The cast of Seinfeld will reunite for a look at what happened to their characters eleven years after the end of Seinfeld's run on NBC. Sort of, anyway.

The reunion is actually a major storyline threaded through the upcoming seventh season of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, which launches on September 20th. The cast of Seinfeld, including Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards--will each appear in approximately five episodes apiece on Curb this season as the fictional Larry David gets the cast together for a reunion special.

"For years, I've been asked about a Seinfeld reunion... and I would always say no," David told reporters at yesterday's Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour gathering about the impetus for the idea. "It's a lame idea. But it might be very funny to do on Curb."

Given David's disinclination from staging a Seinfeld reunion, just does the fictional Larry David give in and decide to do a Seinfeld reunion? David promises this very point will be addressed in an episode of Curb. Asked whether the fictional Larry David would seek to derail the reunion, David played coy: "My guy might consider wrecking something like that. My guy could very well wreck it."

David told reporters that we'll see the "writing, read-throughs, rehearsals, shooting, and the finished product" of the Seinfeld reunion... on Curb via the Seinfeld reunion show-within-a-show, which will give viewers a look into what happened to the characters in time since the Seinfeld series finale.

The storyline will be "scattered throughout" the season and will provide this season's spine, leading up to the Curb season finale, which could be a one-hour installment, according to David. (He'll have a better idea once he finishes editing it.)

David wouldn't confirm that Michael Richard's recent brush with notoriety will be dealt with on-camera on Curb, but he also didn't deny it either. (Read: look for it to be dealt with head-on by David.)

"We'll be picking up this season where last season left off with some lapse of time," said David about the beginning of the seventh season. "I won't tell you how that works out but [the Black family] will be back."

David went on to say that Vivica A. Fox's Loretta will be back as will J.B. Smoove's Leon, who was seen in the hysterical trailer that HBO assembled for Curb's seventh season.

So are Larry and Loretta still dating? David was extremely tight-lipped. "There's a little dating," he said. "I think there's two dating shifts and they were fun."

And the real question: will Cheryl Hines be returning for Season Seven? According to David, Cheryl is "back in it." No elaboration there from David, though Hines was seen in a scene with the fictional Larry in the Curb trailer. The state of their fictional marriage (or separation) remains to be seen.

What we do see in the trailer is Larry attempting to make out--painfully--with a woman in a wheelchair, attempting to open a plastic container, making sure his mobile phone is safe before rushing into the ocean to save Jeff and Susie's daughter Sammy, screaming at a woman on the street who tells him to "smile," Susie kicking Larry out of her house for the umpteenth time, killing a golf course swan, and a host of other awkward, uncomfortable, and painfully funny scenarios.

David said that Rosie O'Donnell is hilarious in the season's fifth episode. "She is a riot," said David, whose character is seen tangling with O'Donnell over a lunch check. "She is a force. She is very formidable physically."

As for the outrage he experiences in attempting to open the aforementioned plastic packaging, David said: "That packaging is insane."

David admitted to watching Gossip Girl with his teenage daughters. He smirked when asked what he thinks of the CW series and then whispered that the characters are "very breathy."

"Would I prefer they watch Seinfeld or Curb?" said David. "Yes! They don't seem to be fans of mine. Go figure."

Still, David admitted that the real-life Larry David and the fictional Curb Larry David are "melding together a little." "I am becoming a little happier," he said smirking.

And after blowing kisses to the journos, David left the stage. A happier Larry David? Might just be possible, after all.

Curb Your Enthusiasm's seventh season launches on September 24th on HBO.

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HBO's Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo took to the stage yesterday at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Pasadena that HBO had locked in its entire current Sunday night lineup for additional seasons next summer.

The pay cabler has officially renewed True Blood for a third season, Hung for a second season, and Entourage for a staggering seventh season. All will return to the lineup next summer rather than premiering earlier.

"True Blood, Hung, and Entourage will all be coming back next summer and we're very excited about it." Lombardo told the press. "So stay tuned for next June."

The duo, in an executive session at the aforementioned TCA panel, also relayed information about HBO's other crop of series and whether we could expect to see them return or not, with the fate of several series still very much up in the air.

Curb Your Enthusiasm returns September 20th with a new series and will be slotted together with new comedy Bored to Death, starring Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and Zach Galifianakis, which will launch on the same night.

Lombardo wouldn't give any details about Evan Rachel Woods' appearance in Season Two/Season Three of True Blood. "Alan Ball would kill me," he said emphatically.

As expected, Big Love will be back in January. HBO expresses their disappointment that Big Love's talented cast didn't net Emmy nods for the truly amazing third season. (Editor: personally, I agree with them completely. Egregious error.)

Also on the subject of the Emmys, which announced yesterday that they would cut eight categories--including movie and miniseries awards--from the live telecast and instead film them separately and air edited versions of the winners' acceptance speechs, Plepler shot back at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. "For an awards show that seems to celebrate TV," said Plepler, "it seems odd that you would minimize categories that have huge viewership."

Flight of the Conchords isn't quite as dead as it appeared a few months back, with Plepler and Lombardo stating that the future of the series was squarely in the hands of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. "When they are ready, we're ready," said Plepler about a potential third season of Flight of the Conchords. "The challenge is of course they're not only writing a television show but have the added challenge of writing an album. So it's double the pressure. But we're waiting and as soon as they tell us they're ready, we'd be thrilled."

Things are looking less certain for a second season of the critically acclaimed drama series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which HBO co-produces with the BBC. "We're actually in conversations now and try to figure out the next step on that show," said Lombardo. "That show has been a challenge creatively as you know because the creative vision behind that show, Anthony Minghella, unfortunately passed away after the pilot was done." Fingers crossed that they can reach an agreement to bring Jill Scott's Precious Ramotswe back for a sophomore season...

And things are still very uncertain for a third season of In Treatment. "We're trying to put it together," said HBO. "It was adapted from an Israeli series, which had two seasons, so we would have to create new scripts from whole cloth but we're working to see whether that's possible." As for a final word on the series' fate, the duo said: "Gabriel is very interesting in doing it again so stay tuned."

Meanwhile, Little Britain USA is dead. But HBO said that they are in talks with creators/stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams about doing a series of specials featuring new characters and new situations. But don't hold your breath for these; at the very earliest the first special would air on HBO at the end of 2010 or shortly thereafter.

Fellow comedy Eastbound and Down, however, will return for a second season next year. The series "found young, passionate audience... There was no way we weren't bringing it back." Season Two of Eastbound will shoot at the end of winter or beginning of spring next year.

And animated comedy The Life and Times of Tim will return, with season two of the Media Rights Capital-produced series kicking off in the next few months. Ideally, Tim would be paired with the untitled animated Ricky Gervais comedy series--based on the podcast Gervais does with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington--but the latter likely won't make it on the air until next year.

As for new product, HBO said that the plan is to launch David Simon's newest series the post-Katrina New Orleans-set Treme, in April, trailing out of the end of its WWII mini-series The Pacific.

And HBO is anxiously awaiting a cut of its period drama Boardwalk Empire from executive producer Martin Scorsese and writer Terence Winter. Expectations are that once they see a cut of the pilot, HBO can order it to series and go back into production in September. "From everything we've seen it's fantastic, it's big, and it's everything we'd hoped it'd be," said Plepler.

Finally, HBO proved themselves magnanimous in success. Former HBO topper Chris Albrecht, now an independent producer, "should go where the work is and if he has something for" HBO, they are happy to take the pitch, said Plepler.

