BY TOM GLIATTO
DRAMA
Season 6 of FX's hit police show—uncompromising in its depiction of L.A. cops so morally degraded you wouldn't be surprised if their badges corroded into rusty pins—is shaping up to be one of the year's best shows. We're dealing with the smeary, slippery mess left at the end of season 5, when Det. Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins) dropped a live grenade in the lap of fellow squad member "Lem" Lemansky (Kenny Johnson). Shane feared Lem was ready to squeal to the feds about just how dirty these cops have been. So long, Lem; hello, fresh hell: Now team leader Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), charging furiously through life with his bald, blunt head, is on the hunt for Lem's killer. The problem is he thinks the culprit is a Salvadoran criminal named Guardo Lima. I can't think of any other series that burrows so deep into the demons of obsession and corruption, or that pushes its characters so hard to face twisted truths about themselves. Chiklis is a great, believable brute, while Goggins staggers around like a zombie, half-dead under the burden of his guilt.
Style Network (Wednesdays, 11 p.m. ET)
REALITY
The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy phenomenon is winding down, with a last batch of episodes airing on Bravo this year. The show came along in 2003 at a special cultural moment: The notion of "metrosexual" had caught on, and gay grooming tips and standards were being assimilated by a previously unfabulous straight world. The show was a boon to mankind. Now I guess it's time for the Queer Eye regulars to focus on individual projects. Dress My Nest is hosted by Queer Eye's interior designer Thom Filicia, and his taste is not bad at all. In the show's opening episode, he remade a room overloaded with Hello Kitty kitsch and chose a soothing palette of pink, celery green and white. The gimmick of the show is kind of weird—the redesign is based on clues picked up from the client's clothing—but overall it's a much more conventional makeover show than the breathless, exuberant Queer Eye. The Filicia we have here (working with a style expert named Erika Martin) is a guy doing a job and trying to do it well.
ABC (Mondays, 8 p.m. ET, Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET)
REALITY
Stars has kicked off its fourth season with fantastic ratings, and it remains possibly the nicest froth on any network. The show is like a variation on the fairy tale The Red Shoes, except that the celebrities who step onto this stage don't tire of the adventure of being paired with a glistening ballroom dancer. (What do they spray those people with, anyway?) This season, which at press time hadn't moved on to the first elimination, has an excellent mix, including Olympic skater Apolo Anton Ohno, model Paulina Porizkova and Ian Ziering from Beverly Hills, 90210. Most of the initial excitement was over Heather Mills, the first contestant to dance with an artificial leg. On the premiere, she was described merely as a charity activist—as opposed to "highly estranged wife of Paul McCartney"—and dressed in a vintage-style gown that looked as if it came from Death on the Nile. But she was game and did well. I always think judge Bruno Tonioli could tone it down. He opens his mouth, and a torrent of words comes leaping out like a corps de ballet tripping over themselves.
"She earns power inch by inch," says 54-year-old CCH Pounder of her character, Claudette Wyms, who's finally made captain this season and aims to put the station house in order. "She's brass tacks." Pounder's own style is more giving: She just adopted 11 orphaned siblings in Africa. "Rather than split them up, I provide support and they stay together. It's a new way of thinking about family."
Prison Break (FOX, April 2, 8 p.m. ET) The second season comes to an end with Michael (Wentworth Miller) still trying to save his brother (Dominic Purcell). Don't worry: There'll be a season 3.
Adventures in Hollywood (MTV, April 5, 10 p.m. ET) Reality series about Three 6 Mafia, the hip-hop group that won an Oscar last year for Hustle & Flow's "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp."
Reno 911! (Comedy Central, April 1, 10:30 p.m. ET) A new season of the raucous, ridiculous cop show.
30 Rock (NBC, April 5, 8:42 p.m. ET) The sitcom returns from break with a terrific episode that puts Tina Fey in a romantic fix and Alec Baldwin in a corporate fight with Will Arnett.
The Ten Commandments (ABC, April 7, 7 p.m. ET) Charlton Heston parts the Red Sea in the days before computerized special effects.
The New Bachelor, Andy Baldwin
A 30-year-old U.S. Navy Lieutenant and undersea medical officer stationed at Pearl Harbor will be handing out the roses on ABC's Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman, premiering April 2 on ABC.
ON GETTING THE ASSIGNMENT I was in my office one day and the phone rang. They said, "We want you to be the next Bachelor." I was like, "Are you kidding?" I found out a friend of mine handed over my digits to them.
ON LIFE IN A MANSION VS. A SUBMARINE Well, they definitely said I was the most low-maintenance Bachelor ever! I don't need much. I have slept on a lot of hard surfaces in a lot of uncomfortable situations. It was fun to have those amenities for a little while.
ON HIS DREAM WIFE It is important to have a bedrock of common family values. I want a woman who is caring and who will be a wonderful wife and mother. I like a woman who can be a tomboy but at the same time get dressed up and be a lady as well.
ON TAKING THE RISK OF BEING THE ROSE GUY What are the odds of finding love in a nightclub, at a bar or at a library? I think the way that this is set up, it's very possible you can find something that's meaningful. I'm glad I took the journey, because I came out very happy on the other end.
E!'s The Girls Next Door
1. IT'S OUTRAGEOUS I'm a sucker for a good reality TV premise—and get this one: Three young women all share one home (the Playboy Mansion), one boyfriend (81-year-old Hugh Hefner) and no one gets voted out. Genius!
2. IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK This is no Big Love. Intimate moments are limited to an occasional peck on the lips. And while the girls could be in it for centerfolds (they've appeared on Playboy's cover twice), at times there's a real note of warmth: On the premiere of the new season, Hef imported fake snow to L.A. and all four frolicked.
3. IT'S A HOOT Thanks, in large part, to Kendra. The blondest of the girlfriends has the most infectious laugh on television—think Cameron Diaz or Julia Roberts but louder—and impeccable (though likely unintentional) comedic timing. It's pure fun to laugh along—whether at her or with her.
Ricky Schroder
The former kid actor and NYPD Blue star, who turns 37 April 13, has joined FOX's 24 as agent Mike Doyle. He's also back to being "Ricky" after more than 15 years as "Rick."
THE POWER OF 24 My [four] kids really think I'm kind of a B-slot actor. They're brutal on me. But now that I'm on 24, I just got elevated big-time in my house. A little more respect for Dad.
FARM AID I sold my ranch in Colorado and I bought a farm out here in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's 30 acres with a cool ocean view and animals—goats and chickens. My real passion is wildlife management, keeping great places like Yellowstone great.
THE "Y" FACTOR "Ricky" just feels better than "Rick," it's always felt better. There's been this perception that I despised the name Ricky—"Don't call him that, he'll flip!"—but that's absurd. So Ricky it is.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
