You Humble Me: Christ Figures and Meta Films on Community

I've been upfront about my love for NBC's Community, one of the rare gems on the Peacock's lineup at the moment. In a season of such middling programming, it's rewarding to see such an experimental series such as this one continue to mine its format for such riches.

This week's episode of Community ("Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples") dealt head-on with a hot-button issue: religion. Naturally, it was handled in true Greendale fashion, with the central issue emanating from an Anthropology lesson and some YouTube videos, including what appeared to be a send-up of "Bed Intruder" and a shout-out to creator Dan Harmon's Channel 101 web series Laser Fart about a superhero who could, well, you can figure out the rest.

While the series hasn't shied away from shining a spotlight on some sensitive issues and with the characters' belief systems, this week's installment pitted the faith of single mom Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) against a viral video created by Abed (Danny Pudi), in which he, Charlie Kaufman-style, enacted a metatheatrical vicious circle about the story of Jesus Christ, whom Abed described as a cross between "Edward Scissorhands and Marty McFly."

Much to Shirley's upset, the story of Jesus became that of filmmaker and audience, circling inwards until everyone was both God and the filmmaker, Jesus and the audience, a parable for our "post-post-modern world." ABED was a far cry from the sort of beatific beats that Shirley herself had imagined and the clash between her and Abed--who donned a long wig and became something of a self-styled spiritual leader while Shirley was cast in the role of a Pharisee--threatened to derail their friendship completely.

But in true Community fashion, this theological dispute became an opportunity to mend fences and, well, turn the other cheek. In destroying Abed's film, Shirley honors his prayer that the film be taken away from him, risking the fury of the student body in order to save her friend. For his part, Abed honors Shirley's original intent and creates a rap-style video with Troy.

But it was their final scene together, the holding of one another's hands and Shirley's simple but poetic line ("You humble me") and its reflection, that put the emphasis on the selflessness of both individuals and the bond between them.

"Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples" wasn't played as a "special" episode or as anything mawkish or saccharine; rather, the moment felt truly earned and emotionally resonant. I cannot heap enough praise on Brown and Pudi for pulling off this delicate and difficult storyline. The internal struggles of both Shirley and Abed were brought to life with such tenderness and grace that it left me speechless. And it proved that the series need not focus on the entire group--or the nominal leads--in order to work on all cylinders. (It was about time, really, that Shirley and Abed got their time in the spotlight together.)

This week's B-story focused on Pierce (Chevy Chase) being drawn into the orbit of the older Greendale students, the so-called "hipsters" (because most of them have had hip replacement surgery) led by the irascible Leonard (Richard Erdman). I've always been amused by the fact that within the study group, Jeff (Joel McHale) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) have pushed themselves into the role of father and mother of this collective, especially given that the role of parents wasn't forced upon them but instead they chose to step up to provide that self-styled guidance for the group.

We saw a Britta who attempted to remind Pierce to take his pills and yelled at him when he wasn't eating enough vegetables and a Jeff who was willing to bail Pierce out but wanted nothing more to do with his antics. But like any rebellious adolescent, Pierce's behavior was a cry for help, an effort to act out in order to grab some attention. As much as he might chafe against their overbearing nature, Pierce relishes the fact that someone still cares about him and is looking out for him. Something that Leonard and the others likely don't have anymore. (Leonard in particular.)

The episode then took on the larger dimensions of forgiveness, understanding, and compromise, of family and friendship, of the group dynamic rather than the individual. And of a Last Supper scene where the feast was that of slices of white sandwich bread. Where the story wasn't just about viral videos and old people jokes but about the characters' internal struggles. Which, one could argue, means that the story of the story is the story itself.

All in all, a fantastic installment of Community that was both challenging and hysterical, as well as touching and honest. Well done, Greendale.

Next week on Community ("Epidemiology"), a campus Halloween party takes an unusual turn after Pierce and some students ingest a hazardous substance, which produces zombie-like symptoms in the student body; the gang must save themselves and the school when they are locked in with the infected students. NOTE: next week's episode will air at 8:30 pm ET/PT on NBC.

When You Have Eliminated the Impossible: An Advance Review of Sherlock on Masterpiece

Mention Sherlock Holmes and there are a great many things that immediately come to mind for most: that dearstalker hat (which the great detective never actually wore) and a magnifying glass, 221B Baker Street, "Elementary, my dear Watson" (a conflation of two separate quotes, actually), and that damned hound running around on the moors.

Of the seemingly infinite literary characters ever created, the human imagination has latched onto Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in a way that very few other creations have. Scores of adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's consulting detective have been launched in the years since Holmes was first created. We've see young Sherlock, Nazi-fighting Sherlock, and bare-knuckle brawler Sherlock, courtesy of Guy Ritchie.

We also now have a truly modern-day Sherlock Holmes (and I'm not counting House's Gregory House here, though the comparison is apt and the homage intentional) in Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' sophisticated and stellar Sherlock, which premieres Stateside on Sunday evening on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.

With the simply titled Sherlock, Moffat and Gatiss bring the consulting detective and his companion into the 21st century, to a London that's just as fast-paced and desperate as its Victorian counterpart and just as hung up on technology. But the magnifying glasses and Inverness capes have given way to iPhones and stylishly modern tailoring, text messaging and high-tech forensics labs.

The series, containing three feature-length episodes, stars Benedict Cumberbatch (The Last Enemy) and Martin Freeman (The Office) as Holmes and Watson and each is perfectly cast here. Finding actors to bring a famous partnership such as this to life is a delicate thing but together Cumberbatch and Freeman are so supremely balanced, so ideally matched, that it seems as though each was born to play the role.

Cumberbatch's take on Holmes is one of supreme arrogance bordering on hubris; he's so misanthropic, so utterly detached from the rigors of the real world that his interpersonal skills are appalling. Witnesses, victims, police officers are all mere ants under the shoes of this intellectual Goliath, who has sublimated his emotions to the point where his every interaction is based purely on analysis, with no consideration for the feelings or secrets or others. Every encounter is a chance to score another victory for his unrivaled intellect, to deconstruct the world to its bare bones, seeing connections and implications in the simplest of details. A wedding band's condition becomes proof positive of the strength of the marriage, a coat indicative of where the wearer has been and when. He's a loner in a long coat, a scornful curmudgeon who is so very bored with the antics of the stupid and sloppy. What Holmes wants is a worthy opponent.

For his part, Freeman's Watson isn't the rotund, clumsy sidekick that many might expect. Freeman infuses the former army doctor--recently returned from Afghanistan--with a vulnerability and humor but also a steely resolve. He's handy with a loaded gun and, unlike Holmes, geography. If Holmes sees the worst of man, Watson might represent the very best that the species has to offer: he's steadfast, loyal, and even-tempered. Here, he's once again cast in the role of chronicler, providing the narrative spine to Holmes adventure. Given that this is 2010, it's only fitting that he's a blogger, albeit a reluctant one, the blogging part of his therapy after he was injured in the war.

As in the original novels, he'll also cross paths with the ladies, the fair sex being, according to Holmes, Watson's "department." So too is Freeman's Watson no monk, as much as Sherlock would prefer that he tamp down his sexual needs and lead an ascetic life like him. But there's also an intriguing sexual tension between Sherlock and Watson and a continual recurring thread in which everyone they encounter naturally assume the two men--roommates and partners--to be lovers.

It's a modern view that's not played for belly laughs but rather an indication of the times we live in. And, in the eyes of Sherlock's observers, it might make the great detective appear just a bit more human. Holmes, after all, doesn't have a lot of friends or even sympathizers, though he has formed a working relationship with Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves), one of the few coppers who sees Holmes' deductive methods for what they are: the work of a genius.

In the hands of Moffat and Gatiss and directors Paul McGuigan and Euros Lyn, Sherlock's world leaps off of the screen in dramatic fashion. Text messages appear on-screen as thought bubbles in a comic strip, a great chase sequence is brought to life using maps, smash cuts, and slick cinematography. The effect manages to take us inside Sherlock's mind, to see the way that his brain processes data, and to be a part of his deductive reasoning. While the solutions are concealed from the audience until Holmes chooses to speak them aloud, the methodology is brought to live with a clarity that's not been seen before in other adaptations. His genius--and perhaps madness--made so abundantly vivid and clear.

As for the mysteries themselves, they are top-notch. Moffat's "A Study in Pink" and Gatiss' "The Great Game" (the third and final installment) are masterworks of suspense and gripping mystery. While the second episode, "The Blind Banker"--based on "The Dancing Men"--is still better than quite a lot of television mysteries, it fails to match the superb quality of the first and third outings, which introduce Holmes' world to the audience and, in the case of "The Great Game," leave us on a tantalizing cliffhanger until the second season of Sherlock, which will head to BBC One in Fall 2011.

