ABC will bump "Emily's Reasons Why Not" and "Jake in Progress" again on Monday, instead double-running "The Bachelor: Paris," with a replay of this week's episode at 9 followed by a new episode at 10. (Update: ABC has officially killed "Emily's Reasons.")

Once again, it will edit new footage into the replayed episode, which is fine by me since the network is promising more of old Miss Rotting Eggs. In fact, ABC has decided that's Allie G's catchphrase, since it says the new footage will include "audition videos of new Bachelorette breakout stars Kristin (of the failed river date) and Dr. Allie G ('My eggs are rotting')"  … along with other unaired material.

I'm there. I'm also voting right now for Allie G. as the next star of "The Bachelorette." And am wondering how many guys would immediately refuse the rose.

One of the best episodes of "The Wonder Years" had young Kevin going to his father's office and seeing, up close, what made his father such a grump at home. Tonight, "Everybody Hates Chris" used much the same theme. Chris, needing money for a leather jacket, worked for his father at the old man's newspaper-delivery job, and saw his father through other adults' eyes. As was the case on "The Wonder Years," he also got a taste of how a paycheck puts a limit on personal independence and dignity.

It was a pretty good episode, with two nice caps to the leather jacket story — one when Chris's father pays him for his work, another when Chris finally gets the jacket.

I bring this up not just because I like "Chris" but because anyone who watched "The Wonder Years" should also be drawn to this show. You've got the adult narrator, the self-aware kid, the warm but not overly idealized family, the humor and the thoughtful view of life. "Wonder Years" was more deliberately dramatic, where "Chris" prefers a gentler touch to serious issues. But they're both sharp shows, with a great deal in common.

Then again, I may have just felt something in the air. After all, Fred Savage is on Thursday nights, too, over in the ensemble on the improving "Crumbs,"

The Midnight Hour has come for the last time for Wilson Pickett. Word just came to the office that he has died. In that incredible group of singers that came out of Atlantic Records in the '60s — Aretha, Otis, Sam & Dave* — Pickett more than deserves inclusion. However many demons he had in life, I'll carry his raspy vocals in my mental MP3 as long as I have memory.

Besides, how could you not love just the idea of a song titled "Lay Me Like You Hate Me"? He wrote that one, too.

Although Otis Redding was the more brilliant musical presence overall, Pickett was a vital addition to radio, cannily presenting songs that smacked of parties and after-parties but with a drive that made them sound like there was a party in the studio, too. "634-5789," "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love," "Mustang Sally" and the incendiary cover of "Hey Jude," where Duane Allman's guitar part and Pickett's vocals battle for the title of most anguished cry of love.

The "Hey Jude" album also contains one of my personal favorites, "A Man and a Half," driven by a great horn chart and a lyric that Pickett insists is "no brag, just facts." In the defining verse, Wilson and a camel are crossing the desert. "The camel died trying," he sings, "but your man and a half is here loving you tonight."

Still, it's on covers that Pickett demonstrated his knack with a song. Not only "Hey Jude." His version of Bobby Hebb's "Sunny" slows it down and digs deep. "Everybody NeedsSomebody" pays tribute to Solomon Burke but kicks Burke's version to the ground and runs over it. "Funky Broadway" is more impressive instrumentally from Dyke and the Blazers, more listenable in Pickett's version.

In sum, he was great.

For more about Pickett, check out Robert Christgau's guide to Pickett recordings here.

*It occurred to me Friday morning that some music fans are going to draw a finer distinction than I did here, considering Otis Redding and Sam & Dave more parts of the Stax/Volt family than Atlantic's. And I wouldn't want to understate Stax's importance to music — or to my music collection. But I tend to think of the Stax artists as Atlantic people in corporate terms — through Atlantic's distribution of Stax recordings in the '60s — and in a musical state of mind.

Listening to soul music as a teenager, I drew a Motown/Atlantic line. Motown was smoother, more palatable, while Atlantic was grittier, edgier and more to my liking (although I also love a lot of Motown). It would make me crazy when something like "Murphy Brown" would treat Aretha Franklin as Motown, as if they couldn't hear the difference.

Well, I have now caught up on the first three hours of "American Idol." So, as Al Franken would say, what have we learned?

– That the show is still a very, very big hit.

– That the audition rounds are great fun, both when you discover the good singers and you experience the bad.

– That the show's background checks are of their usual high quality. (See here, and an addendum below.)

– That there are actually twins in the world who can sing — more than one set, for that matter. (Although, again, see here.)

