Family Affair: Master Chefs and Modern Family on Top Chef Masters

If you've ever been on a working television or film set, you know the mad rush that the lunch call is as the cast and crew head towards a makeshift dining room--usually set amid film equipment and discarded set pieces--to grab a brief respite before heading back into the madness.

Caterers specialize in delivering fast, fresh, and tasty grub that's all ready to go when the crew is meant to go on break and it's a brutal business. So that rhythm and pacing would be the perfect challenge for the five new master chefs entering the Top Chef kitchen this week: Rick Tramonto, Maria Hines, Debbie Gold, Joey Adams, and Susur Lee, the latter of whom was named one of Food & Wine's Ten Chefs of the Millennium. (No small matter, that.)

On this week's episode of Top Chef Masters ("Cast and Crew Meal"), the master chefs were tasked with creating a perfectly styled fruit plate and preparing a cast and crew meal for the actors and staffers on ABC's comedy series Modern Family. (Huh, a single episode that combines my love for Top Chef with that for Modern Family? Heavenly.)

The first season of Top Chef Masters suffered a serious dearth of female master chefs; producers this season seemed to be aware of the gender inequality but this week seemed to contain most of the women competing this season, an odd shuffling of the contestants that was all the more apparent because there were only two men competing this week. While I was glad to see female chefs represented so strongly this week, I do think that there should have been more of a gender balance before now. (Last week's episode, which featured returnees from Season One, featured no female chefs.)

Having said that, I thought that the chefs this week were almost universally strong contenders. Despite her nerves, Joey Adams proved to be one of the toughest competitors here, dominating both rounds. Despite the fact that I was hoping that Adams would make it through to the next round, I was a little surprised that the producers would opt for a "high stakes Quickfire Challenge." After all, that made sense within the context of the Las Vegas season but here, on Top Chef Masters, it seemed extremely out of place, particularly as the challenge--a fruit plate--didn't exactly scream golden ticket to the champions round. But that's just me, anyway. (Was anyone else irked slightly that winning the Quickfire Challenge meant a guaranteed spot among the champions?)

For that Quickfire Challenge, the master chefs had to create an artful presentation of fruit, using 25 fruits from a basket to create a palette that would amaze with its beauty and presentation and delight the palate. (Heh.)

So what did they prepare?

Quickfire Challenge:

• Tramonto: herb and fruit shooters
• Hines: Northwest trio: apple soup, grilled fig, and berries with berry mousse
• Gold: pecan tempura-stuffed fig with persimmon and tangerine
• Adams: fig and walnut tart with pomegranate syrup and zabaglione
• Lee: East Meets West fruit plate with blackberry "ravioli" and Thai basil

There were some head-scratching decisions being made here. I get the spirituality of Rick Tramonto but I thought those culinary/inspirational cards were totally out of place on the plate, much less in a culinary competition. You want to do that in your restaurant, that's cool, but really?

Susur Lee went way over the top with his plate, an East-meets-West cacophony of flavors, textures, and colors that was visually confusing and a little off-putting. I think had he just stuck to those gorgeous and inventive "raviolis," he would have fared better here.

I wasn't sure what to make of Debbie Gold's pecan tempura-fried figs, which I found confusing and odd. A misstep there. And I got what Maria Hines was attempting to do with her starter-entree-dessert concept but it didn't quite work as they all seemed a bit like dessert to me. Had she really wanted to nail the concept, she could have made the first two offerings more overtly savory rather than sweet.

Which left Adams, who absolutely nailed the task, despite nearly destroying her pastry in the flash-freezer. Her dish--fig and walnut tart with pomegranate syrup and zabaglione--was clean, beautifully presented, and made fantastic use of the fruit on offer. It's no surprise that she won... and walked away with a guaranteed spot among the champions, giving her immunity in the upcoming Elimination Challenge.

For that challenge, the chefs had to prepare an cast and crew meal for the, uh, cast and crew of ABC's Modern Family, who--along with the critics--would decide which other chef would advance to the next round. They were tasked with taking a traditional family meal and infusing it with a more modern sensibility.

Here's what they each prepared:

Elimination Challenge:

• Tramonto: truffled white beans with escarole and grilled sausage
• Hines: sockeye salmon with sumac, lemon, paprika potatoes, French beans, and almond mink
• Gold: glazed pork loin with apple butter and winter squash slaw
Adams: braised chicken thighs with mushrooms, semolina gnocchi, and herb salad
• Lee: roasted chicken and farce curry with polenta and grits, tomato jam, chili-mint chutney, and grilled pineapple

I thought that Tramonto's dish looked absolutely fantastic but it didn't really seem all that modern, despite his argument that the use of the truffle oil elevated his dish from its more humble roots. (Personally, I would have used fresh truffle in addition to truffle oil, if that was his argument.) It seemed a little more homey than I think the critics anticipated here.

I had a feeling that Hines would do well with her sockeye salmon dish, which fused the sort of traditional Pacific Northwest comfort food staple with an ultra-modern approach with the use of the almond milk, a genius addition that was wholly modern and also helped to keep the salmon moist. I also appreciated her use of undervalued (at least in American cuisine) sumac, which I wish I'd see more of. Definitely modern and creative... and despite Tramonto's line about seeing Hines' mistakes, she scored better than he did here.

Gold was critiqued for the fact that her glaze and apple butter rendered the pork too sweet and she was also taken to task for the fact that the pork was way undercooked and stringy. Gold seemed aware of this back during the first prep period, yet never really was able to turn it around, despite opting to grill the loins instead of putting them back into the slow-cooker.

Adams had immunity but she still scored well for her chicken and gnocchi dish, which would have been considered pretty classic family fare but her addition of a fresh herb salad took the plate into the more modern era. It's little touches like that which can transform a dish into something else. Well played.

But it was Susur Lee who used the Elimination Challenge as an opportunity to redeem himself after his disastrous showing in the Quickfire. Here, he delivered a stunning dish of curry with roasted chicken and farce (a chicken sausage), polenta and grits, tomato jam, chili-mint chutney, and grilled pineapple. While Jay Rayner thought the pineapple out of place on the plate, it was the only criticism of an otherwise flawless dish that earned five stars from every critic and a nearly perfect score from the diners, giving him 19 1/2 stars, the highest score in Top Chef Masters history. No surprise that he'll be moving on to the champions round with Joey Adams, both of whom did quite extraordinary work this week.

I loved the way that the cast of Modern Family jumped into the challenge, with Julie Bowen asking each of the chefs repeatedly, "what's that?" (It was beyond cute.) And Rico Rodriguez, not surprisingly, got in a fantastic line about liking spice in his life. Seeing Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ariel Winter, and co-creator Steve Levitan (along with Bowen and Rodriguez) discussing the chefs' food warmed my heart to no end. These guys are absolutely adorable.

Do you agree with the critics' decisions? Would you have sent Lee and Adams to the next round? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("Wedding Wars"), the champions round begins as the master chefs compete in a blindfolded relay race; later, teams are challenged to cater a wedding out of mobile kitchens.

Lost Without Lost: Jimmy Fallon Is Late

Missing Lost as much as I am this week? You're not alone.

While there was no new episode of Lost this week (though, rest assured, it returns next Tuesday evening with "The Candidate"), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon sought to help us make it through our withdrawal with another installment of their Lost parody series, Late.

On the latest episode of Late ("Carlton"), the survivors try to build an elevator to get off the floor, Jimmy is forced to confront his past, Higgins reunites with his father, and we learn the meaning of the mint, the goldfish, and the bathroom attendant.



Missed the four previous episodes of Late? No worry as you can watch them all below, beginning with the first. Just get your super-secret father-son handshake in order.

Episode One: "Where Are We?"



Episode Two: "Not Alone"



Episode Three: "Who Are You?"



Episode Four: "My Hairiest Adventure"



Lost returns next week.

