NGTV Guide: Wednesday, March 10

It’s another season finale tonight when Psych goes out with a bang.

The New Adventures of Old Christine – CBS 8/7c
“Subway, Somehow” – In an effort to teach Ritchie’s class some street smarts, Christine encourages the school to let them take the subway on a field trip but ends up stranded at the station as the train leaves without her.

Modern Family – ABC 9/8c
“Truth Be Told” – After reconnecting on Facebook, Phil invites his old high school girlfriend (guest star Judy Greer) to drop by the house, but this friendly visit quickly turns into trouble. Meanwhile Jay accidentally kills Manny’s beloved pet turtle, then goes to extremes to cover his tracks, and an overworked Mitchell finally stands up to his boss.

Cougar Town - ABC 9:30/8:30c
“Counting on You” – Jules is determined to prove to Grayson that women and men can be friends without any sexual undertones. Meanwhile, with Jules’ encouragement, Andy buys a motorcycle from Laurie — to Ellie’s dismay — and Travis joins Bobby on a man-trip for some “noodling,” only to be mortified by his discovery of what noodling actually is.

Ugly Betty – ABC 10/9c
“Fire and Nice” – To speed along the investigation into her house fire, Betty is pressured to date an annoying fireman, Jimmy (Rich Sommer, “Mad Men”). Wilhemina tries to prove to Don, an old flame from her past (Brian Stokes Mitchell), that she’s just “Wanda from the block” instead of an uber-bitch, and Amanda draws closer to Tyler, convincing Claire to hire him as an in-house model at Mode. Meanwhile, Hilda meets Bobby’s parents for the first time (Lainie Kazan and Nestor Serrano).

Psych – USA 10/9c – SEASON FINALE
“Mr. Yin Presents” – A killer targets Shawn using scenarios from classic Hitchcock films. Is Mr. Yang responsible? Ally Sheedy guest stars.

An Evening With ‘Cougar Town’ at the Paley Festival

Last week I attended the Cougar Town panel at the Paley Festival, a two-week long celebration of television.

After a clip from The Lucy Show from the Paley Center’s archives and a quick introduction by Bill Lawrence, the lights dimmed for a preview of an upcoming episode of Cougar Town, much to the audience’s delight. Not wanting to spoil the episode, suffice it to say, it caused much laughter with references to blumpy blankets, cat fish, gay-traps, and provided a very funny take on whether men and woman can be friends.

Attending the Cougar Town panel were cast members Courtney Cox, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, Christa Miller, as well a co-creator/writer Bill Lawrence, co-creator/writer Kevin Biegel, and moderator John Griffiths of US Weekly. Explaining the absence of Busy Philipps, Bill Lawrence humorously said, “It’s a spoiler – but Busy’s been let go!” But before there could be a roar of outrage from the audience, he hastily added that Busy was actually in Hawaii on vacation. Imagine the chaos that would have caused!

As the evening’s moderator John Griffith’s noted, Cougar Town is credited with reinvigorating the story of a single mom raising a teenager – in spite of the show’s outrageous and somewhat misleading name. In an attempt to clarify how the show fits into the television landscape, Kevin Biegel explained that Cougar Town is actually an “adult family show.” It is a successful blend of both family issues and provocative adult situation comedy.

Explaining the genesis of the show and how its lead Courtney Cox came to be involved, Bill Lawrence shared, “The one thing we were afraid about was the show would only work if you can buy into it being completely self-deprecating and have no vanity whatsoever — you will let people see you in your most embarrassing situations right from the start — and I think [Courtney] is the one actress at her level in Hollywood that was immediately like, ‘Yeah, who gives a sh*t.’” She was the perfect choice to cast for the lead of the series as they needed someone who had no vanity and yet had vulnerability. They really wanted Courtney because as Bill noted, “It starts from the top, [Courtney] has allowed the writers to make fun and jokes about anything.” Despite an initial hesitation to tell her the name of the show, it was Courtney’s fearless attitude about portraying a single mom in her 40’s, daring to embrace life to the fullest and on her own terms without regard to what anyone else would think, that was crucial in making the show the success that it is.

As to how they decided to select the venue of the show, because both Bill and Kevin are from Florida they felt it brought a distinct and refreshing venue to portray and explore. Trying to tie in her own southern roots, Courtney volunteered, “My family lives in Florida, but I’m from Alabama,” which prompted Brian Van Holt to happily toss out his own southern ancestry, “I’m from the south as well — Southern California!”

