Channel Surfing: Bones Dish, ABC Super-Sizes Lost Finale, Mandy Moore Heads to Grey's, Jersey Shore, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

WARNING: If you haven't yet seen last night's simply amazing 100th episode of Bones, look away. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with Bones executive producers Hart Hanson and Stephen Nathan (and series lead Emily Deschanel) in which they talk about the big twist at the end of the episode. You know, the one that has to do with Booth and Brennan? "I think it opens it up in a whole new way," Nathan told Ausiello about the twist. "It gives us some history, which allows us to see all the additional possibilities that could occur between the two of them." Hanson went a step further. "We aren’t nervous about making them a couple, but we want it to play out in a way that is realistic for these two and that will make fans happy," said Hanson. "Everybody always mentions Moonlighting, but that honestly never comes up in our discussions on how to deal with them. The Moonlighting curse? Don’t believe in it. I think that was all about [Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd] hating each other’s guts. [David and Emily] do not hate each other." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, Fancast's Matt Webb Mitovich also talks to Stephen Nathan about the landmark 100th episode of Bones. "The agenda was to try to answer a lot of the questions the audience has had for so long – like, 'How did this start?' 'What was the genesis of the relationship between Booth and Brennan?' – because obviously something occurred prior to the pilot episode," Nathan told Mitovich. "What was it at that time that drove them apart? And at the same time, what was it about their [initial] relationship that made them come together again? We wanted to get a real glimpse into that relationship that we haven’t been able to in five years. We had a lot more leeway here where we could have them open themselves up. Because for them to be so careful around each other, that had to happen after they had been so vulnerable with each other." (Fancast)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that ABC has opted to make its farewell to Lost five hours now, expanding its pre-show recap show from one hour to two. That special will air from 7-9 pm ET/PT on May 23rd, just prior to the two-hour series finale of Lost. Later that night, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, along with the cast, will gather together for Jimmy Kimmel Live--Lost: After the Final Rose. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos talks with Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey about Katherine Heigl's departure from the ABC medical series, as well as impending heartbreak. "I think it's very sad, we had a great time working with her, we always had a great time, always prepared," said Dempsey of his former co-star. "And it's a real loss to the show. I think she had a great character and great energy, absolutely beautiful and talented actress, and it's a shame she's moving on." As for Mer-Der, Dempsey told Dos Santos: "There will be some relationships that end and go away, and some new ones that begin. Typical Grey's, there's always drama in the relationships, can't seem to get a healthy relationship! So far Meredith and Derek have been good this year, but something will happen I'm sure before the end of the season." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

In other Grey's-related news, TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams is reporting that Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember) is checking into the two-hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy, which is slated to air May 20th. Moore will play Mary, a patient at Seattle Grace who is under the care of Chandra Wilson's Bailey. S"ources said Moore is just one part of the kind of finale that executive producer Shonda Rhimes loves keeping under wraps," writes Abrams, "so no further details on her role were released." (TVGuide.com)

MTV has announced that Season Two of Jersey Shore will launch on Thursday, July 29th at 10 pm ET/PT. "It's official," said an MTV spokesperson. "The Jersey Shore cast began filming Season Two in Miami. Once the boardwalk heats back up, the series will return to the Jersey Shore to complete the season." Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Vinny Guadagninom and Angelina Pivarnick will all return for the second season of the reality series. (MTV)

Casting update: Mare Winningham (Grey's Anatomy) has been cast in HBO's upcoming mini-series Mildred Pierce, where she will star opposite Kate Winslet, Brian F. O'Byrne, and Evan Rachel Wood. Elsewhere, Lizzy Caplan (Party Down) has been cast as one of the leads in CBS comedy pilot True Love, where she replaces Ashley A. Morris, and Sharon Leal has joined the cast of CW drama pilot Hellcats. (Hollywood Reporter)

Details have emerged about the slate of programming expected to air on the nascent cabler OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network when it launches January 1st. Those programs will include Gayle King Live, a talk show hosted by Gayle King; reality competition series Your Own Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star, executive produced with Mark Burnett; Visionaries: Inside the Creative Mind; Oprah's Next Chapter, Why Not? With Shania Twain; and Behind the Scenes: The Oprah Show Final Season. (Variety)

Diane Lane has been cast in HBO telepic Cinema Verite, the behind-the-scenes look of the filming of seminal 1970s American reality series An American Family, where she will play Pat Loud, described as "the mother and main character of the documentary, which chronicled an intimate look at a Santa Barbara family." (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has unveiled its finale schedule, which includes the season ender of Castle on Monday, May 17th, the season finale of V on Tuesday, May 18th, Wednesday comedies on May 19th, Grey's on May 20th (and Private Practice the week before), and FlashForward on Thursday, May 27th. (Variety)

Hookers for Jesus? Apparently, they're coming to Investigation Discovery with upcoming series Saved on the Strip, about former prostitute Annie Lobert's outreach ministry Hookers for Jesus. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

ITV Studios has alleged that BBC Worldwide's upcoming ice-skating version of Dancing with the Stars for ABC is in fact a rip-off of its format Dancing on Ice. BBC Worldwide, however, has stated that its series is based on a format that predates Dancing on Ice and aired two years before ITV broadcast its celebrities-on-ice concept. (Variety)

Jeremy Podeswa (The Pacific) has come aboard Showtime's upcoming period drama series The Borgias as a director. He'll share duties with Neil Jordan, who is writing and directing the first two installments, while The Tudors creator Michael Hirst is writing the rest of the season's scripts. (Hollywood Reporter)

Discovery Channel has pacted with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks TV, and DreamWorks Animation for animated mini-sieres Future Earth, which explores just what the planet will look like in 25, 50, and 100 years, using futurists and scholars to predict how events and institutions will evolve over the next century. (Variety)

Reid Ewing (Modern Family) has been cast as one of the leads in MTV's upcoming telepic The Truth Below. Elsewhere, Jill Hennessey (Crossing Jordan) has signed on as a guest star in HBO's horseracing drama pilot Luck, where she will play a veterinarian. (Hollywood Reporter)

Comedy Central has given a third season order to Tosh.0, ordering 29 installments that will launch on January 12nd. Move comes just four months after the cabler ordered 25 episodes for a second season. (Variety)

CBS alternative programming VP Chris Carlson will leave the network to become the new executive producer of Undercover Boss, which is produced by Studio Lambert. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Back Through the Veil: Lost Questions, More on "Happily Ever After"

I don't always discuss a single Lost episode twice in one week but after this week's episode ("Happily Ever After") brought up so many reader questions and seemed to offer some tantalizing answers to the season's overarching mythology, I felt like it more than merited another post.

While I discussed "Happily Ever After" in full over here (along with theories about sleepwalkers, invisible threads of fate, Marvel Comics' "House of M," and more), I thought I'd answer some reader questions from the episode that arrived via comments, Twitter, or email.

So without further ado, let's head back through that veil once more.

Not Penny's Mom. Rockauteur asks, "Who is Penny's mom? To me, she always seemed older than Faraday, which begs the question if her mother is an Other, or was someone just in the regular world. Could she be related to any other castaways?"

Penny's mom is not an Other. We're told in the mainstream reality that Charles Widmore is exiled from the island because he conceived of a child with a woman who wasn't an Other, apparently a crime in the society living on the island. (I'd still love to know just what this tribe of Jacob's followers call themselves.) While we've still never seen this woman, we did learn that her name is Milton (again, a reference to John Milton, author of "Paradise Lost") in this this week's episode, given that Penny's full name in the Lost-X timeframe is Penny Milton.

I believe that Lost-X Charles Widmore either had a relationship prior to Eloise and had a child with this woman... or that he had an affair during his marriage to Eloise and Penny Milton is the offspring from that liaison. I'm leaning toward the latter, given that it's likely that Charles and Eloise have been married for some time (given Daniel's age) and that Widmore and Penny's mother had an affair together. As for Penny being related to other characters on the series, I'm hoping not. It's enough that she's the half-sister of Daniel Faraday and the daughter of Charles Widmore without wishing another sibling on her. I'd be really displeased if she somehow ended up being an estranged relative to another Lost character. But that's just me.

Reunion. An anonymous commenter (grumble) asked, "Why waste time (which, with only 7 episodes left, we probably don't have) tracking down everyone when Desmond in the Lost-X universe can just go to either the hospital where Jack works or the police station where Sawyer works and find all the important people?"

My answer would be: define the "important people"? Yes, Jack works at the hospital and Sawyer and Miles work at the police station, but what about everyone else? What about Hurley? Or Locke? Yes, we'll begin to see the invisible threads that bind these characters tighten a hell of a lot more over the next few episodes, but there's no reason to believe that if Desmond turns up at one of these places that everyone will be there. Besides, Desmond isn't aware of who is "important" in the grand scheme of things yet. He can barely remember who else was on that plane, which is why he needs Minkowski to get the passenger manifest for the flight. It's going to be trial and error--and likely Fate--that will lead him to the candidates and those he needs for his mission.

Layla Miller. Over on Twitter, several people agreed with my thoughts that Lost's sixth season--vis-a-vis the Lost-X alternate timeline--shared certain similarities with Marvel's "House of M" storyline, in which heroes get their heart's desire in a world that's not "right" and must band together to put the world back again.

One follower, @iamwesley, felt that I had incorrectly cast Desmond as truth-awakening character Layla Miller and that Desmond was more analogous to Wolverine's role within the "House of M" storyline as he remembered the world as it was before and couldn't contemplate how his memories of this world and the other could overlap one another.

I'd disagree with Wesley. While Desmond does seem to retain some memories of the mainstream timeline, his entire purpose--as seen at the end of the episode with his scene with George Minkowski--is to awaken the other passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 and show them what he had seen: the truth about their world and the other one and the memories that he couldn't possibly have as they hadn't happened. To me, Desmond's role here--as the one doing the waking up--immediately drafts him into the Layla Miller role, while Wesley gave that part to Eloise Hawking. But the Lost-X Eloise seems determined to keep Desmond in his slumber at least for now, based on their conversation and her insistence that he stay away from Penny and stop looking for her, saying it was a "violation."

The Matrix. Scott S. asked, "Doesn't The Matrix predate 'House of M' -- a fake world where people get the life they want, in order to keep them docile?"

Yes, The Matrix predates "House of M" but The Matrix didn't posit the warping of reality in order to ensure that people got what they wanted, rather placed them into a virtual reality that was little more than a computer construct, a digital dreamland that was definitely less real than the actual world.

Here, as in "House of M," both worlds are "real," just one of them has been seemingly altered. The dead are once again alive, old enmities healed, new alliances formed, loves regained. In The Matrix, Neo had to be awakened but it was from an actual dream and he's thrust into a real post-apocalyptic battlefield. Here, they're being forced to reckon with two very real worlds, one that's "right" and one that's "wrong."

There's nothing less real about the people in the Lost-X timeline or their lives. These are real people with real relationships and issues, living lives that are no less "real" than the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 who did crash on the island. But the flashes of memory, the repeated sense of deja vu experienced by several characters now, and the fact that certain patterns are repeating themselves would point to a thinning of the barrier between these two worlds as well as a dawning recognition on the part of the dreamers that something is not right here, that the world is inherently wrong and that something is off.

After all, if this world was designed--perhaps by the Man in Black himself--to keep the Losties docile and complacent, they're less likely to ask questions about the nature of the universe and their place in it. It's far harder to sacrifice a seemingly idyllic life where you've achieved your perfect happiness than one where you've lost everything. Which would make their journey all the more heartbreaking, no?

Eloise. KateL posited a theory that had the Lost-X universe created by Eloise Hawking herself: "Perhaps she decided that she didn't want to sacrifice her son, and wanted a world where that was no longer required. There are signs that she dotes on him in the Lost X timeline - allowing him to follow his desired path of becoming a musician, indulging his crazy rock/classical request for the charity event. Of course, this could simply be out of gratitude for getting what she most wanted, her son alive, as opposed to being required to sacrifice him, but I can't help but wonder if there is something more intentional going on. If this is the case, I wouldn't be surprised to see a connection between her and the Man in Black in this timeline."

An interesting theory, Kate, and one that is certainly tantalizing but I don't know that Eloise Hawking herself had a hand in creating the world. Certainly, she too received her dearest wish--that her son was alive and safe--and may be aware of the other world, as seen from her scene with Desmond at the site of the party, but I don't know that she has actually created the Lost-X timeline. If she's aware of the chasm between the worlds, then I can see why she might want to ensure that Desmond doesn't want to rip down that sheer veil that separates them: she stands to lose everything, from her husband (Charles Widmore) to her son (Daniel).

Her entire life in the mainstream reality was an attempt to ensure that things played out according to plan, including the death of her own son, sacrificed in order to ensure the safety of the island. I can see why, given a second chance, she might have second thoughts. After all, in this timestream, the island is deep underneath the ocean. Daniel can follow his own dreams of music rather than physics, he needn't travel to the island, flash backwards in time, and be murdered by her own hand in 1977. But if Desmond starts asking questions, starts pulling at those strings, he risks undoing everything that she's managed to grab a hold of here. Hmm...

