AOL Television's Skype Second Opinion: Community's "Accounting for Lawyers"

What did you think of last night's episode of Community?

This week, another go on AOL Television's Skype Second Opinions, where I connected via Skype to ramble on for a few minutes about this week's episode of Community ("Accounting for Lawyers"), which included Annie chloroforming a janitor, the Heather Pop and Locklears, another glimpse at Ben Chang's creepy innermost thoughts, Troy and Abed's latest caper, an amazing tag, and more.

You can watch the video in full over here at AOL Television or right below.



Next week on Community ("The Psychology of Letting Go"), the group attempts to comfort Pierce when his mother dies; Professor Bauer takes a leave of absence and Professor Duncan attempts to take over her Anthropology class.

Channel Surfing: Kyle MacLachlan Gets Mother, SDCC to Stay in San Diego, Blue Bloods' Will Estes, Cougar Town, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Desperate Housewives' Kyle MacLachlan has been cast in at least two episodes of CBS' How I Met Your Mother, where he will play the ex-husband of Jennifer Morrison's Zoey. His first appearance is slated to air in early November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Looks like Comic-Con is staying put in San Diego. The organizers of the annual fan convention have reached an agreement with the city of San Diego's convention center to keep SDCC stationed there "for the foreseeable future." That contract was set to expire in 2012 and other cities--including Los Angeles and Anaheim--were said to be keen to snag the pop culture event, which has become one of the year's largest. (Variety)

TVGuide.com's Joyce Eng has an interview with Blue Bloods star Will Estes, in which he discusses the secret society twist revealed in the series pilot. It reminds me of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, if I may be so brave as to draw that comparison," Estes told Eng. "I definitely wasn't expecting it, but it's so intriguing and a fantastic thing for the audience to watch." (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Collette Wolfe (100 Questions) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Cougar Town, where she will play "a grad student who gets romantically involved with college freshman Travis (Dan Byrd)." Her first appearance is slated to air in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Tony DiSanto, MTV's programming president, will leave the cabler after 20 years and segue, along with Liz Gateley, into a production company named DiGa that's said to be backed by Ben Silverman's Electus. David Janollari is expected to replace DiSanto at the network. (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

Paris Hilton will star in an Oxygen docuseries that will follow the socialite, three of her friends, and her mother Kathy Hilton. project, from A. Smith and Co., will be executive produced by Arthur Smith, Kent Weed, Paris Hilton, Rick Hilton, and Jamie Freed. (Variety)

Looks like the producers of ABC's The Whole Truth are staging a bit of an ER reunion as Maura Tierney's former ER castmate Parminder Nagra will guest star on the ABC legal procedural as Pilar Shirazeem, described as "a beauty who comes to her best pal's defense when she is charged with killing her husband." [Editor: so it's Tierney's character who is charged? I'm confused by Keck's description.] Nagra is set to appear in the eighth episode. (TV Guide Magazine)

ABC has given a script order (plus penalty) to an untitled one-hour dramedy (a.k.a. Nannyland) from executive producers Jennifer Lopez, Simon Fields, and Alexa Junge about "three branches of an extended Los Angeles family -- as told through the eyes of their three Latina nannies." Project hails from Sony Pictures Television. (Variety)

ABC Family is said to be close to giving a back order of 10-12 episodes to comedy Melissa & Joey. (Deadline)

Lone Star creator Kyle Killen has expressed his disappointment at the cancellation of his FOX drama series at his personal blog in a post entitled "Lone Star Loves You, Even From The Grave." "I'm incredibly grateful that we were given an opportunity to try a premise that, as the numbers seem to confirm, was perhaps a little riskier than I estimated," wrote Killen. "We made a good show. Not Shakespeare. Not MASH. But something I was proud of." (The Letter Eleven)

FOX has given a put pilot order to single-camera family comedy Connected, from American Dad executive producers Nahnatchka Khan and R.J. Cutler. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, is described as "an edgy family comedy about two families linked by their teens’ romantic relationship." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed, Variety)

BSkyB is close to a deal with Lionsgate Television to acquire life-of-series rights to AMC's Mad Men, which currently airs on the Beeb in the UK, which is facing a 25 percent slash to its acquisitions budget. The deal is said to be in the area of $5-10 million for the rights. (Hollywood Reporter)

The UK satcaster is also set to launch Sky Atlantic HD, a new dedicated channel that will serve as the home for the HBO content it has recently acquired, from Boardwalk Empire to The Sopranos. (Broadcast)

In other UK news, Sherlock lead Benedict Cumberbatch will be the first guest host for BBC One's Have I Got News for You, which returns on October 14th for a ten-week run. "I'm very excited and honoured and, like a moth to the flame, I am terrified but cannot resist," said Cumberbatch in a statement. "I have watched the show since its inception, and my family and I used to make it a routine TV date to relish. How could I resist the chance for the audience to witness my being shot down in flames by the wit of Merton and Hislop?" (BBC)

Charles Dance (Bleak House) will star opposite Rhys Ifans, Anna Friel, and Bob Hoskins in Nick Willing's Neverland, the four-hour mini set to air on Syfy and Sky Movies HD. (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Lifetime has given a pilot order to drama Meet Jane, from writer Andi Bushell and executive producer Mark Pedowitz. Project, from Warner Horizon, revolves around "an unhappily married mother of two daughters in the Washington, DC area is suddenly re-energized and empowered when the FBI enlists her to spy on her husband, a computer technician the government suspects is selling top-secret information to Russia." (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

The Daily Beast: "Why I Loathe Glee"

Let's just say that Sue Sylvester may have a few things to say about this.

FOX's Glee may have hit a ratings high this week, but the popular show has hit a new low in terms of story.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Why I Loathe Glee," where I offer my take on where the Fox musical-comedy has gone horribly, offensively wrong.

Head to the comments to discuss whether you agree or disagree with my assessment and whether the show has lost its way entirely.

Channel Surfing: Bryan Fuller to Tackle The Munsters, J.J. Abrams Talks Alias Reboot, Matt Smith Talks Doctor Who Xmas, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

File this under: oh my god. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello and Andy Patrick are reporting that Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller is developing an update of--wait for it--The Munsters. NBC has ordered a pilot for the project, which is being described as "Modern Family meets True Blood." If that wasn't enough to whet your appetite, Ausiello and Patrick also report that Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy) might executive produce as well. Jaw officially on the floor... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos talks to Undercovers executive producer J.J. Abrams about the NBC espionage drama and about several topics on everyone's minds: namely that rumored Alias reboot and the Terry O'Quinn/Michael Emerson NBC drama pilot. News of a potential Alias reboot were news to Abrams, despite unnamed sources at the network telling Dos Santos that they're still considering rebooting the franchise. "I know there were some discussions about that early on," Abrams told E! Online. "But it was internal Disney discussions, not discussions with me. So I'm not sure what they're thinking now. At the moment obviously they have True Lies, which I'm sure is going to fill their need for a spy series, and we're obviously very busy at Bad Robot [J.J.'s production company]. So the idea of even discussing it is going to be very delayed for a while. But it's not only up to me; if they wanted to redo it, they could do it with or without me. It's not really my decision." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Metro's Tom Phillips has an interview with Doctor Who star Matt Smith about this year's Christmas special, written by head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat. "We've got Michael Gambon playing a Scrooge-like miser with a time travelling twist – and I think it’s really, really good," said Smith. "It’s particularly Christmassy, lots of snow and lots of twinkly lights. I think it’s full of the right heart and soul for the season. Steven has, once again, written something brilliant." Smith also discusses the Neil Gaiman episode of Who, set to air next season, which he describes as "a real cracker – I think it’s going to be a real one for the Who fans, I think they’re going to love it." (Metro)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look at the Cylon Centurions heading to Syfy's Caprica, which returns for the back half of its first season next week. “Daniel Graystone’s creation—the early-model Cylon known as the U-87—emerges as a critical story point,” executive producer David Eick told Ausiello. “Due to the bad PR Daniel has endured since his prized creation, the Holoband, [was blamed for] the emergence of terrorist cells on Caprica, Daniel shifts his company’s focus to the perfection of artificial intelligence and its proliferation throughout the culture as the ultimate `helper’: Never gets tired. Never asks for a raise. Never quits on the job... Meanwhile, Joseph Adama and his brother Sam—using their organized-crime muscle to seize control of Daniel’s company—see an altogether different purpose for the U-87s: to sell to the highest bidder, no matter how violent their agenda might be." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Shelley Conn (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) has been cast as the female lead in FOX's upcoming prehistoric/futuristic adventure series Terra Nova, which will get a sneak peek in May before launching in Fall 2011. Conn will star opposite Jason O'Mara and Stephen Lang and will play Elizabeth Shannon, the wife of O'Mara's character, who travels back 85 million years. (Deadline)

