The Event (Mon., Sept. 20 @ 9:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), “Two and a Half Men” and “Mike & Molly” (CBS), “Lone Star” (Fox), “Gossip Girl” (The CW)

Starring: Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Laura Innes, Scott Patterson, Ian Anthony Dale, Zeljko Ivanek

Producers: Steve Stark (“Medium”), Evan Katz (“24”), Nick Wauters (“The 4400,” “Eureka”), Jeffrey Reiner (“Friday Night Lights,” “Trauma”)

Network’s Description: an emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker, an Everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, Leila, and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history. Sean’s quest will send ripples through the lives of an eclectic band of strangers, including: newly elected U.S. President Martinez; Sophia, who is the leader of a mysterious group of detainees; and Sean’s shadowy father-in-law. Their futures are on a collision course in a global conspiracy that could ultimately change the fate of mankind.

The Buzz: NBC ain’t playing around with this one: the big question of the summer for TV fans has been, “What is ‘The Event’?” Most of those who’ve seen the pilot seem to at least be hooked enough to come back for Episode 2, though I’m sure no one is counting on finding out what ‘The Event’ is anytime soon. On a related note, there’s some very reasonable concern from folks about whether they’re going to be let down by a promising sci-fi pilot that starts strong but then either peters out early in the season or never gets properly resolved before it’s canceled. (“FlashForward,” anyone?)

Pilot Highlight: There are several moments which will have you raising your eyebrows both at what you’re seeing and what it means, particularly the final scene, but the most effective sequence begins when Sean – who’s on a cruise with Leila – returns from a solo outing to find things aren’t quite the same as he left them.

Bottom Line: The rapid-fire back and forth between past and present combined with people getting the sensation that NBC’s trying for the next “Lost” is going to make it a tough sell for some, but, damn, the first episode sure intrigued the hell out of me.

Chase (Mon., Sept. 20 @ 10:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Hawaii Five-0” (CBS), “Castle” (ABC)

Starring: Kelli Giddish, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Rose Rollins, Jesse Metcalfe

Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer (“CSI”), Jonathan Littman and Jennifer Johnson (“Cold Case”), KristieAnne Reed (“The Forgotten,” “Miami Medical”)

Network’s Description: a fast-paced drama that drops viewers smack into the middle of a game of cat-and-mouse as a team of U.S. marshals hunts down America’s most dangerous fugitives. U.S. Marshal Annie Frost is a cowboy boot-wearing deputy whose sharp mind and unique Texas upbringing help her track down the violent criminals on the run. The members of Frost’s elite team are Jimmy Godfrey, an East Texas kid who never grew up and is a true American cowboy; Marco Martinez, a good intelligence guy who loves to talk; and Daisy Ogbaa, a weapons/tactical specialist and a woman of few words. Rounding out the cast is Luke Watson, the fresh-faced newcomer, whose Washington, D.C., upbringing did little to prepare him for the Lone Star State.

The Buzz: It ain’t great. For one thing, Bruckerheimer was nowhere to be seen at the panel for the series (he was apparently on the set of the new “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, but he somehow managed to make it in for ABC’s panel for “The Whole Truth” a couple of days later), and then the panel itself was notably shorter than the ones for some of the other new entries on the NBC schedule. Maybe we shouldn’t make too much of either of these things, though. It’s more likely that it’s just a case where the show was too pedestrian to inspire much in the way of unique promotion.

Pilot Highlight: Nothing, really, and I can’t help but recall that I had this same problem with one of NBC’s pilots last year, too. (Would you please rise from the grave and take a final bow, “Mercy”?) Sometimes, a show arrives, follows its formula, and departs without leaving much of an impression. “Chase” is one of those shows.

Bottom Line: Don’t let the Bruckheimer name suck you in this time. “Chase” is the most by-the-book, formulaic cops-and-robbers drama I’ve seen in awhile, with no “hook” to make it stand out from the pack. If “Hawaii Five-0” doesn’t blow it out of the water, then I’ll have to echo Alex O’Loughlin’s sentiments and concede that I’m completely bewildered and have no idea how television works at all.

