'Rescue Me': Hail to the chief

Characters have died on "Rescue Me" before, but the show had never killed off one of its original cast members. Until now.

Jack McGee has played Chief Jerry Reilly since "Rescue Me" premiered in 2004. A former firefighter off screen, McGee brought real-world credibility to his portrayal of a job veteran. He was the father figure, the sensible voice on a team of very human buffoons and screw-ups.

But on this week's episode Reilly killed himself with a gunshot to the head.

'Private Practice' Recast: Merrin Dungey out, Audra McDonald in, on the 'Grey's Anatomy' spinoff

“Private Practice” is getting a new fertility specialist, even though 21.2 million “Grey’s Anatomy” viewers already met her original incarnation.

ABC Studios, which produces “Grey’s” and its fall spin-off, confirmed Friday that four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald has been hired to play Dr. Naomi Bennett, Dr. Addison Montgomery’s best college pal.

Naomi, who was played by Merrin Dungey in the May episode that introduced the new characters, talks Addison (Kate Walsh) into moving to California to join a health cooperative where she works with her ex-husband (Taye Diggs) and colleagues played by Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman and Paul Adelstein. Dungey, who starred in "Alias" and “Summerland,” has also guest-starred on several television series, including “The King of Queens” and “Malcolm in the Middle.”

McDonald, known mostly as a Broadway actress, has guest-starred on several television series and was nominated for an Emmy in 2001 for her supporting role in the made-for-HBO movie, “Wit.”

No reason was given for the change in direction.

'Hey Paula!': Pulling up the rear of trainwreck TV

I'm just going to put it out there: I loved "Britney & Kevin: Chaotic."

Compiled from footage shot by the former marrieds themselves, it was possibly TV's most truly uncensored celebrity reality show.

And I'm a loyal "American Idol" watcher, too, so it goes without saying that I could get into a promised trainwreck like Bravo's "Hey Paula!" right?

'So You Think You Can Dance': the nontroversy

It might have been a controversial results show, if it didn't seem that ultimately, in the end, the judges and America sort of got it right. 

Potential controversy No. 1: The "dream team" of Anya Garnis and Danny Tidwell was voted in the bottom three while Shauna Noland and Cedric Gardner, who the judges had all but assured would go home, were safe. Was it because America pitied Cedric for his dressing-down, or assumed that Anya and Danny would be safe because of their talent? Or did it have anything to do with Cedric's little speech? To his credit, when addressing the judges after their brutal evaluation of him, Cedric was gracious and didn't try too much to explain himself or mouth off like contestants do on other shows. However, one did wonder if other contestants thought it would be nice for them to plea their case as well.

Potential controversy No. 2: Because of a health problem, Jessi Peralta couldn't dance Wednesday night and, as explained by judge Nigel Lythgoe, would be forced to dance for her life on Thursday in addition to the three bottom girls (including the unexpected Anya.) Jessi got no pity points and was summarily dismissed by the judges, with no explanation or well wishes, which was unusual. What was up with that?

'Hidden Palms': Friends don't let friends date psychopaths

Nikki, Greta, Maria, Liza...y'all need to get thee to a nunnery.

"Hidden Palms' " resident dog-kicking psychopath Cliff was in fine form Wednesday, bedding Nikki - whose renewed dedication to AA apparently prevents her from throwing a drink in his face - as well as Maria, Dead Eddie's mom. In the room where Dead Eddie (allegedly) offed himself. Yeah, that's gross. Imagine what David Cronenberg or David Lynch could do with that setup.

'Top Chef': Out of their comfort zones

Perhaps the contestants this week should have asked themselves, "What would Betty do?" Betty was Season 2's "I do only comfort food" competitor.

From the looks on the chefs' faces, there could not have been anything more horrifying than being asked to put a healthy spin on American staples from tuna casserole to franks 'n' beans. There was groaning, gagging -- no really, tongues out gagging! -- and a startling "Chicken A La Huh?" from Sara.