Turning back to the inspiration of the show, because the message of the show is to have fun and make no apologies, Bill admitted that he took the opening scene of the pilot episode right out of his own life after he caught his wife, Christa Miller (Ellie on the show), who had just had their 3rd child standing in front of the bathroom mirror, opening her robe and then exclaiming with a profane expletive. He also emphasized that they did not use a body double for that scene in the pilot. It was all 100% Courteney Cox. He noted that because Courteney is so brave and fearless – she is not just a star, but a true leader of the ensemble. When asked about what it was like to play a woman in her 40’s on television, Courteney optimistically said, “I don’t have that many more good years, but the ones I have I’m pretty psyched about!”

As far as other sources of inspiration, Bill Lawrence apparently has the memory of an elephant and can remember conversations nearly verbatim, which frequently turns up as the inspiration for or storyline fodder in future episodes. For example, Josh shared that one day he was playing his guitar outside of his trailer when Bill was driving by in his golf cart, which promptly came to a screeching halt, and Bill told him, “You know, that’s going to be in the next episode!” and next thing Josh knew, in the very next episode Grayson was playing a guitar. When asked if she contributes to the writing on the show, Christa quickly pointed out, “I don’t come up with ideas, I think that’s why our marriage works.” To which Bill smirked and happily said “I’m so glad you said our marriage works!”

Commenting on whether or not either Christa or Courtney are anything like their characters, Bill said that, while Courtney is nicer than her character, Christa is slightly meaner than her character. To which Christa immediately exclaimed, “I am!” and everyone laughed. This was obviously in a spirit of fun and got laughter all around, also prompting Ian to tell Bill that he is welcome to his couch for the night if he needs it! Commenting further about Christa’s friendship with Courtney, Bill said, “The coolest thing is the way that these two have developed a relationship in real life that we can all kind of feed off of and steal from.”

Turning back to the show which has a rather brash sense of humor, Bill acknowledged that it was a balance of naughtiness with family matters mixed in. He also noted that because it is on at the 9:30 p.m. timeslot they have a bit more freedom. Kevin also added that because of that they could write more freely with the dialogue and that they were “blessed to talk how people actually talk.” Kevin then sheepishly admitted that there has been a bit more Standards & Practices scrutiny because they follow Modern Family. But clarifying that Bill noted, “I love Modern Family Fantastic show. I’m a fan, I watch it — but they can have … two guys’ butts touching, but our show is so policed now because it’s Cougar Town.” From his viewpoint it was absurd that anything on Cougar Town was any more risqué than what was already being shown on Modern Family and he felt that the name Cougar Town tends to garner
more strict scrutiny than the show really warrants.

Bill also emphasized that in creating Cougar Town he felt it was important for the audience to have an “emotional connection” with the characters. He shared how when he called his parents to see if they were going to watch the show, his dad’s response was, “If I’m gonna spend a half an hour watching TV, I want to care about someone.” Thus, in his mind, this is the most important element because if the audience cares about the characters, they will want to spend time with them. Bill also explained, “I see people really responding to characters that they care about. The biggest lie in television comedy is that Seinfeld was a show about nothing, because the reason some people wanted the finale to be different is because they loved all those people.” Therefore, the show must offer characters the viewers will tune in for and will want to spend time with. He also noted that he is always tickled when people say they are touched by the show because it is both sweet and tart.

Bill’s own background was working on Friends and Scrubs, two of the most cherished comedies in recent memory. He shared a funny story about how he first met Courtney Cox: “She walked up to me and she said, ‘You know I know this show is really working right now, and that’s just a great thing for everybody. But I’m one of the first people to tell everybody it’s about the writing first, and I just wanted to tell you it’s a joy to work on this show and thanks so much for your hard work — Chris.’” Chris?! Who was Chris? Courtney tried to defend herself by explaining, “I thought [Bill] was Marta [Kauffman]’s assistant!” Apparently they worked out this embarrassing gaff for after Friends, Courtney appeared on Bill’s new show Scrubs.

As to how he became involved with the show, Brian Van Holt said that he got the part because he had previously worked with Bill on Spin City. Brian had since been doing a lot of dramatic work and really wanted to take a break from it and decided to pursue comedy roles. So when he ran into Bill and Christa at a charity event, he made sure to let them know that he would love to work with him again, and lo and behold, Bill called him the very next day! He ruefully admitted that he had the worst on-camera audition for the part of Grayson, but then luckily he nailed the part of Bobby. He is clearly fond of his television family as he happily shared, “I think we’re a functioning, dysfunctional crew and band of people.” When asked why Bobby lives on a land-boat, Bill explained, “I thought we were making a joke when we decided to have Brian’s character live in a land boat – but my uncle Bob, who is a great fishing guy, sent me an e-mail saying here are 5 pictures of my friends living in their land boats.” And apparently this little bit of comedy actually touched a nerve of authenticity.