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Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

E! Online's Watch with Kristin is reporting that Dominic Monaghan will reprise his role as rocker Charlie Pace on ABC's Lost next season for three episodes. "Sources tell us exclusively that, yes, Dom's deal to reappear on Lost is done and that the original castmember is set to appear in three episodes in Season Six," writes Jennifer Godwin. "No word yet on the answer to the big question: Is Charlie alive? We'll have to wait until Lost returns to ABC in January 2010 to find out." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Joey Lauren Adams (Party Down) has joined the cast of Showtime's United States of Tara for the series' second season. Adams will play Pammy, a barmaid who "has a history of picking the wrong guys," writes Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Her luck changes the day she meets 'Buck' and falls head over heels in love." She'll appear in at least three episodes next season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that ABC executives are testing scenes of Ugly Betty featuring America Ferrara's Betty rocking her new glam makeover. "Based on ABC’s questions to the panel, the suits appear most concerned about whether fans of the show will deem Betty’s transformation appropriate, given her four-year journey from flunky to editor, or whether the changes are too drastic and compromise the essence of the Everygal," writes Ausiello. "They’re also asking for opinions about Betty’s new hair, styled eyebrows, and makeup." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TLC still has thirty episodes remaining on its deal for unscripted family series Jon and Kate Plus 8 and said that the family--whose behind-the-scenes drama has become headline news--isn't hesitating about continuing on. "It's the family's decision to be involved in the show," said TLC president Eileen O'Neill said. "We want to stay with them as long as they want to stay with us." The series, however, will change, with the emphasis placed more squarely on the children that their parents' dating lives. (Variety)

Amy Poehler is set to return to her Weekend Update anchor roots during September, when she will rejoin Seth Meyers on the Weekend Update desk for Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday on September 17th and September 24th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Shingle Ish Entertainment has several projects in development, including Bayside Boys, from writer/director/star Ed Burns, about a group of twenty-something male friends from Bayside, Queens. Project is being shopped to cable nets. Elsewhere, the company has Comedy Central male comedy Gnarly, about two thirty-somethings who travel back in time to their high-school selves to determine what made them so unattractive to the opposite sex. Other projects include MTV pilot Bridge and Tunnel, about students on Staten Island; dramedy One if by Land from Hitch writer Kevin Bisch, about a cafe in New York where couples get married, which has been bought as a script at CBS; and a slew of others. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC One Daytime has commissioned a second season of drama Moving On, ordering ten stand-alone episodes that will be filmed on location in and nearby Liverpool. Series, from a group of writers who were mentored by Jimmy McGovern, is a loose narrative about people each coming to grips with how best to move on in life. The original season featured such actors as Shelia Hancock, Richard Armitage, Lesley Sharp, Mark Womack, Dervla Kerwin, and Ian Hart. (BBC)

FOX has added two encore airings of its new unscripted dating series More to Love, with repeats slated to air tonight at 8 pm ET/PT and Monday, August 3rd at 9 pm. (Futon Critic)

Stay tuned.

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There are a handful of iconic roles that exist in entertainment and ranking high upon that list is the Doctor.

For many people, the time-traveling alien nomad has been best embodied by Scottish actor David Tennant, who will depart the series after three final Doctor Who specials, airing this fall and winter on BBC One and BBC America.

I had the chance to catch up with Tennant over drinks last night at BBC America's cocktail party at the Television Critics Association's Summer Press Tour. As a huge fan of Doctor Who and of Tennant's performance as the Tenth Doctor, I was curious about the legacy he'll leave behind after he departs the series, the cast of characters assembled for the two-part "End of Time" special (directed by Euros Lyn), and the Tenth Doctor's trademark combination of Chuck Taylor Converse and pin-striped suits.

So what did Tennant have to say on those topics? Let's find out in this exclusive interview with the Doctor himself, David Tennant.

Televisionary: What do you think is the legacy that you're leaving behind for the Doctor Who franchise?

David Tennant: That's not an easy question! And probably not for me to answer. I think it's really hard to be objective about it when you're in the midst of it. Also I'm far too British and self-deprecating to know.

I'm very proud that we're handing it over in such rude health because every year it's been a battle to stay out there and make sure we make the show good. And actually we seem to have managed to increase the viewing figures and the attention that we get year on year. I'm proud of that. I am very glad that that is our legacy.

Also, because I know how much it meant to me as a kid and how formative those memories were, the idea that there might be some seven- or eight-year-old kid having just a little bit of the experience that I had when I was a kid watching that show, that's enough legacy for me. That's all I hope for.

Televisionary: From watching the trailer for Doctor Who: The End of Time, we saw Catherine Tate's Donna Noble, John Simm's The Master, Alexandra Moen's Lucy Saxon, and Bernard Cribbins' Wilt returning. What was it like having these fantastic actors return for your final bow on the series?

David Tennant: Well, they are all great people to work with. But actually it's all story-led. Funnily enough, it could have easily been a greatest hits package, I suppose, to finish off our time. But I suppose Russell [Davies] would never have been so cheap, I guess. (Laughs)

But what you get is that there's a reason why Bernard Cribbins is in the center of the story. It's absolutely central to what happens. And there's a reason that John Simm is there because that absolutely tells you more about who the Doctor is.

As ever with Russell's scripts, he finds a way of bringing brilliant characters and brilliant actors together but it's all serving the story. It's serving the tale of the Doctor... There's an epic-ness to this because he knows he's dying and because, slightly cheekily, the audience knows he's dying. We're all kind of on the same boat and we're all telling the same story.

There's an inevitability which is inescapable. The Doctor is kind of on this runaway train and then, just when you think you know where it's going, Russell completely changes all the goalposts. And maybe he'll walk away...

Televisionary: In speaking with Russell earlier, he said that the use of the Chuck Taylors and the suits for the Doctor's wardrobe was your idea. What was it about that particular sartorial combination that you wanted to use to embody the Tenth Doctor?

David Tennant: I wanted shoes that would be comfortable to run in. (Laughs) I liked the idea of a suit but I was worried that that could be too authoritarian. So then how to you take the edge off a suit? So I thought, well, if you wear it with soft shoes, it just makes it softer and gentler. And then if you just scrunch the suit up a bit and the tie's not really done up--like I'm wearing my tie now--you sort of feel like he's kind of wearing a suit but he's not wearing it like a man in an office would wear a suit.

So they were all thoughts like that and of course Louise Page, our costume designer, had a huge amount of input and brought ideas that I just would never have seen. So between us, we kind of struggled towards that. And I always wanted a long coat and I was determined to have a long coat, whatever else we found, I wanted a long coat to go over the top of it. So a sort of random collection of notions and ideas kind of assembled into the outfit.

Doctor Who returns this fall with special "Waters of Mars" on BBC America and BBC One.

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Imitation isn't the sincerest form of flattery; homage is.

This week's episode of Top Chef Masters ("Champions Round Begins") had the six champion chefs trading signature dishes and reinventing them in their own inimitable style while still paying homage to the original dish.

But before that, the chefs were put through their paces with a mise-en-place relay race. I have to say that I was impressed by their performances. After all, these are master chefs who leave the prep work to their sous chefs and commis and aren't chopping mounts of onions, shucking oysters, or whisking egg whites in their kitchens on a regular basis.

But for all of that, these masters will know their stuff; their mastery of basic kitchen techniques shouldn't be underestimated and I wonder if even the series' producers were astonished to see how neck-and-neck the two teams were in the Quickfire Challenge. Well done, all.

But there were three "rounds" this week on Top Chef Masters, with the six champions tasked with preparing a signature dish for their comperes, after which they sat down to eat one another's dishes. But this being Top Chef, there was a twist to follow, of course.

So what did the chefs prepare for the "Dinner" Round?

