Dining with Padma and Gail: My "Top Chef" Quickfire Challenge Experience

Just a few quick words about my participation yesterday in a special thrilling Top Chef Quickfire Challenge at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Pasadena.

While you sadly won't get to see the Quickfire on television (aw!), it was an absolute treat to get to have lunch with Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons, and my fellow television critic guest judges and then deliberate about which of the two dishes ruled supreme. (And believe me, get a group of foodies and critics together and it's rather tricky to come to unanimous decision.)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The Quickfire Challenge brought together two teams of Top Chef contestants. On the one side: Team Old School, consisting of Fabio Viviani, Antonia Lofaso, and Ryan Scott. Staring them down from the other side of the stage: the newbies from Top Chef: Las Vegas: Ashley Merriman, Michael Isabella, and Mattin Noblia.

So how did they do? And which dish did we end up selecting as the winner? Let's discuss.

The challenge facing these crack chefs: to prepare the best dish possible within a twenty-minute time limit. No easy feat, given that they'd have to work together under tight time constraints and in front of a live audience in a less-than-ideal setting (it wasn't exactly set in a kitchen).

So what did the teams offer up?

Team Old School served up a seared halibut with a corn, onion, and crab succotash, and wispy, ethereal fennel fronds. It was absolutely delicious: the fish was perfectly cooked with a crisp bite on the outside and a moist interior that was flaky and sweet.

The sweetness of the corn and little heirloom cherry tomatoes were nicely balanced by the slight acidity of the creamy slash of sauce on the plate. We all decided that this was a dish that we could eat just about every day: it was sweet, savory, and fulfilling in the best sense of the word. I did feel, however, that the fish could have used a little hit of acidity, perhaps from some fresh lemon juice squeezed on at the last second.

As for the new chefs, they were eager to prove their superiority to their forebears on Top Chef. They offered up a gorgeously composed plate of coral-pink hamachi crudo served atop a puree of pistachio and preserved lemon. The crudo was topped with borage, pickled radish, and nigella (black onion) seeds.

I was at a loss for words: it was such a beautifully balanced and remarkable dish that the only word for it was transcendent. The hamachi was so deftly cut that it was positively, angelically smooth, offering up a sweet lusciousness. The slight spiciness of the borage leaves were complimented by a saline hit from some coarse Maldon salt and the crunch of the nigella seeds. And the puree? Exquisite; a nutty and acidic blend of pistachios and preserved lemons that made the entire dish sing in harmony.

To me, there was no competition whatsoever. While I loved Team Old School's dish (and would gladly order it again in a restaurant), the hamachi crudo was a once-in-a-lifetime dish that made me see hamachi in a new way, offered up an innovative combination of flavors and textures, and, well, left me speechless.

Which dish would you have chosen? Which dish would you have preferred to eat? And my question for Bravo: when can I judge another Quickfire Challenge again?

Top Chef: Las Vegas launches Wednesday, August 19th on Bravo.

Photographs courtesy of Denise Martin

Food Is Personal: Dietary Restrictions Galore on "Top Chef Masters"

It's said that necessity is the mother of invention and restrictions can often pave the way to creativity.

This week's episode of Top Chef Masters ("Dietary Restrictions") forced the five remaining master chefs to do just that when they were faced with their toughest challenge yet: catering a lunch for actress/singer Zooey Deschanel and her friends.

The only problem: Deschanel is a vegan with gluten allergies and an aversion to soy to boot. If they had any chance of pulling off this complicated and restrictive meal, they would have to see beyond the limitations to offer up inventive and thoughtful meat- and dairy-free dishes that satisfied both the dietary restrictions of the party's hostess but also the diverse appetites of her guests.

So, did this challenge prove to be a Herculean task or a walk in the garden for these astute chefs? Let's discuss.

But before we get to the Elimination Challenge, a few quick words about this week's Quickfire Challenge, which had the chefs prepare a spin on the classic burger as well as a side in under thirty minutes. On hand to judge the chefs' dishes were filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), restaurateur Sang Yoon (of Father's Office here in LA, home of one of my personal favorite burgers), and former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn.

Top marks went to Rick Bayless for his queso fundido burger with three guacamoles (though I will admit, despite Bayless' tizzy, I wouldn't have known what to do with three guacamoles without any chips) and Michael Chiarello, who prepared a gigantic burger with truffle hand-cut fries. Both landed four stars. But it was a very different story for poor Anita, who walked away with a staggering one and a half stars for her cheeseburger soup, an innovative and original spin on the burger brief that failed to hit its mark. If she had any hopes of remaining in the competition, Lo would have to pull out all of the stops in the Elimination Challenge.

First up was Hubert Keller, who created a trio of items, including: white gazpacho with cucumbers, rice milk, grapes, vanilla oil, and almond milk; timbale of avocado, tomatoes, and asparagus; and roasted beet salad with edible flowers. A masterful combination of flavors and textures on the part of the so-called French angel (Chiarello's words, not mine). I wanted to reach through the television and steal that shot glass of silky, ethereal cucumber gazpacho.

Lo was up next with a spicy grilled eggplant with green lentil salad and a cashew sauce with crispy fried shallots. Main complaint was that the eggplant was almost sodden with oil, far too wet and greasy. Jay Rayner complained that it wasn't properly salted during prep and was far too acidic. Not Lo's finest work this week and I was on eggshells waiting to see if she'd get cut from the competition...

Chiarello smartly went for pasta, despite its glutinous connotations, and instead located some gluten-free pasta at Whole Foods that was derived from protein-rich quinoa. He offered up a dish of quinoa pasta with salsa verde, Calabrian chili, and garlic topped with a pine nut, parsley, and preserved lemon gremolata, oven-dried tomatoes, and crispy fried basil. It was a hearty, meaty meal that contained no meat or actual gluten. Was he smart to buy the pasta? Hell yeah. It was made from quinoa and there was no way he could reproduce it in the time he had. Clever, efficient, and crafty.

Bayless offered Deschanel's guests fresh corn tamales with chili-braised black beans, braised greens, and glazed mushrooms that everyone raved about. The sweetness of the corn was perfectly balanced by the heat from those chilies and black beans. A well-balanced and well-executed dish that proved why Bayless is the master of Mexican cuisine in the States.

And then finally there was dessert. Smith concocted a strawberry and champagne soup, topped with strawberry rice milk ice cream, and homemade almond brittle with bittersweet chocolate. I was just as confused by Smith's choices as the judges. While it made sense for Chiarello to buy the quinoa pasta, it made absolutely no sense for Smith to buy that carton of rice milk ice cream... when he could have easily just made a dairy-free sorbet instead. The dish was messy and unfocused and just showed a lack of imagination and creativity, which was especially odd as Smith himself volunteered to do the dessert course and then dropped the ball completely.

While the top prize went to Chiarello, it came down to Lo and Smith in the bottom two spots. I was freaking out that Anita Lo would be the one to get the boot; despite her lackluster performance this week, she has dazzled overall and I'd hate to see her leave before the final round. But the judges wisely awarded her a half a star more than Smith, keeping her in the competition for another week and sending Smith packing.

Whew.

Did the judges make the right decision? Who would you have awarded the top spot too and who would you have sent home? Discuss.

Next week on Top Chef Master ("Masters of Disaster"), the four remaining chefs must perform their final Quickfire challenge blindfolded and later they must demonstrate their leadership skills when catering a large event... without touching the food themselves.

Top Chef Masters Preview: Fridge Fight



Top Chef Masters Preview: The Right Staff



Top Chef Masters Preview: The Final Quickfire

Reminder: "Skins" Season Three Begins Tonight on BBC America

Just a quick reminder that Season Three of British drama import Skins kicks off tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on BBC America.

Featuring an entirely new cast (save Kaya Scodelario's Effy Stonem), Skins's third season is the perfect jumping-on point for new viewers, though regular viewers of the rowdy teen series might miss Sid, Cassie, Tony, Jal, and the rest of the original gang.

I reviewed the third season premiere of Skins way back in January (you can read my original advance review here) and interviewed co-creator Jamie Brittain back at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour about what to expect from the third season, which you can read here.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to discuss what you thought of the episode and about the new direction for the series and in the meantime, check out these sneak peeks at season three of Skins.

Skins Season Three promo:



Skins Season Three Premiere Trailer:



Skins Season Three Trailer 2:



An Inside Look at Skins Season Three:



Skins airs tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on BBC America.

Channel Surfing: Skeet Ulrich in Killer Role on "CSI: NY," Louis C.K. Hangs Out in "Parks," Paris Hilton Turns Demonic for "Supernatural," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Skeet Ulrich (Jericho) has signed on for a multiple-episode story arc on CBS' CSI: NY, where he will play a deeply disturbed killer in three episodes of the procedural crime drama. His first appearance is slated to air October 7th. (TVGuide.com)

Louis C.K. (Lucky Louie) will appear on NBC's Parks and Recreation next season in a multiple-episode story arc in which he'll play a police officer in Pawnee who is a potential love interest for Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope. He'll first appear in the second episode of the series' sophomore season, though it's unclear how many installments he'll ultimately appear in. (Variety)

Paris Hilton will guest star in an upcoming episode of the CW's Supernatural, where she will play "the role of a demonic creature that takes the form of... Paris Hilton," according to executive producer Sera Gamble, who sheds some light on the supernatural goings-on to The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan. "If you know our style, you know we go pretty funny and irreverent with this stuff, so--expect that," added Sera. "The fact that she wanted to do the episode speaks volumes about her sense of humor. She's flat-out awesome for playing along. You'll see." Creator Eric Kripke meanwhile, teased, "If anyone ever wanted to see a bloodthirsty Paris attack and kill somebody, this is your chance." Hilton will appear in next season's fifth episode. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Syfy is reteaming with director/executive producer Bryan Singer to develop an untitled six-hour limited series about the Mayan prediction for the end of the world. Project, which will be executive produced by Singer and Keith Addis, will be written by Michael Petroni (Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys) and Michael Bond (Passengers). Here's the official description from Syfy PR: "The project will be a thrilling action-adventure story blending scientific fact and myth with popular conspiracy theories centering on the Mayan Calendar and what it predicts for mankind at its end date. With a feel of DaVinci Code and National Treasure, it tells the story of a down-on-his-luck author/professor who goes on a worldwide adventure to uncover the mysteries surrounding the Mayan Calendar and the potential apocalypse it seems to have predicted centuries ago. With an unlikely team, he races against time to prevent global catastrophe, and in doing so, ultimately rediscovers his faith in humanity and himself." (via press release)

HBO is developing single-camera comedy Enlightened about a self-destructive woman who has a spiritual awakening and then sets out to lead a more enlightened life, creating a trail of destruction in her wake. Project, written by Mike White (School of Rock), will star Laura Dern (Recount). "There are so many dysfunctional types of characters populating cable television, and she is equally as dysfunctional as any of them," said White, "but her impulse is to get healthy, to make the world a better place even though it creates havoc." (Hollywood Reporter)

Michael Raymond James (True Blood), Kimberly Quinn (Possible Side Effects), Laura Allen (Dirt), and Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break) have been cast opposite Donal Logue in FX dramedy pilot Terriers, from creators Shawn Ryan and Ted Griffin. James will play Britt, the partner of ex-cop Hank (Logue) who together launch a private investigation business. Quinn will play Hank's ex-wife; Allen will play Britt's baby-crazy girlfriend; Dunbar will play Hank's former partner in the San Diego PD. (Hollywood Reporter)

USA announced a slew of in-development programming yesterday at the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, including:

• Facing Kate: legal drama about a mediator from a family of corporate lawyers from Universal Cable Productions. Writer/executive producer: Michael Sardo (The American Embassy).


