[Televisionary]

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my broad thoughts about the divisive series finale of Lost ("The End") before I post my detailed thoughts here. Head over to The Daily Beast, to read my piece, "The Infuriating Lost Finale," where I talk about my issues with the narrative and thematic conclusion of the series after six years. Do you agree? Disagree? Head to the comments section to discuss your take on Lost and "The End." (And the end.)

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. FOX has given a major vote of confidence to musical-comedy Glee , which it renewed for a third season... before the first season has even wrapped. News of the pickup was broken by Entertainment Weekly 's Lynette Rice. "Everything about Glee – from the concept to the characters to the marketing – has been innovative and risky, but with [series creator] Ryan Murphy tapping into the zeitgeist, the risk has paid off with this truly remarkable series," said Kevin Reilly, FOX Entertainment President. " Glee has one of the most active, devoted fan bases I’ve ever seen, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to give Gleeks a third season of their favorite show." The upside for FOX and studio 20th Century Fox Television are obvious: "Not only does it help cut production costs over the long haul, it allows Murphy and his writers a chance to plan ahead (if not breathe a much-needed sigh of relief)," writes Rice. &qu

"To everything there is a season..." As hard as it is to fathom, the end is upon us. Lost will end six seasons of mysteries, mythology, and smoke monsters with a two-and-a-half hour series finale tonight as ABC devotes what seems like seven hours to ending one of the greatest and most ambitious serialized storylines ever devised. My relationship to Lost dates back to May 2004, when I was still working in television development. On that particular day in late May, a box of pilots arrived at the studio where I worked, as they did every spring like clockwork after the network upfronts. Among the offerings, many of which have now been forgotten to the dustbin of time, was the two-hour pilot for Lost , which was co-written and directed by J.J. Abrams, then coming off of a successful run on ABC's Alias . We had been waiting for this day for quite some time. I remember that our boss was out of the office that week, so several of us furtively entered his office and sat down tog

"A word in your shell-like, pal." With those final words, BBC One's extraordinary drama series Ashes to Ashes faded into the ether, offering a stunning series finale that was equal parts mythology and mystery, grounded in an emotional context for each of the characters that had me shamelessly weeping on the sofa by the end. For those of us who have been following the struggles of many of these characters since they first appeared on the scene in Ashes 's predecessor, Life on Mars , anticipation was running high that the end to the series would not only provide some vital answers to come of the central mysteries of these two series--such as the identity of Gene Hunt and the nature of this world--but also provide a sense of closure that befitted the legacy of Life on Mars and offered a catharsis of sorts to the viewers. It managed to accomplish just that and so much more, offering a series finale that I loved every second of and never wanted to end. Throughout its rem

Welcome to this week's second look at Lost , just a few days ahead of Sunday's series finale of the mind-bending serialized drama. Once again this week, I'll be taking a second look at this week's episode of Lost ("What They Died For") by answering reader questions submitted via comments, Twitter, and email. While I discussed "What They Died For" in full over here , it's time to dive deeper and get to some further theories, doubts, and questions that we're all thinking about. So, without further ado, let's grab a tin cup, whisper some mystical words, and discuss "What They Died For." I had the chance to watch this episode twice over the course of a few days, the first time and the beautiful and memorable Lost Live: The Final Celebration event at UCLA's Royce Hall (which you can read more about here ), and the second being right here in my living room, where I wanted the opportunity to watch the second to last episode on my

"I don't belong here... but I don't belong there, either." Throughout the two seasons thus far of FOX's trippy sci-fi drama Fringe , we've associated the world of Olivia Dunham and the Bishops pere et fils with the color blue, a somber color that's been reflected in the main title sequence, the frequent colored flares that have appeared on the the screen at dramatic or pivotal moments, and the general muted color palette of the world in which these characters live. On the other side, the alternate dimension from which a young Peter Bishop was kidnapped by a desperately grieving Walter Bishop, we see a world that's rather like ours on the surface but which is different in so many ways that matter. There, the color of choice is red, a deep crimson that's echoed in the opening credits for the two-part season finale of Fringe , the comic-book heroes whose stories line the walls of an apartment Walter has furnished for Peter (Red Arrow and Red Lantern b

Over at The Daily Beast, I've spent the week updating our gallery of new broadcast network television series, as the networks unveiled their fall schedules and announced new programming at this week's upfronts. You can check out the gallery at The Daily Beast--which has video clips and trailers for all of the new series for the 2010-11 season--and keep track of all of the renewals and cancellation by visiting my post "Is Your New Favorite Show Here?" (and get to the gallery directly by clicking here ). In the meantime, I'm curious to know which new series are you most excited about? And which do you think are doomed to fail? Head to the comments section to discuss.