“Lost”
Wednesday 10pm, ABC
Delight, Losties, as starting tonight you get a whopping 16 episodes straight, no repeats, to finish out Season 3. Since the producers have started talks with ABC regarding when and how to wrap up the sprawling series, hopefully we’ll start getting some traction on a couple of the lingering plotlines. Some things we know for sure: Somebody else is dying by season’s end; Juliet, one of The Others, will play a critical role in the escape of Jack, Kate and Sawyer; crazy Desmond turns up after seemingly getting blown up in last season’s finale; and look for more flashbacks featuring Sawyer’s baby momma and the introduction of GoFugYourself.com staple Bai Ling. Hopefully she dresses appropriately for the occasion.
“Ugly Betty”
Thursday 8pm, ABC
It’s always nice when a good show gives you a good shock. A mystery has been building throughout this sprightly comedy’s inaugural season over the identity of the bandaged woman Wilhelmina (the awesome Vanessa Williams) has been hiding from the world. Clues had deliberately pointed us toward the former editor of the series’ central fashion mag, who supposedly died just prior to the start of the story. But a few weeks ago the mystery figure was revealed to be Alexis —formerly known as Alex —the sex-changed brother-turned-sister of Daniel, our heroine’s boss. Best of all: She’s played by Rebecca Romijn! Love it. In the coming weeks look for guest stars Jerry O’Connell (Romijn’s real-life bf), “Project Runway”’s Tim Gunn, and the underused Lucy Liu.
Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
Friday 10pm, Showtime
Last week I stupidly forgot to plug Silverman’s new Comedy Central show, which airs Thursdays at 10:30pm. I make amends this week by mentioning both “The Sarah Silverman Program” and this 2005 flick, which premieres tonight on Showtime. You might recognize Silverman from her interviews in The Aristocrats, and if so, then you know she’s a filthy, filthy comic indeed. And I love her for it. This film is part comedy concert, part song-and-dance sketch show. None of it is for the easily offended, as she cracks wise on her Judaism, eating disorders, sex, Jesus, and even AIDS. Yes. An AIDS joke. And it’s actually hysterically funny. Now that’s magic.—Eric Rezsnyak