WEDNESDAY

Undercovers (Wed., Sept. 22 @ 8:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “The Middle” and “Better with You” (ABC), “Survivor” (CBS), “Hell’s Kitchen” / “Lie to Me” Nov. 10 (Fox), “America’s Next Top Model” (The CW)

Starring: Boris Kodjoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Gerald McRaney, Ben Schwartz, Mekia Cox, Carter MacIntyre

Producers: J.J. Abrams (“Alias,” “Lost,” “Fringe”), Josh Reims (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Dirty Sexy Money”)

Network’s Description: a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama that proves once and for all that marriage is still the world’s most dangerous partnership. Outwardly, Steven Bloom and his wife, Samantha, are a typical married couple who own and operate a small catering company in Los Angeles — with help from Samantha’s easily frazzled, handful of a sister, Lizzy. Secretly, the duo were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and good friend Leo Nash goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss and agency liaison, Carlton Shaw, to locate and rescue Nash. With assistance from resourceful CIA field agent Bill Hoyt, whose professional admiration for Steven isn’t hard to miss, the pair is thrust back into the world of espionage, disguises and hand-to-hand combat. Following leads that take them to cities spanning the globe, Steven and Samantha quickly realize that perhaps this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides exactly the kind of excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

The Buzz: Relatively strong, although it’s rather odd how little we’ve heard from Abrams on the project, given that he’s usually out front and ready to pound the pavement to promote his series. Still, you’ve got “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” fans who can’t help but notice a similarity between that film and this series, and you’ve got those who are curious and/or excited about the idea of a spy drama with black leads, so there are definitely folks who are ready to check out the show.

Pilot Highlight: Maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for the classics, but the bits with Bill treating Steven as a god among spies were extremely funny. It’s not something that I’d want them to try and sustain for the long haul – I expect that a constantly-fawning Bill would get pretty annoying pretty quickly – but it worked great for the introduction of the character, anyway.

Bottom Line: I still don’t think it feels like a J.J. Abrams production, and the idea of the couple maintaining their catering company while working as spies seems like the kind of thing that’s primed to be dropped during a mid-season retooling, but Boris and Gugu do make the sparks fly when they’re together. Given that it’ll be the only drama in its timeslot when it first premieres (“Lie to Me” doesn’t come back ’til November), I’d say it has a good shot at taking off.

Law & Order: Los Angeles (Wed., Sept. 22 @ 9:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “The Whole Truth” (ABC), “Defenders” (CBS)

Starring: Skeet Ulrich, Corey Stoll, Wanda De Jesus, Alfred Molina, Terrence Howard, Regina Hall, Megan Boone, Teri Polo

Producers: Dick Wolf, Rene Balcer, and Peter Jankowski (“Law & Order”), Blake Masters (“Brotherhood,” “Rubicon”)

Network’s Description: the classic ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling with the distinctive backdrop of LA – delving into the unique attitudes, cultures and crimes of the West Coast. Detectives Rex Winters and Tomas “TJ” Jarusalski pursue cases through the diverse City of Angels as members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite Robbery Homicide Division. Winters is a straight-shooting ex-marine with a clear-cut world view as stubborn as he is, while “TJ,” who grew up the son of an Oscar-winning Polish cinematographer, knows too well the dark underside that is behind-the-scenes Hollywood. Protecting the detectives who serve under her is Lieutenant Arleen Gonzales, and is driven, focused, and meticulous. She is a twenty-year vet with a background in military intelligence who now oversees the Homicide 1 section of Robbery Homicide Division. Deputy District Attorney Morales is a sarcastic realist who believes moral righteousness is great in theory, but ineffective in a street fight. Though he knows how to manipulate both his public image and the behind-the-scenes politics, he is still a killer in the courtroom who lives to see justice served. At Morales’ side is Deputy District Attorney Evelyn Price, an idealist and a true believer. She has faith that the system she serves is capable of drawing clean lines between good and evil, a belief that her boss, the pragmatic DDA Morales, does not share.

The Buzz: Originally, the only buzz was surrounding the strange decision by NBC to cancel the original “Law & Order” series just as they’re greenlighting a new “Law & Order” series, but as the cast has begun to take shape, people are beginning to take note of the caliber of talent that Dick Wolf has pulled together for what originally seemed to be just another “L&O” spin-off. Skeet Ulrich and Teri Polo? Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard?!? Well, if nothing else, they’re getting people’s attention.

Pilot Highlight: As of this writing, we still haven’t received a copy of the pilot. Word on the street is that Ulrich’s character will be introduced in an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” first, but, uh, we haven’t gotten that yet, either. Basically, all we’re willing to commit to is that the highlight will either involve law or order. Probably not both…but you never know.

Bottom Line: It’s a proven franchise. If you love any other “Law & Order,” there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to love this one, too.