Desmond's Doughnut of Doom. Rockauteur wrote, "I also had a weird theory that maybe Desmond actually died in Widmore's test, and is now embodied by Jacob, who used the test as a loophole to find human form again. I don't think its right but something to float anyway."

I'd disagree with this. Given Desmond's expression and his outstretched hand when he emerges from the solenoid chamber, there's no other possibility other than it's Desmond whose consciousness has connected or been momentarily transferred between timelines. There's no evidence to support that Jacob was able to take a hold of Desmond's form or that he's even capable of this ability. While Jacob's Nemesis seemed to be looking for a loophole to escape, I don't think we've seen anything that suggests that Jacob himself was looking to once again find human form.

The Mission. Frank1569 writes, "Widmore's plan appears to be to send Des back to stop The Incident and, hence, the splintering of the 'mirror' Timeline, his 'sacrifice' being that he'll be stuck in 1977?"

I don't think that we've seen that Widmore's plan involves anything having to do with The Incident or 1977, though that's likely the year that the timeline split from the mainstream reality. I don't know that traveling back to prevent The Incident is at all on Widmore's mind. After all, he claims that "whatever happened, happened." I don't think he wants to get mixed up in any time travel mayhem.

Rather, his mission for Desmond is definitely related to preventing Jacob's Nemesis from leaving the island and shoring up the island's defenses using the electromagnetic pockets that Zoe is attempting to use Jin to find. We've seen that Desmond can withstand a catastrophic electromagnetic incident and survive and I still maintain that Widmore is (A) aware of the existence of the alternate timeline, (B) using Desmond to send a message, and (C) looking to stop the Man in Black from unstopping the metaphorical bottle and escaping his island prison.

Wedding Band. Another anonymous commenter asked, "Why was Desmond wearing a wedding band on the plane?"

Good question. If you remember back to the first episode of the season ("LA X"), astute viewers will recall that Desmond was wearing a wedding band when he was shown sitting next to Jack on Oceanic Flight 815. While it seemed to indicate that Desmond was married, perhaps to Penny or even to Ruth, Desmond seemed to invalidate this line of thought this week with his discussion of how he is unattached, with no family, and fixated entirely on his career. So what's up with the wedding ring? Is it a clue to the existence of another Desmond from another timestream (unlikely) or just a production gaffe?

Given how important this week's episode was and the struggle for Desmond to remember Penny and be reunited with her, I'm going to go with the latter. Either Team Darlton changed their mind about Desmond's story this season midstream... or it was just a production error and Henry Ian Cusick wasn't meant to be wearing his wedding ring on screen.

What do you think? Keep your comments, questions, and theories coming and be sure to come back Wednesday for my thoughts on the latest episode.

Next week on Lost ("Everybody Loves Hugo"), Hurley agonizes over what the group should do next, while Locke is curious about the new arrival to his camp..

Smoke and Mirrors Gourmet: First Dates on Top Chef Masters

It's good to have an iteration of Top Chef back on television, a breath of fresh air--or the enticing aroma of cooking, at least, wafting through my TiVo.

Last night's season premiere ("First Date Dinners") found the first week's six master chefs--Ana Sortun, Govind Armstrong, Jerry Traunfeld, Jimmy Bradley, Susan Feniger, and Tony Mantuano--competing for a shot at the next round and a sizable donation to the charity of their choice when they were forced to contend with a flashback Quickfire Challenge from the very first season of Top Chef and an Elimination Challenge that tested not only their skills in the kitchen but also how well they could work with their teammate to conceptualize a duo-plated dish.

What's that you say? Teammate? Yes, these masters were paired together throughout the entire episode, making it even more essential that they stopped thinking of themselves as the chief and more as partner chefs if they had any hope of coming out on top. It was a novel conceit for the first episode of the new season but I do hope that subsequent weeks find these masters more on their own. I'd hate to see some exceptionally talented chefs sent home each episode because their partner wasn't quite up to snuff that week.

But that's a thought for another day. In the meantime, here's what I thought of last night's installment.

I have to say that I thought that the Gas Station Creation Quickfire was one of my favorites of all time from Top Chef because it really pushes the chefs to come up with something innovative and exciting out of the most humdrum ingredients. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but limitations can also prove to be the gateway to some real creativity. While the producers managed to trick the chefs into thinking they were going to be preparing some Chinese food as their cars began driving around Los Angeles' Chinatown district, it was a particularly funny ploy to get them to the gas station convenient store, where many of them were baffled by what to do and thrown by the fact that the menus they had painstakingly created during the ride over were now absolutely useless.

I have a lot of respect for Govind Armstrong but in this episode, he really managed to rub me the wrong way. Perhaps it was his snooty attitude towards Quickfire judges The Bravery or his abhorrence at having to pick ingredients from a gas station. But the 8 Oz. Burger Bar (and former Table 8) chef has been a judge on Top Chef before and should have known what he was getting into here. I also didn't like the way that he seemed to laugh at partner Jimmy Bradley (of Red Cat and The Harrison) for offering a cold dish... even though the critics seemed to like Bradley's lamb carpaccio far more than Armstrong's chop.

But enough on that front. What did the chefs prepare this week? Let's a closer look...

Quickfire Challenge:

• Jimmy Bradley and Govind Armstrong: Cheetos macaroni with grilled Slim Jims and tomato soup
• Tony Mantuano and Susan Feniger: maple bread pudding with caramelized bananas
• Ana Sortun and Jerry Traunfeld: crispy rice cake with "Clamesco" sauce

Even if Bradley and Armstrong had selected the right colored Cheetos for their dish, it still would have seemed not that original. Not helping them here was the fact that everything appeared in the same color range of browns and reds, creating a single palette that wasn't all that flattering, particularly the radioactive macaroni and cheese which did not look appetizing at all. I was really impressed with the presentation done by Sortun and Traunfeld here, delivering a plate that looked restaurant-ready rather than something that had been prepared from ingredients chosen at a gas station. While the dish prepared by Mantuano and Feniger (for whom the word "kooky" must have been invented) wasn't the prettiest, it showed--I thought, anyway--the most thought and creativity, crafting a wholesome and rich dessert out of the ingredients they found. And it certainly made Mantuano see Feniger in a different light, to boot. I wasn't surprised that this duo walked away with the Quickfire win.

For their Elimination Challenge, the chefs would have to work in concert once again to produce a duo that would be served to 30 couples on their first date. This was a particularly tricky endeavor because date food needs to be inherently romantic and appetizing but also can't be too messy or difficult to eat because the couples are virtual strangers. There needs to be the sense of creating intimacy between the diners without forcing it.

Here's what our master chefs prepared:

• Jimmy Bradley and Govind Armstrong: lamb carpaccio with mache salad; roast lamb chop with cauliflower couscous and pomegranate reduction
• Tony Mantuano and Susan Feniger: black pepper shrimp and scallops; homemade pasta with taleggio and black truffles, arugula salad
• Ana Sortun and Jerry Traunfeld: lavender-crusted duck breast with red cabbage and pomegranate; duck leg buried in vermicelli with orange blossom and smoked cinnamon almonds

I'm glad that the chefs singled out Bradley for praise for his remarkable lamb carpaccio; I'll admit that I blanched a little when he mentioned that he was serving essentially raw lamb to couples on their first date, envisioning a steely metallic tang to the meat but by searing the outside and chilling it, Bradley created an ethereal dish that elevated by the beautiful mache salad. Less fantastic, actually, was Armstrong's own lamb chops, which were tougher and more forwardly lamb-esque than their carapaccio counterparts. The critics did love the cauliflower couscous but when your protein is outshone by the veg, that's a problem.

I'm glad to see how well Mantuano and Feniger worked together here. Rather than offer a variation on a protein as the other two teams did, they thought a bit more outside of the box, instead creating a narrative on the plate and placing the emphasis on the exotic and romantic qualities of world travel. Mantuano offered a gorgeous multi-layered ravioli stuffed with young taleggio (which James Oseland maintained was too strong and pungent) while Feniger offered a play on black pepper crab, infusing shrimp and scallops with a vivid and spicy broth. Well played.

I liked the conceit that Sortun and Traunfeld came up: to not only link their dishes with protein--duck, in this case--but also with some key ingredients like ginger and cinnamon and edible flowers. Traunfeld crusted his duck breast in lavender while Sortun used orange blossom with her duck soup. While Traunfeld nailed his side of the dish, effortlessly searing the duck to perfection, Sortun hadn't really thought her dish through enough. I loved the concept and its homey warmth but the critics were right to ask how she expected the diners to eat the duck buried under the vermicelli noodles. It's hard to get a knife and fork into a small bowl and Sortun would have been better off pre-cutting the duck meat into bite-size pieces, as they suggested.

Ultimately, it was the odd couple pairing of Mantuano and Feniger who took home the win this week, winning their individual charities a hefty donation and advancing to the next round of competition. I'm excited to see what they're able to do next time and I'm glad to see Feniger rising to the top of the pack with her kookiness intact.

What did you think of this week's episode? Agree with the critics' verdict? Would you have awarded the top spot to Feniger and Mantuano? Discuss.

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("It's My Party"), six new master chefs must cater a celebrity birthday party.

Channel Surfing: Showtime Gets Shameless, HBO Enlightened, FX Confirms Damages Talks, Veronica Mars, Doctor Who, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Showtime has ordered twelve episodes of ensemble drama Shameless, based on the British Channel 4 drama series created by Paul Abbott, who co-wrote the pilot for the US adaptation with John Wells. Project, which is expected to begin production late this summer, stars William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin, Jeremy White, Cameron Monaghan, Ethan Cutkosky, Emma Kenney, and Allison Janey, who recurs. Wells will serve as showrunner on the series, which hails from Warner Bros. Television and John Wells Productions. No launch date was announced for the series, which Showtime's Robert Greenblatt likened to "Party of Five on acid." (Variety)

HBO, meanwhile, ordered ten episodes of single-camera comedy Enlightened (including the pilot) from writer/executive producer Mike White and star/executive producer Laura Dern. Dern stars as "a self-destructive woman who has a revelatory experience at a treatment center and becomes determined to live an enlightened life, creating unexpected havoc at home and work." The cast also includes Luke Wilson, Diane Ladd, and Sarah Burns; production is slated to begin this summer. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that FX president John Landgraf has confirmed that Sony Pictures Television is in talks with DirecTV to come aboard legal drama Damages in order to ensure a fourth season pickup. "Sony is talking to DirecTV," said Landgraf. "We couldn’t be happier with Damages creatively. The third season is superb. It’s a massive success from a creative standpoint. But, it’s a show that has always struggled from a ratings standpoint. I think that’s because it’s so complicated. It takes an incredible amount of devotion and an incredible attention span to watch it." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Ausiello also confirms that the feature film version of Veronica Mars isn't dead, after all, talking to the series' creator Rob Thomas about the status of the teen sleuth. "It’s not dead," Thomas told Ausiello. "I continue to want to do it. It’s funny, because the rumors go around and around. Kristen Bell had said to somebody that I had written a script, and that wasn’t correct. I did have a treatment and a pitch, with which I went to Warner Bros. and [Mars producer] Joel Silver and said, ‘Here is the fastball version of the movie, the big studio version of the movie that I think we can make.’ And I think they did one of their brand-awareness surveys and were like, ‘We don’t know if we can make money with that.’ So it’s been back-burnered. But I still want to do it. I’m still happy to do it. We’re still looking into it." [Editor: While Thomas admits there's a close-ended timeframe, I do like his idea to see Bell as a "30-year-old noir detective" in the future as well.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

It's official: Doctor Who is heading to PC and Mac in a new episodic computer game entitled Doctor Who: The Adventure Games that will be offered for free from the BBC website. Featuring the voices of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, the four-episode interactive game will be written by Phil Ford (Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars) and James Moran (Torchwood: Children Of Earth). The first episode is expected to be released in June. "There aren’t 13 episodes of Doctor Who this year," said executive producer Piers Wenger. "There are 17 - four of which are interactive. Everything you see and experience within the game is part of the Doctor Who universe: we’ll be taking you to places you’ve only ever dreamed about seeing - including locations impossible to create on television." (Broadcast)

Oprah Winfrey is set to announce an hour-long evening series Oprah's Next Chapter, which will air on the nascent cabler OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, according to the Wall Street Journal's Sam Schechner. Series, which could air as many as twice or thrice during the week, will follow Winfrey as she travels the world for a series of interviews. "I'm going to take viewers with me, going to take celebrities I want to interview with me" around the world," said Winfrey. (Wall Street Journal)

Jason Gedrick (Boomtown) has been cast in HBO's horseracing drama pilot Luck, from executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann. Gredick will play "a racetrack gambling degenerate" and will star opposite Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, Nick Nolte, and Gary Stevens. (Variety)

ABC has announced its summer schedule, which includes the launch of two new drama series on Sunday nights--The Gates and Scoundrels--which will air back-to-back beginning at 9 pm ET/PT on June 20th. The Bachelorette returns Monday, May 24th, True Beauty on May 31st, Wipeout on June 1st, and the launch of new reality competition series Downfall on June 29th. Late summer brings The Bachelor: Bachelor Pad, Dating in the Dark, and Shaq Vs. (Variety)

