How long does it take to live down your troubled past? Whether you are fighting addiction, a return to a life of crime or even just mundane bad habits, every waking hour is full of temptations.  You can try to tightly tamp down your feelings, obsessively schedule your time, avoid old acquaintances and watering holes, every trick in the book.  But at the end of day, there is still the possibility that, no matter how sincere and committed you are to your new self, not one person believes that you are capable of real change.

That is what we see in tonight’s “Justified” in the outwardly quiet but inwardly seething Boyd Crowder, played superlatively by Walton Goggins with his usual intensity and depth.  Boyd has been through so many different personas: maniacal white supremacist, wild-eyed born-again Christian, cold-blooded killer, and now tightly coiled loner.  He is working night shifts in the coal mine, pounding back a lot of bourbon, living with his sister-in-law Ava (platonically it seems) and generally avoiding as much human contact as possible. But the world of Harlan won’t let him be. When he finally explodes on the wanna-be Nazi rednecks in the end, dragging the ringleader by the neck out the window of his truck, it is a release that has been building since his father left the bodies of his “followers” swinging in the trees in season one.  It would be tragic if others’ lack of faith (most importantly from his old friend Raylan) is what drives Boyd back to more violence and mayhem.

 

Meanwhile, the schisms amongst the Bennett clan are coming into focus. Dickie is looking to expand from pot to hillbilly heroin, without his mother’s knowledge, and his corrupt but seemingly practical cop brother reads him the riot act about bringing the “Dixie Mafia” down on their heads.  Raylan has already dealt with this crowd last season in “Hatless”, so it looks like he will have his hands full in the future.

 

This all sounds very serious, so maybe it’s time to mention again how this show is incredibly FUN? Everything to do with our favorite gator poacher, Dewey Crowe, was pretty hilarious, particularly his low-rent imitation of Federal Marshal Raylan Givens. And Nick Searcy is having a whale of a time getting under the skin of his trigger-happy underling (“Unless you roofied me. Did you roofie me, Raylan?”)  You see? Fun.

• There is a really interesting vibe from Doyle Bennett, and how he handles his dual role working with his family’s criminal enterprise while ostensibly keeping the peace in Harlan.  Although it is obviously leading to some sort of rift with his less conflicted (i.e. stupider) brothers,
• Is there any woman on the show (or earth) who doesn’t have the scorching hots for Timothy Olyphant? Even the two minute scene with the trashy C.I. made that plain. (“Am I the man you saw?” “LORD NO.”)
• “Are you speaking Martian, Doyle?”
• Let’s not have another episode without Margo Martindale, OK?

 

If you've taken a look around the 'net this morning, you're likely to think that it's Bart Simpson's 32nd birthday. But is it really?

 

Here's what we do know: "The Simpsons" debuted in December 1989 (after first making an appearance on "The Tracey Ullman Show" in 1987). And we also know that Bart's never been a day over 10 on the show.

 

Bing: More about Bart Simpson | 'The Simpsons'

 

So what's so special about Feb. 23? One sharp writer over here takes a pretty good look at why this might be the case.  What do you think?

 

In the meantime, here's a clip of Bart's birth ... even if we may never know exactly when that is:

 

By Rachel Stuhler

Hulu

 

This week on Glee, it seems McKinley High has a teensy little problem with students getting drunk between classes, leading to lots of inappropriate behavior that probably seems funnier to those who are actually drinking. Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) commissions Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) and the glee kids to perform at an alcohol awareness rally that will surely turn the wayward students around.

 

Bing: More about 'Glee' | Last Night on TV: Watch recaps

 

Puck (Mark Salling) senses a change in the wind when Rachel's (Lea Michele) parents go out of town (maybe it's like bad boy dog hearing?) and convinces her to throw a party. Mr. Schue nurses fresh heartache as the newly married Emma (Jayma Mays) starts to settle into domestic bliss by trying to buy a tract house.