Despite being cancelled earlier this week, FOX's Lone Star's second episode will still get its encore broadcast this Saturday, according to The Futon Critic. (Futon Critic)

NBC has ordered a pilot (with a penalty attached) for a Jack Black-executive produced comedy based on AJ Jacob's book "The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment." Project, from Reveille and Sony Pictures Television, will revolve around "a man fixated on self-improvement who takes on difficult experiments and lifestyles, all of which makes things tough on his family." Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa are attached as writers. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere at the Peacock, NBC is said to be adapting British reality series The Boss Is Coming to Dinner, from Zodiak USA. Project, from executive producers Grant Mansfield, Natalka Znack, and Claire O'Donohue, revolves around "a group of job applicants who must invite their prospective employer to their home and throw a dinner party. After the boss meets with the candidates, he or she makes a final hiring decision." (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Anderson Cooper is in talks with Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to host a syndicated daytime talk show. "The talk show deal is complex because its being coordinated between Warner Bros., Cooper and Cooper's employers at CNN -- who have an exclusive contract with the newsman," writes Hibberd. "The deal, which has been in talks for more than a month and may close by the end of the week, calls for Cooper to continue hosting 360. With a lot of moving parts at play, however, sources caution the deal is not yet a sure thing." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that FOX is considering ordering Lawyers for Less, described as "a light legal drama franchise" from creator/star Danny Comden and Sony Pictures Television that will be executive produced and directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. Project, written by Comden and Josh Pate, is said to be "a workplace comedic drama about two best friends - a white-shoe lawyer (Comden) coming back from disbarment for mixing business and pleasure and an enterprising black lawyer who takes him in as partner - who run a small storefront law firm specializing in ambulance chasing and defending the defenseless." (Deadline)

CSI creator Anthony Zuiker will bring the villain from his "Level 26" novel series--Sqweegel, described as a "forensic proof" serial killer--into an episode of CSI set to air on October 14th. He'll be played by Daniel Browning Smith, the world's most flexible man. (Variety)

Nickelodeon has ordered 26 episodes of live-action comedy Supah Ninjas from executive producer Brian Robbins. Series, which stars Ryan Potter, revolves around "a high schooler who discovers that he actually descends from a line of ninjas" and "forms a secret team of ninja crime fighters -- the 'Supah Ninjas' -- with his friends (Carlos Knight and Gracie Dzienny)." (Variety)

Sony Pictures Television has signed a blind script deal with Leah Rachel (CSI: NY), which would be executive produced by Jamie Tarses. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

The Daily Beast: "Lone Star and 10 Other Quickly-Canceled TV Shows"

While the cancellation of FOX's con man drama Lone Star took no one watching the ratings by surprise, some pointed towards the fact that FOX didn't let the show find an audience, axing it after just two low-rated airings.

While such early cancellations might be rare, it doesn't mean that they don't happen. Over at The Daily Beast, I take a look at ten other early cancellations from the last ten years, from Viva Laughlin to reality duds like The Will. (Remember that gem?) You can read my latest feature "10 Most Quickly Axed Shows of the Last 10 Years" here.

(And, before you say it, I know that Wonderland and Girls Club were also canned after two episodes. Couldn't fit everything in there, sadly!)

Also, out of morbid curiosity: do any of the entries on this list ring a bell to you?

Talk Back: What Did You Think of the Series Premiere of ABC's No Ordinary Family?

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... Michael Chiklis jumping over a building.

Now that ABC has launched its family-friendly superhero drama No Ordinary Family, I'm curious to hear what you thought about the Greg Berlanti/Jon Harmon Feldman-created pilot episode.

I was very frank about my own feelings about the pilot, which I've now seen no less than three different versions of since it was picked up to series in May. But now that the premiere has aired, I want to hear what you thought about the episode in question.

Did you enjoy the pilot? Were you bothered at all by the tonal inconsistencies? What did you make of the various coincidences that sprung up throughout the pilot, from the appearance of other super-powered types to that final reveal at the very end? What did you think about the fact that their powers were all connected to their internal struggles and did you find that to be on the nose at all?

And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week?

Talk back here.

Next week on No Ordinary Family ("No Ordinary Marriage"), Jim and Stephanie keep their powers under wraps, but it doesn't mean their abilities are dormant as Jim hunts for bank robbers and Stephanie goes back to work.

Channel Surfing: FOX Axes Lone Star, Lie to Me Moves to Mon and Human Target to Wed, Josh Schwartz/Rachel Bilson's Ghost and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

It's official: the axe has fallen on FOX's low-rated con-man drama Lone Star after just two episodes. The initial outing for the James Wolk-led ensemble drama lured only 4 million viewers or so and the second episode saw its fortunes decline further still, with only 3.2 million tuning in. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that production on the 20th Cenutyr Fox Television-produced drama will shut down immediately. “We will have shot five completed episodes after the pilot,” a studio spokesperson told Ausiello, “and will not complete principal photography on episode 106.” No word on the fate of the four unaired episodes that have already been shot. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

[Editor: As one unnamed network insider told Variety's Michael Schneider: "The viewers have spoken." Meanwhile, AOL Television's Maureen Ryan explores her take on what the cancellation of Lone Star means for the broadcast networks, which can be read here.]

FOX meanwhile has announced its timeslot replacement for Lone Star, moving the third season of Lie to Me--which wasn't expected to return to the lineup until November--to Mondays at 9 pm ET/PT beginning next week, while Human Target, slated to air on Fridays, will now move to Wednesdays at 8 pm, where it will fill in the gap left by Lie to Me's shift to Monday beginning November 17th... though it was meant to debut this Friday. FOX will fill that timeslot with repeats of House. Whew. (via press release)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that NBC has ordered a pilot for the as-yet-unwritten supernatural romantic comedy Ghost Angeles, from executive producer Josh Schwartz (Chuck) and star Rachel Bilson (The O.C.). Project, from Warner Bros. Television, will also be executive produced by Henry Alonso Myers, Stephanie Savage, and Leonard Goldstein. "Schwartz and Henry Alonso Myers (Ugly Betty) co-created Ghost Angeles and will write it together," writes Andreeva. "Details on the project are being kept under wraps but, according to a concept circulated around, it centers on a young woman in Los Angeles who can talk to the dead, helping the spirits as much as they are helping her." (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that ex-Heroes star Jack Coleman will guest star in an upcoming episode of NBC's The Office, where he is expected to play a government official with “Jon Hamm-esque wholesomeness,” according to an unnamed source. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Hollywood Reporter's Matthew Belloni is reporting that three of the stars of Discovery's Deadliest Catch--Capts. Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand (who were sued by the network for not appearing for work on a spinoff) and Capt. Sig Hansen--have quit the production. "We have been through a lot over the past year and unfortunately given the current situation with Discovery we are unable to continue participating in Deadliest Catch," said the fisherman in a joint statement. "It has been a fantastic ride, and we wish the best to all of the amazing and supportive 'Catch' fans we have met over the years." (Hollywood Reporter's THR, Esq.)

DirecTV's The 101 network has signed deals with BBC Worldwide to acquire US broadcast rights to three British comedies, including ITV's No Heroics (launching November 4th), short-lived BBC dramedy Mutual Friends (launching November 3rd), and How Not to Live Your Live (November 4th). (Variety)

Casting round-up: Rachel Nichols (Alias) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on CBS' Criminal Minds, where she will play FBI cadet Ashley Seager; she's slated to appear in three episodes. Elsewhere, Izabella Miko (Coyote Ugly) will appear in a five-episode arc on NBC's midseason superhero drama The Cape. (Deadline)

Catherine Dent (The Shield) will join the cast of CBS' NCIS for a two episode arc, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. She'll play Whitney Sharp, described as "a former NCIS agent who shares a past with Ducky" (David McCallum) who is "educated, bright, and extremely capable federal agent who had an eye for talent and a tongue for persuasion back in the day." Her episodes are slated to air in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot orders for four projects at ABC Family: Nine Lives, Switched at Birth, Strut, and The Lying Game. (Variety)

Lifetime has ordered eight episodes of a US adaptation of British reality format The Fairy Jobmother, which will launch October 28th. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Crossroads: An Advance Review of Season Two of The Good Wife

Over the course of its first season, CBS' legal drama The Good Wife transformed itself from a legal procedural into a strong ensemble drama. Which isn't to say that it jettisoned the cases of the week, because, in the hands of skilled creators Robert and Michelle King, it managed to both deepen the characters without sacrificing the courtroom hook, pulling off the rare legal-focused series that actually manages to make us care about the the accused, the defense counsel, and the kids at home.

