I rocked the vote...

All I really have to say about American Idol is:
a) I seriously thought David Cook threw the competition Tuesday night, and even though he won (yay!), I'm still not convinced that he didn't
b) I'm relieved that he won, and I'll totally buy his CD if I remember who he is by the time it comes out (which I won't...)
c) (... unless we get married and have babies)
d) David Cook obviously won because of my 10 votes (yeah, I actually voted -- I started getting nervous Tuesday when he sucked out and Simon slammed him)
e) Everything else I have to say can be summed up in this article from EW: "David Cook Goes the Distance"
f) That article also made me want to get back to my snarky tv recap style... so Televisionista readers, you can thank EW for reminding me why I blog about TV in the first place

Grey's: no longer gray

I gave up on Grey's Anatomy back in December, but I figured I'd be back, so I saved all the episodes my DVR recorded between then and now. On Sunday, I sat down and watched them all -- and I'm so glad I did. Grey's. Is. Back.

I don't know why I was frustrated with it before. Maybe it was all the blood during sweeps in the fall. I didn't sign up to watch gross ER-like scenes. (Seth Green, I love ya, but the exploding artery storyline was dis-gusting.) But I honestly think the Grey's writers had gone a bit astray.

Why? Logically, it makes sense to blame Private Practice, Shonda Rimes' Grey's spinoff, for distracting Shonda from her moneymaker. Note that the eps are getting good again now that Private Practice is off the air. You could also blame the Isaiah Washington scandal for distracting the whole Grey's staff and screwing with the chemistry on the show. Or maybe Shonda lost sight of what Grey's viewers really want to see (Strong Cristina, Izzy the Fighter, Lovelorn/Psychotic Meredith, Humanized Bailey, Sensitive but Also Asshole-ish Derek, Unmarried George, and a lot less of the minor/new characters).

Regardless, we're finally back. There's less blood, a little humor, a lot more heart, and I heard that Derek and Meredith are getting together for real at the end of the season. Maybe this is one show that was helped and not hurt by the writers' strike. Seriously.

What are YOU watching?

I'll admit it - the writer's strike was a major TV strike-out for me. I don't know about you, blog readers, but I haven't been watching many of my favorite shows lately, thanks to the strike-induced hiatus.

You may ask how a TV addict could possibly dis her favorite medium like this. I wasn't sure when my shows were coming back, for one thing. I was sick of waiting, sick of checking listings, sick of the hype. More than that, I'd gotten out of the habit of tuning in every week. I started filling my time with actual social interaction (what?!), tv on dvd, documentaries, HBO on-demand movies, and the dreaded cable television (thanks, South Park, for getting me through). And then there's that thing called Hulu.

Now that the shows are back on TV, I find either I don't care very much about a lot of them (Boston Legal, Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives) or I missed the start of the season thanks to staggered start-dates and it's too late to start now (Beauty and the Geek, Top Model, Hell's Kitchen).

Are you having the same problem, blog readers? I don't think I'm alone, based on today's TV Watch from Media Post. Read it here: "Where are the Viewers?"

In this dismal strike season, which network shows have you stuck with? Here are my fabulous few:
- American Idol
- 30 Rock
- How I Met Your Mother
- The Office
- Til Death
- Back to You

Incidentally, I can't help but notice that the shows that have stayed on my roster require little to no attention span, either because they're mindless (Idol) or they're 22 mins long. Interestingly, the ones that have fell off include Grey's, Lost, Desperate Housewives, House, Bones... all hour-long dramas. Shows I've picked up on the way include South Park, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader (I know, I know), Saturday Night Live, etc. I don't know what's going on with me.

Regardless, is this an epidemic? Is this season just ruined for network dramas? I'm sure I'll come back to them next season. Is it just me?