 

"Don't You Want Me," The Human League

 

Puck rescues Rachel's incredibly lame party by busting into her dads' liquor cabinet, starting a wild night that leads to a very confusing kiss (and eventually a date) between Rachel and Blaine (Darren Criss). For these two performers, the best way to express their alcohol-fueled attraction is through song, in this case the ‘80s hit "Don't You Want Me," from The Human League.

 

"Blame It (On the Alcohol)," Jamie Foxx featuring T. Pain

 

In a teenager's mind (as well as several rock stars I can think of), the best way to get rid of a hangover is just to start drinking all over again. With a thermos full of Bloody Marys, Artie (Kevin McHale) leads New Directions in a rendition of Jamie's Foxx's "Blame It." They try to convince Schue it's perfect for the assembly, but it doesn't fly.

 

"One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," George Thorogood

 

With all this talk of booze, it seems even the teachers have to get in on the act. Coach Bieste (Dot-Marie Jones) takes Mr. Schue out for a honky-tonk good time at Rosalita's Roadhouse and after a spin on the mechanical bull, the two take their turn up on stage with a rousing version of "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer." It's unfortunately not enough to make Will forget his heartbreak, though he sadly does forget Emma's number when drunk-dialing her — and dials archnemesis Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) instead.

 

"Tik Tok," Ke$ha

 

The glee club burns through that liquor cabinet in a week and Rachel must cobble together a purple, alcohol-laced, cough syrup concoction to get them through their nerves before the assembly. The courage juice doesn't sit well, and soon the kids are spewing gray gunk all over each other. Clueless Figgins thinks it's a scared straight stunt, saving the club from a mass suspension.

 

 

  

“I just like to punch people” – Patrick “Lights” Leary

There was a lot of irrational exuberance running through tonight’s episode.  Johnny and Lights had a meaningful talk and managed a reconciliation, Daniella unburdened herself to her Aunt Margaret and made her peace with her father’s renewed presence in the ring, and Theresa is firmly back in her husband’s corner, cheering him on and making out with him like a teenager. And, most important, Lights (and his father) whipped himself back into amazing shape and knocked out the scariest fighter in the world. Everything’s coming up roses and lollipops right?

 

Except it doesn’t seem remotely possible that Morales didn’t throw this fight.

 

The most glaring evidence is the startling turnabout in the second round.  Although Lights is in the best shape he could possibly be in, he is clearly overmatched for the entire first round. Morales is fighting dirty with punches to the groin, head butts and whaps to the back of the head. It’s true that when Patrick locks eyes with his “good luck charm” Theresa, he regains focus and steps up to give out some fast punches. But the shocking change in fortune as Morales quickly folds just isn’t plausible.  It seems clear that Pops Leary is aware of something wrong, although he won’t hurt Patrick’s pride by raising the issue. And the writers have done too good of a job of showcasing “El Diablo” as extremely dangerous, but also a cartoonish and posturing egotist. Unlike Patrick, there is nothing in his character to suggest that he possesses any integrity or true passion for the sport. Since the clear goal of Brennan and Word (the real power brokers) is the rematch between Lights and Reynolds, it would make perfect sense to pay off Morales as a stepping stone to the inevitable bout.  Maybe I’m wrong? We’ll see.

 

Still, it was uplifting to see the champ really act like “The Champ”.  Holt McCallany didn’t just look like he lost all that weight, he seemed more buoyant and less oppressed than ever before. Like Johnny said to him, “The closer you get to the ring, all this other crap is going to fade away.” Unfortunately, there is no doubt lots more crap will be coming his way.

• “I’ll give you fifty dollars right now if you go to hell.” Stacy Keach is the master of the deadpan.
• Barry really knows his Shakespeare. Othello and Iago is an easy one, but Beatrice and Benedict? That might be a stretch.
• If it wasn’t clear by now how Johnny keeps working his way back into his loved ones’ good graces, that heartfelt pep talk while he kneaded Patrick’s hands was a clear indicator.

