The Morning After: American Pie

Thanks to the magic of Tivo, I was able to watch both The Barack Obama Variety Show and its network competition, Pushing Daisies, which is unfortunately facing tightening in its own numbers this fall. I'd missed a couple episodes lately—I am part of the problem, not the solution—but from where I'm sitting the show still hasn't missed a step. I always enjoy an episode that's more Emerson-centric (I think there's nothing Chi McBride can't do, except maybe squeeze into very tight spaces), and I continue to love how the show's bizarre inventiveness for its own sake. ("They're playing poker with food!") And I had to dig the play on the old "Help me, I'm being held prisoner in a fortune cookie factory!" gag.

We'll see later today whether Obama's counterprogrammming helped or hurt the ratings. Are you still with the cause?