Could we take a minute to talk about what a good actor Mark Harmon is?

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I've got a fever, and the only cure is more Kober…

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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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Bits of this and that …

– You may have seen the report of Randy Quaid's bad behavior. Considering all the stories told over the years about stars acting up, I've wondered how far someone would have to go to be punished. I guess we now have some idea of how far that is. And it's pretty freakin' far.

– Is Bruno ruining his team on "Dance War"? He is taking a beating from Carrie Ann's team, and my bride — a "Dance War" devotee — wonders if it's fan backlash. Bruno, she observes, is much nastier about the dancers than Carrie Ann is, and viewers may not like it.

– I tried to get through the post-Super Bowl episode of "House," but it was kind of a snore. (And I did.) Interesting stunt — diagnosis by long distance — but not one that kept my interest. Tuesday's episode was better, not only because it brought the show back to one of its favorite themes — challenging House's cynicism with displays of strong faith — but because of Wilson's romance with Amber. She was a bracing presence when in contention for House's team, and she looks even more entertaining now; loved her declaration that she could call House by his first name because they are now social equals.

– A&E has set the date for a new season of "Gene Simmons Family Jewels." Here's some of the announcement:

Legendary rock star Gene Simmons and his unconventional family are back and better than ever for an all-new season of A&E’s hit Real-Life series Gene Simmons Family Jewels, premiering with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, March 11th at 10:00 PM ET/PT. The 24 episode season kicks off with Gene preparing for the ultimate challenge – a lie detector test to determine if he has been faithful to Shannon Tweed, his “Happily UNmarried” companion of 24 years and the mother of his two children, Nick and Sophie.

A true test for the legendary ladies man, Gene will have to answer questions put forth by Shannon, as fans will find out if the 4,800 women Gene purports to have been with all occurred before 1983 – the year he and Shannon’s relationship began. In addition to revealing the truth behind the rock star’s storied sex life, the new season will feature a Gene Simmons Roast in which Gene gets verbally assaulted by friends and today’s hottest comedians, the first ever KISS concert where the band performs as a trio, behind the scenes with Gene on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice, Gene and Shannon’s official “Happily UNmarried” honeymoon in Hawaii, Nick and Sophie abroad in Mexico and much, much more.

Not sure what the big deal is supposed to be about Simmons's fidelity. In her memoirs, Tweed drew a distinction between "emotional cheating and sexual cheating," indicating the latter was OK as long as it did not also include the former.

– Malcolm X Abram and I have completed our fourth "American Idol" video podcast, wrapping up the auditions. I expect to post a link later today.

I've been trying to muster some deep thought about the "American Idol" auditions in Omaha, but it wasn't a very interesting telecast — and sent relatively few people to Hollywood. But the blahs from that were made up for by "House," even if it was a Christmas episode airing off-season (since Fox obviously hoarded some episodes for later use if the strike dragged on — as it has). …

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Well, considering how many people may not have watched yet, I'm not saying until after the jump …

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

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The scene that persuaded me to watch "Pushing Daisies" at least once more.

(You know, after listening to Chip Caray declare "Here come the Yankees" too many times, it was kind of nice just now to hear Joe Buck punctuate a Cleveland rally with "Here come the Indians." But that's not what I'm here to talk about.)

I think it's "Mad Men" fatigue. That show was so good, other hours are having a hard time measuring up …

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Resumes a new season tonight on Fox.

I've been worried about spoilers for tonight's season premiere of "House." But the network's promos spoil one good joke, as well as giving away the closing scene of the episode, so there's not a lot left to spoil. And I suspect that tonight's promo for next week's episode will have a spoiler or two. So I'll just press on, albeit after the jump …

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My review of "High School Musical 2" is here. My review of "Superbad" is here.

After the jump, Barry Corbin, and the perils of magazine deadlines … and a new part 2, with "Damages," "Mad Men," "Rescue Me" (so beware of spoilers if you haven't caught up)…

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A coy announcement about some new actors, after the jump …

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Didn't get to the "House" season finale until the weekend …

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"Lost" fatigue, some possible spoilers from last night's telecasts and proof that I am a sentimental fool, after the jump …

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Thanks to the completion of a couple of projects and weather that makes me want to stay indoors, I've been keeping better pace with my TV faves of late. …

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I have been talking around some of the plot developments in tonight's season premiere of "House" (including in a new podcast you can find at www.ohio.com) because it does make a difference to see the early scenes without preconceptions.

But several of my colleagues have already blabbed, so I might as well do likewise. And if you don't want to know, then stop reading here.

OK, moving on: The surgery House had at the end of season two proved successful, giving him the mobility he had longed for. That's interesting enough (although it's possible the transformation won't be permanent). But even more interesting is the way House changes emotionally — and how that affects all the people around him.

Since he has lost a continuing reason for his anger, House suddenly seems milder. And since his happiness is rooted in what amounted to a gamble, he is more willing to take risks with a patient based not on his medical knowledge but on pure instinct.

As a result, his colleagues are not only dealing with a happier House — a puzzling spectacle by itself — but one whose medical skills may have been twisted in a dangerous direction. Indeed, the opener seems to be sending House down the road to a colossal mistake.

The change of heart will disorient some viewers. But unlike "Bones," which has also softened its central character but hasn't given a strong dramatic justification, "House" has made its change rational. And it has thought out the implications of that change. Concerned at first with the direction the show had taken, I've come to see all the interesting places the show could go — that it's still looking closely at its characters instead of drifting into routine.

By the way, my detailed fall-preview package is also available now on www.ohio.com, as is a second podcast about MyNetworkTV, which begins its soapy wanderings tonight. Both podcasts include me and Amy Carlson Gustafson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.