My new least favorite TV character

The two or three of you who read this with any sort of regularity know that Amelia Shepherd from Private Practice is my least favorite TV character.  Well, was my least favorite TV character. Part of this is based on changes to Amelia's character and the fact that Private Practice is down to its last few episodes. But mostly it's because the character sucks. I am talking about Kitty, the new Cheerio introduced this season on Glee.

Kitty is supposed to be the replacement for the Quinn and Santana we first knew, bitchy and sent to New Directions to take it down from the inside. The plan for Kitty, apparently, was to give her as many words to deliver as Quinn and Santana would per episode, but only do it in the average amount of time a supporting character would usually get. The result is a hasty mishmash of catty, overly written putdowns delivered with almost no pace or nuance.

Kitty was also forced upon us on day one with no real exposition as to who she was or why she's so disagreeable. She's bitchy for bitchiness' sake, an automaton in Spanx who pushes buttons to get a reaction from characters and viewers alike. We've been given no reason to care about who she is or why she does what she does.  She is not helped by being surrounded by other new characters that were also hastily thrown at the viewers, albeit with a smidgen of background.

I don't know how much of this to lay at the feet of the actor - maybe her delivery has always been a rushed mess - but I really think it's a symptom of the writing and planning for the show, which more or less lurches from plot point to plot point while distracting us with song and dance. I will say that Kitty can at least do that to the appropriate Glee level.

I should also add that, while not a character, I would also be happy if Marley (another of the new characters, who I think is intended to be the new Rachel, just without her drama, interesting character traits, or voice) never appeared wearing that newsboy hat again.

Lost Resort

The early round of TV cancellations got a jolt from ABC when they axed both Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue. I'm not that broken up about the latter; as much as I enjoy Terry O'Quinn, I never warmed to the show's premise.  I am more broken up about the former, which has done well with a pretty high concept and, of course, features Andre Braugher.

My favorite part of the linked story is the reference to ABC's "difficult" 8 pm Thursday slot. How difficult is it?

2012: Last Resort cancelled at 13 episodes.
2011: Charlie's Angels, which aired only 7 of its planned 13 episodes.
2010: My Generation, cancelled after two episodes.
2009: FlashForward, managed an entire season before being cancelled.
2006-08: Ugly Betty, the rare success in the time slot.
2005: Alias, in its final, peripatetic season.
2004: Extreme Makeover, non-home edition
2003: Threat Matrix, cancelled after 14 episodes
2002: Dinotopia, six episodes.
1999-2001: Whose Line Is It Anyway, back-to-back episodes
1998: Vengeance Unlimited, 16 episodes
1997: Nothing Sacred, 20 episodes but Peabody Award!
1996: High Incident, which got a second season at 10pm Tuesday, then cancelled.
1995: Charlie Grace, 9 episodes.
1994: My So-Called Life, 19 episodes and cancelled en route to endless MTV airings.
1993: Missing Persons, 17 episodes.
1992: Delta/Room For Two, a sitcom paring that didn't survive the season.
1991: Pros and Cons, James Earl Jones not enough of a draw.
1990: Father Dowling Mysteries, in the last of its three seasons.
1989: Mission Impossible, in its second, shortened and final season.
1988: Knightwatch, a summer series that made it to fall thanks to a writer's strike.
1987: Sledge Hammer!/The Charmings, both in their second - and last - seasons.
1986: Our World, a news/history series that was well reviewed but little watched.
1985: The Fall Guy, in its last season.
1984: People Do the Craziest Things/Who's the Boss?, the latter in its first season.
1983: Trauma Center, cancelled before Christmas.
1982: Joanie Loves Chachi/Star of the Family, the former tanked when moved to Thursday at 8.
1981: Mork & Mindy/Best of the West, the latter in its only season.
1980: Mork & Mindy/Bosom Buddies, the latter in its first season.

I hadn't planned to go that far back, but looking at the last 32 years really gives an appreciation of the dumpster fire ABC has going at this time slot. It took them 26 years to come up with a scripted show that could hold the slot for more than a season. The shows you've heard of in the time slot were either moved after debuting or moved there to die.

How to explain such long-term suckitude? I have some ideas.

1. 8 pm is too early for drama. Most of the failures on this list are hour-long programs. What successful shows have appeared on this time slot are half-hour shows (Mork & Mindy, Who's the Boss? and Whose Line). I'd guess the preponderance of this was done to counter-program other networks' sitcoms, but that did not seem to work with any regularity.

The exception here is Ugly Betty, though I think it's easy to make the case that the show wasn't a typical hour-long drama. It also was more female-friendly, which fit its pairing with Grey's Anatomy and ABC's programming in general.

2.Conceptual difficulties. Of late, at least, the shows in this slot have been pretty high concept (rogue nukes! seeing the future!), while other times the shows have been decidedly low concept (Charlie's Angels and Vengeance Unlimited come to mind). In fact, the few times show have worked in this slot they've been pretty easy to deal with, concept-wise. Not too stupid, and not too challenging. Just right. Call it the Goldilocks Zone.

3. Tough competition. NBC owned Thursday night for years, which could lead to some quick hooks when shows weren't able to match up. And for every two or three shows that probably deserved the hook, you get one - like Last Resort - that probably didn't.

Here's an interesting comparison. Grey's Anatomy moved to Thursdays at 9 in 2006. For the three years it shared the night with Ugly Betty, the lowest it finished in seasonal rankings was 12th. Then in 2009 it finished 17th, and slumped to the 30s in the following two seasons. All three of its lead-ins were given quick hooks. This year it's up to 19th, but Last Resort hasn't been as successful. So off it goes.

Not sure why ABC continues to balk at trying comedy or unscripted programming here. I suppose they're trying to counter-program against the sitcoms at CBS and NBC, but with their lack of success this might be a case of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Bring Out Your Dead 2012: The Ted Marshall Open

Another TV season, another attempt to win the Ted Marshall Open, the greatest TV dead pool in the land. You pick 10 shows, get points if they never air after this season, most points win. My ten, in order of preference (show #10 gets me 10 bonus points if shut down, show #9 gets me 9 points, etc.):

10: Gossip Girl. A no-brainer, as it was already announced that this would be its last season. Using the same reason led me to choose:

9: The Office
8: 30 Rock
7: Fringe

6: Private Practice. while it's not the show's official last season, Tim Daly didn't return for the current season, and Kate Walsh announced she'll be leaving at its end. Seems a little daft to keep a spin-off going once the character it was built on leaves. Also, it only got a 13 episode order, which suggests a winding down.

5: The Neighbors. This is the ABC sitcom where a family moves into a gated community which is populated by aliens.

4: The Mob Doctor. Besides having what sounds like a temporary title, there's not been much positive to read about this show, mostly having to do with the implausibility of the set-up (doctor does things for Mob to repay previous favor). I also think it's likely to struggle against Dancing With the Stars and the CBS comedy block.

3: Animal Practice. The standout performer on this show is a monkey. I say fire all the people and let the monkey run the hospital, Lancelot Link-style. Heavy Olympic promotion may help, but given how stupid the promos were, maybe not.

2: Guys With Kids. Mostly because it's the 28048th attempt at a guy-centered family sitcom, but also a little bit because it comes from Jimmy Fallon, who does nothing for me.

1. Malibu Country. Reba (where did her last name go?) more or less plays herself, a country musician who moves to Malibu to focus on family. It's on Friday nights on ABC, so there's a bit of a TGIF vibe here, but what little I've read about it suggests it's nothing to write home about. A calculated risk, as the threshold for this to hang on is probably not that high.

I actually matched up pretty well with conventional wisdom this year, as eight of my picks were in the consensus top 10 (it helps when you have four shows already announced as ending). The two shows I didn't pick that made the top 10:

Oh Sit - it's extreme musical chairs hosted by Jamie Kennedy and one or two other people. It seems like a parody TV listing from The Onion, but as a summer series I fear it may just be stupid enough to come back.

Whitney - I violated the first rule of dead pools (once on a list, the only way off is to die) by leaving this off, but given my multi-year run of picking According to Jim, only to see it come back year after year, I'm gun shy about sitcoms that I pick and are subsequently renewed.

I should also note that I did not re-pick Unforgettable, the CBS "cop who remembers everything but her sister's murder" drama that was cancelled and then renewed a few weeks later. That's the sort of karma I'm not going to mess with.

Leaving the Lane

We finally got through the last episode of Desperate Housewives last night, and can't say that I'll miss it. I did like how the very last scene referenced the major theme of secrecy (and like even better that it's not leading to some sort of reboot), but was hoping for more resolution with older characters (especially the kids, who were largely absent in the final season). Though I should give kudos to Kathryn Joosten for taking her real-life lung cancer battle and playing it out through Karen McClusky. I can't even imagine what that was like.

In any case, we did learn how each of the main characters filled out their years away from Fairview, which I will rank here in descending order of plausibility.

5. Renee Perry and Ben Faulkner got married and were never heard from again. I know this character was in the supporting/special guest Housewife role, but it wouldn't have hurt to at least make a reference to the happy couple's future.So to me, the idea that nothing happened to them is the least believable result of the bunch. I'd have written them in as the ones that stayed on the lane for the rest of their lives, a twist on Renee's early disdain for the suburbs.

4. Bree and Tripp move to Louisville, where she becomes a state legislator. I have no doubt Bree would fit in with the moneyed class in Kentucky, what with her twin sets, traditional family values, and arms cache. But ten minutes on Google would give any opponent the information that Bree is an alcoholic, was once the Fairview town pump, was on trial for murder, has a gay son, and a daughter who makes a living selling sex swings on the Internet. That might be OK in Texas or Louisiana, but I'm sure the Bluegrass State has an even more self-satisfied prig with an eye for public office that would put up quite a primary fight.