Dan, who plays Courtney and Brian’s son on the show, is the straight man to the crazy antics of the adults on the show and, as Travis, is oftentimes the most sane in an insane world. “Dan as an actor never seems like a victim. Sometimes he seems like the smartest character on the show,” Bill observed prompting Van Holt to proudly shout-out, “that’s my boy!” Dan was also noted to have a kind of “Tom Hanks” kind of vibe with a “Running With Scissors” kind of twist, but with an undercurrent of love and, throughout the zaniness of all these adults rediscovering their youth, it is actually Dan’s character that is the heart of the show.

Also referring to the familial atmosphere, Ian Gomez shared that, “It’s like we’re a bunch of kids.” He also commented that one of things he loves about he and Christa’s characters is, “I’m not just a hen pecked husband and she’s not just a raging bitch” and he feels drawn to the deeper aspects of the relationship between his and Christa’s characters. Ian said, “I like the fact that we have really a sexy relationship on the show –” prompting Christa to yell out, “ — and in real life!” Which prompted a funny mock expression by Ian and a bunch of laughs from the audience. Clearly Ian and Christa have a lot of fun playing their characters and they performed a funny skit on how they get ready for “make out” scenes by pretending to not be able to check with their respective spouses due to various technical difficulties with their email and cell phones. After that humorous re-enactment, Bill noted that Ellie and Andy actually do have the sweetest relationship on the show which is something they purposely cultivate and highlight.

Kevin Biegel, whose background included writing for South Park and Grounded For Life, admitted he has learned a lot from Bill while working with him on both Cougar Town and Scrubs. He described it like a father-son relations – or he hastily amended, an older-brother/younger-brother kind of relationship after he saw Bill’s look of mock-horror. Kevin also shared a funny story about how when he first interviewed with Bill he knew that Bill was a basketball freak, so he naturally told Bill that he could play basketball, but in truth Kevin is the most uncoordinated person – which fortunately, Bill did not find out until after he hired him.

As for the direction of the show, Courtney reiterated that she is game for anything. Bill, however, unequivocally stated that unlike many popular television shows, they will not be dragging out the “will they or wont they” storylines. So as to the future of Jules-Grayson relationship, Bill explained, “I think most shows set up expectations – will they or won’t they, and stuff like that and drag them on forever. I like blowing that stuff up immediately. . . . and so we’re not going to drag that stuff out. So the end of this year it gets naughty and fun for Courtney and Josh.”

As for Josh, it was noted that after Travis’ fake coming-out to Grayson that it seemed like Grayson had become more a part of the family. Bill noted it was by sheer force of Jules’ will that Grayson has become a part of the family. He personally loved the scene which highlighted Grayson’s’ capitulation and acceptance when Jules threw her arms around Grayson in a bear-hug and refused to let go until he relaxed into it and agreed to come to dinner. Just watching Josh initially freeze up and then melt into her arms was relatable to Bill who confided that he hates to be touched and unfortunately Courtney is a toucher. So for him that scene was the epitome of one of Courtney’s key characteristics which he incorporated into Jules.

Finally, when it was his turn to share a bit about his role on the show Josh caught a glimpse of himself on the big screen behind him and exclaimed, “God, I’m good looking! Why didn’t you tell me?” Christa then sweetly said, “But Josh, you make us tell you every single day!” Despite this comedic exchange, Josh was quick to compliment his co-star by saying of Courtney, “It’s like working with a comedy ninja. She’s so good– and quick and funny!”

In summing up, Bill was also generous in noting that, “Great actors in television take possession of their characters quickly” and they “make C+ material A+ material.” And after watching how verbally quick each of them were on stage, it is clear this cast not only has fun working together, they bring their A-game to the show and it shows.

Cougar Town airs on Wednesday nights at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.

NGTV Guide: Wednesday, March 3

We’re adding Modern Family and The New Adventures of Old Christine to our Wednesday lineup because they feature hilarious women (and men) we can’t help watching.