THURSDAY

Outsourced (Thurs., Sept. 23 @ 9:30 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), “CSI: Crime Scene Investigations” (CBS), “Fringe” (Fox), “Nikita” (The CW)

Starring: Ben Rappaport, Rizwan Manji, Sacha Dhawan, Rebecca Hazlewood, Parvesh Cheena, Anisha Nagarajan, Diedrich Bader, Pippa Black

Producers: Ken Kwapis (“The Office”), Tom Gorai and David Skinner (“Outsourced,” the film that inspired the series), Alexandra Beattie

Network’s Description: After recently completing Mid America Novelties’ manager training program, Todd Dempsy learns that the call center is being outsourced to India, and he is asked to move there to be the manager. Having never ventured out of the country, he is unprepared for the culture shock. Overwhelmed, Todd discovers that his new staff needs a crash course in all things American if they are to understand the U.S. product line and ramp up sales from halfway around the world. The sales team Todd inherits includes Gupta, a socially awkward employee, Manmeet, a young romantic who is enamored with America, Asha, a smart, striking woman who finds herself intrigued by Todd, Rajiv, the assistant manager who wants Todd’s job and Madhuri, a wallflower who suffers from extreme shyness. Todd also discovers other transplants working in his office building, including an American expatriate, Charlie Davies, who runs the All American Hunter call center, and Tonya, a beautiful Australian who runs the call center for Koala Air.

The Buzz: It seems pretty much split down the middle: either people think it’s really, really funny, or they think it’s really, really racist. Personally, I’ve got it sitting in the former category, but, I mean, I’m not Indian, so that might have something to do with it…although the members of the cast seem to think it’s funny, too, so I feel like they’ve kind of got my back.

Pilot Highlight: There’s certainly a lot of funny stuff happening as the staff hones their pitches in order to properly sell American novelty products, but if I had to pick a single moment, it’s when Gupta busts a move.

Bottom Line: I can see where people might perceive it as racist, but when I watched it, I just saw a culture-clash comedy…and a very funny one, at that. It feels like it’ll fit perfectly in NBC’s Thursday night comedy line-up.

FRIDAY

School Pride (Fri., Sept. 24 @ 8:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Secret Millionaire” (ABC), “Medium” (CBS), “Human Target” (Fox), “Smallville” (The CW)

Starring: Susie Castillo, Jacob Soboroff, Tom Stroup, Kym Whitley

Producers: Denise Cramsey (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”), Melissa Stokes (“True Beauty”), Adam M. Neal (“Stylista”), Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”)

Network’s Description: a proactive, alternative series that tells the stories of communities coming together to renovate their aging and broken public schools. While transforming the school, the community also restores its sense of value and school pride. The cameras follow students, teachers and parents as they roll up their sleeves and rebuild their own schools, concluding with the unveiling of a brand new, completely transformed school. They are motivated by a quartet of community organizers and personalities — a SWAT Commander, an interior designer Susie Castillo, a comedian and former substitute teacher, and a journalist. Together, the team of experts will lead the community through the makeover process.

The Buzz: None to speak of, aside from the fact that Cheryl Hines is one of the executive producers.

Pilot Highlight: We haven’t been provided with a pilot yet, so I couldn’t say.

Bottom Line: You’d think that the lack of buzz and a pilot would have me saying, “This thing’s D.O.A.,” but you never can tell with inspirational reality shows like this. Sometimes they take off (“Undercover Boss”), sometimes they don’t (“Breakthrough with Tony Robbins”), and I’m not going to pretend that I have any clue which way this one will go.

Outlaw (Fri., Sept. 24 @ 10:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Blue Bloods” (CBS), “20/20” (ABC)

Starring: Jimmy Smits, David Ramsey, Ellen Woglom, Carly Pope, Jesse Bradford

Producers: John Eisendrath (“Alias,” “My Own Worst Enemy”), David Kissinger, Conan O’Brien and Jeff Ross (“Andy Barker, P.I.”)

Network’s Description: Few jobs are guaranteed for a lifetime, and a Supreme Court appointment is a position that no one ever quits — unless he is Cyrus Garza. A playboy and a gambler, Justice Garza always adhered to a strict interpretation of the law until he realized the system he believed in was flawed. Now, he’s quit the bench and returned to private practice. Using his inside knowledge of the justice system, Garza and his team will travel across the country taking on today’s biggest and most controversial legal cases. Garza’s team includes his best friend since childhood, Al Druzinsky, a brilliant defense attorney with liberal beliefs; Mereta Stockman, a hopeless romantic who is Garza’s loyal law clerk; Lucinda Pearl, a wildly unorthodox private investigator who uses her sex appeal and wit to gather information for Garza, and Eddie Franks, a tightly wound, rabidly ambitious Yale-educated attorney, recently hired as Garza’s law clerk.

