So folks, I should start by saying I am not Zack Bunker. Zack is on vacation, chilling or doing what cool guys like Zack do, so this week you are stuck with me. I know, I know…but hey, this is not a picnic for me either. In order to write this recap, I had to get off the Reality TV Boycott I had begun in the wake of the travesty that recently occurred on SYTYCD. Side Note: Dear Nigel, Sasha was robbed, period! Okay, now that I have gotten that off my chest let’s get down to business. First, you know this is a recap and that means spoilers…so if you did not get to watch Project Runway last night and it is still languishing in your DVR…walk away and come back later. As the show opens we see some exhausted designers struggling to get their butts out of bed and then the camera pans to small stacks of clothing with name tags on each pile. I look more closely and a pit forms in my stomach for the poor designers…the clothing is actually t-shirts, shorts and sneakers. This, my friends, is the dreaded sportswear challenge. A small note accompanying the clothes directs the designers to meet Heidi and Tim at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in Washington Heights. As the designers scramble to get ready….we see poor Cecilia – clearly still reeling from her stint in the bottom three – depressed and refusing to get out of bed. Cecilia is apparently angry that the judges sent Julie home instead of her (though come on dude this was Julie’s third straight week in the bottom three…the clock was ticking on her). If I was her I would be more...

As anyone with cable can attest, we’re currently in Renaissance of television, with some of the most insightful, original, and exciting storytelling ever produced not just for the small screen, but for any screen. Anyone who doesn’t get cable probably doesn’t watch television, since the most broadcast network fare is the exact opposite—bland, formulaic writing that doesn’t take chances and is soon to be canceled in favor of the next reality show singing/dancing/cooking/dating competition show. People who complain about not liking anything on television are like people who say they don’t like wine but have only tasted one varietal of Chardonnay that poured from a cardboard box. With so many fantastic new shows popping up all over cable, the race always seems to be on to declare each one the “best show on television.” There’s the MAD MEN people, the BREAKING BADers, the TRUE BLOODiers, DAMAGES peeps, and now the GAME OF THRONES folks. I myself can enjoy all of them, though I know nothing will ever surpass THE WIRE. However, there are other shows that really have no claim to being the “best show on television” (a dubious and too-subjective title anyway), but are nonetheless essential viewing. One particular show is fraught with inconsistencies of tone and storytelling, but might just be the most interesting program available right now. LOUIE. The show’s premise is not all that dissimilar from SEINFELD, in that it follows the stand-up comedian Louis C.K. (playing himself) as he deals with the issues of his life and applies his experiences to stand up bits that we see during the show. That’s really where the parallels end, though. Louie C.K. was a comic’s comic for years, and a number of attempts were made to translate his act into the mainstream...