Los Angeles Times: "Is Harrold Perrineau the 'Lost' Holdout?"

Earlier this morning, I indicated my belief that Harold Perrineau was the Lost cast member mentioned by E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos who wouldn't be returning for the series's sixth and final season.

Over at the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site, I wrote a piece entitled "Is Harold Perrineau the 'Lost' Holdout," which--you guessed it--takes a look at whether Perrineau is the mystery cast member in question who has refused the producers' offers to return to the series next year.

After ruling out other potential parties, it seems as though Perrineau's Michael Dawson won't be making another appearance on the ABC drama series, which makes me wonder just how Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will work around his absence.

Do you agree with my sleuthing? Is Perrineau the likest suspect and why? Any other theories? Head over the comments section and have your say...

Peeking Behind the Doors of Seismic Change: Televisionary Talks to "Endgame" Star Chiwetel Ejiofor

Golden Globe nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor is perhaps best known for his work in such diverse films as American Gangster, Dirty Pretty Things, Serenity, Love Actually, Redbelt, and Kinky Boots. The British actor has made a career of playing deeply complex individuals, from cross-dresser Lola in Kinky Boots to Dirty Pretty Things' cab driver and former doctor Okwe.

In PBS' gripping apartheid thriller Endgame, which airs Stateside this Sunday as part of the new season of Masterpiece Contemporary, Ejiofor, recently appointed an OBE by Queen Elizabeth, plays South African political figure Thabo Mbeki, a key player in secret negotiations between the African National Congress and the South African government that were brokered by Consolidated Goldfields. Remarkably these talks resulted in an end to apartheid in South Africa and Endgame, written by Paula Milne and directed by Pete Travis, dramatize the secret talks, which occurred at Mells Park, an estate in England.

In addition to Ejiofor, the cast includes William Hurt (Damages) as Professor Will Esterhuyse, Jonny Lee Miller (Eli Stone, Trainspotting) as British businessman and negotiator Michael Young, Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes) as Dr. Barnard, head of the South African National Intelligence Service, Derek Jacobi (Gosford Park) as Michael Young’s boss Rudolf Agnew, and Clarke Peters (The Wire) as Nelson Mandela.

I recently caught up with Ejiofor to discuss Endgame, Mbeki, and whether diplomacy can affect sweeping political and social change. You can watch the video of our interview, conducted at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, below.



Endgame airs Sunday night at 9 pm as part of Masterpiece Contemporary on PBS. Check your local listings for details.

Baby Crazy: An Advance Review of Tonight's Season Finale of "Flipping Out"

Over the past three seasons, I've waxed enthusiastically about the charms of Bravo's unscripted series Flipping Out, which wraps up its third season tonight.

Nominally about OCD-afflicted real estate investor Jeff Lewis and the quirky employees of his spec business, the series is in fact a deft portrait of a meticulous businessman and the eccentric individuals that he surrounds himself with. It also happens to be one of the funniest programs, scripted or unscripted, on television, thanks to the biting sarcasm of Lewis, the general awesomeness of his indefatigable right-hand-woman Jenni Pulos, and his surly housekeeper Zoila.

While I find myself laughing aloud (sometimes until it hurts) each week, every now and then a rare beat of genuine emotion makes its way into the mix on Flipping Out, lending an aura of poignancy and heartache to an otherwise sunny (if, thanks to Jeff, stressful) series.

I had the opportunity to watch an early copy of tonight's season finale ("Baby Boom") and found it to be both hysterical and heartbreaking in equal measure, leaving the viewer with no doubt that the story of Jeff Lewis, Jenni, and Zoila still has a hell of a lot of mileage left in it. (I have no doubt that the series will be renewed for a fourth season.)

I don't want to give too much away about this fantastic season ender but I will say that it's potentially a time of major change for Jeff Lewis, as he ponders whether to sell Valley Oak and get his spec business back off the ground. Still haunted by suspicions that business partner Ryan Brown had siphoned business from him via some rather shady goings-on, the specter of distrust hovers over the action even as Jeff throws an elaborate and over the top third birthday party for Ryan's daughter Chloe.

Jeff and Ryan's friendship has been one of the backbones of the series since the very beginning and having them not speaking puts a bit of strain on everyone involved, given Jeff's desire to remain a part of Chloe's life. His efforts to give her a dream birthday party can be seen as a bit of a gesture toward reconciliation but he's refusing to let go of the nagging suspicion that's eating away at him.

Still, that doesn't stop Jeff from making a jaw-dropping request of Ryan that will have many people questioning his judgment... just as Ryan himself does. I don't want to spoil it but I will say that it connects in a way with Jeff's sudden (and growing) desire to have a child as he quickly approaches forty.

It's this desire and his relationship with little Chloe that add a patina of sadness and despondency to the episode, particularly in the final moments of the season. With Ryan considering moving his family to Santa Barbara, there's a sense that everything Jeff knows, his entire support system, might be crumbling down around his ears.

Of course, there's always the adorable and hilarious Jenni by his side. Providing one of the funniest moments of the season, Jenni's storyline nicely dovetails into Jeff's, offering another affecting look at someone who is at home with children but lacks one of her own. Jenni's quest to find a partner, after the dissolution of her marriage last season, has been a throughline this season but her donning of a lizard suit at Chloe's birthday is both a triumphant moment of joy and a depressing reminder of how hard it is to find love in this world.

With the curtain about to fall on the fantastic third season of Flipping Out, I'm really going to miss the eccentric gang at Jeff Lewis' office and tonight's season finale left me hanging on an unexpected note of melancholy that I just can't shake off. Here's to hoping that Bravo brings us more Flipping Out... and soon.

Flipping Out Preview: Lowering Valley Oak:



Flipping Out Preview: Jenni the Surrogate:



Flipping Out Preview: Buena Park is Done:



Flipping Out's third season finale airs tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on Bravo.

Channel Surfing: One Former "Lost" Star Won't Be Returning, Joss Whedon to Direct "Glee," FOX Gets In Bed with Thieves and Polygamists, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that one former castmember of ABC's Lost is holding out against a return to the series for its sixth and final season. "Sources close to ABC's Lost tell me that although most of the original cast—holler!—will be seen in some capacity for the show's upcoming season, one former Lost castmember has turned down an offer to return to the series," writes Dos Santos. "So who is it? Well, you know we can't name names in such cases, but suffice it to say that this is a person you'd assume would very much want to return to the series. According to my moles, offers went out to the original castmembers several weeks ago, and this particular Lost star decided to decline. While some of the other returning Losties have already filmed scenes, this Lost holdout has not been on the set or filmed anything for the series, according to insiders." And, oh, it's not Ian Somerhalder... So who could it be? [Editor: my guess? Harold Perrineau.] (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Joss Whedon will direct an upcoming episode of FOX's Glee later this season, but it shouldn't be construed as a sign about Dollhouse getting the axe; Whedon will shoot the Glee episode after Dollhouse has wrapped its thirteen-episode run. "Joss directed one of the great musical episodes in the history of television on Buffy," Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy told Ausiello, "so this is a great, if unexpected, fit. I’m thrilled he’ll be loaning us his fantastic groundbreaking talent." (Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello)

Whedon himself addressed the news via a comment on Whedonesque, where he wrote, "What can we expect from a 'Joss Whedon' epsiode of Glee? An episode of Glee. God willin' and the crik don't rise, a good one. A television director's job is, on some level, to be anonymous; to find the most compelling way to present a story without calling attention to himself. I had a wonderful time doing just that on The Office, and hope to again. A guest director can bring a huge amount to the party (we've had CRAZY talent on Dollhouse), but the party isn't his. I just want to work with good people on a show that I like enough to have watched every episode several times." (Whedonesque)

In other Glee-related news, Spring Awakening's Jonathan Groff has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on the FOX musical-comedy series. He's set to appear in roughly five or six episodes as the lead male singer of the glee club's rival Vocal Adrenaline and a potential love interest for Lea Michele's Rachel. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

FOX has given script orders plus penalties to two new drama projects: a US remake of 1999 British crime drama Daylight Robbery, about a group of housewives who turn to a life of crime in order to raise some cash, and Midland, about a polygamist with two wives. The former project, from 20th Century Fox Television, will be adapted by Karyn Usher (Bones), who will executive produce with creator Jane Hewland, Michael Thorn, and Marty Adelstein. The latter, from Fox Television Studios, is created by writer/executive producer Kyle Killen. (Variety)

Fox21 and Platinum Studios are developing a series based on comic book Indestructible Man, about an "elite secret agent who can't be killed and discovers the hard way the difference between 'indestructible' and 'unbreakable.'" (Hollywood Reporter)

Former NCIS star Sasha Alexander has been cast to guest star in an upcoming episode of FOX's House, where she will play "House and Wilson’s genetically-blessed new neighbor," whom both men quickly develop crushes on. She's currently slated to appear in one episode, which will air in either late 2009 or early 2010. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has ordered three additional scripts for drama series Lie to Me, which is struggling in the ratings during its second season. The series currently has a thirteen-episode commitment from the network. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that there are more crossovers in the works between Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice as well as rumors of a potential third series. I'm told by insiders that there should be at least two more crossovers before the season is through," writes Dos Santos, "though they have yet to hammer out details." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

NBC has ordered eight episodes of Losing It With Jillian, a companion series to The Biggest Loser which will follow trainer Jillian Michaels as she travels the country helping overweight Americans slim down without having to attend a Biggest Loser-style boot camp. Project, from Reveille and Empowered Media, will also feature celebrity chef Curtis Stone and will be executive produced by Michaels, Giancarlo Cherisch, Mark Koops, Howard Owens, and Ellen Rakieten. No airdate has been set. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

IFC has acquired off-network rights to all three seasons of comedy Arrested Development, which it will air on Sunday and Tuesday evenings beginning October 25th. (Variety)

ABC Family is said to be close to handing out a pilot order to drama Pretty Little Liars, based on the series of novels by Sara Shepard about four friends of a social queen bee who vanished without a trace who are thrown for a loop when they start receiving messages from her from beyond the grave. Former Privileged star Lucy Hale is in advanced talks to star in the series, which will be adapted by Marlene King and executive produced by King, Bob Levy, and Leslie Morgenstein. Project hails from Alloy Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. (Hollywood Reporter)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks with 90210's Gillian Zinser about her role as surfer Ivy the CW soap. "She's definitely the quintessential California girl, but she's smart. She's really smart and sassy and quick-witted," Zinser told Abrams. "She's totally one of the guys, as she's part of the surf team and demands her respect in that manner. But a lot of that confident, bro'd out shtick is soon to be broken down when you see her vulnerable for the first time in her intimate moments with Liam. Although she joins the cast as an atypical chick, you see a lot of layers unravel and unfold the more we get to know her." (TVGuide.com)

Disney Channel has renewed The Suite Life on Deck for a third season. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

The Faintest Ink: Perception and Affliction on "Mad Men"

Do we see the world as others see it? And do we see ourselves as others see us?