– That the audition rounds are the best showcase for Paula Abdul, because she is far more willing to tell contestants that they're not good enough, even to laugh at some terrible ones. I much prefer the auditon-round Abdul to her later presentation as the contestants' surrogate mom, giving all her children a big ole hug and overlooking their (many) faults.

– That no amount of press and suspected scandal can keep Abdul from getting mushy in the presence of a good-looking, younger man.

– That Simon still hates big women.

– That the show isn't as spontaneous as it likes to appear. I knew that anyway from attending the Cleveland auditions in '04, and it was pretty evident in the people running up and down streets celebrating their Hollywood trips. It looked a smidge staged, didn't it? And witness the way that at least one singer who had already auditioned was featured again in that "Lady Marmalade" sequence. DId she get a second chance? Were all the contestants asked to sing "Lady Marmalade" just so the show could edit the footage together? And, as at least one Web site has asked, were the judges in the room for those performances?

– That some singers have no idea what they sound like. Or, if they do hear their own voices, they have no clue what good singing is.

– That being a good singer is not enough for "Idol." One guy got through more on personality than singing ability, because you could tell the judges knew the little girls (and not-so-little women) in the audience would be delighted. And one absolute nut got through, because the show still wants personalities and this wacko is sure to make things difficult for the more serious singers in the Hollywood round. (And I am sure there were plenty of good singers from that round who believe this guy got a spot that might have been theirs.)

– STILL, the BIGGEST thing we have learned is that it is finally all right to like Ryan Seacrest. After years of playing the Contestants' Best Friend in auditions and beyond, it looks as if he has enough money banked from non-"Idol" deals to be sure this isn't his only meal ticket. He is therefore free to be more mocking about really bad auditions and eccentric auditioners. Which not only makes him much more in tune with the viewing audience, it gives him a chance to be loose and funny. Thumbs up, Ryan.

ADDENDUM. "Extra" sent out the following announcement today: Only Extra sits down with “American Idol’s” Simon Cowell to hear his reaction to recent reports that a pair of “Going to Hollywood” twins (Terrell & Derrell Brittenum) have been charged with forgery, theft by deception and financial identity fraud.

Cowell tells Extra, “I like them, we put them through.  This might be history, nothing surprises me on the show.  It happens.”  On whether or not the twins should be able to compete in the next round, he comments, “It depends on what they’ve done.  If it’s serious, it’s a problem.  It happens every year.  FOX will take a view on it.”  Cowell turns to the camera and states, “Come clean guys, tell us what you’ve done!”

Extra’s interview with Simon Cowell airs tonight, Thursday, January 19.

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Sometimes we know too much about television. Take, for example, M.C. Gainey. He's a steady, sturdy character actor who appears in a lot of things, and is good enough that somewhere along the line I made a note of his name. And noticed when he popped up on "Lost" before, for the taking of Walt.

Noticed, too, when his name was in the opening credits of "Lost" tonight. Seeing his name, I figured we were going to get a closer look at the Others tonight. I was a little disappointed to lose that element of plot surprise. But the show still delivered, about what haunts Jack, about Hurley's looking for love and yes, about the Others.

Even with a look that recalled some discount-store Halloween get-up (a very cheap Wolfman, say), Gainey had a great moment, and some good lines — and helped set up that fabulous, chilling moment at the end when Jack wondered what it would take to train an army.

In fact, this "Lost" felt tantalizing like a huge episode, a great leap in the saga of the crash survivors and the Others, and one full of cultural imagery.

How could you not look at the Others in this context and not think eventually of Native Americans confronting unwanted settlers? The scene illuminated last week's — and this week's — increasing focus on the survivors' camp as a town, making it even more a colonial outpost, or a miners' settlement in the farthest reaches of the Wild West. It made "Lost" a companion to "Deadwood," only while "Deadwood" is so often about the lack of civilization and law on society's fringe, "Lost" is about building that civilization and finding law. And, even though I keep harping on it, that nation-building also suggests strongly that the people of "Lost" are involved in a social experiment, perhaps one set up as part of the Dharma Initiative.

(A footnote: In 1970, ABC briefly aired a series called "The New People," about a group of young Americans stranded on an island after a plane crash. The crash survivors had to create their own society in the buildings left over from a U.S. atomic test site. (See "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows" for more.) Rod Serling wrote the pilot for producer Aaron Spelling, though Serling biographer Gordon F. Sander says Serling didn't have much to do with the series — and that it wasn't very good. I remember it only dimly, although I have a paperback novelization of the show somewhere. But I keep hearing echoes in "Lost.")