Inspired by the slew of sexually-charged political scandals, The Good Wife's first season also held up a mirror to our own society, giving us a female lead in Julianna Margulies' Alicia Florick who was determined, harried, and often second-guessing her own decision to stand by her man. In the process, the series posed questions about the choices we make, the value of honesty and fidelity (both in the bedroom and in the state's attorney's office), the plight of the working woman attempting to raise her kids and provide for them with her husband out of the picture.

Of course, Alicia's scandalized husband Peter (Chris Noth) wasn't entirely out of the picture, as the action tracked both the conspiracy that ensnared this crusading state's attorney, his own admitted shortcomings and failures, and his efforts to be released from prison and head back on a campaign to win back both the wife and state that he had lost.

But Alicia is also no meek politician's wife. As proven in the first season, she's a legal dynamo who gives her all to win her clients' cases, even when she doesn't necessarily believe in their innocence. And while we can question her decision to remain with her philandering husband, Alicia has been up-front about putting her children's needs and wants ahead of her own, even as she continues to fall for her boss, Will (Josh Charles), a former law school buddy with whom she missed her chance years earlier.

She might be the good wife of the title but Alicia Florick is also her own woman.

I sped through the first season of The Good Wife on DVD this summer and was immediately struck by how accomplished and self-assured the series was once it allowed its characters to breathe, allowing for a narrative that placed weight not solely on Margulies but on its gifted ensemble: Emmy Award-winner Archie Panjabi's cynical investigator Kalinda (who, it needs to be said, kicks ass), Christine Baranski's liberal partner Diane Lockhart, Matt Czruchy's ambitious climber Cary Agos, Mary Beth Peil's overbearing Jackie Florrick, and Cumming's fantastic Eli Gold.

The focus has also swung at times to sit upon Alicia and Peter's children--Graham Phillip's Zach Florrick and Makenzie Vega's Grace--who continue to grapple with the fallout from their father's bad decisions and sexual appetites as much as they do with the work-related absences of their mother. Wisely, the series explores the insidious nature of scandal, how the consequences infect not just the perpetrator but those around him.

As Zach and Grace attempt to protect their mother from a series of mysterious packages, they are drawn ever closer to the epicenter of the conspiracy, even as they deal with "normal" teenage angst: unprotected sex, privacy issues, strife with parents and grandmother alike. When Peter does return home--and does break his home arrest in order to chase after Alicia--it's their quick thinking that keeps him at home. It's the rare series that explores the bonds of love and forgiveness in such a nuanced fashion.

The second season of The Good Wife, which launches tonight with "Taking Control," picks up in the seconds following Season One's cliffhanger: would Alicia step out on stage to support her husband or would she pick up the phone and open herself up to the possibility of an extra-marital relationship with Will? Would she put her own desire before that of her husband's political career? And would Peter's image consultant Eli Gold (Alan Cumming, here deliciously slimy) allow her to jeopardize their campaign? Hmmm...

The first two episodes ("Taking Control" and "Double Jeopardy"), provided to press for review, retain the strengths of the first season while also throwing several spanners into the works for the team at Lockhart & Gardner. While Alicia may have won the competition and earned a spot at the firm, it came at a heavy price: she had to trade upon her connections and name in order to lure Eli Gold (and likely several of his clients) to the firm in order to keep her place. Cary, meanwhile, lost his job and has gone to work at the state's attorney's office for Glenn Childs (Titus Welliver), setting up yet another turn of the screw for the insatiable war between the SA's office and the Florricks, one that's even more personal as Cary knows Alicia's tactics only too well.

But at the firm, there's even more drama following the arrival of the new third partner that Will and Diane have been so keen to bring on board. While the two of them claim that they want a ref, what they really want is someone they can side against together. They'll find they have an uphill battle with Derek Bond (FlashForward's Michael Ealy), who clearly has an agenda of his own. While Will and Diane settled on Derek together due to a lack of prior connection, a question is raised at the end of the second episode that makes us question whether or not that's really the case.

And Bond's arrival also jeopardizes the role that Panjabi's fantastic Kalinda plays within the law firm as Bond has his own carefully cultivated investigator in Blake (Friday Night Lights' Scott Porter), who proves just as surprising and mercurial as Kalinda herself. He's just as fast, just as resourceful, and just as cunning and Kalinda but Blake also has an ace up his sleeve. One season in and we're still in the dark about Kalinda's past and even, quite possibly, her true sexual orientation. The Kings and Panjabi have done an incredible job making Kalinda sympathetic and intriguing even as they leave her backstory in the shadows.

Which leads us to an interesting twist: Blake knows something about Kalinda that she's rather he didn't, something that she's worked hard to conceal. While the truth about Blake's knowledge isn't revealed in the first two episodes (far too early for that), it's indicated that Kalinda might not be who she says she is. And that Kalinda might not even be her real name...

And then there's Zach's troublesome ex-girlfriend Becca (Dreama Walker) causing trouble again for everyone. Just how much does Becca know? And did Eli's threats to her last season sink in? Look for things to get explosive among the younger generation enmeshed in this political battle, even as a familiar face from Peter's past returns to shake up the foundations of his campaign. Things are going to get nasty.

All of which adds up to a winning start for The Good Wife's second season. While there is already more than enough drama going on, the writers also concoct two provocative cases, one clearly inspired by the real-life WikiLeaks news story. Two murders, two very different clients, and two very different courtroom engagements, the second of which takes Alicia and Will to military court, and, um, Lou Dobbs. There's a delicate balancing act to these early episodes in the season run and the Kings and their talented writing staff manage to deftly pull it off.

You'll want to stay up late for this fantastic and engaging series.

Season Two of The Good Wife begins tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on CBS.

ABC's No Ordinary Family is Painfully Ordinary

ABC's superhero dramedy No Ordinary Family might be all the more frustrating because it has the potential to be something fun and irreverent, but instead is tonally inconsistent and plays too heavily with the sentimental and saccharine. To borrow some superhero parlance, rather than leaping tall buildings in a single bound, it thuds to earth with a sonic boom.

Creators Greg Berlanti and Jon Harmon Feldman want to have it both ways: he wants a superhero spectacle that borrows liberally from the success and charm of Pixar's The Incredibles but he also wants to tackle familial issues as well. When the Powells crash their plane into a remote section of the Amazon, they're granted extraordinary powers that separate them from mere mortals. Which would be enough of a suspension of disbelief but the powers they receive just happen to coincide with their particular cross to bear in life.

Father and husband Jim (Michael Chiklis), a police sketch artist by trade, has lost his spark and masculine edge: he's granted super-strength and nigh invulnerability, a bald-headed Hulk who can leap great distances. His wife, Stephanie (Julie Benz) is a harried scientist who is pulled in too many directions at once: she's gifted with super-speed! Kay Panabaker's Daphne can't understand her boyfriend or boys in general; she's the typical closed-off teenage girl, so of course she receives telepathy! And son JJ (Jimmy Bennett) is academically unmotivated, so he becomes a super-genius!

It's all a bit too neat and tidy as the Powells receive the very things that enable them to become better people, as Jim begins to moonlight as a steel-skinned vigilante, thanks to some assistance from his BFF George St. Cloud (Romany Malco); Stephanie is able to speed down a freeway and make a meeting on time. Daphne learns the truth about her boyfriend and JJ finally shines in the classroom.

But by solving their interior conflicts, the deus ex machina doesn't leave the series much room to grow either. It's also a bit head-scratching that the Powells would receive their newfound powers by landing in a remote section of the Amazon River and then return home to cross paths with other super-powered personae. It's a bit too coincidental and a final act reveal does nothing to ameliorate the strain of incredulity. Despite its efforts not to be Heroes 2.0, that's exactly what it began to feel like by the end of the hour, albeit a Heroes that focuses on more on hearth and home rather than, um, Sylar.

