I’ve noticed some things this week while watching TV. Not anything that’s worthy of its own post, but perhaps all laid out together they will amount to something. There’s a funny video at the end!

• Why does Pushing Daisies keep putting Chuck in those hideous high-waisted pants? She belongs in adorable full-skirted dresses with matching scarves. No to high-waisted pants! No!
• John Corzine on the Daily Show? More like John BORE-zine. (Genius.)
• Why is House so upset about Cuddy’s adopting? Is he jealous? Lonely? Does he wish he could’ve made her pregnant himself?
• Everyone’s been saying this, but How I Met Your Mother could really slow things down a bit. I feel like Ted got engaged yesterday, and now everything’s status quo. At least Barney is taking his redemption at a reasonable pace (one step forward, two steps back).
• Has anyone besides me and Kyle been watching Gavin and Stacey on BBC America? It is delightful. Sometimes, either due to accent or UK-ishness, I don’t understand what’s going on, but that’s part of the fun. However, none of the characters seem to think ahead about anything. If you get married and move, you will not be able to live in your old house and keep your old crap, too. Stacey’s the worst at this. But whatever. It’s the Nessa and Pam and Bryn show as far as I’m concerned. Also: Move out of your parents’ house, you crazy kids.
• My love affair with Life on Mars may have ended yesterday, after only three episodes. Pull it together, Life on Mars! I liked it with the good music and the crazy clothes and the anachronisms. I don’t like the speechiness.
• At least if you’re dating Michael Scott you’ll totally know if/when he’s lying to you, and he’ll be extremely up front about his intentions/expectations. I suppose that’s a benefit to having no filter.
• Don’t read the next sentence if you don’t want to see one joke from next week’s 30 Rock. My personal favorite, mostly thanks to Alec Baldwin’s amazing delivery: “I worked the day shift at the graveyard and the graveyard shift at the Day’s Inn.”
• Still love: Greek. On the fence: Dirty Sexy Money. Probably dropping: Heroes.
• And here’s your video, via Videogum:

• Fans of As the World Turns are angry
• E! Kristin has spoilers for Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy
• An interview with Growing Pains’ Tracy Gold
• ABC to make a
• Viewers thumb their noses at critics and watch Oprah’s Big Give
• If Dan and I were to have a baby it would probably be a video game based on Dexter. In somewhat related news, The Wire’s Dukie likes Dexter
• FCC Okays Nudity On TV If It’s Alyson Hannigan (The Onion)
• Nerd Alert! Buffy Season 8 issue 12 comes out this week
• If Rudy Giuliani stayed in the race, his political ads might

Let’s get weird for a minute, shall we?

I’ve totally got a crush on a girl. That girl? The chick who plays Nick George’s wife on Dirty Sexy Money.

I don’t know what it is, but I’m totally gay for this lady. The weird thing is it’s got nothing to do with her character’s personality. Not that the character is grating in any way (she’s pretty much solely a moral compass for Nick) but I just like looking at her.

She just so pretty. I want to tousle her pixie hair and tap her on the button nose.

Don’t worry, though. I’m not going to stop stalking Nestor Carbonell any time soon. Upon further research, though, I’m alarmed to find out that she has an illustrious career in nerdery, including a regular role on JAG, a role in Dungeon and Dragons: The Movie as well as two episodes on Star Trek: Voyager where she looked like this.

I feel guilty getting excited about a reality TV show in this tumultuous time for writers, but I can’t help it — Project Runway is just that good. And it premieres tonight!

Now is the time when I squeal like a little girl: It’s Joel McHale’s guest starring appearance on Pushing Daisies! There are so many things to love about Joel McHale. His impeccable comic timing. His willingness to embarrass himself. His ability to be self-deprecating but still really enjoy himself. I’m so proud he’s on “real” TV — and not only that, but the best new show of the season.

And Dirty Sexy Money is on tonight, too. I’m looking forward to it, but I’ve exceeded my daily allowance of exclamation points.

