First off, the show can’t seem to decide if it wants to follow in the footsteps of the “The Blair Witch Project” or the torture porn of “Saw” and its endless sequels. Without a definite template in place, we get the both worlds: the dark, haunted outdoors where things go bump in the night and the omnipotent overseer pulling the strings.

Set in the Louisiana Bayou with a creepy, unseen character who calls himself “The Mastermind” at the helm, 13 attractive, theoretically normal young adults face their deepest fears for the chance to win the satanic sum of $66,666. Of course, normalcy is relative when you consider these folks are willing to endure horrific situations such as being buried alive for a paltry cash prize when compared to other contests. This show makes Who Wants To Be A Millionaire look like a walk in the park.

The name of the game is staying alive. The last contestant left standing wins, but not before compromising his or her soul. You see, the losers don’t get sent home packing, they supposedly get sent to an eternal resting place. Now, we’re pretty sure the network wouldn’t actually condone murder (we think...), but this juxtaposition between reality and fantasy (and never knowing which is which) gives the show its oomph. We're a bit leery of the premise -- what about you?

Welcome back 90210 indeed! Wow, this episode really delivered in ways that we didn't even expect! Let's recap, shall we?

Harry and Tracy's long lost son, Sean, starts receiving phone calls that make Annie feel as though there's something a bit off about him. When the Wilson family spends an afternoon playing Pictionary, she overhears him telling someone on the other end of the phone that he'll have money for them soon. She confronts Sean about the call and gets the rest of the Wilson clan involved. He tells them his adopted father was a gambler who committed suicide to get his family out of debt - but now the people he owed money to are after Sean. Supposedly he was $200,000 in debt, so I'd be after him too. At first Annie seems just as concerned as her Dad is - but a class lesson on intuition makes her start to wonder more about her supposed relative. When Naomi tries to flaunt some photos of her and Sean hanging out, Annie sees that Sean is getting eerily close to his other sister. Was it just us or was he smelling her hair in one of the pictures? We're kind of shocked Naomi didn't pick up on any of this as it was happening.

Adrianna gets ready to attend a gathering of the people she was in rehab with and wants to take Brenda as her support system. When she asks Kelly for Brenda's number, Ms. Taylor seemingly gets annoyed and tells Adrianna that Brenda is probably too busy to be there. At the very end she adds that she'll try to get in touch with Brenda. Kelly tries calling Brenda numerous times but never gets an answer. Taking matters into her own hands and refusing to be shut out, Kelly makes a house call. When Brenda answers the door it's just like high school again. It has to be said, Kelly was such a bitch this episode. Where does she get off getting angry about Brenda sleeping with Ryan while she herself was off chasing Dylan? This never ceases to annoy us. Even after getting some snide comments in, she stays long enough to tell Brenda about Adrianna's request. It seems to take Brenda aback and she makes it seem as though she isn't interested in going to the rehab get-together. This gets Kelly's panties in a bunch and after a few more jabs, Brenda escorts her out the door.

When all is said and done, Brenda and Kelly both end up showing up for Adrianna's little reunion. As we come to find out later, it's a good thing they were there because Adrianna finds out her friend from rehab - who she slept with a few times - is HIV positive. They drive her directly to the clinic to get an HIV test and are both with her a few days later to get the results. Just as Adrianna was doing the happy HIV-negative dance, she finds out she's doing the dance for two. Yep, she's pregnant, doesn't know who the daddy is, and is worried Navid will hate her when he finds out. The thing is, we're not sure who's more upset - Adrianna or Brenda, who rushed out of the hospital as soon as the results were given. Kelly finds Brenda and tries to scold her for leaving. Brenda is in tears and tells her longtime frenemy she found out she isn't able to have children and this is why she freaked out. Kelly consoles her and all is well with them (at least for the next hour).

