That sounded refreshing. But who needs commercials when the show itself serves as an extended ad?

The plot involved John and Derek driving to a military academy to safeguard a young cadet who will grow up to become, in the apocalyptic future, a key member of the resistance.

Their vehicle? You guessed it: a spanking-new Dodge Ram. Front view, side view, back view. We saw them load gear into the truck's handy storage panels. We got a close-up of the nav system. I kept expecting Derek to pull over and lift the hood so we could get a good look at the Hemi engine.

This wasn't product placement. It was product bombardment.

Come fly with me. Speaking of flagrant promotion, on NBC's Heroes, Matt was suddenly whisked to an African desert, where he was rescued by a native mystic.

What was this bush sorcerer wearing? A T-shirt emblazoned with the logo Universal Studios Theme Park. Probably had on Battlestar Galactica underwear as well. Universal is NBC's corporate partner.

But what really threw me about this episode was when Peter transported four years into the future, to a Manhattan where people fly around at will like guided missiles. Yet the streets were clogged with taxis.

Don't you think hackneys would be obsolete in a future where people fly? Like drive-up photo development booths in the age of digital cameras.

An early frost. To paraphrase "Eleanor Rigby": Look at all the frozen people.

There seems to be a plot trend this season in which people get freeze-dried so completely they can shatter into tiny ice cubes.

We've seen it so far on Fox's Fringe and NBC's Life and Heroes. Is the air conditioning turned up too high in the Hollywood writers' bungalows? Or is this a metaphor for our financial institutions?

Come cry with me. Friday Night Lights has moved from network to DirecTV, where it gets its own channel. This means longer episodes but far fewer viewers.

One thing hasn't changed. This is the only show on TV that makes me tear up about twice an episode. That's because Dillon, Texas, seems so real and I get heavily invested in the characters.

The last series to have that effect on me was West Wing.

BTW, if you want to see the return of Martin Sheen's President Bartlet - with Paris Hilton, no less - go to: www.funnyordie.com/videos/06ae3d8563.

But a goodie. You can keep your iPod commercials with their trendy music.

I prefer the Blue Cross commercial with the girl growing up in quick spurts in front of the bathroom mirror.

It uses one of my favorite oldies: "Ooh La La." Ah, the splendor that was the Faces.