Channel Surfing: Future of "Chuck" Hinges on "Trauma," "Southland" May Land at TNT, FOX Committed to Airing All 13 Episodes of "Dollhouse," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Following last week's Chuck-related rumor of an October launch, The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that NBC's plans for action-comedy series Chuck will hinge on last night's ratings performance for medical drama Trauma, which has been tanking since its launch and is said to be on cancellation watch. Adalian cites unnamed NBC insiders who say that there's a "very small chance" that Chuck could return as early as the end of the month but goes on to say that there's one scenario in discussion at the Peacock that has Chuck returning to its Monday nights at 8 pm timeslot, with Heroes shifting back to 9 pm, should Trauma need to be pulled from the lineup. "If Trauma goes down, however, it's very likely Chuck will be back before year's end. And if Trauma really tanks, Ausiello's October surprise scenario could well transpire," writes Adalian. "But NBC insiders know rushing Chuck on too quickly doesn't make sense, either. The network needs time to mount a marketing and PR campaign to let viewers know the show is back on the air, and a late October premiere would make that all but impossible. More likely is an early to mid-November premiere. And a post-Olympics bow, as originally planned, is still under discussion as well." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

As I predicted last week, Warner Bros. Television is said to be in talks with cabler TNT about moving their axed NBC drama series Southland to the cable network. "We continually look at all programming opportunities that fit our portfolio of brands," said TNT in a statement. James Hibberd is quick to point out that it's still unknown, if TNT picks up the series, whether they would order additional episodes or simply air the six installments that have already been produced. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX executives have indicated that they are committed to airing all thirteen ordered episodes of Joss Whedon-created drama series Dollhouse this season. "We're going to run all the episodes," FOX scheduling chief Preston Beckman told Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "We're not saying we're happy with those numbers, or accept them, but we don't have to overreact. During [November] sweeps we might have to jack up the numbers a little [with other programming], but we plan on completing the order for this show." The network hasn't however decided whether or not to order additional episodes or renew the series for a third season, a choice they'll make after Dollhouse wraps its current run. Viewers, meanwhile, can look for some closure, with Whedon writing the thirteenth episode with that express purpose. "We'll definitely have closure, but will leave some doors open," Whedon told Hibberd. "When we got our first numbers, which were bad, the first thing [Fox president of entertainment] Kevin Reilly said was, 'You'll have all 13,' which was great. They're not going to pull the rug out from under us." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

ABC has given a full season pickup to sci-fi drama series FlashForward, ordering twelve additional episodes to bring this season's total to 25 installments. (Televisionary)

A&E has given a pilot order to cop drama The Quickening, about a female LAPD detective who suffers from bipolar disorder. Said cop will be played by Surrogates star Radha Mitchell. Project, from Fox Television Studios, is written and executive produced by Jennifer Salt (Nip/Tuck). (Variety)

NBC has given a pilot order with penalty to an untitled multi-camera comedy from writer/executive producer Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant (Reno 911!). The project, from Universal Media Studios, will star Lennon, with Garant performing in a supporting role, and will be executive produced by Peter Principato and Paul Young. Details of the concept are being kept firmly under wraps. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Rachael Harris (In the Motherhood) has been cast in a "potentially recurring role" on ABC comedy Cougar Town, where she will play Shanna, the "judgmental nemesis" of Courteney Cox's Jules. Additionally, Alan Ruck (Drive) will recur as well as Frank, Shanna's husband. "Look for Frank to develop a bit of a crush on Cox’s character," writes Ausiello, "further inflaming the Jules-Shanna rivalry." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Former Friends star Matthew Perry will co-write, star, and executive produce an untitled single-camera comedy pilot about a "self-involved manager of a second-rate sports arena who begins to re-evaluate his life on his 40th birthday." Project, which hails from Sony Pictures Television, will be co-written with Alex Barnow and Mark Firek, who will executive produce with Thomas Schlamme and Jamie Tarses. Project is being pitched to networks this week. (Hollywood Reporter)

Glee will wrap up the first half of its season on Wednesday, December 9th. It timeslot will be filled by new action series Human Target in January and Glee is expected to return for its back nine sometime in the spring. (Futon Critic)

In other Glee-related news, the stars of the FOX musical dramedy will NOT be performing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will air on NBC, after the Peacock rescinded their invitation after weeks of contract negotiation. "No contract had been signed; however, according to insiders on set, wardrobe and choreography was in the works and the cast had been informed they'd be performing," writes E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos. "According to a source at NBC, Macy's made the offer to the Glee cast without consulting NBC first. Fox network and studio reps had no comment. Neither did reps at NBC." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) will direct the pilot for FOX drama Worthy, about an Arizona politician who finds himself being blackmailed by a mob boss after a hit-and-run accident. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, is written by Davey Holmes and executive produced by Holmes and Gavin Polone. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS is slating a CSI mega-crossover for November sweeps, during which time Lauren Fishburne's Dr. Raymond Langston will appear in all three series in the CSI franchise, beginning November 9th with CSI: Miami and wrapping up in November 12th on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Carrie Underwood will host a FOX variety special, currently entitled Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, on December 7th. The special, written by Carol Leifer, Jeffrey Richman, and Seth Morris, will feature sketches, classic holiday songs, and tracks from Underwood's upcoming album. Joining her on stage: Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, and David Cook. (Hollywood Reporter)

Epix, the pay cable joint venture between Lionsgate, Viacom, and MGM, has announced that it will launch on October 30th with the pay television premiere of Iron Man, the world premiere of Madonna concert special Sticky and Sweet: Live From Buenos Aires, and comedy special Eddie Izzard: Live From Wembley. (Variety)

Comedy Central development chief Lauren Corrao will step down from her post to segue back into a producer role once her contract ends in December. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Stay tuned.

ABC Ties Friendship Bracelet on "FlashForward," Picks Up Series for Full Season

I wonder if the victims of the blackout saw this coming.

It's hardly a surprise but ABC has today announced that it has handed out a full season order to serialized sci-fi drama series FlashForward, which recounts the aftermath of a global incident in which the world's population glimpsed visions of their future six months from now. (UPDATE: The network has ordered twelve additional episodes of FlashForward, bringing the season total to 25 installments, per E! Online's Jennifer Godwin.)

The ABC Studios-produced series, which stars Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, John Cho, Jack Davenport, and a sprawling ensemble cast too numerous to list, has aired three episodes to date and has fared well in the ratings, improving the Thursday at 8 pm timeslot by 32 percent compared to former inhabitant Ugly Betty, which returns this Friday in its new home on Friday nights.

The news comes on the heels of full season pickups for ABC's comedies Modern Family, Cougar Town, and The Middle.

Here's what ABC had to say about FlashForward's performance so far: "From 8:00-9:00 p.m. on Thursday, ABC’s FlashForward ranks No. 1 in Adults 18-49, leading CBS’ time-period veteran Survivor: Samoa. On its series debut telecast, the new ABC drama became the first regular program since Friends in 2004 to beat Survivor in the key young adult sales demo. The ABC freshman is an exceptionally strong draw among Adults 18-34, dominating its time period and qualifying as TV’s No. 1 new drama series this season. The new series is greatly improving its time period year to year for ABC, boosting the hour by 1.8 million viewers and by 32% in Adults 18-49 over the same nights last year. Based on DVR playback during season-premiere week, FlashForward finished as TV’s biggest freshman gainer, as its numbers jumped by 2.0 million viewers (12.5 million to 14.5 million) and 8-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (4.1 rating to 4.9 rating) from the initially reported next-day numbers to DVR finals."

What do you think of the FlashForward pickup? Is it wishful thinking on ABC's part that the series will develop into a Lost-sized hit or is it a justified reward? Discuss.

Televisionary Named One of "50 TV Insiders to Follow Right Now" by The Wrap

Time for some shameless self-promotion.

The Wrap's Josef Adalian has compiled a list of "50 TV Insiders to Follow Right Now" and yours truly has made it onto the list, along such luminaries as The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan, Time's James Poniewozik, Sarah Silverman, Shawn Ryan, Hart Hanson, Brian Stelter, and many, many others. (Okay, well, 43 others.)