Along the way, the creators of Sherlock layer in some of the most memorable things about the Holmes canon: Mrs. Hudson, Moriarty, the bullet-laden smiley face, and more. I don't want to give away too much about these three lusciously layered mysteries because they're really best experienced first-hand when your mind can attempt to be half as sharp as Sherlock Holmes'. (And, yes, that is Mark Gatiss himself as, well, that would be telling.)

But it goes without saying that behind the door of 221B Baker Street lies this irresistible gem of a mystery series, an intelligent, humorous, and incisive drama for the ages. It's far from elementary, really.



Sherlock begins this Sunday at 9 pm ET/PT on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery. Check your local listings for details.

The Mother of All Fears: An Advance Review of Next Week's Episode of Chuck

Halloween is nearly upon us and that means a slew of scary-themed programming heading to the airwaves over the next week and a half or so, along with several zombie-related storylines and series.

There aren't any zombies turning up on next week's episode of Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Aisle of Terror"), but the Halloween-centric installment does play up a number of fears swirling around several of the characters and deals perhaps with the most frightening thing of all: family.

The concept of family has been at the heart of the series since Chuck began, examining the way that groups bond together in the name of collective goals, whether that's a workplace environment or centered around hearth and home. Throughout the four seasons thus far, Chuck has explored the way that Team Bartowski has formed a makeshift family of its own, spilling out from siblings and lovers to include even curmudgeonly John Casey in the mix.

Picking up where the previous episode left off, the happiness and community experienced by the group is shattered when Chuck receives an unexpected call from Mary Bartowski (Linda Hamilton), the mother he's been searching for and who walked out on him and Ellie when they were kids. What he's learned since his investigation began makes him question just why their mom walked out in the first place and her sudden reappearance in his life brings with it a whole host of new queries and dilemmas.

While I don't want to give away too much about this fun and fantastic installment, I will say that Mary's reappearance isn't without consequences for several of the characters and that it coincides with the arrival in Los Angeles of a fear toxin that's rather like that used by DC Comics' Scarecrow, Dr. Jonathan Crane. This compound has the potential to be a deadly weapon if it falls into the wrong hands, which is where our Intersect comes into the plot.

What else did I think about next week's episode? Read on, but--as always--please do not reproduce this review in full on any websites, message boards, or the like.

While we've only known about the whereabouts of Mary Elizabeth Bartowski for a bit, it was only matter of time before she would have to cross paths with Chuck in the present day. But is Mary a prisoner of Alexi Volkoff? Or is she working with this international terrorist and arms dealer? The truth, when it comes to the spy game, is a mercurial and slippery thing and it certainly seemed as though Chuck had finally learned that his missing mama was very bad indeed.

But this is Chuck, after all, so there are more than a few twists ahead for this complicated mother-son relationship. Mary's true agenda becomes clear over the course of the episode and I won't be spoiling that bit of information here. You'll have to wait to see exactly how things play out between Chuck and Mary, but I'll hint and say that Mary might be very good at a whole number of things, but the ability to give warm hugs doesn't seem to be one of them anymore.

What you will see is Chuck questioning the role his mother played in his early childhood and why she's turned up now to make contact with him after disappearing into the ether twenty years ago. And this internal debate will manifest itself externally as well, driving a wedge between Chuck and those around him.

Family is a funny thing, after all. As filmmaker Hal Hartley once wrote in his film Trust, "A family is like a gun: you point it in the wrong direction, you're gonna kill someone."

Team Bartowski is, after all, a tight-knit family based on bonds of friendship and love rather than blood. But family is family and we look out for our kin and do everything we can to protect them, even if it means protecting them from themselves. But sometimes the lengths we go to in order to ensure the safety of our loved ones splinters the very relationships we're so desperate to safeguard in the first place.

So what does that mean exactly? You'll have to wait until Monday to find out, though I can tease some other details from the episode: the most unscary "scary" Halloween display, courtesy of Lester and the seriously psychotic Jeff (think a baby in a snail costume); some hysterical moments between Casey and Morgan; the worst lunch meeting ever; deserted playgrounds are creepy; and the "magnet."

All this, plus a host of secrets and lies in the mix and the always terrifying Robert Englund. Two guesses on who he's playing...

All in all, "Chuck Versus the Aisle of Terror" is a sensational episode of Chuck that balances heart and humor, and proves that the only thing we need fear when it comes to this winning action-comedy series is fear itself.

Chuck airs Monday evening at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC.

Shattered Glass: What is Going on with The Good Wife's Kalinda?

Just what is going on with Kalinda (Emmy Award winner Archie Panjabi) on The Good Wife?

The tensions between Kalinda and the firm's new investigator, Blake (Scott Porter), came to a head on last night's episode ("Cleaning House"), amid a storm of shattered glass, taut sexual tension, and lipstick marks on the rearview mirror as Blake threatened to reveal the truth about Kalinda's past. His inquiries have gotten a little too uncomfortably close for Kalinda's liking, so she took a bat to Blake's car and then waited around for him to show up so she could, uh, toy with him further.

While Blake is playing his cards close to the vest when it comes to revealing all that he knows about Leela--I mean, Kalinda--I'm curious to know what you think Kalinda is covering up. Let the theorizing begin. (No spoilers please!)

Head to the comments section to share your theories on what skeletons are in lurking in Kalinda's closet, beside her kick-ass wardrobe...

Next week on The Good Wife ("VIP Treatment"), Will and the partners must decide whether to take on the case of a VIP massage therapist who accuses a Nobel Peace Prize winner of sexual assault; Peter and Eli try to figure out what Wendy's candidacy means for their campaign.

NBC Picks Up Chuck for 24-Episode Full Season (And, yes, Picks Up Chase Too)

No couch-lock here: NBC has picked up action-comedy Chuck for a full season.

Yes, it's official: the Peacock has indicated that Chuck's current fourth season will get its back nine episodes plus an additional two, bringing this season's total to 24 installments. The series had initially been renewed this season for just 13 episodes.

The news comes significantly earlier than last season, when the show's writers had completed a 13-episode arc (it launched in January rather than September) before receiving word of a back-nine pickup, leading to a mini-season in which Chuck and Sarah became a full-blown couple.

“Chase has introduced an appealing new star to television audiences in Kelli Giddish and we think it has potential to grow,” said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, in a statement. “We also are glad that Chuck will be with us for a full season delivering its loyal, passionate audience.” [Editor: Bromstad seems to have forgotten about Past Life, clearly.]

In other news, NBC also picked up a full season of Jerry Bruckheimer's procedural drama Chase and ordered four additional scripts for J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims' espionage dramedy Undercovers.

So, Chuck fans: are you excited about the full season? And that the writers will be able to plan accordingly this time? Head to the comments section to discuss.

The full press release from NBC can be found below.

NBC ORDERS FULL-SEASON PICKUPS FOR NEW DRAMA ‘CHASE’ AND FOR RETURNING ‘CHUCK’
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – October 19, 2010 – NBC has given full-season pickups to the new high-octane drama “Chase” and the returning action-comedy “Chuck” for 2010-11. The announcement was made by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

“‘Chase’ has introduced an appealing new star to television audiences in Kelli Giddish and we think it has potential to grow,” said Bromstad. “We also are glad that ‘Chuck’ will be with us for a full season delivering its loyal, passionate audience.”

“Chase” is averaging a 2.0 rating, 5 share in adults 18-49 and 6.5 million viewers overall in “most current” averages through its first five telecasts this fall. "Chase" has captured an 18 percent improvement in the time period versus year-ago "most current" results for NBC in 18-49 rating (with a 2.0 rating vs. a 1.7) and a 23 percent gain in total viewers (6.5 million vs. 5.3 million). "Chase" is heavily time-shifted, adding 21 percent to its "live plus same day" 18-49 rating when Nielsen issued "live plus seven day" results for the opening two weeks of the season (to a 2.66 rating from a 2.19).

Through October 18, “Chuck” has averaged a 2.2 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49 and 5.9 million viewers overall in "most current" averages from Nielsen Media Research. “Chuck” is heavily time-shifted, adding 29 percent to its "live plus same day" 18-49 rating when Nielsen issued "live plus seven day" results for the opening two weeks of the season (to a 2.56 rating from a 1.99).”

