“Louie” is part real-life, part nouveau sitcom – allowing Louis CK to ‘play’ a character, who happens to be a recently divorced comedian named Louie. The show doesn’t veer too far from CK’s real life, including his awkward return to dating and his bizarre attempts to make his daughters ‘like’ him and much of the plot comes from his stand-up routine. Think an HBO version of “Seinfeld” but circa 1995, with the stand-up material acting as a bridge to the plot not an introduction. And you can’t forget that this show is about an actual NYC comedian because within the first two episodes, which premiered back to back last night, there have already been cameos from half of the NYC comedian population. Its an evolved version of the stand-up to sitcom premise we are all so familiar with, both in its tone and its settings. The show carefully straddles the line of real-life for Louis CK and has moved beyond the studio settings so popular for sitcoms and uses New York City as its actual backdrop. This show breaks ground as it doesn’t stick to the standard parameters of a TV show, much like a handful of HBO & Showtime programming has, so much at times I actually forgot I was watching a sitcom.

This is not the first TV project for Louis CK – his overtly realistic sitcom “Lucky Louie” ran on HBO for a season back in 2006 before getting canceled due to low ratings. And “Louie” seems like an obvious evolution from “Lucky Louie”, where the jokes allow us to laugh at the uncomfortable aspects of every day life, especially as an adult. CK’s standard themes – aging, curiosity over sexuality, fatherhood and dieting – are still weaved throughout the show, but now we can actually laugh with the comedian as opposed to just feel plain old bad for him. Much like CK’s material, “Louie” sometimes loses its main focus and there were a few very “STELLA” moments, like when his date just left in a helicopter, where the show goes almost too ‘next level’. If you are familiar with CK’s brand of comedy or if you appreciate a comedy that is far from cookie cutter, then you will find this the show more than refreshing. FX continues to bring a new style of comedy to the small screen, like its hit “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, a program where the main characters are so dysfunctional that you have to laugh at them. Check out a promo for “Louie” below and if you enjoy awkward comedies, in the vein of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “IASIF”, make sure to tune in every Tuesday at 11PM on FX.

CHRISTIAN: Well there is no now, here.
JACK: Where are we, Dad?
CHRISTIAN: This is a place that you all made together, so that you all could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time you spent with these people. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.
JACK: For what?
CHRISTIAN: To remember, and let go.
JACK: Kate – she said we were leaving.
CHRISTIAN: Not leaving, no – moving on.
JACK: Where are we goin’?
CHRISTIAN: Let’s go find out.

When we watched Jack, most surely, breath his last breath, joined by the always trusty Vincent (who had a thing for “being there” for the newly dead) and view the plane overhead, we knew it was an end. It might not be the one I expected, it was well-crafted explanation that in the end – there is no definitive answers.

As an adult, LOST has been a vehicle for conversations with folks I never would have had a connection with. It allowed me to wonder about the effects of science and faith on our lives. And it made me empathize and hate characters all during one hour. Even after the last few moments of LOST, I was still attempting to fully grasp what was going on. And honestly, no ending would have been 100% perfect in my eyes – as I wasn’t really read for the adventure to end. But to spend the last few moments with a character, Mr. Jack Shepard, whom I watch evolve over the years, was a nice good bye. The writers of LOST are to be applauded for giving us folks with a bizarre craving for knowledge and mystery a reason to tune in each week. A show that was steeped in the popular culture was such a salute to the popular culture. Whether its clever tie ins to theories and plots from beloved books, tales and films or quip dialog while people are getting chased by mercenaries, polar bears and a motherfucking smoke monster, LOST never forgot its single function – to engage and entertain. If you walk away from tonight’s episode not completely enthralled in how enraptured we all are, than I feel bad for you. JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and actually ABC – thank you for inviting us all along on the ride. Even though it just ended, I have no problem tuning into the pilot and started again from the very beginning. Because in true LOST fashion, who knows how it will turn out this time? So let’s all try and figure out where we are going next.

Tomorrow, I will have a wrap up of LOST coverage, including the hilarious goodbye show courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel, and we’ll get to discuss the island for just a little bit longer. 4 8 15 16 23 42 and Namaste.

Peggy was not the only one who made moves this week. Betty Draper is on a search for something, so she begins to set her sights on an administration position within the local Junior League. The ladies are excited to bring on an intelligent and attractive woman and need help stopping the installation of a water tank in their town. Betty mentions that she knows a person who could help, one with connections to the governor. Henry Francis, the men she met earlier in the summer at Roger’s party, meets with her to discuss the political help she needs, but seems more interested in other things. It seems that Don was not the only Draper to meet someone of note at the Sterling party. Don has been dealing with his recent relationship with Conrad Hilton, who also met at the Sterling party. The agency has been proposing that Don now sign a contract, which was requested by Hilton himself. At first, he refused to sign a contract that would officially bring Conrad Hilton and his business on board, since it would tie Don down to Sterling Cooper for three years. After discussing it with nearly everyone in the office, Roger Sterling took it upon himself to ask Betty to work on Don for him. And let’s just say this did not help to strengthen the already very weakened friendship between the two men.

