[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Looks like we're at the halfway point for AMC's Mad Men , at least according to creator Matthew Weiner. Speaking at last week's National Association of Broadcasters, Weiner stated that he would like to wrap up the period drama after six seasons as he couldn't see the series, produced by Lionsgate Television, going past that point. [Editor: Personally, I think that this is a good thing as an end date would allow Weiner to not only go out on a high note but begin planning the back half of the series' run while knowing just when it will end, much like Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had requested an end date for Lost /] ( The Weekly Blend via The Wrap's Weekly Blend ) Elsewhere at AMC, The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that Breaking Bad is likely to be back on the cabler for a fourth season, following news that executive producers were told that the series is ready for a renewal. However, there is curren

"Trust me. I'm the Doctor." With just a few hours to go before the US premiere of Doctor Who , now starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan and written by Steven Moffat, I thought I'd remind you one last time to tune in tonight to BBC America when the Doctor regenerates and sets out for a whole new series of adventures among the stars and the sands of the hourglass. You can read my spoiler-light review of the first two episodes of Doctor Who here , as well as my feature article for The Daily Beast about the Eleventh Doctor , as I interview Matt Smith and Steven Moffat about what's coming up for the Doctor, the challenges and joys of working with a character that continues to endure, romance, wardrobe choices, and much more. And, if that weren't enough Who goodness, I've got the outtakes from my feature piece, presented on this site as two Q&A-style interviews, one with Matt Smith and the other with executive producer/head writer Steven Moffat . I'll

Geronimo! The eleventh hour is upon us as the US premiere of Doctor Who , overseen by new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat and starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, is set for tomorrow on BBC America. (I caught up with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Steven Moffat, and Russell T Davies at last night's fantastic BAFTA/LA screening, Q&A, and cocktail party here in Los Angeles.) I had the opportunity to speak to Doctor Who 's Matt Smith (who replaces David Tennant as the Time Lord known only as the Doctor) and Steven Moffat a few weeks back for a feature piece for The Daily Beast (which you can read here in its entirety ), but I wanted to dive back into both interviews to bring you the stuff that you didn't get to read in my original feature. (You can also read my review of the first two episodes here .) With Doctor Who set to premiere on Saturday on BBC America (with an extended-length episode with limited commercial interruptions), I thought I'd apply even mo

Welcome to what's proving to be a twice-weekly feature now that Lost only has a handful of episodes remaining before it sets sail for the island in the sky. I'll be taking a second look at this week's episode of Lost ("Everybody Loves Hugo"), which brought up so many reader questions and seemed to offer some tantalizing answers to the season's overarching mythology, I felt like it more than merited another post. While I discussed "Everybody Loves Hugo" in full over here (along with theories about the totality of consciousness, Locke, the Boy in the Jungle, and more) , I thought I'd answer some reader questions from the episode that arrived via comments, Twitter, or email. So without further ado, let's tilt our heads and listen to those whispers once more. Whispers. This week's episode finally revealed just what the whispers were, though recent seasons haven't utilized the whispers as much as the early seasons. On that note, rockau

"One should respect his motherland, his culture and his mother tongue because they are givers of happiness." - Rig Veda Adapted from Andrea Levy's novel of the same name, the lyrical and profound Small Island --airing the next two Sundays as part of PBS' Masterpiece Classic --recounts the struggle of two very different couples, bound by a invisible web of fate, who attempt to reconcile their own notions of the motherland and the reality of their circumstances. Set during and immediately after World War II in London, two-part drama Small Island --adapted by Paula Milne ( Endgame ) and Sarah Williams ( Becoming Jane ) and directed by John Alexander ( Sense & Sensibility )--explores the imaginary landscape of the motherland, the promise of its embrace, and its cold reception towards those who might be willing to lay down their lives to her defense but whose skin color makes them outcasts. For Jamaican schoolmistress Hortense ( Pirates of the Caribbean 's Naomie H

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I still have to get caught up on last night's telly as I was out rubbing elbows with the cast and crew of Doctor Who at a BAFTA/LA screening, Q&A, and cocktail party. (Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Steven Moffat, and former showrunner Russell T Davies were all in attendance and all very chatty.) Burn Notice fans will be very happy this morning: USA has announced that it has renewed the drama series for a fifth AND sixth season even before Season Four of Burn Notice has even launches. The two additional seasons will run at least a respective 15 and 18 episodes, with Season Five set to begin shooting in about a year. "Once Saturday Night Live makes fun of you,' how can you not commit to extra seasons?" Jeff Wachtel, USA's president of original programming, told Variety . It also helps that USA will begin stripping the series in October 2011, following a deal with studio Fox Television Studios for the off-net ri

Geronimo! With the US premiere of Doctor Who just two days away, anticipation for the new series, overseen by new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat and starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, is about to reach a fever pitch, thanks to a series of well-timed publicity stops around the country this week. I had the opportunity to speak to Doctor Who 's Steven Moffat and Matt Smith (who replaces David Tennant as the Time Lord known only as the Doctor) a few weeks back for a feature piece for The Daily Beast (which you can read here in its entirety ), but wanted to dive back into both interviews to bring you the stuff that you didn't get to read in my original feature. (You can also read my review of the first two episodes here .) With Doctor Who set to premiere on Saturday on BBC America (with an extended-length episode with limited commercial interruptions), I thought I'd spend the next two days offering up the offcuts from that feature. First up: Steven Moffat, wh