SPOILER! Orla Brady will reprise her role as Elizabeth Bishop in Fringe's two-part season finale ("Over There, Part 1" and "Over There, Part 2,"), which are set to air May 13th and May 20th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Francois Arnaud (I Killed My Mother) has been cast in Showtime period drama series The Borgias, where he will play Cesare, the son of Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons) in the thirteen-episode series. (Hollywood Reporter)

Broadcasting & Cable's Alex Weprin has a rundown on the announcements made at yesterday's FX upfront presentation in New York. "I think it is important to talk about the originals in basic cable as a continuum, from the edgy, adult side of it, which we cornered the market with The Shield and Nip/Tuck, to the other end of the spectrum, which would include The Closer or White Collar," said Bruce Lefkowitz, executive VP of Fox Cable ad sales. "We are never going to be all the way to the right side, we are never going to do The Closer, because that is not what audiences come to FX for, but we have earned the right to move a little bit more to the right."(Broadcasting & Cable)

ITV has announced that Ciarán McMenamin, Alexander Siddig, and Ruth Kearney will join the cast of Primeval, which is being co-produced by ITV, UKTV, and BBC America. Hannah Spearritt, Andrew-Lee Potts, Ben Miller, and Ben Mansfield will reprise their roles on the sci-fi drama, which is set to launch in early 2011. (Digital Spy)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd offers a suggestion about why the ratings for FX's fantastic drama series Justified continue to slide each week: "My take is that the show was promoted with a serious dramatic tone, which matched its pilot, plus it felt like a serialized show. Subsequent episodes have felt lighter, more comedic, more procedural -- less FX and more USA." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Maura Tierney is set to return to television following her battle against breast cancer. The actress--who was originally part of the cast of NBC's Parenthood before having to drop out to seek medical treatment--will reprise her role as Kelly McPhee on FX's Rescue Me and is slated to film four episodes for the series' seventh season, set to air in 2011. (Variety)

Could Jane Alexander (Tell Me You Love Me) have played the mother of Joseph Fiennes' Mark Benford on ABC's FlashForward? TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck teases that Alexander would have played Granny Benford, according to Fiennes' co-star Sonya Walger, and that Alexander had been featured "in a doctored-up family portrait hung in the Benford home at the start of the season." (TV Guide Magazine)

ABC has announced that Canadian cop drama Rookie Blue (formerly known as Copper)--which stars Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Enuka Okuma and Travis Milne--will launch on Thursday, June 24th day and date with its Candian debut. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has acquired the US rights to Adrian Grenier's documentary Teenage Paparazzo, which focuses on 14-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk. (Variety)

Cartoon Network has ordered thirteen additional episodes of animated series Adventure Time. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Piercing the Veil: Dawning Recognition on Lost

"None of this is real." - Charlie

Imagine a world where you managed to achieve your heart's desire. Would you be questioning the nature of the universe around you? Or would you be so complacent that you'd be blinded to what's actually going on until cracks started to form in the seemingly perfect veneer of your existence?

It's the latter that has given the Lost-X (or "sideways" timeline) some of its heft this season on Lost as several of the characters have begun to feel an eerie sense of deja vu or a biting sense of frisson in which they seemed to realize, if only for a split-second, that something was "off" with the world and their place in it.

This week's magnificent episode of Lost ("Happily Ever After"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by Jack Bender, offered the biggest clues yet to the real function of the Lost-X timeline as Desmond was forcibly returned to the island to participate in Widmore's test, a test that would have serious consequences for every single living person in the world should he fail.

A lot of speculation has been made about just what the Lost-X timeline actually is, with many critics and viewers jumping on the bandwagon that is the epilogue for the entire series. I've never been one of those who believed in this theory and last night's episode went a long way to disproving it all together.

So what did I think of last night's episode? Grab yourself a glass of MacCutcheon, make your way to baggage carousel four, buckle your seatbelt, and let's discuss "Happily Ever After."

Personally, I thought that "Happily Ever After" was hands down the best episode of the season, even if it didn't feature many of the main cast members (other than Hurley, Jin, and Sayid, all very briefly). But what it offered was a new prism through which to see the sixth and final season and it placed a significant weight on just what was unfolding within the Lost-X timeline, pushing it and the main timeline closer together while making each of them vitally important.

The Lost-X timeline isn't the ending for Lost, nor is it just a way of revisiting relationships and characters we haven't seen in a while. It's the very crux of the entire season, the outcome of Jack and Co.'s efforts to detonate Jughead, and it's resulted in each of the characters having their consciousness split between these two realities.

The alternate timeline established when Juliet detonated the hydrogen bomb at the future site of the Swan is just as "real" as the mainstream one but it's a divergent timeline that I believe will require--as I've said several times before in the past--the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 to raise the island from the ocean floor and recork the bottle. This is a world where each of them has received their heart's desire but it's made them unable to see what's truly happening around them, making them little more than sleepwalkers in an eternal battle that they're blind to.

In other words: someone needs to wake them up.

While watching "Happily Ever After," I turned to my wife and said, "Des is Layla Miller?!?" with a chuckle. For those not in the know, Layla Miller is a comic book character introduced during Marvel Comics' "House of M" storyline a few years back. Without getting too sidetracked, here's the gist of the storyline: the Scarlet Witch, once one of Earth's mightiest heroes and a mutant wielding the power to warp reality, succumbed to madness and killed several of her teammates before disappearing with her father, the evil mutant Magneto.

The heroes banded together to deal with her but suddenly the world went white and they found themselves living in another world, where each of them had--aha!--been granted their heart's desire and where mutants ruled the world under the House of Magnus. But not everyone was happy in this seemingly idyllic paradise and eventually--thanks to young mutant Layla Miller--many of the heroes were "awakened" and realized that the world around them was fake, created by the Scarlet Witch to trap them and keep them docile. Layla had ripped through the veil separating their consciousness from the truth about the world and then set out to overthrow the House of M and return the world to the way it was meant to be. Of course, there was a price to be paid...

The sixth season of Lost would seem to owe a debt to "House of M," whose themes and narrative devices Lost has cribbed from a bit this year, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Desmond would seem to be cast in the role of Layla Miller, someone whose main purpose is to remove the heroes' blinders and grant them the ability to recognize that their world is inherently wrong and not meant to be. Each of them has already experienced moments where they realized this on a subconscious level but there's a difference between a second of realization and full-blown recognition. That's where Desmond comes in.

Desmond, after all, had survived--as Charles Widmore puts it--a cataclysmic electromagnetic incident that rendered him able to shift his consciousness to other timelines. We saw evidence of this in "Flashes Before Your Eyes," where Desmond visited an alternate reality and attempted to change his fate, before Eloise Hawking intervened and pushed the timeline back into place. Given that he's already been charged with subatomic particles, he's the ideal candidate to deliver a message to the other timeline.

This supposes several things. One, that Widmore has known all along that Desmond activated the failsafe in the Swan Station and experienced an electromagnetic incident. (Check.) Two, that Widmore also knows about the existence of the alternate timeline and that the Incident split time into two streams, one of which is the current mainstream reality and the other in which the island doesn't exist. Three, that recreating the incident could transfer Desmond's consciousness into the other timeline or give him a multi-dimensional awareness (much like Juliet possibly experienced at the bottom of the Swan shaft). Four, that it's possible to bring these divergent timelines back together again somehow or that there's a way to safeguard their own reality by tweaking things in the Lost-X world.

Invisible threads of fate bind each of the Oceanic Flight 815 passengers together and their paths continue to cross as they are forced back together in an act of course correction. While their flight never crashed on the island, these individuals are still of vital significance to the island, which hasn't finished with them yet. (Or started, one could argue.) Everyone who set foot on the island in the mainstream reality--from Daniel Faraday to Charles Widmore and Eloise Hawking--will need to band together to change the world, to cast off the illusion that this world is the right one, and sacrifice their own happiness in order to put things right. The cracks are growing bigger...

Desmond. Given the importance of Desmond in the overarching mythology of the series, it was only fitting that his first episode back would been entirely Desmond-centric. Returning to the island by way of Charles Widmore's, er, undersea hospitality, Desmond is the subject of a crucial test ordered by Widmore to test his resilience in the face of an enormous electromagnetic energy wave that would fire any lesser man. (Though I do wonder if they should have attempted to test it first on the bunny Angstrom, named for the physicist whose moniker is used to to measure "lengths on a scale of the wavelength of light or interatomic spacings in condensed matter.") Instead, Widmore orders Zoe and Seamus to conduct the test on Desmond straightaway.

But that's not before Desmond attacks Widmore. I mean, if your supposedly evil and estranged father-in-law kidnapped you, tearing you away from your wife and son, and brought you back to a place of unspeakable torment from which you had only fairly recently escaped, you'd be pretty angry too. But if we see Widmore not as pure evil but rather a man for whom the ends justify the means, much of his actions throughout the series can be perceived as acting to protect the island, particularly if he knew that Ben would be the one to kill Jacob and therefore allow the Man in Black to potentially escape his prison via a loophole.

Widmore tells Desmond that he'll have to make a sacrifice in order to save the entire world, a fact that Desmond finds ironic as Widmore has never had to sacrifice anything in his entire life. But not so: he willingly gave up his relationship with his daughter Penny, allowed his son (Daniel Faraday) to die on the island, and has never even met grandson Charlie. Everything he's done has been in service to the island.

The Mission. Desmond, of course, does survive the solenoid dosing (though does experience burns over his body, indicating that he doesn't quite come through the test unscathed) and now understands his mission on the island. His sudden docile nature and willingness to work together is vastly at odds with his behavior before the test (given the fact that he attempted to bludgeon Widmore with an IV stand). Just what does he "understand"? His actions inside the solenoid chamber would seem to point toward the fact that he is aware of the other timeline (his hand is raised here, just as it was in the Lost-X timeline) and knows that he must do something involving the two divergent realities. But what?

While he's ready to get to work with Widmore and his team, Desmond is also all too willing to along with Sayid when the assassin shows up, kills his escorts, and demands that Desmond comes with him. But why exactly? Was that his mission all along? To make his way to the Man in Black? The way that Desmond just says "Of course, lead the way," either points to that fact or to Desmond having some knowledge of what's to come in the days ahead.

But perhaps it doesn't physically matter where "our" Desmond is because half of the mission has already been started: Lost-X Desmond will begin to gather the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 and wake them from their slumber. Things are already in motion.

Lost-X Desmond. While some might wonder just why--if Desmond got what he always wanted (or thought he always wanted)--that he's been split up from Penny, that's not really his heart's desire. What Des has always longed for is the approval of the one man who would never give it: Charles Widmore. In this reality, Desmond is an unattached single man whose entire life revolves around his career and his job working for Widmore, here happily ensconced in an office in Los Angeles with a stash of MacCutcheon whiskey and a provocative painting of scales (symbol alert!); he's also married to Eloise and his son, Daniel, is a classical pianist. Eloise is hosting an event and Desmond is sent on a mission to ensure that Charlie Pace, about to be released from jail after his suicide attempt, is at the concert to perform with Daniel.

And that's when things start to go wrong, or right depending on your point of view. Charlie, in the moments before death, experienced a shift of consciousness that displayed another reality, one in which he was in love with Claire Littleton. (In fact, it would seem that the main thrust of the entire series is love, actually.) He wants to show Desmond something, proof that their lives are wrong and that their world is a lie. He seizes control of Desmond's car and drives it into the ocean (in fact, right near the dock where Desmond had been living with Penny and Charlie). Under the water, Desmond attempts to save Charlie (echoes of Season Three) and has a vision of a similar incident in which Charlie pressed his hand against the glass of the Looking Glass Station (another instance of a looking glass, in fact!) and Desmond read the words, "Not Penny's Boat."

While Desmond was unable to save Charlie in the mainstream reality, here he successfully rescues him from drowning and the incident forces a switch to be flipped inside his brain, a switch that's all the more potently felt when Desmond undergoes his own test in this reality, an MRI at the hospital. An MRI, after all, is an example of magnetic resonance imaging, in which a "powerful magnetic field [is used] to align the nuclear magnetization of (usually) hydrogen atoms in water in the body." Or succinctly: more magnets, which allows Desmond's consciousness to connect to the other reality and send back images of Penny. Unable to withstand the mental onslaught, he pushes the button (dun-dun-dun) and demands to see Charlie... who is attempting to flee the hospital.

Charlie does give Desmond an important piece of information, telling him that none of this is real and that he has to find Penny. His first clue comes when he goes to tell Eloise that Charlie won't be appearing at the event. But she's eerily calm about it, despite George Minkowski--here Desmond's driver in this reality--warning him about her temper. But Eloise just shrugs it off, offering yet another example of that old Lost adage, "whatever happened, happened." Which made me wonder: did Eloise already know that Charlie wouldn't be turning up? And how much is she aware of the chasm between the realities?

The answer to the second question would appear to be answered somewhat by the heated exchange between Eloise and Desmond when he asks to see the guest list after hearing the name Penny Milton. (Why does Penny have a different last name than Charles despite being his daughter? Because he is still married to Eloise and never married Penny's mother. And, yes, Milton would clearly seem to be a reference to "Paradise Lost" author John Milton, a title that seems to offer a sharp foreboding about what's to come in the Lost-X world.) Whereas Charlie spurred Desmond on to find Penny, Eloise seems to be against it, saying that it is a "violation" and that he's "not ready yet." Hmmm...

