Channel Surfing: "Doctor Who" Unveils New Logo, Bravo Renews "Top Chef," Showtime Gets More "Californication," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. I'm up in Vancouver, where I'll be visiting the sets for Syfy's series Caprica, Stargate Universe, and Sanctuary today.

The Eleventh Doctor has gotten a new logo. Doctor Who revealed its newest title logo, the series' eleventh, which features a play on the series' initials with the shape of the Doctor's TARDIS, which itself resembles a vintage police call box. "A new logo. The eleventh logo for the eleventh Doctor - those grand old words, Doctor Who, suddenly looking newer than ever," said inbound series head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat. "And look at that, something really new - an insignia! DW in TARDIS form! Simple and beautiful, and most important of all, a completely irresistible doodle. I apologise to school notebooks everywhere, because in 2010 that's what they're going to be wearing." The logo will be used on-screen in a new title sequence for Season Five of Doctor Who, with Matt Smith taking over the mantle of the Doctor from outbound series lead David Tennant next year. (via press release)

Bravo announced several renewals and series orders, including a seventh season of Top Chef. Casting on the Season Seven of Top Chef begins October 18th; no city has been announced yet, though the series will debut in 2010. The cabler also announced that it had ordered The Real Housewives of D.C. and renewed The Real Housewives of New Jersey for a second season. Also on tap: unscripted culinary series Chef Academy, which will follow Jean Christophe Novelli as moves to Los Angeles and creates a test program where he will train nine aspiring chefs. (Variety, Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime has ordered a fourth season of dark comedy Californication. News comes on the heels of strong ratings for the third season opener, which racked up a total of 1.2 million in its first two airings. Twelve episodes of Californication are on tap for next year. (Variety)

Fox21 has set up drama project Broken at FX. Written by Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air), the one-hour drama series is set in post-Katrina New Orleans and revolves around "investigative journalist for the New Orleans Gazette who is so frustrated by the breakdown of social and governmental institutions that he takes on a sideline pursuit as a vigilante." Turner will executive produce with Apartment 3B's Jennifer Klein. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Desperate Housewives will feature a neighborhood plane crash during November sweeps. "It’s going to be my cliffhanger for the first half of the season," creator Marc Cherry told Ausiello about the catastrophe, which will "affect everyone’s lives" but won't lead to the death of any of the series' titular housewives. "I’d love to kill somebody ’cause that’s just what I do," he told Ausiello. "But the truth is, right now I don’t have anyone major dying." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Sony Pictures Television and executive producer Mark Burnett are shopping a reality competition series take on classic television series Fantasy Island, in which twelve contestants will compete to become the real Mr. (or Mrs.) Roarke of a tropic paradise by fulfilling the wishes of hotel guests. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has compiled a list of television actors, writers, and directors who are on Twitter and has organized them by series. Head over there and take a look. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

MTV is going ahead with plans to air invention series Gone Too Far, hosted by the late DJ AM. The cabler will launch the eight-episode series on October 12th at 10 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

CBS has renewed Canadian-produced drama series Flashpoint for a third season of thirteen episodes, which will air later this season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Looking to catch a glimpse of inbound Doctor's companion Karen Gillan before she steps into the TARDIS next year? UK viewers can check out Gillan in the four-part BBC Two drama The Well, about a set of siblings and their friends who "disturb something dark at the bottom of an ancient well," which kicks off this weekend. (Digital Spy)

Universal Networks International has signed on to co-produce Haven, the thirteen-episode series adaptation of Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid" that is being produced by E1 Entertainment. The Universal division has signed on to acquire exclusive pay TV rights in all territories excluding the US, Scandinavia, and Canada. (Variety)

ITV Studios has signed a creative partnership deal with toy manufacturer Mattel under which the studio will partner with Mattel to develop television, mobile, online, and other formats based around its best-selling brands. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.