The Buzz: At first, it was about the irony that NBC had picked up a show executive produced by Conan O’Brien, then it was about how the show was so completely preposterous that it could be a Conan sketch. (“He used to be on the Supreme Court, but now he’s ridin’ the rails delivering his own brand of justice!”) Right now, I think most people are just waiting to see if viewers really will watch Jimmy Smits no matter what role he plays.

Pilot Highlight: It’s a tough call between Justice Garza getting thrown out of a casino for counting cards and unabashedly committing sexual harassment in a discussion with an attorney. Basically, it’s the moments where he’s being way more raucous than any real Supreme Court Justice would ever be, not the legal drama, that really stand out.

Bottom Line: Absolutely preposterous, yes, but Smits’s character is so over the top that “Outlaw” is actually kind of entertaining. Still, I can’t see the show being able to top CBS’s built-in buzz for the return of Tom Selleck to series television.

I mean, seriously, here’s what happened in the first two minutes (!) of the episode:

• Sookie runs out of the restaurant, frantic that Bill’s been kidnapped, leading the French woman to decry the world’s vampire population.
• Sam’s on the road, heading for Magnolia, Arkansas, looking for some folks named Melinda and Joe Lee Mickens…who are, as it happens, his folks.
• Jason’s having an anxiety attack over shooting Eggs.
• Tara is beside herself with grief, but Lafayette’s trying to console her.
• Hoyt makes Jessica’s heart momentarily melt with the flowers she’s left for him, but although she’s touched, she’s can’t just leave her trucker lying on the porch.
• Bill’s kidnappers are a bunch of rednecks who tell him that he can call them the Fuck You Crew.

Talk about making quick work of playing catch-up, huh?

At first, I thought Deputy Jones wasn’t very fond of vampires, hence her bad attitude while Sookie was trying to get her missing-persons report filed for Bill, but, but, it seemed to me that her real issue was the fact that Bill proposed and Sookie turned him down. Daaaaaaamn…but, really, as a guy, I have to say that my reaction to having a proposal rejected wouldn’t have been terribly far removed from what the good deputy was theorizing. Still, as a law enforcement officer, her actions seemed less than professional, even for Bon Temps, Louisiana. Not that the sheriff was much better when she confronted him about the situation…

Inside Merlotte’s, Andy’s looking decidedly nervous, which is clearly why Terry comes over and gets all philosophical on his ass. There’s a lot of love in this bar…well, except from Arlene, who you’d think would be more sympathetic to Tara’s loss. (I laughed out loud when she said, “I’m sorry you fell in love with a serial killer, all right, but who here hasn’t?”) Arlene, of course, has got her own troubles to deal with, as we learned later in the episode when she exclaimed, “Shit! I’m pregnant again!” This ought to be interesting…and when I say interesting, I think Terry’s descriptor probably comes closer. That was a damned peculiar reaction. Who’s the father of this baby, anyway?

Clearly, Jessica is already regretting her actions with the truck driver, but it’s a little late in the game for that: not only is he pissed, but by the time she begins to be concerned, he’s already teetering on the precipice of death. She’s clearly still a bundle of mixed emotions, though, because as soon as she heard a noise outside, she was up like a flash, dumping him back onto the steps. Am I the only one who laughed when, in reaction to Sookie revealing that Bill’s been kidnapped, a befuddled Jessica asked, “What? I thought you were just going to dinner!” (Like the kidnapping was something that had been added to schedule for the evening…?) It’s clear that people’s shock over Sookie rejecting Bill’s proposal is going to be a running joke…and speaking of jokes, I also laughed at Jessica’s snap decision on how to save her trucker’s life, though I did so because I thought it’d back to bite her in the ass. As it turned out, it didn’t do jack shit, which was somehow even funnier, possibly because it was accompanied by such a God-awful stench. Shame about poor Hoyt’s attempts to reconcile falling on deaf…or distracted…ears, but give him credit for keeping the faith.

I’m glad to see they’re going to embrace the relationship between Andy and Jason. Their scenes were some of the best parts of Season 2, so I’m psyched to see what this brain trust will provide us in Season 3. Already, we’ve got the season’s first instant t-shirt slogan: “Conscience off, dick on!” I question whether or not Jason is going to be able to follow Andy’s instructions, unfortunately. I have my suspicions that his attempts to act “normal” will just cause him to look like he’s hiding something…which, of course, he is.

