'Brothers & Sisters' recap: Another explosive family dinner

"You're adults! Get a filter!" With those five words, Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe) summed up exactly the life plan that the Walker 6 -- Nora and her children Sarah, Kitty, Tommy, Kevin, and Justin -- ought to be discussing with the therapists I'm sure each of them visit every week, but who we never get to see on screen. (Side note: All in favor of a shrink-themed episode say "Aye!")

Then again, if these nosy, noisy, wine-soaked adults ever did learn to control their tongues, and their impulses, Brothers & Sisters would immediately cease to be the predictably soapy drama that's come to represent the perfect nightcap to my weekends. Which doesn't mean I didn't love Robert's stern reprimand in last night's ep (directed by ER vet Laura Innes), or the way he kept at it when Nora & Co. took offense to it, saying they couldn't pretend they weren't angry with Kitty for writing an accidental (and family-secret-spilling) book about the life of a campaign staffer/political wife. "It's not pretending. It's being considerate!" Robert raged, and rightfully so.

Sure, Kitty was daft for inviting her crazy clan to dinner with the adoption-agency rep (and serving vino to boot) but their borderline sabotage of her dream of having kids seemed like an exorbitant punishment for the crime committed, even among the self-centered Walker clan. Something about Lowe's performance as the polished Senator has always struck me as a little cold, but I did like his exasperated interplay with Kitty when she dropped the bombshell about her book on him right before the home inspection. And sure, Nora might as well have fixed a giant canned ham for dinner, but her initial response upon reading the (eventually coffee- and chicken-stained) manuscript -- a curious "huh?" followed by an indignant "huh!" -- was pretty hilarious.

'Brothers & Sisters' season premiere: Who's your fave duo?

By Michael Slezak

At long last, last night marked the return of the Walker clan, in all their gossiping, secret-hiding, wine-drinking glory. I'll admit it: I went in for a second glass of Shiraz at the midway marker, and I didn't regret it, either. Heck, I needed something to mellow me out while watching an hour's worth of intense inter-Walker tension. Anyhow, to recap the Brothers & Sisters season premiere, I present my list of the evening's top 8 duos (ranked from most compelling to least). Enjoy! And feel free to re-order in the comments section below!

1) Holly (Patricia Wettig, pictured) and Nora (Sally Field): Anyone who doubts B&S is all about its female characters obviously didn't stick around for the final confrontation between these hellaciously hot women of a certain age. Holly really did seem to have the advantage throughout the hour -- convincing one of Nora's sons to fire another one was a doozy -- but I loved how Nora got the upper hand with just three words ("Yes you do") when Holly said she didn't believe William had had a second mistress. You know Nora must've floated all the way to guest parking after dropping that bombshell.

2) Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) and Kitty (Calista Flockhart): I didn't love love love the wall of ice that cropped up between the normally tight sisters, but then again, Sarah's self-absorption rang true, as did Kitty's devastated response to the fact that her sister couldn't find time over the course of a month to write a letter of recommendation to her adoption agency. The only part I didn't buy was that Nora, who's shown a flare and passion for writing in seasons past, would've cooked up such a cockamamie missive in the first place. Wouldn't it have been better for Kitty to catch Sarah's lie in a more subtle fashion, compounding the subsequent emotional bruising? (Side note: Was I the only one outraged by ABC's post-Housewives promo declaring that B&S is a show that stars Field, Flockhart, and Lowe, but not Emmy-nominated Griffiths? What the hell?)

The five broadcast TV shows you're most 'emotionally attached to'

Last week, Media Life Magazine reported on a new study from Marketing Evaluations, The Q Scores Company, which measured and ranked viewers' emotional attachment to broadcast TV shows during the '07-'08 season. ("Emotional attachment" was defined as how committed you are to continuing to watch a show.) This list of the 20 series that garnered the greatest devotion (I've included it after the jump) definitely got EW's TV department talking.

And that conversation got me thinking: Let's do our own informal poll for the '08-'09 season: Name the five broadcast TV shows you are most committed to watching this fall. (I know we all love our cable, so this may hurt a little.)

