For savvy TV fans this is the biggest week of the entire season.  Not only do we learn what shows have made the Fall 2008 schedule, but we’ll also GASP! again and again at the season finale shockers.  Beginning tomorrow, The CW will roll out ten series eye-poppers over the next eight nights.  Turn off the cell-phones, unplug the computer and don’t answer the door.  This is gonna be good.  Beauty & The Geek offers an unexpected romantic battle—presumably over Tommy, whose “geekiness” escapes us—before awarding the big payoff.  Wednesday, will Tyra choose Top Model’s first-ever “plus size” winner?  After seven years, Michael Rosenbaum bids farewell to Smallville, but only after Lex finally learns Clark’s secret in a huge showdown at the Fortress!  And Dean Winchester?  Yikes! Guess who’s come to collect on his Supernatural soul-deal?  The Sunday comedies leave on a high note, with Everybody Hates Chris and The Game poised to return next season.  On Gossip Girl, will Lily go thru with her grand wedding—or run to Rufus?  And what are the “bigger” secrets Michelle Trachtenberg (Georgina) promises are yet to come?  One Tree Hill, as usual, tosses every character into the drama blender, with one person’s survival, well…suspect, at best.  But next week’s Reaper finale may contain the most chilling revelation of all.  Yeah, this sprint-to-the-finish makes the TV marathon worthwhile.  Feel free to vent nightly, as needed…

The folks who syndicate Everybody Loves Raymond surprised us this week with a rare TV comedy-fest. They’ve selected 22 of the show’s very best episodes to air between March 17-29, gems that I always love seeing again, like Raybert, The Cannister, Baggage, Marie’s Vision and She’s The One. Mirroring other classic series, Raymond hit its comic stride in Season 2 and produced consistently funny stories for nine years. Here’s an early blooper reel that highlights the close chemistry of the cast, not to mention their ability to ad-lib. Two other sitcoms that deserve attention are Everybody Hates Chris and Aliens in America, both of which are riding a lengthy wave of new episodes. Young Chris Rock (Tyler James Williams) “trains” for his first kiss Sunday night; while on Aliens, nerdy Justin is mortified to be starring opposite his mother in a stage production of Rent. Click here for one of their hilarious scenes. Both programs expertly recreate the fish-outta-water tone of The Wonder Years and, seriously, are as good as any network comedy on the air. Beginning next week, The Game will follow them with nine new episodes, trading timeslots with Girlfriends to anchor a fresh lineup thru May.

The conclusion of a nearly four-month-long Hollywood writers strike has TV fans asking one question:  What does this mean for my favorite shows?  In most cases, the news couldn’t be better, according to trade sources Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, TV Guide, Mediaweek and E! Online.  Let’s start with the dramas: Smallville has four new episodes finished (including tonight’s), and will now produce five more this season.  Supernatural will air its remaining two new eps this month, and add another five or six for spring.  One Tree Hill will stockpile six more hours to the six already completed.  Reaper still has three new shows ready, with five or six more ordered—and you can expect the rookie dramedy to delve much deeper into the “deal” mythology when it returns.  Breakout freshman hit Gossip Girl has aired everything produced, but will quickly resume work on up to a half-dozen more stories.  Variety reports that the Upper East Siders may even get an early Season Two launch this summer, following the successful pattern of The O.C.  Life is Wild has ceased production at this time.  On the comedy front: The Game received a solid vote of confidence, with a pickup of eight or nine more episodes—to go with its four remaining new shows.  Everybody Hates Chris (12) and Aliens in America (eight) have enough new laughs in the can, so they won’t produce any more for this season; and Girlfriends, currently the longest-running network comedy, will bid adieu after eight years with a likely one-hour retrospective now in discussion.

Only 17 more shopping days left, and if you’re one of those lucky few who’ve completed the task before the mad rush, WBNX has some relaxing holiday TV rewards for you! More than two dozen Christmas-themed episodes and specials are coming your way between now and December 25, starting with The CW’s “Merry Monday” comedy lineup of Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends and The Game! The boys on Supernatural encounter the anti-Santa, while the Gossip Girl socialites unwrap…well, who knows what? Many of our daily comedies also have some memorable yuletide scripts, including Raymond, Frasier, George Lopez and According to Jim. And, of course, kids love the animated specials about Grandma and her hit-skip reindeer and The Story of Santa Claus. You can find a complete schedule of the holiday fare here on our new Christmas webpage, along with exclusive festive screensavers and other extras featuring your CW faves. Spread the word…and enjoy! P.S. Have you seen our new “Cleveland snowglobe” logo on air? Watch for it!

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The best drama on The CW may just be happening, of all places, on two Monday night comedies! Okay, that’s stretching it a bit, but if you haven’t seen Girlfriends or The Game recently, you’re missing some fierce episodes. Now in its 8th season, Girlfriends has Joan dealing with her fiancé Aaron’s deployment in Iraq, Maya’s tragic meltdown over losing her unborn baby, and William fearing how Monica’s pregnancy will change their lives. Then, The Game follows with startlingly-poignant issues torn from the sports page headlines. This year began with Derwin cheating on Melanie—and Tia Mowry really flexing her acting muscles in a continuing storyline. Jason, meanwhile, has begun secretly taking steroids, unaware of the physical side-effects that are ruining his marriage. But it’s Malik who wins the prize for stupidity, making flippant comments on-the-air about kids getting rich selling drugs. He is rightfully attacked by the media and caught on tape slugging a wheelchair-bound cartoonist who parodied the arrogant pro quarterback. Worse, Malik just expects his mother/agent, Tasha, to make the mess go away. Sorry, guy, this horse is out of the barn. You can catch the powerful encores this Sunday at five, and get ready for fireworks Monday night. The gloves are off.

Chatting backstage at CSU with Steve Harvey and Cedric “The Entertainer” during a Kings of Comedy Tour stop nearly a decade ago, I mentioned how well I thought they played off their female co-stars on The Steve Harvey Show, a WB Network comedy.  “Ced and I, we’re just comedians,” Steve replied.  “Wendy and Terri are the real actors,” referring, of course, to Wendy Raquel Robinson and Terri J. Vaughn.  I mention this, because Wendy continues her great work as “Tasha” on sophomore CW series, The Game.  But she also deserves major kudos for an inner-city LA project she began in 1997, the Amazing Grace Conservatory.  It’s a theatrical institute that trains young people in voice, dance and acting, then showcases their talents in three major productions each year.  The program is open to all, though the majority of aspiring actors are African American.  Wendy says there are strict rules, such as no cussing, fighting, gang activity, gossiping, etc., and over 2,500 youngsters have enjoyed the AGC benefits—many either working in the industry or going on to a performing arts college.  With all the nonsense we read about in Hollywood, good stories like Wendy’s need to be told.