I've been waiting several weeks for a really good new "Veronica." I don't think last night's was it.

Part of my objection may be plot fatigue, which was also a factor in last night's "Lost." This late in the season, I don't want just another hint. I want answers. And I don't feel as if I'm any closer to answers on "Veronica" than I was months ago — that the show is toying with me because it doesn't know exactly where it's going. It's way too "X-Files," a show that was notorious for painting itself into a corner and then throwing out everything you knew, just to keep the narrative going. And the Keith investigation wasn't as fleshed out as it should have been.

Was there good stuff in "Veronica"? Well, yeah. The bizarre little homage to "Arrested Development," for one thing. And Logan right now is the show's most intriguing, tortured and devious character. But even there, I didn't buy entirely into his romantic change in direction, especially when it was rooted in boredom with video games.

Please, "Veronica." More, better, now.

2.I'll be in a cone of silence re "Veronica Mars" for the next few days, since it's being pre-empted on the local UPN affiliate for a Cleveland Cavs game. Have already made note of the delayed-telecast time — 9 p.m. Saturday — and now just have to remember to set the DVR.

I suppose I should be grateful that I don't have to worry about one more show tonight, especially when "Lost" is new (finally) and I have to keep tabs on "American Idol." (Barring technical difficulties, there should be a post-"Idol" podcast with me and Amy Gustafson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press online later tonight.)

But, as I said in an earlier post, it's been such a long time since we had new "Veronicas" and last week's newbie wasn't that good. So I'm ready for something better. All right, I'm ready for anything. I just hope tonight's "Lost" measures up.

I did have fun this morning when I finally got to last night's "Amazing Race." Almost did a complete post on it called "Nice Guys Finish First — and Last" because the cast at the moment is for the most part kind of likable — or at least not making me hate anyone. Yes, I could have done without the Overheated Guys' latest blunt longing for women. But it was still overall the "Race" the way I like it — competitive, entertaining (loved the bottle-bashing stunt) and not mean-spirited.

As for tonight's viewing, I have seen "Heist" (the new NBC series, not the superior David Mamet movie) and you don't have to. It's a caper series, one of several out there at the moment, and I was bored with the caper before the first episode was over. It has hoped for comparisons to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (the Brangelina movie, not the 1996 series starring Scott Bakula and Maria Bello), since "Smith" director Doug Liman is also involved with "Heist."

But when you stopped staring at the stars, '"Smith" was an empty movie. "Heist" also feels like a show getting by on superficial charm — all looks and style with nothing much to support it, other than the sublime presence of Seymour Cassel. In other words, it's Ace Young.

When I finally sat down to see Wednesday's telecast of "Veronica Mars," I was ready to be dazzled. It felt as if it had been forever since there had been a new episode, and I was long past ready for one.

The episode was all right, not great. I did like the scenes with Logan, since to the end it was not clear if he was a sincere suitor or a master manipulator. But other stories and relationships felt less sure-handed. And, since I was primed for good stuff, it was all the more disappointing when it wasn't there.

Is that disappointment the fault of the show, since most series have off weeks? Or am I to blame, for expecting a high level of accomplishment that wasn't there?

I'll blame the show. After all, there are programs that we come to with high expectations that do deliver. "The Sopranos" came back from its long hiatus with a very good episode, and tomorrow night's is even better. As I said in a column about the show, with the end of the series in sight, the makers of "The Sopranos" are acting as if every single episode counts, not just one here and there leading to a big finale.

But the quality of the early episodes has been so high, viewers are going to expect the show to maintain that — and it may not be able to do so every week. I thought of that when watching the season finale of "The Shield" next week.

I'll have more to say about "The Shield" in a separate post. But this has been a terrific season, both through the addition of Forest Whitaker as a "good" guy who is as ruthless and unscrupulous as Mackey, and in the impact of Whitaker's presence on all the other characters. The intensity has been incredible; what might have been cat-and-mouse in lesser hands is more like cobra-and-mongoose here.

Still, because "The Shield" has been so compelling episode by episode, I was prepared for something epic in the season finale. Make no mistake, it's good. It has an air of tragic inevitability for anyone who has been watching closely this season. And there's a funny little surprise in the middle of the drama. Even so, it disappointed a little because it did not top everything leading up to it.

This wasn't a case of waiting for a show to return, as with "Veronica Mars." It was instead a matter of getting so deeply involved in a series that I wanted an ending whose power would carry me over to the next (and possibly final) batch of episodes.