Here's how The Wrap described me:

@televisionary
A one-time TV development executive and avowed Anglophile, the man behind the Televisionary blog is never shy with a sharp opinion on the latest TV news or last night's episode of Mad Men. He's also the best-fed TV type on Twitter, regularly sharing details of his latest amazing meal.

You can read the full list here and follow me on Twitter here.

Running in the Dark: Searching for the Moon on "Mad Men"

Mad Men has always succeeded at creating some indelible and powerful images but this week's episode ("Wee Small Hours"), written by Dahvi Waller and Matthew Weiner and directed by Scott Hornbacher, featured one in particular that eloquently summed up the episode as whole.

Heading into work in the wee early hours after being awakened by Connie Hilton, Don spies Sally's former teacher Suzanne Farrell (Abigail Spencer) running alone in the dark. It's a gorgeously shot sequence in which Don sees Suzanne almost glowing like a beacon in the darkness, in full sprint, tearing away from some unseen demons. If that doesn't sum up Don's state of mind right now, I don't know what does.

It seems like each of the characters on Mad Men this week seem to be running toward or away from something. Set against the distant backdrop of the civil rights movement in the South, this week's episode finds Don under attack from Hilton, Sal cornered in the editing bay, and Betty engaging in a flirtatious dance with Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley). But whether they'll keep running or reach their ultimate destination remains to be seen.

The most upsetting storyline this week had to be poor Sal's. Having finally found his niche as a commercial director, Sal is shocked when Sterling Cooper's client Lee Garner Junior (Darren Pettie), the Lucky Strike scion, makes a pass at him in the editing bay. Despite the fact that Sal declines the blatant proposition and wants to maintain his closeted status, Lee Garner quickly moves to have Sal fired from Sterling Cooper, demanding that Harry be the one to pink-slip him immediately. (Not sure why he demanded this of Harry rather than, say, Pete or Roger Sterling, but perhaps he wanted to keep things even more hush-hush.)

When Roger learns about the conflict (or just Lee Garner's distaste for Sal), he moves to have him fired. But that's not even the traumatic bit. Despite their understanding of each other, it's Don who is even more mercenary about the entire encounter, basically stating that Sal should have prostituted himself in this situation, regardless of whether he wanted to or not. It's a shockingly casual attitude on the part of Don but then again Don has shocking casual ideas of sexual propriety to begin with. That Don believes that Sal should engage in sex in order to satisfy a client and keep him happy is just mind-blowingly wrong ("Lucky Strike can shut off our lights") and speaks volumes about the difference in their belief system, particularly when it comes to making their clients happy. I felt especially gutted later on when he lied to Kitty and said he was working at the office. I don't think he can bring himself to tell her that he was fired, especially given the circumstances surrounding his departure from Sterling Cooper. Poor, poor Sal.

Don himself seems to be running towards a very dark place in recent weeks. After his cutting dismissal of Peggy a few episodes back, he shocked me again with his handling of Sal's situation. Granted, Don's under an inordinate amount of stress from demanding hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, but his attitude towards those who work for him ("Now that I can finally understand you, I'm less impressed with what you have to say") has turned from critically supportive to just plain hostile.

I was impressed in the first half of the episode by the level of trust that Conrad Hilton has in Don, saying that he is like a son to him, "more than a son" because he knows that Don came from humble roots unlike his own well-heeled children. But Hilton is more than just a perfectionist. He's an eccentric who demands the stars and the moon (quite literally) of Don, expecting him to join him for a drink in the middle of the night or create a campaign for the Hilton hotels that blows him out of the water. "When I say I want the moon, I expect the moon," Conrad tells Don. And he means it. Especially in 1963 when the literal moon is tantalizingly in reach. In disappointing Connie, Don has once again disappointed his father (or father figure, anyway). More than anything, it's what sends Don running into the arms of the pure Suzanne, a woman who is transfixed by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and who represents a sort of Platonic ideal for Don.

Suzanne's feelings about the civil rights movement seem inimical to those of Betty. Despite the lambasting of the South during the impromptu Rockefeller fundraiser, Betty expresses her true colors to Carla later on, saying, "I hate to say this but it’s really made me wonder about Civil Rights. Maybe it's not supposed to happen right now" after hearing a radio report about the Birmingham murders of four black girls. Is it freedom in general that has Betty so doubtful? Or is it that her own feelings about equality are not as progressive as she originally thought? After all, when she corrects Bobby about his attitude toward Carla, it's not because she deserves respect but because, as Betty says, Carla works for her and not him.

But Betty has other things on her mind. Her recent trip to Rome with Don awakened all sorts of desires; her dismissal of his Colosseum-charm points to the fact that she doesn't want a souvenir but rather wants it all. But this week it seems as though Betty is more attracted to the fantasy than the reality. She begins writing Henry Francis secret letters, revealing her true feelings, engaging in a written love affair that's more chivalrous than overtly sexual. (Hell, she throws that cash box at him when he fails to turn up at her fundraiser, itself a cover story to divert Carla and Don's suspicions.) But when faced with the opportunity to consummate their affair, Betty declines, saying it's "tawdry." She wants the emotion, the romance (as glimpsed in the opening dream sequence on the fainting couch), but she doesn't want the cheap reality of motel trysts or locked offices.

There's a nice symmetry to Betty and Don's attempts at infidelity. While Betty opts to hold onto the fantasy, Don makes an effort to claim Suzanne and turn his fantasy into reality. He's aware of how things will turn out between them ("So what?" was his answer to Suzanne's admission) but he doesn't care about the consequences or the inevitable ending of their affair. Every run, after all, has to end sometime.

Next week on Mad Men ("The Color Blue"), the firm celebrates a milestone; Peggy and Paul compete on an account.

Quick Take: Season Three of Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing"

Ordinarily, I wouldn't be the target viewer of Bravo's real estate reality series Million Dollar Listing, which is as much about the housing market as it is the personal vendettas between the three young would-be moguls jockeying for power and prestige in the cutthroat world of Los Angeles real estate.

But the series, which returns tonight for a third season, is the television equivalent of a trainwreck that I just can't bear to look away from, no matter how much the imagery (particularly Chad's gasp-inducing hairstyle) might hurt me. While the production values haven't improved at all this season (the on-screen kyrons still drive me up the wall as opposed to the slickness of the network's own Flipping Out), the drama has been amped up, partially due to the plunging housing market which sees our feuding trio--Chad, Josh, and Madison--attempting to keep their respective businesses afloat amid some increasingly uncertain times.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all. And the first two episodes of Million Dollar Listing's third season find each of them faced with some mighty desperate circumstances. So when Chad is faced with a no-show for an open house on a ridiculously amazing place or the newly shorn Josh gets up on a conference room table in order to simulate the compromise necessary to reach a vital deal, the tension (and head-scratching stupidity) is palpable.

Once again, despite his slightly shady polymorphous status, Madison proves to be the most capable of the three and the one you'd want handling your real estate transaction. He's honest, he's dependable, he has an office and an assistant, and he seems to place most of his energies onto his business rather than petty rivalries. Well, yet, anyway.

Million Dollar Listing might not teach you anything about the housing market or real estate agenting, but if you're looking for a reality series to give you a belly-laugh or five, this is the home for you.

Season Three of Million Dollar Listing premieres tonight at 11 pm ET/PT on Bravo, before it relocates to its normal timeslot next week at 10 pm ET/PT.

Los Angeles Times: "The Amazing Race": A Heartbreaking Exit

Still gobsmacked by last night's gut-wrenching elimination on CBS' The Amazing Race? You're not alone. (I'm still traumatized.)

Head over to the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site, where you can read my incredulous reaction to last night's shocking and saddening elimination (stupid passport!), entitled "The Amazing Race: A Heartbreaking Exit." (It's not actually called that but for the sake of spoilers, I'll refer to it here by its shortened title for the sake of you reading this via newsreader.)

What did you think of the elimination? Was it fair that the producers booted them right away? Should they have been allowed ample time to locate the passport? And with this team gone, who will you be rooting for now? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Los Angeles Times: "Curb Your Enthusiasm: Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You"

Looking to discuss the latest episode of HBO's painfully funny comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Head over to my piece, entitled "Curb Your Enthusiasm: Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," on the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site, where you can read my take on the latest installment of the Larry David-created series ("The Hot Towel") and discuss your feelings about the episode.