My list: 

1. Fox's Bones (for those of you wondering where the PopWatch love has been, Abby West will be bringing it back starting this week)

2. ABC's Brothers & Sisters (I would happily marry into the Walker clan, if only for the wine; pictured, David Annable and Emily VanCamp) (Also: Slezak is recapping later today in PopWatch, fear not)

3. ABC's Desperate Housewives (for as long as Gale Harold is on, anyway; bonus pic of him with Teri Hatcher, after the jump!)

4. The CW's Privileged (it's like an ABC Family Channel original movie, only well-written!)

5. I was gonna say CBS' Ghost Whisperer — I've got to see where they're headed with David Conrad's character — but really, it's ABC's Boston Legal. They know it's their last season, which should give them plenty of time to plot an appropriately insane, verbose, and (above all) affectionate exit for Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Alan Shore (James Spader). In the season premiere, Alan took on Big Tobacco and Denny thought his penis had Alzheimer's — very promising.

Your turn.

Ask Ausiello how it feels to finish behind you in our Emmys pool!

Today, EW.com launched its 2008 Emmys Prediction Game (pictured, with a shout-out to Monk's Tony Shalhoub, who celebrates his 100th episode tonight). Submit your picks in 13 major categories, and see how they stack up against those of EW TV expert Michael Ausiello. Come back after the Emmys (Sept. 21, ABC), and find out what position they earned you on the leaderboard. There are prizes — Amazon gift certificates — but we all know the real reward is bragging rights.

Tip: If, in a feeble attempt to speed up the game, you repeatedly click on a nominee and it somehow registers your selection for the next category as well, know you will have an opportunity to switch picks. (No one should have to bet on Dancing With the Stars, other than Annie.)

What Hillary Clinton should do next... in primetime

EW has called the 2008 Democratic primary race "the best thing to happen to TV drama since what's-her-name shot J.R.," so what if you aren't ready to let Hillary Clinton go? I'd love to see her forgo any additional appearances on Monday Night RAW, and opt for a nice, classy cameo on Brothers & Sisters this fall. She and Rob Lowe's Sen. Robert McCallister, who failed to secure the Republication nomination on the ABC show, could commiserate at some charity event... We'd just ask for a reason for Nora, Sarah, and Kevin to be there with Kitty — and of course, an open bar.   

Answered: Your questions for (the saucy) Marion Ross!

There are some people you just know you'd like. And Marion Ross, a.k.a. Happy Days' Mrs. Cunningham, is one of them. She didn't disappoint when she phoned PopWatch to chat about ABC's latest special, TV's All-Time Funniest (May 9, 8 p.m. ET), and answer reader questions. How did she get cast on Gilmore Girls? Will she return to Brothers & Sisters? Where can you see her in "the greatest fart scene since Blazing Saddles?" (Okay, you didn't ask that last one, but aren't you glad she brought it up?) Read on.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: If you had to submit one scene from Happy Days to secure your win as TV's Funniest Mother, which would you choose?
Marion Ross: Well, I had a wonderful one where I did a belly dance for Howard, to put some spunk back in the marriage. It is so funny. The writers said, "Marion comes down the stairs doing a belly dance." I thought, Did anybody ask me if I could do this?

That actually leads nicely into our first reader question: MRS. TAYLOR wants to know how hard it was — or wasn't — for you to perform that dance for Howard (Tom Bosley).
[Laughs] I remember it as not being a good day at all. When I see it, it looks very nice and easy. I had lines like, "Treat me rough... Treat me rough." But when you put on that costume, that helps.

BF asks, "What was up with the sexual tension between Mrs. Cunningham and the Fonz?"
[Laughs] Well, we just adored each other, that was all. [Henry Winkler] always made such a fuss over me, and it would fluster me so. The more flustered I would be, then the more he would do that to me. We're very, very close friends. I just adore him. We're bronzing the Fonz in Milwaukee in August. There'll be a statue of the Fonz in the park.

