This summer, I was one of many reporters interviewing a producer of "House" about what's coming this season. She apparently had a very good time toying with us, giving out dribs of information, or turning the interview around by asking what we wanted to see on the show.

I told her I wanted to see House get a real nemesis, someone as smart and tough as he is. She promised that he would. And tonight he does.

House, being all too House-like with a patient, finally ticks off the one guy he shouldn't do it to — a tough, relentless and pretty ruthless new character played by David Morse. Their conflict will reach a key point at the end of tonight's episode, but it won't end there.

Morse is an interesting choice. For those of us old enough to remember "St. Elsewhere," he was the perpetually victimized (and sometimes inept) doctor who won viewers over because he had this please-love-me look. More recently, though, he has abandoned that look to play characters whose superficial appeal covers the possibility of real menace; "16 Blocks" comes to mind. Here, he's playing off both things. You sense that House is making a mistake when he is so rude to the guy, but it only gradually becomes clear how very big a mistake House has made.

I'm not sure how well this will play out. I've seen tonight's episode and next week's, and even by next week it felt as if Morse was getting implausibly formidable. But watching him is only part of the entertainment; the bigger part is seeing how House responds to this invasion of his life, an invasion that goes both wider and deeper by the end of next week's telecast. It gives Hugh Laurie, who plays House, a new aspect of his character to wrestle with, and an intriguing match it should be.

TMZ.com is reporting that Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe have separated. (Story here.) Have to wonder if their respective career arcs were a factor. Both good actors. But Witherspoon's got strong box office and an Oscar (although, as I said last week in a column, she was better in "Election" than in "Walk the Line"). Philippe's latest, "Flags of Our Fathers," is a very good movie — directed by Clint Eastwood — but so far proving a disappointment at the box office.

Could there be some bizarre Eastwood connection in all this? After all, he directed Hilary Swank to her second Oscar in "Million Dollar Baby" before she split with Chad Lowe.

I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Swank said in a later interview that Lowe had a substance-abuse problem. Which I am sure had nothing to do with having a wife whose career had long since eclipsed his.

From today's e-mail:

On December 19th, Anchor Bay Entertainment will be re-releasing the original 1978 horror classic The Wicker Man as a 2-disc Special Edition DVD set, featuring an all-new audio commentary from director Robin Hardy and actors Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward. Presenting the acclaimed international version, fully restored from original vault materials with 11 more full minutes of additional rarely seen footage as well as the U.S. theatrical version, The Wicker Man is the literate-yet-terrifying inspiration for the recent theatrical remake starring Nicolas Cage. Draped in a gold foil title embossed O-card with a SRP of $19.98, The Wicker Man 2-disc set is the definitive presentation of one of the greatest cult films ever made.

Before we get to anything else, here's the latest (and hysterically funny) check out what the "Nobody's Watching" gang has done with "Lost" in this video. Hysterically funny, and with a surprise guest.

Well, not so much a surprise now.

Anyway, because Thursday was a night of reruns, the bride and I were able to get to Wednesday's "Lost." Getting tired of the show's undercurrent of Lucy holding Charlie Brown's football. As in, Kate says she loves Sawyer, then denies that she meant it, except we all suspect she did mean it — and it all adds up to the latest reminder that Sawyer is a big old pile of sentimental goo. Nice to see Kim Dickens again; although it's not too hard to find her on TV these days — "Deadwood," a recent "Numb3rs" two-parter — I've liked her work going back to at least "Things Behind the Sun." (It's on DVD. Take a look.)

But even though I watch attentively every week, "Lost" has gotten too sprawling — Sawyer and Kate in the cages, Jack in solitary, The Others, the glimpses of people back in the settlement, the NEW people back in the settlement, the flashbacks … What's the story here? Whom are we supposed to care about?

Yes, "Lost" was smart early on to offer a wide range of characters so that if, say, you thought Jack was just too pouty — so many hands go up! — you might like Sawyer. Or if Locke was too deep and complicated, you had the easygoing Hurley as an antidote. But now it's gotten all ADD — jumping from place to place and person to person. Everything feels undertold, everyone looks underused.

Fortunately, just about any week with a new "Veronica Mars" cheers me up, even if it's an odd "VM." "Just Shoot Me" reunion! "Veronica's" Logan meets "Gilmore's" Logan — and they're brothers! (Well, it briefly seemed so.)

Once again, the theme was how we judge character, especially all the people who are misjudged: the frat boys, Keith's client's husband, Logan's fake half-brother and real half-brother and, of course, Veronica herself, who has built herself a nice little House of Ostracism in her new college life. As is so often the case on "VM," it feels as if the latest search for truth is going to end badly.

Other notes: I didn't post any specifics about my latest aggravation with "Studio 60," but since I got a detailed comment — in German — about the show, I ought to elaborate. First, D.L. Hughley is doing terrific work and the first scene between him and Matthew Perry really clicked. But the self-important stuff is getting unbearable. Steven Weber's knock on a show about the United Nations had "insert 'West Wing' for 'UN' " written all over it. We knew that Eli Wallach's character had a connection to the show, and the blacklist connection was telegraphed during the studio tour.

