[Televisionary]

Looking for more Lost goodness? After a particularly busy week, I was extremely honored and more than happy to crash on Friday evening in front of the computer, pour myself a drink (Hendrick's gin and soda with lime, to be precise) and catch up with The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan and Zap2It's Ryan McGee. Yes, I was the mystery guest this week on the latest edition of their weekly Orientation: Ryan Station Lost podcast . Discussing this week's episode of Lost ("The Package"), we had a lot to say about Sun and Jin's separation (which I believe to be intentional), that stubborn tomato and a certainly conveniently located tree branch, the possible merging of the two realities, the handling of the series' female characters, and much more. You can give the podcast a listen here (and very conveniently watch along to the episode on the embedded Hulu player), download this week's episode here , and subscribe to the podcast here . Curious to see wha

It's time for some Instant Dharma. Last night, I had the extreme pleasure of being invited on AOL's weekly Lost -centric show Instant Dharma , where I joined host Maggie Furlong and IGN's Dharma Initiative-jumpsuited Matt Fowler to discuss this week's episode of Lost ("Recon"), where we talked about--SPOILER!--Sawyer's many cons, Charles Widmore's return to the island, Smocke's mommy issues, and much more. You can catch my appearance on this week's episode of Instant Dharma below. Lost airs Tuesdays at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Last week, I had the pleasure of dropping by to lend my voice and thoughts about the current season of Chuck (and the next four upcoming episodes) to Chuck Vs. the Podcast. As part of the ongoing podcast's 42nd episode, I chatted with host Gray Jones about my thoughts on "Chuck Versus the Mask," the love quadrangle, what's coming up for our intrepid spies, and much, much more. (The episode itself was the second half of a great installment that also featured The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan .) You can watch/listen to the podcast below or over at Blip.tv . Or you can download the podcast from iTunes as well. Depending on what your bag is, I suppose. Chuck returns tonight with a brand-new episode, the series' first in three weeks, at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC. You can read my advance review of the next four episodes here .

Over at The Daily Beast, you can find my latest piece, entitled "Hollywood Takes on Autism." The article explores the portrayals of people with autism spectrum disorders in pop culture, from films like Dear John and Adam to television series like Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Community , and The Big Bang Theory . I also talk to some of theses projects' creators--including Community creator Dan Harmon and Parenthood showrunner Jason Katims--about why they are--or aren't--labeling their characters as autistic. Head to the comments section to be sure and let me know what your take is on this trend and whether it matters or not that these characters are labeled or whether it's the discussion of neurodiversity that their presence creates that's far more important.

Staying in on Valentine's Day? Or just looking to set up your recordings for the weekend now? Over at the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker, I offer you five reasons why you should tune into the newest cycle of CBS' The Amazing Race , in a piece that's not-so-cleverly entitled "Five Reasons to Tune In." And head to comments section to offer your thoughts on the contestants (including the map-challenged former Miss Teen South Carolina) and what you're hoping to see this season on The Amazing Race . The Amazing Race 16 launches on Sunday evening at 8 pm ET/PT on CBS.

Happy birthday! Televisionary is four years old. I want to thank all of you loyal readers (and fellow couch potatoes) out there who have made this site the success that it is today. When I first started Televisionary back in February of 2006, it was to have a place separate from my television job where I could share my views on television programming, discuss recent episodes and news, and showcase some off-the-beaten-path series alongside the more mainstream series that we all know and love. It started off way back when as a little slice of the web where I could express my thoughts to a few dozen readers who dropped by each day, but Televisionary has blossomed, over the last four years, into something much bigger than I ever dared dream. I left the television industry (thanks to an ill-timed pink slip) and have been focusing on writing full-time the last year or so. If it had not been for Televisionary, I certainly wouldn't have landed contributing writer gigs with The Daily Beast

Missed my radio appearance earlier today on NPR's Colin McEnroe Show ? No worries as you can stream or download today's episode here or download today's show from the iTunes store here . Listen as I discuss television with host Colin McEnroe and USA Today 's Whitney Matheson and segments with Royal Holloway University of London Lecturer of Media Arts Adam Ganz, Fordham University's Brian McFadden, and Fionn Murtagh, Professor of Computer Science at the University of London. Among my topics: what to watch this winter, including Syfy's Caprica , ABC's Lost , FX's Archer, Justified , and Damages , and HBO's Big Love . Give it a listen!