• Crash Dummies: drama about a veteran Hollywood stuntman, his reluctant son, and a team of offbeat movie magic specialists from Reveille and Universal Cable Productions. Smallville's John Schneider will star and produce. Executive Producer: Matt Pyken (Knight Rider).


• Good Cop, Bad Cop: an estranged brother and sister are forced to team up as cops in their small hometown from Universal Cable Productions. Writer: John Quaintance (Notes from the Underbelly).


• Louise Candell: a female attorney, whose star was on the rise, unexpectedly becomes a star on YouTube for all the wrong reasons from Universal Cable Productions. Writer: Matthew Lieberman (Judging Amy).


• Busy Bodies: mystery drama about a soccer mom who teams up with a gay stay-at-home dad to solve mysteries in the suburbs from Universal Cable Productions and Mosaic. Writer: Billy Finnegan.


• Rock Doc: a famous rock star leaves the music business to go to medical school. From Universal Cable Productions. Writer: Todd Samovitz (Wonderland). From Universal Cable Productions.


• Untitled Stephen J. Cannell/Scott Kaufer Project: an ex-con car mechanic goes undercover. From Universal Cable Productions and executive producers Stephen J. Cannell (The A-Team) and Scott Kaufer (3 lbs).


• Hotel Dix: drama about an old school hotel detective who is brought back to work at a modern hotel. From Universal Cable Productions, executive producer/writer Tom Fontana (The Philanthropist) and director/executive producer Adam Bernstein (30 Rock).


• Gourmet Detective: mystery drama about food detective travels the world and stumbles across mysteries of the palate…and murder from writer/executive producers David Breckman and Randy Zisk (Monk) and Universal Cable Productions.

NBC has announced that comedians D.L. Hughley, Mikey Day, Rachael Harris, Jim Norton, and The Dan Band have signed on to serve as correspondents for Jay Leno's eponymous weeknight series, along with NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, who will also make appearances. (via press release)

Warner Bros. Television has founded a global unit that will offer localized versions of their originated series--both on the scripted and unscripted sides--to territories around the world. Ronald Goes has been hired as EVP and head of international production; he'll be based in the UK and will report to Jeffrey Schlesinger. Concept is not a new one; 20th Century Fox Television has had a similar strategy in place for roughly a year now while NBC Universal has successfully formatted some of its series, most notably Law & Order, in the UK, France, and Russia. (Variety)

The Daily Show's John Oliver and Rory Albanese have signed a blind script deal with Paramount, under which they will create new feature film projects for the Paramount and television projects for CBS Television Studios. The duo will also be creating a production shingle. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pay cabler Epix has signed a movie output deal with Samuel Goldwyn Co. on all of its platforms for up to twenty of Goldwyn's feature films to be released in 2010 and 2011. Epix, backed by MGM, Viacom, and Lionsgate, will launch in October. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Peacock in Flight: NBC's Angela Bromstad and Paul Telegdy Face the Press

As expected the tension was palpable at this morning's executive session for NBC at Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Pasadena.

On hand representing the Peacock were Angela Bromstad, President of Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios and Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming and Production, NBC and Universal Media Studios. There was no sign of outbound co-chairman Ben Silverman or his successor Jeff Gaspin, who reporters really wanted to talk to this morning.

So it was no surprise that there was a certain braying for blood in the tone of the questions, which ranged from forceful queries to determine just what NBC's current brand was to questions about programming decisions involving such series as Chuck, Medium, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, Kings, and others.

After screening a new montage-style promo for the network, which features scenes from The Office (Jim proposing to Pam in the rain) to 30 Rock (Jennifer Aniston trying to get Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy in a threesome), the slightly od tagline of "These are the moments and this is where it belongs" filled the screen before Bromstad and Telegdy took the stage.

Not such good news for Chuck fans, though it's not really bad news either. Bromstad said that, despite comments made by showrunner/co-creator Josh Schwartz at Comic-Con last week, Bromstad said right now Chuck is not coming back until March, when it will launc with thirteen episodes.

"The great thing with Chuck is that they are on a great track creatively," said Bromstad. "It is something we can move around."

And they might. But not right now, anyway.

As for Medium, which moves to CBS this fall, Bromstad said it was a tough call that came down to the wire. "We had to make some really difficult decisions," she said. "Medium was a show we debated picking up until the very end."

Season Two of drama series Southland will focus more on on Regina King and Ben McKenzie's characters and them solving crimes week-to-week rather than on the sprawling ensemble cast. "We've made some creative adjustments [on Southland]," said Bromstad. "I think they tried to do too much in those six episodes..."

Bromstad said that audiences shouldn't expect to see more than one season of midseason sci-fi drama Day One, though if it does well in the ratings it could return. Still, "it's more of an event," said Bromstad.

As for audience and critical favorite Friday Night Lights, Bromstad was dismissive of the series and the ratings it had achieved, which weren't enough to earn it a spot on the fall sked. "We think Friday Night Lights is a sensational show, it is on brand, but it doesn't have the ratings to justify it on the fall schedule," said Bromstad.

A Kings question was particularly pointed and Bromstad struggled to explain NBC's decision to shift the series to Saturdays and then cancel it outright. "I think that it was an amazingly big swing and a great production..." but it was too narrow, said Bromstad. She said that Kings was too "highbrow and complicated" to sell in a 30-second spot and that programming needs to be more relatable and mainstream.

Telegdy revealed that The Biggest Loser will shift from a two-hour format to a 90-minute one in midseason.

As for how NBC needs to adapt in the future, Bromstad and Telegdy kept things rather vague. "It's naive to think we can keep doing business like we always have when cable is taking such a big chunk out of our business," said Bromstad. "We've just allowed shows to get way too expensive... We need to find a way to bring those costs down." She also pointed out that their cable siblings have a slightly different way of doing business, one that's closed to them. "Broadcast has a different business model," she explained. "We're not a dual revenue model like cable is."

The duo revealed that NBC's development budget hasn't been cut, even wwith losing the 10 pm hour to Jay Leno and having Sunday Night Football on. "We're still committed to putting on quality drama and comedy," said Bromstad.

But football at least provides a springboard from which NBC can promote new series. "Thank god we have Sunday Night Football," said Bromstad when asked about challenges facing a fourth place network launching new series. "That's a huge platform for us."

"Because of Baldwin's feature schedule, we decided to launch Community behind The Office, which leaves us a slot at 8 pm," explained Bromstad about the decision to order six half-hour installments of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday for the fall.

"We made that announcement completely in sync with Maura and her people," said Bromstad defending NBC's handling of Maura Tierney's illness and the bumping of drama series Parenthood to midseason. Asked whether or not they could have pushed the series back without revealing the nature of the delay, Bromstad said simply: "No."

Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked the duo to explain just what the NBC brand is today.

"We refer to certain key determining characteristics of NBC shows," said Telegdy, who then stammered out a list of said characteristics including "real people." Um, okay.

"I think Heroes is on brand, Office, 30 Rock, SVU... those live up to the legacy of what NBC has always stood for," continued Bromstad. "We have fallen short in past few years... It's our goal to bring back those high quality sophisticated dramas and comedies" that were once hallmark of NBC."

Still, the duo have high hopes for the Jay Leno Show at 10 pm weeknights. But that doesn't mean that they aren't strategizing alternative plans should ratings fail to materialize.

"We're always looking at contingency plans for everything," said Bromstad. "Based on numbers we see, this will be long term commitment for us."

Still, Bromstad won't "declare a specific rating" threshold for Jay Leno Show to be a success in their eyes.

"We are going to declare victory wherever we have them," said Bromstad deflecting a comment made buy rival CBS' Nina Tassler two days ago. "It is a marathon... it's not going to be determined in the first five days." As for Conan, "The true test will come this fall," said Bromstad.

Still, Bromstad said the network isn't worry about losing the 10 pm timeslot or its programming fitting in during earlier hours. "Our shows work at both 9 pm and 8 pm that we have scheduled... it really hasn't been an issue with what we've developed," she said. "We're not really playing in dangerous standards territory."

"Research does show that people do want more comedy," said Bromstad about NBC's development decisions going forward. But she was rather candid about how such genre series as Heroes and Day One perform on the network. "By the nature of the genre, they always tend to get a little narrow and [we'll have to look] whether we can sustain that on air."

Bromstad says that Heroes is doing great creatively, even after Bryan Fuller's departure from the series. For the second time. Fuller's deal with NBC is strictly development. Bromstad said that he came back to make sure that Heroes got back on track. And apparently, it's back on track.

Asked how NBC has performed this summer, Bromstad said candidly, "Merlin has actually done OK. Philanthropist has done OK. But we need to do better."

"Those were shows that were actually acquired during the strike and held back for summer," she explained. "We're looking at summer options." Those options going forward will include netting programming "through acquisition, through international co-production, or lower cost originated programming."

And throughout the entire executive session, the unseen spectre of Ben Silverman hovered just out of sight. "The great thing about Ben is that he's so positive and he's been so supportive of me," said Bromstad. "He's very invested in our fall shows & the Leno launch."

Asked to explain the motivations behind Silverman's departure from NBC, Bromstad clearly was toeing the company line. "I think this has always been Ben's plan," she said. "It has always been Ben's plan to transition back to entrepreneurial roots."

Beware Visitors Bearing Gifts: In the Press Room with "V" Executive Producers Scott Peters and Jace Hall

Wondering just what to expect from the revival of V?

I caught up with creator/executive producer Scott Peters--who also created USA's much-missed sci-fi series The 4400--and executive producer Jace Hall in the press room for V last weekend at San Diego Comic-Con.

As for when we can expect to see V hit the small screen (it was originally announced by ABC as a midseason series), Peters had a bit of news that will come as a pleasant surprise for fans eagerly awaiting the launch.

"We're told November," said Peters. "We haven't gotten an exact date yet but what's great for us is that it was originally announced at Upfronts as a January show. I think we're pretty excited by the response that people are giving to it and, for whatever reason, they are pulled it up a few months and made us nervous for a second because, 'we have to go when?!?' But we're fine, we're actually going to start shooting on August 10th."

"I wrote the first one with an old mentor of mine, Sam Egan, and we have an awesome writers' room," said Peters of where the production is right now. "Jeff Bell has come aboard the show and I couldn't be happier. He's a terrific guy and an immense writer. We're breaking [Episode] Three, we're talking about [Episode] Four. The first one's written, the second one's being written. We're moving along."

As for who else has joined the writing staff, Peters and Hall threw out a ton of names, including Jeff Bell, Sam Egan, Cameron Litvack, Diego Gutierrez, Angela Russo-Otstot, Akela Cooper, Christine Roum, and Charles Murray, whom Peters described as a "terrific bunch of people."

Hall had one word for what's coming up thanks to the crack writing team they've assembled: "hotness."

What else did Peters and Hall have to say about the first season of V? Let's take a peek inside the press room at Comic-Con to find out. (WARNING: there are major SPOILERS for the pilot episode and beyond ahead!)

