Monday TV Rap

Hooray for digital cable! After giving Comcast a window between 9am and 1pm to be at my apartment (where my boyfriend waited... thanks, boyfriend!), the cable guy arrived promptly at 2:30pm and without a DVR. Oh well. They're discounting the first bill because of the late arrival and the DVR will be installed next week. And again, hooray for digital cable!

Anyway... on with the shows!

8pm Arrested Development, Fox
Again, how can this show be cancelled? But there's no point in mourning what's still here for now. Last night's episode was brilliantly funny, as per usual. Charlize Theron made her departure after guest starring for the past 4 episodes (I think; it's hard to keep track of the episodes when Fox doesn't air the show very often). She played her role as Rita, love interest to Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) so charmingly sweet, which at the beginning induced suspicion and at the end became just so gosh darn cute, if not a little bit sad. I loved the way they worked in a bunch of flashbacks of her on the show, all leading to the final reveal to Michael about who she really is (you'll have to watch reruns or buy the DVDs to find out... nya nya). My personal favorite funny of this ep: a quick shot of Theron in her Monster role, as an explanation of what Rita looked like before the plastic surgery. Thank goodness she was rich enough to afford it because she looks dead sexy now... haha.

830pm Kitchen Confidential, Fox
I was so happy to see this show back on the air, despite the knowledge that it won't be back for long. Still, gotta savor every taste we can get. Last night reunited Alias alumni Bradley Cooper and Michael Vartan in the sexiest half hour of comedy I've seen in a long while. Cooper plays Jack Bourdain, star chef of the show, while Vartan guest starred as a rival chef/friend named Michel. Vartan got to show off his French accent (he was born in France), which was as irresistible to the ladies on screen (Mimi, you lucky bitch) as it was to this lady watching. Besides the sex appeal, the ep was funny too! The two chefs break out into an epic battle of restaurant vs. restaurant after Michel steals a specialty dish of Jack's to put on his own menu. Jack's army supported him brilliantly. And the eventual mutiny was played even more brilliantly.

The stellar kitchen cast includes: Nicholas Brendan (yay Buffy alum!) as Seth, John Cho (that Asian guy from American Pie... and then Harold and Kumar) as Teddy, John Francis Daley (from Freaks and Geeks once upon a time) as Jim, and Owain Yeoman (I don't know what else he's been in, but I'm hoping to see much more of him) as Steven. On the floor, they've also got Jaime King (Sin City and simply a hottie) as Tanya, the dim but sweet hostess, and Bonnie Somerville (was she in California Dreams?) as Mimi, the head waitress.
Check out more about this show on myspace.

830pm How I Met Your Mother, CBS
Last night was a rerun and since I had no DVR and was watching Kitchen, I did not get to watch it again. But I just wanted to give this show the props it deserves. It offers a very different brand of humor than that of Arrested or Kitchen and it's just as good at what it does. Watch this show! As far as I know, it's not cancelled; so, you have a little bit more time to catch it than the above two. Still, I wouldn't waste any time. You've already missed: Barney licking the Liberty Bell, the attack of the cockamouse, the mystery of the pineapple, and much much more.

9pm Related, WB
Rerun last night. Also, I'm not sure when its actual airtime is. But I just wanted to point it out because it's a cute show. It reminds me of my sisters.

p.s. On TVGuide.com's Watercooler poll, Arrested and Kitchen are 2 of the 3 best shows viewers watched last night. It's a good thing they're cancelled.