• Keller: lobster and truffle cappuccino with, leeks, fingerling potatoes, and a corn madeleine.
• Tracht: chopped sirloin steak with green peppercorn sauce and fried egg
• Smith: Seared grouper with hearts of palm, trumpet potatoes, and Meyer lemon zest
• Lo: seared sea scallop with potato puree, bacon, mustard greens, and sea urchin
• Chiarello: Balsamic and wild fennel pollen quail with mosto cotto mostarda, sauteed vineyard greens, and roasted apples
• Bayless: roast rack of lamb with black pasilla chile, mission figs, and red wine

And then there was the rub: they'd now have to prepare one of the other chefs' signature dishes and make it their own. They'd have $300 to shop for ingredients and try to show up their competitors by cooking someone else's style of cuisine and respect their original vision. No easy feat, that.

And their guest judges would be none other than competitors cut along the way from Top Chef Masters... which meant that likely their knives were sharpened.

Keller was tasked with reinventing Lo's scallop dish. He prepared a seared scallop with cream of sea urchin over fingerling mashed potatoes with bacon and haricot verts. Everyone praised Keller's masterful cooking of the scallops, which were adroitly cooked, and the sea urchin cream, which was an amazing payoff, though the critics then complained that the sea urchin cream was lacking in flavor. Confusing.

Lo consequently had to recreate Keller's lobster cappuccino with corn madeleine. She radically elevated the French master's dish even more, creating a trio of elements on the plate: a chilled corn chawanmushi, champagne gelee, and a lobster knuckle biscuit sandwich. Lo once again proved herself the chef to beat, with the judges raving about the elements on her plate. I'm wowed by Lo each week as are the critics.

Smith landed Tracht's chopped serloin, which he transformed into a bacon-topped ground-lamb Scotch egg with sweet potato fries and a tomato tart. I do agree with Elizabeth Faulkner that cooking the egg less than hard-boiled would have helped to bring the dish together (and take it away from Scotch egg territory), though Gael Greene loved the tomato tart and the biscuit. Still, overcooked egg, undercooked meat, which Greene said that she was "terrified" by. Hmmm...

Tracht reinterpreted Smith's grouper by transforming it into roast grouper with gnocchi, English peas, bacon, and roasted parsnips. But sadly the fish--very difficult to cook--was definitely overcooked and the gnocchi was stone cold. She did finish WAY too early and let the fish sit too long, rendering it over-cooked. Sad as I love Suzanne and was disappointed to see her struggle here with timings.

Chiarello took Bayless' dish and recreated it with more Italian than Mexican flavors, offering a rack of lamb stuffed with fig mostarda served with chick pea puree and fried rosemary. The judges felt that Michael's dish missed the mark slightly in terms of seasoning, with some complaining that the lamb was slightly too rare. "This to me is the beginning of a great dish," said Mark Peel. "Maybe it's 70 percent there." Did he care more what Rick thought about his dish that the judges? Sure, but even Chiarello admitted this at critics' table.

Bayless then reinvented Chiarello's dish of quail and transformed it into quail stuffed with parsnip, grilled red onion, and prosciutto served over wild greens. Bayless definitely moved away from his Mexican heat and offered up a dish that was very well balanced and deceptively simple. Hell, even Ludo praised it, which Bayless was extremely nervous about. (Love that both Bayless and Lo expressed their fears about cooking for their peers, which was honest and touching.)

Ultimately, Lo and Bayless ended up with the top marks and Lo walked off with the top spot after beating Bayless out by a single star (the closest it's come so far in this competition). Hubert Keller followed closely behind, trailed by Michael Chiarello. Landing in the bottom slots: Suzanne Tracht and Art Smith. But it was Tracht who sadly had to pack her knives and go, landing a half-star short of tying with Smith.

To say that this week's installment was stressful was an understatement and offered the closest challenge yet. I'm sad to see Tracht go but happy to see that things are heating up in the kitchen. I can't wait to see what next week brings...

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("Dietary Restrictions"), the five remaining chefs get ready to rumble in a battle of burgers. Guest diners this week include actress Zooey Deschanel and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.

Top Chef Masters Preview: It's All About Burgers:



Top Chef Masters Preview: A Few Dietary Restrictions:

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Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Christopher Gorham (Harper's Island) will star opposite Piper Perabo in USA's spy thriller pilot Covert Affairs. Gorham's attachment would seemingly lift the casting contingency on the project, which follows Annie Walker, a polyglot CIA trainee (Perabo) whose relationship with an enigmatic ex-boyfriend makes her of interest to the agency. Gorham will play Auggie Anderson, a blinded CIA military intelligence operative who helps Walker. (Hollywood Reporter)

Franka Potente (The Bourne Identity) will guest star in the season premiere of House this fall, where she will play a mystery character that Gregory House encounters in the mental hospital. What's unclear is whether Potente will be playing a doctor, a patient, or a figment of House's imagination. Hmmmm.... (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

House creator David Shore has come on board to oversee a remake of private eye drama The Rockford Files with NBC, Universal Media Studios, and Steve Carell's Carousel Television. "It's one of the shows that made me want to become a writer," said Shore. "I had no interest in adapting any old stuff, but this was the one exception." Like the original, the update will likely focus on an LA private investigator who is trying to make a living solving cases. NBC apparently wanted to fast-track this for mid-season but Angela Bromstad now tells Variety's Cynthia Littleton that they will "take our time and get it right." (Variety)

Marti Noxon and Dawn Parouse Olmstead's Grady Twin Prods. have set up several projects in development around town. Diane Keaton is now attached to the duo's untitled comedy project at HBO about a feminist icon who starts a porn magazine for women. Noxon will write the pilot script. Elsewhere, the duo have teamed up with Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan on an adaptation of their horror novel series The Strain, which they plan to shop to networks as a three-season arc. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that FOX is "toying with the idea of staging a crossover next season that would find [Bones'] Booth and Brennan working on a case with Tim Roth’s Lie to Me doc Lightman," citing an unnamed insider who warns Ausiello that plans are still in the early stages and "may not even happen." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Donal Logue (Life) has been cast as the lead in FX's gumshoe drama pilot Terriers, from Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Ted Griffin (Ocean's Eleven). Logue will play ex-cop Hank, who teams up with his best friend to start a private investigation firm where the "duo, both with maturity issues, solve crimes while trying to avoid danger and responsibility.... Hank is an affable, talkative fellow who's not always the best liar but is adept at adopting different personas to find out information. He is alarmed by what he perceives as signs of his encroaching senility." Project hails from fox21. (Hollywood Reporter)

TLC has renewed unscripted series Cake Boss, which follows the staff of a family-run bakery in New Jersey, for a second season. (Variety)

Mike Soccio (The King of Queens) will write and executive produce an untitled single-camera comedy about a modern interracial couple in LA. Project will be executive produced by Martin Lawrence, Robert Lawrence, and Darice Rollins. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cabler G4 has ordered a spin-off of its imported series Ninja Warrior, entitled American Ninja Warrior, which will be executive produced by Craig Piligian and is set to launch this fall. Series, according to Broadcasting & Cable's Alex Weprin, "will chronicle the search to find10 American competitors to send to Japan and tackle the original series' obstacle course. The challenger who completes all four stages the fastest will be crowned the American Ninja Warrior." (Broadcasting & Cable)

Across the Pond, BSkyB has announced that it will be the first European broadcaster to offer 3D television when it launches the UK's first strictly 3D channel in 2010. Customers will need a 3D ready television set in order to watch the channel, which will offer a mix of movies, entertainment, and sporting events. (Broadcast)

UK satellite network Sky1 has ordered eight episodes of Just Dance, an X-Factor style dancing competition series that will replace outbound unscripted series Don't Forget the Lyrics. Series, from Shine and Princess Prods., will launch in January 2010. (Broadcast)

TruTV has ordered a second season of reality series Black Gold, which follows Texan oil rig crews. Season Two is said to include "Rooster" McConaughey, the brother of actor Matthew McConaughey. (Hollywood Reporter)

Syfy has hired Andrew Plotkin as SVP of original programming. Plotkin, who was a former Warner Bros. Television executive, will be based in Los Angeles and will report to Mark Stern and will work alongside SVP Erik Storey. Plotkin replaces Tony Optican, who now runs FremantleMedia North America's scripted division. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

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While the dust has finally settled on San Diego Comic-Con 2009, I've still got a bunch of pieces to finish writing, several interviews to transcribe, and a whole lot of press rooms to recount.

