[Televisionary]

"Don't you like vampires, little girl?" This week's episode of True Blood ("Frenzy"), written by Alan Ball and directed by Daniel Minahan, marks the penultimate installment of the second season (though we'll have to wait two weeks for the season finale) and consequently ramped up the tension, bringing us several new alliances, the deepening of a personal vendetta, a possible romantic split, and the fragmentation of several long-standing friendships. And, oh, a giant egg. So just what did I think about this week's episode of True Blood ? Pour yourself a Tru Blood, strap on a bandolier, gather up some feathers and yarn, and let's discuss "Frenzy." Bon Temps has literally gone to hell, thanks to Maryann's influence and this week we finally got an answer as to why Maryann happened to stumble in the backwoods town in the first place. While it seemed as though Maryann's arrival in Bon Temps with her murderous retinue was...

Mickey and Co. are about to get some new super-powered friends. Disney today announces its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, in a deal worth roughly $4 billion, under which the Mouse House will attain control over Marvel's vast portfolio of properties and characters. "This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company in a statement. "Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney. We believe that adding Marvel t...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. It seems like the stars are finally aligning. Producers on FOX's Bones are in talks with Zooey Deschanel to guest star on the procedural crime drama in December as the cousin of real-life sister Emily Deschanel's Brennan, according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. "We’ve been looking for an opportunity to get the Deschanel girls together," said Bones creator/executive producer Hart Hanson, "but Zooey’s rockin’ career kept getting in the way... We alluded to [her] having a cousin in Minnesota two seasons ago. I’d very much like to meet her in the Christmas episode." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) As previously reported on this site, 20th Century Fox Television is teaming up with Columbia Records on a series of soundtracks for FOX's upcoming series Glee . The first release, "Glee: The Music, Volume 1," will contain seventeen tracks from the series' first seas...

Televisionary is proud to be a member of the TV Blog Coalition. At the end of each week, we'll feature a roundup of content from our sister sites for your delectation. This week, I offered an advance review of USA's fantastic and stylish upcoming drama series White Collar , starring Tim DeKay and Matthew Bomer . I also had an exclusive interview with Top Chef: Las Vegas competitor (and major contender) Jennifer Carroll . Elsewhere in the sophisticated TV-obsessed section of the blogosphere, members of the TV Blog Coalition were discussing the following items... With his new series, What Would Brian Boitano Make? , Brian Boitano proves that while the famed figure skater may not be a master chef, he is cute as a button. ( TiFaux ) With September fast approaching, so to are 75 new and returning TV shows. And here to ensure you don't miss a moment of your favorite (or soon-to-be favorite) show is theTVaddict.com with our printable and downloadable season premiere calendar ( T...

Those of you who have been watching Bravo's addictive and appetite-inducing culinary competition series Top Chef: Las Vegas have undoubtedly discovered the dazzling skill, graceful presentation, and exquisite flavor profiles of 33-year-old Philadelphia native Jennifer Carroll. Carroll, who wowed the judges in the first week of the competition with a clam ceviche and a poached halibut dish, is the chef de cuisine at 10 Arts by Eric Ripert in Philadelphia. When I first saw an early cut of the season opener, I quickly put her down as a major contender for the title of Top Chef and was impressed by her creativity, her passion, and her unwavering determination. I caught up with Carroll earlier this week to talk to her about her career, her culinary style, what it's really like in the kitchen on Top Chef , that pastry chef comment (you know which one I'm talking about), and much more. Televisionary: How would you define your culinary style? Jennifer Carroll: My style is to defin...

Inspector Morse's dogged former sidekick Robbie Lewis (Kevin Whately) returns this weekend with seven new crime-packed mysteries set in the heart of Oxford's academic community of scholars, dons, and students. Inspector Lewis (or Lewis as it's known as in the United Kingdom) kicks off on Sunday night (part of PBS' Masterpiece Mystery ) with "And the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea," in which Lewis finds himself enmeshed in an investigation involving art forgery, gambling addicts, and calculatedly brutal murder. I had the opportunity a few weeks back to watch both the first two sensational installments of Inspector Lewis ' second season and was immediately sucked into the clever plotting, deft characterizations, and witty banter between Lewis and his junior partner, the erudite DS Hathaway (Laurence Fox). (Confession: I attended Oxford University and met my wife there, so the setting alone for me is worth the price of admission.) The seven episodes of Inspector Le...

TVGuide.com is reporting that FX drama Rescue Me will wrap up its series run in 2011, according to co-creator/executive producer Peter Tolan. "Within the next couple of weeks, we're going to begin shooting the last 19 episodes, which will be the final two seasons of the show," Peter Tolan told TVGuide.com , with the final episodes of the Sony Pictures Television-produced series slated to air in September of 2011 in order to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Those episodes will be broken down into two seasons, with the first batch airing next year. "I think they're stretching the airing of it out until the 10th anniversary," surmised Tolan. "So if you put 10 episodes on next year and nine the following year, you'll land there." Additionally, TVGuide.com also reported that Tolan is seeking to have Maura Tierney ( ER, Parenthood ) reprise her role as Kelly McPhee in four installments of Rescue Me 's final episodes. Rescue Me will en...

Looking to return to Sherwood Forest? You're in luck as BBC America brings you the third and final season of Robin Hood , slated to begin Saturday, September 12th at 9 pm ET/PT. According to BBC America's press release, Season Three finds Robin a vengeful man following the death of his true love, Maid Marian: "Season three kicks off when Robin and his gang of outlaws return from the Holy Land. But now that he’s back, Robin wastes no time - Marian's murderer, Guy of Gisborne (Armitage), is a marked man. Robin immediately breaks with his followers, and races to Locksley Manor to avenge her death. Once there, he confronts Gisborne but does Gisborne care if he lives or dies? After all, Marian was the only woman he loved and his only hope." A two-minute clip from the third season opener, along with more information about the new season, can be found below. Robin Hood Season Three Preview: Toby Stephens ( Die Another Day, Jane Eyre ) and David Harewood ( The Vice, The ...

