You knew it would be like this. The second she announced it was over, you just knew Tina Brown's CNBC romps were going to get good. It's a sad but inevitable irony, but at least these final weeks with T-Bro will leave Henry the Intern feeling that the past year wasn't completely for nothing. Last night's episode was the third to last chapter in Sundays With Tina and — dare we say it? — it left Henry beaming like a proud papa. His report (and Tina's footwear) follows.

Tina hit a stride with last night's episode: smart, fun, and biting. Plus, she showed off fierce power heels.

Tina devoted two segments to how America can "spin the Muslim world." Twice she asked how America can "penetrate" Arab media. Salameh Nematt, Al-Hayat's Washington Bureau Chief, said the U.S. must put its pro-democracy stance "into practice, instead of just lip service." He wants Bush to stop inviting dictators to the White House as friends. Nematt explained that with no alternative media and no Internet access, "people are hostages to the state-run media" that do not threaten the government's authority. Kristin Whiting, executive producer for the Iraqi Media Network, said "it simply is not easy to start a network in the middle of a combat zone." Craig Charney, a pollster of Arab opinion, said "America has a moment of opportunity to improve its image in the Arab world." He recently conducted focus groups across the Middle East and tenderly shared the thoughts of "a man in Egypt with a little pencil-mustache."

Tina went to the W Hotel to interview Richard Curtis, director of "Love Actually," who is taking a year off to work with Bono and Tony Blair on erasing poverty. "I want the real world to be a bit more like my world in my movies," he said. Love, hope, and sappiness. The effort has produced a television commercial featuring P.Diddy. "People are looking for a way to make politicians think this is the year," Curtis said. Replied Tina, "I am glad you're spending your time on this."

Next, Tina challenged the veracity of Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad is Good for You. "Okay, convince me," she began. Johnson believes television and video games make us smarter by cramming in "more intensity" to every scene. IQ scores have accelerated in the past 15 years, he added. The conversation went something like this:

Tina: Most television programs don't make viewers think.
Johnson: "Fortunately, we continue to have schools and people continue to read."
Tina: "Is there room for anything except for [mindless] entertainment?"
Johnson: "We should be designing our education [methods] around the addictiveness of games" because kids are engaged by the fun.
Tina: "Most of the time [they're] just having fun."
Johnson: Also, "people are reading less, writing more."
Tina: That's "not what we need... Your first thought is not necessarily your best thought."
Johnson: But "thirty years ago [kids] were just watching 'Three's Company.'" Now they're blogging about it.
Tina: Okay, "you've made me feel a little better."

The editor's desk roundtable was on "diva alert" after suffering through "Monster-in-Law." Tour , for good reason, got the first shot: a "totally dreadful, formulaic piece of crap." He said J.Lo went too long without a releasing a good product. Nancy Collins, of Architectural Digest, said J.Lo is over: "She has more hair extensions than she does emotions." Tina was surprised that attorney Ed Hayes has given up on J.Lo. He's now infatuated with Jane Fonda. Screenwriter Stephen Schiff said J.Lo has taken to Cinderella characters to play off of "Jenny from the block" and distinguish herself from Lohan, Duff, et al. Tina admitted her love for "Maid in Manhattan" and thinks "Monster-in-Law" will be a hit.

Hot picks
Hayes: "The Very Best of Jerry Lee Lewis"
Tour : "Arular" album by M.I.A.
Collins: "Intervention" on A&E
Schiff: A Great Improvisation by Stacy Schiff (no relation)
Tina: Thomas Jefferson by Christopher Hitchens

Closing quote by Jimmy Buffet: "We are the people our parents warned us about."

Tina's sign-off: "We hope you feel smarter for watching, and if you don't, that's your problem."

No problem here. With that, we're down to the final two episodes.