But in the meantime, I figured I'd offer up this round-up of all of the coverage for Comic-Con 2009 that have already posted to Televisionary. And rather than have to scroll through numerous pages of posts, I've presented the coverage here by series, listed alphabetically below.

24:

War and Peace: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary-Lynn Rajskub, David Fury, Freddie Prinze Jr., Anil Kapoor Talk Day Eight in "24" Press Room

The Promise of Peace (And Some Explosions): "24" Panel at Comic-Con 2009

Bones:

Dream a Little Dream: Deschanel and Hanson Talk “Bones” Romance

Caprica (and BSG: The Plan):

They Have a Plan: "Caprica/Battlestar Galactica: The Plan" Panel at Comic-Con 2009

Chuck:

Nerd Herd: Watch the Entire "Chuck" Comic-Con 2009 Panel!

Doctor Who:

Knock Four Times: David Tennant, Russell T. Davies, Euros Lyn, and Julie Gardner Bring “Doctor Who” to Comic-Con

Eureka:

"Eureka" Gets Surprise Fourth Season Pickup, Birthday Wishes for Colin Ferguson

Fringe:

Cracking the Pattern: Cast and Crew of "Fringe" Tease Second Season Details

Lost:

Lost But Not Forgotten: Team Darlton Promise "Familiar Faces" For Final Season of "Lost"

The Prisoner:

Invisible Chains: AMC Brings "The Prisoner" to Comic-Con

Stargate Universe:

Surviving in the Dark: "Stargate Universe" Cast and Crew Discuss the Future of the Franchise

Torchwood:

The Undiscovered Country: John Barrowman, Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner Defend "Torchwood" Decisions

True Blood:

"Trust Me": A Look Ahead and Back for "True Blood" at Comic-Con 2009

V:

Beware Visitors Bearing Gifts: In the Press Room with "V" Executive Producers Scott Peters and Jace Hall

Updates to this page will be made as I continue to add more Comic-Con 2009 coverage to the site, so keep revisiting this space for more information.

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Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I had an amazing time at the Mighty Boosh's secret show at the Roxy last night and found myself singing "Nanageddon" as I tried to go to sleep.

E! Online's Watch with Kristin has an exclusive interview with Lost star Elizabeth Mitchell, who toplines the upcoming remake of V on ABC. Describing her character on V, Mitchell said: "Erica is a federal agent doing counter-terrorism. She deals with finding sleeper cells and basically eradicating them as much as possible. She's smart and intelligent and all the things that you would want someone who is protecting our country to be. I must have a hero complex—I keep gravitating toward these roles. She has a son, and she's in love with her son, and her son is in love with the Visitors. She has to deal with the fact that she has to save him for the most part. Her husband just left her, so she's a brokenhearted counterterrorist detective." Mitchell also discusses the final season of Lost, Juliet's relationship with Sawyer, and what her V role means for Juliet's presence on Lost's sixth season. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Gabrielle Union (Ugly Betty) has been cast on ABC's fall drama series FlashForward in the recurring role of Zoey, described in press materials as "a criminal defense attorney who will have a romantic arc" on the series' freshman season. "We're thrilled that Gabrielle is joining our cast," said FlashForward executive producer David S. Goyer. "When we met with her, we immediately knew she was our Zoey. She's witty, soulful and beautiful. I've been wanting to work with her for a long time." (via press release)

In a move that will surprise no one, USA has renewed summer drama series Burn Notice and Royal Pains, with Burn Notice getting a fourth season order and Royal Pains getting a sophomore season. Both series landed in the top 20 programs on ad-supported cable for the month of July. (Hollywood Reporter)

Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives) has joined the cast of CBS' medical drama Three Rivers, where she will play female lead Sophia Jordan, the head of surgery at Three Rivers Hospital, a role originally played by Julia Ormond in the original pilot. In other recasting news, Heather Stephens (Saved) has replaced Reiko Aylesworth in ABC drama series The Forgotten, where she will play Lindsay, an amateur sleuth whose husband is jailed for unknown crimes and who must care for her baby on her own. (Hollywood Reporter)

FX has given a thirteen-episode series order to Lawman, starring Timothy Olyphant. Series, from Sony Pictures Television and FX, is based on an Elmore Leonard short story and is written and executive produced by Graham Yost (Boomtown). Series is expected to launch in spring 2010. (Televisionary)

Robert Knepper (Prison Break) has been promoted to series regular on NBC's Heroes, where next season he plays Samuel, the "charismatic but evil Earth-moving ringleader of a traveling carnival who recruits people with special powers for a mysterious purpose." (Hollywood Reporter)

Starz has ordered ten episodes of half-hour dark comedy Failure to Fly from Eric Schaeffer (Starved) and Jill Franklyn (Seinfeld) about a support group for people who once tried to kill themselves but are now relishing their second chance at life. Schaeffer will star and executive produce in the series, which is expected to launch in spring 2010. Also on tap at Starz: one-hour coming-of-age drama Waterloo from writer/executive producer Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) about a rock band; Jonah and the Whale, from executive producers Matthew McConaughey, Mark Gustawes, and Chad Mountain, about a man's efforts to find his own life outside the shadow of his famous and disapproving father; an untitled interracial romance from executive producer Martin Lawrence and writer Michael Scoccio; and an untitled drama about a female fashion photographer from executive producers Chris Albrect and Rob Lee. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks with CSI executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar about the previously reported return of Jorja Fox to the seires for five episodes next season. "We had several major characters departing over the last year and a half, and it felt like the family had disintegrated a little bit," said Shankar. "We had people off in their own bubbles, and that suggested a theme for this season, which is really about family. We wanted to restore that balance of the family. And that initial creative impulse led to the notion of Jorja coming back and helping to assist with that." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TBS has announced that George Lopez' latenight talk show Lopez Tonight will launch on November 9th at 11 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

The Beautiful Life's Elle Macpherson and Corbin Bleu have been upped to series regulars on the CW fall drama after they guest starred in the pilot episode in recurring roles; Macpherson played a former supermodel who now owns a top agency in Manhattan while Bleu played a male model. (Hollywood Reporter)

Animal Planet is launching a series of quarterly-scheduled investigative documentaries that explore controversial animal-related issues. First up is Dogfighting: An Animal Investigates Special that will launch in January; future installments will explore animal testing, exotic pets, gang dogs, cloning, and slaughterhouses. (Variety)

TV Guide Network has hired Carrie Ann Inaba (Dancing with the Stars) and Chris Harrison (The Bachelor) as their on-air red-carpet correspondents, replacing Lisa Rinna and Joey Fatone. Their first appearance is set for the Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20th. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

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A little over a week before its TCA Summer Press Tour session, cabler FX has announced that it has ordered thirteen episodes of drama series Lawman, based on the Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." The project, from Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions, is written and executive produced by Graham Yost (Boomtown).

Lawman stars Timothy Olyphant (Damages) as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, described in press materials as "a modern day 19th century-style lawman, enforcing his brand of justice in a way that puts a target on his back with criminals and places him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service." Givens is reassigned to the district where he grew up in rural Kentucky with an outlaw father.

