(Online) Channel Surfing

I watched a lot of television via the web tonight. Online TV has to be the greatest invention since real TV.

"Ugly Betty" (ABC, Fri., 9:00): I was beginning to think they had changed the name of this show to "Everybody Hates Betty" with the horrible way she's being treated. Last week she was being tortured by lover-scorned Matt. Now she has to deal with feelings of being replaced by Natalie, Daniel's new assistant slash grief counseling buddy. It sucks that she has to be everyone's go-to person but when she needs a shoulder to cry on, no one shows up for her. Thank God she has a supportive family.

Wilhelmena is being blackmailed to protect her daughter Nico, who supposedly killed her boyfriend. Turns out, she didn't kill anyone. She's using a fake murder plot to get her momma dearest to pay up. Talk about someone not being hugged enough as a child. Willy must have done some pretty awful things for Nico to come after her this way. Too bad her mom is broke. Pause it: This storyline wreaks of Wisteria Lane.

I'm starting to feel a little empathy for Amanda. She wants so badly to be taken seriously. If she would stop worrying so much about Betty's exterior, they could forge a really strong bond together. I know they're getting along much better now, but I don't like to see Betty being dumped on like that.

"DCC: Making the Team" (CMT, Sat., 9:00): I missed the makeovers, but I did catch the girls doing a 16-story free fall into a net. What that has to do with being a cheerleader, I have no idea. But my whole body was shaking as I was watching it. I even let out a scream at one point. One girl says, "Oh my god, it is so much scarier than it looks." Looked pretty darn scary to me, honey! After the Minshew sister mishap, Kaime is asked to join the training camp. She's only ... oh... a MONTH behind the other girls. Kelli says she would've made the cut the first time, but her look was off. Wow. Way to set women back about 50 years. Poor Cathleen gets the ax after being called into the office for the 3rd time.

"Medium" (CBS, Fri., 9:00): Allison is forced to rent a car after someone rams into her parked station wagon. She starts hearing conversations through the car's navigation system, which helps her solve a bank robbery case. See, she doesn't just talk to dead people. And that's why I won't own a car that has a GPS in it. Mapquest is fine by me.

Team Players

Happy Halloween! I don't usually blog on Saturdays but I had to make an exception. I've seen some scary stuff today and we need to talk!

"Ugly Betty" (ABC, Fri., 9:00): This is my first time getting to review the show this season, and I'm happy to say it has maintained the sense of humor that I love so much. I still think Marc and receptionist Amanda have some of the funniest dialogue spoken on television. Betty has undergone a serious transformation, both inside and out. She's speaking her mind, standing up for herself and even wearing more fashionable clothes (even if they are still color uncoordinated). I like this new side of Betty. Let's just hope the writers don't muck it up by giving her a top model makeover.

Betty is falling behind in her duties as junior editor so Marc is made her temporary assistant. Still bitter over losing the position, he goes out of his way to prove she doesn't deserve the promotion. They later find out that Betty won the job in a coin toss, not because she was qualified. Pause it: How sucky would it be to find out you got your job because you were 'tails'? In the end, Marc helps Betty salvage her story (ironically on the 10 worst jobs in New York) from being cut from the edition and she shares her byline with him. Do you think Marc deserved the job over Betty? Do you know someone who's been promoted when you know they aren't qualified?

Who was that?: I barely recognized Jamie-Lynn Sigler ("The Sopranos"). She looks like Angelina Jolie in the movie "Gia"... Yes, that's YaYa from Cycle 3 of "America's Next Top Model". She's making quite a name for herself on the small screen.

"Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team" (CMT, Sat., 9:00): The candidates are fitted for their DCC uniforms and I can't think of anything more frightening than having to try on that skimpy outfit. Most of the girls are a size 4 or 6 but that's not good enough for Mrs. "Yes Ma'am" Kelli Finglass. She wants you to wow her when you put it on. Pause it: I'll wow you, all right, but not in a good way. And FYI Mrs. "Yes Ma'am" Kelli Finglass ... you may have been a size 4 when you made the squad *cough (in 1984)* but you are not one now *cough (size 8).

