On last night's very special "Bachelor," Jake went on hometown dates to meet the families of the four remaining women (Hey, did you hear that Tenley has an ex-husband?!).

But the real drama happened in the last half hour of the show when Ali went to Jake's hotel room to tell him that she was being forced to choose between staying there with him and going back to her job. In the end, after a lot of crying and a lot of whining, Ali left Jake to return to her career.

Wait. We've didn't just fall off a turnip truck, "Bachelor" producers. We remember Ed and Jillian, and how Ed told her he had to leave and go back to his job, and then guess who showed back up again at the end because he had made the wrong decision? Ed.

House (8pm, Fox) - In this special all-about-Cuddy episode, Lisa Edelstein finally gets her chance to shine, and to show viewers there's more to her life than just being a hardass hospital administrator in low-cut blouses who takes too much crap from House. Actually, that is pretty much what her life is like (that, plus a hot younger boyfriend) but at least we get to see it all from her perspective, and not through the leering eyes of House. 

Chuck (8pm, NBC) - Agent Shaw (Brandon Routh) pairs Chuck with Hannah (Kristin Kreuk) so that he can team up with Sarah. Oooph! Also, Morgan and Ellie begin to snoop into Chuck's secret world. 

Bachelor (8pm, ABC) - Jake is down to four women and tonight we get hometown visits. 

Damages (10pm, FX) - Patty must keep a top Tobin witness from fleeing the country, and Ellen learns a dark family secret.

Kell on Earth (10pm, Bravo) - Kell pulls off a successful presentation for a new client, but Fashion Week is starting to rattle Stefanie.

Castle (10pm, ABC) - A popular former pro baseball player is murdered during a goodwill trip to Cuba, and Joe Torre (left) makes an appearance as himself (or as Beckett calls him, "Joe Freakin' Torre!").

How I Met Your Mother (8pm, CBS) - CBS comedies return tonight, and HIMYM brings it with their 100th episode, in which Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) has to choose between giving up his trademark suits and getting a girl he wants (Stacy Keilber). It features the cast in a musical number called "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit" and has guest stars Rachel Bilson and Tim Gunn.

House (8pm, Fox) - "House" was originally slated to return with new episodes on January 25, but returns early just to mess with "Chuck," which is debuting in its regular time slot tonight. In addition to the usual case ("It's not lupus."), House and Wilson vie for the attention of a neighbor, and Taub and Thirteen try to play a practical joke on Foreman.

Chuck (8pm, NBC) - Chuck has to protect a visiting dictator, played by Armand Assante, and he needs Awesome's help to get the job done.

Antiques Roadshow (8pm, UNC-TV) - The second episode filmed in Raleigh. Read all about it.

Keep reading -- there's more!

The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (8pm, ABC) - This repeat of Monday night's show is worth watching just to see Jake Pavelka throw a football.

Underdog to Wonderdog (9pm, Animal Planet) - The Doggie Wonder Team tries to help a mother of two overcome her fear of dogs by having her interact with a friendly poodle mix.

48 Hours Mystery (10pm, CBS) - The show looks into the 1991 murders of four teenagers in an Austin yogurt shop.

Saturday Night Live (11:30pm, NBC) - Charles Barkley hosts and musical guest is Alicia Keys.

Austin City Limits (Midnight, UNC-TV) - New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint  performs from his 2009 cd "The Bright Mississippi."

I really have no interest at all in "The Bachelor" this season, especially since they picked that cheesy Ken doll Jake Pavelka (right). So why did I watch last night? I could lie and say it was to make sure none of the bachelorettes were from North Carolina (you know, for the blog). But really, I have no good explanation. I am pretty sure, though, that I acquired a few extra wrinkles from all the wincing I did during the show.

Some of my favorite wince-inducing moments:

1/ Jake throwing that football. I'm sorry, but Jakes throws like a girl. Like a very spazzy girl. If any part of me thought he was attractive before that throw, that part of me died when his arm awkwardly came around his side and his foot kicked up in the air.

Bachelor Jason Mesnick got a chilly reception from Ellen DeGeneres on her show Friday.

Ellen has railed against Jason for the past week, ever since he flip-flopped from Melissa to Molly on last week's Bachelor finale and After the Final Rose special.

The contrite reality star acted nervous with Ellen, immediately apologizing for his behavior toward Melissa.

People Magazine is reporting that the most famous dumpee in America will reality-show-hop from The Bachelor to Dancing With the Stars.

Melissa Rycroft (left), who was jilted last week by The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick, is slated to take the place of injured Nancy O'Dell on ABC's hit show tomorrow night.

Melissa is a former Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader, but could be at a disadvantage since this means she's only had a few days to practice.

If she manages to stick around awhile (can you say "sympathy vote?") this should be a ratings bonanza for ABC, which owns both of the hits. 

So, will Melissa dance all her cares away (and possibly fracture some bones), or will she get humiliated in front of America -- again?

I know, I'm getting a little sick of this too, but it won't go away. And I'm not taking sides, but I'm starting to feel like the only person in America not outraged that Jason Mesnick ended his relationship with Molly Rycroft on The Bachelor. So what if it was on the air? Don't we watch reality shows for moments like that? It's not pretty folks, but those of us watching reality shows don't really have a lot of room for self-righteous outrage, do we? And as the Bachelor executive producer Mike Fleiss told Entertainment Weekly this week, they broke up on tv because it's a tv show!

All of that said ... I'm still checking out the talkshows whenever any of these clowns show up. Today it was Melissa in her first appearance since ATFR, and it was on Ellen.

Melissa and Ellen covered all the bases -- the "fairness" of it all, Melissa's new boyfriend, and the leaked emails between her and Jason.

The Bachelor host Chris Harrison (left) wrote a blog for Entertainment Weekly this season, and sometimes he'd include some interesting tidbits. Things you (maybe) always wondered about:

"Do they tell the Bachelor in what order to call out the names in the rose ceremonies?" (Yes).

"Did Naomi's mom think she was reincarnated?" (Yes).

Here are some of the behind-the-scenes gems I culled from a season's worth of posts. You can read all of his posts here.

Bachelor executive producer Mike Fleiss speaks out about the rumors that the ending was scripted (not true, he says) and also addresses the controversial breakup on the After the Final Rose show.

"Why did he have to break up with her on the show?" we all whine.

"It's a simple answer," he tells Entertainment Weekly. "It's a TV show. He would have done it on the radio if this were a radio show."

Read the full interview here.