TVSquad

You know, if your casting director says he's looking for a middle-aged guy to play "an unassuming, mild-mannered suburbanite" who also happens to have also been a prolific serial killer for almost three decades, damn if there isn't a better choice than John Lithgow. And it looks like our own Mr. Morgan will be going head-to-head with him as John Lithgow has been cast in Dexter for its fourth season. Lithgow is a master, able to play every type of role you can imagine.

He could dabble a bit of Pastor Footloose for his crazier side, adding in a smidge of Dick Solomon (3rd Rock From the Sun) for his everyday persona. But only a little, otherwise you've got crazy on both sides. Or maybe you want that. Dexter's fascination with Lithgow's character "Trinity" (dubbed thus for killing in threes) is how he's managed to be such a prolific killer and yet avoid capture for so long. I'm more interested in Lithgow's daily life. Is he married? Kids? And if so, how does he juggle so much "normalcy" with his extracurricular activities. Regardless of how it's presented, I think it should make for an awesome face-off.

I'm always fascinated by the ad campaigns that the networks come up with to sell or promote TV shows. I remember in 2004 when Fox debuted House, they created a magazine insert DVD of the pilot. It was a great way to get TV fans to try the show, and I -- for one -- bought Entertainment Weekly and watched the show.

Giveaways are one way to drive awareness -- and sample the product -- but another is with a print ad campaign. Recently, Gossip Girl came up with a savvy set of posters and advertisements to call attention to the naughtiness of the show.

Now comes a new, original campaign for Showtime's Dexter in which the Michael C. Hall's character is imagined on the cover of magazines. Dexter on Esquire, The New Yorker, GQ, Wired; high-profile magazines that have a distinctive look, reconfigured for serial killer hiding in plain sight, Dexter Morgan. The ads look amazing and will be seen in all variety of magazines and plastered up as posters all over the place.

When I posted the news items that came out of Showtime's portion of the CBS tour, the one question I got was "When will Dexter be back?" Well, network president Robert Greenblatt mentioned that the third season would debut in September. No word beyond that. Didn't seem like news to me. But there you are, Dexter fans; that's all I've got on that.

The executive session was introduced by a semi-funny clip from one of the network's stars, Tracey Ullman. Really, it wasn't that good, so I won't talk much about it here. Greenblatt also showed clips of The United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie during his opening remarks. Other than that? Well, isn't that enough?

The Emmy nominations will be announced tomorrow morning at 8:30am, and I'll be live-blogging the announcement, so come back here at that time for all the news. Well, actually, you won't have to "come back here" if you never leave, right? So please keep TV Squad open in a separate window as you do the rest of your web surfing and keep hitting refresh for the latest news. Thank you.

I'm sure a lot of the usual suspects will be in the mix when they announce the nominees: Lost, House, Desperate Housewives, The Wire, Hugh Laurie, Boston Legal, etc. But there are several shows and actors that I'm really pulling for and should get nominations, if the world is fair. My list after the jump.

This post might get a little esoteric, but I'll just lay it out there and, as always, you can either take it or leave it. If you don't like talk about death and dying, stop reading here.

If I was asked to say just one thing about Six Feet Under, it's that they don't shirk from anything. The Fisher family is complex and messy, but the writers and actors put it all out there, whether it's gay sex, drugs, mental illness, or, of course, death.

That last one is a good thing for me, because I go to a lot of funerals. In the past few years, I've lost two aunts, a dad, a father-in-law, a grandma, a sister-in-law, two cousins, and at least two dozen friends. I've written scores of obituaries and played my violin for dozens of funerals. I'm on a first-name basis with most of the funeral directors in town. And you know what? It's OK! Six Feet Under has helped me to see that. Read on for five ways the show helps me cope with death.

Fans of Six Feet Under were floored, when at the end "Ecotone" (the fourth to last episode of the series) Nate finally succumbed to his AVM and passed away. His death earned one of the few "end of episode epitaphs" featured on the show.

Fortunately for Nate and his family, everyone had a chance to say good-bye. Claire and David spent hours in the hospital room with him, as did Ruth. Even Brenda visited, despite knowing about the affair with Maggie - until Nate says no more; we're done.

As fans, we cried. We mourned. We couldn't imagine the final three episodes of one HBO's finest programs without it's main player. Of course, we knew he'd be back - dead. That was a given, but it's still not the same. Little did we know what was in store for us.

A whole lot more crying.

Another day, another list of 10 semifinalists from the Emmys. This time, it's the Best Actor in a Drama.

There are a lot of the usual suspects on the list (which will be knocked down to five nominees in the next round), including actors from Dexter, Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy, Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, and House. One show that's not represented is Lost. I thought Matthew Fox did some great work this season, especially his drunk/screwed-up scenes.

