[Televisionary]

Showtime's new comedy series, Tracey Ullman's State of the Union may not launch for over another month, but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate Presidents' Day in style with the reigning British Queen of Comedy. To that end, a sneak peek at Ullman's new sketch comedy, in which she tackles the state of America, Dina Lohan, Suzanne Sommers, and a cast of hundreds in her own inimitable way. Tracey Ullman's State of the Union launches March 30th on Showtime.

Did you take a break from your three-day weekend festivities to tune into NBC's two-hour backdoor pilot for Knight Rider ? Were you as bored to tears as I was? Did you valiantly fight against the embrace of sleep? Did you think that lead Justin Bruening (as the spawn of Michael Knight himself, Mike Tracer) was so wooden that he made a redwood look positively animated by comparison and that he and Deanna Russo had no chemistry together whatsoever ? And were you so disappointed by a lifeless Val Kilmer as artificially intelligent car KITT that you (A) wished you could have gotten to hear Will Arnett channel GOB Bluth and purr "Michael" in his gravely voice and (B) hoped Arnett knew how very lucky he was to escape this showcase of mediocrity from director Steve Shill? (Still you know that Silverman will be so chuffed with the numbers from last night that he's just itching to hand out a series order as quickly as possible.) Talk back here.

What a difference a week makes. Last Monday, I was on pins and needles about whether the WGA membership would vote in favor of lifting the strike and getting back to work. The past week, however, has been a flurry of activity as studios and networks began taking stock of their current series, ordering second seasons for many freshman dramas, ordering additional episodes of current hits, and looking towards the 2008-09 season and seeing just how many pilot projects could be recovered in time for the upfronts in May. The very first post-strike sale was announced this weekend: ABC has picked up an untitled multi-cam comedy pilot from Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, from studio Warner Bros. Television. Project, which had been written on spec before the strike, revolves around two best friends and business partners--one who is straight, the other who is gay--who both end up landing significant others at the same time. This untitled comedy pilot about a pair of gay ...

What. The. Hell? Lost is back, baby, and it has sucked me into its twisted web of storytelling with a lure that no other series can approach. Last night's episode of Lost ("The Economist") was a single hour of bait-and-switches, double-crosses, and wha-huh? moments unlike anything else on television, as we learned the identity of another member of the vaunted Oceanic Six and came face to face with one of the most shocking, unexpected endings in the history of the series. Where to begin? For one, I did not expect that Sayid would be one of the six castaways to make it off the island nor did I expect him to draw his gun and shoot the mysterious Mr. Avellino on the golf course. (Which is what makes Lost so fantastic: the fact that it always manages to surprise with every turn.) And while I knew logically that this was a flash-forward I was still nonetheless surprised to hear Sayid so casually (and yet precisely) mention his status as one of the Oceanic Six. Right before h...

I had a feeling, even after Heidi made a point of saying that two designers would be auf 'd this week, that there would be four contestants making it to the final rounds. And, before you ask, yes, I've managed to avoid all spoilers about the season finale, New York Fashion Week, or anything else relating to this addictive series. On this week's episode of Project Runway ("The Art of Fashion"), the series' producers made up for their "quirky" challenges involving product placement, trash, or chocolate and gave the designers creative carte blanche when tasked with using a piece of art from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (easily one of my favorite places in the world) as the inspiration for a garment. It was a dynamic challenge and one that I hoped would invigorate these designs and spur their designers to greater heights than we've seen so far. Christian won this challenge hands down. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that...

Good news, bad news for Chuck fans: the series will be returning to NBC, just not as early as those promos would have you believe. NBC picked up second seasons of freshman dramas Chuck and Life , along with a third-season order for drama Heroes , but has no plans to return either series to their schedule before this fall. All three will have major re-launches next season. Which means those of us hooked on the adventures of Chuck Bartowski and his gang of spies and retail clerks will have to wait quite a while for fresh installments. "We are thrilled to be bringing back the high-energy dramas Chuck and Life for next season," said NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman in a statement. "Additionally, we will be saving and re-launching our #1 drama and most successful franchise, Heroes , so that it will run in all original episodes in the fourth quarter." "These pickups are a sign of our confidence in these quality series and will allow the respective prod...

