I've made some noise about this before, but I really feel the need to drive it home — the Niki/Jessica plotline on Heroes should really just quietly disappear.

Here's my first problem with the situation, which I think is the problem most people have with it — Niki doesn't really have a superpower as much as she just has a psychological disorder.  Multiple personalities disorder might be exotic, but it's hardly tantamount to bending time and space.  Maybe they should feature me on the show for my amazing ability be compulsively 15 minutes early to everything or to have small panic attacks after the time change in the fall.

Of course her other personality is kind of superhero-y, what with the kung-fu fighting and the limb-tearing, but when you compare it to the gift of flight, it's kind of disappointing.

The other big reason for getting rid of Niki is that the storyline is just nowhere near as interesting as the Petrelli brother hijinx, Claire's web of deception or Hiro's adorable little quests.  Coupled with her perplexingly bland sorta-husband and her wiseguy son, the whole plotline just sinks.  (By the way, I really don't like that kid.  He's always wearing this expression of smug disappointment.  As far as precocious/wise beyond his years kids go, he's not as off-putting as certain other NBC child actors, but I'm still not digging him.)

Niki's crappiness is no fault of Ali Larter, who does what she can with the role.  It's always fun to watch the panic-stricken Niki transform into uber-confident/aloof Jessica.  Her face sinks and her tone drops into Jessica Rabbit territory.

Maybe she'll get more interesting when/if she gets involved with other heroes.  Aside from knockin' boots with Nathan Petrelli, she hasn't really mingled with the rest of the crew.

Wednesday’s a bit of a dead zone until Lost comes back next week.

This is us without Lost.

Again, there’s the bad singing, and the people laughing at the bad singers. I don’t know if you can tell, but I don’t watch.

Apparently Friday Night Lights is really good. There’s a new episode tonight. This sounds like a future summer project for me.

I don’t watch Top Chef, but I support those who do. Have a fun finale. And check out Top Design for me, while you’re at it — it premieres tonight, if you’ve managed to avoid their relentless advertising.

I can’t really tell if Mythbusters is new, but it sounds new to me — whirlpool myths. Sure to be fun as always. And educational.

I'm such a pansy.

• If this rumor is true, I'm so relapsing into my old American Idol-watching ways.  US Weekly says that Courtney Love might not only guest on American Idol, but she might… wait for it, wait for it… replace Paula Abdul!  I'm guessing this is all highly unlikely, but dear LORD I love me some Courtney.
• Lucy Liu and Jerry O'Connell will join Kathy Griffin and Tim Gunn as guest stars on Ugly Betty.  
• Apparently, the Grammys are on in mid-February.  Because effing John Mayer needs some more paper weights.  This year The Police are going to open the ceremonies.
• Camp Reality — the brainchild of some dude who lost Survivor several seasons ago — will air tonight.  It's the usual reality people doing what they do best: getting drunk and doing obstacle courses.
• Armed and Famous is moving to VH1 — a better fit. 
• A British news anchor named his kid after Jack Bauer .  True story. 
• This page has all sorts of downloadable music from Grey's Anatomy.
• The doc on Survivor is a big cokehead.  Weeee!

Oh, how wrong I was in my glib prediction about last night's House.

Instead of solving a mystery disease, House spent the hour counseling a rape victim. If this doesn't sound like something the cranky, emotion-averse House would do, that's because this was a definite departure for the show. I can't say I enjoyed it completely, but I admire them for trying something new and ambitious. 

If you've ever taken a creative writing class in college, especially a playwriting class, you'll know there are a couple topics that frequently come up with almost unvaryingly disastrous results. They are: rape, incest, suicide, and eating disorders. (What's even more fun is when you have to read them aloud in workshops. Or see them on stage. Or act in them on stage.) People want to write about these things because they are inherently dramatic, and they think that because they're disturbing most of the work of writing the piece will be done for them.

I'm not saying there's no way to write about these things successfully, because it does happen. It just takes work. If you're going to fictionalize such serious, real issues, you have to be careful, because people can spot fakeitude a mile away. House has dealt with incest and eating disorders decently in the past, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised that they eventually came around to rape. And no one can accuse them of not taking it seriously.

This may be a strange complaint to level at House, which is a show where people spout the most convoluted witticisms at the drop of a hat, but people just don't talk like they did in last night's episode. But that's all right; they're doing their highly stylized verbal universe, and even if it bugs it's at least interesting. Which is why I forgive and maybe even respect the show for its sometimes odd college playwriting project feel. No one else bothers to have their characters discuss the big stuff. Is that enough to overlook uncomfortable, stilted writing? Probably not, but Hugh Laurie pulls it off.

Two-time Golden Globe(TM)-winner Hugh Laurie. And don't you forget it.