Jon and Kate Plus 8 = nauseated eye-rolling

Ok, I'm sure we're all sick of hearing about the Gosselins ever since their marital troubles launched them from being just the basis of a nice, normal family-oriented TLC show to front-page tabloid fodder, but they're in the headlines again this week with the news the show will now be called "Kate Plus Eight" so I thought I'd just quickly comment.

I used to watch this show, way back before the majority of America discovered them. I found all the Gosselins fascinating - bossy Kate, harried Jon, and the adorable twins and sextuplets.

The best part was, I used to feel badly for Jon. The way they were portrayed on the show, Kate treated him like her ninth child and besides not seeming to be able to do any right in his wife's eyes, he seemed to love his kids but be completely overwhelmed by them.

Now, of course, we all know that Jon is a complete douche. I don't care if you got married too young and your wife pressured you into having more kids than you were ready for - you made those choices. You know Armageddon is nigh when I begin to feel sorry for Kate.

But I mostly feel sorry for those kids. They deserve to have as normal a childhood as possible, which was hard enough with the TLC show (which, to be fair, is also a great source of income for a young couple struggling to raise 8 kids) but the twins are old enough to read about and see what the tabloids are saying about their parents and the sextuplets will be soon enough. Divorce is hard enough on kids as it is without the media circus.

And kids, I'm sorry if one day you're surfing the Internet and find this post where I call your dad a douche. But if you're old enough to know what that means, then you're old enough to know that I'm pretty much not wrong...and I have just two words of advice to you all for getting through this with minimal mental and emotional scarring: sibling solidarity!

Saturday Night Live season premiere

Host was Megan Fox, musical guest U2.

Not much was asked of Megan Fox, and so she didn't disappoint. There was one sketch actually where I thought she was pretty good. And as someone terrified of being in a plane crash, a sketch about a plane crash cracking me up must be a good sign...

Weekend Update used two of the most annoying characters currently played: Kenan Thompson's French comedian and Kristen Wiig's "just kidding" lady. Love Kristen Wiig, think she's super talented, but fast forward.

Oh, and one of the new cast members debuted a biker chick character built around using the word "fricking" in every fricking sentence and totally dropped the f-bomb instead in one instance. That's certainly a way to instantly make your mark.

So how was The Good Wife?

It was good. Not great. Not terrible. Like I thought, not exactly my cup of tea. I'm not sure I'm demographic they're going for anyway, but it's something else to watch when I've burned through all my other shows and don't have any good books to read to occupy my time.

Also...

...Cougar Town was pretty decent - both funny and touching (that last part I was surprised about, though considering the balance Scrubs has always struck between the two, I guess I shouldn't have been) ... Courteney Cox was good. Christa Miller's lips annoyed. Dan Byrd is a Michael Cera waiting to happen. Ian Gomez will always be Javier from Felicity to me but is still welcome back on my tv. Josh Hopkins can dress up in footie pajamas for me any time. I will definitely be tuning in again.

Top Chef: Team Voltaggio Michael Division shines on

So, now Voltaggio wins tonight on Top Chef, though Michael was in the top 3 in the quickfire challenge and the top four for the elimination challenge. What I particularly enjoyed about this episode was both Voltaggio brothers, Jen, and Kevin all doing well, and while Bryan was the only one not to make the top four, it was nice to be able to say, before the judges even tasted their food, that I knew they had each nailed their dish. Why? Am I psychic? Only sometimes. But no, because they are talented chefs who take their craft seriously and are fairly drama-free, so you know they're on the show to cook and to cook well, not for the exposure and fame. Oh, I love seeing contestants I like kick the asses of those I want to strangle...anyway, this week Michael represents Team Voltaggio and congrats also go to Kevin for winning the elimination challenge. I like Kevin a lot, although I would like him better, I think, if his last name was Voltaggio.

Team Voltaggio FTW! :)

Must watch (eventually) shows: Castle

There are so many shows on television that even when you filter out all the crap, there are still too many to ever watch, even with DVRs and episodes posted on the Internet. The fact that most networks have jumped on the Internet-posting bandwagon is a great joy for me because even though it may take me weeks or even months, as opposed to hours or days, it allows me to watch series, and quality series at that, that I might otherwise be forced to completely miss.

This is my method for the shows that don't make the "must" list, for the shows that I don't watch week to week but which I use repeat season to catch up on. And it's not that they're not good shows. In fact, I enjoy them very much (again, thank you to the Internet gods!). But not every show can be an Arrested Development or a Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Into this category falls a show like Castle, and I'm going to highlight Castle because I really do enjoy it. It's easy television. You can watch an episode and not be (completely) lost. But it's also enjoyable television. It's not Emmy-caliber writing, but the stories also aren't boring and also don't insult your intelligence. The characters entertain me and are quite likeable. And then there is, of course, Nathan Fillion.

The first time I saw Fillion he was playing an oafish ogre of a boyfriend in Blast from the Past. But then Joss Whedon cast him as roguish rebel smuggler and ship captain Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly and I realized how wrong I had been to dismiss him. (Side note: If you've never seen Firefly, watch it! Go now. Go!)

In Castle, Fillion plays crime writer Rick Castle who because of his connections (everyone, even the mayor, is a fan) gets to tail Stana Katic's Detective Kate Beckett for inspiration for his next book. Castle is a bit like Mal Reynolds with the jokes and the always getting into trouble and the being smart and observant and the loyalty to the people he loves. Played by anyone else, Castle might have come off as annoying. But as played by Fillion, he is utterly endearing.

Castle, which had its second season premiere last night, is on ABC on Mondays at 10.

The Good Wife

Series premiere is tonight at 10 on CBS. Now, this show about a woman who's politico husband has an affair that goes public and is jailed for committing crimes, forcing her to return to a law career she gave up years ago, doesn't seem up my alley at all. It's been getting super positive reviews. I'm reluctant to watch it and reluctant to miss it.

I like Julianna Margulies, who plays the lead character.

I'm a fan of both Matt Czuchry and Josh Charles as well as Christine Baranski, who all have supporting roles. I've had a crush on Josh Charles since he was prepster Knox Overstreet in Dead Poets Society. (I beg you, please don't use that info to try to figure out how old I am!! People of all ages should watch Dead Poets Society!...)

I suppose 'tis the season of giving first and second chances to new tv shows, though...I guess I don't know yet what kind of tone this drama will set, and I guess I won't find out unless I give it a shot...plus, I don't currently have any shows on Tuesdays that I watch.

Fine! Ow ow ow...you've twisted my arm. Let's add The Good Wife to the list of new shows this season that I'm checking out. We'll see how it fares.