JAKEEM2007 is curious about what you think of today's more risqué sitcoms, and whether you're an avid watcher of any of them.
No, just Brothers & Sisters, which is not a sitcom. I think one of the problems is that we don't know the people on the new sitcoms, the characters. People feel they know us [on Happy Days] — that we're real, and that we really come from Milwaukee. I think it takes awhile to build up something like that, and these shows are faster. Although, I loved Friends. You felt like you were there with them, and you didn't want them to end. You know my daughter, Ellen Plummer, was a writer-producer on Friends. She said she would regale the writers' table with some dumb, dumb thing I had done and try to work it into the script. I'd think, Oh my gosh, I got to be careful what I say.

2CENTS asks whether you'd ever consider doing Desperate Housewives because  "a version of Mrs. C — even someone that dressed and acted like they were in the '50s would be so cool, and odd, and perfect for that show."
Well, you know, I did a spoof [on the 2005 TV Land Awards] where I played Bree. She killed her husband, and Tom Bosley was the husband. I think I poisoned him. I would love to be on Desperate Housewives. I think it would be so funny. I always wanted to be on Roseanne Barr's show. Like, knock on the door and just borrow a cup of sugar. Be as sweet and Mrs. C as possible. [Laughs] I would like to be on Monk. [PopWatch gasps] Is that a good idea?
Yes. What kind of character would you want to play?
Somebody quite insane. He would be trying to deal with me sensibly, you know, but I would be highly, highly neurotic and insane.

About those 'Brothers & Sisters' bridesmaid dresses..

Yes, I addressed it in my Brothers & Sisters TV Watch, but Slezak we feel this is an important enough question to ask again here on PopWatch: Are brown bridesmaids dresses (pictured) ever a good idea when the groomsmen are wearing black tuxes? Discuss!

And while we're at it: Was the "Brothers & Sisters wedding event" all you'd dreamed of? Which TV shows have produced the best—and worst—nuptials?

Did you feel duped by ABC's Sunday-night promos?

Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention to ABC's Thanksgiving-week promos, but I spent all Sunday night waiting for a tornado to strike Wisteria Lane on Desperate Housewives, and for Kitty to walk down the aisle on Brothers & Sisters. Around 9:45, I started thinking, "Damn! They're having Lynette reconcile with her mom in the park, only to have the old broad get the Wicked Witch of the East treatment? That's cold." But nope, no tornado. Not even a gusty wind to mess with Bree's flawless coif. So I've got to ask, was I the only one who felt duped? Or do I need to lay off the Riesling during my TV-watching hours?

Is there a drug epidemic sweeping primetime?

Justin on Brothers and Sisters. Nate’s dad on Gossip Girl. Mike Delfino on Desperate Housewives. Seems like a drug addiction is the go-to plot device of the current TV season. Yet I am decidedly not addicted to these story arcs: Not the war vet on vicodin, the NYC hot shot snorting coke, or the plumber poppin' painkillers. Maybe it's because of the endless risk of relapse, causing symptoms of plot-digression and déjà vu.

I mean, exactly how many times did we have to watch Charlie stare longingly at yet another bag of heroin on Lost? Will that figure be surpassed by the number of times Nora holds and rocks Justin on Brothers & Sisters, or Susan stares suspiciously/brokenheartedly at Mike between now and the end of the Housewives season?

What do you think? Are you hooked on the current trend of drug-addicted characters on TV dramas? Or do you want your favorite shows to go cold turkey by the holidays?

A tale of three 'Sorry' videos

Wednesday night's episode of America's Next Top Model tested the eight remaining finalists on their ability to convincingly seduce/be surly toward Enrique Iglesias in his new video. (Important work!) On first listen, I thought Iglesias said the track was called "Tired of Being a Star" — which I found oddly contradictory, since he was promoting it with a reality TV appearance — but then I realized the actual title was "Tired of Being Sorry." And then I was like, "'Tired of Being Sorry,' as in the super-awesome 2005 single by Ringside?"

Indeed, that's exactly the song Iglesias covered, although, for my money, I'd choose the gravelly good original every time — and not just because Balthazar Getty (of ABC's Brothers & Sisters) makes up half of Ringside (along with singer Scott Thomas). Or that the video has a cameo from Dermot Mulroney. As for my preferring the Top Model-ized version of Iglesias' clip to the official release, you can probably chalk that up to my love of Lisa, Heather, and Saleisha, not to mention the awfulness of Chantal. Check the Ringside version below, and after the jump,  a side-by-side comparison of Iglesias' "Sorry" videos. Which one is your fave? All must be revealed!