If there's been one series that I've been dying to see since I first heard about it, it would be the BBC's Ashes to Ashes , a spin-off from its groundbreaking drama Life on Mars , which launched last week to about 7 million viewers in the UK. Sadly, it's going to be a long time until US audiences can catch the further story of DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), here partnered with tough 21st century profiler Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes), as BBC America, home to Life on Mars in the States, has yet to acquire Ashes to Ashes and has no air date for it. But television waits for no man and, fortunately for this TV devotee, I was able to get my hands on the superlative premiere episode of Ashes to Ashes just days after its UK premiere. So was the wait worth it to find out just what happened to Life on Mars' Sam Tyler (John Simm)? And just what is this series about? Let's discuss. Ashes to Ashes not only lives up to its pre-launch hype and the promise of Life on Mars ...

It's official: the WGA strike, which began November 5th, has finally come to a close, following a member vote overwhelmingly in favor of ending the strike (92.5% to be precise) and getting back to work during the official ten-day ratification process. You can literally hear the sound of relief echoing through Hollywood today as writers return to their keyboards to try to pound out as many scripts as possible in time to salvage the 2007-08 season. "Our membership has voted, and writers can go back to work," said WGA West President Patric Verrone in a statement. "This was not a strike we wanted, but one we had to conduct in order to win jurisdiction and establish appropriate residuals for writing in new media and on the Internet. Those advances now give us a foothold in the digital age. Rather than being shut out of the future of content creation and delivery, writers will lead the way as TV migrates to the Internet and platforms for new media are developed." So w...

So you've read my advance review of the original UK episode (sadly, edited down here for US audiences) and watched last night's two-hour launch of BBC America's latest unscripted series, Last Restaurant Standing . So what did you enjoy about the series and what did you dislike? Did Sam and Jacqui irk you as much as they did me? (Sadly, a whole subplot involving Sam making a phone call to complain about a sous chef candidate right in front of the poor old guy was cut.) Who are you rooting for and, based on this week's installment of Last Restaurant Standing , who should win this cutthroat culinary contest? Talk back here. What's On Tonight 8 pm: Big Brother 9 (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); America's Next Top Model (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); American Idol (FOX) 9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC); One Tree Hill (CW); Supernanny (ABC); Moment of Truth (FOX) 10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Cashmere Mafia (ABC)...

I love the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations . It's a travelogue with a bit of snark, a love letter to the culinary world from a guy you'd sooner expect to sneer than smile. So why did last night's episode, in which Tony traveled to London and Edinburgh, leave me so cold? At the start of the episode (in addition to footage of Tony recording a song with British trip hop group Morcheeba ), Tony posed an interesting question: what happened to British cooking? With the very best traditional ingredients, centuries of good food, and a history of uniting those two things, where did British cuisine go wrong? It's an intriguing thought to ponder, even if it does seem, in the age of London gastronomy, a little outdated. But still, in a land that can produce Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Nigel Slater, Tom Aikens, Nigella Lawson, Marco Pierre White, and a slew of other celebrity chefs, why does the turkey twizzler exist? I was excited to see Tony tackle the Lond...

While there might only be seven episodes this season (cut back from a typical thirteen), fans of FX's darkly comic drama The Riches have one reason to celebrate: it's coming back on the air. Cabler FX will launch the second season of The Riches , which stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver as members of a family of Irish Traveler conmen who assumed the identities of a dead family, on Tuesday, March 18th. Season Two will pick up when the freshman season ended with the Malloys attempting to escape their past lives and fit into so-called normal society. The sophomore season's seven episodes are expected to run consecutively without any repeats or pre-emptions. Series, which also stars Noel Fisher, Shannon Woodward, Aidan Mitchell, Margo Martindale, Gregg Henry, Todd Stashwick, and Jared Harris, comes from creator Dmitry Lipkin, FX Prods, and Fox TV Studios. Personally, I can't wait for the return of The Riches , which grew on me more and more during the course of its firs...

ABC has opted to give nine scripted series early renewals this season, including Lost (guaranteed two additional seasons after the series' current fourth season), Brothers & Sisters, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy , and Desperate Housewives . These series will all return next season for a place on ABC's fall schedule and have each received a full season pickups for the 2008-09 season. "The strength of our schedule this fall was unprecedented and speaks for itself," said ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson in a statement. "We're looking forward to building on that success." The Alphabet also granted reprieves to three first-year dramas and one freshman comedy; Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Private Practice , and Samantha Who? will join the above series on the schedule next season. Good news, right? Well, yes, I am happy that they've gotten another shot on the ratings merry-go-round but as of right now Pushing Daisies and these oth...