Talk Back: ABC's Series Premiere of Happy Town

Did you tune in to last night's series premiere of ABC's new mystery-horror-supernatural-drama Happy Town?

If so, I'm curious to see just what you thought of the first episode, which was written by Scott Rosenbaum, Andre Nemec, and Josh Applebaum, and which introduced the sleepy and seemingly idyllic town of Haplin.

You can read my advance review from last May of the original 90-minute pilot here, but now that the first episode has aired, I'd love to hear what you thought of the series opener.

Were you intrigued by the series' eerie vibe? Or put off by the convoluted plot and the kitchen sink narrative, which piled high every single supernatural trope previously used on Twin Peaks or in the works of Stephen King? Were you charmed by the characters or irritated by them? Like the nickname "Root Beer" or put off by it? Did you think that Amy Acker was criminally undervalued?

And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week?

Talk back here.

Channel Surfing: Tamsin Greig Lands Episodes, Steve Carell Looks to Leave The Office, History Casts The Kennedys, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Cast changes are afoot at Showtime's upcoming Matt LeBlanc-led comedy Episodes, with Thomas Haden Church pulling out of the project due to a scheduling conflict with a film and Claire Forlani being recast after the recent table read earlier this week. But with Forlani out, Showtime has had the luck of landing British actress Tamsin Greig (Black Books, Green Wing, Love Soup) to replace her. [Editor: I think Greig is a much better fit and is a comedy genius. Showtime is beyond lucky to have nabbed her. Grieg's Black Books character, Fran Katzenjammer, remains a perennial favorite.] Greig will step into Forlani's role, as the female half of a husband-and-wife writing team whose British series is adapted for American television... and ruined in the process. Showtime has ordered seven episodes of the series, which is created by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik, who executive produce alongside Jimmy Mulville. (Variety)

Steve Carell has announced his intention to leave The Office after one more season. Speaking to BBC Radio 2's Steve Wright, Carell said that his contract with the Universal Media Studios-produced comedy goes "through next year" and then went on to say, "I think it will probably be my last year." NBC isn't commenting though it's thought likely that The Office wouldn't continue without Carell on board as Michael Scott. [Editor: in fact, it's the perfect opportunity to wrap up the series.] "This could be a negotiating ploy, but honestly, I don't think so in this case," an unnamed insider told E! Online's Megan Masters. (Office Tally via E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

History Channel has unveiled the cast for its upcoming eight-hour controversial miniseries The Kennedys, which will star Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes (as Jacqueline Kennedy, no less!), Barry Pepper, and Tom Wilkinson. Project, which will air in 2011, is executive produced by Joel Surnow, Jonathan Koch, and Steve Michaels, with Steve Kronish writing and Jon Cassar directing. The mini will dramatize the "the personal relationships between the Kennedy clan -- including John's and Bobby's tumultuous relationship with their father," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. (Variety)

Ricky Gervais will once again host NBC's Golden Globes telecast, the network has announced. Despite the fact that the 68th Annual Golden Globes don't air until next January, NBC took the unusual step of announcing that Gervais would return... nine months ahead of broadcast. "I can't believe they invited me back after awful things I said," said Gervais in a statement. "Let's see how far I can go this time." NBC's Paul Telegdy, meanwhile, compared Gervais to an unstoppable force of nature. "As viewers discovered with our last awards telecast, Ricky's surprising and unpredictable humor is a great fit for the Globes which will continue as a live event across the nation," said Telegdy. "He's a true force of nature with a wicked sense of humor who always keeps everyone on their toes waiting for the unexpected."(Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! Don't expect any sense of closure for Katherine Heigl's character on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, according to series creator Shonda Rhimes. "It’s going to linger," Rhimes told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "And I actually feel good about it lingering because [it means] Alex is left with unfinished business. And that’s going to be very interesting for his character." Meanwhile, Rhimes isn't spilling about the game-changing season finale for Greys. "The events of the finale itself change the game," she told Ausiello. "Whether anyone lives or anyone dies is not really necessarily the point of it." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jimmy Fallon is said to be at the top of the list for potential hosts for this year's Primetime Emmy Awards, a group that's also said to include Jerry Seinfeld and duo Tina Fey and Steve Carell. NBC will announce the host officially, but it's widely thought that Fallon, who hosts the Peacock's Late Night franchise, will announce the host next week. (Variety)

ABC has ordered six episodes of US adaptation of Russian game show The Six, in which contestants must work together in order to solve logic-based puzzles in under a minute. Project, from Merv Griffin Entertainment, will be hosted by Vernon Kay and production will get underway this summer. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has signed a three-year overall deal with Entourage creator/executive producer Doug Ellin, under which he will develop new projects for the pay cabler and remain aboard Entourage for its seventh and eighth seasons. Ellin already has two projects in development at HBO: a political comedy about a man working for a former US president after he leaves office (written by Ben Schwerin) and a female-skewing project with Ally Musika. (Variety)

Spike has ordered a pilot presentation for comedy Kings By Night, which will revolve around three men who start a casino in their workplace at night. Project, written by Ben and Dan Newmark and directed by Richie Keen, will be produced by FremantleMedia. (Deadline.com)

ABC Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with former Better Off Ted writers Kat Likkel and John Hoberg, under which they will develop new projects for the studio and join the writing staff of a new or existing series. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look image of Jack Bauer from the series finale of FOX's 24, which is set to air May 24th. The photo depicts a backpack-clad Jack Bauer raising his gun at... who knows, really? (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Additionally, Ausiello also has a first look image of the Smallville season finale, airing May 14th, which features a rain-slicked showdown between Clark and Zod. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Comcast and General Electric are optimistic that the NBC Universal deal will be closed by the end of the calendar year. (Variety)

Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides are launching their own shingle, Dr. Drew Productions, which will be based in Los Angeles and focus on developing "high-quality reality television projects." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

E! has ordered six episodes of documentary What's Eating You?, which will take a look at both common and extreme examples of eating disorders and air this fall on the cabler. (Examples are said to include ""a woman who eats a roll of toilet paper dipped in pickle juice every night before bed; another who lives in seclusion and feels compelled to eat twigs, pencil erasers and super-glue; and an aspiring model whose body is so starved that she physically smells because her body literally is eating itself alive.") (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Salary negotiations are set to get underway for four cast members on CBS' NCIS, including Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, and Sean Murray, each of whom are looking to increase their episodic paycheck before the series returns in the fall for its eighth season. "The real question is how much CBS is willing to pay the four stars moving forward: Deadline.com is reporting that the company dangled low-ball offers, which stalled negotiations," writes Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice. "Representatives for CBS declined to comment." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

The cast of The Real Housewives of New Jersey will be answering fans questions during a live premiere party that will be hosted by Andy Cohen and will be streamed on Bravotv.com and Ustream.tv. (TVGuide.com)

TLC has ordered a fourth season of L.A. Ink. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Island Dreams: Surviving a Lost-Less Tuesday

Well, I made it through the wilderness: I survived a Tuesday night without a new episode of Lost with only a modicum of shaking and withdrawal pains.

Sure, I should be looking at this as a set-run for what will likely be the rest of my life without Lost, but it didn't remove any of the sting or pain of not having a new episode to think about (and write about) today. (That said, I probably slept better last night than I have in weeks, without Lost keeping me awake for fitful sleep of island-related dreams, bizarre theories, and an appearance or three of the Smoke Monster himself.)

It wasn't easy. My Tuesday evenings have a strict schedule that's usually built around watching Lost at 9 pm: dinner is eaten way in advance, dishes washed, tea made, and the phones shut off altogether. I like my Lost silent and I watch it live so that I can discuss the previous act with my wife during the commercial breaks.

