TREADING DANGEROUSLY ON HUCKAPOO'S TURF: Brought to you by the same impressarios who assembled the Pussycat Dollas, the Slumber Party Girls are the next pre-fab teen girl pop group. Maybe, unlike their predecessors, they'll actually release an album.

TWO SEPARATE, YET EQUALLY IMPORTANT PARTS: I didn't mind much the introduction of hot chicks into Law and Order: Original Recipe--Milena Govich was sufficiently hard-edged as Green's new partner (and Jesse Martin's lecture about lessons was nicely written and delivered) and Alana De La Garza added a bit of an edge to the junior ADA part (which has been lacking ever since Angie Harmon left--need I say more than "Is this because I'm a lesbian?"). What I did have a problem with is that it looks like we're introducing an overarching "arc plot" as part of a campaign to earn Sam Waterston an Emmy for acting (no wins in six nominations) about McCoy reconciling with his daughter. While I would argue that the greatest L&O of all time is "Aftershock" (an episode that's all character, no crime), part of what has made the show so effective for so long is that it is almost entirely self-contained. Waterston's tremendously talented--his lacking of an award is sad, but this doesn't strike me as the way to get it. (And anyway, the fine folks at the Emmys know it's Hugh Laurie's turn this time anyway.)

MY WEEKEND GIFT TO YOU: Possibly the creepiest g-rated photo album I have ever seen.

L'SHANA TOVA: While I am pleased to wish Sen. George Allen and all my fellow MOTTs a Happy New Year, I thought I'd do a little cleaning before 5767 rolls around (I know I will be writing 5766 on all my checks for the next month). Here's a whole bunch of lists that have been weighing down my bookmarks for days, weeks, and months (and I apologize in advance for not crediting those from whom I found these links).

• The worst hockey logos of all time. How did this one not make the list?
  
• The 10 dumbest super-hero secret identities of all time. We can believe a man can fly, but we can't believe that a pair of glasses can so completely camouflage a man.
  
• The 12 best places to go to prison.
  
• A British look at the top 50 TV Themes.
• After this summer, this list of the top 10 worst blockbusters of all time needs updating.
• A list of Simpsons' phrases--beyond "D'oh"--that you can sprinkle in your everyday conversation.
  
• Just in time for the playoffs, the best baseball stadiums for vegetarians.
  
• The 50 greatest game show hosts. Finally the genius of Gene Rayburn and the skinny mic are recognized.
  
• Retrocrush is also doing one of their progressive countdowns of the top 100 cover songs of all time. So far they are at No. 58, but I have a hard time believing there are many better covers than No. 74, The Fine Young Cannibals' take on Elvis' "Suspicious Minds," that was a big, big part of the soundtrack of my college years.
• And yet another Retrocrush list: The top 20 zombie films of all time, which gives a little sugar to the underrated "Night of the Comet," which was the first movie my then-girlfriend, now wife and I saw together in the theater.
  
• And speaking of covers, Slate looks at why there is already a long list of artists covering "Crazy."
• 14 classic opening lines from Tom Petty, an artist I and many other are guilty of often overlooking.
  
• 10 uncool songs it's OK to admit liking.
  
• The new Cracked is coming up with some great lists, such as: The five-most obviously drug-fueled TV appearances ever; the five most ineffective anti-drug PSAs of all time; and five movies Hollywood needs to stop making now.
• Zach Braff also takes it on his Shins-loving chin in this blogger's clever list of Braff's 10 Easy Tips for Writing Films About Twenty-Somethings.
• Ten Creative Ways for Matthew McConaughey to Take His Shirt Off In Public.
• 20 things you didn't know about death.
• Sports Illustrated and Viagra are counting down the top 20 sports experiences. The top two have yet to be revealed but you know the competition will be stiff for the top spot (from close scrutiny of the shrouded thumbnails, I am guessing they are the Tour de France and British Open at St. Andrew's) . I, alas, have only experienced one of the events--No. 5, Michigan v. Ohio State in Ann Arbor.
  
• Lord Voldemort was voted the worst villain in the history of literature.
  
• 20 questionable career moves, from Hootie singing about chicken sandwiches to Craig Kilborn to Jackie the Jokeman.
• Tina Fey and Yothers? Maxim thinks there both among TV's 10 least attractive women.
  
• Yet another Oasis-dominated British list of the greatest songs of all-time.
  
• Blender has a list of music-related firsts.
  
• And, a list to make Lynne Truss smile: the top ten songs featurin’ present participles (or gerunds) with dropped “G”’s.

I WILL LOVE YOU SOONISH? Four posts mentioning Grey's in the last 24 hours isn't sufficient to give you guys a forum to discuss the premiere? I hated the medicine, enjoyed the flashbacks, found the entire episode wildly disjointed, and thought the whole thing had sound issues making everything hard to understand, especially Izzie's speech on the floor.

Oh, and apparently our neighbors north of the border can't tell the difference between a tape labeled "episode one" and one labeled "episode two" and aired the second ep last night instead of the premiere. (Shonda the Spoiler Nazi must be PISSED.) So if you're dying to know what happens next, talk to a Canadian. Or read the spoiler thread on TWoP. (I won't link to it so as not to be an enabler.) It sounds pretty steamy, if you ask me.

NOW THAT'S MCDREAMY FOR BUSINESS: Not only did Grey's Anatomy beat CSI in the fast nationals last night (by over two million viewers, no less!), the 8 PM clip show almost beat Survivor: Race Wars and solidly defeated Earl and The Office. In another victory for quality TV, Deal or No Deal and Celebrity Duets both got creamed at 9 PM. More interestingly, without Without A Trace, ER regained supremacy at 10 PM, barely edging Shark, and Six Degrees may well be headed for a rapid death, given that it lost nearly half of the Grey's lead-in and finished last in its timeslot. Looks like ABC's risky dice roll could pay dividends.

I AAAAAAAAAAAAAM AN INNOCENT MAN: Victor Garber? Still a big draw for me even when playing a role where he gets to smile occasionally. I can't say whether I'll continue to watch Justice once I have a full slate on the DVR, but for now, four episodes in, I'm still enjoying it. (And if it replaces the foundering Vanished in the Monday 9 pm slot -- which seems not unlikely given that the initially strong Justice got tromped this week-- that will give me something to do between Prison Break and Studio 60 in the fictitious universe in which I watch TV in real time.) But I do question the producers' wisdom on one major issue that will likely kill the show for me if it doesn't resolve itself soon.

Thus far, we've got four not-guilty verdicts -- not surprising, given that TNT&G is supposed to be a firm that doesn't lose trials. Fine. The surprise is that we've also got four innocent defendants. How impressed are we supposed to be that the firm is managing to get people acquitted who haven't actually done anything wrong other than find themselves in precarious straits? Every week I watch, thinking "ah, this will be the first week where the defendant has actually killed someone." And every week I am astounded to find that no, TNT&G has helped save another innocent person. Any criminal defense lawyer would love to have this many clients who didn't commit any crime.

Attention Jerry Bruckheimer: it's time to impress me by using all these glitzy trial techniques to get some actual murderers off scot-free. It's the American way, after all.