Don seems to have stepped back this episode as he is confronted with the idea that Sally’s flirtatious teacher didn’t think of him any differently than she does of the rest of the suburban fathers. His charms have not worked on her and her straight forwardness makes Don question himself, which seems to help him sink back into his old erratic behavior. What we have learned about Don Draper over the years is that he can not be questioned and yet, we see Roger, Betty, Peggy and even Sally’s teacher point out that he is not making the best decisions. Don decides to take a drive and pick up what seems to be a relatively normal looking couple, who quickly ply Don with drugs and alcohol. The couple pretends they are heading off to get married to avoid the upcoming Vietnam draft, which Don informs them is still sometime away. Its nice to see that advertising inside track is helping him with political questions. For some reason, probably the drugs, he goes with them to a hotel and after some weird interaction with the couple and next level with his father, who also questioned his manhood and life choices, he was quickly knocked out and mugged. He wakes up on the floor, covered in blood and with a near empty wallet. Luckily, the bastards left him the car, which seems like a strange thing to do, but who knows. Draper cleans himself up and heads into the office, where he knows he will have to face the music.

Cooper decides to explain the importance of Don signing this contract, essentially securing his talents and the business for Sterling Cooper for the next few years. His speech was perfect, poking at the information he was given about Don’s real identity back during the first season. “Would you say I know something about you, Don?” Cooper asked, following it up with, “After all, when it comes down to it, who’s really signing this contract anyway?” Don knows he has to sign, but while doing so and dating it 7/23/1963, he demands to sever all contact with Roger Sterling. Don quickly heads home and informs Betty that he has indeed signed the contract, while she is laying comfortably on her chaise. We are left wondering how the strife between Sterling and Draper will affect the agency and if Peggy will leverage Duck for some heavy work at Sterling Cooper.

I say bravo to Jenny for creating buzz for herself and the show, even if it was a mistake. Some of my favorite skits from Saturday Night Live have been more because of the mistakes or slip ups as opposed to their content. Its pretty impressive to become a household name overnight and thanks to the internet and the overwhelming support being thrown her way, it looks like Jenny should still have a job next week ( YOU LISTENING LORNE?). The young comedienne is hilarious and if utilized correctly could bring a real freshness to the show and possibly a whole new audience. Overall, this season premiere was “ehh” worthy and if it wasn’t for the slip, all we would be talking about is how surprisingly funny Megan Fox is, how old U2 is and where did the quality sketches go? Take a cue from one time SNL cast member and NBC funny guy Jimmy Fallon – create returning bits that poke fun of stuff going on TODAY. SNL you need to understand there is more than politics to mock. Let’s parody internet fads, bad reality shows, or how about even some tea bagging? If you are just going to rely on faux infomercials and shorts this season, the only thing the viewers will be tuning in to see is if there are any more f_ck ups.

UPDATE: According to Popeater, Lorne Michaels has no interest in firing Jenny Slate. WOOHOO!! Michaels said “It has to be an actor’s worst nightmare. Your first time on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and this happens. You could sense the mortification in the studio.” NBC spokeswoman Sharon Pannozzo also confirmed that Slate will continue to have a job at SNL. Me thinks Slate just got a free pass to be hysterical the rest of the season. Hopefully, she can be fully utilized in weeks to come. This is very good news.

Last night’s challenge was to create a wearable and exciting garment out of paper and probably one of the most boring pieces of “clothing” that has ever walked down the runway won it. What’s so exciting about a coat made out of newspaper, kept together with scotch tape? I have no idea, but it made Eva Longoria Parker and Tommy Hilfiger weak in the knees. The top three were a mismatch to what I thought were the strongest pieces of this odd challenge, but Irina, Althea and Christopher were deemed the best. Irina came out on top with her boring trench coat, and while there as a lot of work that went into it, not sure it was remotely the best product to go down that runway. I also hated the fact she thought “it was about time for to win”. Me no likey no humility in my designers.

The exciting part of last night was when the “former meth addict” Johnny had to pack it up and hit the auf’d road. Seriously, if I had to hear about that dude’s sad Lohan life ONE MORE time, I was going to punch him through the TV. But Johnny wasn’t going to go down gracefully. Nopes, he concocted some lie because Tim Gunn thought his original design was too artsy fartsy so he said he messed it up ironing it. Yeah, of course, I always make sure to iron my paper garments too. Ugh, he made a second dress, which put him in the bottom three, along with Nicolas, whose “punk” dress was met with criticism by Hilifiger and Gordanna, whose dress I actually really liked.