Last night threw off that routine, so I took the opportunity to catch up on some screeners, including FX's fantastic Justified ("Blind Side"), which featured the first on-screen appearance of Bo Crowder, the imprisoned father of Walton Goggins' Boyd, who was played by none other than Lost's M.C. Gainey (a.k.a. Mr. Friendly himself, Tom).

Which sort of through my whole universe back out of whack again. I didn't expect to see Gainey turn up here, much less as an incarcerated felon whose anger is the stuff of legend and who might be the key to unlocking Justified's serialized story arc this season.

It was another reminder that Lost is ending and that we should get used to seeing many of the series' familiar faces begin turning up in other series and in other roles. I've been in a little bit of denial that we have less than a handful of episodes of Lost remaining until it goes to that island in the sky.

Its legacy is undeniable but the end of Lost also arrives at a time when serialized dramas are increasingly a dying breed at the networks, with the departure of both Lost and 24 signaling an end of an era at the broadcasters, which have seen increased competition in the genre from cable, both basic and premium.

I'm going to miss Lost. I dare say that there hasn't ever been a series quite like it and there won't ever be one quite the same once it's gone. Last night was a glimpse through the looking glass into a world without Lost, and it was a far less interesting place indeed.

Next week on Lost ("The Candidate"), Jack's suspicions about Locke make his decision more difficult after he is asked to complete a difficult task.

ABC Heads to Happy Town, I Stay Home

I originally wrote about the pilot episode of ABC's new supernatural mystery drama series Happy Town last May (the review for which you can read here).

While some of the actors have changed--Steven Weber stepped in to replace Dean Winters and Ben Schnetzer replaced John Patrick Amedori and the first episode is now a regular-length installment (the original pilot has been split into the first two episodes)--the overall tone and feel of series itself hasn't changed a bit since I first viewed that early cut of the pilot.

While I intended to revisit Happy Town and write a new one, there weren't any discernible improvements to Happy Town--which comes from Scott Rosenbaum, Andre Nemec, and Josh Applebaum--to warrant writing a brand-new review, so last year's pilot review stands.

You've been warned...

(Meanwhile, I'd also advise you to check out Maureen Ryan's hilarious faux-ABC memo regarding Happy Town over at The Chicago Tribune.)

Happy Town launches tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Los Angeles Times: "V: Unleashing the Soldier of War"

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 ("We Can't Win"), entitled "V: Unleashing the Soldier of War."

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

Next week on V ("Hearts and Minds"), Erica, Ryan, Father Jack, and Hobbes learn Anna's sent a V shuttle filled with a deadly V tracker team to find them, and must figure out how to stop the shuttle from landing; Anna gives Tyler his invitation to the Live Aboard Program; Chad confronts Father Jack on what he knows about The Fifth Column.

Channel Surfing: Two More Years for Housewives, Glee Promotes Morris and Rivera, Conan to Appear on Sunday's 60 Minutes, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that ABC is said to be considering renewing nighttime soap Desperate Housewives for two more seasons, which would then wrap up the series' run on the network. "There have been indications that ABC may go for a straight two-year pickup, including making deals with key writers on the show. Creator/executive producer Marc Cherry already has a deal in place with producing studio ABC Studios for three more years," writes Andreeva. "If Desperate Housewives indeed ends its run after eight seasons, he is expected to focus on development in the final year of his deal." She also reports that Patrick Dempsey may not want to continue on Grey's Anatomy after next season... (Deadline.com)

Good news for Brittany and Santana. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Glee's Heather Morris and Naya Rivera, who play Cheerios/New Directions double agents Brittany and Santana, will be getting promoted to series regulars next season, citing unnamed sources close to the production. A Glee spokesperson had no comment. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, E! Online's Megan Masters has an interview with Chris Colfer about last night's episode of Glee ("Home"), in which he attempts to set up his father (Mike O'Malley) with the widowed mother of Finn (Cory Monteith) in an effort to get closer to his unrequited crush. "It's very emotional—probably the most emotional [yet] for Kurt," said Colfer. "Kurt is so strong. He's more concerned with being OK in his dad's eyes than with anyone else. And that relationship definitely gets stronger. Some of the best stuff is coming up for it." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Conan O'Brien will break his media silence since his departure from NBC's The Tonight Show this Sunday when he grants an interview to 60 Minutes's Steve Kroft, set to air Sunday at 7 pm ET/PT, the day after his gag order from NBC expires. [Editor: some have wondered whether the venue was quite right for the youth-skewing O'Brien to give his first interview since the January debacle at NBC, yet one can't help but imagine that 60 Minutes's median age is going to plummet thanks to this interview.] (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Gilles Marini will be promoted to series regular next season on ABC's Brothers & Sisters, according to the series' showrunner David Marshall Grant, who also told Ausiello that Luke Grimes will be departing the series. "There may be an episode or two that some [characters] might not be in," Grant told Ausiello, "but aside from Rob [and Luke], the [entire] cast is returning." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Michael Ealy (FlashForward, Sleeper Cell) has been cast in a five-episode story arc next season on Showtime's Californication, where he will play a love interest for Natascha McElhone's Karen. He joins Rob Lowe, who will appear next season as an actor hoping to play David Duchovny's Hank in a film. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that insiders close to the Warner Bros. Television-Charlie Sheen deal are "optimistic a deal would be done within the final week before CBS’ May 19 upfront presentation." Sheen could end up being paid more than a million dollars per episode of CBS' Two and a Half Men, should a deal come together for another season. (Deadline.com)

It's official: Nancy Dubuc will now handle oversight of Lifetime Networks, where she will serve as president/general manager as well as holding the same role over A&E Television Network's History channels. Move was expected as early as February but the network group announced the official news yesterday. "I am incredibly honored to now lead the Lifetime team," said Dubuc. "Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network are two of the most powerful and evocative brands on the media landscape." (Variety)

Doctor Who's Matt Smith will play author Christopher Isherwood in Christopher and His Kind, a 90-minute telepic to air on BBC Two that will recount the writer's formative years when he departed England for Berlin. (Broadcast)

ABC has renewed reality series Supernanny for the 2010-11 season, but it's likely the last outing for nanny Jo Frost, who has indicated that she wants to leave the Shed Media-produced series. "It feels like the right time for me to end my reign as the Supernanny," said Frost. "I've lived out of a suitcase for the past five years, visiting 47 states for the show. It's time to settle down in one place for the time being." ABC, meanwhile, indicated that Frost might be under contract for an additional season beyond the 2010-11 one. (Variety)

Associated Press' Michael Cidoni has an interview with Party Down's Megan Mullally. "I'm really lucky, because Nick and I are homebodies, strangely enough. We're not Hollywood-y at all," said Mullally about her husband, Parks and Recreations star Nick Offerman. "Like I wonder, when I see a reality show that's set in Los Angeles with really tan women with giant boobs that do a lot of drugs. 'Where are they?' 'Cause I've lived there for 25 years and I've never seen them. We have a normal life and we just kind of keep it on the down low." (Yahoo! News)

TruTV unveiled eight new series in development and announced that it had renewed five series, including Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, Black Gold, Las Vegas Jailhouse, Full Throttle Saloon, and Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel. Programs in development include America's Toughest Boss, The Naked Office, Exposed!, Vegas Rep, Limo Bob, Rogue Society, and Ma's Roadhouse. (Variety)

Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show) and Mo Rocca (Wait Wait Don't Tell Me) have been named the hosts of ABC reality pilot Trust Me, I'm a Game Show Host, which is set to tape next week. (Variety)

BBC Worldwide Prods. has hired former AMC executive Vlad Wolynetz as SVP of scripted production and former William Morris Endeavor agent Hugh Fitzpatrick as VP of scripted programming. Both will report to Julie Gardner. (Deadline.com)

CBS has announced a return date for reality series I Get That a Lot, which will air as a one-hour special on Wednesday, May 19th at 8 pm ET/PT and feature Wayne Brady, Tim Gunn, Nick Jonas, Wynonna Judd, Jay Mohr, and Martha Stewart. (The Wrap)

Elsewhere at the Eye, CBS has promoted Noriko Gee to VP of programming planning and scheduling, where she will work with Kelly Kahl. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Brown Betty: FOX Releases Noir-Tinged Fringe Trailer

"Death seems to follow you around..."