Nominate the best (and worst) new hairstyles of the TV season!

I love everything about ABC's Brothers & Sisters. Actually, that's a lie. I love everything about ABC's Brothers & Sisters except for the heinous new bangs they've slapped on Emily VanCamp's moody half-sister Rebecca this season. Every time she takes the screen, I'm so disoriented/distraught that I have to use my DVR "seven-second jumpback button" (the one with the swirly arrow — if you haven't discovered it, it's downright miraculous)to get myself back into the action.

Meanwhile, I'd agree with 99 percent of the world (including series creator Tim Kring) that season two of Heroes has been hella jank. That said, there's been one positive development lost in all the kvetching: Milo Ventimiglia's shorter haircut. Out are the floppy, emo-boy locks that obscured Peter's eyes throughout season one. In: a sudden and unfeasible case of sexy.

In fact, I feel so strongly about Peter and Rebecca's 'dos, I nominate them respectively as the best and worst new hairstyles of the current TV season. But, by all means, if you think other updated coifs deserve recognition, list 'em in the comments section below. After all, winning first prize doesn't mean anything unless there's a first-runner-up in tears.

Which TV guest spots are making you stop and take notice?

Yesterday was my idea of the perfect Sunday, which means I spent my time glued to the couch, snacking on crackers and cheese, and catching up on a couple weeks' worth of backlogged TV shows. What stuck out for me — aside from the fact that Desperate Housewives has finally returned to its freshman-year level of hilarity, and that I can't seem to force myself to catch up on Heroes — was the number small, guest-starring roles that caught my attention. Three, in particular, stood out:

• Jordan Bridges (left) on Bionic Woman: The unsteady writing and acting on NBC's freshman series has been most vexing — and steady ratings declines since the show's debut indicate I'm not alone in my opinion — but Bridges' work as a teaching assistant with a hidden agenda seemed to shake series star Michelle Ryan out of her usual stupor, so much so that I barely noticed the absence of Katee Sackhoff (the true Bionic headliner). Granted, I'm probably swayed by Bridges' superfine looks (check out a behind the scenes video here), but the fact that he'll return in his role this Wednesday stopped me from removing Bionic from my series-recording list — despite the fact that last episode's climactic scene involved a Ryan using a cantaloupe to subdue a baddie. Seriously.

• Caroline Aaron (center) on Grey's Anatomy: Aaron's one of those super-familiar character actors who's appeared on everything from Ally McBeal to Curb Your Enthusiasm, but her brief, touching turn as a chatterbox with a tumor on her tongue got me wondering why producers from all the major networks aren't lighting up her agent's phone line with offers to make her a series regular on something — anything — that requires both comedic and dramatic chops.

Who are your top TV icons?

Ever have one of those moments where someone you haven't thought about in years is suddenly everywhere you turn? I'm feeling that way lately about my man Chevy Chase. I haven't been too excited by his output as a movie star since... uh... let's just say, "a while." But two recent TV developments reminded me that he can still rule the small screen when he wants to.

First, he made a surprise appearance on last weekend's Saturday Night Live, commandeering his old post on "Weekend Update" for an all-too-brief political-news segment (pictured). It took me a second to realize how much I'd missed his presence. He was as witheringly sarcastic as he ever was in SNL's '70s prime, meting out equal-opportunity barbs to the current crop of presidential hopefuls. (Where would Stephen Colbert be without the original smarmy fake-news know-it-all?) And woe betide the person who tries to play his co-anchor: Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler are hit-or-miss "Update" hosts even at their best, but they looked like flat-out amateurs next to the master of comedic condescension. Meanwhile, today's news that Chase is joining ABC primetime soap Brothers & Sisters for a multi-episode role as Sally Field's high school boyfriend (!) was even more of a surprise at first. Chevy Chase, a conflicted love interest in a weepy drama? But then I remembered how great he was playing a thinly-veiled Mel Gibson type on a serious Law & Order ep last fall. Humor may come more naturally, but he can do heavy, too. Let's face it, Chevy Chase is a TV icon.