These two questions form the basis of this week's sensational episode of AMC's Mad Men ("The Color Blue"), which revolved around Don's ongoing affair with Sally's former teacher, Suzanne Farrell, and Betty realizing that she doesn't know her husband at all.

The question of perception first arises from a conversation between Don and Suzanne in bed as she recounts how an eight-year-old student asked if the way he sees the color blue is the same as she sees it. Don has a pat answer that speaks volumes about his leveraging of advertising to persuade people to believe one thing or another but it's a profound puzzle of a question straight out of the mouths of babes. Are we colored by our experiences? Do those perceptions, whether it be of color or character, shape our understanding of the world around us?

Better still: what happens when the scales fall from our eyes and we see things not as we once perceived them but in their true color?

Don and Betty's marriage has been built on a house of cards, a series of lies that Don constructed to hide his true identity. But with one minor slip-up--leaving the desk drawer keys in his bathrobe pocket--he allows Betty entrance to his sanctum sanctorum, the depository for his true self that contains details about his former life. Unaware just what that shoebox holds, Betty places aside puzzling family photographs ("Dick and Adam"), Dick and Don's dogtags, the deed to Anna's house, unaware of what they truly are, and is shocked to discover legal documents that point towards Don's first marriage to Anna Draper. (What she doesn't realize is that the truth is even far worse than she could imagine at this point. Don wasn't married but the man whose identity he stole was.) It's a brutal and heartbreaking moment that plays out with a suspense worthy of Hitchcock's Rebecca.

Betty knows that she's caught her husband in the biggest of all lies; a line in the sand has been crossed and what she's learned can never be unlearned. She waits up for him at home, shoebox on the table, waiting to confront him about his past and get some answers but he never comes home. Reluctantly, she attends the 40th anniversary celebration of Sterling Cooper and perhaps sees Don for the first time as he truly is: a charming liar.

Can their marriage ever be saved now? Will the knowledge of Don's past propel Betty into making a disastrous decision? That remains to be seen but things have changed, perhaps irrevocably, between them.

The notion of perception carried over into the episode's other subplots as well. Don's latest inamorata, the lovely and gold star-laden Miss Farrell, has a brother Danny (Prison Break's Marshall Allman) who suffers from seizures. Booted from a series of jobs due to his uncontrollable "fits," Danny is looked after by Miss Farrell, who finds him another position as a janitor at a VA hospital in Massachusetts.

But Danny's world is colored by perceptions as well. He states that people treat him kindly until he has a fit and comes to, having urinated on himself, and people stare at him like he's from another planet. But so too does Danny suffer from his own misguided perceptions; he sees the world not as a place of opportunity but as a series of dead ends. He convinces Don to drop him off on the side of the road but Don gives him a boon: his phone number and the instructions to call him should he truly need him. Is it the righting of the scales for Don who looked the other way when his own brother Adam needed him most?

Likewise, Paul Kinsey finally sees Peggy in a new way after she saves him in a pitch meeting with Don, inventing a beautiful and fitting spot for Western Union right on the spot. For Paul, struggling to retrieve his perfect idea after a night of masturbating, drinking, and chatting with the janitor Achilles, it's the veritable light bulb above his head. Having accused Peggy earlier of earning her role by wearing a dress and being Don's favorite, it's a true moment of clarity in which he finally sees that Peggy is a superior copywriter as she transforms his Chinese proverb, "the faintest ink is better than the best memory," into a true message.

We can transfer our own fears onto the world around us, just as Danny does. But so too do Don and Betty, each concerned that their respective dalliances are now telephoning them at home. Was it Miss Farrell who hung up after Sally Draper answered the phone? Was it Henry Francis? Or was it just a wrong number after all? Could it be that their guilty consciences are making them paranoid? Or should Don be concerned by the risks that Miss Farrell is taking, boarding his train, perhaps calling him house?

Lane's wife Rebecca (Embeth Davidtz) sees Manhattan as a filthy, noisy place that "isn't London, isn't even England," whereas her husband sees it as a land of opportunity and riches. But even he is shocked to learn that London plans to sell off Sterling Cooper to the highest bidder. It seems that even in the world of advertising, a fatted calf is too tempting not to sacrifice.

The testimonial then that Roger gives to Don at the episode's end, in which he fabricates an honest friendship between them and speaks of "the man who will stand alongside me for the next forty years," takes on a tragic mien. If things continue apace, there will be no Sterling Cooper forty years hence or, perhaps, forty days hence. But with the country about to change in unexpected and shocking ways, perhaps it's a reminder that no institution--whether it be a marriage, a corporation, or a nation--is safe from a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of the world.

Next week on Mad Men ("The Gypsy and the Hobo"), a former client returns to Sterling Cooper; Betty takes the kids on a trip; Joan and Greg plan for their future.

Los Angeles Times: "The Amazing Race: Dude, We're in the Desert"

This week's episode of The Amazing Race featured a conversation about karma and several teams either profited or lost based on some the decisions they made on this leg of the race. Was it truly karma? Who knows, but it made for some captivating television.

Head over to the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site, where you can read my reaction to last night's snow and sand-laden leg of the race, entitled "The Amazing Race: Dude, We're in the Desert."

What did you think of the elimination? Glad to see these two leave? Have your opinions about Brian and Ericka changed? Who are you rooting for now? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Los Angeles Times: "Curb Your Enthusiasm: Wendy wheelchair"

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: Wendy wheelchair," on the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site, where you can read my take on the latest installment of the Larry David-created series ("Denise Handicapped") 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? How much did you cringe this week? Speak out in the comments section!

Channel Surfing: Two Networks Interested in "Southland," Sarah Michelle Gellar's "Maladys" Might Be Ailing at HBO, FOX Enters "Rehab," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Southland executive producer John Wells has called two of the series' actors to tell them that he is currently in talks with two networks about finding Southland a new home. However, the new network won't be producing any new episodes for the time being and will reair the seven episodes from the series' freshman season and the six unaired produced episodes from Season Two as a thirteen-episode cycle. (Hollywood Reporter)

Many viewers have wondered about the fate of Sarah Michelle Gellar's HBO dramedy pilot The Wonderful Maladys, which filmed in May and then promptly fell off the radar. Rumors are swirling that the project has failed to garner a series order from the pay cabler, with several people involved with the production--including co-star Nate Corrdry and director Alan Taylor--revealing on Facebook that the production won't be moving ahead. However, HBO, when contacted by E! Online for confirmation that Maladys was dead, said, "[We're] not able to confirm that one." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

FOX has given a pilot order to comedy Rehab, written by Sam Laybourne (Cougar Town), about a man who falsely enters a rehab program in order to get close to his former high school sweetheart, a rock star who is in rehab for treatment. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television and Chernin Enterainment, will be executive produced by Peter Chernin, Katherine Pope, and Will Gluck, the latter of whom is viewing the project as a possible directorial vehicle. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere at FOX, the network has given a script order plus penalty to an untitled comedy project that will star Wilmer Valderrama as a professional dog trainer modeled on Cesar Millan. Emily Kapnek (Hung) will write and executive produce the comedy, which hails from 20th Century Fox Television. Also on board are executive producers Barry Josephson and Cesar Millan. (Variety)

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... The Visitors? Beginning Friday, skywriters above 26 United States landmarks will create V's several times a day until ABC's new sci-fi drama V premieres on November 3rd. Let's hope the letters, which play into the series' mythology, are red. (Hollywood Reporter)

TVGuide.com talks with Trauma star Aimee Garcia, who plays former soldier and helicopter pilot Marisa Benez on the NBC drama series. "Absolutely," Garcia told TVGuide.com when asked if viewers will learn more about Marisa's backstory. "In fact, in the episode we're shooting now her Army buddy decides to go AWOL and puts her in a predicament. It's a very serious offense, and I thought I had this huge responsibility to represent soldiers accurately and I wanted to explore the bond a soldier has with another soldier that no civilian will ever understand." (TVGuide.com)

CBS has extended its first-look deal with Samuel L. Jackson's UppiTV shingle, which has set up two projects at the network. The first is an untitled multi-camera comedy from writer/executive producer Bob Kushell about the wife of a Congressman who inherits her late husband's seat after his death; also set up at the Eye is an untitled medical drama from writer/executive producer Andrea Newman about an ER doctor who uses "unconventional methods to treat his patients." (Hollywood Reporter)

Cabler TLC has sued Jon Gosselin for breach of contract, stating that the Jon and Kate Plus 8 star cashed in on his "rising notoriety by selling his services to other media, in violation of his contractual exclusivity obligation," and further violated his contract by issuing press releases without TLC's approval and failing to turn up for filming. (Variety)

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos will return for the fortieth anniversary of ABC's daytime soap All My Children, which celebrates its anniversary on January 5th. Ripa and Consuelos have filmed two episodes, which will air January 4th and 5th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Demons and Messages From the Beyond: Dream Logic on "Fringe"

"I hope you like red."