"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.

I reversed some of my viewing tonight. My wife was out for most of the evening, so I recorded "Lost" and waited for her return, since that's one of the shows we like to watch together. Instead, I watched "Veronica Mars" in real time. And, because this was one of those nights with lots of overlapping programs, I had a VCR running for the Grammys while the DVRs handled other shows. Besides, this way I can take the videotape into the office tomorrow and watch it while I do a few other things.

As for "Lost" and "VM," I don't know which made me dizzier. We find the hands of the Fitzpatricks in yet another pie on "Veronica," and we see Sawyer and Charlie forming a bizarre, dangerous alliance on "Lost." I was probably more involved in "Veronica" since it was tossing off clues right and left to the bus mystery, and it is so good at showing how very, very mean people can be to each other — and not only young people, although their cruelty can seem especially gifted. But both it and "Lost" took parallel tracks on at least one issue — the role of the outcast in society.

"Veronica Mars" is hip deep in lost souls and social pariahs; so is "Lost." On "Veronica," the outcasts can be the most sympathetic of characters; "Lost" is certainly making us ache for Sawyer and has tried, with less success, to make us feel some sympathy for Charlie — although I think there's more to be done with a Logan/Sawyer comparison chart.

I am increasingly obsessed with "Lost" as Wild West; I think I counted three difference western references from Sawyer. But there are other things that just make me go whoa, as when Kate's mom showed up in the diner scene.

In a sign of progress in my home obligations, I actually managed to watch "Veronica Mars" on the same night it aired. All right, not all of it — about half last night, and half this morning, and all of it from a recording. But I'm getting closer to real-time viewing. I may even be able to see most of tonight's "Survivor" as it unfolds for the rest of the Eastern time zone.

Of course, it helped that "Lost" was a rerun last night, although I would have preferred a new one. Like many of you, I get frustrated by the load of reruns in a TV season, especially with a show like this, where you're trying to follow a narrative that keeps stalling or looping back on itself. This being "Lost," I wonder if the rerun was carefully chosen to refresh our memories about something that will be important in the weeks ahead. Still, since last week's episode was not one of their best, I fear wheel-spinning and delays while they figure out what to do next.

But getting back to "Veronica," I liked the way we went from bus-mystery questions to Weevil riding the bus — one more way the show plays with our perceptions, with the scene making me think for a moment that we were flashing back to the crash. And, mystery aside, keeping Wallace's father in the picture — as an active, good parent, no less — was a good touch. While I have no idea where this will all lead (and I have enough respect for "Veronica" to figure any guess I come up with will be wrong), I love the ride. Although I still think the FBI shouldn't have given up on Veronica so quickly…

I did like the twist in the middle of "Veronica" — when we found out she wasn't as innocent as we have come to expect from watching shows that aren't as well made as "Veronica." And it was a nifty way to tie up some storylines, while starting a new one for Wallace. But I set a high bar for "Veronica" and it didn't always reach it. The end suggested the FBI is all done with Veronica, when there seemed to be enough evidence to keep interrogating her as a witness if not as a suspect. And I hope that the settling of this story means that at some point we'll get back to the bus mystery.

"Earl" and "The Office" had good things. But I've also felt as if I'm trying to shake a bug today, and it seemed especially pronounced when I was watching TV. Have you noticed that, when you're even a little bit sick, TV feels slower? It's as if your brain has reduced the pace at which you receive images because you can't process them very quickly.

I checked on last week's "CSI" for a couple of reasons. One was that I wanted to see how scary-looking Faye Dunaway had gotten; she had looked bad when she did that WB reality series and I was hoping it was an aberration. No such luck. Age and what appears to be some cosmetic surgery have not been kind to her. In a strange way, though, the look fit her character; I think there's a real-life Vegas star who had a romantic connection to a mobster, and who in more recent years looked as overdone as Dunaway did on "CSI."

The other reason I watched was that this spring the bride and I are going to Las Vegas; she has been there before, while it's something I have just dreamed about for years. (The dream was very specific, too: Renting a convertible in L.A. and driving across the desert, hitting Las Vegas at night, with its lights a beacon out of the darkness.) So I have not only been reading up on modern-day Las Vegas — and watching cable specials about it — but thinking about the mythology I have accumulated from books and movies and shows like "CSI." Thursday's episode was awash in the mythology, from the lavish modern settings to the echoes of the city in the '60s. I'm really curious about how the real thing will measure up. For instance, will it look as startlingly colorful as "CSI" in HD?