3. Susan moves to wherever Julie is going to school to get a new start. The implausible part of this is that Susan didn't run anyone over or suddenly need a heart transplant while driving away. Or that she didn't actually see the ghosts who were all standing around watching her leave and drive into a telephone pole. Otherwise, the idea that she'd move off the street where both of her husbands died makes a lot of sense.

2. Gaby parlays her personal shopping into a website and TV deal, moves to a California mansion. I don't know how you'd actually do that (moving to online and TV would make her more of an impersonal shopper), but if you can create a sitcom based on a Twitter feed, what happens here is entirely plausible.I also like how Carlos was critical to getting things going, in that it (a) breaks the pattern that one of the pair would be too busy in business to be a good spouse, and (b) that for as much as Carlos wants to do something meaningful, at his core he's about success.

Also fully believable: that they'd buy some gaudy monstrosity of a house and spend all their free time yelling at each other while having drinks in the pool.

1. Lynette and Tom move to New York so she can run the US division of Mayfair's Microwave Mangerables. The only problem I have with this ending is the reveal that the couple only has six grandkids. Does fecundity skip a generation?  Can the male kids only reproduce by accident? Are all the kids scarred by their family life and swear to not have kids, leaving only Paige to make up the difference? Yeah, the last one.

The most plausible part, of course, is that Lynette spends her quality time with the grandkids yelling at them. Why should that ever change?

Three Up, Three Down: The Killing

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3. Darren Richmond. Ladies and gentlemen, your new mayor of Seattle: Darren Richmond! Don't expect to hear a few words from him, though, as he's with one of his staffers, who is confessing to murder. And once that's over, he's going to break the heart of another one by "moving on" into politics as usual, as his first post-election meeting is with Chief Jackson and Michael Ames, who are recently sprung from jail and ready to talk about the waterfront. So while the man has won, his ideals have lost, badly.

2. The Larsen Family. OK, not a complete win given what happens the last time we see them in Rosie's room, but they are also moving on, literally, moving into the house that Stan bought. But before that happens they get a mystery movie in the mail, and it's Rosie's last film, where she tells them that she's taking off to see the world, but that she loves all of them and will return. It's a tearful yet positive bonding moment for the family, knowing that no matter what Rosie did love them.

1. Sarah Linden. She makes the final connection to what actually happened at the lake, and gets Terry to admit to what she did. She earns her badge back, but when the call comes in to her and Holder to pick up a new case she gets out of the car. She's also moving on, choosing something other than homicide, which is very much to her benefit. The last shot is of her walking, heading hopefully to get her life back in order.

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3. Rosie Larsen. Avenged, but still dead. Plus we get to see just how things went down the night she died, and it's pretty grim, especially when the car slips into the lake, and we hear screaming - until we don't.

2. Jamie Wright. As Jamie's drunk grandfather tells Richmond that Jamie lied about the story with him and his leg, old grandad also mentions that Jamie wasn't with him on the night of the murder. Jamie takes Richmond back to the office, and admits that he killed Rosie. She was on the 10th floor of the Wapi Eagle when Jamie met with Jackson and Ames about the bones buried on the waterfront, and Jamie beats her when she can't explain why she's there. He drives her out to the lake thinking she's dead, only to learn otherwise when the car goes in the water. He says he did it - did everything - to get Richmond into office. When the cops finally show up he aims a gun at Linden, and Holder shoots him dead. But as Richmond goes ahead and meets with Jackson and Ames, Jamie's result-oriented approach apparently sunk in.

1. Terry Marek. Now here's the twist. Turns out that Terry was with Ames the night of the killing, picking him up from the ferry. She drives him out to the lake when Jamie calls, and as Jamie and Ames argue, she hears Jamie say that taking care of this problem guarantees the waterfront deal, giving him his own money and a chance to break away from his wife. Ames doesn't want to be party to this, but Terry, seeing her chance at happiness slipping away, gets out of her car, goes to the campaign car, and puts it in drive. She has no idea it's Rosie... until the next day. Linden figures this out when in the Larsen's garage, as she sees Terry's car and figures out that she was the mysterious "cab" with the missing taillight. They get Terry to crack just as Stan and Mitch come back from the house. That's an ugly scene, but Holder manages to get Stan calmed and Mitch, as shattered as she looks, still manages to hug her sister. But where Rosie and Jamie are at peace, Terry gets to live with the knowledge that she put Rosie in the lake. No amount of hugging will clear that up.

Three Up, Three Down: The Killing

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3. Stan Larsen. With Mitch back, he finally gets a chance to call her out her leaving and the position in left him in. Getting that off his chest, he does try to talk Mitch into moving to the house, but she wants to stay. Mitch seems aghast at the idea that Stan is moving on, but Stan does not have such issues. He also hears on the radio that Janek was killed, so that's a nice bonus for him.

2. Darren Richmond. His speech about his suicide appears to actually be helping him, and on that surprise he finds that he's very much in the race. For all the good he feels about his speech and the possibility of becoming mayor, the mood is tempered when he has to drive out to meet someone. That turns out to be Jamie's grandfather, who appears to have both his legs. Richmond is not amused.

1. Sarah Linden. While she has some concern about going crazy again, she shows her investigative prowess by getting a deal with the mayor to call off the dogs so they can solve the case, then uncovering various leads, and finally making the connection between the Chief and her abusive past to get to the camera footage that was withheld. From there, she and Holder discover their main suspect is Jamie Wright, who was in the casino and going to the 10th floor for the meeting with Jackson and Michael Ames. Things are looking very poor for him indeed, thanks to Linden's dogged pursuit.


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3. Mitch Larsen. Her husband calls her out for abandoning the family at time of need. Terry calls her out for similar reasons. Tommy can barely look at he. Welcome home, Mitch! And thanks for wallowing rather than following Stan's lead to move to the house, which is bigger, brighter, and will give your troubled sons their own rooms.

2. Nicole Jackson. Not only does Roberta give the withheld footage to the cops, but Linden sees an old photo where the previous security chief was sporting cast. Turns out Jackson is physically abusive, and then likes to hang her lovers out to dry when problems arise (the woman in the photo is doing 20 for something I did't quite catch). Turns out Jackson was dating that security chief, too, but let her take the fall for something. Not the best way to treat your girlfriends. This leads the police to see that the City Hall attendee to the 10th floor Wapi Eagle meeting is...

1. Jamie Wright. While the episode title suggests that it's him or Gwen who did it, the pendulum swings Jamie's way quite a bit. We learn that Jamie got a company owned by Michael Ames expedited approval to bid on city projects. He also appears to have not completely truthful about his grandfather, who still has both legs. And when Jamie shows up on the withheld footage, he quickly becomes the lead suspect. Except Linden has an idea that Jamie and Gwen committed the crime together. which doesn't get followed up but is a tantalizing idea. Assuming Jamie's apparently guilt is explainable.

1.

Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men

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3. Peggy Olsen.  She's in place at CGC and riding her copyrighters hard, expecting better work. She does get saddled with some work to test and name a new woman-focused cigarette (what will become Virginia Slims), but rolls with it pretty well. She has a chance meeting with Don at a movie, and while their talk is a little strained, you do get the sense that he's proud of her and that she's proud of herself for taking the step she did. And while she doesn't get to go to Paris to film that Chevalier Blanc ad, she does get to go to Richmond - where her hotel view is a couple of dogs going at it. So, yeah, not all wins.

2. Megan Draper. There is a lot of difficulty here - she continues to have the argument with Don about her choice of acting and her "hate" of advertising. She also has issues with her mom, who is frank in her assessment of Megan's chances. But when she asks Don to get her a part in a commercial, he declines but later relents when he watches her reel, which appears to make him fall in love with her all over again. She gets the ad and is incredibly happy, especially with Don. We'll see how long that lasts.

1. Roger Sterling. He hooks back up with Megan's mom, and builds up enough courage to try LSD again, this time on his own (which includes standing in his hotel window naked, which really dashed the hopes of what was to come when the nudity warning came up at the start of things). And with the money rolling into the firm, Roger's in as good a place as he can be considering where he was to start the season.


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3. Beth Dawes. Beth and her husband run into Pete on the train, and they say she's going to visit her sister. Turns out, though, that she suffers from depression and is getting electroshock therapy, which she tells Pete during an assignation at the same hotel Pete had planned for earlier in the season. She also mentions it's not her first time, and she's hoping their coupling will persist through the "fog" that the therapy causes in her brain. Turns out it doesn't, as when Pete visits her afterwards she has no idea who he is. Which may be for the best, as remembering that you had sex with Pete Campbell may not be the best thing for long-term mental health.

2. Don Draper. Don has a bad tooth, and lets it go until it gets to the point where he can't bend over without it causing pain. When he goes to get it extracted, he has a vision of his brother Adam. It's not his first for the episode, and the parallel with Lane is clearly playing tricks with his head. Don and Adam talk briefly, with Adam saying he'll see Don again, as he'll be "hanging around." It's not helping that Don met with Rebecca Pryce to give her money that Lane had previously put into the firm. She's hostile, to be charitable, and gives Don an earful. Don also squabbles with Megan and Marie over Megan's career, and while he continues to be resistant his work to get Megan a role after watching her reel is promising. That is until he's at a bar and a blonde asks him - for her equally attractive brunette friend - if he's alone. The episode ends on Don's face, and while he's not answered the question his past suggests he's going to give the answer that we got used to in earlier seasons.

