Since they canceled "Judging Amy": Movievangelist Takes on TV

As I wrote earlier, it's been a little tough to fit many movies into my schedule, what with the new TV season. Yeah, yeah ... you never here Ebert whine about this. But you know what, I would kick his ass in a footrace, and I didn't give thumbs up to "Spartan."

Anyway, here's a rundown of what I've been watching the last few weeks:

ROME (HBO): A convoluted but relatively compelling account of the rise and fall of Julius Caesar. Especially riveting is his invention of a frothy orange drink.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC): The clock's ticking on this trendiest of shows. Sure, I dig Felicity Huffman, and Teri Hatcher has never looked better. But her bumbling makes Jack Tripper look like Mikhail Baryshnikov.

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIAM (HBO): Seems to lost a little kick but still is worth watching just to see that envelope pushed. It helps that Larry's wife is somewhat foxy. (Yeah, I said it.)

EXTRAS (HBO): The new sitcom with that guy from the BBC version of "The Office." Anytime you can get Kate Winslet simulating phone sex, you've hooked me.

PRISON BREAK (FOX): Still not sure about this one, but how can you resist Stacy Keach, Peter Stormare and Movievangelist fave Robin Tunney in supporting roles? Apparently Newman, Pacino and Streep were unavailable. (And we know about Winslet.)

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (FOX): From Jason Bateman out front to Ron Howard with the narration, this is hands-down the funniest show on TV, even better than "Curb." OK, OK but not "America's Next Top Model."

MY NAME IS EARL (NBC): Jason Lee usually steals every scene he's in, but the breakout star here is Jaime Pressly. Who knew the hottie from "Poison Ivy: The New Seduction" -- that's the third one, FYI -- could do funny?

THE OFFICE (NBC): "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" may help win this a bigger audience, which would be nice. Sure, it's weaker than the British version, but it sure as hell ain't no "Men Behaving Badly."

LOST (ABC): Missed the first season but caught up over the summer. Did that help me understand anything about these people or that island? Um, no.

INVASION (ABC): I love a good aliens-among-us yarn as much as anyone, but this baby better pick up soon. Even with Bill "Confederated Products" Fichtner around, I'm tired of watching people clean up after a hurricane. I get plenty of that on the news.

THE APPRENTICE: MARTHA STEWART (NBC): Before you get too crazy, let me explain. My better half and I used to watch the original Trump version -- not proud of it, just saying -- but frankly got tired of him hamming it up. (No!) With Martha on the scene, we switched over. The verdict: It's not a good thing, so far. We'll give it a few more weeks.

CSI (CBS): Keep your Caruso and Sinise. I'm rolling with the original crew, including the saucy Marg "Rhymes with PILF" Helgenberger. (Then again, if they get the balls to do "CSI: Paducah," I'm there.)

NIGHT STALKER (ABC): Just seen one of these, a loose update of a '70s show. That one apparently was quirky and amusing. This one ... not so much.

EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (UPN): Wait a minute ... UPN? UPN? That's still on the air? Did they have to sell it to Chris Rock to get him to do a show? Whatever the reason, this is a promising little sitcom. But how long before Bill Cosby has Rock killed for treading in his territory?