The last couple of days have been interesting in ways I'll talk about another time — albeit ways that have nothing to do with television, except in their keeping me away from the tube.

I plan to seek solace for the next couple of hours by pulling the covers up to my chin and watching my DVR'ed "American Idol" from last night and the last couple of "Gilmore Girls" that I've missed. I know, how girly does that sound? Next thing you know, I'll want a mug of cocoa and a pair of pink fuzzy slippers, and will start talking about how dreammmmmmmy that George Clooney is.

Well, at the risk of adding to those girly suspicions, I freaked out briefly tonight when I was setting up the DVR. More meetings tonight, although I hope to be home in time for "Lost." But I'm taking no chances. DVR set for "Lost," check. "One Tree Hill" for the wife, check. '"American Idol," gotcha. "Skating With Whoever," well, I think I have a review copy somewhere but let's be safe, check. "Veronica Mars …"

Veronica?

Veronica?

Oh, my, there's no "Veronica"!! The local UPN affiliate is running a Cavs game. I like the Cavs. I watch the Cavs. But where's my "Veronica"? I haven't seen a new episode since — well, all I can remember is that I was a lot younger and had less gray hair.

Anxiety ensues. I check the UPN Web site to see if "VM" is actually on the network. Yup. More searching to see which episode is airing. "Blast From the Past," it says, without one of those big "new" or "fresh" labels that networks stick on their shows so you'll realize you're not stuck with another rerun.

"Blast" sounds like a familiar title. Quick, to the episode guide! Ahhhhhh. A rerun.

Oh, I still wish I had a "Veronica" episode to watch. Any "Veronica" episode would be calming right now. But with all this other new stuff filling up my DVR's memory, I'm happy for a chance to get through some of the backlog.

Now, if I could just remember where the cocoa is….

Kind of a snore tonight, although I suspect they knew that going in. And so tried to save it with that scene at the end.

Snore 1: That Meg was the character who died. She was, after all, toast in the alternate ending online last week, and — while viewers preferred the original, televised ending — the alternate ending offers the possibility that her death was not as described in tonight's show. But even if you didn't see the alternate ending, there was that Big Fat Hint early in this episode, when she worries that she might die and wants Veronica to see that her child is taken care of.

Snore 2: The jury story. Oh, it had some good things, especially the way that Veronica did not save the day; it was another juror who got to be Henry Fonda — or Robert Cummings, if you know your old-TV history. A very different character who ''sees all sides of every question and constantly seeks the truth." (That's from the original "12 Angry Men," by Reginald Rose. Yeah, I'm showing off a little.) The jury story also set up a way for Veronica to stay in Neptune after high school, an issue that's been lurking in the background this season. But the whole thing still felt a little too by-the-numbers.

Snore 3: Well, not a snore, just a nagging question. Why is Steve Guttenberg, who does not rank among our better actors, in this show — and what is the deal with his eyebrows? They bugged me all through "Poseidon Adventure," and they're bugging me here, too.

Disappointment: The way the stolen tapes may bring Aaron Echolls back on the scene. He's a thoroughly creepy character but Neptune is hip-deep in creeps. Bringing him back feels redundant, and I don't expect redundancy on "Veronica." And the rationale for why the deputy stole the tapes felt like something taken from a much inferior show.

So was there a plus side? Well, there was the look on Logan's face as he watched the tapes. There was just about everything Enrico Colantoni did. And there was the return of Wallace, whom I missed very much, so much that his return almost made me forgive all the shortcomings of the episode.

Almost. This feels like one of those mid-season slumps even good shows sometimes suffer. Let's hope it proves brief.

I wish that either "Lost" or "Veronica Mars" would get out of that 9 p.m. Wednesday time slot. There must be a plot-twist limit for any time period, and one of those shows by itself uses up the quota every week. With both there, well, all the obsessing over the twists makes me too tired to start the day on Thursday.

In fact, I waited until this morning to watch "Veronica," mainly because I wanted to see the alternate ending posted on AOL in close conjunction with the actual telecast. So I watched "Veronica" and dug it as always. If I wanted to push the Dashiell Hammett parallel from my "Lost" posting, I would let "Veronica" be "The Thin Man," with almost all the good characters on the show playing Nick to Veronica's Nora. (Of course, some Nicks are better than others: Keith and Logan are much better at the banter than the increasingly woebegone Duncan, and once again I miss Wallace.) OK, so we all knew that the vice principal wouldn't put a snoop like Veronica in charge of documents unless he had something in mind. It still led down such fun trails. And I like that they're making more and more room for Tina Majorino.