Micah had no idea what to say or do with her plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and Hung, naturally, dubbed the high-fat foods they had to reinvent "disgusting." (Of course that didn't stop him over-achieving once again with a smart, lower calorie fried chicken that came complete with a single crispy chicken skin "chip" that had been rendered of its fat.)

'So You Think You Can Dance': Ooh, child!

"So You Think You Can Dance" is not a good show for multi-taskers.  Those of us who like to wash dishes, clip coupons or flip through catalogs in front of the TV are forced to put down our other projects as early on in the show as the introduction, since we viewers risk missing something amazing if we look away even for a moment.

It was evident that Wednesday night's show was going to be good when Debbie Allen, "Fame" dance instructor diva (and, of course, sister to Phylicia Rashad) sat in as a judge. Is it weird to want to hire her as a professional life coach? Or at least to invite her out for a drink, maybe with Cat Deeley? It seems like hanging out with the two of them would do wonders for the self-esteem, or at least be good for a laugh.  Who doesn't like a famous woman who isn't afraid to admit that half the hair on her head is fake?

'Hell's Kitchen:' Mmmm, nice pancetta

Julia, Julia, Julia.

Those scallops were not overcooked. Worse, you were duped into misbelieving your own eyes by Bonnie. Bonnie! She's been ridiculed again and again by Chef Ramsay for living down to that dumb-blond stereotype. Rock and Melissa are already sharpening their knives.

Other highlights of the night: Vinnie getting the boot, not for mistaking seared tuna for pancetta, of all things (probably thanks to his smoker's palate), but for overcooking one beef Wellington after another. (Does all that food really end up in the garbage? Can't Jen retrieve it and feed it to the homeless?) Rock talking about himself in the third person, and Ramsay prancing about, imitating Bonnie looking for her chicken.

But the piece de resistance required the assistance of TiVo. It was the almost-indecipherable remark Ramsay spat at the towering woman in the red-patterened dress who decided she'd get her 15 minutes by complaining about the wait for food in Hell's Kitchen: "Get the giraffe out of here."

For a moment there, she almost looked genuinely surprised.

--Rene Lynch

(Photo courtesy Fox)

'Big Love': One long middle

Has anyone else noticed that the episodic plotting of HBO's dramatic series has become increasingly arbitrary in recent years? Back in its more conventional days, they aired instantly identifiable episodes – you know, ones with beginnings, middles and ends. There was the "Sopranos" where Tony takes Meadow to college, for instance. Or the "Sex and the City" where Carrie gets dumped by Post-It note.

Nowadays, the preferred mode for HBO storytelling can be seen on "Big Love," which has aired three episodes of its second season so far. But instead of playing like semi-self-contained installments of a greater whole, they feel more like the first three hours of a 12-hour movie, one that keeps getting rudely interrupted by another week of my own life.

Serialization may be all the rage with the rise of TV on DVD and other formats, but with "Big Love" the cable network seems intent on wiping out the time-tested three-act structure altogether in favor of a tangled, sprawling kind of storytelling. On “Big Love,” events don’t happen; they develop. It may play great in marathon sessions, but for the weekly viewer it's an exercise in slow torture. It's especially bad when the show in question is as compulsively watchable as "Big Love."

'John From Cincinnati': That vision thing

The current issue of Outside magazine features Brian Van Holt, who plays Butchie Yost, on the cover, and inside, writer Jon Cohen pays on on-set visit to talk about the mystique of the show with David Milch. Milch, in explaining the title character, tells Cohen: "'John purifies intentions,' Milch tells me at one point, likening the character to a mirror others can peer into and see themselves. 'If I could explain it fully, I wouldn't have to tell this story.'"

This quote, to me, is less than comforting. So Milch is working out some creative issues, and we get to see the process? That's...interesting, I suppose. But I'm not so sure how rewarding it is to the viewer. The most recent episode moves the plot along, yes, but Milch's modus operandi of doing so without elucidating any of the characters' motives is increasingly maddening.