"The main theme that runs through all of the storylines is about blind devotion, whether it's blind devotion to your religion or to your partner in life or to anything, really," explained Peters. "Father Jack's big question at the beginning is how can I reconcile the reality of spaceships outside my window with what I know of the Bible. His faith is shaken a little bit and he's in the business of asking people to devote themselves to religion. He's a guy who used to step outside and look up at the sky where in his mind God would be and now there's a spaceship. Those sorts of themes run across the board."

Still, said Peters, he and Hall looked for ways to update the premise and make it more relevant for a contemporary audience.

"We try to bring new elements to the show that will play for an audience in 2009/2010," he explained. "You heard universal health care get a laugh [at the Comic-Con screening] because those topics are in the news right now, it's particularly topical right now. The media is obviously [playing a huge role]; there's such hugely driven celebrity that goes on in our society. I love that Anna tries to basically rig the election before anything can happen and Chad himself is a guy who's plucked out of obscurity. She didn't pick Tom Brokaw to do it, she picked the guy who wouldn't get up and leave. She's pretty good at manipulating folks."

"All great science fiction, at least in my view, has a real opportunity to make a comment on or look at the human condition in various ways," said Hall in response. "Taking the media as an angle is a really good way to look at... what we're willing to do. We're living in a Facebook/MySpace age and so are the characters that Scott and the team are writing. [We're also looking at] medical/health issues and how we can talk about those elements."

So what can we expect to see during the first season of V?

"We will absolutely be seeing more of Laura Vandervoort," said Peters of the former Smallville star who plays Visitor tour guide Lisa. "She was wonderful. She's joined the cast as a series regular. You can expect to see a lot more with Tyler as things move forward. She has a couple interesting things up her sleeve as well."

Still, despite the presence of genre stars Elizabeth Mitchell, Joel Gretsch, Morena Baccarin, and Alan Tudyk (just to name a few), Peters said that they didn't set out to cast a bunch of actors who had previously starred in sci-fi friendly series.

"The first thing we looked at was the right actor for the right role," explained Peters. "In fact, Father Jack was originally scripted as a much younger, late-20s, early-30s kind of guy. As we started to go through the casting process and we realized that Elizabeth Mitchell was going to be involved, we though maybe we needed to go a little older, a little more man's man. It was bizarre that literally we came back from ABC and we had had that discussion, Joel Gretsch called me and he said, 'Hey, what's happening? What are you doing right now?' And I said, 'It's funny you should call. What are you doing right now?' There was no particular design to go out and look for genre actors. It just so happened that (A) these folks were available, (B) they were perfect for the role, and (C) they had genre shows in the past. It's wonderful for us. We get 4400 fans and Firefly fans and Lost fans and we're hoping to collect all of those fan bases and put them into one ginormous, take-over-the-world fan base."

As for Alan Tudyk, who guest starred in the pilot episode as Erica's FBI partner Dale, Peters and Hall played their cards extremely close to the chest.

"Oooh, that's a hard question, because I don't want to give anything away," said Peters. "We love Alan. Clearly, the audience loves Alan and it would be awesome to find ways to maybe see him again somehow."

"Maybe," countered Hall.

Peters promised that Mitchell's Erica and Gretsch's Father Jack won't be the only characters involved in the underground human resistance force.

"It'll take a little time [for the resistance] to grow," said Peters, "but Georgie [played by David Richmond-Peck] will certainly be back and certainly we introduce some new folks along the way. But, yes, Elizabeth and Joel are not going to be the only ones fighting the war."

The war, of course, won't be the only problem that Erica will be dealing with head-on. She'll also have to contend with her son Tyler, who falls in with the Visitors early on, a development that has Erica rather worried about her wayward son.

"One of the great dynamics that really helps is that Erica is accused by her son of never being there," said Peters of Mitchell's character. "Because she's an FBI agent in the counter-terrorism division. So at 3 o'clock in the morning when the phone rings, she has to go. Or if it's the middle of the afternoon and they were going to do something, she's got to drop it and go. This has affected [Tyler] for how ever many years but now, in addition to that, she needs to be falling into leadership role of the resistance. So she is going to be struggling to find ways to keep her son safe and make sure that everything's okay with him but is going to be pulled in a different direction. So it's going to be a huge struggle for her to try and keep that relationship viable because she can't really tell her son what's going on. That's exactly going to be her issue: 'If I had a hard time fixing [my relationship with him] before, how the hell am I going to fix it now?'"

Should we view the arrival of the Visitors as the metaphor for a minority group?

"The idea is that the Visitors, certainly in the beginning of the pilot, are seen as these terrific people who come from another planet and are bringing all sorts of gifts and everyone is on board very quickly," said Peters. "And the Vistors have a very different agenda in terms of what they're coming to do and that does not bode well for us. Really, we saw in the pilot that not everyone is on board. There are protests about them. People are thinking, wait, everything's happening way too fast... We'll see more and more people dissatisfied and they'll have to find a way to quell all of that. You could look at the Visitors as a new minority that have shown up. You can sort of play to some of those themes, when they want to try to do something that's 'oh, my god, don't let them do that,' they can sort of say, well, we're just bringing you gifts and all these wonderful things, so why wouldn't you want all this."

Are there any plans to bring back cast members from the original series?

"I personally love the idea," said Peters, "I think there's probably a world where that will occur at some point. We still need to figure out in what capacity and there's a lot of decisions that need to be made that are predicated on factors that involve our creative needs--the studio, the network and so forth--but personally I think it's an awesome idea and I'd love to try it."

As for fans of the original V series, Peters and Hall say that they want to try to satisfy them as well as people who have never before watched a single episode of the original franchise.

"We want to engage them and tell a story that has similar themes but is a very different show," said Hall. "As Scott said on the panel, we're not trying to retread what was already done for a specific time frame and what played well during that time. We're in a different period now. Our audience has different expectations. You want to build a show that touches on concepts are individual, like aliens are here, but move the path in a different direction and tell new stories that engage not only the original audience but a new audience and try to widen it out as much as possible."

"The audience that does remember the show, to me, if I had nothing to do with V, I could come just out of curiosity," said Peters, "to see what the new version of this is. You can't please everybody all of the time. There are going to be people who [don't like it]. We can't force anybody to watch the show. The good news for them is that there is still the box set of the DVDs of the old show and they can watch the original as often as they want. We hope though that, before making that decision, they would at least give our show a chance and come and look at it and give it a few episodes."

And there's every indication that Peters and Hall are in it for the long-haul, envisioning a longer, ongoing series rather than a short-form limited run.

"There's a pretty in-depth plan involved as to whether we are doing thirteen episodes or twenty-two episode and we want to cap it at that. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end and we're looking to put game-changers throughout so that if we come back for another season, it changes things dramatically."

"I think that in terms of the mini-series versus series aspect, because we know right away that we're going for the long-term if it's a success, we're not going to go down the road [in the same way that] the old series did and become a war picture, with battles every week with a lot of action and running around," he continued. "We're going things a little differently. There's the feeling that if you stick your neck out, you'll get it chopped off [in this version] because they are so good at blending in and so good at spotting folks that don't belong that the next episode Erica and Jack and everyone need to find a way to not leave their lives and go join some resistance somewhere because, as you'll see in the next episode that comes up, that's the way you identify yourself and get eliminated very quickly."

Still, the new V series won't downplay the sci-fi action, but it will also juxtapose a very character-driven plot onto the action, said Peters.

"We're not going to shy away from an action element, by any means," said Peters. "It's just not going to be the driving force of the show... Yes, it's set against this huge science fiction backdrop, but I can watch spaceships for a couple of minutes and say, 'Yeah, it's cool. Now what have you got?' I can watch an action sequence for a couple of minutes and go, 'That's great. Now what have you got?' Characters have to be the thing that drive the show and that you really invest in, and when you do have the action sequences and you do come to the new technology, it's just icing on the cake. It's super cool."

As for the post-9/11 vibe of the pilot, it's very much intentional.

"9/11 has informed all of my storytelling," said Peters. "4400 was very much in the same vein and that's why I think I gravitated towards V came my way. To me, I just remember sitting, watching television in tears, having never been to New York in my life and not knowing anyone directly involved with what happened. But everyone was affected by the exact same event at the exact same moment and to see all of these different aspects of all of these different stories that people brought to it was incredibly moving to me."

"So for me, I love that type of storytelling: to have a large, ensemble cast that are all affected by one spectacular event--and I don't mean that in a good way--but in a huge event that affects everyone's lives and to see how that trickles down to their existence and their realities," he continued. "In a show like this, what's really fun is to get some unexpected crosses; you'll see characters that will through a very plausible way, cross each other in a very unexpected way. That's what we're discussing in the writers' room every day, 'What if these two crossed?' so I think that's going to be a lot of fun."

Peters and Hall revealed that some elements of the pilot episode will change before its broadcast on ABC, including some reshooting to amp up a particularly brutal battle between Visitors and the human resistance force, seen in the pilot.

"We're doing a little bit of reshooting for the fight, because we feel like we want to make the Visitors even more formidable and even more awesome," said Peters, who advised that the Visitors will also have some deadly weapons, which will make the battle even more savage. "We want to introduce some alien tech."

"The original intent was that they would come in with silent weaponry," Peters said. "They wouldn't be [on Earth] with guns and they wouldn't be with lasers, because if they ever got captured or anything happened, they didn't want a piece of alien technology lying around. They also didn't want to draw attention [to themselves]. So they're very adept at hand-to-hand combat, which all makes logical sense. The feeling was it lessened a little bit their ability to seem as formidable as they are. So we're going to be adjusting that a little bit."

As for said Visitor technology, look for it to play an increasingly visible role as the first season goes on, said Peters.

"We actually do want to introduce a tiny little bit of Visitor tech [each week]," he said. "What we're determined to do is introduce a little bit, a new piece of alien tech, Visitor tech, and try to do it every episode. Certainly, try to give a little bit of culture, peel back the onion of what their mandate is, what's really behind it, what's really going on, and just see the political stuff that goes on aboard the ship, just like we have political stuff underneath the ship."

But, make no mistake, they'll also be exploring what's going on inside the mothership as well.

"Hell yeah! That's also a mandate of ours for ourselves," said Peters. "Yes, it's mostly an earthbound show, but we love the candy of going up and seeing the inside of this place..."

"It absolutely fuels the story," said Hall. "To get back on my sci-fi soapbox, which is that great sci-fi always has this element of discovery. It's important and there's no better place to do it than on the ship."

Lastly, Hall and Peters said that there is a "complex" multi-media and online tie-in element for V but it is "top-secret," according to Hall. "The universe that's being built is being built to support all of these other things [in various media] without interfering with each other." The network and the studio have some very big plans in store, so stay tuned.

V is set to launch later this season on ABC.

