Channel Surfing: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, PARKS AND RECREATION, 30 ROCK, LOST

In this era of internet spoilage (Thank-you-very-much-Michael-Ausiello) it’s an increasingly rare treat when this TV Addict finds himself genuinely surprised by a character death. And while we’re the first to admit that thanks to a flurry of pre-episode interviews, this seasoned TV blogger probably should have seen last night’s killer VAMPIRE DIARIES ending coming, serious kudos must go out to actress Kayla Ewell for delivering a character so devilishly fun, we didn’t want to go there. Seriously. Vicki, it was way too soon. But if shows like HEROES have taught us anything, it’s that (a) if you’re going to be the first character to go, you might as well do so when the show’s still the talk of the town (or twitter). And (b) whether it be in ghost form or flashback, we have a feeling that you’ll be back.

The resurgence of PARKS AND RECREATION continued last night with a hilarious Halloween themed instalment that had Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope matching wits with 15-year old teenage hooligan named Greg Pikitis. Not only did Pikitis — or as we’re calling him, the most diabolical teenaged vandal since the heydays of one Bart Simpson — provide for an eerily perfect foil for Knope, his shenanigans managed to give hilarious co-stars Louis CK and Chris Pratt some much deserved time in the spotlight. So much so that we’re really hoping this little trick-or-treat-battle-of-wits becomes a PARKS AND RECREATION annual tradition.

Putting aside the fact that this TV Addict is fairly confident I’m the only person in North America who didn’t know who Jeff Dunham was until last night, nobody does road trips like 30 ROCK. Be it a plane trip with hallucinogenic Oprah, Liz’s High School reunion or last night’s talent search that had Liz and Jack travelling to Kenneth’s home-town of ‘Small Town USA,’ last night’s 30 ROCK was a barrel of laughs. With bonus points for an always hilarious Jenna spoiling five season of LOST mythology mere months before all will be revealed, “You know, I met J.J. Abrams once. And I don’t know what this means, but he said the island is just Hurley’s dream.”

And speaking of LOST, if it’s wrong to be this excited for a fifteen second trailer featuring absolutely no new footage, I don’t want to be right.