After a day of interviews and covering press sessions at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, I had the honor of dining at Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio's restaurant, The Dining Room at The Langham, in Pasadena. I've been dying to eat there since Top Chef ended... and what an evening it was. I was joined in this culinary adventure by several fellow television journalists/foodies including: my editor at The Daily Beast, Kate Aurthur; Denise Martin of The Los Angeles Times ; Zap2It's Hanh Nguyen; and St. Louis Post Dispatch TV columnist Gail Pennington. Arriving at the Dining Room, we were greeted with several warm welcomes by the restaurant's manager and the hotel's PR executive. We sipped on some lovely glasses of non-vintage champagne while we perused the menu and ultimately decided to go with a five-course chef's tasting menu, with the dishes to be expertly selected by Michael Voltaggio, with whom we visited in the kitchen following the

Yep, it's that time of year again as television critics and reporters descend on Los Angeles en masse for the annual Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, being held once again in Pasadena. I'll be attending again as I have for the last few press tours. Look for me to be filing stories directly from Pasadena beginning tomorrow, as well as live-tweeting several sessions and doing some one-on-one interviews for upcoming features. Wondering what the executives have to say about the network's upcoming midseason programming? Want to hear what Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have to say about Season Six of Lost ? Want some tidbits from the cast and crew of NBC's Parks and Recreation? You've come to the right place. Be sure to follow me on Twitter and keep refreshing the main page here at Televisionary for the latest information, gossip, and intel from the TCA Press Tour. Stay tuned.

Over on Twitter this morning, one of the main topics of TV-focused conversation is the dearth of well-crafted and three-dimensional teenage characters on television. The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan raised an interesting question about why teen characters are often so unlikable, to which I replied that television writers are often too quick to paint them as brash and unpredictable rather than develop them as full-blown characters with strengths and weaknesses. The initial conversation stemmed from a dislike on the part of many of V 's Tyler Evans (Logan Huffman), who seems in the series purely to advance a subplot and not because his character's participation in the overall story (yet anyway) has made an indelible mark. It's especially noticeable given the strength of the series' female characters, particularly those played by Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin. But the real question is: why are teens given short shrift when it comes to characterization? Th

Curious to hear what the creator of Mad Men has to say about Sunday night's season finale? You're in the right place. I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner about the third season finale of the AMC period drama and take a look at the third season as a whole. You can read my extremely illuminating interview with Matt Weiner, entitled "Mad Men, Laid Bare," over at The Daily Beast , where he discusses the end of the Drapers’ marriage and Sterling Cooper, new beginnings for Don and Betty, the Kennedy assassination, and real-life figure Conrad Hilton, among other topics. (There was a lot of fascinating information that unfortunately didn't make it into the final Q&A due to length, so apologies if some topics of interest didn't get touched upon.) Let me know what you think and head over to the comments section to discuss.

I'm personally against spoilers. I can't stand them and I think they detract from the audience's appreciation of the care and effort that series' writers take to deploy the plots that they have carefully developed. I don't read the end of mystery novels for the same reason. I don't want to know whodunit before the killer has even struck. The journey is what interests me most more than the ultimate destination. I want to see how characters develop, how they change and grow, how the plot twists and turns. In other words: I want to be surprised. That said, a comment I received on a story (elsewhere, not on Televisionary) rankled me this morning. The reader took umbrage at the fact that I didn't include a "spoiler warning" at the start of an interview for an episode that had already aired . Here's where my views depart from the devout spoiler-phobe. I firmly believe that, once an episode has aired across the country, all bets are off. It's a fr

With the fall season now officially a few weeks old, I thought it was time to check the pulse of the television landscape a bit. I'm extremely curious to know what new and returning series everyone is watching. Have you fallen for ABC's Modern Family ? In love with NBC's Community ? Dying to see ABC's V ? Surprised by how much you're enjoying CBS' The Good Wife ? Laughing your head off over NBC's reinvigorated Parks and Recreation ? Singing your heart out to FOX's Glee ? I want to know. Conversely, which new or returning television series have you given up on? Have you moved out of Melrose Place ? Been traumatized by NBC's Trauma ? Frustrated by FlashForward ? Already forgotten about The Forgotten ? I'd be interested to know either way which series are at the top of your must-view list and which ones have been deleted from your season pass. And, most importantly, why. Talk back here.