“Chase” (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) -- from Emmy Award-winning executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“CSI” franchise, “The Amazing Race,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”) and executive producer Jennifer Johnson ("Cold Case," "Reunion," "Lost") -- is a lightning-fast drama that showcases an elite team of U.S. Marshals that hunts down America's most dangerous fugitives. Kelli Giddish (“Past Life”) stars as U.S. Marshal Annie Frost, a deputy whose sharp mind and unique Texas upbringing help her track down violent criminals on the run. Also starring are Cole Hauser (“K-Ville”), Amaury Nolasco (“Prison Break”) and Rose Rollins (“The L Word”). Jesse Metcalfe (“Desperate Housewives”) also stars.

“Chase” is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television. Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman (“CSI” franchise, “The Amazing Race,” "Cold Case”) and Johnson are as executive producers, while KristieAnne Reed is the co-executive producer.

“Chuck” (Mondays, 8-9 p.m. ET) stars Zachary Levi ("Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel") as Chuck Bartowksi, a regular guy who also happens to be the government’s most vital secret agent. The cast also includes Adam Baldwin ("My Bodyguard") as Colonel John Casey and Yvonne Strahovski (the upcoming "The Killer Elite") as partner Sarah Walker. Also starring are: Joshua Gomez ("Without a Trace"), Sarah Lancaster ("What About Brian?"), Ryan McPartlin ("Living with Fran"), Mark Christopher Lawrence ("The Pursuit of Happyness"), Vik Sahay ("Time Bomb"), Scott Krinsky ("The O.C.") and Bonita Friedericy ("The West Wing").

"Chuck" is co-created by Josh Schwartz ("The O.C.," "Gossip Girl") and Chris Fedak, and is executive-produced by Schwartz, McG ("Charlie's Angels," "Terminator Salvation"), Fedak, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Nicholas Wootton. "Chuck" is produced by Fake Empire, Wonderland Sound and Vision, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Tomorrowland: Facing the Future on the Season Finale of Mad Men

"I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach." - Don Draper

The fourth season of Mad Men gave us a Don Draper who was at odds with the confident opportunist we had come to know over three seasons. Divorced and living alone in a dark West Village apartment, he drank too much, wrote in a journal, and walked through life amid a cloud of intense loneliness. His mistakes and indiscretions became the plot twists of the fourth season, and as his family grappled with the fallout of his divorce, he sought to find his compass once more.

In the fourth season finale of Mad Men ("Tomorrowland"), written by Matthew Weiner and Jonathan Igla and directed by Matthew Weiner, Don Draper seemed to have found what he was searching for, attempting to face the future unencumbered by his emotional baggage. His choice of wife reflects his state of mind at the moment: he doesn't want to dwell on the past, on the choices he made, but rather regain the optimism and hope of his youth.

Weiner, whom I spoke to over the weekend, wasn't lying when he said that the season finale would "confound people's expectations."

The wrenching season finale did counter our expectations, giving us a potential ray of hope for Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (or is it just Sterling Draper Pryce now?) and as for Don Draper himself, rather than repeating the pattern established in the third season ender. This wasn't a finale in which characters killed themselves (though some members of the media seemed to relish that remote possibility) or bulldozed the agency. Rather, it was about choosing the rational and scientific above the magical and transcendent, much like Bobby wants the fighter jet of Tomorrowland over a flying elephant at Disneyland.

Was that sinking feeling in Don's gut a signal of dread? Or of a sweeping change to his life? While he confides in Faye about the aura of anxiety that's gripping him, Don was about to fly off with the kids to California, a place of dreams and possibilities where throughout the series Don has proven to be at his most vulnerable and comfortable, able to cast off the trappings of Don Draper to be himself.

This trip is no different. Don and the kids--and secretary Megan (Jessica Paré), hired as an au pair for the week--head off to the Magic Kingdom, but the trip is really a journey of a different kind, the magic kingdom a pathway to the emotional past at the heart of Don Draper, a man who desperately wants to believe in the spell he's cast for consumers. He wants the whole American Dream: the house in the suburbs, the beautiful and young wife, the perfect kids.

Which leaves him at odds with Faye (Cara Buono), the headstrong and opinionated girlfriend who is more than a match for Don. She knows his secrets--including the darkest of the lot--and she still loves him. She compromises her moral code to ensure his survival because she believes in what they're building. They could have a future together, but it's not the one that Don wants, not the one that he has bought into.

Which is why Megan offers such a tantalizing alternative. From the way she's utterly nonplussed when Sally (Kiernan Shipka) spills her milkshake at the diner to the way she, Maria von Trapp-style, teaches the children a French lullaby, she's woven a spell around Don, offering him what he's lost: the pure happiness of youth. In choosing Megan over Faye, Don follows in the footsteps of Roger and Jane, building his future on echoes of happiness from his past self, looking to reclaim what's been lost by grabbing hold of something young and shiny, someone who makes him feel young again.

It was only fitting that, back in "The Beautiful Girls," Sally is consoled by Megan rather than Faye when she stumbles in the hallway at the agency. Megan's sweetness, her innocence, and her maternal qualities were on display from that moment forward. Witness too the look Don gave her as she stood at her desk, preparing to leave for the night. Unlike his relationship with Faye, it seemed uncomplicated and simple. And when they slept together in his office, Megan claimed that wasn't looking for a promotion or a relationship: she just wanted him.

Over at The Daily Beast, I commented that Anna's engagement ring was the marital equivalent of Chekhov's gun: it had to go off before the end of the episode. In a way, it's fitting that Don should choose to give Megan this particular ring, its weight heavy in his pocket. Just as he had stolen Don Draper's identity so many years earlier, Anna makes his transformation complete, obliterating Dick Whitman not only with her death but with this final boon. But while Don came clean to Faye about his past and his mistakes, Don starts out his new life with Megan with a lie, saying that the ring has been in his family for a long time. Yes, he corrects himself by saying that it belonged to someone he cared for deeply, but the damage is potentially done.

Which is interesting that it comes on the heels of Don admitting something to his children about himself. Upon seeing the "Dick and Anna '64" painting on the wall of Anna's old house, Sally questions just who Dick was, leading Don to admit that it's somewhat of a nickname. It's the closest the children will likely get to the truth about their father. And likely one of the last times that Don will reflect back on just who Dick Whitman was.

The truth about his identity has poisoned the well of two relationships already. Betty left him after she learned about his past actions and Don couldn't quite look at Faye the same way after he told her the truth. With Megan, he's making a concerted effort to not deal with the truth about his past. Their whole relationship, in fact, is based on future happiness, the unknowable potential of Tomorrowland.

Yet, despite his rapid courtship of Megan and the accepted proposal, Don is still restless. The final shot of the episode depicts the two of them in his Greenwich Village apartment as Megan sleeps soundly. But the same can't be said for Don. His eyes are open, his mind still working, the cogs turning brightly. He turns his head to look out the darkened window to... What exactly? The future? The unknowable? Is he comforted by the causality of events that led him to Megan? Or is he questioning once more whether or not she'll be the one to give him the happiness he seeks? Is he, as Faye suggests, only in love with "the beginnings of things"?

Can we ever truly escape our pasts? Can we fight against the tides of change?

Betty seems, at least on the surface, content to change everything in her life. Her callous and indifferent treatment of poor Carla point to a woman who is attempting, futilely, to exert some level of control over the chaos of life. Unable to control Sally seeing Glen, she takes out her frustration on Carla, firing her housekeeper after ten years and denying her the right to even say goodbye to the children. It comes at a time when Betty has finally acquiesced and is uprooting the children, moving them from the house they shared with Don in Ossining to a new house in Rye.

Glen's parting words to Betty hit home in the most shattering way: "Just because you're sad doesn't mean everyone has to be," he screams at her as he slams the door. Henry's parting words to her echo this: "No one is ever on your side."

But Betty is sad. Don's bed might be filled with the potential of happiness, Megan's body curled up against him, but Betty lays down in an empty house on a bare bed, tucking her knees beneath her. A sad little girl in an empty dollhouse, the furniture absent. A girl attempting to fight against change, to hold on to something permanent, only to discover that she is the engineer of her own fate.

Which is why that final scene between Don and Betty in the old house is so provocative and fraught with tension. As she reapplies her powder, Betty waits specifically for Don. After her fight with Henry, she won't admit that she's made a mistake but her actions seem to scream this with every affected look and manipulation. Her excuses--forgotten objects from the bathroom cupboard, being unaware that Don had an appointment to show the house--are flimsy at best. Betty wanted to catch Don, to force nostalgia upon him, to remind him of what they once had, what she had perhaps thrown away. A final box of memories, a long-hidden bottle, the odds and ends of their former married life.

