TV Squad

This may be the final season of 'Supernanny' (Fri., 8PM ET on ABC). Nanny Jo Frost is quitting the series to devote more time to her personal life. Jo currently works 46 weeks out of the year. She hopes that time off will give her a chance to date, and maybe even start a family of her own. But the new episode might make her reconsider the whole "starting a family" thing.

Jo visits the Atkinson family in Illinois, where mom Jennifer is having trouble with teen daughter Amanda. A lot of trouble. Amanda openly insults her mother -- to the point of saying she wishes her mom was dead. Jennifer puts up with it, for the sake of making peace. But this may not be the right decision.

Now that we know that the upcoming season of 'Big Love' will be its last, there are still plenty of questions about how -- and even why -- the show will end after the fifth season, which premieres Jan. 16.

For one thing, did HBO kill the once-groundbreaking polygamist drama, or did the series commit suicide? Did fan disappointment over season 4 affect the decision to bring the show to a close, or influence the way the show will tie up its many narrative loose ends? How will the show resolve all those dangling plot strands? And what legacy will 'Big Love' have left for the rest of television?

Here are some possible answers.

['Supernatural' - 'Family Matters']

"You can't assume family means the same thing to him as it does to us." -- Dean Winchester

I love it when Twitter writes my review for me.

As Katie71483 said in her pithy assessment of 'Family Matters,' "I feel like I had a bunch of questions answered. Now i just have a whole new batch."

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8
'Conan' (11PM, TBS) series premiere
He's baaaack, and all is right in late night, as Conan returns with a new show at a new time on a new network. Sidekick Andy Richter also returns, with new band leader Jimmy Vivino, as the redheaded one welcomes Seth Rogen, 'Glee' star Lea Michele and a performance by Jack White to kick off his new gig. Among the rest of Coco's week 1 guests: Tom Hanks and Jack McBrayer on Tues., Jon Hamm on Weds. and Michael Cera on Thurs.

'How I Met Your Mother' – Kyle MacLachlan plays the hubby of another desperate housewife, as Ted goes to a swanky party and sees Zoey (guest star Jennifer Morrison) and her boat-obsessed hubby (MacLachlan), and begins to realize that Zoey's life isn't all that she presents it to be (8PM, CBS)

'Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood' – Part two of the miniseries covers the years 1907-20, when Hollywood really established itself as the worldwide center for filmmaking (8PM, TCM)

'Rules of Engagement' – Joan Collins isn't David Spade's mother, but she plays her on TV tonight (8:30PM, CBS)

'Inside the State Dept.' – In case you've ever wondered what really happens at the State Department, and what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton does, here's a very special hour just for you (9PM, NGC)

'The Big C' – Liam Neeson guest stars as "Bee Man," the unconventional healer Cathy and Dr. Todd go to when she decides to seek alternative treatment (10:30PM, Showtime)

'The Soup Presents: Drunk and Disorderly on Your TV' – It's all about celebs gettin' sloppy drunk, i.e., expect clips of Snooki, La Lohan, and, of course, The Hoff (10:30PM, E!)

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Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

* = Series/Season Premiere
** = Series/Season Finale
# = New Day/Time

As usual, FOX celebrates Halloween one week later with the annual 'Treehouse of Horror' installment of 'The Simpsons' followed by holiday-themed episodes of 'The Cleveland Show,' 'Family Guy,' and 'American Dad.' If Major League Baseball has its way and extends the playoff season we could be watching these shows around Thanksgiving in a few years.

7:00 to 8:00
ABC: 'America's Funniest Home Videos'
CBS: '60 Minutes'
NBC: 'Football Night in America'
Disney Channel: 'Hannah Montana Forever' -- 7:30 start

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'
CBS: 'The Amazing Race'
FOX: 'The Simpsons' and 'The Cleveland Show'
NBC: 'Sunday Night Football' -- The Cowboys at the Packers
PBS: 'Nature'
BET: 'Black Girls Rock!' -- (120 minutes)
Bravo: 'Food Network Challenge'
Disney Channel: 'Shake It Up!'* -- 8:30 start
NatGeo: 'Great Migrations'*
Style: 'Jerseylicious'
Travel: 'World's Worst Weather'

The rest of the schedule after the jump.

The Food Network has become an essential portal into the world of cooking. The network enjoys top ratings and is continually adding diverse cooking talents which entertain a range of food interests, tastes and techniques.

All of the Food Network shows bring something unique and interesting to the viewer. We picked the 10 best Food Network shows based on the chef's personality, and whether we learned new cooking techniques or recipes. If you love food and cooking, you will not be disappointed.

10. 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives'
Guy Fieri won season 2 of 'Next Food Network Star' and now has three shows on the network. In 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,' Guy travels across America finding the most unique foods at road side shacks, sports bars, greasy spoons and shares the cooking secrets that make each spot irresistible and different from the last.

Is there anything Stephen Colbert can't do? At the end of Thursday night's 'Colbert Report,' Stephen and Elvis Costello performed a silky-smooth duet of The Everly Brothers' classic 'All I Have To Do is Dream.' Impressive harmonization skills, Stephen.

Jennifer L. Pozner, the author of 'Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV,' didn't necessarily want to write a book about reality TV, but she felt like it was her duty.