And, as mentioned earlier, there's a odd tonal inconsistency to the proceedings. In the pilot, the show tries to be cutesy, scary, and cozy in rapid-fire succession. While it wears its family entertainment badge of honor on its sleeve, it doesn't quite jibe with some of the violence that Jim encounters when he comes face to face with--SPOILER!--a teleporting thief with a penchant for firearms.

While No Ordinary Family could develop into a family-centric guilty pleasure in the 8 pm timeslot, it has a hell of a long road to reach that aim. Personally, I'd rather pop in my DVD of The Incredibles while they attempt to get there.

No Ordinary Family launches tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.

The Honest People: The Semblance of Control on Mad Men

The universe has a nasty way of reminding us that we're not in control of our lives. Though we might scheme and lie and grab onto some semblance of control in an effort to quell that inner truth, it's a bitter pill to be reminded of just how little authority we have over our own destinies.

When Lee Garner Jr. tells Roger, "There's no reason. Nothing you can do," he might as well be speaking for that unseen horseman in whose hands all of our reins sit. Like Lucky Strike's Lee, Life is a capricious and unforgiving mistress.

In this week's glorious episode of Mad Men ("Hands and Knees"), written by Jonathan Abrahams and Matthew Weiner and directed by Lynn Shelton, the truth spilled out uncomfortably for several characters, who were forced to reckon with the lack of control they have in their individual lives. When faced with making life-altering choices, each of them--whether that be Don Draper, Joan Harris, Lane Pryce, or Roger Sterling--were forced to contend with the fact that the choice was already made for them by someone else.

Secrets have a way of coming out, even if you bury them deep inside and for each of these characters (and even Pete Campbell, despite his speech about being one of "the honest people"), there's a ticking clock element to the concealment of their innermost truths. One doesn't need G-men stalking your ex-wives to feel the pressure, after all, and the hard truth can often hurt as much as a blow from a cane to the back of the head.

The fictional construct of Don Draper has been built on layers of control, of refinement, and of stolen opportunity. While the mix-up in Korea wasn't Dick's fault per se, he made a concerted effort to steal the identity of Don Draper, to make the government--and for a while himself as well--believe that he really was this other man. Because by being Don Draper, he wasn't an uneducated farmer's son, he wasn't a military deserter. His life was a blank slate and he could recreate it in any way he saw fit.

But one can't run forever. The panic attack that Don suffers at his apartment, Faye Miller by his side, is the result of keeping the truth bottled up, of running from his true responsibilities for so long. The life he created for himself--gorgeous Manhattan offices, Beatles tickets for his daughter, that Brylcreamed profile--is built on quicksand and it's only a matter of time before the bottom drops out completely. That the government agents, conducting a routine background check on Don as part of his request for security clearance, question Betty is the moment that Don has feared more than anything.

After all, Don managed to finesse Pete Campbell into keeping his dark secret. He formed a bond with the late Anna Draper. He came clean to his wife, even though it ultimately destroyed the final vestiges of their marriage. But a governmental probe into his personal life, into the fiction that he's constructed around himself? It's too dangerous. There are elements that don't match up: his age, for one. And while an everyday citizen might be able to be bribed, coerced, or placated into going along with his identity theft scheme, there's no way that he'll be able to convince a government official of any innocence. There is no going back.

It's interesting that Don opened up to Faye Miller in this episode, telling her about his past, despite the fact that they haven't been together very long. It's a reversal of fortune for Don. After concealing the truth from Betty for so long (and getting burned when he did tell her) and having the lie discovered by Pete, Don chooses to unburden himself to Faye in an effort to regain control over this all-encompassing truth about himself. He chooses to tell her, openly and honestly, though it's also worth noting that his defenses are down. He's "tired of running," and is so exhausted he can barely keep his eyes open.

But in telling Faye, Don doesn't regain control. Not really. In fact, by telling Faye, it seems as though their relationship is over before it's even really begun. Despite the fact that Faye accepts Don and is happy that he told her the truth, she has already begun to make plans and arrangements. This situation isn't something that can be left alone. She alludes to solving the problem, that Dick was just a kid when it happened, that they can figure it out together.

Which is the problem.

Don doesn't want to go back to being Dick. Faye may have surprised him by being so understanding and sympathetic towards his situation but he's been running since he was 18 years old. He's not going back to being Dick Whitman. He doesn't want to fix anything. In that moment, his casual relationship with Faye became something fraught with far too much complication.

Hence, perhaps, Don's sudden admiration of new assistant Megan outside his office. As she reapplies her lipstick at her desk, unaware of Don's gaze, something stirs within him. Is he aware of that he's lost control over his relationship with Faye already? Is he perhaps attracted once again, not to the strong and impassioned woman that Faye represents, but something far easier?

We're reminded, after all, of the fact that even something as simple as Sally's happiness is outside his level of control. Despite the fact that he has promised her to take her to see the Beatles, the tickets aren't in hand and Don spends the episode attempting to track down those concert tickets, lest he disappoint Sally even further after the events of last week.

Pete does keep Don's secret and the company drops NAA as a client as Pete falls on his sword for Don. The Beatles tickets do arrive, however. It's Megan who manages to get them and who hands them to Don after he's reassured Faye that everything is fine between them. "Everything worked out," Megan coos, handing him the tickets. It did, but only this time.

Elsewhere, Joan--not unsurprisingly--told Roger that she was pregnant and that the baby was his and not Greg's, as he was deployed seven weeks earlier. While they consider their options, it's clear that the fate of Joan's pregnancy has already been decided: she'll once again abort, the third time that she's done so. It's not an easy decision, given the fact that Joan has been trying to get pregnant for some time now. She freely entered into this extramarital arrangement, yes, but her yearning for a child doesn't come into the equation. She has as little control over her life--or that of her offspring--as much as the 17-year-old girl she encounters at the clinic.

Our sad Madonna, dressed in blue, can't even be honest with the woman about what she's doing there, pretending that she's supporting her 15-year-old daughter as she gets an abortion. The lonely bus ride home, the loss that she's suffered, only serve to further remind us of how little power Joan has over her own life.

Separate from the sexual and bodily issues of control plaguing Joan, Roger himself suffers a moment of clarity when Lee Garner Jr. tells him that they are taking their business from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce to BBDO. It's a shock to Roger, the end of nearly thirty years of business together but Garner says that the decision--like everyone's this episode--was out of his hands. The board decided they wanted to consolidate their brands and this is just a business decision.

Roger attempts to buy time, pleading with Lee to reconsider, to at least give him thirty days to get their affairs in order and keep things secret until then, the literal "hands and knees" begging of the episode's title. While Lee agrees to give Roger thirty days, he still attempts to keep the news under his hat, refusing to even tell the other partners of the loss of their largest client.

Which is why he lashes out at Pete over the loss of the $4 million NAA account. Given the financial jeopardy they're now in thanks to the end of the billable hours from Lucky Strike, they are in dire circumstances. His anger at Pete is displaced rage towards himself, a cosmic frustration with how things have--or haven't--worked out for him, for Joan, for his life. (It hasn't for others either, as Roger discovers most of his business leads are literally dead.)

Circumstances are conspiring around them. Don may have convinced Pete to dump NAA but he wasn't aware of the Lucky Strike situation. Roger might have to apologize to Pete for jumping down his throat, but he hasn't told anyone about Lee's announcement. And Lane leaves for England, believing the company to be fiscally solvent. The lies being told at the conference table bind all of them together, even if they can't see at that very moment that the walls are crumbling down around them.

Lane, for his part, believes himself to be his own man, to be independent of the abuse and tyranny of his Victorian era-born father Robert (W. Morgan Sheppard). He believes that he's made a new life for himself in New York, one that's separate from his estranged wife Rebecca. He is a man in love, having fallen for Playboy Club waitress/bunny Toni Charles (Naturi Naughton).

His relationship with Toni reveals just how far out of his father's orbit Lane has traveled, refuting the Victorian ideals of his father's generation and planting himself in a modern America. Robert immediately takes umbrage to Lane's choice of lover: Toni is both black and a Playboy bunny; she represents the sexual revolution underway. She's a cocktail waitress who basically wears a swimsuit and a bunny tail to work each night. In other words, she's an affront to everything that Robert believes in, his carefully ordered view of the universe.

Still, Lane attempts to wrest control of his life from his domineering father, believing that he can stand up to the old man and forge his own path in life, even if Robert and Rebecca are conspiring to keep his son from him. Despite the fact that Robert makes the situation with Toni all the more uncomfortable, Lane tries to salvage the evening.

