Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I am blown away by last week, I am looking forward to change and getting LOST.

Tuesday January 20th brings the events of the 2008 US Presidential Election to a close with the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States.  This event has reached an epic status, so much so that you can’t open your email without getting spammed by offers for the Obama coin. Amazing Spider-Man #583 had a variant cover featuring the President Elect in the foreground that sold easily on eBay for $100 and up. I’d say the country has Obama fever, but I feel more like we have had enough of the George W. Bush flu and we’re ready for what we hope is the Obama cure to this condition. I don’t envy our new President as he has a lot to deal with in handling the monumental task of getting things back on track. I hope his inauguration is at least one heck of a celebration that can create fond memories for him to remember in the difficult days ahead.

In speaking of our soon-to-be former Preisdent I think, in looking back at last week, it is kind of interesting that George W. Bush‘s farewell to the nation was overshadowed by something that also gives us hope for the future. The US Airways plane crash into the Hudson River gave us something to hold up as proof that even when things appear to be at their worst great things can happen. An airline pilot made all the right decisions, everyday people banded together to help one another, and 155 lives were saved. I’d gladly take this tale of near tradgedy and heroic deeds over a speach attempting to tell everyone why the past 8 years weren’t so bad.

Of course I can’t talk about plane crashes without discussing this week’s season premiere of LOST. The plight of Oceanic Flight 815 is back and we begin our journey of discovering why and how the Oceanic 6 get back to the mysterious Island as well as what happened after they left. Don’t worry about an entire season of “How do we get back?” however. According to executive producer Damon Lindelof, “The conventional thinking might be that we’re going to spend the entire season telling the story of how and if these characters are able to make it back to the island. That’s not what we’re doing, not by any stretch of the imagination.”

I have very high hopes for this season of LOST because we are embarking on the final 34 episodes of the series (17 this season and 17 next season). With a finite set of episodes I’m hoping for lots of relevant content and not a lot of “filler”. Last season, which was whittled down to only 14 episodes due to the writer’s strike, was what I would call a nearly flawless execution of content minus filler. The only weakness of the season, for this writer, was having such a powerhouse episode such as The Constant followed up by the lackluster episode The Other Woman.  The writers have their road map, they know how long it is going to take to get us to where they want us, and all they have to do is now get us their in a way where we aren’t screaming in the back saying, “Are we there yet?!?”

In my hopes I’m trying to ignore the change in story telling that has to occur now that we have two different stories that have to be told. “The show is taking on a new model, in terms of the way we tell stories, and finding a balance between what’s happening off the island and on the island,” says Lindelof. “We’re really happy with the scripts that we’re writing, but at the same time, there’s this complete sense of fear and second-guessing, in terms of whether or not the audience is going to groove on what we’re doing.” In Season 3 the producers were able to quickly compensate for fan dislike of Nikki and Paulo. I only hope that before the show airs they aren’t so deep in the production that they won’t be able to error correct again if we don’t actually groove on what they’re doing. At least we know that they pay attention to fan feedback and, should we not dig it,  I hear you can work miracles in post-production.

That all being said, let’s take a look at the shape of things to come this week.

MONDAY

FOX – 8:00 PM: I’d love to recap 24 so far but it’s already getting pretty convoluted and we’re only at episode five. I’m still going to watch though.

FOOD – 8:30 PM: Food Network comes up with their own version of Dirty Jobs with Will Work for Food. Next Food Network Star alumni Adam Gertle does the not-so-known jobs in the culinary world. This week? Working on a lobster boat and harvesting honey.

HIST – 9:00 PM: The History Channel brings out their special from last August that shows us what it is like to fly in the highest of classes in Secret Access: Air Force One.

TUESDAY

FOX – 9:00 PM: Fringe returns tonight. Want to get caught up? Go here.

ABC – 8:00 PM: The Alphabet Network gets my vote for best night of inauguration programming. The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration has Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Shakira and Stevie Wonder scheduled to perform. Even if my neighborhood had a ball it wouldn’t be anything like this.

* Check local listings.

WEDNESDAY

FOX – 9:00 PM: Tim Roth comes to the little screen as a man so schooled in human behavior and mannerisms that he is a walking polygraph in the new drama Lie to Me.

NBC – 8:00 PM: I’m having flashbacks of 1982 as Knight Rider brings out the bad version of KITT named KARR. Peter Cullen adds to the deja vu by reprising the vocal role of KARR.

ABC – 8:00 PM: If you want to finally get in on the LOST experience then tune in at 8 PM for LOST: Destiny Calls where they try to get us all caught up and ready for the two hours of LOST‘s season premiere that follow at 9.

THURSDAY

NBC – 8:00 PM: I have no idea what NBC has planned since (at press time) this week’s description of My Name is Earl reads as part 2 of the episode that didn’t actually air last week. Maybe we’ll get part 1?

FX – 8:00 PM: Witness the horror of Van Helsing. I’m talking about the film itself. UGH!

AMC – 8:00 PM: Watch The Untouchables and you’ll never look at a baseball bat the same way again.

USA – 10:00 PM: The cool as a cucumber former spy is back with tonight’s return of Burn Notice. Apparently the near-death experience last season may have shaken some of the frost off of Michael’s cool exterior.

FRIDAY

NBC – 8:00 PM: OK, I might have originally mocked the idea a little but I actually did chuckle at Howie Do It and you might to.

CBS – 8:00 PM: The discovery of a mass-grave leads to a mass-haunting on Ghost Whisperer.

HIST – 8:00 PM: The 2003 special The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy used computer modeling of the Zapruder film and Dealey Plaza tries to answer the who and where of what happened on November 22, 1963.

SATURDAY

TOON – 8:00 PM: The direct to DVD cartoon Superman:Doomsday was an interesting adaption of the Death of Superman saga. There’s no “Reign of the Supermen” portion, but it is still entertaining.

USA – 8:00 PM: All the flash and glamour within can’t reproduce the cultural experience of the time of the original TV series in this film version of Miami Vice.

HALMARK- 8:00 PM: Clint Eastwood directed the captivating motion picture Unforgiven. Morgan Freeman came along for the ride, and I promise you this is no Bucket List.

SUNDAY

AMC – 6:00 PM: See how one former vet becomes a one man army in First Blood followed immediately by Rambo: First Blood Part II.

ABC – 8:00 PM: Prepare to have the ol’ heart strings tugged at a bit with two hours of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition where the team rebuilds the home of an injured war vet who’se home was damaged by a tornado.

NBC – 9:00 PM: Another network attempts to tap in to the DaVinci Code and National Treasure vibe with the Mira Sorvino driven adaptation of the book The Last Templar.

– Will Wilkins fears the frozen donkey wheel.

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