But she's surprised that Don has moved on, not with Bethany Van Nuys as she immediately suspects but his secretary, the one who looked after the children in California. He's traded up in a sense, traded the iciness of Betty for the warmth and compassion of Megan. Traded a trophy wife for a genuine mother to his children. Carla's parting words to Betty--"someone had to look after these children"--are a bitter pill to swallow. Whatever hold she may have had over Don is long vanquished, the spell ended with the final exchange of the key.

They've both moved on and whatever that house may have represented, it's gone. Critics and viewers heap a lot of hatred upon Betty Francis, but to me, she's the most tragic character on the series, a woman trapped by her own Victorian ideals, unable to move forward in time, to let go of her icy veneer of perfection. Her self-infantilization is fully realized in that scene with Don in the kitchen. She appeals to him as a child might a parent, pushing him, manipulating him with the hopes that he'll forgive her without actually apologizing. But their time is long past. Her near-tears the only visible sign that she really did care for Don and might now regret how things played out with their marriage.

But Don also sees Betty in a different light as well. "Things aren't perfect" is the closest that Betty will come to admitting that perhaps she lacks the facility for happiness. A new house isn't a joy but a thing to be fixed, a kitchen to be ripped out, a never-ending tide of improvements and criticisms. Rather than address the comment for what it is, Don simply says that she can always move again. Change your house, change your life.

But the fact is that, no matter where she lives, Betty might as well be curled up on that bare bed.

While Don's efforts to save the company may have resulted in some long-term goals for the agency, a new campaign with the American Cancer Society, but it's actually Peggy Olsen who is contributing to the short-term survival of SCDP, landing the agency their first account since Lucky Strike pulled out.

Interestingly, it's through Peggy's friend Joyce that the opportunity arises, an inadvertent comment about Topaz firing everyone that turns the wheels inside Peggy's head. Together with Ken Cosgrove, they land the account, ending the agency's losing streak. It should be a cause for celebration, but instead the news is buried among bigger stories: namely, Don and Megan's engagement announcement, news that knocks Peggy for a loop.

(Aside: I also found it interesting that Ken would choose to be utterly unlike Pete Campbell: to refuse to leverage his family--his real life, his future--in order to bring in new business. I never thought of Ken as a moral guy but his effort to keep the two spheres of his life separate point towards a more grounded view of marriage and family.)

I was glad to see Peggy close the door of Don's office and attempt to have a genuine tete-a-tete with him about this sudden turn of events, to force the issue between them and remind him that she has his best interests at heart. Interestingly, Don says that Megan reminds him of Peggy, that she has "the same spark" and that she admires Peggy as much as he does. Hmmm...

It's a twist that sends Peggy not to her own office but to Joan Harris' interestingly enough. While these two have never been friends, we're given a rare glimpse into a moment of camaraderie between these two working women. As Joan shares her own news--she's been made director of agency operations and no champagne was opened for her--the two women share a laugh as Joan implies that she has learned to not get her satisfaction from work. It's a remarkable moment that's taken four years to get to, the two women finally united against a common enemy, their fates at odds with the pretty young things like Jane and Megan who happen to marry their way into success.

As for Joan, she's concealing a rather large secret of her own: she didn't go through with her abortion in the end and has lied to Greg about the paternity of their unborn baby. As she speaks with him in Vietnam, she references Roger even as Greg asks her when she is going to tell the agency about her pregnancy. Something tells me that Roger might have something to say about this news when it comes out.

But with Greg's life in danger in a far away field, the future is uncertain for everyone, from Joan and Peggy to Don and Megan. It's only the young whose sleep at night is deep and free from reflection. But for the others, for the adults who have lived and drank and loved and lost, their eyes are open in the dark.

While as yet not renewed, Season Five of Mad Men is expected to air next summer on AMC.

The Daily Beast: "Mad Men's 12 Most Memorable Moments"

Surprised by last night's season finale of Mad Men?

While you can read my take on "Tomorrowland" here, you can also head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest feature, entitled "Mad Men's 12 Most Memorable Moments," in which I pick the twelve most memorable moments from Season Four of Mad Men and dissect them within the larger context of the season.

From Megan to Roger and Joan, Betty falling to the death of Miss Blankenship, I've picked my favorites from this season and included video of the scenes in question, to boot.

Which was your favorite? And which do you think was the most memorable? Head to the comments section to discuss.

The Daily Beast: "Mad Men's Volatile Season" (Interview with Matthew Weiner)

Season 4 of Mad Men has focused on an often sad and desperate Don Draper. Creator Matthew Weiner previewed Sunday's finale, telling it "will confound people's expectations."

Over at The Daily Beast, I talk to Mad Men creator/executive producer Matthew Weiner about Don's journey, the real-life Miss Blankenship, Joan and Roger, Sally Draper, and more in a piece entitled "Mad Men's Volatile Season", which just went live at the site.

The fourth season finale of Mad Men airs Sunday evening at 10 pm ET/PT on AMC.

This Thing of Darkness: An Advance Review of BBC America's Luther

Idris Elba's haunted detective, DCI John Luther, is at the center of BBC America's newest drama offering, the intense psychological drama Luther, created by Neil Cross (Spooks). Fiery-tempered and prone to violence, Luther is often a thug with a policeman's badge, an amoral copper with a need for justice and a taste of darkness.

The six-episode first season of Luther begins this Sunday on BBC America after a successful run on BBC One earlier this year. A bruised Valentine of a police procedural, the series charts the moral disintegration of John Luther following an incident in which he seemingly let a child killer fall to his death rather than saving him. Was it justice? And is there a difference between man's justice and the law's?

Elba plays Luther with a burning anger, a righteous indignation at the presence of evil in the world. But like any man who has stared into the abyss, it has stared right back into him, corrupting him with its darkness. Returning to work after a breakdown, all eyes are on the unpredictable Luther, even as he attempts to get his life back on track in light of that moral breach. (You can read my interview with Elba at The Daily Beast.)

But life has moved on without John Luther.

His marriage to wife Zoe (Rome's great Indira Varma) in in shambles. Zoe has taken up with a new lover, human rights lawyer Mark North (Collision's Paul McGann), but Luther can't wrap his head around the fact that their relationship is over. It, however, only makes too much sense that Zoe has chosen to start over with someone who happens to be Luther's polar opposite: a sensitive soul whose profession is at odds with Luther's unorthodox methods. She's chosen saintly over id-driven, really.

As he attempts to reclaim his life following his suspension from the Metropolitan Police, Luther is assigned a new partner--Detective Sergeant Justin Ripley (Occupation's Warren Brown)--and a new case: the brutal murder of a couple and their dog, a crimson-stained bloodbath that turns up few leads and only one suspect: the couple's icy and brilliant physicist daughter, Alice Morgan (Jane Eyre's Ruth Wilson).

Did Alice viciously murder her parents? And for what end? What secrets do her crystal blue eyes conceal? And just why is she taking an interest in Luther's own life? Is she friend or foe? It's these answers that the first season of Luther seeks to answer, positioning Luther and Alice as a cross between combatants and potential lovers, two brilliant minds whose instantaneous connection will either save or damn them both.

What follows is a taut psychological thriller, an intense game of cat and mouse that pits the wits of Luther and Alice against each other, even as it offers an exploration of moral relativism. Alice's belief that nothing matters is at cross-purposes with Luther's need for justice; her cool detachment the opposite of Luther's fiery anger. Sparks, as they say, instantly fly between the two.

On the surface, Luther is a police procedural: ghastly crimes--everything from Satanic kidnappings, sniper attacks, and serial killings--occur and Luther and Ripley investigate and attempt to apprehend the perpetrator, who is each week identified at the start of the episode, making it less of a whodunit and more of a "whydoneit" akin to Columbo or a Ruth Rendell novel.

It's also an incisive workplace drama, depicting the inner workings of the Metropolitan Police's Serious Crime Unit and the temptation that detectives face to cut corners, to exact their own vengeance, to test their own moral ambiguity in pursuit of some serious villains. Saskia Reeves (Spooks) plays Luther's well-intentioned boss, Detective Superintendent Rose Teller, who attempts to balance the needs of the force against her support of Luther and his unusual policing style. Steven Mackintosh (Criminal Justice) is Luther's trusted ally, DCI Ian Reed, a man who has Luther's back but may have inherited his friend's own sometimes dubious outlook on life.