“I’m in no mood for lesbian weirdness tonight, Pam.” Damn, Pam looks good, and she’s having a lot of fun playing with Sookie, even as she’d like to play with the new dancer at Fangtasia. I’m sure you ladies…and, yes, some gentlemen as well, no doubt…enjoyed Erik’s nekkid strut toward Sookie, but it just made me laugh. Still, you’ve got to admire his confidence. Nice snarky comment from Erik about Bill’s stamina, but it was interesting to hear him comment that he’s duty bound as sheriff to find the people responsible for Bill’s disappearance. Well, sure he is…especially since he’d sent his own people out to kidnap Bill! Pam’s trying to convince him to get the queen involved, but that’s the last thing Erik wants.

The whole scene in the car with Bill and his redneck kidnappers was pretty disconcerting to me, what with the whole trading of blood thing, so it was nice to see Bill end it with one quick neck twist. Hell of a way to stop a car, but it did the trick. Still, Bill might be free, but given the amount of blood dripping from his wounds, it was clear as he was crawling from the wreckage that he’s still a far cry from clear, but at least he had enough strength to send that psychic burst to Jessica, which was pretty awesome.

So Lafayette’s getting Tara hopped up on goofballs or something…nah, just kidding: it’s tequila and Klonipin, which – although I’m not personally familiar with the drug – is apparently used to for panic and anxiety attacks. Whatever it is, I can’t imagine that you ought to mix it with alcohol. Still, if it’s supposed to calm Tara down, she manages to blow off its effects and lose her fucking mind when Sookie reveals that she told Eggs what he did while under Maryanne’s power. Damn, Sookie can’t catch a break, can she? Kids, remember: honesty isn’t always the best policy.

I have no idea what the whole dream sequence with Sam and Bill was about, but I laughed my ass off at Bill’s line, “I hear the water in Arkansas is very hard…” Clearly, Sam’s family isn’t exactly the most savory bunch, given that they were evicted from their last residence, but how interesting to learn that Sam’s got a brother. We didn’t make much headway on this storyline, except to see that, by episode’s end, he’s found his family. Presumably, he’ll actually approach them next episode.

You know who has the best relationship advice? City employees. It was interesting to hear Jason make the comment harking back to the religion he was being fed back in Season 2, but the key line of the scene came a few moments later: “You want to really fuck somebody’s life up? Tell the truth about ‘em. They ain’t never gonna be the same.” Truth and honesty seems to be the theme of this episode. Looks like Jason’s got himself a new roommate…and it’s Hoyt.

I loved the scene between Lafayette and Tara’s mama. She might be the one talking all God this and God that, but he’s the one preaching the gospel: “Do everybody a solid and, instead of looking up at a god who let all this shit happen, you need to keep your eyes on your fucking daughter, ’cause she ain’t right to be alone.” It’s awesome to have the old Lafayette back, the one whose every other line in Season 1 was comedy gold. His scene ender here was genius: “You, me, bridge…? It ain’t never gonna motherfucking happen.”

Zeljko Ivanek, I wonder if I can watch two consecutive hours of quality television without having you show up at some point. I’m beginning to think not. It was good to see him turn up again as the Magistrate, throwing his weight around and emptying Fangtasia for an impromptu summit. I’m not sure which was more interesting: his concerns about the blood uptake in the vampire community, or the Queen’s revelation that she’s in debt up to her eyeballs. “Hell hath no fury like a vampire queen broke,” indeed…

Why on earth would such incredibly hot college students be passing through Bon Temps? I guess it’s appropriate that one of them is following a field of study with an emphasis in canine psychology, since Jason’s clearly back to being a poon hound. I loved that line he offered to his new roommate: “There’s a certain amount of pussy overflow you’re just going to have to learn to deal with!” Atta boy, Stackhouse! Still, for all his attempts at feigning normalcy, Li’l Jason just wasn’t having it. In fairness, if I was seeing bullet holes in the foreheads of my attempted sexual conquests, I’d be a little concerned if I could get it up, but, damn, you can’t say the ladies didn’t give him enough material to work with. It’s scenes like these that provide guys with unrealistic visions of what to expect from their sexual encounters.
Frankly, I think the real boner-diminishing element was Billy Squier’s “Everybody Wants You,” but maybe that’s just me.

