Duets

So You Think You Can Dance - Unfortunately, I was right about who'd be sent home this week. Despite the fact that Karen's solo was the second worst I've ever seen on this show (her solo last week was the worst ever), they sent Channing packing on the "strength" of Karen's performances on the show thus far and her "star quality." I think the judges are failing to put their fingers on the pulse of the audience, as I'm pretty sure they're the only three people in America who like Karen.

Glee - Not the strongest episode, but the worst episode of Glee is better than the best episode of most other shows. Everyone paired up to sing ballads to each other for a reason that I'm sure made sense to the writers and to poor, dumb Mr. Shue, but I didn't get it at all. Still, the pairings were fun. Lots of Kurt and Finn which I love. The Fabrays find out (when Finn tells them) that Quinn is in a family way and they kick her out so she goes to stay with Finn and his mom.

There was a teeny, tiny moment between Puck and Rachel that I enjoyed and then she was paired with Shue for some awkward and not terribly enjoyable "hot for teacher" stuff that I was glad to see end. I mean, I'm happy it provided a reason to bring Sarah Drew in because she's always a welcome addition to any show, but still...enough with the one-off eps that give Rachel an alternative love interest for 10 minutes before she's back to pining for Finn. Either keep her hooked up with Puck or leave her alone!

Sorry. Where was I? Oh yeah...Puck was paired with Mercedes and in a moment of frustration over Mercedes' suggestion that the entire club sing a ballad to Finn and Quinn to let them know that their friends are there for them, he blurts out that he's the baby daddy. M drops some knowledge on his ass and keeps that secret to herself because she rocks in multiple ways.

In the end, the club does serenade Finn and Quinn, with Artie and Mercedes taking the lead on a rendition of "Lean On Me" that rocked the house, and it was heartwarming.

Friday Night Lights - Eric and his annoying assistant coach track down some East Dillon alumni to help engender school spirit and team pride. His plan is to get a few of them to come to a pep rally but first he needs to get them on board. That's where Tami and Buddy come in - she cooks for the fellas and just when it's all falling apart and Eric's getting an earful about how he doesn't know what shit is like in their neighborhoods so he can keep his lectures to himself, Buddy stops by and it turns out they all go way back and before we know it, they're ready to rally the pep.

Julie and the cute lesbian whose name I can never remember, go to a gay bar.

Vince and Luke continue to fight like the petty boys that they are. Vince refuses to work with Luke on the field which pisses Coach off (natch) and when Luke uses that against him in practice and Vince gets his ass handed to him by the defense, Vince retaliates by stealing Luke's wallet and acting a damn fool insisting that he doesn't have it and generally being a childish dickhead (with an assist from Braids, OF COURSE!). Then Luke, still hanging with the West Dillon Douche Squad (and their leader JD), confronts Vince about his jackassery and Vince decks him. The two boys are hauled into jail and the coach is called. Luke's never been in trouble before so they'll let him out with a warning but this is a pattern of behavior that they've given Vince a butt-load of "second chances" for so his ass is juvie-bound. Coach steps in and lays down the law - Luke will take the blame, Vince will kiss Luke's ass and both of them will do every single God damned thing that Coach says, when he says it, to the letter from now on. He gives them a little talking to in the car then leaves them in the middle of nowhere to walk home together and work out their shit. Vince returns Luke's wallet.

Speaking of Vince, he used to date Jess (who remains cute as a button) and would like to again but she is not having it so she implies that she's dating Landry. Vince confronts Landry about it and it's news to him but he is intrigued. After Jess convinces her dad to stop being an ass and let Coach have the pep rally at his BBQ joint, Landry plants a kiss on Jess that was so hot it almost set my living room on fire. With their bodies pressed together and their faces all close, they agree they're not dating...but we all know that's gonna change because she enjoyed the shit out of that kiss and I can not blame her. My crush on Landry is growing as I type this.

Tim helps his land lord's daughter shop for a pageant dress. And I don't just mean he drives her to the store, he actually helps her shop. It's crazy and awesome.

Then he and Matt go hunting and it's funny and sad and wonderful. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this show doesn't spend enough time focusing on the friendships. It's all relationships and town drama, which is ok because all of that stuff is great, but there are some other really terrific relationships on the show that are so interesting when they bother to explore them. They sit by the fire, drinking beer and talking about how college sucked for Riggins and how being a townie sucks for Saracen and girlfriends and crap jobs and then they toast to "Texas forever" and I pause for a tissue break.

Good thing I did too because as the episode comes to a close some fine young men in full military dress arrive at the Saracen abode to tell Grandma that her son, Matt's dad, has been killed. Then his mom calls Julie who has to deliver the bad news to Matt when he stops by after hunting.

They're off next week but on December 2nd Lyla will return for the funeral and we'll all cry more tears than is strictly healthy.