And it's also a gripping, white-knuckle psychological thriller, as Luther faces off with Wilson's Alice Morgan, a woman so gifted that she excels at everything she encounters, including murder. Once Luther has entered her dangerous web, he's ensnared by her madness and her genius, their every encounter escalating as Alice makes Luther her latest project. But does she want to kiss him or kill him?

Elba crackles with energy as John Luther, easily the best role he's played since The Wire's Stringer Bell. It's fantastic to see Elba in such a physical and emotionally draining role: his passion, his fury, and his thirst for justice resonate in every scene. Wilson is breathtaking as Alice, incandescent and smoldering even as she buries her emotion under a veneer of ice. But there's a coquettish danger to her every movement, every bite of her lower lip, toss of her hair reveals a cold-blooded serpentine nature to Alice. (It's almost impossible to tear yourself away from Wilson's performance, so perfectly cast as she is here.)

I will say that some of Luther's action--particularly in the later part of the season--does require a very willing suspension of disbelief and the procedural mysteries often have a hole or two in the plotting that niggle afterwards, but that's a rare flaw in an otherwise taut and accomplished series, casting an intoxicating spell that sticks with you long after the final scene.

It's not one to be missed.



Luther begins Sunday night at 10 pm ET/PT on BBC America.

Trying Not to Break: Quick Thoughts on 30 Rock Live Experiment

I'll admit that I had very low expectations going into this week's live episode of 30 Rock ("Live Show") as I wasn't really sure how the multi-camera format and live audience would work with 30 Rock's narrative structure, given the series' use of quick-cutaway reaction shots, smash cuts, and imaginative structure.

However, I have to say that I was extremely pleasantly surprised. While the first few minutes of live laughter shocked me, I quickly settled in for what ended up being an entertaining experience, filled with more than a few laughs along the way.

Kudos to Julia Louis Dreyfus for being game enough to tackle Liz Lemon alongside Tina Fey herself; the smash cuts to "Liz" were not only surprising but managed to capture the fast-paced magic of the series and its often non-linear structure of flashbacks and flash-sideways, something impossible to do when filming live and without the slight-of-hand normally afforded to the editors.

High marks as well to fellow guest stars Jon Hamm, Matt Damon, Bill Hader, and Chris Parnell, who added some nice depth and surprise to the proceedings, especially with Hamm and Parnell's fake commercials for hand transplants and "Doctor" Leo Spaceman's "Love Storm" CD. Nicely played, guys. (It's always nice to see the goofier side of Hamm, especially.)

(Also a plus: the return of Rachel Dratch to 30 Rock, which is something I thought I'd never see.)

I also loved the way that Liz and Alec Baldwin's Jack referenced the difference in the look and feel of the live episode, with that final shot reverting back to the pre-shot film that 30 Rock typically uses. While I wouldn't want to see a live/multi-camera episode of the show each week, I thought that "Live Show" was an admirable experiment that worked more than it failed. While Tracy Morgan flubbed a few lines along the way, I thought that Fey, Baldwin, and Jane Krakowski knocked it out of the park, retaining a sense of screwball even while staying on script.

I'm curious to know what you thought of the live episode. Did it win you over in the end? Were you thrown by the laughter and the video-ness of it all? Would you want to see a live episode from another show? Head to the comments to discuss.

Meanwhile, you can check out both the East Coast and West Coast performances of 30 Rock's "Live Show" below.

30 Rock Live: East Coast Version:



30 Rock Live: West Coast Version:



Next week on 30 Rock ("Reaganing"), Jack basks in a perfect day brimming with successes and good fortune, so he tries to use his winning streak to save Liz and Carol's relationship; Jenna and Kenneth ask Kelsey Grammer for help with an ice cream scam; Tracy shoots a commercial for the Boys and Girls Club.

The Daily Beast: "Idris Elba: The Next Denzel"

Idris Elba is everywhere, from The Big C to next summer’s Thor to playing Alex Cross in the rebooted James Patterson franchise. His BBC America mystery, Luther, begins Sunday.

Over at The Daily Beast, I talk to the former star of HBO's The Wire about his career and about his new BBC show Luther in my latest feature, "The Next Denzel," in which we discuss everything from Luther to The Big C and The Office and his role in James Patterson's Alex Cross franchise, a role he takes over from Morgan Freeman.

Personally, I had a blast chatting with Idris, who has an immense amount of charm and charisma... as well as a way with colorful turns of phrases.

Luther begins Sunday night at 10 pm ET/PT on BBC America.

AOL Television's Skype Second Opinion: Community's "Basic Rocket Science"

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

This week marked 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 ("Basic Rocket Science"), which included an Apollo 13 homage, the KFC Eleven Herbs and Space Experience, butt flags, heroes' welcomes, SANDERS, and more. (You can read my advance review of this episode here.)

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



Next week on Community ("Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples"), Shirley consults Abed when she decides to make a religious film, but the two end up clashing after Abed reveals his plans to make one, too; Pierce is recruited by a group of students his own age.

Channel Surfing: Incredible Hulk to Smash ABC, Wentworth Miller Spies Spartacus, HBO Eyes Tea Leoni, Weeds' Shane, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Hulk smash... TV? The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd and Brys Kit are reporting that ABC and Marvel are developing a television series based on comic "The Incredible Hulk," which was previously a 1978-82 television series that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. Hulk is one of two projects, along with Cloak and Dagger (which is said to be in development at ABC Family), that Marvel Studios has in development, though the company is also said to be looking at other properties to develop as series, including Heroes for Hire, The Eternals, Agents of Atlas, Alter Ego, Moon Knight, The Hood, Ka-Zar, Daughters of the Dragon, and The Punisher, the latter of which is said to also be high on Marvel's radar, possibly as a cable series. [Editor: The story, however, fails to discern between several properties, which it has erroneously merged into single entities.] (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former Prison Break star Wentworth Miller is rumored to be interested in replacing Andy Whitfield as the lead in Starz's gladiator drama Spartacus. Whitfield has dropped out of the project due to the recurrence of his cancer and the need for medical treatment. "But is Miller right for the part?" asks Ausiello. "Since his Fox series wrapped, he’s been largely out of the limelight. And when he has been spotted, he hasn’t quite been the picture of buffness that the sand-and-sandals epic demands. Of course, that’s nothing a month or two with a personal trainer couldn’t fix." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that HBO is weighing a pilot order for fashion-based comedy Spring/Fall, which would star Tea Leoni (who will also executive produce) as "half of a dysfunctional partnership between two women with different approaches to career, family, and friendship," set against the New York fashion world. Project, written by Kate Robin, would be executive produced by Leoni, Robin, Jimmy Miller, and RJ Cutler (The September Issue). (Deadline)

TVGuide.com's Mickey O'Connor has an interview with Weeds star Alexander Gould, who plays teenager/murderer/croquet star Shane Botwin. "He was as normal as could be, given the circumstances," said Gould when asked about initially playing Shane at the start of the first season. "When he learned about his mother's operation, he became sort of like the family's moral compass. I remember early on I had to say the F-word and I was really hesitant about it. Over time, Shane just got more confident and odd. I felt like Shane really was just [slowly] going crazy. He put that craziness away and it manifested itself in a funny way. He always seemed a little out of it." (TVGuide.com)

SPOILER!Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello as a first look at an upcoming scene from NBC's The Event featuring some, uh, surprising transformations for the survivors of Avias Air Flight 514. “They’re [undergoing] a transformation that could eventually lead to death,” creator Nick Wauters told Ausiello. Wauters also indicated that Thomas will “use them as leverage to try and get the president to free his people.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Don't expect remakes of The Rockford Files or Prime Suspect to turn up on NBC this midseason, according to Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice. [Editor: I wasn't as it's widely known that both in deep development.] Both projects are back in development following a disastrous pilot for Rockford and the lack of a lead for Prime Suspect, both of which will now be overseen by Peter Berg. Should Rockford move ahead, look for someone to replace Dermot Mulroney as Jim Rockford. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Casting roundup: John Heard and Evan Handler have joined the cast of Curtis Hanson's HBO telepic Too Big to Fail, while Kathy Baker has joined the cast of Lifetime pilot Against the Wall, where she will play the mother of Rachael Carpani's Abby. (Deadline)

ABC ordered four more scripts for family drama No Ordinary Family, while the CW ordered two more scripts for Life Unexpected, while ABC also gave additional script orders to Brothers and Sisters and Off the Map as well. Brothers and Sisters received an order for four additional scripts, while Map got one more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin, Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Secret Millionaire is going to get the plum Sunday at 8 pm timeslot currently occupied by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for a six-episode run starting March 6th. "That is the Sunday after the Academy Awards, with ABC planning to heavily promote Secret Millionaire during the awards broadcast," writes Andreeva. "For ABC, which has no football, the Oscars are the most-watched telecast of the year and the biggest possible promotional platform for its shows. Additionally, ABC has asked Secret Millionaire producer Zodiak USA to begin casting on a new cycle, an indication that the network is looking to order more episodes beyond the original 6." (Deadline)