But it gets worse. His efforts to enforce his own rule backfire completely as Robert shockingly smacks him over the head with the crook of his cane and then stands on the prone Lane's hand until he agrees to return to England to sort out his family. It's a portrait of a beaten man, one whose plight echoes the likely frequent abuse meted out by this tyrannical man. This new man is infantilized by the exchange, reduced once again to a child at the whims of his enraged father. The blood on his hand, the result of that blow to his head, don't come as so much of a shock but rather an awful reminder once more of the fragility of his self-control.

It's no surprise that Lane takes a leave of absence, intending to sort things out in the United Kingdom. He might be in love with Toni, but their relationship is shattered as soon as that cane connects with his skull, a brutal wake-up call at the end of a dream.

It's just one of many dreams that, rather sadly, none of these characters can toil under any longer.

Next week on Mad Men ("Chinese Wall"), Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce employees resort to scuttlebutt after an agency-wide meeting is called.

Channel Surfing: Summer Glau to Chuck, Zucker's Replacement Named at NBCU, Starz Considers Spartacus Options, Community, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) is set to guest star on NBC's Chuck this season, where she will turn up in the eighth episode as the latest Greta, the rotating CIA/NSA joint intelligence task force agent assigned to the Buy More. Glau, who stars in NBC's midseason action drama The Cape, follows in the footsteps of Olivia Munn, Stacy Keibler, and Isaiah Mustafa. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jeff Zucker is out and Steve Burke is in. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts' right-hand man Burke, will succeed Jeff Zucker as CEO of NBC Universal once the merger deal--valued at $30 billion--is completed. Zucker announced that he would be stepping down from the position on Friday once the merger transaction is closed. "Steve Burke is an experienced, talented and visionary leader with over 25 years in the media and entertainment industry," Roberts said in a statement. "Steve is one of the most well-respectedexecutives in the industry, and I am confident that he will lead NBC U forward to a new era of growth." Burke will also continue to serve as Comcast's COO. (Variety)

[Meanwhile, Michael Schneider and Cynthia Littleton take a look at Zucker's legacy over at Variety, while AOL Television's Maureen Ryan has her own take on Zucker's departure with "Jeff Zucker's Reign of Terribleness Finally Over at NBC."]

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Spartacus showrunner Steven S. DeKnight about the two options available to the production and pay cabler Starz in light of series lead Andy Whitfield's cancer relapse. “The two main options are to close up shop or recast,” DeKnight told Ausiello. “I want to talk to Andy and find out how he feels about the options. That’s obviously very important to us... We’re still absorbing what’s happened. I think it’s going to be a little while before we reach any conclusions.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

[The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, meanwhile, is also reporting that Starz is considering recasting the role of Spartacus so that the planned second season can move along as planned.]

Hilary Duff is headed to Greendale. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Duff will guest star on an upcoming episode of NBC's Community, where she will play "a member of a mean girl clique that goes head-to-head with the Scoobies." [Editor: news matches what I learned on the set of Community two weeks ago: the writers are planning a Mean Girls homage.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Ed Decter and John Strauss have officially signed on as showrunners on USA's In Plain Sight. The duo replaces John McNamara, who departed the series due to medical issues. (Deadline)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Darren Everett Criss (Eastwick) has been cast on FOX's Glee, where he will play Blaine, described as "a gay student from a rival school glee club named the Dalton Academy Warblers." While some might leap to the judgment that Criss' character will be the love interest for Chris Colfer's Kurt, Dos Santos cites an unnamed source who says that isn't the case: "Although people might speculate that this might be the possible boyfriend for Kurt that Ryan has talked about, he is fairly sure that this particular character won't be. This friendship will be platonic." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Former Heroes star Zachary Quinto is bummed that there won't be a two-movie to wrap up the superhero drama's dangling storylines after NBC axed the potential wrap-up. “It’s disappointing that there was such a lack of resolution,” Quinto told Entertainment Weekly. “But unfortunately that’s just the nature of network television….Nothing really surprises me in terms of network and studio bureaucracy. It’s the way it goes... If it was in their best interest I’m sure they would have done it. And for whatever reason, they didn’t think it was. So that’s a bummer. But we have to just accept it and move on.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Meanwhile, Aimee Garcia (Trauma) has been cast in ABC midseason medical drama Off the Map, where she will play a local who falls for Zach Gilford's plastic surgeon, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

More deals coming together at Showtime, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, who reports that Showtime has signed development deals with Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards and with Jeff Daniels and Timothy Busfield. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

Storming the Battlements: Quick Thoughts on Season Seventeen of The Amazing Race

By now, we've all seen the watermelon-to-the-face viral video making the rounds the last few weeks, but the season opener of CBS' The Amazing Race is far more than just than cringe-inducing moment of pain.

In fact, the opener to the seventeenth (!!!) season of The Amazing Race ("They Don't Call It the Amazing Race for Nothin'!") might just go down as one of the series' all-time bests, sending the contestants across the pond to England, where they're forced to contend with scaling the walls of a castle, learning the definition of "battlements," discovering what Stonehenge is, and performing a rather difficult balancing act. That is, when they're not getting hopelessly lost driving on the left side of the road, as happens to more than just one hopeful team.

As with all great seasons, the success or failure of an individual reality competition cycle rests pretty squarely on the casting and I have to say that they've more than come through with the cast of this cycle of TAR. Ivy League a cappela singers, home shopping network mavens, beach volleyball partners, doctors, a biological mother and the daughter she gave up for adoption, plus the usual assortment of best friends, romantic couples, and family members.

Plus, what might just be the dumbest team ever to race for a million dollars. I'll let you discover just which team this might be as they deliver some absolutely hysterical corkers in this first episode alone. And a new twist that's mentioned at the start that could have some real consequences on the race ahead, as well as a major advantage for whichever team manages to snag this first-time game-changer.

But, ultimately, it's another season of fun challenges, tense team members, beautiful sights and sounds, and a heart-pumping race to the finish line. Not to mention a swiftly raised eyebrow from host Phil Keoghan.

Season Seventeen of The Amazing Race launches Sunday with a 90-minute episode at 8:30 pm ET/PT on CBS.

A Siren in a Poached Egg: Quick Thoughts on Season Two of HBO's Bored to Death

HBO's deliciously madcap comedy Bored to Death returns Sunday evening for a second season and not a moment too soon.

Created by Jonathan Ames, the noir-tinged comedy revolves around another Jonathan Ames, a failed writer moonlighting as an unlicensed private detective, played to perfection by Jason Schwartzman.

In an even more improbable meta twist, the real-life Ames guest stars in one of the second season's early episodes as, well, a naked man. If that's not a metaphor for the sort of zany navel-gazing that Bored to Death excels at, I don't know what is.

With its return, the series ushers in a hysterical and absurd second season that's far more focused on the triangle of friendship existing between Schwartzman's Jonathan, comic book writer/illustrator Ray (Zach Galifianakis), and pothead magazine publisher George (Ted Danson). While the troika spend the first half of the freshman season split apart, the writers have wisely thrust all three into a group dynamic, with Jonathan acting as the common thread that binds them together.

As we pick up with Jonathan, his second novel has been rejected by his publisher and he's resorted to teaching a night school class between detective gigs. While the gigs themselves are part of the overall fabric of the series, they're really more the means to an ends, an opportunity to examine our own expectations of modern society through the prism of hard-boiled detective novels.

In the first three episodes alone, this unlikely trio will confront mortality, morality, polyamory, adultery, kidnapping, penis pains, dungeons, yoga, night school students, cabaret, rental cars, and economic downturn.

In other words, Bored to Death is still anything but boring. Do yourself a favor and check out the weird and wonderful world of Ames and Company.

Season Two of Bored to Death premieres Sunday evening at 10 pm ET/PT on HBO.

AOL Television's Skype Second Opinion: The Season Opener of NBC's Community

What did you think of last night's episode of Community?

While I've been raving about the second season opener for weeks now, I also was asked to host AOL Television's Skype Second Opinions, where I connected via Skype and rambled on for a full three minutes about Community's "Anthropology 101" episode, my thoughts on the fantastic opening sequence (set to Vampire Weekend's "Campus"), the most un-erotic kiss ever on television, urine-swigging June Bauer (Betty White), that sucker-punch to the gut, and Ken Jeong's terrifyingly twisted Ben Chang.

