[Televisionary]

Must. Restrain. Myself. I was going to write a post about last night's episode of The Amazing Race ("I Hate Chinese Food") but I'm actually still too angry at contestant Nick to think clearly... and at the producers for keeping this buffoon around another week. Quick recap: after shouting at his asthmatic girlfriend Vicki all season, making her do just about every challenge, and managing to avoid elimination several times thanks to Vicki, Nick decides that he's going to take a nap rather than help Vicki look for a boat registration number in the dark, even though he spent several hours sitting in a chair while Vicki gorged on Chinese food and puked her guts out. Nice boyfriend. Nick had given up and wanted to walk off the race when they opted to take the six-hour penalty for not completing a Detour and simply walked onto the mat. It had to be over for them, right? They were so far behind the first place team--Nat and Kat--and had that penalty on top of it. But, s...

I'm actually kind of sad about the outcome of this week's episode of The Amazing Race ("A Kiss Saves the Day"), which took the teams from England to Ghana, where they had to hawk sunglasses in a crowded market, assemble television antenna hookups, and deliver unwieldy coffins through the streets. All while attempting to stay alive during the series' most dangerous taxi rides ever. I have to say that this season of The Amazing Race is definitely clicking with me for a number of reasons. There's a fast-paced quality to the challenges and the episodes themselves (to the point where last night's installment only seemed about a half-hour long) and the casting this season is top-notch. I'm waiting to see if a villain emerges from among the remaining teams, who so far have all played nicely with each other. Personally, I'm rooting for Brook and Claire (particularly after the latter took a watermelon to the face and kept on running), Ivy Leaguers/a cappe...

By now, we've all seen the watermelon-to-the-face viral video making the rounds the last few weeks, but the season opener of CBS' The Amazing Race is far more than just than cringe-inducing moment of pain. In fact, the opener to the seventeenth (!!!) season of The Amazing Race ("They Don't Call It the Amazing Race for Nothin'!") might just go down as one of the series' all-time bests, sending the contestants across the pond to England, where they're forced to contend with scaling the walls of a castle, learning the definition of "battlements," discovering what Stonehenge is, and performing a rather difficult balancing act. That is, when they're not getting hopelessly lost driving on the left side of the road, as happens to more than just one hopeful team. As with all great seasons, the success or failure of an individual reality competition cycle rests pretty squarely on the casting and I have to say that they've more than come thro...

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Starz is heading back to Spartacus , ordering six episodes of a prequel series that will be set before Season One of the gladiator drama series, which wrapped its run last month. The six-episode prequel, as yet untitled, will revolve around the House of Batiatus and its champions and will star John Hannah and Lucy Lawless, as well as Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Antonio Te Maihoha, Nick E. Tarabay, and Lesley-Ann Brandt, and feature a brief appearance by Andy Whitfield, who is currently undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Production will begin this summer, with the pay cabler eying a January 2011 launch, clearly an effort to keep the franchise humming until a second season can be produced. "The prequel story maintains the excitement and entertainment value of the first season of Spartacus , giving audiences the engaging experience they've come to expect," said Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht in a stat...

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that multiple sources have confirmed to him that NBC will be renewing action-comedy Chuck for a fourth season and that "the show has thus far figured into all of the network’s preliminary plans for its May 17 upfront presentation," with Chuck likely to get a thirteen-episode initial order with the possibility of a full season order still in the cards as well. However, co-creator Josh Schwartz hadn't heard anything regarding a renewal as of yet. "That’s news to me," said Schwartz. "I would urge fans to take nothing for granted..." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) NBC's Angela Bromstad also cautioned fans about reading too much into rumors about Chuck 's future and wouldn't confirm that it had been picked up when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd. "It's our highest performing Monday ni...

Looking to discuss the frustrating season finale of CBS' fantastic reality series The Amazing Race ? Head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker to read my latest Amazing Race piece, entitled " The Amazing Race : I Left My Integrity in San Francisco," where you can read my take on the season finale, airport ticket counter shenanigans, first class seating snafus, and why I'm frustrated by the fact that the final leg of many seasons is usually the most boring. Sound off in the comments section about whether you think the right team won, whether Caite reached her goal of proving the world that she's an intelligent person, and whether you're happy or disappointed with the ultimate winners of this season.

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 Amazing Race piece, entitled " The Amazing Race : Breaking Language Barriers," where you can read my take on the latest episode, ethnocentrism, mental breakdowns, bladder control, and much more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week. Next week on the season finale of The Amazing Race ("Huger Than Huge"), Brent and Caite, Jet and Cord, and Dan and Jordan depart Shanghai and head home to race for the finish line and the one million dollars awaiting the ultimate winner.

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.

