Star Rating: 4 out of 5

Stars: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin, Sarah Lancaster, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Bonita Friedericy, Mark Christopher Lawrence and Tony Hale

The Big Idea: Who doesn’t love a fresh start? Brand new year – brand new decade – and brand new episodes of Chuck, off to a powerhouse season-three debut with three episodes (two on Jan. 10 and another new ep in the show’s regular timeslot, Mondays at 8PM, on Jan. 11). I’ve had the chance to watch the first five episodes, and I’m happy to report that Chuck still has the heart, the humor and the high-octane action/romance blend that inspired fans to launch a successful save-the-show campaign (and nosh a whole lotta Subway sammies) last spring.

As we learned in last season’s finale, Chuck’s Intersect 2.0 flashes can now provide him with some serious (and seriously cool) physical talents, namely all manner of martial arts, and this turns out to be a boon for star Zachary Levi’s physical comedy skills. It’s pure joy to watch Chuck nervously summon up the appropriate proficiency in a tense situation, and then cycle rapidly through a full resume of emotions, from hesitant bemusement, to “This rocks!” giddiness at his newfound skills, to blasé mastery and back again.

And bonus, the worst kept secret in Chuckdom turns out to be true – the abilities don’t always appear on cue, and they tend to evaporate at really inconvenient moments.

To Watch or Not to Watch: So, Chuck’s not Superman – though his mysterious new boss Daniel Shaw is played by Brandon “Superman Returns” Routh, and Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk shows up in episode five as … well, we’re not really sure. Kreuk, like Rachel Bilson in season one, and Jordana Brewster in season two, does seem to fit someone’s preference for casting brunettes who’ve been in the Maxim Top 100 as rivals to Sarah for Chuck’s affection. And speaking of the would-be primetime supercouple, for Chuck and Sarah (Strahovski) in season three … well, it’s complicated, mostly because of Chuck’s new abilities and his new commitment to using them in his spy guy job. There’s some good, old-fashioned clueless guy moves along the way as well, including one on a train platform in the season premiere that will make you yell “Idiot!” at your TV.

Finally, the Buy More gang is back, and they’re in top form. Morgan’s (Joshua Gomez) return, culminating in him living the dream of every name tag-wearing arrested adolescent, Casey (Adam Baldwin) dealing effectively, brutally and comically with a terrorist insurgency loose in the big box store and a hilarious homage to Fight Club that leads to a classic Lester (Vik Sahay) and Jeff (Scott Krinsky) plot are but a few of the moments in the first batch of new episodes that should make us all happy those post-season two rumors of big budget cuts for Chuck didn’t mean we’ll be spending less time in the land of Buymoria.

TV Screener Tidbits: In addition to an even beefier role for Levi, Ryan McPartlin’s Captain Awesome also gets more play this season, as Awesome is sucked into the spy game and finds it, ultimately, not so much to his liking. Meanwhile, those rumors of a death in the season premiere? Sadly true. And it comes as a big shock.

Chuck season three premieres Sunday, January 10, at 9PM ET on NBC

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Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Michael McDonald’s leonine mane has morphed with his career arc, from Doobie Brothers hit machine/jet black, through ’80s chart-topping duets/salt-and-pepper, to eminent solo artist/silver-white, without a hair or beat out of place. Unlike the sad showings of other acts whose best days are clearly behind them, This Christmas shows no lion in winter, but an artist at the very top of his game.

The show opens on point; no rambling introduction, just a brief appreciation to the audience and a reminiscence of McDonald’s early Soundstage appearances with the Doobie Brothers that nicely transitions into the group’s classic “It Keeps You Running.” From the opening notes, it’s clear McDonald hasn’t lost a step, and his high energy vocals, well supported by Vince Denham’s stellar saxophone work, brings the crowd immediately to its feet. From here it’s a fast, successful hop to the familiar “I Keep Forgetting,” nicely embellished by Bernie Chiaravalle’s well-considered guitar accents and more exceptional sax tones. Both Chiaravalle and Denham are 20-year touring companions of McDonald’s, and it shows in the respectful reinvention they bring to these iconic hits.

With the audience now well warmed up, McDonald moves to the Christmas parts of the program – with jacket off, the original composition “Everytime Christmas Comes Around” starts it off. It’s not clear who’s having more fun with this infectious homage to Motown, the band or the enthusiastic crowd, but McDonald is right in his wheelhouse with this fast-paced number. The next song, “On this Night,” showcases how the years have mellowed McDonald’s powerhouse voice. This is just a lovely, haunting song, surprisingly frank in its faith, and well-received by the audience, all to the delight of a clearly touched McDonald.