Lost-X Eloise. It's interesting that the more Eloise protests, the more Desmond believes in the righteousness of his mission. But whereas Eloise offered a course-correction previously, here her hands seem to be tied and the use of the world "violation" seems particularly meaningful. Why is Desmond not ready to be enlightened about the truth of their world? If Eloise is once again aware of the divergent realities, why does she seek to prevent Desmond from seeing Penny? Or is it just that Eloise knows that Desmond will eventually meet Penny--that he has to in this universe as well--but that things are now unfolding not in the proper sequence or timeframe? Curious. I would have thought that this Eloise would have wanted things to course-correct, even if it means losing Daniel all over again...

Lost-X Daniel. Loved that we got a glimpse of Daniel Faraday, much missed this season. Here, Daniel too has achieved his heart's desire as he got to follow his chosen path to become a concert pianist rather than a physicist. Though he's plagued by a sense of deja vu, experiencing an otherworldly attraction to Charlotte Staples Lewis when he spies her in the museum, and an inexplicable talent at advanced quantum mechanics, something he couldn't have done had he not studied physics for years. Nice callback with the notebook, where this Daniel made a chart that included an axis that read real space, imaginary time. He believes that they changed things and that somehow, somewhere, he had detonated a nuclear device and altered reality. He tells Desmond that Penny is his half-sister and enables him to find her. Despite Eloise's efforts to keep the two apart, it's her own son that pushes Desmond and Penny together. Could it be that the universe is course-correcting, even without Eloise's influence? (Also loved the reflection of Daniel in Desmond's car window, another example of a looking glass.)

Lost-X Desmond and Penny. Desmond, of course, does come face to face with Penny, as she is runs up and down the stairs at the stadium, the same one where in the mainstream reality Desmond met Jack for the first time. Penny herself has a moment of deja vu upon meeting Desmond but his consciousness flashes over to the island when they actually touch, a moment of profound connection that bridges the chasm between the two realities. (We see this as Desmond wakes up, still apparently shaking Penny's hand.) The incident spurs Desmond to ask Minkowski to track down the passenger manifest for Oceanic Flight 815. Why? Because Desmond will begin to track down each of them and "awaken" their true consciousness, granting each of them the ability to become aware of the other world.

Which would put them on the path of putting the world right again--bringing the island back to the surface--in order to recork the bottle and get the genie (the Man in Black) back in his prison. But to do so, they'll have to sacrifice everything they hold dear in this world in order to chose a world that's more flawed--if proper--than their own. Yes, each of them will be faced with the choice to leave Eden behind in order to do the noble thing and each will be judged accordingly.

Would you give up a chance at love to put the world right again? If you got your heart's desire, could you turn your back on it? Is ignorance bliss or just blindness? With only five episodes remaining before the series finale of Lost, I think we're about to see things get increasingly dark as lives will be lost, alliances broken, and sacrifices made. If last night's episode is any indication of the road ahead, I dare say that we're in for quite a ride.

What did you think of this week's episode? Agree or disagree with the above theories? Were you struck by the similarities to "House of M"? Got predictions on just what will happen next? Head to the comments to discuss.

Next week on Lost ("Everybody Loves Hugo"), Hurley agonizes over what the group should do next, while Locke is curious about the new arrival to his camp.

The Masterclass Returns: Top Chef Masters Premieres Tonight on Bravo

Get your knives ready: Top Chef Masters returns tonight with a brand-new season of culinary competition, extreme criticism, and put-upon expressions as another batch of 22 master chefs (including some familiar faces, six in number, who get another shot) return to the Top Chef kitchen to compete for charity.

Be sure to stay up for tonight's fantastic season premiere of Top Chef Masters ("First Date Dinners"), airing at 11 pm ET/PT (don't worry: the series relocates to 10 pm next week), in which six master chefs--Ana Sortun, Govind Armstrong, Jerry Traunfeld, Jimmy Bradley, Susan Feniger, and Tony Mantuano--are put through their paces with a Quickfire and Elimination Challenge that will test their conceptual, execution, and time management skills while putting a charitable donation--and the ability to advance to the next round--on the line.

The competition has always been fierce on Top Chef--the forebear of this series which instead features up-and-coming chefs looking for restaurant seed money--but, given the high-profile that these master chefs have, there's even more pressure to prove themselves.

I don't want to say too much about tonight's episode, other than the fact that it's the perfect introduction to the series if you missed the first season of Top Chef Masters while also offering the requisite level of skill and drama that we've come to know and love, as well as astute--if sometimes biting--criticisms from the table of critics assembled here, including James Oseland, Gael Greene, Gail Simmons, and Jay Rayner. (Simmons isn't in tonight's episode, which I previewed, but I imagine that she'll appear in the rotation at some point down the line.)

While the six chefs entering this first round include some very well-known chefs--including Los Angeles' Susan Feniger (of Street) and Govind Armstrong (of 8 oz. Burger and formerly Table 8)--they find themselves thrown into the deep end just as much as the junior competitors on the regular Top Chef series, as they are forced to recreate one of the trickiest Quickfire Challenges (where all of the ingredients must come from a gas station convenience store) and prepare a dish for couples on their first date.

There is a catch and it's a big one: these masters are paired off at random in tonight's episode and will win or fail as a single unit, with two of them advancing to the next round. Given that these are giants of the culinary world, it's pretty big task to have them work together and have to succeed as a team rather than individuals. On the one hand, I admire the series' producers for forcing them into even more uncomfortable waters but I also can't help but wonder just how each of them would have performed solo with these tasks, given their skill sets and experience levels.

Still, that's the only complaint I have about a season premiere that's completely captivating and engaging. One chef makes a blunder of a comment about having to work with another chef and is forced to eat his words later when he sees what a great collaborator she is, making him perhaps question his earlier snap judgment. It's moments like that that allow Top Chef Masters to not place these culinary gods on pedestals but instead force them to get their hands dirty with the rest of the mortals. And if they learn something about themselves and their fellow chefs, so much the better.

Me, I just can't wait to see what they cook up next as I'll be making a reservation for this delicious culinary competition series each week.


Top Chef Masters premieres tonight at 11 pm ET/PT before moving into its regular timeslot of 10 pm next week.

Los Angeles Times: "V: A Call to Arms"

Looking to discuss last night's episode of ABC's V?

Head over to the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site, where you can read my take on last night's episode ("A Pound of Flesh"), entitled "V: A Call to Arms."

I'm curious to know what you thought of the episode. Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on V ("John May"), Erica, Ryan and Jack go on a harrowing mission to find the legendary John May in order to rescue Georgie; Anna brings Chad aboard the Mothership for a story on her Live Aboard Program; Tyler confronts his mom about his mysterious past.

Channel Surfing: AMC's Walking Dead Grabs Andrew Lincoln, Yvonne Strahovski Talks Chuck, True Blood, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Looks like The Walking Dead has grabbed its lead (and fortunately not feasted on his brain): British actor Andrew Lincoln (Teachers, This Life, Love Actually) has been cast as Rick Grimes in AMC and Frank Darabont's adaptation of Robert Kirkman zombie comic series, which has been ordered for six episode. Series, which is set to launch in October, will revolve around a group of human survivors who attempt to find a place to live after a global apocalypse renders the majority of the planet's population into zombies. Lincoln will star opposite Jon Bernthal, who plays his police partner, Shane. Meanwhile, Sons of Anarchy's Jack LoGiudice has come aboard the series as a co-executive producer. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a brand-new interview with Chuck's Yvonne Strahovski, in which they discuss the major plot twist that occurred in this week's episode and what's coming up on the next six episodes. "It's a different feel," said Strahovski about the next pod of episodes. "I think for my character, she's always sort of been abnormal -- she's always been a spy and she doesn't really know how to live a non-spy life. I think Chuck has taught her over the seasons how to sort of be more normal. I think she relaxes somewhat and she doesn't hold her feelings in so much. It's definitely an interesting journey for my character and it's definitely a lot of fun to play that, when they're together. It's kind of a release." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Lauren Bowles (Old Christine) has been cast in a recurring role on HBO's True Blood, which returns this summer for its third season. Bowles will play Holly, described as "an oddly prescient single mom who gets hired as a waitress at Sam’s watering hole." While Bowles will recur in the third season, she could return as a series regular for Season Four of True Blood. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that Jack Black's Electric Dynamite shingle has signed an exclusive production deal with Reveille as it expands into the arena of television and that Priyanka Mattoo will over the shingle's television business, which will be based at Reveille's offices. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

FOX is getting into the music game as it prepares to launch a week of music-themed programming that it has dubbed Fox Rocks during the beginning of May sweeps. Among the offerings: a duet between Booth and Brennan on Bones, a fairy tale episode of Fringe featuring songs performed by Anna Torv and Lance Reddick, an appearance from Olivia Newton-John on the May 4th episode of Glee, a musical couch gag on The Simpsons featuring Ke$ha’s "TiK ToK," and more. (via press release)

American Chopper is heading back to TLC. The cabler has made a deal with the series' Teutul family--all of them, in fact--to appear in a resurrected version of American Chopper that will be announced later this week at TLC's upfront presentation (Hollywood Reporter)

House's Nurse Jeffrey (Patrick Price) will get his own spinoff of sorts in the form of a iPhone application called inHOUSE, which will feature Jeffrey in a series of "appisodes" beginning May 24th, which according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, "will feature an Upstairs, Downstairs style of storytelling and explore the world of Princeton Plainsboro that exists beyond Dr. Crankypants and Co." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Hollywood Reporter has a recap of last night's White Collar panel at the Paley Center, where creator Jeff Eastin and cast members Matthew Bomer, Tim DeKay, Willie Garson, and Tiffani Thiessen. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Channel has found its celebrities for its upcoming Curb: The Discussion series, which will follow each episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm when it launches in June. Among the actors who will watch each episode and then discuss the ethical issues that it brings up: Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Hamm, Seth Green, Dave Navarro, Dr. Drew Pinsky, and Hill Harper. Susie Essman will serve as a moderator. (via press release)

BET has given a pilot order to comedy Let's Stay Together, from writer Jacque Edmonds Cofer and director Henry Chan. Project, which stars Malinda Williams, Bert Belasco, Joyful Drake, RonReaco Lee, and Erica Hubberd, revolves around an engaged couple--pediatrician Stacy (Williams) and contractor Charles (Belasco)--who try to "blend their successful, independent 21st century lives into a traditional 20th century marriage." (Hollywood Reporter)

Warner Bros. Television has promoted Melinda Hage to EVP of current programming. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Stay tuned.

Paris, Je T'Aime: Happy Endings on Chuck

On a series that's as fraught with peril as Chuck is each week, the possibility of happiness seems particularly short-lived, if it's ever in fact within any of the characters' grasp to begin with.

Yet, on this week's episode of Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Other Guy"), written by Chris Fedak and directed by Peter Lauer, our main characters all seemed to get exactly what they wanted most, a nice change of pace for a season that's been shrouded in a fair amount of darkness and emotional injury.

It's worth noting that last night's episode was intended to be the season finale for Season Three of Chuck, rather than just a plot-intensive installment. The fact that the writers sought to give several of our spies the thing they've been striving for most was a nice touch that would have ended the season on a hell of a high, while setting up some new dynamics should the series have been renewed.

But instead, we have six more episodes of Chuck to look forward to this season and I'm extremely curious to see just how Fedak and Co. use their momentum going into this next pod to deliver an arc that's either tangentially related to what we've seen so far this season or completely separate... and whether they can recreate the magic of "Chuck Versus the Other Guy" for the actual season finale.

So what did I think of this week's non-season finale? Let's discuss.

Short answer: I loved it for a number of reasons.

This week's installment sought to clear the decks a bit and offer some resolutions to a few storylines, most notably the star-crossed romance between Chuck and Sarah, Casey's suspension from the NSA, the murder of Shaw's wife and his need for revenge, and The Ring itself, seemingly.

Given that the writers believed that they only had thirteen episodes to work with, some things were a little rushed this season with Shaw and Sarah's oddly chemistry-free relationship being one of them, as well as the true nature of The Ring. While we met The Director (Mark Sheppard) last week and got to see him here again, I don't really feel like we have a sense of what The Ring was really after or why they were such a horrific threat, really. They never really quite gelled in the way that Fulcrum did in Season Two, though they followed a similar modus operandi and were another evil splinter group who had co-opted the intelligence agencies and were looking to construct their own Intersect. But other than that, I never really found them to be all that interesting, especially in recent weeks, when they seemed to be pulling Shaw's strings and using the murder of his wife to get him to their side.

But that's a minor quibble in an episode and a season that finally has given fans what they've been waiting for: Chuck and Sarah finally telling each other that they not only love one another but, now on equal footing, actually entering into a full-blown relationship. Sarah's concern this season has been that Chuck has inherently changed from the guy that she first fell in love with, that his murder of Perry during his red test has inexorably changed him and not for the better, but Chuck had an opportunity to prove this week that, while he may have gained some skills, he's still the same old Chuck.