This week's episode of Fringe ("Dream Logic"), written by Josh Singer and directed by Paul A. Edwards, was a step back in the right direction after last week's off-the-rails installment that had me screaming at my television with frustration.

Not so this week, which offered a rather X-Files-esque one-off investigation while also continuing to develop some rather juicy subplots for our troika of paranormal investigators, Olivia and the Bishops. This week saw the return of Kevin Corrigan's Sam Weiss, a very welcome addition to the series, as he continued to help Olivia deal with the consequences from her travels "over there," and a shocking glimpse into Peter's backstory that had me gasping for air even as I noticed that Challenger poster over Peter's dresser. (Nice Easter egg that.)

While the case this week focused on a form of addictive dream theft by a sleep researcher with a dual personality, it was definitely the individual character beats that were the most rewarding aspects of this installment. It was the little moments, from Walter's fear about the wet smell in the air of a Seattle hospital (which reminded him of the mental hospital where he was incarcerated) to Astrid bringing the Bishops a loaf of ciabatta a token of good luck for their new home, that furthered the relationships between the characters and kept certain subplots chugging along.

I love the burgeoning relationship between Anna Torv's Olivia and Kevin Corrigan's Sam; I don't think it will ever go into romantic territory but their quirky dynamic adds another winning layer to the mix here. His homework for Oliva--to ask for business cards from people she encounters wearing red--is intended to be a cathartic one for the grieving FBI agent. Following Charlie's death, she can't let go of her guilt over his murder, even though the thing she killed wasn't Charlie but an imposter. In giving Olivia the tools to find a meaning out of chaos, she is able to tell herself the thing she needs to hear: "You're gonna be fine," which just happens to be the very same thing that Charlie said to her the day they met. Is it a message from beyond the grave? Or just Olivia's subconscious at work, giving her the ability to move on and let go of her guilt?

And we got another reference to Olivia's alcoholic and abusive step-father, whom we haven't heard anything about since early on in Season One. Longtime viewers will remember that he creepily sends Olivia a birthday card every year after nine-year-old Olivia shot him several times in an effort to protect her mother. Could it be that we might actually meet this less-than-charming individual at some point in the future? Why else bring it up after all of this time? Hmmm....

I'm happy that we haven't seen much of Meghan Markle's newbie FBI agent in recent weeks, but I did think that Agent Keschner (guest star Travis Schuldt) was a nice addition to this week's procedural element. I loved the fact that Walter drugged him and he hit the floor after uttering "raspberry." Glad that Walter didn't cut his head open but merely used him as a conduit to his dreams, thus learning what what was really going on with the dream-like murders in Seattle. If Keschner took over Amy Jessup's role as Fringe Division liaison, I'd be more than okay with that.

But it was Peter's nightmare... or, more accurately, Peter's buried memory that gave me the biggest thrills as we catch a glimpse at the moment that Walter Bishop kidnapped the alternate universe's Peter and dragged him right out of his bedroom and into our reality. Loved the Challenger poster, which pointed not only to the location of this memory but also to yet another way the alternate universe is different from our own. Every moment where something different occurred produces a host of new possibilities, spreading outwards like the ripples caused by a rock hitting the water.

The sadness with which Walter asks if Peter remembers his nightmare displays his guilt and anguish over what he did to bring his dead son back to life. It's a knowledge that's clearly a powder keg within Walter and a looming timebomb within Peter. Just when it will explode, likely with disastrous consequences for them both, remains to be seen but I can't help but wonder if the countdown is getting even closer to zero.

What did you think of this week's episode? Did you enjoy the overarching mystery of the week and having Olivia and Peter together again in the field (which I quite enjoy)? Did you find Walter's erratic behaviors coming together into a concrete explanation? Were you shocked by Peter's dream? Discuss.

Fringe returns with new episodes in November.

Rocking the Cradle of Civilization: An Advance Review of BBC America's Mini-Series "Occupation"

In recent years, there have been a lot of feature films that sought to capture either the political fallout from the occupation of Iraq or the atmosphere of violence and terror that have fallen over the Middle East since 9/11. Many of them have been avoided at large by moviegoers and television viewers, all of whom have been saturated by imagery from Iraq in every facet of the media.

But there have been very few projects, aside from perhaps The Hurt Locker, that have managed to capture the essence of what is going on over there while also managing to get inside the heads of the soldiers themselves and offer a look at the moral and psychological affects of warfare.

Enter BBC America's haunting and provocative mini-series Occupation, which airs Sunday evening on the digital cabler, and tells the stories of three British soldiers who, following their tour of duty in Iraq, are each drawn back to the war-torn country in search of something none of them will ever be able to find. The mini-series offers a searing and elegiac look at the horrors of war, transforming the battlefield into something powerfully personal.

Written by Peter Bowker (Blackpool) and directed by Nick Murphy, Occupation tells the story of those three soldiers--played respectively by Jekyll's James Nesbitt, Public Enemies' Stephen Graham, and Grownups' Warren Brown--as they come to grips with the staggering consequences of the choices they make and how those decisions spin out to affect everyone around them. In other words: war cannot be recovered nor recovered from.

Nesbitt plays Mike Swift, a married family man who becomes a national hero after he saves the life of an Iraqi girl injured in a bomb blast. Returning to Manchester with the girl's doctor, Aliyah (Lubna Azabal), Mike finds himself drawn increasingly into Aliyah's orbit as the two dance around their very obvious sexual attraction and she introduces him to the epic poem "Gilgamesh," which would seem to whisper to their secret desires. When Aliyah returns to Basra without saying goodbye, Mike follows her, lying to his wife about being recalled and setting out to find the woman he believes to be his soul mate. Mike's story is the backbone of the piece, connecting all of the separate threads into one compelling and unforgettable story about heartbreak and loss.

The lure of Iraq is somewhat different for Graham's suicidal opportunist Danny Peterson, who accepts an offer to partner up with an American associate (Nonso Anozie) and launch a career as a private military contractor. He quickly falls under the spell of greed, selling out his sense of what's right for way more than thirty pieces of silver, compromising his beliefs, his integrity, and his humanity. The twists in Danny's story are shocking and unexpected and Graham plays the squirmy Danny with a deft hand, slowly transforming him over the course of the mini-series from misguided to monstrous.

Brown's Lee Hibbs returns to Basra out of an altruistic sense to help the people of Iraq but his sentiments prove deadly and Lee finds himself caught up in a wave of violence and terror that takes hold of the region that quickly change his perceptions about what the US and the UK are doing in Iraq and whether their involvement has made things better for the Iraqi people or far worse. His dawning realizations about the truth of how the world operates are heartbreaking; his attempt to tip the scales of justice result in an even worse outcome than anyone could have realized.

What follows is an exploration of the complex tangle of emotion of those in the firing line. With pinpoint accuracy, all three actors memorably bring to life their characters, rendering them as flawed and conflicted people caught up in a violence that's affected the entire world. Despite the danger of their situation, there's a sad humanity to their interactions. They joke, love, scrap, manipulate, grieve, and make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.

Ultimately, Occupation is a riveting mini-series that makes the current situation in Iraq painfully haunting and deeply personal, even as we live in an age where we're bombarded with reports from the front line. By making the focus point three men who attempt to come to terms with their own complicity and loss, Occupation makes it impossible to look away.



Occupation airs Sunday evening at 8 pm ET and 9 pm PT on BBC America.

Talk Back: Season Premiere of NBC's "30 Rock"

Oh, (real) America, have you missed 30 Rock as much as I have?

Tina Fey's biting comedy series returned last night with a brightly sharp fourth season opener (entitled, rather efficiently, "Season Four"). You had the opportunity to read my advance review of the first two episodes of 30 Rock's fourth season but now that the the first episode has aired, I'm curious to see what you thought of the season premiere.

Has 30 Rock lost any of its savage wit after four seasons? Or is it just as wickedly funny (and deliciously absurd) as it always has been? What did you think of Jenna's off-season tennis promo song (complete with meth references) for Real America? Or Jack being concerned about GE's corporate woes and Kenneth's decision to strike after seeing Jack's bonus check? Or Tracy's efforts to connect with the common man?

What other series could fit in references to Rabbi Shmuley and "Comrade Obama" in the same episode? (Answer: none.) And did you roar with laughter when Tina Fey managed to work in a very pointed comment about Jay Leno?

Talk back here.

Next week on 30 Rock ("Into The Crevasse"), Devin returns to plot revenge against Jack; Tracy and Jenna both have reasons to be angry with Liz and are determined to make her life miserable; Liz tries to find a way to regain order over her life and the show; Kenneth volunteers at an animal shelter.

