"American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" have been addressed in previous posts. Notes on these other shows after the jump. …

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Nice to see Lucy Davis again. Even better to see that she was still around at the end of the episode.

Trying to catch up on things I've missed. Am sampling the "Costas Now" town meeting, including the Bissinger rant/debate.(Good gosh, Braylon Edwards, what did you think you had walked into?) But here I'm going to talk a bit about some of the Monday/Tuesday dramas that I finally grabbed some time to watch today. After the jump. ….

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Had some family business last night so I didn't get to all the viewing had hoped. Played catch-up this morning. A few notes on various topics after the jump.

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Hang all the mistletoe, I'm gonna get to know you better.
(Photo From USA Today)

OK, not for a minute did I buy all the maneuvering and covering up that allowed the Brennan family Christmas. But the much anticipated Brennan-Booth kiss was pretty good, especially in the way it went from an uncomfortable joke on Brennan and Booth to a very uncomfortable moment for Caroline (the fine guest star Patricia Belcher), who had insisted on the kiss to begin with. And then came the excellent followup of having both Brennan and Booth recognize there was something significant in the kiss — but stopping short of verbalizing what that was. "Bones" is smart that way.

Best thing on "House" tonight: The shout-out to "Nip/Tuck." …

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John Francis Daley, still fondly remembered from "Freaks and Geeks" and "Kitchen Confidential," has become a regular on Fox's "Bones." He's been seen there recently as a therapist and will continue the role. Details after the jump. …

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Returns tonight.

This is going to sound strange but I watched tonight's season premiere of "Bones" awhile back, and I was quite adequately entertained, and I was glad to see the characters again — but I'm not sure I remember much of what actually happened. One thing for sure, involving a regular character, but not a lot more.

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"Grey's Anatomy" beat the Olympics Sunday night in the national ratings. "American Idol" crushed the games on Tuesday night, and "House" did so in some markets (including Northeast Ohio). I see a bad night coming for the Olympics.

Why tonight? New "Idol," for one thing, where the field will be narrowed one more time before fan voting starts next week (and telecasts expand to three nights a week). I'll be watching.

New "Lost," also, and one that sounds as if it will have some important plot developments. I'll be watching here, too.

"Bones" will probably do well, since it will follow "Idol." The "One Tree Hill" crowd will probably remain loyal. Too bad CBS and its corporate companion UPN are basically rolling up the carpet — with reruns of "Criminal Minds," "CSI:NY" and (waaaaa) "Veronica Mars." It could have made things even rougher for NBC, especially with younger viewers.

I'm tempted to say the Winter Games will end up third for the night, behind "Idol" and "Lost." Of course, they could run a strong second in each of the first two hours and then draw enough people at 10 p.m. to make a good night of it. But it won't bode well for NBC during the second week of the Olympics, when "Idol" will fill five hours of prime time (two hours of performances on Tuesday and again Wednesday, and an hour-long results show on Thursday). Success there will undoubtedly encourage the other networks to be even more aggressive the next time the games come around.

Don't get me wrong. I like watching the Olympics, as I have said in other posts and will say again in a column in tomorrow's Beacon Journal. But I don't like them so much that I'll give up the big serialized stories on "Idol" and "Grey's" and "Lost."

Speaking of "Idol," I'm still irked that the show kept the Hissy Twins around on Tuesday's telecast. A far more entertaining scenario would have been holding them to their resignation from the competition (or, better yet, holding Hissy 1 to his resignation but keeping Hissy 2, since H1 shouldn't have spoken for him when quitting).

But "Idol" is very much a soap opera, especially in this stage, and I'm sure they didn't want to give up a couple of outrageous players too soon.

As was the case with Simon Cowell's rumored departure from "American Idol," talk about Fox moving around telecasts of "Idol" proved premature. Cowell is back, as is noted below, and "Idol" will remain a Tuesday/Wednesday fixture.

Fox planned changes in January because it is bringing back "Idol" and "24," and they eat up time slots. So changes are being made: "Bones" moves to Wednesday, "Killer Instinct" is done, "Prison Break" will return in March and reality gets yet another watch-stars-fall-down show with the premiere of "Skating With Celebrities."

Sorry, I needed a moment. That title always makes me giggle.

Anyway, here's the Fox lowdown for early 2006, first on a nightly basis, then show by show.

Mondays — "Skating With Celebrities" at 8 p.m. from Jan. 23 into March, when "Prison Break" returns. "24" will be at 9 p.m. as of Jan. 23 but will have a four-hour premiere before that.