There was a nice juxtaposition in the episode between Chuck's first attempt to save Sarah--aided by Colonel Sanders (heh) and an entire squadron of armed men, tanks, and stealth bombers--and his actual, single-handed efforts to rescue Sarah in Paris, where she had been drugged by Shaw and was about to be thrown into the Seine as payback for murdering Eve. Sarah had been concerned that a Chuck who could kill wasn't really Chuck at all but he disproved that once and for all this week, proving that he could kill if it was necessary to save someone's life and he makes the decision to kill Shaw, not out of cold-blood, but out of the need to save Sarah's life. (It does, after all, balance the scales, somewhat.)

While I initially liked Brandon Routh's Daniel Shaw (especially after we learned of its tragic past), he's definitely irked in recent weeks and I can't say that I am sad to see him go, particularly in such a (potentially) final and irreversible way. His need for vengeance, to exact a form of Biblical justice to pay back whoever was responsible for Eve's death, eventually consumed him from within. His seeming lack of emotion was, according to Beckman, what made him the consummate spy, so it was only fitting that he would be a victim of his own deep-seated anger. Hell, even in death, he seeks to destroy Sarah.

Showing the lengths he was willing to go to for revenge, Shaw didn't even try to kill Sarah when he first learned that it was she who killed Eve but instead set up an entire false break-in at The Ring HQ (severely under-guarded, suspiciously) and then lured her to Paris to reenact Eve's death with her as the victim this time. Shaw, in other words, has been so corrupted by his grief and his rage that he's willing to sell out everything in the name of revenge: his country, his girlfriend, and his own moral compass. (Though, I will give Shaw some credit in that he didn't sell out Chuck or tell The Ring that he was the Intersect.)

I loved that Shaw's subterfuge was discovered not by Chuck or Sarah (though Sarah realizes something's up when she experiences an eerie sense of deja vu when she arrives at the site of her red test) but by Morgan, finally proving his sense of worth to Operation Bartowski, thanks to his knowledge of kung fu movies and bad fight choreography. (I knew Morgan's esoteric knowledge would come in handy one day.) While Morgan's attempt to quit the Buy More were extremely premature, I was glad to see that he was taking his role as Chuck's assistant seriously (perhaps a but too seriously) and was making a huge life-change in order to fulfill his own dreams. Loved that Beckman called Morgan up personally at the end to offer him the job, with the understanding that he'd stay on at the Buy More as a cover. (Huzzah!)

Casey, meanwhile, ably assisted Chuck in Paris and successfully bartered The Director for his old job and rank back (as well as Morgan's job), managing to apply some pressure on Beckman. Casey's toothlessness the last few weeks, in the wake of his status as a civilian, is finally reverse. Whereas earlier he gave Chuck the means of "rescuing" Sarah from the warehouse with a phone number, he later breaks protocol to fly--coach, no less--with Chuck to Paris to help him save the life of the woman he loves. (Could it be that Casey's secretly a romantic at heart? Hells yes.)

We all knew that it was only a matter of time before our spy trio was reunited in the field but it still made for great drama to see Casey attempt to adjust to life as a civilian (he hits rock bottom once Jeff and Lester offer to make him a member of their crew) and then manage to regain what he loves best: his duty to his country. I can't wait to see Chuck, Sarah, and Casey back together again, this time with the addition of Morgan as the clueless newbie, taking over Chuck's role from Season One.

Then there was Chuck and Sarah themselves, who were finally able to tell one another how they felt. I loved the scene on the floor of Chuck's apartment--with Chuck in boxers and holding a Guitar Hero plastic guitar--as Sarah admitted that she's always been in love with him and was afraid of him losing the essential qualities that make him who he is. Hell, I would have been happy with the kiss they shared then but the final scene between the two in Paris, as Sarah regains consciousness and realizes that Chuck killed Shaw to save her life, was the icing on the cake. I loved the passion and honesty of their kiss, that lone Converse peeking out of the duvet, and the shot through the window of their hotel room.

Looks like Chuck Bartowski not only finally got to see the Eiffel Tower but he finally got everything he always wanted as well: the girl of his dreams and the gig to match. He's now a full-fledged spy and on an equal plane as Sarah Walker herself. Only fitting that they would break the connection with General Beckman and finally focus on each other. Aw, young love.

What else did I love about this episode? Chuck tying up Morgan; the knife fight between Chuck and Shaw at the French cafe; the Pretty in Pink reference; Colonel Sanders; Beckman's reluctant call to Morgan and his confusion with sir/ma'am; Casey stuck between Chuck and a stranger on the flight to Paris; Chuck turning up at precisely the right time in Paris and having to use--not his Intersect-derived abilities--but his own smarts (and shooting skills); a request for a new Crown Vic; and, of course, that final scene of Chuck and Sarah in bed together, along with Sarah's "shut up and kiss me" line.

In other words: a happy ending, not just for Chuck and Sarah, but for all of us watching at home. And the best bit is that it's not an "ending" at all: with another six episodes to go this season, we'll be able to see just how these latest plot twists play out on screen before Chuck wraps up its third season... and very hopefully returns for a fourth next season.

What did you think of this week's non-season finale? Was it everything you hoped for? Happy to see the back of Shaw? Thrilled that Chuck and Sarah finally got it together? What do you think will happen in the next six episodes? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Chuck returns in three weeks with "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners," in which Chuck and Sarah discover they are aboard the same train as notorious Basque terrorist Juan Diaz Arnaldo.

Clarity in Darkness: Secrets and Lies on Damages

This week's episode of Damages ("All That Crap About Your Family"), written by Daniel Zelman and directed by Matthew Penn, found each of the characters grappling with the truth, whether that be a personal discovery, a bitter confrontation, a shocking confession, or the decision to withhold information from a loved one. The latter offered one of the most shocking moments in this week's installment, a pivotal turning point for a supporting character who seemed to be far more benevolent than they actually are.

Additionally, we learned the truth about what happened that Thanksgiving night and how the smallest of moments can have a ripple effect on everyone around them. Louis Tobin's decision to entrust his fortune's future to Tessa Marchetti hasn't quite panned out the way he thought it would. Trust is, after all, a funny thing.

The same holds true for Ellen and Patty. Their relationship this season has become something akin to friendship but that rapport would seem to be shattered this week as Patty casts everyone and everything away from her, rendering herself alone and paranoid. It seems the walls haven't quite been pulled down around her yet.

So what did I think of this week's episode? Let's discuss.

I'm all too willing to admit that I was wrong about Ellen's parentage. My theory that Ellen was the mysterious Annie's daughter and was somehow connected to the Arlington car crash that involved Arthur Frobisher turned out to be a non-starter. (Alas, that the risk you take with cockeyed theories.) This week's episode picked up where we left off last week, with Ellen heading 100 miles out of Manhattan to come face to face with the woman who had begun to crop up in her dreams. Was it her birth mother? Was she adopted? Was is the bond that exists between them?

Last night's installment once again didn't feature any of the future-set timeframe, leaving the events that we've been glimpsing so far this season all the more tantalizingly out of reach. Instead, the episode focused both on the past--Ellen's, Louis Tobin's, and Frobisher's--and on the the present, where things are beginning to build to a head. While Damages often features a pretty high body count, I didn't quite expect two characters to get killed this week, roughly 30 seconds apart. Especially when one of them was such a crucial witness in the Tobin case.

But that's the high-stakes world that Damages has set up: everyone is expendable and everyone is in jeopardy. Given that we know that Tom is murdered, Patty involved in a near-fatal collision, and Ellen absolutely terrified, it seems as though the noose of danger is about to tighten around all of their throats.

Ellen. Hoping to discover the truth about her past, Ellen traveled to see Anne Connell but was shocked to learn that reality is often more complicated than fantasy. She isn't Annie's birth daughter but is a Parsons by birth who was nearly adopted by Annie when she was about five years old. That she can't rewrite her family history seems to strike a chord with Ellen; she's immediately cut deeply by the fact that her mother nearly gave her up but changed her mind... and that things had apparently gotten so awful with her father that she had been sent away to live with someone else. Which made me wonder: was Carrie sent away too? Or was she kept close by her mother, a victim to their father's erratic mood swings and violent temper?

Ellen, meanwhile, returns to the city to discover that she's been sold out at work and that she's going to have to take the fall for Tom's impatient and unwise contact with Tessa. Her conversation with a drunk Patty is a sad and solemn scene as Patty rails against Ellen while her former protege stands there silently. I thought that it was a testament to her friendship with Tom that she doesn't tell Patty the truth but instead endures Patty's abuse and then walks out.

As for what Patty tells her--that she wanted to impress Gates at her expense, that she's ambitious, a "climber" and "parasite," and that she's ruthless--I found it ironic that those are all things that anyone could say about Patty Hewes herself. Was the teacher aware of just how much the student had learned at her feet? Or was the speech also directed at herself in some way? A symbol of her own self-loathing? Still, it cut like a knife when Patty told Ellen, "I want you out of my life."

I was glad to see David (Noah Bean) turn up in this week's episode as Ellen wandered aimlessly through the city after being placed on an indefinite leave from work. (I can't say I blame Gates for his decision and his anger at Ellen but he's just so bad at playing the game and seeing the bigger picture that I want him to fail.) The scene between Ellen and the ghostly David was a nice callback to the earlier seasons of Damages and their relationship a reminder of a simpler, happier time.

But David also has a message for her, one that Ellen has carried around for some time but hasn't come to terms with: she needs to make a decision regarding Patty. If she wants to work for her again, she should go do that. And if she doesn't, she needs to put Patty behind her and really move on. To put the past behind her and step into tomorrow. But it's hard when she's literally carrying baggage--that Chanel bag--with her everywhere she goes...

Patty. The strain of the last few months has clearly gotten to Patty. The once supremely composed and icy-cold litigator has become a vulnerable mess, the exact type of person that she hates above all else. Pressure from the plaintiffs, the judge, the D.A., the Tobins, etc. have all led her to a place of extreme paranoia, where she believes everyone is out to get her. It's Patty's Atlas-like burden to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders while everyone else is sniping at her and looking to drag her down.

David's words to Ellen are true about her similarities to Patty: they do both hate bullies and her sense of betrayal at the hands of Ellen isn't just about the fact that she (wrongly) believes Ellen's behaviors have jeopardized the case but she's fractured the one relationship built on respect that still exists in her life. She certainly doesn't have that with Tom. She holds him to a level of responsibility that would have made anyone else quit years ago. His decision to come clean to Patty--though he does leave out the fact that he's a Tobin victim--and his confrontation of her (loved the bit where he asked her if she's ever lied to him) points towards his eventual resignation from the firm. And it hits Patty like another blow to the gut, feeding into her paranoia about Ellen. ("The two of you were strategizing behind my back?")

Earlier this season, Patty sought to replace Ellen by hiring Alex Benjamin. Alex seemed to be the perfect candidate for Patty: ambitious, devoted, devoid of a personal life, she was tailor-made to be Patty's right-hand woman. Or at least on paper. Here, she's a step ahead of Patty, making suggestions about bank account routing numbers, charities, etc. But she lacks a certain je ne sais quoi... In other words, she's not Ellen. It was only a matter of time before Patty realized that herself... and this week took matters in her own hands and fired Alex on the spot as she recalled her conversation with Ellen about her new associate. Au revoir, Alex.

Frobisher. While still completely separate from the overarching storyline, I have to say that I'm loving the return of Ted Danson here as Arthur Frobisher, particularly as the feature film version of his life is getting workshopped, filtering the tenseness of Damages' first season into a bizarro funhouse mirror.

Loved that Katie Finneran (Wonderfalls) was cast as the way-too-young actress playing Patty Hewes and that Frobisher was so willing to sell out the memory of his alleged friend Ray Fiske that he spills the fact that Fiske was secretly gay to the (awful) actor playing him with a way-too-prominent Southern drawl. The story has become so "Hollywoodized" that it's almost impossible to connect it to the viciousness of Frobisher and Patty's battle.

But it's Frobisher's constant need for approval that leads him to make a stunning confession to Terry, in which he recounts his darkest moment (his decision to murder David) after recreating the hooker-and-blow scene from the first season, a case of art imitating life. (Or vice versa.) Are we seeing the return of darkness in Arthur Frobisher? Has he ever actually been redeemed or has it been a smoke and mirrors act to convince himself that he's not pure, unadulterated evil?

Boots. I wondered why Leonard Winstone was so keen to throw out Louis Tobin's boots from Danielle Marchetti's house. The claim was to prevent anyone from learning about the affair between Louis and Danielle but that's the furthest thing from the truth. Instead, the monogrammed boots had been worked on by Zedeck and represented a link between the Tobins and Zedeck, something that had to be eliminated and covered up.

We learned this week that Louis and Tessa were both at Danielle's place on Thanksgiving Day and that Zedeck stopped by to return the boots that his cobbler had repaired. While Leonard believed getting rid of the boots was a smart move, the link between Zedeck and the Tobins, and therefore the charity and the Tobins, has yet to be discovered. Hmmm...