What did you think of this week's episode? Was Larry in the wrong or in the right for the most part? And would you have freaked out at Ted and Mary? Speak out in the comments section!

Channel Surfing: Graham Reaches "Parenthood" Deal, Cudlitz Lashes Out at NBC, Pompeo Won't Be Missing from "Grey's," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

NBC and Universal Media Studios have reached a deal with former Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham to come aboard midseason drama series Parenthood. Graham will replace ailing actress Maura Tierney, who was forced to bow out of the project due to health issues, on the Jason Katims-created drama, based on the 1989 feature film. She'll play a harried single mom with two kids who moves her family in with her parents in order to jumpstart her life. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Southland star Michael Cudlitz about the sudden cancellation of the NBC cop drama. "In retrospect, I saw it coming," Cudlitz told Ausiello. "We were two weeks away from airing and [the cancellation news] has created more press for the show than NBC has put into it on its own. They ran the first [Southland] ad — a 30-second spot — last Friday, and that’s the only one that they ran. That’s not a relaunch. When you have a network that nobody’s watching, it doesn’t benefit you to only advertise on your network." Cudlitz was quick to point out that he has hope the series will land on another network. "I do because we have episodes that have never aired that are pretty fantastic," he said. "And if it moves somewhere else, it could become the show that it should have been initially — which is even darker and grittier." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Call it the shortest maternity leave ever. E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Ellen Pompeo will return to the set of ABC's Grey's Anatomy very quickly after the birth of her baby (who was born on September 15th) and, "thanks to her early return, as well as her willingness to preshoot scenes before the birth (most of which took place in bed after Meredith's liver surgery in last night's ep)," it appears that Meredith Grey won't be missing from a single episode of Grey's this season. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

CBS has ordered pilot scripts for two multi-camera comedy projects from Chernin Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television. The first, from How I Met Your Mother's Chris Harris, is about the unlikely friendship that develops between a thirty-something executive and a 22-year-old who works in the same office. The second, from Jared Stern (Bolt), revolves around a group of workers at a Target-like superstore. Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope will executive produce both series along with the respective creators. (Variety)

Could NBC be moving up the premiere of Chuck? And is it a good thing? (Televisionary)

Chris Elliott will play the estranged father of Allyson Hannigan's Lily on CBS' How I Met Your Mother, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "The highly-anticipated family reunion is slated to air Nov. 23 when father and daughter come face-to-face at a Thanksgiving celebration hosted by Lily’s grandparents," writes Ausiello. "I’m told the episode will feature childhood flashbacks that will shed light on Lily’s very troubled relationship with her father." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The strangest non-story story of the day: Emmy-winning scribe Kater Gordon has left Mad Men just weeks after winning an Emmy for her work on Season Two's season finale, "Meditations in an Emergency." While some were way too quick to read into her strictly professional relationship with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, others jumped to both Weiner and Gordon's defense, saying that the parting was "amicable" on both sides. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

BBC is reviving classic British drama series Upstairs Downstairs as two 90-minute episodes to run next year. Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins will reprise their roles from the original drama in the new Upstairs Downstairs, which will be set in 1936 rather than in the early 1900s. “We rejoin the world of Upstairs Downstairs in the years leading up to the Second World War," according to a BBC spokesperson. "Times are changing and servants are no longer cheap and obedient; Rose soon finds she has her work cut out. Meanwhile, in the wider world, Edward VIII has ascended the throne, fascism is on the rise, and Europe is inching towards catastrophe." (Broadcast)

Rick Springfield will play a "very twisted, warped version" of himself on Showtime's Californication, where he will appear in a four-episode story arc that began last night. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich will reportedly make an appearance on the upcoming cycle of NBC's The Apprentice, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The network made no comment about the casting and it is "unclear if Blagojevich would compete or just make an appearance on the show." (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Rumor Mill: "Chuck" Vs. The End of October?

Well, Chuck me.

NBC's action-comedy hybrid Chuck could be back on the airwaves as early as the end of October, according to a report filed by Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello.

Citing an unnamed insider within the production, Ausiello is reporting that NBC might make the decision to put Chuck back on the schedule earlier than anticipated with the series--currently slated to launch its third season in March--possibly kicking off as early as the end of October.

"While it remains unclear whether the little show that could (and has and shall again) would return to its Monday timeslot or find itself a new perch, NBC insiders who’ve seen the first four episodes are calling this season the best yet," writes Ausiello. "But wait, there’s more. If Chuck does come back sooner rather than later, the chances of NBC ordering additional episodes beyond the 13 it initially commissioned increases dramatically."

So it's good news, right? That's where things get murky.

I'd gladly welcome back Chuck sooner rather than later (hell, I've been pleading with NBC to do just that for months now) but the end of October is, well, nearly upon us. Which doesn't leave much time for on-air promotion, advertising, marketing. Or, really, for any of the necessary behind-the-scenes movement necessary to launch a series--or launch a returning series--well.

And then there's the matter of the narrative for the series' third season, which had received a thirteen-episode commitment from the network. Given that the writers were breaking the tenth script when I visited the Chuck writers' room recently, reconfiguring the season could force the writers to make some adjustments to the arc that they've been planning these past few months. (Though an additional episode order was always a possibility.)

Still, it's not a done deal, so don't crack open the champagne or celebrate with some Orange Orange frozen yogurt just yet. But what is clear is that NBC is considering bumping the premiere up by several months (the network would still have to figure out how to accommodate the Olympics schedule) as the Peacock is surely smarting from the relatively low ratings of some of its series newcomers.

So would Chuck coming back in October be a mixed blessing or the best early holiday present yet? Discuss.

Physics is a Bitch: Momentum Deferred on "Fringe"

"Momentum can be deferred, but it must always be paid back in full."

Perhaps it was because I had such high expectations for this week's episode of Fringe ("Momentum Deferred") that I was so brutally disappointed.

After all, this week's installment, written by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz and directed by Joe Chappelle, promised to reveal just went on between Olivia and the enigmatic William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) over there in the space between the first two seasons. It should have been a corker of an episode yet I found myself growing increasingly impatient with some lazy plotting and some head-scratching plot holes. In other words: I felt like we lost the momentum we had established in the past few episodes amid some bizarro narrative leaps.

I was glad to see Walter's former lab guinea pig Rebecca (played in the present day by Theresa Russell) turn back up but I felt that they squandered the potential for some meaningful use of her character. Yes, there were some nice emotional beats between her and Walter (especially the sadness with which he refused to come into her house) and that moment of clarity when she looked at Peter.

But I still am a little confused why they needed her... or rather needed to drug her, considering how dangerous it was, when they had a Massive Dynamic crack staffer rendering an image of the shapeshifter within the next few hours. If it was going to only take three hours until they knew the identity of the shapeshifter, why bother drugging Rebecca and putting her through a potentially life-threatening situation instead of just waiting for the render to finish?

That whole rendering subplot also had me groaning. As soon as the tech guy said that he could send it to Olivia's phone, I knew that she was coincidentally receive the image of the shapeshifter just as she was standing there with Charlie. And lo and behold, that's exactly what happened, though we were also treated to Olivia telling Astrid to be sure to send the rendering to her phone just in case we dozed off earlier.

I'm glad that the Faux Charlie storyline didn't go on endlessly, but it also ended rather anticlimactically, I thought. No, there wasn't a coffee ice cream-related slip-up from Charlie Francis here but I'm also scratching my head wondering how the shapeshifter was so convincingly able to appropriate Charlie's life without anyone--not his friend, his wife, his colleagues--noticing that he had no knowledge of Charlie, his likes/dislikes, history, etc.

I also assumed that the story that the real Charlie told Olivia back in the second season premiere--which he hadn't told anyone before--would come into play, it being something that only the true Charlie Francis would know. But it was dropped completely in favor of Olivia getting a text message that showed her that Charlie wasn't actually Charlie. Yawn.

Sure, she had to kill someone who looked like Charlie but Olivia also fell for his ruse that Nina Sharp was the shapeshifter (though why?) and then gave away the location of the cryogenically preserved head of the baddies' leader who would open the door between the two dimensions. Even after Nina had given her some information that would serve to help her. Had she believed Nina even for a split second, Olivia could have avoided giving their enemies their greatest asset yet.