Tuesdays — "American Idol" at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 17 (two-hour telecast), "House" remains in the 9 p.m. slot (except for that Jan. 17 pre-emption, obviously).

Wednesdays — "American Idol" audition episodes at 8 p.m. beginning Jan. 18. Special premiere of "Skating With Celebrities" follows on Jan. 18; "Bones" gets the 9 p.m. slot as of Jan. 25, for the weeks when "Idol" is still running hour-long audition shows on Wednesdays; when "Idol" goes to half-hour results shows, "Bones" will probably drop to 8 p.m., with "Idol" at 9 and something else at 9:30. (Fox still has some half-hour backup shows in the wings.)

Thursdays — "The O.C." at 8 p.m., with "Reunion" at 9 p.m. until its series finale on Feb. 2. (Fox is calling it a season finale, but it hasn't ordered more episodes of the show beyond its original 13.) The 9 p.m. hour will then probably go to specials during February sweeps, with "That '70s Show" and "Stacked" taking over 9 p.m. as of March 2.

Fridays — "Bernie Mac," "Malcolm in the Middle" and, as of Jan. 6, "Trading Spouses." "Killer Instinct" has its last telecast on Friday.

Saturdays — Still "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted."

Sundays — Comedy reruns at 7, followed by "King of the Hill," "The Simpsons," "The War at Home," "Family Guy" and "American Dad."

I know, a lot of that is confusing. I had to call a Fox rep to sort some of it out and fill in a few blanks. To make it clearer, here's a show-by-show breakdown of those making moves. ("House," "The O.C.," the early-Friday comedies and the Saturday and Sunday lineups stand pat.)

– "24" comes back with a four-hour premiere on Sunday, Jan. 15, and Monday, Jan.16, before settling into the 9 p.m. Monday slot on Jan. 23.

– "American Idol" has a two-hour premiere at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, followed by a new hour at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18. It will then settle in at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the audition shows. Once it goes to half-hour results shows on Wednesdays, those will probably move up to 9 p.m. Wednesday.

– "Bones" will move to 9 p.m. Wednesdays as of Jan. 25, as long as "American Idol" is doing one-hour telecasts at 8 p.m. Wednesdays. When "Idol" goes to half-hours, "Bones" will probably move to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

– "Killer Instinct" is done after this Friday's telecast.

– "Nanny 911" does not have a time slot in the early '06 lineup but may pop up as filler on occasion, and will be available if another show falters.

– "Prison Break" will be back at 8 p.m. Mondays with a replay of the "fall finale" on March 13, followed by new episodes beginning March 20.

– "Reunion" will stay at 9 p.m. Thursdays until Feb. 2, when it will have its finale.

– "Skating With Celebrities" will have a special premiere at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, following "American Idol." It will then air at 8 p.m. Mondays beginning Jan. 23.

– "Stacked" takes a break from mid-January to March 2, when it returns at 9:30 p.m. Thursdays.

– "That '70s Show" takes a break from mid-January to March 2, when it returns at 9 p.m. Thursdays.

– "Trading Spouses" moves to Fridays at 9 p.m. as of Jan. 6.

Odd but relieving to have a lighter than usual schedule (no "Earl/Office," no "Gilmore" and I had seen "House"). The DVR got less of a workout, and I could actually watch one show without wondering if I should be flipping over to something else.

There was disappointment nonetheless. About halfway through "The Amazing Race," it began to feel like a "to be continued," and sure enough, it was. Much maneuvering, yet another "production error" stalling a team (the Linzes this time), nastiness by and about the Weavers, who fought back into contention. But at the end, it was like one of those episodes where all the scrambling puts everyone at a location that doesn't open until the next morning; this time, it was the viewers who hurried just to wait.

"Bones" made a comment on the show's basic problem: Its main character comes off as chilly and a bit robotic. So the episode was about how she's really not chilly and a bit robotic — she has sex, she LIKES sex, she's emotionally vulnerable — even if almost everyone (including the audience) sees her that way. Does that mean people will like Brennan and the show more? I don't know. I have been getting tired of the Spock-as-anthropologist underpinning of a lot of the character moments (like the incomplete fist-bump). But I did laugh as the underlings pondered their new glimpse into Bones's character and past. Still, I keep thinking that the real Kathy Reichs and the "real" (that is, book version) Temperance Brennan are more interesting than their TV incarnation.