Is "icon" too strong a word for Chevy? Well, let's say a TV icon is someone whose place in TV history is assured, someone who transcends mere acting skill and commands the medium, someone whose very appearance on a show evokes warm memories of time you've spent in front of the tube. In my book, Chase qualifies as a top television icon; in your book, maybe it's someone else. So let's hear it: Who, living or dead, are your top TV icons?

Live-blogging the Emmys telecast on Fox

8:00 p.m. Slow clap: L-Yeah! L-Yeah! Oh wait, sorry, gonna try to be neutral here for at least five minutes. Em-my! Em-my! Em-my!

8:01 p.m. Seeing that this Family Guy medley isn't actually live, you think they could've come up with funnier stuff than a Charlie Sheen pedophilia joke and a bit about the age of the Desperate Housewives ladies. That said, rhyming Zach Braff with "doesn't have to make you laugh" made me chuckle. A little.

8:02 p.m. Oh Fox, so classy with that closeup of T.R. Knight during the Isaiah Washington Joke.

8:05 p.m. Uh-oh. Ryan's trying to be funny. And the audience is trying to be nice and pretending to laugh. But seriously, my dream of a shtick-free Emmys -- where every acting nominee gets a 30-second pre-awards highlight clip is about six minutes away from flatlining.

8:07 p.m. Tell me I did not just hear a Hayden Panettiere age-of-consent joke in the first 10 minutes of the telecast.

8:10 p.m. Maybe Ray Romano said something funny during that technical glitch where they cut to the ceiling? 'Cause I'm not really laughing at any of this mess.

8:11 p.m. Okay, that bit about Romano's sexual encounters ending the same way as The Sopranos' final episode…that was kinda priceless.

8:13 p.m. I liked Jeremy Piven better when he was on Cupid. And I'm not just saying that because he beat Rainn Wilson.

The biggest Emmy snubs

I'm actually relatively happy at the moment. Perhaps because I don't watch 24, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, or Friday Night Lights — all of which failed to receive Outstanding Drama Series Emmy nods this morning. (Check out the full list of nominees here.) I personally would've put Brothers & Sisters in Grey's Anatomy's slot. However, I humbly accept that surprise and well-deserved Boston Legal love in the category (its first time!) and say thank you, TV Academy.

PopWatch — and EW's Nicholas Fonseca, especially— would like to express our condolences to Ugly Betty's Becki Newton (pictured), whose fine work as receptionist Amanda went unrecognized in the comedy supporting actress category. We were hoping she'd inherit Megan Mullally's  funniest-hag-on-TV slot. Maybe next year. PopWatch's Mike Slezak also notes the absence of love for Newton and wonders why there was no recognition for The Office's John Krasinski or any nominations at all for the CW, save for a sound editing nod for Smallville.

While you're waiting for EW's TV critic Gillian Flynn to weigh in on the good and bad of this morning's list, tell us the omissions that have you fuming.

UPDATE: Gillian's reaction is in and she's got your back on The Wire.

Who should get Emmy nominations?

Yesterday, May 31, marked the cutoff point for eligibility in the 2007 Emmy race, and that means today I can begin ranting about how it's a matter of vital national importance that Ugly Betty's Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams (pictured) and Battlestar Galactica's Michael Hogan score nominations come July 19.

As you may recall, I was "hellaciously upset" when the Golden Globes snubbed L. Yeah for a supporting actress nod back in December, but with a whole season of Betty underneath her white fur hat, there's no way she can be denied. I mean, all those fusty voters need to do is peruse some of her finest moments on YouTube — the carnivorous foot-soak, the seeing-eye gay, the violent stairwell altercation with Marc — and they'll have to put her name on the ballot. There is not a single woman on the small screen who scores bigger or more consistent laughs than Williams — and her ill-fated mid-season romance with Ted LeBeau (Brett Cullen) proved she can do more than just high camp.

'Brothers & Sisters' finale: Last one in the pool's a...

Season-finale cliffhangers — who needs 'em? Last night's final episode of Brothers & Sisters' freshman year had its share of deliciously unexpected plot twists — all of which will warrant further exploration in season two — but none of them arrived with the "holy-crap!" bombast we've come to expect from network-drama finales. Kind of refreshing, no?