After all, even Olivia admitted that William Bell pulled her out of her world and into another dimension in order to deliver a message of crucial importance. He gave her the location of the head and the marking. And Olivia failed to use this to stop the shapeshifters from acquiring the head themselves and now the marked man--was that Thomas Kretschmann?--is awakened, having been connected to a body via mercury.

Which brings me to another oddity. Bell and others keep talking about how Olivia was pulled out of the timestream from her moving vehicle but I don't remember it playing out that way at all. What I do remember is that Nina Sharp summoned Olivia to Manhattan and then made her wait at her hotel and that Olivia journeyed to "over there" in the elevator. I don't remember anything about her vanishing from her car until that plot point was picked up in the season opener. Anyone have a possible solution? Was Olivia just disoriented from the timeslips as we saw her in the flashback in this week's episode? Hmmm...

What did you think of this week's episode? Were you as disappointed as I was? Have any possible explanations for some of the inconsistencies? Discuss.

Next week on Fringe ("Dream Logic"), the team travels to Seattle to investigate a mysterious incident involving a man who attacked his boss because he believed he was an evil ram-horned creature; Agent Broyles has a disconcerting meeting with Nina Sharp that leads the investigation in an unthinkable direction.

Two of the Funniest Comedies You Should be Watching: NBC's "Community" and "Parks and Recreation"

It really upsets me that more people aren't watching Community and Parks and Recreation on NBC.

The two series--now back to back on Thursday nights--are two of the funniest and sharpest comedies on television but the ratings, while not horrible, aren't great and are nowhere near where they should be for such fantastically funny comedies.

Granted, there is a hell of a lot of competition on Thursday nights at 8 pm. Viewers have their pick between these two comedies and FlashForward on ABC, Bones on FOX, Survivor on CBS, and The Vampire Diaries on CW. (And that's just at the broadcast level.) Things get even more complicated when you look at Thursday as a whole; there's an overabundance of quality programming to watch, making it even more difficult to decide just what you should be watching live.

Personally, I ended up watching Community and Parks and Recreation live last night and TiVo'd FlashForward to watch tonight after I was rather disappointed with the series' second episode. And after the Skins season finale, I wanted something lighthearted that would make me laugh until I was in danger of incontinence. Which is where Community and Parks and Recreation came in.

Last night marked a new timeslot for Community, which moved from its post-Office timeslot at 9:30 pm ET/PT to a much earlier slot at 8 pm. But the series' inherent charms haven't been dimmed by an earlier home on the schedule. Last night's episode ("Social Psychology") was one of the funniest yet. (I happened to have been on-set during the filming of the episode to shoot some video interviews with the Community cast).

In addition to seeing Ken Jeong's "erratic" Senor Chang get to flip out as part of a psych experiment overseen by Annie (Alison Brie) and Dr. Ian Duncan (John Oliver), the episode offered a hilarious storyline between Jeff (Joel McHale) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown)--two words: tiny nipples--and yet another speed bump in the not-quite-friendship between Jeff and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) in the form of often shirtless guest star Eric Christian Olsen.

I do think that there is a logic in pairing Community with the somewhat similar alt-comedy appeal of Parks and Recreation, but I worry about the series kicking off the night without the benefit of a lead-in. Still, I think that Community is one of the more original and rewarding comedies to come along in a long time and episodes like last night point to the series finding its footing in a major way. I can only see this already great series just getting better and better.

Despite the shakiness of its first few episodes, Parks and Recreation has built on the strength of its latter freshman episodes to deliver a second season that's overflowing with hysterical and often underplayed comedic bits. (Hell, as others have suggested, even the theme music for Parks and Recreation fills me with giddiness on a weekly basis.)

Last night's episode ("The Practice Date") was no exception, focusing on the titular practice date between the panicky Leslie (Amy Poehler) and BFF Ann (Rashida Jones), who decided to use immersion therapy as a way of giving Leslie more confidence for her date with Dave (Louis C.K.) but instead led her to drunkenly embarrass herself in front of her new beau. Ouch. Back at the office, the rest of the gang embarked on a mission to dig up as much dirt as they could on each other, leading Tom (Aziz Ansari) to make a shocking discovery about Ron (Nick Offerman) that involves jazz saxaphone and an alter ego named Duke Silver.

Parks and Recreation makes me laugh in a way that The Office used to back in the day and the second season has found creators Greg Daniels and Mike Schur mining some familiar office politics territory but with some additional layering and absurdity. Additionally, Leslie Knope is being written less as a buffoonish Michael Scott clone and more like an ambitious--if slightly less-than-savvy--woman who's out of touch with her position in the world. The result is one of the best comedies on television but it's one that people sadly aren't watching.

What do you think of these two series? Are you watching? And why aren't more people tuning in for the awesome one-two punch of Community and Parks and Recreation? Discuss.

Community and Parks and Recreation air respectively at 8 pm ET/PT and 8:30 pm ET/PT on NBC.

Turn and Face the Strain: Changes on the Season Finale of BBC America's "Skins"

Some people hate change but change, like all things in life, can't be avoided simply by hating it.

Season Three of British teen drama series Skins embraced change wholeheartedly, ditching the cast of the first two seasons for a batch of fresh faces who were more age-appropriate (or, let's say age-appropriate for the original ethos of the series) than those who had already graduated from Roundview College. Kaya Scodelario's Effy provided one narrative link with the old crew, having appeared in the first two seasons as the mischievous and quixotic younger sister of our nominative series lead.

Some viewers were turned off by the loss of such characters as Sid, Cassie, Tony, and Michelle. But I went into Season Three with the hope that I'd grow to love Effy, Pandora, the twins, Freddie, J.J. Naomi, and Cook as much as I did their Skins forebears.

And ultimately I did.

Last night's season finale of Skins ("Finale") didn't feature the entire cast but it did offer the perfect end to a season fraught with complexity and bruised emotion, focusing the tail end of the season on the central relationships between our three former best friends--Cook, J.J. and Freddie--and their shared love for the destructive Effy.

Season Three as a whole used the breakdown of the friendship between the so-called Three Musketeers as a spine for the entire ten-episode run. When we first meet the troika, their banter is interrupted on the first day of college by their shared fascination with the stony beauty of Effy, a woman who leaves a trail of disaster in her wake. Her arrival into their world quickly tears apart these friends and the next batch of episodes find them grappling with Effy's choice to be with the mercurial Cook, despite the obvious lure between her and good-boy Freddie.

Looked at in its entirety, Season Three offers an examination of the fragility of male friendship. Seemingly impenetrable, the bond between these three friends is ripped apart quite easily when they soon learn that they can't all have Effy... and that she's quite content to pull their strings to amuse her. And yet each of them want Effy for different reasons.

For the sexually voracious Cook, Effy represents an easy access to no-strings sex but he quickly develops feelings for her even as he continues to sleep with Pandora and just about every woman he encounters. For J.J., he's in love with the fantasy of Effy, seeing true magic in her every movement. Freddie, out of all of them, loves Effy despite--or perhaps because of--her flaws. But he wants all of her and she's just not willing to open herself up in the fashion.

So instead we see Effy in freefall this season. Reeling from her parents' divorce and Pandora's betrayal, she throws herself into a series of self-destructive encounters with Cook, reveling in the darkness and perhaps willing herself to feel something, anything, rather than numbness. Even when Freddie finally tells her the truth about her feelings, she's drawn back into Cook's orbit rather than allow herself the opportunity of genuine happiness with Freddie.

And then there was the camping trip. With Freddie suddenly dating Effy's seeming social rival Katie, Effy hijacks her camping trip with some magic mushrooms, which leads to a nasty confrontation between the two girls. Which ultimately leads to Effy smashing Katie's head in with a rock, leaving her alone in the woods, and then sleeping with Freddie while Katie bleeds out before the gang leave her the following day, unable to find her.

Granted, Katie was strangling Effy, but it was an act with glaring repercussions for Effy. She lashed out at Katie, she concealed her actions, and she slept with Katie's boyfriend without giving the girl a second thought. (Yes, she did call emergency services the following morning when the gang couldn't find her but still.) When the truth about what she did comes spinning out, Effy and Cook take off for points unknown.

