The Sling Blog

"The Big Bang Theory" is a ratings titan! As much as I've slammed the show for exhausting things around the Penny/Leonard relationship, they seem to have found the right balance. Yes, the Penard interaction is still one-note and dull, but instead of continuing to force what wasn't working, they've turned Penny and Leonard into a cohesive unit, externalizing their conflict. The result: a whole lot of Sheldon unhinged, with Penny and Leonard as the reactive bystanders. That's been the formula the past few weeks. And while you can only take a certain approach for so long before it grows stale, I'll take Sheldon as the force of conflict over relationship infighting any day.

We've seen a good bit of roommate angst since Penny and Leonard hooked up, but this week we get our first taste of Sheldon competing with Penny. You can imagine how well that's going to work out for him. Discussing Valentine's Day over lunch, an anguished Raj shares his unromantic plans before Leonard informs the crew that he's been given the opportunity to visit the CERN laboratory in Switzerland, and can bring a guest. Certain that he's headed to CERN with Leonard, Sheldon rushes home to pack. Leonard heads back to the apartment to break the hard news to Sheldon: He's taking Penny to Switzerland for Valentine's Day. The full recap is after the jump.

How many baseball movies can you stand to see referenced in a single episode of a teen drama? Last night's "Greek" may have tested your limits. The full recap is after the jump.

Elizabeth Banks is set to appear on "30 Rock's" Valentine's Day episode, this Thursday, as a CNBC reporter that hits it off with Jack Donaghy during an interview. It sounds like a great premise for Jack to fall for one of his sister network's Money Honeys (© Maria Bartiromo), especially if they bond over their love of frictionless, synergistic co-branding opportunities in internationally attractive markets. Actually, knowing the "30 Rock" writers love of in-references, I bet they could make that sentence into something dirty and hilarious. (It is already kind of dirty and hilarious if you think about it like that.) In any event, Banks talks about her upcoming role above, and even teaches us a valuable lesson: If your job takes you to Pittsburgh, there's still hope that Tina Fey will call you and sweep you back to New York.

This week's episode of "How I Met Your Mother" covered the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day with a swift one-two punch, starting with Barney sitting stadium-side with a large sign, awaiting nationwide broadcast via crowdcam: "Hey Ladies! Call Barney Stinson: 1-917-555-0197." What sorts of ladies would follow that order? Find out in the full recap, after the jump.

Russians and Kamistanis have trust issues, just like Jack Bauer. If your mother tells you she loves you, check with another source, because you can't be too careful with nuclear annihilation, world peace, and Jack's retirement on the line. Read the Fugheddaboudit Fact-Check for last night's episode of "24" after the jump.

Some important news of which you may not be aware: the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hits newsstands today. Last night, David Letterman had the honor of unveiling a billboard featuring the cover image...after just a slight snafu. See the big moment above, and hit "continue reading" for the rest of last night's late-night highlights.

Andre Leon Talley has just finished filming his first season of "America's Next Top Model" and signed on to do three more, apparently with Anna Wintour's blessing (I'm guessing "Fine, Andre," is about as good as it gets). He'll be wearing a specially-made line of robes by Chado Ralph Rucci, who also got a crap-ton of reality show love on last week's premiere of "Kell on Earth." He'll also be introducing a fresh lineup of buzzwords to the "ANTM" lexicon, which is great, because if I hear "smize" one more time I'm going to plug my ears with Covergirl sponge applicators.

What's his favorite new word? Hit "continue reading."

It sucks to be a man. Women make them shop for undies and smell candles, and their bosses make them sit in boring meetings and do all kinds of stuff they hate. Given the chance, a man would trade his wife for a good set of tires so he can drive over the speed limit to somewhere that has snacks and beer. In fact, in the face of doom, the only thing that can save the world is beer. And animals love cars as much as men do. And women love babies, Paris, and book clubs. And men hate being around women -- unless those women have beer. And Hollywood only produces remakes or movies based on videogames. Men love videogames, especially if they are violent.

This is the overarching narrative of Sunday's Super Bowl ads. If you believe that the people shelling out millions for these spots have done their research and targeted the audience well, this is the country we live in: Men feel castrated by modern society and are on their way to fatal obesity and a 12-step program -- alone in a speeding car.

After the jump is a breakdown of the ads that aired during the Super Bowl, which attracted an estimated 106.5 million people. That makes it the most watched television in history. Sorry "M*A*S*H." Football is the new king.

Man-meat cougar plaything Ashton Kutcher hosted this week's episode of "Saturday Night Live," and he did a good job of it! Check out this week's recap after the jump.

My first thought watching the ad above, promoting "The Late Show with David Letterman," may have been the same as yours: were Jay Leno and David Letterman really in the same room? Because I spent the entire month of January (and a little bit of last week) watching Letterman absolutely eviscerate Leno over his re-taking of "The Tonight Show," and were I either one of them, I wouldn't necessarily want to hang out after that, even for the purposes of a TV spot. Fortunately, Bill Carter of The New York Times (the official documentarian of Late Night War I and II) has the story of how it all came together.

But...that's not the whole story. TheWrap.com reports exclusively that the initial idea for the spot featured the two late-night hosts and Conan O'Brien. Evidently, though, O'Brien is sticking to the spirit of his classy "Tonight Show" sign-off, which is a triumph for good manners but a tragedy for those of us who might have liked to see Jay Leno covered in guacamole and shame.