[Televisionary]

It's official: the WGA strike, which began November 5th, has finally come to a close, following a member vote overwhelmingly in favor of ending the strike (92.5% to be precise) and getting back to work during the official ten-day ratification process. You can literally hear the sound of relief echoing through Hollywood today as writers return to their keyboards to try to pound out as many scripts as possible in time to salvage the 2007-08 season. "Our membership has voted, and writers can go back to work," said WGA West President Patric Verrone in a statement. "This was not a strike we wanted, but one we had to conduct in order to win jurisdiction and establish appropriate residuals for writing in new media and on the Internet. Those advances now give us a foothold in the digital age. Rather than being shut out of the future of content creation and delivery, writers will lead the way as TV migrates to the Internet and platforms for new media are developed." So w

So you've read my advance review of the original UK episode (sadly, edited down here for US audiences) and watched last night's two-hour launch of BBC America's latest unscripted series, Last Restaurant Standing . So what did you enjoy about the series and what did you dislike? Did Sam and Jacqui irk you as much as they did me? (Sadly, a whole subplot involving Sam making a phone call to complain about a sous chef candidate right in front of the poor old guy was cut.) Who are you rooting for and, based on this week's installment of Last Restaurant Standing , who should win this cutthroat culinary contest? Talk back here. What's On Tonight 8 pm: Big Brother 9 (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); America's Next Top Model (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); American Idol (FOX) 9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC); One Tree Hill (CW); Supernanny (ABC); Moment of Truth (FOX) 10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Cashmere Mafia (ABC)

I love the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations . It's a travelogue with a bit of snark, a love letter to the culinary world from a guy you'd sooner expect to sneer than smile. So why did last night's episode, in which Tony traveled to London and Edinburgh, leave me so cold? At the start of the episode (in addition to footage of Tony recording a song with British trip hop group Morcheeba ), Tony posed an interesting question: what happened to British cooking? With the very best traditional ingredients, centuries of good food, and a history of uniting those two things, where did British cuisine go wrong? It's an intriguing thought to ponder, even if it does seem, in the age of London gastronomy, a little outdated. But still, in a land that can produce Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Nigel Slater, Tom Aikens, Nigella Lawson, Marco Pierre White, and a slew of other celebrity chefs, why does the turkey twizzler exist? I was excited to see Tony tackle the Lond

While there might only be seven episodes this season (cut back from a typical thirteen), fans of FX's darkly comic drama The Riches have one reason to celebrate: it's coming back on the air. Cabler FX will launch the second season of The Riches , which stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver as members of a family of Irish Traveler conmen who assumed the identities of a dead family, on Tuesday, March 18th. Season Two will pick up when the freshman season ended with the Malloys attempting to escape their past lives and fit into so-called normal society. The sophomore season's seven episodes are expected to run consecutively without any repeats or pre-emptions. Series, which also stars Noel Fisher, Shannon Woodward, Aidan Mitchell, Margo Martindale, Gregg Henry, Todd Stashwick, and Jared Harris, comes from creator Dmitry Lipkin, FX Prods, and Fox TV Studios. Personally, I can't wait for the return of The Riches , which grew on me more and more during the course of its firs

ABC has opted to give nine scripted series early renewals this season, including Lost (guaranteed two additional seasons after the series' current fourth season), Brothers & Sisters, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy , and Desperate Housewives . These series will all return next season for a place on ABC's fall schedule and have each received a full season pickups for the 2008-09 season. "The strength of our schedule this fall was unprecedented and speaks for itself," said ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson in a statement. "We're looking forward to building on that success." The Alphabet also granted reprieves to three first-year dramas and one freshman comedy; Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Private Practice , and Samantha Who? will join the above series on the schedule next season. Good news, right? Well, yes, I am happy that they've gotten another shot on the ratings merry-go-round but as of right now Pushing Daisies and these oth

In about 48 hours time, the strike could be a thing of the past. By Tuesday night, we'll know about the outcome of the WGA's vote about whether or not to lift the strike proviso and if they will in fact return to work while the 10-day ratification process of the tentative agreement takes place. In the meantime, showrunners (those lucky writer-producer types) returned to the job today and it's expected that the WGA's member body will vote to lift the strike. For the first time in months, things seem hopeful here in Los Angeles. Since the strike began over three months ago, there has been a pall cast over this city, a hush that infected every restaurant, every bar, every coffee shop. All anyone could talk about was this strike, when it would end, what it would mean for an industry already under seige, a business which many viewers seem to have deserted for parts unknown. Expense accounts were slashed, pickets raised, overall deals were canceled, crews given pink slips, wr

Televisionary is proud to be a member of the TV Blog Coalition. At the end of each week, we'll feature a roundup of content from our sister sites for your delectation. This week, I took an advance look at new British series Last Restaurant Standing and That Mitchell and Webb Look . When I wasn't hooked on British telly, I was busy dishing about this week's episodes of Lost and Project Runway , as well as Joshua Jackson landing the lead in J.J. Abrams' new FOX pilot Fringe , Will Arnett being replaced by Val Kilmer on NBC's two-hour backdoor pilot for Knight Rider , and FX cutting back its episodic order this season for The Riches and Dirt . Elsewhere in the sophisticated TV-obsessed section of the blogosphere, members of the TV Blog Coalition were discussing the following items... Buzz wonders how many '80s TV references you can pack into one little Ben Lee music video. ( BuzzSugar ) Araya tells us why Friday Night Lights is number 2 on his Top 10 TV Shows l