When the judges started probing Johnny as to why his dress looked “ehh” he reiterated the lie about the ironing incident, but I guess he didnt expect bitter Nicolas to call him out on it, which he did. Not sure if this was the sole reason Johnny was given his walking papers, but he did deserve to leave after a few lackluster designs. My favorite part was when he left and Tim Gunn called him out on his lie to the rest of designers. You know you are a terrible person when Gunn is talking trash on you. So please, Project Runway bring back Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and some sort of excitement to this stale season of a show.

And finally, this episode we watched as Don, who was tested by Sally’s flirty school teacher and reminded of his faults from the young father in the hospital, as he was able to avoid temptation and begin his evolution into the father and husband he knows he needs to be. Be it maturity or just an awakening, but I sort of like the sensitive Don. But who knows how long this version of Don will stick around. Next week it seems there will be more turmoil inside the agency and that Pete has not yet been able to come to grips with the loss of Peggy and his child.

Over at AMCTV.com, they have a wonderful inside look at this week’s episode and what it really means to evolution of each character. It gets into the heart of what has been eating at Betty all season and Peggy’s personal struggle to figure out her life’s path. Check it out!

And thanks to the perfect reality TV tool of foretelling interview sequences, we know right away that the bottom bunch for the quickfire will be a handful of women (Thanks Robin). On the other hand, Kevin wowed the judges with his snail fricassee and with his win, he secured immunity as well as a seat at the elimination challenge table. Anyway back to the losers: Ashley, Jesse and Robin all ended up at the bottom of the snail heap and were asked to create an amuse bouche in like two minutes to see who should get the boot. Jesse’s did not make the cut and she was asked to pack her knives and get the F out the kitchen, which obviously didn’t make her happy. See?

So for the elimination challenge, the chefs, sans Kevin, picked knives which held proteins that would split them into teams. They then found out that they would be creating dishes for French masters like Hubert Keller, Laurent Tourondel, and Joël Robuchon. I can’t even imagine what must have been going through Kevin’s head, not only does he get to sit out on this challenge, but he gets to discuss food with French culinary masters, as well as learning what his opponents in the kitchen can really bring to a challenge first hand. This really is the best prize so far. Some of the teams, while picked at random, were practically guaranteed a win, like Jen and Michael V. and Bryan and Mike I. These two teams were focused, their talents complimented each other and their communication was the core ingredient to a winning dish. And the other teams, like Robin and Ron, Ash and Hector, Laurine and Eli and finally Mattin and Ashley, seemed stressed, uncomfortable and it could be seen in their dishes. Mattin, who is French and well versed with the cuisine, took control over his team with some lackluster results. Robin and Ron kept it simple and under the radar as always and Laurine and Eli were safe with their lobster dish. But Hector and Ash seemed to have the biggest issues with their dish, with their meat not cooked correctly and no sauce to add to it. When the masters were eating, they seemed to truly love Jen and Michael’s rabbit chasseur and felt that Brian and Mike I.’s trout dish was superb. The trout was cooked perfectly and the deconstructed béarnaise sauce drove the judges crazy. Now Kevin was incredibly smart and tactful after the dinner, avoiding confirmation of anything he had heard at the dinner table, which allows him to be as impartial as Switzerland.

When the winners were called in, Mike I showcased why he is a perfect team mate, he knows where credit is due. While I definitely have a few problems with this dude, his understanding of what it takes to be successful in the kitchen is impressive. And the adorable chemistry between Jen and Michael V. made me hope there could be a love connection down the line, but thats the reality romantic in me. Michael I. won the challenge with his interesting take on trout and won the opportunity to work in Joel Robuchon’s restaurant for a week, an incredible honor for any chef. And for the bottom four, Ash, Hector, Mattin and Ashley, the judges were beyond not pleased with what they were given. But overall, Mattin’s lackluster meal fared better than Hector’s poorly cooked beef dish. Since this was the second time Hector was on the chopping block for his methods of cooking beef, the judges had to have him go. I think its actually the only that save Mattin and his red neckerchief. Overall, this challenge was able to showcase the level of talent that is participating this season. I cant image any other group of chefs from the show’s history being so calm and able to perform the feat of preparing French cuisine for the masters of the technique. I just hope that these ladies start coming to forefront and killing it.

Will you be tuning into “The Hills” when the sixth season premieres on September 29th? I will be checking out, with my bottle of red wine to drown my sorrows.