Mythbusters throws a wrench into your TiFauxing plans by extending to two hours, for some supersized myths. Luckily, Mythbusters re-airs frequently, so schedule your TiFaux carefully and you needn’t miss anything.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming: Has anyone ever watched anything on the National Geographic Channel? I’m not entirely sure we get it. But they have a slate of interesting-looking shows tonight. Topics include skinheads and people who dive into volcanoes for a living.

We’re back.

• Fans are eagerly awaiting the end of The Wire.
• Picketing is a family affair.
• Paige Davis is allegedly coming back to Trading Spaces.
• Portia de Rossi says she isn’t playing herself on Nip/Tuck.
• USA Today tallies all the impending reality TV shows.
• Is Survivor’s Courtney anorexic?
• Check and see how many episodes are left of all your favorite scripted shows.
• Create your own Hero.  Or something.
• Lost’s Damon Lindelof wrote an op-ed on the strike for the NY Times.
• The Daily Herald compares Arrested Development and Dirty Sexy Money.  Catch up, man, catch up.
• Kristen Schaal of Flight of the Conchords talks to the AV Club.
• Family Guy is going on without its creator.
• Top Chef will air a holiday competition special with past contestants.
• A reality show for Marc Jacobs?
• Ask Ausiello: Strike edition.
• TV Guide previews tonight’s Project Runway premiere.
• E-Kristin does a spoiler chat and answers strike questions.

In today’s episode of What’s Depriving Us of Our Shows Now, meet the Country Music Awards on ABC. No Pushing Daisies or Dirty Sexy Money for us. This couldn’t have been scheduled for a Thursday? Or, you know, not shown at all?

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming: Only one more week until Project Runway debuts.

Yes, I am excited it’s Wednesday because of all the good TV. But I’m also excited to be back from fulfilling (enduring) my civic duty. Don’t ask me about it. Crime is not always fun like in Oceans 11.

It’s a Halloween episode of Pushing Daisies, which I’m looking forward to almost as much as the giant bag of candy I bought for the approximately zero children who ring our doorbell.

It’s gratifying that my early instinct on Dirty Sexy Money — that Brian is by far the most interesting Darling — seems to be true so far. He’s so angry and spiteful. But human.

I’m still recording Gossip Girl, but it’s not actually getting watched, as evidenced by my multi-week backlog. I would guess scandalous things are happening.

Just in time for Halloween, Mythbusters returns with some fire myths. Presumably not as a tasteless tie-in to the California wildfires.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming: A special one for Cristin — David Wright is the guest on The Daily Show tonight.

Daddy issues: it’s the hot new internal turmoil for characters on the small screen.

That’s not to say paternal conflict hasn’t been mined since Hamlet as fodder for character motivation (although I suppose that was more uncle/stepdad or ghost daddy issues). But if you’re watching any TV these days there’s at least one show with a prominent father-related plotline. Lost, for example, is chock full of alcoholic dads, power-crazy dads, deadbeat dads and Machiavellian con artist dads. Characters with major father conflicts include Jack (and therefore Claire, kinda), Locke, Hurley, Sun (and Jin’s father-in-law), Ben, Sawyer, Penny and Kate (step-father — remember? She blew him up).

So, here is a sampling of daddy issues rated on a scale of 1 to 10 for intensity. One being “C’mon, can I borrow the car?” and 10 being “Why’d you have to push me out of the 8th floor of your apartment building?”

Jack on Lost — 8.0

Like father, like son — at least when you’re talking about alcoholic, type-A surgeons. Jack’s entire backstory is anchored by his relationship with his father. Even his romantic entanglements seem secondary in comparison to his quest for his father’s approval. On a show with no shortage of bad dads, this one is the most all-consuming.
“Aww… you look very nice in your white coat son. Now fix papa a bowl of bourbon.”

Locke on Lost –10.0

Locke is such a douche bag that I hardly care about his daddy issues, but the plot line about his con man dad is so cartoonishly messed-up that it is entirely necessary to mention. Locke’s dad has: tricked Locke out of a kidney, pushed him out of a window in an attempt to kill him and bereated him even while he was Locke’s prisoner on the island. Not that anything about Lost is realistic, but the extent of evil in Locke’s dad is pretty out there.