Tessa. Likewise, we learned that Louis Tobin, surprised by how quickly the government was moving, confessed his crimes to Danielle and turned to Tessa for help. Believing that he could trust her--given that she was family--he used her as the courier to move the funds down into the Bank of Antigua but didn't give her all of the facts, making her think that she was signing one of her forms for a charitable organization. An organization that was, in fact, acting as a shield for the fraud itself.

Patty wisely assigned Malcolm to protect Tessa and her down to Antigua, where she would smuggle out the third form and deliver it to Patty and Tom, who would then know the identity of the charity that the Tobins were using to conceal their fortune. But it was not to be. Given that the Tobins already had Emmanuel in their pocket, he was only too willing to alert them to the fact that Tessa had shown up in Antigua... and Joe and Marilyn were only too willing to sacrifice Tessa to keep their secret safe.

And that's where things really got tricky. Those of you who guessed that Tessa was actually Joe's daughter, give yourself a pat on the back. It turns out that everyone has been lying to Joe for decades, concealing the fact that he had a daughter with Danielle Marchetti... and once he learned about Tessa's existence, her parentage was still concealed from him. When he gives the order to have Tessa killed, I was shocked because it seemed to point at the fact that Joe was a soulless bastard willing to murder his own child. But it's not Joe who's pulling the strings here: it's Marilyn, who is whispering lies into her son's ears. She never tells him of Tessa's true identity, instead making him believe that he is having his illegitimate sister executed in order to keep his "real" family safe.

Not so. Joe has just ordered the murder of his own daughter, a brutal act that sends a bullet through her face and ends her life down in Antigua. Will he ever learn the truth about Tessa? And is this the act that finally sends Leonard over the edge and into an alliance with Tom?

What did you think of these week's episode? Surprised by the reveal about Tessa? Freaked out that Marilyn would appear to be absolutely evil through and through? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Damages ("You Were His Little Monkey"), Patty is under pressure to make progress in the Tobin case; Ellen uncovers new evidence about Louis Tobin's death; Tom makes a fateful alliance after his marriage and career falls apart.

Channel Surfing: Paula Malcomson to Sons of Anarchy, Seth Gabel Lands Fringe, Chris Fedak Talks Chuck, Star Wars, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Paula Malcomson (Caprica) has been cast in an eight-episode story arc on Season Three of FX's Sons of Anarchy, where she will play a character named Maureen. Sons of Anarchy is expected to return to FX's lineup in September, with production slated to begin in roughly three weeks' time. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Seth Gabel (Dirty Sexy Money) has joined the cast of FOX's Fringe. Gabel will play the lead Fringe Division investigator in the alternate universe and is slated to make his first appearance during the season's two-part finale, airing May 13th and 20th, and could, according to Ausiello, also recur next season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The second half of Maureen Ryan's mammoth interview with Chuck co-creator Chris Fedak is now live at The Chicago Tribune. In this section, they talk about the plot twists from last night's episode--originally planned as the season finale--and what else is coming up on the next six episodes. "We looked at the 13 episodes as going from the low point of Chuck and Sarah’s relationship – that his decision to be a spy [potentially would] fundamentally change who she thinks he is, [going] to the point in Episode 13 that Chuck, even though now he is a spy and now a hero and can do amazing things, he’s still the same guy," Fedak told Ryan. "At the core of Chuck, he is still the guy that she originally fell in love with." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Lucasfilm is developing another Star Wars series but--shocker!--this time it's as an animated comedy. No network is currently attached to the project, nor is there an episodic count yet. Project will be written by Brendan Hay, with Seth Green and Matthew Senriech--of Robot Chicken fame--serving as consultants on the project, which will be directed by Todd Grimes and produced by Jennifer Hill and which will "look at the saga's characters with a playful and irreverent tone." (Variety)

Sharon Lawrence (Curb Your Enthusiasm) has been cast in Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller's CBS comedy pilot Hitched, where she will play the prim and nosy mother of Kristin Kreuk's Rachel, who has recently gotten married. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has pulled comedy Sons of Tucson from its schedule, effective immediately, and will burn off remaining episodes of the low-rated series this summer beginning June 6th. Network will fill the Sundays at 9:30 pm ET/PT slot with American Dad. Additionally, FOX confirmed that the series finale of 'Til Death will air on Sunday, June 20th. (Variety)

ABC has given a series order to game show Downfall, from FremantleMedia North America, in which contestants must answer trivia questions while perched on the top of a skyscraper, from which their winnings could be thrown off of if they lose. Project, which has been received an unknown episode commitment, will be executive produced by Scott St. John. (Hollywood Reporter)

Southland producers are still in the dark about the fate of the TNT cop drama series. "The actors are on hold and there's a cutoff date in June by which they have to be notified," producer Christopher Chulack told Variety. "We're hoping for a decision in mid-to-late April." [Editor: fingers crossed.] (Variety)

NBC has ordered second seasons of its three newest reality series offerings, The Marriage Ref, Minute to Win It, and Who Do You Think You Are, all of which will return at some point during the 2010-11 season with Ref getting a 13-episode pickup while the latter two have been renewed for ten episodes apiece. (Variety)

Elsewhere, the Peacock has cut back on its commitment to freshman medical drama Trauma, which will now only produce 18 installments this season rather than the previously announced 20 episodes. Trauma will wrap its season on Monday, April 16th as a result. (Futon Critic)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks to V stars Scott Wolf and Laura Vandervoort about what's coming up on the ABC sci-fi series, which returned last week with the first of eight episodes. "We start to see a Chad Dekker who has his better senses telling him that it's time to start paying attention to what might really be going on," Wolf said about his character, Chad Decker. "Once his skepticism and fear take hold, he has to figure out where to go because he can't just run away from the Visitors, but he also can't keep running in the dark. He is really playing both sides, waiting to see who's going to win." (TVGuide.com)

USA has announced their development slate, which includes projects from Steve Carell, Thom Hinkle and John Michael Higgins, Aaron Jorsh, Becky Hartman Edwards, Gay Walch, Mark and Robb Cullen, Gail Gilchriest and Kevin Murphy, Steve Stark, and others. (Variety)

ABC is looking to lend a hand to its Friday night reality series Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution by pulling this week's planned episode of Wife Swap and instead airing a repeat of last week's Revolution in the 8 pm hour, according to The Wrap's Josef Adalian. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck talks to Desperate Housewives creator/executive producer Marc Cherry about the identity of the Fairview Strangler, offering up six possible suspects in the ongoing murder plot, which will be resolved on April 18th. (TV Guide Magazine)

More drama on Wisteria Lane. Former Desperate Housewives star Nicollette Sheridan has sued executive producer Marc Cherry, ABC, ABC Studios, and Touchstone Television for $20 million, claiming that she had been physically assaulted by Cherry on the set of Housewives and, when she complained, was fired. "While we have yet to see the actual complaint," said ABC Studios in a statement, "we investigated similar claims made by Ms. Sheridan last year and found them to be without merit." (Hollywood Reporter's THR, Esq.)

ABC has pushed back the launch of its romantic comedy Romantically Challenged--starring Alyssa Milano--by a week, to Monday, April 19th. (Futon Critic)

Gillian Zinser (90210) will star in MTV original telepic The Truth Below, which recounts "teen angst and betrayal on a disastrous ski vacation" that leaves four friends trapped under an avalanche. Project, shooting this week in Calgary, is written by Wendy Diane Miller and directed by Scott Glosserman. (Variety)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Hugh Laurie's Gregory House and Olivia Wilde's Thirteen will find themselves at a Renaissance Fair on the April 19th episode of House. "[Thirteen] is always tough and not particularly girly, but in this episode she shows she likes to have fun and play dress-up," Wilde told Keck. "The Renaissance had their hierarchy, and I’m not very high up. I think I’m a wench!" (TV Guide Magazine)

Stay tuned.

After the Storm: An Advance Review of HBO's New Drama Series Treme

It's been nearly five years since Hurricane Katrina and the specter of loss and tragedy hangs over the American South as recovery from this disaster continues to this day. But while Katrina shifted neighborhoods and displaced hundreds of thousands from New Orleans and tales of death and destruction became commonplace, there also emerged something else from the wreckage: an eternal symbol of the ability of the human spirit to adapt and to overcome.

In HBO's new drama series Treme, from creators David Simon (The Wire) and Eric Overmyer (Homicide: Life on the Street), the clock is rewound to three months after Katrina and the audience is taken to a New Orleans fighting for its very survival in the face of insurmountable odds.

In the historic and musically significant neighborhood of Treme, we're introduced to a colorful cast of characters who are struggling to return to something akin to normalcy in the midst of chaos, bureaucratic ineptitude, and squalor. Houses, formerly under feet of water, are filled with mud and muck, roofs blown out by the storm are covered with blue tarps, and there's an eerie sense of desolation emanating from the empty storefronts and vacant homes.

Those who have stayed attempt to cling to the old ways, to the traditions that made this city great, and which will serve to feed the populace in a time of great struggle: the music, the food, the living and breathing culture of New Orleans, itself the main character in this extraordinary and provocative new series.

Many viewers will undoubtedly compare Treme to The Wire, given the presence of David Simon at the helm of this series but the comparison isn't entirely apt. While Treme shares some of the narrative hallmarks of The Wire--such as embracing the diverse strands of multiple storylines and characters, some of whom overlap, and offering a precise portrait of a city trapped in amber--this series is its own beast, bringing to life both the beauty and tragedy of life in New Orleans after Katrina.

Embodying these diverse plotlines is the remarkable cast of dozens that Simon and Overmyer have brought together here, actors that include such familiar faces as Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, Kim Dickens, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Khandi Alexander, Steve Zahn, Rob Brown, and Michiel Huisman. (Look for the latter as well as classical violinist Lucia Micarelli to turn up in the second episode.) While most members of the ensemble don't share very many scenes together (Melissa Leo's Toni Bernette is one of the few characters who connects the various stories), there's a sense that they're not so much playing individuals as bringing to life a community that has been chugging along for years. There's a sense with all of them of being lived-in and the performances reflect that impression: each is nuanced, low-key, and lovingly crafted. And each of the characters, over the course of the first three episodes, manages to surprise.

We're introduced to the vivid world of life in Treme by the first second line parade in the city since Katrina, a raucous affair that pays tribute to New Orleans' fiery spirit and which unites each of the neighborhood's residents as the parade passes by, a signal that life and cultural identity endures even in the face of disaster. Struggling trombone player Antoine Batiste (Pierce) shows up late to the parade after agreeing to fill in for another musician; his efforts to get his life back on track comprise a strong spine for the first few episodes. Batiste isn't totally a good guy though; he's a no-good philanderer who cheats on his girlfriend and can't make ends meet for their newborn daughter, but he's entirely lovable at the same time.

Goodman's fiery English literature professor Creighton Bernette is a radical ideas man who castigates the federal and local governments for exacerbating a natural disaster and turning it into a man-made catastrophe. While Creighton seems to act as a mouthpiece for Simon and Overmyer--at least at first--he also acts as an anchor to the piece, giving it grit and gravitas, while also serving to embody another side of New Orleans: a scholarly and passionate identity that's separate from its food or its music. Creighton is married to Toni (Leo), a civil liberties lawyer enmeshed in a case that casts a sharp light on the bureaucratic blindness of life after the storm; she's attempting to locate a missing OPP prisoner named Daymo, who happens to be the brother of Alexander's spectacularly volatile bar owner LaDonna Batiste, herself the ex-wife of Pierce's Antoine and the mother to their two sons.

Wastrel Davis McAlary (Zahn) might just be the most irritating character in the pilot--he's a local radio DJ and wannabe musician--but he manages to grow on you in the first few episodes as Davis struggles to find his way while not quite managing to keep his thoughts or actions in check as much as he should. He's involved in a casual relationship with chef and restaurateur Janette Desautel (Dickens), a woman looking to feed the residents of this neighborhood but whose attempts to keep her restaurant and her life afloat are beset with problems. (Responding to Toni's question about her house--a common greeting in these parts--she offers a tart reply, "Don't ask me about my f---ing house," that sums up her frustration and pain.)

Then there's Pierce's somber and stirring performance as Mardi Gras Indian chief Albert Lambreaux, a man so grimly determined to return to New Orleans that he leaves behind his family home to move into a ramshackle old bar in order to reunite his tribe, the Guardians of the Flame, and bring back the old customs in time for Mardi Gras. His stubbornness regarding his former and future home is at odds with his son, musician Delmond (Brown), who has fled New Orleans to play jazz in New York and Paris and reluctantly returns to his former home to help keep an eye on his father. (Look for Pierce's Albert to shock the hell out of you at the end of the second episode.)

Delmond's success as a professional musician is in sharp contrast, meanwhile, to the plight of street musicians Sonny (Huisman) and Annie (Micarelli), a pair of buskers whose talents are mostly wasted on the few tourists. Annie's natural ability as a fiddler, however, soon lands her some new opportunities, much to the suspicions of boyfriend Sonny, who might just be hiding a secret of his own regarding his heroic deeds during the storm and its aftermath.

Together, these individuals create a moving portrait of New Orleans following Katrina, embodying the web of conflicting emotions in which the city's residents find themselves entangled. This isn't just a tragedy, however, but also an exploration of joy, pride, and cultural identity and how things like music and food can sustain our spirits and give us something solid to hold on to.