Which brings us to last night's season finale, which finds Effy and Cook arriving at the shabby village where Cook's deadbeat father (played with pitch-perfect precision by Peep Show's Matt King, a.k.a. Super Hans) and where Effy finally sees Cook slipping off the deep end and reaches out to Freddie for help. After all, sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom before we realize we need to start climbing upwards.

Offering a mirror to the start of the third season, the Skins season finale pulls together the now disbanded group of friends, bringing Effy together with Freddie, Cook, and J.J., with the latter finally making amends, thanks in no small part to former magician J.J., who works some sleight-of-hand here. It's a testament to the skill of co-creators Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain and their staff of writers that they were able to pull off such an affecting and realistic portrayal of shattered friendship... and offer a salve for the wounded feelings of all involved while stealing another man's boat. (Aside: I also thought the writers did a remarkable job this season dealing with the sexuality of both Naomi and Emily.)

Cook finally realizes that he wants more from life than to turn out just like his awful, no-good father. The two might share the same name, the same battered tendencies, and the same arrogant catchphrase, but we all have choices to make in life. We can blindly accept our fates or we can choose our own destinies. Just because Cook and his father--who threatens to burn his son's face off with a flare when he refuses to give him the boat's keys--might be coming from the same place doesn't mean that they're going to walk the same path in life. When Cook throws his nasty father overboard, it's the ultimate gesture of freedom, an assertion that he is his own man. Hell, it made me like Cook and I can only hope that he turns his life around.

Likewise, it felt entirely earned that the hungry ghost Effy would now, after wandering the English countryside with Cook for weeks, choose to be with Freddie. She's wandered into the darkness and come out the other side. She's made others suffer and suffered herself. Now, standing on the brink of ultimate destruction, she's choosing the light and giving herself permission to be happy. It's time to stop pulling other people's strings and start living her own life for a change.

There's that magic word again: change. The old gang may be back together but it doesn't mean that the winds of change won't blow through their relationship again. Life just keeps on going, even if we try to stay in one place long enough to make it stop or, like Effy, if we run from everything we know. When Freddie asks the group, "What do we do now?" it's an honest question.

I for one can't wait to see the answer.

Season Four of Skins is set to air in January on E4 in the UK.

Channel Surfing: NBC Drops Axe on "Southland," CBS Books "Hawaii Five-O," Marc Cherry Developing New ABC Series, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

NBC has axed Southland... before the cop drama even began its second season. The Peacock made the announcement about Southland's demise yesterday afternoon, informing studio Warner Bros. Television had it was cancelling the series, which had so far shot six episodes for its sophomore season, slated to begin October 23rd. NBC was quick to point to the series' dark storylines and tone, saying that it wasn't appropriate for a 9 pm timeslot. For their part, creator John Wells and Warner Bros. Television will begin to shop the series to other networks. (Editor: TNT is a likely first port of call for the series.) "I'm disappointed that NBC no longer has the time periods available to support the kind of critically acclaimed series that was for so many years a hallmark of their success," said Wells in a statement. "We remain extremely proud of Southland and are actively looking for another home for the series." NBC hasn't yet announced when--or if--it intends to air the six installments that have already been shot. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Hawaii Five-O has landed a pilot order at CBS. Fringe co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have teamed up with Peter Lenkov (CSI: NY) to develop an contemporary take on the classic series. Lenkov will write the pilot script, under the guidance of Kurtzman and Orci and will be the showrunner should the project be ordered to series; the trio will executive produce the project, which hails from CBS Television Studios. (Variety)

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry is developing a new series for ABC, which he will write with Desperate Housewives executive producer Alexandra Cunningham. The premise for the series is still being hammered out but, according to Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva, it will be a standalone series, rather than a spin-off from Desperate Housewives. Cherry is currently under a multi-year deal with ABC Studios. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has given full season pickups to comedies Modern Family, Cougar Town, and The Middle. (Televisionary)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan offers an impassioned plea about why FOX should save Dollhouse, once again on the brink of cancellation, and talks with Dollhouse writer Jed Whedon about Dollhouse and a Dr. Horrible sequel. "We did consciously try to do [more standalones at the start of Season 2] because we want to earn the large, arc-y stuff that we're only hinting at in those first couple of episodes," Whedon told Ryan about Dollhouse's sophomore season. "We want her transformation to someone who is self-aware to be gradual. But we end up getting there pretty quickly." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Bradley Whitford (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) has been cast as the lead in Matt Nix's FOX drama series Jack and Dan, which already has a thirteen-episode order from the network for next season. Whitford will play Dan, a "drunken, lecherous, wild-card cop who hangs onto his job only because of a heroic act years before." He's paired with a morally-minded and uber-ambitious cop named Jack. Series, from Fox Television Studios, is slated to start shooting early next year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Nate Corddry (United States of Tara) will guest star on NBC's 30 Rock, where he will play Brian, Liz's upstairs neighbor in a storyline that "finds duplex-obsessed Liz scheming to get Brian to ditch his apartment so she can buy it and combine it with hers. Natch, her plan hits a snag when she discovers… um… something unexpected and extremely spoilery." Corrdry will appear in the sixth episode of 30 Rock's fourth season, which begins next week. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Richard Curtis has teased some details in ShortList about his upcoming episode of Season Five of Doctor Who. "I am writing a new episode of Doctor Who, which is great," said Curtis. "I wanted to write something my kids would like. So I'm doing a Doctor Who that will be on TV next February. I've got Van Gogh stabbing a monster... Someone from the BBC just sent me a picture of my monster. I had to decide if it was yellow enough." (Digital Spy)

ITV has canned Stephen Fry-led drama series Kingdom after three seasons. Fry announced the cancellation via his Twitter feed, where he wrote, "Our masters at ITV have decided that there shan’t be a fourth series of the television series Kingdom. I am sorry because it was such a pleasure making them in my beloved Norfolk. I am sorry because the crew of mostly local East Anglians was so cheerful, professional and delightful to work with." Series starred Stephen Fry as Peter Kingdom, a Norfolk solicitor who juggles his family and work lives as well as those of the clients looking to him for legal guidance; series also starred Hermione Norris, Celia Imrie, Karl Davies, Phyllida Law and Tony Slattery.(Broadcast)

HBO will air documentary Terror in Mumbai, a co-production with Britain's Channel 4 that examines last year's deadly terrorist attack, on November 19th, one week ahead of the one-year anniversary of the bombings. (Variety)

Warner Bros. Animation has named Peter Girardi as SVP of series and alternative animation, where he will oversee development and production of the new studio unit's animated series, including Cartoon Network's Batman: The Brave and the Bold. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

This Is How You Make Your Horsey Go: ABC Picks Up Full Seasons of "Modern Family," "Cougar Town," "The Middle"

Oh happy day!

ABC has announced that it has ordered full seasons of three of its four new Wednesday comedies, including Modern Family, The Middle, and Cougar Town.

News comes after the third airing of Modern Family and Cougar Town and the second episode of Patricia Heaton-led family comedy The Middle; all have performed well in the ratings, even against tougher competition last night.

Noticeably absent from the pickups: Kesley Grammer's Hank, which kicks off ABC's new Wednesday night comedy block on Wednesdays.

It's a vote of confidence for a genre that ABC hasn't had a lot of luck with until this season and very well deserved, especially for Modern Family, regarded by many--including this jaded writer--as the best new series of the season.

News of the pickups quickly spread over Twitter this afternoon, following tweets from Modern Family's cast and crew.

"Lazy, Broke, Spicy": Cooking Family Style on "Top Chef"

It's funny how two weeks between episodes of Bravo's Top Chef can seem like an eternity.

So I was extremely chuffed that the culinary competition series returned last night with a brand-new episode ("Dinner Party") that put the chefs out of their comfort zone completely with not one but two challenges designed to see how well they adapted to circumstances outside their control.

A slot-machine-determined Quickfire gave the chefs three ideas to fuse together into one dish (in under thirty minutes, no less) while the Elimination Challenge found them struggle to prepare a family-style meal in their own kitchen.

In their house, that is, and not the Top Chef Kitchen. After all, these are chefs who are very used to working with an array of gadgets, gizmos, and appliances, not to mention counter space. Shoving them all into a home kitchen and telling them to pair up and create dishes for five well-respected chefs on Macy's Culinary Council seemed like a recipe for disaster.

So how did they do? Let's discuss.