You can watch the video in full over here at AOL Television or right below.



Next week on Community ("The Psychology of Letting Go"), the study group comforts Pierce after the death of his mother; Professor Duncan tries to take over the anthropology class.

Channel Surfing: Kristen Bell Wants Veronica Mars Movie, Treme Nabs Jon Seda, Lone Star, Chuck, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Kristen Bell, movie mogul? The former Veronica Mars star told The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg that she would self-finance a feature film version of her dearly departed CW/UPN noir drama... if Warner Bros. would release the rights to Veronica Mars. "It's a business and the sad truth is that ... they're not going to relinquish the rights to something and let us do it," said Bell. "We really have to do it with them because they own it... At this point, Warner Bros. can make it but like any studio they have research that tells them whether or not they'll make their money back," she added. "And that's what we've been told: That it's just not there. So my duty, because I wanted this movie made from the minute our show got canceled, is to a) do it before I'm 40; and b) to prove to Warner Bros. that there is an audience. You already have 3 million who watched it every week hardcore fans that will see it -- you can only build from there." Bell went on to say that she was open to doing a web series but is holding out hope of a big screen version of Mars: "" would be down with doing a Web series," she said. "I think, and I don't speak for anyone else but myself, but I think that they want it grand because it is deserving of being on the big screen. I think that maybe our creators would settle for that but I think that we all really want to push for the movie if it can happen." (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Jon Seda (The Pacific) has been cast as a series regular in Season Two of HBO's New Orleans-set drama series Treme, where he will play "a politically connected developer and venture capitalist from Dallas, who becomes involved in the renewal efforts in post-Katrina New Orleans." [Editor: Prior to the first season launch, co-creator David Simon told me that he wanted to create a role for Seda. Looks like he was able to.] (Deadline)

Lone Star creator Kyle Killen has written an open letter on his blog entitled "You're Invited to Our Stunning Upset," in which he pleads with viewers to tune into his FOX con man drama series, which is--after one episode--on death watch after premiering to staggeringly low numbers on Monday. "Here we are. Still alive. A little groundhog peeking out of a bomb crater to see if there's six more weeks of nuclear winter or if, perhaps, something can grow in this hole. And that's where you come in," wrote Killen. "For us to survive we're going to have to pull off a minor miracle. Statistically, new shows tend to lose viewers in their second week. We're aiming to gain them. In fact, screw it, let's just double our audience. The good news is, our audience was so small that if my Mom AND my Dad watch it we'll pretty much be there." (The Letter Eleven)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin has an exclusive first look at a photo of Chuck's Yvonne Strahovski facing down supermodel Karolina Kurkova in Monday night's episode. "I have to admit I got beat up by a girl. Yeah, that's what happened. See this is what happens when you hang out with girls. Girls beat you up," Kurkova told E! Online. "We're gonna be in a fashion show, on a fashion runway. I throw her onto the runway and I start beating her up like seriously beating her up—there's a whole choreography. I'm gonna have a knife, and it's serious girl fight." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Fancast's Matt Mitovich is reporting that former Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku will guest star in at least one episode of CBS' The Big Bang Theory, where she will play "an FBI agent assigned to conduct a background check on Wolowitz (played by Simon Helberg) when he needs high-level clearance for a new project." Dushku will appear in the seventh episode of the current season, which launched last night. (Fancast)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Marc Blucas (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has been cast as the male lead in USA drama pilot Necessary Roughness, opposite Callie Thorne (Rescue Me). (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The New York Times's Dave Itzkoff has a tongue-in-cheek post about whether NBC's Thursday night comedies are becoming the same show as Community, 30 Rock, and The Office all returned "with similar jokes that can only point toward their convergence into one identical show." (New York Times's ArtsBeat)

The CW has ordered six additional scripts for Hellcats and One Tree Hill, both of which had been ordered with thirteen-episode commitments this season. Elsewhere, Lifetime renewed Army Wives for a fifth season and Drop Dead Diva for a third. (Variety)

History has ordered eight episodes of Pawn Stars spin-off Rusty Nuts, which will focus on restoration expert Rick Dale as he "brings trashed treasures back to life." Series, from executive produced Brent Montgomery, will launch on October 25th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Change is afoot at Reveille, where Howard T. Owens will serve as the shingle's sole managing director, while Mark Koops will exit the company, which is now overseen by Shine Group Americas CEO Emiliano Calemzuk. Meanwhile, Robin Ashbrook has been hired as the head of nonscripted entertainment at the company. (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's Kim Masters is reporting that Lauren Zalaznick "has declined to extend her contract, even though the NBC Uni brass have entreated her to do so for months," leading Master to believe that Bonnie Hammer could soon gain more oversight if Comcast had to choose between one of the two top executives. "Lauren brings in edge, Bonnie brings in money," said an unnamed source. "If one has eight things to oversee, the other one gets eight ... Whatever list comes out, it's all about, 'Am I up above her?'" (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Sean and Bryan Furst have teamed up with Richard Shepard to launch a new television production company named Olé, which has already set up two series, including Showtime black comedy Corkscrew and an untitled CBS medical drama from writers Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper. (Deadline)

MTV has hired two development executives, hiring Shannon Fitzgerald for East Coast and former Hills co-executive producer Colin Nash for the West Coast. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Memory Lives On Forever: An Advance Review of the Third Season Premiere of Fringe

When we last saw Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), she had gotten left behind in the alternate universe while her place with her friends was co-opted by her dark-haired doppelganger and the extraordinary second season of FOX's Fringe ended with our Olivia a prisoner of the Department of Defense.

Season Three of Fringe begins not with one opener, but with two, as "Olivia" and next week's "The Box" pick up the pieces of where we left off, offering not so much a window into the lives of the Fringe Division members, but two distinct windows into "over there" and "over here."

The effect is as intoxicating as it is compelling, establishing from the start that we'll be tracking the goings on in both dimensions throughout the early part of the season. But rather than confuse the viewer, the season opener(s) offer the perfect jumping on point for new fans as well as the die-hards who are dying to know just what that final reveal means for Olivia, as well as for Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Walter Bishop (John Noble).

The producers have wisely stuck to the color palettes established last season to denote the place of origin: over there episodes are bursting with red, from the crimson-hued opening sequence to vermilion lens flares throughout the episode, whereas over here episodes use the blue that we've come to know and love throughout the series' run. Its effect anchors the action and relegates it to a particular sphere, reminding the viewers of just which dimension they're in and where the plot is unfolding.

And unfold it does. "Olivia" picks up some time in the future, as Olivia Dunham is continually interrogated by agents of Walternate, the Secretary of Defense, even as her caretakers believe her to be suffering a psychotic delusion. They maintain that she is the Olympic bronze metal competitive shooter Olivia Dunham; she maintains that she's from another world. What is a Fringe Division agent to do?

While I don't want to spoil the plot twists that lie ahead in tonight's episode, I will say that Olivia crosses paths with a cabbie played by The Wire's Andre Royo, who attempts to help Olivia... Help with what? Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? Royo is perfectly cast here as a sympathetic cabbie, even when faced with the danger trailing Olivia in the form of her alternate reality self's partners, Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel) and Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo).

As Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has already reported, Royo will be making a return appearance on Fringe down the line. Which is a very good thing as he's not only excellent here but might be a deus ex machina for Olivia as she finds herself plummeting deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole over there.

Likewise, Torv does a fantastic job of portraying two vastly different aspects of Olivia Dunham, two women connected by an invisible thread whose lives have turned out very differently. Or have they? What defines us? Our experiences or our innate characteristics?

Meanwhile, what's happening on the other side of the looking glass? Hmmm. I will say that we get a snippet of information in "Olivia" that displays the circumstances that Walter and Peter find themselves in when they return from their cross-time caper. But fans will have to wait until next week's "The Box" to really see the Bishops--and Astrid (Jasika Nicole)--in action, as it offers an episode wholly set on their side of the dimensional divide as Walter grapples with the death of William Bell and the aftermath of rescuing Peter once more.

As for what that episode entails, I'm sworn to secrecy, but I will say that Alternate-Olivia's plans become far more clear as she begins preparations and gets closer and closer to Peter Bishop. Let's just say that last season's creepy trans-dimensional typewriter makes an appearance, an innocuous box is far deadlier than it appears, wood floors are hard to clean, testaments are made, and all tattoos can be temporary... All this, plus an eleventh hour plot twist that both makes sense entirely and is also wholly surprising, one that could alter one of the foundations of the series itself.

