[Televisionary]

"It's very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present. You know what I mean? It's awfully difficult." - Little Edie Beale It's hard to imagine, in age where Susan Boyle can go from obscurity to worldwide fame in a matter of days (thanks to things like YouTube and Twitter), that prior to the advent of this technology, fame was usually a hell of a lot harder to grasp. Two of last century's most enigmatic and compelling cult figures were discovered in much a similar way as Britain's Got Talent 's Boyle. The eccentric Big Edie and Little Edie Beale, relatives of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, were propelled into superstardom following the release of Albert and David Maysles' 1973 documentary film Grey Gardens , which showed the mother and daughter argue, sing, flirt, dance, and reminisce about the past as they struggled to survive in their raccoon-infested, decaying mansion in East Hampton. Over the last thirty-five years, the Beales have

I was curious to check out the second episode of NBC's Parks and Recreation ("Canvassing") last night to see if my feelings about the new Amy Poehler-starring series, from creators Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, had changed at all. After watching the series' second episode, I was struck once again how the mockumentary format that the duo borrowed from The Office just doesn't work here. In fact, I believe it's what's holding the series back. Too often the characters rely on overused talking heads to convey information that would be far more humorous if they were said to actual people (I'm thinking of Leslie's bit about returning to the park on her birthday with her White House staff as an example) than to the unseen camera crew. Additionally, the use of the hand-held cameras works much better in the physical confines of The Office , where the Dunder Mifflin crew works in bullpen-style seating rather than in tiny, cramped offices. Far too often, the

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller has said that a comic book spin-off of the sadly demised series could be on sale via Marvel as early as this fall, should a deal with Warner Bros for the rights be closed in the next month or so. What should fans expect from the comic, which Fuller describes as Season Three of Pushing Daisies ? "We're going to see a lot of exploration with Ned and his father, which we teased but were never able to make good on," Fuller told SCI FI Wire. "We had [Ned's father, played by] George Hamilton save Ned and Chuck, and by having Emerson and Dwight Dixon clean up the whole mess we're going to understand who Dwight was to Chuck and Ned's dad. Dwight will be making a return, and we'll be seeing the adult Eugene Mulchandani and Danny that involves helium smuggling. There's a lot of fun stuff woven into the series that we were intending to pay off that we can now do in the

Lost has never been one for pun-based episode titles, so I was more than a little intrigued to see just what this week's episode ("Some Like It Hoth"), written by Melinda Hsu Taylor and Greggory Nations, would actually be about. To my delight, the title conflated Hurley's obsession with Star Wars (and specifically writing the script for The Empire Strikes Back ) with the classic screwball comedy Some Like It Hot ... as we delved into the backstory of Miles Straume, learning about his parentage and his supernatural abilities. Plus, we seemingly uncovered some truths about the Swan Station, Sawyer's plan began to crack, and we learned about a potential new faction in the battle for the island. And a certain character, much missed from the last few episodes, turned up with what will likely be some rather interesting revelations. So what did I think of this week's episode of Lost ? Put on your Dharma jumpsuit, crank up some Miles Davis (or country music if, like

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Joss Whedon admitted that it's unlikely that Dollhouse will be renewed for a second season by FOX, given the series' low ratings. "[The chances are] not very good but in limbo," Whedon told SCI FI Wire. "Obviously our numbers are pretty soft, and there it is, but we live in hope. I'm really proud of the episodes that are coming out. More than that, I can't really ask." ( SCI FI Wire ) But, at last night's Paley Festival panel for Dollhouse , Whedon seemed to have changed his tune, saying that the series isn't dead just yet. "We also talked about next season, [FOX] called me specifically to say we've been hearing you sound a little despondent, being very clear about this, the show is not cancelled," he said. "The numbers have been soft, but the demographic is wonderful. DVR is great, they [FOX] are big fans of the show and they're waiting to see what happens, so now

It's rare when a comedy series comes along and makes me fall under its spell. I'm typically pretty averse to the weak charms of most sitcoms and it takes quite a lot for me to invest my time in brand-new comedy series, given their relatively short shelf lives these days. So imagine my surprise when I fell head over heels in love with not just one but three comedy series over the last few weeks. All three air on very different networks, ranging from broadcast to cable to premium, but all three have managed to win me over with their loopy, goofy charms. I reviewed ABC's Better Off Ted a few weeks back, before it premiered, and reviewed the first few episodes of Party Down , airing on Starz, but I've been far too quiet about the strengths of both of these innovative series. Likewise, I'm currently obsessed with British import The Mighty Boosh , which launched its third season over on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block. Three very different series inde

As a restaurateur, you do need to be prepared for anything, whether that's the appearance of vegetarian, a celiac, or a group of discerning--or rowdy--diners. You need to keep your cool, keep the dishes flying out of the kitchen, and keep the quality up. You can't be distracted or indeed derailed by unusual requests. On this week's episode of BBC America's deliciously addictive culinary competition series Last Restaurant Standing ("Tricky Customer"), the past came back to haunt the three remaining teams as Raymond tasked the couples with creating some special offerings in their restaurants and... and accommodate a slew of customers with some strict dietary needs at the very last minute. With only three teams left in the competition, the pressure is on each of the couples to perform well above expectations, even when Raymond Blanc throws a spanner in the works and pushes, say, a table of vegetarians and vegans into your restaurant at 8 pm on a weekend. In this