Talk Back: Showtime's "Weeds" and "Secret Diary of a Call Girl"

I'm curious to know what everyone thought of Showtime's two program launches last night, which saw the return of Weeds (now in its fourth season) to the lineup and the addition of British import Secret Diary of a Call Girl to the mix as well.

If you couldn't tell from my advance review of both series, I was completely captivated by Secret Diary of a Call Girl and by Billie Piper's incandescent performance as Hannah/Belle in the ITV2 series which aired in Blighty last year. Showtime was definitely smart not to buy the format and remake it here in the US but to just air the original British production as is; it's absolutely perfect the way it is and I can't imagine very many young actresses pulling off the combination of vulnerability and sexual confidence that Piper manages to effortlessly deliver. (You can read my original advance review of Secret Diary of a Call Girl here.)

As for Weeds, I thought that the Season Four premiere was a sign that the series, which struggled creatively in its third season, was definitely back on track and Nancy and the kids went on the lam and ended up hiding out at the beach. (You can read my original advance review of the first two episodes of Weeds' fourth season here.)

But I am curious to know what you thought. Did you like the change in scenery on Weeds? Did you dig Piper as Hannah/Belle on Secret Diary of a Call Girl? And the most important question: are you hooked enough on both (or either) to tune in again next week? Discuss.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: AFI's 10 Top 10 (CBS; 8-11 pm); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Beauty & the Geek (CW); According to Jim/According to Jim (ABC); Moment of Truth (FOX)

9 pm: America's Got Talent (NBC; 9-11 pm); Reaper (CW); Samantha Who?/Samantha Who? (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

10 pm: Boston Legal (ABC)

What I'll Be TiVo'ing

8-10 pm: Britcoms on BBC America.

I don't know about you but by Tuesday night, I'm usually in need of some comedy in my life. Why not stick around on Tuesday nights for BBC America's new comedy lineup, consisting of classic episodes of Coupling, new comedy Not Going Out, and Absolutely Fabulous? You'll thank me in the morning.

10 pm: Flipping Out on Bravo.

Season Two kicks off tonight with a brand-new episode ("Sell Out") in which we get to catch up with Jeff Lewis and his gang of colorful characters. Come for the tantrums (Jeff's) and stay for the insane interpersonal dynamics. You'll think your workplace is a hell of a lot more sane afterwards.

Have a Burning Question for Team Darlton, Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, or Michael Emerson?

Lost fans: you don't have to make your way to the island via Ajira Airways in order to ask a question of the creative team or the series' stars. Televisionary is taking questions from fans to put to Lost 's executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and stars Matthew Fox ("Jack Shephard"), Evangeline Lilly ("Kate Austen"), and Michael Emerson ("Benjamin Linus") for a series of on-camera interviews taking place this weekend. If you have a specific question for any of the above producers or actors from Lost , please leave it in the comments section below . I'll be accepting questions until midnight PT tonight and, while I can't promise I'll be able to ask any specific inquiry due to the brevity of these on-camera interviews, I am looking for some insightful and thought-provoking questions to add to the mix. So who knows: your burning question might get asked after all.

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What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

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In Defense of Downton Abbey (Or, Don't Believe Everything You Read)

The proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating. Which means, if I can get on my soapbox for a minute, that in order to judge something, one ought to experience it first hand. One can't know how the pudding has turned out until one actually tastes it. I was asked last week--while I was on vacation with my wife--for an interview by a journalist from The Daily Mail, who got in touch to talk to me about PBS' upcoming launch of ITV's period drama Downton Abbey , which stars Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith, Dan Stevens, Elizabeth McGovern, and a host of others. (It launches on Sunday evening as part of PBS' Masterpiece Classic ; my advance review of the first season can be read here , while my interview with Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and stars Dan Stevens and Hugh Bonneville can be read here .) Normally, I would have refused, just based on the fact that I was traveling and wasn't working, but I love Downton Abbey and am so enchanted with the proj

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