1. Pete Campbell. Things are typical for Pete - what with his reacquaintance with Beth and his continuing desire to not stay in Cos Cob with his wife and child - but it's when he visits Beth in the hospital that he really exposes his despair, as he says the friend he's visiting (a construct to explain to Beth why he's at the hospital, as she doesn't know they know each other) is losing this great thing, but has also discovered that his permanent life also isn't right, that the "friend" is stuck and failing fast. All of this comes out as resentment towards Beth's husband, with whom Pete fights after he suggests they get off the train and go find women. When Pete throws the hospitalization in his face they fight, and the husband says Beth always winds up sleeping with someone when she gets out of the hospital. A conductor breaks up the fight, but winds up having to punch Pete as well when Pete starts getting physical with him (which built up from the conductor saying Pete needed to apologize to Beth's husband). Pete manages to pass of his injuries as a result of a car accident. and Trudy takes this as the final sign that yes, Pete does need an apartment in the city so he doesn't kill himself driving home. So Pete finally gets his love nest, just with no one to love in it. Seems fitting, really.

Three Up, Three Down: The Killing

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3. Lt. Erik Carlson. He's not done much on the show except be a by the book pain in the ass for Linden and Holder, but when pushed to choose if he'll support them to find Rosie's killer or continue to play along with the mayor (who dangled a promotion if Carlson would get Linden off the streets) and the other powers that have stymied the investigation, he chooses the side of the angels. Good to see that, even if we still didn't get much screen time for Mark Moses, a shame in its own right.

2. Stan Larsen. Things start to come up for Stan a bit, as he finally gets an offer on the home he bought as a surprise. With that debt off of his shoulders, he hits a bump in the road when Janek threatens the boys if Stan doesn't take out Novak (the guy who broke into the waterfront development and told Holder about it). Stan decides to play along - until he sees the baby in Novak's car. He gives Novak a bit of a beating, tells him Janek knows, and tells him to get out of Seattle and never return. Having avoided falling back into Janek's trap, Stan goes home and finds Mitch has returned. Which I guess makes it win-win-win, though we'll see what Mitch has to say for herself.

1. Sarah Linden. Still fragile from her hospitalization (she retorts that Holder is on "their" side when he suggests she take a nap), she does manage to talk Gwen into using her father to get a federal warrant to search the Wapi Eagle. That search appears to have turned up nothing, but we later learn that Linden found the key card and held onto it, fearing that Seattle PD or County would make it disappear if it entered official channels. She notices that she and Holder are being tailed, allowing them to shake it and head to Seattle City Hall. Once in she tests the card around, and surprisingly discovers it does not open the door to the mayor's office. It does, however, open the door to Richmond's office. Which explains why the upcoming episode is called "Donnie or Marie," as this makes the main suspects Jamie and Gwen.

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3. Leslie Adams. His lead is evaporating, and the success of the Richmond "viral" video coupled with Abani's revelation that Jamie is getting info on the Larsen case from his ex-girlfriend prosecutor, leads Adams to a desperation play. He gets a copy of Richmond's sealed testimony and plans to expose his suicide attempt if he doesn't withdraw from the race. Only Richmond turns it around and admits to the attempt at a rally, spinning it as a time where he let bitterness win and he discovered the will to live while falling from the bridge. Tying it into the despair that everyone feels at some point, Richmond turns his potential undoing into a humanizing moment. Adams is so busy watching this that he doesn't see Linden test the key card on his door. I expect he'd be too angry at seeing them to realize that (a) Carlson rejected his deal and (b) the card's not working means he and his staff are in the clear.

2. Nicole Jackson. She thinks the search has gone her way until her security chief shows her elevator footage where Linden intentionally shows the key card to the camera and slips it into an evidence sleeve. Jackson is enraged, slamming a door on the security chief's fingers and then calling someone to say the card's been discovered. There's a cut that suggests she's calling the mayor, but that looks like a feint now. In any case, if this plays out the way it looks like Jackson will be lucky to not be in prison, never mind still chief, when all is said and done.

1. Janek Kovarsky. He thinks he has Stan back in his clutches when he orders Stan to kill Novak, but in the ensuing discussion Stan says he killed Piotr for Janek but that was supposed to let Stan be free. Janek's acknowledgement of this seems innocuous, except that Alexei Giffords is back in the garage and hears the whole thing. Later, when Janek gets into his car, a gun is put to his head. He tries to talk Stan into not killing him, saying that Stan doesn't have the will to kill him. Only the gunman is Alexei, who is getting revenge for his father. Alexei pulls the trigger, and the Kovarsky mob has an opening at the top.

Three Up Three Down: Mad Men

Three Up


3. Ken Cosgrove. When a decision is made to go after Dow Chemical, Roger sits Ken down to talk out Ken's reluctance to involve family with business. Ken assents to the approach, but makes Roger agree to tell his father in law that, if Dow comes to SCDP, Roger forced Ken onto the account. He also requests that Pete not take any meetings with Dow at all. He also turns down a partnership with a veiled remark about how the partners pimped Joan out. Nice to see him assert himself, even if he's doing so from a weak position.

2. Don Draper. A mixed bag for Don. When Cooper discovers Lane's forged check, Don says he'll take care of it. He does so by asking Lane for his resignation, noting that it's a better path than letting the partners know. He gives Lane the weekend to plan a smooth exit, a kindness that will come back to bite him. Don takes the meeting with Dow and rediscovers his aggression, telling Dow that their current firm is using them to fund their more interesting work, and that moving to SDCP will give them a firm that will not become complacent in the face of Dow's large market share. We don't know how the meeting went, because when they get back to the office the other partners let them know what happened with Lane. Don gets Roger and Pete to help cut Lane down, and when the suicide note turns out to be a generic resignation letter, you can see the guilt on Don's face, even if it is misplaced. When Don gets back to the apartment to find Glenn there, he winds up driving him back to school. Or, more correctly, allows Glenn to drive himself back after they have an elevator discussion about good things turning to crap.

1. Betty Francis. Win-win for Betty, as she gets to dump a Sally on Don when Sally complains about a skiing weekend only to have her need her mom when Sally gets her first period. Of course, Betty also gets to use this to tweak Megan about Sally running home because she needed her mother. You didn't expect Betty to be totally dignified, did you?


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3. Sally Draper. At first it looks like she's going to win, as she gets to avoid skiing with the family and spend the weekend at Don's, which includes missing school on Monday when both Don and Megan have work. She manages to get coffee when out with Megan and her friend, and later talks Glenn into ditching school to visit on the heels of talking about boyfriends with Megan. Turns out Glenn isn't going to be her boyfriend, as Sally discovers she doesn't feel romantically towards Glenn. It's not long after saying this that she goes to the bathroom and discovers her period. She freaks out and takes a cab home, where she runs into the arms of Betty for support. She's not quite Miss Independent yet.

2. Joan Harris. Joan talks with Lane after Don asks him to resign, and in discussing a vacation has Lane suggest that she wants him to imagine her in a bikini. This winds up being their last conversation, which I think has to run through her mind when she tries to open his office door and can't, as there's a chair in the way. There's also a smell, and the combo prompts her to ask Pete, Ken and Harry to check on the problem. So in a way she's the one to discover Lane's body (though Pete is the first to actually see what happened), and given their particular relationship you can imagine how she's feeling.

1. Lane Pryce. The episode started on a good note - he took a position with a professional organization - but quickly falls apart when Don asks him to resign. He goes home, and finds that his wife has bought him a Jaguar. She might as well have bought him a noose. Not sure when he decided to kill himself, but  when he's at home catching up on errands it made me think he was tying up loose ends. Suspicions were confirmed when he went down to the Jag with towels and garden hose, and he's all set to kill himself that way until the Jag won't start. Fitting. He winds up going to the office, types out what we later learn is his resignation, and hangs himself on the back of his door. Unbelievably tragic, and very sad to think we'll not have Jared Harris on the show anymore.

Three Up Three Down: The Killing

Three Up


3. Darren Richmond. He's back on the campaign trail, and he has a good outing with his Seattle All-Stars program, which results in a viral video showing him shooting hoops. Turns out Gwen paid for the video, but he doesn't know that. He also confronts Gwen about a meeting she had with Adams, and learns about her teenaged dalliance with the future mayor. He's pretty supportive about the failed attempt, which is a good sign.

2. Stan Larsen. At the end of his rope, Stan calls Terry for help trying to figure things out. She gives him some pretty good advice about forgiving, and he does a pretty good job of making amends - he apologizes to Bennett Ahmed - even fixes a light for him, though he doesn't know it - and starts to find forgiveness for himself when he leaves a message on Rosie's still active cell phone. He also gets a dog for the boys. At the end of the episode he turns off a lamp in Rosie's room, which is a good sign that he's beginning to find a way past the murder.

1. Steven Holder. When he's not working to get Linden sprung from the psych ward, he's still working the case. He uncovers a new connection between the existing cabal - the mayor, Ames and Chief Jackson - and Kovarsky, as one of his foot soldiers was arrested the night of the murder breaking into the waterfront site to plant Native American bones on the site. He manages to turn Lt. Carlson around on the case once he comes up with this (and after telling him that the case files never made it to County). He does get Linden sprung, with the help of her former fiance, but is now in charge of her.


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3. Bennett Ahmed. In show time it's only been a couple of weeks since he got a beating from Stan and Belko, which is easy to forget given how long it's been since we've visited his character. He's still in bad shape, and isn't helped when he sees Stan Larsen skulking around his house. He's not particularly interested in taking Stan's apology (understandably). I suppose things aren't so bad for him - he's alive, mobile, and has a new child - but he still looks like hell.

2. Chief Nicole Jackson. She doesn't do anything in the episode until the end, where we see her supervising the work on the 10th floor of the casino after reassuring someone on the phone that any evidence will be gone. She apparently doesn't know about the key card, which is still sitting where Linden found it, waiting to be discovered.

1. Sarah Linden. The episode starts with Linden waking up in what looks like a hospital ward. Turns out that it's actually a psych ward, where she was put after reportedly trying to kill herself on the 10th floor of the Wapi Eagle. She denies this, but much of her recent behavior suggests a lack of mental health. She will be in lockup for 72 hours unless her new shrink finds a reason to let her out earlier. They talk about the previous case that saw Linden wind up in psych, and comes very close to connecting that case, Rosie's case, and Linden's abandonment as a child (dark, enclosed spaces play a prominent role). Before Linden can make her breakthrough, word comes that's she's being sprung. She sees Rick signing her out, but by the time she gets into the lobby he's gone, leaving her in Holder's care. As much as she's been trying to keep the case uppermost in her mind, she's got to be in a bit of a state to go back out. She did at least get some food in her, based on a brutal scene where she builds up into an eating frenzy over hospital dinner.

Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men

Three Up


3. Ted Chaough. Don Draper's nemesis gets to strike a blow to SCDP's creative team for $19,000 a year? You get the sense he'd pay double. That he gets to poach Peggy right as SCDP lands Jaguar is a nice plus, as it will leave them that much more in the lurch. Nice work in limited screen time.

2. Michael Ginsberg. That SCDP landed Jaguar at all owes a significant debt to Ginzo, who was inspired by Megan's ability to come and go in the office as she pleases to find the way to use the idea of a mistress (which Don had put the kibosh on in the wake of the Joan Harris discussion) to sell Jaguars, coming at the concept from a different angle. His pitch to Don was also a nice show that he's getting a little more comfortable with mixing it up with Don, which will help when he's working on pretty much everything, as...

1. Peggy Olsen. Finally has enough and quits SDCP, moving over to CGC. It all starts when, after coming up with an idea for Chevalier Blanc more or less out of thin air, Don doesn't see that it's her work and thinks her desire to stay on it just comes from a want to go to Paris to shoot the ad. The built up indignities leads her to complain to Freddie Rumsen over lunch, and he pushes her to get her name out there and move on if things are so bad. Her meeting with Ted Chaough leads her to take an offer $1000 over her initial proposal, and she accepts. She tells Don in the wake of the firm learning it landed Jaguar, and while he tries to treat it as a negotiating ploy, Peggy is set in leaving. Don finally realizes he's pushed her away (and around) too much. Peggy leaves looking pleased with herself in finally breaking free. But she's not taking Cosgrove with her, not a surprise given that she mocked the pact earlier in the episode.


Three Down


3. Pete Campbell. It's a sign of what's to come with the other guys that the person who basically pimps out Joan Harris only lands third. It starts when Pete and Ken meet with the head of Jaguar's dealerships,  who says that Joan caught his eye during their tour of the firm, and that a night with her would secure his vote. They try to talk around it, but the dealer is set in what he wants. Pete presents the idea in a roundabout way to both Joan and the partners. Joan is horrified, while the partners come up with a number to offer Joan to do the deed. Outside of acting as procurer, Pete also floats the idea of a Manhattan apartment by Trudy, who will hear no such thing. Pete complains about the suburbs some more, but Trudy is adamant that she wants to raise their child in fresh air, and why aren't they trying to have another one? Maybe because Pete's too busy trying to set up his own personal knocking shop?


2. Don Draper. Don manages to be a dick to pretty much everyone. He does have some positive moments - he refuses to talk with the partners about having Joan sleep with the dealer, and he even goes to her apartment to try to talk her out of it, for example - but he throws cash in Peggy's face when he thinks she's trying to cadge a free trip to Paris, and is hot and cold to Megan regarding a role that may take her to Boston for three months. Losing Peggy to CGC is the real blow, though, as he now has to replace her work at a time when the firm will have more work than they can handle. He notes the freelancers that were brought in, but you can tell he knows they're not up to it, and that he's really to blame for Peggy's departure. This is more of a career achievement position, I suppose, as Peggy's quitting was a long time coming.


1. Lane Pryce. When the talk about Joan sleeping with the dealer gets serious, and a dollar figure is bandied about, Lane gets defensive about using cash. He later visits Joan ostensibly to talk her out of sleeping with the dealer, but he also plants a seed that a small partnership (5 percent) would serve her and her son better than a one time payment. She does wind up using this idea when she agrees to see the dealer, which seems like it would be in Lane's favor... until it becomes clear that the Christmas bonus money will be needed to get the firm through the period where they're doing work for Jaguar but aren't getting paid. Bad enough to be a pimp or an ass, but at least Pete and Don won't be going to prison for what they did. Assuming Lane doesn't take a swan dive out of the Time-Life Building before that happens.

Three Up, Three Down: The Killing

Three Up


3. Darren Richmond. He takes Jamie's advice and approaches Chief Jackson for an endorsement. Her price - approval for a waterfront museum and gift shop, and tax exempt status on anything build on tribal land. Richmond asks her to let the Seattle PD get into the casino to look for evidence in Rosie's murder, as it's the last place she was seen alive. The chief passes, saying it would be a bad precedent given the tribe autonomy. Richmond tells her no deal. Both Jamie and Gwen push him to make the deal, but he wants no part of the chief. He's more or less back to his idealistic self, which is good for him if not for his electoral chances.

2. Sarah Linden. There are rough parts - she gets a call from Jack and hears how his dad is trying to bribe him with iPods and such - but she gets through the bad to help find the Larsen case files - which Gil hid in his storage unit in another town - and gets the key that gives her access to the Wapi Eagle's tenth floor. Once there she finds a key card with blood on it, evidence of a struggle that involved someone from city hall. And then she gets whacked in the head. As I said, there are rough parts.

1. Stephen Holder. Holder proves he's a stand up partner, even if his partner is not on the force at present. He gets the location of the case files from Carlson, saying he needs personal items. When Linden sees Gil leaving the station, he puts it together that Gil got the files sent to county. Except when he calls the county evidence room, they know nothing about the files. He helps Linden find them, and when Linden decides to go into the casino by the front door (Mary was going to let them in the back, but was either too scared or too busted to prop the door), Holder provides cover by acting drunk and pretending that he wants his phone back, saying he lost it in the beating. He also gives Linden ample warning about dousing her light and getting out, to no avail.

Three Down

3. Stan Larsen. Things get tougher for Stan, when he learns that Tommy killed a number of baby birds at school (he and some other kids knocked a nest out of a tree). Stan's anger gets the best of him, and he and Tommy wind up yelling at each other outside of school, leading Tommy to say he's glad Rosie is dead. That gets him a slap across the face from Stan, and at the end of the fight Stan says he hates Tommy and is mad that he's stuck with the boys and would like to get out like Mitch did. This freaks the boys out but good. In the end it does help them come to terms, but it's more of an emotional workout than Stan needs. He also gets a call from Mitch, and she informs him that Rosie was going to leave and that they were wrong for not asking Rosie what was wrong when she wouldn't talk to them over the last few months of her life. Stan says they did the best they could, but you have to think it puts some new doubt in the back of Stan's mind.

2. Gwen Eaton. When Richmond declines to give into Chief Jackson's demands, she tries to negotiate with Mayor Adams directly. She reminds him that her father is a big fan of his, and that his support for his eventual run for Congress would be very helpful. And he's only going to get it if Adams doesn't do anything to garner Chief Jackson's support. Adams scoffs at the idea, which leads Gwen to remind him of her father's first Senate campaign, when Adams was a staffer and he had some sort of dalliance with a then 14 year old Gwen. She's planning to blow the whistle to stop Adams from getting the endorsement, but Adams retorts that her father already knows about their indiscretion. He gets Gwen good with that revelation, and you can see her image of her father changing in real time.

1. Tommy Larsen. So he stomped these baby birds, and is now getting two weeks suspension, Which screws things up for Stan in terms of work, which leads to the shouting match where Tommy says Rosie did worse things than him and that he's glad she's dead. Then comes the slap and Stan's declaration that he hates Tommy and wishes he could leave. This does more of a number on Tommy than Stan can see, making the mental damage Tommy is carrying around that much worse. He does manage to address this to some extent later - thanks in some part to an apology from Stan, which was nice to see - and while he gets to cry it out and admit how sad he is to his dad. there's still a ways to go for him to get back to normal.

Upfronts: The Aftermath

Some half-formed ill-advised summation of last week.

Who won? Here's how I rate where the networks are based on their tentative 2012-13 schedules.

5. NBC. You want to brand yourself as the network for comedy? Fine, but it's probably a bad time to try this when (a) your critically praised but low-rated sitcoms are wrapping (30 Rock), should be wrapping (The Office), or moved to a night where 98 percent of the viewership will be time shifted (Community), and (b) the new sitcoms you roll out are uninspiring. I'm also a little worried that you've buried your most interesting new show, Do No Harm, after Celebrity Apprentice and Fashion Star. That should do wonders for the ratings.

4. The CW. I like that they've given most nights a theme, and that they're using Friday for lower-rated shows that could move if/when something tanks. What I don't like is that their new shows don't exactly jump out at you. I suppose in a couple cases you can argue they're rebooting shows (or show ideas) for a younger generation, and maybe that will work. I suppose I should just be happy that they've stopped trying to build shows around social media.

3. ABC. Still concerned about their older shows being able to maintain ratings, and I don't care for the premises of most of their new sitcoms. They do have a couple of dramas I'm looking forward to sampling, and they have a couple of very solid days in Wednesday and (non-football) Sunday.

2. Fox. They've done the smart thing by making X Factor and American Idol complimentary pieces rather than frenemies. I don't know if this will help slow down The Voice, which they're not taking on head to head, but there's at least a season-long blueprint of how Fox is handling their music shows. Throwing Glee into the mix on Thursday is worrisome, given the competition. I also like that they're maintaining a sci-fi(ish) Friday night, even if it marginalizes the genre. Fringe has gotten to this point thanks to all of the time shifters, certainly Touch is an able candidate to do the same.

1. CBS. Easy to be the winner when you have so few shows to replace. It also helps that they can move shows around and create nights where new shows can be protected a bit and, even if they tank, don't create too many problems for the night overall. Some of the nights are looking a little hoary (Wednesday most notably), but I don't think CBS is in any danger of not being the most watched network next season.

Where are the night and time bloodbaths?

Three places where I think the greatest clashes will emerge:

1. Monday, 8pm. You've got ABC's older reality programs (DWTS/The Bachelor) up against NBC's only real hit (The Voice) versus CBS and their lead in of How I Met Your Mother and Fox with Bones. Lots of mature programming in there, it'll be interesting to see who gives.

2. Tuesday, 9pm. Tuesday always seemed like a wasteland to me, but now and 9 you have a sitcom battle royale, with ABC, NBC, and Fox throwing shows in there. ABC's shows are returning but (a) aren't that strong and (b) have moved from other times. NBC's are both brand new, while Fox likely has the upper hand with the returning New Girl and Mindy Kaling's show.

3. Thursday, 9pm. Always a battle here, now joined by Fox moving Glee. Will it cut into Grey's female-friendly demo? Will the NBC comedies get put off to DVR viewing? Or will Glee's cooling ratings and seemingly random plot generation make the move another step towards an early cancellation?

What new shows am I most/least interested in?

Most:

1. Last Resort, mostly because it stars Andre Braugher, who is awesome.
2. Elementary, in the hopes that it can regularly provide solid Holmes-related entertainment in the void left by the Sherlock series on PBS.
3. Do No Harm, even though I suspect it will not last long if left on Sunday at 10.

Least:

1. The Neighbors, which I'm pretty sure is on ABC's schedule because someone lost a bet.
2. Emily Owens, M.D., because I am not a 14 year old girl.
3. Guys With Kids, as I didn't care for the 4000 or so other sitcoms about men trying to reclaim their manhood.

Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men

Three Up

3. Pete Campbell. Pete gets to announce to the partners that he's gotten SCDP back in the running for Jaguar. The exec that Lane knew left Jaguar, and the new guy knows Pete. In fact, Pete's been working Jaguar for some time. He considers this quite a coup, but never gets the reaction he wants. He's even upstaged by Don when the announcement is made to the staff. But it's a good bit of work for him, even when...

2. Bert Cooper bursts his bubble by noting that Jags are lemons. Bert deflates Pete with one sentence, and it's glorious. Robert Morse really needs more screen time.

1. Harry Crane. Not often a winner, he gets the top spot by trying to do a good thing for Paul. Two good things, really: one, get him out to LA to see if he can finally find his niche as a TV writer, and two, to get him away from Mother Lakshmi, whose interest in Paul is solely as a recruiter. Paul is ready to commit to her and move away to start a farm, and is much more into her than the other way around, as seen when she offers herself up to Harry as a trade for him to keep away from Paul. Harry's not totally clean in this - he takes Lakshmi up on her offer, and he lies to Paul to give him the confidence to leave New York. But it's a case where the lie may be the best thing for Paul. This may be Harry's shining moment for the season.

Three Down

3. The Drapers. Don and Megan go to a play which is either an indictment of advertising or consumer culture, depending which one you talk to. This leads back to Don commenting on Megan's quitting the firm. Later, Don and Joan pose as a couple to test drive a Jaguar, but they spend most of the day at a bar, engaging in a knife's edge conversation which makes you think that the two of them will wind up in a dark corner trying not to get caught in flagrante delicto. They get by this, but Don later sends Joan flowers. This could just be supportive - there's a mutual admiration there - but given Don't history, there's room for worry. Megan senses this, too, and rips into Don for being out all day, not returning for dinner, and not calling. Don thinks this is more angry foreplay, but it's not. At the end, when Don says the firm is going to work non-stop, including weekends, to land Jaguar, you get the sense that he'll be happy to work rather than have the home life he has now.

2. Paul Kinsey. Paul's been calling Harry to meet, and when Harry finally does it turns out Paul has joined the Hare Krishnas after crashing and burning in advertising. He seems dedicated, but it turns out that he's as confused and wrapped up in status and standing that he can't reach the sort of peace that others do. He's pretty much only committee to Mother Lakshmi, who he wants to settle down with. The noise in his head also includes a desire to keep writing, and he's followed through by penning a spec script for Star Trek (which he watches through a pizza parlor window). The script isn't that good, and Lakshmi only thinks of Paul as a recruiter for the movement. He finally gets a lifeline from Harry in the form of $500 and Harry's suggestion that he move to LA to write. Paul notes that Harry is the only person who's ever done something for him, which just makes things all the more sad. Harry Crane is your white knight? And had a vision during his first chanting session? Go west, Paul Kinsey!

1. Lane Pryce. Personal financial problems come to a head for Lane, and he has to come up with $8000 in two days to pay off his back taxes. Thus beings the fraud: Lane gets the firm a $50,000 credit line extension, then announces to the partners that they have $50,000 for bonuses. He proposes giving them immediately, but when that's voted down Lane winds up forging Don's signature on a check so he can get the money he needs. He then dodges having to pay for Rebecca and Nigel to return to the UK by saying that Jaguar has come back to him and he has to stick around to get the deal done, and doesn't want to be alone again for the holidays. Rebecca is thrilled at the Jaguar news and promises that they'll stay. Then he finds out that Mohawk is cutting its ads due to a machinist's strike, and Cooper suggests that the partners delay their bonuses until January. 

Three Up, Three Down: The Killing

Three Up


3. Jack Linden. Finally gets a chance to break out of the homeless nightmare he's been in this season when his mom sends him to Chicago to stay with his dad. He's not happy about this - I know she's his mother, but I swear Jack has some sort of Stockholm Syndrome attachment to Sarah - but it's better than hiding out in various apartments and motels, thinking that every cop who shows up is going to put him in foster care.


2. Stephen Holder. Not the best start for Holder - he's found by a search party after having the crap beaten out of him - but he gets the matchbook to Sarah so she can meet up with the housekeeper from the Wapi Eagle. He later has a nice heart-to-heart with his nephew, most of which is overheard by his mom (Holder's sister) and will hopefully help get the family back together. He also gets to the airport to catch up with Linden, but too late to see Jack.


1. Mary. A housekeeper at the Wapi Eagle, she worked with Rosie, and found her backpack in a dumpster and returned it to the Larsens in case it would help solve the case. She also mentions the chief's purchase of cheap cleaners, which explains why Rosie had chemicals on her hands. We also learn that Rosie worked as a waitress as well, and not as a prostitute. Mary also makes another reference to the tenth floor, and that all of the keys the staff had to that floor were confiscated the day after Rosie died. This sets Linden on the trail of Rosie's key, which is in evidence.


Three Down


3. Darren Richmond. He's out of the hospital and seven points down to Mayor Adams. He's still not talking about where he was on the night of Rosie's murder, which doesn't help the public see him as innocent. He does confront Adams about the source of the tollbooth picture which led to Richmond's arrest, but hasn't figured out a way to use it yet.  Looking to get back in the race, he tasks the staff to come up with a grand gesture, and they do - a meeting with Chief Jackson with hopes of ending her work with Adams to develop the waterfront, which is his main campaign promise. But Richmond wants nothing to do with Jackson, and lets Gwen have it about the meeting. They also try to work out some of their personal issues - mainly how Richmond lied to Gwen about his whereabouts the night Rosie died.


2. Stan Larsen. Stan's public offer of a reward has driven all of the crazies to call him, and he's dim enough to think that some of the tips have merit. He tries to get Linden to check some of them out, and she has to break it to him that they're not going to help. He still goes through and meets with some of the callers, and has a good heart to heart with a woman who lost a daughter. And she knows Rosie loved her dad, and for a price she can get in touch with Rosie so they can talk again. Poor, dumb Stan.


1. Sarah Linden. She calls in for a search team to find Holder, but the team is cancelled by Lt. Carlson. She finally gets him to relent by asking how Internal Affairs will look upon his actions if Holder turns up dead. She faces off with Chief Jackson about the search, and Jackson calls what she things is a bluff, but isn't. Holder is found, and Linden gets to meet Mary and get more info on Rosie. Where things start to go south is when she returns to the station and finds the case files being taken away. Carlson asks Linden for her badge and gun, based on her actions at the Wapi Eagle. She then goes back to Holder's and finds the cops checking out his apartment, with Jack nowhere to be found. Jack ran to Reggie's boat slip, but she's gone. So this is how Sarah winds up sending Jack to Chicago and having no case to solve - except she wants to get Rosie Wapi Eagle key from evidence. That will turn out well.

Upfronts: The CW

The last netlet standing has announced their 2012-13 schedule, and it's pretty much what you'd expect from an outfit that targets teens and tweens.

What's back? What's not? Outside of the shows that were cancelled early in their runs, the two noteworthy cancellations were The Secret Circle and Ringer. Neither was especially surprising, though I thought Ringer might pick up a second season. Shows that have done worse were renewed.

What's New? Three new shows for the fall, two midseason debuts, and a fair amount of shuffling:

Monday sees 90210 move to 8 pm, with the final season of Gossip Girl following. Once that show wraps, we'll get The Carrie Diaries, aka Teen Sex and the City, which is about Carrie Bradshaw growing up in the 1980s. Looking forward to the Very Special Episode about her first herpes scare.

Tuesday goes medical with Hart of Dixie at a new day and time, followed by the new show Emily Owens, M.D., which sounds like Grey's Anatomy: The New Class. Honestly, it's about a new intern at a hospital who learns that it's pretty much like high school all over again. So it's Grey's without the angst. Snore.

Wednesday leads with Arrow, a drama about the Green Arrow. Well timed given the success of The Avengers, not sure if the archery guy is the best one to spin into a TV show. That's followed by Supernatural, which seems like a nice fit. Thought this might be the last season but apparently not, no talk of it that I could find.

Thursday returns The Vampire Diaries and follows it with a reboot of Beauty and the Beast. I suppose it's been long enough since the CBS version to give it another shot, and maybe nostalgic moms will watch with their daughters. It's not the worst idea the network's ever had.

Friday starts with a relocated America's Next Top Model, which to me seems like a vote of no confidence between the flagging ratings and the cutting loose of Nigel Barker, J. Alexander, and Jay Manuel. After that it's Nikita, which did reasonably well on Fridays this past season (by CW standards for Friday). I don't know if they're a natural pair, but I'm happy to see that the network isn't trying to put more model-related programming on to play off of ANTM.

Saturday and Sunday continue as nights for the local affiliates to program, probably the smartest thing The CW has ever done.

Elsewhere at midseason you already know about The Carrie Diaries. The other show waiting in the wings is Cult, which is about a journalist whose brother claims that a TV show (also called Cult) is trying to hurt him. When the brother goes missing the journalist goes into action, and finds a production assistant on the show who is willing to help him uncover the darker side of the show and its rabid fans.

Summing up, I suppose it's a good thing that The CW has created thematic elements to each night, and that they're reasonably distinct (with the exception of Friday, whose theme seems to be "we need to put these shows someplace"). I do think that Tuesday may be a repetitive - the main difference in them seems to be that one is set at a hospital - but Monday's stew of gossip and sex seems to work for them, so maybe I'm making something out of this that isn't there. Anyway, nothing I'm really excited about but a seeming decent offering for the network's core viewers.

Upfronts: CBS

You know when you're in a good position? When your fall schedule has as many time changes as new shows. It's good to be the king.

What's back? What's not?  While most of the shows CBS cut were known, we now know for certain that CSI: Miami and Unforgettable are done.The former had been rumored for some time, the latter a case of sliding ratings as the year progressed. A Gifted Man was cut as well, which I think was pretty much expected as well. Rules of Engagement is apparently still in limbo.

What's new? Not a great deal, only four new shows on the fall schedule.

Monday leads with How I Met Your Mother, which is followed by one of the new shows, Partners. Based on the lives of its creators, it has best friends - a no-nonsense architect and his more outgoing co-worker who is gay - whose relationship is tested when the straight one gets engaged. Not the most original territory, but based on the time slot I'm guessing CBS has a lot of confidence in it.

Two Broke Girls moves to 9, where it is followed by Mike & Molly, with Hawaii 5-0 wrapping the night.

Tuesday gives us the NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles double whammy, and wraps with the new drama Vegas, which tries to catch on to the Mad Men vibe by being based on the true story of Ralph Lamb, a rancher and sheriff in 1960s Las Vegas who has to use all of his experience to corral the growing crime and sleaze, most notably in taking on a mobster who just relocated from Chicago, played by Michael Chiklis. Pan Am and The Playboy Club are cautionary tales, but I'd like to think that those lessons are now learned and this turns out to be a good show.

Wednesday is all returning shows, Survivor, Criminal Minds, and the original CSI.

Thursday leads with The Big Bang Theory, which is followed by the relocated Two and a Half Men. Person of Interest follows, and at 10 pm we have the new show Elementary, which is apparently ripping off Masterpiece Mystery by giving us a modern day setting for Sherlock Holmes. He's also moved to New York (thanks to a drug-fueled falling out in London), and his Dr. Watson is an addiction specialist (now without license) played by Lucy Liu. This could be great, but it could also crash and burn.

Friday leads with CSI: NY, which is followed by new show Made in Jersey, about a lawyer from a working class background who uses her street smarts to succeed where her colleagues can only rely on their Ivy League pedigrees. Meh. The night ends with Blue Bloods.

Saturday continues the them from Friday with two hours of Crimetime Saturday and an hour of 48 Hours Mystery.


Sunday brings back the usual lineup of 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, and The Good Wife. At 10 we have The Mentalist, creating yet another solid night of programming.

Elsewhere at midseason you have a drama called Golden Boy about the youngest commissioner in NYPD history and how he got to the top post. On the comedy side there's Friend Me, where friends from Indiana move to LA and take different paths to making friends (one in person, on online). One posts a notice for new friends at a coffee house, with the expected results. There's also a reality show, The Job, where contestants try to get hired by major companies, kind of a hybrid of The Apprentice and Shark Tank.

Summing up, CBS benefits from being out in front. They don't have to roll out as many new shows, and they can move around existing ones to build strength. That being said, they're also taking some risks with the new shows (Elementary and Vegas, for example), which will set them up for years if they're done right.

Upfronts: ABC

A little retooling with ABC, but not too much.

What's Back? What's Not? ABC brought back two mideason shows - Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23 and Scandal, but not The River or GCB (or, as we're still thankful for, Work It). Pan Am got the expected axe as well, not sure why the network let it linger for as long as it did. There's no Cougar Town, either, but it's hardly surprising as the news has been out for a while that it's likely heading to TBS.

What's New? There appear to be seven new shows on the schedule, evenly mixed between comedy and drama.

Monday brings nothing new, with two hours of Dancing With the Stars (fall) and The Bachelor (spring) leading into Castle. Boring but steady performers, as long as the bottom doesn't drop out of either reality show.

Tuesday leads with the DWTS results show, which leads into relocated Happy Endings and Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23 at 9, with Private Practice taking the 10 pm slot. Private Practice seems to have settled in to its slot, but there's talk this might be the show's final season (with only 13 episodes ordered to boot).

Two new sitcoms replace the results show in the spring. The first is How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life), which stars Sarah Chalke as a single mom who moves back in with her parents (played by Elizabeth Perkins and Brad Garrett). Cross-generational hilarity will hopefully ensue. The other show is The Family Tools, about a son who takes over a handyman business from his ailing dad (J.K. Simmons, apparently getting comedy cred for his Farmers Insurance ads), and the family that's waiting for the son to fail based on his shaky employment history. I'm catching a bit of an Arrested Development vibe from the press release, which might be worth something if (a) the show actually shares this vibe, and (b) the actual Arrested Development wasn't coming back (even if just to Netflix).

Interesting sitcom battle brewing on Tuesdays,especially between the two hour blocks here and on Fox.

Wednesday starts with three returning sitcoms - The Middle, Suburgatory, and Modern Family.  At 10 pm we have Nashville, an All About Eve-inspired drama where an established country music star waning in popularity (Connie Britton) is set up to tour with an up and coming singer (Hayden Panettiere) in an attempt to use the newcomer's fanbase to reinvigorate her own. The newbie, of course, sees this as her opportunity to grab the spotlight and take her place as a top performer. There's also subplots involving a songwriter and the established singer's father, who is a powerful figure in Tennessee business and politics. This could work out pretty well given the cast (the dad is played by Powers Boothe, who will hopefully be as brooding and menacing as he was on 24). It can't do any worse than the last network show called Nashville.

In between all of this at 9:30 is The Neighbors. A family moves into a gated community in New Jersey that almost never has openings (the last one was 10 years ago). Once they move in, they notice some strange things involving their neighbors, such as they all have pro athlete names. A dinner party reveals the truth: the community is made up of aliens, and the new family is the first real interaction they've had with Earthlings. Wackiness ensues as we learn about the differences (men have the babies!) and, of course, just how similar we all are.

There's high concept, and then there's geostationary orbit concept.

Thursday starts with Last Resort, a Crimson Tide meets Lost affair, where a US submarine is told to fire its nuclear missiles at Pakistan, but both the captain and the XO refuse to fire without confirmation. The sub is then fired upon, and is forced to limp to a remote island, where the crew disembarks and sets up shop while trying to figure out just what is going on.

And Andre Braugher is playing the captain? I'm in.

Grey's Anatomy returns at 9, and Scandal keeps the 10 pm slot it started in.

Should be a solid night, but once again ABC puts a show at the 8 pm hour that doesn't quite sync with the rest of the night (past examples: Flash Forward and My Generation). Third time's the charm?

Friday starts the season with Shark Tank, Primetime: What Would You Do?, and 20/20. In November, 20/20 drops off the schedule, the other two shows move one hour later, and we get sitcoms in the 8 pm hour. The first is Last Man Standing, which I expect will suffer from the move. It's followed by Malibu Country, where the freshly divorced wife (Reba, who now only goes by Reba? Did I miss her ditching her last name?) of a country music legend gathers her family and moves to Southern California to jump start her own musical career, which she put on hold to raise a family. Lily Tomlin plays her mom, and Sara Rue her new Malibu neighbor. Could be family friendly, I suppose.

Saturday brings college football, until there is no more college football, at which point we'll get reruns or dead air or something.

Sunday kick off, as it has since the Clinton administration, with America's Funniest Home Videos. This is followed by Once Upon a Time and Revenge (which seems appropriately sudsy, if a little darker, than Desperate Housewives). The 10 pm hour is taken by the new drama 666 Park Avenue, the street address of an apartment building whose residents can meet their highest (or lowest) goals, ambitions and desires, just so long as they meet the demands of the building's owner (Terry O'Quinn) and his wife (Vanessa Williams). The nature of this arrangement becomes clear when a new couple moves to New York to manage the building. Sounds like a more demonic spin on Fantasy Island, but I'll tune in just to see if O'Quinn can channel the undead John Locke.

Elsewhere at midseason Body of Proof will fit in somewhere. There's also a US version of Mistresses, widow takes on the mob drama Red Widow, and a Da Vinci Code/National Treasure clone called Zero Hour that I admit I will watch because I'm a giant nerd.

Summing up. I imagine ABC will do reasonably well as long as the veteran series hold up. At least a couple of the new dramas seem promising, making up for the sitcoms, which don't sound like much to me.

Upfronts: Fox

I hate it when two networks present on the same day, especially if one of them is not The CW. You could dispense with them in about an hour over lunch at Zabar's. Seriously, journalists, suck it up and fly our Friday night. Anyway:

What's back? What's not? No huge surprises, among the returning are New Girl, Touch, and The X-Factor are back for new shows. Mobbed is back, which I guess is a surprise as I know anything about it. Most of the cancellations were known in advance, and include House, Alcatraz, Allan Gregory, Breaking In, The Finder, Terra Nova and I Hate My Teenaged Daughter.

What's new? Mostly drama, and some relocated returning shows.

Monday opens with Bones, which leads into new show The Mob Doctor, which is pretty much what it sounds like. A doctor (Jordan Spiro of My Boys) plays a doctor who has to balance her practice with honoring a family debt to a South Side Chicago outfit. That gets replaced at midseason with The Following, which stars Kevin Bacon as an ex-FBI agent brought out of retirement to track a serial killer. The show is also created by Kevin Williamson, for what that's worth. Neither concept is particularly interesting, but if handled correctly both could be done quite well. Bacon's presence will certainly help.

Tuesday will pose a problem for NBC and its plan to focus on the 9 o'clock hour. The opening hour will be reasonably strong with Raising Hope (which then has to hope that mismatched sibling sitcom Ben and Kate will hold on to enough of its lead in). At 9 we get New Girl to start things, and following that is The Mindy Project, created by and starring Mindy Kaling. She plays an OB/GYN who is trying to have it all, and failing in hopefully comedic ways. I have more faith in Kaling to pull of this Bridget Jones-style sitcom than I would with most people. It also seems like a good pairing with New Girl, both in terms of having a strong lead-in and with what I'm think the tone would be like. Maybe NBC will find that these are too female centered and have their shows flourish with guys. Not counting on it.

Wednesday will have The X-Factor (with new judges Demi Lovato and Britney Spears) in the fall and American Idol in the spring. Makes sense, and avoids any direct competition with The Voice.

Thursday will start with results shows for whichever singing program is airing on Wednesday, followed by Glee. Not sure how I feel about the move. The execs at Fox apparently wanted a four show comedy block and preferred to have it on Tuesday. That part of things I understand. Pushing Glee into what might be the most competitive hour of prime time TV I don't. Ratings flagged this season, and the current season's been pretty uneven. The folks at Fox see a chance for creative renewal based on current characters graduating and new ones joining New Directors. I just hope that (a) the show doesn't start to split time between McKinley and the grads, and (b) we aren't forced to spend even more time with people who appeared on The Glee Project.

Friday has Touch leading into the final season of Fringe. While moving to Friday is generally seen as the kiss of death, Fox sees this as an opportunity for Touch to morph into Fringe's model of success through DVR viewing (something like 70 percent of Fringe viewers time shift). From a personal standpoint, I think it's a good idea, as we DVR almost nothing on Fridays, so there's one fewer conflict to deal with.

Hell's Kitchen picks up for Fringe once it's done. Sensible, I suppose, as some of the contestants appear to be from Neptune.

Saturday offers us something called Fox Sports Saturday, which I'm guessing will feature bear bating and foxy boxing.

Sunday returns all of the animation block from last year.

Elsewhere at midseason we have The Goodwill Games, a sitcom about three siblings who reconnect after their dad dies, only to learn that their inheritance will only pay out if they stick to rules set by their dad before he died. Sounds like a laugh fest.

To sum up, I think Fox is in pretty good shape. There are strong shows mixed with the new, and each night has a theme, be it comedy, music, or "OMG, it's Kevin Bacon!"

Upfronts: NBC

The TV silly season kicks off in earnest today, as NBC starts off the week of network upfronts where the hope is that advertisers, excited by the announcement of the planned 2012-13 prime time lineup, will snap up ad space. I don't get the sense that there'll be a lot of snapping for the Peacock.

What's back? What's not? The biggest surprises for me were the return of Whitney and the cancellation of Harry's Law. The former is a modest performer at best. which the latter was able to hold its own (if not rule) on Sunday nights. But as is so often the case, a show that performs modestly but pulls in younger viewers will get more of a break than one that skews older.

There are a bunch of reality/competition programs (The Biggest Loser, The Apprentice, Who Do You Think You Are?, The Sing-Off) that are not yet scheduled. But Fashion Star, which has not impressed, is back.

Kind of sad to see that Awake didn't make the cut, as I enjoyed its inventive approach, but hardly unexpected. And given the direction NBC is going in, I'd feel pretty badly if you're involved with Are You There, Chelsea?, Bent, or Best Friends Forever.

What's new? And the reason for feeling badly is that NBC is littering the schedule with comedy, strewing sitcoms over four nights of the week. The odds were in your favor if you could get a sitcom on the network, really. There's also likely some concern about replacing some of the older sitcoms, as we'll see as we go day by day:

Monday opens with The Voice, which has now proven itself enough to the network that they can run it into the ground. After two hours of singing, we turn to the latest J.J. Abrams offering, Revolution, which follows what happens if we all of a sudden no longer had electricity. It sounds a bit like the Emberverse series of sci-fi/fantasy novels by S. M. Stirling, just with less bloodshed and Wiccans, or like The Walking Dead without zombies (to which I'd say: why?). Still, I tend to give Abrams a chance (kind of liked Alcatraz).

Tuesday bring us another hour of The Voice, followed by two new sitcoms, Go On and The New Normal. Depending on your age, these will feel pretty familiar, as Go On is pretty much a reboot of Dear John and The New Normal a rip-off of Modern Family. The former starts Matthew Perry, while the latter comes from Ryan Murphy, who brought us Glee. So there's at least an outside chance that these won't suck. The night ends with Parenthood, which I'd kind of forgotten was still on.

Wednesday starts with Animal Practice, which is about a gifted but unorthodox veteranarian who works at an animal hospital now run by his ex-girlfriend, who knows business but not animals. Strange premise, I have to say, but I suppose there's an unchecked box somewhere that an animal-based office/rom-com fills. The other show is Guys With Kids, which is the billionth sitcom premised on guys trying to stay guyish while doing girlie things, like raising kids. The press release promises a scene of guys wearing Baby Bjorns to the bar, which seems about right for a show created by Jimmy Fallon.

After the 232rd season of Law & Order: SVU, we get Chicago Fire, also from Dick Wolf. As you might guess, it's about the men and women who staff a fire house in Chicago. Jesse Spencer - Chase from House - stars. Even with the Wolf pedigree I'm dubious, as firefighting shows never really work out (or perhaps I should say network firefighter shows thanks to Rescue Me).

Thursday offers a veteran line-up of 30 Rock, Up All Night, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Rock Center. It's the last season for 30 Rock (though there was some loose talk by the NBC Entertainment head that it wasn't), could be the last season for The Office as well as the pace picks up on a Dwight-themed spinoff. Unsure why Rock Center gets the plum 10 pm spot here. Guessing it's counter-programming.

Friday starts with what is easily the biggest surprise on their schedule - Whitney. There's nothing about the show that screams renewal - ratings were easily as tepid as the other returning sitcoms, and it has none of the critical appeal of the others - but here it is. It's paired with Community, and while it's great to have that show back at all, it has to hurt to be on Friday and following what I would consider a lesser show. Even worse, Dan Harmon may be leaving, at least in part due to a falling out with Chevy Chase. Personally, I think you keep Harmon and send Chase packing, but it's obviously not that easy.

Grimm returns at 9 - the first of what will be many genre shows on Friday - and Dateline rolls along at 10.

Saturday is reruns and burn-offs. Enjoy.

Sunday is still Football Night in America, at least until January. Once the NFL wraps we get Dateline to start the night, the double whammy of Fashion Star and The Apprentice to take up the 8 and 9 o'clock hours, and then what might be the most interesting new offering at 10, Do No Harm. It's a modern version of the Jekyll and Hyde story, which strikes me as a little dark and serious for Sunday nights (at least on network).  Personally, I'd put this show on Thursday, move Rock Center to Tuesdays and put Parenthood here, assuming they could all start at the new days and times. Of course, Do No Harm might suck and leave a big hole on Thursdays. OK, bigger hole.

Elsewhere at midseason I'd keep an eye out for Hannibal, a drama about the famed Carthaginian general and statesman. OK, it's a TV version of the Hannibal Lecter story, but wouldn't it be great if it was a historical drama in the style of Rome? Instead, we get this attempt to grab at Dexter's audience.

Among the midseason sitcoms worth noting are Next Caller, starring Dane Cook as some sort of shock jock who gets paired with (and I quote the press release) a "chipper NPR feminist." Ugh. There's also 1600 Penn, a family sitcom where the dad just happens to be the President. Bill Pullman stars, and I think I'd rather see Houston get vaporized under his watch again than see this.

To sum up, NBC's continued attempt to rebuild doesn't do much for me. Rebuilding around comedy is an idea only as good as the shows, and I don't think they're strong enough, especially if Whitney is one of the shows you're going to war with.

Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men

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3. Jane Sterling. She's getting a new apartment after asking Roger to move her out of their old place (whose landlord is Roger's mom), with a minimum of fuss. She also accompanies Roger to a business dinner with the folks behind Manischewitz, and may have found her new beau in the owner's son, who takes a shine to her. She does get the new apartment, but when she hooks up with Roger after the dinner she feels that the apartment is tainted. So not a great way to end, but she may still be up more than others in this episode.


