Talk Back: What Did You Think of NBC's The Event, FOX's Lone Star, and CBS' Hawaii Five-0?

Ding ding.

That sound you hear was the official start of fall premiere week last night as the networks took the wraps off of their new lineups and brought the launches of several new shows to the public last night.

In the battle of the 9 pm dramas, NBC's tepid The Event overtook FOX's more original Lone Star in an outcome that should surprise no one.

While I wrote about both The Event and Lone Star yesterday (and have been talking about them since last May on Twitter), I'm curious to see what you thought of the new series that launched last night.

Which of the handful of new dramas and comedy Mike & Molly did you tune in for? What did you think of the plot, the characters, the dialogue, and the inherent promise of each?

And, most importantly, which of the series will you come back and watch again next week?

Talk back here.

Thy Name's Delirium: Future Imperfect on Boardwalk Empire

It's tricky to write about a new series when you've seen the subsequent five episodes, as is the case with HBO's addictive and gorgeously realized period drama Boardwalk Empire, which kicked off last night.

While I had the chance to watch the first six episodes of the Terence Winter/Martin Scorsese drama ahead of time, last night was the first time that I got the chance to see the visually stunning opening sequence, which depicts the bowler-clad Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) on the rocky beach as an ocean of booze bottles comes pouring in. With a tip of the figurative hat to Belgian artist Rene Magritte, it effortlessly captured the scope and tone of the series while reveling in the symbolic implications.

Last night's dazzling series premiere ("Boardwalk Empire"), written by Terence Winter and directed by Martin Scorsese, perfectly brought to life the Atlantic City of 1920, a world populated by grifters, flashy politicians, midgets, widows, booze-hounds, and gunmen. A world of excess and depravity, of temperance and alcoholism, of freedom and imprisonment, where everything--from the fishermen's daily haul to baby incubators--becomes a boardwalk attraction for the masses.

For Buscemi's Nucky Thompson, the boardwalk is his past, present, and future, aligned in one singular physical location. It's telling that he's drawn first to those baby incubators, a painful reminder of the children he didn't ever have with his long-dead wife who died from consumption seven years earlier, and then later to the fortune-teller, where his eyes meet those of the gypsy behind the veil. His entire life--birth to death as well as what's been lost--called up in one long stroll along the boardwalk.

Nucky has made quite a life for himself in this oceanside fiefdom, carving out a world of privilege, a flat on the eighth floor of the Ritz-Carlton, a beautiful young girlfriend (Paz de la Huerta), and a gifted protege in Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt). But one also can't shake the feeling that he's missing something, that the constant grift, the greasing of palms, the glad-handing, the speeches to the Women's Temperance League have left him in search of something to fill the void left by his wife's death.

Enter Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), the pregnant wife of baker's helper Hans who already has two kids and an abusive marriage to deal with. Moved by Nucky's (untrue) story of tragedy in his own past, she reaches out to him to effect change in her life. While he offers her a wad of cash, Margaret's after not charity but something more beneficial: a job for her husband.

Margaret's efforts to improve her life have a nasty way of making things worse, however. Hans spies her being driven home by Jimmy and uncovers her secret stash of cash and violently beats her. Confronting Nucky at the casino and spending the very money he gave Margaret for her children, Hans is beaten by Nucky and chucked out... and then takes out his anger on Margaret, beating her severely and causing her to miscarry.

While Nucky could have just turned up at the hospital with flowers for Margaret, the intersection of their disparate lives has only just begun. He uses Hans as a fall guy for Jimmy and Al Capone (Stephen Graham)'s theft of illegal liquor destined to New York mobster Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg), who had previously insulted Nucky... and cheated him out of $90,000. It's a tidy solution that gets Jimmy off the hook and allows Nucky the benefit of ridding Margaret of her no-good husband.

The pay-off: having Hans' corpse fall out of the fishermen's nets right in front of the tourists on the boardwalk. Genius.

I am however more than a little concerned about just where Jimmy's new line of work will lead him, particularly as he played the Prohibition agents and Nucky against one another and walked away the victor. Now he's on both of their radars and Nucky and Elias know that he was behind the hold-up and the murder of four of Rothstein's men. And then there was the fact that Al shouted out Jimmy's full name at the scene of the crime. Sure, they shot those four men and killed them, but... something tells me they're not in the clear.

What too to make of the murder of “Big Jim” Colosimo (Frank Crudele)? Was it Rothstein looking to take over Chicago? Or Johnny Torrio (Greg Antonacci) looking to muscle a larger share of Chi-town? Curious that...

Ultimately, a fantastic and vivid portrayal of life in Nucky's so-called Boardwalk Empire, one that has the possibility of crumbling down around him. The next five episodes are even better than the pilot, so prepare to be intrigued, dazzled, and entertained in equal measure. I'll see you at Babette's...

Next week on Boardwalk Empire ("The Ivory Tower"), investigating a crime which he feels has been pinned on a scapegoat, straight-arrow Agent Nelson Van Alden pays a visit to Nucky and leaves convinced that the Treasurer is “as corrupt as the day is long"; Nucky quickly does damage control, enlisting his brother, Sheriff Elias Thompson, to close ranks with their underlings; in Chicago, Al Capone shows a local reporter what he thinks about accusations that Johnny Torrio was involved in the slaying of local mobster “Big Jim” Colosimo; Nucky discusses the upcoming election with his aging mentor, Commodore Louis Kaestner, with whom he debates the women’s vote issue; Nucky rebukes an irate Arnold Rothstein over the phone, then meets privately with Margaret Schroeder, who asks him for help in providing for her children; traveling salesman George Baxter, in town for a few days with an unwilling young beauty named Claudia, makes a startling discovery while on the road home to Baltimore.

Con Men and Tricksters: Thoughts on FOX's Lone Star and NBC's The Event

In a television series where so many ideas seem to be inferior iterations on programs we've already seen, it's refreshing to come across a series that attempts to do something original.

FOX's con man drama Lone Star, which launches tonight, is just that series. While I don't think the Kyle Killen-series is perfect--there are quite a few flaws that jump out during the pilot episode--it has the potential to develop into something intriguing. That is, if viewers give it a chance.

The series revolves around Bob Allen (James Wolk), a roguish con man who has ingratiated his way into two women's hearts. There's the mark: Cat (Friday Night Lights' Adrianne Palicki), the wealthy daughter of an oil tycoon (Jon Voight), who Bob used to infiltrate the company. And then in the small Texas town of Midland, there's Lindsey (Eloise Mumford), his earnest girlfriend for whom he enjoys mowing the lawn. (No, that's not a euphemism.)

But Bob has broken the cardinal rule for con men: he's fallen for his own lies. His relationships with Cat and Lindsey are based on genuine emotion and he discovers--much to the anger of his grifter father John (David Keith)--that he can't walk away from either of them when the critical time arrives.