 

Sometimes it’s fun to watch the bad guys get one over on the good guys. Naturally, it’s only really fun if the stakes are still low enough to be generally entertaining, and it is still early days for “The Chicago Code” and its central plotline of political corruption vs. crusading cops.  Obviously, it was only a momentary setback, but Delroy Lindo as the now clearly evil-with-a-capital-​E Alderman Gibbons made the most of his series of triumphs over greedy construction boss Killian, sleazy chief-of-staff Hampton, and particularly with overreaching Superintendent Colvin.  No wonder she reacts with an office trashing tantrum, and a hardened resolve to bring him down.

It isn’t just the big civilian bosses who are lining up against our little band of do-gooders; the other cops’ resentment of Colvin’s purging of the rank and file has spilled over to Wysocki and actually puts his (and Evers’) lives in danger.  A heavy-handed tactic at best, but it is putting an interesting spin on the relationship between the new partners.  Caleb is definitely looking to fast track his career, as he boldly admitted early on. But can he really find that boost with Jarek, who is fiercely dedicated but also a developing pariah within the department?

The show still seems to be taking shortcuts with interaction of the police officers, particularly with our undercover man Liam. It’s possible I missed something, but it isn’t clear what or who he is pretending to be in order to hang out with the Irish mobsters at the pub, and he seems to excitedly ring up Jarek (“I’ve got something for you!”) every time one of the guys looks at him cross-eyed.  How long before even the thickest Celtic thug is going to figure out where all the intelligence is coming from? Naturally, Liam has had a target on his back since the pilot, but the suspension of disbelief is stretched fairly thin.  But when ever it gets to be too much to swallow, there is another fantastic shot of the city skyline or a kinetic chase on an elevated train to distract us.  Not too bad a trade. 

If you've been watching 'Glee' since its post-Superbowl return earlier this month, you know that the show has had some people wondering whether, two seasons in, it's already jumped the shark.

Well, this week's episode, in which uptight Rachel Berry watches her house get, uh, slushied, let's say, by the 'Glee' gang and friends, should seal the deal either way. It's alcohol awareness week, and what better way to celebrate than to get sloshed and take down Rachel's house (her gay dads are on Rosie O'Donnell cruise, and hence, deserve the disaster)? Santittany and Artcedes promise to make an appearance -- and rumor has it there's a lesbian liplock in store -- not to mention some angst for our favorite fashionista Kurt when an out-of-hand game of Spin the Bottle leads to a kiss between Rachel and Kurt's crush Blaine. 
 

 

As for the music, Heather Morris's Brittany rocks it out to the Ke$ha track "Tik Tok," and Lea Michele and Darren Criss -- apparently inspired by their kiss -- take on "Don't You Want Me" by Human League. That's not all, folks: Matt Morrison's Will Schuester finally hooks up with Coach Bieste -- on a duet, naturally. That's right, Dot-Marie Jones finally gets in on the song-and-dance action.

 

In another major TV casting coup, Emmy and Oscar-nodded actress Minnie Driver is set to make a splashy return to television in the CBS pilot "Hail Mary," three years after warping the FX drama "The Riches."

 

Bing: More about Minnie Driver

In "Mary," Driver would play a suburban single mother-turned-privat​e eye who pairs up with a street hustler to unravel Atlanta-area crimes. The show will be exec produced by "L Word" co-creator Ilene Chaiken and Joel Silver (whose recent TV production credits include "Veronica Mars" and "Moonlight"), and Brad Silberling ("Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," "Land of the Lost") is on board to direct, but Driver's partner in crime-solving has yet to be cast.

Former movie star Driver has been struggling in her film career (her latest two, "Conviction" and "Motherhood," have yet to recoup their relatively small budgets), but TV has always welcomed her with open arms. Last seen in a guest turn on "Modern Family," she starred last year in the BBC mini-series "The Deep," and had a fun run on "Will & Grace" pre-"Riches." 

The show is described as a drama, and Driver definitely has the chops, but given her stellar comedic timing on "Will & Grace" and "Modern Family," we hope she'll get to rock a few lighter moments here and there.

 

Looks like Anne Weschling is not the only "24" alum headed back to TV this fall.