Talkin' TV with a Manic Mommy

This week I had the privilege of co-hosting the new installment of Manic Mommies with one half of the duo, Erin Kane.

We dished on issues like crazy work/kid activity schedules and mid-season TV shows like Friday Night Lights, Big Love, Lost, Nurse Jackie, Damages, Parenthood and about this season of Grey's Anatomy.

You can download the show for free on iTunes.

'Nurse Jackie' Trailer Makes Me Realize How Off-Track 'Grey's' Has Gone

While watching the season two trailer for Showtime's Nurse Jackie, I kept thinking that, aside from the fact that Edie Falco kicks butt in this series, Nurse Jackie shares a whole lot of DNA with Grey's Anatomy, which, while it used to be one of my weekly guilty pleasures, has been in a creative rut. Some might argue that it's been that way for quite a while.

When Grey's first premiered in 2005, it was edgy for a network TV program. It featured characters whose moral centers sometimes couldn't be located even if they had both a flashlight and a compass in each hand. It raised provocative questions and didn't always answer them. Its leading character, Meredith Grey, was polarizing (though I always liked her) as a self-doubting, self-loathing and smart surgical intern who had serious mommy and daddy abandonment issues. Grey's constellation of characters worked insanely intense hours and, while they were (mostly) great at their jobs, in their personal lives they were almost always in a state of free-fall as marriages failed left and right. Made for great TV for a while.

Then things kind of caved in on themselves. I can't pinpoint exactly when it started. For some people, it was the hugely over-hyped, three-part ferry boat crash storyline where Meredith almost drowned in what was believed to have been a half-hearted suicide attempt, along with the "Is-or-isn't-she-dead" episode entitled, "Some Kind of Miracle" where Meredith consulted with the ghosts of Denny Duquette and Dylan -- (Friday Night Lights' Coach Taylor) otherwise known as the bomb squad guy whose remains coated her after he exploded along with the bomb in season two -- about whether she should continue living.

For others it was the two-headed monster known simply as "Gizzie," the combination formed after George and Izzie hooked up in season four. Some said that the moment Izzie began having sex with Denny's ghost in season five (for a dead guy, he sure got around), that was it, they were outta there.

I was co-hosting a podcast with Erin Kane (one of the two Manic Mommies) this week and Erin, once a huge Grey's fan, said she's given up on the show we used to gab on and on about. Same goes for one of my best college buddies with whom I used to vigorously debate whether McDreamy was a callous, selfish user.

Talkin' Fall TV Premieres on Manic Mommies Podcast

I chatted up the Manic Mommies at the end of last week -- we recorded our discussion before I'd seen the Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives premieres -- and the subject was fall TV.

Shows discussed included: Mad Men, The Good Wife, Cougar Town, The New Adventures of Old Christine, House, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Parks & Recreation, Glee and FlashForward.

You can listen to the podcast by going to iTunes, then looking up the Manic Mommies page. The fall TV interview is their latest one, number 185.

Fall TV: 90210 Is Back

Yep. The show that originally premiered 18 years ago and introduced us to the likes of Dylan McKay and Donna Martin is back tonight . . . albeit without Dylan McKay and Donna Martin.

Tonight 90210, the show that was considered a pioneer of youth-focused TV dramas (the precursor to Gossip Girl, The Hills and similar ilk) , returns but it's in much more risky and frisky a mood. You'll see old favorite Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor, who's now a single mom AND a guidance counselor. (Whoa, work and family issues. Work it Kell.) You'll also see a special appearance of Shannen Doherty as Brenda Walsh, who's a drama teacher. (Too perfect for words.) Plus Lori Laughlin, who's been in a bazillion TV shows, is tossed into the mix and will appear as a sexy mom of teens with her own boatload o'issues.

Not only is 90210 back, but many new fall shows will be starting to appear on TV schedules in the coming weeks. (Bigger ones like Grey's Anatomy, Heroes and Desperate Housewives won't return back until the end of the month.) I recently dished on the Manic Mommies podcast (like a radio show on the internet y'all) about fall TV and snuck in a shout-out to my current favorite, Mad Men. Find out more about the Manic Mommies podcast featuring yours truly here.

For those who are so inclined, 90210 premieres tonight on The CW (yes we need the "The" in the name, just like the E! network requires the exclamation point) at 8 p.m.

Image credit: Entertainment Weekly.