Now that I am done overthinking this, let me get back to those revelations. Because the episode moved so suddenly forward, "Lost" had the air of a three-hour action movie that has finally reached the last 30 minutes and has to get things moving to the big stunt. I know that "Lost" isn't really doing that, because it has to keep its story going for the rest of this season, into the next and, Nielsen willing, beyond. But the telecast still energized me.

And I needed that. This was another night of meetings. By the time my wife and I were home, we needed just to watch some good TV. And there it was, "Lost," engaging, teasing, advancing, satisfying. It took me out of my world and into the one it created. I appreciated the chance to visit.

I've been going through the season premiere of "American Idol," collecting ideas to elaborate on later. One is how Ryan Seacrest is finally bearable, as if all his other TV deals make him secure enough to be a lot snarkier than I remember him being — refreshingly so. But first …

We now know that Randy is not a "Trading Places" fan. Remember the guy who auditioned twice? And who, the second time, went into that odd little "Constance Fry" ditty that Randy did not recognize? Get out your DVD of "Trading Places," the Dan Aykroyd-Eddie Murphy comedy. Go to the scene in the health club where a newly disgraced Louis is snubbed by his snooty friends. The song the guys sing at the bar is the one the auditioner did on "Idol." I think it's called "Oralee Cookies."

Love that movie.

So I gave myself a nice wallow in two weeks of "Gilmore Girls" and, as is so often the case, I found myself laughing and trying to keep up with the cultural references. (Russ Tamblyn and Peter Brook on the Yale Daily News staff? Did someone have to explain the Frances Farmer line to Alexis Bledel?) Which was fun, with reservations. Yes, Keiko Agena is swell as Lane, and I liked seeing her briefly morph into an even scarier version of the angry Mrs. Kim, and I like as well what Emily Kuroda does as Mrs. Kim. And just the idea of Paris Geller in any scene makes me happy, so imagine my delight at seeing Liza Weil taking Paris through what looks like a prelude to her very own Caine Mutiny.

But Agena and Weil are both looking way too old for their parts. And while Bledel is still OK at the light stuff, she just shouldn't be given any heavy dramatic lifting at well. The scene with the therapist did not cut it. She just couldn't balance the drama and the comedy. And for those of us with long if selective TV memories, she was working opposite the guy who played Bubba on "Frank's Place" — Robert Harper is his name — and he does know how it's done.

And then there's Luke and Lorelai. Allow me an "Oh, crap." Or two. Not only are they in a rocky spot, they're in one built on good intentions. Except that Luke is an idiot and Lorelai is once again doing that thing of hers — that "Oh, a horrible mistake is being made here yet I must do nothing except get that look that is breaking that Heldenfels guy's heart, because I assume (wrongly) that I am powerless to stop it."

I may not be making sense at this point, but the show bothered me. I went to "Gilmore Girls" for comfort food and instead got a drinking cup full of tobacco-tasting maple syrup.

The last couple of days have been interesting in ways I'll talk about another time — albeit ways that have nothing to do with television, except in their keeping me away from the tube.

I plan to seek solace for the next couple of hours by pulling the covers up to my chin and watching my DVR'ed "American Idol" from last night and the last couple of "Gilmore Girls" that I've missed. I know, how girly does that sound? Next thing you know, I'll want a mug of cocoa and a pair of pink fuzzy slippers, and will start talking about how dreammmmmmmy that George Clooney is.

Well, at the risk of adding to those girly suspicions, I freaked out briefly tonight when I was setting up the DVR. More meetings tonight, although I hope to be home in time for "Lost." But I'm taking no chances. DVR set for "Lost," check. "One Tree Hill" for the wife, check. '"American Idol," gotcha. "Skating With Whoever," well, I think I have a review copy somewhere but let's be safe, check. "Veronica Mars …"

Veronica?

Veronica?

Oh, my, there's no "Veronica"!! The local UPN affiliate is running a Cavs game. I like the Cavs. I watch the Cavs. But where's my "Veronica"? I haven't seen a new episode since — well, all I can remember is that I was a lot younger and had less gray hair.

Anxiety ensues. I check the UPN Web site to see if "VM" is actually on the network. Yup. More searching to see which episode is airing. "Blast From the Past," it says, without one of those big "new" or "fresh" labels that networks stick on their shows so you'll realize you're not stuck with another rerun.

