[Televisionary]

"I don't even know what the road in front of us is going to look like." - Bill In terms of the narrative of Big Love , which entered its last season with this week's evocative episode ("Winter"), written by Mark V. Olsen & Will Scheffer and directed by David Petrarca, roughly a week has gone by since the Henricksons publicly outed themselves as polygamists, joining together on stage in a symbolic gesture of unity. Finding them as the fifth season begins, the family has fled Sandy for the isolation of the desert, embarking on a camping trip together both as an act of escape and also one of healing. But the old slights still sting. The Henrickson family is in recovery mode, the wreckage from their act of courage still smoldering around them. Their trip to the wilderness is a reactive move, a reversal from their bravery in the face of those flashing cameras. The fallout has been severe as we see from this week's installment: Margene loses her job and he...

Ask just about anyone in Hollywood what they had thought of The Kennedys , the History Channel miniseries about the Kennedy clan, and they’ll tell you it was so far off their radars that they didn’t give it a thought. That changed last week when the History Channel, a division of A&E Television Networks, announced that it had opted to shelve the project—from 24 co-creator Joel Surnow, director Jon Cassar, and writer Steve Kronish—stating that the “dramatic interpretation [was] not a fit for the History brand.” Over at The Daily Beast, you can read the rest of my latest feature, entitled "8 Crazy Scenes From The Kennedys ," in which I pick out eight salacious bits from the script for the first episode of the miniseries, which is currently being shopped to a variety of cable networks. (Showtime, FX, Starz, and a few others are rumored to have already passed.)

Big Love returns on Sunday and I've already seen the first three episodes. (In fact, I've now seen them multiple times, including the season opener on the big screen last night at HBO's Big Love premiere.) Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Falling in Love with Big Love Again," in which I examine why HBO's polygamist family drama Big Love is back in fine form for its fifth and final season. In addition to taking a critical look at the start of the fifth season, I also make some predictions about where the season--and the series as a whole--is ending. I'm curious to know: are you planning on watching Season Five of Big Love ? What was your take on last season? And how do you think creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer are going to end the series? Head to the comments section to discuss. Season Five of Big Love premieres on Sunday evening at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

It's human nature to lose your way and even the most steadfast among us can sometimes become rudderless. On this week's superb episode of Friday Night Lights ("Gut Check"), we saw three characters become directionless for a number of reasons. Creating three largely parallel stories, the writers offered up varying portraits of just why we come undone, whether in the face of adversity, due to bad advice, or simply because we're running from something that we can't--or won't--deal with head on. For Julie, Vince, and Epyck, their struggles took them to some different places within the context of this week's installment, each straining to find their path in life while others attempted to coax them towards their full potential... or whispered some half-truths in their ears. Of the three, it seems it might be Vince who truly realizes just how far off the path he's wandered. Listening to the advice of his father Ornette, Vince has been transformed from a ...

"I'd be heartbroken if it went away." That's FOX President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly talking about sci-fi drama Fringe as the TCA Winter Press Tour rolls on, with FOX's Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice addressing the press. One topic widely expected to be discussed was the fate of FOX's Fringe , which will move from Thursdays to Fridays later this month. Among the other topics raised at the low-key (a change for FOX, given the previous years', uh, traditional hubbub) executive session: the future of Lie to Me, House , and Bones , Terra Nova , Lone Star , and more. So what did the two have to say? Let's take a look. Fringe : "I beg you not to write the eulogy prematurely," said Reilly. "It's been in a four-way scripted race. I want that audience to transfer to Fridays." And just like many of us, Reilly seems to really like Fringe : "I'd be heartbroken if it went away." Reilly said that, with the move to the Friday ...

On Friday, Russell T Davies, Eve Myles, Bill Pullman, and Mekhi Phifer gathered at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour to tease some details about Starz/BBC's upcoming Torchwood launch, which had been codenamed Torchwood: The New World . Up until now, very little information had been available about the ten-episode project, which is set to air Stateside on Starz beginning July 1st, airing day-and-date with the United Kingdom. John Barrowman's Captain Jack and Eve Myles' Gwen Cooper were back, some new characters were in the mix (look for Pullman, Phifer, Dichen Lachman, and others), and the action would be split between Cardiff and the United States. So just what is this new season about? And how is it connected to Torchwood: Children of Earth ? Read on. For one thing, the title isn't Torchwood: The New World , but rather Torchwood: Miracle Day and the plot revolves around a very strange set of circumstances that connect both to the fate of the planet...

PBS' venerable anthology series Masterpiece celebrates its 40th birthday today. Over at The Daily Beast, in my latest feature ( " Masterpiece , Icon of PBS, Turns 40 Today" ), I talk with Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton, who has been in the top job since 1985, about the 40th anniversary, the 2008 rebrand, and looking toward the future of this franchise. I also pick 12 of the best shows from the last four decades of Masterpiece , no small feat given the thousands of hours produced, co-produced, and acquired by the PBS series. (I could easily pick 50 of my favorites, so, yes, there are quite a few worthy ones that didn't get selected.) I am curious to know: what are your memories of Masterpiece (and Masterpiece Theatre )? What does the franchise mean to you? And what are your favorite Masterpiece programs from the last four decades?