[Televisionary]

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

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. It took just one episode, apparently, before HBO ordered a second season of New Orleans-set drama series Treme , from creators David Simon and Eric Overmyer. "We would have picked up this show last week," HBO president Michael Lombardo told The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd. "We've seen the first nine episodes it's as strong as any show we've seen. Much like The Wire , the audience is so passionate and so invested. We're about servicing our subscriber base and I believe that people will become addicted to this show. We have to be a place where this kind of excellence is giving space to continue." According to Lombardo, Season Two of Treme is being targeted for a spring 2011 debut, where it will likely be paired with the first season of fantasy drama Game of Thrones . "They should be ready about the same time," said Lombardo. "[ Game ] looks beautiful, the compelling scri

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Billy Campbell ( The 4400 ) has been cast as one of the leads in AMC drama pilot The Killing , where he will play Darren Richmond, a City Council President in Seattle. Series, executive produced by Mikkel Bondesen and Veena Sud, revolves around three interlocking stories that are connected by the murder of a young girl. ( Hollywood Reporter 's The Live Feed ) TBS' deal with Conan O'Brien for a latenight talk show is described as a "watershed moment" by Variety 's Stuart Levine, who reports that the cabler's deal with O'Brien will bring more viewers to the channel who may not have come to the comedy-centric cabler before. Deal will create a two-hour latenight block (with George Lopez's Lopez Tonight that will air Mondays through Thursdays on TBS. ( Variety ) The Wrap's Josef Adalian has an interview with Turner Broadcasting Company's Steve Koonin about TBS' surprising deal with Conan

Fairy tales are funny things. Ostensibly stories for children, they manage to capture that incredible sense of wonderment and awe that we all have when we are younger, as well as darkness and terror, a fear of the things that go bump in the night. When I spoke to Matt Smith and Steven Moffat a few weeks ago for a feature I wrote on the new iteration of Doctor Who --which launches Stateside this Saturday on BBC America--both of them described this new Doctor Who as a "dark fairy tale," and, having seen the magical first two episodes, I can say that the comparison is particularly apt. Under new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat, Doctor Who has been transformed. 27-year-old Matt Smith has stepped into the role of 900-year-old Time Lord the Doctor with an equal mix of relish and madcap verve and he's joined in the TARDIS (which itself gets a facelift, along with the Doctor's trademark sonic screwdriver) by Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who plays new companio

"Follow me through time and space." Anticipation is building to a fever pitch as the countdown until the launch of the new Doctor Who continues, with UK residents very luckily getting the first episode of the Steven Moffat-executive produced Who --starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan--on Saturday. (Those of us in the US will have to wait until April 17th, when BBC America launches Doctor Who .) Until then, some clips to sate your appetite, including the first 35-seconds or so of the Doctor Who premiere, entitled "Eleventh Hour," the first full-length episode featuring Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor, and a look at the Doctor battling some vampires in Venice from the sixth episode, "Vampires in Venice." (You can also read my interview with Doctor Who 's Matt Smith and Steven Moffat over at The Daily Beast here .) It looks like the Doctor has his hands full when "Eleventh Hour" begins, as you can see from the clip below. Doctor Who : "E

Doctor Who returns this month on BBC One and BBC America with a new Doctor (Matt Smith), a new companion (Karen Gillan), and a new head writer (Steven Moffat). Looking to learn more about what's new and what's remained eternally the same? Head over to The Daily Beast to read my latest piece, entitled "The New Doctor Who ." I spoke to new series star Matt Smith and new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat about the Doctor, Amy Pond, the Doctor's wardrobe, what makes this Doctor Who different, what's next for the iconic time-traveler, and much more. Head to the comments section to discuss your take on what Smith and Moffat have to say, your take on the Eleventh Doctor, and anything else that springs to mind. Or as the Doctor himself would say, "Geronimo!" Doctor Who launches Saturday, April 2nd on BBC One and Saturday, April 17th on BBC America.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar. Dr. Death. The Lazy Writers. Those guys who look like Mitchell and Webb but are, um, far more conceited. These are but a few of the memorable characters created by David Mitchell and Robert Webb ( Peep Show ) on their gleefully subversive sketch comedy series, That Mitchell and Webb Look , which finally returns to BBC America after a far too long absence. As a longtime viewer and Numberwang -obsessive, I've long waited for BBC America to bring this winning series back to the airwaves in America and my high anticipation was well rewarded when I sat down last night to watch the first three episodes of Season Three of That Mitchell and Webb Look , supplied by the network for review. Along with some much beloved returning sketches including the snooker commentators as well as the aforementioned Sir Digby Chicken Caesar and Ginger and the Lazy Writers, Mitchell and Webb have cooked up some new creations in the mad lab in which they write (or, quite possibly, Da