Channel Surfing: Syfy Soups Up for "Alphas," Chandra Wilson to Visit "Private Practice," Abdul to Leave "Idol," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Cabler Syfy has ordered a 90-minute pilot for Zak Penn and Michael Karnow's action-adventure drama Alphas, which had been previously set up at ABC two season ago under the name Section 8. Project, from BermanBraun Television and Universal Cable Studios, follows a team of agents who "possess hyper-developed neurological abilities" (read: superpowers). "What we loved about this idea is that it played into a new way of approaching the superhero genre: the idea of ordinary people who have one slightly extraordinary feature about them and are singularly not so special but together can do extraordinary things was very attractive," said Syfy EVP of original programming Mark Stern. Section 8, which had a six-episode order from ABC, left the network post-writers' strike over creative differences before winding up at Syfy, which ordered it to pilot from the three projects in had in development. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Grey's Anatomy's Chandra Wilson will appear in spin-off series Private Practice next season. "The Grey’s Anatomy Emmy nominee will cross over to sister show Private Practice early into Season Six (Episode Three, specifically) when Bailey visits Oceanside Wellness," writes Ausiello. "I’m told the crackling chemistry between Bailey and Sam (Taye Diggs) that was on display during previous crossovers will once again get some play during this latest visit." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has confirmed that Paula Abdul will NOT be returning to music competition series American Idol next season. Abdul announced her decision via Twitter yesterday, a statement that the network later confirmed, along with FremantleMedia North America, and 19 Entertainment. "With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to #IDOL," wrote Abdul, who then continued by saying, "I'll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all ... being a part of a show that I helped from day 1 become an international phenomenon." In an official statement, FOX, Fremantle, and 19 Entertainment said: "Paula Abdul has been an important part of the 'American Idol' family over the last eight seasons and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show. While Paula will not be continuing with us, she's a tremendous talent and we wish her the best." (Variety)

New York Magazine's Logan Hill has a fantastic interview with Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, who clarifies our obsession with the period drama. "Drinking and smoking and having sex with other people’s wives and all those things—they are bad, bad behaviors,” said Hendricks. "But it’s all done with fabulous clothes and lighting and excellent music, and that makes for a really sexy show. Being bad is sexy." (New York Magazine)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that D.B. Sweeney (Crash) has been cast in a six-episode story arc next season on CBS' Criminal Minds. "He’s playing a U.S. Marshal who’s brought in to help with a big [case] that arcs through the first part of the season," executive producer Ed Bernero told Ausiello. "He’s a contemporary of our team and knows several members of our team really well." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The remake fever isn't abating any time soon at the CW, according to network boss Dawn Ostroff, who told reporters at yesterday's TCA session that the netlet is looking at other potential remake possibilities. "I don't know if we'd do Party of Five," said Ostroff, "but there are other shows we're looking at that we would possibly think about." Meanwhile, Gossip Girl spin-off Lily might be dead but that doesn't mean that the CW will stop trying to find a potential spin-off from Gossip Girl. "If Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage would be open to it, of course we'd be open to it," said Ostroff. "There is a spinoff actually of the book series which is called 'The It Girl,' and we've explored that with them. It's been harder to find how you make that a world that's well-rounded enough for us, because it takes place at a boarding school, and it's very insular." And, oh, Body Politic is definitely dead. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Rescue Me co-creator Peter Tolan has teamed with Michael Wimer to launch and as-yet-untitled production company that will be based at Sony Pictures Television and operate under a three-year overall deal. "It's important to establish this company right out of the gate, so that would mean tempering my cable instincts and coming up with something that would bring more people into the tent," said Tolan. "I'm never going to take that darker, cynical side out of myself, but I'm going to make the shows a little bit more welcoming." (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC will offer a primetime preview special that will highlight offerings from the Peacock this fall and will air on all of NBC Universal's portfolio of channels, including NBC, Syfy, Bravo, and USA, as well as being offered online at NBC.com. Series such as Community, The Jay Leno Show, Trauma, Mercy, The Biggest Loser, Heroes, Southland, and the channel's Thursday night comedies are among those getting the promotional treatment. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has confirmed that production on long-running daytime soap All My Children is moving from New York to Los Angeles. The former studio that housed All My Children will not be given to One Life to Live and both series will begin broadcasting in high-definition in early 2010. (Variety)

Ann Gillespie has signed on to reprise her role as Jackie Taylor-Silver next season on 90210, where she will appear in a multiple-episode story arc that has her attempting to reconcile with daughters Kelly (Jennie Garth) and Silver (Jessica Stroup). Her first appearance is slated to air in October. (TVGuide.com)

The N--about to be rebranded as TeenNick--has optioned Deborah Gregory's novel series "Catwalk," about four friends at Manhattan's Fashion International High School. Gregory will adapt her series with Without a Trace scribe Jacob Epstein. (Hollywood Reporter)

More changes afoot for the Emmy Awards, this time affecting just who is eligible to judge this year's categories, a move that prohibits full-time employees from voting in any category for which the network they work for are nominated. It's a move that is likely to frustrate pay cabler HBO, which is nominated for 99 Emmy Awards in most of the major categories; move would then bar their employees from voting in any of those categories. (Variety's Awards Central)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Grant Show Open to "Melrose" Return, Ehle Plays "Game of Thrones," Third Season of "Inbetweeners" on Tap, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Grant Show, set to star on CBS comedy Accidentally on Purpose this fall, has said that he's open to appearing on the CW's revival of Melrose Place. "We've been talking, but nothing solid," Show says. "I'm not opposed to it... They haven't come up with the writing for me yet. I'm not sure they're even going to need me this year — maybe next year." Should Show close a deal to return to the series, he'll join original stars Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Laura Leighton, and Daphne Zuniga as those who have turned up on Melrose 2.0. (TVGuide.com)

Jennifer Ehle (Possession) has joined the cast for the HBO fantasy drama pilot Game of Thrones, where she will play Catelyn Stark, the wife of Sean Bean's Ned Stark. Ehle's character was originally promised to Ned's older brother who was killed before they could marry; she then "fulfilled her duty by marrying Ned and securing the alliance between their two houses." Ehle joins a cast that includes Bean, Mark Addy, Peter Dinklage, Jack Gleeson, Kit Harrington, and Harry Lloyd. In other casting news, Swoosie Kurtz (Pushing Daisies) has joined the cast of Lifetime's comedy series Rita Rocks in a recurring capacity, where she will play the mother of Nicole Sullivan's character, and Brenda Vaccaro (Nip/Tuck) has will star in HBO Film's Jack Kevorkian biopic You Don't Know Jack, directed by Barry Levinson. (Hollywood Reporter)

E4 has announced that it has recommissioned comedy series The Inbetweeners for a third season. The Bwark-produced comedy created by Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, stars Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, and Joe Thomas. It has already aired two seasons on Channel 4 digital sibling E4 and is set to air Stateside this fall on BBC America. According to E4 head Angela Jain, The Inbetweeners had "some of the most beautifully crafted puerile and funny jokes ever seen on British television but also moments of crushing heartbreak, which are all testament to the brilliance of the writing and acting." [Editor: I totally agree! Congrats, Iain and Damon!] (Broadcast)

FOX has announced that American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi will be returning to the reality competition series next season following the conclusion of her contract negotiation. "Kara's spitfire personality and sharp musical sensibility infused American Idol with a new energy last year," said FOX president of alternative Mike Darnell. "She clearly has a keen eye for talent -- spotting Adam Lambert's superstar quality early on last season -- and her performance on the Season Eight finale was one of the most memorable in recent Idol history." (Hollywood Reporter)

Slight changes afoot at Bravo, which announced that it had changed timeslots and launch dates for its returning programs Flipping Out and The Rachel Zoe Project. Flipping Out will now air Tuesdays at 10 pm ET/PT beginning August 18th, while The Rachel Zoe Project will air Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT beginning August 24th. (Futon Critic)

As expected, Greg Meidel has been named president of Twentieth TV, following Bob Cook's decision to leave the position. Meidel, who will continue to oversee MyNetworkTV, will assume oversight of Twentieth TV's programming and distribution. (Variety)

At yesterday's TCA session for CBS, entertainment topper Nina Tassler hit back at outbound NBC Entertainment chairman Ben Silverman. Asked to comment about his departure from NBC, Tassler declined to comment, saying rather cheekily, "I’m really just a D-girl," referring sarcastically to an off-hand remark Silverman made of her early on during his tenture at NBC. Touché! (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

TruTV has ordered seven episodes of unscripted series Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, in which the former Minnesota governor will "investigate controversial plots and schemes that have been circulating in the news for many years and have piqued the public's interest." Project, from A. Smith and Co., will launch later this year. (Variety)

Bashar Rahal (War, Inc.) has been cast a multiple-episode story arc in Day Eight of 24, where he will play a general from the Islamic Republic of Kamistan who is enmeshed in a conspiracy involving President Hassan (Anil Kapoor). (Hollywood Reporter)

E! has ordered eight episodes of unscripted half-hour spoof series Reality Hell, in which actors attempt to persuade a person that he or she is appearing on a new reality series. Series, which launches August 16th, is executive produced by Peter M. Cohen. (Variety)

WE has ordered six episodes of two new series, a one-hour unscripted series Girl Meets Gown, in which brides look for their dream wedding dress; and Jilted, in which "women give their boyfriends ultimatums." Both will launch next year. The cabler also renewed The Locator, Little Miss Perfect, and High School Confidential, all of which will return to the schedule in 2010. (Variety)

More than 100 showrunners and executive producers have formally signed a protest against the changes planned for the Emmy telecast by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which seeks to exclude several categories from the live telecast next month. "We, the undersigned showrunners and executive producers of television's current line-up of programs, oppose the Academy of Television Arts and Science's decision to remove writing awards from the live telecast," said the protesters in a prepared statement. "This decision conveys a fundamental understatement of the importance of writers in the creation of television programming and a symbolic attack on the primacy of writing in our industry. We implore ATAS to restore these awards to their rightful place in the live telecast of the 2009 Emmy Awards." (via press release)

Meanwhile, the Emmy telecast producer Don Mischer said at a TCA panel yesterday that the TV Academy could become irrelevant, unless they make certain changes. "We are trying to keep the Emmys alive as a major television event," said Mischer. "It may come to that... The writing is on the wall, and every other award show knows it." Among the changes necessary for the awards show to stay alive, Misher said, was presenting series that mainstream viewers can recognize and not featuring narrow series that have niche appeal. We're going to have to connect the show to the big picture of television," said Mischer. "Its high points and memorable moments... We want to maintain a major profile. This is broadcasting, not netcasting." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Song's End: Televisionary Talks to "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" Duo Russell T. Davies and Euros Lyn

With only three specials remaining before David Tennant hangs up his Chuck Taylors on Doctor Who, anticipation is running rampant for the upcoming Doctor Who special "The Waters of Mars," slated to run this autumn before "The End of Time," the final two-parter in which Tennant's Tenth Doctor will bid adieu to the series. (You can read my exclusive interview with Tennant here.)

I had the fantastic opportunity to sit down with outbound Doctor Who executive producer/head writer Russell T. Davies and director Euros Lyn, who directed "The End of Time" (as well as the entirety of Torchwood: Children of Earth) to find out what they had to say about the end of Tennant's run on the series, which also marks Davies' departure from Doctor Who as well.

"The end is on its way now," Davies told me. "There's a darkness descending."

Among the topics of conversation: why Davies is leaving the series, what's coming up on Doctor Who over the next three specials, the return of the Master and Lucy Saxon, Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor, Catherine Tate's Donna Noble, whether we can expect to see any other companions turn up in the final specials, why Jamie Oliver was a surprisingly sartorial influence on David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, whether Euros Lyn will direct any of the upcoming fifth season of Doctor Who, just what Martha Jones' role would have been in Torchwood: Children of Earth had Freema Agyeman had been available, whether Davies will be involved in a potential fourth season of Torchwood, and much, much more.

But don't take my word for it. Watch my entire exclusive fifteen-plus minute interview with Russell T. Davies and Euros Lyn in glorious video below.