"I wrote the book because I kept waiting for someone else to do it, and nobody was," said Pozner, the founder and executive director of Women In Media & News. "I kept waiting for a really critical conversation about what these shows are telling us, and I wasn't seeing that conversation happening."

TV Squad recently spoke with Pozner about her thought-provoking new book, discussing shows ranging from 'America's Next Top Model' to 'Toddlers & Tiaras.'

Counting down the top 10 greatest 'West Wing' episodes ...

There has never been a television show quite like 'The West Wing,' which delved into the inner workings of politics from the point of view of the people working for the President of the United States, as well as the man himself.

NBC greenlit the show when Aaron Sorkin, who'd written the successful romantic comedy 'The American President,' came to them with material he had left over from that project.

The show debuted on NBC on September 22, 1999, and ended its on May 14 2006, after 146 episodes. In that time, 'The West Wing' had won four Emmys as the Outstanding Drama Series and a slew of other awards for the acting, writing and direction.

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

* = Series/Season Premiere
** = Series/Season Finale
# = New Day/Time

College Football Games
ABC: Arizona at Stanford -- 8:00 start
ESPN: 'Arkansas at South Carolina' -- 7:00 start
ESPN2: 'Texas at Kansas State' -- 8:00 start
Versus: 'Oregon State at UCLA' -- 7:00 start

8:00 to 9:00
FOX: 'Cops'
NBC: 'Outlaw'
Univision: 'Sabado Gigante' -- (180 minutes)
Animal Planet: 'Dogs 101'
CNN: 'Easy Prey' -- Show on why serial killers prey on women
Discovery: 'Unusual Suspects'
DisneyXD: 'Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil'
DIY: 'Run My Renovation'
HGTV: 'Color Splash: Miami'
LOGO: 'Synchronized Swimming'
Style: 'How Do I Look?'

The rest of the schedule after the jump.

['Smallville' – 'Ambush']

Lois and Clark's post-coital bliss was interrupted by a surprise visit from Lucy and the General on this week's episode of 'Smallville.'

While Clark dealt with the General's hero hate and worked on finishing his strict to-do list (No. 17: Scrub the bathroom floor with a toothbrush!), Rick Flag, who's developed a pretty intense Magneto complex, and his Suicide Squad executed a deadly plan to kill Lois' dad and the Vigilante Registration Act.

['Sanctuary' - 'Trail of Blood]

If 'Sanctuary' is modeling the series more in the vein of Indiana Jones, then this episode was 'Temple of Doom'. While the Big Guy and Kate played detective, Magnus and the rest of the gang traveled to the Columbian highlands to answer a distress signal from an old friend and ran into some mutant centipedes with a bad attitude.

Magnus followed a trail of blood that lead her to the Cabal. We haven't really heard much about the Cabal since they infiltrated the Sanctuary Network and corrupted Ashley, but this week we discovered that their influence still exists in certain parts of the world -- or, more specifically, in a dark and dank cave.

Conan O'Brien's hiatus between 'The Tonight Show' and Nov. 8th's premiere of 'Conan' has left a distinctly large, tall void in television. Sure, we miss O'Brien's smart, absurdist wit. However, we are referring to programming's complete absence of red hair styled into a ridiculously high wave with a flip at the end.

The late-night host's haircut is a punchline by itself. O'Brien often flips and shakes it to tag monologue jokes. He jokingly apologized for it at the end of his infamous written statement about his future on 'The Tonight Show:' "Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way." (We're not sorry for it! Conan made our top TV redheads list.)

The great red hairdo has been missed. It is one of the few truly distinct cuts on television. How many actors, hosts or reality stars pop into your head when you think hair? A few for sure, but nowhere near the number 20 years ago – back in the '80s when crazy hairstyles defined a person.

As we welcome Conan back into our late night TV schedules, we also welcome him back into TV's club of distinct on-air hair.

Welcome to the Soap Round-Up, our weekly recap of all the soap action this past week. Each week, we sum up all the best stories from each and every soap, from 'All My Children' to 'The Young and the Restless.'

If you don't want to know what aired already, consider this a SPOILER ALERT. ... Oh, one last thing, please comment and join the conversation.

For instance, they finally unveiled a fashion show on 'The Bold and the Beautiful' this week, and Nick realized that the great new designs he thought Amber had created were all Forrester Creations originals! Did you buy her b.s. excuse? Would you have done what Nick did? Share your thoughts ...

'The Bold and the Beautiful'
Ridge invited Bridget to work for Forrester. Hope figured out how to expose the fact that Amber stole the Hope for the Future designs. The men's line was back burnered. Oliver kissed Hope. Nick realized that Amber had lied to him. Thomas asked Brooke to help him with a publicity stunt. Taylor told Whip she feared Brooke working with Thomas.

Two-time Oscar nominee Jill Clayburgh died Friday of complications from chronic leukemia, The New York Times reports. The 66-year-old struggled with the disease for more than two decades.

Clayburgh played family matriarch Letitia Darling on the ABC series 'Dirty Sexy Money,' which ran for two seasons and ended last year. She also recurred on the Fox hit 'Ally McBeal' as Ally's mother, Jeannie, and appeared in episodes of 'Frasier,' 'The Practice' and 'Nip/Tuck,' though was mostly known for her film and stage career.