The twist at the end of the telecast was quite satisfying, a good way to keep me hooked for another week. As if I needed another hook. Then I went to the alternate ending, which took the original hook and attached a couple of more hooks to it. If I hadn't seen the original ending, I might have found that engaging, or at least bold. As it was, the original hook seemed plenty to fret about without piling on the extra material. We'll see what viewing voters decide, and which way my obsessing will have to go. At least "Lost" is a rerun next week. I need the rest.

Well, that cold I mentioned is a persistent creature, and one I'm getting very tired of. It's been hanging on today, so after a brief stop at the office, I came home to work. Which proved more difficult since my cable was out for a couple of hours, not only knocking out the TV but also my Internet connection. I've missed chatting here.

Still, I caught up with last week's "House" and then watched a preview of tomorrow night's episode, which ends with one of those twists so good that I dare not reveal it to you here. But even before the episode gets to the twist, it's yet another "House" tour de force, moving back and forth in time, inserting characters into scenes in inventive ways, operating like an especially dizzying stage play — and on top of that, throwing in an emotional kicker that hit me especially hard. Plus a guest-starring role by Allison Smith, who seems to be everywhere lately.

This is a show that has become so sure of itself, it is absolutely fearless. Last week's episode, with Cameron trying out meth, was one example. (This week, it's Chase at the center of the pinwheel.) It wasn't the main plot, but it forced you to look at a character in a different way, while not going so far that you found her actions unbelievable. And the show is just nervy. A reader had already e-mailed me to take a look at the address of House's home, and there it was, 221B. Same as Sherlock Holmes.

Besides "House," I finally got around to last week's "Veronica Mars," if only to be ready for the stunt telecast this week. Once again, the show juggled an incredible number of stories, character expansions and even social issues in a single hour, without feeling overstuffed. I'm not sure about it all — Logan's turning hero, Duncan's nightmares — and I am really missing Wallace, who's important in terms of how we see Veronica. And I missed several bits of dialogue thanks to Channel 43's kicking off the sound during its superfluous weather alerts. (By Wednesday night, everyone of at least modest intelligence knew the weather was getting tricky.) But I still really like it and am glad I waited to watch. "Veronica" just isn't a show to watch while fighting sleep or allowing distractions.

While I was watching those things, though, the lack of cable/Internet connections kept me feeling isolated. Yes, technological breakdowns can force us to consider things from different perspectives. Thanks to a previous cable TKO on Sunday, I listened to the first part of the Browns game on the radio — but they didn't sound any better than they looked once the TV was back. But it was just weird not having the usual access to things. It's another reminder about one of my pet themes, that the advances in technology create gaps for the people who can't afford to keep up. And if you feel behind for a day, how will it feel if you're behind every day?

The networks, of course, are rushing forward so fast that they're already creating gaps in the interest of profit. That exclusive "CSI: Miami" scene available only on the Internet, for instance. (A scene, by the way, that was also a huge promotion for a car company.) Or the plan to make some new "Lost" content available only through a cell-phone company and then on the "Lost" second-season DVD. And that's just what's happening in entertainment.

But, as I've said, I have ranted about that before. And will again, probably tomorrow, when I give a talk at the University of Akron. So I'll give it (and me) a rest now, except to say that it's good to be back.

I like to guess what's going to happen on my favorite TV shows, but I don't really want to know until I see an episode. I like seeing all the turns happen, I like that burst of surprise (as was provided by last night's "Lost"). So for the most part I try not to know what's happening ahead of time — staying away from possible spoilers, to be sure, but also trying to avoid promos (which have sometimes given away WAY too much).

Now I'm wondering if I also have to figure out a way not to watch episode credits. That will be difficult, given that the credits roll while the show is in progress, but "Veronica Mars" really put me off my game last night.

Yes, I still love the show. And it was a good episode. Although the Joss Whedon cameo was pointless, isn't that what cameos usually are?

But here's the thing: One of the little twists in it was the return of Aaron Echolls, the murderous dad played by Harry Hamlin. And here's the problem: Hamlin was listed as a guest star in the opening credits, so I knew he was going to show up — and didn't get much of a kick when he appeared in the jail-cell scene. It would have been much cooler if Hamlin had eschewed his expected credit and was just there.