Interview Part One:



Interview Part Two:



Doctor Who returns with "The Waters of Mars" this autumn on BBC One and BBC America.

A Room Full of Matches: Red Candles, Romance, and Rage on "True Blood"

Wow.

That was my immediate reaction upon seeing the most recent episode of True Blood ("Release Me"), written by Raelle Tucker and directed by Michael Ruscio, which I was lucky enough to snag an advance screener for about a week ago. (I teased my reaction to this shocking and visceral episode on Twitter here.)

This week's episode offered a major turning point in the second season of True Blood, fracturing some alliances (possibly forever), revealing a traitor, and solving one of the season's most enduring mysteries. All while things heat up in a major way in Bon Temps and Tara begins to see things more clearly than she has in a long time.

So just what did I think about this week's installment? Pop open a Tru Blood from the mini-bar, grab yourself a telepath, put on the Victrola, and let's discuss "Release Me."

Need a refresher before we dive in? Here's a video recap for "Release Me":



I really do think that Maryann would have ritually killed Sam if Andy hadn't wandered into the clearing (looking for the mythical pig, no less) and accidentally fired off his gun. It was a distratction that gave Sam the opportunity to flee, even as he was chased by the bull mask-wearing and savagely clawed Maryann and had to shift into an owl in order to make it out in one piece. As for Andy, he got his arm broken by poor frenzy-afflicted Terry and no one seems to believe his story about black-saucer-eyed zombie townspeople.

But Sam took a page out of Andy's book and sought to get some answers from Daphne at gun-point and is shocked to learn that Maryann is an immortal and a maenad, one of the handmaidens of Dionysus. So just how is Sam going to take Maryann down with little more than a pistol and no allies? I have absolutely no idea but the realization that he's dealing with something as ancient and deadly as Maryann clearly shook him to the core. Still, it was the shock of learning that Daphne had used him so completely that left Sam reeling the most. After finally encountering another shifter, he's so woefully unprepared for the basest of betrayals. Daphne says that she sold him out for love, not money or power.

But it's a love that's utterly base; she's filled with darkness from the inside-out, corrupted by Maryann's influence. It's no wonder that she bleeds black when Maryanne finally stabs her with that sacrificial knife. Daphne has done her job and served her well. But the only payment in kind that Maryann can offer is Death itself. And Daphne never saw it coming...

Given all the discussion of Dionysus and ancient Greek cults, it's interesting to note that, in his flashback to the mid-1930s, Bill Compton is seen reading "Gods and Monsters of Ancient Greece" when Lorena comes in. Coincidence? Or was Bill reading that exact tome for a very specific purpose? Curious.

Just as Maryann releases Daphne from her mortal coil, the notion of freedom plays a looming role over this week's installment, most notably in the forcible physical (and emotional) imprisonment of Bill and Sookie. Forced into companionship with his maker Lorena, Bill pleads with her to release him as he can't stand to be with her or defile himself with evil and wanton acts of murder and destruction. (I am curious to see, however, just where this change of heart came from and am hoping further flashbacks reveal its root cause.)

Their tortured relationship takes on the added dimensions of slavery; Bill is chained to Lorena with invisible links and can't leave her, despite his disgust at what he's become. Just as he threatens to stake himself unless she releases him, she turns the tables on him in the present day, keeping him awake during the day and preventing him from rescuing Sookie at the Fellowship of the Sun church. Despite their weakened state, Lorena is stronger and faster than Bill and she intends to keep her promise to Eric and split up Bill and Sookie, even if she has to stake Bill to do so.

Eric might want Sookie for himself but his actions have placed her into extreme danger. Imprisoned below the Fellowship of the Sun church with Hugo--who is revealed to be the traitor to the Area Nine vampires--Sookie is not only trapped with someone whose love for a vampire has twisted into rage, but she's also very nearly raped by Gabe, after Jason manages to disarm him and take him down in the woods. (Looks like Gabe did too good of a job training him, no?)

Hugo's motivation for betraying them comes from the fact that Isabelle wouldn't turn him and that he believes that the vampires just use them and don't want them to be equal. But it's hard to stomach the fact that he would turn to salvation from the blood-thirsty Fellowship of the Sun and betray Godric to boot. Does this somehow make him even with Isabelle? Hardly. If anything, he's proven his unworthiness.

I was thrilled to see that Barry the Bellhop came back into the plot and played such a crucial role. Unable to reach Bill, Sookie reaches out with her mind to the only other person she knows can hear her: fellow telepath Barry, who brings the imprisoned Bill a message that's overheard by Eric. Just who grabs Barry and pulls him into the hotel room? Lorena? Someone else? I just hope that the timid telepath lives to see the next installment...

Tara's worries about Maryann came to a head after her discomfort about the black-out incident, the sight of Maryann dragging a dead rabbit into Sookie's living room, and Arlene's story about forcing herself on Terry during a black-out lead her to believe that all is not right in Bon Temps and Maryann is the cause of it. Will she be able to throw off Maryann's influence long enough to help Sam stop the maenad? Fingers crossed.

Elsewhere, Jason's abstinence pledge took an even bigger turn for the worse when he slept with Sarah Newlin in the church balcony... and then had to convince her not to tell Steve about her unfaithfulness. So just what does Steve tell Sarah later? That Jason lied to them and was a spy for the vampires? That he betrayed their beliefs (and, unbeknownst to Steve, Sarah as well)?

There's no way that Sarah chased him down in the dark and then shot him with actual bullets, so I'm not concerned at all that Jason's dead. (We never saw the actual impact and, well, there's no way Alan Ball and Co. are killing off Jason Stackhouse right now.) My thought is that Sarah shot him with tranquilizers to keep him from fleeing... and that the duo will have to team up to make it out of the Fellowship church alive next week.

Meanwhile, back in Dallas, there were the beautifully touching scenes between Jessica and Hoyt as they shared their innermost thoughts and then later lost their virginity together. Hoyt's tenderness--blood-scented candles ("they smell like soup"), roses, and sweet music--were nicely balanced by Jessica's brazen hunger ("take your pants off"), a neat juxtaposition that was surprising and earned. These two might just be my very favorite romantic couple on television and their scenes crackle with an amorous innocence and a sharp-edged sexuality.

And then there was Godric. The missing 2000-year-old vampire finally appeared in the present day to rush to Sookie's aid in the basement of the Fellowship church. That he did so quite so easily makes me more than a little nervous. If he's not chained with silver or cemented into the ground, then why hasn't he broken out of the church before now? What is Godric's agenda and just what role will Sookie, Eric, and Bill play? Hmmm...

All in all, a simply earth-shattering installment of True Blood that brought the tension, sexuality, gore, and seething emotion in spades. I can't wait to see what happens next and next Sunday can't get here quickly enough.

Next week on True Blood ("Timebomb"), Eric arrives to do his master’s bidding on the eve of the Fellowship’s lockdown; Sam makes a gruesome discovery at Merlotte’s and Andy proves no help in coming to his defense; Jessica and Hoyt learn that when it comes to sex, every time is the first time; Tara and Eggs devour a mysterious meal prepared by Maryann, with unexpected results; Jason pays off his debt; Godric looks to enlighten his more single-minded followers.

Paging the Doctor: David Tennant Talks "Doctor Who," "Hamlet," "Masterpiece Contemporary"

The bad news is that David Tennant is still leaving Doctor Who in a few months' time.

The good news for American viewers, however, is that digital cabler BBC America will be airing Tennant's final three Doctor Who specials--beginning with this autumn's Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars--as "quickly behind" the UK airdates as possible... and said that they will be airing the full, uncut UK episodes, even if they spill over into the next timeslot, at least in their premiere outings.

The statements were made by BBC America's Garth Ancier at last week's Television Critics Association session for BBC America in Pasadena; Ancier also told reporters that the channel would have aired Torchwood: Children of Earth day and date with BBC One but there were scheduling issues with BBC One.

Ancier moderated a packed session that included Doctor Who star David Tennant, head writer/executive producer Russell T. Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner, and director Euros Lyn, who helmed the final two David Tennant specials. (To read my exclusive interview with David Tennant, click here.)

"It's a goodbye for the Tenth Doctor but also for the last four years," said Julie Gardner of David Tennant's swan song on the series, which plays out over the next three specials. Not only is Tennant leaving the long-running British sci-fi series but Gardner and Russell T. Davies are also departing at the same time. The latter two have both relocated to Los Angeles, where Gardner has taken on a new role at BBC Worldwide Productions.

"When Russell and Julie were moving on, it seemed like a natural moving on point for us all," said Tennant. "I think sometimes you have to take a deep breath and make a difficult decision... [and] leave the audience and myself wanting more."

However, Davies doesn't feel that Tennant's departure will affect the series. The change of lead actor doesn't have as much effect because every week is essentially different show, tonally and stylistically, said Davies, pointing to the array of storytelling techniques, tonal shifts, and plotlines that mark the eclectic series.

Still, don't expect things to remain fun and fluffy in the lead-up to Tennant's departure. After two light-spirited specials, things take a decidedly dark turn in the next few episodes. "Planet of the Dead was the last hurrah, the last untroubled moment," said Tennant. "The sword of Damocles is dangling [now]."

"He knows the sands of time are running out," Tennant said later. "He's been told. He knows the bell is tolling for him and he doesn't want to go."

Tennant's final episode is said to run an hour and fifteen minutes in length and BBC America have promised not to edit out a single minute of Doctor Who action, an initiative they put in place with the recent five-episode Torchwood: Children of Earth mini-series. Ancier said that audiences know the episodes inside-out and know when alterations have been made.

But before the final moments of Tennant's run as the Tenth Doctor, there are the return of several familiar faces, including Catherine Tate's Donna Noble, Alexandra Moen's Lucy Saxon, John Simm's The Master, and Bernard Cribbins' Wilt, as evidenced by the trailer for Doctor Who: The End of Time, which BBC America played--twice!--for us again last week.

"It's important that there is a revolving door of confidantes for [the Doctor]," in these specials, said Tennant. Those confidants include Cribbins' Wilt, seen in "The End of Time" and Lindsay Duncan's Adelaide in "The Waters of Mars." "To attract people of Billie Piper and Catherine Tate's status," said Davies, "you've got to write [the Doctor's companions] well."

Despite the end being near for the Tenth Doctor, Tennant wouldn't rule out future Doctor Who appearances (especially for charity), so long as he can fit into those slim-line trousers.

Asked what the main difference was between Tennant's Tenth Doctor and Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor, Davies had a simple answer: "If the Ninth Doctor seemed harder, it's because he was recovering from a war."

Davies also said that he never liked the Time Lords and thought they were "boring." He knew right away that he wanted to kill off the Time Lords before his run on the revival series began.

In speaking of the massive reaction the series got last month at San Diego's Comic-Con, Tennant joked that he wanted to crowd-dive at Comic-Con but every one was sitting down.

"Even I felt like a fifth Beatle, just carrying the bags," said Julie Gardner, speaking of the reaction and fervor of the Comic-Con reaction.

And finally the session was an opportunity for one last look back at Tennant's run on Doctor Who. "David could just dance the dialogue," recalled Davies. "He throws it up and rattles it. He gets the humor and the comedy."