On this week's episode of Fringe ("Brown Betty"), take a descent into the noir and the musical, thanks to a self-medicating Walter Bishop, who takes the opportunity to tell a story to Olivia's niece Ella while attempting to unburden his own guilt-stricken mind.

FOX has released a trailer for this week's "Brown Betty" episode, which can be viewed in full below and which plays up the deliciously vintage film noir style of such 1940s classics as The Big Sleep and recasts our Fringe Division crusaders in some new roles.



Fringe airs Thursday night at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler: HBO Unveils Season Three Poster for True Blood

Ah, HBO, you are generous.

Not only does today mark the launch of the first "Drop of True Blood" minisode featuring Eric and Pam auditioning a new dancer for Fangtasia (which can be viewed in full here), but the pay cabler has also unveiled the official Season Three poster for True Blood, which returns to the schedule next month.

The seductive swamp-set scene depicts Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, Kristin Bauer, Nelsan Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll, Rutina Wesley, Sam Trammell, and Ryan Kwanten assembling at twilight as a wolf and a sickeningly long snake look on, perhaps ready to sink their teeth into this pretty cast. (There are also several smaller snakes and some skulls lurking about, if you enlarge the photo.)

A larger version of the image can be found by clicking on the image below.


"Do Bad Things," indeed. Satisfied? Or hungry for more?

Season Three of True Blood launches Sunday, June 13th at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

No New Lost Tonight Makes Jace Unhappy

Just a reminder: Lost is a repeat tonight. (It's a repeat of the Richard Alpert-centric "Ab Aeterno" from a few weeks back, to be specific.)

Don't shoot the messenger, though. As I said on Twitter earlier this morning, with no new episode of Lost on tonight, I feel like my whole week is off-kilter.

It's making me crabby and slightly anxious. Not in a nutty, constructing-a-squirrel-baby-out-of-bones-and-fur sort of way but it's an odd sensation when we're this close to the series finale.

Tuesday evenings have become a must-see night of television, between Lost, V, Glee, Justified, The Good Wife, Survivors and a slew of others and the highlight for me is definitely Lost, particularly with so few installments remaining before the drama series sails off into the sunset... or explodes with the heat of 1000 suns.

But no new Lost tonight makes Tuesday seem a little less special in my heart. Sure, we'll soon have to deal with a television landscape that is entirely devoid of Lost (as will fans of FOX's 24), but the world just seems more interesting with Lost it... and the rest of the work week a hell of a lot more exciting with a brand-new episode of Lost to theorize over, dissect, and deconstruct with friends.

I'll have to get used to not having that soon enough, but in the meantime, I can't help but wonder why Lost decided to break the momentum now and not, say, two weeks earlier, leaving us with the strengths of "Happily Ever After" to keep us content?

I'm curious to see what you think. Are you bummed that there's no new Lost tonight? Or are you relieved that you won't have to mentally juggle your candidates and recruits and metaphysical theorizing for one week? Discuss.

Next week on Lost ("The Candidate"), Jack's suspicions about Locke make his decision more difficult after he is asked to complete a difficult task.

It's a New Life: The Honeymoon is Far From Over on Chuck

"It's a new dawn/It's a new day/It's a new life/For me/And I'm feeling good..."

Chuck returned last night with the first of six all new episodes ("Chuck Versus the Honeymoon"), written by Lauren LeFranc and Rafe Judkins (with a story by Ali Adler) and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill, that altered the landscape of Chuck's world, thanks to the start of a full-blown relationship between Chuck and Sarah.

With the haunting refrain of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" (which astute readers will note I hinted about several times in my advance review of this episode) threaded throughout Chuck and Sarah's dilemma throughout the episode (and not just in the final, climactic, and utterly romantic scene between the two), the newly formed and "exclusive" couple had to decide whether to run away from the spy life, return to Burbank and split up, or choose neither option.

Yes, the either/or conflict between Sarah and Chuck--one that has colored much of the interaction between the two spies--finally came to a head this week, with both parties realizing that they didn't have to choose between professional and personal lives. They could have it both ways: they could be spies and lovers. They could, in essence, eat their cake and have it too. Or at least order some more from room service.

So what did I think of "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners"? Let's discuss.

Reversing the period of darkness that marked several of the more recent episodes of Chuck this season, "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" offered a fun and light-hearted installment that found Chuck and Sarah attempting to live a romanticized notion of "real life," one that is populated by lush staterooms, frequent, uh, couplings, and the adventure and excitement of a European vacation.

After the events of the last few episodes--the entire Shaw arc, the botched red test, the reveal that Sarah had murdered Evelyn Shaw--it was nice to see these two cut loose and lose themselves in each other for a change. Their happiness has always been just out of reach, so it was wonderfully rewarding to see them not only achieve that but attempt to hold onto it with a vise-like grip. Offering a nice callback to the Season Three premiere in which Chuck and Sarah found themselves at a train station in Prague, possibly about to run away, this week's episode offered an alternative to their decision, an opportunity to reverse their previous mistake and investigate the possibility of being together.

But it would be a coupledom that's as much about unity as it as about isolation, about a life on the run from their responsibilities and their identities. This week's episode found both of them unable to do just that: no sooner do Chuck and Sarah believe that they've left the spy life behind them than the espionage world finds them once more in the form of a Basque terrorist aboard their train. With the either/or supposition still firmly in place, both Chuck and Sarah have to decide: selfish desires or selfless duty? That both of them both choose the same option while keeping the other in the dark is just one of the delicious quirks this episode offers.

But rather than have Chuck and Sarah have to take down the bad guys--not Juan Diego Arnaldo (Carlos Lacamara), as it would turn out--on their own, the writers wisely thought to throw them together with another unlikely partnership, that between Colonel Casey and Morgan Grimes, the most absurdly mismatched partnership in espionage history. But while Morgan might be all but useless in the field, I was glad to see that he proved his value in other ways: an encyclopedic knowledge of Chuck Bartowski and his behavior patterns (including his need for the latest issue of "Justice League") and his eczema medication needs. (He also pretty deftly handled the Oracle system down in Castle, a nice surprise.)

Pushing the two parternships together resulted in one of my favorite episodes of Chuck to date as the quartet of spies had to work together ultimately to protect Arnaldo from assassination, resulting in one of the very best action sequences to date on the series, one that involved an airborne moped, handcuffs, and swing dancing. (And one which should, really, earn the fight choreographers a much deserved Emmy nomination.) Each of the members of Team Bartowski earned their keep here and it was an absolute joy to see Chuck and Sarah working so closely together, timing their attacks with the precision and grace of dancers. (Even Morgan took out the shadowy female operative.)

But it was that final scene, set to Nina Simone's "Feeling Good," that offered the most romantic and passionate moments of Chuck's run as Chuck sought to awaken Sarah's musical desire as they climbed onto the bed and became entangled in one another's bodies. It was beautifully filmed and perfectly captured that early period in a relationship, when each partner is discovering new things about the other and there's a true magical quality to every interaction.