Is that vague? You bet. But stick around for the superlative first two episodes of Fringe's third season and you'll be rewarded by some taut storytelling, intriguing plot twists, and an appearance by the much-missed Gene the Cow. What else do you really need to hear?

Season Three of Fringe begins tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX.

Goodbye and Hello: An Advance Review of the Sixth Season Premiere of Bones

What happens when the glue holding a group of people together takes off for far-flung adventure? What happens to those left behind? And is it ever possible to bring those now distant people back together again? Can you fix what's been broken?

Those are the questions hovering over the action on tonight's sixth season premiere of FOX's Bones ("The Mastodon in the Room"), which sees the gang at the Jeffersonian attempt to reform the gang when their individual sabbaticals come to abrupt ends.

The cause? An effort to save the career of Cam (Tamara Taylor), undergoing intense scrutiny when she lacks the certainty to identify the skeletal remains of a child in the face of a massive media blitz for a controversial story: the disappearance of a two-year old boy. Is the tiny skeleton in the morgue the boy that everyone's looking for? Or is it an unrelated crime?

Up until now, Cam's been in this fight alone, though she's had the support of tough-talking Caroline Julian (Patricia Belcher). And she's had to be alone because everyone else has taken off in search of their dreams: Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Daisy (Carla Gallo) have left for a dig in Indonesia; Booth (David Boreanaz) is training snipers in Afghanistan; Hodgins (TJ Thyne) and Angela (Michaela Conlin) are in Paris; and Sweets (John Francis Daley)... Well, Sweets has grown a goatee and is wearing a jaunty hat and biding his time.

As for what this collective had built when they were working together? It, like so much else, has fallen apart. The center, after all, cannot hold.

The season premiere finds each of the wayward team members heading home in order to help Cam and try to pick up the pieces of where they each left off seven months earlier. But that proves harder to do than one might think. For one, time has marched on for each of the characters and things have changed in their lives. Daisy might still have Sweet's engagement ring but he might not want her wearing it. Brennan may have come to terms with her feelings for Booth, but seven months apart--and with no contact between them--have worn on Booth and he's moved on. Yes, his relationship with the yet-to-be-seen war correspondent is "as deadly as a heart attack," according to Booth. Hodgins and Angela have settled into life in Paris and face some changes of their own as well.

It's Brennan who doesn't change, the singular constant among the group. Her departure had a ripple effect on their common fates. The squinterns are long gone, headed for parts unknown, after Brennan left and, well, things aren't necessarily great between Cam and Brennan now that's she back, either. (As for the squinterns, look for Michael Grant Terry's Wendell to return.)

I don't want to say too much about the season premiere, other that it provides a new beginning of sorts for the gang at the Jeffersonian and that there is a massive elephant--or, in this case, a massive mastodon--in the room that no one wants to address. What follows is an attempt to answer those aforementioned questions and ponder just who is the true lynchpin of the group.

My only criticism is the early scene with Booth in Afghanistan, in which his predicament and decision to return home is way too on the nose, arriving with all of the subtlety of an anvil being dropped on our heads. While I understand that it was necessary to get Booth to make a decision quickly, the circumstances around that scenario are so obvious--to the point where a character actually speaks the very things that Booth feels about his own inner struggle--that it cheapens the moment.

But that's a minor criticism of a fantastic episode that involves swallowed rings, space-hogging animals, auto repair, sisterly moments, and crime-solving. And, yes, seeing Booth and Brennan back together again.

Change is good, but sometimes it's the familiar that's far more comfortable, no?

Season Six of Bones begins tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on FOX.

"The Red Hots Were For My Mommy!": Sugar Shock on Top Chef: Just Desserts

Wow.

I don't even know what to say after watching last night's tense and explosive episode of Bravo's Top Chef: Just Desserts ("Cocktail with a Twist"), in which contestant Seth Caro suffered some sort of emotional breakdown during the Quickfire Challenge, in which the pastry chefs were tasked with creating desserts that celebrated penny candy.

Yes, we've seen chefs cave under the pressure on Top Chef before but never this earlier and never this severe. Unable to freeze his passion fruit sorbet in time to plate it, the high-strung Seth began to openly sob and was unable to control his emotions, despite the assistance of fellow competitors and the kindness of guest judge Elizabeth Faulkner (of San Francisco's Citizen Cake and Orson), who attempted to take him aside during the judging process to give him a pep talk.

It didn't work.

Instead, Seth was unable to compose himself and instead uttered some words that will likely haunt him for some time to come. Gripping Faulkner tightly, he cried as he said the now immortal words, "The red hots were for my mommy."

Let's pause on that for a second.

Seth had already, tearfully, said, that the red hots used in his dish were an homage to his ailing mother, who loved the spicy candy. He told fellow competitor Morgan--who just last week had seemed to be the most unstable competitor and now seems completely balanced in comparison--that fact a few minutes earlier but it was the use of "mommy" that tipped things into an even more uncomfortable place.

Now, I want to be sensitive to the fact that Seth is clearly going through something. But a culinary competition series, with its intense pressure and ubiquitous cameras filming your every move, is probably not the best place to go about doing it. I'm also sensitive to the fact that his mother owes $100,000 in medical bills, but I have to question the fact that Seth is participating in this competition in order to win cash to pay off those bills, rather than use the money to further his "culinary dreams," as the opening credits remind us each week. (It also rubbed me the wrong way that Top Chef winner Kevin said that he was going to use the money to buy a house rather than invest it in his business.)

Yes, these chefs are meant to be ambitious and determined. But if you're having an actual breakdown on-camera because your dessert didn't freeze and because you used your sick mother's favorite candy in said dish, you might want to reevaluate your participation.

Because Seth's on-screen antics didn't just end with the "mommy" comment as he gripped Faulkner and sobbed into her neck like an emotionally overwrought ten-year-old might. He continued to act like some emotional whirling dervish, making everyone around him uncomfortable and refusing to promise the judges that such an outburst wouldn't occur again.

After seeing his behavior at The Tar Pit, it's no wonder that a promise won't be forthcoming. After his fellow competitors attempted to support him during his two-minute "shopping" period behind the bar--in which he again fell apart due to the lack of grapefruit juice for his Greyhound-inspired dessert--he railed against them, screaming at them right in front of Mark Peel and Gail Simmons. Badly, badly done. It didn't win him any points with the judges, with his competition, or even with his friend Morgan, who sided with the others against him.

Yigit was right to be angry. Seth has no idea what is going on in his fellow competitors' lives because he hasn't taken the time to find out. Everyone has some sort of trauma or hurt or loss in their lives and the other contestants are attempting to keep their own emotions in check. Seth's behavior is distracting, demoralizing, and damaging to them, just as much as it is to him.

I was impressed that Zac reached out to Seth and helped him plate his dessert in the Elimination Challenge, but that backfired completely with Seth seemingly knocked over a plate of chocolates for Zac's own dessert... and then made matters worse by not getting out of the way but continuing to linger and compound the situation.

Seth might be a talented pastry chef, he might have dozens of complicated techniques in his culinary arsenal, but he's also just come across as weak-willed and rather pathetic on-camera. I can't help but wonder how his career will be impacted by his emotional display in last night's episode. It's certainly hard to award this guy any real recognition... and it was apparent that all of the contestants were hoping that Seth would be the one to go home last night.

He'll be sticking around for a while, however. Just as long, one supposes, as no more red hots make their appearance.

Next week on Top Chef: Just Desserts ("Glee Club"), the contestants try to make the grade by competing in a bake sale to raise funds for a high-school pep squad and glee club.

Bravo Announces Top Chef: All-Stars Cast, Launch Date

Last night, during Bravo's Top Chef reunion special, the cabler finally took the wraps off of one of television's worst-kept secrets: that next season of Top Chef would be an all-stars edition that would bring back 18 former contestants to battle it out for another chance at the title.

Top Chef All-Stars will launch December 1st at 10 pm ET/PT and will feature the return of Anthony Bourdain as well, as he segues from guest judge to full-on regular judge. (He'll rotate with Food & Wine's Gail Simmons.)

As for the contestants, they are some of the ones you would most expect would be in the running: Elia Aboumrad; Stephen Asprinio; Richard Blais; Jennifer Carroll; Tiffany Derry; Tiffani Faison; Carla Hall; Mike Isabella; Jamie Lauren; Dale Levitski; Antonia Lofaso; Spike Mendelsohn; Angelo Sosa; Dale Talde; Casey Thompson; Marcel Vigneron; Fabio Viviani; and Tre Wilcox.