The girls also had to complete the Power Squad Army Fitness Test, given by DCC personal trainer Jay Johnson. Rewind it: "Wife Swap" fans will remember him from one of the episodes. To make the Power Squad, girls must do 2 minutes of push ups, 2 minutes of sits ups and a 2 mile run, earning 208 points out of 300. One girl missed said she only did 63 sit ups. Pause it: Don't feel bad, honey. Here are my stats - 4 push ups, 8 (and a half) sit ups and a run-walk to the refrigerator.

Three girls get called into the office: Bottom Heavy, Wet Noodle and No Can Dance. I don't know their names but this is how Mrs. "Yes Ma'am" Kelli Finglass talks about them. Noodle is sent home because she lacks performance power. No surprise there since the judges have been dissing her since day one. Next week the candidates take a 16-story leap of faith into a net. I'm sure Mika from "The Amazing Race" would just love this!

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" (KING-TV, 4:00): Oprah sat down with Mike Tyson in one of the most raw and riveting interviews I've ever seen. Tyson came off as a gentile giant and I was very impressed with the honesty in his answers. He made no excuses about his past as a womanizer, a drug user and a boxer who had slowly succumbed to all the negativity that fame had to offer.

I'm not typically a fan of Oprah, especially when she's trying to enlighten me with some new diet or new favorite thing. She's at her best when the focus is not on her, and she asked a lot of questions that I would be afraid to ask a man who once bit someone's ear off and served time for rape. But Tyson didn't back down or hesitate in his answers. The most revealing part of the interview was when she asked about the recent death of his 4-year-old daughter, Exodus, and he explained why he didn't want to know the details of her death. He said if he had found someone to blame then the anger would've taken over. It really showed the changed man in Mike Tyson. Pause it: I guess I'll buy what Oprah was shoveling: I have to rent the documentary "Tyson". I've heard good things about it already so technically I'm thinking for myself, no?

"Trauma" (NBC, 9:00): It's official. This is my second favorite new show of the fall season ("Glee" still tops my list). The acting and the action is something that's been missing from network TV since the early seasons of "ER". Tonight was the first time the show had opening credits, and I noticed that it's produced by Peter Berg. He produces another one of my favorites, "Friday Night Lights", so it definitely gives "Trauma" some credibility in my book.

The big ordeal of the night was an office shooting that left 12 people dead and 23 wounded. Boone was getting nagging calls from his wife as he desperately worked triage. Turns out she was in the office building where the shooting was taking place. Pause it: This is the main reason why people shouldn't screen phone calls. You never know who is in need of help.

For a second I thought this traumatic event would be the catalyst that brings Boone and Sela back together, but when he asked what she was doing in the building it's revealed she was visiting with an attorney. While Boone (played superbly by Derek Luke) is becoming one of my favorite stories to follow, Rabbit is the character that has all the lovable flaws. And he seems to be getting softer as the episodes go by, and I can't wait for the next medical mishap to see where he flies me. Who out there is loving "Trauma"?

"Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team 4" (CMT, 10:00): The show premiered Saturday, but I'm seeing it for the first time on repeat. It's round four for the DCC tryouts and I can never get enough of this show. Over 500 girls showed up, each trying to take one of the 45 spots needed to form the squad, and these judges don't give any breaks.

Round 1 is freestyle dance. The ladies have about 30 seconds to show off their best dance moves and try to get noticed by the judges ... in a good way. There's no denying this round is more about looks than talent. Most of the time the panel is whispering about big breasts, bad hair and flabby stomachs. The field is narrowed to about 120 girls for Round 2 and this time they learn the famous DCC kick line and a choreographed routine. This is where the judging gets really cutthroat because they don't leave room for any mistakes. I always feel bad for the girls who blank during the routines and can't pick it back up. You know you're Texas toast when the judges start whispering behind sheets of paper. Pause it: If a series of high kicks (with a hard fall into the splits) were the only thing standing between me and my dream of becoming a cheerleader, I'd still be dreaming. I could do that stuff 12 years ago. Now I'm just too bottom heavy for all that.