[Televisionary]

I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised this early morning in Los Angeles. The Emmy nominees were announced this morning and I have to commend them for showering such love onto diverse and unique series such as Big Love, Mad Men, 30 Rock, Breaking Bad, Little Dorrit, Flight of the Conchords, , and Damages , even though Battlestar Galactica failed to garner a single nomination in the major categories. Hell, one of the talented troika of female leads on AMC's Mad Men --Elisabeth Moss--even landed a nomination, as did the entire main cast of 30 Rock ! So, something's right in Hollywood for a change. Meanwhile, FOX's Family Guy snagged the first outstanding comedy series nomination for an animated series... in fifty years. (Not since The Flintstones has an animated comedy scored a nomination.) Something which sadly The Simpsons was never able to achieve in its heyday. So which series and actors landed Emmy nominations? Let's talk about the major categories. (The

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. TVGuide.com talks to Lost 's Titus Welliver, who played the mysterious man in black seen in the fifth season finale (that many of us are referring to as Esau). "The way that I interpreted it, on a biblical level, is that it's a sort of Cain-and-Abel scenario," said Welliver of the showdown between Jacob and his character. "So by destroying Jacob, what does that prove — that [the man in black] can ultimately have power over the island? Do the castaways become solely his playthings? And why was it so important that he find the loophole to be able to kill Jacob? That moved me in the direction of thinking that if he needs this loophole, there's a greater power than the two of them that they're answering to." ( TVGuide.com ) FX has ordered six episodes of animated comedy Archer (working title), about the eccentric employees of an international spy agency, from writer/executive producer Adam Reed. Proj

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Hollywood seems more or less shut down already for the Fourth of July weekend, so just a few headlines this morning. The Beeb has confirmed that it will not be bringing back drama series Robin Hood for a fourth season. The series, which starred Jonas Armstrong in the title role, saw its viewership decline to roughly four million viewers during its third (and now final) season (compared to the 8.6 million who tuned in for the series premiere in 2006). For his part, Armstrong had made it clear that the third season would be his last, stating, "It's been a great thrill, a great ride, but you can't play one part forever." ( BBC News ) Hulu has announced plans to launch a UK-based online video service in September and has indicated that it is close to reaching content deals with local broadcasters after offering them equity stakes in the service as well as a share of advertising revenues. Rumors are swirling that Hulu ha

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Christian Slater ( My Own Worst Enemy ) is in talks to topline ABC drama series The Forgotten , from Warner Bros. Television and executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. If the deal closes, Slater would replace Rupert Penry-Jones, who appeared in the original pilot episode as a former cop whose daughter was kidnapped and went missing. Another role--that played in the pilot by Reiko Aylesworth--is also being recast. The series is set to launch Tuesday, September 22nd at 10 pm. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Don't look for the series finale of Lost to feature a happy ending, according to series regular Michael Emerson. "I don't think Lost will have a happy ending," Emerson told Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. "It's the end and I think we are going to start seeing more casualties. I would put money on major characters being killed. I believe it will be a sad ending to the show -- or at least bittersweet.

You do not cut off Patty Hewes in the middle of an acceptance speech. Come to think of it, you probably shouldn't be cutting off Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, Tina Fey, Bryan Cranston, and the aforementioned Glenn Close, period. But that's just what they did on last night's tedious Emmy telecast, focusing instead on the inane chatter among the five nominated reality series hosts and a plethora of pointless and unfunny filler material. Sure, the 60th Annual Emmy Awards wasn't as big a fiasco as last year's circular stage debacle , though this year came close with the ridiculous time-waste that was the show's opening twelve minutes or so, cheap-looking on-screen graphics for each category, fruitless use of familiar sets, and awkward "repartee" between presenters and our so-called "hosts." The few high points for me? Ricky Gervais, for one, whose painfully funny (not to mention cringe-worthy) reminiscing of his in absentia win last year for

Good morning and welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Like many of you out there, I'm bummed that my three-day weekend sailed by far too quickly... but am also thrilled that the fall TV season is finally upon us. Digital Spy has a roughly 90-second trailer up for Merlin , which airs on BBC One and on NBC this winter and stars Colin Morgan, Anthony Stewart Head, Michelle Ryan, Richard Wilson, Katie McGrath, Bradley James, Angel Coulby, and Santiago Cabrera. ( Digital Spy ) 90210 mania is upon us with mere hours to go before the launch of 90210 2.0, as it were. EW.com has some behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty from their recent cover shoot. ( Entertainment Weekly 's PopWatch ) Shannen Doherty, meanwhile, sat down with the Los Angeles Times for a brief interview, in which she said that the sudden goodwill being directed towards her from the public "definitely feels good" and "also feels scary." (