What else did I love about this week's episode? Morgan's "Oh Canada" line; the bait-and-switch of the opening with the porter sharpening his knife; the double use of a proposal for Sarah and Chuck's relationship; the Charleses; the way both spies managed to steal equipment aboard the train; Morgan's belief that he has to "root" for the plane to stay aloft; Sarah's battle with Juan Diego while Chuck was trapped on the other side of the stateroom door; "My God, you even make terrorist groups sound sexy"; Sarah as a boozy Texan newlywed; the double-punch to Casey's face; Morgan figuring out that the alleged Interpol agents were fakes based on his knowledge of Lake Como; Arnaldo's advice to the couple not to run ("No matter how far you run, you cannot run from yourself"); and Jeffster's amazing acoustic (and turtleneck-clad) rendition of John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" at Ellie and Awesome's going-away party.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure what to make of the fact that Ellie and Awesome actually did depart Burbank for Africa and Medicine Sans Frontieres, after all. I thought that they would inevitably decide not to go in the end but the fact that they really did leave--after Ellie got to say goodbye to Chuck--makes me wonder if they're sticking around for the next five episodes... or if Team Bartowski will have to save them when they find themselves in danger. Hmmm...

All I know is that, if "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" is any indication, the back part of Season Three is going to be quite thrilling, quite exciting, and quite romantic indeed. Monday can't come quickly enough.

What did you think of this week's episode? Thrilled to see Chuck and Sarah as a full-blown couple? Sad to see Ellie and Devon go? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Role Models"), Chuck and Sarah are assigned to train under Craig and Laura Turner (guest stars Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz), a married CIA team who, despite their impeccable record, hate one another. The Turners' stormy relationship forces Chuck and Sarah to wonder if they are doomed with the same fate. Meanwhile, Casey must train the newest member of the team: Morgan.

Channel Surfing: TNT Renews Southland, Legend of the Seeker Axed, FX Heads to Outlaw Country, Royal Pains, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

In a surprise move, cabler TNT has ordered a third season of hyper-realistic cop drama Southland, commissioning ten episodes that will launch in January 2011. "Southland is a challenging, visceral show that engages viewers with its immersive style, provocative storylines and complex characters," said Michael Wright, EVP/head of programming, for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, in a statement. "These qualities have made Southland a favorite among critics and appointment viewing for an extremely loyal audience." It's a sign of support from the cabler, which picked up the drama series after it was cancelled by NBC before it had even aired a single episode of its second season. TNT aired the six-episode sophomore season run earlier this year. [It's noted in this Variety article that the median viewer age of Southland--47--is younger than any other series on the channel.] (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that syndicated fantasy series Legend of the Seeker has been cancelled and will not be returning for a third season. "The outlook had been bleak since last March, when many of Tribune Station Group’s markets dropped the syndicated series, which had been developed from Terry Goodkind’s fantasy novels by Hercules/Xena producers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert," wrote Ausiello. "ABC Studios, which produces it, kept shopping it around. But, I’m told, they found no takers. So, after two action-packed seasons, Legend is history." Sorry, folks, it's the end of the road for Richard Cypher. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX is heading back South once more: the cabler has ordered a pilot for thriller/family drama Outlaw Country, written by Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz and executive prodced by Art Linson and John Linson. Project, which has no casting attachments, will revolve around organized crime in the South. Production on the pilot, produced by FX Prods., will begin this fall. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Marcia Gay Harden (Damages) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on USA's Royal Pains, where she will play Dr. Elizabeth Blair, described as "a surgeon, board member of Hamptons Heritage Hospital, and an adversary-turned-mentor to Jill (Jill Flint)." She's set to first appear in Royal Pains' second season premiere, set to air on June 3rd. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that The Amazing Race executive producers Bertram van Munster, Elise Doganieri, and Jerry Bruckheimer are developing a new action-based reality competition series at ABC, entitled Catch Me, details for which are being kept firmly under wraps. Adalian writes that the potential series--thought to still be in the pilot stage--is described as "a heart-stopping reality competition" that will reward contestants who "have an adventurous streak and a poker face." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Freplicate alert: Merrin Dungey (Alias) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Two of HBO's Hung, which returns this summer. She'll play Liz, described as a potential new love interest for Thomas Jane's Ray Drecker who is one of his clients and a highly successful businesswoman. (Deadline.com)

Adam Kane (The Mentalist) will direct the pilot for Syfy's upcoming supernatural series Haven, based on the Stephen King novella "The Colorado Kid." (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILERS! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to House executive producer Katie Jacobs about what's coming up next on the medical drama, ahead of the sixth season finale next month, and what to expect next season. "Considering the fact that he’s not on Vicodin, things have been going as well as they could possibly go," said Jacobs about House's emotional journey this season. "He’s living with Wilson, and I think that’s helpful. And he’s really making an effort to hold it together. It sort of seems like in every episode there’s a new revelation about how well he really is doing. How is he faring just taking ibuprofen for the pain? Is that working? In episode 17 he was stuck in that room for two hours with David Strathairn and we found out he is in pain. And from now until the end of the season, there’s going to be something that challenges House’s [sobriety] in almost every episode." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Dane DeHaan (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) has joined the cast of Season Three of HBO's In Treatment, where he will play a teenage patient for Gabriel Byrne's Paul. He'll be joined by Irrfan Khan, while Debra Winger has not yet decided whether or not to accept a role. (Dianne Wiest will not be returning.) The series will now be overseen by new showrunners Anya Epstein and Dan Futterman, who replace Warren Leight. (Variety)

Vulture has a quick review of the pilot script for TNT's Untitled Alien Invasion Project, from executive producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Rodat. (New York Magazine's Vulture)

The Wrap's Josh Dickey offer his theory about what the real problem is with American Idol: Glee. (The Wrap)

FOX has ordered a pilot for reality series Panic Attack, in which a group of five participants will face off against the shared fear--whether that be heights, snakes, or spiders--with the help of a pair of therapists, Nik and Eva Speakman. Project hails from A. Smith & Co. (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times' Scott Collins and Denise Martin have an article about the songwriters featured on FOX's Glee. "They really worked hard to make it their own," Steve Perry said of the series' use of "Don't Stop Believin'." "It's actually brought people's attention to go check out the original… It's something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime." (The Los Angeles Times)

Jamie Kennedy (The Ghost Whisperer) is set to guest star on Season Four of Syfy's Eureka, where he will play Dr. Ramsey in an upcoming episode that will be directed by Colin Ferguson. Here's how Syfy describes the episode ("The Story of O2"): "Sheriff Jack Carter (Ferguson) leaves Eureka to visit his daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) at Harvard while the town celebrates Space Week. A new self-propagating oxygen technology developed by Dr. Ramsey in order to potentially colonize on Mars mysteriously begins to build up in the atmosphere above Eureka threatening to incinerate the entire town. The episode is scheduled to premiere Friday, July 30, 2010." (via press release)

Looks like The Transporter is headed to the small screen, with an international production--in English--set to start shooting in Europe and Canada early next year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

NBC Press Day: Parks and Recreation

"Leslie's gone from big ideas to triage really fast," said Amy Poehler about the upcoming storyline on Parks and Recreation that finds Adam Scott and Rob Lowe arriving in Pawnee beginning May 13th.

Adam Scott and Rob Lowe will play state auditors from Indianapolis who arrive in Pawnee to attempt to solve the budget crisis in Pawnee. "Adam and Rob's characters have a good cop/bad cop dynamic," said co-creator/executive producer Mike Schur. (Lowe wasn't in attendance at the NBC press day panel, due to filming on Brothers & Sisters.)

The upcoming storyline on Parks and Recreation is ripped from the headlines, with stories appearing of municipalities going bankrupt, which manifests itself when "Pawnee finds itself in real financial trouble," according to Amy Poehler. "It deals with the impact of real people losing their jobs and the comedy of deciding which programs should stay and which should go."

Scott's character, Ben, has a talking head about his relationship with Lowe's character, Chris. "We used to work separately and he would get nothing done and I would get death threats," recalled Scott. "It seems to work better together." (Incidentally, Ben wants to gut the Pawnee's overblown budget "with a machete" in his first episode, airing next month.)

