It’s season finale night! The bad news is that, just as we get used to having scripted television back, the US shows are going off the air for four months. The good news is that all of these shows have been renewed for next season, so no matter what cliff-hangers they throw at us, we can rest assured that they’ll be resolved…eventually.
First up is Gossip Girl, which I still love unabashedly despite the continued presence of Michelle Trachtenberg as Serena’s arch-nemesis. Considering that it’s the season finale, I fully expect to see betrayal, lies, and at least one really big explosion. Maybe they’ll blow up Georgina. (CW, 8:00)
House had a diabolically good first half of its season-ending two-parter, and I can’t wait to see how it ends. Amber? Amber? Really? (FOX, 9:00)
Bones also went the two-parter route, though I can’t say I’m too concerned about Booth dying. Actually, I’m more annoyed that his crazy stalker interrupted the karaoke. I’m rooting for an encore to wrap up the season. We already know they do a mean version of Foreigner. (FOX, 8:00)
How I Met Your Mother will only resume its place as my favorite comedy when it refuses to allow She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named to guest star. Fortunately, tonight is a starlet-free episode. (CBS, 8:30)
Finally, there’s One Tree Hill. I may still feel dirty when I watch it, but that’s never stopped me before. (CW, 9:00)
Why the Character is Awesome: Though I started watching Mad Men when it first aired, I wandered away and forgot to return. I thought it might be a bit like The Sopranos was for me: an excellent show peopled with characters that I didn’t actually care about. And yet, after about a month away from the show, I started wondering what Peggy Olson was up to. Somehow or other, that simultaneously timid and ballsy “new girl” in the steno pool had got under my skin. I had to know if she was ever given copywriting jobs, or moved out of the boroughs, or if she ever got around to punching Pete in the face (answers: yes, no and, sadly, no). Peggy is a bundle of contradictions. She calls building security during an out-of-control office party because it’s the right thing to do, but doesn’t hesitate to sleep with a married man. She aspires to the high-class Manhattan lifestyle, but refuses to apologize when she gains too much weight to look the part. She manages to be both the scared ingenue and the ambitious future ad exec and is equally believable in both aspects of the role. It is that split that will keep me tuning in next season. I want to know which side of Peggy will eventually triumph.
5. CSI