We're back with more One Tree Hill episodes -- and more podcasts! We were torn on this episode, running the gamut from love to hate to indifference. We found some scenes exciting but frustrating, while other bits struck us as unnecessary -- and overdone -- filler. Plus, one major plot seemed almost ignored -- hello, Peyton's pregnant! That's kind of a big deal, don't you think? But there was so much going on this episode we'd almost forgotten until Haley figured it out and reminded us.

But the big bad plot revolves around Brooke, Sam and the creepy bad guy who menaces them both. After much running around, Brooke finally tracks down creepy bad guy, who has Sam tied up in a closet. After a highly uncomfortable conversation, Brooke leaves -- only to realize that creepy bad guy was her attacker! Brooke storms back in, rescues Sam, finally gets the drop on creepy bad guy, and declines to blast his brains out -- although it's a close thing. Go, Brooke!

All of that gave us plenty to talk about. Find out the correct sequence of events for storming a bad guy's house, discover what song got stuck in our heads, learn what Mia dubs "the Salvation Army of One Tree Hill," and hear what injustice had us howling with disbelief (We really shouldn't record these podcasts right before lunch.)

Listen to our One Tree Hill podcast for "Things a Mama Don't Know" and let us know what you think in the comments!

Check us out in iTunes and subscribe if you like what you hear!

Add us as a friend on Facebook!

But it wouldn’t be Privileged if we didn’t squeeze in some type of Smith family drama. Up this week, a heavy dose of mama-drama. That’s right, Shelby’s still sticking around, and while she may think things are all peachy-keen, Megan is torn apart by her mother’s presence.

She’s so upset by her mother, she finally gets the nerve to express her feelings and totally lashes out. We’re not surprised though. Who does Shelby think she is, anyway? She shows up after years of no contact with her children, and she thinks what? Megan will forgive her and she could be the mother she never was? Please. That woman’s got nerve.

Gossip Girl is back, and while we're thrilled to have the show again, we have to admit this episode left us disappointed. Why so much filler? And why bludgeon us with disturbing hints about a plot we really don't want to see happen?

Chuck drowns his sorrows -- first in a Bangkok brothel/opium den, then in illicit substances back at home -- while Blair tries to support him and wake him out of his stupor. You'd think that would be plenty to craft an episode around, right? Apparently the writers disagreed, because they also added in Jenny's return to Constance Billard and her confrontation with Queen P, plus Dan and Serena getting back together again. That doesn't sit well with Rufus, who isn't feeling kindly toward the Van der Woodsen women since he found out about his and Lily's lovechild. Of course the secret comes out, and Dan has to deal with the news -- without telling Serena what he knows. What could possibly go wrong there?

We had plenty to talk about: Find out what had us thanking the writers and what made us yell at them, hear what we really think about a potential plot development that the show hinted at, discover how we know Blair would never fit in with the Colony Club women, and find out what the lesson is that we can all take away from the show.

Listen to our Gossip Girl podcast for "In the Realm of the Basses" and let us know what you think in the comments!

Check us out in iTunes and subscribe if you like what you hear!

Add us as a friend on Facebook!

Watch as the cast members try their luck at an a cappella version of the theme song:

Want to hear about the cast members from the other cast members? Who can sing? Who is a weirdo? Who gets to the makeup trailer first? Find out now!

What's up with Peyton: She calls Lucas in LA with some big news -- they're going to have a baby! Phew. We were worried with those cancer-scare plotlines last month, and we're relieved that Peyton is for once the recipient of happy news.

What's up with Lucas: He's stuck in LA -- and stuck with the worst storyline of the bunch. Somehow the director's threatening to walk, and the head of the studio wants to talk to Lucas. Oh, and it turns out the head of the studio happens to be really critical of Julian... because he's Julian's dad! Kind of hard to believe. The dad doesn't believe in his son, which leads Lucas to realize that maybe Julian's actually working for him and a good guy... but enough about that. Far more interesting things happened in this episode!