As for the trite, predictable and patronizing, I may not live in Columbus, but I do live in Ohio. People here have indeed heard of "Who's on First." (And where exactly was that record supposed to come from?) You know the minute the ballplayer signed his autograph that his phone number was going to be in it. You know the minute that Perry and Hughley decide to sit at the bar, they're going to hear a good comic who's African-American. Amanda Peet's I-need-friends silliness goes again to Aaron Sorkin's inability to write smart, capable women without giving them a demeaningly silly side. (C.J. on "West Wing" also suffered from that.) And now I will stop before I hyperventilate.

In today's Beacon Journal, or on ohio.com, you can find my review of "Running With Scissors," my weekly DVD column (now looking at big-screen fare, too, including "Mission: Impossible III") and the latest installment of The HeldenFiles (still a work in progress).

One thing I meant to mention in the DVD column and didn't get to was another wonderful item for the fine print file from the back of a new DVD: "Barry Manilow is a registered trademark of Hastings, Clayton, Tucker, Inc."

I may have to have the Cone of Silence attached permanently to my head where TV shows are concerned. I saw nothing in real time last night because I was at another movie screening, this one for "Stranger Than Fiction," the Will Ferrell-Emma Thompson comedy.

After sitting unhappily through "Running With Scissors," I was relieved to find "Stranger Than Fiction" more enjoyable. I still have to give it more thought before writing a review, and I am not convinced that the ending works. But the movie has enough to recommend it — including a decent, non-manic performance by Ferrell.

From today's announcements:

NBC will return the Emmy Award-nominated "Scrubs" and move freshman comedy "30 Rock" to Thursday nights beginning November 30 to form a new two-hour 8-10 p.m. (ET) comedy block with "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office." The change will follow a special super-sized night of comedy two weeks earlier on Thursday, November 16, with three 40-minute episodes of "My Name Is Earl," "The Office" and "30 Rock."

The announcements were made by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

Starting November 22, NBC will feature various specials on Wednesdays (8-9 p.m. ET), which will soon be announced.

Interesting things about the announcement: As www.tvtattle.com has already pointed out, this seems to leave no place for "Twenty Good Years." Also, even as one NBC exec was trashing the notion of scripted shows in the 8 p.m. hour, here comes the network with a new lineup including … scripted shows in the 8 p.m. hour.

And I'm glad to see "30 Rock" keep getting a chance.

Watched "Studio 60" this morning, and my issues with this show are too many to go into now. Disappointment growing by the week. Wrote a HeldenFiles and Pop Quiz for tomorrow, and a mailbag column for Thursday. Came home and began watching the DVD of "Mission: Impossible III" for my DVD column, which — like my mailbag — is now going to include movies. Last night involved a trip to Cleveland to see "Running With Scissors" for a movie piece for Friday, which I have to write tomorrow. Annette Bening's great, the movie not. Then back home, where I finished watching "M:I III" and checked out some of the extras, which gets me to midnight. And, of course, during the day and night, I checked in here to read all of your comments, to post a little of my own. So the DVR is groaning from tonight's effort, and I am yawning. Good night to one and all.

Michael J. Fox has weighed into a political race in this spot. It's very powerful and makes its point both in what Fox says and in how he looks.

It reminds me of some other forceful ads from bygone days, especially a couple of anti-smoking spots. One featured William Talman, who played Hamilton Burger on "Perry Mason." You can find it here, and it still packs a punch because Talman is so ravaged by his illness. Yul Brynner also arranged for one, which is on view here.

The following is in People online:

Jessica Simpson says she realized that her marriage to Nick Lachey was over when he opted out of accompanying her to Africa on a charity trip in October 2005.

"I went there on our three-year wedding anniversary," she tells Jane magazine for its November issue. "He stayed home."

Now, Nick is pretty much a dope. For starters, he married Simpson. For seconds, he didn't realize that wives generally like their husbands' company on trips, whether it's to the grocery store or Africa.

So why wouldn't he go? Maybe …

He didn't trust Simpson's spelling and thought she meant "Attica."

He didn't know she had hired a tutor for calendar reading.

Simpson's telling him "Madonna says that's where they sell the cutest kids."

After I wrote about a new "Daniel Boone" DVD in a recent column, the following arrived in the e-mail:

Do you know someone who used to run around in that iconic coonskin cap? If so, the Fess Parker Daniel Boone gift basket, available at www.fessparker.com, may be the perfect holiday gift. The Daniel Boone series recently released on DVD after the 40^th anniversary of the popular series debut in 1964.  The series stars Fess Parker—the legendary actor who many say was one of the first actors to enter American living rooms through the glare of the TV screen. Parker now lives in Los Olivos, California where he and his family own and manage the Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard.  …

Included in the Daniel Boone Holiday gift basket, along with the Season One DVD, are two bottles of award-winning wine straight from Fess Parker’s vineyard—The highly popular Frontier Red Lot 51 and the stylish 2004 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay. To accompany that glass of wine, two Snickers’ bars (Fess’ favorite!) and a bag of Urban Accents Ruby Popcorn. And to satisfy that big kid wearing the coonskin-cap, one of the bottles of wine is topped with its own small, coonskin cap! Sold separately the items together would retail for 98, but this gift basket is available for $79.99. … To purchase the Daniel Boone gift basket please visit www.fessparker.com or call the winery at 805-688-1545.

Because I'm the kind of guy whose analysis of popcorn doesn't go far beyond "what's cheap and doesn't burn in the microwave," I had to look up that brand. You can find out more at Urban Accents.