Tyler Florence dropped by as this week's guest judge and his first order of business was to judge the high-stakes Quickfire Challenge, which this week had the chefs using a slot machine to determine three disparate words--a mood, a flavor, and a cuisine--to transform into a cohesive dish, much like the site Cookstr, a sponsor of the challenge, allows its users to search for recipes. Not an easy feat as some of the words were just plain odd ("stressed" for example) but I have to say that I was impressed overall but the results.

Here's what they made:

• Ash (tired, tart, Italian): "pantry" puattanesca pasta
• Ashley (blue, cheesy, Middle Eastern): sumac-crusted halibut with feta pudding
• Bryan (adventurous, crispy, Asian): seared scallops with bok choy and tempura beads
• Eli (stressed, umami, Latin): mushroom ceviche with avocado
• Jennifer (adventurous, nutty, American): Maine scallops with pistachios and salmon roe
• Kevin (stressed, hot n' spicy, Asian): char-grilled pork with daikon and Vietnamese herb salad
• Laurine (tart, romantic, Latin): crusted goat cheese with orange vinaigrette and hibiscus flowers
• Mike I. (stressed, umami, Asian): raw mushrooms sliced with yuzu emulsion
• Michael V. (adventurous, tangy, Asian): yuzu curd, whipped greek yogurt, raspberries and seaweed cracker
• Robin (stressed, umami, Middle Eastern): root vegetable hash with cumin and curry oil

As a group, I have to say that I was pleased with their performance here. Given Jennifer's illness, I was sad to see her land in the bottom three for the first time in the competition, but it was clear that she was working with some limitations in terms of clarity and execution due to her cold. Robin? Still don't understand how she's been able to stick around in the competition this long. The fact that she didn't understand that curry was Indian and not Middle Eastern was bad enough but then to argue with Indian-born Padma about it? Just plain foolhardy. Really shocking that she's still with us.

On the flip side, I thought that Kevin and Michael Voltaggio both did really well with the brief and turned out beautifully executed dishes that had very clear and concise visions; both looked as though they had taken hours to prepare rather than the brief half-hour they actually had. Well done to both. But ultimately, there can be only one Quickfire winner and the accolades went to Kevin for his beautiful Asian dish. Faced with the choice between immunity and $15,000, he wisely took the money and ran. There would have to be a major upset to see Kevin go home in the Elimination Challenge, after all...

Onto the Elimination Challenge, which had the chefs drawing knives to see who they would be paired up with for the challenge, which had them preparing a family-style dish from a mystery bag of ingredients selected by Macy's Culinary Council members Tyler Florence, Nancy Silverton, Govind Armstrong, Takashi Yagihashi, and Tom Douglas.

Bryan and Laurine prepared a halibut with a polenta cake, avocado mousse, and a sherry-chorizo vinaigrette with an herb salad. The plate offered not only pitch-perfect execution, but a divine balance of flavors and textures as well as inspiration in the form of that vinaigrette, the brainchild of Bryan. I was surprised to see how well these two worked together but it seems clear that Laurine took a backseat to Bryan on the task. After all, the dish just screams Bryan Voltaggio. (What didn't scream Bryan Voltaggio: his later blatant rudeness to Kevin, who was asking about his brother's dish. Wowzers, did that come out of nowhere.)

Kevin and Jennifer were the team to beat in this challenge and they didn't disappoint at all, turning out a gorgeously crafted dish of Kobe beef with tomato-cardamom broth, baby bok choy, and Asian pears, a sophisticated and elegant plate that sang thanks to that incredibly rich and sophisticated broth, which was made by Jennifer. Yes, I had a feeling that one of them would be walking out the winner of this challenge and I'm extremely happy that it was Jen, who reversed her fortune from the Quickfire Challenge to walk away the winner.

Mike I. and Robin should have been at each other's throats throughout the challenge as you couldn't have picked a worse pairing than the two of them. But Mike sort of just tuned out Robin's constant verbal diarrhea and took charge of the dish, despite his lack of experience with Asian food. Their dish, a marinated mushroom and pickled pear roll with seared tuna and scallop and a truffle ponzu, didn't blow me away (scallops and tuna, really?) but it certainly wasn't the worst thing on offer. No surprise that they ended up smack in the middle of the pack.

Eli and Ashley prepared grilled spot prawns with red beet sauce, creme fraiche gnocchi, and a brown butter-kale garnish. It was, to put it bluntly, a disaster from start to finish. The spot prawns were undercooked, the gnocchi completely oversalted and tough, and the whole dish an odd mix of ingredients and textures. Even if the food had been perfectly cooked, I am not sure that I like the idea of pairing prawns with gnocchi in the first place. Odd. Ashley was definitely to blame for the cooking of the prawns and even though she made the gnocchi, it was Eli who cooked them and way oversalted them (not to mention made them lose their lovely fluffy consistency). Hmmm...

And then there was Michael Voltaggio and Ash, who suffered a major setback when they lost electricity for their grill. Yes, these things do happen and Michael should have possibly been paying more attention to the fish (or Ash should have been rather than spending ten minutes setting the table outside) but I thought that the concept of the dish worked better than the judges did. They prepared a pancetta-wrapped halibut with an egg yolk ravioli, asparagus couli, and a fennel and asparagus salad. Due to the electrical issues, the halibut got rubbery and overcooked while the pancetta failed to crisp. I do think the egg yolk ravioli was a clever idea and could have worked but the failure to properly execute the fish landed this duo in the bottom.

Still, I would have been gobsmacked to see Michael Voltaggio get sent home for an electrical problem. No way would the judges have sent home one of the strongest competitors before cutting, say, Robin or Ash from the group first. I had a feeling he was safe but it was also, I imagine, a major wake-up call for Michael. This game is cutthroat and you are only as good as your last dish, so every dish ought to be better than perfect. Sadly, elimination fell on Ashley, who had shown some major improvement in the last few episodes. I'm sad to see her go, especially as I feel she is a stronger chef than Eli or some of the other remaining competitors.

What did you think of this week's episode? Should Ashley have been the one to pack her knives and go? What was up with Bryan verbally slamming Kevin? Was Ash attempting to compliment Bryan or gently throw him under the bus? Discuss.

Next week on Top Chef ("Pigs and Pinot"), the remaining chefs must create their version of Charlie Palmer's annual Pigs & Pinot event at his restaurant Aureole, hoping to perfectly pair their pork dishes with wine.

Channel Surfing: CBS Picks Up "Wife" and "NCIS: LA," Ellen Page and Alia Shawkat to Script HBO Comedy, Panettiere's "Heroes" Clinch, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

CBS has given full season orders to freshman dramas NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife, which are respectively the first and second best-rated new series of the season and have assisted in CBS winning the last three Tuesday ratings matches. (via press release)

Ellen Page, Alia Shawkat, and Sean Tillmann will write and executive produce a single-camera comedy pilot script entitled Stitch N' Bitch for HBO. The project will follow "two painfully cool hipster girls as they relocate from Brooklyn's Williamsburge neighborhood to Los Angeles' Silver Lake enclave in hopes of become artists -- of any kind," according to Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva and Matthew Belloni. The trio might also star in the project if it's picked up to pilot but any decision of that kind will be made at a later date. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! E! Online's Jennifer Godwin has details about Hayden Panettiere's upcoming lesbian kiss on Monday night's episode of NBC's Heroes and reports that there's a twist to the lip-lock that features a third party, also played by a woman. As for who she is, Godwin writes, "You hated her guts on another series we love, and you rejoiced mightily when she was written off at the end of the season." Hmmm... (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Former Desperate Housewives scribe Kevin Murphy has joined the writing staff of Syfy's Caprica as co-executive producer. "As a rabid Battlestar Galactica fan, it's hard not to go in that writers room and not just grin ridiculously," Murphy told Variety. "These are the people who made the best TV show ever. To be able to be a part of the legacy of that show, I'd be willing to pay them for that." The writer also has several other projects in development, including an adaptation of Kate Torgovnick's nonfiction book "Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders" at CW with studio Warner Bros. Television and Tom Welling's production company Tom Welling Prods and USA's Velvet Hammer, a drama about a female FBI agent with CBS Studios. (Variety)

CBS has signed a talent holding deal with Jason Clarke, under which the Australian actor will star in a drama pilot for next season. Move comes on the heels of Clarke's performance in the network's untitled U.S. Attorney drama project. (Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime has ordered six half-hour episodes of reality series Behind the Green Room Door, a series of "no-holds-barred chat sessions" between prominent comics and host Paul Provenza. Series, which will air in the second quarter of 2010, will feature such comedians as Jonathan Winters, Eddie Izzard, Robert Klein, and Penn Jillette. (Variety)

Syfy announced on Tuesday at their press junket in Vancouver that the network will air its four-hour miniseries Alice on December 6th and December 7th. Written and directed by Nick Willing (Tin Man), the RHI-produced mini stars Caterina Scorsone, Kathy Bates, Matt Frewer, Tim Curry, Colm Meaney, Harry Dean Stanton, and Phillip Winchester.