What follows is a unique mash-up of Dallas and Big Love, albeit without the religious discussions of the Principle of plurality, a drama that questions whether our hearts can hold love for more than one person and whether it's our actions or our emotions that determine just who we are.

Despite the rave reviews that Wolk seems to be receiving, my main issue with Lone Star is the casting of Wolk as it's difficult to buy him as Bob/Robert, a dual role requiring him to tap into something innately charismatic and wholly charming, something he lacks the full maturity to pull off. It's not so much his baby face that's distracting here; it's the fact that Bob and Robert don't seem all that different other than the uniforms of their station and Wolk lacks enough of a magnetic lure to make me forget this fact.

There's also some groaners amid the somewhat stilted dialogue. I'm hoping that subsequent episodes offer a more naturalistic ear as several lines seemed designed to offer as much exposition as humanly possible. While that's often the downfall of several pilot episodes, it's also something that can hopefully be corrected in the future. Given the ambitious scope of its plot, the dialogue and chemistry between the actors needs to be top notch if the network can pull it off in the long-term.

However, I'm intrigued enough to at least check out a second episode of Lone Star and seeing the executive producers--Party of Five's Amy Lippman and Chris Keyser, here serving as showrunners--did at least assuage some of my concerns about the long-term viability of this project. Additionally, the producers have lined up some fantastic recurring stars for the first season, including Andie MacDowell, Chad Faust, and Rosa Blasi.

At its heart, there's a compelling and unusual premise for an ongoing serialized drama, one that I sparked to when I read the pilot script back in the spring. I'm hoping that the producers can deliver on the promise of my initial reaction and transform Lone Star into a quirky and offbeat soap.

Faced with the choice of what to watch at 9 pm on Mondays, I'd certainly rather choose Lone Star over NBC's offering, The Event, yet another attempt to cash in on the success that was Lost without understanding just what made Lost work, particularly in the early days.

The short answer to that: characters. While Lost's pilot episode may have offered monstrous noises in the jungle, polar bears, and mysterious French messages emanating from a radio tower, it also revolved deeply around the plight of the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815, three-dimensional and nuanced characters. While these assembled passengers may have been strangers--both to each other and to us--the question of how they would survive the days to come gave the pilot a jolt of energy and a real emotional resonance.

Not so with The Event, an expensively produced but brain-dead production whose idea of challenging drama is to present events jumbled up in a non-linear fashion. Once untangled, nothing has much weight nor much excitement. The attempt to create momentum out of such chaotic structuring falls flat on its face because the characters are so entirely paper-thin. They're not even ciphers per se, but rather lifeless mannequins enacting a tedious play where the rules--and the overall premise--are shrouded in so much "mystery" that characters continually speak in half-whispers about events and ideas that the audience is kept in the dark about.

The promotional campaign tries to play up this aura of dread and uncertainty, offering storylines that "are not the Event." The pilot itself juggles a series of plots--a presidential assassination, a plane hijacking, the disappearance of a twenty-something--that are at first seemingly unrelated but which--quelle surprise!--are revealed to be in some way interconnected.

As for what that is, it's not revealed in the pilot episode, which is essentially forty-plus minutes of lead up to a major reveal at the end of the pilot that more or less reveals the true genre of the show you've been watching. But in structuring the episode in just that way, the producers have burned a lot of good will. If you can't win people over with a hugely expensive high-concept pilot, what chances are there of them coming back the following week to learn the truth about what they've just been watching?

The Event's producers claim that they've learned from the mistakes of Lost and will offer answers throughout the season to the show's central mysteries... which is more or less what the producers of ABC's failed FlashForward last season said as well. What both fail to realize is that it wasn't just the questions and answers that kept Lost's devoted viewers coming back for more. And if The Event has any hope of remaining on the air, it had better put the focus less on tricking the audience with slight of hand and deft illusion and more with some relatable and realistic characters.

I, on the other hand, won't be sticking around to find out.

Lone Star premieres tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX. The Event premieres in the same time slot on NBC.

Devil's Playground: Some Further Thoughts on HBO's Addictive Boardwalk Empire

Tonight brings the premiere of what is hands-down the best new series of the year (or indeed in recent memory), as HBO launches the Terence Winter/Martin Scorsese period drama Boardwalk Empire, a provocative period drama that mines Prohibition era-Atlantic City to superb effect, revealing the corruption and sin lurking behind the bathtub gin, the depravity enabled by smugglers, and the lengths that men on both sides of the alcohol issue will go to hold onto their power.

All roads, it seems, even those not yet built, lead to the Jersey Shore's glittering beachside gem.

Over at The Daily Beast, I selected Boardwalk Empire--based on the strength of its superlative first six episodes--as one of nine new series that you must watch this fall. Here's what I had to say:

WATCH: Boardwalk Empire (HBO; premieres September 19)

Travel back in time to a world of flappers, rum-runners, crooked politicians, g-men, and mobsters with household names in HBO's period drama Boardwalk Empire, set in Atlantic City at the start of Prohibition. Created by Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese (who also directed the pilot), the plot follows the exploits of the city's treasurer, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi), his protégé Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt), Irish widow Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), and a cast of colorful characters, including savage dandy Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams), Al Capone (Stephen Graham), Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza), and terrifying Prohibition agent Van Alden (Michael Shannon). Plus, more dancers, hookers, smugglers, and urchins than you can shake a tassel at. The result is a vivid and gripping portrait of a city ensnared by corruption and awash in a sea of illicit booze. That sound you hear isn't the firing of tommy guns; it's your heart pounding.

(You can also read my feature on Boardwalk Empire--in which I sit down with creator Terence Winter, Steve Buscemi, and Kelly Macdonald--over at The Daily Beast.)

While the capsule review sums up some of my feelings about Boardwalk Empire, it's impossible to really boil down this remarkable and ambitious project into a few scant sentences. In the hands of Winter, Scorsese, Tim Van Patten, the craftsmen, actors, and writers, these gifted artisans recreate the Atlantic City of 1920 in such staggering detail, down the little off-color touches, that it's impossible not to get sucked into what becomes a booze-doused Wonderland.

In Nucky Thompson, the venal Atlantic City treasure, Steve Buscemi has found the role that he was born to play, a magnetic politician whose rule isn't so much lead by an iron fist but by the velvet glove of shared benefit. He lives on the eighth floor of the boardwalk Ritz-Carlton and he inhabits this world with the polish and charm of an exiled prince, one who still takes the time to meet with his constituents after rolling out of bed at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. It's Nucky's very hypocrisy--he's far from a teetotaler and yet still speaks passionately (if not at all truthfully) at the Women's Temperance League.

But Nucky does care, if a bit too much, about some of the individuals who come into his orbit, including his haunted protege Jimmy (Michael Pitt), newly returned from World War I who wants more out of life than a Princeton degree. His arc takes him on a journey of both self-discovery and a descent into the world of crime, pairing him with a young Brooklyn upstart named Al Capone (Stephen Graham).