Those of you looking for some more information about ABC's upcoming reimagining of the 1980s sci-fi mini-series V , should head over to the Los Angeles Times to read my lengthy interview with the series' lead Elizabeth Mitchell, entitled "From The Others to the Visitors: Elizabeth Mitchell talks about battling the otherworldly on her new ABC series 'V'." In this exclusive interview, I talk to the lovely and articulate Elizabeth Mitchell about her time as Juliet on ABC's Lost , her character FBI Agent Erica Evans on V , Erica's relationship with Joel Gretsch's Father Jack, what's coming up on the sci-fi series, and much more. If that weren't enough, V -related goodness for you, here's a link to my original advance review of the pilot episode from May , and you'll find a video of the first nine minutes of the V series premiere below. V premieres Tuesday, November 3rd at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Time for some shameless self-promotion. The Wrap's Josef Adalian has compiled a list of " 50 TV Insiders to Follow Right Now " and yours truly has made it onto the list, along such luminaries as The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan, Time 's James Poniewozik, Sarah Silverman, Shawn Ryan, Hart Hanson, Brian Stelter, and many, many others. (Okay, well, 43 others.) Here's how The Wrap described me: @televisionary A one-time TV development executive and avowed Anglophile, the man behind the Televisionary blog is never shy with a sharp opinion on the latest TV news or last night's episode of Mad Men . He's also the best-fed TV type on Twitter, regularly sharing details of his latest amazing meal. You can read the full list here and follow me on Twitter here .

You can check out my interview by USA Weekend 's Thomas J. Walter about the fall season here . I was interviewed along with The Futon Critic's Brian Ford Sullivan and Ain't It Cool News' Herc about which series were we most looking forward to this fall. Not surprisingly, two of the series I touted were ABC's Modern Family and V . Of Modern Family (which launches on Wednesday night), I said, "Hands down, this is my favorite new series so far," and that the series "has a winning combination of quirkiness, witty banter and heart. It explores how the post-nuclear family ticks and how universal bonds of love and frustration keep it all together." And V I described as "Gripping and electrifying in equal measure... With engaging leads such as Elizabeth Mitchell and Joel Gretsch, it's difficult not to get swept up by the action and the analogies for our changed world." The piece can be read in full here .

Some more self-promotion this morning as the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker has today run my first piece for their website, an interview with Curb Your Enthusiasm creator/star Larry David. I caught up with David earlier this week to discuss Season Seven of Curb (which launches Sunday evening), that Seinfeld reunion, Larry's relationships with Cheryl and Loretta, sacred cows, and much more. You can read the piece in full here at the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site . Curb Your Enthusiasm 's seventh season launches Sunday evening at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

Just a quick reminder that there's a ton of new television launching tonight, between series premieres, season premieres, and a secret advance peek at a new FX comedy series kicking off next year. So what should you be sure to set your DVR for tonight? Here goes? Season Five of Bones kicks off tonight at 8 pm ET/PT with a premiere ("Harbingers in a Fountain"), in which Brennan returns from a dig in Guatemala; Angela's psychic, Avalon Harmonia (Cyndi Lauper) reveals while reading Angela's tarot cards that there are multiple bodies buried under a Washington, DC fountain; Sweets certifies Booth mentally fit to return to duty after his brain surgery, but Booth is still experiencing some side effects from his coma. (You can read my advance review of the season premiere here .) At 8:30 pm, it's the start of Season Two of comedy Parks and Recreation on NBC. (You can read my advance review of the first two episodes of the season here .) Fringe returns to FOX at 9 p

Another quick bit of indulgent self-promotion this morning. Please be sure to check out my latest piece for The Daily Beast, entitled "The Magic of Mad Men ," featuring a one-on-one interview with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. It's the latest installment of an Emmy story package at The Daily Beast and features a Q&A with Matthew Weiner. The period drama is up for thirteen nominations this year, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor (Jon Hamm), Outstanding Lead Actress (Elisabeth Moss), Outstanding Supporting Actor (John Slattery), and Outstanding Writing, among others. You can read the piece in full here . Be sure to read the whole intro for Mad Men and then click on the gallery to read the Q&A .

Still have some burning questions about last night's True Blood season finale ? Or anxious to gather some clues about just what creator/executive producer Alan Ball has in store for the residents of Bon Temps when True Blood returns next summer? You've come to the right place. I caught up with True Blood czar Alan Ball this morning to talk about last night's season finale, deconstruct the second season, and find out about what's coming up on Season Three of HBO's addictive vampire drama. In this exclusive one-on-one interview, Ball hints at what's on the horizon for Sookie and Bill, new creatures, Sam Merlotte's quest, Jessica, a possible romance for Lafayette, the Vampire King of Mississippi, Sophie-Anne, and much, much more. Ball also told me that the writing staff had broken the fourth script for Season Three of True Blood already and that shooting is tentatively slated to begin December 3rd on the highly anticipated third season. So what did Ball rev