From this point on, it’s a master class by a supremely confident, supremely gifted entertainer. McDonald moves from a jaunty cover of Stevie Wonder’s “What Christmas Means to Me,” featuring an Afro-Caribbean flavor and – no joke – a ukulele, to a ballads trifecta: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (simply elegant supported by violin, cello and ukulele), “Peace” (with just piano and strings showcasing McDonald’s post-9/11 plea for a world where “love won’t compromise”) and, finally, a restrained “This Christmas,” with full band.

The final bit of This Christmas is a mash-up of “White Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland” that moves from strength to strength. “White Christmas” is a poignant ballad, just McDonald and his piano, and then he seamlessly transitions to a rollicking, bluesy barn-burner edition of “Winter Wonderland,” sprinkled with soul.

The Doobie classics that close the show – a quick-tempo “Minute by Minute,” his wistfully amused, middle-aged perspective on “What a Fool Believes” and “Takin’ It to the Streets” as a call to love thy neighbor – are the perfect cap to a thoroughly memorable performance.

File this under “Must-See-Christmas-TV” in your viewing schedule.

Michael McDonald – This Christmas: A Soundstage Special Event airs on PBS stations throughout December; check local listings for date, time and channel

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Was last night’s installment of The Office, as Comic Book Guy would say, the worst. episode. ever? I’d argue yes. As The Star-Ledger’s Alan Sepinwall points out, Michael’s done some crappy things, but lying about sending a whole class of students to college, and then avoiding telling them about it until the last possible minute was so icky that it was difficult to find any laughs in the storyline.

And the evil Dwight plot to destroy Jim (and now adding evil Ryan to the mix): also unfunny. It’s well established that both Dwight and Ryan are weasels, but why are they going after Jim now, now that he and Pam are expecting a child? What do they hope to gain? Jim’s job? Not likely, since David Wallace doesn’t like either of them, and has always been fond of Jim (and, as we learned in last night’s ep, even has a social relationship with Jim). Besides, given Dunder-Mifflin’s precarious standing as a company, shouldn’t both Dwight and Ryan (particularly Ryan, with his job history) be more concerned about keeping their own jobs and boosting the company, instead of focusing on Jim Halpert?

One of the main reasons the show has made us laugh so much through the seasons is because there’s been a certain amount of reality, even in the most over-the-top behavior, by the Dunder-Mifflin gang. How many times have you thought to yourself that you know someone just like grumpy Stanley in your office? Or someone kinda mealy-mouthed like Toby? Or someone uptight and uber-judgmental like Angela?

But Michael’s fraud with the high school kids (and the lack of outrage by those around him – Pam pushed him to tell the kids the truth, but how would anyone possibly be able to hang with Michael after hearing he’d done this? Let alone try to console him, like receptionist Erin did!) takes his selfish behavior, his obliviousness to a new level. A new, totally unfunny one.

So I ask … did The Office jump the shark with the “Scott’s Tots” episode? Or, at the very least, did Michael Scott jump the shark in the land of TV characters?

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I’m not one of those Seinfeld series finale haters – upon several re-viewings, I’ve come to appreciate it for really sticking to the show’s “no lessons” philosophy and the chance to see all the crazy supporting characters/actors and actresses we loved along the way.

Still, I’ve also been hoping for a Seinfeld reunion pretty much since the week after the show aired its series finale in May 1998, and though it seems unlikely that we’ll actually get a true, full-on Seinfeld reunion now, the Sein reunion storyline that unfolded throughout the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm has been very satisfying.

And last night’s Curb season finale, the second part of a two-week episode that showed the Seinfeld reunion episode, reunited Jerry, Kramer, George and Elaine as well as Seinfeld, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and made me very nostalgic for the show with the repeated use of the Seinfeld sets, was truly a great capper to what I consider to be, far and away, the best-ever season of Curb.

The highlights (yes, spoilers ahead):

- In a giggle-inducing nod to Larry David’s trademark quizzical look when he thinks someone is lying to him, he and Jerry had a quizzical look-off when Jerry was trying to suss out why Larry was wigging out on the reunion set

- The reason Larry was wigging out on the reunion set: He suspected that estranged wife Cheryl, who was playing the part of the estranged wife of George Costanza (who, of course, is based on real-life Larry David), was falling for Alexander because he is so much like Larry

- A seemingly harmless request of Mocha Joe, the studio lot coffee cart guy, to carry a set of jumper cables to his office – and Larry’s neglect to tip Mocha Joe (who, hilariously, no one ever called “Joe” … always “Mocha Joe”) – led to a) Larry missing an opportunity to spend time with Cheryl (another example of him repeatedly being hoisted by his own petard, as he pointed out earlier in the season), b) Larry having to tip way more than he would have if he’d just given a small tip in the beginning; and c) Alexander’s dogs nearly getting killed

- After angering Jason Alexander with a script rewrite that led his TV alter ego to briefly drop out of the reunion, Larry insisted on playing George in the reunion episode (so meta!), right down to George’s sweater vests and the George “huh ha!” Hilarity, and potential disaster for the special had Alexander not been coerced into returning, ensued.