Channel Surfing: Tricia Helfer Sets Sights on "Two and a Half Men," Lauren Graham Talks "Parenthood," Alan Ball on "True Blood" Season Three, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Battlestar Galactica star (and Maxim cover girl) Tricia Helfer will guest star in an upcoming episode of CBS comedy Two and a Half Men, where she will play a friend of Charlie's fiancee. "Natch, when Chelsea hears her bosomy buddy is recovering from a breakup," writes Ausiello, "she insists that she do so at Casa Harper." Helfer's episode is slated to air November 16th. [Editor: while I love that Helfer is working steadily, can we please land her a series regular gig ASAP?] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER ALERT! TVGuide.com's Natelie Abrams talks to True Blood executive producer Alan Ball about what's coming on Season Three of the HBO vampire drama, set to air next summer. "It's a crazy season," Ball told Abrams. "It picks up right where we left off and things get weird really fast." [Editor: Ball teases some tidbits about the third season but beware of a MASSIVE spoiler for people who haven't read Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels.] (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello catches up with Lauren Graham to talk to the actress about her new role on NBC's Parenthood, her decision behind joining an ensemble drama, and her character, Sarah Braverman. "I’m getting together to talk with Jason this weekend," Graham told Ausiello about discussing her character with the series' executive producer Jason Katims. "That’s one of the key things [I liked] about this job was he was like, 'I really want to hear what you want [this role] to be.' We’re still kind of working that out a little bit. What I said to him is I’m interested in the flawed part of her. For seven years I played someone who people come up and say, 'I wish my mom was just like Lorelai.' That’s not this character. She’s not perfect. She’s funny and smart and she’s doing a pretty good job, but she’s struggling, and that’s what I’m drawn to. In my experience, it’s the less noble parts of someone that are the most interesting, especially over a long story." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Showrunner Dee Johnson will depart CBS' The Good Wife, which will see showrunner duties on the well-reviewed new drama taken over by co-creators Michelle and Robert King. Johnson will focus on development for next season after fulfilling her commitment to oversee the pilot and first twelve episodes of the The Good Wife. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that the downed plane that will land on Desperate Housewives could be an Oceanic Airlines plane in a bit of cross-network branding/promotion with Lost. "The plane's Oceanic branding would just be a fun little Easter egg for Lost fans to find," and ABC insider told Dos Santos. "And while the crossover has yet to be finalized, I'm told the higher-ups at ABC are keen on the idea." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

NBC has given a script order to drama Welcome to Hitchcock, from writer/executive producers Steve Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle and executive producer Teri Weinberg (yes, that Teri Weinberg) and Universal Media Studios, about a "skilled but restless police detective who, in search of his missing brother, relocates to the city of Hitchcock, Calif., where he soon discovers a world of half-truths, peculiar characters and unanswered questions lying beneath the town's sparkling, friendly, blue-sky veneer of tradition and family values." Meanwhile, ABC has given a script order to dramedy Go Girls, a US adaptation of the Kiwi series about three women in their twenties and their male childhood friend who "dissatisfied with their lives, make challenging promises to one another that they set out to fulfill." The latter project, from ABC Studios, will be written by Liz Tuccillo and executive produced by Tuccillo, Julia Franz, and John Barnett. (Hollywood Reporter)

Ouch. ABC's Hank will be pre-empted by a second airing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on October 28th, a night after the network airs the "expanded one-hour" version of Great Pumpkin. While ABC isn't commenting about Hank's future, it doesn't bode well for the Kelsey Grammer vehicle. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

NCIS star Michael Weatherly is definitely against having his character, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo hook up with Cote de Pablo's Ziva David. "Let’s look at it from a practical angle," he told EW.com. "It’s Kryptonite! She’s an assassin! That’s like marrying a hooker. You gotta be real comfortable with the fact she’s gonna go hook! I don’t see how, domestically, (a relationship) would work. But that’s me. Tony DiNozzo is completely unaware. You never know. Maybe they’ll be like those YouTube videos when you see the mongoose and the snake. Before they ever got together, one of them will kill each other. You never know." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss will guest star on an upcoming episode of NBC's Mercy, where she will play Lucy Morton, a cancer patient has lost her hair due to treatment. Moss' episode is slated to air November 4th. (TVGuide.com)

Fox Reality Channel will be replaced by Nat Geo Wild, a joint venture between National Geographic Ventures and Fox Cable Group that will focus on animals in "wild, natural environment." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno talks with Ugly Betty star Eric Mabius about what's coming up on the fourth season of the comedy series, which returns tonight with a two-hour opener. "Daniel is kind of losing it this season," Mabius tells DiNunno. "There's a bunch of funny stuff that happens, but it's sad at the same time. For quite a few episodes, we see him lost and sort of little boy-like. He's grasping at straws, and he's having serious anger issues, which he's trying to get a handle on. Daniel's lost because this was the first mature love of his life. He's completely not over Molly and doesn't know how to process it." (TVGuide.com)

Paige Turco (Damages) and Barry Bostwick (Spin City) have been cast in NBC's two-hour backdoor pilot The Mountain. The project, from Canadian production company Muse Entertainment, revolved around "Dana (Turco) a single mom with three kids who inherits a remote mountain cabin from a supposedly dead uncle. But when she heads off to the cabin, she discovers that her Uncle Henry (Bostwick) is very much alive, and they set out to keep an evil buyer from gaining access to the mountain that holds secrets and treasures." (Hollywood Reporter)

Oxygen has renewed docusoap Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood for a fifth season, set to air on the cabler in spring of 2010. (Variety)

Modern Family scored 444,000 viewers during two airings of its pilot episode on Sky1 in the UK last night, handily doubling the timeslot average over the last six weeks. (Broadcast)

Stay tuned.

Clowning Around: Eric Stonestreet Reveals Cameron's Backstory on "Modern Family"

One word: Fizbo.

Modern Family viewers are going to get more than a little glimpse into Cameron's hilarious backstory on the ABC comedy series later this season.

I caught up earlier today with Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet, one of the season's biggest breakout stars, to find out more about Cameron's past, which will be revealed in the series' ninth produced episode and it involves clowns.

"It’s revealed [in the episode we're shooting] this week that Cameron has a clowning background and is a classically-trained auguste clown named Fizbo," Stonestreet told me. "The episode is entitled 'Fizbo' and that’s where it comes full circle for me."

Stonestreet, who described Cameron as a "celebrator of life and a celebrator of the moment," was himself a clown and performed at children's birthday parties when he was himself a kid. He even nearly attended Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown College.

"Thankfully now, looking back, I didn’t get in or I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now. For me to be able to bring what very early on started out as my performance to bring it to this level of performance on primetime is literally a dream come true," said Stonestreet. "And a great opportunity for me to give a big F you to people who made fun of me for wanting to play football and be a clown."

(Funnily enough, interviewing Stonestreet came full circle for me as well. He continues to harp on the fact that I didn't accept his MySpace friend request years ago.)

"Mitchell, of course, is just not into it," Stonestreet said of Cameron's clown past. "When I ask Phil if there’s going to be a clown [at Luke’s birthday party], I just can’t for the life of me understand who would throw a party and not have a clown and Mitchell is just like, 'Cam, let it go. Let it go.'"

The "Fizbo" episode also features a confrontation at a gas station in which a stranger picks on Mitchell, forcing Cameron to come to his rescue, according to Stonestreet. "You see a side of Cameron in this episode that is more closer to me as Eric than Cameron," teased Stonestreet.

The full transcript of my exclusive interview with Stonestreet, in which he talks about working with Ed O'Neill, the casting of Benjamin Bratt as Manny's father Javier, and what's coming up on this season of Modern Family (including a few hints about several plotlines in the works), can be found below.

Televisionary: Modern Family is one of the few breakout hits of this season. What is it like being on a new series that’s as much beloved by audiences as it is by critics?

Eric Stonestreet: As a cast, we all talk about it. When we got the pickup order, Chris Lloyd called me and said, 'Congratulations, buddy, this is incredible.' And my response was that I am just going to keep acting like I’ve done all this before. Which is sort of how I feel in a nutshell. I can’t believe you go through pilot seasons year and after year after year and you hit one on a random Tuesday and it turns out to be this critics’ darling and a public darling as well, I guess. People just really love it. It’s pretty humbling but by the same token. It adds a little pressure because there is an element that we are all feeling that everyone loves it so we need to keep delivering at a high level. But that’s when you really sit back and say thank god Steve Levitan and Chris Lloyd and the staff of writers that they hired are in place because those guys are incredible.

Televisionary: Well, it’s extremely rare to see a series that has it’s footing so quickly out of the gate.

Stonestreet: That’s what everyone said when they saw the pilot. The best compliment that we as a cast got individually was people would say that it seems like a show that’s been on the air for years and [they] know these characters. From an actor’s perspective at the beginning of creating a character, that’s the best compliment that you can get, to create familiarity right from the beginning. That just goes to the writing and to the cast that they assembled. Everyone is just really good and knows their characters well.

Televisionary: Modern Family’s pilot was just such a fully realized pilot. The only comedy that also set up the universe that these characters inhabit so effectively and efficiently is really that of Arrested Development, which is also essentially about a family.

Stonestreet: I know there was a tremendous amount of discussion between Chris and Steve when they started pitching and coming up with the show and they had very specific ideas. Because the thing that those two shows have in common is that they’re about a family but what they have in common with people who create television is that everyone comes from a family and has a family dynamic that at least they have for reference. The crazier the family dynamic, as personal for people as it is, the better. They are asking us all stories from our past and all the writers are obviously bringing stories to the characters. Some of the kids are based on Steve Levitan’s kids and friends and I know Steve has said that Mitchell and Cameron are based on a potpourri of some of their friends. You have the reference space with a family show because we can all relate to it.

Televisionary: Last week we actually saw a little bit of Mitchell and Cameron’s backstory and specifically how they met. (One word: Casablanca.) When you first came onto the pilot, how much information about Cameron’s past did Steve and Chris give you?

