[Televisionary]

Quick bit of indulgent self-promotion this morning. Please be sure to check out my first piece for The Daily Beast , entitled "Damages' Stylish Mind Game." It's the first installment of an Emmy story package at The Daily Beast and features a Q&A with Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, the creators/executive producers of FX's legal thriller Damages , which is up for seven nominations this year, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Glenn Close), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (William Hurt), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Rose Byrne), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Ted Danson), Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Todd A. Kessler), and Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series (Julie Tucker and Ross Meyerson). You can read the piece in full here . Be sure to read the whole intro for Damages and then click on the gallery to read the Q&A.

Ah, autumn. With it comes the end of horrific LA heatwaves, comfy sweaters, and the advent of the fall season, with its new series and returning favorites? Is there really any better time of year? It's with that thought that I take a look at what I'll be watching this fall season, which begins in earnest today. While I can't guarantee that I'll stick around for more than a few (or even one additional) episode of many of these series, below are the new and returning shows that have at least piqued my interest, based on their pilots. And for more on my thoughts about returning series, check out the September 20th issue of USA Weekend , where I'm interviewed by TJ Walter about my top picks for returning series this fall. sunday 8 pm: The Amazing Race (CBS) It's hard to believe that the granddaddy of all reality series, The Amazing Race , is entering its fifteenth season this fall. While the success or failure of each individual season comes down to the strength of

Hi there, faithful readers. As it's Labor Day, I'm taking today off from my normal daily posting schedule to catch up with family (and get some work done). But rest assured, Televisionary will be back tomorrow (Tuesday) with some fresh content, including an in-depth look at what I'll be watching this fall (organized by night), discussion of this week's episode of Mad Men , my daily Channel Surfing television news roundup, and more. In the meantime, feel free to catch up on some of my recent and interesting reviews and interviews, which I've linked to below. Happy Labor Day to those in the US and catch you tomorrow! Reunions, Rapprochements, and Ridiculous Behavior: An Advance Review of Season Seven of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" The Shape of Things to Come: An Advance Review of the Season Two Premiere of FOX's "Fringe" Knife's Edge: Televisionary Talks to "Top Chef: Las Vegas" Contestant Jennifer Carroll Honor (and Style) Among Thiev

With the start of the fall season nearly upon us (in roughly two weeks' time), I'm wondering just what you're most excited about watching this autumn. I'll be sharing my picks for new and returning series next week but I thought I'd get a jump on the upcoming season by asking you, my readers, which series you are most looking forward to and why. Are you super-excited for ABC's FlashForward or does ABC's V rock your world more? Are ABC's Modern Family and NBC's Community the end-all, be-all of new comedies? Intrigued by The Good Wife or Three Rivers at CBS? So keen for the series launch of FOX's Glee that you've been singing along all summer? Or eagerly awaiting the launch of HBO's comedy Bored to Death ? Are you looking forward to the return of 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy , Heroes , or Bones , Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sons of Anarchy , or other returning series? Discuss.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your TiVos. Just a few reminders about some television this weekend that you should be sure to check out, come hell or high water. The third season of Mad Men kicks off on Sunday night at 10 pm ET/PT on AMC. Fans of the period drama are in for a real treat as one of the very best programs on television returns for a triumphant third season that kicks off with a hell of a bang. (You can read my advance review of the Mad Men season opener here .) Also on Sunday evening, is a brand-new episode ("I Will Rise Up") of HBO's supernatural soap True Blood , which transforms the series from being merely slickly seductive into something profound and gut-wrenching. If there's such a thing as one must-see episode of True Blood (and really, aren't they all are worth watching?), this is the one. You've been warned: miss this one at your peril. (You can read my spoiler-free review of Sunday night's True Blood here .) And, finally, there'

While the dust has finally settled on the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour 2009, I've still got a bunch of pieces to finish writing before the fall season begins. But in the meantime, I figured I'd offer up this round-up of all of the coverage for TCA Summer Press Tour 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 and cross-listed below. American Idol: "Idol" Chatter: FOX's Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice Address the Press Better Off Ted: "Dancing" with Paula Abdul, Katherine Heigl, and "Ugly Betty": ABC's Steve McPherson Talks to the Press Bones: Fantasy Life: Televisionary Talks to Hart Hanson About "Bones" Season Five Chuck: Peacock in Flight: NBC's Angela Bromstad and Paul Telegdy Face the Press Curb Your Enthusiasm: Larry David Gives Clues About "Seinfeld" Reunion, Season

Just a few quick words about my participation yesterday in a special thrilling Top Chef Quickfire Challenge at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Pasadena. While you sadly won't get to see the Quickfire on television (aw!), it was an absolute treat to get to have lunch with Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons, and my fellow television critic guest judges and then deliberate about which of the two dishes ruled supreme. (And believe me, get a group of foodies and critics together and it's rather tricky to come to unanimous decision.) But I'm getting ahead of myself. The Quickfire Challenge brought together two teams of Top Chef contestants. On the one side: Team Old School, consisting of Fabio Viviani, Antonia Lofaso, and Ryan Scott. Staring them down from the other side of the stage: the newbies from Top Chef: Las Vegas : Ashley Merriman, Michael Isabella, and Mattin Noblia. So how did they do? And which dish did we end up selecting as the winner? Let's dis