Could Aziz Ansari's Tom Haverford be in trouble with auditors looking to trim the fat? Ansari said that "a lot of people" could be in danger of losing their jobs and that Tom's future will be addressed next season and specifically in the fourth episode of Season Three of Parks and Recreation.

Schur wanted to spoil more but was cut off by Nick Offerman. "I think you've said enough," said Offerman, who is unofficially the spoiler police for Parks and Recreation.

Ansari revealed that he's a fan of "old-school TV crossovers" and has pitched an episode about a serial killer on the loose in one of Pawnee's parks which will require The Mentalist's Jane to drop by and solve the murders... and one in which we meet Tom's brother, Chandler Bing. "Ring a bell?" (He's joking, people.)

SPOILER! Poehler has written an upcoming episode about an annual all-night diabetes fund-raising telethon and Leslie attempts to "waste time and stay awake" when Tom takes the star (ex-Indiana Pacers basketball player Detlef Schrempf) to the club and Leslie finds herself awake for 38 hours straight after staying up all night the night before an all-night telethon to embroider t-shirts.

"Her struggle throughout the series is not to become cynical," said Poehler of Leslie. "This is a tough time for her to keep the department together and put aside plans for the immediate fixing of [the department]."

"I come in and my character is rather cynical because of this past for the character that they have worked out for him," said Scott of Ben. "This is an enormous test for him."

Parks and Recreation airs Thursday nights at 8:30 pm ET/PT on NBC.

NBC Press Day: Syfy's Haven

NBC Universal kicked off their summer press day with a panel for Syfy's upcoming series Haven, which launches in July and is based on Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid."

"It felt like a good companion to Eureka... but from a different perspective," said Syfy's Mark Stern of the upcoming series, which is executive produced by Scott Shepherd, Lloyd Segan, and Shawn Piller. "Haven is like the Stephen King alternative to [Eureka], not the dark, grim Steven King version of that but the 'Green Mile' version of that with people beginning to experience strange supernatural abilities but not being aware of it."

Emily Rose plays FBI Agent Audrey Parker who finds herself investigating a series of unusual phenomena in the small town of Haven, Maine.

"They've created this small, interesting town that like a magnet has drawn Audrey to it," said Rose. "This character that has a lot of things that she's trying to figure out about herself and she comes to Haven, where these people are trying to deal with all of these things on their own."

Those things would be the inexplicable emergence of supernatural abilities among the townspeople of this small sleepy town, as Audrey finds herself enmeshed in a bit of a love triangle between her new partner, local cop Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour).

"I'm really excited to be playing this part," said Rose. It's so rare to find a really well-written female lead... Audrey is an orphan and is literally trying to [solve] this mystery of her family. What's so great about playing a female lead, especially in law enforcement, is that these women really do exist and they're fascinating."

Rose said that the chasm between Audrey's investigation skills and her inherent female nurturing is "an important duality to the character."

Stern said that the series was originally called Sanctuary... but was a problem for us because we already have a show called Sanctuary.

Filming in Nova Scotia in small lobster fishing town. with one restaurant and one post office. ("eye candy")

Stern says that Haven will look unlike any other show on the air right now. "It's real Maine," said Stern, catching himself. "It's Nova Scotia doubling for Maine but it's a closer doubling."

The series will offer a mix of procedural and serialized elements. "There will be weekly stories," said Rose, "but [also] a deeper arc of Audrey's backstory."

King's "The Colorado Kid" provides a spine for the series and the writers have incorporated the story into the franchise. "The bones of 'The Colorado Kid' are buried in this franchise," said Stern.

King has given his blessing to the project, said Stern, and he's being kept in the loop but he's not involved in the day-to-day mechanics of the series.

The series is "gearing more towards the extraordinary rather than the disgusting or the horror--though there will be some horror in it," said Stern.

Haven premieres July 9th on Syfy.

Tune-In Reminder: Chuck Returns Tonight!

Just a friendly--and impassioned--reminder that NBC's Chuck returns tonight with the first of six brand-new episodes.

You can read my extremely glowing advance review of tonight's absolutely fantastic installment, "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners," here and offer your thoughts regarding my hints about what's to come for Chuck and Sarah after the events of the season-finale-that-wasn't.

But really, this is an attempt to remind you to get everyone you know--your significant other, your parents, your friends, your co-workers, that frozen yogurt server at Pinkberry--to tune into Chuck in order to not only keep the numbers up but potentially to increase them and show NBC in no certain terms that there's an insatiable appetite for all things Chuck.

Or, to put it differently, prove to them just why they should renew Chuck for a fourth season.

On tonight's episode of Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Honeymooners"), Sarah and Chuck realize they are traveling on a train with Spanish spies and decide to take on these rogue agents; Beckman orders her newest "unlikely" spy team--John Casey and Morgan Grimes--to track down the missing couple.

The Last of Its Kind: Impossible Choices and the Beast Below on Doctor Who

"You took it upon yourself to save me from that. That was wrong. You don't ever decide what I need to know." - The Doctor

Despite his kindness and benevolence, The Doctor has always been a figure of immense pride that borders on hubris. As a 900-year-old Time Lord, he might risk life and limb to save Earth time and time again but it's his belief that he knows better than the planet's inhabitants, that he's better equipped to make the monumental decisions than the mere mortals whose continued existence is in his hands. The Doctor, to put it bluntly, has a bit of a God complex.

This week's episode of Doctor Who ("The Beast Below"), written by Steven Moffat and directed by Andrew Gunn, found the Doctor and Amy together on their first adventure in the TARDIS and encountering the numerous secrets of Starship UK, the future of Great Britain, now a fused-together spaceship looking for a new home among the stars.

As a first outing for the Doctor and his new companion, it was a fantastic installment that found the two at cross-purposes as they begin to learn how to work together and which tested their individual moral compasses, forcing each to make difficult decisions that would impact humanity in unforeseen ways.

Considering that this is only their second episode together (and ever), I thought that Matt Smith and Karen Gillan totally sold their burgeoning relationship, which isn't exactly as perfect as it might seem. The idyllic and gorgeously opening sequence in which Gillan's Amy drifts in deep space tethered by the Doctor to the TARDIS (which Steven Moffat revealed at the recent BAFTA/LA screening was actually a last-minute replacement for another sequence which didn't work) is vastly at odds with their heated exchange within Starship UK's Tower of London, a scene that reveals Amy's naivete about her traveling companion and the Doctor's belief that he knows better than the humans. ("You're only human," he tells Amy condescendingly.)

After all, the Doctor has been around for more than 900 years; he's seen things that most mere mortals could only dream of, so he has to know better than a girl from Ledworth who has been off-planet exactly once in her short life. After all, she voted to "forget" the awful truth of what was going on aboard Starship UK and sought to conceal the true nature of the secret conspiracy from the Doctor, believing it would be better if they left before he was faced with an impossible decision.

But no one makes decisions for the Doctor, as he savagely reminds her (and reminds her of her humanity). The Eleventh Doctor might be an incarnation that's fun and frothy but there's some real darkness and anger inside of him as well, the latter of which--along with his own innate pain--that leaps out of him in this exchange. Rather than simply take her abuse, Amy stands up to the Doctor, making another decision for him that is The Right Choice.

For the truth of Starship UK is that there is no engine aboard the ship, which is being piloted through deep space by an ancient creature known as a space whale (one of which was seen during Torchwood's second season). Every five years, the adults have the ability to learn the truth about the creature and may opt to "forget" or "protest." Most, of course, look to turn a blind eye, choosing to forget the truth about their existence. Those who don't become food for the imprisoned and tortured space whale, while those with limited use (particularly the children) are either conscripted into serving the conspirators--the winders and the smilers--or become yet another tasty meal.