And then there's the pious and well-meaning Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), an Irish mother and Temperance supporter who has caught Nucky's eye, despite the sexual charms of his girlfriend Lucy (Paz de la Huerta). Macdonald makes Margaret wholly sympathetic, even as she falls under Nucky's spell as much as he does hers. Her journey from abused wife to something unexpected and compelling is a masterclass in understated acting. There's a real spark between the two of them that's intoxicating even as it is completely unusual in these types of stories. The lure that Margaret has for Nucky, however, makes sense within the context of his backstory and the early death of his wife.

But the series is far more than just the romance between these two. Instead, it's a dazzling mosaic comprised of gangsters, widows, smugglers, politicos, thieves, thugs, hookers, and tourists. Thanks to the strength of directors like Scorsese and Van Patten, it's a gorgeously shot production that doesn't gloss over the ugliness of the time period, the plight of vote-deprived women, of the blacks toiling away for pennies amid the privilege and excess, of the blood-splatter and larceny that mark the birth of organized crime.

In other words: pour yourself a stiff drink and settle in tonight to watch this remarkable new drama when it launches tonight.



Boardwalk Empire premieres tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

Studying Humanity: An Advance Review of the Second Season Premiere of Community

I don't want to say too much lest I spoil the sheer and utter joy that is watching the second season opener ("Anthropology 101") of NBC's Community, which--like its characters--heads back to Greendale after a summer break.

There's a gleeful absurdity deep in the DNA of this winning show but also a lot of emotional resonance, as its characters tackle the larger struggles facing humanity while also managing to get involved in all manner of larger-than-life hijinx. It's a tonal juxtaposition that has worked well for the series in the first season, and Season Two--which begins on Thursday--smartly continues this trend, creating a microcosm in which the heartfelt and supremely weird hold hands on the way to class.

Given the way that the first season left off--with Jeff (Joel McHale) and Annie (Alison Brie) locking lips rather than with Britta (Gillian Jacobs)--it's only natural that the writers would deal with this new love triangle permutation early on. And that they do, in true Community fashion, complete with a Cranberries tribute band and, well, that would be telling.

What I can tell you is that the first five minutes of the episode are sheer and utter bliss, a Wes Anderson-inspired montage that depicts the characters in their natural habitats as they they prepare for their first day back at Greendale. It's an ingenuous way to begin the season, giving us a glimpse into the headspace of the characters, as well as their home lives, something we didn't get to see during Season One. Surprising and hysterical, it's a sign that we're immediately getting yanked back into this addictive comedy.

What follows after that is the stuff that smart and slick comedies are made on, as Community offers a blistering assault on CBS' $#*! My Dad Says (and the Twitter account that it's based on), sidekicks, oneupmanship, and ego. It features Abed (Danny Pudi) delivering one of the most powerful and yet simple lines of dialogue that's a verbal kick to the gut for one character.

The love triangle goes to an even weirder place than before and the characters--in particular the lovable and pious single mom Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown)--react to the new complications and twists. (Really, that's even more than I should be saying.) Troy (Donald Glover), meanwhile, has been living with Pierce (Chevy Chase), though their relationship--or lack thereof--comes to a head in this episode as well.

As for disgraced Spanish professor Senor Chang (Ken Jeong), there are more than a few surprises lined up in the first episode back. (You'll know what I mean when you see it. Shades of Gollum, perhaps?)

And then there's Betty White, the spry octogenarian who has been popping up everywhere these days. In true Community style, she plays mentally unstable anthropology professor June Bauer who gives the gang their first assignment of the new school year, one that's both eye-opening and, well, terrifying, really.

Ultimately, "Anthropology 101" is a pitch-perfect season opener, offering the color and charm of the first season of Community while taking it to a further level of self-assurance and polish. As the series seemingly effortlessly juggles humor, heart, and its own particular brand of I'm-as-weird-as-I-want-to-be peculiarity, it's tough not to fall in love with these true to life characters and this extraordinary comedy that's redefining what's possible within the context of American broadcast sitcoms.

If this is the way that Dan Harmon and Co. have chosen to begin the sophomore season, I can honestly say that we're in for a treat as this promising series just gets smarter and weirder by the day. And by that I mean that you won't get, uh, "dirt-roaded" if you opt to tune in at 8 pm on Thursdays. Your inner outcast will thank you.

Season Two of Community begins Thursday night at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC.

First Frost: An Advance Review of the Chuck Season Four Premiere

When we last left Zachary Levi's Chuck Bartowski, he had received a revelation--or two--that shocked his world to its core. Having buried his father, slain in the line of duty, Chuck learned that his father had maintained a secret underground headquarters beneath the family's Encino home and that his mother, Mary Elizabeth Bartowski, had her own secrets as well... and that his father had devoted his life to finding Chuck and Ellie's errant mother.

I can tell you that we see the elusive Mary (played by Terminator's Linda Hamilton) within the very first seconds of Season Four of NBC's Chuck, which begins on Monday with a fantastic and funny installment ("Chuck Versus the Anniversary") that sets up the overarching plotline for the fourth season while creating a new status quo for our favorite spy.

I had the chance last night to watch "Chuck Versus the Anniversary," written by Chris Fedak and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill, and was struck by how much humor and whimsy--and action--they managed to shoehorn into those forty-odd minutes. As I tweeted last night about the episode, "Chuck premiere: sexting, skydiving, Seinfeld references, (Harry Dean) Stanton? Sensational. Very fun opener."

Which it is. Without giving too much away, I can say that Chuck and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) are still very much a couple, though with some new obstacles to overcome, Chuck's promise to Ellie to leave the spy life behind stands (or, well, sort of, anyway), and divergent plotlines end up beautifully intersecting before the end of the hour, when Chuck is forced to make a choice that could have some consequences for his current covert mission: tracking down his mother.

What else did I think of the season opener? Read on...

[As always: please do not reproduce this review in full on any message boards, websites, or blogs.]

It's the above task that shadows the action unfolding within "Chuck Versus the Anniversary," but the episode is not all doom and gloom. In fact, it's one of the most lighthearted and funny episodes of the series in quite some time, as executive producer Chris Fedak constructs an episode that equal parts Get Smart homage, gadget-influenced romantic comedy, and a high-flying, globe-hopping espionage drama that's set against such diverse cities as Hong Kong, Moscow, and, well, Burbank. (The gang's jet-setting lifestyle is visualized through a hilarious map gag that makes use of the credit sequence's little stick figure man.)

While I don't want to give too much away about this fun and fantastic installment, I will say that several of the series regulars don't make appearances here, so don't hold your breath waiting to find out what Lester, Jeff, Big Mike, or Captain Awesome have been up to since we last saw them. However, what you will find is an episode that puts the spotlight on the core group--that would be Chuck, Sarah, Casey (Adam Baldwin), and Morgan (Josh Gomez), naturally--while reconfiguring them a bit and pushing them into a new and exciting direction within the confines of the series.