Stonestreet: They didn’t give us much. It was sort of purposeful. They hired Jesse and me because we had good chemistry in our reads and they sort of stepped back and sort of saw what we had concocted ourselves. And that’s the cool thing that I’m finding out about being on a series how you can just give little nuggets of information, bit by bit, and there’s no rush to do anything too fast because you have episode 76 to let some more information out. We didn’t know too much; we knew we had been together committed for about five years but we knew we had probably been together for longer than that. That’s where they started bringing in elements of both of our pasts. I am from Kansas and grew up sort of on a farm and they loved the idea of Cameron flipping the stereotype on its head and is from the rural Midwest and has a different perspective than Mitchell.

Televisionary: He’s a country mouse, as he says. This week you’re filming an episode that directly deals with Cameron’s history, correct?

Stonestreet: Yes. It’s revealed this week that Cameron has a clowning background and is a classically-trained auguste clown named Fizbo. The episode is entitled “Fizbo” and that’s where it comes full circle for me.

As a kid, I never wanted to be an actor, I wanted to be a clown from very early on. My parents have pictures. I was fascinated with clowns and the story goes that once I found out that clowns were just people with makeup, I was just like, well that’s what I want to do, there’s no doubt about it. I would perform for children’s birthday parties. I had news articles written about me in Kansas City, you know, eleven-year-old performing for a six-year-old’s birthday. Then when I was in college, I started to do a little theatre but still my performance background was clowning so I decided I wanted to apply to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown College and I almost got it.

Thankfully now, looking back, I didn’t get in or I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now. But just for me to be able to bring what very early on started out as my performance to bring it to this level of performance on primetime is literally a dream come true. And a great opportunity for me to give a big F you to people who made fun of me for wanting to play football and be a clown. (Laughs)

Televisionary: Over the last few days, you had uploaded some rather odd images on Twitpic and one of them looked to be like a pair of clown shoes.

Stonestreet: I haven’t sent the Twitpic out of me in full garb yet. They build me this ridiculous clown suit. Those were actually my shoes from when I was a kid in high school and college but there are little pieces of me in this version of Fizbo the Clown. Mitchell, of course, is just not into it. When I ask Phil if there’s going to be a clown [at Luke’s birthday party], I just can’t for the life of me understand who would throw a party and not have a clown and Mitchell is just like, “Cam, let it go. Let it go.” I don't want to give too much of it away but Fizbo would be at the party.

Televisionary: Where are you right now in terms of filming?

Stonestreet: This is Episode 109, numbered. We had a table read today for the Benjamin Bratt episode called “Javier.”

Televisionary: Speaking of that, I’m so excited that Benjamin Bratt is going to be Manny’s dad.

Stonestreet: Isn’t that great? It totally works, too. I love it. Ed [O’Neill] has said that he’s worked with Benjamin Bratt and said he’s just a great guy, a real talented actor. I know you’ve seen the Shelley Long episode, but just wait until you see the Liz Banks/Ed Norton episode. It’s crazy. We screened two episodes yesterday. We saw “The Incident,” which is on tonight and then we saw an episode called “En Garde.” I won’t tell you what that is but it’s just so sweet. Ed O’Neill is just such a pleasure to watch. Ed built this character Jay and each episode we’re seeing more and more and more. And I told him today, it’s just such a pleasure to watch. When we’re doing scenes, it’s just looking at Ed O’Neill and I’m liking what he’s doing with his character but when I see it on TV, it’s just like, wow! It’s so, so good.

Televisionary: What is it like being on a show, for example in “The Incident,” with Ed O’Neill and Shelley Long?

Stonestreet: Oh, we not only find it weird. I felt the need at the table that day to say, it’s the giant elephant in the room, I am just going to say, this is incredible for me. I am sitting with two television icons. Jesse and I were both very, very excited about it. I had this moment where I was shooting this episode where I have a great moment with Jay in his kitchen and I had to admit to him after we were done with the scene where I said, Ed, I’m in the moment with you but I’m looking at your blue eyes thinking, holy shit, I am in a scene with Ed O’Neill, with Al Bundy right now. And I he says, I know, Eric, I know, it’s happened to me a hundred times too. I know what you mean, it’s weird, isn’t it? Married with Children was on when I was in high school too.

Televisionary; The friction between Cameron and Jay is just so hysterical and real at the same time.

Stonestreet: I can’t wait to see where the relationship between Cam and Jay goes and there’s going to be a lot of exploration of that. There’s an episode called “Coal Digger” [which was the third episode shot] where you see Jay and Cam relating on a level that will surprise the viewers. [Episode] 101 is called “Run for Your Wife” and is on next week and is hysterical too. Cameron and Mitchell take Lily to the pediatrician for the first time.

Televisionary: Can you tease us then about what else is coming up on Modern Family for Cameron?

Stonestreet: You will also find out that I have a sports background, which is where again they are borrowing from our lives because I played football and was a track and field athlete. But I also liked being a clown on the weekend and doing kids' parties. It’s just an interesting dynamic and one that they loved and thought was perfect for Cameron. So you definitely find out I have a sports background, I have a clowning background. You start to find out what my occupation may have been before Lily came long. It’s a visual occupation, something that takes a keen eye and an understanding of situations and moments that I really feel is the cornerstone of Cameron’s character.

I say to people that Cameron is a celebrator of life and a celebrator of the moment. He doesn’t let a moment pass. Where we want to just skate through life, my idea of Cameron is someone who celebrates every moment and is very excited and excitable about every moment.

Televisionary: You’ve now shot nine episodes of Modern Family. Where would you like to see the writers take him?

Stonestreet: Oh, wow. I think Cameron on a vacation would be a crazy, crazy, crazy experience and we’ve all joked around that since we’re on ABC, Modern Family definitely needs to take a Disney cruise. (Laughs) I think Cameron on a cruise with the buffets and the sunning and all the opportunities that a cruise offers, that would be great.

But I think honestly, where Cameron is going to go is oddly though Cameron’s past. And that’s what’s really great about the show; they are really developing the past of each character and I think that’s going to inform where each of them goes. I think he and Mitchell are going to raise Lily and that’s what’s so great about that relationship specifically. I know I’ve heard Steve and Chris talking about how they think Cam and Mitchell are the most traditional family of the show in a sense. That it’s just two people raising a child without a lot of complications of the world involved in raising of an infant but the complications of a relationship between two people raising an infant and just playing those honestly and realistically.

Televisionary: They just happen to be men.

Stonestreet: Exactly right. My goal for the viewing public is for them to think of Cameron as being gay like fifth down the list of what he is. If at some point, someone was to think,” Oh, and he’s gay,” that would be awesome for me. We’re making a comedy here; Jesse and I both said that we aren’t trying to make it a gay platform or anything like that. But it is cool to spin the stereotype and hopefully to shuffle the fact that Cameron is gay just down the list a little bit and he’s a guy, he’s a parent, he’s a boyfriend, he’s a partner, and... oh, he’s gay. That would be great. I’m proud of that and I’m proud to be playing such an amazing character.

It’s cool for me just to come to work and don the shirt that wardrobe has bought for me and my slip-on loafers and have my hair [done]. Me, in the morning, I put goo in my hair and I’m out the door. But I come to work and I have a 25-minute hair process. And that’s so helpful because Cameron would most certainly have his hair in the right place and his shirt and cuffs would be exactly the way he would want them. And that’s all part of it, it’s just helpful and fun.

And in this episode ["Fizbo"], I’m not just Cameron, I’m Fizbo. You’re going to die when you see the scene we shot yesterday… One of my best friends plays a part in this episode and he plays a guy at a gas station that picks on Mitchell and Cameron comes to the rescue. You see a side of Cameron in this episode that is more closer to me as Eric than Cameron.

Modern Family airs Wednesdays at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Porcine Pleasures: All About Pigs and Pinot on "Top Chef"

I love pinot noir so this week's episode of Top Chef ("Pigs and Pinot") would have already been a treat but the producers stacked things further in my favor by adding in the pork element, courtesy of Charlie Palmer.

There's a rich chocolate and coffee-spiked earthiness to pinot that makes it the ideal red wine for me; it can be full-bodied without knocking you to the ground like some Cabs and it stands up well to pairings.

Which was essentially the theme of this week's Top Chef, which had the chefs pairing not one but two dishes this week. The Quickfire Challenge was a hellishly tricky one (in my estimation, anyway), with the contestants tasked with pairing a dish with a particular Alexia snack. Food and alcohol pairings have proven difficult for some contestants so food and snack pairing? Even trickier. But it was the Elimination Challenge where the pressure was truly on: they'd have to pair a pork-based dish (the part of the pig decided by blindly drawing knives) with a specific French or New World pinot.

So how did the chefs fare this week? Let's discuss.

As I said before, this week's Quickfire Challenge? No walk in the park. Besides for the obvious time constraints, there was the little issue of working in those snacks--waffle-cut fries, onion strips, etc.--into the dish and having it feel complimentary and not disconnected at the same time.

Here's what the chefs offered for their snack pairings:

• Ash: a chilled cucumber soup with creme fraiche, crab, and red pepper
• Bryan: seared rib eye with picked onion, sauteed mushrooms, and chile peppers
• Eli: potato clam salad with fennel, celery and white truffle sauce
• Jennifer: sauteed pork chop with tomato sauce and feta
• Kevin: warm bean and confit tomato salad with fresh herbs and Southern-style creamed corn
• Laurine: swordfish with spinach, asparagus, and fava bean puree
• Mike I: chilaquiles
• Michael Voltaggio: tuna tartare with avocado, pickled onions, and jalapenos
• Robin: sweet corn panna cotta with avocado mousseline

A mixed bag, really. Some of the chefs excelled at this particular challenge, with Eli landing the win (and immunity) for his masterful preparation of a potato clam salad. Eli's been a bit of a wild card throughout the competition; he's flown pretty far below the radar most the of time but every now and then he has a well-crafted dish that stands out. I do think he will be a tremendously talented chef... in a few years' time. Kevin always turns out a gorgeous plate, so I wasn't surprised that he and Bryan were singled out for praise.