"FX has been fortunate to employ some of the finest writers working in television and we’re lucky to add an outstanding talent like Graham Yost to that growing list," said FX President/General Manager John Landgraf in a statement. "Graham began with a memorable character from one of America’s foremost crime novelists, Elmore Leonard, and we scored the hat trick signing Tim Olyphant who is absolutely pitch-perfect in the role of Raylan Givens."

Production on Lawman begins this fall for a premiere in Spring 2010.

The full press release from FX, announcing the series pickup, can be found below.

FX CALLS LAWMAN

Drama Series from Graham Yost Based on Elmore Leonard Character
Stars Timothy Olyphant

FX Orders 13 Episodes from Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions
Premieres Spring 2010

LOS ANGELES, July 28, 2009 – FX has placed a 13-episode order for its next original drama series, Lawman, which was developed by Graham Yost (Boomtown, Speed) and stars Timothy Olyphant (Damages, Deadwood), announced John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks. Lawman will premiere on FX in spring of 2010.

Produced by Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions, Lawman is based on the popular Elmore Leonard character “Raylan Givens” featured in his short story Fire in the Hole. Yost, who created and produced the critically acclaimed NBC drama Boomtown, wrote the pilot and will serve as Executive Producer/Writer on the series. Leonard (Cuba Libre, Rum Punch, Get Shorty) will serve as an Executive Producer on the series along with Sarah Timberman (Kidnapped), Carl Beverly (Kidnapped) and Michael Dinner (Karen Sisco), who directed the pilot episode. The pilot was shot in Pittsburgh and Miami, and series production will take place in Southern California beginning this fall.

“FX has been fortunate to employ some of the finest writers working in television and we’re lucky to add an outstanding talent like Graham Yost to that growing list,” said Landgraf. “Graham began with a memorable character from one of America’s foremost crime novelists, Elmore Leonard, and we scored the hat trick signing Tim Olyphant who is absolutely pitch-perfect in the role of Raylan Givens.”

“Like the other shows we’ve partnered on with FX – The Shield, Rescue Me and Damages – the pedigree of talent behind and in front of the camera on Lawman is outstanding,” said Zack Van Amburg, President, Programming, Sony Pictures Television. “This gripping narrative of justice being served has such universal themes, it’s sure to resonate with FX’s viewers.”

Olyphant stars in the lead role of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Givens is a modern day 19th century-style lawman, enforcing his brand of justice in a way that puts a target on his back with criminals and places him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service. That conflict results in a reassignment for Givens to the U.S. District covering the town where he grew up. He is an anachronism – a tough, soft spoken gentleman who finds his quarry fascinating, but never gives an inch. Dig under his placid skin and you’ll find an angry man who grew up hard in rural Kentucky, with an outlaw father, who knows a lot more about who he doesn’t want to be than who he really is.

Olyphant starred in HBO’s award-winning drama Deadwood, and he co-starred FX’s award-winning drama series Damages last season. Some of his feature films credits include Live Free or Die Hard, Hitman and The Girl Next Door.

The series co-stars Nick Searcy (CSI) as Givens longtime friend and boss “Art Mullen,” and Jacob Pitts (21) and Erica Tazel (Life) as Deputy Marshals “Tim Gutterson” and “Rachel Dupree.” Guest stars include Walton Goggins (The Shield), Joelle Carter (CSI: Miami) and Natalie Zea (Dirty Sexy Money). Lawman is produced by FX Productions, Timberman-Beverly Productions, Nemo Films and Rooney McP Productions, Inc in association with Sony Pictures Television.

For FX, Lawman is the tenth drama series ordered by the network since its rollout of scripted dramas in March of 2002. Other drama series include Emmy® and Golden Globe® award winners The Shield and Nip/Tuck; Emmy and Golden Globe nominated Rescue Me; Over There; Emmy Award winner Thief (received a limited series six-episode order); Dirt; Emmy and Golden Globe nominated The Riches; and Emmy and Golden Globe award winner Damages, starring Glenn Close, and Sons of Anarchy which returns for its second season on September 8.

Lawman is the seventh show produced under the FX Productions banner – Sons of Anarchy (co-produced with Fox 21), Damages (co-produced with Sony Pictures Television), The Riches (co-produced with Fox Television Studios), Dirt (co-produced with ABC Television Studios), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and 30 Days.

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from the Fox Networks Group. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 95 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning original series; an established film library with box-office hits from 20th Century Fox and other studios; and an impressive roster of acquired hit series. For more information about FX, visit our web site at www.FXnetworks.com

Lawman premieres Spring 2010 on FX.

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In the press room after the 24 panel at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, David Fury tried to explain comments that fellow executive producer Howard Gordon made on the panel about the lack of female writers on the FOX series. Gordon had likened the dearth of women behind the scenes on 24 to the fact that the Rolling Stones didn't have any female members either.

"They call me the woman on staff because I've written female roles for several other shows," Fury told members of the press. "Do I miss having women on staff? I do. The women who have come on have not quite captured the show, I don't know why. There is a mentality that it's a men's show. I don't think it's a problem for the show not having female writers, the show has been through many different writers, very successful very good writers who have succeeded on other shows could not quite get through the mindset and for some reason a lot of writers have fallen by the wayside. There's a cigar room and I don't think a woman would like getting invited into that room except for Katee Sackhoff."

What other information did we glean from behind closed doors in the 24 press room? Let's discuss, though beware as there are SPOILERS for Day Eight ahead.

Kiefer Sutherland said that he believes Jack is "apolitical." Personally, he's absolutely against the death penalty and thinks it's morally reprehensible and is embarrassed it's still used, BUT he can't tell you what he'd do if someone ever harmed his child.

Sutherland said he has "absolutely no regrets" about playing Jack Bauer and really doesn't know if it's the last season. He always felt the show could go on without him, saying "The star of the show is the format and the idea. I remember I actually pitched Joel Surnow once in the very beginning of Season One. I said, You know, you could change it up every year. The next year could be the last 24 hours of Joan of Arc's life, the next year could be 24 hours in a firefighter's day, 24 hours of a woman who's pregnant whose car is broken down in a snowstorm and how she's going to save this baby. I mean, it was endless. The format was what was so intriguing so I've always felt that way."

Still, said Fury, there haven't been any decisions yet about whether this is the last season of 24. "There's no telling if this is the last season," he said. "Jack Bauer could die. Personally I don't think that's how you want to end Jack's story, but that doesn't mean he can't go out in a blaze of glory. We do know what Jack's journey will be this season."

So should viewers expect to see any familiar faces on Day Eight of 24 and could Mandy make a return engagement?

"We're only in first third of the season," said Fury. "We've been discussing characters who could return. Charles Logan? I helped champion keeping Tony alive last season. Tony could be pivotal. There's always Mandy... we talked about Mandy last year. There's a split in the writers' room with Mandy's character not being perceived as 24; she's sort of Alias. Tony's accomplice last season was Mandy at one point, but that went away."

"Renee will return within the first couple of nights," he said about Annie Wersching's FBI Agent Renee Walker. "She will be a different person than she was [last season]. Jack and she will be into the relationship we put forth in Season Seven; we'll follow through this season. The season begins with Jack in a happy place ready to start a new life and when Renee appears she's a damaged person. But she's someone he decides to be a part of his life. Jack is putting back together the life he had. The thing with 24 is when you put something together, invariably it's going to put it at risk and Renee is going to play a big part."

Viewers shouldn't expect to see Carlo Rota's Morris O'Brian. At least not at first anyway, said Mary Lynn Rajskub, who said that she hasn't seen any scenes with Morris in any of the scripts she's read so far. "Morris is somewhere but so far I don't see him in any scripts but he could come back at any moment," she said. "He's at home with the baby I think."

