[Televisionary]

I am feeling really melancholy this morning after watching last night's episodes of The Office and 30 Rock , especially given that The Office 's lukewarm offering was the last episode of the NBC comedy that we'll see... until after the WGA strike is resolved. Last night's installment of The Office ("The Deposition"), written by supervising producer Lester Lewis, was shockingly low-key in comparison to recent episodes, which had Michael driving a car into a lake, kidnapping a pizza delivery boy , and attempting to flee Scranton on a cargo train . But it wasn't the restrained tone that bothered me (in fact, we don't need the histronics of Season Four's one-hour episodes in order to find the funny), but it was so far understated that the entire episode seemed strangely static. I've been calling for a return to more office-based humor and less field trips (unless they're organic like "Booze Cruise" or, hell, even "Branch Wars...

It's Day 12 of the WGA Strike with no sign of a resolution anywhere in sight. After today's fan-themed protest at Universal, only two days of pre-Thanksgiving strike-related activities planned, including Monday's planned assistant and below-the-line employee strike at Fox. In other news, the strike has now affected US network productions that shoot outside the country. Both Vancouver-based NBC Universal productions Bionic Woman and Battlestar Galactica have shut down due to the strike . Bionic Woman , which was supposed to continue shooting until mid December, has instead shut down far ahead of that schedule, ceasing production on November 9th. Across town, fellow NBC Universal drama Battlestar Galactica , which was meant to shoot until March on the final batch of its Season Four episodes, will instead shut down today, as it has run out of scripts. Production on FX's The Riches was shut down for 15 minutes yesterday due to picketing organized by showrunner Dmitry L...

It's always distressing when an episode of one of your absolute favorite series fails to meet your expectations. It's especially distressing when the series in question is the typically charming and witty Pushing Daisies . I felt that the idea for last night's episode of Pushing Daisies ("Bitches")--in which the gang investigates the murder of a innovative dog breeder who turns out to be a polygamist (Joel McHale) with four sister brides--was a good one, as it served to underpin the conflict existing between Ned, Chuck, and Olive in their non-sexual love triangle and advance the romantic plot. Can people share their love among many people (or in Ned's case two people)? Can Ned reconcile the fact that he can kiss the girl he doesn't love but can't kiss the one he does? All worthy questions worth discussion, but I didn't feel that the script for "Bitches"--from husband and wife team Chad Gomez Creasey and Dara Resnick Creasey--lived up to ...

Could pop chanteuse Lily Allen , the stunning star behind the brilliant album "Alright Still," be the next Assistant on Doctor Who ? According to site teevieo , the production team behind the BBC's hit sci fi drama are in discussions with singer Allen to join the cast of Doctor Who , where she would replace inbound Assistant Donna, played by Catherine Tate (who appeared alongside David Tennant's Doctor in the "Runaway Bride" Christmas special last year). No word on the authenticity of the story, but Allen did sign a deal last week with BBC Three to headline her own entertainment series next spring, based entirely on her MySpace profile page. Series, which has a working title of Lily Allen and Friends , will enable viewers to "contribute to discussions, put questions to guests and even try their hand at presenting parts of the show. The audience will consist entirely of Lily's online friends, who will also have exclusive access to behind-the-scenes...

Ah, Project Runway , how I've missed you. The sartorial showdown launched last night on Bravo and I for one was absolutely glued to my television. As usual, production company Magical Elves did an amazing job at casting, editing, and producing this slick, sleek, and stylish competition series, invigorating the elimination process of professions (whether they be fashion designers or chefs) and turning a spotlight onto their creative process. In a word: bravo. Last night's episode of Project Runway ("Sew Me What You Got") introduced us to the fifteen new designers who, unlike previous seasons, seem to be a wacky, slightly more out there, motley crew consisting of avant-garde marionette designers, over-the-top theatrical costume designers, and lingerie designers. It's a cluttered playing field and one that's filled with promise, even though I was pretty disappointed with several of the offerings on hand. For the first challenge, the designers had 10 minutes to ...

It's Day 11 of the WGA strike and there's still no sign of resolution to the strike as we inch towards the Thanksgiving holiday. Strike-related activities will cease on Tuesday as Hollywood shuts down for the holiday. Writers should have something to be thankful for, namely an overwhelming public support for the strike, even though the studios haven't yet given them what they deserve. Maybe since they've been nice, a resolution to the issues on the table will come in time for Christmas/Hannukah. (Just a thought.) Speaking of that public support, a pair of studies released yesterday (conducted by Pepperdine University and SurveyUSA respectively) showed that public sympathy during this battle definitely falls with the writers. 69 percent of those polled in the Pepperdine study and 63 percent in the SurveyUSA poll were in support of the writers' cause. The studios fared far worse, with only 4 percent and 8 percent of those polled (respectively) in support. There are s...

Many of you expressed dismay yesterday that there would be no post on this week's episode of Chuck , during this blog's (and about 20 others) one-day blackout in support of the WGA strike. It's not that I didn't want to rush to discuss Chuck but I figured when the time came around that I lifted the posting ban, you guys would still be just as eager to discuss an episode that was extremely appealing. This week's episode of Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Truth") did some interesting things: it took that old spy trope--truth serum--and reinvented the truth serum spy story in an unexpected way, altering the compound into an odorless, colorless gas and soon drove its victims into madness and eventually death; it finally placed Chuck's loving sis Ellie in danger, literally with her life hanging in the balance as Chuck had to pull a Sophie's Choice -type decision as to whether to save himself or his sis; and it gave former Alias cast member Kevin Weisman (wh...