If tonight’s any indication, then it looks like Pam’s going to have a pretty decent role this season: in addition to when we saw her at Fangtasia, she also scored another scene with Sookie (during which time she received her call from Erik) and taught Lafayette that he’d better watch it with the backtalk. Note to self: never call a female vampire a hooker.

No matter what Tara’s mama might be saying and despite the Reverend’s best efforts, I couldn’t for a moment picture Tara finding Jesus and turning into a full-fledged Bible-thumper. Eventually, the Rev made his departure, though not before Tara’s mama hits on him in a big way. Talk about your weird moments. It must’ve been good for Mama, though, given how relaxed she’s looking when Lafayette comes home. She just doesn’t listen to that boy, though. He said, “You need to keep your eyes on your daughter,” but the second she stops watching, Tara’s in the bathroom, trying to fix herself a last cocktail, so to speak. Looks like Betty Draper’s got some competition for TV Mother of the Year.

Now that Sookie knows about vampire transmissions, she’s immediately on Jessica’s case to find out if she’s gotten one from Bill. Typically, the importance of the information she’s received has gone completely over Jessica’s head, but Sookie sorts her out, and the next thing you know, they’ve found Bill’s car. So the Fuck You Crew are a bunch of werewolves, huh?

Speaking of Bill, it’s a sign of the level of his desperation that he should, however apologetically, feed on an old woman, but it was a very sweet gesture on his part to leave her with the (false) memory that her son had stopped by and had nothing but good things to say about her. Mind you, I’m not sure if the strength that he found from feeding on Olivia will provide him with sufficient defense from a pack of werewolves, but time will tell. In fact, a week’s time should just about do it.

See you next Sunday!

It’s a fair question, particularly when you look back at how few people are commenting on this blog nowadays. Once upon a time, we actually used to get a discussion going about the episode of the week, but if you look back over the course of the past several weeks, we’ve been averaging no more than 2 or 3 comments per ep, with one week receiving absolutely no comments! I figured Fuller’s return would kickstart the blog, but has it really reached a point where even the return of one of the show’s seminal writers (if, indeed, a show only in its third season can be said to have such a thing) can’t stir much in the way of conversation? I’m not even taking it personally anymore. I’m really just surprised.

Frankly, I feel like the show’s been relatively strong in recent weeks. Are there really so few people who feel the same way?

Last week ended with Zeljko looking darned surprised about Sylar surviving a knife blade to the back of the skull, but given the amount of shapeshifting Sylar had been doing, I wasn’t terribly shocked. Since he’s now able to move his size and shape around in a rather dramatic fashion, I figured his Achilles’ heel might not be where we last left it. I was, however, wondering whether we’d see Sylar slaughter Zeljko immediately or if he’d toy with him for awhile first. Nice touch, taking on his form to discredit him, ruin his reputation, and get him thrown into prison with…HRG?

Yep. HRG, Claire, and Mama Petrelli are driving along outside of Arlington, VA, when Mama has one of her famous dreams (“It’s Nathan. He’s in trouble.”) almost simultaneous to HRG realizing that they’re on the verge of being caught. He sends them off together while he pretends to fall into the trap that he knows has been set for him, but while it’s no surprise that Mama ditches Claire in order to follow the events of her dream, namely that Matt Parkman saves Nathan, it is a little shocking that Claire actually does what Mama tells her, going up to Nathan’s office. Fortunately, Claire falls back into her usual ways by completely falling for Sylar’s Nathan impression, while the real Nathan takes the opportunity to stumble from his office to Peter’s apartment and seek brotherly assistance.

Hiro’s nosebleed from last week has got Ando worried, but it doesn’t stop Hiro from still demanding that his time-stopping ability is the only way to save the day and infiltrate Building 26. He does pause momentarily when Ando suggests that his head might explode (his expression when he said “Really?” was priceless), but in the end, a hero’s got to do what a hero’s got to do, even if it does end up leading to blood streaming out of that hero’s ears. It was a sad but somewhat touching moment when Hiro explained that he was basing his sleep habits on those of Bruce Wayne, but even with Mohinder’s assurances that he absolutely positively could not use his powers again, I dare say we all knew he’d be using them, anyway, no matter what the cost.

The scene between HRG and Zeljko in the cell was a nice one. Though it’s a cliche, the hoary old “you are in my position” joke still made me chuckle, as did Zeljko’s reaction when they suddenly noticed that the door was wide open as a result of Hiro’s machinations.