As for Chloe herself, Rajskub said that Day Eight finds her in some very different circumstances.

"Chloe is not up to speed in the new CTU, which is very different for her," explained Rajskub, who said that this pits Chloe against Katee Sackhoff's Dana Walsh, who is her new boss. "She kind of pats me on the shoulder and says, 'Don't worry, you'll catch up,' which is the worst moment for Chloe ever. Everything's changed at CTU and my bosses are looking at me like I'm not doing it right. But then something happens in the story where I think I know some information which puts me at odds with my bosses."

So there's definitely a CTU then next season? (Yes, and you can read more about what Day Eight's CTU looks like here.) And what's the timeframe of when Day Eight is taking place?

"President Taylor reinstated CTU after last season," said Fury. "She feels the country needs people like Jack Bauer to ferret out the conspiracies... Not sure if they'll specify the time lapse between Season Seven and Eight. But it's probably eight to nine months."

And, as we all know, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. are out as locations this season, which shifts to New York City for Day Eight.

"New York will be very big," Fury explained. "A lot [of it is] taking place at the UN. We don't have a White House this year. Anil Kapoor's character's story takes place at the UN. We've digitally recreated New York. We faked New York and it looks fantastic. We have a helicopter taking off a field in Santa Clarita that's suddenly on Roosevelt Island and there's Manhattan in the background and you buy it. It's incredible, feels like we're there and it really makes a difference."

So who is Kapoor playing then?

"Anil [Kapoor] is President of the Republic of... Kamistan?" said Fury. "I want to make clear it's not Iran. The UN was not happy about us doing anything [involving the] Iranian people or the government might take offense to, so we came up with a country. It was Iran for a long time in the script, but we decided it can't be. I think the spelling is Kamistan."

For Slumdog Millionaire's Kapoor, who plays Omar Hassan, the president of Kamistan, wanted to make sure he wasn't typecast in 24. Kapoor said that he liked that he could play the President of a Middle Eastern country as it was completely opposite to what he did in Slumdog. Of Omar Hassan, Kapoor said that he's a president and a good guy who's come to the US on a peace mission. "He's a peacemaker," said Kapoor. It was that fact more than anything that sold him on playing the role.

Also joining the cast for Day Eight of 24 is Freddie Prinze Jr., who plays CTU agent Cole Ortiz. Prinze said that he was a huge fan of the series, which he said has "always been a very character driven show."

As for Cole, he has something in common with Jack Bauer. "He's an ex-marine and Jack's an ex-marine," said Prinze, "He's heading up field ops, Jack used to head up field ops for CTU and this character knows Jack by reputation."

"There's a dark side to this relationship that you find out fairly quickly," said Prinze, whose character is engaged to Katee Sackhoff's Dana Walsh. "For a character like Cole who's someone who's very disciplined and substituted a lot of feelings that he had post-9/11 for the qualities that define a Marine, like self-respect, and dignity and honor. For someone like that to go through what this character's going to go through it's really going to turn his world upside down as far as the relationship goes."

Prinze also said that Cole is a guy who has to keep his emotions in check and is very hot headed.

Finally, Prinze confessed that he can't imagine anyone else saying each episode's "the following takes place..." except Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer.

You and me both, buddy.

24 kicks off Day Eight in January, 2010 on FOX.

Reporting by Lissette Lira

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"You only think you're free."

Now that the crazed fan-demonium of Comic-Con '09 has finally died down, this might be an opportune time to praise AMC for offering up a classy and intelligent presentation for their upcoming remake of the landmark sci-fi series The Prisoner. AMC's six-hour mini-series version of The Prisoner will air over three consecutive nights in November, and judging from the nine-minute preview screened during the panel, it has the potential to be one of the most talked-about television events of the Fall season.

Candidly speaking, I went into panel with a great deal of skepticism after having read an extremely mediocre pilot script several years ago. What a splendid surprise it was to discover then how the project has evolved in the capable hands of writer Bill Gallagher (BBC's Conviction), who talked at length during the panel about the challenges of adapting such a complex work. However unlike that early draft I read (which oddly enough seemed to resemble Christopher McQuarrie's upcoming NBC series Persons Unknown more than Patrick McGoohan's cult classic) this 're-imagining' of The Prisoner appears to have captured the unique blend of surrealism and existential paranoia that made the original so memorable.

Joining Gallagher on stage for the panel were AMC's VP of Production Vlad Wolynetz, alongside series stars Jim Caviezel (Passion of the Christ), Lenny James (Jericho) and Jamie Campbell Bower (Sweeney Todd).

Moderated by producer/director Robert Meyer Burnett (Free Enterprise), the thoughtful discussion (detailed below) managed to cover a wide range of topics, including Jim Caviezel's daunting task of stepping into the shoes of McGoohan as Number Six, as well as his experience working with series co-star Sir Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings) who takes on the role of Six's nemesis, the mysterious Number Two.

What follows is a complete transcript of the entire panel for The Prisoner, along with the nine-minute preview clip and full video for the panel.

The panel began with a brief introduction by Rob Meyer Burnett, followed by the nine-minute preview reel:

Robert Meyer Burnett: [The] Prisoner is one of the most influential television shows ever created. We feel its reverberations in The X-Files, LOST, it's even name-checked on The Simpsons. Now, AMC, known for their shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men [applause] ...they've really done some bold moves in terms of episodic television and for them to take on The Prisoner -- they're probably the best network to make this show. So what we're gonna do, we're gonna show you a 9-minute reel of material. And then I'm gonna bring up some of the cast, and some people from AMC and we're gonna do a conversation about the show, the making of the show. And then at the end of the presentation we have an exclusive clip from the show that stars Ian McKellen. So without further adieu let's start the nine-minute reel and you will see your first glimpse of The Prisoner.

The Prisoner: Exclusive Preview from Comic-Con:



RMB: I think we should start by asking Bill Gallagher, the screenwriter who boldly re-imagined the series, how did it begin, how did you start?

Bill Gallagher: [It] started because Grenada Television, I got a call, I was walking home one evening, I got a call, 'would you like to do a remake of the the Prisoner?' And I was so shocked by this thought, that I had to walk down this little alley way, I found myself in this dark little alleyway, talking to this guy i didn't know about redoing The Prisoner. And what came back to me was, you know I won't claim to be a great dedicated fan of The Prisoner all through my life, but what happened was, I remembered when i saw it as a child, and I didn't understand it, but I feel at the time it absolutely haunted me in ways I couldn't comprehend and it had an impact on me that didn't go away. It stayed with me for a long time and when I was asked, that came back to me very powerfully and, you know, it was an opportunity I just couldn't say no to. And it was that that I wanted to go after, that feeling of a drama that speaks to our unconscious, a drama that doesn't do what all the other dramas do on television. It was such a unique opportunity I couldn't say no, so I said yes. And then I got terrified.

RMB: Now Vlad, [how] did AMC decide, yes, we are going to do The Prisoner?

Vlad Wolynetz: Well, I remember coming in for the initial pitch [and] I was actually kind of terrified by the idea. Terrified by the idea of touching something that was so emotionally bound to so many people, each of whom have a really individual take on what it means to the person. The emotional investment is very intense and a little intimidating. But we were in a position, after having done Mad Men, and we had just done the Breaking Bad pilot at that point, where everything we did was about men in dissent-- dissenting with their surroundings, whether its Don Draper, or whether it's Walter White. And we had the wonderful, wonderful advantage of being able to swing for the fences, with the things that we do. We needed to become distinct in a hurry. A lot of other great TV companies build their models over time and gradually find their voice. We had to clear our throat really quickly and scream it out loud and The Prisoner was the perfect vehicle for it.