TVGuide.com's Kate Stanhope talks with Law & Order executive producer Rene Balcer about the series' upcoming Jon & Kate Plus Eight-inspired episode, "Reality Bites," set to air on October 16th, which follows the star of the fictional Larry Plus 10, a reality series about a father looking after his ten adopted special needs children after his wife is killed. "It seems to be coming at a good time," said Balcer. "Aside from people being amused, bemused, disgusted and shocked at their exploits, [people] are probably looking for some other perspective on it." (TVGuide.com)

FX has opted to double the episodic order for its upcoming animated comedy series Archer before the series has even debuted. (The Wrap)

Planet Green has ordered ten episodes of unscripted series Beekman Farm, which revolves around two Manhattanites, a doctor and his ad exec/drag queen lover, who leave behind the city for an upstate New York farm. Project from World of Wonder, will launch in the spring. (Variety)

The Los Angeles Times has details on BET's eight-episode docudrama The Michael Vick Project. (Los Angeles Times)

Sony Pictures Entertainment will sell off its 21 percent stake in Liz Murdoch's Shine after growing concerns of conflict of interest now that the company is actually a major competitor with the studio. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Lauren Graham in Talks for "Parenthood," HBO Picks Up "Bored to Death," Kim Raver Scrubs in at "Grey's," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I'm leaving Vancouver today after an extremely action-packed day that saw me tour the sets of Syfy's Caprica, Stargate Universe, and Sanctuary. More on that to come in the next few days... On to the headlines now.

Wowzers! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that talks have broken down between Helen Hunt's reps and producers for NBC midseason drama Parenthood. But the fantastic news is that Ausiello is saying that Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham has been offered the role of single mother Sarah Braverman (played by Maura Tierney in the original pilot episode) and that she "recently met with Parenthood boss Jason Katims... to discuss the plum part." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO has given an early series renewal to freshman comedy Bored to Death, handing the Jason Schwartzman-led series a second season order following its third episode, which landed its largest audience to date when it jumped 51 percent in viewers week on week. (Hollywood Reporter)

24's Kim Raver has been cast in a recurring role on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Ausiello reports that Raver will play a new surgeon at Seattle Grace and will serve as a "possible new love interest for Kevin McKidd's doc," which would throw a wrench into the romance between McKidd's Owen and Sandra Oh's Christina. Raver's first appearance is set for the November 12th episode of Grey's Anatomy. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin has an interview with Friday Night Lights showrunner Jason Katims about Season Four of the drama series, which launches on October 28th on DirecTV's 101 Network (it will air next summer on NBC). Asked about the return of Minka Kelly's Lyla, Katims said, "She comes back for at least two episodes this year, so far, visiting from college. We will watch as she and Tim sort of rekindle their relationship and try to figure out what to do about that. The two of them have, in one way, really moved on, but once they see each other, they maybe realize it's not so easy to move on." Loads more in the Q&A. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TNT has handed out a cast-contingent pilot order to drama Rizzoli, which is based on the Jane Rizzoli mystery novels by Tess Gerritsen. Project, written by Janet Tamaro (Bones) and executive producer Bill Haber, will follow the crime-solving exploits of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli. The Closer's Michael Robin is said to be in talks about coming aboard to direct the pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Don't expect another Simpsons movie. Not until the FOX comedy series has wrapped, anyway. That's the news from Cannes as Matt Groenig and Al Jean were interviewed by Morgan Spurlock at a Mipcom keynote event. "It took 18 years to get around to doing the movie," said Groening. "We got very frustrated. We thought it would take two years but it ended up taking four. Some day maybe we'll do another one -- but don't hold your breath." (Variety)

Tim Gunn will be making it work on How I Met Your Mother, according to The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan, who is reporting that the Project Runway mentor will guest star in the 100th episode of the CBS comedy when Neil Patrick Harris' Barney turns for help from the style guru. Gunn will serve as a "personal tailor/ fashion consultant as Barney tries to fix a major league 'Suit Catastrophe,'" Mother co-creator Craig Thomas tells Ryan. "Tim is basically like Barney's ER physician for a serious suit emergency." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Breathe easy: There's absolutely no truth to rumors that Whitney Houston will be joining the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives, according to an ABC spokesperson. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

According to a report filed by Variety's Cynthia Littleton, Tribune's WGN America will be the off-network home of such series as How I Met Your Mother, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and 30 Rock (the latter of which will join the lineup in 2011). "During the past year, Tribune has quietly been committing significant dollars to off-network acquisitions for the channel, something WGN has rarely done in its 30-plus years on the air," writes Littleton, adding that "WGN America intends to rebrand itself as a haven for contempo comedy skeins." (Variety)

Nickelodeon has given a series renewal to stop-motion animated comedy Glenn Martin, DDS, with twenty episodes on tap for next year. (Variety)

Former CBS drama topper Laverne McKinnon has been hired by nascent pay cabler Epix as head of development. The channel is a joint venture between Lionsgate, Viacom, and MGM. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Television Studios president Nancy Tellem, meanwhile, is said to be considering a change to her executive role at CBS, one that's said to be "less about day-to-day management and more on the big stragetic picture for TV shows and other content," according to Variety's Cynthia Littleton. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Doctor Who" Unveils New Logo, Bravo Renews "Top Chef," Showtime Gets More "Californication," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. I'm up in Vancouver, where I'll be visiting the sets for Syfy's series Caprica, Stargate Universe, and Sanctuary today.

The Eleventh Doctor has gotten a new logo. Doctor Who revealed its newest title logo, the series' eleventh, which features a play on the series' initials with the shape of the Doctor's TARDIS, which itself resembles a vintage police call box. "A new logo. The eleventh logo for the eleventh Doctor - those grand old words, Doctor Who, suddenly looking newer than ever," said inbound series head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat. "And look at that, something really new - an insignia! DW in TARDIS form! Simple and beautiful, and most important of all, a completely irresistible doodle. I apologise to school notebooks everywhere, because in 2010 that's what they're going to be wearing." The logo will be used on-screen in a new title sequence for Season Five of Doctor Who, with Matt Smith taking over the mantle of the Doctor from outbound series lead David Tennant next year. (via press release)

Bravo announced several renewals and series orders, including a seventh season of Top Chef. Casting on the Season Seven of Top Chef begins October 18th; no city has been announced yet, though the series will debut in 2010. The cabler also announced that it had ordered The Real Housewives of D.C. and renewed The Real Housewives of New Jersey for a second season. Also on tap: unscripted culinary series Chef Academy, which will follow Jean Christophe Novelli as moves to Los Angeles and creates a test program where he will train nine aspiring chefs. (Variety, Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime has ordered a fourth season of dark comedy Californication. News comes on the heels of strong ratings for the third season opener, which racked up a total of 1.2 million in its first two airings. Twelve episodes of Californication are on tap for next year. (Variety)

Fox21 has set up drama project Broken at FX. Written by Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air), the one-hour drama series is set in post-Katrina New Orleans and revolves around "investigative journalist for the New Orleans Gazette who is so frustrated by the breakdown of social and governmental institutions that he takes on a sideline pursuit as a vigilante." Turner will executive produce with Apartment 3B's Jennifer Klein. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Desperate Housewives will feature a neighborhood plane crash during November sweeps. "It’s going to be my cliffhanger for the first half of the season," creator Marc Cherry told Ausiello about the catastrophe, which will "affect everyone’s lives" but won't lead to the death of any of the series' titular housewives. "I’d love to kill somebody ’cause that’s just what I do," he told Ausiello. "But the truth is, right now I don’t have anyone major dying." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Sony Pictures Television and executive producer Mark Burnett are shopping a reality competition series take on classic television series Fantasy Island, in which twelve contestants will compete to become the real Mr. (or Mrs.) Roarke of a tropic paradise by fulfilling the wishes of hotel guests. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has compiled a list of television actors, writers, and directors who are on Twitter and has organized them by series. Head over there and take a look. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