I was glad that, after Sylar screwed up by using the wrong hand to sign in, there was precious little attempt to pretend that he might still manage to get away with his portrayal of Nathan. I mean, c’mon, even Claire isn’t that stupid. Instead, we just got a reveal of “Claire” answering HRG’s phone call, leading up to Sylar saying in his most evil voice, “Because it’s me.” Sylar’s scene with Claire gave him the opportunity to make with the supervillain schtick that he does so well. I laughed out loud when he mistakenly referred to Claire’s brother as “Larry” (seriously, I have to look up Lyle’s name every time he makes an appearance. He’s just that memorable), but even funnier was his reply to Claire’s assurances that she would continue to try and kill him: “Everybody needs a hobby.”

I admit I was a little surprised to see Nathan reveal his abilities to the President’s right-hand man, but they had been friends since they were kids, so I guess he figured that, if he can trust anyone, it’s this guy. Similarly, I didn’t expect that the big throwdown between Nathan, Peter, and Sylar would occur after Claire had been thrown out of the room and into the hallway. And, okay, here’s the trifecta: I was actually surprised that Sylar killed Nathan. I mean, I knew we were going to see someone die by episode’s end, but…well, truth be told, I hadn’t really worked out who I thought it would be, but for some reason, I just didn’t figure it would be Nathan.

Matt Parkman, of course, was surprised to see Mama Petrelli greet him the moment he got off the bus, but it didn’t come anywhere close to the reaction we got from Mama when she happened upon the body of her son. Good lord, that was a hair-raising shriek. Not that it wasn’t warranted, given the circumstances, but, still, wow. In the end, she managed to get some semblance of revenge on the man who killed her son, with the assistance of Peter (“Bet you didn’t think I took that one from you”) and Parkman. And, hey, wasn’t it nice to see “Heroes” ripping off DC Comics for a change instead of Marvel…? If you don’t know what I’m referencing, then go pick up a copy of “Identity Crisis,” then compare Parkman’s actions to what Zatanna did to Dr. Light. It’s not exact by any stretch of the imagination, but the resemblance is more than enough to catch the eye of the average fanboy, mark my words.

So where will we be when Volume 5, “Redemption,” kicks off…? Well, of course, we already know from the teaser at the end of the episode that Tracy’s return is imminent (and that turning into water apparently doesn’t help your sanity any), so it’s a fair bet that Micah will rear his head again as well. Obviously, Sylar will be getting his memory back at some point, though if there’s anyone who didn’t know that was going to happen from the moment his memories were buried, I’d be very surprised. Clearly, Hiro’s fate is yet to be determined, though he’ll presumably at least survive ’til the season premiere. (How pissed would people be if they just came back for Season 3 and said, “Damn, I still can’t believe Hiro died two months ago…”) And as Greg Grunberg suggested in his interview with Bullz-Eye a few weeks ago, there’s no way that Matt Parkman’s going to be able to cope with his actions for the entire season. Most importantly, though, we’ve got a brand new Company to look forward to, which has a lot of potential.

See ya next season, folks. Or will I…?

Obviously, Sylar’s storyline has consistently been one of the strongest parts of the “Fugitives” saga, but this took it to new heights. I never would’ve guessed that the path to his mimicry of Nathan would take him on a psychological journey of such magnitude. When he questioned his identity as Agent Taub in the initial moments of the episode, it became clear that he was having some issues dealing with his transformation into other people. You don’t get much more disconcerting, however, than that sequence where he was flip-flopping back and forth from himself to his mother – once again played by Ellen Greene – in order to rationalize her death and his ongoing existence. (I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt the echoes of Norman Bates’ relationship with his mother in their discussions, was I?) Given that we’ve seen Sylar’s semi-soft spot with the youth of America in the past, I guess it shouldn’t have been too surprising that he was willing to give li’l Micah a pass. I don’t know how well the kid’s poignant speech will work in the long run, but, hey, it worked long enough to prolong his life for a bit, so that’ll do for now. Zeljko’s constant grumblings through the episode were highly entertaining, and you knew full well that he was eventually going to view Sylar as a loose cannon who couldn’t be controlled and needed to be taken out permanently (which he clearly must’ve known all along, anyway), but the one-two punch of the thrusting of the knife in the back of Sylar’s skull being followed up with Sylar’s brilliant episode-closing line was totally awesome.

Zachary Quinto’s performance this week was tremendous. Sometimes he takes his villainous rantings too far over the top for you to be able to take him seriously, but not this time. This was definitely a well-considered look at a complex character.