As for the Buy More gang, I'll be interested to see just how they fit into this new world order within Chuck and just how they'll interact with the newly promoted Bonita Fredericy's General Beckman, who takes on a most unusual role within the infrastructure of the series. I'll say no more on that front for the time being.

Chuck and Sarah's relationship--a romantic one for those worried--is the bedrock of the season. While the two are challenged by circumstances, there are no ex-lovers, would-be love interests, or other external pressures on their relationship, but rather a realistic situation that tests their bond even as it proves their loyalty and depth of feelings for one another. And, yes, involves the ubiquitous trend of the moment: sexting. But said trend is used for both comedic and dramatic effect and Fedak creatively uses it both as gag and plot point here.

Ultimately,"Chuck Versus the Anniversary" is a hell of a start for what promises another fantastic season of Chuck, one filled with intrigue, excitement, romance, and comedy. Not to mention Mary Elizabeth Bartowski. In the hands of Hamilton, she becomes an impressive and powerful figure in Chuck's life, albeit one who might either be friend or foe. Suffice it to say that a scene in which Mary figures prominently will not soon be forgotten...

Meanwhile, the episode also features Harry Dean Stanton, Dolph Lundgren, and Olivia Munn. I have to say that I'm extremely impressed that Fedak and Josh Schwartz were able to get Stanton, who turns up here in a most unexpected role, one that sets in motion a series of events involving getaways, menus, and public transportation. As for Lundgren, his appearance signals the arrival of a new criminal organization for Chuck and Co. to take down over the course of the season, perhaps taking advantage of the power vacuum created by the destruction of The Ring.

Just who is Lundgren's character working for and what is their ultimate aim? And how does Mary fit into all of this? What's her agenda exactly? Hmmm...

Season Four of Chuck launches Monday at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC.

The Daily Beast: "Nine Shows to Watch, Six Shows to Shun"

My fall TV preview--or at least part of it, anyway--is finally up.

Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest feature, "Nine Shows to Watch, Six Shows to Shun," where I offer up nine new series to watch this fall and six shows to avoid like the plague.

Just which ended up on which list? Hint, The Event ended up on my worst-of list, while things like Boardwalk Empire, Terriers, Nikita, Sherlock, Luther, Undercovers and others ended up on my watch list. (While The Walking Dead is on there, I still--like every other critic--have not seen a full episode, so there's that to consider.)

But while this is my list, I'm also extremely curious to find out what you're looking forward to this autumn. What are you most excited about watching this fall? Head to the comments section to discuss, debate, and tear into my list.

Talk Back: Series Premiere of the CW's Nikita

The fall premieres continue to wear on as last night brought the series premiere of the CW's new action-thriller Nikita, starring Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Xander Berkeley, and Aaron Stanford.

While you can read my advance review of Nikita's pilot episode here, I'm curious to know what you thought now that the episode in question has aired.

What did you make of Maggie Q as the lead? And of Lyndsy Fonseca as new Division recruit Alex? (And of the pig masks?) Were you a fan of USA's Peta Wilson-led La Femme Nikita and how did it hold up in comparison? Were you surprised by the twist or did you see it--as I did--from a mile or more away? Where do you think the season will head? Did you see any similarities to Alias or Dollhouse?

And, most importantly, will you be tuning in again next week?

Talk back here.

Next week on Nikita ("2.0"), Nikita tries to interfere with Division's protective custody of a Slavic leader wanted for war crimes, but is thwarted by a band of mercenaries; Alex is sent into the field.

Lethal Weapon of Mass Destruction: An Advance Review of the CW's Nikita

The only way that you could have missed the provocative and eye-catching ads for the CW's Nikita, premiering night, is if you are perhaps visually-impaired. The red-hued promotional campaign, featuring series lead Maggie Q (Live Free or Die Hard) have been ubiquitous of late, popping up on mall food court tables, billboards, and bus sides for months now.

The wait, however, is over now. Tonight brings the series premiere of Nikita, the latest in a line of adaptations of Luc Besson's landmark 1990 film La Femme Nikita, which starred Anne Parillaud as the titular character, a government-trained assassin from, uh, humble origins who finds herself transformed into a cold-blooded killer. The film was then adapted into Bridget Fonda vehicle Point of No Return before being resurrected as the Peta Wilson-led USA action series La Femme Nikita and going on to influence ABC's Alias... and now it's been revamped again as CW's high-flying action-thriller Nikita, which seems to take some of its cues from Alias.

Unlike before, the start of this Nikita-based project isn't a drugged-up Nikita being discovered by Division and trained in the deadly ways of the femme fatale assassin. (That role falls to a new recruit.) Here, Maggie Q's Nikita has already been through the ringer, already been instructed in the womanly ways as well as those of the gun, and has gone rogue. Like Alias' Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), she has learned too well that her employers are not what they appear to be and that they are willing to do everything in their power to keep their grasp on her, including murdering her fiance, who--like Sydney's in Alias--is also named Danny.

The murder of her beloved sends Nikita on a quest of vengeance as she looks for a way to hurt Division as badly as they've hurt her, an eye for an eye, a massive explosion and dozens of casualties for the one that she's lost. However, inside Division, her handlers have found a potential replacement for their lost Nikita in Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca), a troubled girl with a background similar to Nikita's. Caught in an armed robbery gone horribly awry, she is taken by Division and undergoes training to make her a deadly assassin.

Which creates a dual focus for the series to explore, as Alex functions as the audience's entrypoint to the story, a sarcastic and brutal ingenue who finds herself navigating the complex and deadly waters of Division, and Nikita works to take down Division from the outside, turning up when Division's nefarious Percy (Xander Berkeley) least expects it in order to make them pay.

On some levels, the overall conceit reminded me somewhat of Season One of FOX's short-lived Joss Whedon drama series Dollhouse, revolving as it did around an organization that uses people as living weapons that is largely undone by internal and external aggressors. Hell, the trainees--Fonseca's Alex, Ashton Holmes' Thom, and Tiffany Hines' Jaden--wear drab clothes similar to the ones the Actives wore on Dollhouse.

It's also a conceit that makes me wonder just what Season Two of this series would look like. With Nikita on the outside--despite her being the titular character--would the entire series' run focus on her efforts to take down Division and free the other recruits? Will she find a potential ally in the deeply conflicted Division operative Michael (Shane West), with whom she shares some crucial backstory? Just how long can this overarching plot wend its way through the storyline before it becomes difficult to maintain and still have a basis in some semblance of reality?

Which isn't to say that Nikita isn't a fun, if somewhat mindless, diversion, because it is. Maggie Q is a sensational lead and she effortlessly slips into the role of a calculated killer and career strategist, a trained agent bristling against what's been done to her but using those very skills to topple her former keepers.

