[Televisionary]

Imagine a world where the very simplest of actions, the most basic of decisions, could produce a flood of absurd consequences. You'd likely be too terrified to even step outside of your box-sized Manhattan apartment but for Tim, the hero and titular character of HBO's animated comedy The Life and Times of Tim seems to have not heeded the lesson that if you stick your hand in the flames, you're likely to get burned. Season Two of HBO's cheeky The Life and Times of Tim begins tonight and finds Tim (voiced by series creator Steve Dildarian) attempting to get out of a slew of bizarre circumstances that he has found himself in by dint of being, well, Tim. Whether it's his possible replacement at the nebulous company Omnicorp by a homeless man named Vince (guest star Tony Hale), thanks to his efforts to grow a beard, or suffering through a terrible revival of a 1940s play ("it's like an Arthur Miller play... only slower") so that his friend Stu (Nick Kroll

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Syfy's latest original series Caprica isn't going anywhere any time soon, according to the cabler's EVP of original programming Mark Stern in an interview with Airlock Alpha's Michael Hinman. "We're definitely with Caprica for the long haul," said Stern. "There's no question about it. We knew exactly what it was not going to be, that is an easily adopted show. It's not Battlestar Galactica , it's its own animal. And we definitely recognize that it's going to find its audience and it's going to grow its audience... We're certainly not sharpening the axe by any stretch of the imagination. We all really believe in the show, and it has a lot of potential." Set to air its fourth episode tonight, Caprica will air the first half of its freshman season (10 episodes) before taking a breather and returning in late summer, where it will be paired with another original series as a

If you ever listened to Ricky Gervais' hilarious podcast, you know what to expect from HBO's newest animated offering, The Ricky Gervais Show . But even if you have, the series will still make you laugh until it physically hurts. Featuring the voices of Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington, The Ricky Gervais Show takes those podcasts and animates them, transforming the musings of Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington into something resembling a Flintstones cartoon, if Fred and Barney had a ridiculous naive friend and they all sat around talking bollocks and trashing him all the time. Meet Karl Pilkington. He of the roundest head in the world, Karl is a very easy target for the savage wit of writing partners Gervais and Merchant (who together created The Office and Extras ), who use the opportunity to pounce on anything remotely ridiculous emanating from Pilkington's mouth. Which, to be honest, is very thankfully most of the time. Arranged ostensibly as a roundtable

Lucky, lucky Brits. Broadcast 's Will Strauss is reporting that UK cinemas will show a special 3-D trailer for Season Five of Doctor Who , which features new series leads Matt Smith and Karen Gillan... as well as new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat. The 40-second trailer, which will be converted to 3-D from 2-D, will mirror a new Doctor Who promo spot set to run this weekend on BBC One (and which will be made available Stateside by BBC America). It's expected to begin running in cinemas across the United Kingdom (as well as "external promotional screening events") in March. " Doctor Who is the appropriate vehicle for 3D," said a BBC spokesperson in a statement. "It just fits. It’s a great way to introduce and showcase the new Doctor to younger viewers." Season Five of Doctor Who will launch this spring on BBC One and BBC America.

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly 's Jeff Jensen and Dan Snierson are reporting that Maggie Grace is set to reprise her role as Shannon Rutherford on ABC's Lost later this season in an unspecified number of episodes. "We’re really excited about having her back on the show," showrunner/executive producer Carlton Cuse told EW.com, "and we have a good story for her." Grace joins fellow former cast members Ian Somerhalder, Harold Perrineau, Cynthia Watros, and Rebecca Mader, all of whom are set to return to Lost this season. Sadly, Malcolm David Kelley will be the only original cast member not returning. [Editor: Grace has been the center of several conflicting reports about her possible return or non-return, so this confirmation should finally put those to bed.] ( Entertainment Weekly 's PopWatch ) Looks like Nine Lives found another one. The twelve-hour mini-series from executive producer Steven Spielbe

"Don't tell me what I can't do!" - John Locke Last night's powerful and evocative episode of Lost ("The Substitute"), written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Melinda Hsu Taylor and directed by Tucker Gates, focused on two very different incarnations of John Locke, one that has been co-opted by the enigmatic Man in Black and the other who never crashed on the island and therefore never gained his defining faith in the mysteries of the universe. Last night's installment not only offered us a study of Locke in life and in death, but also provided some tangible answers about some of the series' most enduring mysteries, including the nature of the recurring numbers, the relationship between Jacob and the Man in the Black, and why these specific people have been brought to the island. So, what did I think of last night's episode of Lost ? Turn on some Iggy Pop, pour yourself a whiskey, hold on to that rope ladder, and let's discuss "The Substitu

The countdown to a new trailer for Season Five of Doctor Who , set to air this spring on BBC One and BBC America, is underway as the two networks today released a new promo image featuring new series leads Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. The duo, who respectively play the Eleventh Doctor and companion Amy Pond, hadn't yet been pictured together in an official promotional materials released by the Beeb, so this new image (pictured above) is the first time that the co-stars are featured alongside one another. (Not to mention along with some other familiar Who entities, including a Dalek and a Weeping Angel.) And the aforementioned new Doctor Who fifth season trailer will be unveiled this Saturday by BBC One and BBC America, so mark your calendars, dig out your bow ties, and get ready for another look inside Season Five of the sci-fi series. [Editor: I cannot bloody wait!] Season Five of Doctor Who will launch this spring on BBC One and BBC America.