Catching Up

I haven't posted in a week. I would feel guilty about it, but I know no one reads this thing, so I'll skip that part and get on with my life.

Which means.... yes, it's 3:30 a.m. and I'm on Hour 10 of a House, Season 1, DVD marathon. Terrifying, I know, but I just got a big Netflix shipment and I can't sleep for some reason. Maybe it's all the Vicodin.

Anyway, here are the highlights from my Week in TV:

"24": I really enjoyed it when Jack knocked out his brother, for two reasons. First, he did it in one punch, because Bauer is a badass. And second, that guy's been asking for it ever since he got up in everyone's grill on "ER".

"Battlestar Galactica": I think I might be the only person who loves a good love quadrangle. Because I love the whole Lee-Dee-Kara-Sam dynamic. The baby-neck-snapping space robots and exploding supernovas are just a backdrop for fucked-up-people-in-love. But I know everyone else hates this whole story arc, so I'll shut up about it now.

"The Office": Right is left, up is down... Angela and Dwight are lovable and endearing, and Pam and Jim just kind of annoy me.

Best love scene of the year? Michael going to rescue Dwight from the generic-big-box-office-supply-store.

Best line of the episode (and seriously, this was a tough one)? Michael explaining that Andy is annoying because he has no self-awareness. Get it, Andy has no self-awareness. It's an astute observation.

Biggest yawn moment? Jim telling Karen that he still has feelings for Pam. I've always loved Jim and Pam, but I hate the angst. This isn't "Everwood", people. Nor is it "Battlestar Galactica", because I don't see Jamie Bamber walking around the office with his shirt off. So knock it off and funny it up.

Oh, and Oscar's back! If you forgot, he's been on a paid vacation since Michael outed him in the office and then tried to make out with him. Which brings me to another great moment this week: Angela letting Oscar know that she feels bad for being such a homophobic bitch. It's nice to think that even someone as uptight and intolerant as Angela can learn a little open-mindedness. All she needed was the love of a good man.

Dwight, antidote to hate. I would never have guessed.

"Grey's Anatomy": But apparently there's not enough Dwight to go around.

In case you missed it, here's the rundown on the Bigot of the Month Scandal:

• Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke) referred to gay castmate T.R. Knight (George O'Malley) as a f****t on the set back in October.
  
• "Grey's" and ABC sort of kept it quiet, but
  
• Knight came out publicly in the aftermath.
  
• Then Washington reignited the whole thing last week by using the Golden Globes as an opportunity to say he didn't call Knight a f****t (using the word in the process).
  
• Castmate Katherine Heigl (Izzy Stevens) responded by noting that Washington needs to maybe "just not speak in public."
  
• Knight went on "Ellen" last week and said that Washington did use the f-word.
  
• ABC publicly rebuked Washington,
  
• Who then publicly apologized for using the word he previously said he didn't use (and also privately fired his publicist).
  
• Rumors abound that Washington may be fired, or Knight might quit in protest.

Got that?

It's a sad story, and raises all kinds of serious questions about how much intolerance we can tolerate in the workplace. Obviously, if Washington is creating a hostile work environment (and word is that he is no pleasure to work with, even when he's not being a homophobe), he should be punished. And if that punishment takes the form of firing his ass, I wouldn't argue with it.

Personally, though, I wonder if there might be a best case scenario here, where Washington genuinely learns a little tolerance, and the rest of us exercise a little forgiveness. And don't freak out and tell me how I would never suggest such a thing if the slur had been racial and started with an "n". I'm not arguing that Washington's behavior wasn't bad. It was really bad. Unacceptable. The guy is clearly a jerk and I'm not defending him or what he did. You don't call people names, especially not the kind of names that are used right before a lynching a gang rape. Ever.

Instead, I'm suggesting that this situation might be handled so as to engender more tolerance, instead of merely condemning this awful behavior. This is a possible collective learning experience, not just a future episode of E! True Hollywood Story.

Let's say that lots of people are intolerant. They're uncomfortable with people who are different than what they are used to. Instead of keeping an open mind, they shut the different people out. It's obnoxious, and offensive, and it makes it harder on everyone else. And maybe a lot of this intolerance takes the form of hate. And it's hard to undo hate, maybe impossible.

But maybe some of it isn't hate. Maybe it's ignorance. Cowardice. Insecurity. Shame. Those aren't very likable traits, but they aren't hate. They are weaknesses. And the good thing about weakness is that it can be undone. You exercise, you get stronger. You learn, you get used to things, you stop blaming other people for your own problems, and you get along.

I'm not saying that Washington doesn't deserve to be fired. Or that Knight has some duty to forgive the guy. And maybe the only way Washington is going to learn is to be kicked out on his ass. But if there's some way that he can learn to be less of an asshole, and Knight can allow them both to put the past behind them, the whole thing might make me feel kind of hopeful about life and people and the project of humanity.

Which would be nice, given how Iraq continues to go down the toilet and people still die in Darfur and no one knows what to do about it all. Just a thought.

I know I'm being sappy and Utopian. I know none of that was pithy or amusing. You'll have to forgive me. It's 4 a.m. and I'm all hyped up on caffeine and Hugh Laurie.

"Grey's" was really good last week. George's dad died, and it was sad. Christina welcomed George to the dead dad club, and it was sad. Meredith is just like her dad, and it's just sad. Mark would be a terrible dad, which is too bad. Oh, and Alex and Addison totally made out. The end.