[Televisionary]

The One True Death comes for us all in the end, human and vampire alike, and one has to hope that when the time comes you've accomplished what you've set out to do in the decades or centuries afforded to you. That's rarely ever the case. Certainly not for most humans, though Eric Northman confides in Sookie just what he'd regret most if he met his true end. Right before, that is, he has a monumental change of heart about just what matters most in this world. Is it a matter of love? Or a matter of saving one's own skin and their children's? What price does survival have? On this week's episode of True Blood ("I Smell a Rat"), written by Kate Barnow and Elisabeth R. Finch and directed by Michael Lehmann, much of the episode delved into the backstories of several characters, most notably Sookie, Sam, Tara, and Jason, while setting up some major consequences and twists in the final two episodes of the season. As such, "I Smell a Rat" wasn

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Good news for Community ; bad news for Parks and Recreation . The Futon Critic is reporting that NBC has opted to forgo repeats of Season Two of Parks and Recreation for the remainder of the summer, instead using the Thursday 9:30 pm timeslot for a second round of Community repeats. [Editor: While I applaud NBC for recognizing the potential of Dan Harmon's Community , I wish it weren't at the expense of Parks and Rec , which won't even return for its third season until "midseason."] Planned repeats for August 26th and September 2nd will instead be filled by Community episodes... which means that the airwaves will be Pawnee-free until the series returns at a to-be-determined point later in the season. ( Futon Critic ) SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that John Glover will return to the CW's Smallville to reprise his role as Lionel Luthor in a multiple-episode story arc on

Can't wait until Sunday's episode of HBO's seductive and bloody vampire drama True Blood ? You've come to the right place as we've got three sneak peeks of this week's episode, entitled "I Smell A Rat." Here's how HBO describes this week's episode: A reluctant Bill warns Sookie about the dangers she will face; Jesus is intrigued by the mysterious qualities of V; Samʼs recent fit of rage triggers dark memories; Eric takes precautions and fulfills a wish; Arlene turns to Holly for help with a pressing problem; Jason deals with the unexpected, both with Tara and Crystal; Jessica is torn between Tommy and Hoyt; after communing with Talbot, Russell promises to extract vengeance on his enemies. But if that's not enough detail for you, you can check out the three clips below, which depict Tara helping Jason clean up Franklin's remains, Pam questioning Eric, and Jessica confronting Arlene. And who's that familiar face on TV? Hmmm... Sink yo

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. It's official: Syfy has renewed drama Eureka for a fifth season. The news of the renewal--no surprise given the ratings and the creative resurgence of the series this summer--was announced by Mark Stern, EVP of Original Programming for Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions, which produces the series. “ Eureka remains a steadfast performer for Syfy with its superb cast and perfect blend of drama, comedy and eye candy,” said Stern in an official statement. "Given what Jaime, Bruce and their entire team have done collectively to reinvent the show this year, we can't wait to see what's in store for season 5." (via press release) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chad Faust ( The 4400 ) has been cast in a recurring role on FOX's upcoming drama series Lone Star , where he will play Harrison, the ex-husband of Adrianne Palicki's Cat. Ausiello, per unnamed s

There's no use crying, as they say, over spilled blood. Everything must come to an end. The precipitous peace brokered between the American Vampire League and the human government came crashing down around everyone's heads this week as the humans got a sight of the true nature of vampires. But while the truth came out in a most shocking, hysterical, and dramatic way, courtesy of Russell Edgington, this week's episode of True Blood ("Everything is Broken"), written by Alexander Woo and directed by Scott Winant, dealt with the impermanence of life in many different ways. It wasn't just the death of an idea--or a political movement (the fragile nature of the Great Revelation)--that this week's installment faced head on but in the fact that even for immortals such as Eric Northman and Russell Edgington, the threat of the one true death is always there. The cycle of life--and of death--keeps on turning and nothing can prevent this neverending dance from contin

"Someday, it won't hurt so bad." - Alcide Whether it's love or guilt--or something in between--there's an invisible thread binding us to those in our lives. In an installment filled with reunions, reconciliations, and rather disturbing dreams, True Blood 's characters had a knack for ricocheting off of one another in some intriguing and eye-opening ways, resulting in a cascade of emotions--and blood--that mark a major turning point for the season. Last night's episode of True Blood ("Night on the Sun"), written by Raelle Tucker and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, managed to pull off just that, turning in a crimson-soaked installment that was high on both drama and emotional resonance as an age-old quest for revenge struck home, parents sought to protect their offspring, and friends gathered together for a moment in the sun, a respite from the darkness that has been closing in all season long. But it was also an episode that offered up questions