After weeks of leaked semi-finalist nominee lists, it's good to finally get a glimpse of which series and actors actually made it onto the ballots, instead of seeing yet another list that showed who could make it to the nomination stage. The Emmy nominees were announced this morning and I have to commend them for showering such love onto diverse and unique series such as Mad Men, 30 Rock (17 nominations, no less!), and Damages ... while also locking some repeat offenders--like Ugly Betty in the comedy category--out in the cold. (Yes, I watch Ugly Betty but should it be competing with such comedy series as 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or The Office ? Hells no, especially when HBO's hysterical Flight of the Conchords didn't even get a mention.) So which series and actors did land Emmy noms? Let's talk about the major categories. Outstanding Drama Series: Mad Men (AMC) Boston Legal (ABC) House (FOX) Lost (ABC) Damages (FX) Dexter (Showtime) I'm actually qui

The shortlist for the 2008 Emmy Award nominees been announced and I am utterly confounded by the fact that Terry O'Quinn's name is nowhere to be found on the list of eleven supporting actor shortlist nominees. Sure, Lost is represented with the inclusion of both Michael Emerson and Naveen Andrews, but I thought for sure that, after his brilliant performance this season on Lost as John Locke/Jeremy Bentham, O'Quinn would end up on that shortlist, if not walking off with a full-blown nomination, especially after a storyline that not only gave O'Quinn a chance to shine but also reasserted his character at the forefront of the series' labyrinthine storyline. Hell, it was his bravura performance at the end of the series' fourth season as alternately fragile/strong Locke that made me fall in love with the character all over again and the man did win the 2007 supporting actor award with good reason. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Andrews and Emerson make it

Wow, talk about a boring Emmy Awards. I mean I had my doubts when it was announced that Ryan "I'm about as deep as my spray tan" Seacrest would be hosting, but it's FOX, so who else were they going to get to MC this bloated thing, anyway? Paula Abdul? Hardly. (Please bring Ellen DeGeneres back. Please?) Whose misguided idea was it to hold the Emmys in a circular stadium? I felt like I was watching a basketball game rather than a TV awards ceremony. Badly, badly done. It looked cheap, tacky, and possibly very fitting with the Emmys' new home on FOX. Plus, that Death Star-designed black disco ball freaked me out. Did you notice how FOX seemed to make it out of the opening Family Guy song and dance relatively unscathed? Hmm, coincidence? In any event, there were a few bright spots, like the writing award for The Office 's Greg Daniels, Helen Mirren winning for the superlative Prime Suspect: The Final Act , and Lost 's Terry O'Quinn finally receiving some

Can you believe it's that time again? I can. But then again, I got up at the ungodly hour of 5:35 am to see Jon Cryer and Kyra Sedgwick unveil the nominees for the 2007 Emmy Awards this morning. So who made the cut in some of the top categories? Let's grab a cup of coffee and find out. Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series Extras • HBO • BBC and HBO Entertainment Ricky Gervais as Andy Millman Monk • USA • NBC Universal Television Studio in association with Mandeville Films and Touchstone Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk The Office • NBC • Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille, LLC, in association with NBC Universal Television Studio Steve Carell as Michael Scott 30 Rock • NBC • Broadway Video, Little Stranger, in association with NBC Universal Television Studio Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy Two And A Half Men • CBS • Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc., The Tannenbaum Company in association with Warner Bros. Television Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper This is a seriously tough category

So I succumbed just a little bit to the Emmy mania that was sweeping through Los Angeles last night. Just a little bit, anyway. It all started Saturday with the Fourth Annual BAFTA Emmy Tea Party at the Park Hyatt Hotel, where the red carpet was walked by some of my favorite American, British, and Commonwealth television actors (more on that to come). However, I will say that I didn't watch much of the actual Emmy telecast last night but instead stuck to my time-honored tradition of getting the winners from the internet and tuned in to some random moments whilst doing some other things (like trying to get drunk off of the drinks at a certain show's post-Emmy bash at The Highlands, where people watching the tape-delayed telecast seemed deliriously unaware of the award show's outcome). So then, which Emmy awards worked for me and which ones just didn't? Megan Mullally for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Gawd, seriously? Yes, it was Will & Grace 's swan song t