[Televisionary]

I'm personally against spoilers. I can't stand them and I think they detract from the audience's appreciation of the care and effort that series' writers take to deploy the plots that they have carefully developed. I don't read the end of mystery novels for the same reason. I don't want to know whodunit before the killer has even struck. The journey is what interests me most more than the ultimate destination. I want to see how characters develop, how they change and grow, how the plot twists and turns. In other words: I want to be surprised. That said, a comment I received on a story (elsewhere, not on Televisionary) rankled me this morning. The reader took umbrage at the fact that I didn't include a "spoiler warning" at the start of an interview for an episode that had already aired . Here's where my views depart from the devout spoiler-phobe. I firmly believe that, once an episode has aired across the country, all bets are off. It's a fr

Just a few quick words on two Britcom TV on DVD releases today that brought a smile to this jaded writer's face. BBC Video today releases new editions of British comedy classics Blackadder and Fawlty Towers , both in deluxe remastered versions that not only include all episodes produced but a healthy dose of extras and bonus features. (Just don't mention the war.) It's a testament to the creative forces behind both Black Adder and Fawlty Towers that both series have stood up extremely well, even after all of these years; both series remain as sharp, incisive, and hilarious as they were when they aired. The sumptuous six-disc Black Adder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition contains all four seasons of BBC's Black Adder as well as Blackadder's Christmas Carol, Blackadder's The Cavalier Years, Blackadder: Back and Forth , new commentaries, documentaries (including the 25th anniversary doc "Blackadder Rides Again"), behind-the-scenes featurettes, video d

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. ABC hasn't forgotten The Forgotten after all. The network ordered five additional episodes of the Christian Slater-led procedural drama from Warner Bros. Television but also dropped the axe on the WBTV-produced supernatural drama series Eastwick , which won't continue past its initial thirteen-episode order. There's still no word on the fate of WBTV's Hank , which still hasn't received a full season order from ABC. ( Hitfix , Variety ) E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that the soon-to-be-vacated Eastwick timeslot on Wednesdays won't necessarily go to Lost , as many believed, but could in fact be given to--shock horror-- Ugly Betty . "According to sources, ABC higher-ups are considering moving Ugly Betty to Wednesdays at 10 in January as part of a flashy relaunch of the show in an effort to save it," writes Dos Santos. "The thinking is that Betty would complement new hits Modern

"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else." - Ralph Waldo Emerson After a season of betrayal, corporate takeovers, and presidential assassination, last night's brilliantly evocative season finale of Mad Men ("Shut the Door. Have a Seat"), written by Matthew Weiner and Erin Levy and directed by Matthew Weiner, offered not an ending for the staffers of Sterling Cooper but a brave new beginning. Poised on the cusp between 1963 and 1964, there's a power grab going on at the venerable advertising agency, one that leads not to stability and fortune but to risk... and potentially the chance to grab a piece of the American dream once more. It's a dream that's been not only tarnished by the death of a beloved president but also by the disintegration of the family unit as Don is stunned to learn that Betty wants a divorce and intends to go through with her plans to tear their family a

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Former Battlestar Galactica star Michael Trucco has been cast in USA drama pilot Facing Kate , where he will play the charismatic ex-husband to Kate, a former lawyer (Sarah Shahi) who leaves her job to become a mediator after the death of her father. Also cast: Virginia Williams ( Lie to Me ), who will play Kate's younger stepmother, a domineering woman who is desperate to hold onto her late husband's law firm. Bronwen Hughes will direct the pilot, which hails from Universal Cable Prods. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Desperate Housewives will offer a flashforward of sorts in their first episode after the December 6th cliffhanger that will explore several "what if" scenarios. "Two Wisterians featured prominently in the alternate reality sequences will be Gaby and Carlos’ youngest daughter, Celia, and Mike and Susan’s son, MJ," writes Ausiello. "I

Over on Twitter, there's been a great debate waged over the last few days about what the best comedies currently on television are, a subjective discussion if there ever was one. Titles have been thrown about, opinions bandied, and worthiness dissected and then dissected again. The Great Comedy Debate led Time critic James Poniewozik to yesterday publish his list of the top television comedies at the moment (he included just those that are currently on the air right now ) and I thought I do this same, limiting my list to just five US series that are airing new episodes as we speak. So, in no particular order, here are my picks for The Five Best Comedies on Television: Modern Family (ABC) No other series has come close to balancing the sweet with the tart than Christopher Lloyd and Steve Levitan's brilliant mockumentary Modern Family , which each week dazzles its enraptured audience with a winning combination of heart and humor. It's the rare comedy that can make you roar

Now that's what I call a fantastic episode of Fringe . While I've been pushing the series' producers to shift towards a sleeker serialized format for the series since its inception, last night's episode of Fringe ("Earthling"), written by J.H. Wyman and Jeff Vlaming and directed by Jon Cassar, was the perfect compromise: a self-contained mystery of the week that also served to deepen the characters. Or one character in particular, the enigmatic head of Fringe Division, Phillip Broyles ( The Wire 's Lance Reddick). I've been on a tirade since the very first episode of the first season that we still know next to nothing about both Broyles and lab assistant Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) so I'm glad that the writers are finally giving some layering to both of them, who have served more or less the thankless roles of exposition dumps until now. Last night's mystery had the Fringe Division attempting to capture a shadowy organism that may or may