Well, last night saw LeBron James take the stage of "Saturday Night Live." I'd give him a C plus, but part of that has to do with it being a C minus show overall. Decent digital short, nods to Akron and to St. V, couple of laughs but there wasn't a "Box" song or, to look at sports figures and "SNL," a Peyton Manning/United Way bit. LeBron didn't do himself any harm, but he didn't advance his offcourt performing cause, either.

Sketch by sketch notes after the jump ball …

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"Dexter" starts anew at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, "Brotherhood" at 10 p.m. Discussion after the jump.

Two guys who deserve your attention

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Perhaps because of concerns already expressed by criticsh who have seen the season premiere, NBC sent out the second and third episodes of the new season. And it's tearing me apart. … (Possible slight spoilers ahead.)

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Notes and spoilers if you haven't watched yet, in series alphaetical order, after the jump …

"How many Emmys do you get for treating a deer?"

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Returned tonight. Comments based on this evening's telecast, so spoiler-laden, after the jump …

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One of those days. I have an "Ugly Betty" post half-written, and managed to finish it tonight, though with minimal elaboration, and wanted to say some things about tonight's "My Name Is Earl" (which is good). I expect to do some posting after "Grey's" and "The Office" and possibly "CSI." Probably not until Friday AM. But I also wanted to remind one and all that there's a new "Mad Men" tonight, and it's a biggie. So watch that, too.

And I had two new episodes of "Friday Night Lights" burning a hole in my briefcase, which I ended up spending the early part of the evening on. Believe me, there's a post coming about that.

More later.

Noticeable change from the for-review version to the actually televised "Private Practice."

The review version had an opening with a nod to Mary Tyler Moore; Addison decided to make the change in part because, as the Chief suggested, "you want to throw your hat all the way up in the air." More serious now. Addison and the Chief in scrubs instead of civvies, no hat in the air line, and the Chief now warns that she will be back in a month, and promises to hold Addison's job "as long as I can." (Someone worrying that "Private Practice" isn't a slam dunk?)

I thought at first that the song for the naked dance — which I still don't like — had changed, but I was wrong on that. The memory isn't what it once was, which makes me reluctant to throw away review discs. …

Will Floyd get jobbed? Will Sabrina sail through? Live post after the jump …

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The escapist-blockbluster period of summer is over, so we're easing into the serious-Oscar-consideration movies. Which also means movies that are somber and sometimes depressing.

Case in point: Last night I saw "Into the Wild" (alienation and starvation). Today I saw "Gone Baby Gone" (child molestation, abduction, drugs, alienation) and "Things We Lost in the Fire" (death, drugs, grieving).

I'm not saying the movies are bad. In fact, one is quite good, one marked by fine passages and one competent. But I wouldn't recommend seeing all three in a 24-hour period.

Last night I was in Cleveland for a screening of "Into the Wild," then had an amusing drive home through lightning and rain. I've got two more screenings in Cleveland today, so I'm going to fast-forward through "Dancing" to focus on the performances. …

Did Floyd get sucker-punched by the judges?

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