Indeed, the episode was so Sylar-centric – not that it was a surprise, what with it being entitled “I Am Sylar” – that the other storylines of the chapter often felt significantly less important than they might otherwise have. Still, in the grand scheme of things, they had significant weight to them.

Based on Greg Grunberg’s comments during my interview with him for Bullz-Eye’s TV Power Rankings, I couldn’t help but view Parkman’s conversation with Hiro and Ando about how he wanted to be sure his boy would grow up with a father as a season finale set-up. It seems pretty clear to me that, when we get the moment Grunberg’s promised, where Parkman does “something that he will regret forever,” it will be a moment where he’s forced to do something because it’s the only way to save his son’s life. Maybe at the expense of his wife’s life…? We’ll see.

The Crimson Arc? Yes, it is dangerous and ladylike at the same time. I enjoyed the whole Batman / Superman comparison between Ando and Hiro, particularly when Ando likened his introduction to Hiro’s time-stopping power to Batman visiting Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. I still think Hiro’s decision to use Ando as bait was a shady one, but at least he came around by episode’s end. That nose bleed can’t be a good thing. Are we to presume that there’s some sort of protection in place around the building to prevent heroes from utilizing their abilities? I’m not sure how the science behind that would work, given the variety of abilities, but I guess we’ll see what’s up in next week’s season finale.

By the way, thank you, NBC, for already having provided me with an advance screener of the finale. Given how late I ended up posting tonight’s blog (my daughter just would not go to sleep!), it’ll be nice to have my write-up ready to roll before the episode ever even airs!

Between Zeljko and Sylar, it was clear from early on that HRG’s mind was going to seriously played with tonight, but as I observed last week, HRG’s been around the block way too many times with Sylar to just accept his death as a given without checking into it a bit…and, of course, it didn’t take long before he’d confirmed that, indeed, the body that looked like Sylar actually wasn’t Sylar. What he didn’t realize at that point, however, was that he’d already had an encounter with the now-shapeshifting villain. When Sandra first turned up, my first thought was that it was Sylar pretending to be her…until it turned into the tale of two Zeljkos.

Of course, HRG did soon get an encounter from a Sylar in Sandra’s clothing, though could you really blame Sandra for serving HRG with divorce papers? No, of course you couldn’t, but I’m sure it occurred to most of us that it was either Sylar pulling a shapeshift or someone controlling Sandra’s mind and making her ask for a divorce in order to blow HRG’s mind. And it did…right up until the point when he realized that Sylar had developed shapeshifting abilities, which is when his head pretty much exploded. The scene with HRG seemingly on the verge of killing Sandra was pretty intense, but it all fell apart for me at the moment the phone rang and it was Lyle on the other end of the line, asking a question about the dog’s medication. It was obnoxiously convenient. In the end, I knew full well that HRG hadn’t really killed an officer and that it was actually Sylar, but, man, it just left me disappointed that I knew that. I really wish “Heroes” was a little darker, because I’d love to have seen HRG have to deal with something like that for real, instead of finding out an episode or two down the road that didn’t actually kill an innocent man. Still, I did like the bit where Sylar hocked up the bullet…

I think we all learned a brief but valuable lesson about stereotypes when Hiro, Ando, and Baby Parkman met Sam Douglas from El Paso. I believe I actually laughed out loud when Sam made his comment about Hiro and Ando being “from the mothership.” The whole concept of Touch and Go Baby stealing the power from vehicles when he’s unhappy was silly, but Ando looked so ridiculous when he made his face to try and keep Matt Jr. smiling that I was willing to endure it.

Does anyone really trust Matt Parkman to go through on his plans anymore? Granted, they always start strong, as this one did, when he decided to get even with Zeljko by making him paranoid and sending him off to check on the person he cares most about. And, wow, how sad and lonely is that guy? When he’s told to go to the person he cares the most about, he heads to a woman from an escort service! You almost felt bad for the girl, though, given how much he’d been lying to her and how Parkman basically caused her whole world to fall down around her. Typically, Parkman couldn’t bring himself to finish the job he’d started, but – what luck! – Hiro turned up at just the right moment. Again, I say: too fucking convenient.

We got precious little Mohinder this week, except his piss-poor attempt to talk Parkman out of going on his quest and the revelation that his father’s things contained a reference to Operation Icarus, which means that we’ll almost certainly be seeing him pop up next week with the Petrelli family. Man, trust Mama to get a chilling final line: “Keep digging.”