I felt for Jennifer. She's hands-down one of--if not the--most talented chef in the bunch and she cracked under the pressure this week. Her dish was well conceptualized but she cooked those chops way too early and the pork just dried out completely. Perhaps had Padma and guest judge Charlie Palmer made their way to her station first, she would have been okay but, of course, they got to her last. Sigh.

Robin? What is there to say about Robin? I know that if I were in that house or that kitchen, she would drive me up the wall. There's chatty and then there's verbal diarrhea and Robin just can't seem to shut up for thirty seconds, prattling on endlessly about minutiae that clearly no one else there cares about. I don't think it's an age issue; she's just so over the top talkative that it's draining to everyone around her. And the worst part is that she doesn't seem to think she's to blame at all. I really, really, really hoped that she would pack her knives. She's clearly overstayed her welcome in all aspects.

Moving onto the Elimination Challenge, I was very interested to see not only what the chefs would prepare as they not only had to pair their pork dishes with specific wines but also create 150 tasting portions for Charlie Palmer's Pigs and Pinot event. Not an easy task, to say the least.

Bryan once again pulled off a succulent dish, creating a mouth-watering plate of braised pork spare ribs with parsnip puree and mostarda, which he served with a 2007 Rochioli Pinot Noir. And the simplicity of Kevin's dish--a pork leg pate with a mushroom and hazelnut salad and pickled cherries--served with the 2006 Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Pinor Noir from Oregon belied the amazing depth of flavor that he was able to pull off. No surprise that both of them had two of the best dishes of the evening and I was thrilled to see Kevin walk away with the top spot. Well done.

Jennifer offered up a gorgeous soy-braised pork belly with a salad of tomatoes, black olives, apples, celery, and truffles that she paired with a 2005 Chanson Clos de Beze Pinot Noir. (She more than redeemed herself for her earlier performance in the Quickfire.) And Michael Voltaggio stunned the judges with an expertly crafted dish of root beer-braised pork cheek with a steamed bun with truffle and a cherry-vanilla bean reduction, paired with a 2006 Gunvalson Pinot Noir. Loved the fact that the four top-scorers have also been my picks for the Final Four since the first episode of the season. (Fingers crossed it plays out that way in reality.)

Eli's dish, a braised pork belly with raw salad of celery and fennel and roasted carrot puree and paired with the 2007 Terlato Family Pinot Noir, was also a hit with the judges but it didn't quite pair well with the wine or compare to the pork belly dish that Jennifer created. (No surprise there.) Mike I. offered up a pork shoulder stuffed with prosciutto, dates, and pine nuts and an orange blossom yogurt sauce, which he paired with the 2005 Wairau River Pinot Noir. Far too orangey and acidic, it wasn't the judges' favorite dish but it also wasn't the worst they had that evening.

Laurine's pork butt rillettes over arugula salad with a golden raisin and pearl onion chutney on top. Ick. I love rillettes and this was not rillettes at all. It looked vile and was not prepared as one would rillettes, poaching the meat in its own fat and then potting it with a layer of fat on top. Looking at it actually made me nauseous.

Robin's dish of brined center-cut pork chop with a roulade of sweet potato, fennel, and apple and a sour cherry-coffee sauce was a mess on the plate. The colors all seeped into one another, creating an unappetizing and slimy-looking dish that just looked like something you might encounter on an airline. Poorly executed, poorly conceptualized, and just poorly done, the dish had no focus whatsoever and failed to showcase the pork at all, offering just a wafer-thin sliver of meat. Color me confused.

I was just baffled by Ash's overcooked dish, a chilled pork tenderloin with a corn and cherry salad, that he paired with a 2007 Standord Pinot Noir. I was really speechless, especially as his first instinct was to do a warm tenderloin with jack-infused polenta, which would have been delicious. He's been a victim of his own second-guessing for the entirety of the season; I haven't been impressed with any of his dishes yet he always seem to believe that he should land in the winner's circle. When you look at the blandness of his dish, both in terms of flavor, seasoning, and presentation, that seems a total impossibility.

Honestly, I would have sent home all three of them if the decision had been up to me. They've consistently been the three lowest-scoring chefs these past few weeks and their performance in this week's challenge was just shocking. Given the editing and the focus on Robin throughout the episode, I thought it would be her to get the boot or Laurine for that ghastly attempt at rillettes that Food & Wine's Dana Cowin compared to "cat food."

But no, it was Ash who packed his knives. Granted, his performances has often been shockingly bad and he's squeaked by elimination many times this season but I was surprised to see him leave over Robin or Laurine, both of whom just made amateurish mistakes this round. Hmmm...

What did you think of this week's episode? Would you have sent home Robin or Laurine over Ash? Discuss.

Next week on Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Restaurant Wars"), the much-lauded or dreaded (depending on your perspective) Restaurant Wars round returns, this time in a pre-existing restaurant, and the chefs will have to mind their details, because the guest judge, Rich Moonen, owns the restaurant.

Top Chef: Las Vegas Preview: Blindfolded Relay Race:



Top Chef: Las Vegas Preview: Michael V. vs. Robin:

Channel Surfing: Sonya Walger Talks "FlashForward," "Big Love," FOX Scales Back "Past Life," Showtime Gets "Shameless," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams has an interview with FlashForward and Lost star Sonya Walger, in which Walger talks about her time on Lost and teases some details about what is coming up for Olivia on FlashForward. "She's going to be forced quite soon to deal with whether or not you can change the future," said Walger. "She keeps being reminded — evidence keeps being presented all around her — that you can't change it. Every time she thinks she's seen the last of Lloyd and that she's managed to avoid it, he keeps coming back." (TVGuide.com)

Mark your calendars: HBO has set a return date for drama series Big Love, which will launch its fourth season on January 10th. (Variety)

In a twist that surprised no one, FOX has reduced its episode order for Warner Bros. Television-produced drama procedural Past Life to seven installments (including the pilot). The series, which follows an investigative team that solves crimes by using past-life regression, is currently slated to air on Tuesday evenings starting in midseason. (Hollywood Reporter)

But it's not all bad news for Warners as Showtime has given a pilot order to a US adaptation of Paul Abbott's British drama series Shameless, which will star William H. Macy, from Warner Bros. Television and John Well Prods. According to Variety's Cynthia Littleton, the US Shameless will be "set in present-day Chicago among a blue-collar family where an 18-year-old daughter is tasked with keeping her five younger siblings in line" and must contend with her alcoholic father (Macy). Production on the pilot is set to begin in December. (Variety)

ABC has given a thirteen-episode contingent commitment to crime drama The Gates, about a "big-city cop who becomes chief of police in a seemingly sleepy planned community only to discover there's much more to the residents than meets the eye." Project, from writer/executive producers Richard Hatem and Grant Scharbo and executive producer Gina Matthews, will be produced by Fox Television Studios under its international co-production model. The studio will need to secure international financing in order to have the contingency lifted off the project; production is currently set to begin in mid-2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

The CW announced their development slate for the 2010-2011 season, which includes Rob Thomas' Plymouth Rock, about a group of young astronauts who must travel to a distant planet in order to colonize and "save the human race." Other projects in development include Spy School for Girls, from writer/executive producer Mark Schwahn, about female spy trainees; Nashville--from Brad Paisley, Mark Schwahn and writers Matthew Bomer (yes, that Matthew Bomer) and Neal Dodson--about a female singer and a male songwriter looking to make it big in the country music capital; Confessions of a Backup Dancer, about a woman who lands a job as a backup dancer to major music star, from Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, and writer/executive producer Ilene Chaiken; The March Sisters, an update of "Little Women" about a group of working-class sisters who are looking to strike it rich in Manhattan, from writer/executive producer Jill Gordon; family soap Bitches in Britches, about the equestrian set from Lionsgate and Ish Entertainment; and an untitled drama about the life of socialite Sloan Barnett, who worked in the Early Case Assessment Bureau in Manhattan, from writer Julie Martin and Tribeca Entertainment's Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. (Variety)

FOX appears to be keeping Dollhouse on the air through November sweeps. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Fox Cable Networks will shut down Fox Reality next year, according to The Wrap's Josef Adalian, with a view to likely launch a new cable venture with an outside party. The cable network will end its operations on March 31st. "With the changing cable landscape, we've made a strategic decision to shift some resources and refocus on emerging channels," said a Fox Cable Networks spokesman. "However, Fox Reality Channel will remain on on our lineup for at least the next several months." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

FOX has given a pilot presentation to an untitled animated comedy from writer/executive producers Jonah Hill, Andrew Mogel, and Jarrad Paul about a seven-year-old wealthy scion who acts like an adult and is thrown out of his comfort zone when he's forced to attend a public school. Hill will lend his voice to the project, which hails from 20th Century Fox Television and Chernin Entertainment. FOX is also developing a script for dysfunctional family comedy The Bradleys, based on Peter Bagge's graphic novel series, from 20th Century Fox Television and write/executive producers Peter Bagge and Matthew Lawton. (Variety)

Starz has cast Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad), Ivan Sergei (Charmed), Ving Rhames (Surrogates), Rachel Hunter, Robyn Cohen (Starved), James Martinez (Brother to Brother) and Seth Numrich (How to Kill a Mockingbird) in ten-episode ensemble dramedy series Gravity, about a group of suicide survivors who receive treatment together in an outpatient program. Project, formerly known as Failure to Fly, was created by Eric Schaeffer and Jill Franklyn, the former of which will also co-star. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jorja Fox's five-episode story arc on CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has been extended indefinitely. "We will be seeing a lot more of Jorja," executive producer Carol Mendelsohn told Ausiello. "The season is about bringing the [CSI] family back together again, so [this] was just a natural. Jorja has been the glue that has really helped to reform the bond of our team." The exact number of episodes that Fox will appear in this season has yet to be determined but Mendelsohn also said that there are no plans for William Petersen to reprise his role as Grissom, despite Fox's Sara returning to the series. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has ordered the back nine episodes of Season Two of animated comedy series The Cleveland Show, just weeks after launching the first season of the Family Guy spin-off. The order will keep Cleveland on the air through the entirety of the 2010-11 season and brings the episodic order to 44 episodes. (Variety)

Bravo will use a new Kathy Griffin stand-up comedy special, entitled Kathy Griffin: Balls of Steel, as the lead-in for Season Two of reality series Tabatha's Salon Takeover on November 3rd. (The Wrap's TV MoJoe)

Stay tuned.