The New Adventures of Old Christine – CBS 8/7c
“Sweet Charity” – When Christine and Barb find their business unexpectedly profitable, Christine undergoes a personal crisis – deciding whether to spend her share of the newfound money on herself, or follow Barb’s lead and give it to charity. Ed Begley Jr. guest stars as a pastor whom Christine turns to for guidance.

Modern Family – 9/8c
“Fears” – When Phil and Luke embark on a discovery expedition underneath the house, Phil tries not to let his fear of the dark and of creepy crawlies get the best of him. Meanwhile, Claire takes a nervous Haley to the DMV for her driver’s test, Manny’s sudden illness before a friend’s amusement park birthday party makes Gloria suspicious, and Cameron and Mitchell invite Lily’s pediatrician over for what turns out to be an anxiety-ridden brunch.

Cougar Town – ABC 9:30/8:30
“What Are You Doin’ In My Life?” — Laurie needs a co-signer to buy her first condo and finds her less than stellar, absentee mother (guest starring Beverly D’Angelo as Sheila) no help at all. Meanwhile, Bobby is mugged by a woman and Travis comes to Barb’s aid after her latest cosmetic surgery procedure.

Psych – USA 10/9c
“The Head, the Tail, the Whole Damn Episode!” – After Lassiter takes a page out of Shawn’s book and claims a shark attack victim was actually murdered, the guys must then scramble to find the fish and prove him right. Jeri Ryan guest stars.

NGTV Guide: Wednesday, February 10

It’s a full night of TV viewing for the Nice Girls as the Valentine’s Day episodes begin.

Modern Family – ABC 9/8c
“My Funky Valentine” – Phil and Claire break from their traditional Valentine’s Day dinner date and plan a little “role play” excursion. Meanwhile, Jay and Gloria’s ideas of romance clash when he takes her to a comedy show, and Mitchell and Cameron play cupid for Manny.

Cougar Town – ABC 9:30/8:30
“When a Kid Goes Bad” -  When everyone else makes plans for Valentine’s Day, Jules looks to Grayson for company, only to learn he hates the holiday. Meanwhile, Bobby and Jules are at an impasse over letting Travis go to a party where he’ll undoubtedly be drinking, Ellie is determined to triumph as alpha dog over Grayson, and Laurie meets Smith’s dad (Barry Bostwick).

Leverage - TNT 10/9c
“The Three Strikes Job” – While trying to take down a corrupt local mayor exploiting his love of baseball, the LEVERAGE team runs into an unexpected complication.

Ugly Betty – ABC 10/9c
“Smokin’ Hot” – Wilhemina marginalizes Betty during Fashion Week but Daniel intercedes, and she’s assigned to cover a low-priority show. There, she discovers a new designer, Marisa, whom she promotes as one of the 10 Designers to Watch, but Marc steals all her thunder. Meanwhile, Amanda is impressed by Helen’s (Kristen Johnston’s) sewing skills and teams up with her to start a new line, but cannot convince Marc or Betty to lobby Wilhemina on her behalf. Claire’s son Tyler (Neal Bledsoe) comes to New York to find her, and Daniel gets seduced into modeling. The fashion and the feelings are smoking hot, but the real flames are at the Suarez home, which mysteriously catches fire.

Psych – USA 10/9c
Shawn and Gus find Juliet’s ex-boyfriend who is in WITSEC and end up arresting the FBI agent who covered up the murder that the ex-boyfriend witnessed.

Keeping Up With the Boneses

The holiday hiatus is over, and how! I spent the weekend catching up on shows as far back as last Wednesday’s ABC lineup, so I thought a little grab bag of comments would be appropriate.

Modern Family – I love how this show has set up various stereotypes, then proceeds to break them down little by little. The Claire vs. the remote storyline was very funny, but it was Jay who truly came out ahead this week.

Cougar Town – The whole Laurie & Grayson thing is kind of grossing me out. If Grayson and Jules are each other’s “someday” people, it’s kind of ick that Laurie’s already been there. Ellie’s very sweet confession of love for Andy added some dimension to her character; Andy’s assumption that sex would follow yanked us back on track.

Ugly Betty – Is it wrong that I’m a little relieved Hilda isn’t going to have a baby? It’s sad for the characters, and Ana Ortiz played Hilda’s grief perfectly, but with everything else going on this season a pregnancy felt like too much. Even on this show.