RMB: Jim, the new Number Six, were you familiar with show, with the old original series? And when you were cast, did you go back and watch the original?

Jim Caviezel: No, we're still working on it right now, and I never want to be accused of copying anybody, especially Patrick McGoohan. It's a remake, but this is more of a recreation of it. It keeps the spirit of the old, but these are different times we're living in. and when my agent Brian Mann brought me the material, I actually was going to shoot another movie, but there was a glitch in the financing, and he says, you gotta read this -- so I read a couple of the episodes and said those are amazing. [And then] he said, 'here's two more and they are even better.' And it just was really a no-brainer to want to be a part of this project. It's such a part of what's going on in the world today.

RMB: Jamie, your character, you play Number Two's son. Now one of the different, interesting things that's happening with this show is that Number Two's family play a big role. Now what was it like for you? Were you familiar with the original show?

Jamie Campbell Bower: Yeah, I was aware of the original show actually. When I was at school, I had this teacher show it to us when i was about 13 or 12, and so I was aware of the idea of this show, on what it was focused on [and] I remember when I read the script. I'm dyslexic, so when i read things, I'm a bit detached. When I got the script for The Prisoner, I remember going through the first sides I got for the audition and just being really moved. Particularly by the idea of family focused upon in the show... that really struck a chord with me.

RMB: And what is your character's number?

Bower: 11-12.

RMB: Now, Lenny, you are a denizen of the Village. Talk about your involvement. First of all, what is your character's number?

Lenny James: I am 147, and everybody tries to figure what their numbers mean about them. And they do. But they don't. Ponder that one. I was like everybody else. When the idea of doing this new reworking of the The Prisoner came along, it's one of those things where if you get the chance to do it, you can't say no. And they did a very sneaky thing with us, which is, they told us it was a six part series and they only sent us five scripts. Know what I mean? So you've gotta do the job to find out how it ends. So that's how I ended up being involved.

RMB: One of the really interesting things about this adaptation is that it was shot in Africa. It was shot in Namibia and it was shot in Cape Town...

Gallagher: [I] wanted to create this environment where there was absolutely no possibility of physical escape. So I created this environment where there was miles and miles and miles of desert, and miles and miles and miles of mountains. Because I wanted Six to very quickly face the prospect that he wasn't going to get out of here physically. So the question would go from where am I? Where is the village? To what is the village? .. and having done that... we found this place called Swakopmund in Namibia... We found this little German settlement that was built in 1910, and when you go there you want to escape... But it was perfect...

RMB: Vlad, talk about how everybody went a little mad in their own way during the shoot.

Wolynetz: If there's a thing that this production has in common with the original, it is that everyone here has danced along the precipice of madness while making this thing. Trying to unravel what Patrick McGoohan's original intent has bedeviled people for 40 years, and it sure as hell has bedeviled us for the last two... And in the process we have created our own cascade of fiascos in the making of a wonderful film...

RMB: Was it easy when you're out there [in the deserts of Swakopmund] to put yourself in Six's mindset, Jim?

Caviezel: I was just trying to survive, you know. Three or four of the biggest films I've ever done have just been murder. I remember saying to my friend, John, I said, 'this is murder.' And he said, 'Well I guess it's gonna be really good then.' Swakopmund is an extraordinary town.

RMB: Lenny, any crazy stories?

James: There's lots of crazy stories, but I can't tell you any of them, because I'll get sued... It was a lot like... a kind of phrase that went across the cast and crew while we were shooting it... Anything that was slightly strange, unexplainable, or out-of-the-ordinary, and we would say, 'That was very village.' And Swakopmund was very Village.

RMB: Bill, in the 40 years the since original series [our culture] has changed tremendously. [How] did that affect the philosophy of the new Prisoner?

Gallagher: I think the first thing I want to say is, what comes to mind is, Patrick McGoohan said when they rolled the final credits on his series, rather then having a 'The End' card, the card should say 'The Beginning.' The reason he said that is because he claimed that we continue to be prisoners of society... And I found this quote a long time after I had written the script, but it kind of describes what i was after: McGoohan said, "You still want to know its message? The most dangerous thing in the world is an attitude of the mind." And I found that fascinating so when i started on my version of The Prisoner I knew I couldn't compete with what Patrick McGoohan had done, so I had to respond to it.

And I wasn't really interested in what I think of as the kind of superficial things like surveillance and conspiracy, as interesting as those things are. And they are a part of the series. I was interested in what has happened to us since then. McGoohan's version was about the assertion of the individual and freedom from the class society, freedom from authority. And I was interested in what has happened since then and one way of looking at it is that the individual is king. We are all kind of desperately asserting our own individuality. And I was interested in, well, what are the costs of that? How does that effect us? And what if rather than being under surveillance, what if we were under observation? And what if that observation tells us something about ourselves? What if that degree of individualism and selfish is dangerous? What if it's reaching a breaking point?

And that was the underlying premise of my approach to the The Prisoner. So yes, there's surveillance. There's surveillance in the village. There's surveillance in our world. But what if it's about more than that? What if it's about what's going on inside of us? What if it's a kind of evolutionary change that isn't so good for us. So that was my approach to those kind of things. So yes it has contemporary references, just as McGoohan's Prisoner did. But it also has universal themes in it. And so that was my approach to it. To respond to it rather than to repeat it.

RMB: Vlad, was Patrick McGoohan aware of the show? And did he give it his blessing?

Wolynetz: He was aware of the show. I spoke to him, which was a pretty interesting phone conversation... we had actually hoped very much to get him in the show, for a small part. This was not too long before he passed away... He asked, "Who is playing Six?" [I said] Jim Caveziel is playing him. [McGoohan responded]: "Oh, Mel loves him, he'll be great... You know... I should be playing Two... but Ian will be pretty good." [Laughter] So he seemed very enthusiastic.

RMB: Well, Jim, I think at the core of The Prisoner is always Six's struggle against Two, and you got Gandalf, you got Magneto. How do you go up against a character like that? And how was it working with Sir Ian McKellen?

Caviezel: Well, you listen a lot if you're smart. He has great wisdom as an actor. He made me better. And you know, just listening to what Bill was saying about surveillance... I happened to be in a motorcycle accident last week and I'm thinking, here I am in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere, having a great time, and then I'm in an ambulance. And then a lady asks me, so do you want us to check you out? And I'm thinking no, because if you do that then my name goes into a system and I don't really feel that messed up... And then I woke up in the morning and wham! 50 phone calls on my cell phone... and just how something like that gets translated to Jim Cavaziel in a hospital and Jim Caveziel is dead, and I was thinking about here I am now at Comic-Con, explaining it to you... and how in one second... You know, when I have a glass of wine now, I have one of those breathers that I put in my car to make sure I'm not over the limit because the next day it's gonna be-- 'Jesus was busted for drunk driving.' [Laughter]

RMB: Jamie, what was it like having Magneto as your father?

Campbell Bower: Pretty cool. It was such a pleasure working with Ian. He is one of the finest actors who has ever lived and I feel so blessed to be able to learn from someone of that caliber. And he really helped me grow and develop not only as an actor but as a person, to find out what I want to become. Because he's such a gentlemen, he has this grace about him. so unforced. Maybe I can't do it. Maybe I'm forcing myself to become graceful. Amazing. Just a lovely, lovely guy. And we're still close and I still see him London, which is lovely...

