Sawyer strangles Chris Richardson because he was a grey alien who fell from the sky

That headline is kind of a "mash up" of Wednesday night TV viewing. Perhaps I could have come up with a less clunky headline using the "mash up" software (Ableton Live) pimped by Blake Lewis on Idol last night. And I thought he just came up with these beatboxed versions while having a seizure.

American Idol
Chris? Bye. Not sorry to see you go, Timberfake. Perhaps a nice career endorsing Afrin awaits. Phil? I can understand that Phil left, and it's probably for the best. Gaining even more notoriety would mean he might have to appear during the daylight, which we all know is anethma for those afflicted with vampirism. I thought Phil improved solidly since I started watching (I only tune in at the "top 12" stage) and that Lakisha would have been a much better choice to beat it. But hopefully, we'll get rid of her next week, and the world will be as it should for the final 3. And since I never watched all the early crap, packed with backstories and personal life nonsense, I missed out on Phil's unctuous affection for his kid. As TNRLMs readers know, that's not my cup of tea. If I had been subjected to that more during the top 12, I probably wouldn't have appreciated Phil's performances as much.

Other moments of interest:

• I'm starting to appreciate Seacrest more. His Johnny Carson-esque deadpan eyeroll about the lack of "filler" in the show was well done.
• It was also nice to have him sit Jordin down quickly, after last week's two hour torture.
• Bon Jovi's new song was kinda lame. THAT's the song they want to showcase to 30 million people?
• Robin Thicke is Alan Thicke's son. Alan was the dad on Growing Pains and had an awful late night talk show, when they were giving them out to everyone (Chevy Chase? Magic Johnson?). Robin's mom is Gloria Loring, who composed and sang the theme song to The Facts of Life and played Liz on Days of Our Lives. That's all I can say about Robin's performance, which I fast-forwarded through after hearing about 10 seconds.
• Worries about the "weighting" of votes appear to be unfounded. After 70 million or so on the telethon, it appeared that Tuesday's votes would not have as much impact statistically, somewhat skewing the results. However, Seacrest said they had 135 million total for the two week period, so that seems fair.
• Are those "Idol Challenge" questions for the developmentally disabled?

Next week: "Boogie" music with Barry Gibb? Good lord, I have an unhealthy appreciation for disco. Bring it on.

Bones
Definitely one of the better outings for Bones last night. The only thing missing was a reference to David Bowie's "Man Who Fell to Earth." I think this is one of my favorite procedurals because I simply love all the characters, particularly conspiracy nut Hodgins. His whole "that we know of" bit was priceless, as were several other of his lines:

"Aliens don't wear loafers, people."
"This is harassment. It is illegal to mock people for their fundamental beliefs."
"They are gray, not green. Being that you are half alien yourself, you should know that."

Although, I felt awfully sorry for his proposal to Angela getting shot down again. My kneejerk reaction to this is that Ang is being such a bitch. Why put him through all the machinations? However, after further contemplation, I think she really does love him, and there's some secret she's hiding from Hodgins and us. Maybe she had a secret kid she's trying to figure out how tell him about? (God, I hope not. Please keep my shows as kid-free as possible). Perhaps she had some quickie Vegas marriage long ago to a boyfriend that she never got around to divorcing? I think there's more here than meets the eye.

Other good lines:
"You mean like a death ray, or a space baby?"
"I guess to me right now it looks to me like marriage is having someone that will slap your enemies and then toss their dead bodies out of airplanes."
Plus, there was Zack's expertise on the nature and efficacy of lightsabers. Hee.

Also, Whodats: Agent Pierce! Everyone's favorite Secret Service agent from 24, Glenn Morshower, showed up as one of the former astronauts. (and whatever happened with him and Martha Logan after she stabbed her weaselly ex with a fruit knife? Huh?) And the bitchy space program director was played by Andrea Thompson, best known for NYPD Blue, who also tried to be a CNN Anchor a few years ago.

Lost
Wow. The back part of this season just rocks. Even though I'm going spoiler free, I had deduced that Locke's dad/the "real" Sawyer would meet an untimely end here. Sawyer choking the bastard out with pirate ship chains was fantastic, and former UGA attendee Josh Holloway was mesmerizing throughout. Terry O'Quinn was spectacular as usual. Other notes:

• What is Rousseau going to do with that dynamite? I think we haven't seen the last of it. And how awesome was the whole non-chalance of that scene with Locke and Rosseau?
• Did Locke's presence help Ben heal more quickly? And vice-versa? Or is it just the island in general?
• Remind me never to trust Kate with a secret. What the fuck? Why did she run immediately to tattle to Jack? And did Sayid know she was going to do this when he "trusted" her?
• I can't wait to see the beach confrontation when Sawyer returns with the tape recorder.
• What is the secret "we should tell her" that Jack and Juliet are keeping? Is Juliet a double-agent mole, who is actually working against Ben? And Jack knows this?
• Was Sayid digging something specific when Hurley came up to him?
• Is Richard Alpert sowing seeds of dissent within the Others camp?
• Does the big column that Locke's dad was chained to have anything to do with the four toed statue?
• Glad to see that Sawyer is still pissed about the "bunny trick."