NBC's promising freshman drama Life aired its final new episode of 2007 on Wednesday, and even though it brought at least a tentative end to the mystery that has wound through the series to this point, the hour was so strong it no doubt deepened the bond between the show and its still small but extremely ferocious fan base.

Charlie and Dani began the day on a call to a house where a wife had killed her husband. The murder weapon was nowhere to be found, and the assumption was it had to be hidden in a large marijuana plot, or inside a massive python slithering about (the only news that came out of this subplot was Stark telling Dani he hadn't backed up Charlie at trial because he had been threatened). But Charlie left this crime scene to Dani and Stark and spent the bulk of the hour chasing down Kyle Hollis, the man who committed the crime Charlie was set up for, the murder of the Seybolt family. Arriving at Hollis's house, he found a girl bleeding who said men had been there looking for her father.

Assuming Charlie was out to get her father too, she tried to tell the police it had been Charlie had shot her, but he was able to flee. Hollis called Charlie and asked for a meeting, saying he would tell everything if he got safe passage out of the country. But Charlie had given his car away to a pretty girl earlier and gotten (off camera) an old station wagon, a sign he was going to be up to something. And after taking Hollis hostage, and then shooting two men who crashed into him who were also looking for Hollis, Charlie managed to get Hollis to confess by making as if he was about to bury him alive. Charlie's lawyer Constance was on the other end of a cell phone, hearing Hollis say he had killed Seybolt because he had skimmed money he was laundering for Jack Reese. Hollis denied specifically setting Charlie up, though. And when Charlie tried to get Jack Reese to confess, Reese declined and later called Charlie to say he had something he needed: Seybolt's daughter, who was the same girl that had appeared to be Hollis's daughter.

As I wrote the other day, this entire conspiracy won't make any sense to new viewers, and it's not as if a confession made under that sort of duress could get Hollis put in prison anyway, but Damian Lewis sold everything. Up till now he had been flaky and somewhat unbelievable as a man who had spent a decade in prison, but in this hour he made us feel his desperation and fervent need for answers. [Mostly Movies]

Kid Nation: The council members are urged by the journal to go exploring in the area. Sophia is left in charge, which doesn't make any of the kids happy, given what they see as her bossiness, and recent eccentric behavior from the new sheriff. The council members come across some Pueblo Indians, who have some advice about handling responsibility. Sophia was pleased with the work ethic in town, singling Taylor out for praise. Alex and Jared go for a walk and find a skeleton; back in town, both of them puzzle everyone by talking about teleportation and use words like "hypoallergenic." With the council still away, the showdown involved relocating a homestead to a new plot of land. The green district won the showdown and the town as a whole had a reward choice: a hot air balloon ride, or a permanent monument to be placed at Bonanza City. Sophia had sole discretion and picked the balloon rides. The council returned to see the other kids floating overhead. Zach had a meltdown when he tried to promote himself for the gold star and thought the council was laughing at him (hey, I was laughing at him too). The town meeting took up the question of whether the kids were spending too much time in the video arcade, and the council decided to close it for good. With only a few days left and no more arcade, the kids built a campfire and started to reminisce. Alex received the gold star and talked about saving it for his children and grandchildren. He's nine. [Jeff Rubin]

America's Next Top Model: I wasn't really expecting them to spend this much time in China. The best part of the show was Heather winning the Cover Girl of the week honors even after being bounced. Nice call, Tyra. The models were challenged to accessorize old Chinese outfits, and Jenah overcame a sabotage attempt by Bianca to win. The photo shoot took the girls to the Great Wall, where they had to look like invading warriors while Tyra shot the photos. Bianca was the model who won't be making the finale, a decision that probably pleased most viewers who aren't still mourning Heather. [Best Damn Blog]

Private Practice: Cooper and Pete began a class for expectant fathers. Addison told a couple that the wife isn't getting pregnant because the husband is sterile, but she uses a new technique to get the little bit of viable sperm the man has, with positive results. Dell believes his grandfather Wendell (George Segal) and his friends were being abused in their nursing home, but it turned out they were actually holding a fight club. But Wendell's friend ended up having a fatal heart attack, though pains were taken to tell Wendell it wasn't his fault. The cop Nelson and Addison grew closer. Dell told Sam that he was crazy about Naomi, which is inconvenient since Sam and Naomi had been trying to rekindle things. George Segal needs to ask his agent why he's getting grandpa parts while his old co-star Jill Clayburgh is still stylish on Dirty Sexy Money. [Reviews and More]

Dirty Sexy Money: Speaking of which... atrick continued to sneak around with Carmelita behind Ellen's back. Simon asked Nick to get him a list of Darling properties and profit/loss statements, and also informed him he was now involved with Karen. The church suspended Brian for six months, and when Letitia tried to give him a pep talk, he told her he wasn't sure he truly had faith. Juliet, who hadn't had a subplot since October, was hosting a French guy she met in the Seychelles. Carmelita believed someone has been ransacking her place, but Patrick said he can't call the police. Carmelita later went missing. Jeremy's effort to acquire art in order to impress Sofia hit a snag, and he and Lisa bonded while getting stoned. When Jeremy tried to give Lisa a kiss, she put a stop to it, but the marijuana smell permeated some artwork and Lisa got fired. Brian told Tripp that God wanted him to work for the family now. Jeremy admitted to Sofia he was no painter and that he was actually filthy rich, but Sofia was angry about the lies and stormed off. Nick reacted to the news Lisa was fired by asking her if she wanted another child. Karen visited Tripp and he asked her if she was in over her head with Simon, and was she being careful to not get emotionally involved. Tripp has been pimping out his own daughter! This show is so much fun sometimes.

Project Runway: The designers were presented with pictures representing the worst fashion trends of the last 30 years. Everyone selected a trend. Teams of three had to create three pieces incorporating the bad trends they had each selected, in order to turn fashion disasters into something reasonable. The designers picked their teams and select team leaders. Team leader Jillian worried about Kevin's slowness. Steven's design was out of step with the designs of his teammates Chris and Sweet P. Victorya basically ignored her team leader Ricky, prompting Tim Gunn to warn them about lack of cohesion. Ricky accused Victorya of wanting to run the team without having the responsibility of the leader title, which is pretty much how it looked. The Team Jillian collection was an obvious winner. Both Chris's team and Ricky's team were criticized for not being cohesive, and Ricky was again rapped for poor craftsmanship. Victorya stuck the knife in further by calling Ricky a poor leader. But Ricky barely held on for a second straight week, and Chris got the hook. [My Fashion Evolution]

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