The series also features such real-life New Orleans musicians as Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Kermit Ruffins, and many others, given the role that the music of the city plays in the series. One of my few complaints with the series is that the music is handled with a little too much reverence: scenes with musicians just jamming or recording tend to go on for far too long and often don't impact the story, whereas other uses of music--three spring to mind in the third episode--not only offer a look into the musical heritage of the city but also advance the plot and characters. (At the risk of heresy, the former feels a bit like overkill, as though the production had actually gotten these legends to drop in and then felt like they needed to do more with them than have them just make cameo appearances.)

Additionally, there's a subplot involving the law enforcement and National Guard presence in New Orleans after the storm that felt a little too one-sided to me, though this could change in subsequent episodes. Given the way that Simon and Co. showed both sides of the drug war (and politics, the media, and the school system) in The Wire, I was hoping to get at least one character directly involved with the police force to see their perspective on post-Katrina New Orleans and their struggle to keep order in a city beset by chaos. It's the rare viewpoint that's missing in an otherwise broad spectrum of perception.

It's a minor quibble but one that I hope is addressed as Treme's ten-episode series gets further underway. In the meantime, prepare to be swept away by the very human dramas that these compelling and memorable characters bring with them and the issues of class, race, gender, and politics that their struggles bring to the surface. Treme might not be The Wire but that's more than just okay: it's a neighborhood I'm more than happy to visit each week.

"Do You Wanna" Clip Trailer: Day

Treme premieres Sunday at 10 pm ET/PT on HBO.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: Diving Into the Ashes to Ashes Third Season Premiere

"Sometimes in life, you can't help which way you fall."

There was a moment in the third season premiere of BBC One's trippy genre-busting drama series Ashes to Ashes that had me jump for joy: the gorgeous shot of a sheet being sucked backwards off of Gene Hunt's cherry red Audi Quattro before he and Alex took off into the streets of London to the tune of Eurythmics' 1983 hit "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)."

It was a period-appropriate sequence that gleefully summed up everything I love best about this winning and mind-bending series, now entering its final season in the UK. In the hands of co-creator Matthew Graham, we're given a season opener to Ashes to Ashes that is at once dazzlingly operatic and provocatively bleak as the final endgame to a mystery that began all the way back in the first episode of Life on Mars finally comes to a head this season.

That mystery, of course, being: Who is Gene Hunt?

It's a tantalizing one that's at the heart of Ashes' third and final season. (For more on this mystery, you can read my one-on-one interview with co-creator Matthew Graham here.) Thanks to a friend in the United Kingdom, I was able to watch Ashes' fantastic season premiere over the weekend and I'm already jonesing for another fix as this dark new season promises to be the series' best yet.

Warning: spoilers abound for US viewers who haven't seen Season Two of Ashes to Ashes.

The third season begins roughly three months after the events of the second season's cliffhanger-laden finale--in which Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt accidentally shot Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes)--as Alex finally emerges from her coma in 1983. The opening sequence is the television equivalent of pulling the rug out from underneath the audience as it initially appears as though Alex has paid promise to her mission and found a way back to the present day and daughter Molly.

But not so. Despite the scenes shared with a police psychiatrist--clearly intended to echo the final scenes of Life on Mars with John Simm's Sam Tyler--and her trip to a Virgin megastore (where she glimpses DVDs and posters containing Gene and the Fenchurch East team), Alex reemerges from her coma... but back in the world she's come to know as her home, a world shared with Gene Hunt, Ray Carling (Dean Andrews), Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster), and Shaz Granger (Montserrat Lombard).

But while the dream sequence seems like a classic Ashes mind-game, there are some potential clues lurking within Alex's subconscious, most notably the first appearance of Daniel Mays' Jim Keats and the ghostly presence of a dead policeman with half his face missing. It's the juxtaposition of the two which have a striking effect. Does Alex know Keats from her world? Who is the dead copper? Does any of this have to do with Sam Tyler's unsolved disappearance? And are these three things somehow related? Hmmm...

Waking up once more in this dystopia (thanks to a well-timed slap to the face from Gene), Alex discovers that Gene has been on the run in Spain since her shooting and is under investigation by the Discipline and Complaints Division, who has sent their best man--that would be DCI Jim Keats, natch--down to Fenchurch East to keep an eye on Gene and the others. Jim seems to maintain an easy camaraderie with Alex; he claims to want to help her and seems almost aware of her predicament here, saying that he "knows what [she's] going through." He's also keen to get the other officers on his side, offering them champagne and free drinks as an incentive to think of him as just another cop and not a "rubber heeler."

Shaz and Chris have split up, Ray has been promoted to Detective Inspector, and nearly everything is out of whack. While Alex might need a bit of R&R after her coma, she's not going to get it. Dragged back to the station, she attempts to clear Gene's name while jumping into an ongoing investigation into the kidnapping of Dorothy, a young girl being held for ransom.

But while the team manages to successfully recover the girl (hidden at her father's old Dot Matrix warehouse by her step-mother and her criminal ex), there's an ominous scene behind closed doors between Jim Keats and Gene Hunt that's all the more revealing as Jim promises to tear down Fenchurch East around Gene's ears and destroy everything that's he built, offering a reveal that he knows what Gene has done in the past and says that he hates him. One can't shake the feeling that what Gene did might just be connected both to Sam and Alex appearing in this world, Sam's disappearance, and more. It's aided, quite effectively, by Alex finding Sam's redacted file in Gene's cabinet, which had been moved to the storage room during his time on the lam.

"You fooled everyone into believing in you," says Jim. "I have the unpopular job of showing the world what you really are." But what's really quite intriguing is that Jim claims to know just what Gene did "three years ago." Which would be exactly about the time that Sam Tyler disappeared and could explain just why Sam's file is so heavily blacked out... and the reappearance of the half-faceless young copper Alex saw in her coma. Is it Sam Tyler? Did Gene kill him? Was it in an accident or something far worse?

And what does Jim mean when he says that Gene "can't leave here" and that it "defines him"? Just who and what is Gene Hunt? And, consequently, who and what is Jim Keats? What is this place? If it's not Oz, what is it? What does Alex suspect that she would hide Sam's file in her desk? (Love that he offered her a cup of alcohol, nicely echoing the moment in the very first episode of Ashes when Gene poured her a very full glass of wine.)

All questions that will likely be answered over the course of the next seven episodes of Ashes to Ashes' final season, which will finally provide illumination on just what the Manc Lion really is. If this first installment is any indication, we're likely in for one hell of a bumpy ride to the finish line. Just be sure to buckle your seatbelt in the Quattro.

On the next episode of Ashes to Ashes, a severed hand is sent to Fenchurch station; Alex joins a dating agency in order to investigate the murder of several female clients; Alex tries to discover the truth about Sam Tyler's death, but Gene is obstructive.

Getting Lost: Televisionary Heads to Orientation: Ryan Station Podcast

Looking for more Lost goodness?

After a particularly busy week, I was extremely honored and more than happy to crash on Friday evening in front of the computer, pour myself a drink (Hendrick's gin and soda with lime, to be precise) and catch up with The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan and Zap2It's Ryan McGee.

Yes, I was the mystery guest this week on the latest edition of their weekly Orientation: Ryan Station Lost podcast.

Discussing this week's episode of Lost ("The Package"), we had a lot to say about Sun and Jin's separation (which I believe to be intentional), that stubborn tomato and a certainly conveniently located tree branch, the possible merging of the two realities, the handling of the series' female characters, and much more.

You can give the podcast a listen here (and very conveniently watch along to the episode on the embedded Hulu player), download this week's episode here, and subscribe to the podcast here.

Curious to see what you think, Lost fans! And thanks for listening.

Los Angeles Times: "The Amazing Race: Back in the Saddle Again"

Looking to discuss the latest episode of CBS' fantastic reality series The Amazing Race?

Head over to the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker to read my latest piece, entitled "The Amazing Race: Back in the Saddle again," where you can read my take on the latest episode, why reversals are always possible on the race, how one simple error can do you in, and much more.

Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long.

Next week on The Amazing Race ("Dumb Did Us In"), the teams head to Singapore, where Dan and Jordan have to contend with a crippling fear of heights and Caite and Brent square off with Carol and Brandy.

Channel Surfing: DirecTV Could Save Damages, Chris Fedak Talks Chuck, Lost Post-Finale Plans, True Blood, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the fate of FX's serpentine legal thriller Damages, set to wrap its third season in two weeks' time, is in the hands of DirecTV. "Multiple sources confirm to me exclusively that Sony is talking to DirecTV’s 101 Network about partnering on a possible fourth season of Damages," writes Ausiello. "The cost-sharing arrangement would be similar to the one DirecTV and NBC forged with Friday Night Lights, which means future seasons of Damages would air first on DirecTV with a second window on FX." An unnamed source further tells Ausiello that Sony Pictures Television began talks with DirecTV after it became untenable to maintain financing Damages on its own and the studio has engaged in talks with other outlets as well. Both FX and Sony refused to comment for the story. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic interview with Chuck co-creator/executive producer Chris Fedak about the remainder of the third season, the series' chances at a fourth go-around, and Brandon Routh's Daniel Shaw. "I’m very happy with [it]," said Fedak about Chuck's third season. "We’re very excited by the way we’ve structured this season. It starts out with some darks spots in the season, we have gone dark, we’ve tested the premise of the show, especially with "Chuck Versus the Final Exam," which aired last Monday. And [Monday's] episode, "Chuck Versus the Other Guy" -- all these episodes are really kind of testing the premise of the show, testing the idea of what we can do on the show. But from the perspective of the overall season, I think that we’re going to a really neat place and we’re having a lot of fun with it. We’re very excited that we’re able to tell such a dynamic story this season. But in truth, [it is] dynamic and also challenging." [Editor: It's a great and lengthy interview, so be sure to read through to the end. Lots of great moments.] (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

In other Chuck-related news, I was so sad to miss this weekend's Chuck panel at WonderCon in San Francisco. But if you--like me--missed out on the festivities, you can ready ChuckTV's in-depth panel report. You'll feel just like you were there, I promise. "Because they already had one season finale (3.13) written before learning that they had another six episodes, they essentially got to have two season finales in one season," writes ChuckTV's Mel. "Chris [Fedak] reiterated that no one is safe." (ChuckTV.net)

Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will be sitting down with ABC's Jimmy Kimmel for an exclusive hour-long postshow special, entitled Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost, where they will be joined by many cast members from the ABC Studios-produced drama series, which is set to end its run on May 23rd. Plus, ABC has promised that they will be airing alternate endings to Lost on the special as well. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin, The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive first-look at True Blood's werewolf Alcide, played by One Tree Hill's Joe Manganiello, shown in a shot from Season Three alongside Anna Paquin's Sookie Stackhouse. "There is definitely some [sexual] energy between the two of them," True Blood's executive producer Alan Ball told Ausiello. "It’s not like either one of them is looking for romance, but they’re thrown into several intense situations [and] it’s hard not to bond on a deeper level." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Los Angeles Times' Irene Lacher has an interview with Damages' Lily Tomlin, the latest in the paper's Sunday Conversations series. "I don't see any difference, really," said Tomlin about shuttling back and forth between comedy and drama. "It's just a matter of style or degree. And I've listened to Marty [Short, who plays the Tobins' devious lawyer], and he has the same point of view. You're just going to try to represent the human who's written on the page." (Los Angeles Times)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd takes a look at several "on the bubble" series at the broadcast networks, including ABC's FlashForward and V, NBC's Chuck, Heroes, Parenthood, The Marriage Ref, and Law & Order (Hibberd says that Mercy and Trauma are basically DOA), FOX's Human Target and Sons of Tucson, CW's One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected, and CBS' Cold Case, Numbers, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Accidentally on Purpose, Gary Unmarried, and Old Christine. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pilot casting update: Tisha Campbell-Martin (Rita Rocks has been cast as a regular on ABC comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong, where she will star opposite Debra Messing and will play the stylist to Messing's political pundit Evelyn Wright; Duane Martin (All of Us) has come aboard Paul Reiser's NBC comedy pilot Next, where he will play Reiser's best friend, a restaurateur; Jonathan Slavin (Better Off Ted) has been cast in CBS comedy pilot Team Spitz; Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris) has been cast in NBC comedy pilot Our Show; and Dejan Loyola (The Troop) has landed a role in the CW drama pilot HMS. (Hollywood Reporter)

For Slavin, the casting is formally in second position to "Ted."

The Futon Critic is reporting that TNT will launch Jason Lee-led drama series Memphis Beat (formerly known as Delta Blues) on Tuesday, June 22nd at 10 pm ET/PT, behind the second season premiere of HawthoRNe. Later during the summer, the cabler will launch Season Two of Dark Blue (in August, specifically) and Rizzoli & Isles. (Futon Critic)

BET is said to be close to a deal to resurrect canceled CW comedy series The Game and is expected to announce the pickup at its upfront later this month, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva, who writes that the majority of the comedy series' cast will be returning for this new iteration and that Salim Akil will take over showrunner duties from his wife, Brock Akil, now a consulting producer on ABC's Cougar Town. (Hollywood Reporter)

Universal Media Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with former My Name is Earl writer/producer Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, under which she develop new series projects for the studio while joining an existing NBC series. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Grave Intentions: Stepping Through the Cracks on "Fringe"

"There is only one God in this lab and it is not yours." - Walter Bishop

I said a lot of what I had to say about this week's remarkable episode of Fringe ("Peter"), in my advance review from earlier this week, but I can't pass up an opportunity to again throw my support behind a get-John-Noble-an-Emmy-straightaway campaign, particularly with regard to his staggeringly powerful performance in last night's episode.

