TV with MeeVee

"My Own Worst Enemy"

There is a slew of shows coming this fall with tricky mythologies - the back stories of vast conspiracies or time travel or mysterious islands that seem to be de rigeur for TV dramas these days. J.J. Abrams' "Fringe" features a high-tech conspiracy as a couple of heroes track down fringe science gone mad. "Life On Mars" takes a BBC series to New York circa 1972, as a present-day detective finds himself trapped in time. And "My Own Worst Enemy" casts Christian Slater as an average guy named Henry who's just becoming aware that he has a double life as a badass secret agent.

One problem for producers trying to explain these shows at press tour this summer was the fact that, due to the writers strike, pilots were shot late, if at all, so we'd seldom seem the series they were talking about. Now NBC.com has come out with a teaser clip for "My Own Worst Enemy" that shows star Christian Slater as Henry on a visit to his shrink to discuss these weird dreams he keeps having. It actually helps me understand what this show is about...

Afternoon links parade

• I know she's done a lot in her career since "Showgirls." But still, the idea of Elizabeth Berkley running a self-esteem workshop for teen girls and a related MTV show is just ... too ... precious ... for words.
• And she's also joining "The L Word!" I love this girl!
• Happy words: "Torchwood" Season Three coming soon to BBC America.
• The revamped U.S. version of "Life On Mars" sure is taking on the New York flavor producers promised us at press tour. Original star Jason O'Mara is still on hand, but in addition to Michael Imperioli, the cast will also include Harvey Keitel, who just signed as a police supervisor.
• An interesting look at one of the "Dr. Horrible" cast members besides Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion.
• How did Alan Ball get my favorite cocktail recipe?
• The TCA set visit day on which I visited Joss Whedeon and "Dollhouse" included four or five other shows and, prioritizing, I suspect I'll never get around to writing much about our visit to "Randy Jackson Presents America's Top Dance Crew" before its season finale. So check out what this guy wrote.

Upfronts Update! "Reaper" To Return!

Yesterday was full of anticlimactic "news" - Jimmy Fallon taking over "Late Night," "Scrubs" moving to ABC to finish out its run. But after the sun went down here in the east, that was lots of good stuff posted on the fall schedules, including widespread reports that "Reaper" has been given a 13-episode midseason order by CW. We won't know for absolute sure until CBS and CW announce their deals on Wednesday, but it looks like a lock. (Ooops, CW announces late today.)  And I don't care if it came about because the writers strike screwed up the development season. I will watch "Reaper" tonight with a full heart.

ABC will announce its plans this morning. In the meantime...

• Michael Rapaport ("War at Home," "My Name Is Earl") will play a fed on "Prison Break" (Hollywood Reporter).
• Several sources say ABC has picked up "Life On Mars," an American remake of the Brit series about a cop who suddenly finds himself transplanted to the - bad hair alert! - 1970s. Surprisingly, it's a drama. Apparently that was contingent on ABC also picking up producer David E. Kelley's "Boston Legal" for another season.
• CBS has picked up Jerry Bruckheimer's "Eleventh Hour," the drama "The Mentalist," the thriller "Harper's Island," and the Jay Mohr comedy "Project Gary."
• Nikki Finke says it was nice of CBS to renew "The Unit" while several of its stars are visiting troops in Iraq. But she also has a lot of inside scoop on why "Moonlight" hasn't yet been renewed and may not be.