MTV is going ahead with plans to air invention series Gone Too Far, hosted by the late DJ AM. The cabler will launch the eight-episode series on October 12th at 10 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

CBS has renewed Canadian-produced drama series Flashpoint for a third season of thirteen episodes, which will air later this season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Looking to catch a glimpse of inbound Doctor's companion Karen Gillan before she steps into the TARDIS next year? UK viewers can check out Gillan in the four-part BBC Two drama The Well, about a set of siblings and their friends who "disturb something dark at the bottom of an ancient well," which kicks off this weekend. (Digital Spy)

Universal Networks International has signed on to co-produce Haven, the thirteen-episode series adaptation of Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid" that is being produced by E1 Entertainment. The Universal division has signed on to acquire exclusive pay TV rights in all territories excluding the US, Scandinavia, and Canada. (Variety)

ITV Studios has signed a creative partnership deal with toy manufacturer Mattel under which the studio will partner with Mattel to develop television, mobile, online, and other formats based around its best-selling brands. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Arrested Development" Script Underway, Bilson Dating "Mother," Mazur Suits Up for "NCIS: Los Angeles," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Get your frozen bananas ready: it's official. Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz and Jim Vallely are working on script for the highly anticipated feature film version of Arrested Development. Film, which will be produced by Imagine and Fox Searchlight, will once again revolve around the eccentric and highly spoiled Bluth family of Orange County... that is once the producers can iron out what are likely to be numerous scheduling complications. Stay tuned... (Hollywood Reporter)

Rachel Bilson (The O.C.) has been cast in a "potentially pivotal" role on CBS' How I Met Your Mother, leading several to wonder if Bilson will be playing the mom herself, though currently Bilson is signed to only appear in one episode. Or is that just a smokescreen? Hmmm... (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Monet Mazur (40 Days and 40 Nights) has been cast in a potentially recurring role on CBS' NCIS: Los Angeles, where she will play Natalie Buccola, a secret service agent who becomes romantically entangled with Chris O'Donnell's character. She'll make her first appearance in the sixth episode of the season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider talks to the cast of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm about the Seinfeld reunion plotline that kicked off in last night's episode of Curb. "I don’t think it connects to anything from where we left off, and that might be its brilliance," said Jason Alexander. "We always thought about ‘Well, what would we do next? Are we going to be able to get out of jail?’ and this one is light years beyond that already." (Entertainment Weekly)

FOX has given a script order to single-camera comedy project The Intruders. Project, from Warner Bros. Television and Wonderland Sound and Vision, will follow the exploits of a wealthy father from Arizona who falls in love with a low-life single mom and moves her and her family onto his estate with his kids. Project is written and executive produced by Danny Comden. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has shifted the premiere of Season Four of Ugly Betty from this Friday to next Friday, October 16th, where it will kick off with a two-hour opener featuring Kristen Johnston, Lynn Redgrave, Judy Gold, Smith Cho, and Yaya DaCosta (via press release)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has an exclusive first look at Paris Hilton's guest turn on this Thursday's episode of Supernatural on the CW. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Aaron Tveit will reprise his role as Tripp Vanderbilt, the wealthy cousin of Chase Crawford's Nate Archibald, in at least six episodes of the CW's Gossip Girl. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello reports that Tripp will made a bid for public office and Nate will be drawn into his campaign. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Cartoon Network has announced that Batman: The Brave and the Bold will return to the lineup with new episodes beginning Friday, October 16th. Series, which returns for a second season of retro-tinged Bat mayhem, will settle into the 7:30 pm ET/PT timeslot, followed by Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Ben 10: Alien Force. (Futon Critic)

Stay tuned.

To All That's Weird: Tin Men, Red Russians, and Buried Memories on "Fringe"

While the second episode of FlashForward disappointed me, I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying Season Two of Fringe, which continued last night.

This week's episode ("Fracture"), written by David Wilcox and directed by Bryan Spicer, once again nicely positioned the team and furthered the characters as well as the overarching plot while also servicing the case of the week. It's been a treat to see the team running like a well-oiled machine, with Olivia and Peter out in the field (as it should be), going so far as to make a rather impromptu trip to Iraq, while Walter and Astrid deal with matters back in the lab.

It was also the first episode so far where I really felt like Astrid had a purpose. Given the fact that she's now spending more time with Walter alone in the lab, their scenes not only provide some off-kilter humor but also enable the duo to bond. Which in turn makes Astrid's character a hell of a lot more interesting.

It also gives the lovely Jasika Nicole something to do for a change as Peter's absence has pushed her into the role of nursemaid/lab assistant/muse/purveyor of foodstuffs. I've been complaining about Astrid's lack of three-dimensionality since the pilot episode of Fringe, so it's gratifying to see the writers making some efforts to imbue Astrid with some additional depth, other than her otherworldly ability to know a host of esoteric knowledge off the top of her head. The scene in last night's episode between Astrid and Walter, in which they talked about their shared role as creatures of habit, was small but touching. I loved the way that Walter admitted that he didn't want to move but Astrid reminded him that he only discovered the apple fritters because he walked down the wrong street. In other words: any place can yield unexpected pleasures and it's only by breaking our patterns that we can make new discoveries.

Which is exactly what Fringe has been doing so far this season: breaking its pattern. Once again, this week's episode had the team taking the lead on another fringe science-related case and proactively pursuing an investigation without waiting for a briefing from Broyles. With Charlie slightly out of frame, Lance Reddick has significantly more to do here this season as Broyles offers a senior FBI presence in the field and is spending more time with Olivia and Peter as a result. And it's a good thing too as Reddick is too fine an actor to be saddled with little more than exposition as he was for much of the first season.

This week also delved a little deeper into Peter's enigmatic backstory and his involvement as a private contractor in Iraq. While nothing concrete was spelled out, we distinctly got the notion that Peter has done some Bad Things whilst in Iraq, possibly leading to the disfigurement of his Iraqi contact who is none too pleased to see him back in the country. I'm glad that his time in Iraq isn't being spelled out for us and that we're instead teased with little bits of knowledge here and there, adding up to a layered portrait of a man on the side of the angels now who may have made some very bad decisions in his past.

Likewise, I felt that the series' writers did a wonderful job at covering Olivia's recovery after her head injury. I was glad to see her using her cane again this week and that her recovery process has been an arduous one as the headaches intensified, bits of forgotten memories seeped into her consciousness, and Olivia had to deal with a lack of fine motor function, unable to tie her shoelaces. While she was indeed frustrated by the seeming lack of progress she was making with Sam (the fantastic Kevin Corrigan), I loved the reveal at the end that she had drawn her gun and walked up to Sam without the use of her cane. It was a powerful moment for Olivia, one that perfectly captured how far she's come without resorting to an emotional scene, which would have been totally out of character for our tough-as-nails agent.

While the human bomb storyline was a nice procedural, it also allowed the writers to use it as a lever to get back into the overarching invasion/war storyline, with that suitcase glimpsed at the beginning a means of communication between the forces from "over there," including our recently-unseen Observer. The nefarious colonel is well aware that the invasion is underway and that the war is coming and sought to not only demonstrate this reality's abilities to strike out at its enemies but also to dismantle their means of communication.

But the suitcase does reach its destination: the Observer. The Colonel believes whatever is inside will bring about destruction and it might just do that as we see surveillance photos of Walter Bishop. Just what does the Observer want from Walter? Why save him all of those years ago? Why remind him of Peter's kidnapping? And what part will he play in the coming battle?

All in all, another fantastic installment of a series that has definitely found its footing this season and looks to only get better and better as its sophomore season wears on.

Next week on Fringe ("Momentum Deferred"), Olivia drinks a powerful concoction that Walter prescribes to stimulate her memory; the Fringe Division investigates a series of robbery cases that are tied to shape-shifting; Olivia remembers more about her visit to the other side.