I loved how so much of the revelation about Saul's sexual orientation — and his one-time affair with the mysterious Milo (Rambaldi?) — wasn't at all overt, but instead conveyed with things unsaid, subtle glances, an old nickname ("Solly!"), and the way Ron Rifkin (pictured) and Michael Nouri's body language indicated the two men's differing comfort levels with acknowledging their affair. I certainly didn't see it coming, but in retrospect, it helps explain the demise of the dapper bachelor uncle's relationship with Holly. Add that to Rebecca's revelation about her older lover's suicide, and her admission to Hot Junkie that she was also culpable in her kiss with Joe, and it sets up scads of season-two drama. And that's not even touching on Kevin's lust-hate attraction to the Senator's minister brother (Eric Winter), the future of Sarah's marriage, and Justin's return to Iraq. (Bonus points to the show's writers for refusing to soften Kevin's off-putting bitchitude; his comment that the banquet hall was "like the first 15 minutes of Extreme Home Makeover" provided the night's biggest laugh.)

'Brothers & Sisters': No more drama!

[This item contains spoilers about last night's episode. You have been warned.] Okay, so that headline is misleading. I love the drama on Brothers & Sisters -- well, at least when it's built around Nora and Holly engaging in a food-fight catfight, or Kevin bedding a closeted Hollywood hunk, or even Sarah dealing with the meltdown of her marriage to the dude with the strange mouth. But last night's episode, which focused on the death of one of Tommy and Julia's newborn twins, was so unrelentingly bleak it seemed completely at odds with what B&S is all about: Escapist melodrama that never forgets there's laughter even in life's worst moments. Seriously, I don't think I chuckled once during the entire hour. Which means that next week's season finale had better bring back Margot Kidder's loopy Emily Craft, and send milquetoast Tommy and Julia back to the background. (Perhaps the duo could be sent to the Milford Academy!)

Stranger still, though, scads of small but important details seemed completely off last night. Why was the box for Kitty's engagement ring so massive? And where did the Senator manage to hide it? (Was there an unseen fanny pack in the mix?) Why did the Senator drag Junkie Brother to the V.A. hospital for a refresher course on the importance of wartime medics when J.B. had already made peace in recent weeks with the reality of his redeployment? Also, what kind of hospital would let Julia (Sara Jane Morris, pictured) stroll through its scenic, park-like courtyard less than 24 hours after a difficult, premature delivery? Finally, did anyone else notice something peculiar about the casting of Julia and Tommy's surviving twin, Elizabeth? I realize it's probably hard to snag a preemie for a primetime TV shoot, but couldn't they have found one who was white? And not made of plastic?

The PopWatch Confessional (Vol. 15)

When you start enjoying the same entertainment as your 59-year-old mother, does that mean she's getting cooler or you're getting older? Over the last year, my mom has become addicted to House, Boston Legal, and, most recently, Brothers & Sisters. Each week, I get calls to talk about them, and her reviews are so spot on — she's had enough of B&S's Holly and Rebecca — that I'm beginning to think I should've given her beloved JAG a chance. (That woman loved her some David James Elliott.)

Maybe it's strange that my appreciation for her grows even greater every time she bestows her highest compliment, "He's just so cool" (usually reserved for Jeff Goldblum), on Hugh Laurie (pictured) — or when she phones just to reiterate that she "lives for" James Spader's closing arguments — but it does. I bet I'm not the only one who's been put on primetime speed dial. In honor of Mother's Day, let's share the entertainment-themed moments that made/make us feel like we are our mother's children. A few more of mine:

Rebeccagate creates turmoil on 'Brothers & Sisters'

I'm having some mixed feelings about last night's episode of Brothers & Sisters — particularly in regard to Rebeccagate. For starters, I found it unbelievably  odd that Joe didn't just lie down and take his lumps after admitting his indiscretion to Sarah. I mean, buddy, you made out with your wife's recently discovered half-sister. You do not, under any circumstance, get to play the outrage card — not even if wifey plays the "you're a failed musician and not the object of my sexual fantasies" card.