Maybe if I just looked at the top half of the frame while the credits ran …

Well, tonight was one of those "Survivor" episodes where it's obvious at the end that the editors held back crucial information. Amy was voted off, and it wasn't close, and all we saw going into the vote was her attempt at forming an elimination-proof alliance — not the other alliance that easily trumped hers.

I've become so used to this sort of misdirection on "Survivor" that I don't generally mind it. It's like knowing that a magician is distracting you from a tricky hand motion, but if you don't actually see the motion, you're happy to play along. But I'm still having a hard time getting very involved in this "Survivor," and I had gotten to like Amy, so the editorial deception tonight was more annoying than usual.

Besides, I've not been knocked out by what little TV I have managed to see this week. "Veronica Mars" had some good scenes, and it's nice to see Wallace get some story time, but it still did not feel like a great episode. The psychic plot felt like one destined to go awry, and once Wallace went missing, it was likely he would be with his father, and the Duncan-Logan friendship just feels peculiar. I keep the bar pretty high with "Veronica" and this one wasn't close.

"Gilmore Girls" was all right earlier in the week, if not extraordinary. I like the way the show refuses to just let Rory and Lorelai hug and be done with their conflict; real families don't patch up things so easily, so neither should they. And I still have a bunch of stuff DVR'ed that I haven't gotten to, so maybe there's a hidden gem.

Or maybe it's just tough to get through a week without a new "Lost." …

So I'm sitting through tonight's episode and wondering if we are really going to learn much about the bus crash, although I can forgive some digression.

As the show does so well, having established a big mystery, it still draws us until a little one. And even the little one has layers of character and scandal: Logan's dalliance with Kendall is not only found out but is interwoven with a scandal that takes down the Casablancas real-estate empire (and in the process ruins a sweet business instructor who is naive about the way the game is really played). Wallace's new girlfriend is, as I feared, big trouble — as Veronica knows better than Wallace — but Wallace's mother has a mystery of her own.

And then, wham. In the final moments, we finally get to the scene that was in the promos, and we know that the bus crash is a far more sordid act than we at first thought, that Veronica may have been the target — and that either we have not heard the last of Aaron Echolls or he has friends with power and ruthlessness on a par with his own.

All this, plus "Pride and Prejudice," (And fans can feel so much smarter if they start thinking of Veronica as a modern Jane Austen character instead of as a glibber, more troubled Nancy Drew.) What a show. Can't stand the idea of waiting an entire week between episodes, but neither can I imagine delaying my viewing until I have all the episodes together for one self-indulgent marathon.

Now about that real-time viewing: Tonight was a relative rarity, a night when I could actually sit at home and watch a program as it aired. I've spent far more time lately plowing through recorded fare, including a run today through "Commander in Chief," "Joey," "Will & Grace," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "The Office." So I nearly went nuts during "Veronica" because I couldn't skip through the ads. (Spare me from any commercial with Britney Spears.) We all know how excruciating commercial breaks can be, but they're even worse when they slow down a show you love — and one you know is going to take you somewhere cool.

Finally caught up with "VM" tonight. (Also this week's installment of "The Office," where the workplace boredom-beating made for one of the truest, and best, episodes of the American show so far.) I am confused, concerned and delighted. I bow to series creator Rob Thomas, and to Diane Ruggiero, "VM" co-executive producer and a writer who has made an enormous contribution to the show.

I get a little uneasy when I think about how much I have come to care about the "VM" characters, since they are all fictional, and I have plenty of people to care about in real life. But I found myself wanting to talk to Keith Mars about this whole running-for-sheriff thing. He's an idealist, after all, and he's running for the best of reasons — to do good for people who aren't getting much good from the current sheriff. But it feels as if no good can come of this. Has he forgotten that Veronica's messed-up, thieving mom is still out in the world somewhere, an opposition-research squad's dream?

But so often "Veronica" is about bad things happening to good people. (More dread: Wallace's budding relationship with a girl who looks like big trouble.) Nor is justice always done. And even when bad things are happening, they are often presented matter-of-factly, very "this is the way of the world." Characters may win in a specific situation, but the institutions of corruption have not been toppled. And, as was so painfully clear last night, the truth does not always set you free of pain and misery.

Because its world is so complicated, I love this show even when the characters are trapped in sadness.