The City: Let's Pretend Erin Never Existed.

I hate when shows do this. They drop a character and pretend like that person never existed in the first place. Or they have an episode that doesn't include one of the main characters, and they don't address that person's absence.

CSI: Miami did it this week with Delko. (Look, I know he's in the hospital, but the least they could've done was have Calleigh call him up and be like, "Sorry again for shooting you. Want me to sneak you some Mickey D's?") And The Hills did it last night (see previous entry).

Now Whitney's friend Erin from season 1, who let her crash at her apartment and make things awkward for her and her boyfriend, is gone from the show. Reports are Erin had a falling-out with Whitney and decided to leave the show to focus on her career. Okay, but how hard would it be for Whitney to call up one of her girlfriends and have this conversation (it doesn't matter that the falling-out happened months ago--remember, these shows are all scripted anyway):

Whitney: I had a fight with Erin. I'm not hanging out with her anymore.

Friend: Aw.

Whitney: Yeah. Want to go to Pinkberry?

In any case, even with the absence of Erin, this episode was really good! Olivia, who no longer works with Whitney, scored an interview with Elle magazine. The guy who interviews her, Joe Zee, seems like he'd be really cool to work with. He's such a nice guy, he chooses to ignore Olivia's frosty, I'm-too-cool-for-people vibe and offers her a job. Then he brings in a blonde he works with to introduce her to Olivia. I forget the blonde's name. She instantly takes a disliking to Olivia. That makes her A-OK in my book. She gives Olivia an assignment, which involves putting together one outfit for $25 and one outfit for $75. Olivia ignores her instructions and gets the assignment partly wrong. Blonde says, You did this wrong. Olivia says, I don't have to listen to you. Blonde says, I've never been talked back to like this. Olivia says, Whatever, and walks out.

Meanwhile, the poor intern who's been in the room the whole time looks like she regrets moving to the Big Apple.

Then there's Roxy Olin. She's Whitney's old friend from high school and, apparently, a younger version of Kelly Cutrone. Color me shocked that Kelly hires Roxy for a job. Roxy appears to lead a very charmed life. I mean, I don't know that I could move to a big city where some girl I knew from high school would let me crash at her gorgeous high-rise apartment and score me a job for which I was not qualified. Wow. Maybe she should buy some lottery tickets, too.

As you can see, So there's enough trashy-fake-OMGdidshereallysaythat goodness to keep tuning in this season. Erin, Schmerin!

The Hills: Faker Than Audrina Patridge's Hair Color.

Some of you may have read that LA Times article. You know, the one in which Kristin Cavallari blatantly says MTV tells her what to say, what do, and that she doesn't give a flying crap about saying yes because it's just TV. Here's a direct quote:

"Everyone is trying to get story lines and create drama in their lives. It's just so... fake. There's no truth to it. At all."

Well, with that in mind, let's break down the implausible moments on last night's premiere of The Hills:

-The fight between Kristin, Audrina, and Stephanie. Lots of screaming out of nowhere. Kristin and Audrina trying to hide their smiles. Yep, fake.

-Spencer Pratt: "It's my way or the lame way." No human being, with the exception of Kanye, could possibly be this annoying in real life. Spencer clearly hams it up for the cameras, while Heidi plays along as admonishing but adoring wife. Fake.

-Lauren Conrad no longer being part of their lives. Fake, fake, fake. The girl was central to all the other Hills people--girlfriend of Brody, friend of Frankie, BFF of Lo, friend of Stephanie, rival of Kristin, etc. How come LC wasn't at any of the parties? Or if she was, why wasn't she sitting near her BFFs?

Oh like it matters how fake this show is. I'm still addicted to it. And I bet you are too.

CSI: Miami Just Got Hotter...

First off, a big thank-you to the Anonymous commenter who wrote that Kent Avenido, aka Howard Bamboo from Glee, is a Kentucky-born Filipino. Anonymous, consider yourself having educated the masses!

Last night on CSI: Miami, which started off explosively (literally), Eddie Cibrian took his shirt off. You can take a moment to savor that.

And what a great episode! There were a couple of very "Horatio" moments. Like when the hostage-taker demanded to speak to Horatio in ten seconds or else he'd shoot one of the hostages:

Hostage-taker (getting pissed): "Five...four...three...two..."

Horatio (calmly): "This is Horatio."

Then there was the part where Horatio decided to go in and speak with the hostage. He came in slowly wearing a SWAT vest and had both arms raised over his head. And guess what he had in his hand? HIS SUNGLASSES. Love. It.

Sadly, I didn't miss Delko at all. Didn't even notice he was absent until the very end, when the team got together for after-work drinks. My prediction: Eddie Cibrian will start dating Calleigh and Natalia will be jealous. I know this already happened w/ Delko, but whatever. Eddie Cibrian is hot enough to gank someone else's storyline.

The Amazing Race: Wasabi Bombs and Lying Poker Players (How Redundant!)

Ah, the return of Phil. There is no better way to end the weekend than a two-hour Amazing Race. There really isn't.

