not sure how I feel about this. I have fond memories from TPIR... screams of joy in high school when someone won both showcases (back in the under-$100 days), screams that upset our speech coach in the middle of class... sick days, when I might awaken around 10AM and watch Bob and his Beauties... Thursday mornings lately, on my day off, when attempting to make breakfast while guessing prices... seeing the video clips of Josh Griffin making it to the stage and kissing Bob on the cheek.

Ahh yes, memories.

I'm crying right now...

...over the departure of Sanjaya from American Idol. I thought he would last forever. I thought he would keep shocking us with creative, colorful hairdo's. I thought he would bring down that Death Star of pop culture.

But now he is gone. Tragic. What's the point in watching now? Seeing which victim, er, singer becomes part of the pop music machine? Nah, not worth it. Keep voting, America. I'll be watching "The Deadliest Catch" on Tuesday nights from here on out.

Chris Sligh, 4Him and American Idol.

Sounds like the opening line to an old Johnny Carson "Carnac the Magnificent" skit. Sorry kids, probably too old of a reference for ya.

So, I'm scanning through websites today and came across a news article about Chris Sligh getting bumped off "American Idol." Gotta be honest: I really don't care about the show, even though I've watched more of this season than all the other seasons combined. But I know Sligh has gotten lots of attention in Christian circles because he's a worship leader at his church.

This article pointed out that Sligh used to attend the ultraconservartivehyperfundamentalist (pretend you're speaking German on that one) Christian school Bob Jones University. Apparently, Sligh got kicked out for "attending a contemporary Christian concert featuring the group 4Him."

You're kidding, right? 4Him is still around?

Oh, and you're kidding about the college kickin' him out for such a silly "offense," right? Negatory, says the story. It's true.

This is crazy on multiple levels. First, 4Him hasn't had a "hit" song since at least the 1990s or so. Second, Sligh is the long-lost half-brother to Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons; this is absolute fact. Third, why is a 28-year-old singer/worship leader listening to drivel like 4Him? Fourth, Bob Jones kicking out a student for attending a concert like that makes my own alma mater look like a bastion of liberal hedonism. Back in the 1990s, Evangel College actually HOSTED a couple of concerts by 4Him. Crazy.

Well, I'm going public with my prediction. Sanjaya is gonna win "American Idol" this year. He has the support of all the non-fans, and they will bring about the show's demise.

Ain't democracy great?

A sad, sad day.

Larry "Bud" Melman has died. It's a sad, sad day in the world of late-night TV.

The balding, bespectacled nebbish who gained cult status as the oddball Larry "Bud" Melman on David Letterman's late-night television shows has died after a long illness.

Brooklyn-born Calvert DeForest, who was 85, died Monday at a hospital on Long Island, the Letterman show announced Wednesday.

He made dozens of appearances on Letterman's shows from 1982 through 2002, handling a variety of twisted duties: singing a duet with Sonny Bono on "I Got You, Babe"; doing a Mary Tyler Moore impression during a visit to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where her 1970s show was set; handing out hot towels to arrivals at New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal.