Catching Up With Manic Monday: “Bang,” “Mother,” “24” and “Miami”

Some of you guys have been with me long enough to know that after January, this blog gets neglected a little.

I don’t mean for it to happen, but with most of my week eaten up with “American Idol,” it usually takes me a while to get to things I want to talk about.

Like I’m sure you “24” fans out there are wondering what I have to say about the show’s latest casualty. Or you “CSI: Miami” fans might be wondering what I thought about the return of Elizabeth Berkley.

So please allow me to play a little catch-up and combine all of those thoughts into one super Manic Monday post…

Monday’s episode of “The Big Bang Theory” was hilarious, as I predicted, but not for the reasons I thought. Summer Glau was adorable as she tried to fend off the guys’ various advances, but honestly, can anyone compete with Jim Parsons (Sheldon)? The guy is a comic genius and had better get a little Emmy love this year. His exchange with Penny (a perfectly cast Kaley Cuoco) as he tried to tell her how to find his presentation was hysterical.

And would Penny just realize she should have never pushed Leonard (Johnny Galecki) away already? He’s adorable…

And speaking of adorable, is there anyone more adorable these days than the great NPH? Neil Patrick Harris is the reason to watch “How I Met Your Mother” so it was a little disappointing to not see more of him in this week’s episode. “Entertainment Weekly” promises us that we might get some more insight into who the mother is in the season finale, but, honestly, do we really care anymore? I think all we care about is seeing Barney and Robin (Cobie Smulders) together (And “EW” promises us more with that story too.)…

After laughing through two comedies, things took a dramatic shift for me as I prepared to watch an old friend die on "24." I knew who it was before the show even started. And if you read my blog, you did too, because the show pretty much spelled it out for us.

As did those way too revealing previews, but I digress…

Warning: If you have not yet seen Monday’s “24,” stop reading now…

What was shocking was that it happened so quickly. In an instant, Bill (a superb James Morrison) was gone and the silent clock rolled only 12 minutes into the episode. Bill had sealed his fate by disagreeing with Jack’s methods (i.e. stepping out of the light). He knew he had made a mistake and to make up for it, he took Jack’s place and sacrificed himself to save the President.

And yes, I feel totally ashamed that I doubted that Jack didn’t have a backup plan when he came out of the safe room with the President. I hope he can find it in his heart to forgive me…

But there are others who have yet to see the light and their day of reckoning is coming. How cool was it when Jack saved Senator Mayer’s (the fabulous Kurtwood Smith) life? And yes, Larry (Jeffrey Nordling) has stepped into that jerk from district role quite well, but his confrontations with Jack sure are fun to watch. And his arguments with Renee (the-so-good-I-really-don’t-want-to hate-her Annie Wersching) are really starting to crackle as well (Oh yeah. She’s seen the light.).

Something that was not fun to watch was Jack drooling on the floor of the hospital room. That TOTALLY freaked me out. I mean, it was kind of a buzz kill considering just how good Jack looked taking out the bad guys in that suit…

And speaking of bad guys, I know I’m not supposed to, but I am loving Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight). The writers keep lobbing him zingers, and Voight keeps knocking them out of the park. I can’t wait to see what he’s actually up to.

And what in the world is Tony (Carlos Bernard) up to? PLEASE tell me that he and Jack are going to team up now. I mean, where else can Jack turn?

I know, he’s got Renee, but you know I don’t really want him to go there…

It’s not unusual to hear me say, “Man, I did not see that one coming” on a Monday night. What is unusual is for me to say it during “CSI: Miami”…

There’s no doubt about it, folks. “Miami” is on a serious hot streak. The show I once called the funniest on TV is turning in some good episodes with actual storylines that work.

I know, it shocks me a little too…

Monday night should have been chock full of cheesy goodness since it featured the return of Elizabeth Berkley’s Julia, but there was no cheesiness to be had. In fact, Julia was barely seen in the episode—only long enough to establish that she had a drug problem that caused Horatio to get Kyle a job and move him into his own apartment.

Only Julia was not the one with a drug problem. It turned out that the Oxycontin pills missing from the morgue (where Kyle now works) were actually stolen by Dr. Price (Megalyn Echikunwoke), the new medical examiner. It was a great twist—and a completely plausible one considering the injury she sustained in the episode.

The main case itself was also full of great twists as a man with two wives was murdered. The wives were the chief suspects for most of the episode, but the real culprits turned out to be the man’s children (one from each wife) who had just discovered they were related. They had fallen in love and were going to have a baby.

Maybe that was more twisted than an actual twist, but it still worked.

I’m a little worried about whether or not the hot streak can continue, though, because next week marks the return of the Russian mob and in three weeks, Wolfe (the WAY underutilized Jonathan Togo) finally gets some airtime—but not in a good way. But for the first time ever, I’m going to give “CSI: Miami” the benefit of the doubt.

These last three weeks have earned it that much…

"The Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother" air Mondays beginning at 8 p.m. on CBS, "24" airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on FOX and "CSI: Miami" airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on CBS...

Photo Credits: Michael Ansell/Warner Bros., CBS, Kelsey McNeal/FOX, and Sonja Flemming/CBS