James: He's alright... [Laughter] He's not as tall as he thinks he is... No, seriously, one of the things that was fantastic about the whole situation is that pretty soon he's just another member of the cast. He doesn't walk around expecting to be treated any differently. And we had a really, really interesting story to tell. I think one of the reasons that The Prisoner was so successful and had such longevity, and people have been trying to do a new version of it, is it's a really, really fantastic story... it's a very simple, straightforward premise-- a man retires from his job and wakes up the next morning , and he's in a place called the Village he can't escape from, and he doesn't know if he's a alive or dead, doesn't know if this is purgatory or a grave or a prison.

And although it's called The Prisoner, one of the things that is fantastic about the version that Bill has written this time around is that you are following the big battle between Two and Six, but there's also the lives of the other prisoners. And I play a guy called 147 and he's kind of a local taxi driver, and his journey is very interesting in his relations with Six because he's a man who is totally content with his life in the Village. Until he meets Six, and Six has to wake him up. And if the people in the Village say don't go over that wall, 147 is the guy who is gonna not go over that wall. He's not the guy who's gonna peak over... and how many of us have that kind of feeling in life as well? So you're following lots of different people's versions of what is their prison, and how Six kind of wakes everybody up to their situation.

RMB: Back to Vlad and Bill. What were some of the biggest challenges to re-imagining the story for modern audiences? Obviously we see Rover in the clip... How much of the old show did you retain?

Wolynetz: Rover was probably one of the greatest debates that went on and on and on.. Rover was hotly debated, [but] ultimately it's the same Rover, although we have added a couple of things. You saw him get super-massive and there are a couple of other things he does that will hopefully surprise you... Ultimately you have to respect the original, but you can't be afraid of it or intimidated by it. You are making a new film. We are making our Prisoner.

Gallagher: One of the things I would say about the presence of the original in this version is that, McGoohan said, above all else, it's an entertainment, it's a ride. So I wanted to have fun with that, to have fun with those elements in the original. So sometimes there are elements in the story, there are are little hints of old episodes that are part of our episodes... but also there are things like, in one episode Six goes to a place called 'Escape Resort' and when you get there, it's like the original Prisoner, people are dressed like the original Prisoner, so it was having some fun with it... little lines of dialogue, little moments of character, constantly kind of dipping back into the original. And one of the decisions I made early on was about Number Two.

In the original series, it was a great idea that every week there was another Number Two. The idea was that every week Six sees off the authority figure, so they replace him with another authority figure. But I thought, what happens if he stays through the whole series and we get to know him more and more and we see his moral challenges. And then what if he's got a family? Because it would be easy enough to create a dictator, a kind of two-dimensional dictator. But what about his story? About his journey? Why is he doing it and what are the costs to him...? To give Number Two his own moral challenges throughout the series and then of course, the upside of that is, if you've got a big part like that, you get to get an actor like Ian Mckellen. So we were constantly looking back to the original to make decisions... They made that decision, what decision are we going to make?

RMB: Jim, what was it like when you were working with Ian? Where you have this escalating battle of wits between these two men...? Did it get more and more tense as it went along? And did you like each other by the end?

Caviezel: I still hate him. He's so good. You know it all starts with the writing. Bill Gallagher here wrote something very special, and then Ian McKellen wanted me for the project and I remember sitting in rehearsal saying to Ian... he says, 'How are you feeling?' And I said, 'I am incredibly nervous and very scared.' And he said, 'Oh, darling, that never leaves.' [Laughter] So I felt a great comradeship with him. What was exciting about this piece, and it was never intended to be this way, is that I always felt like we were playing form behind. In other words, it was like in 48 hours we had to put this material together and, Vlad, I thought we were making Mad Men... I mean, we are the 'mad men.' I was a bit nervous and didn't know if it was any good. I couldn't feel it. I felt like the ball was coming and I couldn't see it, and I think that energy... Ian mentioned to me, just keep using it. And of course we had a great cast. Lenny and Jamie here are brilliant actors, and so I felt like I was surrounded by people who were going to make me better. So I think this is going to be something very, very special.

RMB: Jamie... The Prisoner was a show that came out of the 1960s. What do you think that it means for audiences today? What would you hope that the audiences would take away from this new adaptation?

Campbell Bower: Well, to begin with, I think particularly in England at the moment, there's a lot of stuff on television that you don't really have to think about. It's background stuff. You can be making some tea, and you can understand what's going on without even looking at the screen, or listening even. It just goes in like a sponge. And i think with this, it's so clever, that you have to watch and I don't think that you can not watch. It draws you in so much. And one of the things that I really hope it does is just make people try and understand what it is that they are seeing. And to try and listen and be involved in the story... and this is a really great story... in the 60s it was stuff that people could relate to in the 60s. We're in 2009, it's stuff that people can relate to now.

RMB: Lenny... in our post-9/11 world, there's a lot of craziness. Does the new show reflect our modern era?

James: I think you're in a situation with this one where it's written very much of the time now... yes, it's a post-9/11 project because that's there now. It's in our senses. People are much more aware... of the fragility of ourselves but also how much we're now connected, so much to each other across the world now, we're... but also I think that what Bill said is absolutely right as well. First and foremost it's a piece of entertainment... it's a real kind of page-turner and has what's exciting about a page turner, it makes you sweat... I guarantee you are not going to know what happens next. And you trying to guess what happens next is half the fun of watching The Prisoner because you're not going to know... you're gonna freak!

RMB: Bill, you were talking about, this isn't really a political piece?

Gallagher: Not politics in that politicians kind of way. When I thought about it, it would feel to me less, if it were a piece about blame. About them plotting against us. That's in it... and that's interesting in itself, but there's more that's interesting... You know, and I include myself in this, I think in recent years we've become more selfish. We all want more, and we live by fixes, both here in and in the Village... The hero of our story wants to get away, but what does he want to get away from?

So that seems to me to be more than politics if that makes sense. And, you know, the series is episodic and there's one big story that runs through it, but each episode has it's own thematic concerns, so we look at education, we look at family, we look at love, we look at fate, we look at community, but it's how we look at those things, how we look at them in the Village. What is eduction in the Village? And what does that tell us about our ideas of education?

So politics, conspiracy, surveillance, all those things crank the story along. There is surveillance in the Village, but it's not surveillance as you might think... So it's just constantly trying to push it. As Lenny said, how do we do this so we don't know what's going on and what's going to happen next? It's going to be mind-bending, mind-boggling... and you know, the other thing is that in all of this, it's just a simple story about a man who doesn't feel like he belongs.

RMB: Vlad, how is AMC going to air the show?

Wolynetz: It's going to be on three consecutive nights... there are episodic breaks in the middle, but its going to run across two hours... But it's extremely well-paced for two hours. [And] what I'm most proud of from a technical level... the aesthetic of The Prisoner is absolutely stunning... We have a great cinematographer, Florian Hoffmeister, who just shot the hell out of that place. You're going to see things that don't belong on television in the sense of the size of the box. These are beautiful, beautiful cinematic vista shots that really sell home all the dramatic ideas we've been talking about... wonderful stuff.

Caviezel: [Just as] Vlad said, to me it's a six hour movie with two intermissions, same director, shot on 35mm, in beautiful scope. I remember Mel Gibson first mentioned something to me about The Prisoner. I asked him about Patrick McGoohan when we were talking about Braveheart. So when this came to me, I remember thinking that this is really going to be a challenge. It's that feeling you have where you think you might fail. And at that point, it's like this is something that I gotta do. These types of projects come around, not very often. So I feel that what we've done is very special. I really believe, coming this fall, you'll never see anything like this on television. This is very unusual. You don't know where the story is going to go. And I'm glad I was a part of it...

If that weren't enough, you can watch the full video of the entire Prisoner panel from this weekend at Comic-Con (thanks to the good folks at AMC) below:

The Prisoner Comic-Con Panel:



The Prisoner launches in November on AMC.

Written and reported by Mark DiFruscio

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