Nick on Dirty Sexy Money — 5.0

Nick has spent his entire life trying to not be his Dad, Dutch, by getting into do-good law and being the consumate family man. But the premise of the whole series is that he’s trying to avoid falling into the same traps his dad did while working for the Darlings. Then there’s the whole murder mystery angle — was Dutch murdered? Were the Darlings behind it? On some level, Nick doesn’t really care, but he’s a decent guy so he has to find out. I’m going to go on record here as saying that I don’t think Dutch is dead (they didn’t find a body). I base this on nothing but instinct (my instincts are rarely correct, though — remember when I thought Burke was going to kill himself on Grey’s Anatomy? Ah, memories.).

Dexter on Dexter –4.0

Dexter’s dad is actually a good one. I mean, he’s kind of wacky, but he prevents innocent people from dying. Dexter’s dad, for those of you who don’t watch, died a long time ago, but instilled the “Code of Harry” in Dexter. He taught his young, adoptive sociopath to satisfy his bloodlust with hunting and, eventually, by only killing people who really deserve it. Papa Dexter comes back through flashbacks with a child star playing young Dexter (complete with matching mole!). Nowadays, Dexter’s psyche is very much haunted by the memories of good old dad.

Parkman on Heroes — 7.5

Parkman was abandoned by his father — who is apparently now the worst hero ever. Worse than Sylar even. We have much to learn about this one.

George on Grey’s Anatomy — 5.5

You know, Grey’s Anatomy is pretty awful most of the time, but they managed to do some good stuff with the death of George’s dad. The bit where Christina talks to him about the “dead dads club,” the part where George freaks out on Dr. Weber because his Dad didn’t know any better than to get the risky surgery — all pretty affecting moments on a show where I’m not used to giving a rat’s ass. Or even paying close attention for that matter. That storyline has faded now, but it’s probably best left untarnished.

The Bionic Woman’s dad — meh

There’s something going on with him because why would the sister be living with Jamie if the dad’s still around. But this show is so awful that who really cares? It won’t be around next season to explore that plot line anyway.

He’s a mogwai.

• Mark your calendars for April — that’s when Battlestar returns.
• Daniel Day-Kim is the .
• The Fall Out Boy singer is going to be on Law and Order.
• Has Grey’s Anatomy found itself a lesbian?
• The NY Times reports on Werewolf Bar Mitzvah.
• Back to You .
• Ladies: are you desperate? Do you kind of hate yourself? Well, the Bachelor 12 is now casting.
• Yay.  More scripts have been ordered for Dirty Sexy Money.
• An interview with Scrubs’ Bill Lawrence.
• More Reaper scripts have been ordered.

Our favorite show about a magical pie-maker that recently received a full-season order to the thrill of audiences nationwide, Pushing Daisies, continues its whimsy tonight. Speaking of pies, I saw Waitress last night. Also sweet. (And TV related: Nathan Fillion. Enough said, am I right?) I really need to learn how to make pies.

This morning I decided there were three types of stories. There’s the story where things are bad, then they get good (Heroes, House, Waitress). Then there’s when things are good, then they get bad (Gossip Girl, Dirty Sexy Money [both new tonight], Damages, Curb Your Enthusiasm). And there are stories where things are bad, and then they get worse (Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Arrested Development). I’m not sure if this distinction makes any sense to anyone but me, but I find it helpful in deciding what type of show I’m in the mood for. Lately I’ve felt some good-to-bad story fatigue. As much fun as these stories are, watching someone’s dreams get crushed over and over can be exhausting. You just know that Dan’s date is going to go horribly, Jenny is going to be humiliated, Nick will be forced to make ethically unsound decisions and neglect his wife and kid, and everything Juliet and Jeremy do will backfire. There’s nothing wrong with a bad-to-good story every once in a while.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming: NBC has been relentlessly promoting the campy-looking Phenomenon, which I gather has something to with magic tricks. Oh, I’m sorry: “They’re not tricks, they’re illusions!”