[Televisionary]

While the entire town has been abuzz this week with speculation over the outcome of those in-progress discussions between the DGA and the AMPTP, I was thrilled to see that one of the only high-quality drama pilot projects this (non-existent) development season had finally begin to secure some cast. Fringe , the two-hour FOX drama pilot from J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci, has locked three actors as series regulars, including Mark Valley, Kirk Acevedo, and Tomas Arana. The pilot, budgeted at $10 million, will be directed by Alex Graves , who recently helmed the pilot for Journeyman and served as that series' executive producer. Project is still on the lookout for its three leads, including a female character, a tough FBI agent who is assigned to work with a institutionalized experimental researcher and his estranged and rather headstrong son as they investigate the onslaught of paranormal phenomenon currently gripping the world. (Click here for my full review of Fring

Oh. My. God. Can I just tell you how much I loved last night's episode of Project Runway ? Putting aside Jillian's hysterics at the sewing machine (which seem to come to a head next week) and Ricky's continued teariness at the drop of the hat, this week's installment brought the goods in the form of a elaborate challenge that was unlike anything we've seen to date on Project Runway this season. The task? To work together as teams of two to create an avant-garde look based around their model's hairstyle. And just when the teams thought they were on track for a last-minute finish for their designs, Tim Gunn threw a bit of a spanner into the works, telling them that they'd have to create another look--based on their avant-garde designs--for a ready-to-wear ensemble. Both would have to go down the runway and (the best part) the designers would receive no time credit. It was, to say the least, a daunting challenge. Yet some of the designers rose to the occasion,

Hungry for another helping of restaurant-in-peril series Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares ? Look no further as the original British format of Kitchen Nightmares , airing this season on FOX, is returning to these shores with its fourth season on Thursday, January 24th at 8 pm ET/PT, with six all-new episodes and two "revisit" episodes, in which Ramsay checks on restaurants he helped save in previous seasons. The series, starring uber-chef Gordon Ramsay, follows the Michelin-starred enfant terrible restaurateur as he tries to save failing restaurants on their last legs. But will the objects of his assistance appreciate the advice... or will they sink further and further into chaos and penury? On the show's fourth series, Ramsay will tackle several daunting challenges with his trademark tough love, including saving a Parisian vegetarian restaurant, an enormous curry house in Nottingham, a Sussex buffet-style restaurant, and an oyster bar in Brighton. And, promises BBC Americ

If there's one word to sum up this week's episode of Life on Mars , it's just... wow . The latest installment of the second (and final) season of Brit import Life on Mars has once again managed to bowl me over with its low-key dread and spine-tingling mystery; all this and a plot about the Gene Genie himself, DCI Gene Hunt, arrested on suspicion of murder. Can Sam clear Gene's name? Does he want to? And just what is acting DCI Frank Morgan hiding? I'll admit that the murder investigation had me baffled. While I knew that Gene was somehow innocent, the evidence clearly pointed to him. He had thrown a brick through the victim's window only hours before his death (after threatening Terry Haslam in a courthouse surrounded by witnesses), drunkenly dropped his gun at or near the victim's house, and went back to get it. Next thing Gene knows it's the next morning, Haslam is dead and his corpse staring at him from across the room, and his gun is missing... only

It's not looking too good for Dan Vassar right now. On what the Hollywood Reporter has deemed Black Monday, the studios axed dozens of overall deals yesterday, utilizing the force majeure clause and blaming the writers strike for the cancellation of the pacts. Among those with their deals terminated: Hugh Jackman (whose Seed Prods had signed a multi-year deal at CBS Paramount), Rene Echevarria ( The 4400 ), Greg Yaitanes ( Drive ), Barbie Adler ( My Name is Earl ), Kristin Newman ( How I Met Your Mother ), Alex Herschlag ( Will & Grace ), among many, many others. The news of these terminations, from NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox, CBS Paramount, and Warner Bros Television, came after ABC Studios gutted nearly 30 overall deals on Friday. In each of these cases, the studios mostly went after writers, producers, and directors (as well as multi-hypenates) with no active projects. Bad news then for fans of Journeyman , whose creator Kevin Falls received word yesterday via a tersel

The true test of any new television series, I find, isn't the pilot itself (which typically has a much bigger budget and purview than the rest of the series), but the second episode. So I was intrigued to see what the sophomore episode of FOX's new midseason drama Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles would look like. Full disclosure: I am not a huge Terminator fan. I loved the original but it's been more years since I can recall that I've seen T2 ... and I've never watched any of the subsequent sequels. So while I'm coming to this series with some backstory, it's not of the intricate, obsessive kind that may help inform some of the storytelling here. I do have to say that there are elements of this series that I do like and others that... just plain don't work for me. In its favor: the choreographed fight scenes, Lena Headey's intensity (dialed down just the right amount in the second episode), Summer Glau (channeling River Tam somewhat here; mo

Oh my god, I can't tell you how much I loved last night's episode of The Amazing Race ("Sorry, Guys, I'm Not Happy to See You"), which had it all: snappy dialogue, breakneck pacing, underdogs pulling through to stay in the game, and a massive, massive comeuppance for one duo. Before getting into the specifics, I do want to clarify one thing. Nate, by now I hope that you've realized the error of your ways. I don't mean your heinous mistreatment of Jen (the two of you are clearly made for each other if not meant to be together), but your complete and utter misinformation about Taiwan, which is not now nor ever will be known for its "Thai food." That would be, um, Thailand. Jen meanwhile seems hellbent on making up her own words. This week's bon mots? "Cold- blinded." I am not entire sure what that means, to be honest. I am definitely rooting for Ron and Christina at this point. They managed to get on that first flight to Taipei, whic