After the jump, the list of the ten semifinalists (also check out those in contention for Best Actress - Comedy, Best Supporting Actor - Drama, Best Comedy, and Best Drama).

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

(S04E05) Originally aired on July 18th, 2004 -- Arguably the best episode in Six Feet Under's five season run (ignoring the stellar finale of course), "That's My Dog" is a seminal installment for Michael C. Hall's David Fisher. A culmination of David's fears, inadequacies, and worries all collide at the same time as he faces death at the hands of a sadistic crack addict named Jake who takes him on a joy ride to get high. The events change David for good as he develops crippling attacks of paranoia that stay with him until he tackles his demons near the end of season five. You can't have a discussion about Six Feet Under without bringing up this episode.

Cane may be gone from the landscape of fictional South Florida, but the actor who starred in that CBS drama seems bound to remain in the Miami area. Emmy-winner Jimmy Smits will be joining the cast of Showtime's Dexter in the new season.

Dexter, which stars Michael C. Hall as a serial killer who murders those he feels deserve to die and remains under the radar thanks to his job as a blood-splatter expert in the Miami Police department, was a breakout hit for Showtime. CBS aired slightly-altered episodes of the twisted crime drama earlier this year, in part of fill the schedule holes created by the writers' strike -- and, ironically, the failure of shows like Cane.

The Saturn Award nominations are in, and many popular sci-fi and fantasy shows made the cut. Returning favorites like Lost, Heroes, and Dexter were recognized by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, as were newcomers Pushing Daisies and Journeyman.

With seven nominations, Lost is ahead of Dexter and Heroes, which received five and four nominations, respectively. Heroes was the big winner last year, taking home awards for Best Network Series as well as acting awards for Masi Oka and Hayden Panettiere. Both actors received nominations this year, along with co-star Greg Grunberg.

The nominees for Best Actor in a Drama are not all from the movies like the Best Actress nominees are, but they are still a damn fine group of actors. I am glad that I don't have to vote officially for the Golden Globes, because I really think this is a very hard group to choose from. I have to say that my top three contenders are Michael C. Hall, Bill Haxton, and Hugh Laurie-- and not just because of their performances last year, but also because of their bodies of work as a whole. I don't know whether that is entirely fair or not, but I don't live in a vacuum. However, that is not to take away from the other two nominees, and the group as a whole are:

It looks like early speculation was correct. CBS is "repurposing" the 12-episode first season of Showtime's hit series Dexter. The NYTimes' TV Decoder reports the network-friendly version will air on Sundays beginning February 7th at 10 pm/9 Central. Dexter has been a critical and ratings darling for Showtime, helping it surpass HBO as the pay-channel du jour for compelling scripted drama at water coolers everywhere.

This gives you one solid month to speculate as to what the censors will have to cut to fit into the time limits and decency standards of broadcast network television. The 10/9 time slot will allow some leniency, and with splatter and gore as staples on shows like CSI and Criminal Minds for years, there may not be as much editing as one would think necessary, save for commercial breaks.

December 16th's season finale of Dexter racked up 1.4 million total viewers according to Zap2It.com, making it the most-watched single airing audience ever for the channel. Said viewers surpass the previous record held by the November 18th episode of Dexter. Pop quiz: Has Dexter been renewed for a third season yet? Duh!

With Dexter the most talked about pay channel series going, even CBS is exploring that option to repackage it for air as a strike option, I would say it's a pretty hot commodity. No one would cancel a popular show like that in the middle of its successful run with no real reason to do so (*cough*The 4400*cough*)? That would be stupid!

EW.com put up the The Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations and we've got the nominees in the television categories for you. Not surprisingly, The Sopranos swan song continues to get awards show nods, with bids in all three categories it qualifies for. 30 Rock accomplished the same feat in the comedy categories. No other show was represented in all three drama or comedy categories.

Newcomers include Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Michael C. Hall (Dexter) in male dramatic actor. Holly Hunter (Saving Grace) was a new face in female dramatic actor, while Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) represented comedic actresses. Only Mad Men was able to creep in as a new show in the ensemble drama category. The complete list is after the jump.

Icetruck.tv looks like a normal Youtube knockoff at first glance. It has friendly soft blue icons with rounded edges that just scream, "let's watch dramatic chipmunks all day long." But beneath the unsuspecting veneer lies one of the greatest viral marketing campaigns to hit the internet since Al Gore invented it so long ago.

The Icetruck site is actually a webvertisment for Showtime's Dexter, about a serial killer who works as a forensic analyst to help catch murderers. If that doesn't sound cool enough, it stars Michael C. Hall from Six Feet Under. What more do you need?