I expected to get more TV watched today but ended spending more time than I expected on a column for tomorrow about "American Idol" and on items for my TV mailbag. So it was "Sopranos" this morning and "Alias" tonight.

(Possible spoilers follow.)

I liked many things about "Alias," even if there were significant amounts of the plot that I did not quite understand, and there were a few more of those moments that make me think that nobody really dies on "Alias." Well, all right, one definitely died, and one appeared to be dead, and one who isn't dead is nonetheless facing justice of an eternal sort. I also liked the flashbacks through Sydney's life, which not only brought her life full circle but took the viewers back to the show's beginnings. And, because I'm a casual watcher of "Alias" and a devotee of "Lost," tonight was the first time I was struck by "Alias's" use of the faith-vs.-practically parallel. Maybe it had been there before (or at least evident to closer viewers), but tonight it was made obvious.

On the other hand — and with "Alias" I usually end up seeing the other hand — the ending did not close the door on the spy game forever. (Or, for that matter, on great and mystical forces waiting to be unleashed.) Indeed, its variation on the "life goes on" gambit in series finales included a world where someone with Sydney's skills is still needed. And there is that not-dead character to consider. So, in a couple of years if not sooner, when J.J. Abrams comes out with a wowser of an idea, and Jennifer Garner is ready for a bloody brawl or three, let's not be surprised to see "Alias: The Movie." And I might even pay to see it — if there's no Rambaldi.

(More possible spoilers)

As for "The Sopranos," more terrific stuff on Sunday. Parts of it we could see coming — Vito's doom was not a question of if — but of when, how and by whom. The answers to those questions were dramatically apt. And I really liked the way Phil's position in the whole thing proved not to be from his gangland culture but from the far older belief system of Catholicism (and from his own commitment to marriage).

Indeed, the series was steeped in the place that Tony et al. occupy in history, not only in the Vito resolution but in Carmela's journey to France, and her encounter with an older, grander world than the one she occupies. But history is not for everyone. Tony still wrestles with the implications of his own past — is he like his father or his mother in dealing with A.J. — and Rosalie Aprile is content to forget the past, except as something to be marked in ceremony.

So good, and yet so deeply covered with a feeling of doom. I kept looking at scenes and feeling that they would end badly — as they often did. Vito paid for loving the gangster life — because he ran afoul of the standards of that life, and the men who felt they had to meet those standards. Tony and Phil both seem headed for a confrontation because they cannot forsake the life they've chosen, even if they might want to, and the restaurant fight was purely a result of everyone feeling they had to defend old-world honor and be old-world aggressors. They all should have learned from Vito.

Well, I got those other two bushes out, more easily than the first one, proving that even a little experience can ease the task. (By the way, after writing this morning's post, I went to church, where the sermon was called "Spring Pruning" and the pastor had many stories about his own fun with plants. Sometimes these things are in the air — especially when the air has bright sun and warmth passing through it, and being outside is mandatory.) We have accumulated groceries. The bride cleaned house and put a second coat of paint on the shed door, and washed her car, and made a lasagna. I ran the edger along the sidewalks, which wasn't bad, and swept up the cuttings, which is not among my favorite things. Younger son went to his job.

In other words, the day was full for everyone. And some TV was squeezed in. Well, a little bit of "The Sports Reporters" this morning. At lunchtime, we watched "Survivor" and caught up on all the strategizing and scheming.

I don't really have anything to add to the discussion I saw online after the telecast. Terry seems a lock for the final two, with a game that combines great individual effort with terrible team strategy. He reminds me of the "Saturday Night Live" parody of a Bush/Dukakis debate, where — after ramblings by Bush — Dukakis says, "I can't believe I'm losing to this guy." The folks on "Survivor" must feel that way every time Terry approaches them with a plan. Cirie, on the other hand, is really smart. We'll just have to see how smart. At this point, if I'm Terry, I want her in the final two since she has been so skilled at betraying nominal allies now sitting on the jury. But when has Terry ever managed to influence who joins him at anything?

Watched some of the Cavaliers-Detroit game during the afternoon. Might have watched more if it hadn't gone like this:

Passed through the house at one point, score's tied 14-14, looks good. Back to the yard, where the bride later informs me that Detroit is up 10. A short break around half time, to see Detroit was up 21. Another check later, when Detroit's lead was in the thirties and time was short. Not a lot of reason to sit by the set and expect a Cavs comeback — at least, not in that game.

Finally, evening brought a chance to really couch out in front of the TV. Rewatched "Alias" and it makes more sense to me — well, as much sense as "Alias" ever makes. As I've said before, I'm sick of Rambaldi but I keep hoping it's finally leading somewhere. Odd to have not only two deaths but two involving cut throats — an eerie symmetry underscoring the betrayal and obsession in each. And I like the way Jennifer Garner is playing Anna-as-Sydney, grabbing onto a facial expression as shorthand for Anna.

I thought a lot about faces during "The West Wing" (which I actually watched after "The Sopranos," but I'll order my notes here by the clock). I may be overthinking this, but when I look at "Sopranos" or "The Shield," or tonight's "West Wing," I see shows where the people involved know they're near the end and they want to go out great. Everyone on "WW" was on his and her game tonight, and I don't mean they were chasing Big Moments. They were just working — working together, playing off each other.

Think of the scene where Joshua Malina (Will) and Mary McCormack (Kate) talk about him running for Congress. Timothy Busfield (Danny) on the street. Busfield in the apartment with Allison Janney (CJ). Janney and Richard Schiff (Toby). And what about the way that Jimmy Smits (Santos) is morphing into Bartlet — like in that moment where Santos gives CJ a won't-take-no speech? I will really miss seeing these guys go at it.