How Noble has been passed over in the past for a supporting actor nod is absolutely beyond me, but his deft and evocative turn in "Peter" is one for the history books, as he offered not one, but three, very different incarnations of Walter Bishop over the course of a single episode. No mean feat, especially when Noble managed to more or less carry the installment on his shoulders as the only series regular to appear in more than a handful of scenes. (In fact, he's in every scene, save one or two.)

Last night's episode of Fringe offered the television equivalent of a swift kick to the gut, delivering an episode that not only peeled back the layers of mythology to reveal some plot twists and intriguing reveals but also to deliver emotionally wrenching hour of television about the ache of loss and the fact that good intentions can quite literally lead one right to hell.

"Peter" was a risky episode but it proves the unpredictability of Fringe as a series itself. Set almost entirely in the past, the episode recounts the struggles of Walter as he comes to grips with the death of his son and the near-shattering of his marriage as a result. Maddened with a sense of grief, he sets out to right the wrong, to save Peter in the only way he knows how.

We see a very different Walter Bishop here: a devoted father and husband who is still the partner of William Bell and still very much in possession of his sanity. But loss can change a person in unseen ways. Using the window he created (and demonstrated to the US military earlier in the episode with associate Dr. Carla Warren) to peer into the other reality, Walter watches in horror as his double--or "Walternate" as he calls him--nearly finds a cure for his own ailing son, but is distracted by the appearance of The Observer.

There is no greater misery than a parent's loss. Walter cannot and will not stand by idly and watch as Peter dies again. The only thing that is keeping him going right now--as he tells his wife Elizabeth (the always fantastic Orla Brady)--is the fact that somewhere, Peter will get better, will grow older, will live a happy life. Even if they can't share in that life, there's comfort to know that he's out there somewhere.

But that other Peter's existence is in jeopardy. Acting against the warnings of Carla Warren (Big Love's Jenni Blong) and Nina Sharp, Walter opens a gateway to the alternate reality, breaking all manner of theoretical and physical laws of nature (and leading to the war in which two world are now enmeshed), in order to save Peter. Which is significant in and of itself. We had always incorrectly assumed that Walter traveled to the other world to take Peter, to kidnap him, and bring him back here, in order to serve as a replacement for his own dead child.

Not so, and that's perhaps the most heartbreaking aspect of this story. Walter rips open a wormhole between dimensions in order to save someone else's child. He prepares the compound that he believes will save Other Peter's life and sets out to restore his health before he returns to his own world.

But Walter didn't take certain factors into account, most notably the arrival at Reiden Lake of Nina and Carla. Nina believes that William Bell would not want Walter doing this, would not want him breaking through the dimensional barrier that separates the two worlds and she attempts to stop him, even though she hasn't spoken to Bell in quite some time. Nor did he anticipate that Nina would physically attempt to prevent him from crossing through that gateway; in the struggle, the vial containing the chemical compound is shattered, leaving Walter on the other side without the one thing he needed.

(The struggle also causes the loss of Nina's arm, the resolution to a dangling plot thread that has existed since the series' pilot, and this episode also reveals the identity of the doomed lab assistant whom Walter will inadvertently kill in Carla Warren, which itself leads to Walter's incarceration at St. Clare's. Poor Dr. Warren.)

Walter's original intention was altruistic. So too was his decision to take Other Peter back to his world and then return him once he was better. But be made a cardinal error: he couldn't lose his son a second time. The look on Elizabeth's face as he "reunites" her with Peter speaks volumes: there was no going back for them. The cracks that Walter caused weren't just between the worlds but in their relationship and in Peter. Something broken cannot be fixed and lines crossed cannot so easily be uncrossed. Walter may have saved Peter's life but the cost was tremendous: he lost his soul and caused the wall between the worlds to be forever broken.

Intriguingly, it's the Other Peter, not Walter, who is important. So important that The Observer risked being seen in order to witness the compound being created and he crosses worlds in order to save the lives of Walter and Peter beneath the lake after they fall through the ice. "The boy is important, he has to live," he tells Walter later. But why exactly? Because he's the child of Walternate? Because he is the reason why the war begins? Because he's the cause of the cracks in the wall? Hmmm...

All in all, a simply fantastic episode of Fringe that brought the humorous (the title sequence, the zeppelins, Eric Stolz starring in Back to the Future) and the gut-wrenching as we finally see an accurate portrait of Walter Bishop: the man he was and the man he is now. One need not have a window to another world to see that the cracks in his personality were ones stemming from that precise moment he made his fateful decision. But the true cost of his actions remains to be seen. He may have made his confession to Olivia but the true test will come once Peter learns of his true identity... and the lengths Walter Bishop went through to save his life.

Next week on Fringe ("Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver."), a perfectly healthy woman is found dead from a disease she never had, leading the Fringe team to investigate the origin of this inexplicably fatal condition before it claims victims that are more innocent; Olivia struggles to keep Walter's secret from Peter, and her loyalty to Peter is tested as time goes on.

Eleventh Hour: Countdown to "Doctor Who"

"Follow me through time and space."

Anticipation is building to a fever pitch as the countdown until the launch of the new Doctor Who continues, with UK residents very luckily getting the first episode of the Steven Moffat-executive produced Who--starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan--on Saturday. (Those of us in the US will have to wait until April 17th, when BBC America launches Doctor Who.)

Until then, some clips to sate your appetite, including the first 35-seconds or so of the Doctor Who premiere, entitled "Eleventh Hour," the first full-length episode featuring Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor, and a look at the Doctor battling some vampires in Venice from the sixth episode, "Vampires in Venice."

(You can also read my interview with Doctor Who's Matt Smith and Steven Moffat over at The Daily Beast here.)

It looks like the Doctor has his hands full when "Eleventh Hour" begins, as you can see from the clip below.

Doctor Who: "Eleventh Hour":



My favorite bit from the next clip: "Hello, handsome!" Here's a look at the sixth episode of the upcoming season, which finds the Doctor battling some rather pale, beautiful girls, in an episode written by Toby Whithouse (Being Human). Keep your eye on the library card...

Doctor Who: "Vampires in Venice":



And, finally, here's the latest trailer for Doctor Who from BBC America:



Doctor Who launches tomorrow on BBC One and on April 17th on BBC America.

Channel Surfing: Sheen Could Leave "Men," "Modern Family" iPad Love, S. Epatha Merkerson to Leave "Law & Order," Sidibe to Host "SNL," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Charlie Sheen might just walk away from his role on CBS' Two and a Half Men. Citing a People report, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Sheen has rejected a contract renewal offer and is looking to leave the CBS comedy series, which is produced by Warner Bros. Television. "This report came as news to CBS and studio Warner Bros., with some insiders thinking the news might simply be a negotiation tactic," writes Hibberd. "Yet sources tell THR that the People report is no April Fools joke and that Sheen is indeed serious about currently wanting to leave." (Hollywood Reporter)

Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed has the scoop from Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd about why the ABC comedy series' use of the iPad this week wasn't product placement but was in fact just a story-driven plotline. "In fact, there was no product placement," Lloyd explained. "This was widely assumed, and everybody was wrong. We wanted to do a show about Phil getting very excited about a new product and it seemed the perfect one to use, since it was debuting [April 1]. We approached Apple about getting their cooperation (using the product, for example, and they are notoriously secretive about their products prior to their being launched) and they agreed and gave us a few other small concessions. But there were no stipulations as with normal product placement, i.e. we give you X dollars and you have to feature our product such-and-such a way and say such-and-such nice things about it. We are not angels -- we have made those agreements with other companies. But that was not the deal with Apple. It was all story-driven." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Meanwhile, The Wrap's Josef Adalian calls for an end to the Modern Family "non-troversy" over the iPad inclusion, following several attacks on the series by CNET and the Hollywood Reporter, among others. "Dudes: Chill!" writes Adalian. "It's one thing to find a plotline unfunny or subpar. There's also nothing wrong with making note of the timing of the episode, or of raising the question of whether a company paid to have its product integrated into a show. Hot TV shows generate buzz, both positive and negative. We get it -- and we're not trying to condemn anyone for identifying something interesting about a show. But until somebody uncovers evidence to the contrary, this was simply a case of writers trying to make a 2010 half-hour comedy relevant to a sophisticated audience." [Editor: amen.] (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that S. Epatha Merkerson will depart Law & Order after a staggering 16 years and talks to the actress about her decision to leave the Dick Wolf-executive produced procedural at the end of the current season. "It’s a graceful way to go," Merkerson told Ausiello. "It’s the end of my contract this year, and the storyline has been so perfect. I’ve given it my best for 16 years. It’s time to move on. I’m doing other things and this will be a great way to leave what has been an extraordinary gig." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Precious star Gabourey Sidibe is among the hosts on tap for Saturday Night Live this month. Also taking to the historic stage during the month of April: Tina Fey, who will be joined by musical guest Justin Bieber, Ryan Phillippe (with Ke$ha), and Sidibe, who will host with musical guest MGMT on April 24th. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has gotten a hold of some of the casting notices for Season Four of AMC's Mad Men, including three potentially recurring roles. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters has an exclusive look at Showtime's upcoming reality series The Real L Word and breaks down the real-life lesbians who have been assembled in Showtime's "rare, fly-on-the-wall look into the lives of attractive and successful L.A. lesbians." The series is set to launch on Sunday, June 20th at 10 pm on Showtime. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Casting update: Chad Lowe (24) has been cast in ABC Family's upcoming drama series Pretty Little Liars, where he will replace Alexis Denisof, who played the role in the pilot; Gina Torres has signed on to play Dr. Dorothy Rand in ABC Family's other upcoming series, Huge; Riki Lindhome (Gilmore Girls) will star opposite Jack Carpenter and Kristin Kreuk in Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller's CBS comedy pilot Hitched; Greg Germann (Ally McBeal) and Damon Gupton (Deadline) have come on board FOX comedy pilot Strange Brew; and Robbie Jones (One Tree Hill) and Heather Hemmens (The Candy Shop) have joined the cast of the CW's Hellcats. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Season Six of FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will feature a storyline involving Dennis (Glenn Howerton) getting married... and divorced. (TV Guide Magazine)

Julie Gonzalo has been cast as a guest star in a May sweep episode of ABC's Castle, where she will play "a beautiful and dynamic restaurateur who finds herself mixed up in [a] murder investigation" that takes revolves around the contestants of a Top Chef-esque culinary competition series. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CONFIRMED: Syfy has announced that Robert Knepper (Heroes) and Julie McNiven (Mad Men) have joined the cast of the cabler's Stargate Universe for its second season. Knepper will appear in six episodes as Simeon, described as a "member of the Lucian Alliance," while McNiven has joined the cast in a five-episode story arc where she will play Ginn, also a member of the Lucian Alliance. The second half of SGU's freshman season premieres tonight on Syfy. (via press release)

ABC shows are heading to the iPad. Disney has signed a deal with Apple to create an application that will stream--for free--full-length episodes of series from ABC, ESPN, and Disney. (Variety)

NBC series, meanwhile, will NOT be heading to the iPad as NBC executives have opted to "prohibit iPad viewing of full episodes at this time," according to The New York Times' Brian Stelter. (New York Times' Media Decoder)

USA has announced return dates for two of its original series, with Burn Notice and Royal Pains returning to the schedule on Thursday, June 3rd, when they will air back-to-back beginning at 9 pm ET/PT. July, meanwhile, will bring the return of White Collar and Psych and the launch of Covert Affairs. (Broadcasting & Cable)

E1 Entertainment and Tijuana Entertainment have teamed up to develop reality series They Call Me Crazy, featuring NBA player Ron Artest that will enable him to "make amends for past transgressions," and help struggling musicians through his music label. Series will be executive produced by Artest, along with John Moryaniss, Tara Long, Troy Searer, and John Foy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

The Daily Beast: "The New Doctor Who"

Doctor Who returns this month on BBC One and BBC America with a new Doctor (Matt Smith), a new companion (Karen Gillan), and a new head writer (Steven Moffat).

Looking to learn more about what's new and what's remained eternally the same? Head over to The Daily Beast to read my latest piece, entitled "The New Doctor Who."

I spoke to new series star Matt Smith and new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat about the Doctor, Amy Pond, the Doctor's wardrobe, what makes this Doctor Who different, what's next for the iconic time-traveler, and much more.

Head to the comments section to discuss your take on what Smith and Moffat have to say, your take on the Eleventh Doctor, and anything else that springs to mind.

Or as the Doctor himself would say, "Geronimo!"

Doctor Who launches Saturday, April 2nd on BBC One and Saturday, April 17th on BBC America.