Give And (Don't) Let Die - Eli Stone, Oprah's Big Give, My Name Is Earl

Eli Stone - Patience - Ep. 111 , Waiting for That Day - Ep. 112,  Soul Free - Ep. 113

Oprah's Big Give - Season 1 including the Finale

My Name Is Earl - I Won't Die with a Little Help from My Friends - Ep. 414, I Won't Die with a Little Help from My Friends: Part 2 - Ep. 415, Stole a Motorcycle - Ep 416, No Heads and a Duffle Bag - Ep. 417

I finally caught up with Eli Stone, Oprah's Big Give and My Name Is Earl this weekend and now I feel like I need to do some good again and help the world. Sigh, I used to be such a giver...

Eli Stone had its season finale (lets hope it's season and not series finale and rumour has it that we should have faith that it will be back, because I'm starting to love this show and it's almost ready to move into the 4 star category for me so ABC better give us some more and not let this show die) and the last 3 episodes over the last 2 weeks ended with quite the emotional bang. An earthquake that destroyed the Golden Gate Bridge (and proved Eli right and not crazy) AND his surgery? And Jordan actually having a heart? As Joey Russo would say, Whoa!

Loved Katey Segal as Marci Klein, the other name in the firm, who tries to oust Jordan when Jordan backs the charitable Eli. It's Jack Bristow meets Peg Bundy! And the TV icons continue to collide on Eli Stone! I'm just not sure she will be back after she tried to oust Jordan, when the earthquake that crazy Eli predicted actually happened. Especially since the finale barely touched on the fact that the Golden Gate Bridge just collapsed and San Francisco had the big one, you would think the repercussions would be bigger and life doesn't just go on so that Eli can have his brain surgery and we get another momentous episode. I'm going to blame the fact that Eli Stone the show only got a 13 episode first season and they needed to compress the stories, but still, it felt a bit like story whiplash.

At least they are building on the characters for the great cast they have (and the great guest stars that filter through), which is why I loved the show to begin with. I'm really loving Sam Jeager's Matt Down more and more, especially after the gay chimpanzee case, and while I'm still unsure of Natasha Henstridge, she's growing on me. Still, I'm sad they've pretty much written off Laura Benanti as Eli's possible future girlfriend but it's a nice peak into the future when Eli envisions his own rally with Maggie and his baby by his side.

Loved the final moment with George Michael as kinda-God and everyone else singing (again) in praise of Eli! Hallelujah to that!

Oprah's Big Give had it's finale as well and damn if I did not love the structured charity giveaway/excuse for Oprah to continue branding. I guess it helped that the right final 3 made it to the end.

Though is it me or did 2 of the cutest contestants make it to the end? How convenient for the shows producers that younguns Brandi, 23, and Cameron, 22, made it through all the episodes? I'm not complaining. I'm just saying. I'm part of that shallow demographic. Stick a cute face on a charity and I will definitely give. (Why do you think the panda is the WWF's mascot?)

Love Brandi as she's always so positive and gung ho (as opposed to Rachael who just clashed with everyone else) and love Cameron because I'm extremely jealous of his accomplishments and the fact that he's cute as a button he keeps coming up with great ideas and just going for it and seems pretty genuine and genuinely charming. His toll booth experienced re-invigorated an old project I was working on and reminding me that I should probably renew that project and complete it or take it to the next step.

Alas, Stephen won the overall Big Give (and the surprise $1 Million) but as the corny line says, everyone is a winner (with the runner ups getting $100k and everyone else gets $30k) including the viewers for feeling like they've done something good just by watching the show (oh, that's not the charity? I actually have to go out and do something? Oh, alright...!)

Finally, My Name Is Earl returns from the strike out of jail, in a coma, and back to the kind-hearted beneath the white trash exterior it originally was and not Prison Break: The Comedy. In fact, we've seen Earl through his mind in the coma as he sees the world as a traditional TV sitcom (with Alyssa Milano's Billie as Earl's imagined wife!).

I like that the rest of the gang has taken it upon them to continue Earl's list while he's in a coma. It gets to combine Earl's white trashy humour back with the good-natured intentions of the new and better Earl. The flashback's still give us enough of the hilariously bad Earl, Randy and Joy but the show feels both fresh and comfortably predictable at the same time which is actually nice for now. Let's hope they give us more of that.