[Televisionary]

It's that time of year again when the kids start heading back to school, FOX starts unveiling new series that it will only cancel a few episodes down the line, and the fall television season begins anew. It's a magical time this year when we're faced with an onslaught of new and flashy series and a flashy new network, even. (Hullo, CW!) It's also that time when the billboards and bus stations, not mention certain entertainment-oriented publications, around you seem to be suddenly occupied with imagery from those upcoming programs... and if anything they're driving you NOT to watch these shows. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about those irritatingly cloying one-sheets that the networks plaster all over town to gawk at you as you drive to work in the mornings or clutter this week's Entertainment Weekly with reams of wasted paper. Not since the talking My Name is Earl magazine inserts from last season have ads irritated me quite this much... The most uni

I was shocked and saddened to wake up yesterday and learn that Steve Irwin, the star of Animal Planet's long-running series Crocodile Hunter , had died as a result of a stingray attack. The Aussie daredevil was only 44 years old and was killed whilst filming a new television special called (sadly) Ocean's Deadliest. Irwin was attacked by a stingray, which left its barb buried in Irwin's chest. Normally stingray attacks are not fatal, unless the victim is stabbed by the barb in the heart or stomach. To me, Irwin will be remembered best for his passion and enthusiasm and his desire to educate everyone, from children to adults, about our planet's amazingly diverse animals. Rest in peace, Croc Hunter. You'll be missed.

As there have been a lot of new visitors popping up here at Televisionary lately, I thought I'd take the opportunity this Labor Day to take a look back at some recent posts that may have given you a reason to take a break (or sneak one) from work. (Not that I'm advocating that or anything, mind you.) Hopefully, you're off from work today, with the family, having a lazy old day of it. But if you happen to be stuck inside, below are a few Televisionary moments to keep you entertained... Reality Check: "Project Runway": Week 8: Farm-Raised Cuckoo Bird Angela No Jet-Setter Week 7: The Fix is In: Vincent Has the Winning (Yes, Winning) Design Week 6: Allison Wrongfully Trashed Week 5: Michael Finally Gets Some Love Week 4: Pattern Recognition: "Project Runway" Evicts One Designer Week 1: Catwalks and Catfights on "Project Runway" Second Helpings: FOX's Vanished I Heart "Veronica Mars": "Kidnapping an Heiress": Patty Hearst Hea

It's pretty safe to say that I was over the moon about The Office taking home the Best Comedy statuette at the Emmy Awards on Sunday. Not since Arrested Development 's win has the TV Academy got it so right. But let's just hope that, unlike the Bluths, the gang at Dunder-Mifflin actually gets some audience appreciation after the win. Because I seriously can't deal with another brilliant comedy series getting the axe while Two and a Half Men is still on the air. Sorry, folks. If you haven't already caught the penultimate webisode of The Office: The Accountants (and why not), it's up at NBC.com, with the final webisode posting next week. This week ("Michael's Office") finds Angela (Angela Kinsey), Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) and Oscar (Oscar Nunez) sneaking into Michael's office to snoop through this belongings in the hopes of finding something suspicious to nail the theft of the missing $3000 on him. But alas, all they discover are a series

That deserted island just got a few unexpected visitors. And I don't mean any barefooted Others. I don't think I need to say much about the flickr photo set taken by some adventurous fans of Lost who stumbled upon the series' Hawaiian location and wandered through the set, except that I am impressed and quite jealous. These erstwhile young lads were undisturbed by any security whatsoever as they perused through some Dharma brand merchandise, included canned goods and toilet paper. (What? No Apollo bars for me?) The nature of that cage remains to be seen, however. Perhaps to contain other, less lucky trespassers?

Okay, so I was wrong about the challenge this week having to design outfits for Delta Airlines flight attendants... but I was right about the Delta Airlines part. I loved the looks on the designers' faces when they were told to get the eff off the runway, pack their bags for an unknown destination, and get to the airport in their newly minted ensembles... to see how well the "jet setter" outfits they designed would hold up after they stepped off that other runway. Classic and clever. Even better that they ended up in Paris, one of the world's fashion capitals (if not THE fashion capital) though half of me was hoping they'd end up somewhere truly un-exotic and mundane. You know, completely take them out of their element altogether and force them to dress the people of St. Olaf or something. To really see if they can design for the runway and the masses. But I'll take Paris any day, as they were all so excited to be there. Even if I did think it was so complete

One of my favorite annual pastimes is going through the following season's pilots and trying to figure out which ones I'll watch and which ones I'll skip. There's certainly no science to it and much of it is really just my gut reaction to the material and that little voice in the back of my head asking me whether or not I'd watch the series. But the true test of a series isn't necessarily the pilot. In fact, more often than not, it's the second episode that's the real indication of whether or not I plan on investing my time with a particular series. On that note, I sat down Monday evening to watch the second episode of FOX's missing woman conspiracy drama Vanished . Longtime readers of this blog will remember that I ended up liking the pilot, which--like its second episode--was directed by Mimi Leder. Here's what I had to say about the original pilot I watched back in June: "Created by Josh Berman ( CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ) and dire