[Televisionary]

"It's always complicated with you." - Heather "There's work to be done." - Joey "Without an eternal marriage, this is just all there is." - Barb This week's phenomenal episode of Big Love ("The Greater Good"), written by Paul Redford and directed by David Knoller, picked up many of the series' weightiest themes--family, marriage, fidelity, eternity--and ran with them, offering an intelligent and gripping installment that pushed several characters past their breaking points and advanced the season's overarching plot. While the focus fell primarily on the domestic sphere this week, the episode also picked up the larger forces operating around the Henrickson clan, thrusting their stories against a larger backdrop of destiny and free will, the secular and the spiritual, matters of church and state, and pre-determinism. Will their little nation of polygamists be able to chart their own destiny? Can they take rein of t

Just a few quick words about last night's Golden Globes. I spent the evening watching the (thankfully) live telecast from home and then went over to the Beverly Hilton for HBO's Golden Globes after-party at Circa 55. As usual, HBO did an incredible job transforming the outdoor space (right at the poolside)... but, rather sadly, the network's handiwork was undone by the weather, rendering the glass-enclosed firepits and open-air seating unusable. But the party must go on and it was moved under the tents and inside Circa 55 itself, where executives, celebrities, and bon vivants sipped Copper-tinis and Moet et Chandon champagne. Those celebrities included Mad Men 's January Jones and Entourage 's Jeremy Piven, Modern Family 's Eric Stonestreet, Big Love 's Chloe Sevigny (Golden Globe-winner Chloe Sevigny, I should say), Ginnifer Goodwin, and Mary Kay Place, True Blood 's Anna Camp, Hung 's Natalie Zea (with whom I chatted about her role in FX's upco

Some baggage can't be left behind. It was a particularly harsh lesson for the Henrickson clan to grasp in last night's sensational season premiere of Big Love ("Free at Last"), written by series creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer and directed by Daniel Attias, which also featured a new opening title sequence and a new theme song ("Home" by Engineers). As the fourth season opens, the polygamist family is closer than ever to achieving its dreams of financial security in the form of the casino deal that Bill brokered with the Blackfoot tribe. But the opening hour isn't just about the corporate but also the celestial, as Bill presides over a new storefront church, paying off the ending of Season Three in which he received a testimony to call together his own congregation. However, even as the family looks towards a brighter future, their first steps towards claiming control of their own destiny are overshadowed by reminders of the past they've lef

Big Love returns on Sunday evening with its fourth season and a hell of a lot of neck-snapping plot twists to come. Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest piece, entitled " Big Love Returns," which is actually a gargantuan Q&A-style interview with Big Love creators/executive producers Mark V. Olsen and Eric Scheffer. And when I say gargantuan, I mean it. Olsen and Scheffer talk about the role of identity this season, the paths that Bill, Barb, Nicki, and Margene each take in Season Four, as well as subplots relating to Alby, Roman, Cara Lynn, the power struggle at the fundamentalist compound, Bill’s campaign for public office, Sissy Spacek's character, and more. So head over there and check it out. And be sure to head to the comments section to discuss what you're most looking forward to about Season Four and where you think the story is heading. Season Four of Big Love begins Sunday evening at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

Those of us who watch HBO's gripping drama series Big Love know that it's a series of contrasts: between light and darkness, love and hate, tolerance and injustice. The never-ending push and pull of these elements is what drives the series, which remains one of the most intelligent and emotionally resonant series on television today. (My only complaint: that more of you aren't watching it.) Season Four of Big Love , which begins this Sunday evening, picks up the threads that were left dangling at the end of the series' outstanding third season, which I rank as one of the very best complete seasons of television ever. Taut, provocative, and gut-wrenching, Season Three of Big Love pushed the Henrickson clan past their breaking point, throwing them on a series of soul-searching exercises as varied as a family road trip, excommunication, a new wife, and the unearthing of some long-buried secrets. (Not to mention storylines involving murder, kidnapping, cult leaders, as

Wondering why I didn't compile a best of the decade list on Televisionary? Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can find my latest feature, "23 Shows That Changed Television," which looks at the cultural impact (both good and ill) of 23 series that launched this decade. Those influential series include American Idol, Lost, Survivor, The Wire, Mad Men, Weeds, Big Love, Arrested Development, The Osbournes, True Blood, Laguna Beach, Family Guy and Battlestar Galactica . And if you're wondering why some of your favorites got left off, it's because each of the series had to have premiered after January 1st, 2000 in order to be included in the list. Which negated the inclusion of such influential series from the late 1990s, such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The West Wing , and South Park , to name a few. Head over to the comments section to share your thoughts on the list and your picks for the most influential series of the d