The monarch, Liz Ten (the always sensational Sophie Okenedo), is also aware of something going on (her glass of water experiment is the same the Doctor uses) and she seeks to learn the truth as well but it's a path that puts her in the same place every ten years: back in the Tower of London, having gained the knowledge about what they are doing to that poor, lonely creature, and voting to forget rather than abdicate.

But this time there's a difference: Amy Pond is there by her side and, after getting one hell of a scolding from the Doctor, she opts to make the difficult choice of abdication rather than let the Doctor lobotomize the space whale. She sees a clear parallel between the space whale's plight and that of the Doctor: the last of their kind, lonely and in pain, each looking to help humanity rather than be doomed to an eternity of isolation.

She makes a harder choice than the Doctor is prepared to, placing the residents of Starship UK in danger on little more than a hunch, one formed by seeing the creature interact with Mandy and Timmy. It came to Earth because the children were crying and because it wanted to help, not because of a coincidence or a miracle. While the Doctor can't bring himself to kill the space whale, he wants to put it out of its misery, but Amy won't allow him to destroy something so ancient and beautiful, to take a path of destruction. She believes in the power of benevolence and she's right, ultimately. The space whale, no longer in pain, increases its speed.

Despite their brief time together, Amy has learned something from the Doctor: the ability to notice everything, to process the details and form a picture of what's actually going on outside of the shadows. While that applies to the space whale, it also relates to the Doctor and herself as well.

"You couldn't just stand there and watch children cry," Amy says, but it's not just the space whale she's referring to; it's the Doctor himself as well. He's a hero because it's in his nature to be too. He can't avoid the cry of a space whale or a human child. His identity is rooted in a need to heal, to help, to save. He is, after all, a Doctor.

The final scene aboard Starship UK repairs the damage done between the two in the Tower of London as Amy reveals why she wanted them to leave and why she's still running (albeit from her wedding, which she's continued to conceal from the Doctor): because she was scared, because she was not ready, and because she could. The tenderness of the embrace between the two, framed by the massive wall of glass overlooking the stars, places their interaction not just in terms of the fantastical and the extraordinary but also the very human and personal.

It's an episode that builds upon the strengths of the season opener to cement the relationship between the Doctor and Amy and between the characters and the audience as well. Smith and Gillan both prove more than capable of channeling the intensity and range of emotions necessary for Doctor Who, rendering it impossible to look away from them or fail to be moved by their new-formed partnership. While the season is only just getting underway, I've already fallen head over heels in love with them both.

What did you think of this week's episode? How did it compare to "The Eleventh Hour" for you? Are you loving Smith and Gillan as much as I am? Discuss.

Next week on Doctor Who ("Victory of the Daleks"), The Doctor and Amy meet Winston Churchill during a trip back to World War II, where they also encounter the Daleks.

Los Angeles Times: "The Amazing Race: Shanghai Surprise"

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: Shanghai Surprise," where you can read my take on the latest episode, noodles, non sequiturs, lousy taxi drivers, Ping Ping, 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 season's penultimate episode of The Amazing Race ("They Don't Even Understand Their Own Language"), Caite gets closed in at a market; Dan and Jordan nearly come to blows with their taxi driver.

Channel Surfing: Chuck's Renewal Chances Looking Up, Glee Circles Britney Spears Episode, Parks and Recreation, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that a potential fourth season of NBC's Chuck is looking more and more likely. While we shouldn't breath a collective sigh of relief just yet, Ausiello speaks to an unnamed source close to the production who tells him that it's "looking good" that NBC will renew the Warner Bros. Television-produced action-comedy for another season, bumping the series' position on the Bubble Show Scorecard from "could go either way" to "safe bet." Still, it's important to note that a final decision about Chuck's ultimate fate at the network won't be made for several more weeks... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Additionally, Ausiello also has a first-look video at the May 3rd episode of Chuck (entitled "Chuck Versus the Role Models"), which features an homage to Hart to Hart and features guest stars Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz as a spy couple who are tasked with training Chuck and Sarah. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy has told Entertainment Weekly that he is considering creating an episode around the music of Britney Spears, following an idea floated by Spears' manager on Twitter. "I’m interested in the Britney Spears idea," said Murphy, who is also considering episodes based around Billy Joel, Led Zepplin, and Courtney Love. "I’ve always loved her. I’m entertaining it. I think young kids would like that." (Entertainment Weekly's Music Mix)

Universal Media Studios and NBC have signed Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur to an overall deal that will keep him at the helm of NBC's Parks for several years to come and also develop new material down the line. "I'm an NBC nerd," Schur told Variety. "Every time NBC takes a hit in the press I get angry. They've been nothing but good to me. Their notes on scripts are good. This deal is about solidifying this show and me at NBC." (Variety)

Meanwhile, The Wrap's Josef Adalian reports on the real reason Rob Lowe is being added to the cast of Parks and Recreation: NBC Entertainment chief Angela Bromstad, who felt the series "could benefit from some added star wattage," according to Adalian, and that Lowe could provide the sort of element that Alec Baldwin provides to fellow Thursday night comedy 30 Rock. Still, producers weren't upset by the, er, request to add Lowe to the ensemble, though it did take some pitching from Jeff Gaspin in order for Mike Schur and Greg Daniels to envision how Lowe would fit into the world of Pawnee. "Some of the fans have expressed fears that he won't fit into the world (of Pawnee), but I think those fears will be allayed when they see him," said Schur. He's handsomer than everyone else, but he's also happy to be part of a large ensemble. He fits in because he's being really funny." While Adam Scott's contract locks him in for the long-term, Lowe's deal will be revisited down the line when the network and producers have a chance to see how he meshes with the comedy series. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Meanwhile, you can catch a glimpse of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott on the set of NBC's Parks and Recreation below, courtesy of a new video released by the Peacock:



HBO has announced return dates for comedies Entourage and Hung, which will return with new seasons on June 27th. (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd has a breakdown of which pilots are currently looking like front-runners for series orders at the broadcast network, including CBS' Hawaii Five-O, NBC's Rockford Files and Undercovers, as well as David E. Kelley's Kindreds, Love Bites, Chase, This Little Piggy, Friends with Benefits, Next, Perfect Couples, and Outsources all looking good at the Peacock. CBS is said to be circling Chaos, Defenders, Bleep My Dad Says, Mike & Molly, True Love, and Hawaii Five-O. FOX is said to be high on Breakout Kings, Midland, Ride Along, Terra Nova, Security, Keep Hope Alive, and Most Likely to Succeed. ABC is keen for 187, Off the Map, Body of Evidence, No Ordinary Family, Wright Vs. Wrong, and Mr. Sunshine. At the CW, the network is particularly high on Nikita and Betwixt. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sorry Gina Torres fans, looks like the former Firefly star won't be popping up on Season Two of Syfy's Warehouse 13 after all. Torres has been replaced by Tia Carerre (Relic Hunter) on the sci-fi series, which returns on July 6th for its second season. Lindsay Wagner (Bionic Woman), meanwhile, will guest star as an "in-house doctor for Warehouse 13, home base for the secret storage facility that houses all sorts of strange phenomena being tracked down by agents (Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly)." (Hollywood Reporter)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that Warner Bros. TV is still in "deep talks" to move Conan O'Brien's production company Conaco from NBC Universal to TBS, the cable network now home to O'Brien's upcoming latenight revival. Sources indicated that such a deal could be made by the end of the month. "The deal has been a no-brainer since the April 12 announcement that O'Brien was head to Turner's TBS, which, like WBTV, is part of the Time Warner family," wrote Adalian. "Turner chief Steve Koonin told TheWrap then that he wanted to do 'multiple projects together,' making it inevitable that there'd be a production deal with WBTV." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

The New York Times's Joe Rhodes has a feature about FOX's upcoming action-comedy series The Good Guys, starring Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks and created by Matt Nix (Burn Notice). Series, produced by FTVS, was ordered to series without a pilot. "Matt walks in the door with not only a finished script and a pitch for what the whole season was going to be," Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly told Rhodes, "but with a willingness to deliver a network-quality show on a cable budget. We are getting a lot of bang for our buck, literally." (The New York Times)