What's up with Nathan: He's the new point guard of the Charleston Chiefs! Haley and Jamie are thrilled for him, but life's not so easy on the court. First, he's surprised to see that the general manager that once recruited him is now his coach. And once again, Nathan encounters some tough talk from the other players -- one of the guys is threatened that Nathan's taking his position.

What's up with Brooke: She's freaked out. Sam is gone, and she needs to find her. So she tears through town on a rampage, but the cops are less than helpful, and Sam won't answer her phone. Peyton teams up with her to help, and Julian stops by with some support, too.

What's up with Sam: She's in a really shady situation with her pal Jack Daniels and his criminal brother. Things go from bad to worse when the brother starts accusing her of ratting him out to Brooke (since he stole her sketches and attacked her). He locks her and Jack in a room. They've almost escaped, but the brother catches Sam, and Jack runs away and leaves her there. Some friend. The brother tapes Sam's mouth shut and locks her in the room alone.

Blair's been busy trying to get into the Colony Club, the oldest, most prestigious ladies' club in the city, but her plans grind to a halt when she finds out Chuck's back in town. Yes, after his father's death and Blair's subsequent declaration of love for him, Chuck fled to Thailand for a month of debauchery. He returns in a sorry state indeed, buoyed by his slightly slimy uncle Jack Bass.

Meanwhile, Serena's back in town. After dumping Aaron a few hours into their flight to Buenos Aires, she took the city's tango clubs by storm alone. Now that she's returned to the Upper East Side, she and Dan decide to give it another go. Thrilled about their newfound coupledom, they decide to play hooky and get busy at Casa Humphrey.

Dan's about the only happy Humphrey around, though -- Rufus is furious after finding out that he and Lily have a child together that he knew nothing about for twenty years. He tries to find out about the kid on his own, but he's told that nothing can be revealed without the mother, i.e., Lily.

According to E!Online, Kelly is citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. We can't help but wonder if the Gossip Girl drama is rubbing off on her!

Here's happy Tree Hill -- the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the James-Scotts are gleeful, and all is right with the world Ahhhhh:

And here's dark, twisty, angsty Tree Hill, where disaster lurks around every corner, and things go from bad to worse in record time:

So tell us: Which Tree Hill are you most looking forward to visiting on Monday? The kinder, gentler town where everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds, or the dark, scary, danger-ridden town where everyone lives in peril? Talk about it in the comments!

To make up for the wait -- and to wish you a very happy New Year -- we're jumping in with the boys themselves! That's right -- we sat down with Jensen and Jared to get their perspective on the show, the boys, and everything else we love. First up: Get the scoop from the guys on just how that whole Eye of the Tiger thing happened, then find out what they think about the balance of comedy and drama on the show. Plus, find out which moment has Jared giggling still!

Special thanks to our friends at WGN for filming our talk with the boys. You rock!

A new passion for Blair: Look, we love Blair and Chuck as much as anyone, but let's be realistic. Chuck's way too damaged for a relationship right now, and pursuing one with him is only going to send Blair to the heartbreak hotel. We're not saying she needs to find a new man right now, but she needs something new to focus on. Blair loves making goals, dreams, and plans, so perhaps a new party, a new friend, or even a new rival would give her a place to channel her energy and focus elsewhere until Chuck inevitably comes around. Because he has to eventually, right? We don't know how much more of this back-and-forth we can take.

Back-to-school Jenny: While we enjoyed watching Jenny go from fashion intern to runway show planner to homeless eyeliner addict, we think Lil' J's at her best when she's being mistreated by the queen bees of the Upper East Side -- it brings out her bitchy side, which is a lot of fun to watch. Let's see her spar with Penelope & Co. or Blair in her pursuit of the ultimate prize: popularity.

More angst from Chuck: If the previews are any indication, we'll get our wish on this one. Chuck won't lay low for long. He'll mourn Bart in the only way he knows how: by torturing himself and everyone who loves him. And it'll make for fabulous, painful television. We can't wait.

Read on for more of what we want to see when the show returns!