Danny Cohen is the new controller at BBC One, making the move from BBC Three effective immediately. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Quick Headlines Edition

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Today's briefing will be shorter than usual as I'm typing this on my iPhone, as my internet connection is down.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that ex-Lost executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are teaming up with co-creator Damon Lindelof to develop a drama pilot that's said to be "fairy-tale-themed" and will feature "a female lead." No other details are available, but it's thought that ABC Studios will be the studio behind the project as Kitsis and Horowitz have an overall deal there. Should the project get ordered to pilot, Lindelof would join the staff in a consulting capacity. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that NBC is developing an adventure/dating reality mashup that's being described as a blend of The Bachelor and Survivor. Project, currently being called Love in the Wild, hails from Endemol and revolves around "teams of two potential lovebirds, dropped into exotic outdoor environments, where they would get busy doing all sorts of challenges together." (Vulture)

Sigh. No Mark Salling hasn't quit or been fired from Glee. Entertainment Weekly's attempts to calm Gleek who are perturbed by Puck's absence from this week's episode: "Though I dunno whether his absence is a side effect of his decision work on music that isn’t in the genre of R&Glee, I do know that it’s only temporary. He’ll miss one more episode—the Oct. 26 Rocky Horror Picture Show tribute—but will be back on air in a big way in early November." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that ABC has given a script order to a period drama based on William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" with Catherine Hardwicke said to be in talks to direct the potential pilot episode, from writer Andrea Berloff. Project, from executive producers Todd Garner and Wyck Godfrey, "follows the famous love story while also pealing away the curtain on the impetuous, incestuous, bloody and violent relationships during the Renaissance in Verona." (Deadline)

Syfy is retelling the Sinbad myth with telepic Sinbad and the Minotaur, set to air in 2011 on the cabler. (Variety)

Spike has given a series order to docuseries Coal, following the stories of coal miners in West Virginia. Project, from Original Prods., is set to launch in April, with ten one-hour episodes. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

An Open Letter to FX: Please Keep Terriers Around

Dear FX,

This fall television network has been pretty lousy at the broadcast networks. Massively hyped series have fizzled and viewers seem largely turned off by the prospects for new offerings, with several series already cancelled. It's likely that the axe will fall on a bunch more before winter comes.

Which is why your new series, Terriers, is such a breath of fresh air amid a what's largely a creatively stagnant landscape this fall.

For some reason, viewers haven't flocked to this remarkable series.

Perhaps it was the odd choice of title (it's not about dogs or dog breeders, despite the scrappiness of our protagonists) or the advertising campaign that played up images of snarling, biting, and scrappy dogs rather than focus on the beachy private investigator angle or series leads Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James. Or perhaps this would have performed better in the summer rather than competing against a crush of new series, all premiering at the same time and jockeying for viewers' attention.

Regardless of the ratings (they, like the canines alluded to in the title, are small but fiercely loyal), Terriers is a series worth sticking with, a hysterical and heartbreaking series that's quirky and original and broadens the brand of FX.

Creators Shawn Ryan and Ted Griffin have winningly fused together the crime-based procedural with serialized, character-based arcs, fleshing out the world of Ocean Beach in include a cast of colorful characters that only get more, well, colorful over the next four episodes, which I gleefully watched recently.

Over the course of its first five installments, Terriers developed into a deeply nuanced series that explored the bond between brothers, between lovers, and between people, a taut emotional cat's cradle that examined the consequences of action.

These next four episodes, beginning with tonight's "Ring-a-Ding-Ding," find Hank and Britt grapple with a number of changes to their lives as the wedding between Hank's ex-wife Gretchen (Kimberly Quinn) and Jason (Loren Dean) fast approaches, the condition of Hank's sister Steph (Karina Logue) worsens considerably, and secrets between Katie (Laura Allen) and Britt threaten to derail their entire relationship. (I'll say that all four episodes were outstanding, and I adored the guys' unusual client in "Pimp Daddy," who nearly stole the show, and the tension of "Agua Caliente.")

Along the way, supporting characters like new mother Maggie (Jamie Denbo)--the guys' putative boss as well as attorney--and Hank's ex-partner Mark Gustafson (Rockmond Dunbar) get fleshed out further, as the series itself grows up a bit. It still hasn't lost its focus on odd couple Hank and Britt, but there's a remarkable sadness that's crept into its bones as well, making this far more than a one-trick pup.

Terriers may not be an out of the gate smash hit like Sons of Anarchy, your top-rated series, but it's also a critical favorite that adds a bit of screwball fun to the lineup. Positioned differently, it could be a quiet hit for the network as well as sit separately from the acid-tongued humor of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League, the sweeping Shakespearean Sons of Anarchy, and the Western trappings of Justified.

Besides, those ratings aren't quite accurate now that Dish Network subscribers can't even watch Terriers, much less FX at all. So reports that ratings have plunged for this winning series aren't all that accurate, considering it's not available in as many homes as a few weeks earlier. Let's just keep that in mind when taking a look at the fate of this series.

But with so many doctor/lawyer/cop tropes on display yet again this season, Terriers has been a refreshing alternate to regurgitated and rewarmed genres that we've seen time and time again. And while PIs aren't exactly novel nowadays, the way in which they're handled here--they're too small to fail--makes for compelling and intelligent programming, something that's severely lacking on the broadcasters right now.

So why not do Terriers fans a solid and not put this dog to sleep just yet?

Terriers airs Wednesday evenings at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

House Beautiful: The Season Finale of Bravo's Flipping Out

I'm going to miss Flipping Out.

The series, which features designer Jeff Lewis and his not-so-merry band of employees, wrapped its fourth season last night ("Rock, Paper and the Kitchen Sink") on a high note, with Jeff and Co. flying to New York to attend the opening of the House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year that Jeff had designed in Rockefeller Center.

After some back-and-forth with Jenni Pulos about whether or not she was invited or would attend, the entire office gang--including Trace and Sarah--arrived with Jeff in Manhattan to cap off a season of career highs and some interpersonal lows, as Jeff turned out some breathtaking work this season. (I was blown away with the beauty and luscious design of his interiors this year, displaying a confidence and poise that I've come to expect from his work.)

While this season was devoid of the sort of headline-grabbing drama that marked the third season (including that season-long feud between Jeff and Ryan Brown), it was a season that found Jeff under new pressure as his design business took off and he was constantly moving in order to keep up demands from clients.

It, naturally, lead to some flipping out on his part.

I will give Lewis credit and say that he has worked hard to improve his inter-personal skills and now tries extremely hard not to fly off the handle at a moment's notice. Change is difficult. While he still lacks empathy at times, it's clear that he's trying to control his inner demons but when the pressure mounts and mistakes happen (as they all too often do), Jeff's instinct is to go for the jugular.

It resulted in some harsh confrontations with both Jenni and Sarah, the latter of whom--who proved that just about everything rolls off her back--was reduced to tears and nearly quit working for her brother-in-law. It was a flip out of the highest order as Jeff attacked her intelligence and her brain size (!!!) after she had made an error. Which is bad enough when it's one of your employees, but when they are actually related to you by marriage, it's going to make for an uncomfortable Christmas.

Still, Jeff did reward the employees this season, giving them flashy new titles (Jenni, for example, is now the COO) and taking them on trips to Manhattan. (Hell, Zoila got a brand-new car!) It's clear that he does care for these people and does, as he said in last night's finale, consider them to be "family." And family members do fight, after all, sometimes in the same knock-down, take-no-prisoners way that Jeff Lewis does.

Jeff expects absolute perfection, from himself, from his employees, and from his contractors. When they fail to meet his expectations, they often fuel his wrath. But Jeff is also the boss. When Zoila tells him that he needs to act professionally (after reducing Sarah to a sobbing mess), it's as though it's the first time it's crossed his mind. The lines between employer/employee and work/play time are extremely blurry at Jeff Lewis Design, after all.

But despite his anger, it's clear that Jeff does care about them in his own particular way. And his issues are his own. He hates when people won't admit when they've done something wrong or when they argue with him after messing up, two things that get firmly under his skin, and, really, with good reason.