Over at Los Angeles Times's Show Tracker site, Claire Zulkey talks to the latest winner of Project Runway. (Los Angeles Times's Show Tracker)

The cast of ABC's reality competition series Dancing with the Stars seems to be enjoying themselves more now that Kate Gosselin has been booted from the series. "It’s a whole new place around the set of DWTS this week!" an unnamed insider told Fancast's Kelly Will. "The cast and crew are working in an entirely new environment. Kate wasn’t the problem, it was the drama that followed her. It was like a cloud of energy everyday that changed the dynamics of the cast when they were filming segments. Now that Kate is out, it’s a quieter place to be. It was a media storm when Kate was around, not by her choice, but it was... Jon may not have been a cast member of the show, but every time he did something in public it quickly trickled down onto the set. If Kate was dealing with something difficult, people noticed, heard about it and had an opinion. The moms were supportive and the guys pretty much tried to avoid it. Bachelor Jake was always very nice to Kate – people liked her but she had so much to deal with besides the show. It was hard to really befriend her because of the media circus." (Fancast)

E! Online's Megan Masters talks with Gossip Girl's Billy Baldwin about his upcoming arc as Serena's father. "This is a good guy who has made some bad choices in his life," said Baldwin about Van der Woodsen, who he said "poses some interesting conflicts and problems for everybody." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

NBC is bumping this week's episode of Mercy to 9 pm (and filling the 8 pm timeslot with a repeat of Minute to Win It) in an effort to give the struggling freshman drama series a shot in the arm, hoping that it will have a better chance at luring viewers when it's not leading off the night. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

TV Squad's Chris Harnick has an interview with Nigella Lawson about her upcoming new series, Jamie Oliver, and KFC's Double Down. "I don't want to feel guilty every time I eat some potato chips," said Lawson, laughing. "But I do admire him for the work he's done. I have to say, he's a great boy." (TV Squad)

Showtime will offer a sneak-peek at the upcoming reality series The Real L Word tonight at 11 pm ET/PT, following new episodes of Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara. The series itself will launch on Sunday, June 20th at 10 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

The Hollywood Reporter has a recap of Friday night's Psych panel at the Paley Center. "Discovering, inventing or stealing a pill that reverses the aging process, kidnapping Barbara Hershey and watching Boxcar Bertha with her, convincing Gus to purchase one of those Japanese video games where you dance ... and possibly kissing Detective Juliet O'Hara on the mouth," said James Roday when asked about his character's five-year plan. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Television Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with former NUMB3RS executive producer Don McGill, under which he will come aboard CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as an executive producer next season and develop new projects for the studio. (Variety)

The Daytime Emmy Awards telecast is returning to CBS and will air during primetime on Sunday, June 27th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pennsylvania labor officials has approved TLC's request to film Jon and Kate Gosselin's eight children for a series of Kate Plus 8 specials to air on the network, according to Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice, who reports that the kids will not be appearing in TLC's spin-off series Twist of Kate, which launches this summer. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Disney Channel has ordered a second season of I'm in the Band. (via press release)

Stay tuned.

The View from the Bridge: The Man From the Other Side on Fringe

"You called me dad." - Walter Bishop

This week's episode of Fringe ("The Man From the Other Side"), written by Josh Singer and Ethan Gross and directed by Jeffrey Hunt, paid off many of the clues and signals we've seen building throughout the second season of Fringe, particularly those swirling around Thomas Jerome Newton and the Bishop family secrets.

It was the latter that was the most heartbreaking, coming as it did on the heels of a moment of profound connection between Walter and Peter, the first time that Peter had called Walter "dad." It was a yet another tiny but emotional resonant moment in a season positively overflowing with them, offering a glimmer of happiness that would all too easily be snatched away before the end of the episode.

So what did I think of this week's episode of Fringe? Let's crank up the Rush and find out.

This season, Fringe has wisely found a balance between creepy/gross/bizarre science-related mysteries of the week, a mythology founded on multiple realities, and an emphasis on the emotional connections between the characters. (Though I am tired of repeating myself on one front: please, for the love of custard, give Astrid something to do, a storyline, a backstory. She can't just still be the lab help in the third season.) Casting aside the possibility of a romantic entanglement for Olivia and Peter, the writers have instead fashioned the Fringe Division as a family of damaged individuals, each one carting around the ghosts of the past who have finally found some semblance of home in the madness of Walter Bishop's lab beneath Harvard University.

But that familial balance is about to become unhinged. Over the past few episodes, Walter has increasingly come to the conclusion that he has to tell Peter the truth about his identity, even though it comes with the risk of losing him all over again. But Peter does deserve to know where he came from, after all. Olivia attempts to caution Peter against stirring up old secrets, making sure that he knows that Walter loves him.

But is that enough? Is it enough to know that Walter loved him when he's faced with proof that he was taken from his home? He might have called Walter "dad" for the first time, but the hatred that burns in his eyes when he regains consciousness and sees Walter reveals that he sees this man as little more than a kidnapper: a stranger who came in the night and took him away. How on earth could they hope to have any semblance of a relationship after this?

What Peter doesn't know--and what he won't allow Walter to tell him--is why. Which is perhaps their relationship's one saving grace. Walter didn't cross over between the worlds to take him but to save him. Fate intervened and then Peter's mother fell in love with him. Which is why, when he left for Europe, she killed herself. The choice she had made--to rob another mother of her son--was too much to bare once she was all alone.

Peter has long wondered why he had such fuzzy memories of his childhood, why he was often skeptical of stories that Walter told him of his formative years... and why he could survive the vibrations unleashed by Newton on the railroad bridge over the Charles River when a nearby FBI agent was atomized next to him. In that instant, everything was clear and the bridge that was appearing before his eyes wasn't just a physical one to another world by a metaphorical one to his own past.

He might have stopped Newton's plan but it also meant that the scales fell from his eyes. He saw Walter for who he really was (or who he believes him to be) and saw himself for what he was: a tourist from another place, someone who doesn't belong in this world and never did. The coming war is a direct result of Walter's efforts to save the life of his son and at the heart of this battle is Peter Bishop himself. No wonder Peter checked himself out of the hospital and took off for parts unknown.

And then there's the matter of the man on the bridge, the one who was meant to be brought through the veil between the worlds along with the bridge and who was making strides directly towards Peter Bishop. Newton went through a lot of trouble to bring him to this place and to engineer a major scheme in order to bring that bridge to this place.

Just who was he, that man from the other side? Could it be that Newton is allied with the other world's Walter Bishop? After all, the shapeshifter embryo grabbed Walter's hand and apologized with its dying breath. What if the central conflict has always been not just inside Walter Bishop but between Walter Bishop? Could it be that this entire war is really about that fateful night Walter tried to save Peter's life?

And then there's the matter of the Secretary, the mysterious person whom Newton speaks to after he crossed over to this world. He sedates him and tells him not to talk, but Mr. Secretary grips Newton's hand in a sign of solidarity... one that sharply echoes that between Walter Bishop and the shapeshifter embryo. Hmmmm...

Which means that there's a strong case to make for Mr. Secretary being Walternate, the other universe's Walter Bishop. Did he find another means of crossing over after the bridge experiment failed? After all, as far as we know that universe's Walter Bishop never crossed over before and has never visited this world. And it would make sense why the embryo apologized to Walter for failing his mission. Curious, no?

What did you think of this week's installment? Who is the man on the bridge? Who is Mr. Secretary? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Fringe ("Brown Betty"), Walter deals with some very upsetting news, he tells Olivia's niece, Ella, a fairy tale that includes musical performances by Olivia and Agent Broyles.