"Blast" sounds like a familiar title. Quick, to the episode guide! Ahhhhhh. A rerun.

Oh, I still wish I had a "Veronica" episode to watch. Any "Veronica" episode would be calming right now. But with all this other new stuff filling up my DVR's memory, I'm happy for a chance to get through some of the backlog.

Now, if I could just remember where the cocoa is….

From the Fox press bundle today:

"That '70s Show" packs up the polyester bell-bottoms, Zeppelin 8-tracks and lava lamps when it ends its eight-season run Thursday, May 18 … The series finale also marks the 200th episode milestone.

The award-winning comedy "Malcolm in the Middle," currently in its seventh season, will celebrate its series finale Sunday, May 14 on Fox. The penultimate episode will mark the series' milestone 150th.

Both shows were sturdy performers for the network. And "Malcolm" was at times fabulously funny, notably in its early years. But shows wear out, or viewers move on. I can't remember the last time I sat through an entire episode of either show, and I used to be a faithful viewer of both.

Well, I watched fragments of the Golden Globes, but I really couldn't take it for long. Even if someone deserving wins one of those prizes, I understand too much about where they come from to think of them as an accomplishment. I can't even muster much energy for pondering the idea of the "foreign press" giving awards to a couple of non-Americans for playing Americans (i.e., House and Elvis). And the modern commercial load is so great, I kept hitting commercials (and promos for NBC series) when flipping to the Globes.

On the other hand, the Golden Globes room at the Beverly Hilton looked a lot nicer than it did when I spent a large portion of the Television Critics Association press tour there in the summer of '05. Not that it looked bad then. And the Globes had given it a historic air. People pointed out the bathroom Christine Lahti was stuck in during one telecast. And, since it was a room where I had to yell at Al Gore, I like to think I had a moment worthy of the Globes. (If you missed that tale, which I plan to bore people with as long as they've still hear of Al Gore, you can find it "Me and the Veep" post from July.)

George Clooney looked festive enough in one shot during the telecast that I think that, if Gore was there, Clooney would have yelled at him, too.

Not as loud as he would have yelled at President Bush, of course.

So what else did I watch? A rerun of a "How I Met Your Mother" that I hadn't seen. I am ever more envisioning a second season of the show where they marry off Ted, change the name of the show to something like "These Friends of Your Mother" and yes, the re-edited "Bachelor" premiere with expanded meltdown. All right, I'm weak. But I was curious. And what was all that stuff about the show costing her money? And how does someone get a medical degree and still say things like "funnest"?

Still, I'm just recording the second episode. I can only stand so much in one night. Maybe I'll save it for a back-to-back with "Celebrity Fit Club."

Tonight's viewing decisions are going to be tougher than I expected. I'm not too concerned about the Golden Globes, which I try to ignore because, well, they're a joke. A highly publicized joke to be sure, but still a joke. And I have a review disc of tonight's "24" if I feel compelled to watch more.

Anyway, I was thinking of using tonight to catch up on some shows I haven't seen, like last week's "Gilmore Girls," as well as plowing through some of the DVD sets and other review material that has been piling up while I was spending long days and nights on some TV features, church activities, a project for my younger son's school and the like.

TV over the weekend consisted mainly of watching some "Firefly" over my wife's shoulder as she finished off the DVD set, looking at bits from a couple of upcoming "Saturday Night Live" samplers (Alec Baldwin and David Spade) because it was easy to start and stop watching them, and trying not to have a heart attack while watching the end of the Steelers-Colts game. Scripted dramas can only dream of concocting such thrills.

And one more thing. Looking for something absolutely undemanding to kill an hour, the wife and I turned on "The Bachelor's" latest installment. I'm not a big fan of the show, to be sure. And I don't know why people of color even bother to try out, since the show skews so white. But it filled time. And, while most of was lame, that one bachelorette, Allie G, proved sufficiently watchable that I've even looked at some of her scenes again.

You know, the Florida oncologist who declared she wanted a husband because "my eggs are rotting."

Who told The Bachelor she is in her "reproductive phase."

Who said "the only one reason to be married is to have kids." (And this on a show about romantic love, no less.)

And who got into The Bachelor's face when she didn't get a rose.

What a fabulous TV meltdown! Allie G says in the show that she has tried various methods of dating and they haven't worked. Could it be it's not the method? That maybe it's her personality — not to mention that, in some decidely unflattering shots, she looked a lot like Amy Sedaris on "Strangers With Candy"?