Yes, mistakes do happen, as Jenni likes to remind Jeff. But it's how you handle them, whether it's a misplaced telephone number or a lost planner, that determine the outcome. No one is perfect, after all. But we all need to take responsibility when the inevitable happens... and try to anticipate those potential errors and ensure that they don't happen.

I was glad to see that this season ended with happy families rather than more tears and recriminations. After last week's slap-happy incident with Trace and a drunk client, I was a little afraid that the company's newest full-time employee would be running for the hills (or, in this case, away from them). But the incident--while shocking and traumatic, really--did have one upside: it proved to Jeff undeniably just what Jenni's value to the company is.

Between offering a gruff alter ego (cough, Deb, cough) and a sounding board, Jenni cares about Jeff and about his business. She's good with the clients and the construction crews, offering a barrier between them and Jeff's overwhelming anger and frustration. While Jeff often wants to react emotionally, she can step in and calm the situation, smoothing things over so that they can still get what they want. Honey does win over vinegar, really.

So when things get rough and tensions flare, I hope that Jeff does realize what an asset he has in Jenni Pulos. Whether she may have misplaced something or spoken out of turn, she does always have his back. And in Hollywood, that has a price above rubies.

What did you think of this season of Flipping Out? Are you loving "sweetsies" Sarah and Trace? What's with the tension between Jet and Zoila? Was Jeff wrong not to initially invite Jenni to New York? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Fingers crossed, meanwhile, that Flipping Out will return for a fifth season next summer.

Afterimage: Changing the Conversation on Mad Men

"I thought you didn't go in for those kinds of shenanigans." - Peggy Olsen

It's fitting in a way that with Don Draper's life balancing precipitously on a knife's edge, that he would cross paths with a figure from his past whose own life has turned out to be even more tragically dead-ended than one could imagine. Offering a looking glass in which to view his own life's decisions, Don sees a fate avoided, a life worse than his own, an addiction that's unable to be sated, burning through the body of someone he once loved.

On this week's episode of Mad Men ("Blowing Smoke"), written by Andre Jacquemetton and Maria Jacquemetton and directed by John Slattery, things went from bad to worse for the partners at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as they were faced with some tough decisions to make. Would they begin to lay off staff? Could they round up enough cash to guarantee a bank loan to keep them afloat for another six months? Would they be able to snare any new business with news of Lucky Strike out in the wind?

For the first time since the fourth season began, it seemed as though everything Don had worked so hard to built was slipping through his fingers like grains of sand. The advertising firm that had his name on the wall was little more than a sinking sandcastle, further washed away by every phone call, every bill, and every rejection.

Don had once advised Peggy to "change the conversation" when they didn't like the way the talk was going. It's advice that he takes to heart, making a decision that will either save the agency or sink it for good.

What does Don see when he closes his eyes? What is the afterimage that's burned on his retinas?

I wondered that it wasn't just a little too coincidental that Don would run into ex-lover Midge Daniels (Rosemary DeWitt) in the lobby of the building rather than in Greenwich Village, where they both live. Her jovial reconnection, the casual way she invited him over and informed him that she was married should have been a flashing red right to Don Draper, but he went along with her plans, despite his misgivings.

Arriving at her cramped studio apartment, he meets her husband, who immediately cops to the fact that Midge tracked Don down. Not to sell him her artwork, her new take on an afterimage but rather to use him for some quick cash to score their next fix of heroin. Now a hopeless addict, Midge is willing to sell Don anything--her painting, her body--for some cash. It's tragic and heartbreaking to see how far this bohemian painter had fallen, selling out her craft for the lure of heroin, selling out her time with Don for $120 in crisp bills.

He takes the painting anyway, though it's beside the point. I couldn't help but feel that if he hadn't given her the cash--proffered after she refused his check for $300--that she would start to cry and/or scream, to beg, to plead, to shake Don until he caved. Depressing, really.

Such desperation and was also wafting in good measure from the offices of SCDP this week as Don met with a Heinz executive--a meeting set up by Faye after she breached the Chinese Wall--and was met with still more rejection. Not a "no," per se, but rather a "not now," which is even worse when the agency needs all the new business it can get its hands on.

It's a dire situation that's compounded when Philip Morris uses a scheduled meeting with the agency to leverage a better deal at Leo Burnett, using the dying body of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce as little more than a springboard. But Don isn't one to take defeat lightly. He's been an opportunist for his entire adult life. One doesn't steal another man's identity if they're prone to navel-gazing and altruism. Don is more than willing to get his hands dirty to protect his own self-interests. After all, the agency wouldn't be in such a dangerous position if he hadn't killed the $4 million NAA deal that Pete brought in.

While Peggy suggests that they change the name of the agency and start over (which is, let's not forget, what he did personally once before), he can't stand by and watch the agency he built crumble into dust. Instead, he opts to take Peggy's words ("If you don't like what they're saying about you, change the conversation.") and transform it into something daring and dangerous. He opts, once again, to change the conversation.

Don's decision to sit down and write "Why I'm Quitting Tobacco," was a brilliant payoff to the journal-writing of the past few weeks (a storyline that some viewers found out of character), an exploration of how to turn around any situation. Rather than admit defeat in light of Lucky Strike and Philip Morris' decisions, Don creates a scenario in which SDCP doesn't want to be in the business of supporting Big Tobacco on ethical grounds.

The juxtaposition of nicotine's addictive nature is nicely juxtaposed with Midge's own addiction, her afterimage painting ("Number Four") the creative ember that propels Don to write his treatise... and send it into The New York Times, where it runs the following morning as a full-page ad. It's a masterstroke of changing the conversation, of removing the shame from the agency and transforming it instead to a strong ethical stand.

Which isn't how the other partners see it, of course. Cooper immediately quits the agency while Pete accuses Don of throwing a tantrum. But what they don't see is that Don may have, with those few sentences, saved the agency entirely. Rather than be perceived as a sinking ship, the agency can instead position itself as a high-minded organization that doesn't need tobacco's business to succeed. It's changing the rules of the game itself.

Don claims that he can finally sleep at night without Lucky Strike on the books. While he's smoking a cigarette the following day, it's the message contained within that sentiment that's important. Even with the agency struggling to stay alive, Don's conscience is at ease. They're no longer pushing an addictive product on the public. Lucky Strike may have paid for his home and the agency's plush midtown offices, but they were built on the back of all-consuming addiction. Which doesn't make them much better than Midge's dealer or her no-good husband.

The art is inconsequential. For all the campaigns and the imagery and creative, they're selling their bodies rather than artwork, just as Midge had done earlier in the episode. Her painting was beside the point, whether Don chose to take it or not. A way of saving face with Don when all she really wanted was her next fix. The addict's closed eyes produce only one afterimage: the drug itself.

Don's "tantrum" at least leads to a call for a campaign on behalf of the American Cancer Society. It might not, as Roger says, put food on the table, but it's a prestigious PSA and will allow them to get new work on the air. It will allow them to at least maintain the illusion that they are moving forward rather than backwards. And who knows what it could lead to? They've successfully changed the conversation, after all.

Which is why I loved the final scene between Peggy and Don in his office as he asks her who she can live without, as they have no choice but to make staff reductions, all too familiar to viewers in the current economy. Relieved that her job is safe, Peggy is asked what she thought of the letter. Her response? A pitch-perfect reply that serves as a call-back to the season premiere's Sugarberry Ham caper: "I thought you didn't go in for those kinds of shenanigans."

Peggy, meanwhile, seemed genuinely touched by Faye Miller, inviting her to have a drink with her and reminding her that she wasn't being phony about it. Faye remains a touchstone for Peggy, an idealized image of herself, a successful woman who hasn't had to play games to get to where she is. "Is that what it looks like?" Faye asks her. Peggy's vision of Faye isn't quite truthful, it's an afterimage rather than the thing itself, an effort to place the trailblazer on a pedestal rather than see her for who she is.

I'm glad that Don came forward with Pete's $50,000 share. I had a feeling that he would, given his complicity in the chain of events that led them here and the fact that Pete has had to make sacrifices in order to conceal Don's secret. That said, Pete still seemed surprised that Don had done so, his thanks and Don's acknowledgment restricted to a series of nods exchanged between the two men.

But Mad Men has always been about what's not said rather than what is. Look at the conversation between Betty and Dr. Edna, in which the two dance around the issue that Betty needs to be in therapy. Given her past experiences with psychiatrists, Betty's refusal to seek help makes sense, even as she is in denial about the true purpose of her meetings with Dr. Edna, held in the guise of tracking Sally's progress.

