While reviews of TNT's new drama, Saving Grace, were mixed at best, the ratings were across-the-board excellent.

Not only did Grace hold its lead-in from The Closer, it beat TNT's top drama. Furthermore, its debut was the No. 1 premiere on ad-supported cable television this year and third all-time. However, there is a giant, giant elephant in the room.

TNT spent two months promoting this show.

My review of the show boiled down to this: It was completely a formulaic police drama, and while the Oklahoma stereotypes were over-the-top, it was the writing that made me cringe. Unlike my buddy Toad, I think the premise is OK enough to succeed IF the writing gets better.

However, the reviews from critics across the country were mixed. Some actually really liked the writing, so perhaps I'm the idiot. Nevertheless, considering this show puts Oklahoma City on the pop-culture map, I'm kind of obligated to watch it. And, sure, I'd like the show to succeed.

Heck, I wanted Studio 60 to succeed, but I could never get past the fact that this was a comedy-drama about a sketch show that was even less funny than the real-life sketch shows it parodied. Considering I love Aaron Sorkin's work otherwise, this was a heck of an admission.

Nevertheless, the threshhold on cable is way softer. The trick will be whether Grace can lose no less than 10 percent of its viewership next week. I'm not sure of the industry standard, but I don't think executives will be pleased if the show loses 20-25 percent of its audience after one week, but I don't think they'll panic over 10.

I'll say it again. If the creator of this show will focus more on the dialogue and let these terrific actors do their thing, it won't be nearly as embarrassing as it was. Listen to us. Write better.

***

So, what constitutes a well-written TV show? OK, well, Sorkin's Studio 60 was technically well-written although the series never found its soul. His previous work with The West Wing and Sports Night was beyond incredible.

Friday Night Lights is wonderfully written, as is Heroes. Actually, the former is better written than the latter, but the combo of premise and execution with Heroes is superior.

You want to see great writing in action? Watch Gilmore Girls. Seriously. Terrific, pithy writing. Watch Northern Exposure or Grey's Anatomy.

***

Soon enough, we'll all be watching TV on something called Joost. It's being called the anti-YouTube by some and the next-YouTube by others.

Loosely defined, it's a peer-to-peer IPTV application whereby people can watch TV on-demand on their computers with near-TV like quality. They have nearly 1 million invited users in preparation for a full launch this winter, including partnerships with networks like MTV and CBS and with organizations like IndyCar and the NHL.

VH1 was so bold as to put its entire series, I Hate My 30s, online before it debuts Thursday.

The drawback to Joost is that its resource-heavy. It works on my machine but quite tempermentally. It wouldn't work on my mom's machine at all, and Toad was able to get it to work on his laptop but not his desktop.

Furthermore, the UI leaves something to be desired. It's like it was designed by one of those guys who values "experience" over "usability." The action buttons are not intuitive at all, and I was left to guess how to maneuver within the system.

Still, this is the wave of the very near future. Get invited now if you know somebody so cool that they'd be willing to invite you. I'll accept bribes.

***

Speaking of up-and-comers, are you ready for the rise of Colbie Caillat? A few months ago, she was MySpace.com's most popular unsigned artist, and now she has a major hit on her hands.

Her album CoCo is hovering near the Top 10 on Rhapsody's album chart, and it's getting rave reviews. Now, there's no chance she's supplanting Amy Winehouse as best new artist just yet; Winehouse's Back to Black isn't just the best album from a best new artist candidate this year, it's the best pop album of the past five years.

Furthermore, Caillat is garnering a lot of buzz because of her previous independence. Lots of folks think she's just a talented singer-songwriter working out of the blue to get this deal, when in fact music is in her bones. The California girl's daddy worked on Rumours with Fleetwood Mac.

Any good child of the 1970s owns that album.

Good news is that Colbie sounds very West Coast soft-pop 1970sish. She's like a mix between Sheryl Crow and Debby Boone, and her tune "Bubbly" is so sweet it's almost annoying. However, the tune is clever and will almost certainly invade the ears of 99 percent of Americans in the next three months.

Listen to it below:

I bought the CD for $8.99 on Rhapsody, and I liked -- really liked -- about five of the songs. The rest of the CD was like a Jack Johnson starter kit. Boring. However, her voice is wonderful -- a bit soulful and sweet like Karen's (you know who I mean), and the fact that she writes makes her viable with the cool-kid crowd.

***

Watched America's Got Talent last night, and we learned who five of the finalists would be, including Donny Hathaway dressalike Robert Hatcher, the sewer singer, if you will. While the young country chanteuse and teenage beatboxer will likely vie for the crown, I say watch out for Cas Haley from Dallas.

He's a stay-at-home dad and plays in a band called Woodbelly. His voice is incredible. His guitar playing is adequate and not overpowering, and if the guy is a songwriter, we likely have a bonafide star on our hands.

For now, in my opinion, he'll have to settle for winning $1 million. He deserves to win this season of AGT. Watch him below performing The Police's "Walking On The Moon."

***

Thursday night is another live-eviction night in the Big Brother 8 house, and it looks like Mike could be going home. However, several of the guests spelled out their choice in this video I captured from the BB8 live feeds this evening.

For more analysis, check us out at Big-Brother-Blog.com, where I'm contributing articles daily.