Maggie Q gets to wear slinky outfits, strut in a bikini in the pilot episode, and use her considerable martial arts background to kick some bad guy ass, engaging in a number of stunts that she did on her own. The action sequences are particularly strong and showcase Maggie's talents in a number of different environments. (I only wish that they had been able to film the pilot script's death-defying leap off of an infinity pool, a wicked visual that demonstrated the extreme risks Nikita is willing to take.)

There's additionally a nice balance between Maggie Q and her co-star Lyndsy Fonseca (as well as a taut chemistry between the former and West), who seems to fulfill the role of a young Nikita in the story: the newbie going through the ropes of training and being tested at every turn by the operatives of the Division, including psychologist Amanda (Melinda Clarke).

A twist at the very end of the series premiere can be easily seen from a mile away, but still sets up an intriguing direction for the first season, albeit one that also makes me reiterate the above questions at the same time. Still, Maggie Q is genuinely a pleasure to watch and there's an energy and boldness that the pilot exhibits that makes it a fun--if dark--alternative on Thursday evenings. Whether it will be able to win an audience that's already gripped by strange goings-on over on FOX with Fringe in the same timeslot remains to be seen.

However, one thing is for certain: this Nikita has some definite potential, as long as it doesn't fall into certain traps along the way, pitfalls that an operative like Nikita herself should have planned for in advance.

Nikita premieres tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on the CW.

Dogged Detectives with Bite: An Advance Review of FX's Terriers

As the owner of a small dog, I can attest to the fact that the size of the beast isn't indicative of the largeness of their personalities... nor the fact that they're only too willing to take on adversaries far bigger than them.

Which seems to be the metaphor behind the title of FX's new drama series Terriers, which premieres tonight. Despite the title, Terriers isn't about dog breeders or, well, dogs at all, though there are more than a few canines lurking in the background of this scrappy and sly series, created by Ted Griffin (Ocean's Eleven, Matchstick Men) and executive produced by Shawn Ryan (The Shield).

While the unlicensed private detectives of the series, ex-cop Hank Dolworth (Life's Donal Logue) and his BFF Britt Pollack (True Blood's Michael Raymond-James), might be small fry in the sunny San Diego coastal town of Ocean Beach, they're not ones to back down from anything, even when they've bitten off far more than they can chew.

For this winsome duo, their low-level business isn't a lucrative line of work but rather an effort to remain a little longer in Neverland, despite the efforts of everyone in their lives--whether that be Hank's ex-wife Gretchen (House's Kimberly Quinn), now moving on with her life, or Britt's would-be veterinarian girlfriend Katie (Dirt's Laura Allen)--to push them, kicking and screaming, into adulthood.

Despite the fact that Hank and Britt are slumming it a bit, it's a joy to chew the fat with them in the gutter. In the hands of Logue and Raymond-James, there's a genuine camaraderie and rapport between these two and it's hard to imagine that they've been anything but the best of friends for years now. They have a shorthand between them for their professional maneuvers--which often include the illicit, immoral, and outright illegal--and, like any friends of the male variety, seem hellbent on driving each other crazy. (In the pilot episode, this includes Hank's repeated attempts to create an earworm--a song that gets stuck in one's head--to torment Britt.)

But this isn't a USA dramedy. While there's a hell of a lot of comedy going on here, it's nicely juxtaposed against some toothy drama that exposes the seedy underbelly of this sunny beach town. It's not all suntanning and beers on the ocean. A rotting corpse is discovered in a lifeguard tower. A real estate developer is as dirty as they come. A parking lot confrontation--over a missing girl under Hank and Britt's protection--turns brutally nasty. Underneath the crisp air and rays of sunshine lurks a violence that's always threatening to erupt and overtake the status quo.

And Hank, we learn over the course of the first few episodes, was dishonorably discharged from the local police department thanks to his alcoholism. Now clean and sober, he's lost everything--his job, his house, and his wife--to his addiction, but he's maintained a contentious relationship with his ex-partner Mark Gustafson, played here to delicious perfection by Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break). But Britt is no angel, either, as we learn in a later episode. How the two met is only too fitting, really.

(Points too for Jamie Denbo's hilarious and super-pregnant lawyer Maggie Lefferts, here presented as a cross between the guys' confessor, mother, and manager. Denbo--half of Ronna and Beverly--shines in her scenes and I only hope we see more of her in the back half of the season.)

It's also worth noting that this isn't a crime procedural, but rather a gripping and taut serialized drama. Each episode builds on the one that preceded it and gracefully unfolds the further development of the characters while also broadening out the world. Throughout it all, the case in the pilot--the one involving the aforementioned real estate developer--hovers uneasily over the action as Hank and Britt find themselves drawn deeper and deeper into a scandal that puts their lives--and those of their loved ones--in serious risk.

Will the guys throw in the figurative towel? Or will they doggedly pursue the truth about just what is going on at the Montague development, even as all number of obstacles are thrown up in their way? (You can guess which way the wind blows.)

Thanks to the crack writing staff of Terriers, what develops is a smart, funny, and compelling series that masterfully balances light and dark, humor and drama, pain and catharsis. The five episodes that I screened earlier this month point towards Terriers being an accomplished and gutsy series that's unlike anything else on television. While the fall season has only gotten under way today, it's safe to say that Terriers is already high atop the list of the very best new series on television right now.

This dog's bite is just as fierce as its bark.

Terriers premieres tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

The Dead Walk: AMC Announces Halloween Launch Date for The Walking Dead

Be prepared to be scared.

AMC has announced an official launch date for its upcoming zombie series The Walking Dead, which is based on Robert Kirkman's comic book series.

The Walking Dead, which stars Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, and Jeffrey DeMunn, will launch with a 90-minute series premiere on Sunday, October 31st at 10 pm ET/PT.

The official trailer for The Walking Dead can be viewed below. "Stay focused."



The full press release from AMC can be found below.

AMC LAUNCHES NEWEST ORIGINAL DRAMA “THE WALKING DEAD”
WITH A 90-MINUTE PREMIERE EPISODE ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 10PM

Series Stars Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies,
Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn and others

Written, Directed and Executive-Produced by
Frank Darabont, Executive Produced by Gale Anne Hurd
New York, NY – August 2010 – AMC's newest original series, “The Walking Dead,” will premiere on Halloween night, Sunday, October 31 at 10 PM ET. The Sunday night series will debut with a 90-minute premiere episode, airing at 10 PM, October 31st. Subsequent episodes will be one-hour long presentations.

In conjunction with the announcement, today AMC released a four and a half-minute trailer, previewing the series, as was seen at this year’s Comicon. The trailer can be viewed on www.amctv.com.

The series will premiere during AMC's Fearfest, the network's annual blockbuster marathon of thriller and horror films. Fearfest is celebrating its 14th year by airing 14 consecutive days of themed programming with more than 50 films.

