[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. HBO yesterday announced that it had renewed Larry David vehicle Curb Your Enthusiasm for an eighth season of ten episodes, slated to air in 2011. Production will begin this summer in New York and Los Angeles. "After much soul searching – and by the way, it was nowhere to be found – I have decided to do another season of Curb ,” said Larry David in a statement. "I look forward to the end of shooting, when I can once again resume the hunt for my elusive soul. I know itʼs here somewhere or perhaps in the rugged mountainous regions of Pakistan." The renewal was announced by Michael Lombardo, president, Programming Group and West Coast Operations, HBO. "Larry always loves to paint himself into a corner, and after the incredibly wonderful seventh season of Curb , you have to ask, "How does he ever top this?' But he always finds a way," said Lombardo. "We canʼt wait to see what he does in season ei

Have some answers about last night's season finale of Damages ? Wondering just how likely it is that it will serve as the series finale? Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my exclusive day-after interview with Damages creators Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman, and Todd A. Kessler, entitled " Damages ' Bloody Finale." In an exclusive Q&A, we discuss the season finale and the series' potential future, as well as get to the bottom of some of this week's extraordinary plot twists (which I won't spoil here). Head to the comments section to share your thoughts about the finale, whether you think Damages should return, and reactions to the third season as a whole.

"I want my ashes scattered here." - Patty Hewes In the end, it always circles back around to that dock, the scene for so many significant--and often fatal--encounters within the labyrinthine world of Damages . As it should be really, considering that their relationship is the central dynamic within the series, we're left once more with a conversation between Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) that signals the closing of one chapter in their lives as they square off on the dock of Patty's beach house. But a house, after all, is not a home. Patty must contemplate the fact that she might truly be alone in this world after the events of the third season and particularly its finale ("The Next One Goes in Your Throat"), written by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman ( whom I speak to exclusively here ) and directed by Todd A. Kessler. Her conversation with Ellen is an intriguing one, revealing a rare vulnerability in Patty Hewes

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Mark your calendars, Mad Men fans: Season Four of the period drama is set to launch on Sunday, July 25th at 10 pm ET/PT while new drama Rubicon will launch with two back-to-back episodes on Sunday, August 1st at 8 pm before it moves into its regular 9 pm timeslot the following week. "Sunday nights are where you find the best of premium television so it should be no surprise that AMC -- the home of premium television on basic cable -- is stacking our original dramas there as well," said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, in a statement. "We welcome back Mad Men and look forward to introducing Rubicon all on Sunday nights this summer." Rubicon stars James Badge Dale ( The Pacific ), Dallas Roberts ( Walk the Line ), Jessica Collins ( The Nine ), Christopher Evan Welch ( Vicky Cristina Barcelona ), Lauren Hodges ( Law & Order ) with Arliss Howard ( The Sandlot ) and Miranda Richardson ( Sleepy Hollow ). (via

Looks like Ray finally got his heart. In the shared stories of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes , DI Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) has been a stalwart member of Gene Hunt's team but never the focus of any particular storyline. That decision has granted Ray the illusion of being what he appears on the surface: a misogynistic lackey who is all too willing to follow Gene's instructions and make trouble for Sam Tyler or Alex Drake. But this week's fantastic episode of BBC One's Ashes to Ashes , written by Julie Rutterford and directed by Alrick Riley, shaded in Ray's backstory, rendering a tragic air to his character that was both emotionally wrenching and wholly unexpected. Thoughout the five seasons that comprise Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes , Ray hasn't been the type of character who openly discusses his feelings or his past, yet this week's installment featured a major moment of catharsis for Ray as well as a scene that offered a surprising act of tendernes

The Doctor might travel through time and space in his trademark TARDIS, a little blue police call box, but the true time machine is Doctor Who itself. When the series truly clicks, it functions as a way to travel back to our own childhoods, to recapture that feeling of awe and surprise that are unfortunately usually lost on the long road to adulthood. What Doctor Who can do is transport us back to our younger selves, to a time where we saw a very different world: one that's full of possibility and magic. I thought that the opening sequence of this weekend's season premiere of Doctor Who ("The Eleventh Hour"), written by Steven Moffat and gorgeously directed by Adam Smith, managed to achieve just that as it introduced both the Eleventh incarnation of the Time Lord known only as the Doctor (Matt Smith, taking over for David Tennant) and his latest companion, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), the girl who waited. Arriving to seemingly rescue Amy, the only Scottish girl in a sm

I'm looking for a sign of forgiveness, a specific one, a white tulip." - Walter Bishop I've gotten more than a few emails, comments, and questions on Twitter asking what happened to my write-up of Thursday evening's transcendent episode of Fringe ("White Tulip"). Due to circumstances beyond my control (namely being out both Thursday and Friday evenings), I didn't get a chance to watch this week's episode until the weekend, a real rarity in the Televisionary household. But now that I've seen the episode, written by J.H. Wyman and Jeff Vlaming and directed by Jeffrey G. Hunt, I thought I'd weigh in on what was a remarkable installment of a season of Fringe that has found its true format: intense mysteries of the week that are grounded by searing and powerful emotional arcs involving the central characters. I've been shouting at the rooftops that John Noble deserves an Emmy nomination for his amazing work this season as Walter Bishop, who h