- After being accused by Julia Louis-Dreyfus of setting his drink down on her antique table and leaving a ring on it during a party she hosted for Jason Alexander’s book, Larry became obsessed with figuring out who was the real culprit, the person who, unlike him, did not have the proper reverence for wood. After accusing both Jerry and Susie Greene, it turned out his very own Cheryl was the guilty party.

- Alexander’s book: Acting Without Acting, a tome so thin that Larry, Jerry and Cheryl insisted it was actually a pamphlet, and so self-important that it sparked a clever bit from Jerry about acting skills (which was particularly funny since, during Seinfeld’s early years, Jerry often took critical hits for the fact that he was a comedian who was trying to act and not a “real actor”)

- And the night’s second reunion: After watching the Seinfeld reunion episode together, Larry and Cheryl reunited, and it felt so good … until Larry nearly ruined (or, as Larry would pronounce it, “rooned”) it with his realization that Cheryl was the drink ring perp.

What did you think of the finale? Did you love the Curb season? And what about the Seinfeld reunion-within-the show?

Also, since there’s been no commitment yet by Larry David for an eighth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, do you think this season finale serves as a good series finale if he doesn’t come back for another season?

And, are you still mad about that Seinfeld series finale? Or did this Curb reunion, in which George ended up happily (inasmuch as that’s possible for the neurotic New Yorker) married and Jerry and Elaine had a kid together, finally satisfy you?

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Warehouse 13: “MacPherson” (the first season finale)
Star Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

Stars: Eddie McClintock (Agent Pete Lattimer); Joanne Kelly (Agent Myka Bering); Saul Rubinek (Agent Artie Nielsen); Genelle Williams (Leena); CCH Pounder (Mrs. Frederic); and guest starring Roger Rees (MacPherson)

The Big Idea: Warehouse 13 finishes its first season a winner, with the unevenness of early episodes wholly redeemed by a smoothly-executed, season-ending cliffhanger. The initial stories, rife with clunky hat tips to Raiders of the Lost Ark, The X-Files and Moonlighting, were thin, but fun, saved largely by the show’s seriously cool cyberpunk atmospherics and McClintock’s innate charm. But the writers and the rest of the cast have found their groove, and now it’s all good – a harmonized, well-textured storyverse, where characters’ layered histories are nearly as compelling and mysterious as the objects they seek.

To Watch or Not to Watch: This is smart TV, with clever, knowing references to historical figures leavened by “what if” twists that fuel the warehouse and complicate the lives of its agents, a world where Edgar Allan Poe’s pen, for example, literally make one’s skin crawl. More impressively, Warehouse 13 doesn’t flinch from the implications of its premise: “artifacts” encapsulating magic and mystery are too dangerous for the world and must be locked safely away from the public. Sacrifice is the watchword: sacrifice of the 12 previous warehouses (whose fate is tipped, a bit, here), sacrifice by the agents (lost loves, secretive lives dominated by obsessive work) and sacrifice that by hiding away the artifacts, they are deliberately making the world a less extraordinary place.

In “MacPherson,” we see one potential endgame to this scenario, as a gifted former agent becomes an implacable foe, driven not ultimately by greed, but by the deep sense that it is wrong to lock away these marvels, and choose security over wonder for all. James MacPherson, we see, is yin to Artie Nielsen’s yang. They are twin extremes: the exploiter vs. the protector, and that leads to what may be the ultimate sacrifice in the season’s cliffhanger.

TV Screener Tidbit: Saul Rubinek and Roger Rees just can’t catch a break with love triangles when they inhabit the same TV world. In Warehouse 13, Artie and MacPherson were in love with the same woman, who married MacPherson and helped spark their rivalry. Flashback to the Cheers universe, and there’s Rees’ Robin Colcord being sent to jail and losing the affections of Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) to Sam Malone (Ted Danson), while on Cheers spin-off Frasier, Rubinek’s nice guy Donny Douglas was left at the altar when his fiancé Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves) played runaway bride with Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce).

The Warehouse 13 first season finale premieres Tuesday, September 23, at 9PM ET on Syfy

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