A few TV notes to share.

Tonight's episode of The West Wing was the one where the vice president resigns. I hadn't seen it before, and having missed a few of the late episodes it cleared up a great deal of confusion. I will say that I will miss Tim Matheson's occasional performances, as Hoynes was a nice change of pace from the usual pattern of dialogue.

The episode also featured Matthew Perry as Joe Quincy, the new deputy counsel that made the connections that led to the VP's resignation. It was refreshing to see Perry play something non-comedic.

Of course, we'll get to see more of Quincy when Leo becomes VP, Josh moves up to chief of staff, and Quincy moves in to Josh's position. Then we'll get the tension of Josh having to work with the guy who brought down his mentor. And who knows, maybe Donna finds Quincy attractive.

Sticking with this show, the folks at TeeVee recently gave it their worst hour-long show Vidiot award. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I do agree with their rationale. The show does try to showcase actors too much, enjoys verbal games more than developing a sensible story, and season ending episodes are just getting worse each year (next year: Abby Bartlett is stuck on the International Space Station!).

I wonder if Aaron Sorkin has David E. Kelley's problem where there is only a finite number of episodes he can write before the wheels come off the cart. The TeeVee folks point to the election and how it became almost a non-story. For a show often credited for its verisimilitude, you'd think a sitting President who lied about his health and seems to draw crisis like a lightning rod would have had a tougher time, even with the buffoon that was running against him. Instead the election plot line was hijacked as a way to get rid of Rob Lowe.

In any case, I do have hope for the new season. Just one question: when did Dan Connor become Speaker of the House?

On Monday, I have the relative misfortune to catch Trivia Unwrapped, the new Food Network game show based on the Marc Summers-hosted Unwrapped. It's not very good. If you've watched the parent show at all, you'll be a leg up on the competition. In fact, many of the past episodes are worked into the game play, which seems downright idiotic. Then again, it cuts down on the amount of new material you need to write.

It makes one long for the days of Pressure Cooker and its replacement, Taste Test, hosted by David Rosengarten. I used to really dislike Rosengarten - too much like a cross between Felix Unger and Gene the Anal Retentive Chef - but I think I'd prefer him to Summers or Top 5 host Bobby Rivers. In fact, Food Network could do with more actual cooking in prime time that's not done by Emeril.

I had something else in my head, but it's gone now. Perhaps I'll bore you with it later.