By now, you may have heard me lecture on the fact that "House" is TV's best drama and Hugh Laurie is the best drama actor. I do that sometimes; I also  blather about his comedy skills, which remain semi-tucked away in England.

Now there's more; he's also a bluesman who is the center of a terrific PBS special. In some markets -- including East Lansing and Cincinnati -- that airs at 9 p.m. Friday. Here's the story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

The twin Gulf disasters -- Hurricane Katrina and the oil spill -- were made-for-television events. They were on a human scale, on ground level, happening to real-life, blue-collar, average-Joe people. That helps explain why this is such a great week for TV.

The previous blog includes a full list (Aug. 22-29) and a story, interviewing Spike Lee and some Gulf people. (Some of these have already aired now, but Lee's wonderful documentary reruns from 7-11 p.m. Friday on HBO.) Since posting that, I've had a chance to see a couple of the things listed; a few comments:

OK, it was mostly a super night for TV viewers. Here are a few of my views of the Super Bowl telecast; please add yours:

1) The top-notch pre-game music offered opposites. First, Queen Latifah had the spledid backing of a children's choir; then Carrie Underwood worked alone, for a strong version of the National Anthem.

2) Carrie, incidentally, looked rather terrific in white. That would have been Elvis' favorite outfit, once he lost 100 pounds or so.