Secondly, while I was admittedly fascinated by the revelation that Rebecca was a more-than-willing participant in the smooch (and that, in fact, she wanted the encounter to go further), I'm also worried the writers have painted her character into a corner. At this point, she's become so unlikable (calling her mother a whore? Really?) that I'll find it hard to ever think of her as anything other than the show's resident twentysomething villain, albeit one with a penchant for really cheesy pickup lines like, "You have really good hands — strong and soft at the same time."

'Brothers & Sisters': Is Rebecca up to no good?

Holy snap! After the single funniest episode of Brothers & Sisters' freshman season — I insist that Susan Sullivan, Jenna Elfman, and Perry King be booked for return engagements playing Bloods and Crips-style games of charades and trivia against the Walkers — it was jarring (but awesome) to wrap with newfound half-sibling Rebecca's shocking revelation that her brother-in-law kissed her during a guitar lesson. (Ewww!) But here's the question that kept plaguing me last night as I was trying to fall asleep: Is Rebecca (Emily VanCamp, pictured) telling the truth about Joe's indiscretion, or is she merely trying to stir up trouble as revenge for the way Sarah vindictively broke the news to her about her paternity? I've got a feeling it'll all come to a head by the season finale, and I for one, can hardly wait — so long as the show's writers don't skimp on Nora (Sally Field) and Kitty (Calista Flockhart) giddily bribing children to help them commit petty larceny. Oh, and best line of the night? "What about your grandmother? She drinks a lot, doesn't she? Have you ever seen her with a whole lot of bandages all over her face?" Put that on Field's Emmy reel and call it a day!

Lois Lanes are taking over ABC Sunday

Three cheers for the former Lois Lane! Or make that six cheers, seeing that both Teri Hatcher (who portrayed the Man of Steel's love interest on TV's Lois & Clark) and Margot Kidder (Miss Lane in 1978's Superman and its various sequels, opposite Christopher Reeve) were in fine, hilarious form on ABC's Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters respectively last night.

I'm not sure which actress surprised me more. I've pretty much abhorred Hatcher's klutzy, fickle Susan Meyer (pictured, left) since midway through Housewives' first season, but I howled with laughter last night watching her set ablaze Ian's stuffy mother (Lynn Redgrave) in an outdoor barbecue mishap. (Given her history, no one should trust Susan near an open flame.) I'm just hoping the show's writers ditch gloomy Mike Delfino (the suddenly wooden James Denton) and set Susan free of the same recurring plotline she's been stuck in since the series began. Who knows? Maybe then I can finally stop daydreaming that she'll be the next Wisteria Lane resident to meet an untimely demise.

Kidder, meanwhile, brought a breath of blowsy air to Brothers & Sisters as Nora's kooky pal Emily Craft (at right). I'm not sure if Kidder was partially improvising her dialogue last night, but her critiques of Nora's potential date outfits ("That was maybe nice when Fawn Hall was around!") and double-entendres ("This may be a cocktail party, but I don't know which blanket that little piggy's gonna be under, if you get my drift") were deliciously daft and freewheeling. Can't this character get a spinoff, maybe as a life coach for women of a certain age? Emily's Crafty couldn't do any worse than Emily's Reasons Why Not, could it?

Anyone else catch that flub on last night's 'Brothers & Sisters'?

Is Balthazar Getty's character on Brothers & Sisters so boring even the show's cast and crew can't remember his name? During last night's episode, the Walker kids' illegitimate half-sister Rebecca (Emily VanCamp) was arguing with her mother (Patricia Wettig) about accepting a dinner invite from Walker matriarch Nora (Sally Field), and snapped, "You work with Tony Walker. Is that uncomfortable?" I rewound the scene twice, just to be sure, since Wettig's character has invested in a vineyard with Getty's Tommy Walker. Which got me wondering: Was this an accidental flub by VanCamp that nobody on set bothered to notice? Was it a commentary that Rebecca doesn't yet know all of her estranged siblings' names? Did my DVR malfunction and turn VanCamp's ''mmm'' to ''nnn''? Or did we perhaps witness a cheeky acknowledgement by the show's writing team that Tommy needs some character traits -- other than sterility and petulance, that is -- pronto?