Scrubs has lost none of its endearing ability to mix earnest sentiment with sardonic gag-centric humor.

Stick around past the disappointing opening night, and on Monday, you’ll get a terrific third-hour cliffhanger and, in hour four, the arrival of a seriously damaged Renee Walker (Annie Wersching), who contributes to a shocking climax that, in fabled 24 tradition, leaves you wanting more.

House is already shopping for a new mate. The situation is comic yet dramatic, as House is almost dangerously distracted from his medical-sleuth work. Some powerful stuff, but many of us are even more impatient for House to reunite his old team (the marginalized Cameron and Chase). The newbies just aren’t cutting it.

It's all very entertaining, and extremely well acted, but feels overly hectic. Not until next Sunday's episode, when Bill and Barbara's daughter Sarah makes a move toward determining her own future, does Big Love approach the kind of emotional, transcendent high that made so much of last season so memorable.

There’s something actually at stake this season, and the art of the deal has never looked nastie

Reminiscent of 24 but about a dozen times more realistic (though dramatically more uneven).

There's enough to enjoy in Weeds that you could get a contact high just by tuning in.

An offbeat show that veers between wacky and truly poignant extremes.