“The Walking Dead” is AMC's first wholly-owned original series.

“The Walking Dead” is based on the comic book written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The six-episode series tells the story of life following a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (“Love Actually,” “Teachers,” “Strike Back”), traveling in search of a safe and secure home. Jon Bernthal (“The Pacific,” “The Ghost Writer”) plays Rick’s sheriff’s department partner before the apocalypse, Shane Walsh, and Sarah Wayne Callies (“Prison Break”), is Rick's wife, Lori. Supporting cast include Laurie Holden (“The Shield”), Jeffrey DeMunn, Chandler Riggs and Steven Yeun.

Three-time Academy Award-nominee Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile”) serves as writer, director and executive producer. Chairwoman of Valhalla Motion Pictures, Gale Anne Hurd (“The Terminator,” “Aliens,” “Armageddon,” “The Incredible Hulk”), creator of the original comic series, Robert Kirkman, and David Alpert from Circle of Confusion serve as Executive Producer. Charles “Chic” Eglee (“Dexter,” “The Shield,” “Dark Angel”) and Jack LoGiudice (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Resurrection Blvd”) are Co-Executive Producer.

For more information, visit AMC’s press website, http://press.amctv.com .

About AMC
AMC reigns as the only network to ever win the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama three years in a row and the only basic cable network to win back-to-back Primetime Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade from the most comprehensive library or creating acclaimed original productions, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC's original stories include the Emmy® Award-winning dramas “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” and insightful non-scripted programming such as “AMC News.” AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with curated movie franchises like AMC Hollywood Icon and AMC Complete Collection. Available in more than 95 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, which includes sister networks IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv and Wedding Central. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile.

Channel Surfing: More on Party Down Cancellation, NBC Dumps Persons Unknown on Sats, Weeds, Big Love, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Following yesterday's brutal cancellation of Party Down, Hitfix's Alan Sepinwall talks to Party Down executive producer Rob Thomas about the cancellation of the Starz comedy. "No one on our side is particularly shocked by the news," Thomas told Sepinwall about the cancellation. "Frankly, the waiting has been excruciating, and there's a certain amount of relief in knowing and being able to move on." Thomas indicated that the series was heading towards a third season renewal before newly installed entertainment czar Chris Albrecht was brought in. "There's little to no doubt that we were going to get one until Chris came in," said Thomas. "But I do think if we had done better numbers, Chris would've kept us. I don't think Chris wanted to come in and clean house. I just don't think he had quite the emotional attachment that people who had been at Starz through the birth of the show had towards it." (Hitfix)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos also spoke briefly with Rob Thomas about the Party Down cancellation and learned that he's working on a new project. "I'm writing a drama pilot set in the world of corporate espionage for Showtime," Thomas told Dos Santos yesterday. [Editor: of course, that came out when Dos Santos asked Thomas about what was happening with a Veronica Mars feature film, so Neptune fans, I wouldn't keep holding our breaths on that one.] (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

If you're one of the few tuning in to NBC's serialized thriller, don't get too attached to watching Persons Unknown on Mondays. The Futon Critic is reporting that NBC is shifting Persons to Saturday evenings at 8 pm ET/PT beginning July 17th. Mondays will now how repeats of America's Got Talent at 8 pm, new episodes of Last Comic Standing at 9 pm, and Dateline at 10 pm. Persons Unknown will air its final Monday airing on July 5th. (Futon Critic)

SPOILER! Looking for some dirt on Showtime's Weeds, which returns August 16th? TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck talks to Weeds' Hunt Parrish about the sixth season, which finds the Botwins on the run. "Nancy would never leave her family behind so we're all on the run together. We pick up and move states. It's cool to see this family outside of their world," said Parrish. "We've only had one consistent set in the nine out of thirteen episodes we've shot so far [the Bowtin's RV]. We're filming on location a lot." Look for Nancy to move from pot into the hash business as well. (TV Guide Magazine)

ANOTHER SPOILER? Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has some dish on the fifth season of HBO's Big Love. "The new season starts shooting July 13, and based on some fresh casting intel, we’ll be seeing a lotta fallout from the Henricksons’ 'outing' as polygamists’, especially at the elementary school some of the kids attend," writes Ausiello. "Maybe Bill will find a sympathetic ear in Richard Dwyer, the Majority Leader of the Utah State Senate and a new recurring character? On second thought, not likely, eh?" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The CW has announced its plans for fall, unveiling its autumn launch dates for new and returning series. Up first: America's Next Top Model, kicking off on Wednesday, September 8th, along with new drama Hellcats. The Vampire Diaries and Nikita kick off on Thursday, September 9th. 90210 and Gossip Girl return September 13th, One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected launch on Tuesday, September 14th, and Smallville and Supernatural return to the schedule on Friday, September 24th. (Variety)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Harriet Sansom Harris (Frasier) will reprise her role as Felicia Tilman on ABC's Desperate Housewives next season as part of the return of Mark Moses' character Paul to the series. "We are definitely going to show Harriet on the show," an unnamed source confirmed to Keck. "We will be using her to clarify how Paul got out of jail." Felicia, after all, had faked her own death in order to point the finger of suspicion on Paul as revenge for Paul's murder of her sister, Martha Huber. "I had lunch with (series creator) Mark Cherry who gave me an idea of some of the fun stuff he wants Paul to do," Moses told Keck. "It's going to be a great run and very interesting to see which of the housewives still think Paul's guilty and which won't. And just why is he coming back to Wisteria Lane?" (TV Guide Magazine)

Heidi Klum and reality shingle LMNO Productions have teamed up to produce family reality series Seriously Funny Kids, which will, per Variety's Michael Schneider, "go on location to where the kids are and document their reactions to various scenarios." Project will be pitched to networks very soon. (Variety)

E! Online's Megan Masters talks to Bristol Palin about her guest role on ABC Family's Secret Life of the American Teenager. "I was excited to work with the cast and just to contribute to this show's message," Palin told E! Online's Masters. "I feel obligated [to speak out] because I've lived through this experience...the more I talk about it and the more I can be hands on about it, the better I feel about myself...'m not an actress. I'll leave that up to the experts, but I had a great time here. I don't think I'll be doing any more acting in the future." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared are coming back to television. Well, sort of. IFC has acquired syndication rights for the series, from executive producer Judd Apatow, and will begin airing Freaks and Geeks this Friday at 11 pm ET/PT (along with repeats on Sundays at 10 pm and Mondays at 11 pm), while Undeclared will bow in the fall. (IFC will also air a never-been-aired episode of Undeclared.) (Variety)

Following a successful grassroots campaign waged on Facebook, Travel Channel has saved reality series Three Sheets. The travel series, which follows Zane Lamprey on a beer quest, will shift from the now defunct Fine Living (which morphed into Cooking Channel) to Travel, which has acquired all back episodes and will begin screening new episodes as well. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sundance Channel has hired former Travel Channel executive Michael Klein as SVP of original programming and development. He'll report to Sarah Barnett and be based out of New York. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Tune-In Reminder: Series Premiere of ABC's "V"

Just a quick reminder to be sure to set your DVRs (or, hell, tune in live!) to the series premiere of ABC's V tonight.

