Russell Ferguson of 'So You Think You Can Dance'

Credit: FOX

After Monday's Top 20 showcase episode, "So You Think You Can Dance" kicked off its formal competitive season on Tuesday (Oct. 27) night with its first pairings and, shunning democracy, our first elimination, courtesy of the judges' whims.

With HitFix's normal "SYTYCD" recapper otherwise indisposed, you're stuck with me, dear readers. And I can only warn you that while I'm sure I'm a solid judge of vocal talent, which it comes to dancing, I barely have a clue what I'm talking about. So feel free to set me straight.

The episode begins with Nigel Lythgoe explaining that Billy Bell is no longer with us and that Noelle Marsh is also indisposed for the evening. Noelle will be replaced by a stand-in for the night, but if she can't return next week, she'll be out.

Here we go...

 Hayden Panettiere of 'Heroes'

Credit: Justin Lubin/NBC

 "Heroes" giveth, and "Heroes" taketh it away. In other words? Par for the course in this improved, but still mixed, volume of the show. For everything that works, something else steps in and results in a response often favored by C+C Music Factory. In other words, there were plenty of things that made you go, "Hmmm," in this week's outing, "Strange Attractors."  

 Jon Hamm of 'Mad Men'

Credit: AMC

As we near the end of the third season of "Mad Men," the 1960s are moving faster than ever for the show's major characters. Whereas earlier seasons seemingly moved in slow motion, with action moving at an almost glacial pace, Season 3 finds its central players noticing the earth beneath their feet is moving ever more rapidly. In the widening tectonic crevices left behind lies the difference between the lives these people thought they would lead and the lives they actually live.

This week's episode, "The Gypsy and the Hobo," centered around three couples looking at each other in the eye and seeing the illusions of their lives dissipate, leaving behind a reality that is both unforgiving yet oddly banal. Much in the way that life went stubbornly on in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis at the end of Season 3, so too does life continue to proceed even after deep secrets and shameful truths rise to the surface. And rather than hold off until the end of the recap to deal with the most seismic event, let's join Don and Betty in the kitchen, shall we? 

 Dichen Lachman of 'Dollhouse'

Credit: FOX

First, a programming note: Fox is pulling “Dollhouse” for the month of November. If you are reading this recap, you surely already know this and have written an irate blog post or something about it, but when the show returns, it will be for three two-hour “events,” and then the remaining three hours will be burned off at some point in time. Hence, when the show returns, these recaps will bloat to 7,000 word recaps of both episodes, probably involving elaborate citations of the works of Immanuel Kant. Maybe the ratings will perk up and we’ll all get to follow this show for years to come. Maybe the ratings will slowly crawl and some other network (or DirecTV) will figure, “What the hell?” and pick it up for another 13-episode season. Most likely, though, none of this will happen. But God willing and the Hitfix.com don’t crash, I’ll be here, covering this until the bitter end.

 Christopher of 'Project Runway'

Credit: Lifetime

 Oh boy, this is the Nicolas/Raggedy Andy/Chucky nervous breakdown episode, if the promos are to be believed, and I'm just so excited. Of course, with Nic it's anyone's guess what a nervous breakdown actually looks like, but I'm hoping it entails ripping out some of that awful hair, because boyfriend really needs a new look that doesn't appear to have been cut with a bowl over his head. But anyway, it's time for "Project Runway!"

 Erin of 'America's Next Top Model'

Credit: The CW

I knew something was off about "America's Next Top Model" Cycle 13. There's a mom in the competition, but she isn't whining and crying about missing her baaayyy-bee. Wow. How refreshing and respectable and ... cannot ... compute ....

Instead Rae prefers to compete in a hair-thrashing competition with Nicole, who --- awwwwww -- is coming out of her shell. Bye bye, fetus girl, hello, high-fashion contender!

[Full recap of Wednesday (Oct 21) night's "America's Next Top Model" after the break...]

Cat Deeley, host of "So You Think You Can Dance."

Credit: AP Photo

Okay, cue overly dramatic music, preferably something Fox News played during the Balloon Boy incident. And then cue the increasingly annoying SYTYCD theme, which always sticks in my head for a good week, only to be flushed out just in time... for another episode. Finally, imagine Cat Deely reading this in her usually breathless but appealing foreign accent: One hundred fifty-two came to Las Vegas with a dream. Thirty-eight made it to Hollywood. And now... the final 20! Can you stand it? Apparently the excitement was too much for Mia Michaels, as she quit the show last week but not before Hollywood auditions were done, so I’m watching girlfriend for clues as to why she’d walk away from one of the better dance gigs out there. On first glance, I’m wondering if that prison haircut may have made her all kinds of crazy. Hello, Mia? The skinhead look, better left to actual skinheads. Blech.