As for how he landed the role, Davies said jokingly of Tennant, "He's a great kisser." In all seriousness, Davies said that he and Tennant had worked together in the past on Casanova. "We were lucky in that we had already worked together... on Casanova," said Davies. "We used to make Doctor Who jokes in rehearsal."

"It's thrilling to be handing over the show in such great health," said Tennant. "It feels like we're leaving at the end of something special."

I have no doubt that audiences across the world feel the same way.

US viewers, meanwhile, will be able to catch Tennant in one of his new gigs, as the host of PBS' Masterpiece Contemporary programming strand this fall.

"Forget Doctor Who," joked WGBH executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "[Tennant] belongs to us now."

Tennant joins Laura Linney and Alan Cumming as the on-air hosts for Masterpiece this fall. Tennant joined PBS' Masterpiece Contemporary session yesterday in Pasadena to field questions about his new role as host and about PBS' upcoming airing of his filmed Royal Shakespeare Company performance of Hamlet (alongside Patrick Stewart), which will air next year as part of Great Performances. (It will also stream online at PBS.org.)

"I'm a huge fan of both of them [Laura Linney & Alan Cumming]," said Tennant, who appeared wearing a trendy Lou Reed t-shirt underneath a pin-striped suit jacket. "Very flattered to line up beside them."

Tennant said that this version of Hamlet won't be period but will instead be enacting using modern dress. In playing the Doctor and Hamlet, Tennant said it's hard "not to be weighed down by history and the performances that have come before."

Just don't expect Tennant to use his native Scottish accent in Hamlet. "No, I did it all posh," said Tennant. "Patrick Stewart was playing my father. He's Northern but he plays quite posh."

"Hamlet is 400 years old... we set out to rediscover the play for 2009," said Tennant. "Hamlet was always something I kind of fantasized about... in my more extravagant fantasies, I imagined I was doing it with RSC."

Tennant will next be seen in Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars, airing this autumn on BBC One and BBC America.

Channel Surfing: Barrowman Could Get "Desperate," Michael Hogan Checks into "Dollhouse," USA Renews "In Plain Sight," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Torchwood star John Barrowman has told BBC1 Radio host Chris Moyle that he is meeting with the producers of ABC's Desperate Housewives about a possible role on the series next season. "I'm off to Los Angeles on Sunday again," said Barrowman on the air. "I probably shouldn't say this but I've got a meeting with the execs of Desperate Housewives; can you believe it, I'm going to be a Desperate Housewife!" No word yet on what role Barrowman could be playing or if a deal is in place for the actor to come on board the long-running drama. (Guardian's Media Monkey)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that former Battlestar Galactica co-star Michael Hogan will be guest starring in an upcoming episode of FOX's Dollhouse this fall. Hogan, set to appear in the second episode of the sophomore season, will play "a customer of the Dollhouse who has used the services of the 'dolls' in the past." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

USA has handed out a third season order to drama In Plain Sight, which stars Mary McCormack, giving the Universal Cable Studios-produced series a sixteen-episode renewal. Behind the scenes, creator David Maples and executive producer Paul Stupin will step down from running the series, segueing into consulting roles on the series. An as-yet-undetermined executive producer will be brought into to give In Plain Sight "a little more narrative drive," according to USA president of original programming Jeff Wachtel. In other USA news, the cabler is said to be close to renewing Law & Order: Criminal Intent as well. (Hollywood Reporter)

20th Century Fox Television has confirmed that they have signed deals with all of the original voice actors on Futurama to reprise their roles in the new Comedy Central Futurama series, which will launch next year. The terms of the deals are unknown but it's clear that some sort of compromise was reached on one or both sides. "We are thrilled to have our incredible cast back," said creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen in a prepared statement. "The call has already gone out to the animators to put the mouths back on the characters." (Variety)

FOX has handed out a cast-contingent pilot order to multi-camera comedy The Rednecks & Romeos, about a group of teen friends living outside Buffalo, New York dealing with the results of economic turmoil, from writer/executive producer Mark Brazil and executive producers Tom Werner and Mike Clements. Project hails from Warner Bros. Television and Good Humor TV. (Hollywood Reporter)

Grant Bowler will reprise his role as slick thief Connor on ABC's Ugly Betty next season, reports Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Bowler is said to have signed on for a multiple-episode story arc beginning this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NCIS' Pauey Perette will guest star in the second episode of spin-off series NCIS: Los Angeles. "She does a crossover and she's directly involved with helping us solve the case. It's a fun little cameo for her," said showrunner Shane Brennan. "We have plans for her to perhaps be in more episodes. And perhaps not just her. I can't tell you yet." Brennan also gave E! Online's Watch with Kristin some additional scoop about what to expect this fall. "It's Callen's (Chris O'Donnell) first day back on the job, and we see his scars. We literally see his scars," said Brennan. "And he rolls into this new venue and away we go from there. Will we answer what happened to him and how it happened and why? In the very best tradition of NCIS, yes. And in the very best tradition of NCIS, you'll just have to wait. So it will be a sweeps episode. I'll give you that." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Universal Media Studios has signed a blind script deal with Tom Arnold, under which he will write and produce an untitled comedy pilot script for NBC through his 2 Dog Limit shingle. He'll next be seen on the small screen in a recurring role on FX's Sons of Anarchy this fall. (Variety)

Tyra Banks is set to guest star on the CW's Gossip Girl next season, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, citing unnamed sources. Banks will play an actress who co-stars in a film alongside Hilary Duff's character. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has given a series order to a revival of vintage game show Let's Make a Deal, which will likely fill the daytime timeslot vacated by cancelled soap Guiding Light. Pilot for the series had already been shot with Wayne Brady as the host and he is expected to return for the FremantleMedia North America-produced series as well. (Variety)

ABC Family has ordered telepic The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice, the third sequel to 1992 ice skating film The Cutting Edge, which will star Francia Raisa and Brendan Fehr. Project, written by Holly Brix and directed by Stephen Herek, will premiere in spring 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

A fifth season of Radical Media's Iconoclasts is on tap at Sundance Channel, which the cabler ordering six episodes to air in 2010. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Link Tank: TV Blog Coalition Roundup for July 31-August 2

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 had an exclusive interview with Doctor Who's David Tennant, who talked about his legacy to the Doctor Who franchise, the upcoming "End of Time" Christmas Special, and the Doctor's sartorial choices.

I also had Part Two of my interview with Torchwood: Children of Earth executive producer Julie Gardner, write-ups on such Comic-Con panels as Lost, Doctor Who, Torchwood, 24, True Blood, Eureka, Caprica/BSG, Bones, Chuck, Fringe, The Prisoner, and Stargate Universe. (And quotes from the 24 press room!)

I reported from the Television Critics Association session for HBO, where they announced renewals for True Blood, Hung, and Entourage and offered details about the upcoming Seinfeld reunion season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

All this, plus news about Ben Silverman leaving NBC, Jamie Bamber guest starring on FOX's Dollhouse, FX ordering Elmore Leonard/Timothy Olyphant series Lawman, Elizabeth Mitchell discussing Lost and V, Christopher Gorham landing the lead in USA's Covert Affairs, and Dominic Monaghan returning to Lost.

As well as talk backs for Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead and Being Human, my thoughts on the most recent episodes of HBO's True Blood and Bravo's Top Chef Masters, and a review of Torchwood: Children of Earth on DVD.

Elsewhere in the sophisticated TV-obsessed section of the blogosphere, members of the TV Blog Coalition were discussing the following items...

• With the Project Runway premiere coming up, Buzz challenged you to match some past designs with their creators. (BuzzSugar)
• For this month's induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame, Angel is paid homage to. (Scooter McGavin' 9th Green)
• And they made the final cut on So You Think You Can Dance and Vance KNOWS you're bitching about stuff about the Top 4. (Tapeworthy)
• Dan shared a video about a boy and his fake girlfriend by the band Telekinesis. (TiFaux)
• Gareth saw the first episode of FlashForward and, while sworn to secrecy, was quite impressed... (TV Spy)

Larry David Gives Clues About "Seinfeld" Reunion, Season Seven of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

The cast of Seinfeld will reunite for a look at what happened to their characters eleven years after the end of Seinfeld's run on NBC. Sort of, anyway.

The reunion is actually a major storyline threaded through the upcoming seventh season of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, which launches on September 20th. The cast of Seinfeld, including Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards--will each appear in approximately five episodes apiece on Curb this season as the fictional Larry David gets the cast together for a reunion special.

"For years, I've been asked about a Seinfeld reunion... and I would always say no," David told reporters at yesterday's Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour gathering about the impetus for the idea. "It's a lame idea. But it might be very funny to do on Curb."

Given David's disinclination from staging a Seinfeld reunion, just does the fictional Larry David give in and decide to do a Seinfeld reunion? David promises this very point will be addressed in an episode of Curb. Asked whether the fictional Larry David would seek to derail the reunion, David played coy: "My guy might consider wrecking something like that. My guy could very well wreck it."

David told reporters that we'll see the "writing, read-throughs, rehearsals, shooting, and the finished product" of the Seinfeld reunion... on Curb via the Seinfeld reunion show-within-a-show, which will give viewers a look into what happened to the characters in time since the Seinfeld series finale.

The storyline will be "scattered throughout" the season and will provide this season's spine, leading up to the Curb season finale, which could be a one-hour installment, according to David. (He'll have a better idea once he finishes editing it.)

David wouldn't confirm that Michael Richard's recent brush with notoriety will be dealt with on-camera on Curb, but he also didn't deny it either. (Read: look for it to be dealt with head-on by David.)

"We'll be picking up this season where last season left off with some lapse of time," said David about the beginning of the seventh season. "I won't tell you how that works out but [the Black family] will be back."

David went on to say that Vivica A. Fox's Loretta will be back as will J.B. Smoove's Leon, who was seen in the hysterical trailer that HBO assembled for Curb's seventh season.

So are Larry and Loretta still dating? David was extremely tight-lipped. "There's a little dating," he said. "I think there's two dating shifts and they were fun."

And the real question: will Cheryl Hines be returning for Season Seven? According to David, Cheryl is "back in it." No elaboration there from David, though Hines was seen in a scene with the fictional Larry in the Curb trailer. The state of their fictional marriage (or separation) remains to be seen.

What we do see in the trailer is Larry attempting to make out--painfully--with a woman in a wheelchair, attempting to open a plastic container, making sure his mobile phone is safe before rushing into the ocean to save Jeff and Susie's daughter Sammy, screaming at a woman on the street who tells him to "smile," Susie kicking Larry out of her house for the umpteenth time, killing a golf course swan, and a host of other awkward, uncomfortable, and painfully funny scenarios.

David said that Rosie O'Donnell is hilarious in the season's fifth episode. "She is a riot," said David, whose character is seen tangling with O'Donnell over a lunch check. "She is a force. She is very formidable physically."

As for the outrage he experiences in attempting to open the aforementioned plastic packaging, David said: "That packaging is insane."

David admitted to watching Gossip Girl with his teenage daughters. He smirked when asked what he thinks of the CW series and then whispered that the characters are "very breathy."

"Would I prefer they watch Seinfeld or Curb?" said David. "Yes! They don't seem to be fans of mine. Go figure."

Still, David admitted that the real-life Larry David and the fictional Curb Larry David are "melding together a little." "I am becoming a little happier," he said smirking.

And after blowing kisses to the journos, David left the stage. A happier Larry David? Might just be possible, after all.

Curb Your Enthusiasm's seventh season launches on September 24th on HBO.