It's only fitting that a vampire drama would revel in the sticky messiness of death, contemplating both the eternity of the one true death as well as the spaces in between and, for those hovering between life and death, how their limbo-like state impacts those around them. This week's episode of True Blood ("Hitting the Ground"), written by Brian Buckner and directed by John Dahl, did just that, offering up an installment that looked at the stark reality of human death, sacrifice, and imprisonment, the final theme laced underneath the installment as we see that none of us--human, vampire, or other--is ever truly free. Except, perhaps, for the King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington, who looks to liberate himself from outdated modes of imprisonment and fealty and take a giant leap forward for the false emancipation of vampire-kind, who have "suffered" too long under the oppressive yoke of the unseen Authority. That vampires have their own social conventions a

This season of True Blood has continued to kick into overdrive, delivering yet another taut and disturbing installment that not only advanced the overarching plot of the fourth season but also pushed several characters past their breaking point, revealing the skull beneath the skin quite literally in some cases. Last night's episode ("I Got a Right to Sing the Blues"), written by Alan Ball and directed by Michael Lehmann, should serve as a prime example of the sort of dizzying storytelling that True Blood excels at, juggling multiple subplots and weaving together several story strands as the direction that Season Four is taking becomes all the more clear. But the main narrative throughline would appear to be the characters' individual quests for their humanity, between the desires of the flesh and the fulfillment of the spirit, the insubstantial, and the ethereal. For the supernatural creatures that populate the shadowy world of True Blood , humanity is a vestment t

As Comic-Con 2010 wraps up today (and I head back to Los Angeles to prep for the TCA Summer Press Tour), HBO has released the absolutely killer teaser reel it lovingly crafted for its True Blood panel (which you can read about here ). The two-minute-and-twelve-seconds clip depicts upcoming scenes--and MAJOR reveals--coming up in the back half of the third season and had the crowd in Ballroom 20 cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs. Yes, True Blood fans, things are about to get really, really crazy in Bon Temps. (And Jacksonville, of course.) You can watch the full clip below but be warned that there are MAJOR SPOILERS for the rest of the season contained within. Yes, seriously. I'm not kidding: MAJOR. Watch below at your own risk and come back tomorrow to discuss tonight's episode... Season 3: Comic-Con Second Half Preview True Blood airs tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

HBO's panel for True Blood is always a highlight of the Comic-Con schedule and yesterday's offering of vampiric delights did not fail to disappoint, particularly as the pay cabler opted to introduce the panel by screening a teaser reel of footage from the back half of the third season... and it looked smoking hot. (We'll put the trailer up as soon as it becomes available but it gave away LOADS of upcoming plot twists, so watch at your own peril.) While Alexander Skarsgard and Ryan Kwanten weren't free (both are shooting films at the moment), nearly the entire rest of the cast joined showrunner Alan Ball and novelist Charlaine Harris on stage to celebrate True Blood , field questions from moderator Tim Stack, and attempt to not give anything away when asked some rather piercing questions from fans. While we already knew that Howlin' Joe Manganiello had been promoted to series regular on True Blood , there was a real sense of electricity in the air as he offic

A persistently limited internet connection again made things rather difficult yesterday, the second official day of Comic-Con 2010 but I ended up having perhaps one of the most exciting (and strangely relaxing) days covering the convention that I've ever had. Perhaps it was the fact that I spent the morning on the other side of the train tracks and not in the convention center itself (though it did mean missing out on Bones and The Joss Whedon Experience later in the day as a result), doing some one-on-one interviews for some upcoming feature pieces. First up was director Edgar Wright, whom I sat down with to discuss his new film Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and talk, of course, turned to the awful American remake of Spaced that I savaged a few years back (you can read my review of the McSpaced pilot here ) and Wright thanked me for supplying the final nail in the project's coffin back then. (Introduced to him as a reporter for The Daily Beast, I mentioned that I had written

San Diego Comic-Con is upon us. Over at The Daily Beast, you can check out my latest feature, entitled "Angelina Jolie & Other Nerd Bait at Comic-Con," which rounds-up the 14 most anticipated--and thus buzzy--panels from both film and television. Among the standouts that are sure to be action-packed this year: Salt, True Blood, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Green Lantern, The Expendables, Being Human, Red, The Walking Dead, Tron: Legacy, Thor, Let Me In, Paul , all of WBTV's many shows, and the J.J. Abrams/Joss Whedon Visionaries panel, presented by Entertainment Weekly , among others. What are you most looking forward to and what panels do you think will live up to the hype? Head to the comments section to discuss.

A very late night on Sunday meant that I didn't have a chance to watch this week's installment of True Blood until yesterday, but it was well worth the wait. (And at least I had a much better evening than poor Tara did.) This week's sensational episode of True Blood ("Trouble"), written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Scott Winant, ramped up the tension of the previous episodes to deliver an installment that was drenched in blood, vengeance, and a wee bit of madness to boot. In the more than capable hands of Oliver, the fifth episode of True Blood 's third season becomes a pivotal chapter in a number of plots, including the psychotic romance between Franklin Mott and the imprisoned Tara Thornton, the reveal of Bill's true feelings, and an uneasy alliance between Eric Northman and Russell Edgington, whose, uh, relationship goes back a few centuries. But the episode isn't just about the crimson splatter of blood (though there was a fair amount of viole