Nip/Tuck is one of TV's greatest and simplest pleasures. It's filthy, gory, melodramatic, often funny, and you always know what you can expect from it. It's like a rock to lean on amidst the tension-induced hair-pulling that shows like Lost and Dexter make me do. A crazy rock that is on some of the bad stuff, but a rock nonetheless. After an episode of Nip/Tuck, I don't sit around for the rest of the week wondering what will happen next, what every single minute detail of every episode means for the rest of the series, what it represents metaphorically or if the characters are being sufficiently and appropriately matured and developed, because I know that these slutty people are crazy, and whatever attempts they endeavor to pull their lives out of the persistent, unfathomable shambles they're in will always be thwarted and they'll always be back to rock bottom, where they really love being anyway. And I like that. Nip/Tuck knows what it is, and it embraces it more confidently than any other series on television. Also? Sweeeet soundtrack, dudes.

Move over Anthony Bourdain, I've got a new travel channel crush and his name is Adam Richman. He's not your conventional hottie, and he may not dine on high-brow cuisine or go globe-trotting to exotic locales, but this down home guy is exceedingly lovable and his new series, Man V. Food is addictive. Now I don't like to cook much, so watching Giada whip up a meal isn't really all that fascinating to me, but I do like to eat, and I love shows that involve a competition, and this one serves up a little bit of everything.

It is a slow news week out there in TV land and I just can't bring myself to talk about Speidi and their non-wedding in any depth. That's why we've got awesome recappers. But in poking around the wilds of the internet, I spotted these two treats, that I thought you all may enjoy. Especially if you are in desperate need of a wrapping break, or a family break.

I just found out that Neil Patrick Harris, who goes by St. Neil around these parts, will be hosting Saturday Night Live when the show returns on January 10th. This is the best thing I've heard about that show since Jon Hamm started hawking John Hams. Any regular readers will know that I think the erstwhile Doogie Howser and current Barney Stinson can do no wrong. Especially if he's singing!

There's been a bigger than usual hole in my heart since Flight of the Conchords went on hiatus, so it gives me great joy (and a case of the giggles!) to announce that they're back back back and better than ever! Funny or Die is premiering the first ep of the new season, which won't air for reals on HBO 'til January. Since last we saw the delightful Kiwis, Murray has all but abandoned the FoTC in favor of international pop sensations the Crazy Dogs, so they totally fire his ass and are promptly hired to write a jingle for Femadent, a toothpaste made just for women's needs. Dave shows up and teaches them about ladies and bargaining (did you know Dave means "deal" in Latino?), Murray gets majorly sued by some Polish band and must resort to living in his car, Mel sets fire to things, Bret loses a shoe but gains a pair of woven pants and there's a nice little song about angels having sexytimes up in heaven. It's all very high-concept. So much love today! Watch and chuckle after the jumpular.

The world has been waiting for the return of Lorelai Gilmore Lauren Graham for what feels like eternity. You all agree she's the best, right? Well, if the reports of her return to TV are true, we might fina-friggin'-lly be getting our wish. Graham is said to be tied to an as-yet untitled ABC sit-com from the Will & Grace scribes (not so good) and produced by Mitch Hurwitz (insanely good) that will follow her tribulations as a life coach-typed person whose own life begins to unravel after a super-rough breakup. Could be a hoot or the worst thing to happen to her since Because I Said So, which made me want to stab my eyes out, re-grow them with the help of stem-cell technology and then stab them out again.

Personally, I like it -- a lot! I know a lot of people think Lisa's annoying and are freaked out by her lips (she's aware of this now, and is currently working on the lip situation, according to last week's The Soup), but Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin are my favorite celebrity couple of all time. And yes, I do keep a favorite celebrity couples list. What? Like you don't?

In case you were reviewing the previous four seasons of Lost and thinking to yourself, "This show is pretty good, but I could really use more lingering questions to keep me up at night," ABC has released two! Entire! Minutes! of the season premiere for us interwebbed folks to watch. I know you're going to watch it (after the jump) anyway, but here's what happens in the clip and what it made me think about (we are in the business of recapping, after all):

Yesterday I watched the Battlestar Galactica trailer and started counting down the days until this show returns on January 16th. Today NBC unveiled their winter schedule, and while there was some other information in there that I'm sure I'll examine more closely later on, one bit stuck out like a bright beacon of hope. Friday Night Lights is returning to network TV on that very same evening. My cup and DVR runneth over.

So after watching the trailer for the last half of the (final) season of Battlestar Galactica, I'm starting an official countdown to the January 16 premiere. That's 51 more days of not-so patiently waiting. It looks really good. I know these jump cuts with snippets of dialogue make it a bit hard to tell what the hell is going on, but when Saul whispers "There must be some kind of way out of here" and they start playing the Watchtower/Cylon theme, I got giddy goosebumps.