HBO Renews "True Blood," "Hung," and "Entourage," Others Still Up in the Air

HBO's Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo took to the stage yesterday at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Pasadena that HBO had locked in its entire current Sunday night lineup for additional seasons next summer.

The pay cabler has officially renewed True Blood for a third season, Hung for a second season, and Entourage for a staggering seventh season. All will return to the lineup next summer rather than premiering earlier.

"True Blood, Hung, and Entourage will all be coming back next summer and we're very excited about it." Lombardo told the press. "So stay tuned for next June."

The duo, in an executive session at the aforementioned TCA panel, also relayed information about HBO's other crop of series and whether we could expect to see them return or not, with the fate of several series still very much up in the air.

Curb Your Enthusiasm returns September 20th with a new series and will be slotted together with new comedy Bored to Death, starring Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and Zach Galifianakis, which will launch on the same night.

Lombardo wouldn't give any details about Evan Rachel Woods' appearance in Season Two/Season Three of True Blood. "Alan Ball would kill me," he said emphatically.

As expected, Big Love will be back in January. HBO expresses their disappointment that Big Love's talented cast didn't net Emmy nods for the truly amazing third season. (Editor: personally, I agree with them completely. Egregious error.)

Also on the subject of the Emmys, which announced yesterday that they would cut eight categories--including movie and miniseries awards--from the live telecast and instead film them separately and air edited versions of the winners' acceptance speechs, Plepler shot back at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. "For an awards show that seems to celebrate TV," said Plepler, "it seems odd that you would minimize categories that have huge viewership."

Flight of the Conchords isn't quite as dead as it appeared a few months back, with Plepler and Lombardo stating that the future of the series was squarely in the hands of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. "When they are ready, we're ready," said Plepler about a potential third season of Flight of the Conchords. "The challenge is of course they're not only writing a television show but have the added challenge of writing an album. So it's double the pressure. But we're waiting and as soon as they tell us they're ready, we'd be thrilled."

Things are looking less certain for a second season of the critically acclaimed drama series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which HBO co-produces with the BBC. "We're actually in conversations now and try to figure out the next step on that show," said Lombardo. "That show has been a challenge creatively as you know because the creative vision behind that show, Anthony Minghella, unfortunately passed away after the pilot was done." Fingers crossed that they can reach an agreement to bring Jill Scott's Precious Ramotswe back for a sophomore season...

And things are still very uncertain for a third season of In Treatment. "We're trying to put it together," said HBO. "It was adapted from an Israeli series, which had two seasons, so we would have to create new scripts from whole cloth but we're working to see whether that's possible." As for a final word on the series' fate, the duo said: "Gabriel is very interesting in doing it again so stay tuned."

Meanwhile, Little Britain USA is dead. But HBO said that they are in talks with creators/stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams about doing a series of specials featuring new characters and new situations. But don't hold your breath for these; at the very earliest the first special would air on HBO at the end of 2010 or shortly thereafter.

Fellow comedy Eastbound and Down, however, will return for a second season next year. The series "found young, passionate audience... There was no way we weren't bringing it back." Season Two of Eastbound will shoot at the end of winter or beginning of spring next year.

And animated comedy The Life and Times of Tim will return, with season two of the Media Rights Capital-produced series kicking off in the next few months. Ideally, Tim would be paired with the untitled animated Ricky Gervais comedy series--based on the podcast Gervais does with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington--but the latter likely won't make it on the air until next year.

As for new product, HBO said that the plan is to launch David Simon's newest series the post-Katrina New Orleans-set Treme, in April, trailing out of the end of its WWII mini-series The Pacific.

And HBO is anxiously awaiting a cut of its period drama Boardwalk Empire from executive producer Martin Scorsese and writer Terence Winter. Expectations are that once they see a cut of the pilot, HBO can order it to series and go back into production in September. "From everything we've seen it's fantastic, it's big, and it's everything we'd hoped it'd be," said Plepler.

Finally, HBO proved themselves magnanimous in success. Former HBO topper Chris Albrecht, now an independent producer, "should go where the work is and if he has something for" HBO, they are happy to take the pitch, said Plepler.

Channel Surfing: Monaghan Gets "Lost" for Three Episodes, Joey Lauren Adams Falls for "Tara," "Ugly" Betty's New Look Focus-Grouped, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

E! Online's Watch with Kristin is reporting that Dominic Monaghan will reprise his role as rocker Charlie Pace on ABC's Lost next season for three episodes. "Sources tell us exclusively that, yes, Dom's deal to reappear on Lost is done and that the original castmember is set to appear in three episodes in Season Six," writes Jennifer Godwin. "No word yet on the answer to the big question: Is Charlie alive? We'll have to wait until Lost returns to ABC in January 2010 to find out." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Joey Lauren Adams (Party Down) has joined the cast of Showtime's United States of Tara for the series' second season. Adams will play Pammy, a barmaid who "has a history of picking the wrong guys," writes Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Her luck changes the day she meets 'Buck' and falls head over heels in love." She'll appear in at least three episodes next season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that ABC executives are testing scenes of Ugly Betty featuring America Ferrara's Betty rocking her new glam makeover. "Based on ABC’s questions to the panel, the suits appear most concerned about whether fans of the show will deem Betty’s transformation appropriate, given her four-year journey from flunky to editor, or whether the changes are too drastic and compromise the essence of the Everygal," writes Ausiello. "They’re also asking for opinions about Betty’s new hair, styled eyebrows, and makeup." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TLC still has thirty episodes remaining on its deal for unscripted family series Jon and Kate Plus 8 and said that the family--whose behind-the-scenes drama has become headline news--isn't hesitating about continuing on. "It's the family's decision to be involved in the show," said TLC president Eileen O'Neill said. "We want to stay with them as long as they want to stay with us." The series, however, will change, with the emphasis placed more squarely on the children that their parents' dating lives. (Variety)

Amy Poehler is set to return to her Weekend Update anchor roots during September, when she will rejoin Seth Meyers on the Weekend Update desk for Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday on September 17th and September 24th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Shingle Ish Entertainment has several projects in development, including Bayside Boys, from writer/director/star Ed Burns, about a group of twenty-something male friends from Bayside, Queens. Project is being shopped to cable nets. Elsewhere, the company has Comedy Central male comedy Gnarly, about two thirty-somethings who travel back in time to their high-school selves to determine what made them so unattractive to the opposite sex. Other projects include MTV pilot Bridge and Tunnel, about students on Staten Island; dramedy One if by Land from Hitch writer Kevin Bisch, about a cafe in New York where couples get married, which has been bought as a script at CBS; and a slew of others. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC One Daytime has commissioned a second season of drama Moving On, ordering ten stand-alone episodes that will be filmed on location in and nearby Liverpool. Series, from a group of writers who were mentored by Jimmy McGovern, is a loose narrative about people each coming to grips with how best to move on in life. The original season featured such actors as Shelia Hancock, Richard Armitage, Lesley Sharp, Mark Womack, Dervla Kerwin, and Ian Hart. (BBC)

FOX has added two encore airings of its new unscripted dating series More to Love, with repeats slated to air tonight at 8 pm ET/PT and Monday, August 3rd at 9 pm. (Futon Critic)

Stay tuned.

The Inevitable and The Inescapable: Televisionary Talks to David Tennant About "Doctor Who" Legacy, Sartorial Choices, and "End of Time"

There are a handful of iconic roles that exist in entertainment and ranking high upon that list is the Doctor.

For many people, the time-traveling alien nomad has been best embodied by Scottish actor David Tennant, who will depart the series after three final Doctor Who specials, airing this fall and winter on BBC One and BBC America.

I had the chance to catch up with Tennant over drinks last night at BBC America's cocktail party at the Television Critics Association's Summer Press Tour. As a huge fan of Doctor Who and of Tennant's performance as the Tenth Doctor, I was curious about the legacy he'll leave behind after he departs the series, the cast of characters assembled for the two-part "End of Time" special (directed by Euros Lyn), and the Tenth Doctor's trademark combination of Chuck Taylor Converse and pin-striped suits.

So what did Tennant have to say on those topics? Let's find out in this exclusive interview with the Doctor himself, David Tennant.

Televisionary: What do you think is the legacy that you're leaving behind for the Doctor Who franchise?

David Tennant: That's not an easy question! And probably not for me to answer. I think it's really hard to be objective about it when you're in the midst of it. Also I'm far too British and self-deprecating to know.

I'm very proud that we're handing it over in such rude health because every year it's been a battle to stay out there and make sure we make the show good. And actually we seem to have managed to increase the viewing figures and the attention that we get year on year. I'm proud of that. I am very glad that that is our legacy.

Also, because I know how much it meant to me as a kid and how formative those memories were, the idea that there might be some seven- or eight-year-old kid having just a little bit of the experience that I had when I was a kid watching that show, that's enough legacy for me. That's all I hope for.

Televisionary: From watching the trailer for Doctor Who: The End of Time, we saw Catherine Tate's Donna Noble, John Simm's The Master, Alexandra Moen's Lucy Saxon, and Bernard Cribbins' Wilt returning. What was it like having these fantastic actors return for your final bow on the series?

David Tennant: Well, they are all great people to work with. But actually it's all story-led. Funnily enough, it could have easily been a greatest hits package, I suppose, to finish off our time. But I suppose Russell [Davies] would never have been so cheap, I guess. (Laughs)

But what you get is that there's a reason why Bernard Cribbins is in the center of the story. It's absolutely central to what happens. And there's a reason that John Simm is there because that absolutely tells you more about who the Doctor is.

As ever with Russell's scripts, he finds a way of bringing brilliant characters and brilliant actors together but it's all serving the story. It's serving the tale of the Doctor... There's an epic-ness to this because he knows he's dying and because, slightly cheekily, the audience knows he's dying. We're all kind of on the same boat and we're all telling the same story.

There's an inevitability which is inescapable. The Doctor is kind of on this runaway train and then, just when you think you know where it's going, Russell completely changes all the goalposts. And maybe he'll walk away...

Televisionary: In speaking with Russell earlier, he said that the use of the Chuck Taylors and the suits for the Doctor's wardrobe was your idea. What was it about that particular sartorial combination that you wanted to use to embody the Tenth Doctor?

David Tennant: I wanted shoes that would be comfortable to run in. (Laughs) I liked the idea of a suit but I was worried that that could be too authoritarian. So then how to you take the edge off a suit? So I thought, well, if you wear it with soft shoes, it just makes it softer and gentler. And then if you just scrunch the suit up a bit and the tie's not really done up--like I'm wearing my tie now--you sort of feel like he's kind of wearing a suit but he's not wearing it like a man in an office would wear a suit.

So they were all thoughts like that and of course Louise Page, our costume designer, had a huge amount of input and brought ideas that I just would never have seen. So between us, we kind of struggled towards that. And I always wanted a long coat and I was determined to have a long coat, whatever else we found, I wanted a long coat to go over the top of it. So a sort of random collection of notions and ideas kind of assembled into the outfit.

Doctor Who returns this fall with special "Waters of Mars" on BBC America and BBC One.

Transformation and Reinvention: Chefs Pay Homage to Each Other on "Top Chef Masters"

Imitation isn't the sincerest form of flattery; homage is.

This week's episode of Top Chef Masters ("Champions Round Begins") had the six champion chefs trading signature dishes and reinventing them in their own inimitable style while still paying homage to the original dish.