Based on the classic 1980s sci-fi miniseries, V boasts an amazing cast that includes Elizabeth Mitchell, Joel Gretsch, Morris Chestnut, Scott Wolf, Morena Baccarin, and many others. But you needn't have watched any of the classic V in order to understand the intricacies of this new reimaginating.

You can read my advance review of the pilot episode for V (written back in May) as well as my interview over at the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker with series lead Elizabeth Mitchell about her character Erica Evans and what's coming up on the series, which will air four episodes this month before returning after the Olympics with nine additional installments.

V launches tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Talk Back: Series Premiere of NBC's "Trauma"

I'm curious to see how many of you out there tuned in last night to watch NBC's new medical drama series Trauma.

I didn't review Trauma--possibly because I couldn't find anything nice to say about it--but I am wondering what those of you thought who happened to tune in to the series opener last evening.

Did you like the series' combination of feisty, flawed characters and things going boom? Were you sucked in my the catastrophic opening minutes' footage of that downed helicopter? Did you like the chemistry between the actors or was it sideswiped by the explosive production values? Or did you find the whole thing incredibly bombastic and forced? Or a wee bit dated?

More importantly, will you tune in again next week for the second episode?

Talk back here.

Whiskey-A-Gogo: Secrets and Scars on "Dollhouse"

Just a few quick words about Friday night's season premiere of Dollhouse, which saw the series return for a miraculous sophomore season, only to plummet to its lowest ratings yet.

You read my advance review of the second season opener of Dollhouse ("Vows"), written and directed by Joss Whedon, but now that the episode has aired, we can talk about some of the specific plot points from the installment.

And, in this case, it's the premiere's storyline involving Amy Acker's physically and emotionally scarred Whiskey/Claire Saunders that has piqued my interest more than any other, despite the appearance of Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber as shady businessman Martin Klar and Whedonverse alum Alexis Denisof as Senator Daniel Perrin.

I'm still not entirely sure why Adelle would allow Paul Ballard to use Echo on an engagement to entrap Martin Klar or how Ballard was able to pay for the engagement. Or why Klar was such a powerful emblem of the failures he experienced as an FBI agent that he would want to take him down now. Just odd, really. It seemed like an excuse for a bait-and-switch with Echo's marriage to Klar but it begged the question about just how long this assignment lasted if there was time to arrange not only a first meeting between Echo and Klar but an entire courtship and engagement. But those are questions for another day, perhaps.

I made the point in my advance review that while Echo is the nominal lead character on the series, she and Eliza Dushku are often upstaged by some of the other, more interesting and three-dimensional elements of the series. In this case, it's Amy Acker's Whiskey who provides the focal point of the series and fleshes out Whedon's overarching themes of identity, self-awareness, and actualization.

Forced to come to terms with the fact that her life as Dr. Claire Saunders is nothing more than fiction created by Topher Brink, Whiskey is in a state of emotional freefall. Desperate to cling to some real emotion, she ricochets from thoughts of vengeance (seducing Topher) to violence (her hand lingering far too long on that scalpel while treating Echo). Is she looking to punish Topher and Echo... or to punish herself?

And Acker manages to pull off every excruciating emotional beat of that transformation, beautifully rendering a portrait of a soul in absolute chaos. What if we learned that the life we're leading is a massive lie? That the way we feel, think, hell, breathe was designed by someone else? You'd want to rip your own heart out, really, and Acker conveys the agony she's experiencing while making Whiskey painfully sympathetic. In a series that's filled with wirework, stunt fighting, and geek-chic technology, it's the small moments in Acker's performance that give Dollhouse its true heat and heart.

I thought that there was a gorgeous poignancy in the scene between Acker's Whiskey and Harry Lennix's Boyd, a scene which recalled their possible future relationship (as depicted in the unaired "Epitaph One" episode) but also turns that scenario on its head somewhat. Whiskey's been cut up by a psychopath, given the personality of a dead man, and been imprinted with the fears of an agoraphobic. She's essentially trapped in the Dollhouse between life and death, between a lie and the truth.

Her decision to remain Claire Saunders but run is a telling one. Is the life we know better than the life we don't? As bad as things are, couldn't they be worse? And wouldn't escaping to her former life be as much of a lie--if not more--than remaining Saunders and remembering? It connects to her insistence that her scars not be repaired. Claire/Whiskey wants to remember, she wants to suffer, she wants a visible reflection of the turmoil in her soul.

Likewise, the queasy seduction scene between Acker and Fran Kranz not only deepened Whiskey's character but also Topher's as well, giving me the first scene of the series where I was actively engaged with Topher as a character and saw him less as a quippy Whedon manqué and more of a deeply shaded individual with his own demons to battle. Uncomfortable, apt, and self-destructive, really.

Best line of the episode: "My whole existence was constructed by a sociopath in a sweater vest. What do you suppose I should do?" - Whiskey

Whedon has said that Acker will appear in three episodes this season as Whiskey/Claire and I'm anxious to see just what he has in store for Acker's character after she's attempted to flee the confines of her spa-like prison. For me, Whiskey remains one of the more interesting and intriguing elements of the series and I'll be extremely sad to see her go after her storyline wraps up. Still, it's in this subplot that Dollhouse has achieved some of the depth and potential that it promises, scars and all.

Next week on Dollhouse ("Instinct"), Echo is imprinted as a mother with a newborn baby but takes too strongly to motherhood as a result of Topher's modifications; Adelle pays November a visit; Senator Daniel Perrin ramps up his investigation into the Rossum Corporation.

"The Amazing Race": I Survived a Japanese Game Show

Looking to discuss the two-hour season premiere of CBS' fantastic reality series The Amazing Race?

Head over to my piece, entitled "The Amazing Race: I Survived a Japanese Game Show," on the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site, where you can read my take on the season opener, wasabi bombs, duck herding, anger-prone contestants, the poker players' scheme, and much more. (The piece itself is a post-air story that follows up Friday's piece about five reasons why you should tune in this season to The Amazing Race.)

Sound off in the comments section.

Sweet Little Dolls: An Advance Review of Season Two of "Dollhouse"

I was largely on the fence about the freshman season of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.

Conceptually, I felt that there were some fascinating ideas about identity and perception embedded in the series' overarching concept but I felt that these concepts were often let down by some fundamentally flawed execution on a weekly basis. In other words: I wanted to love the series but I found time and time again that I couldn't. Perhaps it was the regular occurrence of plot holes large and numerous, making Dollhouse resemble something akin to Swiss cheese.