The New Adventures of Old Christine – Has Christine actually found a long-term guy in Max? At first I thought their quirkiness could work together, and any excuse for Blair Underwood’s Mr. Harris to return is OK by me, but Max’s speech at the end was less funny than verging on emotionally abusive. The rest of the gang’s antics, swooning over Mr. Harris, were hilarious.

Bones - Very clever, Bones writers. Give us a whole episode surrounding the assassination of JFK, then leave us in doubt when Brennan “proves” that the bones couldn’t be his. Was that really JFK’s bone sinking into the pudding, or did she pull a switcharoo for Booth? Also, Angela’s pregnancy scare would have held a little more weight if I hadn’t watched Ugly Betty first, but, again, I’m glad she’s not preggers.

The Vampire Diaries – What is it with the bad boys?!?! Damon is a bad, bad, bad guy. Killing, manipulating, generally living in a state of selfishness. But at the first hint of humor and tenderness toward Elayna, I was all, KISS HIM! Maybe I’m the shallow one here.

The Mentalist – Seriously? Lisbon didn’t know about Riggs & Van Pelt? Can’t see the forest for the trees, I guess. Speaking of…I didn’t see the tie-in with the news reporter coming. Nice sleight of hand there.

The Office – Huh. It was a clip show. I guess it’s earned the right to one of those by now. Bets on whether that guy recommends his company buy Dunder-Mifflin now?

30 Rock – I’ve only been to Boston a couple of times (going again in March!), but I got a kick out of all the inside jokes thrown at us in the evening’s “road trip” episode. I’m really starting to wonder if Liz and Jack are destined for each other, though.

What Not To Wear – No, I’m not kidding. I DVR WNTW so I can fast forward through the boring stuff (do they really need to both preview AND recap before/after each commercial break?) and get to the transformative stuff. This week’s tomboy jazz singer was a fun transformation to watch. Bless her heart.

That’s it in a nutshell. I still need to watch Dollhouse from a week ago. If I don’t watch it, then the series isn’t ending, right?

NGTV Guide: Wednesday, January 13

Hold on to your valuables, the LEVERAGE team is back!

Cougar Town – 9:30/8:30c
“Scare Easy” – Jules freaks out when things when things heat up with her boyfriend (Scott Foley guest stars as Jeff), while Laurie seeks diversion sex with an unsuspecting friend and Andy spills the beans about his big secret.

Leverage – TNT 10/9c – SEASON PREMIERE
“The Runway Job” – In order to take down an oppressive sweatshop owner, the LEVERAGE team infiltrates the fashion world.

Ugly Betty - ABC 10/9c
“Back in Her Place” – A battered but unbowed Betty recounts her worst week EVER to Mr. Z (guest star Fisher Stevens) as the show flashes back to her horrible last few days. Frustrated over the frivolous assignments Wilhemina gives her at Mode, and inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s memoir, Betty creates her own blog about amazing charitable ventures that inspire her. However, as her hobby enriches her, her job is nearly killing her, since Wilhemina tortures Betty with beauty experiments for future stories. Meanwhile, Daniel fears Marc is sabotaging him — and he is; Bobby treats a hormonal Hilda to some pampering during “Hilda Week,” which goes awry, and Wilhelmina makes a long-term commitment to the incarcerated Connor.

NGTV Guide: Wednesday, January 6

Ugly Betty moves to a new night and time to kick off the second half of a season that’s returned to the quality that made us fall in love with the show four years ago, plus it’s a Friends reunion on Cougar Town.

Cougar Town – ABC 9:30/8:30c
“Rhino Skin” – Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow reunite. Despite fearing the meanest and most unrelenting dermatologist in town, Dr. Amy Evans (Lisa Kudrow), Jules and Ellie are willing to endure the harsh ridicule and wrath for an appointment with the best in the business. But when Jules learns Dr. Evans is seeing Bobby, she’s determined to stand up to her and protect him. Meanwhile, Travis gets a job working for Barb that turns out to be more than he bargained for.

Ugly Betty – ABC 10/9c – NEW TIMESLOT
“The Passion of the Betty” -  Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”) makes a cameo appearance, returning as Betty’s orthodontist, Dr. Farkas. When Betty becomes concerned that she and Matt are spending too much time together, she tries to give him something else to be passionate about — a surprise gallery showing of his art work — with unintended results (Tony Award-winning actress Christine Ebersole guest stars as Frances, the gallery owner). Meanwhile, Marc is horrified that his one-night stand, Troy (Matt Newton), is falling for him, since Marc was Troy’s “first,” Hilda grapples with whether or not to tell Bobby that he’s the father of her unborn child, and Cal Hartley hires a Hollywood powerhouse, Denise Ludwig (Nadia Dajani), to replace Wilhemina.

