[Televisionary]

I've long been captivated by BBC America's culinary competition series, Last Restaurant Standing (a.k.a. The Restaurant in the UK), which returns with its third season tonight. While Last Restaurant Standing returns tonight, the series is a slightly different beast than in its two previous iterations. While chef/restaurateur Raymond Blanc and judges Sarah Willingham and David Moore all return and the overall premise of the series--"couples" compete to open their own restaurant--remains the same, there's something slightly different going on here. For one, Last Restaurant Standing 's format has changed, reducing the episode count and sucking out some of the series' nail-biting tension. In the UK, previous seasons of the competition series aired twice a week, with one episode devoted to the couples running their individual restaurants, amid frequent complications sprung on them by Raymond Blanc, and the second devoted to the Challenge, a gauntlet of fire ...

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that James Van Der Beek has landed a recurring role on NBC medical drama Mercy , where he will play Liam West, the new head of the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. "Cocky, womanizing, and manipulative, Dr. West will frequently clash with Sands, Harris, and the nurses," writes Ausiello. "But beneath the alpha-male swagger lies a brilliant MD whose primary goal is to make Mercy Hospital money. The new doc is also hiding a deep, dark secret." Should Van Der Beek's character mesh well with the series, it's thought to be possible that he could be bumped to series regular. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Mssr. Ausiello also chats with Elizabeth Banks about her upcoming four-episode stint on NBC's 30 Rock , which kicks off in February. "She’s basically Sean Hannity in a skirt," Banks tells Ausiello about her character, a fi...

"Trust me, I'm the Doctor." Those of us still sniffing following this weekend's Doctor Who: The End of Time and the departure of series lead David Tennant can at least look forward to some new adventures for The Doctor heading our way later this year. (You can read my thoughts on Part One of Doctor Who: The End of Time here and on Part Two here .) The BBC has released a fantastic one-minute-plus trailer for Season Five of Doctor Who , featuring new series lead Matt Smith as The Doctor and Karen Gillan as new companion Amy Pond. As Who fans well know, Season Five of Doctor Who also sees the head writing and executive producing duties being taken over by Steven Moffat, who previously wrote some of the series' most memorable installments, including "The Doctor Dances," "The Girl in the Fireplace," "Blink," and "Silence in the Library," to name a few. The full Season Five trailer can be found below in all its glory. If you...

The Doctor is bigger than just one man. To date now, eleven actors have taken on the mantle of The Doctor, the alien time-traveler who travels about the heavens in a blue police call box that's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. The Doctor's frequent regeneration speaks not only of the resilience of the spirit but also to the temporary nature of all things. It's a reminder that, with each step we make, death stalks all of us, human and Time Lord, mortal and immortal alike. It's what we choose to make of that death--and of that life--that define us for who we really are. With last night's final 2009-10 Doctor Who special, Doctor Who: The End of Time (Part Two) , written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Euros Lyn, we said goodbye to the actor whom many of us believe has best embodied the madcap heroic attributes of the Doctor: David Tennant. While I was moved when Christopher Eccleston stepped aside at the end of the first season, it is Tennant's...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing... and welcome back to work (sorry!) and as 2010 gets underway. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former Dexter star Julie Benz has been cast in a recurring role on ABC's Desperate Housewives this season. She'll play Debbie, described as "a stripper with a heart of gold and a Masters degree in education," according to Ausiello, who says that "when Susan offers her the chance to transition into a more legitimate career, Deb jumps at it." Benz's first appearance is set for February and she will appear in at least three episodes of Desperate Housewives this season. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Former Lipstick Jungle star Kim Raver has been promoted to series regular on ABC's Grey's Anatomy , shortly after joining the cast of the medical drama as a recurring character. Raver plays surgical cardiologist Teddy Altman and is slated to appear in nearly eve...