[Televisionary]

In yet another twist to come out of premium cabler in as many days (following the departure of entertainment president Carolyn Strauss ), HBO has announced that it has swiftly killed new series 12 Miles of Bad Road , following weeks of rumors to that effect. HBO had ordered ten episodes of dramedy 12 Miles of Bad Road , starring Lily Tomlin, Mary Kay Place, Kim Dickens, Leslie Jordan, and Gary Cole, but only six episodes had been shot before the writers strike began... and in recent weeks HBO began to re-evaluate their commitment to this series and ordered production to be placed on hold. Meanwhile, rumors reached my ears that Tomlin wanted out of her contract, a fact not helped, I am sure, by the fact that the series didn't ever resume production again. And now it's official: HBO won't air the series. The series' executive producers, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason, are now said to be shopping 12 Miles elsewhere but have not yet found any buyers. Accordin

I wonder: is it really news nowadays when NBC buys yet another international format? Regardless of that fact, I was at least intrigued by NBC's latest reality order for The Chopping Block , based on an Australian format to be executive produced by David Barbour and Julian Cress that sounds completely similiar to BBC America's Last Restaurant Standing (or, as it was known in the UK, The Restaurant ). In this case, the Peacock has cast, er, highly eccentric retired chef Marco Pierre White (who trained Gordon Ramsay... and then replaced Ramsay on the UK version of Hell's Kitchen ) in the Raymond Blanc taskmaster role. White was last glimpsed on these fine shores in the recent Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations episode when he traveled to England. The series will follow eight couples as they compete for their own restaurant. However, unlike Last Restaurant Standing , the couples will be split into two teams that will compete head-to-head in adjoining restaurants in Manhattan.

I've been going to the Paley Festival for a few years now, ever since I moved out here from New York about, oh, six years ago now. (Good god, has it really been that long?) Even when the panels aren't that, well, exciting, they still manage to entertain and provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of your favorite series. I needn't have worried about Saturday evening's Pushing Daisies panel being dull, especially with the uber-talented Bryan Fuller and nearly the entire cast--save narrator Jim Dale and Swoozie Kurtz (sadly at her ailing mother's bedside)--assembled at the historic Cinerama Dome at the Arclight in Hollywood. I cannot explain how magical it was to see Fuller, writer Peter Ocko, Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Kristin Chenoweth, Ellen Green, and executive producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen all up on stage together as their series is about to begin its second season. (Take that, cancellation mongers!) Instead of screening an entire episode (lik

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 was completely disappointed by the latest obnoxious "twist" on Beauty and the Geek , depressed about the pilot for the US adaptation of Spaced moving forward, and surprised by how much I actually still enjoy CBS' multi-camera sitcom Old Christine . After being forbidden to disclose the elimination by Bravo, I was also finally able to discuss the first chef cut from the pack this season of Top Chef , my views on Rob Thomas writing an updated spin-off of Beverly Hills 90210 , and the Sun-centric latest episode of Lost . Elsewhere in the sophisticated TV-obsessed section of the blogosphere, members of the TV Blog Coalition were discussing the following items... Buzz chatted with Parker Posey about Project Runway and The Return of Jezebel James ( BuzzSugar ) Sandie talked about why she loves

I'll be honest: I am glad that Damon, Carlton, and Co. didn't break this season of Lost with last night's episode. Perhaps it would have had more resonance had we not known for what seems like forever about the return of Michael (Harold Perrineau) but since we did (and have been anticipating his appearance in every week's installment, thanks to his name in the credits), it sort of took the wind out of the sails a bit. That said, this week's episode of Lost ("Ji Yeon") was still a pleasurable excursion, especially as it confirmed the identity of another member of the vaunted Oceanic Six (which Yunjin Kim herself hinted to me when we spoke last year ), possibly revealed the lengths to which this mysterious band of survivors will protect their cover stories, and gave us a clue as to what the hell is going on aboard the freighter. All that, some nifty juxtaposition of flashbacks and flash-forwards, and an easter egg in the form of Nikki's TV guest appear

As we near the kick-off of this year's William S. Paley Television Festival (or, as it's known affectionately, PaleyFest), I'm curious to know who among us is planning on attending this year, the festival's 25th anniversary edition. I was lucky enough to snag tickets to tomorrow night's Pushing Daisies event, as well as to panels for Chuck (moderated by Lost 's Damon Lindelof, no less!), Judd Apatow and Friends (and invites to the after-party), the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion, and Damages . (I'll be the one in the Cinerama Dome scribbling away furiously as usual.) Speaking of the Buffy reunion, the Paley Festival website lists the following updated panelists: Amber Benson, "Tara Maclay" Nicholas Brendon, "Xander Harris" Charisma Carpenter, "Cordelia Chase" Emma Caulfield, "Anya" Eliza Dushku, "Faith" Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Buffy Summers" Seth Green, "Oz" David Greenwalt, Exec. P

Sigh. I love Amy Sherman-Palladino. I really do. I can't imagine a world without Gilmore Girls , the quirky and endearing drama she created for the WB; in the first episode alone, she proved that dramas needn't be stodgy or lack the sort of pop culture, hyper-real, breakneck-paced dialogue that her characters spout at the drop of one of Sherman-Palladino's trademark hats. Last year, when I watched the pilot episode of The Return of Jezebel James, Sherman-Palladino's new FOX comedy starring Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose, I was deeply disappointed. My critical review of the pilot drew all manner of responses from people anxious to see Sherman-Palladino's latest work who were quick to defend her... and those who had seen the pilot and were just as crestfallen as I was. While I offered suggestions last May about how best to fix the extremely awkward pilot episode , my criticism of the series centered mainly around Posey's shrill delivery, the women's bizarre