2. Michael Ginsburg. Don stops by Ginzo's desk to turn off a light and then sees a folder full of ideas for Snowball, which they're pitching shortly. The quality and quantity of ideas gets Don back to work, but his idea (involving a devil) takes a bit of a back seat to Ginzo's idea (disliked people getting an actual snowball in the face). Don leaves Ginzo's pitch in the cab and his idea is bought. Ginzo learns about this from Harry, and confronts Don about this in the elevator. Don tries to treat him like an underling, but it's clear that Ginzo has the moral highground (and, in this case, the better idea). Ginzo also gets hired to work on the Manischewitz pitch, and while that's purposeful (being Jewish) and more of a set up for Peggy to confront Roger once she learns of the secret work, it's also a further indication that Ginzo is on the rise at SCDP. He just may be his own worst enemy.

1. Sally Draper. A good episode of growth for Sally, as she allows herself to get talked into bringing up Anna Draper to Megan by Betty, who wants to cause a rift to make herself feel better (more on this later). This does lead Sally to be rude towards Megan, who tries to explain Anna and Don as best she can. Sally later gets a talking to from Don that both explains Anna and sets Sally straight on why Betty had her ask Megan about Anna, and how Sally can address the situation like the young adult she claims to be. Sally appears to get this, and in the end she thwarts Betty's plan and gets an A+ on the family tree project that started the whole thing. She also gets a little dig in on Betty over Thanksgiving dinner that's subtle enough that I don't think anyone noticed.


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3. Don Draper. He's feeling threatened by Ginzo, and while he can pull rank (claiming taking in more than one idea is a sign of weakness, etc.), it doesn't change the fact that he pulled his first late night in ages after seeing the wealth of ideas that Ginzo worked up for Snowball. Don also has to sail some troubled family waters with the whole Anna thing, and while it gives him occasion to snap at both Megan (for addressing the issue at all) and Sally (for being Betty's pawn), he does at least manage to do the right thing (more or less) in both cases. The loss here is that he's not only seeing how the tobacco letter has hurt business, but that he now has a very talented underling who could make Don more like Roger if things don't change.


2. Megan Draper. Professional and personal issues for Megan, as she reads through a part with a friend for Dark Shadows, and when Megan knocks the material for being crap, the friend notes that she can afford to be picky, as she doesn't have to wait tables between gigs. Megan takes offense at the suggestion she's not as committed to acting, but the truth at the core - that she can live off of Don - hits home. That the friend later gets the part and wants to celebrate over Thanksgiving dinner just piles on. The whole Anna Draper issue puts Megan in a tough position relative to Sally and Don, and while she tries gamely to breeze over the issue, Sally accuses Megan of lying (which is even worse when you consider that Sally really relies of Megan to tell the truth, as neither Don nor Betty can be counted on doing so). It apparently works out in the end, but the whole thing shows the thin line Megan has to walk with the kids.

1. Betty Francis. The show opens with Betty putting together her sad looking diet breakfast - half a grapefruit, a piece of toast and some cubes of cheese - and it appears her weekly visits to Weight Watchers may not always go as well as she'd like. They do help her sort out some personal issues, but in her usual way she later addresses them inappropriately. After seeing Megan in her bra and then reading a note Don left Megan that Bobby later used to doodle on, Betty obviously feels pain at no longer being young and thin, or having a husband who would write loving notes when he goes out to buy light bulbs. So she casually mentions Anna to Sally and hopes for the worst. When that doesn't happen, she just feels worse about herself. The coup de grace is Thanksgiving, with her sad little plate of food, each piece of which she apparently needs to chew very thoroughly. We are clearly heading towards a winter of Betty's discontent.

Three Up, Three Down: The Killing

(Sorry I didn't get to this earlier in the week. Also sorry that I'm offering a blanket apology rather than personally apologizing to the three of you who'll read this.)

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3. Stan Larsen. After spending most of the season moping around and doing the wrong thing, Stan finally sets himself in the direction of the right thing by getting the public to remember his daughter and get justice done. It's not always pretty - his statement during Richmond's press conference goes off the rails at the end - but between this and throwing Terry out of the house, he's beginning to reassert himself.

2. Darren Richmond. He's back on the campaign trail, and when Gwen's attempt at getting Stan to make a statement via subterfuge (a plea deal she can't deliver, and which Stan wisely passes on until it's in writing), Richmond goes to the Larsen house and has a good conversation about wanting to find the killer and how Stan needs to get people to remember Rosie if they're not doing a good enough job themselves. He also tells Gwen he will tell the truth about what he was doing the night of the murder, which she's not thrilled about, but it never comes to pass that we see. He's not all the way back, but he's getting there.

1. Nicole Jackson. The chief of the Kalimish tribe and head of the Wapi Eagle casino, she's asserted from the start that Rosie, as a minor, couldn't be in the casino. When Linden confronts her later that there's proof she was in the casino, Jackson uses her clout (and the lack of Linden's jurisdiction) to get Linden removed from the casino. She's taking a more direct approach with Holder, and with the backing of Ames and the mayor, she has to feel pretty good that whatever secret she's hiding on the 10th floor of the hotel will remain safe.


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3. Terry Marek. One of the boys mentions that the cops talked to Terry, and when she can't explain to Stan what they wanted he presses and learns that the boyfriend that just threw her over was Michael Ames. She also mentions that she had a role (if not the sole role) in getting Rosie hooked up with Beau Soleil. This enrages Stan, and he throws her out. She's now more alone than she's been in the entire series.


2. Jack Linden. Jack is clearly enamored with the idea of staying with Holder for the foreseeable future, but then has to make do when he and his mom move into yet another hotel. After getting a list of increasingly paranoid orders from his mom, he hunkers down rather sullenly. We next see him in the room with men claiming to be from Child Protective Services, answering a call about Sarah's neglect (question: did the call come from Jack's dad or Nicole Jackson, and how did whoever call find them?). Jack then sneaks out of the bathroom window, and with Sarah (who faked a call), they run away. Sarah tries to comfort him, but Jack is in the passenger's seat, sad and angry and not wanting to talk to his mother at all. I would not want to be in that kid's head.


1. Stephen Holder. Things start off well for him - he's a gracious host and his book on butterflies gives Linden an idea about checking out the casino and surrounding land. Holder is sent into the casino to sniff out new construction, and gets a lead to check out the 10th floor from a male hooker (his second stop after getting set up with an elderly female hooker). He can't get on to the 10th floor, but gets another break when a maid gives him a matchbook, and when getting off the elevator says she hopes the family got Rosie's backpack back OK. The matchbook has the time and location of a meeting, though it's questionable Holder will show, as he gets picked up casino security and is driven out to the woods, where a cross-section of the local Kalimish start to beat the tar out of him. Even worse, they kick-dial Linden, so not only is Holder possibly getting beat to death, his partner gets to hear it over her phone. Things went south really quickly, didn't they.

Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men

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3. Stan Rizzo. He doesn't have many lines in the episode, but he may have the best one when, after Megan announces she's quitting, he explains why he gets by saying that she works like crazy, sweats out the results, and generally stresses out over something as prosaic as beans. Better to chase a dream than go through the wringer for something like that. His words have an impact, too, as Peggy clearly reacts to what he says.


2. Michael Ginsburg. He kills a pitch to start the episode, has a funny interchange with Megan (and Peggy by interjection) asking if she gets clothes or has to act in her own clothes, and then closes his night by saying that the lame song Ken suggests for his ad is "stabbing me in the heart" (it's certainly not suggestive of the Beatles, which is what they were supposed to be going for).

1. Megan Draper. So she starts the episode lying to get out of work so she can go to a call back for a play. She doesn't get the part, but the experience solidifies her desire to return to acting full time. She tells Peggy this first, and while Peggy's not supportive she does get Megan straightened out enough to tell Don. Don is very understanding, and tells Megan to quit the next day. She does this, and while it's hard for her, she gets through it and is much happier, if a little oblivious to the concerns others have over her departure. She ever tries to get Don to listen to the Beatles, which is about as brave as her quitting.


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3. Peggy Olsen. She gets caught up in Megan lying to Don about her call back, and then gets stuck with extra work when Megan quits. She then fills in for Megan during a presentation for Cool Whip, and winds up arguing with Don over why Megan left. He more or less blames Peggy and the rest of the staff for being cynical and petty. Peggy does blow the tag line for the ad ("Just taste it!"), but she's mad at Don over his role in having Megan come aboard, but also mad that she's losing someone with obvious talent. She does have a small disagreement with Joan about Megan, nothing to damage their growing relationship but interesting in their differing opinions on Megan's skills and Don't taste in women.

2. Don Draper. Don is very supportive of Megan's quitting, but underestimates the resulting problems, most notably with Peggy. He's also concerned for himself, as seen in the none-too-subtle use of an elevator shaft to suggest the yawning chasm that may be opening up now that Don won't be with Megan pretty much 24/7. Don's Cool Whip pitch and resulting argument with Peggy is ugly, and while he's likely arguing from truth (Megan had voiced a similar opinion of her coworkers in the past), he also doesn't recognize the stresses that came with marrying (and then promoting) Megan. He even has to get marriage advice from Roger, whose suggestion of keeping to a schedule came from his ex-father in law. I'm assuming Roger didn't follow it. Don ends the episode listening to "Tomorrow Never Knows" by the Beatles, and turning it off before the end. His overall apathy towards music is problematic, on top of everything else.

1. Pete Campbell. Having failed in seducing his driver's ed classmate, Pete finds a new object of philandering in Beth, the wife of his train buddy Howard, who has started to use an apartment in the city to cheat. It starts with Pete giving her a ride home, and he tries to cover for Howard, but it's flimsy cover at best. They do it in the living room, and afterwards Beth makes it clear it's a one time thing. Pete doesn't believe in one time things, calling Beth and wangling an invite to their house under the cover of buying insurance. Beth continues to state she doesn't want to get into an affair. He schedules a rendezvous at a hotel, but Beth doesn't show up. At the end of the episode she does draw a heart in window fog for Peter, which gives Peter hope even as Beth tries to resist.