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: Knoc

Well, guys, it's time for me to hit the road and head off to San Diego Comic-Con 2009. I'm taking the train down this morning and will be reporting from the convention and covering panels for such television series as Lost, True Blood, Doctor Who, 24, Bones, Caprica/BSG, The Mighty Boosh, Fringe, V , and much, much more. (And hopefully I'll find time to relax a little bit too at one of the multitude of official parties going on this weekend in San Diego.) In the meantime, you can discuss Day One, Day Two , and Day Three of BBC America's Torchwood: Children of the Earth , talk about my review of Dollhouse: Epitaph One , read my interview with Mad Men 's Rich Sommer, check out my advance review of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead , sneak a peek at the new Doctor and his companion , and check out the plethora of other original content here at Televisionary. I'll be posting as much as I humanly can amid the madness down in SD, but you can also follow my adventures vi

With the schedule for San Diego Comic-Con ever so slowly making its way onto the official website ( Thursday , Friday , Saturday , and Sunday are now up), I thought I'd ask once again this year: who's in for Comic-Con 2009? Passes are once again impossible to purchase at this year's festival (with no on-site registration available for professions or press, no less), which boasts a lineup that includes panels for such series as Lost, True Blood, Chuck, Doctor Who, Flash Forward, V, Torchwood, 24, Bones, The Mighty Boosh, Eureka, Caprica, The Prisoner, Human Target, Dollhouse, Fringe, Psych, Stargate Universe, Smallville, Supernatural, Burn Notice, Robot Chicken , and a host of others. (Seriously, the list goes on and on this year.) For my part, I'll be covering as many panels and press rooms as humanly possible and reporting from the convention as long as the WiFi connection holds. (My must-see panels this year: Lost, Caprica/BSG, True Blood, Doctor Who, The Mighty Boos

Had a truly fantastic time yesterday appearing live on TV Talk Radio, where I spoke about summer series like Nurse Jackie and True Blood , pilots, the state of the television industry right now, and what we can look forward to watching this fall. If you happened to miss me chatting live with host Shaun Daily (a.k.a. Shaun OMac) yesterday, you can download yesterday's show on iTunes here or stream the show here . In fact, I had such a great time participating, that I'll be returning to TV Talk Radio at a later date. Be sure to join in next time by not only tuning in to the show live, but also by actively participating: you can offer questions or comments in TV Talk's chat room and via Twitter . Stay tuned and thanks for listening!

Just a quick reminder that I'll be appearing live on TV Talk Radio today (Thursday) at 3:25 pm PT talking about summer series, pilots, and what we can look forward to watching this fall. You can listen to me chatting live with host Shaun Daily (a.k.a. Shaun OMac) here or you can download or stream today's installment at a later time as well . Plus, you can join in by not only tuning in to the show live, but you can also actively participate by offering questions or comments in TV Talk's chat room and via Twitter . Stay tuned and thanks for listening!

If the real world were just as awesome as the fictional one we tune in to each Monday night to see on NBC's Chuck , the action-comedy series wouldn't be in any danger of cancellation. And yet, with the series about to air the final installment of its second season tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC, that's just where we are. It's entirely possible that tonight's episode of Chuck , which has yet to receive a pickup for a third season, could be the series' last. I'm still keeping my fingers firmly crossed that NBC realizes what a sensational series this is and renews Chuck for a third season. Monday nights surely wouldn't be the same without Chuck . Hell, television right now wouldn't be the same without Chuck , which offers a winning combination of action, humor, workplace comedy, and, well, a sly skewering of underemployed twenty-somethings, stuck in a perpetual state of arrested development. It's a series that the whole family can watch together...

With so many high-profile series like Lost , Desperate Housewives , and Heroes proving themselves willing to kill off main characters over the last few seasons (and rumors swirling about many a death on upcoming series by the end of the season), it got me thinking about the role of death on television and whether it's still an important tool in the television writer's arsenal of plot devices or an over-hyped gimmick to force viewers to tune in. The most recent death on television was, of course, the shocking demise of Kal Penn's Dr. Lawrence Kutner on FOX's House earlier this week . In the April 6th episode, entitled "Simple Explanation," Penn's typically levelheaded character commits suicide very unexpectedly and his absence from work prompts two of the series' characters to investigate his whereabouts; they discover his body in his apartment with a gun by his side. Reactions to the episode have divided both critics and audience alike, with some prai

I always hate to self-promote but if there's a time to do so it's when you get mentioned in The New York Times ... which doesn't exactly happen every day. That's right, longtime readers, Televisionary has earned a mention in the pages of The New York Times itself, with yours truly being quoted in today's Arts section. In " ‘Motherhood’ Viewers: Hold the Ideas ," an article by Brian Stelter about ABC ceasing to ask viewers for ideas for upcoming episodes of its new comedy series In the Motherhood , I'm quoted about why television series don't accept unsolicited (or, really, solicited) ideas from viewers for potential storylines... and I manage to relate the legal issue to Lost , of course. Did you really expect anything less?