Clowns, Drag Queens, and Homeless People: Jeff's Fears Loom Large on "Flipping Out"

Throughout its run, Bravo's reality series Flipping Out has always offered some humor along with its drama but last night's episode ("Spirit of the Land") brought the series into a much darker place that hasn't really been seen since the surprising breakup of Jenni's marriage last season.

It was an episode that was filled with hurt feelings, high emotions, and a surprising death and, rather strangely, despite the fact that I was laughing only minutes before, I too was affected by the passing of homeless person Spirit, who lived on the salon property of Jeff Lewis' client Chaz.

We all know that Jeff Lewis doesn't deal well with emotion; his go-to reaction is often sarcasm and humor and that was no different last night. Considering he had suggested that they put Spirit out in the driveway with the trash, Jeff was at first seemingly unaffected by the homeless woman's death. (Did we ever actually learn if Spirit really was a woman or if that was a fiction of Chaz's?) But it soon became clear that he was struck to his core by her passing, as he had done a 180 degree transformation with Chaz and had even suggested improving her living accommodations prior to her death. It wasn't quite in the same outward fashion as Jenni, who burst into tears upon seeing Spirit's things thrown out and her home the site of a memorial candle or two, but it was clear that her death had made Jeff think about his own mortality.

Those feelings in turn also stirred up some unresolved feelings about his friendship with Ryan and he attempted to call his former business partner to try and patch things up. They didn't end up connecting but I do wonder if this has made Jeff change his point of view about Ryan and about breaking off their friendship. Jenni made a point about Spirit dying alone and I think that thought terrifies Jeff beyond belief. In losing Ryan, he clearly lost a component of his family and part of his support system. Can these two patch things up? Only time will tell.

Jeff also had to contend with the bruised feelings of Zoila who turned on house assistant Jett and attempted to put him in his place after she experienced an odd jealousy over Jeff's purchase of a Roomba. It's funny because the way that Zoila's been presented this season makes it appear as though she's not doing as much work as she used to do so I can sympathize with Jeff but I don't think he quite anticipated what sort of reaction the Roomba would engender within Zoila, nor did he expect that she would take Jett's half-in-jest comments (come on, there was some truth to his insinuations) to heart. Zoila might be able to give as good as she gets and stand up to Jeff in a way that no one else can but doesn't mean that she won't eventually crack after one too many snide remarks or haughty demands.

I have to say that Sarah is working out quite well at Jeff Lewis' office; I didn't initially expect her to stick around as long as she has but she's actually blended in quite well and might even offer Jeff some much needed human resources stability. Which worries me about Jenni... after last week's confrontation about her auditions, etc. it seemed as though things were coming to a head between them over her lack of focus on his business. (According to Jeff, anyway.) With Sarah in the mix, it might be time for Jenni to fly the nest as he's in good hands (and I do love her relationship with the oft-missing design intern Trace) or maybe for Jeff to reward the seven and a half years she's worked for him by promoting her. Or giving her a desk of her own, perhaps.

The episode was really nicely edited, with a haunting juxtaposition between Jenni and Jeff's argument over giving homeless people money with the aforementioned death of Spirit, Chaz's "good luck charm" who has lived on the property since 1968. I have to agree with Jeff that well-heeled clients don't want to look out of a bay window while they're paying a fortune to have their hair done and see a homeless person sleeping there but it was clear that Chaz truly believed in the spiritual yarn he spun Jeff about finding Spirit. Part of dealing with clients means having to hold your tongue, Mr. Lewis, even if you think they're in cloud cuckoo land.

But what's really sticking with me after last night's episode are the scenes for next week's season finale, which seem to point towards Jeff wanting to adopt a child. It's a scenario that has me extremely worried and anxious but it's also one that I can't wait to see play out on screen. If only next Tuesday would come sooner!

What did you think of this week's episode? Was Jeff right to try to move Spirit? Is Chaz absolutely bananas? Is there any chance of a reconciliation between Jeff and Ryan? Discuss.

Next week on the season finale of Flipping Out ("Baby Boom"), Jeff takes on a new client in Toluca Woods and attempts to rekindle his friendship with Ryan.

Flipping Out Preview: Lowering Valley Oak:



Flipping Out Preview: Jenni the Surrogate:



Flipping Out Preview: Buena Park is Done:

From Across the Pond: "Mary Queen of Shops"

Just a few quick words about tonight's premiere of reality series Mary Queen of Shops on BBC America.

The series, which features fashion expert Mary Portas as she attempts to pull back boutiques from the brink of insolvency, follows a rather similar formula to the network's own Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Hotel Inspector, in which Gordon Ramsay and Ruth Watson respectively attempt to save failing restaurants and hotels, and Bravo's Tabatha's Salon Takeover, in which the snippy hairstylist saves sinking salons.

Here, Mary Portas once again provides tough love to some rather misguided entrepreneurs who have opened up clothing boutiques without really having an understanding of fashion, visual merchandising, or how to turn a profit (or sometimes, all three) and who typically seem to lack business acumen in general. Like Ramsay and Watson before her, Portas is outspoken, brusque, and generally given to tell things like they are. She doesn't seem to befriend the targets of her helpful ways but rather ends up breaking them down emotionally and psychologically before she's able to constructively help them turn their businesses around.

And, let's be honest, these people do need her help. They're often in danger of losing their businesses and they've been misguidedly running their boutiques into the ground. Sometimes, the owners are pig-headed and refuse to take on board Portas' advice, while others have seemingly just lost their way over the years and need her to provide a swift kick up the backside to get them back on track.

There are rows, feuds, and petty vendettas at times and Portas does get hot under the collar more than once in the first two episodes provided for review. Regardless, there's a sense of simplistic comfort to Mary Queen of Shops. Despite Portas' short fuse at times, she is coming from a good place and genuinely wants to see her clients succeed and there's a optimistic buoyancy about the program, particularly in these rough economic times, with seeing profits actually improve. Just look at it as a bit of financial escapism.

Mary Queen of Shops launches tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on BBC America.

Channel Surfing: Benjamin Bratt Heads for "Modern Family," Amy Sherman-Palladino Sets Up Project at HBO, "Game of Thrones" Lures Another, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Benjamin Bratt (The Cleaner) has been cast as a guest star on ABC's Modern Family, where he will play the ex-husband of Sofia Vergara's Gloria. Bratt is currently slated to appear in one episode of the ABC comedy series, where his character has been mentioned but not yet seen. Look for some friction between Bratt's character and Ed O'Neill's Jay. (Hollywood Reporter)

Great news for Gilmore Girls fans. Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino will write and executive produce an untitled dramedy project for pay cabler HBO about the "complicated relationship between three adult sisters, all writers sharing the same upper east side apartment building, and their mother, a domineering literary lioness who reserves most of her affections for their ne'er-do-well brother," according to Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva. The project marks the first time that Sherman-Palladino has worked in cable. (Editor: I am keeping my fingers crossed for this one!) (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that child actor Isaac Hempstead-Wright has been cast in HBO's fantasy pilot Game of Thrones, which starts production on October 24th. Ryan also notes that Jamie Campbell Bower (The Prisoner) is currently speculated to have been cast as the pilot's Waymar Royce but has not been able to confirm the rumor. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

FOX has given a script order to an untitled drama pilot from writer/executive producer Ben Watkins (Burn Notice) about an undercover female investigator of mixed heritage who questions her own identity, having been adopted as a baby. "This is a character who has never truly felt like she belongs anywhere," the bi-racial Watkins told Variety. "The coping mechanism that she developed as a kid makes her able to fit in anywhere." Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, will be executive produced by Mike Tollin. (Variety)

SPOILER! E! Online's Jennifer Godwin talks to Melrose Place star Katie Cassidy about the upcoming "major character death" on the CW soap that will be a "turning point of the season so far." According to Cassidy, "Everyone's going to be surprised. [The death] is a shocker, but at the same time, it's really good." Cassidy also teases some scoop about what's coming up on Melrose. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Todd Stashwick (The Riches) has been cast in a recurring role on NBC's Heroes, where he will play Eli, a member of the traveling carnival who has "close ties to the carnival's evil ringleader Samuel (Robert Knepper)." (Hollywood Reporter)