Now here's my dilemma. The ratings were not good for "The Bachelor" last week, but the whole Allie G thing was certainly buzz-worthy. So tonight at 9, ABC is repeating the premiere (bumping "Jake In Progress" and "Emily's Reasons," which are due back on Jan. 23), with the promise of additional, unseen footage. That can only mean More Meltdown. And maybe the new episode at 10 will have Meltdown Fallout — lots of dish from the remaining bachelorettes about things you shouldn't share with The Bachelor on first meeting.

How could I not be just a little curious?

I do have some other things to do tonight. But I have a feeling that, if nothing else, the DVR is going to grab some "Bachelor."

I'm still laughing about the following press release, as big a monument to delusional self-importance as I expect to see — well, this week:

Puerto Vallarta will host Sept 3, 2006 the 1st Annual International Bikini Model Image Awards which is part of the 21st Annual International Bikini Jam Week 2006 (Aug 29 - Sept 4). Over 200 bikini models and photographers from over ten countries will be competing.

"The Bikini Model Image Awards will be a very unique event," stated director Bob Anderson. "It is an event honoring bikini models and showcasing how the bikini, a simple fashion garment has grown into one of the most powerful marketing tools in the world. Well known figures will be receiving awards."

Bob Anderson is the owner of one of the most successful swimwear companies in the world. He founded the Ujena swimwear company in 1984. Prior to Ujena, at age 17, he started Runner's World magazine and built it into a $30 million dollar company reaching over 490,000 paid circulation world wide. He has been developing the idea for the Bikini Model Image Awards over the last three years.

"We will be presenting six women," stated Bob Anderson, "the Bikini Model Image Award for outstanding achievement in modeling, entertainment, business, or athletics. Each has modeled the bikini and feels this experience has helped advance their career."

Those nominated (as of January 12) are: Elizabeth Hurley, Salma Hayek, Cindy Margolis (Talk show host, model and actress), Anita Hart (Stunt Women in over 100 films), Karen Wolverton-Delaney (owner of LUSH Cosmetics), Pamela Anderson, Christine Brinkley, and Anna Kournikova (Tennis Star). Additionally nominations will be announced by Feb 1st.

"Bikini modeling helped me get into what I love to do," stated Anita Hart. "I worked with Pamela Anderson on a swimwear video in Bora Bora…I did a high dive out of a helicopter into the ocean…I would be most excited to return to Puerto Vallarta in September to receive the Bikini Model Image Award."

Bob Anderson will announce these six models at a special dinner (during the Streets of San Francisco Fashion Photo Tour) in San Francisco Feb 25.

"The Bikini Model Image Awards is much more than just an awards show. It’s part of the Puerto Vallarta International Bikini Jam Week 2006 and the 21st Annual Ujena Bikini Jam featuring location photo shoots, the Puerto Vallarta International Ujena 5k Run/Walk, nightly parties and fashion shows," said public relations director Catherine Cross.

The Ujena 5k Run is unique. It is the only race in the world that features bikini models along with elite runners. Fitness is a very important part of modeling and photography. Contestants in the Bikini Jam are required to compete and earn valuable points by finishing.

"I am glad Bob requires the models to run the 5k…fitness and modeling go together. I have participated in the Ujena 5k four times. Just recently I have been asked to be a Ujena staff model…I know it will be hot in September but I am returning and will be ready to run," Martha Gonzales stated.

"This will be the 19th year we have held the Ujena 5k in different cities including Cancun, Cabo and San Francisco. I have run in all of them…I hope to run under 20 minutes this year," Bob Anderson said.

"This year's Ujena 5k is going to be the biggest ever. I am expecting over 700 runners. A portion of all entry fees will be donated to Cruz Roja Mexicana (Red Cross). Bob is hoping to raise a lot of money…he will also make his own personal donation," stated race director Carlos Arceo who created the famous PV International Half Marathon.

"We first worked with Cruz Roja last year in San Jose del Cabo…their funds have been very stretched recently…the hurricane in Cancun was terrible…Cruz Roja was there to help. Whatever we can raise will be well used," stated Bob Anderson.    

Over 200 models and photographers from all over the world will be competing for the Bikini Model of the Year and the Bikini Photographer of the Year awards presented by Ujena Swimwear at the Bikini Model Image Awards.

The genius behind the Bikini Model Image Awards reaches far beyond the potential worldwide exposure it will attract.