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Campbell Scott ( Royal Pains, Six Degrees ) has signed on as a series regular for Season Three of FX's serpentine legal thriller Damages . No details were immediately available about just who Scott will be playing next season on the Sony Pictures Television-produced drama series, which will return to production next month for a January 2010 premiere. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) ABC's sci-fi drama V is set to take a two-week creative break, with filming to temporarily shut down for a two week period beginning next Wednesday. However, the move won't impact the November 3rd launch date, involve any staff changes, or, writes The Wrap's Josef Adalian, affect "the six episodes its planning for the fourth quarter." For its part, studio Warner Bros. Television wouldn't give any details about the exact reason behind the decision to ...

Showtime has announced that Laura Linney ( John Adams ) has been cast as the female lead in a dark comedy entitled The C Word (a working title) about a woman struggling to live in the shadow of her cancer diagnosis. Linney will star in the pilot of the Sony Pictures Television-produced project, from writer/executive producer Darlene Hunt ( 90210 ), which is slated to be shot this fall. "Laura Linney is in that rare echelon of truly gifted actresses who fully embody the characters they play and we are honored to welcome her to Showtime," said Showtime president of entertainment Robert Greenblatt. "Cancer is not usually the subject of half-hour comedy, but Laura saw what we did in this complex show -- a woman who gets a wake-up call that causes her to shake up her life and family. She will no doubt make this character both heartbreaking and disarmingly funny, and we’re thrilled that she has chosen this show for her foray into series television.” The full press release fr...

Man of Steel, meet Chuck Bartowski. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Brandon Routh ( Superman Returns ) has signed on for a multiple-episode story arc on Season Three of NBC's Chuck , which returns to the airwaves in midseason. According to Ausiello, Routh--who's no stranger to secret identities himself--will play Shaw, "a mysterious new spy who takes control as the new leader of Operation Bartwoski, becoming a mentor to Chuck and a rival in his affections for Sarah." No airdate was given for Routh's first appearance on the series, nor any specific episode count for his story arc. Meanwhile, Summer Glau ( Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ) is returning to her Whedonverse roots. Zap2It is reporting that Glau has signed on for a recurring role in Season Two of Whedon's metaphysical action drama series Dollhouse , where she will play Bennett, "a Dollhouse employee who shares a past with Echo (Eliza Dushku)." And, ...

It's interesting as each season of Top Chef wears on to see just how your initial gut-instinct contenders fare as the challenges begin piling up. I'm happy to say that so far the three chefs that I picked as the three major contenders have all continued to fare well this week. Just which one of them will walk away with the grand prize remains to be seen but there's no doubt in my mind that each of them will be sticking around for some time to come. On this week's episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Bachelor/Ette Party"), it was a battle of the sexes as the chefs were split down the middle and had to pair three shots with individual dishes at a bachelor and bachelorette party. But before that, there was the Todd English-judged Quickfire Challenge where the cheftestants rolled dice to see how many ingredients they'd have to work with--anywhere from two to twelve--and prepare a dish in under thirty minutes. So how did they fare this week in Sin City? Let's...

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. NBC has announced that it is delaying the second season launch of Southland by a month. The Warner Bros. Television-produced series, which premiered last spring, was slated to launch its sophomore season on Friday, September 25th but will now instead debut on Friday, October 23rd. The reason behind the late change? According to Variety 's Michael Schneider, "insiders said the Peacock hopes to use the extra month to further promote the show, which they worried was getting lost in the fall marketing shuffle." Southland was meant to launch on the same evening as Medium and Dollhouse . ( Variety ) Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz and Chuck producer Matt Miller will write an untitled multi-camera comedy pilot script for CBS about a twenty-something couple who have just gotten married and return home after their honeymoon and must learn how to navigate life together. (The premise was inspired by Schwartz and Miller's o...

Imagine the high stakes tension of Steven Spielberg's Catch Me if You Can crossed with the rapid-fire humor of The Thin Man films and the slick, elegant style of Mad Men . Still with me? Combine those elements and you begin to approximate the effervescent and engaging new crime drama series White Collar , which launches in October on USA. Created by Jeff Eastin ( Hawaii ) and directed by Bronwen Hughes ( Burn Notice ), White Collar is a cat-and-mouse chase with a twist: the bad guy was caught years ago by the good guy and now assists him in tracking down other nefarious types using his criminal skills, deductive powers, and roguish good looks. The good guy in this case is FBI Agent Peter Stokes ( Tell Me You Love Me 's Tim DeKay), a grimly determined G-man assigned to the bureau's white collar crimes division. Which means that he spends his days (and often nights) tracking down art forgers, embezzlers, and con artists with a mix of relish and reluctance, given the qualit...

With the start of the fall season nearly upon us (in roughly two weeks' time), I'm wondering just what you're most excited about watching this autumn. I'll be sharing my picks for new and returning series next week but I thought I'd get a jump on the upcoming season by asking you, my readers, which series you are most looking forward to and why. Are you super-excited for ABC's FlashForward or does ABC's V rock your world more? Are ABC's Modern Family and NBC's Community the end-all, be-all of new comedies? Intrigued by The Good Wife or Three Rivers at CBS? So keen for the series launch of FOX's Glee that you've been singing along all summer? Or eagerly awaiting the launch of HBO's comedy Bored to Death ? Are you looking forward to the return of 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy , Heroes , or Bones , Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sons of Anarchy , or other returning series? Discuss.