In other Heroes-related news, E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is hinting at the possible, er, departure of one of the series' regulars. No concrete information is provided but Dos Santos writes that the character is male. Read into that whatever you will. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Steve Harris (The Practice) has joined the cast of Friday Night Lights in a recurring role, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. He'll play Vernon Merriweather, "an ex-football star and the father of East Dillon newbie Jess (Jurnee Smollett)," and is slated to appear in about seven episodes. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams has an interview with Scrubs star Sarah Chalke about the upcoming season of the medical comedy series, which is undergoing a transformation this season. Chalke is slated to appear in several episodes this season with her Elliot undergoing some transformations of her own... (TVGuide.com)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that ABC has landed the untitled Matthew Perry/Jamie Tarses project that was announced yesterday. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

FOX has announced a November 8th airdate for primetime special Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, which will feature Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein stepping in front of the camera for a commercial-free half-hour special that will feature "marketing messages" for Microsoft's Windows 7. The special will feature both animated and live-action sketches. (Variety)

Bravo is getting back into the Jackie Warner business as it develops a new reality series entitled Thintervention with Jackie Warner, which will see the Warner help participants to lose weight in their "day-to-day environment rather than in a Biggest Loser-style fat camp." The cabler was originally developing a concept where Warner would help struggling gyms get back on their feet financially but the weight-loss concept has now replaced that project. Project, from Shed Media, will have Warner "kick butt and inspire drastic lifestyle changes for her overweight clients who are struggling to lose weight and get healthy for good." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

20th Century Fox Television has signed a two-year overall deal with Family Guy executive producer David Goodman, under which he will remain on the animated series (while no longer serving as showrunner) and will develop animated and live-action projects for the studio, including an animated comedy pilot presentation from writer Jason Ruiz entitled Fathers and Son. (Variety)

SVP Christina Davis will oversee drama development at CBS following the departure of the department's co-head Robert Zotnowski. The Eye has also promoted Yelena Chak and Bryan Seabury. (Hollywood Reporter)

Australian viewers will get the chance to see BBC's period drama series Desperate Romantics, created by Peter Bowker (Blackpool), following a deal between BBC Worldwide and ABC TV. (Broadcast)

3 Ball Entertainment has hired Brant Pinvidic as EVP of development and promoted Dan Snook to VP of development. The former will report to JD Roth and Todd Nelson. (Variety)

Warner Bros. Entertainment has hired former Yahoo executive Dave Dickman as SVP of digital media sales for Warner Bros. Television Group. (Hollywood Reporter)

Annual market and conference NATPE will move its home from Las Vegas to Miami's South Beach in January 2011. "Miami Beach is easily accessible to our attendees from the U.S., Europe and Latin America," said NATPE President/CEO Rick Feldman. "The entire hotel with its new ocean view suites and a floor marketplace will be ours alone. NATPE will be under one roof in an environment that will provide unlimited possibilities for business being done in a most efficient and enjoyable manner." (Broadcasting & Cable)

Stay tuned.

The Crevasse Beckons: An Advance Review of Season Four of NBC's "30 Rock"

It's crazy to me that I'm reviewing the fourth season opener for NBC's deliciously absurd comedy 30 Rock.

After all, it seemed as though the hyper-intelligent brainchild of creator Tina Fey would be canceled only a few weeks into its initial run, but now the possibility of such talk seems foolhardy at best as 30 Rock has blossomed into one of the most articulate and savvy meta comedies ever to grace the small screen. Proving that the pen is mightier than the sword, Fey and her crack team of writers offer a weekly dose of savage humor, quirky characters, and bizarre situations on the set of show-within-a-show TGS.

That the biting wit of the series is often directed at network NBC is one of the joys of this self-aware series. And that hasn't changed in the first two episodes of 30 Rock's fourth season, which were sent out for review. The season's first episode ("Season Four") contains some of the most pointed and acidic comments towards the Peacock yet, including a not-so-thinly-veiled attack at Jay Leno's eponymous 10 pm show, which is the lead-out of 30 Rock.

Is it a case of biting the hand that feeds you? Not quite. As Fey and her writing team assiduously parody the GE corporate ownership of NBC, a real-life drama is currently unfolding that might see ownership of NBC (and the larger NBC Universal parent company) change hands. The comments made on 30 Rock therefore are not only biting but also incredibly prescient; they also prove that there are no sacred cows to be avoided in the humor here, no target safe from parody or persecution, even the series' own network.

In both "Season Four" and the season's second sensational episode, "Into the Crevasse," we're treated to a number of storylines that play up those very uncertainties currently swirling around NBC's future. There's the return of Will Arnett's unctuous suit Devon Banks, a Congressional hearing into misuse of company transportation, a page strike after overtime is cut, and a country-style makeover for Jane Krakowski's Jenna for a network promo for off-season tennis, now the only sport on NBC, that's designed to appeal to "real" Americans.

Thankfully, time hasn't dulled 30 Rock's rapier wit or its predilection for off-kilter comedy. I don't want to give away too many of the fourth season's plotlines but I'll say that the situations haven't changed drastically for our characters but there's also a sense of momentum as well.

Liz Lemon, while having gained a modicum of success thanks to a best-seller based on her "Dealbreakers" sketch, is still flailing in her professional and personal life and still devotes most of her time to dealing with the tantrums and traumas of her self-absorbed cast and crew, made more difficult when Jack tasks her with finding a mainstream-friendly new cast member for TGS. Likewise, Jack Donaghy is still attempting to keep the company afloat, this time attempting to come up with a genius new take on the microwave oven. (Look for a fantastic aside involving a "vintage" microwave commercial, complete with 1950s-style dancers.)

Tracy's fury over learning that Liz based most of her book on his eccentric behaviors turns on his producer and wants to enact a revenge... a revenge which manifests itself in a hilarious, uh, adult-themed way. Kenneth and Jack row over a mistakenly seen "extremely American" bonus check, leading Kenneth to organize the pages (and, well, the bucket drummers) into a strike that pulls in all manner of oddballs and attention-seekers.

While the humor is whip-smart, there's also something innately comforting about having 30 Rock back on the air. There are few series that are more politically-minded or critical of current events than 30 Rock. The series' absurdist tone makes it quite easy to slip in all manner of political or social jabs or mentions as well as some TiVo-friendly throwaway lines and sight gags. I'm chuffed to see that this hasn't changed in the series' fourth season, which promises to be just as clever, cutting, and imminently quotable as what's come before. Now go get yourself some cheesy blasters and prepare to laugh until you cry.



Season Four of 30 Rock premieres Thursday evening at 9:30 pm ET/PT on NBC.

Forgiveness and Folly: An Advance Review of This Week's Episode of "Modern Family"

In its few weeks on the air, ABC's warmly witty and imaginative comedy series Modern Family has quickly become one of the viewing highlights of my entire week, turning out some of the best crafted bon mots and well-constructed (if lovably flawed) characters on television.

In the hands of its supremely gifted cast, the tangled relationships of the extended Pritchett-Dunphy clan are not only humorous but also touchingly realistic. They squabble, they feud, they make up, and occasionally they hit one another in the face with remote-controlled airplanes. The subtle beauty of the humor makes repeat viewing a necessity (blink and you could miss some truly stunning nuance) as well as a pleasure, making the Pritchetts one family that you want to spend time with week after week. (And really, I can't think of another recent comedy family that that's true of, other than the Bluths.)

This week's hysterical episode of Modern Family ("The Incident"), which airs on Wednesday evening, ups the ante by bringing in comedy legend Shelley Long as the family's errant matriarch Dede Pritchett, the new agey ex-wife of Ed O'Neill's Jay. The Pritchett kids--Julie Bowen's Claire and Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Mitchell--already have a complicated relationship with their dad and Dede's arrival into the relatively placid family creates all manner of chaos. (Look for a major omen of doom at Jay and Gloria's house to signify something wicked is on its way.)

I don't want to spoil the titular incident (it's a doozy) but I will say that it stems from Dede's truly horrific behavior at Jay and Gloria's wedding and Dede needs to apologize for her awfulness so she can get on with her life, which includes moving to a "far and distant land" (read: Canada) with her new boyfriend Chaz. Her smooth manipulation of mama's boy Mitchell, against the wishes of Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), result in a major showdown between Dede and Gloria (Sofia Vergara) at a family dinner at the Dunphy's.

Likewise, the episode gives the audience an opportunity to take a closer look at the relationship between siblings Claire and Mitchell, who square off over their mother. Bowen and Ferguson are absolutely perfectly cast as brother and sister and this episode in particular plays to their strengths; it's easy to imagine their childhoods with Jay and Dede and both actors do a phenomenal job bringing those conflicts into focus here. (Not surprisingly, Mitchell--who accidentally refers to Dede as "mommy" in a Freudian slip"--is often her catspaw and typically cleans up her messes.)

As for Shelley Long, age hasn't dimmed the brightness of her star. The former Cheers actor proves that she's game for anything and everything, including some truly withering lines of dialogue and some deft and jaw-dropping physical comedy. Modern Family producers, I'm hoping that we haven't seen the last of Dede as she adds a nice dose of smothering malice to the mix here.

Additionally, there's a sly and surprising storyline in this week's episode about Sarah Hyland's Haley and her seventeen-year-old boyfriend Dylan (Reid Ewing) attending a concert together that will have you uncontrollably singing Dylan's song, entitled "In the Moonlight," for, oh, the next week or two. (Look for an iTunes release of the song after the episode airs.) I don't want to say too much here but not only is the song fantastic (and funny) but make sure you stick around for the episode's tag.

In fact, "The Incident" is so flawless, overflowing as it is with pitch-perfect reaction shots, hysterical throwaway lines, and genuine emotion, that my only complaint of Modern Family is that each installment is over far too quickly. In a time of diminishing viewer attention spans, an intelligent and scintillating series that has you craving more week after week is a true find. So do yourself a favor and tune in to Modern Family tomorrow night. Your funny bone and your heart will thank me.

Modern Family airs Wednesday night at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.