Must See TV?

Last night's TV highlight was definitely Pushing Daisies; I probably won't have a review of it up until tomorrow, but I enjoyed it a great deal. (Speaking of reviews, don't miss my entry on Cavemen and Carpoolers, below.) I haven't watched the new Dirty Sexy Money yet, but I eagerly anticipate it. In fact, I'm going to watch it as soon as I finish this. I also loved the returns of South Park and The Sarah Silverman Show on Comedy Central; I may have more to say about them later.

Other notes:

--Bionic Woman's second episode improved over the pilot, but not by much. Jaime's boyfriend Will is apparently dead for good, which is a big step up; now if they can only get rid of her horrible sister (who was slightly less horrible this time out, but not enough to prevent me from wishing for her to join Will in the ground). The characters were able to lighten up a bit, and the writing had a modicum of humor (Jaime even got to drunkenly call Miguel Ferrer a douche, which was hilarious). I got a kick out of seeing Battlestar Galactica playing on a TV screen in the dead town. I even thought Isaiah Washington was decent. But the writing is still pretty lame and full of holes, and, aside from Ferrer and Washington, the supporting characters vary from bland to awful. If the show can keep improving from episode to episode, it might actually be worth watching by mid-season.

--The second episode of Life was as good as the pilot, maybe better. I'm liking Charlie and his partner Dani a great deal; last night, we got more backstory on both of them, including specifics on the crime he was framed for, and more of her self-destructive tendencies. Christina Hendricks (a recent OoMA) appeared as the younger woman about to marry Charlie's father. And I like the unsettling dynamics between Charlie and his former partner -- when they walk into the garage together, you have every reason to think the ex-partner is going to fight Charlie, or worse, but instead he makes the kind gesture of returning Charlie's old badge and gun to him. I'm intrigued by the big mystery of the show, and by pretty much all the characters. This is good stuff.

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The big highlight for tonight is the return of the excellent 30 Rock, which may very well be my favorite comedy on TV. Tonight's second season debut features Jerry Seinfeld; 30 Rock did very well by a plethora of guest stars last season, so I have high hopes that this will be superior to the usual ratings-grabbing stunt-casting of this sort.

I'll also be catching My Name Is Earl and The Office on NBC, and Ugly Betty on ABC. And that's it. (Maybe Drawn Together on Comedy Central; it's even cruder, more blatantly button-pushing, more random, and more hit-and-miss than Family Guy, but I'll usually get a few laughs.) The big Thursday hits Survivor, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, and ER may be mandatory viewing for everyone else in the country, but I've got zero interest in any of them. (Unless, for example, Quentin Tarantino directs another episode of CSI.)