Alas, we were also treated to the obnoxious duo known as Maria and Tiffany, the professional poker players who made up a story about helping homeless kids for a living. Look, you can lie on Survivor. Big Brother. In fact, you're kind of expected to lie on those shows. But don't you dare taint TAR with your poorly crafted, easily exposed sob stories! UGH.

Best part of the episode was watching the teams corral the ducks around. I have no idea how Zev managed to do it (other than NOT SCREAM AT THE DUCKS), but it was great watching him. O Duck Whisperer, I hope you and your partner make it all the way to the end.

One thing I dislike every season is when they have challenges at places that don't open until the next morning. Then all the teams catch up and the ones who hustled to get there first have done so for naught. I know the show does this to keep the race fairly tight, but it's gotta be disappointing for those teams last night who chipped in money to bribe the bus driver to leave early. What a waste of money!

Speaking of disappointment-how bummed would you be to make it all the way to the show, only to be stuck in LA while all the other teams fly off to Japan? The yoga team had to say their goodbyes to Phil at (I looked it up because I forgot) the Los Angeles River Basin. The least the show could've done was broken their hearts someplace besides Graffiti Alley. Yeesh!

My FlashForward Verdict: I Like It. I Really, Really Like It!

First of all, I want to say: Holy way to end an episode, Batman!

Let's rewind. There were many things to like about this show (at least, the pilot). First and foremost, John Cho kicking butt. I loved seeing him as a tough FBI agent. I loved his acting-when he revealed that he did not see a vision, the devastation was evident on his face. But then he put his own fate (or lack thereof) aside to help with the mission. John Cho, you should be leading this cast, not supporting it.

The different visions are all interesting. There's a guy whose wife died in Afghanistan who saw his wife alive in his vision. The lead character's wife, Olivia, saw herself with another man (who we find out is the father of one of her patients). One guy saw himself at a meeting with another woman, so he called her up, and sure enough, she had a vision of the meeting, too. Very cool concept. I've always wondered if, when I dream about people, they dream the same dream about me, too.

Something funny I saw-one of the buses in the background had a Desperate Housewives ad along the side. Oh, ABC, you so devious!

Also, Charlie's babysitter was none other than Don Draper's former assistant and Roger Sterling's wife on Mad Men.

At the end of the episode, one of the FBI women has found something incredible in the footage she's been perusing of the blackouts around the world. At a Detroit Tigers' baseball game, while the whole stadium is conked out, a lone person wearing all black is creeping through the crowd. I nearly fell off my seat when I saw that. And in that moment, I knew that I'd be watching this show next week, and the week after. I. Was. Hooked.

ABC, you might just have yourself a new hit drama.

One Tree Hill: Out With the Blonds, In With Robert Buckley

I just got caught up with the current season of One Tree Hill, a show I've been watching since its inception. Initially, I thought it was too "Southern" for me. I couldn't relate to it at all. But as shows are wont to do, OTH grew on me, and now I can't imagine a TV season without it.

There were many changes this season, most notably that Peyton and Lucas are gone. I didn't think the producers could pull off a show without them. Almost every storyline revolved around Peyton and Lucas, Lucas and Peyton. But now I know the show can be done sans the blonds. Yes, I will miss Peyton and her big emotional heart. I will even miss Lucas's squinty eyes and his voiceovers. But eh, life moves on.

I'm really liking the two new additions to this revamped OTH: Robert Buckley, and the redhead who plays Haley's sister Quinn. Quinn is like the outspoken version of Haley, with 10x the baggage. Robert Buckley plays Nathan's sports agent, who defies his profession's stereotypes--I thought he'd be a smarmy liar...but instead, I really like him. Mostly because he looks like Scott Speedman, but I like him for being a nice guy too.

The second episode of OTH broke my heart. Fans of Naley (that's Nathan + Haley to non-watchers) have known from practically the first episode that those two belong together, and Nathan will always be faithful to Haley. Because he's just a good, decent person. Well, knock me over with a feather because some trashy girl has come forward and said that Nathan slept with her after winning a big basketball game. And she has the sonogram to prove it. Agggggghhhhh. I really really want to believe that she's lying and it'll turn out the sonogram is fake or it's really someone else's kid. Or some other crazy sh*t because OTH has been know to pull quite a few things out of its you-know-where. But there is that one teeeeeny part of me that is brokenhearted to think that it might be true. That Nathan really did cheat on Haley. In which case, my world has been turned inside-out. Up is down. Down is up. The boogeyman exists. Brothers will not be canceled.

Say it ain't so, Nathan. Don't you break my (and Haley's) heart like that!

Breaking News! The Beautiful Life Canceled!

To no one's surprise, the Mischa Barton disaster known as The Beautiful Life: TBL became the first new show to be canceled this season. It only aired for two episodes, the first one of which had 1.5 million viewers and the last of which had 1 million viewers. I know. You're shocked. One million people watched this show after the premiere?

The CW has a couple of shows waiting in the wings. Both are reality shows--one called Fly Girls, about flight attendants on Virgin America, and one about the NYC socialite Tinsley Mortimer. But you know what I'm really hoping for? Beauty and the Geek. Seriously--bring that show back!