TV

Forget the rain in Spain. The rain in Texas falls mainly on primetime television shows. As many viewers/readers have already noted, the four broadcast networks' Thursday night line-ups were pre-empted by the local stations incessant, insistent "special" weather coverage, the two-and-a-half hours of which (times four) amounted to "it's raining pretty hard and the wind is kicking up." Meanwhile, those viewers eager to see the second shows of the just-underway-again "fall TV" season; well, they were treated instead to a glossary of hail -- from pellet and pea-size to softballs and grapefruits

On Tuesday night, mock-pundit Stephen Colbert had Michelle Obama on his show. But on Thursday night's final broadcast from Philadelphia, he scored a hat trick by having Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards make appearances.

There was much howling at my reality-TV-haven home last night, as KTVT-TV (Channel 11) tracked the storm bearing down on Weatherford, instead of the latest plot points on Survivor.

After it was clear the worst of the storm would miss us, we consoled ourselves with a rerun of Top Chef -- still can't figure out how "unsanitary" Mark skated. And happiness abounded when a check of the CBS11 Web site showed they had the good sense to air the still-hardy show later that night, after Craig Ferguson.

No spoilers here. We'll be enjoying Fans vs. Favorites on tape tonight.