'"The Sopranos" was a dud for me, the first one this season. The best explanation I can give is that the show was so intent on showing us why Tony was bored, it made the show boring. The Christopher stuff felt flat. We know he's the victim of his own demons. The scenes at the street fair may have been touching on their own, but in the larger context they didn't really tell us anything. And the flashback to his betrayal of Adriana, while filling in a gap, didn't fill it in a way that brought us a new insight into what happened. And guess what, Pauly is cheap and selfish and mean, and Janice is selfish. Not great.

I'm hoping to post tomorrow about "Grey's Anatomy" and maybe "Saturday Night Live," which I recorded. But for now, I'll leave you with my hope that there was sunshine in your day, too.

I laughed — very hard — at "The Sopranos" on Sunday night. Wasn't alone, either, since this was a night in our regular "Sopranos" gatherings with co-workers, so the laughter was not mine alone. The Ben Kingsley stuff was funny enough. Mugging Lauren Bacall — one of those things where you think, oh, no, they wouldn't DARE, and then they did. I know at some point, probably even next week, that the show is going to get back to serious business. Still, as I've said before, the makers of the show know that every episode counts these days; they're obviously determined to leave people with the sense that this was a great show, one that could do anything, including comedy — and last night was gut-busting.

I didn't get around to "The West Wing" until this morning. An all right episode. Liked the way Josh went to Sam, since it invoked the scene where Josh brought Sam into the Bartlet campaign; unfortunately, these being smart characters, they then had to talk about how this was similar to that earlier moment, which took some of fun out of it. (Rob Lowe's oddly stylized performance also grated quickly.) The switcheroo at the end of the Bartlet/Santos conflict wasn't much fun either. And I hope the NBC promo was deliberately misleading with its hint that Santos might pick Vinick as his new VP; that's way too tidy for a show that was built in a lot of ways on messiness. As we were reminded every time Josh had to handle a pile of papers.

This was a weekend that began with frustration; I had called a guy Friday morning for a story I thought I would need to write and still hadn't heard back from him by the time my workday officially ended. There was some frustration near the end, too, when the office called about the passing of Linn "Barnaby" Sheldon, to ask if I wanted in on the story. By that point, we had company coming, and I had to pass. I did know Linn, a little, and will probably have some notes about him here later.

In between those points, though, were domestic pursuits — painting, yard work, cleaning house — involving all the folks in the House of Heldenfels, ending with a home that looked and felt better. There were also chances for TV in the gaps.

"Gilmore Girls" was very good for about half the episode, where we saw that Mrs. Kim has her own Mrs. Kim; a vivid reminder how deep the cast is, with Emily Kuroda doing a terrific job. Then, as the show got back to its arc — the Luke/Lorelai wedding or not — it struggled. Lorelai's drunk scene, while showing off the way Lauren Graham can play multiple dramatic notes effortlessly, felt too grimly, deliberately sad, especially when we remember that Lorelai has put herself into this situation. At the same time, though, with Amy Sherman-Palladino officially leaving "GG" at the end of this season, I have to wonder how the new creative team will maintain the show's tonal approach — and if, Aaron Sorkin-like, she is going to leave the show in a horrible little box that the new team will struggle to escape.

I very much enjoyed "Veronica Mars" although I have no idea what I really know about the bus crash. Liked the way that grasping Kendall is now connected to the Fitzpatricks, although I do wonder why no one came across this connection before. Of course, Neptune is a town where most people spend a lot of time NOT looking for the truth. The Duncan clue at the end baffled me, though. Are we really to think that Aaron was not a murderer. And if not, weren't his dealings with Veronica at the end of Season 1 just the tiniest bit extreme? Still, I liked the Wallace-Jackie scene where Wallace spoke so cruelly to her, since it reminded us of how skillful young people are at saying horrible things.  And always enjoy Tina Majorino's presence; her reactions to the unexpected prom date were delightful.

"Veronica" addendum. One reader sent these notes along: "Remember Kendall went to Logan's to "sell" him real estate?  She took hair out of Duncan's drain in the shower and they planted the evidence.  All he has to do is have reasonable doubt with one jury member.  OJ Simpson, Robert Blake, if you are famous and rich, sometimes you get off.  Veronica speculated that Arron killed Lily with an ashtray.  Rumor has it that the actress that plays Lily will be in the last episode so I am thinking another flashback at what happened that night. As for him trying to kill Veronica, more interesting storyline if Arron is out of jail.  Remember, Logan mom's body has not been found.  Here's hoping the new CW gives Veronica another season with it being available to most of the country and not getting moved for a game of some kind of sports."

Thanks for the info. But that shower scene has bugged me because it was so unclear about what was going on — and I remain dubious about Kendall's ability to extract a hair and know whose it would be, especially considering the traffic through that place. Let us now resume the original post…

The bride and I also took in the two-hour return of "Alias." I am not a fan of the show, which always feels exciting for about an hour and then just exhausting. The return was entertaining, and I have a mild curiosity about where it's going, but I can't get too crazed. Seeing Jennifer Garner playing pregnant with her thinner, post-pregnancy face was intermittently amusing. And the closing scene was a giggle simply because one of my TV mantras is that no one ever really dies on "Alias."

And now let's all charge into the new week. I'm really looking forward to "When Andrea Met Kellie…"

My wife is going to have an extra hour of free time in the fall, and the DVR will get a smidge more breathing room. ABC has announced that it will end of "Alias" in May 2006.

"Though we're obviously very saddened to face the reality that 'Alias' is coming to an end, the lasting quality of every good story is determined by its conclusion," executive producer Jeff Pinkner said in an ABC statement. "This news gives us the freedom to end the series in the climactic way it deserves."