The unaired thirteen episode of Dollhouse's first season, entitled "Epitaph One," did manage to change my feelings about the series; it offered a much darker and edgier version of Dollhouse and imbued the series with a strong throughline and narrative purpose. Given that the episode never aired in the US (and is still only available to screen on the Season One DVD boxset or on iTunes), it will be interesting to see as time goes on how "Epitaph One" reshapes the narrative direction of the series.

I was extremely curious then to watch Dollhouse's second season opener ("Vows"), written and directed by Joss Whedon, to see if they learned any lessons from "Epitaph One" or the series' uneven first season.

So what I did I think of "Vows" then? Let's discuss.

For one, I still find Eliza Dushku the least interesting element of the series, which is a bit of a sticky wicket as she is the series' nominal lead. However, she's largely outshone each week by the supporting actors, particularly Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj, Amy Acker, Harry Lennix, and Olivia Williams, and that trend continues in the second season opener.

While Lachman is relegated to the sidelines in this installment (very sadly, though Sierra does get a corker of a tiny scene with Ivy), Acker gets some major attention in this episode, which largely focuses on the fallout from Claire Saunders learning at the end of last season that she's actually an Active named Whiskey. The A-storyline might revolve around Echo's latest engagement (which involves her marriage to a shady arms dealer played by Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber), but it's Claire's story that packs more punch, emotionally anyway, as she's faced to come to terms with the truth about her identity. I won't say how this plays out exactly but I will say that it involves tormenting her "maker" Topher (Fran Kranz) and ties in somewhat with echoes of a Boyd/Claire relationship glimpsed in the "Epitaph One" post-apocalyptic storyline.

It's a shame that Acker isn't a series regular on Dollhouse (she'll instead co-star in ABC's abysmal mystery drama series Happy Town) as Claire brings a stark fragility and depth to the series. Acker has excelled throughout her career at playing brilliantly complex individuals and her Claire/Whiskey is no departure from this formula. Armed with the knowledge about her lack of identity in "Vows," Claire is even more dangerous, fierce, and resourceful. Whether she's out for vengeance or self-awareness, I'll let you discover for yourselves tonight.

Echo and Tahmoh Penikett's Paul Ballard are meant to be the audience's entry point into the world of the Dollhouse, but both of their characters are so distant--and Paul Ballard in particular so chilly and vacant--that it's hard to get a grasp on them or feel much compassion for their situation.

That situation gets even more trippy in the season opener as there's an unexpected twist to Echo's engagement that I didn't see coming, even as I can't quite work out some of its implications. We're meant to feel that there's a connection between them that defies identity and logic but I still don't feel it a season in. Part of that, I think is that Ballard is so unlikable and unsympathetic that it's difficult to wrap your head around their, uh, complicated relationship.

Bamber is fantastic as Martin Klar, a wealthy financier who weds Echo but whose business is just a front for international arms trading. It's a nice change of pace to see Bamber portray a villain for a change (and with his native British accent as well!) and he carries off the role with aplomb. While we only catch a quick scene with Alexis Denisof's Senator Daniel Perrin in the first episode, I'm intrigued to see just where this storyline will go; he seems hell-bent on bringing down the Dollhouse (too bad Ballard didn't know him during the first season) but I can't help but question his motives. Hmmmm...

All in all, "Vows" is an intriguing start to a season that will either broaden Dollhouse's fanbase or keep it limited to its cult audience on Friday evenings. I'm hoping that the dramatic tension of "Epitaph One" can continue to infuse the series with a new purpose and a strengthened mythology and that Whedon and the series' writers continue to focus more on the supporting characters, transforming the series into more of an ensemble drama with Dushku's Echo at its core rather than The Echo Show. Which, in my eyes anyway, isn't the Dollhouse I want to be playing in.

Dollhouse premieres tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX.

Talk Back: Series Premiere of ABC's "FlashForward"

What did you see?

I've been talking about FlashForward for nearly a year now since my initial review of the series' pilot script back in November to my recent advance review of the first episode. But now that the series has launched, I'm curious to see just what you thought of FlashForward and its prospects for success.

Were you lured in by the mystery of the global blackout and the flashforwards experienced by the main characters? Did you compare it to Lost or do you see the two series as distinct and separate entities? Do you think that FlashForward is a worthy successor to the mythology-based Lost in any event?

Did you find Joseph Fiennes a compelling series lead or was he lacking in charisma? Are you intrigued by the characters' backstories? Did you find the dialogue realistic or clunky? Was there a bit too much exposition in the opening hour? What do you make of the twist ending? What's up with that kangaroo, which producers have said is a "thing"?

And, most importantly, will you come back next week and watch another episode?

Talk back here.

Next week on FlashForward (""White to Play"), Mark and Demetri head to Utah to track down a suspect who may be connected to the global blackout; Olivia comes face-to-face with the man from her vision; Mark and Olivia's daughter, Charlie, has trouble dealing with the aftermath of her flashforward.

Talk Back: Series Premiere of ABC's "Modern Family"

I hope all of you tuned in last night for the launch of comedy Modern Family on ABC.

I've been praising Modern Family for months now (you can read my original advance review of the pilot episode here) but now that the series has launched, I'm extremely curious to find out what all of you thought of this remarkable and hysterical new series. It's hands down my pick for the season's best new show, a fantastically taut series about the trials and tribulations (and humor) of family life in the new millennium.

Did you enjoy the series' heady mix of deadpan humor and emotional heart? Did you like the mockumentary aspect? (I thought it worked better than, say, The Office has for the last few seasons.) Did the entire cast--from Ed O'Neill and Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, to Julie Bown and Ty Burrell (not to mention those kids!)--win you over with their overwhelming charm?

Did you roar with laughter to Cameron's Lion King homage? Or from Mitchell's request to take Jay's "multi-colored jacket and bejeweled cap"? Were you pleasantly surprised to learn that they are all one big, somewhat happy family?

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

Talk back here.

Next week on Modern Family ("Coal Digger"), tension mounts when the entire family is invited to Jay and Gloria's for some barbeque and football following an incident at school between Manny and Luke, leading to some nasty words between Gloria and Claire.

USA Weekend: "Which new TV shows are worth watching?"

You can check out my interview by USA Weekend's Thomas J. Walter about the fall season here.

I was interviewed along with The Futon Critic's Brian Ford Sullivan and Ain't It Cool News' Herc about which series were we most looking forward to this fall. Not surprisingly, two of the series I touted were ABC's Modern Family and V.

Of Modern Family (which launches on Wednesday night), I said, "Hands down, this is my favorite new series so far," and that the series "has a winning combination of quirkiness, witty banter and heart. It explores how the post-nuclear family ticks and how universal bonds of love and frustration keep it all together."

And V I described as "Gripping and electrifying in equal measure... With engaging leads such as Elizabeth Mitchell and Joel Gretsch, it's difficult not to get swept up by the action and the analogies for our changed world."

The piece can be read in full here.