For the survivors of the European flu, things have not been going so well lately. During Saturday night's season finale of BBC America's Survivors , members of the group were alternately kidnapped, shot, and forced to participate in a child thief gang that would have felt quite at home in Charles Dickens' Oliver . In other words: things couldn't really get much worse. And yet... In tonight's gripping second season premiere, the loose band of survivors discovers that things can in fact get a lot worse, as they face their toughest challenges yet and continue to become increasingly splintered by outside forces. Tonight's episode pushes them to the brink of death itself, as several characters find themselves trapped in untenable situations from which escape seems futile while one of them makes a selfless sacrifice in an effort to earn her place among the group. Survivors has thrived by offering a heady blend of post-apocalyptic suspense and a meditative exploration

Digital cabler BBC America today unveiled its newest promotional trailer for Doctor Who , which launches April 17th in the US. Starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, this new Doctor Who finds Smith tacking up the mantle of the Doctor, a 900-plus-year-old traveler from a vanquished planet who travels through time and space in his TARDIS. Joining the Eleventh Doctor is Gillan's Amy Pond as the dual-hearted time traveler's latest assistant. Plus, Steven Moffat comes on board as the new head writer/executive producer. Having written such standout installments as "Blink," "The Girl in the Fireplace," and "Silence in the Library," among others, I can't wait to see just what he gets up to when he's at the reins. You can watch the full minute-long promo below as we begin to count down the days before the new Doctor takes to the sky. Doctor Who premieres Saturday, April 17th at 9 pm ET/PT on BBC America.

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Battlestar Galactica 's Michael Trucco--next seen on ABC's V this spring--hs signed on for a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Castle. Trucco will play a new love interest for Stana Katic's Beckett in the final four episodes of this season and is described as a "charismatic cop in the homicide division." Ausiello also indicates that, if the character clicks with the audience, he could return next season. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) BBC has ordered a sixth season of sci-fi series Doctor Who , which will once again feature Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. The broadcaster confirmed that Smith will return for Season Six of Doctor Who and that a Christmas special, written by new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat, is on tap for this winter. ( Broadcast ) TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks with Lost 's Nestor

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Elisha Cuthbert ( 24 ) has been cast as the female lead in ABC comedy pilot Happy Endings , where she will play Alex, a woman whose relationship ends at the alter and she and her would-have-been husband have to figure out how they and their friends can keep their relationship intact. Project, from writer David Caspe, directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and Sony Pictures Television, also stars Adam Pally, Casey Wilson, Eliza Coupe, and Damon Wayans, Jr. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Facebook has spoken and Lorne Michaels has listened: 88-year-old Betty White ( The Proposal ) will be hosting NBC's Saturday Night Live on May 8th. "It took on a groundswell," Michaels told USA Today 's Gary Levin. "It isn't something we would have said no to, [but the campaign] validated that... It was the outpouring of affection from fans, and we feel the same way." White's episode will also feature former SNL -ers Tina Fey, A

BBC America's post-apocalyptic thriller Survivors will live on... on Tuesday nights. The Adrian Hodges-executive produced Survivors , which wrapped up its second season in the UK earlier this year on BBC One, will conclude its first season Stateside on Saturday, March 20th... before the digital cabler launches Season Two just three days later on Tuesday, March 23rd at 9 pm ET/PT. Given that Survivors had previously aired on Saturdays, the move could mark a return for the network to scripted drama series during the week. (Fingers crossed.) In recent years, the network has programmed mostly reality series during the week with a few notable exceptions such as Skins, The Inbetweeners , and Gavin & Stacey ... though it's worth noting that the series will now go up against ABC's Lost . Here's how BBC America described Season Two of Survivors : "Season Two shows the group now struggling not just against the difficulties of day to day life amid the ruins of the post-

BBC America today announced the launch date for Season Five of British sci-fi series Doctor Who . Those hoping that BBC America would air Doctor Who within a few days of the BBC One broadcast may be slightly disappointed. The cabler has announced a launch date of Saturday, April 17th for Season Five of Doctor Who , a full two weeks behind the UK broadcast, which launches on Easter Saturday, April 3rd. The new season of Doctor Who features a new head writer--Steven Moffat--who takes over showrunning duties from former executive producer Russell T. Davies, as well as a new cast as Matt Smith takes over the mantle of the Doctor from former star David Tennant. He'll be joined in the TARDIS by Karen Gillan, who plays new companion Amy Pond. (Guest stars this season include FlashForward 's Alex Kingston, Hotel Rwanda 's Sophie Okonedo, and 24 's Tony Curran.) "Britain has a tradition of reinventing its iconic characters, like James Bond and Sherlock Holmes - and Doctor

I'm not even sure what to say about Last Restaurant Standing at this point. Last night's season finale of Last Restaurant Standing ("The Banquet") proved to me that the producers have irreparably damaged this once promising and engaging format. It's rare for me to go from obsessively loving a series to loathing it from one season to the next but the third season of this culinary competition series (which airs in the UK as The Restaurant ) has been so shockingly dismal and so poorly produced that it took all of my energy to keep watching it to the (very) bitter end. Yes, a winner was named last night for the third season and I can't help but be shocked and depressed by the results, which proves the producers--and quite possibly Raymond Blanc himself--were more interested in concept and uniqueness than in finding partners who could actually, you know, cook. Just to get to the point: Raymond offered a restaurant to the woefully inadequate JJ and James. While it