But before that, the chefs were put through their paces with a mise-en-place relay race. I have to say that I was impressed by their performances. After all, these are master chefs who leave the prep work to their sous chefs and commis and aren't chopping mounts of onions, shucking oysters, or whisking egg whites in their kitchens on a regular basis.

But for all of that, these masters will know their stuff; their mastery of basic kitchen techniques shouldn't be underestimated and I wonder if even the series' producers were astonished to see how neck-and-neck the two teams were in the Quickfire Challenge. Well done, all.

But there were three "rounds" this week on Top Chef Masters, with the six champions tasked with preparing a signature dish for their comperes, after which they sat down to eat one another's dishes. But this being Top Chef, there was a twist to follow, of course.

So what did the chefs prepare for the "Dinner" Round?

• Keller: lobster and truffle cappuccino with, leeks, fingerling potatoes, and a corn madeleine.
• Tracht: chopped sirloin steak with green peppercorn sauce and fried egg
• Smith: Seared grouper with hearts of palm, trumpet potatoes, and Meyer lemon zest
• Lo: seared sea scallop with potato puree, bacon, mustard greens, and sea urchin
• Chiarello: Balsamic and wild fennel pollen quail with mosto cotto mostarda, sauteed vineyard greens, and roasted apples
• Bayless: roast rack of lamb with black pasilla chile, mission figs, and red wine

And then there was the rub: they'd now have to prepare one of the other chefs' signature dishes and make it their own. They'd have $300 to shop for ingredients and try to show up their competitors by cooking someone else's style of cuisine and respect their original vision. No easy feat, that.

And their guest judges would be none other than competitors cut along the way from Top Chef Masters... which meant that likely their knives were sharpened.

Keller was tasked with reinventing Lo's scallop dish. He prepared a seared scallop with cream of sea urchin over fingerling mashed potatoes with bacon and haricot verts. Everyone praised Keller's masterful cooking of the scallops, which were adroitly cooked, and the sea urchin cream, which was an amazing payoff, though the critics then complained that the sea urchin cream was lacking in flavor. Confusing.

Lo consequently had to recreate Keller's lobster cappuccino with corn madeleine. She radically elevated the French master's dish even more, creating a trio of elements on the plate: a chilled corn chawanmushi, champagne gelee, and a lobster knuckle biscuit sandwich. Lo once again proved herself the chef to beat, with the judges raving about the elements on her plate. I'm wowed by Lo each week as are the critics.

Smith landed Tracht's chopped serloin, which he transformed into a bacon-topped ground-lamb Scotch egg with sweet potato fries and a tomato tart. I do agree with Elizabeth Faulkner that cooking the egg less than hard-boiled would have helped to bring the dish together (and take it away from Scotch egg territory), though Gael Greene loved the tomato tart and the biscuit. Still, overcooked egg, undercooked meat, which Greene said that she was "terrified" by. Hmmm...

Tracht reinterpreted Smith's grouper by transforming it into roast grouper with gnocchi, English peas, bacon, and roasted parsnips. But sadly the fish--very difficult to cook--was definitely overcooked and the gnocchi was stone cold. She did finish WAY too early and let the fish sit too long, rendering it over-cooked. Sad as I love Suzanne and was disappointed to see her struggle here with timings.

Chiarello took Bayless' dish and recreated it with more Italian than Mexican flavors, offering a rack of lamb stuffed with fig mostarda served with chick pea puree and fried rosemary. The judges felt that Michael's dish missed the mark slightly in terms of seasoning, with some complaining that the lamb was slightly too rare. "This to me is the beginning of a great dish," said Mark Peel. "Maybe it's 70 percent there." Did he care more what Rick thought about his dish that the judges? Sure, but even Chiarello admitted this at critics' table.

Bayless then reinvented Chiarello's dish of quail and transformed it into quail stuffed with parsnip, grilled red onion, and prosciutto served over wild greens. Bayless definitely moved away from his Mexican heat and offered up a dish that was very well balanced and deceptively simple. Hell, even Ludo praised it, which Bayless was extremely nervous about. (Love that both Bayless and Lo expressed their fears about cooking for their peers, which was honest and touching.)

Ultimately, Lo and Bayless ended up with the top marks and Lo walked off with the top spot after beating Bayless out by a single star (the closest it's come so far in this competition). Hubert Keller followed closely behind, trailed by Michael Chiarello. Landing in the bottom slots: Suzanne Tracht and Art Smith. But it was Tracht who sadly had to pack her knives and go, landing a half-star short of tying with Smith.

To say that this week's installment was stressful was an understatement and offered the closest challenge yet. I'm sad to see Tracht go but happy to see that things are heating up in the kitchen. I can't wait to see what next week brings...

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("Dietary Restrictions"), the five remaining chefs get ready to rumble in a battle of burgers. Guest diners this week include actress Zooey Deschanel and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.

Top Chef Masters Preview: It's All About Burgers:



Top Chef Masters Preview: A Few Dietary Restrictions:

Channel Surfing: Christopher Gorham Embroiled in "Covert Affairs," Franka Potente Moves into "House," NBC to Revive "Rockford Files," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Christopher Gorham (Harper's Island) will star opposite Piper Perabo in USA's spy thriller pilot Covert Affairs. Gorham's attachment would seemingly lift the casting contingency on the project, which follows Annie Walker, a polyglot CIA trainee (Perabo) whose relationship with an enigmatic ex-boyfriend makes her of interest to the agency. Gorham will play Auggie Anderson, a blinded CIA military intelligence operative who helps Walker. (Hollywood Reporter)

Franka Potente (The Bourne Identity) will guest star in the season premiere of House this fall, where she will play a mystery character that Gregory House encounters in the mental hospital. What's unclear is whether Potente will be playing a doctor, a patient, or a figment of House's imagination. Hmmmm.... (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

House creator David Shore has come on board to oversee a remake of private eye drama The Rockford Files with NBC, Universal Media Studios, and Steve Carell's Carousel Television. "It's one of the shows that made me want to become a writer," said Shore. "I had no interest in adapting any old stuff, but this was the one exception." Like the original, the update will likely focus on an LA private investigator who is trying to make a living solving cases. NBC apparently wanted to fast-track this for mid-season but Angela Bromstad now tells Variety's Cynthia Littleton that they will "take our time and get it right." (Variety)

Marti Noxon and Dawn Parouse Olmstead's Grady Twin Prods. have set up several projects in development around town. Diane Keaton is now attached to the duo's untitled comedy project at HBO about a feminist icon who starts a porn magazine for women. Noxon will write the pilot script. Elsewhere, the duo have teamed up with Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan on an adaptation of their horror novel series The Strain, which they plan to shop to networks as a three-season arc. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that FOX is "toying with the idea of staging a crossover next season that would find [Bones'] Booth and Brennan working on a case with Tim Roth’s Lie to Me doc Lightman," citing an unnamed insider who warns Ausiello that plans are still in the early stages and "may not even happen." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Donal Logue (Life) has been cast as the lead in FX's gumshoe drama pilot Terriers, from Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Ted Griffin (Ocean's Eleven). Logue will play ex-cop Hank, who teams up with his best friend to start a private investigation firm where the "duo, both with maturity issues, solve crimes while trying to avoid danger and responsibility.... Hank is an affable, talkative fellow who's not always the best liar but is adept at adopting different personas to find out information. He is alarmed by what he perceives as signs of his encroaching senility." Project hails from fox21. (Hollywood Reporter)

TLC has renewed unscripted series Cake Boss, which follows the staff of a family-run bakery in New Jersey, for a second season. (Variety)

Mike Soccio (The King of Queens) will write and executive produce an untitled single-camera comedy about a modern interracial couple in LA. Project will be executive produced by Martin Lawrence, Robert Lawrence, and Darice Rollins. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cabler G4 has ordered a spin-off of its imported series Ninja Warrior, entitled American Ninja Warrior, which will be executive produced by Craig Piligian and is set to launch this fall. Series, according to Broadcasting & Cable's Alex Weprin, "will chronicle the search to find10 American competitors to send to Japan and tackle the original series' obstacle course. The challenger who completes all four stages the fastest will be crowned the American Ninja Warrior." (Broadcasting & Cable)

Across the Pond, BSkyB has announced that it will be the first European broadcaster to offer 3D television when it launches the UK's first strictly 3D channel in 2010. Customers will need a 3D ready television set in order to watch the channel, which will offer a mix of movies, entertainment, and sporting events. (Broadcast)

UK satellite network Sky1 has ordered eight episodes of Just Dance, an X-Factor style dancing competition series that will replace outbound unscripted series Don't Forget the Lyrics. Series, from Shine and Princess Prods., will launch in January 2010. (Broadcast)

TruTV has ordered a second season of reality series Black Gold, which follows Texan oil rig crews. Season Two is said to include "Rooster" McConaughey, the brother of actor Matthew McConaughey. (Hollywood Reporter)

Syfy has hired Andrew Plotkin as SVP of original programming. Plotkin, who was a former Warner Bros. Television executive, will be based in Los Angeles and will report to Mark Stern and will work alongside SVP Erik Storey. Plotkin replaces Tony Optican, who now runs FremantleMedia North America's scripted division. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Televisionary Comic-Con 2009 Wrap Up

While the dust has finally settled on San Diego Comic-Con 2009, I've still got a bunch of pieces to finish writing, several interviews to transcribe, and a whole lot of press rooms to recount.

But in the meantime, I figured I'd offer up this round-up of all of the coverage for Comic-Con 2009 that have already posted to Televisionary. And rather than have to scroll through numerous pages of posts, I've presented the coverage here by series, listed alphabetically below.

24:

War and Peace: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary-Lynn Rajskub, David Fury, Freddie Prinze Jr., Anil Kapoor Talk Day Eight in "24" Press Room

The Promise of Peace (And Some Explosions): "24" Panel at Comic-Con 2009

Bones:

Dream a Little Dream: Deschanel and Hanson Talk “Bones” Romance

Caprica (and BSG: The Plan):

They Have a Plan: "Caprica/Battlestar Galactica: The Plan" Panel at Comic-Con 2009

Chuck:

Nerd Herd: Watch the Entire "Chuck" Comic-Con 2009 Panel!

Doctor Who:

Knock Four Times: David Tennant, Russell T. Davies, Euros Lyn, and Julie Gardner Bring “Doctor Who” to Comic-Con

Eureka:

"Eureka" Gets Surprise Fourth Season Pickup, Birthday Wishes for Colin Ferguson

Fringe:

Cracking the Pattern: Cast and Crew of "Fringe" Tease Second Season Details

Lost:

Lost But Not Forgotten: Team Darlton Promise "Familiar Faces" For Final Season of "Lost"

The Prisoner:

Invisible Chains: AMC Brings "The Prisoner" to Comic-Con

Stargate Universe:

Surviving in the Dark: "Stargate Universe" Cast and Crew Discuss the Future of the Franchise

Torchwood:

The Undiscovered Country: John Barrowman, Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner Defend "Torchwood" Decisions

True Blood:

"Trust Me": A Look Ahead and Back for "True Blood" at Comic-Con 2009

V:

Beware Visitors Bearing Gifts: In the Press Room with "V" Executive Producers Scott Peters and Jace Hall

Updates to this page will be made as I continue to add more Comic-Con 2009 coverage to the site, so keep revisiting this space for more information.