As 2009 begins to wind down, I figured now was the perfect time as any to look back at the series that that have entertained and inspired me over the past calendar year. And what a year it was for the television industry, which was (and is) still recovering from the writers strike of 2007/08. This past year also saw NBC box up the 10 pm hour for scripted programming, a move that hasn't had quite the effect that the network hoped (I do feel for poor scapegoat Jay Leno), while sending viewers scurrying over to cable, which continued to make huge inroads this year. It was also a year that saw comedy make a huge comeback, from the success of FOX's musical-comedy hybrid Glee to the season's biggest critical hit, ABC's Modern Family and the surprising resilience of NBC's Parks and Recreation (hands down the winner of the Most Improved Series award). And a year that saw much beloved series Chuck teeter dangerously towards cancellation, only to receive an eleventh hour

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Another cast member has been secured for J.J. Abram's NBC espionage drama pilot Undercovers . Boris Kodjoe ( Surrogates, Soul Food ) has been cast as the male lead, Steven Bloom. Steven and his wife Samantha (as yet uncast) work together as spies. Abrams, who co-wrote the pilot script with Josh Reims, may still come aboard the project as the pilot's director. ( Hollywood Reporter ) SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck has the scoop on the departure of one of the cast members from HBO's drama series Big Love , which returns with its fourth season on January 10th. [Editor: I am not even going to put the name of the actor here as the article is extremely spoilery (though has at least one piece of misinformation), so read at your own risk.] ( TV Guide Magazine ) Showtime is developing a series adaptation of feature film Sunshine Cleaning , about a pair of sisters who work as crime scene cleaners. The pay cabler has hire

Another December, another batch of Golden Globe nominations. I got up very early on this very brisk Los Angeles morning to watch the nominations live as they were announced on-air by John Krasinski, Diane Kruger, and Justin Timberlake. (The latter of whom stole the show a little bit with his comment to Krasinski, "Someone's gonna have a good night tonight," after Emily Blunt earned a nomination for her role in The Young Victoria .) But onto the nominations themselves. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association this morning announced its nominees for the 2010 Golden Globes, which will be handed out at a live telecast on NBC on January 17th. Glee was the clear favorite this year, walking away with four nominations this morning, followed closely by 30 Rock, Big Love, Damages, Mad Men, and Dexter , each of which garnered three nominations in their respective categories, along with telepics Georgia O'Keeffe and Grey Gardens . I'm thrilled, first off, that so many fanta

Yesterday, American Film Institute announced their official selections for the programs of the year for 2009. I'm happy that the esteemed board--which included The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan, TV Guide Magazine 's Matt Roush, Variety 's Brian Lowry, actor CCH Pounder ( The Shield ), and writer/producer David Milch ( Deadwood )--chose to recognize several series that don't get nearly as much love from critics and audiences as they should. Along with noteworthy freshman series like Modern Family and Glee (both of which I expected would end up on the list) and the always sterling Mad Men , the panel selected such unexpected entries like HBO's lyrical mystery series No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency , Starz's breakout ensemble comedy Party Down , HBO's groundbreaking (and sadly often overlooked) drama series Big Love (which had its best season yet earlier this year), saved-from-cancellation drama Friday Night Lights , and Showtime's sensational m

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. For those of you Stateside, hope that you're feeling rested (and hopefully recovering from a few days of gluttony) after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Major changes afoot at USA, according to The Futon Critic's Brian Ford Sullivan. Rather than follow the plans the cabler had outlined for January, USA has chosen to revise its entire schedule, moving its series White Collar, Burn Notice , and Psych onto separate evenings, come January. White Collar will return to the lineup on January 19th, where it will move into its new timeslot of Tuesday evenings at 10 pm ET/PT. Meanwhile, Psych will take over the Wednesday night slot beginning January 27th and Burn Notice will remain on Thursdays, returning with new episodes on January 21st. The move gives the cabler original series on three weeknights. Perhaps a ploy to lure viewers from broadcast sibling NBC to some scripted fare at 10 pm? ( Futon Critic ) Aunjanue Ellis ( The Tak