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: Marching to the Beat of a Different Drummer," where you can read my take on the latest episode, why U-Turns are often wasted on the dumb, 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. In two weeks on The Amazing Race ("I Feel Like I'm in, Like, Sicily"), the four remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at Marina Barrage in Singapore.

Looking to discuss the latest episode of CBS' fantastic reality series The Amazing Race ? Head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker to read my latest piece, entitled "The Amazing Race: Back in the Saddle again," where you can read my take on the latest episode, why reversals are always possible on the race, how one simple error can do you in, and much more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("Dumb Did Us In"), the teams head to Singapore, where Dan and Jordan have to contend with a crippling fear of heights and Caite and Brent square off with Carol and Brandy.

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: Leave No Coconut Behind," where you can read my take on the latest episode, errant coconuts, the difference between "anonymous" and "unanimous," why Caite acts like a bratty six-year-old, the correct way to pronounce Seychelles, and much more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("You're Like Jason Bourne, Right?"), the six remaining teams depart the Pit Stop on the Seychellian island of Praslin and head to Malaysia, where the cowboys must overcome a speed bump and the lack of available taxis if they hope to remain in the race.

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: Champagne Dreams," where you can read my take on the latest episode, duct tape, champagne towers, wrong directions, and much more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("Anonymous?"), the six remaining teams depart the Pit Stop in the Champagne region of France but it's anything but smooth sailing as they set out for the Seychelles as Brent and Caite's relationship hits its rockiest moment yet.

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 : Baguettes and Doughboys," where you can read my take on the latest episode, what the cowboys did wrong, how the running order got so entirely messed up, and much more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("Cathy Drone?"), the seven remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at the church in Massiges, France; Caite and Brent's relationship hits the rocks and the two continue to bicker and fight.

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 : Zeroes to Heroes," where you can read my take on the latest episode, what the cowboys did wrong, how the running order got so entirely messed up, and much more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("I Think We're Fighting the Germans, Right?"), the eight remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at the Indra Club in Hamburg, Germany's red-light district and end up reenacting the first World War on a recreated battlefield.

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 : Horsing Around in Argentina," where you can read my take on the latest episode, why contestants should always read the clue, why the cowboys are doing so well this season, my favorite line of the evening, and much more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("We Are No Longer in the Bible Belt"), the eight remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at Estancia Fortin Chacabuco in Bariloche, Argentina and head to Germany, where Jet and Cord indulge in a local pastime.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can find my latest piece, entitled "Hollywood Takes on Autism." The article explores the portrayals of people with autism spectrum disorders in pop culture, from films like Dear John and Adam to television series like Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Community , and The Big Bang Theory . I also talk to some of theses projects' creators--including Community creator Dan Harmon and Parenthood showrunner Jason Katims--about why they are--or aren't--labeling their characters as autistic. Head to the comments section to be sure and let me know what your take is on this trend and whether it matters or not that these characters are labeled or whether it's the discussion of neurodiversity that their presence creates that's far more important.

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 : Don't Let the Cowboy Hat Fool You," where you can read my take on the latest episode, why the cowboys Jet and Cord are my new favorite team (and "the most magical people ever"), why you should always check what terminal your bus departs at, and more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("Run Like Scalded Dogs!"), nine remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at Gruta de la Virgen in Puerto Varas, Chile on the third leg of a race around the world for one million dollars.

Looking to discuss the season premiere of CBS' fantastic reality series The Amazing Race ? Head over to my piece, entitled " The Amazing Race : Painting the Town Red," on the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site , where you can read my take on the season opener, map-averse beauty queens, the difference between Brazilian and Chilean money, interior painters, 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 and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("When the Cow Kicked Me in the Head"), the ten remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at Palacio Baburizza in Valparaiso, Chile on the second leg of a race around the world.

Staying in on Valentine's Day? Or just looking to set up your recordings for the weekend now? Over at the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker, I offer you five reasons why you should tune into the newest cycle of CBS' The Amazing Race , in a piece that's not-so-cleverly entitled "Five Reasons to Tune In." And head to comments section to offer your thoughts on the contestants (including the map-challenged former Miss Teen South Carolina) and what you're hoping to see this season on The Amazing Race . The Amazing Race 16 launches on Sunday evening at 8 pm ET/PT on CBS.

Looking to discuss last night's season finale of CBS' The Amazing Race ? While I won't reveal which team were crowned the winners of CBS' addictive reality competition series here, head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site where you can read my take on this week's episode, entitled " The Amazing Race : Luck Be a Lady," about the final leg of this season's race, which featured Wayne Newton, counting poker chips, face-first rappelling, Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatics, and the race to the finish line. Be sure to head to the comments section to weigh in about what you thought of the season finale, the winning team, and the tears and tantrums of this week's episode.