[Televisionary]

What did you think of last night's episode of Community ? This week marked another go on AOL Television's Skype Second Opinions, where I connected via Skype to ramble on for a few minutes about this week's episode of Community ("Conspiracy Theories and Soft Defenses"), which included a vast array of conspiracy theories, an incredibly sprawling blanket fort (village?), gunfire, confessions of true love, Dean Pelton, lessons, Professor S. Professorson, fake night school courses ("Learning!" "Reading?" "Introduction to Basics"), and more than I could possibly fit into this wee paragraph. (If you couldn't guess, I loved this week's episode.) You can watch the video in full over here at AOL Television or right below. In two weeks on Community ("Mixology Certification"), when the study group convenes to celebrate Troy's birthday, they realize he is actually turning 21 and decide to hit the bars; Jeff and Britta inge

There's always a sense of walking a tightrope when reviewing a mythology-heavy installment of any series, but particularly with FOX's Fringe , which thrives on the unexpected and inexplicable. Revealing sensitive information or plot twists has the ability to take much of the fun out of the proceedings, really, especially when they're as well plotted as they are here. Earlier this week, I sat down to watch DVD screeners of the sensational next two episodes of Fringe ("The Abducted" and "Entrada"), the first of which airs this week while the second airs on 12/2, taking a turkey-based break of a week. Sitting comfortably within the grand design of the current third season of the series, the episodes split their time on either side of the dimensional divide as "our" Olivia Dunham attempts to find a way back through the invisible veil separating the two worlds. On the other side of the curtain, the "other" Olivia is making preparations of

After last week's Julie Taylor-related catastrophe, I was extremely pleased that this week's episode of Friday Night Lights ("Keep Looking"), written by Bridget Carpenter and directed by Todd McMullen, fell back into the pattern of greatness that the series is known for. This week's episode offered an examination of the often contentious relationship between fathers and sons, summed up in the juxtaposition of Vince's struggles with his ex-con father Ornette and Buddy's attempts to drum some tough love into his angsty teenage son Buddy Jr. In this case the dynamics were flipped on their head, with Vince struggling to determine whether he could trust his father, and laying down the law now that he's reentered his and his mother's lives. While his mom is happy to dwell on the more rose-colored memories of the past, Vince can't let go of what his father's absence meant to the family, the missed birthdays and moments, and the fact that he blame

It seems as though Doctor Who fans in the States are definitely on the nice list. BBC America has today announced that the latest Doctor Who Christmas Special--entitled "A Christmas Carol"--will air on Saturday, December 25th at 9 pm ET/PT. In other words, on Christmas Day itself, a first for the British sci-fi series. The Dickens-inspired installment, written by head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat, is described by BBC America thusly: "Newlyweds Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) are joined by Harry Potter ’s Michael Gambon and Opera diva Katherine Jenkins, for what may be the Doctor’s most Christmassy adventure yet." “Oh, we're going for broke with this one," said Moffat in an official statement. "It's all your favorite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters. And the Doctor. And a honeymoon. And ... oh, you'll see. I've honestly never been so excited about writing anything. I was laughing mad

Yes, I'm in love with The Good Wife . Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "The Naughty Side of The Good Wife ," in which I speak to creators Robert and Michelle King and series lead Julianna Margulies about topical plots (masseuse scandal!), wonky cameos (Lou Dobbs!), and adult sexuality (oral sex on CBS!), all of which add up to The Good Wife being one of the best--and most consistently challenging--shows on TV. But that's not all. In addition to the in-depth interview/thinkpiece on the show, I also got the Kings and Margulies to offer character-specific teases (read: minor spoilers) about what's coming up for Alicia, Peter, Will, Kalinda, Cary, Blake, and more in the second season. (You can read their take here in the gallery .) What's your take on the show? Head to the comments section to discuss.

I always find it disappointing when an episode of Chuck fails to live up to my expectations and this week's episode ("Chuck Versus the Fear of Death"), written by Nicholas Wootton and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill, definitely did not live up to the momentum created in the wake of "Chuck Versus the First Fight." I'm sure it wasn't helped by the fact that the series took a week off between installments but this week's episode also seemed all the more weak in comparison to the previous episode, which set up some new subplots and a potential new direction to the overarching mythology. This week's episode... felt more than a little like filler. Way too much weight given to a flimsy Buy More plot involving this week's Greta, Summer Glau, who had little to do other than prance around angrily, flick open a knife concealed in a thigh holster, and eat some product placement. If I'm being brutally honest: it wasn't a good use of Glau at all

I just left the first post-merger bureau meeting to learn that NBC had announced its midseason schedule, complete with a few scheduling shifts (cough, Parenthood ), a third hour of comedy on Thursdays (along with a renewal for 30 Rock , when it all goes pear-shaped), and a few missing series as well. ( Love Bites and Friends with Benefits , I'm looking at you.) And, most importantly, a announcement about the long-delayed return of Parks and Recreation , which returns to the schedule on January 20th in a new timeslot of 9:30 pm ET/PT, right after The Office . (About time it got this plum timeslot as well.) I'm off to an interview but I'm curious to know what you think about the new schedule, the musical chairs, and the return to Pawnee. Head to the comments section to discuss. The full schedule can be found below, along with the official press release from NBC. NBC ANNOUNCES NEW MID-SEASON SCHEDULE UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – November 15, 2010 – NBC today made several mid-seas