Personally, I'm thrilled to see Jennifer Carroll and Richard Blais return to the kitchen. I can't wait to see the inevitable showdown between Richard, Angelo, and Marcel. It has all of the makings of a true molecular gastonomy battle royale, no?

The full press release from Bravo can be found below.

LET THE ULTIMATE FOOD FIGHT BEGIN – BRAVO’S ‘TOP CHEF ALL-STARS’ WILL PREMIERE DECEMBER 1st AT 10 PM ET/PT

Anthony Bourdain Joins As Series Judge And Carla Hall, Spike Mendelsohn, Marcel Vigneron, Fabio Viviani And More Past Chef’testants Return For A Shot At Redemption

NEW YORK – September 23, 2010 – They’re back and they’re ready for redemption – Bravo's "Top Chef" congregates a dream team of 18 past chef’testants who nearly won the title to return to see if they have what it takes for the premiere of “Top Chef All-Stars,” on Wednesday, December 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The 2010 Primetime Emmy Award-winning "Top Chef" returns to New York City for season eight with host Padma Lakshmi and head judge chef Tom Colicchio, alongside judges Gail Simmons and new this season, best-selling author and chef, Anthony Bourdain. The powerhouse of chef’testants going head-to-head include Carla Hall (season five finalist), Spike Mendelsohn (season four, top five), Fabio Viviani (voted fan fav, season five) and Marcel Vigneron (season two finalist), just to mention a few (full list below). For more information, visit WWW.BRAVOTV.COM. Follow us on Twitter at HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/BRAVOPR.

"With seven seasons of ‘Top Chef’ under our belt, the timing feels right for an All-Stars edition,” said Colicchio. “It has all the elements to be our best season yet. Getting Tony Bourdain to serve as a judge throughout the season was the icing on the cake."

"Top Chef" offers a fascinating window into the competitive, pressure-filled environment of world-class cookery and the restaurant business at the highest level. The series features aspiring chefs who compete for their shot at culinary stardom and the chance to earn the prestigious title of "Top Chef." To check out Andy Cohen’s cast announcement from the “Top Chef D.C. Reunion Special, go to: HTTP://WWW.BRAVOTV.COM/TOP-CHEF/SEASON-7/VIDEOS/TOP-CHEF-ALL-STARS-ANNOUNCEMENT

Following are the 18 "Top Chef All-Stars" chef'testants:

- Elia Aboumrad; Season two, final four

- Stephen Asprinio; Season one, top five

- Richard Blais; Season four finalist

- Jennifer Carroll; Season six, final four

- Tiffany Derry; Season seven, top five

- Tiffani Faison; Season one finalist

- Carla Hall; Season five finalist

- Mike Isabella; Season six, top seven

- Jamie Lauren; Season five, top seven

- Dale Levitski; Season three finalist

- Antonia Lofaso; Season four, final four

- Spike Mendelsohn; Season four, top five

- Angelo Sosa; Season seven finalist

- Dale Talde; Season four, top six

- Casey Thompson; Season three finalist and fan favorite

- Marcel Vigneron; Season two finalist

- Fabio Viviani; Season five final four and fan favorite

- Tre Wilcox; Season three, top eight

"Top Chef All-Stars" is produced by the Emmy Award-winning Magical Elves. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz serve as executive producers.

Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBC Universal cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information, visit WWW.BRAVOTV.COM. Follow us on Twitter at HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/BRAVOPR.

Channel Surfing: Emerson/O'Quinn Pilot Targets NBC, Teri Hatcher to Smallville, Goodfellas TV Project, The Good Wife, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

It's official: that Michael Emerson/Terry O'Quinn hit man drama pilot from executive producer J.J. Abrams and writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Alias, Happy Town) is heading to NBC after the Peacock landed the rights to the pilot from studio Warner Bros. Television. The untitled project--which had a working title of Odd Jobs--stars former Lost adversaries Emerson and O'Quinn. Which means that your Dharma-branded fantasies of seeing John Locke and Benjamin Linus on television again might not be coming true exactly, but you may get to see these two in action side-by-side again. (Vulture)

[Editor: Meanwhile, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva has some further details about Abrams' and Elizabeth Sarnoff's Alcatraz, which landed at FOX earlier this week with a pilot order. According to unnamed sources, the project is described as "a show about mysteries, secrets and the most infamous prison of all time: Alcatraz."]

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher will fly over to the CW's Smallville (which kicks off its tenth and final season tomorrow night), where she will guest star in an upcoming episode as--wait for it--the mother of Erica Durance's Lois Lane. Hatcher, who played Lois on ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman for four seasons way back when, will appear as Ella in the season's eighth episode. But don't necessarily think that she'll appear on-screen opposite Durance, given that Lois' mother is believed to be dead at this point. "In episode 8, titled 'Abandoned,' Lois discovers old videotapes of her mother," writes Ausiello. "I think you can figure the rest out for yourself. Am I right?" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Mike Fleming is reporting that several studios are in the running to land a television pilot project based on Martin Scorsese's 1990 feature film Goodfellas, which was written by Nicholas Pileggi. Pileggi is said to be on board to write the pilot and Warner Bros. Television is believed to be the top studio in the running to produce the project, given that the feature film arm released the original film. Fleming indicates that Irwin Winkler would likely be the executive producer on the project. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove will guest star on CBS' The Good Wife in a November episode where she will play Sloan, described as "a troubled pop star who is arrested on a DUI charge" and with whom "Alicia finds herself bonding with the misunderstood tabloid magnet." Cosgrove will appear in the November 16th episode. “We’re big iCarly fans, so we really couldn’t think of anyone better for this role than Miranda Cosgrove,” executive producer Robert King told Ausiello. “We were thrilled when she agreed to do it. It’ll be fun to see her handle both the comedy and drama in the role, and we can’t wait to see how she’ll play across from Julianna.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX is getting into business again with Fringe co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who were behind this season's Hawaii Five-0 resurrection and also landed a series commitment from the network for Locke & Key. FOX has given a pilot order to drama pilot Exit Strategy, from writer David Guggenheim, which is described by Deadline's Nellie Andreeva as "as a high octane procedural set in the world of CIA agents who are sent in to 'fix' operations gone bad." (Deadline)

FOX has also given a script order to drama The Detail, from writer/executive producer Jason Smilovic, executive producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and director Michael Dinner, from Sony Pictures Television. According to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, "it is described as Ocean’s Eleven meets Revenge of the Nerds" and "centers on a private detective, who, after being released from jail for a crime he didn’t commit, assembles a group of rejects, each with a unique talent, to form a detective agency and bring down his old business partner who framed him." (Deadline)

Elsewhere, ABC Studios signed a format deal with Mediaset for a US remake of a drama format entitled Anti-Mafia Squad, with Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo attached as executive producers. Project is being regarded as a possible summer series for ABC, though no networks have been pitched on the idea yet. Cougar Town star Courteney Cox has been given a script order for 911 Operators, a drama pilot that she'll executive produce with husband David Arquette, which focuses on, well, 911 operators. (Variety)

Showtime has officially announced launch dates for Shameless, Episodes, and the return of Californication on Sunday, January 9th. The two new series were slated to begin the following day and air on Mondays. But Showtime has apparently changed its mind and scheduled all three series together in a single two-hour block on Sundays. Californication will kick off the night at 9 pm ET/PT, followed by Episodes, while the US adaptation of British drama Shameless will close out the night at 10 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

In other Showtime news, Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage) will guest star in three episodes of the pay cabler's upcoming period drama The Borgias, where she will play Sancia, a Neapolitan princess who marries the Pope's youngest son but has her eye on his brother. Series is set to launch in Spring 2011. (via press release)

Fancast's Matt Mitovich is reporting that Serina Swan (Smallville) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Supernatural, in which she will play "a news reporter chronicling an unsettling series of suicides." She's set to appear in the fourth episode fo the sixth season, which kicks off tomorrow night. (Fancast)

Wolfgang Petersen and Ron Shelton are said to be developing period racing drama Kings of Speed for pay cabler Starz, which is being viewed as a possible ten-hour limited series focusing on the international automobile racing circuit of the 1950s and 19960s, Enzo Ferrari, and "the underground car culture of Southern California." (Variety)

Stay tuned.