NGTV Guide: Wednesday, December 9

I hope you’re sitting down…tonight is the last episode of Glee until April and possibly the last episode of Eastwick ever. Enjoy them while you can!

Glee – FOX 9/8c – MID-SEASON FINALE
“Sectionals” – Quinn’s secret unravels as the sectionals approach, threatening club cohesion at the worst possible time. Meanwhile, Sue’s scheming continues apace (and then some); and Will ponders an important decision as Emma and Ken’s wedding nears.

Cougar Town – ABC 9:30/8:30c
“Mystery Man” – A very wealthy potential home buyer, guest starring Scott Foley as Jeff, feigns interest in an overpriced home in order to get Jules’ attention.  Meanwhile, Ellie begrudgingly leaves the baby with Andy for a day to prove to herself that she trusts her husband.

Eastwick – ABC 10/9c – SERIES (?) FINALE
“Tea and Psychopathy” – After Jamie (Jack Huston) reveals to Roxie that Darryl is his father, she sets about having a dinner party where father and son can bond. But Jamie has a secret, darker plan for the evening. Meanwhile Kat embraces her newfound power by healing every patient she comes into contact with, but her compassion leads to drastic physical consequences. And Max (Jason George) asks a reluctant Joanna to help him crack a famous unsolved Eastwick murder, but their snooping leads them to a perilous situation with Eleanor (Cybill Shepherd).

NGTV Guide: Wednesday, December 2

We’re nearing the winter season finales on several shows, and the possible series finale for Eastwick, so be sure the DVR is set before you head off to that fabulous holiday party!

Christmas in Rockefeller Center - NBC 8/7c
Jane Krakowski and Zachary Levi host the 77th annual lighting of the Christmas tree in Manhattan, which is illuminated by music artists rendering current hits and holiday tunes. Performers include Michael Bublé, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Barry Manilow, the Roots and Shakira. Appearing: newsman Brian Williams; and actors Taylor Schilling and James Tupper.

Glee – FOX 9/8c
“Mattress” – Budget cuts mean no yearbook photo for the glee club, but Rachel is the only one upset about this. Meanwhile, Quinn tries to get into the Cheerios yearbook photo; and Will and Terri face serious problems in their relationship.

Cougar Town – ABC 9:30/8:30c
“Into the Great Wide Open” – Against the advice of her best friend, Ellie, Jules tries to keep up with the hard partying twentysomethings and makes a complete fool of herself in the process

Eastwick – ABC 10/9c
“Tasers and Mind Erasers” – While enduring a visit from her mother, Edie (Joanna Kerns), Roxie discovers a newfound power. After Jamie’s failed attempt to poison Darryl lands Greta Noa (Rosanna Arquette) in the hospital about to die, Darryl urges Kat to embrace her healing abilities so she can save his friend. Meanwhile, as Joanna tries to resurrect her writing career, her rivalry deepens with cocky reporter Max. And Jamie is forced to team up with Bun and Eleanor (Cybill Shepherd) to finish the job on Darryl.

NGTV Guide: Wednesday, November 25

Glee – FOX 9/8c
“Hairography” – Concerned that Sue is up to no good, Will pays a visit to an instructor of a competing Glee Club (guest star Eve) to see what information Sue may be leaking, which leads to the club getting a look at their hair-rising competition. Meanwhile, Kurt gives Rachel a makeover to impress Finn, but he may have ulterior motives.

Cougar Town – ABC 9:30/8:30c
“Here Comes My Girl” – Jules’ intimate Thanksgiving turns into a larger gathering just as she’d hoped. When Travis invites girlfriend Kylie to dinner and introduces her to everyone for the first time, Jules and friends are determined to make an unforgettable first impression. Before long, Jules finds herself giving Travis and Kylie an impromptu lesson on birth control. Meanwhile, Bobby and Grayson discover an awkward but common interest between them.

Eastwick – ABC 10/9c
“Paint and Pleasure” – Thrilled when Darryl arranges an art show for her work at his mansion — and invites New York art maven Greta Noa (Rosanna Arquette) — Roxie forgets that his motives might be less than pure. Joanna turns to her power to get her life back on track, but swiftly discovers that every action, magical or otherwise, has its consequences. And Kat, still unsure about how to move on from Ray, shies away from a budding romance with Will.

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