"We are also inviting companies who are recognized and well known for incorporating the natural attraction of the bikini into their business success. All of these companies will share this common thread and all will also have the opportunity to build a powerful promotional campaign around finding their very own Bikini Model Image Award winner," stated Bob Anderson.

Most models will be selected by July 1st and will be presented the Bikini Model Image Award in Puerto Vallarta.

Some companies we are inviting to the Bikini Model Image Awards are: National Lampoon, One Model Place, Maxim, Fear Factor, FHM, Rockstar, Baywatch, Playboy, Howard Stern, Lush Cosmetics and others. Only ten companies will be accepted to participate in these awards.

Over $150,000 of gifts, prizes, trips and cash will be awarded at the Ujena Bikini Jam. The competing models and photographers will be featured at ujenatalent.com and at onemodelplace.com
The Bikini Model Image Awards will also feature exciting musical entertainment.

"This is going to be the start of a very important event. It’s uniqueness will capture the attention of millions of people," Bob Anderson concluded.

I think Shelley Winters is one of those performers whose place in your personal history depends on when you saw her. If, for instance, you knew her only from her talk-show appearances in her later years, you would remember her as a big woman and a brash talker, too loud at times for the mellow confines of bedtime TV. If you saw her in her occasional appearances on "Roseanne," you would think of her as an old lady who might well have sprung from the comic's off-camera family.

But if you saw her on "Inside the Actors Studio," where she hushed the crowd with a recitation, you would know she was one fine actress — even if you were unaware of her Oscars and her Emmy.

I've got all those images in my head while reflecting on Winters's death. And one more: She was someone you were bound to stumble across if, like me, you spend too much time watching old movies on the largely gone late-late shows or on Turner Classic Movies. Indeed, it was on the latter that I saw Winters not long ago, as TCM replayed "Winchester '73," a western starring James Stewart and featuring a tough, sexy, scene-grabbing Winters. She's good in that movie. She was good a lot of places. Because she obviously felt the need to work, she sometimes took roles and went into movies that did not serve her well. But her body of work was formidable. And it only took a few minutes on "Inside the Actors Studio" for her to remind people that she had chops.

On Thursday, I wrote a column for Saturday's Beacon Journal about FX beginning reruns of "Over There." Because the reruns begin Saturday, I referred to "tonight" in the story. Then, because of some other things that needed to get in the paper, my column got moved to Friday. Unfortunately, the time reference in the story did not change. I wrote a correction to appear in tomorrow's paper. But, to make matters worse, TV Tattle (www.tvtattle.com) has linked to the story. So I have also sent a note to TV Tattle explaining the mixup. (Update: TV Tattle has noted the correct night with its link.) What fun.

And that wasn't the end of it. In my Thursday mailbag column (which, by the way, I wrote on Tuesday), I declared we had probably seen the last of "Arrested Development" for the season (and probably ever) given Fox's disdainful scheduling of it. So, of course, the network announced today that it would bring it back for one night and two hours. (See below.) You can see why I'm feeling a little hexed today.

Fox has decided to give "AD" one more airing, a two-hour ''season finale" burning off a bunch of episodes on Feb. 10. Yes, that's a Friday. You didn't think Fox was going to move around the shows it likes, did you? And my calendar-savvy colleague Alan Sepinwall has pointed out that Feb. 10 is also opening night for the Olympics.

Here's a description of the remaining "AD" from Fox:

In the season finale, George Sr. hires a new attorney who asks the Bluths to participate in a mock trial to help prepare them for the real thing.  The attorney gets actor Judge Reinhold to preside over the mock case. Meanwhile, Buster fakes a coma to get out of testifying and George Michael and Maeby participate in a mock wedding to entertain hospital patients.  Back at the office, Michael discovers he may have a long-lost sister named Nellie Bluth (Justine Bateman). In an effort to get to the bottom of things, Michael tracks down Nellie and hires her as a consultant for The Bluth Co.  Unfortunately, Michael discovers Nellie’s hands-on approach is more than he bargained for.  Meanwhile, Gob goes to Iraq to perform his Christian magic act on the USO tour and ends up incarcerated. Michael learns George Sr. sent Gob to Iraq to burn down the model home he built there, so Michael and Buster fly to Iraq to spring Gob from prison. Together, the Bluth brothers head to the model home, where they make a discovery that could end the family’s legal troubles forever.  Back in Orange County, Lucille decides to throw a yacht party to celebrate. The Bluths gather aboard the Queen Mary for a trip that ends up being far from smooth sailing.