Betty goes so far as to deny Sally's change of behavior in order to attempt to continue unburdening herself to Edna, who finally admits that she's "a child psychologist," even as she reluctantly agrees to continue her meetings with Betty. Betty can't free herself from that dollhouse, even as Sally continues to make leaps and bounds. She's realized that her anger is justified but that she can't provoke her mother, who is suffering from other "stresses" and that she lashes out at Sally because she can't cope. Over a game of Go Fish, Edna tells Sally that she's proud of her for the vast progress she's made, progress that includes an effort to be civil to her mother, to attempt to spend time with her and Henry and get her mother to see her as more than a child.

Which is Betty's fear as well. Her effort to infantilize Sally (and by extension herself, perhaps) means that she can keep her in that mythical dollhouse for longer. Sally's "relationship" with Glen disturbs that delicate balance. She can't be a child if she's a woman. She can't be safe if she's exploring with Glen (despite the fact that Sally won't even drink his offered "backwash," much less do anything more with her off-kilter neighbor). She can't be in control if Sally is setting her own rules.

But Betty seeing Glen and Sally together spark a new twist: rather than attempt to hold onto the house she once shared with Don, Betty is now only to willing to be rid of it, to escape the low element that's taking over their idyllic neighborhood, to take Sally far away from Glen, whose oddness Betty has glimpsed first-hand.

Is Betty growing up and taking responsibility? Or is the move just another punishment, another stress, another chip at the perfect veneer? Is she trying to protect Sally or herself?

As for Sally, who breaks my heart each and every episode this season, she throws herself on her bed, clutching the lanyard that Glen had given her, and sobbing into her pillow. Her keening sadness, her silent fury, and her innate fears are all beautifully manifested in that one scene, a little girl attempting to hold on for just a little longer to what she has.

Change is coming, for all of these characters, and there's nothing that any of them can do to halt the inevitable. Even if they all close their eyes.

Next week on the season finale of Mad Men ("Tomorrowland"), opportunity arises for Don and Peggy.

The Daily Beast: "TV's Pop Art Boom"

Law & Order: SVU valentines, anyone?

Over at The Daily Beast today, I offer a look at "TV's Pop Art Boom."

In my latest feature, I talk to graphic artists Dyna Moe and Ty Mattson about their Mad Men-, Lost-, and Dexter-inspired artwork, which has redefined the term "fan art" and taken it to an entirely different level, where television-inspired pieces are challenging the way that we look at the medium and offering a new perspective to the atmosphere, characters, setting, and tone of some of our favorite series.

Plus, I offer a gallery of television-inspired pieces of art from Dyna Moe, Ty Mattson, Brandon Bird, and others, including some must-see Law & Order-inspired pieces.

The Daily Beast: "Boardwalk Empire's Racial Divide"

What did you think of last night's brilliant episode of Boardwalk Empire ("Anatasia"), the series' very best to date?

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "Boardwalk Empire's Racial Divide."

In the piece, I talk to Michael Kenneth Williams about Chalky White, preparing for this week's episode--and in particularly his haunting and gripping monologue--the legacy of The Wire's Omar Little, and how lucky he is to be part of the cast of Boardwalk Empire, Chalky's relationship with Nucky Thompson, Steve Buscemi and Michael Pitt, and more.

Next week on Boardwalk Empire ("Nights in Ballygran"), Nuckyʼs attempts to usher in a joyous St. Patrickʼs Day are undermined by Eli, Margaret and Van Alden.

Channel Surfing: Kathryn Erbe to Return to Law & Order: CI, Echelon, Jaimie Alexander to Nurse Jackie, Body of Proof, Chuck, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Kathryn Erbe will be heading back to Law & Order: Criminal Intent for the series' tenth and final season, where she will reunite with Vincent D'Onofrio. “I’m excited and grateful that Katie has decided to rejoin one of the best detective teams in the history of television,” said executive producer Dick Wolf in a statement. The eight-episode final season is expected to premiere sometime in 2011. (via press release)

NBC has ordered a pilot script for sci-fi/espionage drama Echelon from 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Entertainment. Project, written by Michael Gordon (300), will revolve around ECHELON, the electronic eavesdropping technology that sifts through all data signals. According to the project's logline, while the data is sent out to various law enforcement agencies, "there is, however, less than one percent of the data that nobody wants to touch. These are the classified video files that seem to have captured the unexplainable." That data will be investigated by "G.H.O.S.T. (Global Hierarchical Observation Strategy Taskforce), whose assignment it is to investigate this paranormal data." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jaimie Alexander (Kyle XY) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Showtime's Nurse Jackie, where she will play Tunie, described as "Jackie's wild, immature sister-in-law," the younger sister of Dominic Fumusa's Kevin. Alexander is expected to appear in at least four episodes of Jackie's upcoming third season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

ABC's Dana Delany procedural drama Body Of Proof is being reexamined in the wake of Paul Lee's appointment as entertainment president and the low ratings of the current crop of freshman dramas. Originally intended to launch in the Friday at 9 pm ET/PT timeslot this fall, Body of Proof has been pushed to midseason and is now thought more likely to land a more favorable place on the schedule, such as Wednesdays at 10 pm (where The Whole Truth is currently lagging) or Tuesdays at 10 pm, if Detroit 1-8-7 doesn't improve soon. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look at Timothy Dalton on NBC's Chuck, where he will most definitely not be playing a variation on James Bond. "It’s not the kind of character you’d [expect] him to play,” said co-creator Josh Schwarts. “There’s nothing suave or debonair about him.” However, Dalton, who will appear in multiple episodes beginning with his November 1st debut, does share a connection to Chuck's mom (Linda Hamilton). Hmmm... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Al Pacino will play Phil Spector in an upcoming untitled HBO biopic that will be written by David Mamet and directed by Barry Levinson. (Variety)

It's official: Capts. Sig Hansen and Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand will return to Discovery's Deadliest Catch, after all, reports Hollywood Reporter's Matthew Belloni. "We're happy we worked everything out with Discovery," the trio told the Hollywood Reporter in a statement. "A deal's a deal. We're heading up to Dutch Harbor to start filming the new season of Deadliest Catch and hopefully it will be the best one yet." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Penn Jillette will guest star in the November 11th episode of CBS' The Defenders, where he will play Reuben Charles, described as "a colorful Sin City magic shop owner/magic scholar" who "gets wrapped up with the Defenders when they take on a case involving Las Vegas' most famous magician, a David Copperfield-like phenom intent on protecting his secrets," according to TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck. (TV Guide Magazine)

Right on top of that, Rose... Yeah, it's not just you who thinks that this sounds almost exactly like Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead: ABC Family has given a pilot order to drama What Would Jane Do, about "a 16-year-old girl who juggles life as a teenager and a demanding new job as a full time assistant for a design company." Project hails from writer April Blair and executive producer Gavin Polone. (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Donald Todd (Samantha Who) has set up two new projects at CBS, including a take on comic strip Zits and a drama True Detectives, based on Jonathan Kellerman's novel. (Deadline)

Elsewhere, FOX has given a put pilot order to an untitled comedy from writer/executive producers Joe Port and Joe Wiseman and 20th Century Fox Television. "The project, which has a 24 and Big Day-type twist to it, centers on a headstrong patriarch who, determined to get some quality family time, embarks on a vacation with his extended family," writes Andreeva. "Much like 24 and short-lived ABC comedy Big Day where each season chronicled the events that took place during the course of one day, each season of the Port/Wiseman comedy will take place during one summer vacation." (Deadline)

USA will launch legal drama Fairly Legal (formerly known as Facing Kate) on January 20th, the same night that Royal Pains returns to the lineup. Meanwhile, White Collar will return on January 18th. (Variety)

Laura Ling, the freed journalist who was imprisoned in North Korea last year, will host hour-long news magazine program E! Investigates beginning December 8th, according to The New York Times's Brian Stelter. Ling's new show will have a stronger hard news approach than other E! shows. "Her first two programs will explore the causes of teenage suicide and the lives of military wives," writes Stelter. (New York Times's Media Decoder)

ABC has ordered a pilot script for single-camera family comedy Suburgatory, which revolves around "a teenage girl who is moved from the big city to her version of hell -- the suburbs." Project, from Warner Bros. Television, is written/executive produced by Emily Kapnek (Parks and Recreation). (Hollywood Reporter)

20th Century Fox has signed a two-year overall deal with Modern Family co-executive producers Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh, which will keep them aboard the hit ABC comedy as well as allow for future development. (Deadline)

ABC Family has picked up an additional 20 episodes of comedy Melissa & Joey. (Variety)

Stay tuned.